[Mike enters the conference room where WALTER Gillis is waiting]
MIKE: Mr. Gillis. Mike Ross. Nice to meet you.
WALTER GILLIS: You should know I'm only doing this as a courtesy to Jonathan Sidwell. But I'll tell you right now, the answer is no.
MIKE: Good.
WALTER GILLIS: Why good?
MIKE: Because a yes is always so much better when it starts as a no.
WALTER GILLIS: You're a confident young man, but I know what my distribution centers are worth.
MIKE: You know what they're worth to you. This is what they're worth to me.
WALTER GILLIS: This is bigger than I expected.
MIKE: I've heard that before.
WALTER GILLIS: Okay, fun time's over. I'm not interested in selling to someone who I don't know where they're coming from.
MIKE: Let me tell you where I'm coming from. I do my homework. These centers are a beacon to every predator out there that you haven't laid the groundwork to get out of the DVD business.
WALTER GILLIS: Sounds to me like where you're coming from is trying to scare me.
MIKE: No, no, I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to help you. They're circling, and you know it. You don't do this, you might as well send out an invitation asking for a hostile takeover.
WALTER GILLIS: This number can't be real.
MIKE: It is.
WALTER GILLIS: Then what the hell are you gonna do with my distribution centers?
MIKE: I'll be happy to tell you that five seconds after I buy them. Walter, I know you want your people to be okay, and I give you my word they will be. But these centers have become a headache, and you need cash for when those predators come knocking.
WALTER GILLIS: Let them knock. I'm not answering the door.
MIKE: No, you're not hearing me. If you don't raise enough money, they're coming in whether you answer that door or not. The offer's good for another hour.
[Mike leaves the conference room]