Chapter 38: The Launch of Mercer, Frisch and Associates

A packet including our resignations effective at 8 AM the last day of February was couriered to the White House at 5 PM on Friday, February 26th. Our government identifications and the keys for the office went along with the letters of resignation. Also included was an office inventory that the GAO could use to verify everything left was as issued so that there could be no theft accusations. I knew that there would be some nasty phone calls once our resignations landed on certain desks. We were prepared to deal with them. The Secret Service detail was informed their services would no longer be needed as I wished them a pleasant evening. I think a couple of the protection detail were upset when I dismissed them. They would miss the treats Grandma Jorgenson would send out to them.

Everyone met with me at the Breakfast Nook on Monday morning, February 29th. That was a few blocks from my home. We were on our own now, and I wanted that our first official staff meeting was to get organized. I made sure to assign responsibilities to the right people. None of our gun permits were valid since we were now in the private sector, so I asked Randy and Scotty to go about securing those for our security team members, as well as for Andi and me. I asked Johan if he wanted to be able to carry a firearm for his own protection. He politely declined my offer. Our breakfast meeting broke up at 9 AM and we headed for the new offices Molly and Andi had found for us in a business complex situated near the Potomac River Estuary. We had some fantastic views of boats going up and down the river out of our office windows.

The multiple-line phones we had installed were all lit up and angrily ringing when we arrived at the new office a few minutes after leaving the breakfast diner. It appeared that our resignation packet left a few people disappointed after opening them. I decided that I would be the one to handle the first call and answer it. A very livid presidential Chief of Staff was on the other end. The COS expressed his and the President’s displeasure in our mass resignations. I apologized and said that I would always appreciate his and the President’s support, but the team and I felt underutilized. We would be available to the administration if they had a special project they wanted completed. I informed the COS that we would be more selective on the jobs we would take from now on. We would decline if we felt that the job didn’t fit within our talents,. We didn’t have that choice while working directly for the government. I think I made the COS more upset as he ended the call without saying another word. The others were repeating the same message on other calls that we were receiving. This went on for the next several hours until I called a time out and had Molly put the phone system on voicemail. I declared lunch was on me and asked Molly to call in a large order of takeout pizza. That was agreeable to everyone, and we kicked around what jobs we would turn down while we waited. We would politely decline anything that was political in nature, or if the client was a lobbyist.

Molly came back to my cubicle a little after one PM, to tell me that I had a call with a Langley, VA, number. The person calling asked if he and a few associates could stop by later, as they had a job for us. We agreed to a time, and I told them that we would look forward to their visit. I didn’t know what to expect, so I made sure Randy, Scotty, and the ‘Twins’ were close by that afternoon. This is Washington, so it’s best to be prepared as you never know who is visiting.

Our visitors arrived on time and were greeted by myself, Randy, Scotty, and the ‘Twin Mountains’. If there was to be any trouble, it ended when our visitors saw the welcoming committee. Our visitors were on a first-name basis with everyone except me. I guess that I was the unknown quantity in the room. They came to check out our operation, and we escorted our guests back to the conference room after introductions to see what the CIA had for us. The CIA had a mess on its hands and wanted us to clean it up. The CIA had a connection to the Nicaraguan Contras starting earlier in the 1980s, and unfortunately were involved in cocaine trafficking into the United States. There had been a series of investigations to determine the CIA’s involvement, and there was another round of Congressional investigations coming up. The CIA wanted our help to deflect the investigation.

Everyone gathered around the conference table looking at me after the CIA operatives left. I guess they were waiting for me to say something. I looked over at Molly and asked her to type up a letter from us to them using their contact information. I wanted the letter to say ‘Thanks, but no thanks’. I asked Molly to state our company deeply apologized, but was not able to take on a job of that magnitude in the body of the letter. I then told her to bring it to me after she had it typed up. I also wanted a copy of the letter to put in our files in case it came up again in the future.

I asked if anyone objected to me turning the CIA project down. No one said anything, and I asked if everyone knew why I was rejecting the project. One of the ‘Twin Mountains’ spoke, “It’s because it was a setup, and they wanted us to fail. The CIA and the administration will want a scapegoat when the investigations start. With someone other than themselves to blame, they could say that we gave them incompetent counsel.”

“You got it in one!” I answered, smiling. “That’s one thing that I’ve learned in the two years of living and working in Washington. No one owns up to their errors or poor judgment; it’s always someone else’s fault. That is why we will have to be smarter than your average Washington bureaucrat. We have to be selective in the jobs we take. I’m not saying to never do business with the CIA, but we will need to be careful what we do for them. It will be a win-win when we do; they get what they want, and we get to take their money and put it in our company’s coffers.”

Dr. Frisch added, “We can charge higher fees if we do quality work, and can also build a reputation as an organization that does do quality work as advertised.”

“Correct, Johan, exactly what I intend for us to do. We are unique in that we have integrity and won’t prostitute ourselves in order to make a buck.”.

That ended our conversation. We all regretted turning down the CIA’s request, but we knew that it was best to turn short-term gain away in favor of long-term stability and profitability. The team members filed out and went back to their cubicles; I received words of encouragement from some of the team members in that they supported my decision.

It was getting close to quitting time, and I started shutting down my computer for the evening. I assumed that Molly would have the letter for me to sign in the morning, and it would be in the mail by noon tomorrow. Add a day for the Post Office, and the CIA contact would have our response to their request for assistance in the Contra Cocaine Trafficking Fiasco. I wondered how stupid people at Langley were, or was it that no one cared? I didn’t have a clue. I just didn’t want a part of it. Let some other consulting firm take it on and ruin their reputation. It just wouldn’t be our company.

It was fifteen minutes from the end of the workday when the telephone rang. Molly came back to my cubicle and informed me someone with a foreign accent asked for me in particular. I answered the call expecting it to be someone from the Russian Embassy. You can imagine my surprise when the voice on the phone had an accent, and it wasn’t Russian. It was a representative from the Japanese Embassy’s trade commission requesting an opportunity for them to come to our offices at my convenience. They wanted to discuss our assistance in helping Japanese manufacturing in establishing plants in America, using American labor. This looked promising, and I suggested a late afternoon appointment. He agreed to the time and said that we could expect three representatives from their trade commission in attendance. I thanked the Japanese representative for the opportunity to demonstrate our company’s capabilities. I ended the call and almost jumped up shouting.

I walked over to Dr. Frisch’s cubicle and motioned for Andi to join us. I told them about the phone call I took from the Japanese Embassy’s trade commission. We would be receiving several representatives from them tomorrow afternoon. I asked if any of them had any knowledge on how to conduct a business meeting with someone from the Japanese culture. I was blind here and was free to admit it. Neither Dr. Frisch nor Andi had any experience, and we needed help fast. Andi thought that she might know someone and went off to make a phone call.

Johan and I discussed the fee structure we would charge for our services while we waited for Andi to finish her call. We both agreed that it was only right to increase our fees for foreign clients. We would still provide outstanding service and give the customer the most for their money. Andi came back smiling; she had set up an appointment for that evening. Her friend from college had been a Japanese language and history major. She lived in the greater Washington, DC, area working as a translator and consultant for American businesses and government agencies that did business with the Japanese. Her friend would meet with us at my home at seven PM. Andi and Dr. Frisch agreed to be there as well. I called home to let Grandma Jorgenson know to have supper ready early, as I would be busy later.

Andi and Dr. Frisch left at the same time as I did. They both wanted to be there too. They were excited to learn more about the Japanese culture as well as I was. I imagined that there would be a lot more business coming our way from the Japanese trade commission, as well as other Japanese corporations, if we were successful. It was time for the consultant, Andi, and Johan Frisch to arrive by the time I ate supper, shaved, and changed clothes.

The doorbell rang just as I was putting Beast and the two Dobermans out to romp in the backyard. Karen must have gotten the front door, as I saw Andi and Karen giving each other a warm, friendly hug. Dr. Frisch shook Karen’s hand as she directed them into the study. I returned from letting the dogs out and was just about to go into the study when the doorbell rang a second time. A short, chunky woman was standing there looking up at me when I went to open the door. I’m just over six feet, four inches tall, and I was looking down on a slightly overweight, barely five-foot-something woman. She reminded me of one of the actors who are typecast as Santa’s elves in those badly made-for-TV Christmas movies on TV.

I introduced myself and invited her in. I led the way into the study, and we were immersed in the Japanese culture. and the dos and don’ts of Japanese business for the next two hours. The Japanese were big into business cards, and there was a specific presentation ritual followed for exchanges. Other things that we learned were interesting, and others insulting to western culture. Even though Andi was a full partner in the business, we couldn’t introduce her as such. She could be in the room while conducting business, but only after being introduced as my assistant. I saw Andi’s glare at that, but she agreed to play the role as long as we secured the business. The part that I disliked was that while the Japanese business associates were strongly family-oriented, after-hours carousing was expected. I decided to call that out of bounds as Dr. Frisch and I were both happily married and wanted to keep it that way. Our consultant left the house shortly after ten PM; I thanked her for her assistance. I asked her to send us a bill for her time. Andi and Dr. Frisch left soon after her. I wished them a good evening as they left.

Work in the office the next morning went as I predicted it would. Molly had the letter to the CIA ready for me to sign and put in the mail. I signed it as required, and Molly made sure that it would be in the noon mail run. We got several other calls from defense contractors asking if we would be willing to work as a subcontractor to help fulfill a contract they had with the military. They needed help with the statistical side of their compliance statements in order for their contracts to continue. We made appointments to come to their locations and see what we could provide in the way of services. After being open two days, we were generating a lot of interest in the defense community, which I took to be a positive sign.

We all pitched in after lunch to make the conference room as clean as possible. I asked Molly, as a special favor, to make sure that we had plenty of fresh coffee, tea, bottled water, and soft drinks available to serve our guests. I wanted to make a favorable impression, so I asked everyone to look busy when the trade delegation arrived at 3 PM. I wasn’t leaving anything to chance. I learned from our session last night that the Japanese businessperson always goes with the most profitable-looking business. Their culture firmly believed that success always bred more success, so our success would pass on to them if we looked successful. That was an intriguing concept for sure, if there was any truth to it.

You have to say one thing for the Japanese, they are prompt. The Japanese trade commission representatives arrived at our offices three minutes before 3 PM. Molly greeted them and escorted them back to the conference room where we had set up. We had followed the recommendation of the consultant and placed ourselves on one side of a conference room and them on the other side. I sat in the middle with Andi sitting to my right, and Dr. Frisch on my left. We followed the protocol that the consultant had suggested during the introductions. I introduced myself to the most senior member of our guests first, and worked my way down to the most junior. Dr. Frisch, who did the card presentation in the prescribed manner as well, followed me. I followed that up by introducing Andi as my assistant who was an important member of our team. I stated that Andi would be their contact if I wasn’t in the office and they needed something. Andi did the card presentation the same way as Dr. Frisch and myself had. I was expecting some sort of cultural conflict, but our Japanese guests accepted her in her role. We gave a brief presentation on our services for the next half hour. I stressed how they may be of help in growing their business in the United States. They were very receptive to our proposed assistance and insisted on a second meeting to work out the details of our mutually satisfactory business partnership.