Page 75 of Love Is an Art
“I think that when you do an internal investigation, you should keep as close to the truth as possible.” I don’t look at Zeke as I say that. “And in this case, we don’t want to alert senior management that we’re doing an investigation. My understanding from Brooke is that you have to write a midyear disclosure update to portfolio investors. Let’s tie the rationale for our visit to that. And not just use that as an excuse—but also start crafting the midyear disclosure for this investment so that you’re killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. And you can do whatever due diligence you need for that report at the same time.”
I click to the next slide, showing my preliminary document requests and the employees we should question for the investigation. I turn to face Zeke.
“Your presence would also be helpful because you can research what you need for the midyear disclosure and help with understanding any financial improprieties we find. I can read financial documents, but I wouldn’t call myself an expert. Of course, we do have an in-house expert on staff if you can’t come.” I look away from Zeke, back to the slide with the qualifications of our in-house expert.
Brooke nods and smiles encouragingly. Zeke’s mouth is still in a straight line. I’m so used to seeing him smiling. It’s throwing me off. I can’t read him at all. Or maybe I can. Given how open his face usually is, he’s trying hard not to show any emotion.
But suddenly, he leans forward. “You’re suggesting we both go to Mexico?”
“Yes. Because although I minored in finance, your financial expertise would be invaluable, and it gives you a chance to get what you need for the disclosure.”
He winces.Winces.
Great. Now he thinks I want to travel with him to Mexico.
“Your going would be cheaper in terms of our costs. And it would probably be worth your time—unless you’re going to sell the investment.”
He nods.
“But to me, this looks like an opportunity to improve your investment and make the figures even better. I handled a case in Texas. Here are the returns the year after we finished our investigation and ousted the guy siphoning off funds.” I show a slide with a 20 percent earnings improvement from the year before. “That’s not all due to getting rid of that corrupt CFO. He was stealing about 10 percent. It was mostly due to an improvement in morale. The workers felt like they had been listened to.” I get a chill as I say that. I’ll never forget the whistleblower clasping my hands and saying,I thought I was going to be fired. Thank you for believing me.
“I’d give this investment a second chance,” I say.
Zeke’s glance meets mine at that moment. We stare at each other.Like you should have given us a second chance.
“But if not, here’s what we’d suggest for disposition of this asset. Our corporate team would handle that.” My slide shows the preliminary advice from the corporate team at White & Gilman.
Brooke nods. I sneak a glance at Zeke. He tilts his head.
“Additionally, I looked at the records you sent over from the due diligence that we requested. I reviewed the ethics line calls because the note suggests that the whistleblower can’t call the hotline because they’re afraid of being fired. One of the finance personnel called the hotline a few months ago saying Mr. Stone, the CFO, was harassing employees. It was ‘investigated’ and found to be without merit. But that name is not on the list of current employees. If this allegation was legitimate and the caller was fired, then we, as the investigators, are going to have a higher hurdle to get employees to open up because past experience indicates that termination is the end outcome. We’ll need to earn their trust.”
This is a bit risky, given that he doesn’t think I’m trustworthy. But I’m willing to prove to him that I can be trusted.
Do I have to show the next slide? He is so distant. Maybe I should stop here.
What am I doing?I steel my jaw. I feel like I’m a dog rolling over and showing its belly. Not to mention I’m mixing White & Gilman work and my personal life. That’s an F for Life Lesson #2: Don’t mix business and personal.
And I know not to show any vulnerabilities to a guy who can take advantage of them.
I hesitate. This seemed like a great idea late at night when I was preparing my slides.
Paul glances at me, his brow creased. If only I could skip over the next slide.
Zeke was open with me. I need to be open back.Relatively.It’s a risk I’m willing to take.
I click on my last slide. It has two paintings side by side. One is my terrible painting from the art auction. The other is a Matisse cutout with the word “verve.”
“I know you have choices when you hire lawyers. We’ve worked on three cases for Capital Management, the most recent one being the North American Fund that involved you. Each time, we’ve brought them to a successful conclusion. We pride ourselves on our cost efficiency. We have the legal expertise, the internal investigation acumen, the financial knowledge, and the language skill. This is my wheelhouse. If you asked me to paint, my painting would probably look like this.” I point at the photograph of my Dumbo Arts Center cityscape painting on the PowerPoint slide, and I face Zeke directly. I’m pleading, yes, but I also mean every word.
Have his eyes softened? Or is that just what I want to see?
“But I can paint with words.” I point at “verve.” “I’m a good investigator. I can instill that confidence that they can trust me because I will do the right thing. Ultimately, whether the employees open up is going to come down to whether they trust the person interviewing them. They’re risking their jobs—and possibly the livelihood for their families. I understand that. And my track record proves that.” I click to the slide showing my past investigations, and then I click to the final “Any Questions?” slide.
Zeke is looking down at the papers on the table. No way to read his reaction.
I did my best. He was so much colder than the last two times we talked. Maybe he was afraid of revealing any warmer emotions in a professional context.
To find out if certain management personnel are requiring kickbacks or bribes, we might even have to create a fake competing company and interview recent restaurant vendors. But I fear if I suggest that, he’ll think my whole modus operandi is lies and deceit. It’s not something for the pitch, so at least I didn’t have to present that. Maybe we can avoid doing it. But if it’s the best thing for the client, even if not great for me … Let’s focus on winning the business first. I can make that decision later.
