#2 ~FF : Untold Stories~ - Page 30

Ishaani turned around, shutting the clock off within a matter of minutes before rolling over again. Groaning lightly in protest with her face muffled upon the pillow, she irritably pushed the blanket off and got up, yawning widely. She'd spent the whole last night preparing upon what was to be spoken in today's AGM and all the probable questions that could be asked. Two hours' sleep was definitely a price not worth letting go, but she had no option. Her eyes fell upon the diary on the bedside near her that she had completed reading and sighed. She'd get to the next one later.

Getting up from the bed, she quickly headed towards the washroom and freshened up, applying a small band-aid upon the wound on her shoulder. Now that she had mastered control over the entire situation, she felt much more at ease. She needed control and now she was close to having it all down perfectly.

But first, the AGM.

Letting out a huff, she quickly went through the file having the eight agendas for the meeting today, making sure that everything was in place. Nodding her head once she was certain that all the points were listed properly, she shut the file and quickly made her way to the dining room where a simple breakfast awaited her.

She could never eat when it was a big day. And today, by no means, was it an ordinary day. It was Phase I of her plan - if this worked, then Phase II would become much easier. Quickly gulping down a glass of juice along with a buttered piece of toast, she made her way to her car and revved it up quickly, the automobile finding its way onto the main road in less than five minutes.

She reached her office at exactly ten minutes to eight where Puneet and Rishi were already awaiting her, both of them looking considerably anxious. She gave them a nod of acknowledgement that was cue for them to follow her into the conference room where the meeting was to be held. She walked in to see that out of the fifteen chairs, only five were occupied.

Nodding her head at the present members of the Board of Directors, Ishaani took her seat at the head of the table, Puneet and Rishi taking seats on either side. She noticed that copies of the dossier that she'd been handed over were now seated in multiples of fifteen in the front of every chair, waiting for their respective occupants to study it. The five members present had already indulged themselves into studying the files while Ishaani looked at the clock right in front of her. 7:53AM.

Slowly, all the remaining members entered the chambers one by one, instantly taking to reading the files kept before them. The moment the clock struck eight, everybody kept down their files and turned their fullest attention towards Ishaani, who'd captured the attention of everyone present in the room.

"Apologies for absence?" requested the chairman on the dot of eight, clearing her throat and speaking for the first time since she entered the room.

"Mr. Vijay Bhaskar," said Mrs. Jessica Pereira, one of the senior members on the Board as well as the company's treasurer. She intoned in her best matter-of-fact voice. "He's still recuperating from the heart-attack he suffered last week."

"Taken. Shall we continue then?" asked Ishaani.

As no one appeared to show any dissent, Jessica folded back the last page of the minutes to allow Ishaani to scrawl her signature below the bottom line. Ishaani smiled viciously when she reread the final instruction the board had given her on the last occasion they had met, which was exactly six months ago: "Chairman to try and come to some amicable agreement with Mr. Chirag Mehta concerning the orderly takeover of Mehta and Sons Co."

There had been no agreement, no conversation. Just an anonymous bidder. That would be number 07 on her agenda list today.

"Let's begin," spoke Ishaani softly, pushing aside the sadistic pleasure. When everyone present nodded their heads in accordance, Ishaani continued.

"Mr. Puneet Bakshi will make a run through for agenda's 01-08, with the exception of 03 that will be covered by Mr. Rishi Oberoi. If Mr. Puneet so wishes, agenda 07 can be handed over to Mr. Piyush Sanghvi to give us a more detailed run through."

Mr. Puneet nodded his head.

"Agreed, Ms. Chairman. Mr. Piyush can take over agenda 07," said Puneet and Ishaani continued.

"Alright. So, Mr. Puneet, give us a run through from 01-08 with exceptions noted. Mr. Piyush, you will go next with 07 and Mr. Rishi will close the meeting with number 03. Agreed?"

Puneet stood up and cleared his throat. The chief financial officer opened the file to the first agenda under the heading of 'Financial Reports' and ran the members through the fiscal position of the company after the profits of the third quarter, reporting a breakthrough of 280 crores from the diamond trading company and 170 crores from the construction one. Subsequently, he gave a run through about the profits and the expansion plans with regards to their construction company, whose branch was meant to be opened in London.

The next matter he raised was a rubber stamp decision whether the contract for insurance was to be continued with Tata's AIG or was to be switched to Reliance's since the latter seemed to have a lot more beneficial schemes. The board of directors voted 9-6 in favour of Tata, saying that if it didn't prove beneficial for the next year, then the insurance would very well be switched over to Reliance.

Puneet then raised the matter about the retirement of Mr. Vijay Bhaskar coming next year, stating that a suitable replacement would now be a good time to consider. The discussion went on for forty-five minutes by the end of which, three names were put forward - Shagnika Bhose, Samir Khanna and Naman Joshi. The final vote would be taken in the next AGM. With consideration to this, the proposition about an expansion of their diamond business in London was put forth as agenda number 05.

The situation was considered for another hour, discussing the pros and the cons until it was agreed upon. Moving to the last topic of the agenda for Puneet were the contracts and investment portfolios of the company, several prospects and propositions put forth while the deal with Mr. Saxena was discussed again in detail. At the end of the three hour detailing of all the six agendas, Puneet sighed tiredly as he half-collapsed upon his seat, while a polite round of applause went about. Ishaani turned her attention towards Mr. Sanghvi, the legal counsel of our company.

"Thank you, Chairman," said Piyush Sanghvi, removing some papers from a briefcase by the side of his chair. The rest of the board waited patiently. "Members of the board will be aware that," he began, sounding like the true lawyer that he was, "Following the announcement by Mr. Chirag Mehta last evening that it was no longer his intention to defend the takeover bid for Mehta and Sons Co., the company's shares subsequently fell from their peak of 201 to a 162."

"We're all capable of following the vagaries of the stock market," said one of the board members, butting in. "What I would like to know is: what has happened to the Mehtas' personal shareholding?"

"The Mehtas' stock," said Piyush, continuing as if he had not been interrupted, "was, following an agreement reached between his lawyers, acquired a fortnight ago by the Abernathie Trust at a cost of 201 per share. It has recently come to light that Mr. Mehta Jr. has, during the past year, been building up a considerable holding in the company on borrowed money, causing him to accumulate a large overdraft. An overdraft, I am given to understand, he can no longer sustain. With that in mind he has sold his personal holding in the company some twenty-eight percent direct to the Abernathie Trust at the going market rate."

"Is he even aware that we've taken over the company?" asked yet another member, and Piyush's answer was instantaneous.

"No, he was unaware that we'd already struck a deal with the trust, stating that if they sold over all their shares of Mehta and Sons Co. to us, we'd prepare and hand them over a 5% share of the latest portfolio we've been handling. Heavens knows that 28% worth of those shares were nowhere as profitable as the ones we were offering to them. Since we already managed to buy 23% of the shares with utmost caution in the past six months, it only suited us all too well."

Piyush paused, letting everyone digest the information before continuing.

"We knew that he would have to give up on his personal shares since they had already gone bankrupt, and there was mass selling in at the stock markets. Knowing him, this would definitely be something he would do. Minimize his losses before it got too late. Coming to your question," added Piyush, pointing at the member who'd raised it. "-he will come to know about it when he checks the newspapers today. The shares were transferred to us last afternoon before the markets closed and Ms. Chairman issued the statement to the print media last evening."

"So now what? We have a bankrupt company inducted into our wing. Why?" asked Mr. Arnab Sengupta, the chief financial officer of the construction firm, looking bewildered.

"The company is bankrupt, but it's an old firm," replied Ishaani, speaking for the first time since Piyush had taken over. "Their contacts go across international borders to thirty-six countries as well. The company have tanked in the last two years, but before that it was a thriving enterprise. A few swings here and there is sufficient to get in on track. We'll need all the contacts possible if we want to set up an even stronger international base for out diamond trading. Chirag Mehta may be a narrow-minded fool but we are not. He doesn't know what he's given up."

A stingy silence followed after which another ripple of applause filled the room. The moment there was pin-drop silence again, Ishaani spoke quickly.

"Which comes to the last point of the discussion - our 100 million pound consignment to London."

"Wait, I thought it was a 60 million pound deal, approximately 580 crores," spoke another member, and Ishaani shook her head in disagreement.

"That was our initial quotation, until the cartel gave into our deal and are backing us for the full 100 million pounds now. Mr. Rishi will give you the further briefing."

The CEO of the firm got up and gave in a quick synopsis about the deal so far.

"The diamond consignment we've been assigned is needed in London for the Royal Family. De Beers, who have 33% of the diamond market shares In London are the ones we are looking to beat. The minority companies have formed a cartel of sorts and have managed to capture approximately 15% of the market share. Our firm has 36% of the market share, thanks to our long-lasting trading with London for nearly fifteen years with a few competitors joining hands to bring down De Beers' share. The consignment with the best quality of diamonds will naturally get the contract and a lot stands on it."

"How can we be so sure to beat De Beers to it?" asked Jessica, her eyes now completely focused on Rishi.

"De Beers don't use Indian exports of diamonds, but the fact remains true that the Indian diamonds are the ones graded as the best quality. They seem ignorant and arrogant about the fact, and we don't bother to contradict," replied Rishi astutely and she looked satisfied.

"What about the cartel?" asked another member.

"The cartel knows that it won't stand a chance against us or De Beers, but since they have been thrashed by the latter too often, they are willing to back us with the promise that if we beats De Beers to it, they'll give up their market shares and merge with us to make us the single dominant monopoly. However, the finances required goes up to a 954 crores approximately and we're willing to chip out 580 crores, inclusive of the maximum loans we can get," replied Rishi confidently, having done his homework well.

"What are we going to do about the remaining then?" asked Mr. Sengupta, now looking interested.

"Here comes in the twist. There's another foreign enterprise by the name of RV Group of Companies that is also eyeing the project and wants to give it a shot. He hasn't been able to achieve a foothold in London yet, which is his disadvantage because we all know how compact the markets of London are. He's tried before as well, but hasn't succeeded. So this time, he's looking for a company having a foothold in the market so that he can offer a merger and secure the consignment contract. So far, he's been studying the companies of the cartel and isn't satisfied, hence we've decided to give him a prod. The company has the budget worth a 700 crores. Hence, Ms. Chairman plans of a duopoly with the RV Group of Companies for the 100 million pound deal," explained Rishi, now looking a little weary.

"Why the special interest in RV Group of Companies?" countered Sengupta instantly.

"Because it's globally considered one of the best and steadiest companies in the diamond trading market. For months now I've been going through all prospects and none of them have panned out except RV Group of Companies," replied Rishi quickly, the answer at the tip of his tongue.

"Why not from the cartel?" asked Piyush Sanghvi, looking curious.

"The cartel together make half the power as our company. Plus, they aren't too reliable when it comes to mergers, and none of the companies belonging to the cartel have a strong dominance in the market," replied Puneet this time, and half the eyes turned towards him. One of the members leaned forward and shot forward the next question.

"Why not an Indian company?"

"Because none of them want to undertake the risk," replied Puneet coolly. "The stable companies don't want to pursue something as over-ambitious as this; the weaker companies don't have the capacity to."

"What's the incentive for us?" asked Jessica again. But this time, Ishaani put her hand forward, a sign to Rishi and Puneet that she was going to take over the discussion now. She replied confidently.

"As you can see in detail in your dossiers, one, it cuts extra finances since the Australian Dollar is strong. The consignment will go via Sydney anyway, so we get export concessions as well. Second, both RV Group of Companies and us buy our diamonds from Surat so it works advantageous since we're both aware about the markets. Third, we get the extra financial support and risk bearing since single-handedly carrying out a 954 crore deal has 'danger' written all over it. We have been looking for the best merger and if RV Group of Companies agrees to it, the consignment cost directly splits into half."

"So do the profits," added Sengupta acidly. Ishaani shot him a cold look.

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take," replied Ishaani curtly.

"What about the market share in London?" asked Sengupta, his eyes now narrowed at Ishaani.

Even though they respected each other immensely outside their professional lives, the two of them had a vast difference of opinion in all cases even though they usually came to terms of agreement eventually. This was no different.

"We get a 51% foothold in the London Markets, jointly. It's bonanza for the RV Group of Companies to enjoy a spoon-fed market share that they've been denied for so long," answered Ishaani simply, her eyes rooted upon Sengupta. However this time, another member on the table put forth the next question.

"What about the incentives from our company's point of view?" Ishaani looked at the person in question and answered quietly.

"One, it will definitely increase the goodwill valuation of our firm. Two, we'll achieve extra concession for exports. Now that we have Mehta and Sons Co. under our wing, the concessions are going to be very much required. Three, we are in need of an expert who makes sure that the whole duopoly with London is foolproof and that we are not tripped over by De Beers any minute. RV Group of Companies is more than adept to handle that, and Mr. RV's global reputation speaks for itself. Last, it lets us save the added money for expansion as well. At the same time, if we establish the duopoly, we are going to need heavy financing for all our consignment henceforth, and we all know that the risk is too high. The merger will help us ease out the risk factor partially. Mr. RV gets what he wants, we get what we want."

"Why will RV Group of Companies accept something like this?" asked Jessica now, her voice slightly disbelieving.

"Because it gets a straight 51% foothold in London, and it's a free ticket to him like I said before. Plus, with the weakening Australian Economy that's falling into a recession, I don't think that he's going to heavily bleed finances into something that he won't stand a chance against if he does it alone or with any other prospect," replied Ishaani, this time confident. Jessica pondered upon her answer for a moment before she nodded her head in agreement.

"Would someone care to give a conclusion to this?" barked in Sengupta irritably.

"To wrap it up with a bow, if all goes right, we end up with a duopoly in London along with the RV Group of Companies, also securing the cartel's share market since us and the RV Group of Companies are two of the strongest potentials out there. It's a win-win situation on both sides - we get the diamonds and the money, we have a good foothold in the diamond trading hub. Financially, it may very well cause a steep rise in share prices because of the global collaboration. It gets us more goodwill and more FDIs as well," replied Ishaani, an overpowering conviction in her voice.

There was an even more pregnant silence this time before a round of applause flew about the room once again, the loudest of the three times. Mr. Sengupta was the only one who didn't join in. The moment silence was achieved, he looked at Ishaani narrowly.

"This is all theoretically beautiful, but this might be the most stupid thing you've ever thought of," he said irritably, his eyes not leaving the girl who reminded him so much of his estranged daughter.

"Or the most genius," countered Ishaani defensively, glaring daggers at him.

"It's a fantasy and a damn-near impossible thing to achieve," spoke Sengupta, his voice now louder than the previous time. Ishaani sat up straighter in her chair as she stared at him sardonically.

"Funny enough, all the people I knew told me that the Parekh Empire was lost for good and could never be revived back after its bankruptcy five years ago," she replied coldly, while Sengupta looked slightly flustered.

"The RV Group of Companies won't agree to this. It's a one-sided deal," he said finally, his tone pointed. Nobody dared to break into the conversation, and had eyes only for the two of them.

"What we are offering their company covers up for everything else," responded Ishaani at once, albeit with unconcealed exasperation.

"I know Mr. RV's reputation globally. He's a man with a hawk's eye. He isn't going to be sugar-coated into a child's vision," said Sengupta, his glasses now falling at the lowest point upon the bridge of his nose in chagrin. Ishaani pinched the bridge of her nose in turn, now vexed.

"Then either you clearly don't know Mr. RV well, or else you have no vision. He's a man who plays with money, who practically understands the economy of several countries. He knows that what we are offering him is a one-time offer. An offer that will leave a mark on the diamond markets for the next few decades with ease, just like De Beers. I never said that this was a piece of cake. I know the odds, but it's a risk I'm willing to take," she responded with a determined finality.

"And what if the deal doesn't work out?" asked Sengupta reasonably, his eyes no longer as hostile. Ishaani sighed before replying slowly.

"Then we'll have to retract and let go of this. De Beers gets it, and we still hold on to the 36% market share we have."

Both of them fell silent, heaving gulps of breath after the rapid and intense round of conversation. Citing it fit to speak, Jessica spoke in finally.

"Those in favour?" Seven hands rose in the air. Jessica noted the names down and continued.

"Those against?" Another seven hands rose in the air. Jessica noted them down once again before looking at Mr. Sengupta who had raised his hand for neither.

"Fine, it's a 7-7. Mr. Sengupta, it's your call now." Mr. Sengupta looked at Ishaani resolutely for a few minutes before sighing.

"For." Ishaani gave him a small smile and signaled Jessica to close the meet.

"Well, it's an 8-7 in favour of the deal. And we close the meet on this note. Any questions?" she asked around the room, and Piyush Sanghvi raised his hand.

"When is Mr. RV going to arrive for the discussion of the contract?"

"On the 8th of this month," replied Puneet instantly.

"And when is the consignment due?" asked Sengupta curiously.

"On the 29th of this month," replied Rishi.

"Then we are on a tight schedule," joked in Sengupta and everybody gave him a small smile.

He was a very difficult man, but his experience and expertise defined the man he was. It was the main reason why Ishaani put up with him without much complaint.

"I now declare the meet closed," said Ishaani as Jessica passed her another slip of paper to sign below.

The moment the pen flourished upon the paper, everybody rose, nodding at Ishaani in acknowledgment. Everybody cleared out from the room one by one, discussing the topics listed on the agenda with a lot of gusto, until only Ishaani, Puneet, Rishi and Piyush remained behind.

"I think that went rather well," said Piyush, before giving her a nod of his head.

"Thank you for all the help you've given me with the takeover bid," replied Ishaani, a small smile on her face.

"It's my honour to work for a woman like you," said Piyush while Ishaani gave him half a smile. "Ranveer was right, you are an extraordinary girl."

Ishaani smiled pensively, wondering about the surprise he was in for when he found out that Ranveer was none other than the legendary Mr. RV whose involvement in their business had been discussed for an hour now.

"Flattering as that might be, atleast we've achieved Phase I," she replied in her customary blank tone while Piyush nodded her head. Before he could say anything, his phone began to ring.

"Yes. Oh excuse me, I have to take this."

Ishaani nodded and Piyush left the room. Puneet and Rishi both looked at Ishaani with a smile on their faces.

"Well, the two of you did some outstanding work today," spoke Ishaani silently and the two men nodded their heads appreciatively.

"The credit goes to you," replied Rishi, Puneet nodding his head in assent. The conversation however, was interrupted by the rude ringing of the telephone line, breaking the silent victory of the moment. Ishaani put the phone on speaker and spoke.

"Yes?"

"Ms. Lazrado here," came the voice from the phone and Ishaani sighed.

"What is it?" she asked brusquely.

"There's a call for you," came the reply.

"Put it on."

The receptionist quickly transferred the call, while Ishaani, Puneet and Rishi looked on curiously. A moment later, a voice boomed out.

"You bitch! How dare you?! You tricked me into it! Damn you! Damn you to Hell!" There was no doubt to either of the three that Chirag Mehta was on the other side of the line, his voice slightly slurred. He was drunk.

"Oh, I assume you found out then?" said Ishaani tartly. The voice's decibel hit another level with the next statement.

"You think this is a joke, huh? You don't know what you've just gotten yourself into! You've bitten off more than you could chew!" shrieked Chirag on the phone, while Ishaani rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly.

"You'll pay for this, you evil little minx! Mark my words, you'll pay for this! You've messed with the wrong man... I'll kill you... I'LL KILL YOU!" yelled Chirag, his voice now out-of-breath.

"Well, I'll be damned if you don't. Goodbye."

Ishaani cut the call amidst the string of obscenities that now blared through the speaker of the phone. Puneet and Rishi stared at the phone with disgust, while Ishaani sighed tiredly.

"Ma'am, why don't you get a restraining order against this maniac?" Ishaani gave Puneet a cold look but Rishi came to his rescue.

"Ma'am, what if he means what he says?" asked Rishi in a worried voice. Ishaani gave the two men a haughty look.

"He's a coward, and a man who has just discovered that all his cunning failed him. The bruise on his ego must be difficult for him to take," she spoke unsympathetically.

"If you don't mind, ma'am, might I ask you something?" When Ishaani didn't say anything, he continued. "How did you ever come to marry a person like him?"

"Even the smartest people make the stupidest of mistakes. He was mine. It's no use wasting time behind him. We have little time and a lot to do."

Rishi and Puneet both understood the dismissal of the topic and silently left the conference room, leaving behind Ishaani lost in her thoughts. She stared out from the window, the sunlight streaming through strongly. Chirag Mehta hadn't changed even in the least in all those years. He was spineless as he was today when she had her first argument with him when she was eight years old.

Even then he never faced me, thought Ishaani bitterly. He had sent his friends to do the dirty work and had escaped the entire scenario without even the slightest trace coming back to him. Back then, her friend bore the brunt of his lunacy, but this time... this time he had nowhere to hide. He cost me my life, he cost me my best and only friend, she reflected with even more bitterness. He had changed her life forever and for the worse.

She wondered today, like so many other days before, how she had fallen prey to him for a girl who was so smart and could sense deception in a moment? But could she? She had been a marionette whose strings were always in his hands, so easily manipulated that at the end of it, she lost road to reality underneath all the lies and the facade. She had lost the road to humanity, to her friend. She had let gone her friend for an illusion that was nothing but naivety, nothing but a shadow. The shadow of the person who was beside her all along, the person who she was truly in love with.

Chirag Mehta was an excellent actor, oh yes. But his days were over. It was her time now.

Even before she could stop herself, the memory of the most horrifying day of her life hit her with razor-sharp clarity. The day where she'd begun the downward slope of life. The day where her life had changed forever - her heart and soul torn apart and handed over to her in shreds. And all she could do was shut her eyes as she let the memory overcome her, her hands instantly curling into fists.