The waiter brought over a bucket of ice, with an entire bottle of Chablis wine tilted inside. Without needing any instructions, he poured a glass of the cool white wine for each of the three.
Frederick raised his glass, signaling to the others, and then took a sip. Naylor rarely drank. It wasn't that he couldn't drink, but simply that he never had the opportunity, and he didn't think it was a good habit. However, after the Chablis touched his lips, he felt a refreshing sensation and continued listening to the waiter talk about New York.
Mostly, it was about the opening of another luxurious skyscraper or some wealthy man who had taken up a new celebrity mistress, with rumors circulating. For instance, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where Naylor and Frederick would be staying tonight, had just opened this year.
It was claimed to be the tallest hotel building in the U.S., with 1,245 rooms, including 197 suites. When it opened, even President Hoover delivered a congratulatory speech from the White House Cabinet Office, stating that the opening of this hotel during the unprecedented Great Depression represented the courage and confidence of the entire nation.
Hoover even had a special suite in this hotel.
And if history hadn't changed, Dwight Eisenhower, who would later become president, was also a regular visitor to the hotel. After his death, his wife chose to live there. When Queen Elizabeth II visited the U.S., she and her husband stayed in the presidential suite of this hotel as well.
Movies like The Godfather III and Scent of a Woman had scenes filmed there. There was even a famous line in the movie that went something like "This is where civilization begins."
Of course, Naylor and Frederick weren't staying in a suite. Those were a bit too expensive. A regular room would be just fine. Their main reason for choosing this hotel was its excellent security. Thirty thousand dollars was enough to make many people take risks.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," came a familiar voice suddenly. Though in a rush, Wilkie still maintained a polished and impeccable appearance, his hair neatly combed, and he walked toward them.
Naylor and Frederick immediately stood up, smiling at Wilkie. After all, they came to New York to meet him, so they were quite happy.
The waiter got up and gave his seat to Wilkie, taking his own wine glass and sitting to the side. When the boss arrives, you have to make room for them.
"Busy lately?" Frederick asked, taking a new wine glass from the waiter and filling it for Wilkie.
"Just work, every year there's a busy season," Wilkie replied, accepting the glass and finally showing a slight crack in his composed demeanor as he finished the drink. It seemed he had let his guard down a bit.
He was a tax lawyer, and during the annual tax season in the U.S., he was always extremely busy. It was much like the character Andy from The Shawshank Redemption, who had to spend months preparing taxes every year, working non-stop and even getting help from Red. Almost all the prison guards in the entire state would ask him for help with their taxes.
"Word is, there have been a lot of economic disputes in the past two months?" Naylor continued the conversation.
"It's just about that issue in Germany," Wilkie said, sounding somewhat resigned.
"Germany has demanded full cancellation of all reparations and wants countries to invest in and assist Germany," Wilkie said, his voice tinged with frustration.
Germany had already paid a considerable amount of reparations, and even though its domestic situation was collapsing, it had never defaulted on its payments. Wilkie seemed unsure whether Germany's request was simply a desperate move or part of a larger, more calculated plan to extend Germany's survival.
"Do you think it will work?" Frederick was particularly interested in Germany's situation.
"It's difficult, at least not for the time being. Look outside," Wilkie gestured towards the window. "New York looks shiny on the outside, but because of Germany's debt delay, the market's credit has completely collapsed. In the past two months, the last few remaining banks are barely holding on."
By the time Roosevelt took office, every single bank in the U.S. had no ability to make large payments. If the government didn't inject funds into the remaining banks, the entire banking system would collapse.
"Is it really that bad?" Frederick asked in disbelief.
Meanwhile, people were enjoying their wine on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, living leisurely afternoons, while the market and financial systems had completely collapsed with no hope of recovery. Even giant companies like U.S. Steel had seen their stock prices plummet by 90%, and there was no end in sight.
"To be honest, I'm worried too," Wilkie admitted.
His property values had dropped by more than 55%, and his stocks were practically worthless. The money he had in the bank was still there—for now—but who knew how long the bank would survive?
"Are you looking for a stable, value-preserving investment?" Naylor immediately understood.
Even Naylor and Frederick knew that it was incredibly difficult to find a safe investment in these times. As a semi-expert in economics, Wilkie definitely understood this as well. However, he felt that investing in movies was too risky. Putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into something that might not pay off was something a conservative investor like him couldn't accept.
"You've got a lot of ideas, huh?" Wilkie remarked.