"I Need a Translator Now!" the Panicked Billionaire Yelled — But the Maid Surprised Him!
Chapter 4
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
For the next half hour, Hana sat at the table and translated every word as Conrad's lawyer rewrote the contract and Mr. Moriyama's advisers checked each line. She never took sides. When a phrase could mean two things, she explained both and asked for clarification. When Mr. Moriyama told a short story about his grandfather planting a maple tree in the garden of the oldest inn in 1912, Hana translated it so beautifully that Yuki wiped her eyes.At 1:15, Kenji Moriyama signed the contract. Then he turned to Hana and said something in Japanese.She bowed and thanked him, her face pink."What did he say?" Conrad asked.Hana hesitated. "He said he came to America to meet a businessman, and instead, he found a granddaughter."After the Moriyama family left for the airport, Conrad asked Hana to stay. She stood by the window, nervous, certain she was about to be reprimanded for interrupting a private meeting.Instead, Conrad asked, "Where did you learn to speak like that?"So she told him. Her mother was Japanese. Her grandmother in Osaka had taught her to read before she could ride a bicycle. Hana had been studying Japanese literature and professional interpretation at Berkeley, with plans to become a conference interpreter. Then, in her final year, her father fell from a ladder at work and injured his spine. The family needed money, and someone needed to take care of him. Hana left school and took the first steady job she could find: housekeeping at the hotel."I still study," she said quietly, "on my breaks. I translate articles in a notebook. I just stopped believing anyone would ever give me a chance to use it."Conrad was quiet for a long time. "This morning, I told you to stay out of my way. Then I shouted at a room full of people. Why did you help me?"Hana looked at him calmly. "Because when people shout like that, it's usually because they're afraid. And because Mr. Moriyama was afraid, too. Afraid of losing what his family spent 150 years building. I couldn't watch two frightened people walk away from each other because of a misunderstanding."The words hit Conrad harder than any board meeting ever had. He had spent his whole career believing that fear was weakness. Every time he felt afraid, he became colder. Every time something went wrong, he looked for someone to blame. Somewhere along the way, he had mistaken control for strength.That afternoon, Conrad's chief strategy officer was dismissed, and the contract with Ashford Consulting was terminated.Conrad offered Hana a large check as a reward. She shook her head."I don't want money for doing the right thing," she said."Then what do you want?"Hana thought for a long moment. "A chance. I want to finish my degree. I want to become a real interpreter."Conrad could have simply written the check anyway; the old Conrad would have. Instead, he asked her to come to his office the following week.