…i’ll tell it once. one time because it deserves to be told, and then never again, fair enough? well, doesn’t really matter what you think, i mean, i care, i do, i want you to listen to this, hear me out, but it’s not really important how you feel about it all in the end…it’s happened now. and i don’t know you from adam…or eve, for that matter. (LAUGHS) sorry, i’m just trying to keep this… yeah, anyway, your drink okay? there’s plenty over on the counter there, so feel free…the looser the better on this one, i figure, so bottoms up, or whatever they say at the bar these days. i wouldn’t know. really, feel free…comes with the room. (BEAT) i’m not a drinker…you probably guessed that, though, right? yeah…nothing but water here. (HOLDS UP GLASS) never was, but when i saw you down in the lounge i could tell right away that you enjoyed the stuff, what is that you’ve got there? some kind of red, what, wine, is it? looks like it. wine. do, really, feel at home, all that’s just gonna go to waste if you don’t…well, the next person’ll drink it maybe, but you know what i mean. myself, i hate to waste things… (BEAT) so anyway, when i spotted you, alone like you were and going through that bottle, i figured you’d be a great listener, that you wouldn’t mind if i told you all this.., and if i’m lucky, by tomorrow, you won’t even remember it. i’m kidding, but you’re okay, comfortable? good. (BEAT) so…where should i…let me see. alright, i never used to travel, pretty much stayed in our branch office, did things over the phone, handled it all that way. you know? never cared much for driving all the time, meeting clients, that end of things…i mean, i did it when i first started, low man on the pole and whatever, but once i got the old m.b.a., foot in the door and all…i stuck to the desk as much as i could, i like it. that office…i don’t know…“feel.” the atmosphere. faxes coming in, people zipping around, emergency strategy sessions, all that. it’s like being a kid again, playing at “war” or that type of thing, i don’t mean exactly like that, but you know what i’m saying, it’s a whole different thing out there, i have to tell you. the world of business, it is. all that “dog eat dog,” “jungle out there” stuff has become pretty clich~ now, but it’s true. i mean, you can see what guys love about it. and i don’t mean just guys either, because there’s plenty of women in the field, too, obviously, but i mean “guys” like in… well, “guys.” you know, how it’s used these days. all encompassing, it’s very high stakes, lots of cash floating around you, and the pressure’s a real… well, just hot. day in and out. seriously, it is. we may play it like a game sometimes, but believe me, a day doesn’t go by in business that you’re not out for somebody’s blood…