Daniel Moore.

5.

I don't know who Ginger is or what she looks like. I don't think I've ever seen her in the company. I often forget the names of people who work with us, especially those I don't deal with on a daily basis. I'm aware that we have employees who only operate online because they're not from the city or because they have other commitments and can't attend.

The name "Ginger" doesn't ring a bell to me at all, I don't know who she is or if I've ever had the opportunity to have a conversation with her. I don't like it when Gabriel invites online mode employees to events, some of them are weird, and others I don't think are capable of presenting themselves in the best way at the event. I dream of being very selective with the people who enter and leave the clubs I hire. I don't like having problems later because of those new and incredulous people who think they can do whatever they want, and I won't find out.

There have been certain things I haven't liked. I remember once deciding to invite someone who worked online for the marketing department, I wrote to him and asked him to come, as if he had an interview. He had to dress formally. He showed up at the event wearing glasses, baggy and somewhat old clothes, and with a strange citrus smell. I regretted inviting him, and I had to watch as all the partners and people who had invited him watched him as if he were something strange and from another planet.

When dinner ends, we all get up from the table. Dad and I help Mom clear the dishes, and before we enter the kitchen, he grabs me by the arm and looks at me sternly.

"I know you're pretending that tomorrow's event isn't important, but I know events like that, there will be important sponsors and clients that can make you a lot of money. Are you sure you want to let Gabriel do the opening? And why the hell did you let him invite a girl you've never seen in your life?"

"I know her, I know who she is, I just didn't remember her name," I lied.

"You better, boy, I'll be in the front row to see if you fail or if everything goes as you expect."

"Trust me, Dad, I know perfectly well what I'm doing," I said in a neutral tone. I'm not lying to him; I've been planning this for months. I've been talking to people who know about the topic, researching, and observing how many people might be interested in the project. I've put in a lot of effort to make sure everything is perfect, and if Ginger ruins what I've been building for months, I'll kill her, and Gabriel will fall with her. Just thinking about something going wrong because of a girl I don't even know makes me desperate.

I turned around and took everything in my hand to the kitchen. My nieces fell asleep shortly after eating, and my aunt asked her brother (my father) to help her take them to the car. They didn't take more than five minutes to return when I had already picked up all my things to leave with my brother. Mom saw us alarmed and straightened our suits, she had something with doing that every time we went out.

"Take care, I know you'll do great tomorrow."

"It's not that important of an event," I said downplaying it to calm her down. "Everything is already set."

My mother kissed both of our foreheads, and we hugged her to say goodbye. When I went outside and got to the car, I grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment and walked a few streets away to smoke. My brother waited for me in the car while he was distracted with his phone.

Gabriel has brown almost brown hair, freckles, and black eyes; I guess it's the only thing we have in common. Sitting on the curb and staring at the people passing by, I lit a cigarette. I started with vice when I was fifteen years old. Telling my dad that I smoked and that I didn't plan to quit was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, especially considering his thoughts on people who are addicted to tobacco or any substance that harms the body.

This neighborhood is where we grew up, and where I became Mr. Moore. I always dreamed of having a title like that or that my surname would suddenly sound important. It was complicated, starting from scratch; my parents didn't have many possibilities. The house was the inheritance of my grandmother, and the rest of the money was given to my father's siblings. We were middle-class people with a house of people from the high social class.

Growing up makes you think about many things, it makes you rethink life and everything you have or can achieve. Growing up makes you think about who you will be in a few years or what you will have when five or six more years pass. I grew up, and I realized that I wanted to have the same economy as the people who lived around us. I spent months working in the darkness of my room, months in which I didn't go out and saw little of my family or even my parents.

I remember hearing my mom upset because I couldn't have a ten-minute conversation with her anymore. I was counting the hours, and although she thought I was just playing, I was trying to grow as a person. My fortune began when I decided to become a programmer. I learned all the codes and knew everything about my career. I managed to do something big and sell it, little by little, I managed to have more money and invested in the things I needed to grow more as a business.

If I hadn't done that, I might not be where I am now. I looked at the cigarette and threw it away. When I returned to the car, my brother smiled at me and gestured for me to drive.