“And if they don’t?”
The CFO said nothing.
The investor stood.
“Anything else?”
He looked down.
“Pension liability.”
Her expression hardened.
“What?”
“Subsidiary plan.”
“How much?”
“Possible ninety million.”
She laughed once.
No humor.
“Anything else?”
The CFO remained silent.
She stared.
“Do not make me ask again.”
“There’s an environmental reserve.”
“How much?”
“Unknown.”
She closed her eyes.
The entire acquisition model was contaminated.
The CFO continued quickly.
“We had counsel opinions.”
“From whom?”
“The CEO’s outside firm.”
“The same firm structuring his transaction bonus?”
He looked away.
The investor understood.
“Of course.”
The CFO whispered:
“I wanted to tell the board.”
“But?”
“He threatened to terminate me for cause.”
“On what basis?”
“He has emails.”
“What emails?”
“I approved aggressive revenue recognition two years ago.”
The investor stared.
“Was it improper?”
“Borderline.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Yes.”
There it was.
The CFO was not a hero.
Good.
Truth rarely arrived through clean people.
The investor said:
“So you helped him once.”
“Yes.”
“And he owns you with it.”
“Yes.”
She sat again.
“Why today?”
The CFO looked toward her.
“When I saw him throw your documents, I realized he’d do the same thing to the entire company before admitting he was wrong.”
That sentence landed differently.
The investor asked:
“Do you have evidence?”
The CFO nodded.
“Copies?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Not on company systems.”
“Smart.”
“Not smart enough.”
He looked exhausted.
“I waited too long.”
The investor did not comfort him.
“You did.”
His face tightened.
She continued:
“You can still decide what you do next.”
He nodded.
“What do you need?”
“Everything.”
4
The CEO spent those same minutes telling the board the Black investor was unstable.
He used the word twice.
First:
“This is emotional.”
Then:
“We cannot allow an emotional reaction to derail a multibillion-dollar acquisition.”
The general counsel watched him carefully.
A board member asked:
“Did you know who she was?”
“No.”
“That isn’t the question.”
The CEO frowned.
“Of course not.”
The board member continued.
“Would you have treated her differently if you did?”
Silence.
The CEO became defensive.
“I treated her like someone who entered a board meeting without a proper introduction.”