Chapter 10 #2
Later that night, on the day Jason told Billie about the accusations against Alex Addison, he brought her up-to-date over dinner in the kitchen, since the investigation hadn’t started in earnest yet. He considered it part of the initial warning.
He made pasta and a salad, and looked somber as he told her what he had discovered.
“I found out that he doesn’t have a California license to practice medicine, which is stupid of him.
It’s probably just laziness, and he thought he’d get away with it, since he has such important clients.
Or it could be negligence, but that seems unlikely.
I’m sure he knows he needs a California license to practice medicine legally in the state.
“The second thing I found out today proves him to be a liar, which is more disturbing. He never went to Harvard, undergrad or medical school. I called a reliable source and he checked the alum records. Addison probably went to some unknown medical school somewhere, which wouldn’t impress anyone, so he got two fake Harvard diplomas and stuck them on the wall.
He could probably be charged with fraud for that.
Together, no license to practice in California and the fake diplomas doesn’t make him look good, especially in light of the gravity of the accusations.
Three women’s lives are ruined because of him.
And the authorities can’t even pull his license since he doesn’t have one.
I’m sure he’ll have some lame excuse, but the few facts we have don’t play in his favor. ”
“What are you going to do now?” Billie asked him, and he looked pensive.
“I’m not sure. If we hit too many roadblocks, we’ll have to turn it over to the police sooner than I thought.
They have much better access than I do, and the guy at the records bureau had a point.
If Addison has a felony on his record somewhere, unrelated to his practice, or medicine at all, he would lose his license, so that could be why he has no license.
The Harvard thing is really disturbing, because he flat-out lied.
I have to figure out what to do next. I need to talk to my boss, and let him figure out when we reach out to the police and ask for their help.
I wrote to the Bureau of Records in Florida, to see if he had a license there, but it could take weeks, or months, to get an official answer if they’re slammed, and I tried to find it online, and couldn’t find a record of his license from when he practiced there.
The cops can get it a lot faster.” It was an upsetting situation, and Billie worried about her sister all night.
A fourth letter arrived on Joe McCarthy’s desk that week, similar to the first three, which told both Joe and Jason that they were right to be investigating Addison, and another letter came by the end of the week.
It was no longer a case of looking for the source of the smoke, it was turning into a good-sized fire, and heading toward an alarming blaze.
Jason told Joe about Addison’s lack of a California license, and what he’d heard from Harvard.
Added all together, there was no way to turn back now.
They had to press forward and get to the bottom of this.
Jason told Billie about the additional letters.
There were five irreparably damaged women now, all injured around the same time, which supported the theory that Addison had unwittingly bought a batch of counterfeit Botox, and in addition was using illegal liquid silicone.
It was odd that none of his important clients were complaining, and Jason wondered if Alex was aware that he’d gotten a bad lot of the counterfeit substance and used it on less important clients, and only used the good stuff on the highly visible patients with celebrity status, but that idea was so cynical that even he didn’t believe it.
It seemed more likely that the use of the counterfeit drugs had been accidental and had caused a sudden explosion of tragic injuries, for which Alex was responsible and would have to face the consequences.
And knowing what she knew now, Billie was sick with worry for her sister, and had nightmares every night.
Alex had gotten the fourth and fifth letters too, and added them to the three in the locked drawer in his office.
He still didn’t know what to do about them, but the police hadn’t shown up, and the media hadn’t contacted him.
He was still hoping that the damaged women would disappear into thin air.
Approaching them with a settlement offer was much too dangerous and would be an admission of guilt.
They could ask for a fortune, which would wipe out every penny he had from investors, including the Koreans.
He couldn’t risk it. He just had to lie low and hope to hell they disappeared, and didn’t go to the press or the police.
It added a constant layer of tension to his life.
He tried to pretend it wasn’t happening while treating his patients, and Mickie and her own special brand of magic was the only thing keeping him sane.
As he had with the Koreans, Alex orchestrated the dinner with the investors from Hong Kong to perfection.
Perfect menu, perfect wine, perfect setting at the Chateau Marmont.
They were more international and polished than the Koreans had been.
The Koreans had been a little less sophisticated than he’d expected, although very smart in business.
The Hong Kong investors had been introduced to him by a big money man in L.A.
whom Alex respected. They were elite and high-end, brilliant with their investments, and very interested in the beauty industry.
If they came through for him, he would be rolling in money shortly.
Making sure the evening went well distracted him totally from the letters in the locked drawer in his office, although he was concerned that he must have bought a bad batch of Botox, some counterfeit, without knowing it, and was grateful that none of his important clients had suffered the same effects.
He had told Mickie what to wear. He wanted her in dressy black Chanel. More class, less sex, and lots of elegance and charm. She was a chameleon and could adapt to every situation, and had so far.
“If we play our cards right, I can take you on another boat trip,” he teased her while they were getting dressed, and she emerged from her dressing room in a dress he hadn’t seen before, a subtly sexy ladylike black Chanel dress that was strikingly chic.
She had done her hair in a loose bun. She looked young but very grown-up, and she looked fabulous in the dress.
She was sensational in everything she wore.
And she had the perfect instinct not to say too much.
They arrived early at the private room at the Chateau Marmont to check everything out.
Alex had ordered flowers, which decorated the elegant private dining room, and there was a terrace for their use.
There were four men this time, all dressed elegantly in Hermès ties and impeccably tailored suits from the best tailor in Hong Kong, and they were beautifully groomed, spoke perfect English, and included Mickie in the conversation, which the Koreans hadn’t.
As the evening progressed, it became clear that they wanted to invest in Alex’s future antiaging product business, which would require technical research, but they also wanted his consultation to set up an enormous beauty center in Hong Kong, where his formulas would be used.
There would even be a five-star hotel where people could stay while they were getting treatments.
The investors wanted it to be a complete beauty experience combining Western and Asian techniques, with Alex designing it all.
The head man glanced at Mickie several times and addressed his comments to her as well.
They had a very clear vision of what they wanted, which would be a lot for Alex to deliver.
It was a huge operation compared to the personal, individualized, small-scale style of Bellissima, and the men were willing to invest twenty-five to thirty million dollars in the project, possibly more.
Alex was nearly dizzy with the scope of their plans and the money he could make.
The Hong Kong investors wanted to fund a large-scale operation, and expected it to make a fortune.
Alex would have to regularize his treatments so that they were less individually designed, and others would have to be trained to administer them.
It required some thought as to how he could pull it off.
They wanted to know if Mickie would be interested in spending time in Hong Kong as well.
Alex gave her a quelling look, willing her not to give them a definite answer, until he had time to figure out how to do it.
Perfectly on cue, she charmed them without committing to anything definite.
Alex promised to give their proposal a great deal of thought, to see how he could take on such a large project without losing the individualized treatments he was famous for.
He explained to them that no two treatment plans were the same, just as no two women were the same.
They suggested computerized programming, and communication where he could be present at every consultation by Zoom, at least at the outset until he felt confident that the staff could handle it without him when he wasn’t there.
It was an interesting concept and a leap into big business.
Alex wanted to make big money, even billions eventually, and these investors were the right people to make it happen.
He had read about them online, and their reputation was pure gold.
The evening ended on a strong positive note, and Mickie looked at Alex in awe on the way home. He had driven them there himself in the Aston Martin. As they left, one of the Hong Kong men had smiled when he saw the car and said he had the same model, and they had talked cars for a few minutes.
“Wow,” Mickie said as they drove away. The Hong Kong investors had come to the meeting in a chauffeured Rolls.
They weren’t afraid to show their wealth.
“That sounds like some project. Do you think you could do it?” It was so much bigger than what they were doing in Bel Air, which had a warm personal touch on a tiny scale compared to what the Hong Kong investors envisioned.
“I’d sure as hell like to try,” he said, as awestruck as she was.
“It’s a big leap from where we are right now.
Two or three years from now I know I could, at the rate we’re growing, but they’re anxious to get started.
How do you feel about spending time in Hong Kong with me?
” he asked her. She was an essential part of his life now, in every way.
He had never intended to become dependent on her, personally or professionally, but she was so adaptable, and good at what she did, that he realized he was relying on her, far more than he ever wanted to be or thought could happen.
She was a clever girl, more than he had ever suspected in the beginning when he thought she was just a pretty face and a great body.
She had a brain that moved as fast as his own, and at times was even more devious.
The Chinese investors were aware of the importance of her presence too, and at the end of the evening, had given her their business cards, just as they did to Alex.
They would have been stunned if they knew she was twenty years old.
“I’d love to go to Hong Kong,” she answered him. She was afraid of nothing. There was no risk she wouldn’t take, but she was also smart and looked out for herself. She had never been out of the country, except on the boat to St. Bart’s, and she loved the idea of spending time in Asia.
“We’d almost have to commute for a while,” he said pensively. He was trying to make the mental leap from Bellissima to what the Hong Kong investors had proposed.
“Can you do that and keep your patients happy here? And what about the center in Dallas? That’s quite a stretch,” Mickie commented.
“I have to figure it out.” The Hong Kong investors wanted to speak to him again in a week or so when he had given their proposal some thought.
He was in high spirits when he got back to the house, and Mickie was excited too. She had been fascinated by their vision and everything they said. Alex had a lot of figuring to do.
Mickie was taking off her dress in her dressing room, when she got a text from Billie.
“I need to talk to you. When can I see you?” It sounded urgent, and Mickie was annoyed.
She didn’t have time to spend with her sister.
She had more important things to do. She texted back “Why?” and Billie responded, “It’s important.
” And then followed up with, “Alone and not at your house.” Mickie had no intention of inviting Billie to the house.
She looked like a student on a road trip.
She didn’t fit with Mickie’s new image. Mickie was living at a higher level now, and Billie didn’t fit into that picture.
“The bar at the Bel Air Hotel, six P.M. tomorrow. Okay for you?” Mickie answered her. It was near the house and she didn’t have to go far.
“See you then. Thanks. Love you, B.” Mickie hoped she didn’t have a problem and wasn’t asking for money.
That wasn’t usually her sister’s style, but it sounded urgent.
She had no intention of sharing the windfall that might be coming her way as part of Alex’s project in Hong Kong, or even the check that he had given her not to return to Stanford, a treat Billie knew nothing about.
Mickie was having a bikini wax at seven and she didn’t intend to stay with Billie for long.
Billie wanted to talk to Mickie just once, to try to warn her that there was a storm ahead, without violating Jason’s confidence.
She wasn’t sure what she’d say, but she wanted to warn her sister to get out while she could.
Mickie had no idea what was coming. From her perspective, things were just getting good, and she had no intention of going anywhere.
She wanted to cash in when Alex did. The good times were coming.
She had waited all her life for this. And so had Alex.