Page 99 of Love Under the Microscope
What an asshole. No wonder Jack hates this guy and wanted to leave the magazine.
But something is clearer. I’ve been more than stubborn with Jack. I’ve been an idiot and a spoiled princess. “Your loss.”
Drew shrugs. “You might be right, but a hundred more journalism majors want a job, and they won’t be divas like Jack Parker.”
The man doesn’t deserve to call himself an editor. His idiocy stuns me speechless, and I can’t come up with a pithy reply.
“Anything else?” he asks. “I’m kinda busy here.”
I don’t need to be asked twice and hurry out of the building to the park down the street. I find a bench to sit on. Maybe it’s time to see what Jack wrote.
As I pull his pages out of my purse, my anxiety spirals and so does my guilt. Jack didn’t enjoy working for Drew, but it was his job. Now, he doesn’t have it because of me.
Focus, Zelda.
Who is the Elusive Co-CEO Behind Zentello?
By
Jack Parker
Most people in the pharmaceutical industry are familiar with Nate Lowe, co-CEO and the face of one of the most successful pharmaceutical companies over the past five years. Many have heard of the other co-CEO, known as Mr. Z, but few know anything about them other than that they share the same initial as the company, Zentello, which they founded with Lowe.
Surprising to some, Mr. Z isn’t a wanted criminal hiding in a country without an extradition treaty. Nor are they a social recluse, suffering from debilitating anxiety or any of the other alphabet psychological diagnoses making the rounds these days. Mr. Z is simply a person who loves their company as much as their privacy and being in control of their life.
And with a business partner many call the golden boy of the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Z has chosen to remain in the shadows and give Lowe the spotlight for one reason—it’s what’s best for Zentello. Those five words have defined everything Mr. Z has done since the company’s founding.
Who is Mr. Z? A person who gets things done and is doing them so well that Lowe admits, “Mr. Z keeps us going. Zentello wouldn’t be where we are without Mr. Z.” Though Mr. Z would be the first to say that without Lowe, their company would flounder. The mutual admiration society is refreshing, but the two couldn’t be more different.
Unlike Lowe, Mr. Z came from humble beginnings. And also unlike Lowe, Mr. Z never completed their PhD, but in graduate school, they had an idea for a product and took that to the new company to develop with Lowe into something viable. “I set out to create something groundbreaking,” Mr. Z says.
That idea is now the company’s newest product—and may likely become its most successful—Orchid, a drug for women to enhance and improve their sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and even their moods.
Okay, that’s not so bad. I reread the opening paragraphs and find myself being pulled into the piece with each word. The writing is some of Jack’s best. And even though I’m—well, Mr. Z is—the interviewee, his style makes the article compelling. I continue reading.
Mr. Z is the first to say Orchid isn’t “a silly, good sexy-time pill” or to make a woman’s partner feel like a “sexual god.” It’s about “autonomy and taking control.” They want Orchid to make a woman feel like an equal to her partner, to her work colleagues, and to her peers. Yes, Orchid “will improve her sex life, but the pill will add so much more to her life too.” They also say, “Orchid is about pleasurable experiences and making a woman feel as good as she possibly can, either alone or with someone else. It’s representative of our time, and that time is for women to be heard and given what they deserve too, whether that be orgasms or better career opportunities.”
Not only is Orchid groundbreaking, so is Zentello. While others may try to steal or copy Orchid, they will never succeed because the company developed the product with care, love, caution, and attention because of the two people at the helm—Mr. Z and Nate Lowe. No matter who is the face of Zentello and who works on the twenty-second floor behind a closed door, the company is positioned with its co-CEOs to soar even higher than it already has.
My breath catches in my throat, and tears blur my vision.
The piece isn’t just “solid” as Drew said. It’s incredible. The best part? Jack used the interview he did with me. Word for word, he’s quoted me, not leaving anything out or misrepresenting me. Zentello couldn’t pay for this kind of positive PR about Orchid and Mr. Z.
A tear crawls down my cheek and drops onto the last page.
I should’ve trusted Jack. The article tells everything I believe in, what I’ve wanted Orchid to be, and it also shows me that Jack knows exactly who I am. Because he listens to me.
He listened about … everything.
He’s right, I’m too stubborn. I’m stubborn and an idiot, and wherever Jack is, that’s where I want to be. I fold the article and place it into my purse.
What I need is a plan to find the man I love.
Going in wearing a disguise with guns blazing might draw his attention, but as he said, that would only work in the movies. Maybe my best plan is to just be myself and apologize. If that doesn’t work, I can get on my knees and beg forgiveness. At least I’ll be in the perfect position to give him a make-up blow job.
Yes, that’s a plan that might work.
A little reckless? Maybe, but sometimes a woman has to take a chance.
