Bu siness skills: b et ter me etings 1 — 21 business englisch bu sin es s e n g L is

partment, JJ had recently 
joined Instagram. Together with Nick and the legal 
department, the communications manager had in-
sisted that JJ post only in a personal capacity, not as 
CEO. So far, nothing had gone wrong, but then…
“…a couple of months ago, a young lady called Gina 
Lamarre contacted me by direct message. We chatted 
for a while, and she seemed very nice. Anyway, one 
day, she suggested we Skype.”
“Oh, no,” said Nick. “You didn’t…”
JJ nodded. “She told me she was an entertainer and 
asked whether I would like some pictures of her in 
her costumes.”
“Pictures?”
“Of an artistic nature. They were very aesthetic.”
“Then I suppose she asked you for money. Well, 
pay her!”
JJ looked as if he was going to die of embarrass-
ment. “Yes, well, I did. But…, but I also shared some 
pictures of me.”
“Were your pictures also… aesthetic?” Nick asked.
“They may have been of a more intimate nature.”
Nick thought about this. It wasn’t a pretty thought.
“And now she’s blackmailing you?” he asked. “Well, 
we’ll call the police.”
“Nick, it’s not like that. It’s a bit more difficult.”
“More difficult?”
blackmail sb.
,
jmdn. erpressen
eccentricity
[)eksen(trIsEti]
,
Exzentrizität, Spleen
embarrassed
,
verlegen
HR (human resources) 
director
,
Personalchef(in)
personal capacity:
in a ~ 
,
hier:
persönlich,
als Privatperson
plc 
UK
,
etwa:
AG
previous
,
vorherig
subordinate
,
Untergebene(r), unter-
stellte(r) Mitarbeiter(in)
“But I also 
shared 
some 
pictures
of me” 
“

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