Ghosts

3 - The harbor

The doorbell rang. Max Wirtz had been waiting for a few minutes and had only managed to distract himself from his impatience by sorting through some papers and letters that had been left behind during the stress of the week. He now greeted his guest with a warm smile. Eleonora must have had a business appointment, even though it was Saturday. She was wearing an elegant, dark gray suit and, as always, a tie with a flashing silver pin. Max felt awkward in his beige leisure sack, but he swallowed the feeling and invited her into the carefully furnished living room. Designer lights, simple, stylish pieces of furniture, the shiny polished grand piano, two discreet works of art by well-known artists - at least his apartment was something to be proud of.

Eleonora looked around with interest and soon got stuck on the pictures. Max was happy to tell her the story of how he had discovered them at an art exhibition in Vienna and had liked them straight away. He had read a few articles about the artist, which characterized him as a talented abstract painter. Max had particularly liked the fact that the artist, a Spaniard, only used black and white paint in his paintings to express his longing for absolute truths in an ever-changing world. Eleonora nodded approvingly. Then they sat down and Max poured a glass of champagne. The wine was perfectly tempered and bubbly in the goblet - Max had prepared the evening well, just as he generally planned everything concerning his career. And this evening concerned his career in particular.

There was a big deal on the horizon, probably the biggest the energy industry had seen in years. One of the major oil companies could be taken over. There had been no official announcements yet, but rumors had been circulating in the corridors of the major investment banks for weeks. The company's share price had been underperforming its competitors for some time. According to all multiples, the company was undervalued. The management had probably relied on the oil business for too long and started investing in renewable energies too late, causing shareholders to lose confidence. Fueled by speculation in the press about a possible takeover, some of the oil giants had now probably actually started to examine such a takeover. Although this was still happening behind closed doors, the bankers were well connected and the news was too spectacular for anyone to keep it to themselves for long. If the company was indeed sold, the transaction would be so big that his bank would certainly be involved, on the buyer's or seller's side, perhaps even on both.

Max was a Vice President, one of three in the energy division of his investment bank, and Eleonora would be responsible for the transaction as Managing Partner. She had worked in the oil industry for over 25 years, golfed with the top executives of the big companies and had overseen all the major deals in recent years. She would decide which of the up-and-coming Vice Presidents would take the lead role in this acquisition. Everyone would be talking about this transaction and if it was successful, the person who had overseen it would be a high achiever. And Marius wanted to make sure his name was at the top of the list. That's why he had invited Eleonora to dinner.

He had come up with some provocative theses on the development of the energy markets, which he wanted to discuss with her to show her that he was thinking strategically and far-sightedly. But it was even more important to be perceived as interesting and extraordinary. People like Eleonora were surrounded by intelligent people all day long. She had so many conversations and had discussed the challenges and developments of her industry so often and so deeply that while she appreciated a knowledgeable interlocutor, she would hardly remember him as outstanding.

And Max wanted to stand out. Ordinariness was his greatest fear. He detested the interchangeability and irrelevance of a mediocre life. The life that his parents led, the life that so many people led, driving to their monotonous jobs every day, having conversations that were always the same and filling their free time with trips and experiences that married couples before them and thousands after them experienced in exactly the same way.