Chapter 12: A Disturbing Meeting

Pavel drove us to the Palace but stopped at a corner leading to the square. It was a sunny day, and I saw Mr. Simik waiting for us. I was surprised, but he answered my unspoken question.

“Miss Parker, Count de Winter, Mr. Trotsky called me early this morning and asked what I could do to help you. You’re entering a potentially dangerous situation. It’s your call: you can tell me to leave and go on, or I can accompany you to your meeting. I’ll certainly not be invited, but I could wait in the Palace – if anything were to happen, I could be immediately at your side. I have a certain reputation in this city, and certain people might think twice, knowing that I’m there, before they would take steps that might cause problems. Count, we are talking about hypotheses now, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, no?”

Why were these people constantly repeating what I had said? But I agreed, and Pavel turned into the driveway. We handed over our documents and were led to a small parking lot. Two tall men in dark suits were waiting for us. We got out, and when Pavel closed the car and started to accompany us, he was stopped.

“The authorization is only for two people. You will have to stay here.”

What a warm welcome! I needed to establish my rules.

“Excuse me, this is Mr. Leon Simik, my Legal Counsel, and Mr. Trotsky, my Head of Security. Where I go, they go.”

“Not possible.”

Well, men of few words.

“Please tell your supervisor that if they cannot accompany me, the meeting with the Prime Minister is canceled.”

They stepped forward as if you wanted to take my arm, but Pavel growled.

“I would not do this if I were you. The PM has invited them for a meeting, and it might not be very advantageous for your career if he were told that you stopped his guests from entering!”

They stepped back, and they were told to let us pass a moment later. They didn’t like it, though.

A young and pretty secretary waited for us in the reception area and led us to the elevators. The outside of the building was a reconstruction in the old palatial style, but the inside was modern. We went to the top floor, where another secretary – this time rather old and with visible bad humor – came forward and got us into the waiting room.

“The Prime Minister is finishing a meeting and asks you to wait for five minutes.”

Then she left, and we were on our own. I turned to Pavel, but he stopped me, looking upwards and closing his eyes. I understood and nodded – there must have been video camas watching us.

Jenny took over. “Mr. Simik, as agreed, I’d like you to come with us, as the discussion will turn on legal points. Mr. Trotsky, please wait for us here.”

Both agreed, and when nothing happened after ten minutes, Jenny sent Leon to inquire what they were doing. The response was that the PM was still in a meeting. After another ten minutes, I went to ask what was happening. The secretary was sitting behind a big desk, reading a magazine. When she saw me, she was upset.

“I told you to wait in the other room!”

That was enough for me. “Miss whatever your name is, I’ve waited now for over twenty minutes without any information about what is going to happen. Tell your boss that I’ll wait five minutes more, and then I’ll leave.”

She stared at me, not believing her ears. She started to say something, hesitated, tried again, hesitated, and then got up and vanished through another dark door. Everything was dark in the Palace: chairs, desks, walls, even the mood of people seemed to be unhappy. She came back and snarled that the PM would be available in two minutes.

Jenny grinned when I went back.

“Any chance that you tried to be diplomatic, or you did you tell them to go to hell?”

I was injured. “Mary Ann, I want to let you know that I can be the most diplomatic man in the world.”

Even Pavel grinned. “This time also?” I shrugged. “Well, perhaps not all the time.”

When she came back, Jenny had one look at the secretary to take us to the PM and whispered

“Apparently not this time!”

I told Jenny to activate the camera but watch the time. We were led into a grandiose room - perhaps hall would be a better term – where the PM, Mr. Wacynsky, was sitting behind his gigantic desk. When he got up, I remembered the Ambassador in Canberra: small, stout, in an ill-fitting black suit, thick glasses, and his remaining hair jelled back. He waited for us to come close, apparently expecting us to take the initiative. We stopped before his desk and waited, and I nodded my head.

“Mr. Prime Minister.”

He waited, and we waited. Then the man at his side stepped forward. “I’m the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.”

I nodded again. “Mr. Chief of Staff.”

He was getting nervous, and I had to stop myself from grinning. He was a copy of his boss: small, stout, dark suit, hair back. I introduced Mr. Simik: “Mr. Prime Minister, this is Mr. Leon Simik, our Legal Counsel.”

They nodded at each other, we waited for another moment, and then the PM started his play. To my surprise, he spoke good English, not perfect but understandable. I wondered whether he knew that we spoke Polish fluently.

“Mr. Winter, I have called you to inform you about the actions we have taken and see how this can be handled with you and your company without major problems. The Sejm has passed a bill regaining Polish sovereignty on assets that have been taken away from our power. A German family with a long history of exploiting the Polish people is now controlling a significant part of the city of Elk. This city is important to us because of its fast growth in recent years and its influence in its region. We cannot accept that a German Count has that influence over a region, and we will take back control of your company. You are here to agree to our measures.”

Wow! He didn’t walk around the bushes! I waited for him to continue, but he stared at me, challenging a response. I was prepared for this.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I’m surprised by your words. You seem to be misinformed about a few things. First: The de Winter family has not exploited the Polish people – we have protected and cared for them, and if you ask anybody in that city or even in that region, you’ll find that they are as proud as we are of the centuries’ long relationship between my family and the Polish people. Second: You said that a German Count controls the economy of Elk – that is also not true. The company that controls our investment – not the Polish people – is an Australian company, run by an Australian CEO, Miss Parker. All the capital invested comes from Australia. I’m just a minor investor, and even my part used Australian resources. So, it’s not a German Count, but an Australian company that looked for investment opportunities, and I’m certain that the people of Elk are happy that they were selected.”

He stared at me and then turned to his buddy.

“Mr. Bukos, please check this. Mr. Winter, for us, this is not important. Australian or not, we know that you are behind all this. Your girlfriend is just a façade; women wouldn’t have the capacity to build up that company and get it to where you tell me you are now.”

I stepped on Jenny’s foot as she was ready to get up and teach him a lesson on women’s capacity, but I preferred to let him dig his own grave.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I’m sorry, but you are wrong again. Miss Parker is the CEO, and I’m just her assistant – ask the people she has worked with know whether she is capable or not.”

He was not concerned. “Mr. Winter, we’ll deal with you, not a woman that cannot make the final decisions. I admit that she’s pretty and probably used this to get what she wants, but we know that you decide.”

Now I had to hold Jenny down as she was ready to go to battle.

“Mr. Prime Minister...” I was angry myself – and why did I always start with the same words? “May I insist that Miss Parker informs you what we have done in the last years in that region, as she had the executive control of all actions.”

I turned to her. “Miss Parker, please explain our activities to the PM.”

Jenny was fuming but controlled herself. She gave a brief summary of our investments (emphasizing that it was an Australian company), what we had done, what we were doing, and our plans for the future. It was in vain.

The PM listened to her, looked several times at his watch, and when she finished, he turned to me.

“Mr. Winter, this is all and good, but we lost control of that city and want it back. You have two options: you can sell us the company, and we’ll determine the price, or you accept that we appoint our people to the top management positions. You’ll transfer two-thirds of your shares to a Polish company we have for these purposes, and you may perhaps even keep your castle if you don’t create any problems. Make up your mind.”

Jenny took a deep breath to control herself. “Mr. Prime Minister, we don’t accept any of these options. We have spent years of our time and many millions of dollars to get where we are, and we’ll not hand this over. We’ll take all steps necessary to defend us vigorously, and I know that we will succeed!”

He ignored her. “Mr. Winter, you have until Monday to tell us what you will decide. My decision has been made. Good morning, and Mr. Bukos will guide you out.”

He turned back to his desk and looked at some documents, but not before whispering to his buddy “Lukas, the same deal as with the others.”

He didn’t know that we spoke Polish and had forgotten that Mr. Simik was with us. He glanced at me, but I shrugged.

“We’ll discuss your suggestion and will be back with our answer.”

Lukas Bukos accompanied us to the elevator but turned to me at the last moment.

“Mr. Winter, I was impressed by the success of your investments, and perhaps there is another way to resolve this. Could you please come a moment to my office?”

Now the moment of truth had come. I nodded, and when he walked away, I took Jenny’s hand and brought her along. He didn’t like this. “Mr. Winter, this conversation is just between the two of us.”

No way!

“Perhaps you didn’t understand, Mr. Bukos, but who makes the decisions on these assets is Miss Parker. I’ll assist her, but she decides.”

He stared at me, and I stared back until he finally went on and led us into his office. It was grandiose but to a lower standard – after all, the official hierarchy had to be observed. There were three easy chairs, a sofa, a little table, but the main item was a big wooden desk, covered by papers in no apparent order. He asked us to sit on the sofa and offered us a glass of water.

“Mr. Winter...” I pointed to Jenny “ah, ... Miss Parker, I understand that you’ve invested time and money, and it would be a pity to lose all that. But you have to understand our position: we have to show our voters that we’re actively protecting Poland against foreign influence. Unfortunately, you have gained too much influence in that region. The PM was perhaps a bit harsh with his words, but the reality is that we need money to support our party, and we need to find appointments to important positions for several of our principal supporters. Life in politics is difficult – you understand this? Perhaps we could come to an arrangement that serves both of us?”

He looked at me, but Jenny responded.

“What do you mean, Mr. Bukos? Perhaps it would be better if you stated clearly your intentions. I’m Australian, and we are direct in our words. Even if your boss believes that I cannot make an intelligent decision, I’m the one who decides here. So tell me what you want.”

He started to waffle, but Jenny interrupted him. “Mr. Bukos, please get to the point.” I also hoped that he would get there, as the time on our recording equipment was running out.

“Miss Parker, we have come to an arrangement with several companies that resolves your problem. You cede formal control to us, but we will not exercise that control. We’ll have an understanding that you will decide on all important matters; you will share a part of your profits with the company that the PM mentioned – and that company is controlled by his family - and you’ll pay a bonus of twenty-five million dollars into an account we have in a foreign country. Half of it now, half in six months when we have finished all arrangements. Is this acceptable?”