It's entirely possible to be on opposite sides of the fence, hate the other party's actions, but still respect (or even like) them on a personal level. Imagine yourself in their shoes & dial it up to 11.
[insert favorite movie scene here]
Ring me up, Mate.
Neill.
That made me smile. But what the hell? I figured: he already knew he had been hustled, so I had nothing to lose.
I called.
“Hey, Neill, what’s up?”
“Hey, mate.” No anger, no threats, no hostility. We were like two old friends.
We spent hours talking, and I shared all the intricate details of how I’d hacked him over the years. I decided I might as well tell him, since it wasn’t likely to work on him again.
We became telephone buddies, sometimes spending hours on the phone together over several days.