‘I want you to stay away from me.’

‘Come on, Franck, you didn’t need to do all this just for that. We could have talked.’

‘I know what you were trying to do.’

‘No, I promise you, you didn’t.’

‘You want me out of the picture. You wanted to be free to make your precious series and your precious content, and now you can. I’m going, I’m out of the picture. You can have the film rights and I’ll take the money.’

‘Are you serious, Franck? Come on, don’t talk crap, we need you. We’ve never really done film production; we don’t know anything.’

‘Look me in the eye and tell me it’s not the rights you’re after.’

He could tell they no longer had the guts to lie.

‘So?’

‘Yes,’ said Liem, finally. ‘The library is important; it might even be a deciding factor.’

‘In the last contract, weren’t you trying to make me artistic adviser or something?’

‘Basically.’

‘Well, fine, that’s OK with me. As long as I can make a feature film every two years, and the whole company is at my disposal whenever I need it. I couldn’t work with you guys anyway. I don’t want to be part of an eternal power struggle – because that’s what you guys enjoy, that’s what you’re expecting. It might seem like the power balance has been forgotten but it always crops up, between three partners, between a boss and his employees, even between two stakeholders. Rivalry is the lifeblood that spurs us on; every achievement comes from some conflict or competition, but competition is brutal. And I don’t want that any more. I just want to take a step back, get some distance. And I think I’ve found the perfect place.’

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The dogs had tracked down their prey and forced it out of hiding, like the good hunters they were. Then the poachers took the quarry back to the house on Mont d’Orcières, where Liem and Travis got cleaned up. After that Franck took them to the station. Lise was not surprised when he came back and reiterated his idea of settling and working here, living at a slower pace. Though it is impossible to live away from everyone and everything, since there is no place in the world where you can be truly isolated, there are at least some oases of calm amid the commotion.