"No, it's NASA. He called last week asking about meeting with us for a 'top secret' project," Carrie replied, making air quotes with her fingers. "I don't know more than that, except he said he thought we would be very interested."
"I'm more interested in finding out whether he knows he has to pay the meeting tax," Bella said.
The meeting tax meant bringing donuts or breakfast tacos—if you wanted an early-morning meeting at Bella Pelle, you came bearing food.
"Jerome is on his way in, and he has no idea who we're meeting with either—I can't wait to see his face when I tell him," Carrie said, miming an exaggerated jaw drop and pushing her chin back up with one finger.
"What face is that?" they heard from the doorway.
Jerome bounced into the room. Bella thought he was like Tigger from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories in human form. Jerome was energetic, always in a good mood, and a brilliant designer who handled all the artwork for their packaging and led the creative side of the company. He was a welcome addition to their little work family, and he was universally adored by everyone there.
"Well, Jeromeo, we are meeting with NASA!"
"Is NASA a new ingredient company?" Jerome said.
"No, it's actually NASA, the space agency," Carrie told him. "Some doctor is flying in from Houston."
"Of all the companies you could have told me were coming in, NASA wouldn't have even made my list of the top one million. Do we know what they want?" Jerome said.
"No, apparently it's a mystery to be revealed when he gets here," Bella replied.
"Well, I hope he brought us a moon rock. Do you think he's bringing a moon rock? A moon rock would look good on my desk," Jerome said.
"If anyone gets a moon rock, it's going to be me. I'm the one who made the appointment," Carrie laughed.
"Anyway, he'll be here soon, so I'll go make sure the conference room is set up!"
And with that, Carrie was gone.
Jerome turned to Bella with wide eyes.
"NASA," he said quietly, as if saying it again might make it more real.
"NASA," Bella agreed, already reaching for her coffee.
Whatever this was, she had a feeling everything was about to get very interesting.
Chapter 3
DDr. Phillip Campbell arrived at 8 a.m. sharp, along with two associates.
As the Chief Health and Medical Officer for NASA's upcoming Diana IV mission—the mission that would finally return mankind to the moon—he was not someone who kept people waiting. He didn't bring donuts or breakfast burritos, but he did bring mission patches, pins, T-shirts, and even cuddly toys of Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon and the official mascot for the mission. It was fitting that she had been chosen as the mascot for a mission where a woman would finally walk on the moon. The entire world had gone crazy three years ago when the Diana III mission happened, Bella very much included, so she knew everyone at Bella Pelle would love the gifts and considered the meeting tax paid in full.
"Dr. Campbell, it's nice to meet you. We are all quite intrigued," Bella said. "Please let me introduce you to our team—Jerome Nash, our creative director, and you've spoken to Carrie B. Shaw, our VP of Operations, of course."
"Thank you for meeting with me, Ms. Genovese. I've heard wonderful things about your company," said Dr. Campbell. "These are my associates, Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith," he said, motioning to the two men who looked more likemountains dressed in dark suits and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Bella arched an eyebrow and silently wondered if they would be pulling a silver thingy out of their suit pockets at the end of the meeting and erasing their memories.
After completing the introductions, exchanging a few pleasantries, and checking to make sure everyone had a cup of coffee or a bottle of water, they headed into the conference room. A gorgeous Italian marble table dominated the room. Bella had decorated the walls with photos of all their daughters and framed posters of famous women they all admired, including her favorite, Taylor Swift.
"I imagine you are all wondering why NASA would want to meet with a skincare brand," Dr. Campbell said. "NASA studies all aspects of life in space and how it can affect both the mind and body. Our number one priority is always the health of the crew, and we are constantly looking for ways we can improve their time in space. As you can imagine, it's a harsh environment—microgravity and radiation can cause significant negative changes to the skin, including accelerated thinning, increased dryness, severe irritation, and so on. Space is limited on the capsule, and of course there is no running water for showers."
"So being in space is terrible for the skin. Got it," interjected Jerome.
"Ahem, yes, as I was saying, we are looking for a product that could possibly mitigate these factors for the crew. We would like Bella Pelle to develop a cream that the crew could take with them and use while on the mission. NASA will then study the results upon the crew's return."
"That sounds like an amazing opportunity, Dr. Campbell, and we are thrilled you came to us. Is there any reason why you've chosen Bella Pelle over some of the larger brands?" Carrie asked.
"Yes, Ms. Shaw, we like what you've done. Both my wife and daughters are big fans and rave about your products, and if I do say so myself, their skin always looks nice. We also prefer to partner with a smaller team that will focus on the task at hand rather than be too spread out working on other things at the same time."
