Uncontrolled Spin: The Power and Danger of Spin ("Un"missable Series Book 1) by Jerry Summers Page A

dinner appointment with Mark Stevens this week? Tell him it’s for sushi and it needs to be just between him and me. If he hesitates, tell him he owes me, and it will be all about business this time. We’ll go to the usual spot.”
    “You got it,” she answers, fake sweetness gone.
    “Thanks, Evelyn,” Sean says, then ends the call.

    The jet touches down in the early evening in San Francisco. After a short ride from the airport, Sean pours himself a scotch and settles down on the couch with Sinatra playing softly in the background. He awakens early Tuesday morning slightly bemused about having spent the night on the couch. He packs up some clothes for work, dresses in sweats for the gym, and heads out for his normal workout.
    He arrives at his office around 8:30 a.m. to a mound of messages, e-mails, and demands from Evelyn. When he finally allows an interruption to his work, it is Evelyn reminding him that it is nearly 5:30 p.m., and he is supposed to meet Mark for sushi at 6:00.
    “Oh, shit. Thanks,” he murmurs. He closes what he was working on, grabs his notes, and dashes out the door. Mark is already seated when Sean arrives in a whirlwind.
    “I took the liberty of ordering us both a beer and the first round of sushi,” Mark says with his generic smirk in place.
    Sean huffs out a breath and runs his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “Great. Sorry I’m late. It’s been one hell of a day.” They exchange the normal pleasantries, with Sean asking about Bonnie and Mark asking about Brazil. A serious tone comes over Sean and catches Mark momentarily off guard.
    Mark studies Sean’s face as only he can. Sean finally breaks the silence and asks, “How well do you know Jessica Silva?”
    Mark smiles and answers Sean’s question with a question. “Are you asking me for a personal or business reference?”
    Sean hesitates for a moment, slumps in his chair a little, then confesses to his friend, “Both I guess.”
    Mark chuckles and replies, “Well, she is an intelligent, beautiful woman, with enormous talent in the fashion design field. She has worked her ass off to get where she is and hasn’t asked anyone for help. That is, until she asked you. Bonnie absolutely loves her, and from what I’ve seen of her, I don’t think you could find a more honest, straight-shooting person. Why do you ask?”
    Sean sighs. “Well, that helps I guess. As for why, you know she came to my office and was completely unprepared for any type of business discussion. I wasn’t exactly accommodating.” Mark nods, acknowledging Sean’s statement. “However,” Sean continues, “she recovered very well. And I responded with a snarky note and some flowers, to which she recovered well yet again, with an equally sarcastic note and a bottle of my expensive scotch. I’ve been doing a little research, and it looks like SGM might be able to help her, but in order to do so, she would need to expand rapidly, globally, and with a whole new line of products. I don’t think her company has the capability to do so on its own, and I’m looking at possible options to help.”
    Mark gives Sean a curious look, wondering why Sean’s talking to him about this in such detail. “Like what?”
    “Well, my numbers are very preliminary at this point, but I expect she will need between $1.5 to 2 million, cash, to accomplish what I see as a possibility for her company. It’s also the only way SGM could make a profit while assisting her.”
    “And what is this extremely expensive possibility?” Mark asks.
    “Well, when I was in Brazil, I toured a fairly new apparel factory that had recently been abandoned by Nike Clothing. Hugo’s cousin owns the property and is willing to negotiate a lucrative ten-year contract for the right renter. I think Jessica’s company just might fit the profile. I don’t believe many modifications would be needed to the factory, but you and I both know I don’t know shit about fashion apparel production. I’d