I told them to leave, and I learned that when someone shows you who they are when kindness costs nothing, you believe them and you do not negotiate with it.
When Ironcrest came to us drowning in debt and needing legitimacy, I insisted on being present myself because I needed to see the truth directly, not filtered through teams or summaries.
During diligence, Victor arrived late, dismissed concerns, and called himself old school, which in practice meant he believed hierarchy justified behavior.
Connor, the incoming CEO, seemed different, but when I asked if he could contradict Victor publicly, his pause told me more than his words, and still we structured the deal with strict governance and that same conduct clause intact.
They signed it with smiles, assuming it would never be used, which is always the moment risk becomes real.
On the day of the meeting, Investor Relations handed me flowers and positioned me at the far end deliberately, and I accepted because sometimes you let people build their own trap while believing they are staging control.
When Victor delivered his line, the clause stopped being text and became consequence.