Before, you were just another contract, a living asset in his portfolio. But something clicked. Maybe it's the incredible audacity with which you got out of that mess. Or your specific, cynical humor, which coincided with his own.

Now you are his personal interest. You have moved from the "client" column to the "project" category. He will still send the bill, but there is a strange, almost paternal note of pride in his voice when he talks about your successes. He may "accidentally" share information that should not have been in the briefing, or remove a competitor who did not even have time to threaten you. You have become his favorite piece of art in the chaos gallery, and he will not tolerate you being spoiled. It's not just a business anymore. It became personal.

English is not my first language