Her Mistletoe Protector

Lawsuit? How come she hadn’t mentioned this earlier? “What was the lawsuit about?”

She grimaced before answering. “We put a new diabetes medication on the market about two years ago. In clinical trials it was superior in performance to the medication that almost two-thirds of the diabetes patients are currently taking.” She hesitated for a moment. “But something went wrong, and several people suffered very bad side effects and two patients died. The FDA mandated that we pull the drug off the market, and the lawsuit was filed shortly thereafter.”

He stared at her in shock, mentally kicking himself for not investigating this angle earlier. “Rachel, isn’t it possible that Joey’s disappearance could be linked to this lawsuit rather than the Mafia?”

She sighed and lifted her gaze to his. “I don’t see how the lawsuit could be related. I authorized a large settlement for those patients and their families. They deserve to be compensated for our mistake. What reason would they have to come after me now?” She gripped the mug tighter in her hands. “Besides, does it really matter who took Joey? All we need to do is to figure out a way to get him back.”

It did matter, but he didn’t say anything as the waitress headed their way with two plates of food. She plopped them down on the table, and then glanced at the two of them. “Need anything else?”

He forced a smile. “No thanks, we’re fine.”

The waitress turned on her rubber-soled heel and strode away. He bowed his head and prayed. Thank You, Lord, for this food we are about to eat, and please keep Joey safe in Your care. Guide us in our journey to find him and help Rachel open her heart and her mind to Your peace and Your glory. Amen.

When he opened his eyes, he realized Rachel had her head down, waiting for him to finish before eating her breakfast. She didn’t join him in prayer, but she didn’t lash out against God again, either, which he chose to believe was a good sign.

He dug into his bacon and eggs, savoring every bite. When the knot of hunger in his stomach had eased, he glanced up at Rachel again, noting with satisfaction that she was doing a good job of demolishing her own meal. “Tell me more about this lawsuit.”

She lifted one shoulder. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“How is it that you didn’t find the side effects of the medication during the clinical trials?” He didn’t know much about the pharmaceutical industry, but surely there would have been an indication of the dangerous side effects long before the medication was released to the public.

Rachel tapped her fork on the edge of her plate. “That’s one of the things I’ve been working on with my research team. We don’t know why the blood clots only showed up after the medication was approved. The FDA wants a full investigation, and we’re actually in the middle of pulling everything together.” She sighed, and then added, “At least we were. Until all this happened.”

The timing couldn’t be a coincidence. “Who benefits if your company goes out of business?”

“No one.” She set her fork down and pushed her half-eaten plate away. “My company employs well over three thousand people, who would all be out of a job if something happened. I can’t see how this could be connected to Joey in any way.”

He found it impossible to ignore the sliver of unease. “Rachel, be honest with me. Is your company in danger of going under?”

“Not yet, but we can’t afford to take another hit like the one we took earlier this year. So far, we’ve managed to weather the storm.”

Relieved by that news, he continued to finish his breakfast. “What about your competition? Wouldn’t they benefit if you went belly-up?”

“I can’t imagine any company going to these lengths to get rid of the competition. You’re on the wrong track, Nick. Those threatening notes have the Mafia written all over them.”

She could be right. “You better eat,” he advised. “There’s no telling when we’ll get our next meal.”

She picked up her fork. “As soon as we’re finished here, I need to call Gerry Ashton, my vice president of Operations.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s my second in command and owns forty percent of the company stock. I’m fairly certain he’ll be willing to buy my shares. And I know his wife has a significant amount of money.”

His stomach clenched at hearing her plan. “Do you think something that drastic is really necessary?”