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Daniel wanted one word before he left Tokyo : yes . The terms were already in the email . His flight was the next evening , and the signature page sat in a folder under his arm , with a blank line and no name yet sure enough to write . He had come to hear someone senior say that the contract could be signed . Four people stood when he entered . The room was plain : a long table , cups of tea , a window over other windows . The woman nearest the door offered her card with both hands , the print turned toward him . He took it in one hand , saw a surname he was not ready to pronounce , and slipped the card into his jacket while he was still thanking her for the meeting . Her smile did not move . Her eyes went to the pocket , and stayed there until he noticed . He had read the advice on the flight and filed it under manners , below the contract . Offer and receive the card with both hands . Read the name . Do not hide it while the person is still in front of you . He took the card out . He held it in both hands and read it properly : Kato , and a title that placed her over the project , not beside it . He set the card on the table , square with the edge of his folder . No one corrected him . The older man he had decided was in charge looked at her , then at the card , and did not look at Daniel . The speech he had prepared had nowhere to go . She asked about the flight , about whether he had eaten , about a piece of work her team had finished before this contract existed . He answered , and each time he steered back toward a signature she let the point pass . She talked about the people who would have to live with the work after he had flown home : who would call whom , who needed time to agree inside the team , who would be blamed if the schedule slipped . He began to understand that the senior person in the room was the one whose card he had pocketed . She said they would need another conversation , perhaps over a meal , before anyone signed . He nodded . The signature page stayed in the folder . He could have said that a flight is easy to move . He did not . In the elevator he held her card in his open hand . He still did not have his yes .
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