The Allegation: A John Mackworth novel

by Tony Davies

  Wilson had initially proposed that Lee Wai should come to Westminster. However, the government had insisted on the meeting taking place in its offices and Wilson had little choice but to agree.

  Weston looked at the sparse surroundings and assumed Lee Wai or one of his team had read somewhere that when negotiating it was always better to do it on your home turf. The fact it was a totally different environment to what he was used would also presumably help in the process.

  The reality was it didn’t matter to Weston where the meeting took place. The short journey from Central had barely taken fifteen minutes even with the morning traffic so it was hardly an inconvenience and he was used to sitting in opponent’s boardrooms negotiating deals. He smiled to himself as he looked around, they were usually better appointed rooms though.

  Weston had expected to be outnumbered, but five was either a feeble attempt at intimidation or a sign of insecurity. Did Lee really need five people sat beside him? Safety in numbers was one thing, but that many was taking it a little too far. He had Troy Wilson to keep him company and odds probably evened out when it came to ability.

  Lee Wai seemed to be in a relaxed mood and Weston had been expecting this. He had assumed Lee would want to create an impression of indifference as to whether the project went ahead or not.

  His disdain for government servants had been steadily building since he had first arrived in Hong Kong and he doubted this would ever change. Certainly nothing he had seen to date was cause for concern. He had read Lee’s profile in depth and he assumed Bent had been his usual thorough self in compiling it. He had been briefed properly on where they were up to with the negotiations and he was confident there wouldn’t be any major surprises.

  After the standard introductions and handshakes that seemed to him to take an eternity, Lee Wai said in a friendly, almost paternal tone “Mr. Weston, we do not seem to be making any progress on the land premium issue. Our position on this is quite clear, you have to agree to pay the premium before we can go further. Why are you not agreeing it? You know we are being reasonable.”

  “Well, before I reply, let me first thank you for agreeing to this meeting and please, call me Andrew.” He spoke in a calm, assured voice. He wasn’t going to allow Lee to treat him as like a child being admonished by his parent for some minor indiscretion.

  “Mr. Lee, the project will bring enormous benefits to Hong Kong. When it goes ahead the government will receive considerable fees, more tax revenue, increased employment, the list goes on. We are simply asking that as our partner in this you help us by waiving the land premium fee so we can all benefit, not just the government.”

  Lee Wai grinned and chided in a slightly condescending tone “Mr. Weston, we are not your partner in this. You are trying to put together a deal involving a mainland developer and the government. You are asking us to give land to you at no cost so that you can make a profit. You and your client are simply trying to maximize your return. Why should we agree? Yes, the project will benefit Hong Kong, but it will certainly benefit you and your firm and I think you are being far too greedy.”

  No-one spoke for a few moments and Weston sensed the atmosphere in the room change as Lee Wai went on. “I am not here to waste your time, or importantly, mine. Your team has been repeatedly told of our position on the land premium issue and yet you have ignored it. I am under no obligation to recommend the project and will do so only if it is the best interests of the people of Hong Kong. As things stand I cannot recommend the project.

  “I assume you will want to confer with your mainland client. On that basis we will give you one week. If by then we have not had your acceptance of our appointment of an independent valuer to determine the land premium we will assume you are not proceeding and we will release a statement to that effect.”

  Weston sat quite still. He glared at Lee, like an animal waiting to pounce on his prey. It was all a sham of course. He was not offended by Lee’s words, far from it. It was all part of the negotiation process and he was happy to play his part. He turned to Wilson and whispered in his ear.

  When Wilson nodded his head as he had been told to do, he turned back to Lee and said “Mr. Lee, thank you for your candor. I really don’t think your position is a reasonable one. Having said that, I believe you are an honorable man who thinks he is acting in the best interests of Hong Kong. Unfortunately, in this case I think you are misguided.

  “Firstly, given the benefits Hong Kong will enjoy from the project, there should be no need for the payment of a land premium. However, let us hypothesize for a moment. If the figures allowed us to pay a nominal sum, would we refuse to do so as a matter of principle? The answer is probably not.

  “At the end of the day we are businessmen after all so we would go ahead with it. Our figures to date show that a substantial land premium would make the project unviable. However, could we re-work those figures if we had a set figure to work with? Possibly. The point is, we both know that if we agree to the appointment of the ‘independent’ valuer we would in in effect be agreeing to pay whatever land premium he came up with.”

  Before Weston could go on Lee Wai complained “I cannot believe you have gone this far without accepting we would be setting the premium and not you. You say you will commission three independent valuers and take the aggregate figure. That is a pointless exercise. We can charge what we like. In this case we can simply decide to charge a higher premium and ignore any pretense of an independent valuation.”

  Lee Wai sat back in his chair and folded his arms. He had a contented look on his face.

  “As I told you Mr. Lee, we cannot give you a commitment that would leave us exposed to an unknown land premium figure. Of course, you could just commission your own valuation and advise us of the figure you want. But you want us locked in before that figure becomes known. That is why you want us to be committed to accepting the independent valuation. It would leave us no room to exit later if the figure was preposterous. We may be able to pay a nominal figure, but can’t comment any further without you giving us the specific figure you are looking for. Either that or we have to use our valuers.”

  Weston’s intention was to push matters along and he got the response he was after when Lee replied “Well, at least you are now acting sensibly by suggesting that you may be prepared to pay something. The truth is, I know you have had your own valuations done. You would be stupid not to have done this and you are not stupid.”

  Lee paused for effect before going on. “Let us not play games. If I give you a figure will you either accept it or walk away from the project? You will not attempt to negotiate a lower figure?”

  Weston’s first reaction was that of course he would try to negotiate a lower figure. What sane businessman wouldn’t! Westminster stood to gain millions of dollars if the right deal could be struck so he was hardly likely to meekly accept any figure put forward by Lee. Nevertheless, he was thankful that Lee was playing his part in the process and his response reflected this.

  “I must say that I am glad that you are suggesting that we may not have to commit to the project before we know the figure. We are certainly making progress and I thank for you for that.”

  Weston paused for a moment for everyone in the room to understand the significance of what had just been said. The door had opened a little to allow some progress to be made, but he needed it opened further.

  He then said in an inquisitive tone, “I must ask one question though. Why would it concern you if we tried to negotiate the figure downwards? I am not saying we would as a matter of course. If the figure works for us we may well accept it without further negotiation. But it shouldn’t matter if we did negotiate it with you. We either come to a final agreement or we don’t. You seem to want a position where we either blindly commit to the project or we agree to a ‘take it or leave it figure.’ I don’t think that is reasonable and I would ask you to reconsider.”

  Lee‘s tone was conciliatory. “I don’t think I have to reconsider, but let
me give that some thought. Some people will say that if you want to do the project badly enough you will agree to what I suggest. Others may say that we want the deal as well, so there should be some compromise on our side or it simply won’t happen. So in summary, you are suggesting we either give you a figure and be prepared to negotiate it or alternatively accept your three valuation proposal. Is that correct?”

  Lee smiled and waited for a reply. The ball was now very much in Weston’s court.

  Weston looked around the room and reminded himself he had built one of the most successful investment banking operations in Asia. He earned more in one year than these people did in a whole lifetime. He didn’t get to that position by allowing government servants to outsmart him.

  “What I am suggesting is that you give us a figure and we respond in an appropriate manner. The alternative is a figure determined by a panel of three independent valuers, which we would appoint. If you are seeking anything else then I am afraid the deal is very much off.

  “Before we go any further, might I ask that you and I speak privately for a moment? Being surrounded by capable assistants has its merits but a few words in private would, I am sure, be of benefit.”

  Lee’s face showed mild surprise at the request and for a moment he hesitated. He looked at his team for a response, but none was forthcoming. His response was “I am not sure that is either appropriate or necessary. Anything you want to say can be said in front of my team.”

  Weston was not going to let him off the hook that easily so he replied “My suggestion is not a reflection on your team. We are however, the two principal parties in this and I really would like to talk to you in a more relaxed, less confrontational environment which can best be achieved if we are on our own.”

  Lee laughed. “Yes, I think you have a point.” He turned to his team and said “Gentlemen, please wait in the outer room and I will call you when we have finished our little chat.”

  As he filed out of the room with the government servants Wilson wondered what Weston would say privately to Lee. With some consternation he reminded himself that Weston hadn’t been prepared to say it in front of him so it was clearly evident where he stood. There was Weston and then there was everyone else, and he was never going to be his confidante or successor. Whilst it didn’t concern him what Weston’s intentions were in that regard, he was sure Bent would have different views on the matter.

  Chapter twenty four

  Personal decisions

  Mack sat looking at Lindy and wondered how they had got into that position. They had been discussing it for fifteen minutes and he was no nearer a decision. He stood up, pushed his chair away and stretched his arms above his head in an attempt to ease the mounting tension he felt.

  He wondered if he should simply let Lindy make it for him, but he quickly realized that would be unfair on her. It was his business after all and with proprietorship came responsibility.

  Lindy looked at him and began tapping her pencil on the desktop. Her mounting frustration was clearly evident. “You are so certain when it comes to cases but when it comes to your future you are definitely not that. If I am being honest, I think working in an organization like that would benefit you in that you would have strict guidelines to work within. You won’t be able to make your own rules as you go along. Bit like the police I suppose. However, I think you will miss the independence you have here. I am not saying don’t take it, just giving you my thoughts that’s all.”

  Mack asked pensively ‘”If I join them will you come too?”

  “It would depend on the package and exactly what my role was. They will already have a general manager and I don’t see myself reporting to anyone but you. I think if it could be arranged that I worked exclusively as your assistant I would probably do it. How that would work with the incumbent GM is anyone’s guess. I don’t think your decision to take the job should be influenced by whether I would work with you there or not though.”

  His mood was down beat as he sat back down in his seat. She pushed a plate of biscuits towards him and said “Shall I get Ah Leng to make you some more coffee?”

  When he shook his head she went on “Mack, you are good guy and you are very good at what you do. I do enjoy working for you and most of the time we have fun and I find it interesting and challenging. I have always been very loyal to you and its obvious we make a great team.

  “But for this new opportunity I am honestly not sure whether I should be part of this decision process. It really is your future we are talking about. I am very employable and if I don’t like what they offer me or if it doesn’t work out I can always find another job. I would hate you to take it because I influenced you and then it didn’t work out. That might affect our friendship and I wouldn’t want that to happen.”

  Mack looked at her and tried to collect his thoughts. He wondered if the Smith opportunity was not the issue he had to confront. Perhaps the real issue was his relationship with Lindy. At the back of his mind was the fear that by taking the job he would somehow sow the seeds of their separation. But was he concerned about losing a friend or was she more than that? It was a question he frequently asked himself. He was tempted to reach across the desk and take her hand but wasn’t sure how she would react. For some reason he couldn’t work out why, when it came to her, he was always afraid to take that first step.

  Lindy looked at him with no emotion on her face and waited for him to speak.

  “Anyway, they want me to fly down to Singapore to meet their people there. If I decide to go there I would like you to come with me, give me your impression of their team etc.”

  Lindy gazed out of the window and sighed with an indifferent tone. “If you decide to go we can discuss it then.”

  She turned her face towards him and spoke in a business like tone “As for now, its back to the Stephen Chan case, or should I say the Lee Wai case. Bent’s assistant rang, she wants you to meet him tomorrow to give him an update. 10am here, rather than at his office. Perhaps he wants to see where the poor people work.”

  She said it mockingly, causing Mack to smile. They were back on familiar ground discussing cases.

  “I have been through the list of La boheme members you gave me. Some of them are local manufacturers, a couple of property developers, lawyers, that sort of thing. Top end, but not mega wealthy by Hong Kong standards. I have done a little background checking and none of them are commonly known to be gay. There are some obvious connections between some of them, memberships of clubs for example, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “Any idea how Debbie could have found out about us working for Westminster? I think she might have been fishing, nothing more, but I couldn’t tell.”

  “No idea, unless it came from someone inside Westminster. Someone on the inside there may be up to no good. But I can’t see why they would tell Stephen Chan’s sister.”

  Before Lindy could go further Ping knocked on the door before quickly opening it and stepping inside. Mack thought that if they had been up to anything inappropriate they would have been caught red handed.

  Ping was obviously excited when he boasted “Me very good junior investigator. That right boss?”

  Before getting a reply he said “I been working on Lee’s driver, spent money Lindy give me on yam cha. He like me and like to complain about his boss.” He saw Mack smile and hesitated for a moment. He spoke slowly. “I not complain about you, I mean he likes me. My English must get better.”

  Mack continued to smile and Ping went on “He tell me Lee had special friend, young Chinese guy he play tennis with. He sound like Stephen. You know Lee married, well driver say he marry wrong type, but him not explain properly. He saw tennis player get off same ferry as Lee from Macau last month. Make joke to me about playing tennis there.”

  Mack rolled a pencil around his fingers, a habit of his when he was deep in thought. Ping’s relationship with the driver was coming along nicely. The man seemed to like to talk and with a little effort he would ope
n up further. It was a relationship worth developing further and Mack spent the next ten minutes explaining to Ping how to go about achieving this.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………….

  Insomnia is a nightclub and bar in the heart of Lan Kwai Fong. As with most of the establishments in that area the external windows have been removed in attempt to create an al fresco environment. Whilst it hasn’t really worked, it is still a popular place with both Chinese and expats. The sand stone décor of the front bar reminded Mack of a Mediterranean villa and the area was spacious and well lit. He had been there many times and whilst it wasn’t his favorite bar in Hong Kong, the resident live band was quite good and the drinks reasonably priced.

  As he walked in he saw two suited expats sat in one corner and a group of five or six similarly attired Chinese stood at the bar talking. Mack walked to the door at the far end of the bar and as he walked through it he heard the band begin singing Bruce Springsteen’s classic ‘Born in the USA’. The loud music engulfed the room making normal conversation almost impossible.