S1 Ep. 5 | CALIFORNIA GOODBYE Bay Area Things
Normal While its Normal
Now that I was back home in Oakland after a whirlwind week in New York, where I took on a new project by a bunch of older guys in suits, spent a romantic night with a childhood crush named David and finished a weekend bootie call session with UC Berkeley professor Tobias, it was time to actually… work.
The maybe mafia guys in New York had now paid $50,000 toward me designing and managing the building of their mobile app. They had picked out a dumb name, mediocre logo and small niche of a market (on demand private chefs) and it was my job to bring it to life. The bad news was from my delayed book launch I had no other choice but to take the project on. But maybe this was my destiny?
So far there had been no mention of me needing to move to New York however I wouldn’t mind it. My romantic options were a slutty professor who treated our sex sessions like office hours, or a sensitive Jewish crush I had known my whole life. That decision was getting seemingly easier to make each day.
I spent the morning after Tobias left my apartment, working on the New York mobile app. I called a few developer friends who had time, found a designer and mapped the user flow out myself. I was so entrenched that I almost forgot until he called me
Chibuzo: Excuse me, madame. Where are you, hrm?
Me: Oh my goodness Chibuzo! I am so sorry
Chibuzo: Have you not found a clock on any of your devices? Are you the one now on Nigerian time?
Me: No, no, sorry! Wow omg I am 1.5 hours late to our lunch!
Chibuzo: Its fine my dear, I was actually here only a half hour ago but a plan is a plan. A man… or woman’s word… is everything
I look up at the clock and scan my closet for clean clothes
Me: Be there in 15 minutes I swear! Its at the marina place two blocks away right?
Chibuzo: Yes, dear. The same place we always have lunch the first weekend of every month. I see God gave you extra beauty to make up for…
Me: I know, I know. See you soon
I email over what I had worked on to the New York guys, change my clothes like I were a racecar driver and then run out the door almost forgetting my keys.
At the quaint cafe near Chibuzo’s office and on my normal running path on the Oakland marina was Chibuzo at a table, in his dapper suit all pimped out from going to church earlier, politely waiting for me for lunch. He smiles at me and motions to his fancy watch on his wrist
Chibuzo: Tick tock darling, you are never late?
Me: Tell me about it, I have been a little bit outside of myself
The waitress comes to our table to take our orders. Like usual Chibuzo knows what he wants to eat, I order something light
Me: So the thing is Chibuzo an interesting project came up and well after finishing my book I think I need to take it on
Chibuzo: Oh wow so the book is all done? Aren’t you proud of yourself misses?
Me: You would think but instead it turns out there will not be much money to be made from it. Not for a while anyway
Chibuzo: That’s life darling. All great things take time
Me: Well I don’t have magical money
Chibuzo: Uh oh. You are about to tell me something
Me: Yeah, kinda. Remember those guys
Chibuzo leans back in his seat and begins to laugh hysterically
Chibuzo: Let me guess, you are in the soup?
Me: Well not sure what flavor of soup it is, but I’m certainly in something. I have a plan though
Chibuzo: Oh child. Do tell…
Me: So the mobile app guys in New York probably are mafia. This is unconfirmed of course. Probably. Likely. Well maybe BUT— they have zero expectations of the app being a top app or winner
Chibuzo is still laughing, with one ear ready for the rest of the story
Me: Here’s my plan. I will build the app, give it to the guys, wipe my hands clean and walk away
Chibuzo: Just like that?
Me: Just like that?
Chibuzo: You really think so? Give them an app and walk away?
Me: They say that’s all they want is an app. I will do it and I think to be sure it goes well its best if I do it from New York
Chibuzo: Really? What about your apartment here in Oakland?
Me: For now sublet it? I did the math and if I’m there near the guys and making sure things are smooth it should only take a couple months max. The money is good and the app is simple enough
The waitress comes to our table with our respective lunch plates. As she does I hear my phone noise an alert from the email I had sent earlier to the New York guys “Looks great. Next steps?”
I show Chibuzo my phone
Me: See? They are happy, they will be fine. Is this my most ethical consulting project? Probably not but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do
Chibuzo: I feel that. Early in my career I had to take on a couple different things I’m not proud of today but hey. We all have get that kudi.
For some reason I was expecting more of a fight or pushback from Chibuzo, yet it also made sense why he wouldn’t. My rendezvous with Tobias also had me thinking more about David than I cared to admit even to myself. Maybe it was time for a change of scenery? Give New York a shot?
Chibuzo and I finished our otherwise uneventful lunch while I had a feeling of doom lurking in my stomach I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Chibuzo: And what about Chelsea? How’s that girl doing? You two still going on that chica trip to Hawaii?
Me: Shit. That’s right we booked that last year to celebrate my book launch which was supposed to happen two months ago
Chibuzo: Um hm. That’s right.
I check my phone…
Me: Oh my god, that is next week! How did I forget that?
Chibuzo: Because your head is in da soup my dear
Me: She didn’t mention it when I dropped off Cat, but I guess why would she when its been planned for months now
Chibuzo: Looks like you will be packing soon and not yet for New York
Me: Crap!
Chibuzo: Also don’t forget we bought that property under the family trust and the escrow closes in a few days or week depending on when all the title paperwork is put together
Me: Oh my god, Chibuzo!
Chibuzo: Hey, I can control a lot of things not all of the things. Besides do I look like your assistant or something? You need to get it together child!
He’s was right. As we wrap up lunch, Chibuzo did his normal thing in how he somehow always secretly pays for lunch even if I don’t see it. It’s a magical skill all Nigerian men have.
We hug each other and say our goodbyes as I get back to my apartment barely recovered from finishing a book and New York.
Shit, I leave for Hawaii in a few days
Honolulu Bound
The next day as I starting packing up the apartment for a subletter, I realized this Hawaii trip was a blessing. It would give a nice babymoon errr book-moon for me, some time with Chelsea and the start of getting me out and away from the apartment I was glued into for months writing a book.
Things still felt, weird. Probably because I was coming back into society or probably because I think I was falling into love with David?
I could NOT stop thinking about that New York kiss.
Tobias was bugging me for a midweek “snack” of hooking up but it was feeling more and more that whatever we had going on was fizzling out for me. Was the sex mind-blowing? Sure. Other than that there wasn’t much else we had to bond over. I used to read his white papers on zero-sum solutions for crypto-currencies yet even that charm had warn off.
My body and mind was ready to move on and even if these mobile app guys were indeed mafia it was a distraction. Besides what they wanted was a harmless app—an app for booking private chefs to cook for people. It’s not my job to research people’s backgrounds only to build what they request. I had done a 1,000 similar projects in my career if anything life handed me a bang up easy job. I felt grateful.
The next few days went by quickly. The publisher approved the “Final Cut” of the book ridding me of any more edits and obligations (finally!) and before I know it I’m at the Los Hellas airport with Chelsea or at the gate waiting for Chelsea who promised us ice coffees. I hear the sound of a lesbian swirling iced coffees meters away. I don’t turn around because I know its her, she comes around in front of me holding an iced coffee in each hand,
Chelsea: Sup bitch. Are you feeling slutty like an Oat Milk type of girly today or depressed and Emo like a Soy milk type of girl?
She uses her eyes to tell me which is which. I nod for Soy milk, she hands it to me
Chelsea: Que pasa? Why you so sad my dear? Maybe you should have gotten some of that Tobias D before we left to cheer up that…
Me: Stop it. Tobias D is not what I’m low on
Chelsea sits next to me at the gate we have a half hour or so before our flight starts boarding
Chelsea: Talk to me. What’s up?
Me: I don’t know. I just feel weird probably because the book was such a large part of my life and thats gone?
Chelsea takes a swig of her Oat milk iced latte, looks at it pleased, then looks back at me.
Chelsea: Nope
Me: What? How can you just so quickly deduct that? You can’t just say that like you know all
Chelsea: I dunno dude it can’t be that. I think something else is bothering you and it can’t be money because those New Yorker guys are helping you make up money real, real quick. Almost too quick.
Me: Yeah. That is a little bit of a concern. I will certainly feel better once their app is done that’s for sure. I guess it’s because this trip was planned to be months AFTER I finished the book not days or hours. How can I decompress when I am still almost in the chamber
Chelsea: Its not the fucking book. Please stop, I don’t want to hear this shit when we are on the beach…
Me: Fine. Okay. I will give you that, but if I knew what was actually bothering me I would say so. I just… don’t know
Chelsea: That’s fair enough. Can you promise to minimally smoke SOME weed with me on the beach? Don’t make me feel like a loser?
I sip my iced coffee like a child and nod to her yes like she asked me to do a chore
Chelsea: Alright, cool. It’s settled then. T-minus 15 minutes until boarding and we start our “Aloha” personalities…right?
Me: Yes dear
As we both sit enjoying our iced coffee I can feel the extreme levels of caffeine enter my bloodstream perking me up. We begin to stand up for boarding when I see an email come in from the New York app guys titled “Urgent: We Need to Chat”
Fuck.