5
Devani
“If there are no morequestions on the upcoming vote, I propose we adjourn for the day,” said Alana Tran.
Alana was one of my Solon field agents and the chief operations officer for Maya Ratna Holdings, the mineral conglomerate I’d inherited from my parents, Rishaan and Darshana.
I sat beside her, counting the seconds before I could escape this bullshit meeting with my uncles, Nishant, Naresh, and Hiren.
Every few weeks, they insisted the executives and board meet in the guise of an operations update as overseers of the inheritance my father left me. When in fact, they held only honorary positions since I’d controlled everything from the moment I’d turned eighteen.
I owned eighty-five percent of the company. This allowed me to place people in leadership positions I trusted and would keep my interests safe. Such as Alana and six others. In addition to knowing how to run an international mineral organization, they possessed skills I utilized for activities of an underground nature.
“I have one question.”
I looked up from my papers to stare into my condescending Uncle Nishant’s eyes. Whatever he wanted to ask, he meant to undermine my authority in this boardroom, as usual.
Fucker.
I’d dealt with the bullshit since I was eighteen and continued to face it at thirty-two.
When would he realize I possessed the ability to make chalk dust out of him without trying?
They’d thought sending me to boarding school would get rid of me and allow them to take over the legacy Papa had created from the inheritance my grandfather had given him. But that very institution gave me the resources to become the cunning bitch who sat before them today.
“If this is regarding the vote, you may ask it. Otherwise, let’s wait until later.” I would not let him derail me.
“My question is regarding the future standing of the company. Therefore, voting on acquisitions of mining operations may come into question.”
The board members, excluding my uncles, shifted in their chairs as the tension in the room built.
It had been a long time since any explosion had happened in one of our meetings. Always on the part of one of the three stooges. I’d learned to school my feelings into an emotionless mask.
“After your marriage to Joshi, what are your plans for this company? Be warned, Maya Ratna has been in our family for over two hundred years. We will not become a Joshi subsidiary without a fight.”
Oh, he wanted to go there. Fine. We’d go there.
Bastard.
I never put any of our dirty family laundry out in front of the masses. I guarded my privacy. However, if it meant shutting these fuckers up, I’d happily give them a reality check.
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” my other uncle, Naresh, said. “We will fight for what is ours.”
“Yours?”
Dear Lord, these men were delusional.
I stood, setting my palms on the table and peering into each of my uncles’ eyes.
“My time is very limited, so I’m going to clarify this once and for all.” I kept my voice no-nonsense and emotionless. “And if any of you dare bring it up again, I will throw you off this board. Maya Ratna’s boardroom is a place to discuss business, not petty family drama.”
“Now, wait just a minute,” Naresh interjected.
Ignoring him, I continued, “All three of you gave up your claim to Maya Ratna when you took the cash inheritance from Dada. The company was in trouble, so you decided to bail rather than work to fix things. Papa, on the other hand, took Dada’s legacy and made it into the empire it became. You’re lucky that Papa’s love for you allowed him to forgive you, and then he gifted a five percent stake to each of you as my caretakers.”
I smoothed my dress and strolled to the chairs behind my uncles. “Now to the topic of fighting me. I own the majority of this company, and you can do nothing about it. Papa’s will stated any of his living children, male or female, inherited one hundred percent of his assets. Your archaic belief that a female cannot stand at the helm of this company will never hold up in any court of law.”