“Very good,” said Konstantin and moved a table lamp closer to her.
Nina started leafing through the contract. She knew what she wanted to find, but she was not finding it. On turning the last page, she said trying not to betray her emotions, “On the whole, it seems all right. There is one obvious omission, though – I don’t see any mention here that Yevgeniy Borisovich is to remain the company’s director.”
Unlike her, Konstantin did not have to suppress quaver in his voice – he was absolutely calm as it was.
“It’s just as well that you’ve noticed that,” he said. “I don’t mean to hold anything back. We are not going to offer the position of director to Yevgeniy Borisovich. We can take him on as a consultant – if he is interested. Small issues like that are not usually included in the body of a contract, but if you insist…”
“But you promised! I remember what you said at the fair.”
“I remember it, too. I did not promise – I made Yevgeniy Borisovich a proposal. The proposal was not accepted. Things have changed since. I’m not making that kind of proposal today.”
“Things have changed how?” persisted Nina.
Konstantin hesitated.
“Nina Yevgenievna, I don’t mean to be rude. As a daughter, you may find it offensive…”
“Speak!” demanded Nina.
“All right,” yielded Konstantin. “For one thing, Yevnegiy Borisovich is ill and it’s not clear when he could get back to work…”
“He is recovering rapidly…” Nina argued, but Konstantin cut her short with a gesture.
“That’s not it. You see… We know that the company has had certain problems recently. It was a kind of test for Yevgeniy Borisovich. Unfortunately, he did not stand it – he did not solve his problems in an optimal way. We expect more efficient management of our director.”
It took Nina a lot of effort not to show her mental turmoil. She had taken it for granted that her father was going to remain director, and Konstantin’s words cut the ground from under her feet.
Conflicting thoughts were flashing across her mind. What could she say to counter Konstantin? Of course, she could start a row accusing him of all mortal sins, arguing that it was all his doing. But it was clear that Konstantin was not going to change his decision. And there was something else. Deep down, despite her burning indignation, Nina had to agree with him – her dear papa was not cut out to run his own business.
“To dot all the i’s, the price has changed, too,” added Konstantin. “It has come to our knowledge that the company has failed to get accepted its largest project and lost a few others. That makes the business far less attractive to the buyer. This is how much we are prepared to pay today.”
He took a leaf of paper, wrote a figure and showed it to Nina. Her heart was wrung with what she saw – the sum was three times less than what had been offered for the company initially.
Nina was unable to carry on that conversation. Barely containing herself, she grabbed the draft contract and said, rising, “Yevgeniy Borisovich and I will have to think it over.”
Konstantin and his accountant got up at once. Konstantin held out his hand.
“It was a pleasure seeing you, Nina Yevgenievna. I hope we will come to an agreement.”
He was a decent man, but he had to do his work.
Nina shook his hand and walked out, unsteady on her feet.
Nina could not – and would not – discuss the matter with either her father or Lydia Grigorievna. Instead, she called Ignatiy Savelievich and asked him to recommend a good lawyer. The old man gave her the name of one whom he knew from old times.
“Ninochka, I want to tell you something before saying goodbye,” added Ignatiy Savelievich. “Business, money – all this is nonsense, in the final account. The only thing that matters is love. Take care of those who you love and those who love you…”
Nina was alarmed by his tone.
“I don’t like your mood, Ignatiy Savelievich. If you don’t mind, I’ll come over one of these days – we’ll do some walking and chatting.”
“Yes, sure, I’ll be happy to see you,” replied Ignatiy Savelievich.
Nina intended honestly to do something for the old man – to show that she cared about him – but that intention remained unfulfilled as do most good, honest intentions.
By coincidence, she had delivered her quarterly report by that time and was able to take a few days off work. She needed that breathing space desperately.
The lawyer was of great help. His services, which Nina paid for from her own savings, were quite expensive, but it was worth it. The man had a lot of experience – he saw through all the legal consequences of each word, and even punctuation mark, in the contract. He and Nina revised the wording of many paragraphs and worked out a list of amendments that guaranteed the preservation of the company’s line of business and its cadre, as well as improving the terms of the deal.
“But if you mean to get a much larger sum, you’ll need financial and engineering substantiation,” explained the lawyer.
Nina realized that herself. As an acting boss of the company, she ordered that Nikolai Nikolayevich dump all the operations on his staff, and spent a whole week with him in the office, arriving there every morning and sitting all day through. The two of them examined, one by one, all the asset and revenue items of the company, trying to prove in each case that those should be given a higher evaluation. After the engineer left for home, Nina went on poring over the papers until midnight. Hard work was not something new to her, but during that week, she really pushed herself to the limit. She was aware that she had no time to waste as the company’s position was deteriorating every day.
For the execution of the sale of the company, detailed financial statements and a substantiation of the price were prepared. Nina’s price was much higher than that suggested by Konstantin at their latest meeting, although it was still lower than the initial one.
After ten days, Nina crossed the threshold of Gradstroiinvest again. Konstantin and his accountant were expecting her. Nina was strung-up for battle, her cheeks burning in anticipation. She was ready to fight for every word in the contract and every ruble in the price.
Konstantin asked Nina to sit down and set to reading her version of the contract. After finishing each page, he passed it to Revich who was sitting by his side. That was going on in complete silence, only occasionally Konstantin would use a pencil to point out something to the accountant, and the other man would nod. Once the accountant pointed out something to his chief, and Konstantin nodded.
Finally, the reading was over. Konstantin kept silent for a while, looking at Nina with a new expression.
“You have done some impressive work, Nina Yevgenievna,” he uttered.
Nina gave no reply to that, but against her will, she felt pleased by Konstantin’s praise.
“Would you like some coffee or tea?” suggested Konstantin. He obviously hesitated, deciding something for himself.
“No, thank you,” refused Nina. She was all mobilized for a fierce argument and did not wish to lose her fighting spirit.
“Well, let us decide then,” said Konstantin. “Let me tell you again that you have done some impressive work. Your position is clear. Let me state our position now. We are ready to accept almost all your amendments. In particular, I don’t see any problem in signing contracts with all the employees that you listed – that could be executed as a supplement to the contract. But regarding the price…”
Nina held her breath.
“We can agree to the price that you put forth on one condition.”
He paused.
“On what condition?”
“On the condition that you, Nina Yevgenievna, become the new director of the company.”
Nina felt as if somebody had struck her on the head with a large pillow.
“Are you joking?”
“I can’t afford joking,” said Konstantin gravely. “A change of ownership is a serious shock for any company. This particular business is not very stable as it is, either, as it has accumulated some serious problems under Yevgeniy Borisovich. We need somebody to support the company and put it on the right track. At the moment, we do not have any other suitable candidate.”