"Look it's not that I don't like you, I really do. In fact, if your company was you, this deal wouldn't be an issue."

We had been discussing this for weeks, it was a deal to take in a growing company as our subsidiary. My company wanted them, as they were competition. They didn't want in, because they knew they were just that to us.

"Phil, I understand that my company has a tendency to say one thing and do another," I said to him, as he paced from his chair to the window behind it. "But we mean it, and I mean it."

"I simply wonder, Kyle," he said as he looked down at his feet. "I simply wonder if they only played this card, you, because they know we know each other."

It was.

"It's not. I wouldn't let them do that."

I did.

"How do I know that they have not turned you into what they see fit, Kyle?"

I couldn't answer that.

"They haven't."

"I like you, and I know you come from good people. This deal, this is what makes or breaks my future and my family's future. You have made a name for yourself in fucking everyone over, but it was always other people."

"I understand this Phil."

"Do you understand that in all that time, you helped me, and assisted me. I wouldn't be where I am without you, and we both know this."

It was true.

"True," I said.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Look, we have been at this for weeks. I can say nothing more to either prove or disprove my points. Now, are you in or out?"