I had a manager who already considered me too talkative, an overdue electricity bill, and a mother who called every evening to ask whether I’d eaten.
But then Dominic asked Arthur to repeat the explanation.
And Arthur repeated the false interpretation almost word for word.
“Everything is approved, Dominic. There are no outstanding conditions.”
I heard myself speak before I’d decided to.
“Excuse me, sir.”
Every face turned toward me.
Celeste’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
I swallowed.
“I believe there’s an error in the translation.”
Arthur stared.
“I’m sorry?”
“The Italian annotation. It doesn’t say the audit is complete.”
Celeste gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Are you seriously interrupting a legal discussion?”
I looked toward Dominic.
“Sir, the wording says the authorization remains conditional upon independent verification of the accounts.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
He reached for the paper.
“That’s quite enough.”
But Dominic lifted one hand.
Arthur stopped.
Dominic regarded me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.
“You read Italian?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How well?”
“I studied Italian as part of my degree in comparative linguistics. I’m not a licensed attorney or a certified legal translator, but I can read that sentence.”
Celeste slammed her palm against the table.
“Dominic, you’re not going to take legal advice from a waitress!”
