当仓里满一伙在李云鹤家作天作地的时候，在万豪酒店会的议室里，Williams已经难以支撑了。他瘫坐在椅子里，手里摆弄着一支笔——时差袭来，难以抵挡。
Johnny正在笔记本上拼命写着什么。高明紧张地摆弄着电脑，貌似在找什么资料。
这时Williams软软地问了一句：
“So， do you know why I’m here tonight， Ming?（那么，你知道我为什么今晚在这里吗，高明？）”
Johnny从笔记本里抬起头来。高明干脆地回答：
“Like what I said， I didn't expect you to be here in Shanghai tonight. If I can make a lousy guess， I think you will have to fly back home very soon， probably right after your meeting with me， and Johnny tonight.（我说过了，我没有想到今晚你会在上海。我只是乱猜啊，我想你可能今晚和我还有Johnny开完会后就得马上飞回家。）”
Williams突然坐直了身子，看着高明。看起来他好不容易做了个决定。他说：
“Good. I think you have good sense of business， Ming. Alright， now， let me be frank with you.（很好！我觉得你有很好的商业嗅觉。好吧，现在就让我坦率地告诉你。）”
高明的双手离开了电脑。他侧头看了看Johnny，发现他也是一脸茫然的样子。高明把身子往椅背上一靠，看着Williams——老头子终于要出牌了！
Williams喝了一大口水。然后很慢很慢地拧紧瓶盖——他在思考怎么开口。终于——
“Last week， I spoke to the shareholders at our quarterly earning's call. You knew that. On the call， some investors asked about China. Not once， but many times.（上周，我在我们的季度股东电话会议上讲话。你知道的。在电话会议上，有些投资者问起中国的生意。不是一次，而是好几次问起。）”
“Is it because of our successful acquisition of Australia's distributor last year?（这是不是因为去年我们很成功地收购了澳大利亚的经销商？）”高明知道老头子要进入正题了。
Williams笑了。他转向Johnny。Johnny也笑了。
“What did I tell you Johnny? Ming has good sense of business. I like it.（我刚才和你说什么来着，Johnny？高明有很好的商业嗅觉。我喜欢这样。）”
“You were deadly right!（你刚才说得对极了！）”Johnny笑着附和。Williams对着高明继续说：
“You know why our share price goes up? Because investors think we have good future. After all， stock is nothing but future. Or， to be more exactly， the investors’ belief of our future. In other words， we have to have a good story about our future to make our share price keep going up.（你知道为什么我们的股价会上升吗？因为投资者认为我们有好的将来。毕竟，股票什么都不是，就是投资将来。或者，更准确地说，就是因为投资者相信我们的将来，我们的股价才会升。）”
“I remember last year， you told the investors a great story about the acquisition of Australia's distributor on the earning’s call. The same day， our share price was up 10%. Great job， Williams!（我记得去年你在投资者电话会议上和大家说了一个很好的关于收购澳大利亚经销商的故事。同一天，我们的股票上就涨了10%！干得好，Williams！）”搞什么！叽叽歪歪半天还不进入主题——高明嘴上应付着，心里却嘀咕着。老头子却貌似并不着急。
“You're right， Ming! Now， China! Australia is not a big market. Australia is not as attractive as China in those basters' eyes. Sorry， I mean the investors and，（对的，高明！现在，我们说中国！澳大利亚的市场不大。在那些混蛋的眼里，澳大利亚并不像中国一样有吸引力。对不起，我是说那些投资者，和）”他突然轻声地，“the board!（董事局！）”
Johnny突然哈哈大笑起来——Williams也会说粗话！高明没笑，而是说：
“Then we buy out Qian Ma! It's that simple， isn’t it? We buy out Qian Ma this year so that you can have another great story， even a greater story to tell the investors and the board， then instantly， our share price will surge， probably this time， 20%!（那就收购千马啦！这很容易，对吧？今年我们买下千马，你就可以在投资者和董事局面前说另一个精彩，也许是更精彩的故事。然后一瞬间，我们的股价直线上升，这次可能升20%！）”此言一出高明就已经输了开局，因为他过早地亮出了底牌——在老头子面前他毕竟还是嫩了不是一个级别。不过他实在等不及了。
果然，Williams的脸沉了下来。他看着高明，沉默了一会儿，然后带着怒气说道：
“You're not telling me the truth. You’re deliberately misleading me as we all know that Qian Ma acquisition will not be easy in any circumstances， and you are saying it is simple!?（你没有说真话！你在故意误导我！我们都知道收购千马在任何情况下都不可能是容易的事，而你还在说那是一件简单的事！）”他站起身子探向高明，“Let me tell you this， Ming! I’m flying out Shanghai in 3 hours. I’m now trying to get your help to make a plan to present on the board meeting， a solid plan about Qian Ma acquisition， to our board meeting in two days! If you don’t help， I just leave. You think I am stupid? No， I’m not! You tell me what you want and we talk. Do you understand now？（让我把话挑明了，高明！再过三个小时我就要飞离上海了。我现在是在征求你的帮助，帮助我做一个计划，一个有实际意义的关于收购千马的计划让我给董事会讲。两天后我们就要开董事局会议了。如果你不肯帮助，那我就走。你以为我是傻瓜？不，我不是！告诉我你想怎么样，我们还可以聊。现在，你明白了没有？）”
Johnny决定走煽情路线：“Ming， we count on you because we believe you're the one who knows China best.（高明，我们指望你是因为我们相信你是最了解中国的那个人。）”
Williams听罢，没好气地盯着正说话的Johnny，毫不客气地怼了一句：
“Cut the crap， will you?（别说废话了可以吗？）”
说着，他气呼呼地又喝了一大口水。Johnny讨了个没趣，摇着头起身走出了会议室。
Williams马上说：“To be honest， I don't care if you speak to me directly， on anything about Qian Ma. Anything！（说实话，我倒并不介意你和我直接谈关于千马的任何事情。什么都行！）”
高明笑了笑，没有接茬。他心里在嘀咕，这就要把Johnny踢出局？我高明可不傻。
“I have a deal. I will discuss with you and Johnny after Jonny gets back.（我有一个要求。等Johnny回来后我和你们谈。）”
Williams看着高明，点了点头——这小子不傻，没有上当。然后他站起来伸着懒腰说：
“Long day! By the way， Ming， how is your team? Eric? He’s good?（这一天！对了，高明，你的团队怎么样？Eric呢？他好吗？）”
高明说：“Eric is not good. I want him out.（Eric不好。我要他出局。）”
Williams一惊：“What?（啊？！）”
正在这时，Johnny推门而入。Williams入座。他等着高明出牌。高明继续说：
“This is my deal. First of all， I will help Tea Hall collect evidence that Qian Ma is not compliance with FCPA. I know this is the point to get rid of Qian Ma. I know it， and I know it that you can’t say it openly to me， even in this room. That’s why we have wasted a great deal of time tonight. You just can not say it!（这是我的要求。首先，我会帮助‘天和’收集千马没有遵守FCPA的证据。我知道这是把千马踢出局的关键。我知道的。我还知道你不能和我明说，即使在这个屋子里你也不能说。那就是为什么我们今晚浪费了那么多时间。你，就是不能说！）”
Williams直直地看着高明。此时他不能有任何表示——他是个老手。沉默！此刻必须沉默！
“Alright. Let's say this is merely my lousy guess. Anyway， I will help Tea Hall to do their business.（行了，就算这仅仅是我瞎猜好了。不管怎样，我会帮‘天和’做事。）”高明显然已经从Williams的沉默中读懂了那个意思。
Williams还是不吱声。Johnny也紧闭着嘴巴——都是烂鸟！高明在心里骂道。他继续说：
“You don't need to speak now. If anyone asks， I will deny we have had this discussion. Now， here is my deal. Firstly， I want Eric out. I will let Jojo， our Marketing Director， to join the project team.（你们现在不用说话。如果有人问起，我会否认我们谈过这个。现在，我提我的要求。第一，我要Eric出局。我会让我们的市场部总监Jojo加入项目组。）”
Johnny看着Williams。Williams点了点头。
Johnny说：“It's you call， Ming.（你自己定吧，高明。）”
“Now， my second request. I need your agreement that I will stay with Longfly， as General Manager China， for at least another 3 years.（现在，我的第二个要求。我要你们同意，我，在朗飞至少再担任总经理3年。）”
Williams和Johnny双双倒在椅背上直喘气。Johnny看着Williams，Williams看着天花板，不吱声——他等着高明说出真正的需求。
“I have seen many acquisition like this one. Many China GM had to leave the company only after the completion of the acquisition. You know why? Because the hospitals used to buying from distributors now have to buy from the manufactures directly. This is a big or huge change in the business model. It would hurt the whole business very bad and the GM would have to take the blame. Or who else?（我见过很多这样的收购。许多中国总经理在收购一完成就不得不离开公司。你知道为什么吗？因为习惯从经销商手里采购的医院现在必须从原厂采购。这是一个很大的，可以说是巨大的生意模式的改变，会对整个生意造成打击。然后总经理就不得不承担后果。不然，谁还会背这个黑锅？）”
说到这儿，高明意味深长地看了看Williams和Johnny，貌似在问：“你们俩个，谁敢背这个黑锅？”没人吱声。高明继续：
“I don't care being blamed， but I don't want to be removed because of this. I want myself treated fairly. I need 3 years to recover the to-be-damaged business. I believe I can make it. Only after that would I like to leave the company， with decent reputation. Isn’t that fair?（我不介意背黑锅。但我不想因为这个被踢出局。我要自己被公平地对待。我需要3年把受损的生意重新做起来。我相信我能做到。只要到那时，我才愿意离开公司，我的名誉也不会受损。这，难道不公平吗？）”
这时，Williams终于开口了。他双手一摊，说：
“How can I give you this guarantee， Ming? I don't know even myself where I am in 3 years.（我怎么给你这个保证呢，高明？3年后即使我自己都不知道我在哪里。）”
“Neither do I.（我也不知道。）”Johnny也马上补了一句。
“None of us is rookie in this industry. By now， I have said what I need to say.（我们在这行都不是菜鸟了。到现在，我已经说了我想要的。）”高明并不给对方喘息的机会，“I know it will be a disaster if you keep negotiating with Qian Ma on the acquisition without a killing weapon in your hand. It may take two years， three years before you finally know that it is merely a game with a Chinese gang. It is not about money， you can offer whatever big dollars to Qian Ma but I can tell you this， they will never take that in a professional way. After all， men are greedy. So， to end the game quickly， say， in one year， the FCPA thing is the killing weapon that I can offer. Tea Hall alone? No， they cannot. Now， your choice.（我知道如果你想不断地和千马谈判收购，手里又没有杀手锏的话，那将是一个灾难。你们会花两年，三年的时间，到最后才发觉你们是在和一帮中国流氓谈判。这不是钱的问题。你们可以给千马很多的钱，但是我可以告诉你们，他们永远不会用专业的态度对待这件事。毕竟，人都是贪婪的。所以，要尽快结束这场游戏，比如说，一年，那么FCPA就是一个杀手锏。我可以弄到这个杀手锏。靠’天和’弄？他们连门都摸不着。你们看着办吧！）”
高明喝了一口水。他不着急，他给Williams足够的时间消化他的话。
Williams和Johnny互相看着。稍顿，Williams看了看手表。高明决定给与老头子最后一击。
“Now that you're checking your time， Williams， let's talk about timing.（既然你在看时间，Williams，那就让我们谈谈时机这个问题。）”
Williams和Johnny都看向他。
“Those basters， I mean， the board members， if they don't see improvement in Qian Ma acquisition in 2 quarters， Mr. Lynch， your path towards the CEO will end immediately. Am I right? I know， the old CEO is not that willing to give up his chair， yet.（那些混蛋，我的意思是那些董事局成员，如果他们没有在两个季度内看见千马收购案有起色，那么Lynch先生，你通往CEO的道路会马上终止。我说得对吗？我知道，老CEO还不是非常愿意交出他的位子。）”
话音刚落，Williams突然起身。Johnny也跟着站了起来。高明看了看两人，也站了起来。
“It is great meeting you， Ming， and I am happy to hear about your story and， and， that amazing whatever. I appreciate your live video of Qian Ma's party. That was unbelievable， sitting in a hotel’s meeting room to watch an annual party of a company that we're interested in buying out.(很高兴和你见面，高明，我也很高兴听了你的故事和你那个，那个令人惊艳的什么什么。我感谢你给我看千马晚会的现场视频。简直难以相信，坐在酒店的会议室里，看着一家我们有兴趣买下来的公司的年会。)”Williams一边扣着西服纽扣一边说着，“That video got me convinced that Qian Ma is not an easy partner to work with. Not at all! And more importantly， that proves you're a great leader for our business in China， you know Qian Ma， you have your resources to use in their team， which I don't want to know about in detail and I believe you can handle the miserable matters to come after we start the war with Qian Ma. I was impressed by the video. I don't know who shot the video but I thank you for your hard working and the good work， Ming!（那个视频让我相信，千马不是省油的灯。根本不是！更重要的是证明了你是我们中国区很好的领导者。你了解千马，你在他们团队里有资源可用，不过我不想对那些事再多问什么。我相信你可以驾驭我们和千马开战后即将到来的麻烦事。那个视频真让我难以忘怀。我不知道是谁在拍那个视频，但我要谢谢你的努力而且出色的工作，高明！）”
Williams伸出手来。高明知道他已经得到了他想要的，现在是见好就收的时候了。
“You're welcome!（不用客气！）”高明也扣上西服纽扣和Williams握手，然后转身和Johnny握手。
Johnny说道：“Great job， Ming!（干得好，高明！）”
高明很快地收拾了自己的东西，背上包准备离开。他心里明白，现在必须赶快走，言多必失！
Williams说了一句：“Good night， no， good morning， Ming!（晚安！不！是早安！高明！）”
高明打开门，转身和Williams和Johnny再次挥手告别。门，在高明身后慢慢合上了。
屋里只剩下Williams和Johnny。两人都喝了口水。一秒，两秒，三秒……Williams开口了。
“What do you think?（你怎么想？）”
Johnny反问了一句：“Do we have choice?（我们有的选吗？）”
Williams又喝了一口水。他看着墙上的投影幕布，想了一会儿，然后说：
“I'm not asking you about his proposal of 3-year contract， which is nonsense. I am worried that after we remove Qian Ma， we may have another problem to solve， which is -（我没有问你他那个瞎扯淡的三年合约。我在担心当我们拔掉千马的时候，我们也许要解决另外一个问题。就是——）”
“You mean， Ming?（你是说，高明？）”
“He was threatening me， or， us， if you know what I mean. I don't think he was asking for his career with Longfly， which he knew didn't make sense. What he was really telling us is， he knows everything and he will know more， about both sides-Qian Ma and Longfly. So， he was trying to let us know， he is the King， not you， not me. He was telling us not to do anything to him， he wanted to have free hands to do anything in the following one year， to help Longfly in his own way， apparently， but actually， to help himself if I am not wrong.（他在威胁我，或者我们，我不知道你有没有懂我的意思。我不认为他在提他在朗飞的职业生涯的要求，他自己也知道那是瞎扯淡。他真正要告诉我们的是，他知道所有事情，他还会知道更多关于朗飞和千马双方的事情。所以，他想让我们知道，他才是王，不是你，也不是我。他在告诉我们接下来的一年无论他做什么都不要管他。在这一年，他会帮助朗飞，用他自己的办法。不过只是表面上而已，实际上，如果我没看错的话，他要帮他自己做事。）”
Johnny一脸茫然：“By saying he wanted to help himself， you mean …（你说他想帮自己做事，是指……）”
Williams转过头来，狠狠地盯着Johnny——他不明白面前的这个人是装傻，还是真傻？
