I'm glad you did that Tronics.
I don't think not taking the case would have been a rejection of you friend tho. We have a duty of care to ourselves.
I'm not one of those guys who say 'Ok you got an A but it should have been an A+'...you did great...
but learning the power of no thanks is an immensely useful tool.
It was hard for me at first - I even felt queasy saying no - but I got a lot better at it once I started.
I'm not saying you need to share details.
No should be a complete sentence...
but you'll run up against this a lot - people will treat you as the drinker they know you as...
without saying no thanks you're going to have to empty a lot of bottles...and that can get wearying...wearied was a dangerous place to be, for me.
D