CHAPTER 35
C HAPTER 35
C urtis waited while Holden’s crew stowed the luggage, then asked Rae if she’d drive. Once they were underway, he asked, “Could I take a couple of sheets from your pad?”
Rae pointed to her shoulder bag. “Reach in the side pocket, I always carry an extra. Need a pen?”
“No, thank you.” He made a couple of notes, then said, “Maybe we should bring Dana up to speed before connecting with the others.”
“Go ahead.”
Curtis made the call and connected with the car’s system. Rae then listened as Curtis summarized the confrontation. He might as well have been making a shopping list, for all the emotion he showed. That completed, Curtis placed the second call, this time adding Amiya’s phone to the mix.
Soon as they came on the line, Curtis said, “Holden, I need to know everything said here remains confidential.”
“It’s amazing how deaf we are when it comes to a client’s discussions,” he replied.
Curtis introduced Dana to Kurien, explained the role she’d played in the acquisition of Cape Fortune, the court proceedings, and in putting their security in place. As far as Rae could tell, he remained utterly unfazed by the airport confrontation. Soon as he finished, Dana said, “I need some background on this Ajeet.”
“He is my cousin,” Amiya replied. “Since his father’s death, Ajeet has served as cochair of the executive board.”
“Kurien and his brother were a matched pair,” Curtis said. He remained focused on his pad, writing and drawing and flipping pages as he spoke. “Kurien handled strategy and planning and acquisitions. His brother was an expert at day-to-day operations. An engineer at heart. A lover of detail.”
Dana asked, “And the son?”
“Ajeet cares about neither,” Amiya replied. “He wants to wield power while his minions toil in the trenches.”
Curtis shook his head, but all he said was “We need to prepare.” He flipped to a new page. “There are two questions we need to answer while we have time. First, why now? Second, why here?”
Kurien spoke for the first time, his voice clear, precise, and very weak. “Ajeet said the board wanted him to view the hotel.”
“No, Daddy. Ajeet wants to see his hotel. His resort.”
Curtis nodded in agreement, but did not speak.
“I don’t understand,” Dana said. “You told me the North American operations are run as a completely separate group. No connection whatsoever to the Indian group.”
“This is correct,” Amiya said.
Curtis circled a number, leaned back, and repeated, “Back to the core issues. Why now? Why join Kurien’s flight in DC?”
Kurien murmured something.
“Sorry,” Curtis said. “I didn’t catch that.”
Amiya said, “Daddy says, you’ve learned the lessons well.”
“I had a good teacher,” Curtis replied. “The best.”
Kurien spoke louder this time. “You see it, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Curtis replied. “And so do you. And Amiya. She understands now, don’t you?”
In reply, Amiya said, “Tell the others.”
Instead, Curtis asked, “What else did Ajeet have to say on the flight?”
This time, it was Jiyan who replied, “He was most concerned about Kurien’s health. Many, many questions. Doctors, tests, why this trip? Was it in the board’s best interests, Kurien coming here now?”
“The board’s best interests,” Amiya said.
“Always the board,” Jiyan confirmed.
Amiya asked, “Why did you even let him on the plane?”
Kurien answered, “I received a text when we landed in Washington. The board demanded we make room for Ajeet on our flight.”
Amiya huffed softly. “It was Ajeet’s way of declaring he now controls the board.”
“An hour into the flight, Kurien demanded time to rest,” Jiyan said. “This pleased Ajeet the most. He told us that he was here to offer all the assistance the board requires.”
“Back to my questions,” Curtis said.
Amiya said, “It’s all tied to our accounts being frozen.”
“I agree,” Curtis said.
“Hang on a second,” Dana said. “Explain what you mean by that.”
Curtis swiftly recounted his online discovery, confirmed by the bank manager.
When he was done, Dana said, “You’re telling me the board of directors of an Indian company has frozen accounts of an American corporation?”
Rae said, “This defines illegal overreach.”
“This isn’t about the executive board overreaching their power structure,” Curtis replied. “They have obviously taken this to the courts and to their allies within the Indian political system.”
“The court where Ajeet and his allies on the board control the judge,” Kurien said. “As they control the politicians who are involved.”
Dana asked, “Is that possible?”
“If I’m right, Ajeet and his allies have turned it into a political issue,” Curtis said. “They have claimed that the chairman of a major Indian conglomerate is secretly relocating much of their company to the United States. As a result of this, Kurien threatens to steal away Indian jobs. Which is enough for the politicians in Ajeet’s pocket to demand action.”
“When everything is in place, they will go public,” Kurien said. “Ajeet’s politicians will declare this a national outrage. We’ve siphoned off funds from India. We’ve stolen jobs.”
“There is only one thing to be done,” Amiya said. “I must fly to Delhi tomorrow and personally speak with our allies on the board—”
“No,” Curtis and Kurien said together.
“Ajeet will have anticipated this very move,” Kurien said.
“It puts you in the crosshairs,” Curtis said. “There’s no telling what might happen.”
Kurien said, “I would rather travel back myself—”
“No.” This time, the immediate response came from Amiya and Curtis and Jiyan.
Kurien said, “There, you see?”
In the silence that followed, Dana said, “I’m assuming you don’t wish to fight the Indian courts from here.”
“Impossible,” Amiya replied. Glum now. “The Indian courts are notoriously backlogged. Corporate cases have languished for years. For generations.”
“Unfortunately, my young friend is not finished,” Kurien said.
“Why now and why here?” Curtis inquired. “Because the Indian embassy has reached out to their allies among the Washington power structure. Ajeet has requested an injunction be set in place, forbidding us from using any and all corporate funds on these new ventures.”
Amiya said, “Because the origin of these funds is India. And the Delhi board members are opposed to this. And so Ajeet’s allies in the Indian government have officially requested their U.S. allies to put an injunction in place, barring us from this nefarious use of Indian funds.”
“Now that we can fight,” Dana said.
“Which is exactly what Ajeet wants,” Kurien said.
“The accounts will remain frozen throughout the appeals process,” Curtis said. “Which would force our Carolina project into bankruptcy.”
“Ajeet has arrived now because he holds all the cards,” Amiya said. Resigned. “Which explains his questions about Kurien’s health. He wanted to gauge Daddy’s level of strength, his ability to fight back. He found what he hoped for.”
Dana said, “That you’re too weak to fight.”
Curtis turned to the side window. Shook his head. But he remained silent.
Amiya replied, “That Daddy will accept his terms.”
Dana asked, “Which are?”
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Kurien replied, sharing his daughter’s somber tone. “So you are aware, I brought all the cash I had on hand. Four hundred eighty thousand dollars U.S. Curtis, given our current commitments and funds outflow, how long do we have?”
Rae watched Curtis work the numbers. Finally he circled a figure on his final page. “Given how much I’ve committed to the Cape Fortune home’s demolition, we have five weeks,” Curtis replied. “Forty days max to turn this around.”