5
Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals is located west of the White House and downtown Washington, DC, in a little neighborhood called Foggy Bottom. We took the Metro from our hotel downtown because Kendra said it was faster than getting into a car in DC traffic. Since she recently lived here, I deferred to her experience.
A driver waiting outside of the George Washington University Metro station takes us the last half mile to the Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals plant, which is also where its primary corporate offices are located.
Now we’re inside a waiting room surrounded by glass with a great view of the Potomac River. I stand staring out at the river until a raven-haired woman in a very expensive suit approaches. Her skin is flawless and the color of a shiny new pearl. Her eyes are a dark green that matches the silk blouse she has underneath sharp black Armani threads. Her forest-green snakeskin stilettos give the look a stylized pop, but put together, the entire ensemble reminds me of a dark horse. As though she’s got her armor on and is ready for a battle. Perhaps she is, since they called in our team.
She shakes my hand with a surprisingly firm grip. “Hello, I’m Vivica Preston, the CEO of Pure Beauty.” She then extends her hand to Kendra.
“Parker Ellis, CEO of International Guy, and our in-house counsel, Kendra Banks.”
Vivica’s dark eyebrow cocks suspiciously, and she smiles. “I believe we know one another through local acquaintances, Kendra. Lovely to see you back in DC, and so soon.”
Kendra doesn’t return the gesture. “Yes, well, I had hoped I’d have a break from all things Chocolate City, but the government seems to be calling my name.”
“Hmm. All right, well, please follow me; everyone’s waiting.”
“Everyone?” I question.
“Yes.” She doesn’t offer more by way of an explanation before she’s spinning on her stilettos and leading us down a long hallway.
Once we get to what I assume is a conference room, she opens one of the double doors and holds it for us to enter.
Sitting at a table are five men dressed in the standard business suits and ties. Three seem very young, and two in middle age.
“Everyone, this is Parker Ellis, the CEO of the company I hired to assist us with wooing Senator Birchill and Senator Portorino. With him is someone you may or may not recognize, Kendra Banks. Corporate attorney, representing International Guy. She recently left government relations to move into the private sector, and it seems the private sector brought her back home.”
A few rumbled chuckles come over the men as each of them stands to shake our hands. Vivica introduces three of them as working for Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals. However, surprisingly, the older two are names I recognize, seeing as one is Senator Damren, the former Democratic senator from Delaware, and the other is Senator Kemper, the current Republican senator from Louisiana.
“Please take a seat, Mr. Ellis, Ms. Banks.” Vivica gestures to two empty leather chairs at the table.
Once we get settled next to one another, I glance over and notice that Kendra is sitting in what I like to think of as her warrior pose. Back ramrod straight, shoulders so stiff you could balance a stack of books on each one of them. Her knees are glued together, shins and feet tucked under her chair. She’s placed her folded hands primly on the table, and her hazel gaze is cool and locked on Vivica.
I watch Vivica walk to the front of the table and pick up a remote control. A screen has been pulled down along the wall opposite us. “Now that we’re all here, we can get started.” She presses a button, and the image of a stodgy woman in a poorly made brown suit comes alive on the screen. “That’s Senator Birchill. She’s one of the senators we need to sway to vote in our favor on the upcoming bill that’s currently in committee review.”
“Actually, I’ve got news on that front. The committee met yesterday. I’ve got them all confirmed to agree to set the bill for a vote next week,” Senator Kemper announces with a smugness I don’t care for.
Vivica smiles. “You believe that everyone on the committee will vote in favor of the bill?”
He laughs, his jowls jiggling along with his rotund belly. “Those folks down there don’t know what hit ʼem. All they see is the number of jobs the new law will bring to their industry and the money to be made.”
Senator Damren grins. “When you promise two new plants and fifty thousand more jobs, which will bring in a lot more tax dollars, it’s a pretty easy sell. Unfortunately, getting Birchill and Portorino swayed to vote in favor of the bill next week is far more difficult. Our lobbyists have been working the House and Senate for months on this bill and were able to ascertain that those two will be the deciding factor. If they agree, several more who are on the fence will fall into line alongside them.”
“Speaking of the bill, I’d like to see a copy of what’s being considered,” Kendra interjects.
Vivica nods at one of her staff members, who brings out two copies and hands the documents to Kendra and me.
I lean forward. “What I want to know is what is inside the bill that makes them not want to vote in favor of Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals. It would stand to reason that if the bill you’re trying to pass helps build two new plants and brings that many new jobs to our country, and thereby our taxpayers, I would imagine this would be a win-win for everyone involved.”
Vivica crosses her arms over her chest in a defensive posture. “Nothing that warrants a true revoke, I assure you.”
I smile placatingly at her. “Try me.”
She firms her jaw. “For one, they are under the impression that the bill will allow us and other companies to test our products on animals.”
“Will it?”
One of her staff speaks up, a man very likely just out of college but with an intensity to his expression I can’t ignore. Probably comes from generations of politicians. “It won’t not allow animal testing.”
I shrug. “Then why don’t you just adjust the bill to change the wording that animal testing is strictly prohibited? End of problem.”
Senator Kemper’s eyes blaze with white-hot fury. Apparently I’ve touched on a sore spot with the bulldog. “Would you have us write legislation that lists all the things a company can’t do in order to get work accomplished? The damn things would be a thousand pages long. It’s preposterous!”
“It’s not something we see as a practical way to achieve our goals, Mr. Ellis, though we appreciate your input,” Vivica adds smoothly. “Besides, animal testing is part of our business. We cannot sell our drugs—prescription or over-the-counter medications—nor any of our beauty treatments without testing them on living, breathing entities first. Our priority is the safety of mankind. Even your toothpaste is tested on guinea pigs to ensure human safety before distribution.”
A sour taste tinges my tongue, and my breakfast starts to swirl in my stomach.
Needing to change tactics before I hurl, I get to what I most need from them. “Excuse me, I may be out of line here, but what is the goal of the bill?”
“To bring in jobs and tax dollars . . . ,” Senator Damren blurts out.
I wave my hands. “Forgive my ignorance once again. Pure Beauty hired my team to schmooze a couple of senators into voting in favor of something you want passed. I need to know why you want this passed in order to proceed with the best possible plan of attack.”
Vivica purses her lips and then braces on the table, her green gaze searing mine. “The bill will give Pure Beauty, actually all pharmaceutical companies, the ability to distribute our products faster and with fewer hoops to jump through with the FDA. For example, their health risk investigators can hold up a product launch or a factory distribution because of something as simple as a security door being left open because a staff member left to smoke a cigarette and forgot to make sure it shut all the way.”
I raise my own eyebrows at that. Seems outrageous to stop something moving forward because of such a simple human error.
She continues. “The agency can also choose not to approve a current drug because the number of tests run on a new product missed the positive mark by a tenth of a point. A teensy, tiny speck in the whole of the pie. We’re pushing for more wiggle room in best practices so that we can move more product and hire more staff. This is a billion-dollar problem we need fixed, and these two individuals are standing in the way of allowing us to expand our business, provide what consumers need, and create more jobs in a bleeding economy.”
Wow. Two people impact the fate of an entire company, two plants, fifty thousand new jobs, a load of money in new tax dollars to the local, state, and federal governments, and a billion consumer dollars. Incredible. I can see why the majority are in favor.
“And what is it these two senators specifically have a problem with?” I ask, tipping my head thoughtfully.
Vivica smirks and points to the screen. “Senator Birchill, Republican from Colorado. Huge supporter of the Environmental Protection Agency. Seems to believe that the locations we’ve chosen for the new factories are not ‘environmentally friendly,’ in her words. She doesn’t like the idea that we’re going to remove some trees and vegetation and build a three-million-square-foot factory in Jackson, Wyoming, outside of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Yellowstone.”
One of her young staff butts in. “It’s the perfect location. Affordable, close to the West Coast and the north end of the country. The second plant will be placed in northern Texas and serve the south and east side of the country.”
“So, she’s a go-green, granola-crunching kind of gal?” I toss out to see if I’ve hit the nail on the head.
Vivica smiles. Wow, she’s a whole helluva lot more attractive when she smiles genuinely. “You could say that. Yes. Your job will be to get her to see the positives of the new factories and steer her thinking away from the environmental negatives.”
I shrug and rub at my chin. Doesn’t sound too hard. I’ll review the build plans, the location info, and see just how much damage will be done and how much damage could have been done. A lot of times it’s a matter of comparing apples to apples to get someone to see that the positives outweigh the negatives.
“And Senator Portorino?” I tap the bright-white sheets of paper in front of me.
“Loves dogs. Has dogs instead of children,” another of Vivica’s staff notes. “Wants a guarantee that we won’t test on animals at our new facilities. We can’t make that promise.”
Just when I thought my stomach had settled, a squeezing, uncomfortable sensation picks back up in my gut. Thinking of the ginger-haired cat, Spartacus, at Alexis’s office in Montreal and how much I enjoyed the sleepy feline, I can’t imagine someone wanting to test anything on the little guy unless it was a comfortable office chair specifically made for office cats. Thinking about Spartacus reminds me of my rather recent desire for a pet. Sky would love an animal, and with her movie being stationed in Boston, a pet might very well be a possibility. I wonder if she’d want a cat or a dog. Probably a cat since she’s living in the penthouse of a building in downtown Boston. I’ll have to discuss it with her later.
Vivica presses the button on the screen and brings up a picture of a woman in a business suit, wearing a pair of tennis shoes, with three leashes dangling from her hands connected to three different breeds of small dogs walking ahead of her along a busy city street.
“Loves dogs,” I whisper in Kendra’s direction while evaluating the small, olive-skinned, dark-haired woman. Not bad looking. Woman in her late forties. Gold hoops in her ears, hourglass figure, hair pulled back into a thick, tight ponytail at her nape. If I had to guess, I’d say she was Italian and married an Italian since her surname is Portorino.
“We’ll get our team started on compiling some deep analytics of both women. Are they currently living in Washington now? I’d like to stop by or visit their offices, see if I can get a meet with them.”
Vivica smiles and Senator Kemper laughs.
Senator Kemper speaks first. “You think you’re just going to walk into their DC offices and get a meet on the fly? Son, you’ve got a lot to learn about politics and DC.”
Kendra abruptly stands up and places her hand on my shoulder. “No worries. I’ll bring him up to speed on all things Washington.” She directs the rest of her commentary to Vivica. “We’ll review the bill, assess the analytics, and do some recon on our targets. Once we have our plan in place, we’ll contact you, Ms. Preston.”
The woman nods in response. “Great. My team has compiled additional preliminary information on both Senator Birchill and Senator Portorino. Things we know about them, possible things we can remind them we have against them if they choose not to be swayed by your methods.” She grabs the two stacks from her staff and hands one to me and one to Kendra.
I grab the files and tuck them under my arm. “We’ll be in touch.” I stand and follow Kendra out of the conference room.
She doesn’t say a word and neither do I until we’ve returned to the Metro station and are sitting on the train watching the scenery go by.
“What did I just sit through?” I ask Kendra, feeling as though I’ve been sucker punched and not knowing why.
“A political hit,” she answers flatly, her expression a mask of annoyance.
“A political what?”
“They want us to ruin Birchill’s and Portorino’s reputations.”
I narrow my gaze. “How did you get ‘ruin their reputations’ from attempting to get them to vote yes on a bill the client wants passed?”
Her lips curl into a disgusted grimace. “Birchill is the top environmental protector in the Senate. She’s known for it. She doesn’t back down. Ever. It’s why she’s in the position she’s in for the state of Colorado. The entire damn state is green, for crying out loud.”
“Okay, so how does that correspond with ruining her reputation?”
“If what I suspect is true, not only are these factories going to be huge and eliminate a good chunk of trees, animal life, and natural resources, but her supporting the bill will give other prospective factories the ability to affect the environment as well. Any company claiming they can create thousands of new jobs and generate millions in tax dollars will be using this bill as carte blanche to destroy the land and pollute the air and flood the market with possibly dangerous products.”
An itchy burn starts under my arms, making me feel sweaty and uncomfortable.
“And Portorino?”
“Is a vehement defender of animal rights. She’s also the strongest advocate in the Senate for the Humane Society in DC. Their headquarters are located here, and she’s a regular at their offices as well as their dinners, charity events, et cetera. She’s been staunchly opposed to animal testing of any kind. If she were to change her vote for this bill, it would ruin her reputation as someone who stands up for the little guy, for the innocent. It would be better for her to resign than vote yes on this bill. There’s nothing we’re going to be able to do to get her to see it another way.”
“Hmm. I want to get Wendy on them and find out more from our analysis. Let’s spend tomorrow going through the bill and all the documents they’ve given us. We’ll review whatever Wendy finds, and then have a meet with each. Do you have any ideas on that? This was your playground before it became mine.” I smile graciously, wanting her to know I trust her judgment and experience completely.
“I’ll ask around tomorrow. Check in with a few contacts. I’m sure we can find out where they usually go to lunch or dinner, maybe corner them on the street coming or going from their buildings.”
I stare out the window as we pass by Georgetown. Washington really is filled with green trees and beautiful views once you pass through each neighborhood. I even enjoy the female Metro voice. Sounds almost British, reminding me of Geneva James back in London. I wonder if we’ll be seeing her soon since her movie is going to be produced in Boston.
“It’s as good a plan as any.” I smile softly and continue to watch the world go by.
The conversation between us ceases, both of us lost in our own thoughts since the plan is in place for tomorrow. Still, there’s an uneasy feeling twisting at my gut. The idea that this company was so nonchalant about animal testing makes me want to learn more about what they’re doing, including when, where, and how often. I also don’t like the idea of a giant factory being placed at the edge of a national forest. That can’t be good for the environment, regardless of the jobs or money it will bring to the economy or the government.
Right now, all I can do is learn more about Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals, the bill, and the two senators they want us to sway in their favor.
Knowledge is power.
The next day, Kendra and I are sitting in the suite we ended up having to share. Something was wrong with our booking. The hotel screwed up, and there weren’t additional rooms to move us to. Regardless, it has two separate bedrooms and bathrooms with a living room and kitchenette space between them. When I texted Sky to tell her about the mishap, she laughed her ass off. Thought it was funny that I was worried about telling her I had to share a suite with another woman. Especially since she knows what went down between Roy and Kendra years ago. She thinks the situation will provide a good way for me to get to know the Kendra she is now, versus the young girlfriend of my best bud back in college. I explained repeatedly that I wasn’t planning to dig any deeper into Kendra’s past for fear of losing my best friend and business partner in the process. Nevertheless, I am very intrigued by why she moved back to Boston after living in DC for the past eight years.
“This bill is bad news, Parker.” Kendra breaks through the silence. She’s sitting on the couch dressed in a pair of lounge pants and a hoodie. I’m in much the same casual garb, only mine is jeans and a tee.
“Why’s that?”
She shakes her head and holds up the bill, scanning a section that has her interest piqued.
“If this bill passes, basically it gives Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals, not to mention drug companies in general, free rein to test on anything they want. They can also release the products in what they’re calling the ‘beta phase’ as long as the product has passed two tests on living beings. Which means they can skip human trials altogether.”
“Seriously?”
She nods. “Yeah. So they can do their tests and, if they get the anticipated results, they can choose whether or not they want to do the beta phase, which is where humans come in. Usually a cosmetics company will get focus groups that are either volunteer or paid, sometimes both, to try new products. Drug companies get their patients for drug trials a little differently, but in either instance, the bottom line is this: if they want, they can skip human trials and release a new product.”
“I’m still hung up on the animal testing part.”
She frowns. “I’ve heard about this company, Parker. I didn’t want to go into detail because it’s only conjecture. A friend of mine here in DC is an animal rights activist, and she says Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals is connected to PB Resources.”
“What’s PB Resources?”
“A company that deals in medical testing but also, and here’s the kicker, breeds animals just for animal testing. Animals are born in a laboratory just to be test subjects in a variety of ways, much of them cruel. We’re not talking a few blood tests or needle pricks. They go beyond mice and guinea pigs, like Vivica mentioned. They use dogs and cats in a lot of testing.”
I pull out my phone and hit “IG.”
Annie answers. “International Guy, Annie speaking. How may I help you?”
“Annie, this is Parker. I need to speak to Wendy. Now.”
“Oh yes, okay. Um, is there something I can help you with? I mean, now that I’m your official assistant?”
I clench my teeth and breathe through my nose, trying to dispel the immediate irritation at her not giving me what I want right away, and try to understand that she wants to be seen as helpful and do a good job. “No, thank you. I need Wendy’s technical expertise.”
“Oh okay.” Her voice drops sadly. “Yes, let me get her for you. I hope you’re having fun in DC.” A beat of silence passes as I realize she’s waiting for me to respond to her.
“Business, not pleasure, Annie. Wendy, please?” I push the words out in a barely concealed growl.
“Yes, of course. Right this minute,” she says, and finally the phone starts to ring.
“Yo, Bossman. To what do I owe this great pleasure?”
“You in front of your computer?”
“Now that’s just about the stupidest question I’ve heard all day.” Her tone is joking, but I’m in no mood.
“Cut the snark. I need you to look up PB Resources and tell me who owns them and what they do.”
“PB Resources, got it.”
I can hear her typing wildly in the background.
“Looks like a medical research laboratory. Huh, this is weird.”
“What is?”
“Some of the same names that you had me look up for Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals came up. A few of the board members are the same. Oh shit . . . no way.”
“What?”
“Well, while I’m doing this, I’m pulling up some deeper info. You know, the kind you’re not supposed to be able to get, but I do because I’m the shit—”
“Wendy, please, just tell me what you’ve found.” I let out an exasperated sigh and rub at my forehead, a headache forming.
“Turns out Vivica Preston is the wife of Jeffrey Preston, the CEO of PB Resources. From what I’m seeing in their financials, board of directors, and investors, it looks as though Pure Beauty Pharmaceuticals and PB Resources are fully in bed together. Though, shockingly, it’s on the down low. There are no public mentions of the two together, and even the married couple is never seen at the same functions.”
“Why would that be?”
“I don’t know, but my freak-o-meter is clanging loudly. I need to dig further, go to places you wouldn’t even believe existed in my funky poaching.”
I grin. “Don’t make it sound dirty.”
“This shit is dirty. All incestuous and . . . Oh shit. No. Eww. Man.” Wendy’s voice falters.
“What?”
“The USDA has cited PB Resources a bunch of times.”
“What’s the USDA?” I run through a variety of acronym possibilities in my head to no avail.
“The United States Department of Agriculture.”
“Uh, okay. How does that relate to anything?”
“They cited them for Animal Welfare Act violations.”
And my stomach twists and turns, the coffee I just drank now feeling like a pool of acid in my gut. “Does it give a list of the citations?”
“Yeah, it’s bad. Really bad. Ugly shit. They make dogs swallow lipstick to see what happens both internally and externally so that they can say it’s safe for human children if they accidentally eat it. They’ve literally poured bottles of nail polish all over animals’ hair to see what happens when they lick it off and ingest it.”
“Fuck!” I growl into the phone, my heart beating furiously in my chest.
“Jesus, tons of dead animals were found tossed into a plastic garbage bin, one on top of the other, dozens deep. The last was because all of their throats closed up because the scientists put the formula they were testing for lip injections in the animals’ mouths, but it had a glue-like consistency when it met the saliva, and they all choked and died of asphyxiation. Seems it took ʼem a while to get the chemicals in the lip filler right.”
“Oh my God, Wendy.” I cover my mouth.
“Ugh, Park. They got cited once for leaving the animals locked in their tiny cages over the weekend with no new food or water for two full days.” She gasps, and that acid in my stomach starts to rise up into my throat.
“Wendy . . .” I swallow down the desire to vomit but just barely.
“Poor babies. Another citation was for another accident where a staff member locked newborn kittens in a freezer until they froze to death overnight. They were only a week old.”
On that last image, I can’t take it anymore and rush over to the kitchen and vomit into the wastebasket. Kendra comes up behind me and runs her hand down my back. “I got you, Park.” She uses the name she used to call me and moves out of the room. Her strides are quick when she comes back with a wet washcloth that she puts on the back of my neck. I’m clinging to the phone in my hand while the rest of my lunch and afternoon coffee leaves my stomach.
Kendra takes the phone. “Wendy? Yes, this is Kendra. What happened?” I ignore their conversation to focus on breathing and settling my now empty stomach. I wipe my mouth with the wet cloth, wash my hands in the sink, and suck down a bunch of cool water. My throat now feels like I swallowed a handful of razor blades. Once I’ve soothed my thirst, I grab the garbage bag and tie it off, planning to call housekeeping and have it removed.
Kendra comes back to me, her eyes blazing with hate and anger. “I heard you, girl, and I’m all over it.” She speaks into the phone. “Mm-hmm. I’ll take care of him. Yes, I’ll have him check in with you later. Thank you.” Kendra ends the call and sets my phone on the counter. “It seems that Pure Beauty is definitely connected to PB Resources, and based on seeing you tossing your cookies and listening to Wendy lose her mind over the phone, we’re going to need to take a new approach on this case.”
“There is no way I’m helping them make it easier to hurt animals or humans.”
“You willing to lose half a million on that decision?” she asks point-blank.
“No. I’m not. More important than that, I’m not willing to lose my soul over half a million either.”
Kendra’s lips twitch into a small smile. “Looks like we need to get to work.”
“How so?”
“Proving that consulting for Pure Beauty goes against our reputation and the goodness of our brand. As it turns out, it seems like we’re going to need that termination clause.”
I smile wide. “Hiring you: great decision.”
“Now you just gotta convince the boys of that too.” She tilts her head and grins.
“This will go a long way toward doing that. A long way. International Guy does not sell their souls to the devil for anything. Not the death of innocent animals, or a bucketload of money.”
“I knew I made the right choice taking a chance on you, Parker. Even with the past rearing its ugly head, something deep inside told me that International Guy was where I was supposed to be. You just proved that right now.”
“What you’re feeling, Kendra . . . it’s mutual.”
“Well, Parker, that’s great and all, but we still have a problem. Taking them down is going to hinge on us making some moral decisions over business ethics. Are you prepared to dive down that rabbit hole and risk IG’s future? Everything we do and share is going to walk the razor’s edge of ethical business conduct. Two wrongs don’t necessarily make a right, even if it seems like it should. Legally we can be sued for sharing with outside parties anything we’ve found on Pure Beauty.”
“Are you saying there’s nothing we can do to make this situation right?”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. We’ll do everything we can to mitigate any fallout, but we need to be prepared for blowback.”
“Let’s be smart and cut the risks down as much as possible. However, in life, taking the moral high road can cut deep in order to be able to sleep at night. Plain and simple, I want to rest easy. I can’t do that knowing the dark side of mankind is winning. Between blackmail and animal cruelty at its extreme, something has to be done. Someone has to take a stand. International Guy is nothing if we don’t lead by example.”