Page 20

Jack

Twenty-five unread emails. That’s not too bad for a Saturday morning. Weekends are my time to catch up. Sophia gets moving late in the morning, so I can get through quite a bit before she’s looking for a breakfast companion.

Saturday mornings are also my long runs. The only sounds are my breathing, the waves, and the occasional seagull squawk. But this morning, my offer played on a loop.

Liam would tell me I’m out of my mind. Ryan would too.

Maybe I am. But I like the idea of a no-strings arrangement.

There would be no guilt because I am paying her extraordinarily well.

And she’ll do something good with the money.

She’ll help people. Teach them coping skills.

Build a supportive community. Do job training and help them find housing once they are ready. I visited her website.

In a financial arrangement, there are no expectations or risk of emotional attachment.

She won’t try to hold hands in front of Sophia.

She’ll keep it professional during the day, and what happens behind a closed door will be between us.

No one will be able to bribe her. She’ll have no reason to choose to harm Sophia out of greed or desperation.

At the end of her agreement, she will leave.

She’ll be financially independent and have the resources to grow her nonprofit as she desires.

Sophia will, with the grace of gods, be farther down the road to recovery and closer to a return to normal.

And I’ll get to fuck the woman I’ve been craving since the day she walked in my house.

With any luck, after I have her once or twice, I’ll be sated.

We can continue as if she’s a fellow club member for the duration of her stay.

A clean, straightforward, mutually beneficial arrangement.

Ava hasn’t yet agreed. But she will. Everyone has a price, and I made her an offer no sane person would refuse.

Objectively, this arrangement reeks of anemic morals and ethics. Instead of asking her on a date, I paid for what I wanted. And it felt so damn easy and natural. What is wrong with me? When did I become this person?

There was a time when I wasn’t like this. A lifetime ago.

The dull headache returns, and I pop a couple of aspirin, then scroll through the emails, scanning subject lines. My assistant will comb through any I leave her to handle.

Patricia, my assistant for the last eight years, works well with me. Our system works. Even when I took time away, I kept her on as my assistant. She’s completely virtual these days, as she still resides in Houston, but we’ve worked together so long, proximity doesn’t matter.

One subject line from Cliff garners my attention.

In a nutshell, he’s concerned about the agency's latest ad campaign. It has yet to run. I stare at the image of a fit man in camouflage and his grip on one of our rifles equipped with a scope. He looks like he’s going to war, but soldiers are not our target market.

This ad targets our core US market, the couch commandos.

These men don’t buy guns to hunt animals.

These men buy guns to exercise our second amendment rights to form a militia and protect our democracy.

The marketer’s insight is that our core market wishes they had what it takes to go to war, and they spend billions in pursuit of the fantasy.

Couch commando is a common gun industry term used by ad execs to describe one target market segment. This ad will sell guns. Our competitors run ads like this. The focus group feedback on this campaign is overwhelmingly positive.

My father and grandfather had it easy. Back in their day, it was all about marketing to hunters and sportsmen.

But there’s a limit to the number of guns a hunter needs.

Those out-of-shape dads can only carry so much iron into the woods.

And a quality gun can be passed down for generations.

For our industry to grow, for our businesses to thrive, we must seek additional target markets.

And grow, we have. There are now more guns in the US than there are people.

Personally, I agree with Cliff. The moral ground is mired in muck. But aside from morals and ethics, this campaign doesn’t align with our high-end brand.

Sullivan Arms is known for its craftsmanship and innovative scopes.

Of course, our technical advancements have attracted the couch commandos.

After all, we’ve secured hundreds of millions worth of military contracts, and that doesn’t go unnoticed by the military wannabes.

Should our campaign shift from a hunting focus to a military focus?

Which campaign will drive the most sales?

I click out of Cliff’s email. I’ll have to give the campaign consideration before weighing in.

From a marketing perspective, the biggest issue with that new campaign is that you can’t tell any difference between us and any leading gun manufacturer.

We all use fear to rationalize additional gun purchases by men who probably already own dozens of guns.

If I kill the new ad campaign, I won’t be doing anything good for society, because everybody else is doing it. But what will I be doing to our sales?

Ethics aside, it’s bad branding. We need to stand out.

I’ve always wanted to focus on craftsmanship and technical advancements over fear-based mongering.

If we want to be perceived as a high-end product, we need to focus on the reasons we’re worth the extra money.

Earn the distinction of being best in class.

But if I kill it, I’ll raise enemies within the ranks.

Somewhere within my company, there are skeptics.

They question my commitment to the gun industry and to Sullivan Arms’ growth strategy.

I’m selling myself as someone willing to go to the extreme of questionable international arms sales.

Killing this campaign might lead some to distrust me.

No, I’ve got enough going on without bringing critical attention. I’d prefer they think I’m playing along. It’s just one damn print campaign for next year.

And, with the right adjustments to additional emphasis on innovation in the body copy, maybe next year we can shift into the new product we have in covert development.

Fingerprint recognition so a gun can only be fired by the owner was in development thirty years ago.

The industry revolted at the idea that a gun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, would do anything that might show gun manufacturers held responsibility on their shoulders.

The NRA orchestrated an unofficial blackball.

Distributors dropped them. Gun stores dropped them.

The CEO lost his job. And research halted.

But I’ve picked it back up and have been working on it for years.

The team I have working on it is based in Israel. They also develop our scopes. They owe me an update, but with the time difference, and given it’s the weekend, I add a note to call them on Monday.

My phone vibrates, and Ryan Wolfgang’s name flashes.

“Hey, man.”

“How’s it going?”

“Can’t complain. Alex is meeting a friend for brunch, and Trevor and I are about to head up to the hills for mountain biking.”

“Nice.” I click to close out of my email.

“Someone was trying to hack into your server.”

“Sullivan Arms?”

“No. Your home system. When we took over your security, we set up your home system on a protected server. Before, what you were using had minimal protections. Fine for the average Joe, but…”

“Yeah.” He’ll never let me live down being so lax in my personal security. In retrospect, I don’t know why I thought using a system from the early nineties would be sufficient. I didn’t want cameras at all the entrances to my home. I still don’t.

Ryan and his team will know more about my personal life than I would choose to share. But at least Ryan is a friend, and I’m a silent partner in his firm.

“Erik’s team is all over it. Whoever it was didn’t get in, but my gut tells me someone is trying to get access to your email. Maybe your phone.”

“One of these days, I’m going to need to meet Erik.” Erik Lai is one of the Arrow partners, but he lives up north in Napa. He and another partner, a woman by the name of Kairi, oversee all things Internet. My unofficial role is weapon development, something I wish I had more time to pursue.

“He’s not the friendliest guy,” Ryan says. “But we’re planning an offsite. Think you could get away?”

“Maybe not right now.”

“Didn’t think so. Just in case, I’ll let you know when we get something on the calendar.

The reason for my call is to warn you to proceed with caution.

Consider switching out phones for important calls.

Be on the lookout for a package from Erik.

He’s sending you alternate government issued phones and trackers. ”

Who would try to hack into my phone? The Morales Cartel? I’ve opened a door into working with them, and they are notorious for monitoring potential employees and partners.

“Dad?” Sophia’s voice has me spinning my chair to find her standing feet away.

“Hey, sweetheart.” A sadness overtakes her facial expression that slices me to the quick. “What’s up?”

“It’s Saturday.” She levels the statement and leaves it there. A bomb to be handled with care. She watched her mom plant the same bomb over and over. And I promised…

“Hey, Ryan, my daughter is awake, and she and I are spending the day together. Can we touch base on this later?”

“Sure thing. Just wanted you to know. Also, if they get in your server, Erik will take it down. So, if you don’t have access at some point, you know…”

“You can’t stop them?”

“We can and will. But taking the server down is an effective route if it’s being attacked. Right now, Erik is following the trail to figure out who is doing this. Could be nothing.”