Chapter Twenty-Nine -- Don't Say You've Never Done Anything For Me
Heathcliff felt like an automaton as he moved through the house. First things first, he needed to sort out what the hell was going on with those so-called healthy drinks Aidan's company was selling. If there was something bad in them, that was bad for him, too.
At least, that was a topic he could think about, as Aidan's sudden decision to break up was still too much for him to process at the moment. A long time ago, he had realized that trying to sort out a disturbing situation or thought required a clear head, and that was something he couldn't use right now.
Aidan's rejection hurt, and he couldn't allow himself to think of it at the moment. Maybe Aidan would cool down and come back, but, somehow, unlike the night before, that thought wasn't so keen on settling his nerves.
He took one of the drinks out of the refrigerator and took a long look at it. Not that he ever drank such stuff, but he kept a few of the ones Aidan had brought for him around, just so that he could use for regular promotion. Could it be that he had mistaken? It was a generic drink, indeed, something he had known right from the start, somewhat healthier in the sense that it didn't have a high concentration of sweeteners and sugar replacements, but, otherwise, nothing too over the top.
He took the cap off and sipped from the bottle. There was no sugar in it, by what he could tell, and what the list of ingredients was saying, too. Well, the label was nothing but printed words on paper.
Without one moment of hesitation, he picked his brother's name from the list of contacts. "Hi, Max. I have a favor to ask."
***
Aidan could still feel his eyes prickling as he entered the office. It felt unreal, but he had to get used to the idea, mainly since he had been the one to break it off with Heathcliff. It was all his fault, after all; but Heathcliff was just an arrogant, selfish bastard, too, he tried to tell himself over and over.
If he repeated that enough times, it would become real, eventually. Some small voice trying to tell him he was doing the wrong thing needed to be squashed and reduced to a puddle of neurons that had to have better work to do.
Aidan sat at his desk and tried to work, but his fingers, guided by some irresistible volition that seemed to come from an uncontrollable part of his brain, tapped in the name of Heathcliff's video channel. He stopped resisting at some point, and he began to reread the thread. Apparently, now it had even more replies, and, while some commenters were trying to keep things toned down, others were simply outraged and convinced that there was something wrong with those drinks.
This wasn't even about Heathcliff, he tried to tell himself. His boss needed to learn about this since it was their product that got in the bad spotlight, after all. With determination, he stood up and walked over to the door to the man's office.
In few words, Aidan told the boss's personal assistant that he needed to see him on a serious issue. For a moment or two, the assistant hesitated, but there must have been something in Aidan's body language that looked convincing enough. Within a couple of minutes, he was seated on the lower chair in the room, in front of his boss.
"What's this about, Spark?" the man boomed.
Unlike other times, Aidan didn't feel impressed. There had been too many shocks in his life lately to care for a boss who liked to yell too damned much.
"People are complaining on Heathcliff Stone's channel about our drinks giving them sugar rushes," he replied promptly.
"People complain too much these days," his boss shouted at him, in the same manner.
"With all due respect, sir, this is unprecedented, and we can't dismiss such complaints."
"How many people are we talking about? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands?"
Aidan could feel his jaw hurting. They weren't selling millions, to warrant such a question. "At this moment, we're talking about dozens."
"Dozens!" His boss leaned back into his chair and pursed his lips, something that really made his face look like that of a giant toad. "Because some people on the Internet are talking nonsense, you come to me? Spark, you almost make me think you didn't quite deserve that promotion!"
The pain in his jaw was getting unbearable. Aidan swallowed hard. "If that's what you think, sir. But, please, hear me out. Today, dozens complain. Tomorrow, their number will increase tenfold. This could become viral and not in a good way."
"Did Heathcliff Stone put you to come to me with this?" His boss said the words with unhidden disgust.
"He didn't put me to come to you with anything," Aidan replied. "He asked me to, and I believe he has the right to do so."
"Why? Because he's your boyfriend?" The last word had come out from the toad-like lips like it was poison almost ingested by mistake.
"No. Because he is a business partner, and his reputation is at stake, too. Also, the boyfriend part is not true, as you well know."
Aidan couldn't believe he was still keeping his cool under the artillery fire launched by his boss.
"Tell him he has nothing to worry about. Dismissed!" his boss yelled.
Aidan didn't move. "This kind of situation requires an official statement from the company."
"Are you trying to teach me how to do my job, Spark? Dismissed!"
Aidan felt all his blood rushing to his cheeks. There was something humiliating in how his boss was treating him right now. It wasn't because of some former military training or whatever was making his boss behave like that. The man was a toad, indeed; as for what Heathcliff had said about him, now Aidan felt it to be real.
He stood up but didn't leave just yet. "What should I tell Mr. Stone?"
"Tell him? Is anyone in the hospital or something? No. Just some people complaining because of who knows what reason. But, if you want so much to tell him something, tell him to keep his subscribers in check. If they're badmouthing our product, that's something that will make him lose money, too. It is up to him to convince them our product is within parameters."
Aidan grimaced. He had pretty much said the same thing to Heathcliff earlier that day. Now, when the words were spoken back to him, he understood how they sounded. Heathcliff should have been pissed at him.
Instead, Heathcliff had tried to talk to him and keep him from leaving. Suddenly, Aidan felt small. Otherwise, everything else was true.
"You know what, Stone?" his boss interrupted his thoughts. "You're off this contract. Apparently, you can't handle such a situation."
Aidan stood there, frozen. Was that punishment for talking out of turn?
"Did I make myself clear?" his boss said in an unpleasant, menacing voice.
"Yes, sir," he replied.
He hurried out of the big kahuna's office before being yelled at again. If there was something wrong with those drinks, it was up to him to discover it. In a way, it didn't feel like such a shock to be taken off the contract. It felt, instead, that his boss was hiding something.
***
For days, Heathcliff had tried to reason with disgruntled people asking him about the drinks from The Healthy Shakers, and appease them without appearing like a condescending jerk. In the meantime, he had tried to get in touch with Aidan, but to no avail, since he didn't pick up his phone or reply to messages. From the company, he had been informed by a dull and impersonal voice that Aidan Spark was no longer in charge of his relationship with the company.
Max was on it, and he was expecting some data any day now. In the meantime, it seemed as if his entire life was going downhill at the speed of light. There was a loss in subscribers, not a significant one just yet, but Heathcliff knew what that meant. People were starting to lose their trust in him.
As usual, he searched his inner peace through meditation and exercise, but, unlike many other times, except for helping him sleep, that didn't provide him with all the answers. In a way, he knew he was stalling, and that he needed to call his father again, or at least, talk to Michael.
