Chapter 124: Product Launch

The day arrived.

Death Wish finally hit the market.

Unsurprisingly, out of all 25,000 units, Aiden had only managed to sell out 2000--of which Haute Cuisine accounted for a thousand bottles alone--all of which he’d gone to distribute the day before in his new vehicle.

In all fairness, two thousand units was a great number to start with for a beverage that wasn’t even well known, but one had to factor into consideration how a good chunk of it--roughly five hundred--wasn’t for sale.

Afterall, asides the ones Aiden had handed over to his former workplace for the promotions of the product, he’d also stocked the vending machines he’d donated to his alma-matter with a couple hundred units, part of which included some for restocking.

Nonetheless, it was all a matter of time before Aiden would be faced with the reality of things.

Would his product do well?

Would it flop hard?

Or would it middle somewhere in between?

The entire month of June would give him all the answers he needed.

And to start with, several regular customers filed into Haute Cuisine on an average Monday like they usually would, ready to either grab a quick bite, or take their order and skedaddle over to their respective jobs.

What none of them would’ve expected however, was the chilled PET bottles that were handed over to them, a genuine sense of concerned befuddlement to their expressions.

A promo they could understand. Everyone loved promos.

A promo for an alcoholic drink however--as many of them had initially believed--now that was just weird (though some of them definitely had plans to drink it later nonetheless).

Of the first of these regulars to arrive was the cop Aiden had attended to on his very first day on the job, the man giving the bottle the stink eye as he held it in his hands.

"I had the same expression as you when I first saw it as well, but trust me when I say, it’s really, really good." Mrs. Bao said with an assuring smile, the woman leaving immediately after dropping his order on the table.

"It’s not alcohol by the way!" she casually called out and every concerned customer in the restaurant looked notably surprised to hear it.

Naturally, that begged the question.

If it wasn’t alcohol, then what the hell was it?

The simple label wasn’t doing it any good either, especially since it only had the name and the official US stamp for beverages, regional regulatory approval stamps and consumer product seals amongst a few other legal details.

The ingredients however, were non-existent for the meantime, one that further peaked everyone’s curiosity.

But when Rob finally got around to turning it open and taking a sip, his eyes widened notably and a relaxed, yet genuinely relieved laughter escaped his lips as he downed the rest of its contents.

Then he immediately called out and said;

"Hey, Cody! I’d like a few more bottles of this,"

"I can’t wait to see the reaction on the faces of my co-workers when I walk into the precinct with this!" he pointed at the bottle to which the familiar diner replied with a grin;

"Roger that, Rob!"

That was all the motivation some of the other customers in the restaurant had needed to try theirs as well, one that eventually culminated in a similar reaction as they began ordering for more as well.

Afterall, when the price was far less than even fancier sparkling water for what tasted so premium, it was relatively easy for most of these customers to justify the extra spending.

"Who made this though?" Rob audibly muttered afterwards, clearly curious as his fingers turned the bottle around in his palm.

"Remember Aiden?" Jermain whom was nearby casually remarked.

"The hardworking kid who worked here for a while? Yeah, I remember him--" Rob suddenly cut himself off, his eyes widening in genuine surprise as he leaned over slightly and asked;

"He made this?!"

"You bet." Jermaine simply replied with a reserved smile as he walked over to the expediter pass while Rob returned his gaze to the PET bottle and stared at it in quiet awe.

As things were set into motion on that front, an aspiring indie actor whom had only managed to land extra roles thus far in his career was working out as a relatively popular gym several blocks down the street.

Having completed his sets and reps for the day, his beige-colored hair matting his forehead, Scott slung his duffel bag over his shoulders and proceeded to head out amidst greetings from his fellow gym bros.

Just as he was about to reach the vending machine to retrieve a sports drink, his dark-brown irises caught sight of his gold-digging ex-girlfriend.

A lady whom had immediately jumped ship the moment she found someone ’better’.

His very own backstabbing friend whom was currently in front of said machine as they both performatively conversed and laughed with all the bells and whistles of a recently soft-launched relationship.

Upon spotting him as well, they both seemed to share a similar lack of shame for what they’d done, and just to be a petty little shit, said ex-girlfriend switched from her favorite chocolate-milk and instead, picked what she definitely knew was his favorite sports drink.

It unfortunately, also happened to be the last one in stock, so it was crystal clear that she had in fact done it on purpose.

Shaking his head as he watched them both leave a moment after, Scott muttered in clear disdain as he walked up to the machine;

"Assholes,"

"Now, what else can I get..." he dismissed his former thoughts as he stood before said machine, the choice paralysis overwhelming him briefly.

Just as he decided to go for a bottle of water, his gaze caught sight of the familiar PET bottle.

"Death Wish? Who the fuck names their drink that?" he asked of no one in particular, clearly intrigued.

It was also that same intrigue that pushed him to getting it, his gaze studying the chilled bottle for a brief moment before he casually corked it open and proceeded to down its contents.

’There’s no way they’d put alcohol in here so I wonder what the hell it actually is--’

No sooner had Scott tasted its contents, he found himself pleasantly surprised, his gaze reassessing the bottle for a brief moment.

’Oh, this is great,’ he inwardly remarked.

’Coconut-infused too... perfect after a workout session,’ he continued, his lips pursed approvingly.

"Weird ass naming sense though," he couldn’t help but mutter out loud as he tried to buy another, only to realize he’d just bought the last one in the entire line.

"Huh. Guess I’m not the only one who liked it then." he acknowledged, a thin smile on his lips as he made his way out whilst downing the rest of the bottle’s contents.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the transit corridors of Penn Station, a homeless addict of a woman pressed her back to the wall, her form dragging against it as she produced the bottle she had looted from a convenience store just up the street.

Amongst the line of alcoholic drinks, it had been the easiest thing for her to steal without drawing attention to herself, hence why she’d gone for it.

Staring at the bottle for a brief while, she found herself opening it a moment after with a deep sense of guilt in her chest.

Not just because of what she did, but because she knew she really shouldn’t be consuming alcohol given the changes her body was going through.

But as was the case with every form of addiction, the brain had been so hardwired to getting what it wanted, it would push and fight and berate its host until it finally got what it wanted.

However, upon taking her first ginger sip of it... the lady suddenly froze.

Then, upon realizing that this may just have been the world’s way of preventing her from continuing down a path of no return, beads of tears rapidly formed on her eyes and streamed down her dirt-matted face.

Before long, Janet broke into a serious weep that shook her entire soul for all it was worth, the background noise of people and vehicles in transit drowning out the sound.

By the time she’d finally cried all the tears she had, she found herself rising to her feet with renewed strength that came from the depths of her being and a deeper resolve to turn her life around.

Not just for herself, but for the innocent soul that was imply trying to thrive within her.

Decidedly, she made her way back to the convenience store where she’d stolen the bottle from, and it didn’t take long before one of the clerks in charge threw a tantrum and proceeded to berate her.

Granted the other retail clerks understood where she was coming from--especially since they could’ve lost their jobs because of it, they couldn’t help but sympathize with the dirty, ragged-looking homeless woman who simply lowered her head and accepted all the insults without a single word.

Before long, the manager got involved, to which she then remarked when he heard the whole story;

"I understand where you’re coming from Karen, and its fine, but let’s not blow it out of proportion, eyes. It’s partly our fault for not also having better security measures in place."

"Also, Death Wish isn’t supposed to be in the alcohol section. It’s a new brand of sparkling water,"

"I thought I made that clear when we had the last meeting." she then said to the Karen whom had been throwing a tantrum, the lady clearly unaware of it whilst the other workers nodded in acknowledgement, clearly in the know.

Turning to the culprit, the soft-spoken manager then said, her tone firm;

"You’re not off the hook, Miss. Shoplifting is a crime and that’s undebatable."

"But first..." her voice trailed off as she looked to the woman’s protruded belly for a brief instant, then continued;

"Let’s get you something proper to eat. Then we’ll discuss what to do with you."

To that, Janet’s eyes widened as the manager gestured for her to come along, whilst some of the other retail clerks gave her an assuring nod.

Unaware of all these--of a chance scenario where Death Wish was potentially changing someone’s life for the better, Aiden on the other hand was currently within the grounds of his alma-matter to pick up a copy of his yearbook alongside Clarissa, his buddies and several of his fellow graduates.

At the same time, it served as an avenue for him to get a general feel and firsthand feedback for how everyone was taking his line of beverages.