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SECTION 1
"FALSE HOPE DESTROYED"
"Hope isn't about wishing for things to happen; hope happens when there is a will and freedom of choice to act without prejudice."
But there was no freedom of choice. Business requirements did not allow for the continuation of my romantic interlude.
The business of our Lloyd’s cover holder Crocodile Dundee was growing with élan. The monthly premium income had almost doubled. Had we struck a goldmine? All was in Jefferson's hands and we calculated the accumulative commissions and entered them in our monthly business report and hoped for the best. However, we noticed an abnormal low claims frequency. That was in keeping with Fred’s business policy, he wanted to build up trust among his insurers and did not inform us of claims incurred, he simply paid them from the premium. And every month without fail came a packet of Yacht Club magazines decorated by attractive cover girls. We dealt them out to the insurers involved and they were received with childish pleasure. In a way they replaced the monthly reports expected from a cover holder. But nobody complained and John Hughes stacked up the magazines on his desk in a box; there was at last a business „you could grab“ - his comments. Secretly - that I was sure off - he expected that Fred would introduce him on his next visit to one of the cover girls. A further proof of how easily men can be manipulated. In fact - I do not exclude myself from that as in that respect I am an absolute Moron.
Then finally the claims arrived. The next month’s account showed a significant negative balance, and the number of claims went beyond all our worst expectations. A nightmare and our insurers had to pay. A one-off exception, Hughes hoped, but that did not prove to be true. Subsequently account came after account showing negative balances, and Crocodile Dundee’s business was getting into a precarious position, close to negative results, a fact that in the face of such a considerable volume of premiums was unsettling. On the phone Fred assured John he had undertaken steps to improve the results, and after that came by Facsimile a whole catalogue of details that led to a short-lived reassurance. In addition, Fred announced the next seminar in December, and there would be discussion on the causes and efficient proactive measures. This time it would be in Santa Barbara in California, at the invitation of the Yacht Club - at the Biltmore Four Seasons;
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