Chapter 24
It was the day of the quarterly board meeting, and Hem just wanted the whole event to be over.
He waited as the board members were escorted one at a time into the conference room.
He and his brothers were positioned at opposite ends of the table.
Folders and water bottles were placed in front of every empty chair, and the Polycom unit was set up with a moderator so shareholders could join remotely if they wanted to.
Press was also on the line. Someone had leaked that Bharat was having a critical board meeting before the third quarter mark, and WTA was positioning for a takeover. The comp review should’ve occurred in private, but Ajay and Hem conceded to this public circus.
If these bastards wanted to play, then the Singhs would play.
Hem watched his brother nod at some of the seated members as he walked across the room.
He adjusted his cuff links even as he leaned over to speak in a low tone.
“Mina is waiting on her Bureau contact to show up. Tiffany and Rafael have confirmed that our security team is waiting on standby if things get out of hand.”
“We have to find out what Sahar leaked, bhai.” Hem replied.
“I hired a new cyber security team to help Sri. You know Mina’s friend Raj? Sri doesn’t like him, but I think they’re paying off.”
Hem started to correct Ajay and tell him that Raj was actually Rajneet, but Tiffany appeared by their side. “All of the members have checked in. They should all be seated shortly.” Hem looked at his brother and then across the room at Zail.
The baby of the family. He was hurting. Even if Zail wasn’t showing it, Sahar was a blow. They had been best friends. But even with the devastating news about the mole, he still showed up at the board meeting ready to go.
Hem scanned all the faces in the room who were either appearing quite smug, or who were busy on their phones. He took a moment to button his suit coat. “Ready?”
“Always,” Ajay said.
Zail gave them his go- ahead signal as well.
Along the back wall sat Damany Gordon, Bharat’s CFO, as well as the members of the compensation committee. Damany held up a thumb.
“Good morning,” Ajay said, loud enough to catch everyone’s attention.
He took his spot at the front of the boardroom table and clipped the portable mic to his suit for the conference call.
“Today’s agenda includes our standard financial report, as well as the findings by the compensation committee on whether the offer by WTA is worth accepting.
Once we finish our report- out, we’ll end the call and then resume with the board meeting. ”
“Where is your father? I’d assumed he’d be here for an important meeting like this one,” one of the board members commented.
Ajay looked over at Hem, who nodded. “Deepak Singh is in successful recovery from a heart attack that occurred a few months ago. He will be returning to work within the next two weeks.” Murmurs echoed around the table.
“Is he even fit to run the company?”
“WTA’s offer couldn’t have come at a better time.”
“Maybe he should take an early retirement. He’s sixty- four after all. He can only be CEO for one more year anyway, according to corporate bylaws.”
The board members didn’t hold back their comments, which only had Hem clenching his jaw hard enough for his teeth to grind.
He looked over at Sanjeev, who grinned like he’d just won a prize.
The man’s face was a picture of smugness and satisfaction.
Good, Hem thought. He had no idea what was coming.
“We’ll follow the agenda,” Ajay said calmly. “My father will release a memo shortly after this meeting.”
Ajay introduced Damany, and their CFO walked through the finance report.
It looked grim, which was probably why so many of the board members had smiles on their faces.
Hem gripped his phone tight enough for his knuckles to whiten.
These men were the reason why his father had suffered so much. He was ready for them to get their due.
His phone buzzed in his hand, and he looked at the readout.
MINA: We’re ready when you are.
HEM: Give it another five and then come on in
Damany continued in his easy monotone and wrapped up his presentation. He motioned to his assistant, who was taking notes from a chair along the back wall. She stood, reached across the table, and unmuted the com panel. “I will now take any questions from the shareholders,” Damany said.
A voice boomed through the com. “This is Robert Douglass, Douglass with two s’s. I’m representing WTA Digital.”
Hem looked over at Zail, his posture rigid, his face focused, then at Ajay, who raised a brow, arms crossed over his chest.
WTA had officially made its first move. They’d have to look into the rep for WTA the minute they got off the call.
“What can we do for you, Robert?” Ajay said.
“That’s Mr. Douglass, actually.”
A hush fell over the room. “Mr. Doug?” Ajay said. “Okay, Doug it is. What can we do for you?”
The com crackled again. “It’s Mr. Douglass.
We’re looking forward to hearing your response to WTA’s offer.
As a major shareholder, we have the right to demand that certain discussions occur with the shareholders present on the call.
Unless, of course, you’d like for us to file a report with the SEC for violating shareholder rights? ”
Hem laughed, and every head in the room turned to him. He knew an attorney on a power trip when he heard one. “Hey, Doug, this is Hemdeep Singh, interim legal for Bharat.”
“It’s Mr. Douglass?— ”
“And I couldn’t give a shit. You can demand all you want, but it’s a conflict of interest for you to be a part of the discussions. And since we now don’t know if there are other WTA employees on the call, we will have to close the conference line.”
“We as shareholders have a right to?— ”
“No, you don’t. If you’re familiar with shareholder rights, then you should know that much. And your thinly veiled threats about the SEC don’t bother me.”
Mr. Douglass began speaking again and Hem crossed to the table, leaned between two of the board members, and shut off the com panel.
“You can’t do that!” one of the board members shouted. “There was press on the line.”
“I just did.”
“You three are trying to run this company like a circus,” another board member replied. He was a newer addition that Hem didn’t recognize. “If we’re ready to vote, I’m all in favor of WTA’s acquisition of Bharat. It’s time for some real direction.”
“Of course you’re one of the people to say that,” Zail snapped, and Ajay held his hand up, palm flat to stop him from moving forward.
“Let’s move on,” Ajay said. “Can the compensation committee come and present their findings?”
The three representatives in the room stood, tablets in hand. Their smiling faces put Hem’s teeth on edge. But before they could speak, the conference room opened and Mina stepped through in her elegant red pencil skirt and thin heels. Her hair was swept up and she wore thin gold frames.
She looked beautiful.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said cheerfully.
Sanjeev sputtered at the table and stood, his face molten with anger and shock. “You can’t be here!” he shouted. “You’re no longer head of the compensation committee!”
The board members began whispering and speaking among themselves. “Sanjeev, didn’t you appoint her yourself?” someone commented.
“Yes, but she was fired from the firm on Monday. It’s apparent that she’s been romantically engaged with one of the Singh brothers.
Or all of them, for all I know. She’s not an unbiased party anymore.
Ajay, I demand that you have her removed from the premises!
The rest of the compensation committee is ready to present. ”
Ajay laughed. “I’m afraid I can’t tell Mina to go.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because she works for me. She’s representing Bharat as a legal consultant.”
“What? That’s not— you can’t?— ”
“It is, and he can,” Mina said. She went to stand by Hem’s side. “I’m assuming the committee’s recommendation will be to sell Bharat?”
The three members of Sanjeev’s new compensation committee turned to each other, then nodded. None of the board looked surprised. Some even had smiles on their faces. Hem’s excitement grew as he waited for the blow that they’d been working toward.
“The Singhs have decided to dismiss the committee’s findings and reject the offer,” Mina said. “It’s clear that Bharat is worth more than the offer is for. Reports will be mailed to board members upon request. We will be sending WTA a letter of rejection shortly after this meeting.”
The room erupted. Chairs were pushed back from the table, and grown men were raising their voices as they demanded Ajay do something.
Hem knew he was grinning like a fool when Mina calmly stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle that had everyone in the room freeze. She looked up at him with a serene smile on her face. If Hem didn’t love her as much as he did already, he would’ve been bursting with it then.
“Mina, we have done our due diligence and are as qualified as you, if not more so, to make a decision on behalf of the board,” said Connie, one of the more vocal members of the committee. “You have no right to come in here and ignore the work that we’ve done on your behalf.”
“I was fired this past Monday, not a month ago,” Mina said.
“I’ve reviewed your reports and put together most of the work myself.
Your judgment is compromised because we’ve found evidence of large lump- sum payments made to you by WTA.
Large payments have been traced to the other members of the compensation committee as well. ”
Connie’s face went sheet white. Her counterparts were just as horrified.
“You three have to be the biggest idiots ever,” Zail said with a laugh. “Every thriller on the planet can tell you not to use your checking account for bribe funds.”