Page 17 of Catalyst
What’s even more fascinating is Adam’s self-deprecating way of handling them. He turns every request around to the other person, saying their business is much too good for Sidelines. The sting of rejection isn’t even felt until they realize they won’t actually be working with him or Sidelines in any capacity. I’m sort of in awe of his ability to let them all down easily without being a douchebag.
When dinner rolls around, I’m grateful for the opportunity to sit down for the first time all evening. Matthew sits down to my left, and Adam sits to my right. The rest of the table is filled with prominent businessmen in the Greensboro area.
“How’s the bet going?” Matthew asks. He’s been bouncing around the room, talking to just as many people as we have.
“We postponed the bet until dinner. Business needed to come first. Now we get to play.” I take a healthy sip of my wine, glad to finally be able to drink the full thing without worrying about embarrassing Adam.
Matthew lifts his glass in a toast. “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
“I can’t believe my own brother is betting against me.”
“Prove me wrong, then.” Matthew winks.
Suddenly, I know exactly what he’s doing. If he pushes Adam just hard enough, Adam will have no choice but to loosen up to show both of us he can have fun.
“Okay, fine. Let’s start with a game.” Adam leans in closer to not be heard by the rest of our table. “Every time someone hints at partnering with Sidelines, we have to take a drink.”
“Oh, God, we’ll be under the table by midnight,” I groan.
“It’s the perfect thing to get us started, but Ellie Beans is right. We’ll be too drunk to walk out of here on our own. How about for an hour? Then we’ll change it to something else,” Matthew suggests.
“Adam, when are you going to move Sidelines into the professional sports world?” Paul Harding, a bigwig for the Professional Golf Association, asks. His ruddy face is splotchy from prolonged alcohol consumption, and his wife looks like she’d rather be eating nails than sitting at this table.
“Too flipping easy,” I whisper as I grab my drink. Matthew snorts, reaching out to grab his own.
Adam clears his throat before taking a sip of his whiskey. “I’ve been entertaining the idea. Nothing concrete as of yet, though.”
“Well, give me a call when you’re ready to make things official. We’d love to have you be an official sponsor.”
“Does that count as two?” Matthew asks under his breath.
“Definitely.” I bite my lip to keep from laughing.
The next hour passes in a blur of giggles and drinks. There were no less than ten people who either talked about partnerships with Sidelines or hinted at wanting it. Adam could barely get through dinner without being interrupted every few bites.
And my respect for Adam grew with every interruption. “You know, if you were meaner, people wouldn’t constantly bombard you with requests.”
Adam looks over at me, surprise plain on his face. “I’m already telling these people no. How much worse could I get?”
“It’s the way you tell people no. You make them happy about it until a few minutes after they leave and they realize they didn’t get what they wanted from you. Then they become more determined because you were nice to them, which, of course, they interpret to mean you’d like to work with them eventually.”
“So, you’re saying I should be an asshole to everyone who dares to talk to me?”
“At least you’d be able to eat your dinner in peace.” I grin at him.
“She does have a point. If you weren’t such a people pleaser, you wouldn’t have to deal with all this shit. Nor would you have had to deal with Cliff for as long as you did,” Matthew says.
“I can’t help that Cindy Ellis instilled respect and kindness in me to the point of fear.”
At my questioning look, Adam clarifies. “Our mom. She was the coolest woman growing up, but if you uttered a single disrespectful phrase, you’d see a side of her you wish you never knew.”
“Fucking terrifying.” Matthew shakes his head like he’s trying to remove an awful image, making me laugh.
“Well, she would be proud of her sons. I’ve been thoroughly impressed by both of you tonight.”
“And the night’s not over yet.” Adam winks.
I think I just died.Adam Ellis just winked at me. I can’t control the grin taking over my face.
