Page 22 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
“Hey. It’s us.”
“E. I’d been wondering when you guys would call. How are things?”
Eli sighed and rubbed his forehead, and it was as if Sam could see him.
“That bad, huh?”
“How much of the truth do you want?” Eli opened his own computer.
A pause. “All of it.”
Fazil winced. That was most definitely an annoyed Sam.
Eli shook his head and launched into his report. Like before, a lot went over Fazil’s head, but it was obvious Eli thought there were major problems. “They need an audit. Badly. But it won’t go well for them.”
Silence for a while. “Can you fix it?”
There was the heart of it. Eli put both elbows on the table. “Yes. It’ll be somewhat irregular and might ping against another company’s due diligence, but I can fix it. Legally. If their fucking CFO is fired.”
“That’s... asking a lot, E.”
“I’m serious, Sam. He’s hindering everything I do. His staff want to work with me, but he has them under his thumb. He let go one of the guys who was helping me go through the tax paperwork because he... wasfriendlyto me.”
“He what?” Sam’s voice cracked over the speaker. That had been Fazil’s thought, too. Holy shit.
“You heard me.” Eli sounded grim. “I don’t demand things that often, Sam. Not like this.”
Fazil studied Eli’s face, the long lines, the tightness of his shoulders. He stared at the speaker, as if he could reach Sam that way.
A sigh from the other end. “I’ll see what I can do. I know one of the board members. I’ll talk to their CEO, too.”
“Thanks Sam.”
“Not a problem. Well, it is. But you know what I mean.” He huffed. “Is Fazil there?”
“I am.”
“Please give me some good news.”
He hesitated, glancing at his laptop. “Well, it’s better than Eli’s.”
“Oh God,” Sam groaned.
“It’s only work,” Fazil said. “There’s a lot of it. The team’s okay, just managed too heavily because they’re understaffed and haven’t been hitting their deadlines.”
“I’m guessing there’s a boatload of inefficiencies and not enough actual streamlining.”
“Pretty much. The general vibe I get is that they ignore the management because the management doesn’t listen. It’s a horrible cycle of distrust.”
“So, canyoufix it?”
Good question. He glanced at his laptop again. “I think so. But...”
“But?”
“Not in a week.”
Sam was silent. He looked up at Eli, who nodded in encouragement.
