Chapter 11 A little scheming thief

Chapter 11 A little scheming thief
Nicholas’s executive assistant handed the bouquet of flowers he had gotten to Nicholas as they both stepped into the top-tier executive clinical suite. 
With its use of warm wood tones, high-thread-count linens, and expensive artwork that lined the walls, the suite mimicked a top room in a three-star hotel rather than a hospital. The only thing that seemed out of place was the heart monitor at the bedside and the man it was connected to.
“What are you doing here?” Mr. Klaus, the hospital’s Director asked as he struggled into a sitting position. Alarmed, he turned to jab a button attached to his bedside frantically as he stared at Nicholas like he was seeing a ghost.
“Security!” he yelled when Nicholas stepped closer to drop the flowers on a coffee table, his eyes anxiously tracking Nicholas's every movement even as Nicholas took a seat on a couch across from the bed.
“Let me know when you’re done being dramatic, I don’t have all day,” he coolly informed Mr. Klaus.
Continuing as if he hadn’t heard him, Klaus kept pushing the button. “What is happening? Why is nobody coming?” he asked, his eyes fraught with worry.
Nicholas glanced at his watch and sighed. “Maybe because I'm not an imposter and I rightly belong in this room. Also, I’d like the details of this meeting to be private.”
“What meeting? I’d save you the time and end whatever you have to propose with a simple no,” Mr. Klaus said. “I would rather die than watch this hospital become another one of your soulless, money-making corporations.”
Nicholas raised a brow at him, and then at the heart monitor. “Seems like you're doing everything right to achieve that,” he said. “I heard about your mild stroke and came to give you my best wishes, hoping you could recover soon, but if you are determined not to, I won’t argue. I was taught to respect my elders’ wishes.”
“You, taught? I’d like to meet whoever taught a little scheming thief like you,” Mr. Klaus said while pointing a finger at Nicholas accusingly. “You have no respect for anything but money.”
“And you’re different?” Nicholas asked calmly. “The only difference between the both of us is that while you cover your desire with fancy words like community healthcare and welfare, I choose to be less of a coward with mine. So why do I end up being the one who has to put up with being called names?”
Klaus scoffed. “I'm nothing like you, Ashford. I come from a family who have built a legacy of saving lives over the span of generations. I've spent decades in this field. I am not going to sit here and watch a hospital I have toiled in for the last 40 years fall into your grubby hands, even if it is the last thing I do.”
Nicholas frowned. “Now you're just making me upset with all this mention of death. You should be talking about retiring and traveling the world with your wife. I also saw the lovely picture you took with your grandson…”
“Granddaughter,” he corrected with a snarl.
“Really? Couldn't tell, but I've seen your son. It adds up. Are you not even a little eager to spend time with your family and leave all this troublesome stuff behind? My grubby hands are also capable of toiling.”
Mr. Klaus smirked. “You really think you’ve won, don’t you? You think your pesky lawsuit, a result of a technical default, is capable of making this place yours?”
“No, Mr. Klaus,” Nicholas leaned into the seat and crossed his legs. “I don’t run a multibillion-dollar corporation like mine by thinking. I know. And it is not as a result of my pesky lawsuit, but as a result of something else,” he said, then nodded at his assistant.
Mr. Silas stepped forward from where he stood beside Nicholas. “Mr. Klaus, how familiar are you with the negative covenant in your hospital’s loan agreement?”
“Negative covenant?” He looked at Nicholas, lost. “What is he talking about?”
“Just a little harmless clause,” Nicholas explained with a shrug.
“So?” Mr. Klaus asked, arranging his clothes and raising his voice. “Are you so idle as to spend your time poring over my bank loan agreements?”
“I’m plenty busy and I’m about to get even busier, thank you,” Nicholas deadpanned. “But as you know, I have a degree in Harvard Law; I can’t help the urge to put it to use sometimes. But my sentimentality isn’t the point. The point is the cash-on-hand clause in your contract. It got me hooked.”
Mr. Klaus's brows were furrowed as he tried to make sense of what the Satan’s spawn in front of him was trying to say. He didn’t understand why the nurses who were supposed to be on rotation were missing along with the security guards, and now he was forced to sit through whatever this was.
“And how does any of this have anything to do with you, again?” he asked, attempting to fix his disheveled, thinning hair while trying to ignore the gnawing feeling of impending doom.
Wordlessly, Mr. Silas stepped forward and handed a document to him.
“This is a document that shows that as of five days ago, Ashford Global Holdings acquired Argent & Co.,” Mr. Silas informed him. “Also, we noticed almost immediately after taking over that you violated the cash-on-hand clause; hence why we had to send you a notice of acceleration demanding you settle the $100 million you owe.”
The hospital director blinked. He had gone into shock after getting the notice of acceleration but had been sure he’d be able to come to some form of agreement with Argent & Co. Bank, specifically because of their long-time relationship with mutual interests. Now, everything was beginning to make sense to him. 
They had tripped the covenant in the first place as a result of the public class-action lawsuit instituted by Nicholas. As a defence the auditor had freezed a substantial amount of money hoping it would be safe from the lawsuit. This was all a calculated trap.
“You’re really a money-hungry demon,” Mr. Klaus stated.
“I’ve been called worse,” Nicholas said and sneaked a look at his watch. “I was getting worried. You’re somewhat deliberate in your uptake of new information and I’ve places to be.”
“What? How? The lawyers? How could such a loophole exist and no measures were taken?” Mr. Klaus stuttered as the situation dawned on him.
“The agreement was decades old and also there is something called incompetency. But don’t worry, I’d do away with such staff swiftly,” Nicholas replied.
“This doesn’t mean that you’ve won,” the director stated. “I still have other cards to play. The board… they will fight you.”
Nicholas sighed. “Don’t you get anything I was saying? I’m the bank now. The board can’t fight me. The only thing that can save you is if you have $100 million to give me right now, but we both know that is not possible.” He turned to his assistant. “Please go ahead.”
Mr. Silas nodded. “As the bank, we are foreclosing. Tomorrow morning, we will be filing for a debt-for-equity swap. Also, the board has already been handed a consultancy agreement which they will be too busy signing,” he said. “I really think you are out of cards, Mr. Klaus.”
Mr. Klaus grinned. “I think you’re wrong. I have a $50 million exit fee payout—”
“Page 42, Section 8 in your contract specifically mentions termination for gross misconduct. Letting a premier hospital slip into a technical default such as this one falls into this category, unfortunately. I highlighted the provisions,” Mr. Silas said as he stepped forward and handed him yet another document. “This means that you’re not eligible for the payout, as you’re getting a For Cause Termination.”
Mr. Klaus's hands shook as he studied the document, and his face became paler with each minute.
Nicholas stood up. “Careful, Director,” he warned. “Your heart rate is spiking. And since I currently own the debt on the monitor, I’d hate to see you break my equipment. Also, I don’t think it’d be a good look if I’m the reason for a cardiac arrest… again.” He smiled. “But I’m sure you’d be fine. After all, money pales in comparison to your generational legacy. You can keep that; I’d just be vulgar and go after money.” He said and then stepped out of the room amidst Mr. Klaus calling him all kinds of names.
Shaking his head at the overgrown tantrum, he gestured dismissively at the guards who were at the door barring the nurses from interrupting them. “I think he might need help.”
They speedily ran inside.
“And somehow I’m the one that was not taught?” Nicholas asked sarcastically at the sound of something crashing and Mr. Klaus cussing a nurse out.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, quickening his pace the moment he stepped out of the elevator.
He brought out his phone. “What is next on my schedule?” he asked.
“You can still squeeze in a fifteen-minute lunch break before your conference call with Apex Bio Data. They are the first company to indicate interest in the medical data.”
“Cancel the call. Highest bidders only,” he stated and then looked up from his phone.
Much later, he’s going to try to remember why he looked up and fail, because that is when he spotted a little figure standing in front of the hospital wearing a thin white dress despite the weather. A man walked over to her with a jacket, but she pushed him away.
Intrigued, Nicholas slowly pocketed his phone and watched from where he stood as the strange woman tilted her head back and suddenly started laughing.