Itâs hard to hate someone you donât know, but Shay figured he was getting pretty good at it in regard to Liam Alcott.
Though he had never really met Alcott, aside from a handshake or a perfunctory greeting at an industry event, Shay had heard him speak a few times and read more print interviews than he cared to remember. He had grown to resent the phony affability of the man who seemed to have such an easy time doing what Shay hadnât yet figured out.
So when Shayâs assistant, Rita, came into his office to announce that someone named Liam was calling for him on line one, Shay figured it was one of his own executives pulling a prank on him. But before he could pick up the phone to play along, he noticed the 619 area code and decided that the caller might just be his nemesis from San Diego.
Taking a deep breath, he dove in. âThis is Shay.â
âHello, Shay. This is Liam Alcott.â
Shay realized immediately that it wasnât a prank. But he was somehow relieved that he didnât even like the sound of the manâs voice, notwithstanding the English accent, which he decided was affected. So he decided to be excessively nice.
âWell, what can I do for you, Liam?â
âFirst, I want to apologize for not reaching out to you last summer to congratulate you on your promotion. I feel like a bum.â
Shay wasnât at all convinced that the man was genuine. But he wasnât about to let on. âDonât be silly. Believe me, if anyone knows how busy you are, itâs me.â
âI suppose thatâs true. Anyway, Iâm calling because Amy over at Lighthouse told me that you contacted her about working with them.â
Shay felt a rush of shame wash over him, expecting Liam to chastise him for trying to poach his consultants, not to mention his intellectual property. Shay tried to play it cool. âYeah. I just figured that they know our industry, and that if they didnât have a problem withââ
Liam interrupted. âOf course. I get it. And I donât have any problem with it at all. Amyâs a great consultant, and Lighthouse has been very helpful to us down here. You would love working with her.â
More than a little surprised, Shay backed off to preserve some pride. âWell, weâre going to be talking to other firms too, so weâre not ready to commit to anything quite yet.â
Liam didnât flinch. âThatâs smart. In fact, before you hire any consultants, I think there is one big thing that you should do first.â
Shay was bracing himself for some sort of condescending advice. âWhatâs that?â
âYou should let me tell you what weâve learned from Lighthouse and see if that might be enough for you.â
Shay didnât know how to respond. Did I hear that correctly?
Before he could think of something to say, Liam continued. âIn fact, Iâm coming up there next Thursday for a meeting, and then Iâm staying the weekend at my sister-in-lawâs in Walnut Creek. Why donât we get together on Friday?â
âIâll have to check withââ
âI just asked your assistant, Rita. Itâs Rita, right?â
âYeah.â
âShe said youâre wide open Friday. You were supposed to do an ops review or something but it got pushed back a few weeks.â
Shay suddenly felt betrayedâby Rita, by the consultants at Lighthouse, by someone. Not ready to accept his enemyâs clearly devious offer, he pushed back.
âDonât take this wrong, Liam,â he paused, âbut donât you have some reservations about sharing your secrets with a competitor?â
Liam laughed. âCompetitor? I donât think weâre competitors. I mean, I certainly wouldnât have wanted Lighthouse to work with you if we were. And itâs not like weâre trying to steal one anotherâs customers, unless you have plans to get into the security business in San Diego. So I donât see us having any conflict here.â
Shay tried desperately to think of an excuse.
Liam continued. âIâd say that our common enemy is All-American, and Iâd rather not see them get another regional foothold in Northern California.â He paused. âUnless youâve already figured out how to deal with them.â
Though Shay didnât like the idea of admitting any weakness, he also didnât want to lose out on any advice that Liam might have for him. âNo, weâve still got work to do there.â
âOkay,â Liam announced enthusiastically, âso thatâs one area where I might be able to help you. And Iâm sure youâll have some advice for me.â
Shay responded with a partially false show of humility. âWell, I donât know about that.â Deciding that he could think of no good reason to refuse Liamâs offer, he relented. âAll right then. What time should we meet on Friday?â
When the call ended, Shay decided heâd have a few days to come up with a good reason to be out of town at th...