wanted him on the calls or in meetings between the companies. They
felt that he was creating too much tension and that it interfered with
getting work done, she said. Walgreens had no choice but to comply or
Theranos would walk away, she added.
Hunter tried to convince her to rebuff the demand. Why was
Walgreens paying his firm $25,000 a month to look out for its best
interests if it was going to keep him at arm’s length and make it harder
for him to do his job? It made no sense. His protestations were politely
ignored and Elizabeth and Sunny got their way. Hunter continued to
work with the innovation team and to provide his expertise when
asked, but his exclusion from subsequent calls and meetings
marginalized him and limited his input.
In the meantime, Walgreens pushed ahead with the project. As part
of the pilot preparations, Hunter joined the innovation team on a field
trip to an unmarked warehouse in an industrial park a few miles from
the Deerfield campus. Inside, the company had built a full-scale
replica of one of its stores. It featured a blood-testing laboratory, with
shelves designed specifically to accommodate the dimensions of the
black-and-white Theranos readers.
Seeing the mock store and its little lab brought home to Hunter how
real it all was. Soon, actual patients were going to get their blood
drawn and tested in one of these, he thought uneasily.