The Renewal of Joyce Carlton Ch. 04

"Tell me about yourselves too," I asked. "You know about me from Stacy and from our meeting yesterday." I was curious and fascinated by this exotic couple.

Aljerandro looked with curiosity at Christina; she gazed back at him as though authorizing him to share their lives. Finally, he began; "I am Argentine but have been in America for thirty years. We bought this place in 1990 after I'd lived and worked in the California wine industry for many years before that -- just not as my own boss. I had a small inheritance that we used to buy this place. It was run down at the time." He laughed and added; "I used to have one boss, now I have fifty bosses." He laughed.

He paused and went on, "Christina and I met in 1980 and married a year later. We have two daughters that have just finished college. Both are opting, for now, to stay near their schools -- one in Tucson and the other in Denver. So I'm here all week running the vineyard." He got a big smile on his face and added, "This is my joy and my passion. I have never been happier." He nodded to his wife.

Christina added details to his impressive biography and business success and told us more about her own background. "I was working in a marketing firm specializing in wines when we met -- that's how we met. He came to talk about marketing for the company he worked for. Poof! We fell in love." She smiled warmly at her husband then reached and held his hand.

"We bought this place a decade or so after we got married. I tried to commute from here, but it was taking two and sometimes three hours each way. The money and job satisfaction were high; the commute sucked. I tried to change jobs but that wasn't going to work either. Ultimately, I did change jobs, but I was still in the City, so I decided to live there part of the time. By then the girls were in private school so a daily 'mother' wasn't needed. Plus Aljerandro had fallen in love with the vineyard -- his fill-time mistress." She laughed, and he shrugged acceptance at the accusation.

Stacy injected a point with an air of mischief in her voice, "Tell Joyce about your boyfriend." My ears perked up.

Christina smiled, glanced at Aljerandro and openly reflected, "I sort of have two husbands. Aljerandro is my weekend and legal husband. I also have a loving relationship with a man named Grant Winslow; I live with him during the week when I'm in San Francisco. Interestingly enough his wife lives about twenty minutes north of here. If his wife Meredith or Aljerandro get lonely during the week, they can drive and see the other. We all have a very open relationship." Aljerandro nodded.

She added, "Stacy figured out what was going on and asked me one day in confidence. I answered her questions, but asked her not to spread it around the company. It'd just feed the rumor mill. Anyway, Stacy told me about her relationship with Ray, Bill, Kim, and you. So we all have unusual relationships." She smiled warmly, almost as though she was inviting something more.

"How long?" I asked. I had been curious since I'd found the relationship with Ray and Kim about how long such an unusual relationship could survive.

"Since 1994," Aljerandro answered. "We met Grant and his wife at a charity event in Napa. We immediately liked each other and started to socialize. One evening after we'd become very good friends both Christina and Grant were complaining about the commute. They had occasionally carpooled. Grant jokingly said, 'We should live together in the City during the week and leave these two out here to fend for themselves among the grapes.' Well the idea took root. I think it was Grant's wife Meredith that suggested the two of them take it seriously."

Even as I asked the next question I was joyous that their complicated relationship had lasted so long. If things had gone on this long they could go on forever. "The way you spoke, there is a sexual side to this relationship?" I stated partly as a question.

"Oh yes," Christina said. "We talked among ourselves about whether such an arrangement was possible without breaking up the two marriages. In the end, we decided to try it. To tell the truth, I think it has made both marriages stronger and more loving. We all gave up jealousy and the idea that you can only love one person. We've extended our family just the way you have. Grant picks me up on the way into the City on Monday morning, and we try to get back here by Thursday night or mid-afternoon on Friday, and there are a lot of long weekends and Monday holidays. Grant and I have a condo near the Embarcadero."

The discussion turned to the complications of the complex relationships we'd created and the sources of their failure. There were no surprises. One or more of the partners getting jealous or feeling things were out of balance was a primary cause. Lack of communication we agreed was too vague but certainly a source -- really lack of openness and sharing of feelings and emotions. Christina and Aljerandro opened their hearts to us, and it was a rich discussion. I learned a lot and felt I had something great to take back to Sarasota that could help and strengthen our relationships.

Even though we hadn't moved we had lunch on the patio, again served by the beautiful household wait staff. This was the first time when I'd seen such service in a private home as a matter of routine. I asked Aljerandro if they lived here. He told me that most of them had apartments over the large outbuilding we'd passed on the way up the drive. I could tell he was proud of them and the fine job they did to support the vineyard and his family.

"Do they know about the unusual living arrangements you and Christina have?" I asked as an afterthought.

He chuckled as he started his reply, "Yes, they all do now. There was an awkward time when Meredith came here and would stay over. It took a year or so, but we got over it when they saw that we had a loving and caring relationship. We say 'Love Conquers All.' I think it does. Some of the staff expressed their displeasure on religious grounds. I pulled out my Bible and taught them about Love and how it is the primary theme of the entire book. We had some deep discussions of sin, heaven, and hell too. They know that I believe we create those concepts in our heads and make them a reality for ourselves in this life. Overall, we're a spiritual household but the aspects of sin and hell that the Church created have no harbor here."

"Nor in my life," I said as I strongly supported him.

Stacy joined in, "Joyce has spent most of the last year rebuilding herself. The person you see today is not at all like she was a year ago. She's gone from nerdy, shy and withdrawn person to a pretty normal, outgoing, and pretty woman. A lot of her growth has been in the spiritual side of her life too."

"Are you two lovers?" Christina asked openly.

"Yes," we both replied simultaneously. We laughed at the occurrence. I went on, "I don't know if we'd have ever met without Ray and Kim having first had a relationship with her, but we love that we can be together now." Stacy smiled and nodded then reached over and held my hand.

Christina nodded knowingly. One of the servants came and cleared away the last of our lunch.

Aljerandro then said, "Today you are our guests at a vineyard. It is now time for your tour -- and for me to make sure things in the fields are all right." He stood and gestured towards the elegant outbuilding. Christina excused herself from the tour.

Aljerandro told us to wait as we went into the large barn and came out driving a four-seat all-terrain vehicle or ATV. We got in, and he headed off into the vineyard talking about how crucial spacing of the vines was and how their height was anything but arbitrary. We drove through the fields for almost an hour as he checked some the irrigation systems and talked to us of vintages and sunshine, and the effect weather has on the grapes.

As we drove back to the outbuilding, he detoured and went about a quarter mile down a side road on his property. Another building, equally impressive in its architecture and cleanliness, stood. "This is where we turn grapes into wine," Aljerandro told us. In the building were the presses, vats, filtering apparatus, and aging kegs. The place was spotless. We sipped several kegs at different points in their natural aging process.

"We don't bottle here. When the wine reaches its peak, we ship the barrels to a bottler. He puts the finishing touch on it for us, including our own label. We ship from his plant -- except what w bring back here for our own use." He turned, "Come back to the house and I'll show you the really finished product." We rode the ATV back to the house, and he talked further about the families that lived on his land and helped him bring in successful crops. I realized he was a very progressive businessman that generously shared his profits with his workers.

The rest of the afternoon melted away and so did the evening. Stacy and I fell asleep naked and in each other's arms. We were sexually satisfied as well.

Sunday we had breakfast on the veranda, and it was magnificent. I looked out across the flowing hills of grape vines and thought how wonderful it was to have your own business and to live on the land. Aljerandro read my mind; "It takes a lot to run your own business but it's far better than working for someone else. You have an element of control you don't have any other way. The government keeps trying to take it away but enough of it is still there to make it worthy."

Those words stuck with me for weeks, and they also triggered a lengthy discussion of the wine business, its profit and loss points, critical success factors, and dozens of others aspects of the business than gave me insight into their vineyard as well as the industry. Christina was quiet as Aljerandro and I talked, but paid rapt attention to the discussion. I had the feeling she was watching me and evaluating several times.

We drove back to Stacy's condo in the late afternoon. I was full of praise for her colleague and husband as well as their unique relationship. Stacy and I speculated about how many unusual relationships there were in the country.

Monday I worked alone in the conference room reducing all the interview data I'd collected the previous week. I kept looking for patterns and hidden messages. Stacy was busy for lunch so I sought out Christina who was delighted to take me to little sidewalk café just a block from the office building.

During our lunch, she said something that dramatically changed my thinking about the interviews. She said, "Joyce, be sure to look for what's not said as well as what's said. I have a feeling some of our problems are due to errors of omission not commission." The statement was like a jolt of electricity in my brain; instantly I saw the pattern of half a dozen things I'd expected to hear that I didn't. I thanked her for her stroke of genius.

Tuesday I did two things that weren't on my original agenda; I went to the local chapter of the California marketing and advertising council. The Council was comprised of almost a hundred marketing and advertising firms in the Bay Area. I was lucky enough to get an interview with the executive director. We talked about what made growing and successful firms and why some firms failed, even after having been in business for decades. It was a rewarding visit. That afternoon, with permission, I went and talked to three customers of the firm and got their impressions about doing business with the company.

I didn't sleep much Tuesday night for two reasons. First, Stacy and I made love rather intensely until quite late. I was into orgasms: both giving and receiving. I think the two of us broke some records, but it was hard to tell through all the moaning and groaning. We both fell asleep around midnight. I was wide awake an hour later and back in Stacy's living room working on my PowerPoint slides and thinking about what I'd say in the morning to the leaders of this company. I finally fell asleep for a couple hours near dawn. Stacy awakened me with tender kisses as I slept on her sofa. We were both still nude so we showered together.

The meeting with the top executives filled the conference room I'd been using as a makeshift office. Now, however, a big video screen filled one end of the room. This was where my computer slides were shown. I started with the five big conclusions I'd reached about their business:

1. If they didn't expand their markets they'd most likely shrink and die, or at best be acquired. 2. They confused their customers with too many contact points depending on what the customer wanted. 3. Many leaders were overly concerned with internal operations and power struggles. 4. No one had mentioned 'customer success' during our talks. 5. The firm was not paying enough attention to the Internet on behalf of its customers.

As I finished there was a stunned silence in the room. My knees suddenly weakened, and I thought I'd seriously missed the boat and misrepresented my 'holding the mirror up' to the executives. The President said to me, "Joyce, those are profound. Please continue with your other findings. We'll come back to these points later." Off to the side, Stacy gave me a big thumbs-up that warmed my heart.

I continued with my other slides and more mundane conclusions about their business and filled in details and recommendations on the 'Big Five' points I'd opened with. I noted that no one was falling asleep and that people were taking copious notes. Finally, about eleven o'clock I ended. We took a break. Stacy and I got coffee and stood around the conference room. Christina sought us out and asked whether we'd like to join her and Grant for dinner that evening. We both accepted with enthusiasm.

The meeting reconvened. This time I was seated at the table. The President turned to me, and my blood ran cold. This is it. I'm about to be executed I thought. Thoughts about my mysterious disappearance during a visit to the west coast flashed through my head.

He said, "Joyce, this is one of the best presentations I've ever seen. You can be proud of your work and the insight you have given to us. I think what you accomplished in a week stands as a milepost to us in terms of what we accomplish in that same span of time for our clients. I, for one, think that Joyce's recommendations on the five points could start the strategic agenda for this company for the next couple of years. I'd like to go around the table and hear each of your viewpoints -- good and bad about what you heard and what you think."

I was dumbstruck. He liked it! HE LIKED IT! "Wow!" Was all I could think.

One by one each of the managers commented on my presentation. Everyone liked it, liked the recommendations, and wanted to build upon it. A number of other good suggestions were made. I took notes and promised to update the presentation so they had one document with all the 'good stuff' in it.

About one o'clock, the President adjourned the meeting and invited me to lunch. I looked as Stacy; she was mouthing the word "Go!" I graciously accepted. Lunch was a lavish affair at a club in which I was one of the rare females. We talked about a variety of things, particularly my work on the Internet and using blogs for marketing and as advertising tools. I felt that I was in a teaching mode, and he was a willing pupil. We ended lunch and walked back to the office. I found Stacy who was in the midst of a crisis; "Here are the keys to my condo. Meet you there at six. Have fun."

I packed up my stuff and walked back to her condo feeling as though I was on Cloud Nine. I'd done well! I ditched the computer and put on casual clothes, got my camera and headed out for my own tour of the City. Several hundred pictures later I was back at Stacy's at five o'clock. I was tired so napped.

Stacy kissed me awake again about six-thirty. "Come on sleepyhead. We've got to meet Christina and Grant in half an hour." I bolted upright and started to prep for the evening.

Grant was as engaging as Aljerandro. He was a little older; more square-jawed, had steel blue eyes, was graying at the temples, and was clearly a successful businessman. It oozed out of his pores. Stacy and I talked to him about his work as a venture capitalist. Interestingly enough he happened to like service industries at the moment feeling that the venture vultures had over invested in biotech and Internet firms. He was looking to diversify.

He was very attentive to Christina, more so than a 'usual' husband would be. Christina saw us watching how they interacted. She finally spoke of it with mirth in her voice, "You look surprised at our fondness for each other -- our flirting and eye contact."

I nodded. Stacy did too.

"We've have a wonderful affair -- so far for fifteen years. I love the time I spend with Grant as he does with me." She looked at him endearingly. "Mind you, we also love our spouses who at this very moment," she looked at her watch, "are probably fucking their brains out -- with our blessing." She grinned widely at us. Grant threw his head back and roared with laughter. We all laughed.

After the laughter had died down and we were between courses, Christina turned to me. "Joyce, would you ever consider joining our company?"

I thought for a while and said, "I really want to stay near Sarasota. Ray, Bill, and Kim are there; they're my family and I don't want to leave them -- even as much as I love Stacy." I squeezed Stacy's hand under the table. She smiled at me.

"Don't Bill, Kim and you all work at the same company?" Christina asked.

"No," I explained. "Bill works in my firm's business development group; he heads it now. Kim has her own interior decorating and design business; she's very creative and full of ideas -- even about use of media and technology."

Christina thought for a long time then asked, "Do you suppose the people that run your company would like to sell it to us?"

At first, I was taken aback. "I don't know," I said thoughtfully. "Someone should ask them."

"Would you do that when you get back?" Christina asked. "I guess what we'd like to do is create a Florida subsidiary -- with you, Stacy, Bill, Kim and many others that we'll have to find to run the place. Would THAT interest you? I should tell you the President of the company and I came up with this idea late this afternoon. There are a lot of details but that's the general idea."

"Yes, it interests me ... in a REALLY big way," I told her with a smile from ear to ear.

Stacy asked Christina, "You'd let me move back to the east coast?" Her voice had that tinge of amazement in it.

"Yes, Stacy," Christina said. "We all know that's where your heart is - to be with your extended family. Now if we can put this deal together ..."

Grant jumped in; "Wait for me. I want to fund this -- I want a share of this action. Would you let us put up the buyout funds or the startup funds? We can be very generous in our terms." He winked at me.

I looked at Christina. "This is what I like," she said, "getting business and superb pleasure all mixed in together. This is better than sex."

"Well, not really," Grant added with a smile in a quiet aside. We all broke into laughter again.

*

The next day, I threw myself into Bill's arms at Tampa Airport. He'd driven up to meet my connecting flight from the west coast although it was late in the evening. We hugged and kissed; he looked so glad to see me. On the drive home from the airport I told him about the conversation with Christina and Grant, and the new options for creating our own business. He was duly impressed and was able to offer some great insights into how to approach the leadership of our own company. I decided not to do anything until I'd thought about it a little and waited until the following week.