As she walked away from their table, Elena had no idea that her life was about to change forever. She had no idea that David Park had been watching her reactions, reading her body language, and forming a plan that would test everything she thought she knew about herself. The evening was winding down, but the real story was just beginning.
Elena was wiping down the coffee machine when she heard David Park's voice get louder. She tried not to listen, but the restaurant was getting quieter as the night went on, and sound carried easily across the dining room.
"I'm telling you, Robert, most people just pretend to have talent," David was saying to one of his friends. "They watch a few YouTube videos and think they're experts."
Robert, a shorter man with glasses, laughed. "Come on, David. You're being too harsh. There's hidden talent everywhere if you know where to look."
"Hidden talent?" David's voice had that tone rich people get when they think they know everything. "Please. Real skill takes years of training, expensive lessons, the right connections. You can't just stumble into it."
Elena felt her jaw tighten. She'd heard this kind of talk before from customers who thought money was the only path to success. They had no idea what it was like to practice piano on a broken keyboard in a tiny apartment, or to learn complicated pieces by watching free videos online because you couldn't afford a teacher.
The third man at the table, someone David had called Mitchell, jumped into the conversation. "What about that story we heard last week, the mechanic who could paint like Picasso?"
"Lucky exception," David waved his hand dismissively. "I bet if you picked any random person in this restaurant right now, they couldn't do anything impressive. Take our waitress, for example."
Elena's stomach dropped. She was standing close enough to hear every word, pretending to organize the silverware station.
"She seems nice enough," Robert said carefully.
"Nice, sure. But I guarantee she's never done anything that would make people stop and stare. No special skills, no hidden talents, just another person working a regular job."