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For a few hours she would put worries about him out of her mind. Instead, a new set of concerns presented themselves–how to take down her corrupted boss without ruining Kisharti.
Their plan wasn’t sophisticated, or indeed very smart. Until the last minute yesterday, Dafna tried to convince Nurit to go to the other founders before going to the investor. Nurit insisted that they should have the element of surprise on their side. It was Nurit’s ass on the line, and Dafna was too drained to argue, so she agreed.
A management meeting, the first since the holidays started, was scheduled for eleven am and Dafna invited Motti for ten thirty, telling him she wanted to speak to him privately about a personal matter. She planned to tell him everything. Then they would ask him to attend the management meeting and hear their plans for the company–with the real numbers. Menni would have no option but to be part of the honest conversation. Nurit maintained that the real numbers weren’t that far off, and that Motti should be still willing to invest.
Ten thirty had come and gone, yet Motti, despite his assurances, hadn’t arrived yet. She and Nurit climbed to their floor and were the first in the meeting room for the management meeting. A few minutes later, Menni entered, looking solemn, then Gil, who darted a puzzled look at her, and Daniel, who wouldn’t meet her eyes at all.
“Dafna, you’re here, just one day after your mother’s funeral?” Menni’s tone was accusing.
“Yes. It was important that I come.”
She tried to smile a hello at Daniel, but he avoided looking at her. He sat down next to Menni, folded his hands on the table, and stared at his fingers. Gil acted in the opposite way. His brow was furrowed, and he scrutinized her as if trying to understand an elusive algorithm. Something was off. Nurit wriggled restlessly in her seat, sensing the same alarming vibe. She pushed down her worries and took a deep breath to clear her mind.
“Well, it’s good that you’re here,” Menni said. “Something very serious has come to my attention, and I wasted no time informing my partners and co-founders.”
“Are you talking about the subscription numbers?” Dafna asked, choosing to attack quickly. Daniel took a sharp breath and Gil grunted. Menni smiled, which was worrisome. He should have been alarmed. She heard Nurit’s freaked pants next to her, but she wouldn’t show her rising panic to the three men.
“Precisely. You know about that? How?” Menni was angry, which was good. Angry men were careless.
“I met a former client who said she left. But she was still in the books. I confronted Nurit, who admitted to it. But she said…” She was careful not to disclose Erez’s involvement.
“You should have come to me first!” Menni shouted.
“What for?” She spoke with authority. She wouldn’t shout back at him. “You knew about it already. Nurit did it because you told her to.”
Nurit nodded. Her black eyes were rounded with fear, her thin lips weren’t visible, she was clamping her mouth so hard. Dafna reached under the table and grabbed Nurit’s clammy hand.
“Nurit is a liar. It was all her idea!” Menni said. Daniel looked uncertain for a second. Gil regarded Menni with narrowed eyes.
“You promised me options and the CFO position,” Nurit said, her voice shaking. She should have kept quiet. It was the wrong thing to say.
“Hi!” the booming voice of Motti reverberated around the tense meeting room. Dafna breathed in relief. At least now they would notify the lead investor. Whether or not Menni planned for it.
“Hi Motti,” Menni said, as cool as ever. “Thank you for coming.”
“Well, a double invitation, both from you and from the lovely Dafna. Of course I wanted to come.”
Her stomach clenched with nerves. There was something going on that she wasn’t aware of and hadn’t prepared for.
“We discovered our bookkeeper has been cooking our books,” Menni said fast, “and that Dafna knew of it but didn’t report it.”
“You ordered Nurit to do it. I found out accidentally and confronted her.” She turned to Gil and Daniel. “Nurit wouldn’t have done it without a direct order from Menni.”
“That’s a lie,” Menni said. “She came to me asking for a promotion, but I couldn’t give it to her without more money. I told her, if only the numbers were a little higher, I could bring in investors. It must have given her the idea.”
Nurit’s mouth opened in silent protestation.
“That’s terrible,” Motti said. His shoulders were relaxed, his blue eyes calm. He didn’t look surprised or appalled.
“It is,” Menni agreed. “But fortunately, the numbers weren’t altered in a big way, Nurit tells me, so it shouldn’t affect your decision too much.”
“You’ll invest in us, regardless?” Daniel asked Motti.
“Yes, of course. I invest in people, not in numbers, and I have complete faith in the three of you. However,” Motti looked towards Nurit, “I think we should replace her. And you,” he said to Dafna. “You knew of it but went behind your boss’s back and contacted me. That’s a big no-no.”
“You want them fired?” Menni’s glee manifested in his wide grin.
“No,” Gil said quickly. “It will look bad. Motti may have faith, but he has a group behind him who will want to know what happened to our HR and acting CFO.”
