"'How many other firms are you interviewing with in New York?" "'" "'Six, including yours.'" "So I take it you're not opposed to relocating here?" "That's what I plan to do." "I've never been here before, but I like it already." "Your first visit?" "I've never really been out of the Midwest." "After graduating from law school and passing the bar," "I worked at a small firm in Chicago for eighteen months." "But you already know that." "With all these languages?" "Spanish, French, Italian?" "Portuguese and rudimentary Chinese." "I've been too busy preparing to travel to actually go anywhere." "Now here I am." "Tell me, why did you choose international law rather than criminal law, for example?" "I've always been fascinated by other cultures, their customs, rituals." "I believe it's even more satisfying, more exciting, to be able to negotiate differences into consensus when dealing with people of vastly different cultural points of view." "Ms Reed, if you're chosen for this position, what would you say if you were expected to leave for Rio de Janeiro in the morning?" "Wow!" "Elliot, don't be such a tight arse." "I'm not talking brain surgery here, or starving people in Africa." "I'm talking a few million dollars, one way or the other." "Your bank has you by the balls, sweetheart." "You personally signed the loan." "You're next interest payment is due in four days." "You've depleted your other assets." "You have nothing left to liquidate." "How do I know?" "Honey, that is privileged information." "Let's just say that a mutual friend of ours talks in his sleep." "One second..." " Claudia Dennis." " Emily Reed." "Do sit down." "Have you had your breakfast?" "Shirley, give her a corned beef sandwich." "You'd better eat it now." "You'll get nothing like this in Rio." "Elliot, I know all about the subcontractor fucking up." "It's a good thing I'm coming down there to bail you out." "I'll see you at the construction site on Monday." "Bye." "Welcome." " Thank you." " So, it's all there." "Everything you need to know about the deal." "We're bailing out an under-capitalized dying company, a resort hotel complex that's about to go into construction." "I'm coming in with a consortium of Chinese investors, and hopefully we'll be in and out before the word hits the street." " I think we should go." " Yes." "I hope you brought summer clothes." "It's hot as hell where we're going." "You sweat a lot, run a lot." "You may not even sleep till the whole thing's over." "It all happened so fast." "I didn't have time to go shopping." "If I'd had gotten your job, I'd have been in Bendel's before the ink was dry." "You're gonna make a lot of money." "Might as well learn how to enjoy it." "It's all play money, anyway." "Do you like what you see?" "Beautiful." "Hello!" "Hello!" "Ah, great." "So, what's happening, boys?" "Talk to me." " What's the word on the street?" " Nothing yet." "Good." "Emily, our new whiz-kid lawyer." "Meet Juan, Roberto, VPs from the local office." "Stop!" "Emily!" "This is Flavio, my soothsayer, my main man." "A man for all seasons, all reasons." "Anything you need done, anything you need to know, this is the dude." "Hello." "Well, welcome to the war room, sweetheart." "Not bad for a rich little poor girl from the boondocks." "So where are the secretaries, Roberto?" "They'll be here tomorrow." "I told you I want them on call 24 hours a day." "When I close, I put the whole world on my schedule." "Sorry, Claudia. it's not set up yet." "Not set up yet?" "Do you have any idea what is at stake here?" "We'll just have to start bright and early in the morning, won't we?" "Golf course, tennis courts." "gym, Jacuzzi, saunas." "private bungalows, stable, riding ring, open-air theater." "And last but not least, the marina." "Is that part of the package?" "I don't see any mention of it." "It's not a part of their plan, but a critical part of ours." "It's the marina idea that convinced the Chinese to come aboard." "But you don't have the rights to it." "Don't worry, Emily." "It's not going anywhere." "It's been on the market for four years." "We'll move on it the minute we close this." "Hey, fellas." "Where's your boss?" "He went away." "He's gone." "Son of a bitch!" "Gone?" "What do you mean, gone?" " He's supposed to meet us here." " Mario!" "We had an appointment." "Get him on the phone!" "Get him on the phone!" "Flavio!" "Flavio!" "Flavio!" "Perfect!" "Elliot's gone off to Buenos Aires to his niece's impromptu, spur-of-the-moment wedding." "Niece's wedding, my arse!" "The slime bucket's stalling." "He's there dealing with the Argentinians." "I'm not going to let it happen." "I'm going down there, and if I have to, I'll bring him back on a goddamn leash!" "Now, you stay here." "Just act as if nothing's wrong." "Finish the inventory." "Flavio will pick you up after he's dropped me at the airport." "Let's go!" "You'll have to take my date tonight." "I'll call him." "He'll pick you up at 8:00." " What?" " Stop, Flavio." "Who?" "I'll lay out something for you to wear." "Wear it." "And fix your hair." "Put on some goddamn lipstick." "And remember the golden rule:" "keep your eyes and your ears open and your mouth shut." "The guy's a predator." "Capisce?" "That's quite an improvement." "Oh, you did see me." "I'm sorry I'm late." "I hate to be late." "I'm James Wheeler." "I'd prefer it if you call me Wheeler." "The only way I've ever been able to stand the name Jim is if you put a diamond in front of it and that would be a little much, don't you think?" "I'm Emily." "Well, I certainly hope so." "I'd feel like a fool if you weren't." "Do they go everywhere with you?" "Almost everywhere." "See, I was kidnapped once." "I don't want to go through the experience again." "That's awful." "For politics or money?" "Money." "Strictly money." "Well, at least it didn't frighten you into keeping a low profile." "If you want me to apologise for being rich, then I will, I'm sorry." "We can take a bus." "I can get rid of the car." "Should I tell them to go?" "No." "I've seen that boy before." "Miles from here." "Is something wrong?" "I just like watching you walk." "Good evening, Manuella." "Boa noite." "Welcome, welcome." " Hello." "How are you?" " Good." "Amazing." "I've always loved parrots." "He say, "Welcome." "Welcome."" "No, it sounded like he said, "Watch out!" "Watch out!" to me." "Someday, you're going to tell your grandchildren how you were once in Rio with a man with bodyguards, who brought you to an old converted slave quarters, and you walked across the room in another woman's dress." "How do you know this isn't my dress?" "Because I bought it for Claudia." "And what makes you think I'm gonna have grandchildren?" "Your mother said that you always planned on getting married and settling down." "My mother?" "I hope you don't mind, I had my assistant call her and ask her what you like to eat." "She said well-done roast beef, mashed potatoes and creamed carrots." "So I took the liberty of ordering for you." "You actually called my mother?" "To mothers." "It must be the jet lag." "My emotions keep getting away from me." "That's not such a bad thing." "We all have to lose ourselves sometimes to find ourselves, don't you think?" "I don't know." "Sure you do." "Look around." "That elderly woman at the next table, the one with the bodyguards that match her gown..." "Tell me about her." "What would it take for her to lose control?" "What do you think?" "The wig." "Losing her wig would definitely wig her out." "And what about them?" "The couple in the white?" "Are they happy or sad?" "Sad." "Definitely sad." "And whose money is it?" "His or hers?" "Hers." "And where did they meet?" "A ski resort in Switzerland." " He was the ski instructor?" " Nope." "He was there training for the Olympics." "Then he broke his leg." "Was it love at first sight?" "Yes." "How did she know?" "Because it was something she never felt before." "The wedding night." "Tell me about the wedding night." "Where did they go?" "They went to a grand hotel on a tropical beach somewhere." "They made their reservations by phone, not knowing it had fallen to ruin." "'He hated it.'" "She liked it." "It made her feel..." "What?" "Decadent." "So he took her to their room?" "Do you know what?" "I've always hated roast beef, even when I was a kid, and I've never had the heart to tell my mother." "What happened in that room?" "I really don't want to go any further." "Well, if you don't tell me, then I'm going to go over there and ask them myself." "You wouldn't." "Please, don't." "It's just that I know I won't be able to sleep tonight... unless I hear the end of the story." "Whatever happened in that room left its mark on them." "They never made it to the room." "He refused to stay there, remember?" "So he left?" "He left her alone in the lobby, feeling what she felt wanting what she wanted?" "She was livid." "She wanted to get even." "So she looked around." "Saw another man?" "She caught him reflected in the mirror watching her." "And she didn't run away?" "No, she didn't run away." "She waited until the desk clerk went into the dining room for dinner, and then she moved into the office." "The door was hanging half off its hinges." "Anyone could've seen them." "Who saw them, Emily?" "Didn't you?" "Yes." "Come with me." "There's something I want to show you." "Pick it up." " Hello?" " 'Emily?" "'You're not gonna believe this." "I'm in a goddamn wedding!" "'" "Elliot's niece really did get married." "Listen!" "'Twisting on a rooftop in Buenos Aires!" "'I feel like I'm in a fucking time warp.'" "Elliot, say hello to Emily." "Never mind." "You'll meet him in Rio." "If I have to, I'll bring him back on a goddamn leash!" "'Listen, Emily, I wanna wrap this thing up the minute we land in Rio." "'So set up a meeting at the airport and don't you take no for an answer.'" "I'm not used to women running away from me." "And I'm not used to men in masks biting my neck." "I think you have me confused with someone else." "That's not my style, Emily." "He looked like you, felt like you." "How do you know what I feel like?" "Look, however I offended you, if I offended you, I'd like to make it up to you." "I'll pick you up at noon." "There's some places I'd like to show you and some things I'm sure you'd like to see." "And how would you know what I like?" "Instinct." "I'm sorry, I can't." "I have too much work to do." "In that case, I'll pick you up at 3:00." "'You weren't too far off." "They didn't meet in Switzerland." "'They met in Monaco at the Grand Prix." "'And he wasn't a ski instructor, he was a race car driver." "'And he didn't have a busted leg, he had an infected tooth.'" "I took the liberty of introducing myself to them after you'd left." "Otto and Hanna Munch of Munich." "The bikes are my pride and joy." "Vestiges of my lost youth." "I take them with me everywhere." "Otto never rode on a Harley, so..." "Harley fucking Davidson, USA!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" "See that sailor dancing alone over there?" "He's got a gun in his sock." "If he goes for it, throw this in his face." "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Now!" "Let me go!" "I tried to get to you, Hanna." "Don't cover me up, you understand?" "Don't cover me up!" "You don't like the way I look?" "What's wrong with me?" "Look at me!" " I said look at me!" " Get in the car!" "Look at me!" "Come on!" "Let's get him!" "The son of a bitch!" "Come on!" "Look at me!" "Look at me!" "Get in the car." "Motherfucker!" "Don't." "Don't cover up." "I wanna look at you." "That's what you want, isn't it, Hanna?" "You have perfect skin." "Very beautiful breasts." "You have a nice, hard, flat stomach like a swimmer's." "You haven't had a child, have you?" "That's right, Otto." "Look at your wife." "She's beautiful, spirited." "What happened to make you so angry?" "Did you find her with another man?" "Did you push her into his arms, and she liked it?" "Was that it?" "Are you punishing her because she liked it?" "Did you find her with his hand on her thighs?" "And she liked it?" "Was that it?" "Did he have his hands on her breasts?" "And she liked it?" "Is that what happened, Otto?" "Is it?" "Tell them to stop." "I would if I could." "But I can't." "Haven't you ever felt like that?" "Primal?" "Insatiably hungry?" "Look at them, Emily." "Look at them..." "tell me what you see." "I see two people having sex." "No..." "Making love." "There's a difference." "What is this, some kind of joke?" "How?" "How did I know about the roast beef and the mashed potatoes?" "Or how did I get into your room?" "Why this?" "Why all the trouble?" "This place seemed to have made a lasting impression on you." "I wanted to find out why." "Why?" "Because I'm interested in you." "I'll bet you sang in the Presbyterian choir." "You went on those family reunions." "And you picked blackberries and blueberries and huckleberries in the summer." "The pride of your mother." "Apple of your old man's eye." "Why do I get the feeling that if I reach out and touch you, you'll disappear?" "Why don't you try it and see?" "I'm sorry." "It's not you." "It's me." "I'm just not... very good at being touched, Emily." "They gave me this." "They said it was a gift for bringing them back together." "I want you to have it." "Will you leave it on, please?" "For me?" "How come you're always following her around?" "I mean... don't you have anything better to do with your time?" "Hey..." "You'd better stay away from that one." "Otherwise, she's gonna break your heart." "Boa noite." "Could I have a Boodles martini, straight up?" "Two olives, please." "Excuse me." "Erm..." "I'm Jerome." "Jerome." "I'm American." "Americano, si?" "Si." "I feel like a fool in this thing." "It's a shame you can't understand me, because I'm about to give you a compliment." "You ready?" "From the moment I saw you," "I suddenly wanted you more than anything or anyone" "I've ever wanted in my life." "But you don't give a shit about that, do you?" "All you want is my money, right?" "That's too bad." "Because as beautiful as you are, I can see... just putting you on a plane and taking you home with me." "Setting you up in a nice place with a doorman and a view." "Seriously." "You'd sleep till noon." "Eat in the finest restaurants." "Shop." "But first I'd like you to do a little something for me." "All you have to do is put your hand in my lap until I count to three." "Uno, duo, tres..." "Do it and this is yours." "Hey!" "Son of a bitch." "He actually wants me to go up to one of those rooms with him." "Do I actually look that...?" "Desirable?" "Hmm..." "Yes." "Does that surprise you, Emily?" "Is that so bad?" "To want someone so much that you're willing to pay for it?" "What are you trying to say?" "That this is infinitely more exciting." "To who?" "To you." "To me." "And if you didn't wanna play, Emily, you wouldn't be here." "You don't touch so you're touching through me." "You don't feel so you're feeling through me." "Is that it?" "I can't begin to tell you what I'm feeling right now." "Show me." "Show me." "Shh!" "Shh!" "I'm not gonna hurt you." "Shh..." "OK?" "It's OK." "So beautiful." "So unbelievably beautiful." "I told you, if I had to, I'd bring him back on a leash." " I don't think she gets it." " Just kidding, sweetheart." "A joke." "Thought you'd be amused." "Elliot Costa, Emily Reed." "Elliot, watch my lips." "As we speak, my investors are flying across the world to sign this thing." "I'm planning a big celebration, dancing girls, bands, the works." "Now either we close this motherfucker today, or I'm out of here." "Am I making myself clear?" "Hope you got a good night's sleep." "You're gonna need it." "Word has it, Elliot's brought in a couple of hotshot lawyers to help him close." "But he's already agreed to all the major points." "They always have something up their sleeve." "If they didn't, I wouldn't need you." "So, erm... tell me about Wheeler." "What's your impression of him?" "Say the first thing that comes into your mind." "Strange." "I didn't think he was your type." "Flavio, the minute this is wrapped, find Roberto, close on the old hotel." "Give them what they're asking." "I don't care what it costs." " Get it done by tonight." " OK." "Here they come." "Well, fancy meeting you fellas so far from home." "Jerome McFarland, Fred Davis, meet Juan Lopez from our local office, and Emily Reed, your worthy opponent." "Not that I'm anticipating a battle." "Mr Davis, Mr McFarland." "I know you." " Now, we know each other, don't we?" " I don't think so." "I'd like to open up by saying that my discussions with Elliot have been quite specific and the agreement we reached suits me just fine." "In the interests of time, if you gentlemen have no objection," "I'm willing to go with it." "So, McFarland, do we have a deal?" "Well, I wish I could accommodate you, Claudia, but after closer scrutiny, there are a few fine points that need to be discussed." "Would you care to elaborate, Mr McFarland?" "It's occurred to me that when this is all over, my client's going to be out of a job." "And that's a tremendous waste of valuable manpower." "When you could, for example, keep him on as a consultant liaison between the new owners and the local subcontractors." "Now, I think a starting salary of 350,000 a year might be fair." "You seem to be forgetting that it was Mr Costa's inability to handle the subcontractors that got him into this trouble in the first place." "I'm not forgetting, Ms Reed." "I'm not forgetting anything." "Now, we all make mistakes." "Mr Costa has learned from his, I can assure you." "Boom!" "We got 'em." "We got 'em." "Relax, man." "So that's it?" "That's all of it?" "You fucked the guy?" "You went to bed with him?" "I think I should withdraw from the negotiation." "Are you kidding?" "Just when the fun is beginning?" "This is what I dream of." "He wants to play games?" "Just watch this." "Chin up." "Come on, come on." "Please excuse my associate, fellas." "You all have wives." "You know how crazy we get at certain times of the month and with the full moon and being so far away from home." "You must be used to that, Jerome." "I'm talking about being on the road." "Must be hard on Cynthia." "Since her father made you a partner in the firm, you've been traveling a lot." "Last time I saw her, she expressed some doubts, but then she has the kids to keep her company." "I must say, I am looking forward to little Jerry's birthday." "Tavern-on-the-Green again?" "Yeah." "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to be a guy?" "Don't you wonder what it would be like to be Wheeler?" "For just fifteen minutes?" "Come on, you can't tell me you weren't just a little intrigued by him." "I didn't say I wasn't intrigued." "I said I found him strange." "Strange, interesting distant." "In total control." "I do." "I wonder what it would be like to be Wheeler all the time." "Because then maybe I'd understand his source of power over me." "I was hooked from the moment I laid eyes on him." "He came in on a deal I was having trouble closing." "Last money in, first money out." "He took us to the cleaners." "Didn't matter." "I would've given him anything he wanted." "After that, he started using me as a go-between on some of his deals." "And I started following him everywhere he went." "I even hired a private detective to look into his past." "I don't mean to be rude, but I'd rather not hear about your personal life." "What if I was to tell you there's nothing personal about it?" "That he never touched me." "What if I was to tell you that he was an orphan on the streets of Philadelphia?" "He barely went to school." "That he stuttered so badly as a child, he could barely talk." "What if I was to tell you... that my obsession for him" "grew so wildly out of control that I dressed up as a maid and snuck into his hotel room?" "And when he caught me, he pretended not to recognise me" "and he waited for me to make up the bed, put a mint on his pillow, and leave without saying a word." "The next day, a box arrived with a beautiful dress and a note saying:" ""if you enjoy dressing up, why not do it right?"" "And what if I told you I'm really not interested?" "What if I told you that I dressed you up in that very same dress and pushed you at him, just to see if he'd respond to you any differently than he has to me?" "Is there anything between you?" "No." "Well, then let's do it." "Do what?" "Let's blow their minds." "It's carnival after all." "Let's go to the signing as twins." "Absolutely not!" "Thanks." "Shit!" "Something's wrong." "I can feel it in my bones." "Pretend we don't see them." "I can deal with just about anything or anybody, but not right now, not today." "Not two hours before our signing." "Claudia?" "Claudia!" "Don't look at them." "If you look at them, we're through." "Turn around, Claudia." "So, why the long faces?" "Roberto found out someone bought the old hotel." "Whoever he was paid him in cash." "I'm sure I'll be able to find out who it was by morning." "Don't bother." "I have a feeling I know who it is." "Did you buy the old hotel?" "Yes." "Why?" "It's what I do." "What?" "Use people to make a buck?" "Don't you have enough?" "No one ever has enough, Emily." "If you think..." "that I am gonna let you piggyback on my deal with the Chinese, you are mistaken." "I strongly advise you to tell them." "If you don't, you're liable." "It's misrepresentation." "Just stay with me." "We'll work it out." "I'm begging you." "It's show time." "Chin up." "Come on." "Let's go." "Mr Chin would like to express how delighted he is to add a place of beauty to this already beautiful land." " Is everything all right?" " All right." " How do you say, "Let the party begin"?" " Hen chu." "Hen chu!" "Let 'em go." "Get 'em drunk enough, and they'll sleep till noon." "Buy us some time." "Come on, cheer up!" "We're in this together." "We both got fucked by that son of a bitch!" "Goodbye, Wheeler!" "Goodbye, motherfucker!" "Goodbye!" "Why?" "So tell me." "The suspense is killing me." "Was Wheeler there when you made love to Jerome?" "What the hell." "I think I'll be saying good night." "I think I might have a little trouble communicating." "Do you mind translating for me?" "If it's not too much to ask." "Ask him... if he likes what he sees." "Tell him to take off his pants." "Tell him." "What did he say?" "He said, "With pleasure."" "Ask him if he understands what tremendous pleasure women get looking at naked men." "Ask him, Emily." "He says he wants to take you into the other room where you can both be alone." "Bullshit." "Son of a bitch!" "What in the hell do you want?" "You set people up to disappoint you and they always do, don't they?" "I never set anybody up." "That's just the way it is." "If you have anything to say to me, say it!" "You're the lawyer, honey." "We're not talking circumstantial evidence." "We're talking getting caught with a smoking gun in your hand." "Bang!" "You're guilty." "You're guilty of being just like all the rest of them." "The rest of what?" "The rest of who?" "There never was anybody else in your life, and there never will be!" "I don't know where you get your information from, but I can tell you for certain the deal stands as it is." "Take it or leave it." "Ciao!" " Tell me you don't hate me." " Hate you?" "You have to admit things got a little out of control this morning." "I think we should talk about this." "It's the deed to the old hotel." "Wheeler signed it over to me." "I was hoping it wasn't too late, that maybe there's still a chance of saving the deal." "The deal?" "You bet your arse it'll save the deal." "Congratulations." "You might have broken through to him." "'I'll bet you sang in the Presbyterian choir." "'You went on family reunions." "'You picked blueberries and 'blackberries and huckleberries in the summer." "'The pride of your mother." "'Apple of your father's eye.'" "I had a father for a while." "And we lived, er in a little room by the water." "He talked a lot about not having any money." "He taught me how to swim." "When he disappeared..." "When he disappeared I barely spoke for years." "I stayed in the third grade for a long time." "You know, the teachers thought I was retarded." "So they just let me put my head down on the desk." "I didn't want to ask any questions, because I was afraid." "I worked day and night." "When I was sixteen I bought my first house on the worst block in the city." "And I fixed it up." "And I bought two more." "And I kept it rolling." "And I got everything I thought that I ever wanted." "And it still wasn't enough." "And then the ladies came." "You know, the kind attracted to success." "And it didn't matter to them that I stuttered, and I could barely speak." "The more remote that I became, the more they liked it." "They took it as a sign of strength." "So I started playing games, just to keep it interesting." "And the games became a way of life." "A maze." "I realise now that I couldn't get out of it even if I wanted to." "If you want me, come over here and hold me." "You know, I can go to any fancy restaurant I want." "And I can sit at my own table." "But I can't swallow my goddamn food." "Just reach out and touch me." "I'm sorry that I disappoint you, Emily." "But I just don't know any other way." "Touch me." "I'm just..." "I'm just afraid that you're gonna disappear." "You really can't do it, can you?" "Oh, God!"