The Krakow Klub Read online

  Julia appreciated the liberty that vast wealth brought, but that was all. She would never let it control her life. As a young girl, she had been fascinated by the oceans and all its creatures. It became her passion. When it came time to go off to college, she shocked her family by announcing that she was enrolling in the marine archeology program of Texas A&M University. She stayed there nine years, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and ultimately a doctorate as well.

  After many years at fascinating jobs around the world, she obtained a position at a well-respected maritime museum in Key West. She loved the place and all the people who worked there. The job was a perfect fit.

  She also fell in love with the unique social structure and eclectic way of life of Key West. She could never be happy in a large city again.

  Her life was always busy, but she made time to return to New York to visit her father and brother regularly. Julia’s mother had died many years ago. That loss brought her brother and her even closer together. Even though she had lived far away from New York since entering college, she always got back to visit often.

  To call her life “busy” was an understatement. It seemed that more often than not, Julia’s life was more like a whirlwind. “Action” was her middle name. She had earned that name a long time ago.

  Her brother was quite the opposite: quiet and introspective with no desire to enter the business world. Desmond, or Desi, had inherited their mother’s artistic and literary talents. He loved a peaceful, unhurried life and would have never survived the hectic life of the business world.

  Recently, Julia had made more trips to the city to visit Desi. He felt a certain sense of guilt that he had let his father down. He could never follow in his footsteps. Just thinking about the world of finance almost gave him a case of hives.

  At last, her father had grudgingly faced the facts that neither of his children had any desire or talent to succeed him. He would have to find a qualified and aggressive young executive, probably from outside the firm, to take his place. A bitter pill to swallow, but, secretly, he admired both his children for having the courage to exert their independence.

  So Julia and Desi promised to attend that final board meeting. The senior Compton made the announcement of his impending retirement. It was a moment that was both happy and sad. The mantle of leadership must pass to a stranger. What would he do now? The senior Compton had devoted his life to building the business and making it flourish. Retiring was a frightening thought at best. He would continue to serve on the board of directors and have input into business decisions, but it would end there. He would never again be the driving force behind Compton Financial. The board of directors and he had already engaged a prominent executive search firm to find a worthy replacement. It would be no easy task.

  ****

  The elder Compton, ever the doting father, insisted that Julia take the company’s private jet back to Key West early Monday morning. Other than the two pilots, she was the only passenger on the flight. She settled into her seat and selected a book on time travel to download to her e-reader. The subject was at least rather interesting, and she had already read through several chapters when the pilot announced that they would be landing shortly.

  After landing, she got up, stretched and walked leisurely to the exit. As expected, a chauffeured driver stood waiting for her. Her father had also arranged to have a limo waiting to take her to the museum to be sure she got there on time.

  Her luck continued to hold, and she arrived at the museum with a couple of minutes to spare. The curator greeted her warmly and led her into the exhibit where a large number of guests and a few visitors were already wandering around and studying the artifacts intently. How amazing that such beautiful treasures had been finally recovered after having been lost for hundreds of years. The new exhibit included items never before seen by the public, and Julia was proud to have done her part in their preparation for their first ever public viewing.

  ****

  Not far from the museum, John Scott was completing the required documentation to change the name of his island officially. At last, just before noon, the final document was signed, and he was free to go. He glanced at the time and decided to walk to the maritime museum and check out the exhibits. A decision that he would later attribute to either good Karma or fantastic luck—maybe even both. Or, more importantly, could Maxx have arranged it?

  John had barely gotten into the main exhibit area when he recognized her, the fascinating lady from the plane last Thursday! She was talking animatedly to a group of well-dressed men who were obviously VIPs. This time, he silently vowed he would make contact and introduce himself. She probably wouldn’t remember him, but that didn’t matter. Providence had given him a second chance for introducing himself to this lovely woman, and he would not let it slip away again.

  John walked over and stood just outside the little circle of listeners. She noticed his presence just as she was directing the group to another display.

  This time, he spoke without hesitation, “Good afternoon. It’s quite a coincidence, but I believe that we were on the same flight from Grand Cayman to Miami the other day. I noticed you because you didn’t look like the rest of the sunburned tourists.”

  She laughed, “Yes, I do remember you. You caught my bag when that clumsy man bumped into me and caused me to drop it.”

  They introduced themselves and Julia, excusing herself from the other guests, began to lead him through the exhibit. He was totally fascinated by it all. In between displays, they managed to find out a little about each other. They continued to chat and eventually wound up outside the museum where their conversation turned to his island, now officially named Scott Key.

  “I’d like to celebrate my new status as a landowner. I just completed the purchase of a small island near here. I’d love for you to join me for a glass of bubbly and maybe even a snack. In fact, I know of a quaint little restaurant within walking distance.”

  She hesitated for a few seconds, and then replied, “Oh yes, I heard that someone was purchasing that Englishman’s island. Mr. Scott, if you can afford to buy that island, you can probably afford to buy me a drink. I accept. By the way, do you have some pictures in your cell phone? I’d love to see what the place looks like these days. I had visited it by boat several times before the previous owner purchased and developed the place. It was a very lovely little island, so peaceful and isolated from the rest of the Keys.”

  John was delighted and offered his arm, saying, “I am so pleased that you can join me.”

  They were soon seated in the restaurant enjoying a light, late lunch. John pulled out his cellular phone and began to show Julia pictures of the island. The house was especially of interest as she had always been quite fond of that type of architecture. Next, came the grounds, guest house, and boat dock.

  “I’m always amazed at the quality of pictures you can get with this thing. I hardly ever use my camera anymore.” John spoke proudly but inwardly he thought, Yes, they are good but I could have used my Mylean technology to give her a three-dimensional version. Oh well, some secrets must be kept secret.

  Just then, he noticed that Julia was looking intently at the television mounted over the bar. The TV was tuned to one of the national news channels. There was only an inaudible sound, but the scrolling words at the bottom of the screen announced that the current program was being interrupted for a special announcement.

  John, who was facing away from the TV, turned to see what had captured Julia’s attention.

  The press room at the White House came into view, and after a brief introduction, the president walked in. As he neared the podium, he reached out and touched the American flag standing beside the podium. He seemed rather distracted, a rarity for a professional politician. He glanced at the White House emblem mounted behind him before speaking.

  “My fellow Americans, I regret to inform you that I must resign as president of the United States, effective immediately. I must deal wit
h serious personal issues that require my immediate and full attention. I will not go into the details at this time.

  “The vice president will assume my duties and the transition will be smooth and without any adverse effects on the nation. The Cabinet and other members of the executive branch have already been informed of my decision and are currently awaiting orders from the vice president, who will soon be sworn in as the new president.

  “I thank you all for your loyal support and trust that you will accept my difficult, and irrevocable, decision. I will not address any questions or comments from the press.”

  Members of the press were caught completely off guard, and pandemonium ensued.

  Immediately, the audience in the press room and the television audience began to speculate wildly on the possible reasons for the president’s abrupt resignation.

  Had he been caught in a sex scandal? Was he caught in a tax evasion scam? On and on the rumor mill churned. But, the odds were on “for a health reason.” Probably something that would prove fatal rather quickly. Cancer? AIDS? Alzheimer’s? Many different diagnoses were thrown out for consideration.

  John just smiled to himself. He knew the real reason for the president’s resignation.

  The vice president was attempting to make a few comments, but he was ignored by the members of the press who were talking excitedly among themselves.

  The bartender finally reached up and turned up the sound so that everyone in the restaurant could hear the remainder of the press conference.

  At last, the vice president gained some control and made a few hastily prepared remarks about continuity, loyalty, and the need for cooperation between the political parties at this important time.

  All around the dining room, patrons began to whisper nervously and speculate on what might happen with a new president in office. The consensus was that things probably would not change much. Most seemed to think that they couldn’t get much worse.

  The man at a nearby table raised his glass in a toast. “Here’s to our future. I thought that crook would never leave the White House voluntarily. God bless America!”

  Several other patrons joined in; others just sat in stunned silence.

  Julia looked over at John and gave him a smile that he interpreted to mean that she was in complete agreement that the current, well, now ex-president was indeed a scoundrel at best.

  “What a momentous day! The president resigned, and I met you. What a stroke of luck that we happened to be at the museum at the same time. I wanted to speak to you on the plane but just couldn’t think of anything profound to say.”

  “Well, John, I must admit that I was rather preoccupied during that flight, so I might have just brushed you off. I don’t like idle chat with other passengers, so, maybe, we were just lucky that you didn’t say anything.”

  “Let’s get out of here! I want to get out into that beautiful Key West sunshine.” John called for the bill, paid, and they left the restaurant quickly as the overly excited news analysts were now theorizing as to what had happened, why it had happened, and what would happen next. They rambled on about precedents, the qualifications of the vice president, and so on.

  John and Julia exited the restaurant and walked slowly back toward the museum. The day was now indeed perfect as he had become acquainted with Julia and that pompous cretin in the White House had done his duty by resigning.

  They continued to chat and talk about their lives and careers, although John had to be quite careful to omit his more colorful and exotic personal history. She seemed to be quite interested and paid close attention to his every word.

  “Julia, I hope that you won’t think that I'm forward, but I’ve enjoyed today so very much. I’d like to see you again. How about we exchange phone numbers? I swear that I’ll be a perfect gentleman, and I can even provide you with some personal references.” He laughed, “However, the ex-president will not be one of them. I’ve met him personally, and he’s rather forgettable at best. Perhaps you’d like to contact my first-grade teacher? Oops! Too late, she went to her well-deserved heavenly reward many years ago. Same for my boy scout leader. Maybe you’ll just have to trust me after all.”

  She laughed aloud. “You are quite the character! I have little time in my life for casual friendships, but I’ll make an exception just this once on this very auspicious day. Get out your cell phone and enter my number in your contact list. Then, you can give me yours. I may just check you out with the FBI and Homeland Security to be on the safe side.”

  Fortunately, John thought to himself, she was smiling as she said that.

  They stopped briefly in a shaded spot to exchange numbers.

  All too soon, they were back at the entrance of the museum. John thanked her again for a very pleasant afternoon and opened the door to the employee entrance for her. She went inside, but turned to smile and wave just before the door shut with a gentle whoosh.

  Just then, John’s mind cleared, and he remembered that he needed to stop back at the Bureau of Land Management. He had totally forgotten something important.

  He rushed back to the land management office and arranged for a telephone conference with some very specific upper managers. The local office manager very graciously agreed to accommodate his request. She was a widow who found him to be most attractive and would have probably done almost anything to prolong his visit to her office. Available men in her age group were a scarce commodity in Key West, and she was only one of many who would attempt to make his acquaintance.

  Soon, all the required individuals were on the line for John. He introduced himself and then gave a detailed description of what he needed for his newly purchased island.

  After several minutes of questions and answers, he reached an agreement that was quite satisfactory to everyone. He, again, thanked them profusely for their time and their acceptance of his proposal. The final approval was made by the director of land management; the others just gave their verbal stamps of approval.

  No one questioned his request to build a “small” golf course on his little island. He had complied with the letter of the law as he would swear to any bureaucrat that ever questioned him about it in the future.

  After concluding the call, John left the office in an elated state of mind, leaving the attractive widow standing in her office doorway alone.

  He was quite surprised and gratified that he had achieved his goal with only a single phone call. Bureaucracies seldom excel in the quality of their customer service or the promptness of their decisions. He felt lucky; it had been a great day, and it felt good.

  Right then and there, he decided to have Mister T contact a local florist and send flowers to show his appreciation to the office manager. She had been most helpful when she could have just told him that his request was not within their standard procedures and could not be addressed. It was a thoughtful gesture, but one that would most likely be misinterpreted by the lady in question. Hope springs eternal.

  Before taking a cab back to the warehouse, he dropped into one of the more colorful local bars for a final celebratory drink. He sat alone at a table near the entrance and marveled at the quaint technology that he had just used for that very important conference call. If only he hadn’t needed the help of the office manager, he could have had Maxxine handle the situation in a much more modern fashion. He smiled and said quietly, “Oh, well, one must slum it once in a while!”

  A sudden squall brought refreshing rain that cooled the hot pavement outside and caused tourists to scurry like rats toward the nearest shelter. He waited for a few minutes until the rain ended and walked out into the air that was now oppressively humid and steamy.

  At the warehouse, Mister T was busily unloading the van full of supplies. Even though his new bar was well stocked, John had made a few special requests to complete the inventory, specifically, a case of his favorite scotch, Macallan, and a few excellent wines.

  He made a mental note to send Mister T on a special trip to France soon for his fa
vorite brandy that wasn’t available in the States. It was from a tiny village that only produced a very limited quantity every year. He had visited the place and been given a tour by the owner. John Scott admired little people who stood toe-to-toe with giant businesses and produced a product that was equal to or better than the competition.

  Speaking to Mister T, John said, “Mister T, I am going to stay in Key West tonight. I may have the good fortune to have a date with a fascinating woman.”

  Mister T paused and then replied, “Outstanding news. I can do a little research on her if you’d like. I’ve become quite knowledgeable about you humans and can use one of my applications to do a thorough background check.”

  “No thanks, my friend, not necessary. You know very well that I could do that myself with Maxxine’s help. I met the lady on my flight from Grand Cayman to Miami, and I could have just had Maxxine access the passenger manifest and get me all the information that I might need. This time, I wanted things to play out naturally. Some things just shouldn’t have any meddling! I’m following my human instincts this time, and so far I am very pleased with the result.”

  “Yes, Boss. I hope you enjoy your night in Key West. I think that I’ll just pop back over to the island and do a few things before you get back. I certainly don’t require any sleep, so working late is never a problem. I’ll be back to pick you up, right here, tomorrow. Just give me a specific time and your carriage, ha ha, will be awaiting you.”

  “I will let you know tomorrow morning.”

  John took a cab to the inn. He loved the place because of its tropical décor and air of quiet sophistication. His suite was on the second floor with a relatively large outdoor balcony. He opened the French doors and sat down in a comfortable lounge chair. The sunset would be incredible, and he had a full bottle of a good French wine to accompany it.