Tuesday 9.45am
Lee was content to the extent he felt relaxed. With this feeling of small comfort came the ability to make clear and concise decisions born of organized thought patterns.
In the days prior he’d had thought patterns, but they had been far from organized. He’d read somewhere that jumbled thoughts and indecisiveness were known to be symptoms of depression, and for a short time he’d wondered if he was a victim of what was known these days as an illness.
The thought had been put aside because he believed that depression of any sort was stupid.
There was no point to it. If things got so bad they might cause depression, then there was a good chance those same things were as bad as they were going to get. So if things weren’t going to get any worse, then there was no point in being depressed. If a person was already at rock bottom, then things can only go one of two ways.
The first way, was that a person stayed on the bottom because they were too slack to get off their arse to do something about their problem.
The second way, and the only one left, was that they could only go up. If things were going to get better, then it was time to be enthusiastic.
In a nutshell, being at rock bottom was a time for optimism.
Lee liked his little forages into the world of philosophy, and had wondered at times in the past whether he might have been monk material. Other times he visualized himself sitting in a cold cave high on a mountain, where he tore pages from a book of wisdom and burned them on a small fire.
Conceding to himself that one did not have to be wise to know that a book of wisdom would be of no value at all if you’re frozen solid in your cave. He sat back in his chair and sniffed the air, unsure whether the incense sticks did enough to alleviate the smell of the bar room.
The office where he and Larry were seated was separated from the bar area by a paneled wall, but like the smell of the incense which crept into the room, so did the sickly odour of spilt beer and stale cigarette smoke.
He suddenly laughed out loud as a memory of Mrs. Brown’s cats stink flashed through his head. Larry looked at him from behind his desk, but refrained from comment as he sat in silence with his telephone to his ear.
Lee was not sure if Larry was listening to someone as they spoke to him over the phone, or whether he sat quietly while he waited for someone to answer the phone. A short time later Larry spoke and it sounded to Lee that the call was coming to an end.
“Yes Adam. Yes, if you can get it under way, that’ll be good. I’ll print up the documents and E-mail you the necessaries. Yeah, that’ll give us a head start. Good, I’ll expect it by courier. Right mate, see you.”
He put the phone down and spoke across the room to Lee.
“Adam says he should be able to organize a shelf company in New Zealand. It’ll take at least twenty-four hours and he’ll send us the product by courier as soon as he has it done.”
“You’re an accountant, how come you don’t do it yourself?” Lee wondered aloud.
Larry picked up some papers from the desk top and sat them in a pile at the side of his computer while he answered.
“Time mainly. There’s a lot involved in what you want to do. Most of it I can do from here, and while I’m busy organizing this end, he’ll be getting his end done. Hopefully this way we’ll have everything ready for your signatures by tomorrow afternoon. Will that be early enough?”
Lee looked thoughtful for a moment.
“To tell you the truth, I thought it would take a week or something.”
Larry looked at his computer screen, and then tapped his keyboard a few times before he responded.
“No, not anymore, we’re in the days of I.T.” Lee didn’t know what I.T meant, outside of knowing it was to do with computers. He knew little about computers, and was uncomfortable to some extent when in the company of people who were accustomed to them, particularly when electronic terminology was bandied about. They may as well be speaking in Russian as far as Lee was concerned, and sometimes he hated Larry for his knowledge of them.
Or maybe it was that he hated Larry because of his own lack of knowledge of them. A hatred born out of the frustration Lee felt when considering the fact, he was being left behind by this I.T thing. He felt uncomfortable now, and he stood to make ready his departure from the room.
“Do you need me here for anything?”
Larry tapped his keyboard again before he looked up at Lee.
“Sorry, Mr. Lee. I didn’t mean to ignore you, but this set up demands all of my attention and will do so for the rest of the day.” He paused for some seconds before he asked, “I do have a couple of questions for you though, if we can do that now?” Lee sat back down again and waited a few minutes until Larry spoke.
“I just need a few points clarified, but first I should run through what’s happening. New Zealand is not far enough away for what you want. I mean, knowing as I do the reasons why you’re setting up off shore, New Zealand is too close and Vanuatu would be better. We have the time factor to consider so we’re restricted in our options. Things move slowly in Vanuatu, and as you said before, it could take a week. If we move to New Zealand first and can get it established by tomorrow afternoon, then, even if the shit hits the fan here tomorrow, it could take weeks or more before any investigation into your business affairs here can affect this new offshore company in Kiwi land.”
Larry paused to drink from his bottled water, and as he re screwed its lid he continued.
“Once you’re based in New Zealand, you’ll have the time available to you where you can wait to see which way the winds blow here in Australia. As soon as Adam has New Zealand organized, I’ll get him on to Vanuatu. In a week’s time you’ll be able to move easily, and at short notice from New Zealand to Vanuatu. In effect, New Zealand may well be only a temporary staging point with Vanuatu being the final destination. Depending on your decision when you know which way the wind has blown.”
Larry followed up with a question.
“Have I explained it clearly enough?”
Lee was happy enough with the explanation.
“Yeah, what you’re saying is. I might be going to Vanuatu, but I’ll be using New Zealand for a brief stopover to catch my breath.” He added, “If necessary.”
Glad to have made his counsel clear, Larry moved on to the queries he had. They spoke together for another five minutes before Larry brought the briefing nearer to its end with some final, but necessary questions.
“When you say that you want all your assets under the off shore company’s umbrella, and I apologize if I sound impertinent, but does that include your residence, and if so where does your wife, Sally, fit in? I ask because, she being your spouse is entitled by law to fifty per cent of that asset, so you won’t be able to include it unless she is prepared to sign it over.”
“I doubt she would be prepared to do that.” Lee said.
“She may do so if you were to offer her a directorship of the company. What I mean is. If you made her a director, she might be prepared to put her half of the residence under the umbrella, especially if she understands that if you are investigated she might lose the whole house. If her half of the residence is under the umbrella, then it may in turn protect your half of the house. I make the point of her directorship so you’ll have someone close to you to make sure that the company is run, and decisions can be made if for some obscure reason you are incapacitated.” Larry watched Lee and realized that he had confused the issue. “I should point out to you that companies are owned by the shareholders, and in this case you will be the only shareholder. Directors own nothing unless they are shareholders. They are only there to make sure the company is run to the best of their ability, on behalf of the shareholders. In the event of the only director, you, who is the major shareholder, being incapacitated then the company will stop in its tracks, because no one will have the authority to even pay the phone bill. If Sally is a director and not a shareholder, but is the wife of the major shar
eholder, then she is in the position to direct, and sign documents on the behalf of her husband and the company, but she will in effect own no part of the company.”
“Mr. Lee, forgive me if I’m out of order, but if it is your wish, you might not include the residence. Leave it as it is and hope for the best, but remember that the sole reason you are setting up this offshore company is to protect your assets. The way Australian law stands at the moment, is that any assets which may have been paid for by monies criminally attained can be confiscated by the authorities. Now the reason you are trying to protect your assets is because of the possibility, and I emphasize possibility, of an investigation being launched into you because of Sudovich’s stupidity with this wooden box thing. If you decide to forget the residence, then so be it. I am your employee, and your directions are my orders. I will carry out those orders to the best of my ability, but my advice to you is that you should have Sally as a second director, because if there is an investigation, then there is the possibility ...” Larry paused momentarily, his mouth was open, but it seemed that he had some difficulty in spitting the words out, “Of you being arrested and you won’t be able to pay the phone bill in hand cuffs or direct anyone else to either.”
Lee was quickly on his feet, and he stood before the paper strewn desk. His hands had become fists and his eyes sparkled with menace as he glared down at his accountant.
“Larry whenever you have a point to make, make it, but never drive it home. Understand?”
Lee sat down again and shuffled his shoulders under his coat until he was comfortable, and then sat with his fingers pinching his lips while his eyes stared at the small pot plant in the corner of the room. He held that pose for some minutes deep in thought, until he moved his fingers to the underside of his chin and kneaded the loose skin that became available due to his head being tilted downwards.
Larry listened as Lee’s breathing slowed, and as it did he felt the stiffness leave his jaw muscles as he unclenched his teeth. He wiped his hand across his fore head, noticing as he did the small beads of perspiration that had leapt from his skin a moment before. He was glad for a reason to stop talking as he reached for his bottled water.
Lee sat back in his chair and exhaled.
“Do whatever you can with the house, better still, include it in and I’ll bring Sally around. I’m pretty sure she’ll see reason. As far as the directorship is concerned, there’s no way that she’ll become one. I may have to give her a share of the company just to make her comfortable in signing the house over, but it will be the smallest share as possible, I can assure you.”
Both men were quiet. Larry waited while Lee wandered through his mental decision making factory. His next question suggested to Larry that he was on the verge of an outright decision, but needed a little encouragement.
“What power would this second director have?”
“They’d have no power at all. You are the major shareholder, so they would have to follow your directive and carry out your instructions to the letter. If for some reason you were incapacitated, for example if you were forced to, or decided to leave the country, then they could still only carry out your instructions. Instructions issued by you would have to be in the form of a letter of authority signed by you.” Larry went into wait mode again as Lee contemplated his finger nails. For a moment he contemplated Lees finger nails too, until he looked away and watched the virtual geometry on his computer’s screen saver. The question that he had been waiting for finally came.
“What about you, Larry?”
“Sorry, Mr. Lee, what do you mean?”
“What about you as the second director? You know the business as well as I do, and there will be no pressure on you because all the decisions will be mine.”
A look of surprise came over Larry’s face as he tried to find the right words without sounding too enthusiastic.
“I don’t know Mr. Lee. I, err…
Lee read Larry’s indecision and believed he understood the reason behind it.
“Are you unsure about being connected to a known criminal who might be about to be subjected to an intense investigation?”
Larry was cornered, and there was only one answer available to him, “No, Mr. Lee, that’s not entirely correct. I mean, yes. If that suits you, if that is your wish, then I will be the second director.” He paused for effect before saying with as much sincerity he could muster, “Thank you for your faith in me.”
Lee grinned as he stood up to leave.
“My pleasure Larry, now do you need me here anymore? There are other things I should be getting on with, and I know you have a busy day ahead of you. If you need me, I’ll be on my mobile.”
Lee walked to the door and let himself out of the office. As he did, Larry looked up at the door as it closed behind him.
The slight smile that touched the corners of his mouth slowly turned into a fully-fledged grin as he marvelled how bullshit baffled brains. It would have announced to anyone who could have seen it, complete satisfaction.
He turned to his computer and touched the Y key to remove the screen saver as his own whispered voice registered in his ears,
“It’s my pleasure, Mister Lee.
CHAPTER 13