One of the many businesses that Adrian had fingers in was a 40% stake in a Vineyard in the Languedoc region of France. Maxine was still getting to grips with the affairs of the hotel in Devon when he said that it was time for them to visit it.

She looked up the location on the map and it was clear that it wasn’t the easiest of places to get to. A quick internet search revealed that one airline flew direct from London to Carcassonne a few times a week.

“Shall I book us some flights? They go from Stanstead,” asked Maxine.

Adrian laughed.

“Already booked for next Tuesday,” he replied grinning.

“But… they don’t fly there on Tuesdays?” She responded slightly confused.

“That’s because we aren’t flying commercial.”

“Eh?”

“Wait and see my dear, wait and see,” he replied grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Nothing that Maxine could do could persuade him to let on how they were travelling so she changed tack.

She started delving into the company finances. The old adage, ‘Follow the Money’ came to mind and that is what she did.

It didn’t take her long to discover a regular payment to a Business Charter company. Then, thanks to their website, she understood what was going on. Armed with all the data, she approached Adrian.

“I found this payment to this charter company. I guess we are flying with them then?”

Adrian smiled back at her.

“Yes. Well done. You followed the money. We subscribe to a Charter Service. That allows us to reserve a plane for flights like this. The subscription is a sort of membership fee. Depending upon how much we pay, we a certain number of flights at low rates in a year. If we want more flights after that, then we pay a higher fee. These are all based on flights up to two and a half hours. If we wanted to go across the Atlantic then another company could be used but for that I prefer to fly commercial and then get a Charter in the US to get us close to our destination.”

Another old adage came to mind when he’d finished telling her about how they’d travel. That was ‘Time is Money’. While they did spent a lot of time in the Office time wasted at airport Check-in and security and travelling to the airport, were not on his list of ‘good things to do with time’.

“Where are we flying from?”

“Farnborough. About forty-five minutes away by road depending upon the traffic. A bit less by train.”

---

The following Tuesday morning, Cliff drove the pair to the Airport. It wasn’t like any airport that she’d ever used before. They only had a few metres to walk from the car to the plane. The plane was a sleek twin engine Jet. This was the sort of plane that you see on films when rich people travelled. It was then that Maxine realised that she was in a different league. The figures that she’d seen on the balance sheets and bank statements all started to make sense. She was definitely in a different league now although Adrian was never flashy with money. Subtle was more like it.

The car that they normally used was five years old. Adrian’s and now her home didn’t have all the latest electronic kit. The Computer she was using on a daily basis was at least three years old and she knew that he’d had an old pair of shoes resoled and heeled instead of buying a new pair. Maxine was starting to learn about being careful with money.

She’d thought that she was careful with Money. Her Mother had drilled into both her children about keeping a lid on expenditure. Thomas/Maxine had always been a saver while his dear sister spent every penny she got either from work or as pocket money from their Mother.

Money had been tight after their Father died but even so and until now, the sums of money on company balance sheets had been just figures on a page. She started to realise that they were more than that. They represented people’s hard work and often their lives.

As the flight crew prepared for take-off and she cradled a glass of Champagne the enormity of the task ahead of her. It wasn’t just a case of upping her game. It was more like a total change in outlook.

---

As Maxine watched the French countryside change beneath them, she began to make a list of changes that she’d have to make to her life if she was going to carry on the business once Adrian… As she thought about the future she shuddered. She didn’t want to go there at least for the time being. She had to develop a hard side to her character. Her dear sister had always taken Thomas for a bit of a softie. Those days were over. Well, that was her intent.

“We will be landing in fifteen minutes can you please fasten your seatbelts?” said the hostess.

Her words broke Maxine’s daydreaming. She’d been thinking of how little time had passed since she’d been unemployed and was roped into going to an interview in place of his sister. She’d come a long way in that time. Now she was flying on a private jet to visit a Vineyard.

Maxine smiled back at the hostess. Her name was Ann-Lee and she was to put it bluntly ‘effing gorgeous’. Her uniform helped a lot but nevertheless, she was drop dead beautiful.

She buckled up and looked across the aisle as Adrian. He was as ever engrossed in some papers. He’d remarked many times that reading financial papers came easy to Maxine whereas he had to work at it. She’d already put her foot in it a few times because of that so Maxine had become more cautious about offering her opinion unless she was asked. She knew the papers he was looking at and importantly, she knew where the problems were. She’d scanned them the previous evening but she bit her tongue after all, he was the boss.

Ann-Lee went about her business of making sure that things were stowed away for landing. Maxine watched every move she made and fell more deeply in love with her by the second. She was all the woman that she dreamed of being. In the end, she looked away and went back to watching the scene outside. She saw the walled city of Carcassonne as the plane circled to make its final approach. Then she saw all the tourist busses and wondered if there was ever a time when it wasn’t mobbed by them. It looked like an interesting place to visit but only when the tourist hordes were not there.

All too soon, they were on the ground and the flight was over. It had been a very pleasant experience when compared to the budget airline Thomas had flown with to Tenerife a couple of years before.

“Give my thanks to the all of the crew for a nice flight,” Maxine said to Ann-Lee as they stepped down onto the tarmac. She smiled back at her. Maxine couldn’t decide if it was a plastic smile or a real one.

---

An immigration officer merely glanced at the couple’s passports and waved them through. A few steps and they were in the car that had been sent to pick them up. Being driven everywhere might be ok for Adrian but there were times when Maxine wanted to get behind the wheel and drive but today was not going to be one of them.

The pair were driven along the road that was signposted ‘Narbonne’. It didn’t take long before they were amongst the vineyards of the Minervois Appellation. Their destination was a few miles from the village of Minervois itself.

“We are here,” said Adrian as the car pulled into a courtyard. Two women emerged from a barn to greet us.

“Hi Adrian, so very nice to see you again,” said one of them.

“Hi Francoise, I’d like to introduce Maxine. Maxine, this is Francoise and Jules. They are the proprietors of this fine place.”

“Bonjour Maxine,” said Jules.
Jules was a stunning brunette.

“Bonjour Jules et Francoise,” Maxine replied in school level French.

“Come on inside, we have everything setup for you,” said a beaming Francoise.

Maxine appeared a bit bewildered and looked at Adrian for guidance.

“We will be tasting the wine from the latest harvest.”

Maxine had read about the latest ‘Beaujolais run’ a few weeks before. She couldn’t see the fascination with that stuff. Mind you, and to be honest, she’d rather drink a pint of ‘6X’ than fancy wines but Adrian was trying his best to educate her in what he called the finer things in life but if she saw some cans or bottle of ‘6X’ for sale, she’d buy them in a flash.

Jules led them all into the barn. Inside, there was at least a dozen large stainless-steel vats in two lines. Between them a cloth covered table was setup. On it were half a dozen bottles of wine. Another table was laden with food. Maxine thought that there was enough to feed twenty but didn’t say anything.

There were glasses and also plates of cold meat and cheese.

They all sat down as Jules opened the first bottle.

“Here we go. This is our ‘Syrah’. We think it is our the best yet,” said a beaming Francoise.

It was mid-afternoon before they emerged into the daylight. Maxine felt a little pissed but happy. The wines were brilliant. Well, her uneducated palette thought so. Their hosts were clearly dedicated to their craft. She’d felt it strange that two women were so passionate about wine until they’d explained how they’d gotten together when they were students at the Sorbonne in Paris. They were in a Restaurant and both had ordered a particular wine only to find that there was only one bottle left. They’d agreed to share it and thus began a friendship. Later, they became lovers and moved to work at a Vineyard in the Rhone Valley. There they’d learned their trade and were looking for a place to take over when they’d run into Adrian a few years before. He was on holiday in Carcassonne. The rest was as they say, history.

Since investing in the operation and on at least an annual basis, Adrian would come here for the tasting and to look at the books. It had become something of a working holiday for him.

---

The next day, Adrian and Maxine went over the books and pronounced that the place was making a bigger profit that ever.

Over another good lunch, Jules offered to pay an extra fifteen percent off of their debt to Adrian.

“Don’t you like me being a shareholder?” he asked.

“It isn’t that Adrian,” said Francoise.
“We don’t like having debts.”

Adrian smiled.

“What do you think Maxine?”

“Well, they have an admirable aim but it really shouldn’t be considered a debt.”

Adrian grinned.

“What do you mean?” asked a slightly indignant Jules.

“Well,” said Maxine carrying on.

“If you think of Adrian as a silent partner. At the moment, he owns around forty percent of the equity in the operation. That gives the two of you the majority holding so you can pretty well do what you want without him being able to overrule you. It is pretty obvious that you are ambitious and want to expand the operation here in time. That expansion will require capital. If you went to the bank to borrow the money, that would be a debt. A debt can be called in. Adrian’s investment won’t be called in. That’s why I don’t consider it a debt.”

There was silence around the table.

“Now, if Adrian were to fund the expansion then all that would change would be the amount of equity he owns in the business. As before you would pay that off using the same terms as before. Isn’t that a better arrangement that being in debt to the banks?”

“How do you know that we are looking to expand?” asked Jules.

Maxine smiled.
“There are what twelve vats in the barn where we tasted the wine? I saw the foundations for what looks like another twelve, possibly more but a significant expansion nevertheless. It was probably sensible to put in all the infrastructure at the outset but as far as I know, the biggest expense are the vats. That means, to expand production you will need to put more vats in and that needs money not only here but for the land and the vines unless you are contracting in fruit from the local area. There are other costs such as staff and transport to consider. I can see that you don’t bottle the wine here. I think that means that you use the local cooperative. That all involves cost. More production might also mean higher costs there because you could be competing for space in the bottling plant. Then there is storage of the bottled wine and increased transport costs to the customers. Am I good so far?”

There were no objections.

“I told you that Maxine was a smart cookie,” said Adrian with a huge smile on his face.
“She’ll be taking over from me after this visit.”

Then he added,
“I only told her about the trip a few days ago.”

There were appreciative nods from their hosts.

The day finished with a tour of the vineyard and then everyone sat down to dinner which consisted of some delightful local specialities including a Cassoulet made with Wild Boar.

---

The next morning, there was time for a bit of sightseeing before the flight home. Adrian suggested that they went to the coastal town of Sete where they had a great seafood lunch.

“Is it always like this?” asked Maxine as they sat at a table that overlooked the sea.

Adrian laughed.
“The weather down here is generally pretty good all year around but they do get some fogs rolling in from the mountains to the south. These used to be a problem for planes landing at Gerona but no longer. Apparently, the fogs are great for the vines but I’m clearly no expert in the matter.”

She decided to change tack.

“What time is our flight?”

“We are due to leave at five.”

“Do we have time to get something for Cliff?”

Adrian smiled.

“What were you thinking of?”

“Some of that delightful fig jam we had at breakfast.”

“That would be much appreciated I’m sure.”

With the help of their driver, they found some at a local Deli before heading for the Airport. It was then that they found that the return flight was going to be delayed. Adrian received a text message saying that the aircraft had developed some trouble and was still at the airport in Ajaccio, Corsica. It was expected to be with us at around 8pm.

As they waited for their plane to arrive, Adrian asked.

“What do you think of Jules and Franciose?”

“An interesting couple. They seem very determined to succeed in the wine business.”

“They are and they need it. There was a lot of opposition and even ridicule when two women turned up and announced that they were going to make wine. The wine business in this part of the world is very male dominated. In other parts there are women owners of estates or chateau’s but very few are actual winemakers. They have been going for six years now and their wine has improved by a huge amount. So much so that they just missed out on a Silver Medal at the Concours Général Agricole in Paris much to the chagrin of many local producers. Despite them being women, it was a general feather in the cap for the whole appellation.”

“I liked the wine but didn’t think it was that good. Perhaps it is not to my taste? Shows what little I know eh?”

Adrian laughed and took her hand in his.
“Don’t worry, you have plenty of time to learn. I knew very little about wine before I came down here for the first time on Holiday.”

Then he sighed.
“It was meeting with them that made me decide to change how I was doing business. Before that I was running the Family business but something was missing. Meeting them for the first time changed all that. I have a lot to thank them for and I hope that you will carry on it after I’m gone?”

“I will but I have some very big shoes to follow.”

Adrian smiled back at his protégé.

“I think you will do just fine. You are already exceeding my expectations.”

She really hoped he was right on that and could keep it up.

---

The flight eventually left Carcassonne at 10:20pm local time. The crew was just as anxious to get home as Adrian and Maxine were. Ann-Lee was very down. It was obvious to them that she was forcing a smile on her face.

“Why the long face?” asked Maxine once the plane had levelled out.

She sighed.

“Oh, nothing really.”

Maxine didn’t believe her at all.

“What is it really?”

She sighed again,
“We won’t get back to Farnborough in time for me to get the last train home.”

“Where do you need to get to?”

“Dorking, I live on the south side of Dorking and the last train from North Camp leaves at just after Midnight.”

She smiled.
“Well, we have plenty of room in our car. We are going to Reigate.”

“Really? I don’t want to cause any trouble?”

“I’m sure that it won’t be any trouble… Will it Boss?”

Adrian looked up from the newspaper he was reading and smiled.
“It will be our pleasure to take you home Ann-Lee. Relax and do your job and we’ll get you home.”

Ann-Lee breathed a sigh of relief.
“This means a lot to me, an awful lot. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. We can go through Dorking just give us directions when we get there,” said Adrian.

---

The plane landed at the historic Farnborough Airport at just after 11:30pm. They were lucky as the tower normally closes at Midnight. Cliff was waiting for them when they came out of the ‘Jet’ Terminal.

“Hiya Boss, Miss. Didn’t think you were going to make it tonight,” said Cliff.

“Touch and go but we are here. We need to go home via Dorking. We have someone to drop off there. They will be joining us in a couple of minutes.”

“Sure thing Boss,” replied Cliff as they got into the car.

Ann-Lee joined them a few minutes later.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to give instructions for the cleaning crew. The plane will be going to Oslo and Helsinki tomorrow,” she replied as she buckled up in the back of the BMW alongside me.

“Are you going with it?” asked Maxine.

“Thankfully no. I’m off until Sunday. Then it is Athens, Ankara and Kiev. Back on Wednesday.”

“All set in the back?” asked Cliff.

“We are,” replied Maxine.

---

Thirty-five minutes later, they arrived outside Ann-Lee’s home. A small terraced house south of the Town Centre.

“Thanks for the lift. It is much appreciated,” said Ann-Lee.

“Don’t mention it. We were happy to help out,” said Adrian.

“Thanks again, goodnight,” she said as she closed the door.

Cliff waited until she’d gone inside before he moved off.

“So that’s Ann-Lee then?” said Cliff.

“Yes Cliff, that is her.”

Adrian turned in his seat and said to Maxine,
“I tried to recruit her about eighteen months ago. She’d just left a ‘think-tank’ in the City after a bit of a scandal but she wasn’t interested in going back into business.”

“For my job?”

Adrian smiled.

“Yes and No. Yes, because I needed someone to work alongside of me and no because I didn’t think she was capable of taking over from me. That good enough for you?”

She glared back at him but she understood where he was coming from but the encounter with her had left an impression on Maxine.
As Adrian said goodnight to Maxine, he took her hand in his and said,
"You did very well on this trip. You handled the issue of the expansion very well."

---

Once Maxine had finished working on the internal report on the Vineyard she was at a bit of a loose end. Adrian was as usual working on some deal but it was too soon for him to share things with me. They had agreed that they’d only share when there was some possibility of a deal or investment happening.

“I’m going shopping,” she said to Adrian over breakfast one morning.

After a little groan he asked,
“Where? I don’t need the car so Cliff can take you?”

“Only as far as Redhill Station or I can take the bus from the end of the road.”

Adrian got the idea that this was a ‘me’ day.

“Don’t you… Oh never mind.”

She smiled at him.
“Were you about to say, ‘don’t you have enough clothes as it is without buying new ones?’”

He grinned back at her.

“Don’t forget that I’m a relative newbie to this side of the fence so to speak. I don’t have lots of clothes lurking at the bottom of my drawers or wardrobe. Besides, don’t you want me to look smart? I could revert to leggings or jeans with bits ripped out of them like pretty well every other woman my age?”

“Ok, ok. I get it. It is your money after all.”

Then Maxine leaned over the table and took his hand in hers.

“I have something specific in mind to buy and I might not even spend anything but fares and lunch.”

Adrian almost sprayed the mouthful of porridge that he’d just put into his mouth all over the table.

When he’d recovered his composure, he said,
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Cliff took her to Redhill Station so that she could get the train into London. Well, she wasn’t going to the West End or Knightsbridge but to Wimbledon. She had an appointment at 10:30.

---

Right on cue at 10:30, Maxine walked into ‘Emma’s Brides and Dressmaking’ shop in Wimbledon Village.

“Hello, can I help you?” asked the assistant.

She was standing in a shop filled with Wedding Dresses.

“Yes, I have an appointment at ten-thirty.”

The assistant looked in the diary.

“Ah, you must be Maxine Saunders.”

“That’s right.”

“The owner of the shop, Emma Francis, will be with you in a minute. Why don’t you have a look at some of our stock. You might get some ideas for your dress.”

Maxine chuckled.

“I’m not here to get a Wedding Dress although, they all look very nice. I’m not planning on getting married for quite a while yet.”

“Oh… It is just that… Well, most of our customers are here for Wedding Dresses.”

“Yes, Emma said that when we spoke on the phone. My requirements are a little different to that.”

Just then a tall woman in her early fifties emerged from the workroom at the rear of the shop.

“Maxine?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

“Welcome to our shop. I’m Emma. Won’t you please come through to the back. I have one or two sketches to get us started.”

“Thanks,” she replied quite nervously.

The pair of them sat down in the workroom. There were a couple of sketches in a pad that was sitting on a large cutting table.

“I had to admit that your call took me by surprise. As you can guess most if not all our work is on Wedding dresses. We do lots of alterations but to be honest it is a long time since we made one from scratch. It would be nice to make something from the ground up again.”

“Thanks. Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. I’ll be wanting at least five dresses but with a few small differences between them but the main part of the dress will be almost identical for all of them.”

“Oh,” replied Emma.
“That’s nice. That’s even more of a surprise.”

Maxine took a deep breath and said,
“Before we begin, do you have an issue working with someone who is Transgendered?”

Emma smiled.
“You would be surprised at how many wedding dresses we supply to Trans people these days. So, no, it isn’t a problem.”

“Good. Shall we begin?”

“As I said, I made a couple of sketches to get us started. Based upon what we discussed over the phone I came up with this.”

She showed Maxine the first one.

Her heart skipped a beat. It was so close to what she wanted.

“That is really good,” She replied as she pulled her phone out of her handbag.

“This is what inspired me.”

Maxine then showed her a picture of Ann-Lee on the tarmac at Carcassonne.

“Oh, I can see it now.”

“That’s what I want but different if you get my meaning.”

“I think I do.”

The pair spent the next hour refining the design and getting measured. At the end of it Maxine felt that Emma had understood what she was after. Maxine paid her a decent deposit and left Emma's shop feeling happy with life.

Maxine found a café just around the corner from the Dressmakers and got herself some Lunch while she figured what to do next.

Over a bowl of soup which was excellent, she made her mind up. She would go home and then do a bit more shopping on the Internet.

---

A little over an hour later she arrived home.

“Successful trip?” asked Adrian as she walked through the door.

“What do you think?”

“Well, I don’t see any shopping bags?”

“That’s because I didn’t buy anything,” she replied stretching

“That’s not like you to come back empty handed.

Maxine grinned back at him.

“Next time I’ll have lots.”

“This came in the post while you were out,” said Adrian as he handed her an envelope.

She looked at it and instinctively knew what was inside.

[to be continued in ‘Forsythe Saga – Real Life Test’]
[Authors Note]
At first glance this episode does not fit in with the other parts of the story so far. Rest assured, all will become clearer in later episodes.