Page 17 of A Boy is a Gun: Part I
One
Cameron
San Francisco.
It’s a place I could spend a few days out of the year here and enjoy the culture. Fisherman’s Wharf. Ghirardelli Square. The Financial District. The hearts around the city. The culture. The food. The people. It’s never a dull moment in San Francisco. There is always something to do.
The salty air greets me as I stand outside on the Four Seasons balcony. I enjoy the cacophony of sounds below me. The taxi drivers weave in and out of traffic. Executives are making deals on their cell phones. Influencers are shooting yet another video.
I’m not here for a pleasure visit but for business. It’s my monthly check-in on the companies. They’re fully launched, and success doesn’t even describe it. AIM's alarm system caters to the wealthy and has had people clamoring over it. The dating app Eye on U has been a wild success.
My wealth has exponentially grown, and I can retire a very wealthy and comfortable man before I reach 30. Of course, I won’t. Taylor wouldn’t want me home all the time and she damn sure wouldn’t want me at Fresh Espresso messing up orders, either.
We have a yin-yang that only works with her, if I’m frank. Other women I’ve dated wanted to be Heather 2.0, and there’s only room for one Heather in my life. I love my mom, but I have to keep it one hundred; her demeanor is why I don’t date anyone who emulates her.
She’s stuck between being Mrs. Perfect and reminding everyone she’s imperfect. My mother grew up wealthy and privileged, wielding both like a sharpened sword. I can honestly say I know that’s why my father fell in love with her. I can also honestly say that’s why he’s tired of her shit.
And there are the weird ones who think they can be boss bitches alongside me. They call themselves the Female Hustler, Gangstress, and all sorts of other silly-ass shit. Everyone knows I only do things alone or with the help of Que and Tesh.
If I wanted a Bonnie to my Clyde, I would seek her out; she wouldn’t come to me.
Usually, I would have Que with me on this trip, but we both know Ethan is right on our tail. He’s watching everything we’re doing, and it’s best we don’t make too many moves. If Ethan wants to get under my skin and be that fly-on shit, he’s succeeding.
Ethan should know me better than anyone. He’s been chasing me since I was a teen, and every time he thinks he’s finally got me, he never does. He’s one of the most respected detectives in the nation, and yet, I elude him every time.
Never mind that waste of space. This trip is a bit personal, and I don’t think it’s a trip Que wanted to be a part of.
I have to visit my sister.
My relationship with Jamie throughout the years has been cordial at best. She ensures she feels the opposite of everything our family is known for. Parents are pro-life? Jamie’s pro-choice. Parents are for the 2ndAmendment? Jamie is for gun control.
It gets a little funny about the drug issue for obvious reasons. My father has never openly spoken about the opioid crisis, but why would he? Jamie makes sure she posts where she volunteers and helps recovering addicts.
Jamie loves to pretend she hates everything I do, but I’m why she was able to go to Georgia State. I’m also why she can move to San Francisco and live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods.
I’m also why, despite having a degree in Public Relations and Marketing and Jamie could work for any major corporation; she’s a food blogger. Does she make enough money to support herself? Sure. But there’s a difference between making money to afford rent and someone paying rent for you.
Jamie knows all this information, and it burns her. She swore up and down that she wouldn’t want anything to do with our family when I brought Jacqueline home one fateful dinner. Jamie realized quickly that being the famous daughter of a U. S. senator opens doors. People in San Francisco aren’tthatliberal.
Is she shutting up and eating her food? Hardly. But she’s eating real good off my dime. She can pretend she hates what I do all she wants, but even Jamie has to admit her big brother being able to financially support her frees up a lot more time for her to do whatever the fuck influencers do. Take pictures of random grassy fields. Use cute little quotes in their captions. Go thrift shopping and clamor over minimal décor.
I cut off support, and Jamie’ll be homeless in a month. Robert can’t support her, and our parentsdon’t want to.
For now, I need to pay that no mind. Before seeing Jamie for dinner later, I must prepare for a day full of meetings. And then I have to make sure I’m drunk enough to tolerate her bullshit.
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The first stop of the day is at the AIM corporate offices. I’m on the board and am one of the silent investors. I invested so much money into the start-up that they named the app after Mia as a thank-you. I only check in to see how the alarm system is doing and see the financials.
After AIM, I go to Eye On U, directly across the street. It’s pretty much rinse, wash, and repeat. Celebrities and the wealthy use the app more than anyone, and if any regular-degulars want to use it, they must undergo an extensive screening first. It’s to protect everyone involved.
I don’t go online, and I don’t go to any conferences. I invest my money, and that’s it. There are people smarter than me and more passionate about dating apps and security systems, and I let them be. I always buy the staff lunch at both places whenever I visit and stop by to talk to them. Everyone appreciates it.
I see one of my favorite workers in the break room and stop to say hi. His name is Mike, and he’s fresh out of college. He’s of average height and build, and he looks like the type whoshouldbe working in Silicon Valley.
He reminds me a lot of myself at his age. Young, green, and hopeful for the future. He’s a bit geekier, but that’s fine by me. Geeks get bitches, too.
“Hey Mike, let me holler at you real quick,” I pull him to a conference room and close the door behind us. “That project I asked you to do for me a while back? What’s the status on it?”
