Alex planned to use the money made from the Harmony Healing ointment to cover the costs of producing Slim Treasure. That would leave him with essentially no profit at all, but that didn't matter to him at this point.
He was depending on word-of-mouth advertising. People who came seeking treatment for their obesity would tell friends and family about their experience with Slim Treasure.
Then the news of an effective weight-loss medication should spread like wildfire.
**
The days passed quickly. On Friday afternoon, Alex said to Lindsey, "Let's stop in at the hospital and see how everything's going."
They got to the weight-loss clinic just as it was closing for the day. The doctors and staff were tidying up and getting ready to go home.
Alex walked in, smiling, and said hello to everyone.
They all recognized Alex as the creator of Slim Treasure and greeted him in return.
Alex asked how the promotion of his drug had gone and if the doctors had found opportunities to give it out. He asked if the patients had been pleased.
"Well…" one doctor said, and then he exchanged glances with his colleagues.
"Mr. Ambrose, it's really hard for us to know so soon," said a middle-aged doctor wearing glasses. "Patients come to the clinic to see a doctor. When we prescribe a medication, they go to the hospital pharmacy to pick it up. They may not do this right away. Sometimes patients don't even bother to fill their prescriptions. And then we don't see them again for a week, so we haven't seen yet how well it's working. Information needs to be collected and summarized before we can answer your questions."
"I see," Alex said.
His heart sank. He was sure the doctors would have gotten at least a little feedback from their patients by now. It was a new drug, so the prescribers would have followed up, calling people to ask how things were going and to find out whether they were suffering any side effects. Clearly, the staff didn't want to talk about Slim Treasure for some reason.
"Mr. Ambrose, you can come back in a few days and talk to our department director," the doctor said. "All the information goes through his office, so he can answer all your questions."
Alex nodded. "All right. I'll make an appointment with him."
"Mr. Ambrose, don't worry," a different doctor said. "Our summaries are done once a week. The information you want should be available next Friday."
Alex thanked them all for their help and for promoting Slim Treasure.
The doctor with glasses beamed at Alex. "As doctors, we always consider the wellbeing of our patients. If it's a good medicine, then we will use it."
**
Outside the hospital, Alex and Lindsey discussed how the meeting had gone. "Alex," Lindsey said. "Do you think they're deliberately avoiding answering your questions?"
"Oh, of course they want to help us, but they don't know anything yet," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "They need time to prepare. They're sure we can get answers next week."
"Time to prepare?" She didn't understand.
"They said that they won't know how well Slim Treasure works until next Friday," he said. "That's actually true because it takes five to seven days to start seeing the effects."
"So they really did answer your question?" she asked, frowning in confusion.
"Of course not," he said bitterly. "What I asked about was the acceptance, not what the effect was on the patients. I already know that from clinical trials. I'm sure they've followed up with at least a few patients and know how happy they are, but they say they have to compile figures and write reports and that it will take another week."
"Why is that?" She sounded distressed.
"Someone up the chain of command is not happy about something." Alex tightened his lips and sighed. "No doubt things might move more quickly if I gave them a little encouragement." He gave her a meaningful look. "All it takes is one corrupt person in a position of power. If this person were to receive a gift in the next few days, then I'm sure they'll stop dragging their feet."
Lindsey scowled. "That will eat into our profits!"
"Promotion is more important than anything else at this stage," Alex said. "I'm going to pay a visit to Darius Head. Maybe he can get around this." Darius was the director that oversaw the obesity clinic at the hospital.
"I'm not going with you," she breathed. "I'm too angry. I hate these people."
Alex smiled. Usually, Lindsey was as cool as a cucumber, but now her emotions were running away with her.