Renee switched to English as she introduced me, and I was subjected to a large bear hug and long kisses on my mouth. When she released me I was able t... catch my breath, someone had vacated a chair next to Renee and she sat down opposite me. I remained standing until Renee indicated for me to sit down; they were obviously close friends and began a rapid conversation. As I said she was a large woman and in proportion with a large rack, her neck and chest decorated with a lot of gold like chains. " Okay," I said with a smile. It was a big improvement talking to herover the photographer. I glanced back and he was yelling at someoneelse. "Is he always like that?" Unfortunately," she replied with a slight frown. "I wasn't too excitedwhen I learned he was the photographer today." I hope I do okay," I told her. "This is only my second photo shoot, andthe first wasn't more than a couple of quick shots."She smiled at me. "You'll do fine." GET DRESSED!" the photographer yelled from the other. It had all been such a mess. The former owners had expanded too quickly taking over another company in the hope of gaining a bigger market share, but publishing was such a fickle business, and the market was still quite volatile. He couldn’t really criticize their reckless too much because his own publishing business went bust only eighteen months earlier.Alan had had such high hopes six months earlier when he had been appointed marketing director. They had only just managed to survive a year. The marriage was arranged as an alliance between the two families; in 1703 her brother Albert Frederick was to marry her first husband's daughter, Mary Dorothea. When her husband died in 1698, Elisabeth Sophie became joint guardian-regent along with her former brother-in-law Ferdinand. In January 1701, Elisabeth Sophie left Courland, her son and stepdaughter for her brother's court in Berlin. In 1703, she was formally deprived of the custody of her son and the regency."She married Christian.