He grasps her knee firmly; punctuating with the slightest squeeze. She freezes and from the corner of her eye she can see him studying her. When their eyes make contact he sends a wink and returns his attention to her boss; who is across the table from her, his own attentions focused on his creme brûlée and his scotch.
The two men continue their conversation then, of markets and trends and strategies. His hand remains on her knee and she remains locked in the moment, uncertain of an appropriate reaction. She studies his face but he never looks at her again.
Finally, she slides her hand beneath the table and places it atop his; trying gently to push it away.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he declares, squeezing more firmly. But he is not looking at her, he is looking at her boss. “That could have very bad consequences.”
Her boss looks up from the bottom of his scotch, puzzled, confused, “Oh?”
“We’re about to enter dark days, the darkest days maybe,” he continues, “What we’ve come to accept as a standard of living is going to crash right through the floor.”
He glances at her, throws another wink. She sits, frozen, staring at him.
“And I think we have to experience these kinds of events because they force us to reinvent ourselves. Each time we do that we come out stronger. Different, but stronger.
“Either way, you aren’t going to have much of a choice because it’s coming regardless of your desires to the contrary. So it’s what you chose to do while it’s happening that’s most important.
“Doing the same thing you have been doing will not work. It’ll break you. I’m 100% certain of this.”
Her boss grimaces and nods, swirling his scotch in meditation. “I’m wondering if I should be your client, instead of the other way around.”
Both men laugh. He releases her knee then and the smile fades from his mouth, “We learn from each other, that’s the only true benefit of any relationship.”
May 30, 2009, 9:02pm Comments
