Crossroads—2026-07-06 (Patreon)

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Chapter 3.1.21: CHECKING IN by Hannah Madison

It’s Monday, and I am somewhere between here and not here.. I’m going to have to hustle today.

The NYC SysCo lawyers created a disclosure form they want clients to sign.Some clients don’t want to use electronic signatures. Mr. Robertson and Mr. Davis thought it would be a good experience for Merritt and me to make the rounds today, visit the holdouts, answer questions face-to-face, and shake some hands.

“Some of these,” Mr. Davis said, “are NYC SysCo’s oldest clients.”

Merritt took one list and headed up Long Island. I’m going the other direction.

Will—Mr. Robertson—likes to remind Merritt and me that engineering is only half the job. The other half is business relationships. I should note that half-and-half is just one of several ratios he uses to make the point.

Once he said, “Ninety percent of this job is keeping customers happy. If you don’t do that, eventually you won’t have any customers at all.”

So, wish me luck! I’ll check in again later.

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Chapter 3.1.22: LONG GAME by Hannah Madison

Merritt got a call today. It was very interesting. Very surprising.

We were sitting here in my kitchen having dinner when his phone rang. It was one of the former owners of the company that hired him in Memphis, only to sell the company and terminate him—the son, Justin Taylor.

The short version is that they want to start a new company in Nashville. They are looking for a team to get things going. The money would have been very good. The idea was sound, though Merritt had concerns about their track record.

“I hear what you’re saying,” Merritt said. “Really, I’m surprised you called me, and I appreciate that. But right now, I’m in a really good situation that has a lot of upward growth. Plus, I’m in a very important relationship right now, as well. I’m going to play the long game on this and hold what I have.”

I don’t know what the other person said.

“Okay, thanks again.” Merritt hung up.

“Big bucks, but…” Merritt shook his head. “I’m not thinking about leaving you. We’ve got it good here. Will is taking care of us. And we’re going to see all our hard work pay off.”

That hit me. I’ll skip over the “important relationship” and “not thinking about leaving you” parts. I’m thinking about his point about the long game. Chasing hot opportunities might work for some people. I don’t think I’m wired that way, and I’m definitely sure Merritt isn’t.

He was the guy on the baseball team who waited for something he could drop in behind the infield for a base hit. His senior year, he batted second in the lineup. He was steady, deliberate, and played for the long game.

He approached dating me the same way.

Merritt said, “I’ve been thinking long and hard about who I am, what I want, and where I want to end up a year from now.”

He said some more, then said, “I know who I have true feelings for. I’ve just been letting them fully form. It’s you. Specifically you. I’ve had feelings for you for a while now, and I guess I was waiting for them to set up.”

The long game… Now, Merritt and I are in it together. And I couldn’t be happier.

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