Chapter 74: Interesting Discussions

Adalbert was sitting in a comfortable chair, sipping a dark golden liquid in a heavy crystal tumbler, and I heard Gertrude giving some instructions to her staff. He put the tumbler down and got up.

“Jenny, I’ve seen many beautiful ladies in my life; you will always be among the ones that charmed the world.”

He kissed her hand and looked at me.” Not too bad either, Count.”

He led her to another chair and pushed it to help her sit down. “Anything to drink, dear?”

Jenny shook her head. “I had a headache after yesterday’s lunch, trying to follow the conversation. I prefer to have a clear head today.”

Adalbert smiled. “Don’t put yourself down, Jenny. My friends were very complimentary about you; you certainly did not have any difficulties following the conversation; in fact, you contributed very much to it. Today will be more serious, especially if you want to get into your Polish disaster. I’ve told them only that I had friends for lunch who have problems in Poland. You must decide whether you feel comfortable opening up. Once more, their experience and knowledge would help you in making up your mind.”

Hours of amicable conversation passed, and Gertrude walked in, telling us that the Zimmers had arrived. He was probably in his late fifties, a stout man, not exactly fat, but well filled out, and dressed in a grey and green Bavarian Janker; he reminded me of Franz Joseph Strauss, the former Bavarian PM and Federal Vice-Chancellor who was known for his aggressive behavior, which never let him get to the top job in Germany. His wife was petite, pretty in a dirndl, looked pleasant, and visibly overshadowed by him.

“Count de Winter, Adalbert told us about what you’ve done in Elk. Quite impressive, I must say. And you are Miss Parker, the CEO? I heard Prince Fugger wanted to steal you from your company to work with him - there is no better recommendation. Tell us later how you did this!”

He did the social thing, kissed Jenny’s hand, and shook mine. Perhaps there was a bit too much pressure in the handshake, but I gave back what I received. He nodded, saying that I was alright. His wife greeted us more formally, offering her hand to me to be kissed, and touching her cheek to Jenny’s. He took a drink, and somehow, we started to separate, men on one side, women on the other.

The Stones were announced; he was a tall blond man, suntanned (perhaps a tanning bed?), well-dressed in a dark grey suit and a Celine tie (I had become an expert on ties!), the perfect image of a top consultant or executive. His wife was also tall, almost his height, dressed in a little black cocktail dress, with a sapphire pendant complementing her bright blue eyes. He introduced himself first to Jenny.

“Miss Parker, I’m Gerald Stone, and this is my wife, Mary. I’m pleased to meet you; I’ve heard about your company’s success in Poland. I remember the picture I saw that was taken when you received the Polish Order of Merit - quite impressive, Miss Parker.”

That was the second ‘quite impressive’ of the evening. What would the Ambassador say? His wife was a bit standoffish, visibly familiar with a plastic surgeon, but perhaps she would relax later.

He shook my hand, asking how I had found the services of Kroll. He must have excellent connections to the East, but I did not like his pushing. While Mary Stone talked to Jenny, the Schmids arrived. German punctuality!

In his early seventies, the Ambassador was a formal man in a black suit, a waistcoat, and a black tie. He was tall, straight, and had a little mustache (I wondered when Hitler’s mustache would ever be forgotten?). His wife was also in a black cocktail dress, not so little this time, since she had expanded her waist considerably. Looking at her, I thought that she must have been quite beautiful in her younger days.

He shook Jenny’s hand and then turned to me.

“Count de Winter, I have been waiting to meet you. The work you’ve done in Elk is quite impressive.” ... there it was, the third time!... “My congratulations on your success! I still have my contacts in Poland and the Foreign Ministry, and they are very impressed!” The fourth time... “And you must be Miss Parker, the executive handling everything!”

Thank God I had Jenny’s hand in mine and stopped her doing something undiplomatic.

I shook his hand. “Mr. Ambassador, perhaps you have not been completely informed about Miss Parker. She has been the driving force behind our efforts, is the CEO of the company, and on top of this, the major shareholder.”

He realized his gaffe and turned on his charm. “Miss Parker, here in Germany, the Count’s name is more familiar, but the people who know anything about Poland recognize who’s responsible for the success of your enterprise! Quite impressive, Miss Parker!” Fifth time...

Good attempt, but no save. Jenny had put her professional smile on her face as she thanked him for his kind words but looking at Adalbert, I saw that he was not pleased. Neither was I.

His wife asked Jenny about her experience in Elk, and then she let herself be dragged away. We had more drinks, the ladies were discussing something, and then we were called for dinner. Did I say that it was a formal dinner?

The table was covered with plates, cutlery, and glasses. There was a lovely low flower arrangement in the middle, quiet piano music in the background, and the huge windows were still open, showing the sun going down. For a moment, I wondered about mosquitos, but I assumed that Adalbert had told them to stay away under the penalty of immediate death. I helped my lady to her chair, and the performance began. Servants entered, bringing trays of hors d’oeuvres, and sparkling wine was served. Adalbert got up, thanked his friends for coming on such short notice, and then introduced us formally.

“You have probably heard the name ‘de Winter’ before, and here is the last one of this name, James Gustav Count de Winter. At his side is his partner and companion, Miss Mary Ann Parker. She’s the CEO of the Schloss de Winter Enterprise and the major shareholder in that company. My friends, I’ve seen her in action, and she’s formidable!”

Jenny blushed hearing his compliments, but she saw how proud I was of her when looking at me. The first course was served, a Lake Constance white fish, in a mildly spicy dill sauce, accompanied by a Dönnhoff Felsenberg Felsentürmchen, a beautiful dry Riesling, matching (or almost overwhelming) the spicy fish. We enjoyed it, and a new course was brought in, this time generously thick veal cutlets, served in a red wine sauce and with fresh vegetables.

The Prince announced that the second dish came from his estates; this was not surprising considering the vast estates that the Fuggers still had in Germany. He mentioned that the wine was a Huber Hecklinger Schlossberg Spätburgunder, one of the best Baden pinot noirs, and as expected, food and wine complemented each other perfectly. The conversation flowed easily until the wife of the former ambassador touched on a subject that I had hoped to avoid.

“Count de Winter, how did you end up in Australia? And I heard that you married there; how is your wife?”

Everyone knew why she had brought up this subject, and I always thought that a good attack was often the best defense.

“Mrs. Schmid, I studied in Kiel and joined IBM after graduating. I was placed on an international career path and, a few years ago, ended up in Australia. I was fortunate to meet Maureen, the daughter of the owner of a big local logistics company, and even luckier when she agreed to marry me. Later I joined NT, and we have been expanding that company into Asia and Europe. To answer your question, Maureen is at this moment in Sydney looking after our children. We have a policy that she, Mary Ann, and I never travel together on the same plane.” I looked her straight into her eyes. “Mrs. Schmid, I must admit that we have an unusual arrangement, but I have never been happier in my life, and our children enjoy having two mothers.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Prince Fugger added his comment. “My friends, I’ve met all three and agree with James that it’s an unusual arrangement. But when I look at them either singly or together, I’ve never seen so much love between three people. I’m proud to call them my friends!”

Mrs. Schmid hesitated for a moment but then smiled - a thin-lipped smile, but a smile. What else could she do, being a wife of an ex-diplomat? The others just nodded, accepting the situation. Dessert was served, strawberries with whipped cream and a Dr. Loosen 2012 Riesling Eiswein. This wine was a rarity, picked and pressed when the grapes were still frozen, with an attractive apple and honey bouquet; it was full-bodied, slightly acidic, and definitively mouth-watering. It also killed the strawberries. Adalbert apologized for the mismatch.

“We should have tried a heavier dessert, perhaps an apple tart, but it’s too late now. I’ve learned my lesson.”

He asked us to move to the main sitting room, served drinks, and when Mrs. Schmid, commenting on today’s lack of a moral background and integrity, especially among the young people, and that Christians were losing faith, the discussion started. It was fun - being German, I tried to define what the words ‘faith’ and ‘religion’ really meant.

When I stated that for me, faith is a firm, individual belief in something for which there is no proof and that religion is an institutionalized system of attitudes and beliefs, with demands trust and loyalty to one or several gods, I opened an attack by all on me. Nobody liked the ‘institutionalized system of attitudes’, telling me that I was utterly wrong in no uncertain terms.

Even Jenny, the traitress, joined them. I tried to explain my reasoning - ‘Faith’ needs a person since it’s individual and exclusive to him, while ‘Religion’ needs a community since people have to join in developing a common system of attitudes, beliefs, and rules. That made it worse, and I was told I was an atheist. I stopped my arguments since this had nothing to do with what I had been saying, but then Adalbert stepped in and, looking at me, stated that one should never seriously discuss moral or religious beliefs because people became upset and eventually irrational.

Jenny supported him. “James, you know that I love you, but would you please remember that we’re here for a completely different reason?”

I looked around and realized while the discussion had been interesting and lively, we wanted to get advice on our problem in Warsaw.

Adalbert led us to another room, where my laptop and a projector had been set up.

“Friends, Mary Ann and James have a very serious problem in Poland, and if they go forward with their plans, this could bring the government down. They ask for advice and recommendations.”

Now they were really interested, and I nodded to Jenny to start the presentation. It was in the PowerPoint format that had killed many projects if not appropriately handled; still, Jenny was a master at these moments. She explained the original thoughts of why we had invested our time and money in the project and then showed the results up to now; the hotel, the farm, the grants we had received from Germany, and Brussels, which had led to a much-improved health and education system. Unemployment had fallen from 28% to 4% with a much greater diversification of professions (the golf club had two promising caddies!), school tests showed that children were very much ahead of neighboring cities, and our logistic hub had created connections to other countries. We were proud!