Aiden

Nothing lasts forever. Hence, when life was going perfectly fine, something had to happen. Why is it that good times aren't permitted to last? I received the dreadful news early one morning and raced to the office. Pesticide residues were found in our soft drinks.

"How awful is it?" I inquired of my security chief.

"We don't know the extent of damage. We are still investigating. But I believe it's not an accident," said Dennis.

I demanded, "Explain."

"Our soft drinks were tainted, and I believe it was sabotage. A man bought our soft drinks from an Austin store last night, and soon afterwards, he complained of nausea and stomach problems. When he was brought to the emergency room, his wife phoned the police. Dieldrin, endosulfan, and heptathlon were found in his blood, all of which are hazardous to humans."

"Is that man critical ?" I asked.

"He is serious but not in a life-threatening condition," Dennis replied.

"Are you sure it's because of our soft drink? " I asked, trying to be as calm as possible.

"The samples have been sent to the forensic department for deeper analysis. It may be due to something else."

"Have you halted all deliveries?"

"Yes, sir, I've already alerted the rest of the counties, as well as our Spring Valley factory, to conduct a thorough enquiry. They'll have a report ready for you soon."

"Call our lawyers and inform him of the situation. I'd want to convene a meeting as soon as possible tomorrow morning. In the meantime, please keep me updated on the issue ",I stated. Dennis received a call just as I was ready to end the meeting. As he completed the talk, his brows furrowed in concern.

"Mr Reiner! I think we just got another one, St Steward this time," he said, with a worried expression.

"Damn! Recall all the soft drinks from the market. Stop the deliveries, production, everything. We need to get this investigated. !" I said, rubbing my temple.

"Will do sir," Dennis said.

It was well beyond lunchtime when I looked at the clock. I switched on the television to see if there was any news about this. It was right there.

'After drinking Aquablue, two people were brought to the hospital with a food illness. One of the most well-known soda drink brands. The Reiners group of businesses bottled and distributed it. They had been suspected of being tainted....'

I turned off the television. As word spread, our stock would begin to plummet. Within a few hours, there were two situations that were awful news. This was the first time something like this had happened. We had some of the greatest quality control in the country. I hoped the men who had been admitted to the hospital would recover fast, and that it wasn't because of our soft drinks.

The next couple of days were going to be crucial. Suddenly I felt tired. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my neck, I decided to leave for the day. Once we have more information, I will decide on the next step.'

**************

The next morning, I arrived at the office early. This was probably going to be the pattern for the next few days. Thankfully, my staff had the reports ready by the time I arrived. Another hour would pass before the stock exchange opened.

"What's the situation?" I addressed my board of advisors and financial managers.

"There are no traces of those substances in our Spring Valley factory. The inspection was successful. The factory was confirmed to be free of pesticides. The tainted drinks were discovered in establishments along Route 60. In addition, we put most of the bottles in the supermarkets for the test. Not all of them were affected, but traces of those substances were found in a few of them."

Dennis took a breather.

"The forensic department has determined it was Salicylic acid, which could be deadly if administered in concentrated form. Because they were less in strength, hence they were not deadly to kill. But they can cause severe abdominal pain and nausea. Another thing sir, the bottles which had those chemicals were not manufactured in the plant."

I narrowed my eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"The liquid found in them was tripled checked and confirmed that they were not manufactured in that plant. They were planted from outside."

"Thank you, Dennis, for providing such an important clue. Is there a demand for a ransom?"

"No, Mr Reiner, there appears to be no motive at this time."

"So it's either a personal grudge or a jealous rival?" I inquired.

Dennis smiled and nodded.

"Find out who was in charge of deliveries on that particular day, and who hired them. Everything." I commanded.

When the financial markets opened, as planned, our stocks plunged 15% the minute they began trading.
The rest of the day was spent meeting with journalists and lawyers, as well as considering various security precautions. Although we had stopped selling the product and began recalling it, the media was having a great day racking up the matter.

*************

Sydney

I hadn't seen Aiden in two days. He was leaving very early and returned extremely late. Though we had the same workplace, we rarely bumped into each other. This soft drink issue was eating up all his time. He was busy doing damage control. I wished I could help him but I was ill-equipped for that.

"How do you feel about this advertising campaign, Sydney?" Larry interjected, interrupting my train of thinking.

"It's good," I said, focusing on the screen. "Perhaps we should include a few models of different colours to represent diversity?" I made a suggestion.

"That's a good idea," Larry replied.

The meeting went on and on, and I tried my hardest to remain focused. But it was difficult. I wanted to be with Aiden, soothe him, and take away all of his worries. When the meeting was finished, I went into the ladies' room to freshen up.
I was washing my hands in the empty washroom when sounds of sniffing and sobbing echoed. I had a look around and discovered the source. It came from a booth on the corner. I debated whether or not I should go check on the girl who was confined inside. She appeared to be upset. I approached the booth and knocked on the door.

"Are you okay?" I inquired.

"I am OK," she said after a brief pause in sniffing.

"Sorry, I don't want to pry, but you can talk to me if you have any problems. Please do not remain confined." I was also anxious for her safety.

I heard a click and the door opened. A blonde, curvy girl opened the door. She was shorter than me, about 5 feet tall. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She looked shocked at seeing me. Probably she wasn't expecting the CEO's wife in the restroom.

"I...I am sorry Mrs Reiner, I was just...I was upset over something." She looked at me fearfully. I wondered why. I was just trying to make her feel comfortable.

"You don't have to be scared of me, I don't bite." I laughed. The girl smiled slightly.

"So what is your name?" I asked the girl.

"Emily, I work in human resources," she replied.

"Oh great! nice to meet you, Emily, I was going to grab some coffee. Would you like to join me?" I gave her my most dazzling smile.

She looked panicked. "With you mam?"

"Yeah with me, all my colleagues are busy and I hate to have coffee all by myself."

"But mam......why me?"

"I just want to cheer you up. Don't worry, I won't ask any personal questions," I reassured her.

We stepped out, towards the cafeteria, after she nodded. I wasn't sure why I felt compelled to assist her. Probably because she reminded me of myself when I was alone and lost in San Francisco. Emily turned out to be a lovely young lady. She had been employed here for the previous year. We talked about a variety of topics related to the workplace. We did get a few strange looks because no one expected me to be having coffee with a random employee. But it didn't bother me. Emily appeared to be in a lot better mood than before.



As we parted ways, Emily smiled and said, "Thank you, Mrs Reiner."