This was the second time Maxime was meeting emperor Abbas. The first time he met Abbas it was mostly because Maxime had used his, or better said, Heyra’s connections with the Ecclesiastical State which in turn used their influence in the federated kingdom of Attica to push for a meeting with Abbas in which to agree to the Elysium project.
Now, almost a year later things had changed quite a lot. The great power that was the Ecclesiastical State had now been reduced to a just a city state that had withdrawn in isolation, the Heyran Republic was no more and in its place the Conglomerate appeared while the Elysium city was advancing at a steady pace. In fact Tamoran companies were not hegining to incorporate there and announcing plans to expand beyond Midaranye using the Elysium registered subsidiaries. Perhaps not many foreign analysts expected the Heyra – Tamoran partnership to work but so far those that betted against it proved to be wrong.
Today the business relations between the two sides were goond enough that they were exploring the possibility for further cooperation with Abbas inviting Maxime to Djerb for talks. The Conglomerate was now seen in Tamora as someone you could show yourself with in public with and this was reflected by having the meeting shown the in the itinerary of emperor Abbas. Of course the official agenda of the talks was the status of the construction taking place in Elysium and not what was actually going to be discussed. So when Maxime arrived at the Imperial palace he was meet much in the same way as the last time, the slave servants opened the door of his car and the captain of the Imperial guard greeted him. Unlike last time however, Maxime was invited and escorted through the front door of the palace as all worthy guests of the Emperor. Tamora was showing the Conglomerate they were both pleased with how things were going and that the Conglomerate was earning their respect. The captain escorted Maxime through the long corridors of the palace when he finally stopped the captain asked Maxime to wait until Abbas would meet him. After about two minutes, the captain returned saying that the emperor will see him and opened the door to the room where Maxime had meet Abbas
before.
As Maxime entered the room, Azita, one of Abbas personal assistants who was also a slave, approached Maxime, politely greeted him and escorted him to the other side of the room where Abbas was sited as his desk. Once Maxime was close enough, Abbas stood up and greeted Maxime and extended his hand for a handshake:
“Mr. Anginer. I am so glad you could come. Please have a seat”
Just as Maxime was seated, Azita approached Maxime and asked:
“Would you like a fresh arrack with no ice or would perhaps prefer something else?”
As soon as Maxime answered, Abbas continued:
“I have to say Mr. Anginer that I am quite pleased with how things are going with Elysium. To tell you the truth I was expecting some problems on your side like lack of funding, delays caused by the usual bureaucratic machinery or just a general lack of focus as the Conglomerate is geographically present in so many places. But it would seem you have managed to overcome those. And for the first time in a long while the major businesses of the empire are no longer just complaining to me and actually have things positive to say.
Personally, I think it’s much too early for them to celebrate and I believe that they take a great risk putting money in their Elysium branches. The whole world is watching us and I have a feeling they will come up with some way to legally force you to freeze their assets. This is something that concerns me. “
Just as Abbas had paused, Azita brought Abbas and Maxime their refreshments. Abbas pointed at a piece of paper on his desk and said:
“My advisers suggested that I ask you to sign this before we talk further. But I disagree; I don’t think a piece of paper can stop you from talking if you want to” as he said that he folded the papers and threw it away. “ So let me ask you this, can I have your word that we will discussing from this point on does not leave the room regardless of the outcome? “