當倉里滿一伙在李云鶴家作天作地的時候，在萬豪酒店會的議室里，Williams已經難以支撐了。他癱坐在椅子里，手里擺弄著一支筆——時差襲來，難以抵擋。
Johnny正在筆記本上拼命寫著什么。高明緊張地擺弄著電腦，貌似在找什么資料。
這時Williams軟軟地問了一句：
“So， do you know why I’m here tonight， Ming?（那么，你知道我為什么今晚在這里嗎，高明？）”
Johnny從筆記本里抬起頭來。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.（我說過了，我沒有想到今晚你會在上海。我只是亂猜啊，我想你可能今晚和我還有Johnny開完會后就得馬上飛回家。）”
Williams突然坐直了身子，看著高明。看起來他好不容易做了個決定。他說：
“Good. I think you have good sense of business， Ming. Alright， now， let me be frank with you.（很好！我覺得你有很好的商業嗅覺。好吧，現在就讓我坦率地告訴你。）”
高明的雙手離開了電腦。他側頭看了看Johnny，發現他也是一臉茫然的樣子。高明把身子往椅背上一靠，看著Williams——老頭子終于要出牌了！
Williams喝了一大口水。然后很慢很慢地擰緊瓶蓋——他在思考怎么開口。終于——
“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，我在我們的季度股東電話會議上講話。你知道的。在電話會議上，有些投資者問起中國的生意。不是一次，而是好幾次問起。）”
“Is it because of our successful acquisition of Australia's distributor last year?（這是不是因為去年我們很成功地收購了澳大利亞的經銷商？）”高明知道老頭子要進入正題了。
Williams笑了。他轉向Johnny。Johnny也笑了。
“What did I tell you Johnny? Ming has good sense of business. I like it.（我剛才和你說什么來著，Johnny？高明有很好的商業嗅覺。我喜歡這樣。）”
“You were deadly right!（你剛才說得對極了！）”Johnny笑著附和。Williams對著高明繼續說：
“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.（你知道為什么我們的股價會上升嗎？因為投資者認為我們有好的將來。畢竟，股票什么都不是，就是投資將來。或者，更準確地說，就是因為投資者相信我們的將來，我們的股價才會升。）”
“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!（我記得去年你在投資者電話會議上和大家說了一個很好的關于收購澳大利亞經銷商的故事。同一天，我們的股票上就漲了10%！干得好，Williams！）”搞什么！嘰嘰歪歪半天還不進入主題——高明嘴上應付著，心里卻嘀咕著。老頭子卻貌似并不著急。
“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，（對的，高明！現在，我們說中國！澳大利亞的市場不大。在那些混蛋的眼里，澳大利亞并不像中國一樣有吸引力。對不起，我是說那些投資者，和）”他突然輕聲地，“the board!（董事局！）”
Johnny突然哈哈大笑起來——Williams也會說粗話！高明沒笑，而是說：
“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%!（那就收購千馬啦！這很容易，對吧？今年我們買下千馬，你就可以在投資者和董事局面前說另一個精彩，也許是更精彩的故事。然后一瞬間，我們的股價直線上升，這次可能升20%！）”此言一出高明就已經輸了開局，因為他過早地亮出了底牌——在老頭子面前他畢竟還是嫩了不是一個級別。不過他實在等不及了。
果然，Williams的臉沉了下來。他看著高明，沉默了一會兒，然后帶著怒氣說道：
“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!?（你沒有說真話！你在故意誤導我！我們都知道收購千馬在任何情況下都不可能是容易的事，而你還在說那是一件簡單的事！）”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？（讓我把話挑明了，高明！再過三個小時我就要飛離上海了。我現在是在征求你的幫助，幫助我做一個計劃，一個有實際意義的關于收購千馬的計劃讓我給董事會講。兩天后我們就要開董事局會議了。如果你不肯幫助，那我就走。你以為我是傻瓜？不，我不是！告訴我你想怎么樣，我們還可以聊。現在，你明白了沒有？）”
Johnny決定走煽情路線：“Ming， we count on you because we believe you're the one who knows China best.（高明，我們指望你是因為我們相信你是最了解中國的那個人。）”
Williams聽罷，沒好氣地盯著正說話的Johnny，毫不客氣地懟了一句：
“Cut the crap， will you?（別說廢話了可以嗎？）”
說著，他氣呼呼地又喝了一大口水。Johnny討了個沒趣，搖著頭起身走出了會議室。
Williams馬上說：“To be honest， I don't care if you speak to me directly， on anything about Qian Ma. Anything！（說實話，我倒并不介意你和我直接談關于千馬的任何事情。什么都行！）”
高明笑了笑，沒有接茬。他心里在嘀咕，這就要把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.（我有一個要求。等Johnny回來后我和你們談。）”
Williams看著高明，點了點頭——這小子不傻，沒有上當。然后他站起來伸著懶腰說：
“Long day! By the way， Ming， how is your team? Eric? He’s good?（這一天！對了，高明，你的團隊怎么樣？Eric呢？他好嗎？）”
高明說：“Eric is not good. I want him out.（Eric不好。我要他出局。）”
Williams一驚：“What?（啊？！）”
正在這時，Johnny推門而入。Williams入座。他等著高明出牌。高明繼續說：
“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!（這是我的要求。首先，我會幫助‘天和’收集千馬沒有遵守FCPA的證據。我知道這是把千馬踢出局的關鍵。我知道的。我還知道你不能和我明說，即使在這個屋子里你也不能說。那就是為什么我們今晚浪費了那么多時間。你，就是不能說！）”
Williams直直地看著高明。此時他不能有任何表示——他是個老手。沉默！此刻必須沉默！
“Alright. Let's say this is merely my lousy guess. Anyway， I will help Tea Hall to do their business.（行了，就算這僅僅是我瞎猜好了。不管怎樣，我會幫‘天和’做事。）”高明顯然已經從Williams的沉默中讀懂了那個意思。
Williams還是不吱聲。Johnny也緊閉著嘴巴——都是爛鳥！高明在心里罵道。他繼續說：
“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.（你們現在不用說話。如果有人問起，我會否認我們談過這個。現在，我提我的要求。第一，我要Eric出局。我會讓我們的市場部總監Jojo加入項目組。）”
Johnny看著Williams。Williams點了點頭。
Johnny說：“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.（現在，我的第二個要求。我要你們同意，我，在朗飛至少再擔任總經理3年。）”
Williams和Johnny雙雙倒在椅背上直喘氣。Johnny看著Williams，Williams看著天花板，不吱聲——他等著高明說出真正的需求。
“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?（我見過很多這樣的收購。許多中國總經理在收購一完成就不得不離開公司。你知道為什么嗎？因為習慣從經銷商手里采購的醫院現在必須從原廠采購。這是一個很大的，可以說是巨大的生意模式的改變，會對整個生意造成打擊。然后總經理就不得不承擔后果。不然，誰還會背這個黑鍋？）”
說到這兒，高明意味深長地看了看Williams和Johnny，貌似在問：“你們倆個，誰敢背這個黑鍋？”沒人吱聲。高明繼續：
“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?（我不介意背黑鍋。但我不想因為這個被踢出局。我要自己被公平地對待。我需要3年把受損的生意重新做起來。我相信我能做到。只要到那時，我才愿意離開公司，我的名譽也不會受損。這，難道不公平嗎？）”
這時，Williams終于開口了。他雙手一攤，說：
“How can I give you this guarantee， Ming? I don't know even myself where I am in 3 years.（我怎么給你這個保證呢，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也馬上補了一句。
“None of us is rookie in this industry. By now， I have said what I need to say.（我們在這行都不是菜鳥了。到現在，我已經說了我想要的。）”高明并不給對方喘息的機會，“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.（我知道如果你想不斷地和千馬談判收購，手里又沒有殺手锏的話，那將是一個災難。你們會花兩年，三年的時間，到最后才發覺你們是在和一幫中國流氓談判。這不是錢的問題。你們可以給千馬很多的錢，但是我可以告訴你們，他們永遠不會用專業的態度對待這件事。畢竟，人都是貪婪的。所以，要盡快結束這場游戲，比如說，一年，那么FCPA就是一個殺手锏。我可以弄到這個殺手锏。靠’天和’弄？他們連門都摸不著。你們看著辦吧！）”
高明喝了一口水。他不著急，他給Williams足夠的時間消化他的話。
Williams和Johnny互相看著。稍頓，Williams看了看手表。高明決定給與老頭子最后一擊。
“Now that you're checking your time， Williams， let's talk about timing.（既然你在看時間，Williams，那就讓我們談談時機這個問題。）”
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員，如果他們沒有在兩個季度內看見千馬收購案有起色，那么Lynch先生，你通往CEO的道路會馬上終止。我說得對嗎？我知道，老CEO還不是非常愿意交出他的位子。）”
話音剛落，Williams突然起身。Johnny也跟著站了起來。高明看了看兩人，也站了起來。
“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.(很高興和你見面，高明，我也很高興聽了你的故事和你那個，那個令人驚艷的什么什么。我感謝你給我看千馬晚會的現場視頻。簡直難以相信，坐在酒店的會議室里，看著一家我們有興趣買下來的公司的年會。)”Williams一邊扣著西服紐扣一邊說著，“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!（那個視頻讓我相信，千馬不是省油的燈。根本不是！更重要的是證明了你是我們中國區很好的領導者。你了解千馬，你在他們團隊里有資源可用，不過我不想對那些事再多問什么。我相信你可以駕馭我們和千馬開戰后即將到來的麻煩事。那個視頻真讓我難以忘懷。我不知道是誰在拍那個視頻，但我要謝謝你的努力而且出色的工作，高明！）”
Williams伸出手來。高明知道他已經得到了他想要的，現在是見好就收的時候了。
“You're welcome!（不用客氣！）”高明也扣上西服紐扣和Williams握手，然后轉身和Johnny握手。
Johnny說道：“Great job， Ming!（干得好，高明！）”
高明很快地收拾了自己的東西，背上包準備離開。他心里明白，現在必須趕快走，言多必失！
Williams說了一句：“Good night， no， good morning， Ming!（晚安！不！是早安！高明！）”
高明打開門，轉身和Williams和Johnny再次揮手告別。門，在高明身后慢慢合上了。
屋里只剩下Williams和Johnny。兩人都喝了口水。一秒，兩秒，三秒……Williams開口了。
“What do you think?（你怎么想？）”
Johnny反問了一句：“Do we have choice?（我們有的選嗎？）”
Williams又喝了一口水。他看著墻上的投影幕布，想了一會兒，然后說：
“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 -（我沒有問你他那個瞎扯淡的三年合約。我在擔心當我們拔掉千馬的時候，我們也許要解決另外一個問題。就是——）”
“You mean， Ming?（你是說，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.（他在威脅我，或者我們，我不知道你有沒有懂我的意思。我不認為他在提他在朗飛的職業生涯的要求，他自己也知道那是瞎扯淡。他真正要告訴我們的是，他知道所有事情，他還會知道更多關于朗飛和千馬雙方的事情。所以，他想讓我們知道，他才是王，不是你，也不是我。他在告訴我們接下來的一年無論他做什么都不要管他。在這一年，他會幫助朗飛，用他自己的辦法。不過只是表面上而已，實際上，如果我沒看錯的話，他要幫他自己做事。）”
Johnny一臉茫然：“By saying he wanted to help himself， you mean …（你說他想幫自己做事，是指……）”
Williams轉過頭來，狠狠地盯著Johnny——他不明白面前的這個人是裝傻，還是真傻？