“Billionaire Ronald Clement tripled his net worth this year. He attributes his success to seeking out startups with a solid premise, doing his research, and being willing to give enough to make success possible.”
While
the news anchor narrated, a silver-haired business mogul took center stage,
shaking hands with the young CEO of the startup. The guy looked every bit the
part of the scientist he was purported to be, including wide-rimmed, thick
glasses. “Silvester Corporation’s new web-based goods trafficking business is
hoped to be a strong competitor for Amazon in a few months. Stock prices rose
from a dollar a share to one hundred and fifty dollars a share over the course
of one week—”
Cameron
hit mute and tossed away the remote even as his other hand tapped ‘connect’ on
his earpiece. “Yeah ma?”
He
relaxed against the hard-backed sofa and ran a hand through sandy brown hair.
“What
are you doing with your life, Cam?” she started in without hesitation.
Cam
dropped his head back, wishing he could respond with the truth just to quiet
her grumblings. “Mom, seriously, can you please relax about my life?”
“You
spend your days in a basement—”
“A
lab, ma, a lab.”
“—and
you don’t eat well. How are you going to find a wife?”
“Mom!”
His voice rose to cut through her prepared rant. “Not that I need to defend
myself to you, since I’m not living in your basement—”
“Anymore—”
she added in that tone that felt like nails on a chalkboard.
“I
moved out at twenty, ma, twenty. I’m far from a lazy slacker. If you want to
berate someone, why don’t you pick on your little angel who still lives in her bedroom at almost
thirty-five?”
“She’s
taking care of me.”
Cam
rolled his eyes. “I gotta go. I’m meeting a woman tonight.”
“Really?”
Her tone shifted so fast he felt like a cow in a tornado. “Tell me about her?”
“I’ve
got to get ready ma, she lives across town.”
“Across
town?” He could imagine smoke pouring from her ears as her brain worked on that
simple comment. “She lives in the foothills? That’s promising. Is she a lawyer?
A lawyer would be a great addition to the family.”
Cam
gave her some half-hearted platitude and hung up. If only his mother knew what
he was really doing with his life. With a small smile at the thought, he
trekked across his penthouse to the in-suite elevator doors.
The
‘lab’ she so detested had certainly paid off so far. R&D, especially
backward engineering technology, certainly helped both career and bank account.
Of course, it also brought with it the need to schmooze and find the right type
of partners, which is where today’s ‘date’ came in.
Cam
took stock of the new renovations to his complex, now nearly complete. He gave
a smile and nod to several tenants as he passed, and a quick “Thanks, James.”
to the doorman who held open the outside door. The crisp autumn air held a
chilling bite, but Cameron breathed deep, glad for the smells of cinnamon and
the bakery that bordered his apartments to the right. Life was good.
Cameron
stepped to the edge of the curb and lifted a hand, signaling to a pair of
speeding taxis. The yellow and black checkers zoomed past, neither driver
giving him the time of day. “What the—”
Cameron
glared at the line of illegally parked cars taking up nearly half of what
should have been a lane of traffic. He used them to provide shelter as he dared
further into the street, but two more checkered tops passed in similar fashion.
What was he, invisible?
Grunting,
he leaned out just a little and waved his hand frantically. James was either
laughing behind him or seriously considering the senility of his new landlord
and boss.
The
blare of a horn hammering down caught his attention as a mini-car swerved
deftly between two massive trucks and cut off three other cars in the process
of pulling to a stop right next to him. Cameron debated on the safety of this particularly
crazy cabby, but he was running out of time.
“Where
to?” A woman in her twenties turned to stare at him as he slid into her back
seat. She popped a bubble in a way that gave him a strange sense of déjà vu.
Her brows lifted at his hesitation. “Hello?”
“Sorry,
head toward the mall.”
“Toward
the mall?” Her brown eyebrows crinkled down, popping out from under her
bleached-blonde hair. “Address?”
“I’d
rather you just start driving and then I’ll give it to you.”
She
gave him a once-over, an internal debate similar to what he’d just done, before
flipping back around. In the same motion, she rocketed them into the mass of
drivers along the busy road.
“How
long have you been driving?” he dared to ask.
“Second
week on the job. Is it obvious?” She grinned at him, taking her eyes off the
road for several precious seconds.
Cameron
swallowed. “Not so much. It’s just that you’re a little crazy, even for New
York.”
“I’m
good for it. I’ve been driving for over a decade.” She didn’t look that old and
gave him a look in the rearview like she expected some sort of comment. Cameron
refrained.
“So,
you gunna give me an address already?”
“Huckleberry
Lane.”
She
nodded, popping another bubble and shifted into high gear as she swerved around
slower cars.
Cameron
watched in amazement as she switched between the gears, never satisfied. “Who
taught you to drive?”
“Self-taught.”
She threw over her shoulder. “No parents. Not a sob story, so don’t ask.”
“I
wasn’t planning on it.” He balled up a fist and stared out the side window.
Large complexes gave way to the business district, and from there to narrow,
packed houses before finally breaking out into the East Hampton suburbs.
“Five
minutes. You payin’ with card or cash? I give a discount for cash.”
“Don’t
like to pay taxes?” Cam grinned, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket.
She
shrugged, shifting yet again as she banked into a tight turn, not letting the
speedometer drop below forty-five.
“There’s
a blind curve coming up,” he started.
“Don’t
back-seat drive or I take away the cash discount,” she countered, lifting a
manicured hand and one painted nail. A tiny painted palm tree waved at him with
her displeasure.
“I
wouldn’t da—”
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