The MMG Read online

  Chapter 2

  April 1986

  John Bettle, lead investment analyst, studied the internship application again and Melanie Price appeared to be the type of person he would enjoy mentoring. She was smart, ambitious, a class leader, and knew six languages at age 21. The company never opened internship applications to the public; they had contacts at most of the major universities across the country that picked and recommended the interns to companies within the group. Melanie was studying Economics at Northwestern University in Chicago and came highly recommended. According to Aaron Boyd, the contact at Northwestern, she was hungry but did not carry the “all that and more” attitude that you sometimes see in gifted people. She picked up complex ideas quickly and knew the languages for the areas she would be doing research on.

  The Regional Director, William Froiberg, John’s boss, looked over a research packet on Melanie Price that had been provided by the company’s private investigations unit. A daughter of two factory workers from Sullivan Illinois, she had grown up in a middle class background with enough family income to be knowledgeable of most things in life but to be hungry for more. She had worked as a waitress at the local restaurant, played the flute in the band, and had been academic all-state in volleyball. She dated in high school but did not have a steady boyfriend until college. She got a scholarship to play volleyball at Northwestern but just did not have enough athletic ability to see much playing time at a Division 1 Big Ten university. When she quit volleyball her political aspirations took off as she became active in campus politics. She gave up her scholarship and was now covering her college expenses via student loans. She planned to continue her education and get her masters in Economics and work overseas. She had all the things they were looking for; maybe she could be a new world contact that they could use to further the cause.

  As she drove to her interview Melanie could hardly believe the location. Her research had shown Dubuque to be Iowa’s oldest city, right on the Mississippi River, a mix of new and old. History poured out as she drove, she could easily see the land that would have been without blemish when Julien Dubuque had settled there in 1785. At that time the land was owned by the Spanish government, and the local American Indian Fox Tribe. It was eventually bought by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Julien Dubuque mined lead at the location and died in 1810, but the minerals brought new settlers. The city was chartered 5 years prior to being included in the Iowa Territory in 1838, which transitioned into the State of Iowa in 1846.

  The impeccably refinished four-story building had been built at least a hundred years earlier, and probably was originally a manufacturing facility. It was red brick and looked like there may have been a store front on it at one time. There were 40 windows on the front side of the building, designed to give light to the workers prior to the wide-spread use of electricity. Each corner had a flat side that held a window as well. Located part way up a huge hill that had been carved by a glacial river, the view from the front door saw a gradual drop to the river front; which included a church steeple, many historical buildings, a dock/warehouse area, and the bridge back to Illinois. There was river traffic including a large paddle boat that was a modern day casino, but looked like it belonged here many years ago. Small eateries of all kinds appeared to have outside eating areas; the area was clean and inviting. It was the type of view that poured out history and reminded her of the pictures she had seen of places she wanted to go. It seemed like the perfect place to spend a summer.

  Angelina Dayburg called the interviewers from her HR office to let them know the intern applicant was here. Angelina was late 30s, a tenured member of the company, and well on her way to financial freedom. Working for the company had its perks, the pension plan was excellent and the free investment advice was life changing. She breezed onto the 4th floor like she didn’t have a care in the world, checked the time on the wall, and led the recruit toward the two executives sitting at the conference table in the corner office. When she knocked on the door she got a “come on in”, and led Melanie into the biggest meeting of her life.

  John stood and walked to the door, “Melanie Price?” he asked as he extended his hand.

  “Yes” she said trying her best to give a firm handshake without shaking.

  “Melanie, welcome to MMG Dubuque. My name is John Bettle, and to my left is William Froiberg, our Regional Director.”

  “Gentlemen, thank you for inviting me”. She stepped forward and shook the director’s hand.

  John waved her toward a chair on the near side of the conference table as John and the director both moved around to the other side. Prior to excusing herself, Angelina asked if Melanie wanted a coffee, water, or a soda. She chose a coffee even though she wanted a soda, she was not sure why.

  They seemed very happy she was there, almost like she had already been hired and this was her first day; it unnerved her a bit. She was still trying to decide if she would intern for free or go home for the summer to enjoy one of the last free summers she would probably ever have. She relaxed a little bit, they seemed to want her bad and she did not need this; confidence, self-actualization – she was in charge.

  William Froiberg leaned forward and started the conversation. He had a charisma that you would expect from a company leader, a comfortable, shallow way of communicating without any of it meaning anything, but it sounded like everything. The weather, the trip, Northwestern, even the Cubs came up in conversation. He was probably late 50s and looked like he worked about 20 hours a week and just enjoyed the rest. He had that confidence that she had seen before in people who have it all and do whatever they do just for the enjoyment.