Page 16 of 12 Days

Chapter 7

Alyssa

I walk single file behind Ty, Owen, and Theo into a quiet room that looked nothing special. The walls are brick and painted white, and it’s exactly what I would expect it to be. There appears to be nothing crazy going on on the surface of this facility, but why would there be if I’d been contracted out here?

I scan my surroundings and see several tables and pedestals set up throughout the room, each of them host to a single or multiple bottles of tester bottles of their entire line of perfumes. Upon my initial research of this company, I am familiar with a handful of the products that are on display in here, but definitely not all of them.

I make a decision to myself to inquire about the most popular and the ones I’m unfamiliar with entirely. It seems like the most logical route.

“Well, here we are, Alyssa. What exactly would you like to observe, and where would you like to start?” Ty pipes up.

“I would love to see your best seller, please,” I respond. I know in my head which one it is, but I want to see if he’s going to be honest or if he’s hiding something.

As he reaches for a small square bottle not far from my eyes, I read the name on it, and while I’m pleased they’re being upfront, I’m disappointed it wasn’t so easy to find a pitfall.

“This is our most popular fragrance to date,” explains Owen, who is standing next to Ty. “It’s called Soleil, which is French for ‘the sun.’ When our customers wear it, it most often invokes...well, I’ll let you try it and see if I’m right. I’d hate to taint your unbiased experience.”

I take the perfume in my hand and I spray a small bit onto my wrist. I hand the bottle off to Theo, who places it back on its pedestal.

I bring my wrist to my hand and breathe in the scent. It smells almost citrusy but floral at the same time.

After a moment, I notice a shift in my entire perspective. Why am I trying to rat these lovely men out to the government? They brought me down here, have been entirely transparent, and are letting me sample their perfumes for free.

Life is great for them and for me, and I don’t need to impede on anyone. I’d much rather go outside and breathe in some quality life.

“I am about ten times more optimistic about my visit with you guys than when I first walked in. I really love this fragrance, and I can see why people purchase it. It’s spectacular. I feel almost giddy right now!” I ramble.

“Precisely the response the majority of our customers offer once they’ve tested the product,” interjects Theo. He smiles at me with that award-winning grin. I shake my head just subtly, trying to shake thoughts I was so kindly reminded of from this morning and try to get my head back in the game.

“Very intriguing. I’d love to sample another and see what it has going for it”. I point to a bottle with a blue-tinted fragrance inside, shaped in a pyramid with a cute ribbon wrapped below the spray pump. It’s has beautiful packaging, if I must say so myself.

“Yes! This one was released about eight months ago in our spring gift collection. It’s a limited run item. We probably will keep the formula in the lab for next spring season as a re-release. People really enjoy their exclusive products,” Owen says. “This one is a favorite of mine.”

Ty takes the bottle of the table it’s set on and passes it to me. I spray my other wrist and take in the smell. It’s almost like a sea breeze or ocean spray kind of smell, with a hint of some lavender. As they watch my face while I figure out just what it’s made of, I crane my neck to the side and sneak out a big yawn.

I know I didn’t get much sleep, but I didn’t realize I was so sleepy. Wait. I’m not sleepy, I’m just...really, really calm. I’m not so sure I’ve ever felt so tranquil in my life, to be frank.

Their fragrance has somehow captured the essence of mood suppressants, and they’ve also managed to make it smell amazing.

“There’s no...drugs in this one, right?” I have to ask.

“Of course not. Our fragrances are all 100 percent legal. We have a team of experts develop our formulas behind closed doors. I am more than happy to conduct the standard tests for all the common drugs you might have a similar result from, but I assure you the results will be negative. Our fragrances are completely naturally sourced. It just requires that the wearer have an open mind and let themselves decide what they want to happen as a result of our perfumes,” Ty explains.

My feelings on the explanation I’ve been given puzzle me. I can’t tell if these guys are pulling my chain or if these fragrances really leave it up to the user to decide how to respond.

On one hand, I came in here incredibly well prepared to take these guys on, head on. And my mood adjustments were an illicit response to wearing the perfume.

But on the other hand, I have done my fair amount of research on these guys, and I’ve read review after review of authentic customer experiences, and each of them have indicated that they haven’t felt out of control of their emotions throughout the perfume wear.

I need to know more. I need to test more.

“Are you satisfied with your testing, Ms. Morrow?” asks Owen. He’s staring me up and down like I’m a piece of meat. It’s a little upsetting, but at the same time I can’t pretend I didn’t know what happened yesterday in front of them all. I wish I could; it would make me feel a lot more comfortable about being here.

“I want to be surprised with one last test sample, please,” I request.

One more and I should have everything I need to move onto the next phase of my digging, seeing as this one so far has turned up nothing. No foul play.

They don’t even have any dust or dirt anywhere. It’s impressive how well their bases are covered.

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