I saw Alec for the first time after meeting with the broader team for dinner. He was normal. We were normal. It was a normal working dinner. Some ordered a beer with their meal, but most didn’t. I didn’t. I was tired. Listening to hours of pontification drained me.
Alec wasn’t. He was just as alive and vibrant as ever. I sat across from him, a front-row seat to the show. We were both in sales, and damn good at our jobs. When pitching or closing, I was just as on and engaged. Alec was rarely off. It wasn’t the first time I watched him perform in all his glory, but it felt different sitting there with a sore butt.
More than anything, Alec paid attention. And remembered. He knew what he was talking about and did so with confidence, but it was the same with people. Alec could remember minor details of a person’s life after having met them once and then bring them up in perfect context. He didn’t do it to win points or look good. He was curious and cared about things and people. More than I did, anyway.
He was funny, too, with a humor that takes deep intelligence to master. An observation or turn of phrase that would earn a chuckle from someone else got a roar for Alec. Put those skills together, and he could master a crowd. Laughing, heartfelt, yet individualized enough to come away thinking he was speaking only to you.
My butt hurt more at dinner than it had the rest of the day. Most likely because it pulsed with my heartbeat, elevated by the man who made it sore. Also, taking time to observe him in that new context. There were so many parts of him, so many facets. He was dazzling, like a diamond. Brilliant in the sun, but just as shiny in the dark.
“You good?” Alec asked as we walked over to the event.
“Yeah. Yup. Why?”
“You were quiet at dinner. I can tell when something’s brewing up there.” He dropped his voice, but not his smile. “And I saw you wince when you sat down.”
“Just tired. Boss kept me up late last night.”
Before we walked in, he smirked with half his face, shook his head, and said, “Never again, Blackwood. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear, sir.”
We weren’t the only ones from our company who skipped the drinks that night. No one batted an eye when we said we were heading in an hour later, or why we left together.
My chest slammed into Alec’s arm as we were about to round the corner to the elevator bank. I nearly tripped over him and dropped my phone in the middle of a text.
“What the fuck, bro?” I said.
Alec’s finger was to his lips, and his eyes were wide. They beckoned mine to follow across the elevator lobby. There was CompComm’s new VP of Global Technology.
“Holy fuck!” I mouthed.
I saw the glint in his eyes. It reminded me of the night before, but also when we were about to walk into a difficult pitch. I blamed my hormones for not making the connection sooner.
“Follow my lead,” he mouthed, as if there was anything else I’d do.
As he started walking, he said in his most professional voice, and loud enough for her to hear, “That’s exactly the point. With a faster launch time, twenty-four-seven tailored support, and a software suite designed by hand to meet each customer’s unique needs, there’s no way the big guys can compete with FinCrest.”
The VP was on her phone, unaware of our existence.
I followed. “And by capping our overall customer base, we can scale that white glove service and trailer-made product suite to the biggest of clients without missing a beat, or a single transaction instance, in over ten years. We’re committed to our model and haven’t just seen outstanding success, but delighted accountants, traders, and CFOs.”
It was stupid. So idiotic. A tactic out of a Saturday morning cartoon show about salespeople superheroes. Anyone with half a brain would see through it. But it wasfun. That’s why Alec and I worked so well together. We had fun playing and building off of one another. Meeting our goal was almost second. That we were so good at it felt like a bonus.
She continued to ignore us. Alec chewed his lip, then flicked an eyebrow at me.
“Oh, hush now, Mason. We shouldn’t annoy the lady with our ramblings. I’m sure she’s heard enough at the presentations all day.”
Again, stupid and cartoonish. Alec was well out of her personal space, but spoke his last line straight in her direction. She turned around with the most awkward smile, and a “Huh? Oh. Uh-ha,” before quickly returning to her phone.
“Sorry, miss,” Alec said as soon as he saw her face.
“No worries, I wasn’t paying attention. You’re good.” She spoke commandingly, strange after the awkward attempt at politeness.
It was the in Alec was looking for. “Oh, wait, aren’t you Rebekah Shenandoah, the new Vice President of Global Technology at Compact Communications?”
She turned around slowly, her smile plastic. “Yes.”
“I heard a rumor you were going to be here. I’m Senior Sales Representative Alec Whitaker, and this is my Jr. Rep. Mason Blackwood. We’re with FinCrest Financial Solutions. This has to be fate. We’ve been dying to get a chance to speak with you. And it looks like we have just enough time to give you an elevator pitch.” He laughed in a perfect, nonthreatening, likable way.
