Her Swedish Billionaire’s Baby

Chapter 4

Samara stopped by the message board to see if the notification was up. She lifted her eyes and smiled with delight as she read.

The Day to Day Challenges of Swedish Shipping

Free lecture

Saturday 19 May 14.00
De Neve Auditorium
UCLA

In his talk Business Mogul Bjorn Fredriksen traces the rise of Swedish shipping and the overarching challenge to be able to meet the various needs and expectations of its Member Organizations in a timely and expedient manner. The Member Organizations’ needs and expectations can vary considerably and the challenge lies in finding common solutions that are acceptable both to Member Organizations that want to accelerate the work of the Organization, and to those who are in need of technical assistance. If the Organization does not manage to find acceptable global solutions, there is a risk that various regional or national solutions are developed, which may have a negative impact on international trade and the creation of a level playing field for the maritime community. In addition, it may create difficulties for effective implementation and enforcement in some regions. Furthermore, there is a strong need for the organization to have the ability to adequately respond to issues such as threats to the environment. Inability to address important issues will undermine the important function and role of the IMO as the prime regulator for global shipping in the long run. In addition, such a development would reduce the effectiveness and create uncertainty for the whole shipping industry.

Bjorn Fredriksen is CEO of the Nordstorm Group, based in Stockholm

She skipped away, excited for tomorrow.

*****

Bjorn Fredriksen was a surprise. Somehow, Samara hadn’t expected him to be so…she shivered, unable to find just the right word. The color of his eyes fascinated her right away. She’d seen pictures of him before, but the reality was much more…hypnotizing. They weren’t blue exactly, closer to violet. They were also covered by the longest lashes Samara had ever seen, dark in color, almost black looking. But they couldn’t be…they were probably just a darker auburn than his hair; which shone with gold highlights and looked so soft Samara just wanted to run her fingers through it. He had long shapely fingers and he was tall. His Viking ancestors were definitely showing; he might have been even taller than her dad who was really one of the tallest people she’d seen in real life. In spite of his height, he walked with panther like grace and purpose and Samara found that her heart was beating faster just watching him.

He reached the podium and smiled down at them. For a moment, Samara thought their eyes met. She leaned forward, iPad at the ready, waiting to record everything Bjorn said and did.

“Good morning MBA class,” he began and smiled.

“F.M.L,” Samara murmured on seeing that smile.

“My name is Bjorn Fredriksen and I am happy to be here to speak with you about our industry. I will start with a small tale and then we’ll do some Q&A around the topic of shipping. Would that be acceptable to you?”

The class murmured its ascent and Bjorn clicked his indicator to show a picture of a ship on the projector.

“On September 12^th 1745, the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg headed for her home port after almost two years sailing on the world’s oceans. The ship suffered heavily from storms, and the crew were exhausted but full of expectation. But alas, the triumphant homecoming would end in catastrophe.

With a pilot on board, and before the very eyes of encouraging Gothenburgers in small boats and on the beaches, the vessel ran aground in the middle of the entrance to Göteborg harbour – and sunk with her entire cargo. Thanks to all the nearby boats, all the crew survived. Repeated attempts with varying success were made to salvage the valuable cargo, which was worth as much as the national budget. Speculation was fervent. An insurance fraud? Rudder problems? A drunken captain? What do you all think?”

Samara raised her hand and Bjorn smiled at her. He didn’t acknowledge her though but just continued to speak.

“Eventually the ship Götheborg was forgotten, until 240 years later when a diver rediscovered her and began a marine-archaeological excavation. The attention surrounding the find and the excavation whetted people’s appetites, and led to the slightly crazy idea of rebuilding the entire vessel – in full scale using traditional techniques – and sailing to China once again. All ingenious ideas have a degree of madness. It is therefore good to know that adventure lives on, and madness still flourishes.

“2004 was the year when the outfitting of the ship was finalized and she was named by Her Royal Highness, the Queen of Sweden. In spring 2005, Götheborg was tested under sail and approved by the authorities. In the autumn of the same year, she managed once again to take the Swedish East India Company to China. And the circle was completed.”

Samara put her hands together and clapped but then stopped when she realized she was the only one. Bjorn smiled again at her and quirked his eyebrow as if he was amused at her enthusiasm.

“Any questions?” he asked addressing her directly.

Samara’s hand was up like a shot.

*****

The lecture took just forty minutes and consisted mostly of Bjorn answering questions. He tried to be fair but to be honest, Samara had the most questions of anyone in the room and was the most enthusiastic. It wasn’t just because it was her research project; Bjorn was articulate, engaging and had a lot of insights to offer. Samara wanted to take advantage of every second she had with him. Just as he was wrapping up, Professor Zhang stepped in the room and walked up to the podium to stand smiling by him. It was as if she was his child since he was so much taller but Prof. Zhang’s composure didn’t slip.

“We want to thank Mr. Fredriksen for giving us his time and knowledge and would like to present him with this gift in gratitude.”

Samara felt someone nudge her and turned to find one of the other TAs holding out a wrapped package to her.

“Prof asked me to give this to you to present,” she whispered to Samara.

She leapt to her feet and took the package, heart beating faster at the thought of being so close to Bjorn. It was stupid and somewhere inside she was laughing at herself for being such a cliché…even as she felt her knees go weak as she climbed the stairs. Bjorn watched her come, his eyes unreadable but with a slight smile on his face.

She held out the gift to him with a curtsy, “Thank you very much Mr. Fredriksen for coming to share with us today.”

Prof Zhang stepped forward, “Samara is one of my best students and she really pushed for you to join us today.”

Bjorn’s eyes brightened with interest, “Is that so?”

“Yes. Her research project is on the subject of your family’s shipping so like any good student, she didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to get the facts from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”

“Ah,” Bjorn said still with that brightness in his eyes.