INTERIOR. The interviewee is wearing a large hat, dark glasses and a trench coat. He’s seated beneath a single down-pointed light.

Yeah, that’s me. Look, I don’t really enjoy press attention, so can we just keep this short?

What’s that? OK, from the beginning. When this started, I was working for the man himself. He paid well and the job was a natural fit — you could say I was made to do the work — and the benefits were amazing. Then, you know, I got a little bored, a little complacent, and other offers started coming in — Michael Dell first, but he couldn’t afford my rates, then Gates, who definitely could, and finally they pitched in together with the boys from Google.

Traitor? No, more like… like that movie, Yojimbo. Seen that? No? God, I love Kurosawa. How about For a Few Dollars More? Yeah, yeah, that one. So, like I was saying, these other guys, they offered me even more money than Steve did, only all they wanted was that I should not work. Who was I to refuse?

This entry is part of my journal, published January 19, 2011, in New York.