The yacht rocked gently on light waves across a calm Narragansett Bay. There were a few smaller boats fishing closer to shore, and a large Liberian-flagged freighter slowly made its way into port, sitting high in the water.
It was closing in on noon, and Andrew Talbot watched as the small launch approached from the north.
Talbot was the president and CEO of Providence Industries, a huge conglomerate producing everything from frozen seafood entrees to over-the-counter drugs. He was wearing casual khakis, leather deck shoes, and a dark green sweater with leather patches at the elbows. In his early fifties, he could pass for a man ten years younger. Only his tanned face at the edges of his eyes gave away his true age. He took a sip of wine and then set the glass onto a table and moved aft.
The launch was at the aft platform now where two men secured it while a man in a business suit gingerly made his way up the ladder.
The two of them met and shook hands, and Talbot excused his men.
“What’s this all about, Andrew?” the man asked.
“How was your trip from Washington?”
The man in the suit shifted his gaze, unsure what to say. “I think I feel sick. I never could stand the ocean, which is why I left the Navy after a few years. They put me on a tin can and I couldn’t stop puking. D.C. is the same old place. I wouldn’t live there if I could get a real job.”
Talbot laughed. “The FDA can’t be that bad.”
The man poured himself a glass of wine and refilled Talbot’s glass. “A bunch of fucking bureaucrats,” he spit out. “Can’t make a decision to save their asses.”
Talbot accepted the glass, took a sip, and then said, “Maybe that’s a good reason for our meeting.”
“You got something good for me?” the man asked eagerly. “Anything. I’m so fucking bored I feel like slitting my wrists.”
Talbot searched his mind for the right words. “I need help like the last time. Only this could be a little more difficult because of the controversy involved.”
The man looked interested, sipping down a good portion of wine. “Sounds good. Let’s hear it.”
“My company in Germany will be producing a new solution soon that might just cure heart disease.” Talbot raised his brows, smiling, and keeping a close eye on the FDA man.
“No shit. And you want quick U.S. approval?” He laughed out loud. “You’re fucking crazy. My boss would never approve that without a major U.S. study.”
Talbot anticipated this. In fact he had hoped the man would say it. “Things change. I understand you’re up for his job?”
“Shit. Yeah, that’s gonna happen soon.”
His hand on the man’s shoulder, Talbot said, “With any luck at all.”