Chapter 2 #2
Mina straightened her shoulders and stepped into the corner office, ignoring the smell of stale cigarettes.
The space was a hoarder’s haven with papers everywhere.
There were discarded suitcoats and ties, dirty bowls and mugs, and an overflowing ashtray.
She passed the small conference table and dropped her bag into one of his client chairs.
Her uncle turned in his high- back leather throne, dressed in a black suit and wearing a thunderous scowl. “What took you so long?”
“You said an hour.”
“Whatever. Sit down.”
Mina pulled her tablet out of her bag and sat in the second chair.
“If WTA Digital wants to purchase Bharat, the board is going to have to appoint a committee to determine if the value of the offer is equivalent to the value of the company based on forecasting and financials. Depending on the technicality of the patents Bharat possesses, and how well management at Bharat cooperates, it’ll take a while to make that decision.
This whole thing could take anywhere from ten days to months.
WTA’s offer is only good for thirty days, but that can be renegotiated. ”
Her uncle leaned back in his chair, resting his hands over his wrinkled button-down shirt. His posture was hunched, his scowl lined with wrinkles even though he was only fifty-four. “Good. That’s very good. I want you to head the committee that’s reviewing the offer.”
“The committee has to be an impartial party.” Even though Mina had never worked with Bharat directly, she knew the Singhs.
Sanjeev ran two fingers over his mustache, ignorant of her thoughts.
“I talked to a friend of mine who handles high profile acquisition cases. Even though I’m on the board, it wouldn’t be a conflict of interest if one of my attorneys takes the case.
As long as they don’t report to me. I also talked to Deepak’s son at Bharat.
They’re okay with my firm’s involvement.
The remaining members of the committee will be selected by the rest of the board.
They’ll need to be experts in business intelligence, integrity, and finance. ”
“Okay. You do realize that I’ll have to be on site a couple times a week, right? I do have the bandwidth to take this on since I just closed out a bunch of cases, but court dates, depositions, and meetings for the rest of my workload will have to be rescheduled.”
“Fine. Do what you have to do. I want the committee to make a decision as quickly as possible, so if that means you set up a makeshift office there, so be it. Thirty days maximum. Oh, and there is one more thing.”
“Shoot.”
“I’ll make you equity partner, with or without the arranged marriage to Virat, if you report to the Bharat board at the end of your review that we need to take WTA’s offer.”
Mina jerked in her seat. “What the hell?” She couldn’t have heard him right. There was no way he’d just asked her point- blank to commit a crime.
“I know you don’t want to marry Virat,” Sanjeev continued. His voice was smooth. Poisonous. “I also know you’ll do whatever it takes to become partner. Make the WTA deal happen, Mina. If you can’t, then it’s wedding bells for you. Unless of course, you’d rather be unemployed.”
“Unemployed?” Her heart began to pound in a rapid staccato. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her armchair. “Wait a minute, you’re threatening to fire me if I don’t commit a crime or marry Virat now? That wasn’t the deal.”
“The deal is whatever I want it to be. This is my firm.” Sanjeev looked too smug, too content. Was he testing her? Did he know her plan to get rid of him?
“I feel like I’m in an alternate universe. Sanjeev, you aren’t seriously asking me to sabotage the vote.”
“This is how the real-world works, Mina. I shouldn’t have to explain myself.
Bharat is in the process of registering a patent for software that can locate moving targets traveling over two hundred miles an hour with ninety- eight-point eight seven percent accuracy.
It’s my friend’s latest invention in an effort to find missing persons across the world.
However, I’m a lawyer and a businessman.
I know that this type of technology has no future in noble causes.
It’s better deployed by the military instead.
WTA has the resources and manpower to successfully execute the research and work with government contractors for top dollar. ”
If she didn’t feel disgusted before, she sure as hell was disgusted now. Mina swallowed the sour taste in her mouth and schooled her features. “How the hell did you find this out?”
“Oh, the R&D team presented to the board last quarter,” Sanjeev said, waving his hand in dismissal.
“Look, I’m asking something anyone with half a brain can do.
You’re a lead on the committee. Pretend you’re doing your due diligence, but in the end, your report should have one conclusion.
It’s not only for your future’s sake, but also because it’s the smartest move. ”
Sanjeev wasn’t telling her the whole truth.
That much was clear. But more importantly, he was asking Mina to jeopardize her license and do something unethical for the sake of staying at the firm.
Did she appear so driven that he assumed she’d consider risking her future for a chance at a partner position?
Mina should’ve thrown his proposition back in his face, but as she sat across from him now, she knew that she needed time to figure out why he was putting her in this position in the first place.
If she pretended to go through with his plan, it would buy her time to find out if her uncle had waded into anything illegal himself.
Her stomach clenched at the thought. If Sanjeev was dirty, the chances of reclaiming her mother’s firm with its reputation intact was going to be infinitely more difficult.
She stood and picked up her bag. “Fine. I’ll consider . . . all of this. When do we leave for the board meeting?”
“Two hours. Remember, I’m counting on you to make the right decision for both your career and this law firm. It’s about time I get some use out of you.”
Her hand tightened on her purse handle. “I’ll be in my office.”
She left the stifling room, her brain running through legal ethics violations and consequences that Sanjeev could be involved in when she ran straight into Vibha.
“Uh, Ms. Kohli? Your coffee and card.”
“Oh. Thanks, Vibha.”
Vibha picked up a small wrapped package from her desk and held it out. “And I got you this,” she said quietly. “I was reviewing your employment contract for signature and saw your birth date. I know you haven’t celebrated it in a while, and a croissant isn’t much compared to a cake but . . .”
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to?— ”
“Happy thirtieth birthday.”
“Oh. Uh . . . thanks.” Mina took the pastry, feeling queasy at the idea of eating anything at the moment. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. You have your whole life ahead of you, Mina. Don’t waste it . . . here with some of these people.”
With a sigh, Mina dropped the pastry and card into her bag. “I don’t know where else I’d rather be. I feel closest to Mama here. Thanks again, Vibha.”