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It was honestly impressive how huge Andes had grown while still maintaining their strict production practices.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when a Tesla was delivered to us at the pickup curb, and Weston climbed behind the wheel. He took environmentalism seriously, from his company, down to his personal habits.
Weston’s thumbs tapped on the wheel as he sped away from the city. “Do you have questions for me?”
I looked up from my tablet, where I’d been reading up on our first stop. “Sure. Do you visit all your factories like this?”
He scoffed. “We work with more than seventy suppliers. I don’t have the time to visit them all every year, though I’ve been inside each and every one at least once.”
I waited for more of an answer. I had a feeling it wasn’t so simple.
He exhaled, sliding his eyes to me. “Andes employs field staff who are inside the factories on a regular basis. Often, I’m taken on walk-throughs via videoconference, and those happen at random. I wouldn’t be able to run this company if I had any doubt aboutwhois making our products.”
“Children?” I guessed.
He nodded once. “Exactly. Andes doesn’t work with suppliers who have even been rumored to use child or forced labor. Our oversight is extensive, to some, over the top, but—”
“I don’t think it’s over the top. It’s admirable.”
“It’s necessary.” His jaw clenched. He continued tapping his thumbs on his steering wheel. Another few miles passed, thick silence filling the spaces all around us.
“Tomorrow, we’ll be going to the mill that makes your filler?”
“Yes. They’ve been with me since the very beginning.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. “It’s crazy to me that you started all this at twenty years old. When I was twenty, I spent most of my time either getting drunk at stupid parties, recovering from hangovers, or frantically studying for a test the night before.”
He glanced at me again. “That’s exactly what you should have been doing. Having fun, living. It’s not like you had the chance to do that when you were in high school.”
“Yeah.” I sank into my seat. Weston didn’t know the half of it, but the half he did know was bad.
My crazy mother. Her neglect, depression, violent mood swings…the car crash I never once doubted was intentional. The relief I never voiced when she was gone and I didn’t have to take care of her. The solace when Elliot moved home and I could finally breathe again.
Weston had had a front-row seat to the madness of Elaine Levy.
“I shouldn’t have brought that up,” he gruffed. “I’m sorry.”
I waved him off, even though he was right, he shouldn’t have. “Don’t worry. I know your boss hat is firmly in place, but it would be strange to pretend you don’t know anything about me.”
He cleared his throat, but his words came out with the same gruffness. “All of that is true, but now is not the time to press on a sore subject. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re forgiven.”
His jaw tightened. “That easy?”
“You’re my boss, Mr. Aldrich. Of course I won’t hold a grudge against you.”
I swore I heard his molars crack.
A team was waiting for us at our first stop. Two men and a woman in suits, and a man in khakis and a polo with the factory logo embroidered on his chest.
As we approached, the woman broke off from the group. The slow, perusing smile she gave Weston was in direct contradiction to the professional handshake she offered.
He took her hand in his, cupping it with his other. His eyes crinkled at the corners. “It’s good to see you, Marisol.”
She leaned in, her red lips glistening. “It’s really good to see you, West. It’s been too long.”
This woman was stunningly beautiful. Tall and slender, with curvy hips and a tiny, nipped waist, she looked like the Hollywood version of a businesswoman. Her cigarette trousers and silky cream blouse could have come directly from the wardrobe department. Her glossy waves looked like they’d just been touched up by her beauty team. I wasn’t even jealous. I was sort of dumbfounded this woman existed in real life.
