HLH Partners had started as a branch of Lehman brothers in 1995, before becoming autonomous three years later. It was a hedge fund, but diversified into managed funds and equities. After moving its headquarters from London to New York in 2000, the company had never looked back. It managed assets in excess of twenty-six billion dollars for investors, and it had become one of the big players on Wall Street. According to the letter, Rahul Singh had become the CEO of HLH at the end of 2010, after a rapid rise through the company’s ranks. He had created two of the most profitable funds on the company’s books and was well-known in the City. HLH had itself been acquired in 2001 by a large German corporation, a holding company called Meyer-Hofmann AG. Keeping the same board and management since the takeover, there had been no noticeable change in the company’s running. Apparently, that had changed recently, when Meyer-Hofmann took a closer interest in the company and its employees. The letter said that Meyer-Hofmann had been in no way pleased to see a man of Indian origins running one of their companies. According to the letter, Meyer-Hofmann had actively tried to move Singh on, but had been blocked by the board, who had backed Singh to a man. The letter went on to talk about written evidence, which implied that Singh should be replaced by other means. Mrs Petersen had been worried that could have meant murder. She had asked to be kept out of the investigation, but by putting her name and address on the letter, she must have known that would not happen. Still, it all seemed rather insubstantial to Blackburn, who put the letter down on the table before looking up at Wilson.
“I’ll talk to the governor, but you better get me something better than this. I need hard evidence.”
11
Munich Airport is approximately forty kilometres from the town centre, most of which is motorway, and within twenty minutes, Michael and Lisa found themselves driving down Leopold Street. The victory gate or Siegestor marks the boundary of the Ludwig Maximillian University. Both passengers craned their necks to get a better look at the monument.
“Wow, that’s impressive; it looks just like Marble Arch,” Lisa said.
The buildings also took on a more regal air at this point, and they both found themselves looking from right to left for a better view. Ludwig Street merges directly into the Odeonsplatz and the junction with Gallery Street. Michael was just about to ask Heinz if they would be able to visit this district of Munich again when the car came to a halt, and Heinz moved around the vehicle to open their door.
Herman Reichard was standing on the pavement, waiting to greet them. Michael rushed up, hand outstretched, recognising Reichard from photographs he had seen. This was the CEO of Meyer-Hofmann. He had not expected to be interviewed by him, let alone receive a personal welcome. But Reichard ducked around him, instead taking Lisa’s hand and introducing himself. Michael experienced a small moment of self-consciousness before the man took him warmly by the hand.
“Please excuse me, Mr Jarvis, but it is a German custom to greet a woman before the man, irrespective of his importance.”
Michael was instantly put at ease by Reichard’s charm, and found himself reprimanding himself for not introducing Lisa to Reichard first.
“No, no, no, my fault—where are my manners? Herr Reichard, this is my wife, Lisa. Lisa, Herr Reichard is the CEO of Meyer-Hofmann.” Reichard smiled at them both.
“It is lovely to meet both of you,” he said in almost accent-free English. “Please, do come in.”
He turned and made his way through the entrance, beckoning for them to follow. Michael took his wife’s hand and led her after the CEO, into the club on Gallery Street.
Once inside, a steward guided the party into the ground floor bar and dining room. The walls and ceiling of the room were clad with rosewood panelling, the floor covered in a deep, dark blue oriental-patterned carpet.
Lisa felt her Italian heels sink into the carpet’s pile, making her worry she might take a tumble if she didn’t watch her step. She was also grateful she had not worn her Vivien Westwood dress, which would have clashed horribly with the fussy pattern.
My God, who does your interior decorating? Yuk!
Michael looked at her as if he could read her mind, and was just hoping she didn’t forget herself and offer an opinion. They were led towards one of the teak tables, surrounded by large, comfortable chairs upholstered in an expensive cream material. These were more Lisa’s taste, and she thought that she might quite like one in her bedroom. Two men waited for them expectantly by the table. Both were in their seventies, and one seemed strangely familiar to her. Reichard waited for Michael and Lisa to catch up, and then introduced them to the other men.
“Mr and Mrs Jarvis, I would like you to meet Dr Herbert Ecker and Johann Von Klitzing.”
Ecker had to cough before shaking their hand, and both made a mental note to wash their hands at the first opportunity, as the man looked very unwell. With the exception of a reddish patch of skin on his forehead, Von Klitzing, on the other hand, was a picture of health. As a younger man, they imagined he must have been quite athletic. Reichard motioned for them to be seated, and the steward immediately set the table for tea.
“I trust you both take tea?”
“Thank you,” they replied in unison.
It was an Earl Grey, not Lisa’s favourite, but this wasn’t about her, and she was not going to make a fuss. Instead, she sat back, sipped her tea, and let the men get on with it.
“I hope our intentions are clear, Mr Jarvis. We would very much like you to come and work for us here at Meyer-Hofmann.”
Wow, he wasn’t messing about. Michael took a breath and collected his thoughts.
“Your offer is very generous, Herr Reichard. I would just like to get a better idea of what the job would entail, where we would be living, how much travelling I would have to do, that’s all.”
Lisa reached into her voluminous bag and placed Michael’s comprehensive CV on the table in front of him.
“Thank you, darling.”
Taking the CV, he passed it to Reichard, who gave it further to Von Klitzing.
“This is my CV.”
Michael watched as Von Klitzing opened it, and scanned the first few sides.
“If you don’t mind, I have a question?”
The men motioned for him to continue.
“My main concern is, I find it very unusual that a holding firm would be interested in setting up an IT department?”
He said it as a matter of fact, unable to decide whether to address his question to Reichard or Von Klitzing.
“I agree, it is not at all commonplace, but we at Meyer-Hofmann do not believe in doing things the normal way. We have noticed that many of our holdings could do better by embracing modern technology. Furthermore, we are sure that this could become a very profitable venture. It would allow us to move funds through our holdings more easily, allowing us to invoice our own subsidiaries at a price which we ourselves could set.”
Reichard watched for Lisa’s reaction to this, but she remained unmoved.
“Listen, Mr Jarvis, we are well aware of your qualifications and are convinced you are the right man for the job. We would like the opportunity to show you both the benefits of a move to Munich. If you don’t mind, we have made a small itinerary for the pair of you?”
Michael shook his head.
“I suggest you first get comfortable. We will take you to the hotel and get you settled in, then pick you both up at 3:30 pm. I would like you, Michael, to meet your future colleagues at our headquarters next to the Donnersberger Bridge, whilst your wife may like to look at a few of our company flats?”