Finally, on the day that he was scheduled to make the big announcement, Amelio called Jobs in. He needed an answer. “Steve, do you just want to take your money and leave?” Amelio asked. “It’s okay if that’s what you want.” Jobs did not answer; he just stared. “Do you want to be on the payroll? An advisor?” Again Jobs stayed silent. Amelio went out and grabbed Jobs’s lawyer, Larry Sonsini, and asked what he thought Jobs wanted. “Beats me,” Sonsini said. So Amelio went back behind closed doors with Jobs and gave it one more try. “Steve, what’s on your mind? What are you feeling? Please, I need a decision now.”

　　 最后，在要作出这个重大宣布的当天，阿梅里奥把乔布斯请到了办公室。他需要一个答复。“史蒂夫，你是想拿了钱就走人吗？”阿梅里奥问，“如果那是你想要的，也没问题。”乔布斯没有回答，他只是看着阿梅里奥。“你想成为正式员工吗？还是做一个顾问？”乔布斯还是一言不发。阿梅里奥出去找到乔布斯的律师拉里·松西尼（LarrySomini），问他乔布斯到底想要什么。“我也不知道。”松西尼说。阿梅里奥回到办公室，关上门，又试了一次：“史蒂夫，你在想什么？你有什么感觉？拜托，我现在需要一个决定。”

　　“I didn’t get any sleep last night,” Jobs replied.

　　 “我昨晚一夜没睡。”乔布斯回答。

　　“Why? What’s the problem?”

　　 “为什么？出了什么事？”

　　“I was thinking about all the things that need to be done and about the deal we’re making, and it’s all running together for me. I’m really tired now and not thinking clearly. I just don’t want to be asked any more questions.”

　　 “我在思考所有要做的事情，还有我们这个交易，都压在了一起。我现在真的很累，想不清楚。我就是不想再被问任何问题了。”

　　Amelio said that wasn’t possible. He needed to say something.

　　 阿梅里奧说那不可能。他总得说点儿什么。

　　Finally Jobs answered, “Look, if you have to tell them something, just say advisor to the chairman.” And that is what Amelio did.

　　 最后，乔布斯回答说，“好吧，如果你必须要对外说点儿什么，就说是董事会主席的顾问吧。”阿梅里奥照做了。

　　The announcement was made that evening—December 20, 1996—in front of 250 cheering employees at Apple headquarters. Amelio did as Jobs had requested and described his new role as merely that of a part-time advisor. Instead of appearing from the wings of the stage, Jobs walked in from the rear of the auditorium and ambled down the aisle. Amelio had told the gathering that Jobs would be too tired to say anything, but by then he had been energized by the applause. “I’m very excited,” Jobs said. “I’m looking forward to get to reknow some old colleagues.” Louise Kehoe of the Financial Times came up to the stage afterward and asked Jobs, sounding almost accusatory, whether he was going to end up taking over Apple. “Oh no, Louise,” he said. “There are a lot of other things going on in my life now. I have a family. I am involved at Pixar. My time is limited, but I hope I can share some ideas.”

　　 当晚——1996年12月20日——在苹果总部250名欢呼的员工面前，阿梅里奥宣布了这个消息。阿梅里奥按乔布斯的要求，把他的新角色描述为仅仅是兼职顾问。乔布斯没有从恻面上台，而是从礼堂后面走进来，穿过走道登上舞台。阿梅里奥之前告诉大家乔布斯可能太累了不会讲话，但是到那时乔布斯已经被掌声振奋了。“我非常激动，”他说，“我期待着重新认识一些老同事。”《金融时报》的路易丝·基欧（LouiseKehoe）之后上台向乔布斯提问，听起来几乎是指责一般，问他是否最终会接管苹果。“噢，不会的，路易丝，”他说，“现在我的生活中有很多事情。我有家庭。我要参与皮克斯的业务。我的时间是有限的，但是我希望可以分享一些想法。”

The next day Jobs drove to Pixar. He had fallen increasingly in love with the place, and he wanted to let the crew there know he was still going to be president and deeply involved. But the Pixar people were happy to see him go back to Apple part-time; a little less of Jobs’s focus would be a good thing. He was useful when there were big negotiations, but he could be dangerous when he had too much time on his hands. When he arrived at Pixar that day, he went to Lasseter’s office and explained that even just being an advisor at Apple would take up a lot of his time. He said he wanted Lasseter’s blessing. “I keep thinking about all the time away from my family this will cause, and the time away from the other family at Pixar,” Jobs said. “But the only reason I want to do it is that the world will be a better place with Apple in it.”

　　 第二天，乔布斯开车去皮克斯。他越来越喜欢这个地方，他想让员工们知道他会继续担任总裁，并深度参与工作。但是皮克斯的员工很高兴看到他要回苹果做兼职工作；乔布斯的关注少一些可能反而会是件好事。当有重要谈判时他作用巨大，但是如果他有太多空闲时间就可能是危险的。那天到了皮克斯以后，他去拉塞特的办公室，解释说即使仅仅作为苹果的顾问，也会占用他很多时间。他说他想得到拉塞特的祝福。“我一直在想，这将导致我有很多时间不能陪伴家人，也有很多时间不能陪在另一个家——皮克斯，”乔布斯说，“但我想做这件事的唯一原因是，这个世界如果有苹果就会变得更好。”

　　Lasseter smiled gently. “You have my blessing,” he said.

拉塞特温和地微笑着。“我祝福你。”他说。