A Successful Speech

Feilan paused. "You may think that the people I have spoken of are heroes, people who made enormous contributions, while you yourselves may have only done a few insignificant things, unworthy of such praise."

"But today, I want to tell you that this idea is wrong."

"Because no hero ever accomplished great things alone. Take, for example, a woman named Emily Watson."

In the crowd, Emily froze.

Her mouth fell open, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Feilan Roosevelt had actually called out her name in public?

Quite a few people around her turned to look at her.

Some recognized her; others had no idea who she was. But every gaze held curiosity.

Emily's face instantly flushed crimson.

Her breathing quickened, her fingers clutched the hem of her skirt tightly, and she stood as though nailed to the spot, unable to move.

Feilan continued, "Ms. Emily is an analyst with the Treasury Department Statistics Division. Of course, she is also responsible for the coffee in Mr. Ballantine's office."

"A few days ago, I worked all night in Mr. Ballantine's office. By dawn, I was so exhausted I was nearly fainting. And at that moment, my 'angel' appeared."

"Ms. Emily carried a cup of coffee over to me. It may have been the most wonderful cup of coffee I have ever had, because it pulled me back from the brink of collapse."

A low murmur of amazement and envy rose from the crowd.

Emily's face reddened further, so red it seemed as though it might drip blood.

"Of course, besides myself, I believe Mr. Ballantine's ability to complete so much high-intensity work in such a short time also owes something to Ms. Emily's coffee."

Feilan turned toward Ballantine, a faint smile on his lips. "Isn't that right, Mr. Ballantine?"

Ballantine paused, then nodded. "Emily's coffee truly is the best in the entire Treasury Department. Without it, I could never have made it through so many grueling nights. Here, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Ms. Emily!"

Emily's mind was in complete disarray.

She stood there beneath everyone's gaze, watched by all with envious eyes.

She felt as though her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

To her, that cup of coffee had merely been part of her job.

She had never expected anything from it, believing she had done nothing more than the tiniest, most insignificant thing.

But now, that small act had been remembered by him.

That young man named Feilan Roosevelt had called her name before the President, before the Treasury Secretary, before hundreds of people. He had called her his "angel" and offered his most sincere thanks.

This was an immense honor!

It might even become something recorded in the history of the United States.

Emily felt something swirling in her eyes.

She desperately held it back, refusing to let it fall.

But she knew that from this moment on, no matter how many years passed or what happened, she would never forget this day.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, please do not belittle yourselves."

"During this time, every figure you checked, every report you copied, every call you made to a bank, even every cup of coffee you brought to a colleague—these things that may seem insignificant all had meaning. They all helped this country!"

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Applause gradually rose, growing more and more fervent.

Once the applause subsided slightly, a smile appeared on Feilan's face as he abruptly changed tack. "All right, I've said quite a lot, but there is actually something I care about."

Everyone froze.

Care about?

What did he care about?

Their rapt attention focused on Feilan once more, filled with curiosity and confusion.

Feilan turned and looked at William, who stood to Roosevelt's right. "Secretary William, I've been running myself ragged for the Treasury Department these past days, working overtime through the night until I'm half dead. You aren't planning to give me no compensation at all, are you?"

The room fell silent for a second.

Then laughter exploded.

William burst into laughter as well, wagging his index finger at Feilan as if to say: You rascal...

Roosevelt laughed too.

Sitting in his wheelchair, he tilted his head back slightly, laughing until his eyes narrowed into slits.

Yet within those blue eyes, beyond the amusement, was something deeper—admiration.

Genuine admiration from the bottom of his heart.

He understood speeches too well.

Over the years, he had heard countless speeches, and delivered countless speeches himself.

He knew which speeches could move people, and which were merely passing clouds.

What Feilan had just said appeared casual, but every step had landed precisely where it needed to.

First came insight.

He had opened with "every insignificant thing has meaning," striking straight at the hearts of those ordinary staff members.

They were not secretaries, not officials, not core members of the bill-drafting team.

They were merely statisticians, clerks, switchboard operators, and coffee girls.

During these frenzied days, they had done the most basic, most trivial, most unnoticed work.

No one had praised them. No one had even noticed them.

But Feilan had said: Everything you do has meaning.

At that moment, every heart had been clasped in his hand.

Then came empathy.

He had singled out Emily as an example not because she had done anything earth-shattering. Quite the opposite—what she had done was something every one of them could do.

A cup of coffee, a gesture of care in the morning.

People of this era had long grown sick of those hollow, high-sounding declarations and slogans.

But when a living, breathing ordinary employee just like them was publicly praised for a cup of coffee—

The sense of identification it gave them was unparalleled.

Emily had been commended.

But everyone listening felt as though they themselves were standing in her place.

It was a feeling of shared glory.

A hope that said, "So people like me can be seen too."

Finally came humor.

Just as everyone's emotions had been pushed to their peak—

Feilan shifted the subject and used a joke about "compensation" to instantly loosen the atmosphere.

It was not an awkward silence, nor was it embarrassment. It was release at exactly the right moment.

People needed release.

After more than ten days of oppression, tension, and anxiety, they needed a wholehearted, unrestrained laugh.

Feilan had given it to them.

Roosevelt gently shook his head, a trace of complicated emotion in the smile at the corner of his mouth.

Was this kid really only twenty-five?

He thought of those old hands who had spent decades wheeling and dealing on Capitol Hill, those politicians who made their living with nothing but their mouths, those seasoned veterans tempered through countless speeches.

Many of them were not even a match for Feilan's five minutes.