You might wonder why that 2006 Forbes piece about supermarket king Ron Burkle was so gobsmackingly complimentary when the man himself isn't known to be all that nice. Here's why! "Burkle's spin doctor Mike Sitrick worked out a deal for them to go easy in exchange for the otherwise reclusive billionaire speaking at Forbes' 2nd annual MEET Conference last month.." Ooo, that does make sense. But what will happen with the much-discussed Burkle takedown piece in the works for Fortune? Says our source, "No doubt he'll try to cut a similar deal with Fortune." Fortunately for Burkle, speaking slots at Fortune's Brainstorm Conference in Aspen are still wide open.