looked up as she entered.
"Some coffee or would you prefer something stronger?" offered Puri.
"Water, please. This morning I've already abused the coffee machine in the cottage. It'll be issuing complaints or even a denuncia to the local police about overuse if I'm not careful. Also, if you have any fruit, that'd be refreshing."
Within moments she had a chilled litre bottle of agua con gas in front of her, plus some plums and an apple from Puri's garden. Pouring herself a large glass she drank it all before guzzling the chilled fruits. Delicious.
Alfredo intervened: "Okay, now that we're seated comfortably and Puri and I have resolved what we should do about lunch – at least in principle – have you had any more thoughts on what we were discussing yesterday?"
"The simple answer is no, not really," responded Marta. "I can only see three real choices: repay what ORS is looking for, or hope its demands evaporate, or encourage ORS to give up and go away. From my perspective I don't think that the middle option is worth risking. While it might work if it does not we'll all be in trouble, albeit in different ways.
"The first option is the one that makes most practical sense to me. But the sums are substantial for each of my clients, and for me personally. As you've both probably surmised, my rewards came as a percentage of what I disbursed on behalf of others. I think I can handle my repayments but will need to work this out. It would undoubtedly leave me much worse off than I planned. Thank goodness ORS is not looking back more than five years."
Marta was putting a brave face on what would almost certainly be personal ruin if all her clients forced her to cough up her part of the takings. Her financial situation had never been that good, but she was not going to admit this to Alfredo – if she could at all avoid it.
Alfredo nodded, saying, "Personally I like the third option the most. It seems to have the least cost. I think this is the one we should start with. We should also keep postponing any repayments for as long as possible. The question remains, however, how do we move this forward? Have either of you any suggestions?"
Puri shook her head, saying, "Handling this sort of situation is not one of my recognised strengths. Hopefully I made my position pretty clear last night. I'm not happy about what you've been doing but I'm also pragmatic. Let's look forward. All I can try doing to assist is to think as ORS might and share that with you. Alfredo?"
"I've some ideas. The first is to use my law firm to put pressure on ORS in Madrid and its parent company to depart Spain. We can look to see if anything it does is irregular and afterwards follow through by making it clear that ORS should shut up shop. For success this depends on finding leverage to apply.
"A different approach would be to offer some business inducement, almost certainly meaning money, for the US parent to want to close its Spanish outpost. How much this would need to be I have no idea. If we head down this route the question will inevitably become, will your clients, including my law firm, be prepared to stump up sufficient collectively in order to effect a 'buy out'? I think I can encourage my partners to behave, for the sake of their long-term wallets. What about your other clients, Marta?"
"Good question. I can only ask."
"I suppose we could also consider some form of heavy pressure, perhaps coming from the financial police or tax authorities, or even company regulators withdrawing their licence to do business. This carries its own risks because it involves third parties and favours. To be honest, my personal preference remains to avoid involving others, though such authorities might supplement our efforts if we were able to identify any problem like I outlined."
"A different question, Marta. Does this ORS know of you?"
"I don't think so. Why do you ask, Puri?"
"There's a loose thought running round my head. Could you perhaps visit ORS and
"Some coffee or would you prefer something stronger?" offered Puri.
"Water, please. This morning I've already abused the coffee machine in the cottage. It'll be issuing complaints or even a denuncia to the local police about overuse if I'm not careful. Also, if you have any fruit, that'd be refreshing."
Within moments she had a chilled litre bottle of agua con gas in front of her, plus some plums and an apple from Puri's garden. Pouring herself a large glass she drank it all before guzzling the chilled fruits. Delicious.
Alfredo intervened: "Okay, now that we're seated comfortably and Puri and I have resolved what we should do about lunch – at least in principle – have you had any more thoughts on what we were discussing yesterday?"
"The simple answer is no, not really," responded Marta. "I can only see three real choices: repay what ORS is looking for, or hope its demands evaporate, or encourage ORS to give up and go away. From my perspective I don't think that the middle option is worth risking. While it might work if it does not we'll all be in trouble, albeit in different ways.
"The first option is the one that makes most practical sense to me. But the sums are substantial for each of my clients, and for me personally. As you've both probably surmised, my rewards came as a percentage of what I disbursed on behalf of others. I think I can handle my repayments but will need to work this out. It would undoubtedly leave me much worse off than I planned. Thank goodness ORS is not looking back more than five years."
Marta was putting a brave face on what would almost certainly be personal ruin if all her clients forced her to cough up her part of the takings. Her financial situation had never been that good, but she was not going to admit this to Alfredo – if she could at all avoid it.
Alfredo nodded, saying, "Personally I like the third option the most. It seems to have the least cost. I think this is the one we should start with. We should also keep postponing any repayments for as long as possible. The question remains, however, how do we move this forward? Have either of you any suggestions?"
Puri shook her head, saying, "Handling this sort of situation is not one of my recognised strengths. Hopefully I made my position pretty clear last night. I'm not happy about what you've been doing but I'm also pragmatic. Let's look forward. All I can try doing to assist is to think as ORS might and share that with you. Alfredo?"
"I've some ideas. The first is to use my law firm to put pressure on ORS in Madrid and its parent company to depart Spain. We can look to see if anything it does is irregular and afterwards follow through by making it clear that ORS should shut up shop. For success this depends on finding leverage to apply.
"A different approach would be to offer some business inducement, almost certainly meaning money, for the US parent to want to close its Spanish outpost. How much this would need to be I have no idea. If we head down this route the question will inevitably become, will your clients, including my law firm, be prepared to stump up sufficient collectively in order to effect a 'buy out'? I think I can encourage my partners to behave, for the sake of their long-term wallets. What about your other clients, Marta?"
"Good question. I can only ask."
"I suppose we could also consider some form of heavy pressure, perhaps coming from the financial police or tax authorities, or even company regulators withdrawing their licence to do business. This carries its own risks because it involves third parties and favours. To be honest, my personal preference remains to avoid involving others, though such authorities might supplement our efforts if we were able to identify any problem like I outlined."
"A different question, Marta. Does this ORS know of you?"
"I don't think so. Why do you ask, Puri?"
"There's a loose thought running round my head. Could you perhaps visit ORS and
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