Page 2 of Married to My Master

“Well, Cheryl,” Emily said to the interviewer, “I'd like to think I have a very open-door policy when it comes to my management style. And I feel that really works with a company like BioSphere. We're a medical company. Not some faceless corporation. We're here to help people, first and foremost. Our goal is to provide safe and effective medication to the patients who use the medicines we develop and manufacture every day, so that they, too, can lead full and healthy lives.”

She'd listen to him, Dane knew, when no one else would. She'd hear his complaints and help investigate where everything went wrong. Together, they'd get Benton exonerated. She'd order her corporation to accept responsibility for the medication they manufactured, and help to set the record straight for his twin brother.

And, if she didn't want to help him willingly, he'd just have to figure out a way to make her.

# # #

Emily

Emily could feel the men's eyes on her, judging her, watching her every move for the smallest sign of weakness. Her supporters amongst the officers of the company watched to make sure the board of directors had made the right decision in selecting her. Her detractors and opponents eyed her like sharks sniffing the water for the scent of blood.

“And, with our first quarterly earnings report for the fiscal year coming soon,” she said, addressing the table in a cool, collected voice, “I believe we'll outperform most estimates on our per share earnings. Any questions or comment?”

“One item, Ms. West.”

“Yes, Edward,” she said, acknowledging Edward Barker, their VP of Marketing, “Go ahead.”

“Do you foresee the poor reviews of Hymalete negatively impacting our growth in future quarters going forward? The team and I have noticed several complaints coming in through QC and Legal.”

She cleared her throat. She hadn't received any information on this. Hymalete was one of their flagship products, and formed the bulk of their business on their balance sheet. And here she was, in one of her earliest meetings, getting blindsided by questions about it. “I haven’t been made aware of any complaints as to the efficacy or side-effects of Hymalete, Edward. Why don't you and I discuss this at a later date, so we can take some real time to deal with the issue?” She turned to the rest of the assembled meeting. “Any other questions or concerns?”

Emily received only quiet shaking of heads and general smiles of acknowledgement from around the conference table.

“Excellent,” Emily said, as she pulled her files and papers together into a stack in front of her. “As you know, I have a conference that starts tomorrow, so I'll be out-of-town, attending. If there are any immediate causes for concern or five-alarm fires, I need to know immediately. But, other than that, you know the drill. Now, you guys go get some lunch and enjoy your weekend.”

“Edward,” she said, as her table of employees dispersed themselves and headed out to a long lunch, “Stick around for a minute, please?” She stayed seated in her spot at the center of the table.

She needed to know what this issue with QC and Legal was about, but, she didn't necessarily want to sow dismay amongst the ranks. Or, quite honestly, to start putting it into records of any meetings, before she knew what was going on. On top of that, Edward needed to realize he couldn't try and pull a fast one on her, or blindside her like that ever again. Yes, Emily could be understanding and caring. But she could assert herself whenever she had to.

Aside from that, she couldn't stand Edward Barker. Something about him just seemed smarmy and sleazy, like you'd just put a thousand dollar suit on a lounge lizard. He was the epitome of a creep marketing executive, and if she hadn’t needed to be in a room alone with him, she wouldn't have been.

“Absolutely, Ms. West,” Edward said, a frown creasing his face as the room quickly and quietly emptied of its occupants.

Emily finally spoke, her voice so cold there were icicles, as the last of the other BioSphere employees left the room and shut the conference door behind them. “Edward, the next time a QC or issue with Legal comes up, I want you to ask yourself: 'Does Emily know about this already? Is she in the loop?' If the answer isn't, 'of course she does, we've spoken about it before,’ do you know what I want you to do?”

Edward's face slumped further as she tore into him. “Sorry, Emily-”

“Ms. West,” Emily reminded him, the temperature of her words not increasing one degree.

“Sorry, Ms. West. I'll make sure it never comes up like this in a meeting again.”

“Good,” Emily said, nodding. “See that it doesn't. Now, tell me what's going on with these quality control complaints.”

“Dane Bishop is one of most vocal complainants.” He came around the table and handed her a folder. He remained standing, towering over her. “Here's a file we put together on him.”

“You have a freaking dossier on him?” she asked disbelievingly, as took the file from him and flipped it open. “What's his deal? How are we involved with him?” she asked, as her eyes scanned over the pages, immediately going to his picture.

Damn, he looked good in a uniform. He was tall and well-built, and he had red hair, which she'd always kind of a had a thing for, and dark, brooding eyes. That uniform, though, with its officer's bars on the shoulders, didn't look good for BioSphere. The family of one patient complaining because they were trying to squeeze some money out of a massive corporation was one thing. A military vet trying to do it was completely different.

“Brother to a patient who took Hymalete,” Edward said. “He's claiming our medication had side-effects we weren't aware of, and that they were the cause of a psychotic break.”

Emily's eyes flicked up to Edward, locking with his over the top of the open folder. “And were they?”

“Are they what?” he asked, shifting a little on his feet.

“Responsible?”

He shifted again and cleared his throat. “The researchers from the initial project are surprised, from my understanding.”

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