are you listening to me woman ! he was n't offering so i did n't ask . the first man , the one who spoke , stared at the speed of the heavily armored holy man . `` i was called to choose a substitute secretary for the conference . we generally know who 's been whose latest partner and , if one is dealing with friends , we often get an idea of how good , or how enthusiastic , or how much the reverse one or the other partner - or both - might be . 