They say business and pleasure don’t mix. But in the case of Gary Linford, 73, and Carol Vincent, 69, they do.
Carol Vincent: I grew up a military brat and moved around a lot, but ended up in B.C. I was 50 and divorced with a grown son when I met Gary.
Gary Linford: I thought I was way too old for Carol when I first met her, but I was only slightly older, 54, and also divorced. I don’t call what I do now “working,” but I spend my time as a coach for small businesses. I’ve been in business all my life, from finance to retail to manufacturing.
CV: I’m still working part-time as a marketing consultant. Before that, I worked for a number of ad agencies then decided to start my own. When I met Gary, I was doing business development, so I went to a Chamber of Commerce meeting to network.
GL: It was September 22, 2005, when I met my beautiful future wife.
CV: There was one parking spot left and Gary was driving from the opposite direction. Being the consummate gentleman, of course he gave me the last spot. Then we were registering at the table at the same time. I said, “Well, this is a mixer so I guess we should start mixing.” We talked a bit, I told him that I did marketing, and he said he might need some marketing done.
GL: I wasn’t not interested in marketing, but I was far more interested in Carol. I knew I had to get to know this person better, so I dragged the conversation on as long as I possibly could. Then I went back to the office and said, “I think I’ve met my future.”
CV: I thought he was a prospective client.
GL: I didn’t want to lose the contact, so I immediately sent her an email. Was it professional? It would have been professional enough.
CV: It must have been because we set up a business lunch meeting. At the meeting though, he was talking about golf a lot. He said he was a terrible golfer. I said “You should see me play,” and he said he’d like that. So I had a few hints. Just from his manner, I was starting to figure it out. You can tell when someone’s interested.
GL: She means when somebody’s stumblin’! I wouldn’t stumble like that in business, but in personal relationships, I’m a shy guy. I was smitten and tongue-tied. It was awkward because I was trying to be professional and also move the rock in the direction I wanted it to go. That’s a challenge.
CV: After some small talk, he said, “I have a confession to make …” But suddenly the waiter was there, so he stopped. Later on, he said, “I still have a confession …” And the waiter came back!
GL: It wasn’t until we were walking out the door, at the very last minute, that I managed to get it out.
CV: He said something like, “The truth is I’m more interested in you personally than I am in your business. Do you want to go out on a real date?” Obviously, I said yes.
GL: We dated for a few years and got married in 2009. We invited 20 people to Mexico, where Carol had a timeshare. We were just back there celebrating our 15th anniversary.
CV: And we didn’t end up working together. He thought it would be
a conflict of interest! But we got something even better.
—As told to Rosemary Counter
Have you had another chance at love? Zoomer wants to hear from you! Send your story and contact information to comment@zoomermag.com to possibly be featured in the magazine.
A version of this article appeared in the June/July 2024 issue with the headline ‘Relationship Marketing’, p. 30.
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