About 48 hours ago I was in Oklahoma City at The Bunker Club sitting at the bar top waiting for my partner to walk in. I was in dire need of his assistance on this grand opportunity I had for him. I gave him specific instructions to meet me here at 3 p.m. Like clockwork, he came in just as the hour hand turned to three.
He wore a poker face as he walked, his eyes scanned right to left and locked in on me at the countertop. He smiled and sat down next to me and picked up his drink that I ordered beforehand.
“Thanks for the drink, Jack. Say, how’s life at the newspaper?” My partner asked.
“Really, that question, you know I hate talking about work.” My partner laughed.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I asked.”
“Well it’s lackadaisical, the sports editor has been on me recently for turning in assignments late. Minor league baseball really makes the heart skip.”
“Show some spirit. Maybe you can impress some bigwigs in LA and become a Dodgers reporter.”
“I’m afraid I’m regulated to the Oklahoma sports world for the foreseeable future. How about we play some pool and talk some more?”
“Sure,” my partner said.
Pool and golf aren’t games you play casually or for fun. They are social games that test the will of you and your opponent. Businessmen use golf as a tactic to see if they want to do business with this potential partner. They can see if this person will cheat and steal behind your back.
Pool is a harder game to cheat in my experience; it’s very black and white. Either you’re good or you’re not. But this is a good test of confidence and pressure. If they are a good player, you can see if they are humble or gloating and if they are bad, you can see how they recover with the mess of their performance. You can bring up topics at a pool table that you wouldn’t otherwise dare bring up in an intimate setting. Your opponent is focused on the game, not on the conversation.
The crisp sound of cracking whisked around the bar. My partner was a superior billiards player but I could still hold my own. Enough to keep his competitive spirit focused on the game.
“When was the last time you got out of that sterile office of yours?” I asked.
My partner’s eyes were intently looking at the solids.
“Uh, don’t know. Been a while, that’s for sure.”
“Can’t you work from home? Some lawyers don’t need to go to the office all the time.”
My partner moved back and applied some more chalk to his left hand, looking up at me. I knew he was puzzled at what I was going to suggest to him. I was sure of it.
“Jake we aren’t in college anymore, we can’t just leave on a whip like we used to.”
“What if I told you all expenses were paid, say you didn’t have to worry about a thing? I have it all planned out.”
“I don’t know, last time I agreed to something like that you brought me to some hostel that didn’t exist in Monterey junior year.”
He was right, my history of planning trips is suspect. The Monterrey trip was a major scar on my record and he had the right to be weary. In the past, I preferred to plan on a whim, but we are both big boys now. But two years time is more than enough to gain maturity and experience. Obviously, my partner didn’t think this concept could be applied to me.
“Don’t be like that, I’ve changed. I just need you to accompany me to Las Vegas this weekend. I’m being sent out to cover the minor league baseball game out there.”
“Why didn’t you ask me earlier? I really don’t think I can take off at such short notice.”
“I just found out this morning, say to your boss that an uncle of yours in Vegas died and the funeral is Sunday. He won’t ask for a death certificate for proof.”
“Jake, I can’t lie like that. What if my actual uncle dies and I have to actually take off for real? I can’t lie that blatantly.”
“Blow it out of you. You get paid to lie every day you put on that suit.”
“Don’t get too crude over there.”
“Fine, let’s finish this game, pay the tab and I’ll let you think about it for a couple of hours. I’ll call you at eight to see what you decide.”
After the tight-throated conversation, I walked over to the bar and ordered two more Jack and Cokes. The game was passion filled, master class, if I was the judge of it. Ultimately, my partner came out on top when he sunk three of his balls in a highly calculated play. He offered to pay for his drinks but I refused. I thought maybe this little courtesy would sway his mind later. Time was ticking and I exhausted my resources in convincing him. The decision was up to him and only him.
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