Chapterone

THE CHALLENGE.

Topic 1Blind Date.

Ms. Agora. This name meant nothing to me, and my team was also unfamiliar with the entrepreneur I was awaiting in Europe at Vier Jahreszeiten hotel Hamburg, Germany.

“According to the assistant, her boss is only briefly in Hamburg. She refused to give me more details, but you should still meet with her!” Yvonne, my personal assistant, had told me.

Because I trusted my PA’s intuition, I found myself seated, without any clue, on one of the dignified sofas in the elegant hotel lounge – an area Hamburgers affectionately refer to as the “living room” and use as such. The historic, wood-paneled room had a subdued atmosphere in the middle of the day, despite the chandelier lighting and large picture windows framed with heavy velvet curtains. My gaze wandered outside through the rain-covered windows. The Fountain of the Inner Lake of River Alster was barely visible through the haze that lingered over the wintry city. Thanks to Hamburg’s abundance of shopping arcades, I had made my way from our European offices at Hamburg’s Gänsemarkt to the hotel almost entirely dry-footed. Contrary to its rainy image, no other German state had more sunny days than Hamburg last year. How kind of the city to show its best side today of all days, I thought ironically of the moment. Hopefully, Agora was carrying an umbrella.

I leaned back and crossed my legs. My black lace-up shoes nearly reached eye level as I sunk deep into the cushions of the thickly upholstered sofa. I looked around the expansive room – the well-kept and luxurious furniture created a rather solemn atmosphere. All over were bouquets of flowers. Only a few tables were occupied, mainly by older, international guests who spoke quietly in pairs. What did this traditional, somewhat stuffy ambience of choice say about a potential client? I thought about it, then found myself, someone partial to modern design, succumbing to the charm of this grand hotel – much like Tom Hanks or Sophia Loren.

Logs crackled away in the fireplace. I watched as the busy servers moved quickly yet quietly, enjoying a few moments of relaxation. I was looking forward to meeting the mysterious Agora. While I took the last sip of the East Frisian Tea sweetened with rock sugar that the waiter had placed on the golden coffee table, I wondered if my guest would be hungry. I might have recommended Hamburg’s famous smoked eel on scrambled eggs with rustic brown bread had the fish not recently been classified as endangered. Since I had no clue what to expect, I prepared myself for not