The Boss and the Secretary: A Stereotype That Packs a Punch Not Only in Hollywood – Detectives Report

Due to a current occasion and with the kind permission of the persons involved, the Berlin detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin would like to dispel a cliché at this point – namely the notion that affairs between bosses and secretaries are merely clichés. The cliché is not a cliché at all but (supposedly) a bitter reality.

From their professional practice, the investigators of Kurtz Investigations Berlin can report that this stereotype does not arise without reason. Some people may find this fact amusing, but in practice the men and women affected by it – because they have been betrayed – can find no comfort in the frequency of this form of relationship betrayal. What possibilities exist for proving such suspicions? The detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin explain below and will gladly advise you individually: +49 30 5557 8641-0.

Our (Authorised) Case Example: Business Trip as a Pleasure Holiday – Surveillance by Berlin Detectives

When Mrs Donati (name changed) approached our Berlin detectives, she did not give the impression – unlike many other clients in difficult personal situations – of being in a vulnerable state. On the contrary, she knew exactly what she expected from Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin, what her obligations as a client were, and most likely also how she would deal with the evidence that might be produced for her suspicion. Mrs Donati, a spirited southerner through and through, did not appear like a hurt wife relegated to second place. She wanted to fight, showed strength, and enlisted our private detectives for Bruges as support.

Target Person Gets In, Target Person Gets Out

Mrs Donati informed the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Berlin that her husband was planning to travel to Brugestoday, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow – in any case at some point within the next two weeks – to attend various business appointments. Possibly he would take his “personal assistant” with him. She was quite a character, apparently not seeking advancement through seduction but nevertheless dazzled by Mr Donati’s charm and wealth.

Ultimately it was agreed that our detectives would observe Mr Donati in pairs continuously during the business hours of his company. If he set off towards Bruges, we would surely notice. In reality, however, it was not quite so simple, because our private detectives initially observed Mr Donati for nine days in and around Berlin. During this time he repeatedly drove relatively long distances westwards on the Federal Motorway 2 without ever actually crossing the border. So the matter of “you will notice it” proved somewhat uncertain. During those nine days our detectives were able to observe on several occasions how Mr Donati collected the employee suspected of being his affair partner from her home and dropped her off again. There was never any exchange of affection, or at most inside the darkened luxury sports car of our target person. What happens inside vehicles belongs to the most strictly protected private sphere. Observing events inside would therefore not have been legally permissible. Moreover, the stationary periods never lasted longer than four minutes – which is admittedly an unusually long interval between entering a car and departure but ultimately did not help us further. Instead, during those nine days we had to rotate four detectives, because constantly following targets by car and on foot in Berlin traffic inevitably leads to a risk of recognition.

Surveillance All the Way to Bruges in Belgium

On the tenth day Mr Donati finally collected his assistant again (as had happened several times before), drove with her along the A2 towards Hannover, and this time continued his journey past Bielefeld through the Ruhr Area and on to Bruges, where the two arrived late at night (around 04:30) and went together into a hotel room. Fortunately, the operations management of Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin had scheduled a fresh investigative team for Bruges on precisely that day and appointed a new case manager. The risk of detection was therefore significantly lower than if we had used observers on that day who had already been working on the case for several days.

“Keep Going! More!”

As soon as the target persons had clearly left the wider area of Berlin – namely near Braunschweig – our detectives were able for the first time to document how the targets publicly displayed affection. Several photographs and two videos of these moments were created. Yet this was not enough for Mrs Donati: “Keep going! More!” was her clear instruction over the telephone. And so our detectives for Bruges continued to follow the targets to Bruges, where over a period of four days they were regularly able to document the exchange of rather public displays of affection.

The days of surveillance usually followed a similar pattern: at some point during the morning or around midday the targets would leave their room, go to the hotel buffet, return briefly to their room after eating, and then drive off to various business appointments, all of which revolved around food (Mr Donati is a rather well-built man). In between the targets strolled through the old town, returned to the hotel room, cuddled on park benches, returned again to the hotel room, and so forth. Following them was comparatively easy for our experienced surveillance operatives because, firstly, we had obtained a hotel room with a balcony overlooking the target vehicle directly above the room of the targets, and secondly the two were living in their own romantic world and paid no attention to the people around them. Nevertheless, our investigators had hardly any opportunity for real breaks:

Telephone Terror during the Assignment of our Detectives in Bruges

Mrs Donati, the client of our detectives from Berlin, was absolutely insatiable when it came to receiving information and updates on the progress of the investigation. She constantly called at the most inconvenient times to obtain status updates. Normally our observers would not tolerate this, because you must imagine that following targets for days on end places a certain physical and psychological strain on investigators: never sleeping in their own beds, sometimes having to sleep in the car, always remaining awake longer than those under observation – even though those individuals may be on holiday while you yourself are working shifts of sixteen, eighteen, or twenty hours. During the night the two-person team alternates: one investigator keeps the hotel exit and the target vehicle under control while the other tries to sleep a little. After three hours they swap. After six hours at the latest the night is over for both – meaning a maximum of three hours’ sleep per detective, assuming one can fall asleep immediately.

If during this brief sleep phase the phone constantly vibrates because the client wishes to know whether anything has happened in the last fifteen minutes (in the middle of the night, no less), that can put considerable strain on the nerves. In this particular case with this extremely strong and committed client, our private detectives in Bruges still answered the phone diligently even at the most inconvenient hours in order to calm Mrs Donati’s excessive eagerness:

• No, between 03:00 and 03:15 nothing has happened, just as on the previous nights. We must recover and will provide you with another update in the morning. Thank you, and we wish you a good night as well!
• 03:30 and four seconds: No, between 03:15 and 03:30 nothing has happened, just as on the previous nights. We must recover and will provide you with another update in the morning. Thank you, and we wish you a good night as well!

“Best Private Detective of All Time!”

After four days, an extremely long investigation report, and full memory cards, our targets – and therefore of course also the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Berlin – returned home. Once back in Berlin, Mrs Donati allowed our investigators four hours of sleep before the phone started ringing again. When would the report be finished?! Somewhat involuntarily, an appointment was quickly arranged for the delivery of the gathered information.

The operations manager had just managed to blur the faces of the targets in the final image when Mrs Donati suddenly stood behind him asking for the photographic material. Our lead detective went through each individual picture with her. The anonymised targets could be seen in a tight embrace, exchanging affectionate gestures – for most women this would feel like a slap in the face. Yet with every picture Mrs Donati’s triumphant grin grew wider. “Ha! The scoundrel! We will show him! This is wonderful! I will rub it under his fat nose! The best detective in the whole world, the best of all time! I will write it everywhere on the internet!” (incidentally, we are still waiting for that today, Mrs Donati). It should be mentioned once again that the surveillance in Bruges was exhausting but not technically demanding. We therefore do not wish to praise ourselves excessively here but simply report what Mrs Donati said in her emotional state.

Normally our investigators approach such conversations with some apprehension, as they must inform deceived wives or husbands about their partner’s infidelity. Mrs Donati was no exception in that regard. Our operations manager was therefore quite astonished by the clear enthusiasm of our client.

The Resolution at the End: Mr Donati Is Not the Boss.

When the detective asked in surprise why Mrs Donati seemed so happy, she eventually informed him that it was not her husband who owned the business and the multimillion fortune – it was she herself. She was the one who had brought the company and the wealth into the marriage. Although he enjoyed all financial freedoms, he was ultimately dependent on her. “I will cut him down to size!”, she exclaimed with shining eyes. An interesting relationship dynamic.

• So we are to prove the infidelity in order to spare you maintenance payments after the divorce?, our detective asked.
• Divorce? No, how do you get that idea? “I want to rub it under his fat nose, and then he will come crawling back like a dog!”

We will leave that without comment.

“That Is Just How I Am – What Can I Do About It?” Reaction of an Exposed Cheater

After so much excitement, our Berlin detectives were naturally curious how the matter between the spouses had ultimately turned out. Through the couple’s now-informed daughter we learned that this incident was by no means the first of its kind. Our target person had repeatedly selected “personal assistants” in the past based on their appearance and was also a regular visitor to brothels even after being caught. “And yet my mum is really attractive as well!”, the daughter remarked in astonishment.

This was not the first moment in this extraordinarily unusual case of marital infidelity when our detectives were left without words. We therefore wish to fill the silence by thanking Mrs Donati, her husband, and their daughter for allowing us to publish their case so candidly – and of course for the trust they placed in the abilities of Kurtz Detective Agency Berlin.