They knew she never joined conversations about customers after they left unless there was a practical reason.
Most of them had stopped wondering about her past.
That was precisely how she wanted it.
Until Victor Hale arrived.
At 9:47 p.m., Naomi carried a pot of tea to table twelve.
The businessmen had finished their main course. Their plates had been cleared, and the remains of a bottle of expensive wine stood beside Victor's untouched dessert.
The atmosphere had changed.
Victor was speaking more carefully now, and Henry Lin was asking direct questions about the waterfront development.
Naomi set down the tea.
“Jasmine tea,” she said in Mandarin. “I hope it suits you.”
Henry smiled.
“Perfectly. Thank you.”
Michael Zhou glanced toward Victor.
“Mr. Hale tells us the residential component will be sold before construction is completed.”
“That is the current proposal,” Victor replied.
Naomi placed a small dish of sugar beside the pot.
She knew enough about the project to recognize the subject.
The waterfront development had appeared in business news for months. It was a proposed combination of luxury apartments, office space, retail units, a technology incubator, and a public promenade.
The site occupied several acres of valuable land near the water.
Victor's company, Hale Urban Holdings, planned to transform the property into a symbol of San Francisco's next economic era.
The proposed investment was enormous.
The risks were enormous too.
Naomi had read about the project while reviewing an article on coastal infrastructure. The public announcements emphasized projected employment, tax revenue, and new housing. The financial disclosures contained a less attractive set of details: financing contingencies, environmental remediation costs, and a construction schedule that depended on several approvals.
She had noticed one especially unusual point.
The project's public budget assumed that the first residential units could be marketed before a particular infrastructure agreement was finalized.
That might be possible.
But it would require careful coordination among the developer, the city, the utility providers, and the contractors responsible for the site.
The schedule looked aggressive.
Very aggressive.
Naomi had thought about it for perhaps five minutes, then returned to her studies.
It was not her project.
It was not her problem.
And she had no intention of becoming involved in another company's internal affairs.
“Ms. Carter,” Henry said.
She looked up.
“Yes, Mr. Lin?”
“May I ask you something?”
“Certainly.”
“Have you followed the Hale waterfront project?”
Victor stiffened.
Naomi considered her answer.
“I've read the public announcements and some of the available financial disclosures.”
Henry nodded.
“And what do you think?”
Victor gave a short laugh.
“She works in a restaurant, Henry. I wouldn't expect her to have an opinion about a development of this size.”
Naomi turned toward him.
For one moment, she considered saying nothing.
It would have been easy.
She could have taken the empty teacups, returned to the kitchen, and allowed the men to continue their discussion without her.
But Henry had asked her a direct question.
And she knew the difference between refusing to participate and pretending not to know something.
“I think the project's public schedule depends on several assumptions that should be examined carefully,” she said.
Victor's expression hardened.
“What assumptions?”
Naomi looked at him.
“The construction schedule, the timing of the infrastructure agreement, and the projected cost of environmental remediation.”
Michael Zhou leaned forward.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because the public materials appear to treat some unresolved items as if they were already settled. That doesn't necessarily mean the project is unsound. It means the financial model should make the uncertainty visible.”
Henry's eyes narrowed with interest.
“Can you give us an example?”
Naomi hesitated.
She did not want to turn an ordinary dinner into an impromptu consulting session. She also did not want to pretend she had performed a complete audit of documents she had only reviewed publicly.
“I would need to examine the underlying assumptions before making a definitive assessment,” she said. “But the relationship between the construction schedule and the infrastructure agreement deserves particular attention. If the agreement is delayed, the project could face additional carrying costs, and those costs may not be fully reflected in the public summary.”
David Chen looked at Henry.
Henry looked at Victor.
The silence that followed was different from the silence during the wager.
This time, the businessmen were thinking.
Victor forced a smile.
“That's an interesting observation. But our team has already examined those issues.”
“Then the underlying analysis should address them,” Naomi replied.
She spoke without sarcasm.
That made the answer more difficult to dismiss.
Henry leaned back.
“Thank you, Ms. Carter.”
“You're welcome.”
Naomi collected two empty cups.
She was about to leave when Victor spoke again.
“Hold on.”
She stopped.
He looked at her with an expression she could not immediately interpret.
“Where did you say you went to school?”
“Stanford.”
“And you studied what?”
“International relations and economics.”
“Then you worked in China?”
“For a period.”
“Doing what?”
“Consulting.”
Victor stared at her.
The word seemed to bother him more than anything else she had said.
“What kind of consulting?”
Naomi adjusted the tray against her hip.
“Cross-border investment and market analysis.”
David Chen exchanged a glance with Michael Zhou.
Henry said nothing.
Victor's voice became sharper.
“And now you serve tables.”
“Yes.”
He seemed to wait for an explanation.
Naomi did not provide one.
The silence irritated him.
“Why?”
It was a simple question.
It was also a question he had no right to demand that she answer.
Naomi placed the cups on her tray.
“Because this is the job I have.”
Victor laughed once, without humor.
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the answer I'm comfortable giving you.”
Henry lowered his eyes to his teacup.
David Chen looked openly impressed.
Victor leaned back.
For the first time that evening, he seemed uncertain whether he was speaking to a waitress, a former professional, or someone who had become a problem he did not know how to solve.
Naomi turned away.
“Please let me know if you need anything else.”
She carried the tray to the kitchen.
Daniel was waiting near the service station.
He took one look at her face and shook his head.
“What did he ask you?”
“Nothing important.”
“Naomi.”
She sighed.
“He asked about my education.”
“And your previous work?”
“Yes.”
Daniel folded his arms.
“Do I need to be worried?”
“Not unless you think a customer might complain that I answered his questions.”
“That's not what I meant.”