Lucas nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Victor smirked. “Alright then. I’ll tell you what.” He tapped the table. “If you can translate this document accurately, I’ll give you one million dollars.”
Gasps rippled through the room.
Victor waved a hand. “Relax. It’s a joke.”
Lucas looked down at the paper. “May I try?”
Victor shrugged. “Go ahead. Entertain us.”
Lucas stepped forward, hands trembling slightly. He adjusted his glasses and began to read.
But instead of stopping—or guessing—he translated.
Out loud.
Fluently.
“This first section is in German,” Lucas said. “It outlines liability clauses for international partnerships.”
The room grew quieter.
“The next paragraph switches to French, focusing on intellectual property protections.”
Someone in the back stopped whispering.
“Here,” Lucas continued, “it moves into Mandarin, discussing offshore manufacturing terms.”
Victor’s smile faded.
“And this line,” Lucas said, pointing, “is Arabic. It’s a non-compete agreement.”
By now, no one was laughing.
Lucas paused, then added, “The final section is Spanish. It summarizes termination conditions.”
Silence.
One of the linguists in the room stood abruptly. “That’s… accurate,” he said, stunned. “Perfectly accurate.”