*Special thanks goes to Ermintrude for being such a wonderful beta and for her time and patience with this-this story has been quite a while in coming. I hope you enjoy ? *

Das Speisekammer Restaurant

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

2:00 PM

"A 3.8% percent profit margin this quarter—that's excellent." Larry Ellison leaned back in his office chair with a sigh of satisfaction as he pressed the button to print out the quarterly report.

"Three point eight," Auggie repeated. "That's up from 3.3 percent last quarter, isn't it?"

Larry nodded. "That it is—and for a new restaurant, it's pretty good. I gotta say, pairing up with you was one of the best things I ever did."

Auggie grinned. "Well I always do aim to please."

"It's appreciated," Larry replied. "Coming up with the idea of a German–American fusion cuisine—finding the right suppliers—even helping to push the permits through the DIHK. Though I swear I don't know how you did that so quickly. Every businessman I know hates dealing with them."

"Just some basic finesse, that's all." Auggie said hurriedly. "And knowing the right people to talk to." Along with the right palms to grease, he thought—though Ellison didn't need to know all of the details. You had to give a little to get a little—that was as true here as it had been back in DC.

"Well you came along at just the right time. I was about to give up and go back to North Carolina, which was something I really didn't want to do."

"I hear you there." Home was not a place he wanted to go back to either—at least not with Lee Stetson waiting to greet him. The mere thought of it was enough to put a knot in his stomach. "How's that new waitress I hired working out, by the way—Birgit? Better than Elise, I hope."

"Much better," Larry replied. "She trained last night and I might let her be on her own tonight—we'll see how it works out. She starts her shift at five and that's when the dinner crowd comes in."

"Yeah," Auggie replied. "I'll have to leave early though—I have that meeting with a potential wine supplier at six."

"Rhinehassen Wholesalers, right?" Larry asked. Auggie nodded. "Aren't they a pretty new outfit?"

"Pretty new," Auggie agreed. "Still, I've been hearing good things about them—I think we might want to give them a chance."

"I'm not so sure." Larry's expression was doubtful. "Personally I've been pretty satisfied with Voekel so far."

"So have I," Auggie replied. "And I have to admit, they do provide good quality stuff. But you know they've raised prices twice already—the Riesling, the Shiraz—the Merlot. If everything keeps going up we might have to raise prices."

"You know they supply most of the restaurants in Frankfurt."

"And because they have a monopoly they think they can soak us," Auggie said. "Think about it—if we could find a way to break that we could increase our profits even more."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Larry said. "But I don't want cheap tasting stuff. Can this new place offer better prices without skimping on quality?"

"That's what I'm hoping. The figures they gave me over the phone sounded promising. But of course I won't know anything until I actually meet with them."

"Are they actually based in Frankfurt?"

Auggie hesitated. "Not exactly. Their headquarters are located in Armsheim—forty-five minutes out of the city."

"Where did you come across them?"

"At the Frankfurt Wholesalers Symposium—they're one of the newest partners."

"Well it sounds pretty good," Larry told him. "Just don't sign anything until you're satisfied that they're on the up-and-up."

"Don't worry; I won't—I plan to check them out thoroughly."

"I know that you will." Larry nodded. "I want you to know that I do trust you, Auggie—and I trust your judgment—you're the best thing that could ever happen to this place."

SMK SMK SMK SMK

Rhinehassen Wholesale Headquarters

Armsheim, Germany

5:00 PM

"So what do you think, Mr. Swann?" Jon Schadel asked. He was a tall, slim man, with thinning grey hair and spectacles, wearing a dark blue suit and matching tie. His accent sounded a little different than most local Germans—maybe he was Austrian? Auggie wasn't sure. "Do you like what our company has to offer?"

"Well it does look quite impressive," Auggie said as he looked through the brochure he'd been given. "May I ask where you get your wines from?"

"Oh, we import them from many places," the man replied. "France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria—even Switzerland. However, many of the wines we carry come from our very own winery."

"Your own winery? I didn't know anything about that."

"Oh yes—this region is quite famous for its wines, you know," Mr. Schadel replied. "Our winery is rather modest, but we do produce Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, and a very nice Spätburgunder—what you'd call Pinot Noir. It is part of the reason we're able to offer such good prices."

"Can you tell me what percentage of your wines comes from your own vineyard?" Auggie asked.

"Well, I'd have to look at our books to get an exact number," Mr. Schadel said. "But I'd say it's between 30 and 40%. Just a ballpark figure, you understand."

"Of course. Still, for a new business that's impressive."

"Yes, I suppose it is." the man smiled thinly. "But keep in mind; we were a winery long before we got into the supply business."

"Really? How long has your winery been around?"

"About seven years now. We strive to use sustainable and organic farming methods, enabling us to supply grapes—and naturally wines—of the highest quality."

Sustainable, organic, Auggie thought—this was sounding better and better. Still, he had to be cautious. "Would it be possible for me to have a look at your winery?" He asked. "I'd like to do that before coming to a decision."

"I would expect nothing less from you." Mr. Schadel replied. "In fact, I have a driver and a car, all ready for us to do just that—my partner will be meeting us there. That is, if you have the time?"

"Oh yes, I have the time."

"Excellent." The man's smile widened. "Right this way."

SMK SMK SMK SMK

8:30 PM

"I hope you enjoyed your tour." Mr. Schadel said as they walked out to the parking lot, where the car was waiting. His partner, Mr. Wissinger followed behind, a short, powerfully built man with thinning dark hair and deep-set brown eyes. Beyond a few perfunctory phrases the guy hadn't said a whole lot, Auggie thought—obviously it was Schadel who handled the public relations side. "I must say, we're very proud of our little vineyard here."

"Well I can certainly see why," Auggie said. "It's very nice—and the samples you provided were wonderful."

"Wonderful is just was we like to hear," Mr. Schadel said. "Hopefully this visit has helped you reach a decision?"

A decision. Auggie could feel their eyes on him, waiting for him to speak.

"I need to talk to my partner first," he said. "But if it goes well we'd be more than happy to give you our business."

"Pleased to hear it." Mr. Schadel leaned over to open the car door for him. "Unfortunately I have business here so I can't come back with you, but the driver will take you back."

"Thank you," Auggie said.

"No, thank you, Mr. Swann. Call me as soon as you know."

"I will do that." Auggie shook Mr. Schadel's hand. "Good meeting you both—I'll be in touch." He got in the car, finally alone with his thoughts—finally able to think about what had been in his head during his tour.

There was no way they could be producing that much wine. 15% was a possibility, but 38% to 40%? The vineyard he'd just seen, while nice, was probably about twelve acres. He thought back to the wine supplier he'd worked with in DC, who had frequently talked his ear off about stuff like crop yields and the amount of grapes it took to even produce one bottle. At the time Auggie had just thought it was useless information, but now—

It just wasn't possible. They couldn't be making that much.

So what were they doing, then? Buying from other wholesalers and slapping on their own label? That was a game that Auggie had seen played before.

Did they really want to do business with someone like that? Being caught would mean fines—possibly even a prison sentence. Not to mention the bad publicity the restaurant would receive. On the other hand, the prices were excellent, the quality was top-notch, they were just trying to make a profit. And the restaurant would increase its profits by at least another five percent, making them competitive with even long-run establishments. A lot of positives.

But if he got caught—did he really want to risk that again? The mere thought of what he'd escaped in Qatar was still enough to cause his chest to tighten. But would the risk really be his? Possibly, but it was more likely that the suppliers would be in trouble. They, on the other hand, could simply claim ignorance.

What should he do?

His cell phone rang—taking it out of his pocket he saw that it was Larry Ellison—he pressed the button to answer.

"Hey Auggie," Larry's voice crackled slightly over the phone. "How did it go?"

"I visited the supply headquarters," Auggie replied. "And then they drove me out to take a little tour of their winery—I'm heading back from there right now."

"They have their own vineyard? I didn't know that."

"Yeah—yeah they do." Auggie paused, trying to collect his thoughts—he had to make a decision, and make it now.

"So, what is it like?"

"Very nice. As a matter of fact, they produce over 30% of their own product—the samples were excellent—I was very impressed."

"Do you think we should switch suppliers, then?"

Now or never. "I think we should—I think it would be a good move."

"Sounds good to me," Larry replied. "Look, I gotta go, but I'll see you when you get back. And Auggie—thanks."

"You're welcome." Auggie hung up the phone, letting out his breath in a whoosh.

Had he made the right decision? Time would tell.

TBC