Not just another Monday

"There isn't much we can do now Iram, you are in the deep end."

I sat in the board room, looking at Agnus's bald head, and then at the Banksy painting, we had purchased a year ago. I bit my lip, no one had expected Azure Hotels to crash like this. Our stock had plummeted worldwide in the past year, and we were now at the limit of borrowing from the bank. No one was ready to bail us out. Worldwide Covid lockdowns had ensured that our hotels across the world, in different cities had remained either shut or operational at limited capacity. More lockdowns in Thailand and Indonesia where we held a bunch of resorts, were now the reason, we were going under.

"It's so sad, we just started limping back to business," Mark shook his head looking at me sadly, "We have no choice Iram, we need to shut down."

"No!" I said forcefully, we can't. It's not going to happen."

"It is happening," Agnus said mournfully, "You and I both know it is."

"It's your fault, Iram," my brother Samir said sadly, "We told you to let the staff go and cut your losses."

"Dad...wouldn't have allowed that," I countered, my heart thudding now painfully in my chest.

"He isn't here anymore to see what's happening, Iram. You made your decisions and now we have to live with them."

"You asked me to let 50,000 people let go of their jobs. That's like genocide. How could I, please tell me?"

"Then, live with the consequences....what do I say?" Sam, as I affectionately called him shrugged. "We are all going to be bankrupt gentlemen, as my sister is a bleeding heart."

I walked up to the bar cabinet and poured myself a stiff whiskey. I couldn't deal with this stress right now. I took a swig and said, "I got us into this mess and I'm not going to apologize for it. I did my best to keep up the legacy father kept up. I know what I did has put our company in jeopardy, but things are looking up in the UK, in India, in USA and in parts of Europe. The past month's occupancy has shown signs of recovery. Gentlemen we need to dig our heels in for a few months more."

Agnus shook his head, "We don't have the luxury of time Iram. The banks have refused us any more credit. I don't know how we will bail ourselves out of this one."

I swirled the Single Malt in my mouth, missing my father like anything. He had loved teaching me all about whiskeys and blends and malts. Three years ago, just before his death, we had taken a trip to Scotland for a malt tasting trip. That was just before he had been diagnosed with advancing stomach cancer in stage 4. In a few months, he was gone, and I had taken over the reins of Azure Hotels.

I had done my best to make the company work well, and for about a year and a half, I had managed to successfully open even more properties and delight our shareholders. But no one had anticipated Covid-19. One by one, our properties had been forced to stay shut across the world. Our chain of business hotels in USA and UK; our resorts in Indonesia and Thailand; our wellness retreats in India and even the stand-alone property in the Maldives had been affected. We had over 2,00,000 employees and overhead expenses. I had stubbornly refused to let anyone go, even as other companies had started retrenchments. I was confident that we had the reserves to run the company for a year. Father would never have wanted me to let anyone go. Yet, here we were a year and a half later, in the deepest pile of shit, I could possibly imagine.

I swirled the whiskey in my glass, looking at it catch the angles of light, its amber colour glinting in the sunlight that filtered through the boardroom.

"I'll find a way to resolve this Agnus. Give me a week."

He started packing up his files and his laptop into his bag and said grimly, "Three days Iram, three days!"

I watched his bald shining head walk out of the conference room, and sighed. Mark got up as well, muttered an excuse me and left.

Samir got up and said, "I guess, I got to get going as well Iram."

"For where?" I asked, "The bathroom to sustain your expensive coke habit."

He had the grace to flinch and said, "Sis, please don't speak like that. It's not what you think. Anyway, I'll call a few friends and see what can be done."

I sat alone in the conference room, wondering what the fuck I was going to do! I finally decided I would do what any smart, self-respecting woman would do in place. I grabbed a box of tissues and had myself a good cry.

I was still at it when Eva walked in and whistled, "Whiskey at 11 am, and tissues. Has Param been cheating on you? No wait, he is such a fop, he probably can't even get it up fast enough to cheat on you."

I smiled at Eva through my tears and said, "It's not about Param, it's the company.'

She grabbed the whiskey highball from my hands and said, "Girl, we got to talk. It's now coffee time, so ditch that whiskey and tell mama all your problems."

When I was done, she whistled and said, "My brother knows a few high flying financiers. He works for Lou Grant and he might know some way to help you."

"The Lou Grant? " I asked incredulously.

"Ummm, yes, not in his shady businesses, but in his entertainment company. He heads the clubs etc. He can try and help you I'm pretty sure. At least speak to him once and see what is possible."

I sniffed and said, "I don't know Eva, I don't think any respectable business should be involved with the likes of Lou Grant in any way."

"Well, I'm not asking you to speak to Lou Grant, but to my brother. Listen what choice do you have anyway? You can't do miracles in three days can you?"

"Yes...that's true. Ok, let me speak to him then and see what's possible," I said finally. "Beggar's can't be choosers I guess. Oh, this is the worst Monday of my life."