(CNN) James Comey's 7-page opening statement in advance of his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday about his relationship with Donald Trump in the months before the president fired him as FBI director reads like a novel.

But, there's one exchange between the two men in the testimony that stood out to me as a perfect encapsulation of how radically different they are. Here it is in its entirety:

"Near the end of our dinner, the President returned to the subject of my job, saying he was very glad I wanted to stay, adding that he had heard great things about me from Jim Mattis, Jeff Sessions, and many others. He then said, 'I need loyalty.' I replied, 'You will always get honesty from me.' He paused and then said, 'That's what I want, honest loyalty.' I paused, and then said, 'You will get that from me.' As I wrote in the memo I created immediately after the dinner, it is possible we understood the phrase 'honest loyalty' differently, but I decided it wouldn't be productive to push it further. The term -- honest loyalty -- had helped end a very awkward conversation and my explanations had made clear what he should expect."

Talk about two ships passing in the night.

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