Goodbyes are hard. Sometimes it's best just to avoid them altogether. Or at least that's the strategy of a former top aide to Texas Governor Rick Perry.

He managed Perry's 2016 bid for president and then Jeff Miller auditioned to be Perry's chief of staff over at the Department of Energy. But even though the aide didn't get the job, he's not leaving. To stay close to his old boss, Miller launched his own lobbying shop.

Shortly after hanging a shingle on K-Street last February, the politico-turned-lobbyist started racking up energy-related clients. Though Perry was always an oil man, Miller's current portfolio includes both fossil fuels and green energy. According to E&E News, Miller will lobby for an electric-car company and the corporation behind the Dakota Access pipeline.

His newest client, AECOM, could be his most lucrative. The corporation regularly seeks nuclear-related contracts with the DOE. Last year, AECOM sought and won a contract to explore deep borehole field tests. Now that Miller's on board and Perry's at the energy agency, new gains could be in the company's future.

Considered a turnaround specialist in the political world, it was Miller who retooled Perry's image. After the Texas governor caught fire like an exploding oil rig in 2012, the veteran political operative put out the flames just in time for 2016. In fact, Miller reportedly put the hipster glasses on the governor's nose himself.

And it worked. Perception of Perry's IQ rose along with his poll numbers and Miller's political capital. "He's the one that has the governor's ear," former Perry spokesman Mark Miner told the Texas Tribune in August of 2014. While Perry missed his shot at the White House again, there doesn't appear to be much love lost between him and his trusted advisor.

This January, Miller coached Perry through his confirmation hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Though famously prone to gaffes, Perry didn't stick a boot in his mouth during the more than three-hour grilling. With Miller sitting directly behind him, he sailed through committee and onto confirmation.

All of this must've made losing out on the top DOE staffer position difficult for Miller. But he'll more than make up for that missed opportunity in cash dollars by leveraging a relationship with his old boss into a lucrative career. What's more, he won't have to let go.

Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.