Free A Shot of Red by Tracy March Page A

said to Ellen. “I always appreciate your efficiency and attention to detail. Brent kept everything running top-notch.” He nodded. “I’ll miss working with him.” He leaned forward and glanced at Mia, careful not to look her in the eye. “How’s Mrs. English holding up?”
    Everyone’s attention focused on Mia. One thing they could all agree on was that losing Brent was a tragedy.
    Mia bowed her head and fussed with her silverware, blinking several times. “She’s devastated. But she seemed proud that there was a One Shot event at the Broadmoor tomorrow, as if it was in memory of Brent and all the PR work he did for the launch. She said she’ll be the first in line to get her shot.”
    “That’s sad,” Ellen said. “But it’s good that she’s finding a way to cope.”
    “Getting vaccinated is the right thing to do,” Secretary Dartmouth said. “She needs to take care of herself. The woman’s probably weak from shock and grief. I can’t even imagine.”
    Mia lifted her chin and stared out the window, seeming preoccupied by the inky darkness. “I can.”
    Lila, who sat next to Mia, squeezed Mia’s hand. “I know it’s been a shock for you, too, sweetie.”
    Gio quickly turned his attention to the waiter, who’d returned to take their dinner orders. He ordered himself another glass of bourbon.
    “We’ll keep you posted daily on the stats,” Matthew said to Mia.
    Secretary Dartmouth nodded. “We’ve assured Congress and the president that we can reach a large percentage of the population quickly, especially in the high-risk demographics. My department has developed metrics to track our progress, coupled with Moncure’s inventory and distribution activity. It won’t be exactly real-time, but we’ll be able to assess the impact of your appearances on a day-to-day basis.” He looked pointedly at Mia.
    “I trust that everyone’s crafted the message for maximum impact,” she said.
    Gio admired the way she could turn a phrase to defend herself without being defensive. He just hoped she never used that tactic on him.
    “It’s not the message we’re worried about.” Matthew took the last swallow of his scotch and narrowed his droopy eyes at Mia. “It’s the messenger.”
    …
    Mia set her jaw and willed herself not to take the bait from Matthew. Could this situation get much worse? Evidently Matthew had doubled down on his determination to one-up her and position himself as the only choice to run Moncure Therapeutics in the future. She could see why he’d think he had the advantage, considering she’d been away at such a critical time. Whether or not she wanted to be at the helm of the company in the future, being the face of the One Shot program was an opportunity for her to steal some of Matthew’s swagger.
    But was she really up for the challenge? Right now she was more interested in finding out more about Brent’s suspicions and his death. She’d been late to dinner on purpose, hoping to get a revealing reaction from someone when she mentioned visiting Nora. But no one did anything remarkable, leaving Mia to wonder if anyone in their inner circle had a clue, or if they were all just acting.
    Mia discreetly shifted her gaze to each person at the table. No one seemed to have any reservations about the vaccine, or moving forward with an early launch. Maybe they had run into a snag along the way, but there hadn’t been any mention of it. Brent could’ve misunderstood the normal ups and downs and debates that happened during vaccine development. Or he might’ve simply been mistaken. But if he’d been chasing phantoms, why had his death been justified with a lie? Mia’s chest tightened and she wondered if she really had the stomach for dinner.
    What had Brent suspected that had taken him all the way to Switzerland under the ruse of attending a funeral for a friend—especially so close to the launch of the vaccine? Something wasn’t right, for sure. Mia was the only one who had