Magnus Blake: "Ah, Ivan, come on in, nice of you to stop by."

Ivan: "Actually, you told me to come."

Magnus Blake: "Erm, yes. It's Ted you understand. He's not happy, not happy at all. So I said I'd have a word with you, see what we can sort out."

Ivan: "Oh, really?"

Magnus Blake: "I'm not going into the rights and wrongs of it, but you do seem to have upset a few people in our share trading department. I'm sure you know that."

Ivan: "I've also doubled the profits. That may have something to do with it."

Magnus Blake: "I'm not sure that I like what I'm hearing. Now, it's this sort of attitude that is causing the problems. You do have to accept, Ivan, that you are a junior trader here, and that you are on probation."

Ivan: "Would you also want me to accept other people stealing my research, or having me lose money because they are wrong?"

Magnus Blake: "As a junior trader, you must understand your position. If you can't do that you should get out. Leave the company."

Ivan: "Ok. "

Magnus Blake: "What? "

Ivan: "I'm leaving. Last week I was taking with Brodingers - the merchant bankers. They're setting me up as an independent trader. As I am only on probation here and I don't have a full time contract, my legal advice is that if the customers on my portfolio want to move over with me, there's no problem."

Magnus Blake: "But you can't … I mean, we need to talk about this decision. There's no need to do anything final just yet."

Ivan: "I can't see anything to discuss, really. You people won't let me be independent, now I can be."

Magnus Blake: "More independence? Well, I am sure we can arrange that. No-one wants people interfering with their work all the time. You should have told me of those problems earlier, my boy. Now what exactly do you need?"

ANALYSIS

Analysis.
(Remember: this analysis is particularly true about British language and culture, though mostly it is the same for other English-speaking countries like Australia and the United States.)

Magnus Blake: "Ah, Ivan, come on in, nice of you to stop by."
(Magnus has ordered Ivan to come and see him. however, like many English people, he normally pretends that his orders are requests which the other person can agree to or not.)

Ivan: "Actually, you told me to come."
(Ivan replies that he is here because he was ordered to be here. Since Magnus already knows that, this signals that Ivan is not feeling very respectful.)

Magnus Blake: "Erm, yes. It's Ted you understand. He's not happy, not happy at all. So I said I'd have a word with you, see what we can sort out."
(Magnus decides to ignore Ivan's attitude, and get on to the main point - Ted has complained to him about Ivan. "Not happy at all" is a way of saying very unhappy.)

Ivan: "Oh, really?"
(This answer tells Magnus that Ivan is not surprised about this. Ivan's question is slightly sarcastic, and Ivan does not try to explain or apologise. Ivan is not being very polite.)

Magnus Blake: "I'm not going into the rights and wrongs of it, but you do seem to have upset a few people in our share trading department. I'm sure you know that."
(Magnus admits that Ted might be wrong, but says that he is not interested in this. He wants Ivan to be more diplomatic with Ted. )

Ivan: "I've also doubled the profits. That may have something to do with it."
(Ivan says that Ted is jealous of him. He also reminds Magnus that he is a valuable employee.)

Magnus Blake: "I'm not sure that I like what I'm hearing. Now, it's this sort of attitude that is causing the problems. You do have to accept, Ivan, that you are a junior trader here, and that you are on probation."
(Magnus is getting angry. He tries to sound like a parent or a school teacher to remind Ivan that he is more important and that Ivan is not being respectful or polite. He tells Ivan that he has a low position in the company, and that he can lose his job at any time. This is a threat.)

Ivan: "Would you also want me to accept other people stealing my research, or having me lose money because they are wrong?"
(Ivan ignores the threat, and says that he has a reason to be angry with Ted. By doing this, he is challenging Magnus to tell him who he is supporting, Ivan or Ted. )

Magnus Blake: "As a junior trader, you must understand your position. If you can't do that you should get out. Leave the company."
(Magnus replies that he supports Ted. Ivan must either do as Ted says, or he will be fired. This is now an explicit threat.)

Ivan: "Ok."
(Ivan says that he will leave the company. Magnus has told him that he will support Ted against Ivan, so Ivan says that he will leave.)

Magnus Blake: "What?"
(Magnus believed that his threat would make Ivan more obedient and respectful. He is surprised that this has not happened.)

Ivan: "I'm leaving. Last week I was taking with Brodingers - the merchant bankers. They're setting me up as an independent trader. As I am on probation here, and I haven't signed a full-time contract with you, my legal advice is that if the customers on my portfolio want to move over with me, there's no problem."
(Ivan has seen that this moment would come, and he has made preparations. He now tells Magnus that he will leave, and he will take some of Magnus' customers away. He mentions that he is on probation. This because Magnus kept telling him that people on probation can be fired easily. Now Ivan enjoys showing that it gives him some advantages too.)

Magnus Blake: "But you can't … I mean, we need to talk about this decision. There's no need to do anything final just yet."
(Magnus starts to give an order, and then he realises that Ivan will not listen to his orders. He realises that Ivan really wants to leave his company, and though he was threatening to fire Ivan he didn't mean it.)

Ivan: "I can't see anything to discuss, really. You people won't let me be independent, now I can be."
(Ivan wants to finish the interview. But he can't resist telling Magnus why he wants to leave.)

Magnus Blake: "More independence? Well, I am sure we can arrange that. No-one wants people interfering with their work all the time. You should have told me of those problems earlier, my boy. Now what exactly do you need?"
(This is complete surrender. Magnus now pretends that he did not know that Ivan had a problem with Ted, and completely changes sides, saying that he will support Ivan against Ted. "What exactly do you need?" is how Magnus asks for the terms on which Ivan will stay with the company.)

SUMMARY

Ted had come to Magnus complaining that Ivan was rude and disrespectful to him. Magnus ordered Ivan to see him. Magnus thought that if he frightened Ivan, then Ivan would be more polite to Ted. But when Ivan came, he was not even very respectful to Magnus. First Magnus tried to "talk down" to Ivan, to show Ivan that he was the boss and Ivan was not a very important member of the company. Ivan would not listen and instead made Magnus say whether he supported Ted or Ivan. This made Magnus angry and he told Ivan to be more polite or he would lose his job. Ivan replied that he wanted to leave the job because he had a better job prepared. Magnus did not really mean to fire Ivan, and he now discovered that he was going to lose one of his best workers, and some of his customers. He immediately decided to keep Ivan even if it upset Ted, so he told Ivan that he would make sure that Ted did not worry him any more. Then he asked what he had to do for Ivan to stay with his company.