“All right. He always uses a cart, so you’re welcome to wait for him either in the bar or outdoors by the golf cart parking lot. We have a refreshment area set up there as well.”
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Please follow me. I’ll show you where it is.”
I was going to tip him well because he was being very professional. I’d expected him to be pushier about getting me to join.
I took a good look around while we walked straight across from the reception area to a huge double door. Even from here, I could see the expanse of the golf course. Once outside, he pointed at the sitting area.
All right, that isn’t half bad.
The golf carts were parked quite a distance away, but from what I could tell, there was no way to get from the parking lot to inside the club without passing the sitting area.
“Perfect. I’ll wait here.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“No,” I assured him. Then I took out a fifty from my wallet and handed it to him.
His eyes wide, he said, “Thank you,” before turning on his heels and heading back inside.
I had too much energy to sit, so I paced around, replaying mypitch. Objectively, I had excellent arguments. His team had already accepted me. I’d contributed with ideas they could work on, and we had a good thing going.
Yet something about the pitch felt wrong. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. What was I missing?
I looked up every time I heard a golf cart approach until Jude came twenty minutes later. Only after parking the golf cart and walking up to the sitting area did he spot me.
Jude paused, leveling me with a cold stare. “Griffin, I assume you aren’t here by accident.”
“Guilty as charged, Jude. I need to talk to you, to apologize.”
He paused before replying. “Fine. There’s a bar inside the building. Let’s go there.”
“Perfect. Thank you for the opportunity.”
We left the parking area and headed inside. We sat down in the bar area, next to a loud group of six.
“How did you know I was here?” he asked.
“I can’t reveal my sources.”
He began to laugh. That was a good start.
“Griffin, I already informed your team of my decision.”
“I know.”
“And it’s not reversible.”
“I understand that too. In your place, I’d do the same.”
His brows rose up his forehead. “You would?”
“Yes. Going into a partnership with someone who lied to my face is unthinkable.”
“At least we agree on that. What the hell possessed you to do it in the first place?”
“Honestly, it was an unexpected turn of events.”
