“That son of a bitch," Sam said, getting up to pace. “Who the hell does he think he is? By implicating us, he implicated himself."
“Yes," Pratt agreed, “but the hearing was for the purpose of determining the validity of the newspaper article only. The doctor’s actions were not an issue."
“It should have been the issue," Charles piped in.
“Well, actually," Pratt continued, “it probably will come back to bite him. He’s currently under investigation, and the Judge’s recommendation will be additional support for the allegations made by Carol Freeman."
“So, he’ll hang eventually," Sam added, “but how does that help us now? We can’t have an internal investigation. That’s out!”
“How sure are we of getting FDA approval?" Pratt questioned.
“The data is pretty tight," Jeff interjected.
“We might have to drop this suit and wait for the FDA report. Once we have it, we can schedule a press release and that should sufficiently squash the article. Remember, reality is subjective. People trust the FDA. An approval from them is the universal stamp of reality.”
“Worst case scenario," Jeff added, “is that we will have to provide warnings about taking the medication longer than ten days."
“Our profit projections rely on long term use," Sam countered. “That would be a bloody last ditch effort."
“Fine," Pratt concluded. “Then if we are in agreement, the Judge gave us until ten o’clock to respond. It’s almost that now."
Everyone looked around the room in silence. They had been walking on thin ice for a long time now, and the whole drama was about to come to its final conclusion.
“We really have no choice," Sam said finally. “If this judge is planning to order an investigation if we proceed, it’s over."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“I’ll go make the call," Pratt concluded and walked out of the conference room.
“So, what should we do about Donovan?" Jeff inquired.
“I say we do nothing," Sam stated. “Sounds to me like his payoff is coming, without our help."
“Good," Jeff agreed. “I will deliver the data myself on Friday."
“Nice touch," Sam said. “Maybe we should bring Manning some flowers, too."
“Couldn’t hurt," Jeff added. “Apparently money and hookers have no effect on the man. Maybe he’s the nature type."
“Can we get back to work now?" Charles asked tiredly.
“Absolutely," Jeff answered, getting to his feet. “I have medication bottles and labels to order. The production line is almost ready, too."
“Can’t believe it’s finally happening," the CEO said, as he followed the other two out the door.
There was a small party going on at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Jason Sample and Sandra Jenkins were toasting their victory with sparkling apple cider. They had a full workday ahead of them. Wendy Cox had a shot of the good stuff. It was a very old and expensive brandy that she had received as a gift when she had passed the bar exam. Her tradition had always been to toast every victory with a small shot glass of the stuff she called “liquid gold.” Wendy held up her shot glass and announced, “To the AJC, may it wreak havoc forever." Everyone held up their glasses. This had been a battle of wits from the beginning and the AJC had been lucky to have Wendy on their side. The victory was combined with just a little humility. They had run off, halfcocked, without anything signed, and had come very close to having to print a retraction as a result of their arrogance. That was the worst kind of defeat for a newspaper.
“Here’s to the follow up story," Sandra toasted.
“Yeah," Jason agreed. “We’ll call it, ‘FDA Approves World Wide Addiction.’”
“Over my dead and buried body," the attorney said. “The next story about Dominex will be titled, ‘Reporters Run Amuck Just Before the Fatal Stabbing.’"
Brian Carter quietly sat off to the side, smiling at the antics of the two reporters. “You guys did a great job," he said.
“Hey, you did a great job too," Jason added.
“I don’t know," Brian said reflectively. “This whole thing was hard enough to believe as the victim. I wonder how seriously the rest of the world will take it."
“Seriously enough for the Chicago Sun Times to consider picking up the story," Sandra interjected.
“Yeah, it’s pretty intriguing stuff," Brian agreed. “But will people remember this six months, or a year from now? What about the poor soul who didn’t read the article that day? Will they know enough to throw the sedative prescription in their doctor’s face when he tries to put them on Suprame for a bad back, or a stressful family issue?"
“One day at a time," Jason said, patting Brian on the back. Sandra handed him a glass of apple cider.
“Come on," she added. “Today was a victory. Hang on to that for a while."
Sheila walked into the conference room doorway and looked up and down the hall before closing the door. It was only lunchtime and she was taking a big chance that no one would see her. Sliding under the conference room table, she removed a small tape recorder that had been secured there. The tape had long since ended and the machine had automatically clicked itself off. Thank God the meeting hadn’t gone on long enough for the tape to end and announce its presence to the group. Pocketing the tiny box, she entered the hallway. Still no one around. Dominex’s management loved their long lunches.
She quickly walked back to her own office and closed the door. “So what’s the plan?" she said out loud, as she rewound the tape. After the box clicked, she pushed the play button and listened to the entire conversation of that morning. They were proceeding with their plan. Clearly, they had no concern about her. That was good.