Page 2 - Like No Business I Know

Rejuvenol
(Fantastic Transactions 1, 1990)

It had been a week of nervous anticipation for Myron Probst,
director of research and development at Chic Salon’s corporate
headquarters. A brief memo, pregnant with possibility, had
appeared on his desk the previous Thursday: “Confidential
negotiations for Rejuvenol finalized. Meet in my office 10/17,
2:00 sharp.” The magisterially scribbled signature left no doubt:
Gilda Fishel, founder and president of the company, was about to
stage another coup.
Probst had seen her in action before: only last year she had
successfully raided the laboratories of her chief rival, Furbissina
Fragrances, bringing back Hector Ravancheur, the brilliant young
chemist and synthesizer of Indécrottable, the year’s hottest scent.
More recently, Chic Salon had cornered the world’s talc supply
through a series of hidden transactions on the international
commodities exchanges, positioning itself for a no-lose fight for
face-powder market share. Probst, therefore, anticipated another
brilliant maneuver by his chief when he arrived at her office
precisely on schedule.
Decorated to a degree only slightly less ornate than her desk,
Madame Fishel indicated to Probst to close the inlaid mahogany
double doors behind him. He sat down in the reproduction Louis
XV armchair closest to her right and opened his notebook. She
fixed him with a triumphant stare through cobalt blue contact
lenses.
“Myron. You are familiar with Rejuvenol.”
He cleared his throat.
“Yes, of course, ma’am. Like all our competitors’ products,
we’ve analyzed it thoroughly, although we haven’t gone to the
trouble of trying to duplicate the formula. I believe I sent you a
report on it several months ago. Rejuvenol is an extremely costly
but extremely effective ointment, revitalizing the subcutaneous
nonvascular layers of the epidermis, resulting in—”

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