CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
TO: Katherine Spender
FROM: Christoph Zelig
DATE: 01 November 2008
SUBJECT: Would you forward this on to Claudia. PLEASE!!!
Attachments: Robbie Williams – Shes_the_one.wma
Katherine, I know Claudia doesn’t want me to contact her, and I have been trying to respect her wishes. There is much she needs to know and I am desperate to contact her, or have her contact me. A great deal has happened since I last spoke with her. My situation is much different now and I am certain she would want to know about the changed circumstances. Would you please forward this email to her and ask her if she could call me on my cell phone. It is urgent that I speak with her.
Katherine reread the email three times and then sat staring at her computer screen. Anger throbbed through her. How dare he use me as a go between; as if I’m going to make Claudia do anything she doesn’t want to do.
Her first impulse was to hit the delete button, but she reconsidered at the last moment. Don’t act hastily, she told herself. There’s no need to deal with it immediately. Take some time and then decide how to handle it, a voice inside her head warned her.
The phone on her desk rang; she grabbed it and almost barked, ‘Katherine Spender speaking.’
‘Wow, suffering a little PMT today are we?’ Andrew asked, ‘Or just practicing for the Lion Tamers Olympics?’
‘Shut up Andrew. Don’t be a smart arse. What do you want?’
‘Well that’s what I call getting straight to the point. I know some people like the direct approach; however, I would recommend you modify it a little when you’re dealing with our clients. But only if you want them to actually buy our products, of course. I’ve heard that for some reason people still like the polite openers before being hit with the hard sell.’ Andrew laughed, ‘Hey, maybe you should enrol in the new Effective Communication training program I heard the HR guys are running.’
‘Very funny Andrew, now stop with the crap and tell me what you want.’
‘Sure shortcake’, he said in a falsetto voice, knowing it would irritate her even more. ‘I was just going to ask you to come up to my office for a few minutes; so we can discuss the layout for the new promo kit.’ He paused for a second,
‘But I’ve changed my mind, I’m coming to your office, so I can search the place for illegal drugs. Sounds like you’ve been taking something you shouldn’t sweetheart. You know the penalty for using on the job sweetie dah-ling.’
Katherine made a noise like a muffled scream, ‘Andrew I’m going out and I won’t be returning until I know you’ve left the building. I’m hanging up now, if you need anything, please send me an email.’ She crashed the phone down with enough force to break the base station. Bloody men, she said out loud, they’re all stupid little boys.
CHAPTER 11
Claudia smiled at Tom’s head; the only part of his body that was extending beyond her office doorway. ‘Hi Thomas. What’s up?’ she asked through a smile.
‘Not a lot. I just need some direction on the meeting with the P.M. Do you have a minute?’
‘Sure. Come in.’ Claudia stood and pointed to the chairs at the back of the office, ‘Let’s make ourselves comfortable.’ She studied Thomas and hesitated, concerned by his worried look. ‘Look why don’t we go AWOL for a while. We could duck over to that nice place in the Argyle Centre.’
Thomas’s face lit up. ‘Great idea. I sure could use a change of scenery; and a walk would do me good. Sure I’m not keeping you from something more important?’
‘God no; what’s more important than a meet with the P.M.?’ Claudia took her jacket from the stand, then buzzed Sarah to tell her they were going out.
The sun felt good, and the activity around Circular Quay was infectious. The place was filled with the usual tourists, buskers, sidewalk artists and office workers on lunch breaks. Claudia turned to Thomas, ‘Hey let’s change the venue. How about we go to that great place in the Opera House?’
‘Sure. But only if you’re picking up the tab. I’m skint.’
‘No you’re not. You’re just a tight arse.’
Thomas grinned. ‘You got it in one. Big time scrooge; that’s me.’
They walked to the restaurant in comfortable silence. Jacques, the maître d, greeted them warmly. ‘Good afternoon Ms McBride. It’s wonderful to see you.’
‘Hello Jacques. It’s good to see you too.’
‘Will it be a table for two, or are you expecting others to join you?’
‘No others. Just us.’
‘Please come this way. I have a lovely table overlooking the harbour.’
Claudia beamed her gratitude. ‘Thank you so much.’ Jacques led them to a table at the back of the restaurant. It had a superb view of the harbour. Jacques handed them menus and said, ‘I’ll come back in a few minutes to take your order. In the meantime would you like something to drink?’
‘Mineral water for me please.’
‘Make that two please. Can’t be drinking on the job. Especially when you’re having lunch with the boss.’ Thomas smiled.
‘O.K. So tell me about the P.M.’s thing.’ Claudia asked as soon as Jacques left them.
‘Well as you know we were going to make a formal response to the Stern Review.’ Claudia nodded. ‘I’m not sure if you heard Michael Duffy’s Counterpoint interview with David Henderson: and Ian Castles, on Monday.’
‘I did. What about it?’
‘Those guys are no slackers. Henderson’s the former Head of the OECD’s Economics and Statistics Department, and Castles was the head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.’
‘Yes I know.’ Thomas handed her a transcript of the Radio National interview. She looked at it and asked, ‘So what’s the big deal?’
‘The big deal is, we need to reply to their comments. Take a look at page two. When Duffy asked what they thought of the Stern Review, Ian Castles says, and I quote, ‘Well basically I think, we thought that it was exaggerated.’ He then went on the say the review failed to acknowledge the scope and scale of the knowledge gaps, and uncertainties in climate science, that the review was credulous in accepting hypothetical model based explanations of the causality of climate phenomena; that there were massive over-estimate impacts through an implausible population scenario, and one-sided treatment of the impact’s literature, including reliance on agenda-driven advocacy documents. Finally there was a lack of diligence in evaluating many typical research studies, despite the scandalous lack of disclosure of data and methods in these studies.’
Henderson, as you can see, says much the same thing, only his stuff is even more forceful. Look at the paragraph where he’s talking about ‘the general biases.’ He pointed to the place on the sheet, ‘The last sentence is a hum-dinger. ‘We say in a word that it’s a vehicle for speculative alarmism.’
Thomas blustered, ‘Look Claudia. These are influential people and they’re saying on ABC national radio that the Stern Review relies too heavily on modelling.’
Claudia said nothing. She just watched and waited for him to continue. ‘I’ve been studying the presentation for hours and I’m just not sure that it’s going to give the PM the answers he needs.’ Thomas frowned, ‘I think there’s too much emphasis on rising sea levels and not enough about global warming. I think we need a bit more substance to really get his attention.’
’O.K. Relax.’ Claudia said reassuringly, ‘I hear what you’re saying, and I share your concern. We’ll only get one chance to pitch to the Prime Minister. If we blow it, then we can say goodbye to any future opportunities to get his support for the program.’ She frowned, ‘And without the government’s support, EcoLogic will always be just some place that does a bit of climate change computer modelling.’
‘Good. Hearing you say that makes me feel better. I thought I’d have a fight on my hands.’
‘For God’s sake Tom. Give me a break here. Jesus, if we can’t work together on stuff like this, what hope do we have?’ She pushed her meal away and reached for the mineral water. ‘Have you discussed this with Christoph?’
‘No. I wanted to get your ideas on it first.’ Thomas lowered his eyes. He looked uneasy.
‘What is it Tom? What’s going on?’
Thomas hesitated and studied her from across the table. He cleared his throat before replying. ‘Look Claudia this isn’t easy.’ She frowned and nodded for him to continue. ‘The reason I haven’t spoken with Christoph is because we just don’t seem to be on the same page at the moment. He seems a little preoccupied right now.’ Thomas held her gaze, and said in a gentle tone, ‘I don’t know how things are for you guys, but I know something’s gone pear shape.’
It was Claudia’s turn to look embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry Tom. I should have confided in you. It was wrong of me not to.’
‘It’s a hard one Coco. On one hand whatever’s happening between you and Christoph is none of my bloody business. And yet on the other hand, it might help if I was in the loop, so to speak.’
‘Where to begin?’ Claudia said softly. She looked across at Thomas and held his gaze. ‘It’s a long Story Tom.’
‘Perhaps I can help you out a little.’
She looked surprised. ‘Really?’
‘Come on Coco. You don’t have to be a bloody scientist to know you guys have had a big-time falling out.’ Claudia smiled; Thomas was an eminent scientist. ‘For years you were like two brains in the same head. But now I take all Christoph’s calls; not that there are really many of them. I do most of the calling, and even then I come away wondering what we actually resolved.’ He gave a dry laugh. ‘Not bloody much these day. Oh shit Claudia you must pick up on the grapevine buzz.’ She shook her head. ‘Surely Sarah and Katherine fill you in on the daily broadcasts?’
‘They’re very protective.’
‘Well you should tune in sometime. It makes for interesting speculation.’
‘Have you been speculating?’
‘None of my business.’ His expression changed. ‘Well it hasn’t been, but I’m making it mine now.’
‘Christoph and I have had a strange relationship Tom. For many years we were just two people sharing the same dream; two people who worked tirelessly to make the dream real.’ The moisture in her eyes and the tightness in her throat didn’t go unnoticed. ‘We became friends; friends who understood every nuance of the each others personality. Most of our contact was via email, and yet we could tell from every phrase or word, exactly what the other was feeling.’ She looked straight at him. ‘We fell in love Tom. How could we not? We shared a life that was more connected than if we’d been married.’ She smiled wistfully, ‘It’s amazing really. I can count on my fingers, the number of days we’ve actually spent together; calculated in hours; just two hundred and forty. We’ve only kissed twice, and we’ve never had sex.’ She laughed, ‘We’ve never seen each other naked, for Christ’s sake.’
Claudia held his gaze; it was suddenly very important that he understood and believed her. ‘Interesting isn’t it. We shared a deep and beautiful bond, yet we had none of the sweeteners most lovers have to cement their union.’ She paused for just a moment. ‘But it all went horribly wrong Thomas. The wheels fell off big time and I’m shattered. So is he. I can’t talk to Christoph. My soul just can’t bear to hear his voice, or read his emails. I’m just not that brave Tom.’ She wiped a tear with the back of her hand. ‘I’m so sorry. You’ve had to play go between, and that hasn’t been fair on you.’ She shook her head very slowly, then reached over and lifted his hands and kissed them gently. ‘Thank you Thomas. Thank you for being strong at a time when I was so weak.'
‘It’s not weakness to protect yourself Claudia. It takes courage to step back and leave love behind. I admire you for that. But I admire you more for not abdicating. I had no idea you were nursing a broken heart. Like everyone else at EcoLogic, I just thought you and Christoph had come to blows over the company’s direction. That you were at each other’s throats because you each had different ideas about where you wanted to take the company. I’m ashamed to admit that I honestly thought it was a battle of wills, and you were both behaving like spoiled brats.’ He paused, ‘I’m so sorry Claudia. These past months must have been hell for you. When I think back on all the stuff you’ve dealt with, especially the last few weeks. I take my hat off to you. Not many people would have been able to lug around a truckload of personal pain, conceal it from everyone and still be able to push the right leavers to drive a business through one of its most turbulent, historical phases.’ Claudia lowered her head, but Thomas could still see the moisture in her eyes and he knew it wasn’t inner joy that made them shine.
She withdrew her hands, sat up very straight then looked at him long and hard. She gave him a weary smile and asked, ‘So Thomas, how do we manage this thing?’
‘Your broken heart or the PM thing?’
‘Both actually.’
‘Let’s do it the right way. Let’s break it into key elements.’
‘Sounds sensible.’
‘Let’s start with the heart condition.’ He smiled at her, ‘the first thing we have to do is to establish whether you need a transplant, or just a pace maker.’
‘And how doctor, do we establish this fact?’
‘You need to give me a little more information Ms McBride. Do you still love this man?’
‘Yes.’
‘Does he love you?’
‘I think so.’
‘Is there any possibility of you both getting together?’
‘No.’
‘And why is this?’
‘Because his wife is pregnant, and he would never leave her.’
‘Oh shit.’ It was his turn to reach for her hand. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Don’t be Tom. It’s fine. When Ursula told me I promised her I would not contact him again. I’m getting used to it now. I’m ok., really I am.’
They ate in silence, occasionally glancing up to give the other a reassuring smile. When coffee was served it was Thomas who spoke. ‘So it was his wife who told you about the baby?’ Claudia nodded. ‘Did Christoph also tell you?’
‘No I haven’t spoken to him since the night Ursula told me.’
Thomas frowned. ‘She might be lying. If I was a woman and I was fighting for my husband, I’d lie about something like that.’
Claudia looked shocked, ‘Why would she lie to me?’
‘To get the result she’s gotten. To get you out of the picture.’ He paused, ‘A pretty good strategy if you ask me. It’s certainly had the desired effect.’
Thomas wiped his mouth slowly with a napkin. ‘Look Coco, there’s a pretty good possibility that you’ve been ambushed and without a struggle you’ve handed over the valuables.’
Claudia looked at her watch. ‘It’s a possibility. But the fact that Christoph hasn’t tried too hard to contact me, surely that shows he’s ready to leave me behind. Baby, or no baby.’
‘Coco, for someone so smart, you sure as hell can be a dumb arse sometimes.’ He shook his head, ‘Christoph is the personification of the Good-Manners-God. He’s a German for Christ sake. If someone, especially a woman, says she wants to be left alone, he believes her, and he does as he’s asked. To hell with his own feelings; they don’t count. What counts is that he does what’s expected of him. And he gets on with business. It doesn’t matter if he’s happy or not. He just does what he’s got to do.’
Claudia studied him thoughtfully, ‘Did he tell you this?’
‘No he didn’t. I had no idea any of this was even happening. But I know Christoph, and now I know the story it’s not difficult to work it out.’ He rubbed his chin and said gently, ‘You know Coco, if I was you, I’d be having a long chat with him. And I’d do it soon.’
Claudia looked at her watch again. ‘Thanks Tom. I’ll give it some thought.’ Her brow creased a little, ‘We should talk about the PM now.’
‘Shoot.’
‘Well I agree; Castles and Henderson could be in the PM’s ear, and if so they’d be hammering the fact that it’s dangerous to rely too heavily on modelling. They’d be pushing the line that records don’t go back far enough for models to be reliable. And the PM would be listening. He’d send out the troops to collect more data on climate change. Whether one likes the PM or not, he’s nobody’s fool. Plus he’s a very smart politician, so he’s not going to rush into anything. And he won’t allow himself to be bullied into making rash judgements. He’ll be working on the fact all the stuff he’s reading talks about a gradual process. Take any of the influential reports; they all talk about major changes happening slowly, over a long timeframe. And that’s the real problem here. People tend to put it in the too hard basket. They just can’t get their heads around something that won’t happen in their lifetime. But Tomas, we know it’s going to happen much sooner than everyone expects. In four to six years in fact.’
‘We know that, but no one’s listening. They want to believe it’s going to happen a long way off in the future. They can deal with that. Well more like they don’t have to deal with it. They can’t cope with a four year thing. It’s just too big.’
‘OK but let’s get back to the PM’s gig,’ Claudia suggested. ‘He wants substance. Software projections don’t impress him; to him they’re just a virtual game. And we know he’s got guys like Castles and Henderson advising him. They’d be telling him the problems are still a long way off. As you say, we’ve got to give him something more than sea levels.’ She sighed.
‘But what, for God’s sake?’
‘How about we give him something that at least plants another bloody great seed of doubt?’ Thomas said with conviction.
‘Might work; but what?’
Thomas raised his right eyebrow and tilted his head, ‘We give him John Vetterlein’s stuff on aircraft pollution?’ Thomas said smiling excitedly. He paused then said casually, ‘By the way, that reminds me Vetterlein called this morning. He wants to know our policy on air travel. He’s doing an article on how companies can reduce aviation fuel pollution if they cut back on the amount of air travel their people do.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake. Why pick on us? Our annual air travel hours can be recorded on the back of a postage stamp.’ Claudia said exasperatedly.
‘Doesn’t matter. He reckons long haul flights are the worst offenders. Australia is high on his hit list.’
Claudia groaned. ‘Oh for God’s sake tell him to talk to Qantas.’
‘He already has. Now he’s talking directly to the companies who put the bums on their seats.’
‘Give it to Andrew. He and Vetterlein are two of a kind. Andrew would love the chance to go head to head with Vetterlein.’ She grinned, ‘Actually it could be fun to watch. Neither of them will give an inch, and Andrew will fight tooth and nail to protect our name.’
Thomas looked puzzled, ‘Vetterlein won’t settle for a half baked comeback that we’re currently reviewing our position and already taking steps to reduce the number of flights we make. And Andrew will insist that Vetterlein is wasting his time harassing small players like us. He’ll tell Vetterlein to go after the big fish and cut us some slack.’ They both smiled.
‘Look shouldn’t we be getting back?’ Claudia asked, looking at her watch for the third time. ‘So how do you want to play the PM?’
‘I’ll hit him with the movie and the projection graphs. Then I’ll leave him with the hard stuff.’
‘Which is?’
‘The fact we’ll be in big trouble if we don’t find a way to get some of the air traffic out of the skies. I’ll put it to him that we can’t continue to spew aviation fuel into the atmosphere at our current rate. I’ll give him the stats on acid rain and its effect on agriculture, and then I remind him that aviation fuel is heating up the atmospheres in critical areas. I tell him there’s a causal link between air traffic and melting ice caps,’ He breathed deeply, ‘No wait.’ He extended an open palm toward Claudia, ‘I know what you’re about to say. It’s still speculation; and it is. But it’s powerful enough to get the PM thinking. Even if he shakes my hand and thanks me for coming; I’m sure he’ll think about our conversation, long after I’ve been shown the door.’
Claudia gave him a long look, then responded, ‘It just might work.’ She nodded, ‘Yes. It just might do the trick. Well in the short term anyway.’