The Monk of Mokha

by Dave Eggers

wanted the car loaded with extras, and they liked to finance. Either way the price could be massaged. There were four boxes—total price, interest rate, monthly payments and down payment—and you could toggle each one till you got the price you needed. But first was the offer, the base number, and how that number was delivered was everything. Make an offer and shut up, Li said. You make the offer and whoever speaks first loses, you got that? Whoever fucking talks next loses. Mokhtar would say a number, $32,500, and stare at the customer sitting on the other side of the desk. Just stare. Nothing bizarre—he wasn’t trying to hypnotize anyone. But you had to be confident in that number. The number was the number. It was the best number you could do. And always the customer would speak first. Always. You let that fucker talk first, you hear me? Whoever fucking talks first loses.