Chapter 5
Spring quarter at Northwestern ended the first week of June 1986. Melanie’s second trip to Dubuque was even more enjoyable than the first. She was excited about her internship opportunity and looked forward to using her language skills and being exposed to world economics. She left Northwestern after her last class, not even going home for the weekend. She set off on Saturday morning in the twelve year old car her parents had given her as a high school graduation present; only 128,000 miles – ha. Dad had put good tires on it when she left home, almost 3 years prior, and she had not put that many miles on them since. Hopefully it would last her another 3 years until she could complete her Masters. She turned on the radio and started singing and dancing as she drove, this was going to be so cool!
The singing soon stopped - Interstate 90 by O’Hare was backed up. Apparently a semi-trailer had jackknifed early in the morning, backing things up for hours. She inched along for almost an hour and then all of the sudden, all clear. She always thought it was weird, being from a small town, that you inch along and all the sudden it’s a race up to top speed, and then miles ahead you see the spot of the accident. Nothing going on, just colored plastic and glass all over the place. She hated that she lost an hour of shopping time.
She had her clothes hung on the rod in the back seat that her dad had installed prior to her leaving for college, enough good clothes to last the summer. Eight pair of shoes were in boxes on the floor in the backseat of the car, she hoped to add to that total as she got paid over the summer; oh, how she loved her shoes! The rest of her clothes, coats, and boots were stuffed into the trunk, some in bags and some were just loose.
As she came out of Rockford Illinois on Highway 20 she could not wait to see Galena again. She still did not have much money but she had received her first stipend check from MMG Dubuque. There were specialty shops selling coffee, pasta, and candy that would help her fill cupboards at her new apartment. That reminder her, she could not wait to see the apartment in Dubuque. They said it was nice and had a security system. She was glad for the protection and that she would feel safe. Aaron Boyd had delivered the keys and her surprise check a few days before the end of school. She remembered that it was kind of strange when Mr. Boyd dropped them off and said “I know you will do great, just watch yourself.”
As she came over the crest and started down toward the Mississippi River she wanted to stop at Galena but realized that unpacking may be the best thing to do first. She would determine what she needed and then go shopping with a list. She pulled the directions out of her purse. Aaron Boyd had told her that the apartment was close to work and she would be able to walk. The apartment was fabulous, he had told her, nice old building, great view; he had stayed there himself a time or two. She was watching her directions closely but still drove right by the address, how could she have missed it? As a matter of fact, there did not seem to be any apartment buildings in the area. As she turn around and went back she realized that the address she was looking for was an old Victorian home. It looked like a Bed and Breakfast but there was no sign. She found parking around back and went around to the front door. Her key worked, she walked inside and found a sign under glass welcoming her. Her room was on the third floor and if she needed any help to call. She walked up the two flights of stairs and unlocked the door; her apartment WAS the third floor. There was a living area consisting of many antique pieces including an antique settee sofa upholstered with deep diamond-tufting in a French silk moiré, exquisite coffee and end tables with queen Ann legs, and a fireplace in the corner with an arched marble Carrera surround. The bathroom consisted of a small old style toilet, pedestal sink and claw-footed tub. The bedroom and office/den were more modernized. The den was huge and had a kitchenette with full cupboards, sink, stocked dorm fridge, and a microwave. The bedroom still had the Victorian redwood bed set, but also included a lounger and a TV mounted on the wall. When she opened up the embroidered Victorian curtains in the living room she saw the same river view as the one she had from the front door of the office building. How is it possible she lucked into this? What had she done to deserve this? There was a note on her living room table to give Angelina Dayburg a call when she got in if she was interested in a tour. She called Angelina and they agreed to meet, Angelina would pick her up.
Angelina was late-thirties, with a genealogy that kept people guessing. Her mother was Asian, Spanish, and Greek; with the Greek being the least pronounced. Her maternal grandfather had been a diplomat for Spain and spent a great deal of his time in Asia. He met Angelina’s grandmother in Thailand; they fell in love and were married. Her mother was traveling in Paris when she met her father, an American with Dane and German decent. The mix made her very unique and exotic. She carried about 15 extra pounds but she still turned heads when she entered a room. She enjoyed biking, the pedaling kind, gardening, and was an avid golfer. In addition, she was regarded as the best cook in the company. When the company had food days she was called Chef Angelina, and she liked that a lot.
Melanie was waiting out front when Angelina pulled up in a newer Chevy Tahoe. The outside details showed it to be a Four Wheel Drive, LTZ, the top of the line. When Melanie got in it looked like pictures she had seen of an airplane cockpit. The soft leather seats, a sun roof, and a stereo that she was sure she could rock to!
“Hi, Melanie!” said Angelina, “ready to see the sights?”
“Yes, thank you Angelina. I am so excited to be here. I can’t wait to look around!”
Angelina discussed a quick view of Dubuque and then lunch and shopping at Galena. Perfect, thought Melanie, just was I was hoping for. They toured around Dubuque for an hour or so, not stopping anywhere, just looking at everything that deserved a stop over the summer. After the tour of Dubuque they ended up in Galena sitting on the front patio of an Italian restaurant that had been there since the 50’s. Small cast-iron tables and chairs, which had an awesome patina, had Melanie wondering who may have sat on these chairs over the past 30 plus years. The conversation turned more personal, as they enjoying homemade pasta and a glass of wine.
“Pretty awesome to be paid to intern” Angelina said.
“I can’t believe it. I am not sure why they are paying me; I would have done it for free.”
“They like to be sure that you have no outside issues that will take away from your work. You were hand selected and they make sure they get the people they want. The internship is basically an interview for a job after you graduate. You could intern every year until graduation and then come on full time. You have been chosen, honey; they want you and will take good care of you, if you will let them.”
“Wow, said Melanie, “I can’t imagine any reason why I would say no.”
Melanie noticed a twitch on Angelina’s face. It was nothing; but again someone had said, or done, something that pulled at her inner self, like something was wrong. But then, all she could think about was getting paid!
The first week proved to be as exciting a time as she had ever had. Monday Angelina showed her around the office and introduced her to about 30 people. The company occupied the 3rd and 4th floor of the building and was laid out with everyone having an office with a door, except the main receptionist on the 3rd floor. Melanie actually got an office next to John Bettle’s; John had the corner office overlooking the river from the 3rd floor. She speculated that the furniture in her office was worth more than her entire net worth! The large antique cherry desk had a side section attached that had a computer and keyboard on it. There was also a matching credenza behind with storage and a book case. Everything had the old, antique look and was so heavy she could not budge it. Angelia got her set up on the computer and taught her part of what she could do. The technology was cutting edge, Melanie had not even heard of some of the things this unit could do. “Proprietary hardware and software,” Angelina said, “top secret stuff, the market won’t see this for a few years, until we have even better equipment.” The system provided her with electroni
c copies of newspapers and news stories that had been dictated from her areas of responsibilities. She would spend her day combing the computer and hard copy newspapers to look for anything related to the topics she had been assigned. The company research indicated that certain things may happen in a region and would have her watch to see if any activity was starting.
“Want to go to lunch?” John Bettle said, as he popped his head in her office, “then we get right to work!” he said with his index figure in the air.
“Sure,” Melanie said, “you can teach me about all of this over pasta.”
The café was walking distance from the office. It was a store front on a brick building located on a corner lot. Because of the slope of the area, the front of the building had an entry on this level, and the rear of the building had a basement entry. The café booths could have been 30 years old, green vinyl with a flower pattern in the middle. The menus appeared to be 10 years old, pasta stains and all, but John assured her the food was fabulous.
During lunch John started telling her about her training and duties. There would be multiple instructors helping her but he would be her mentor on the project. It was very important that they find out if any news surfaced about some of these projects, the time was right. She felt so alive, so needed! To be on the cusp of world events, this was going to be exciting.
John, it turned out, was a bit of a slob, but in a cute kind of way. When he got excited he talked with his mouth full and actually spewed tiny pieces of food as he talked. He knocked over his glass and spilt water on the table, and it appeared he had never heard of a napkin. They chit chatted for a few hours and returned to the office. John seemed like a nice guy, what a great opportunity this will be, she thought.
Back in the office, she was working on where to put her stapler when Kirtra Jameson walked in. Kirtra was the computer expert and she acted like she should not be showing this information to an intern. She gave Melanie a booklet with the command list so she could pull up needed files. They practiced for about an hour until Melanie had it down.
Second in was Aileen Rainier. Aileen was mid-thirties, brunet, and almost 6 foot. She had played volleyball in high school and walked on at Iowa but never made the floor.
“Amazing,” Aileen said, “how 6 foot is tall in high school but short in college. My 13 inch vertical leap did not help much either.” They both laughed and then chatted about volleyball for a few more minutes.
“I am here to show you how to search for and notice things we are looking for. We are watching the world to see what will happen in advance of it happening. You may see an article of a land purchase, or a group of purchases over a short period of time, which may show the accumulation of property to build a factory. A story of a stock market change, or prediction of a gain, or crash, may also be something to report. If you hear of a foreign government in trouble, or a potential for change in power, the death of a major player in the area, you would want to report it. Finally, of course, you report anything having to do with MMG.”
They looked at dozens of examples; first with Melanie looking for the item and then Aileen showing her where it was. Toward the end Melanie was picking up how to recognize what she needed to see. The work was tedious but still exciting.
She worked feverishly trying to find things to tell John about. There were a few land sales that looked interesting. The area currencies seemed to be fluctuating in one area she was watching. But, overall, there was not much to report.
She met John on day 3 for their first follow up. “Anything to report?” he said.
“Well a few things but nothing really exciting”, she replied.
“We never know when events will unfold. That is part of the reason we have interns, to watch for what may be of interest.” John said.
He continued like he was telling her a secret. “I have a few items I want you to watch for. These are specific things we have been watching for, so we need to know if anything is happening or if anyone talks about them.”
He handed her a packet with 5 items in it, with detailed descriptions.
1. Watch for news of unrest in Africa. If any word breaks of a leader in peril, or assassination, let me know immediately.
2. Watch for any word about an arms deal that included Iran. We believe they are getting arms but we need to know how and from whom.
3. Upcoming revolt in Kazakhstan against the Communist party
4. If you see OPEC working on an accord that would cut production or if they appear to working together to raise prices
5. A market bubble, or a strong sell opportunity, starting in Hong Kong.
“These are the main items we are watching for. Anything else you find will be icing on the cake! Lock up the list; no one is to know about these but you.”
Melanie looked at the list. Where would a list like this come from? She needed to learn more.
As the first week ended Melanie had a grasp on her duties, felt like God had given her favor, and knew this was the best thing that had ever happened to her.