Page 9 of Broken
As they headed down the hall toward their offices, Lorenzo said, “I need to talk to you about something, so I’ll schedule time with your assistant—”
“Let’s talk now before the day gets away from us.” Prescott unlocked his office door and the two men stepped inside.
After dropping his computer satchel on his desk, he said, “Walk and talk? I’m grabbing a coffee.”
“Probably better to stay in here.” Lorenzo shut the door, but he didn’t move toward a chair. Instead, he folded his arms and just stared up at Prescott.
Prescott was short on time… and patience, but he raised his eyebrows and waited. After several seconds, he asked, “Did you want to sit? Do we need HR or something?”
“I… um… so…” Lorenzo ran his hand through his short, graying hair. “Dios mio.” He sighed. “I’m concerned that the messenger is going to get shot.”
Prescott chuffed out a laugh. “Are you the messenger?”
Lorenzo nodded.
Prescott gestured to his sofa, slipped off his suit jacket. “Have a seat, Lorenzo.” Prescott waited for the VP to sit before he eased into the nearby leather chair. “Take a second and relax, then tell me what’s on your mind. We’ll figure it out, together.”
“Artemis hired a consulting company to rebrand a skincare line that’s in need of a new look.”
While it wasn’t unusual for a multi-billion-dollar company to hire a marketing firm to launch a new brand or re-image a dying one, Armstrong Enterprises had a very competent in-house team.
“Do we normally outsource?” Prescott asked.
“No,” Lorenzo replied.
“Are you concerned your department is being squeezed out?” Prescott asked.
“Not exactly,” Lorenzo’s hands were clasped in his lap and he was twiddling his thumbs.
Prescott needed to move this impromptu meeting along or he’d never get out of there. A very sultry Jack popped into his head.
No way in hell am I working late tonight.
“My department has been focused on a multi-million-dollar rebranding campaign for the past several months,” Lorenzo explained. “It’s been our primary focus. I know you’ve only been here a short time, but we’re close to presenting it to the board. I’m not sure why your uncle would hire a consultant at this late stage.” He exhaled a frustrated breath. “I know family dynamics are complicated, but I report to you, so there it is.” Lorenzo rose. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
As he stood, Prescott offered a reassuring smile. “I can’t imagine this consulting company being any kind of a threat to what you and your team have been working on. I have a meeting with Artemis later this morning. I’ll ask him about the consultant.”
“Please don’t—”
“I won’t bring you or your team up.” Prescott extended his hand. “No worries. I got this.”
Lorenzo offered a tight smile, a firm handshake, and he was gone.
Prescott followed, but was stopped by his assistant, Francis. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?”
“A number of people in Atlanta, Topeka, and Boise have had an adverse reaction to our top-selling painkiller.”
“Fuck,” he bit out.
“Dana called for you. Her team is concerned that someone at the manufacturing facility tampered with the medication.”
That got Prescott’s full attention. “Anyone hospitalized or die?”
“Someone needed to get their stomach pumped.”
“Get Dana on the phone.”
