Excerpt from LE DEAL
by J. Byrne Murphy
Cultures Clash
“I will never, ever pay one French franc to you or to anyone else that you send to me,” I started. My voice was firm but not harsh. My French was clear, simple, restrained.
“This is my project; this is my company, and I will do it my way.” The tone in my voice was tough as it began rising. “And you will NOT chase me down by phone, harass me with your messages, demand meetings, come to MY OFFICE, and threaten me with extortion.” I was now leaning forward and pointing my finger at his chest, glaring into his eyes, voice louder but still clear.
“You think that you can blackmail me? Is that what you think?” Now I was shouting, red faced, eyes-bulging shouting. By then I had launched and was going off into space, into free-form ascendancy. There was some intellect in my delivery but mostly emotion. I spat out my French in a broken American accent, but it was forceful French, meaningful French.
I could vaguely sense François at my side. He was offering soothing words of counsel, telling me in whispers to calm down, to sit down, to tone down, anything…. But I was not to be stopped.
“Do you understand me? Do you hear me?” … I spat my words at the man across from me.
Excerpted from Le Deal by Murphy, J. Byrne Copyright © 2008 by Murphy, J. Byrne. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.