[ gottlieb sighs lightly, looking around at the work he's been doing. there's a lot of it, and a lot still to be done. ]

...ah, well. While I appreciate the offer, I... I'm afraid I don't have the time.

[ he exhales again. there's so much to fight for, and to fight against. ] But. If I could still convince you to stay, I'd like to hear your input on some new concepts.