Pecking Order, page 17
“Yes, but they are new friends. And women can always change to show their true colors around wealthy men.”
“Oh, so you told them that I’m wealthy, too, now?”
“Why of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
I better not let them see my car, then, Ivan told himself with a grin. His modest Nissan Altima was not a wealthy man’s car.
“Okay, so meet them at the limo outside of the Cheesecake Factory,” Lucina told him.
“You got them a limo?”
“It was a favor from a friend.”
Ivan chuckled and said, “Okay.” It was a good thing he still had his work clothes on.
When he hung up the phone, already headed in the direction of the fashion mall, he mumbled, “Yeah, she’s full of it. But I’ll find out what I need to know now. She still hasn’t told me enough yet.”
HE ARRIVED at the Fashion Valley Mall off of Interstate 8 and parked his car three rows away from the Cheesecake Factory so he could meet the girls without his car being seen.
A midsized black limo pulled up as soon as he made it over.
“Ivan David?” an older white man behind the wheel asked him at the curb. He had rolled his driver’s-side window down.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Ivan answered.
“Thank you.”
The driver double-parked and climbed out to open the back door for his two passengers. Ivan watched with anticipation along with a small crowd of waiting customers outside of the Cheesecake Factory.
The first young woman climbed out of the limo in orange strap-up heels, an off-white dress, and a large orange belt to match her shoes. She had long beaded jewelry around her neck, with matching earrings and bracelets. Her hair was bleached blond, and she had large dark eyes and tanned skin and carried a dark brown leather Coach bag over her right shoulder. She had an East Coast ruggedness about her.
“Hi,” she said perkily to Ivan. She extended her left hand to him as she reached the curb.
“How are you?” he asked her. “You look lovely enough.” Since he was supposedly wealthy, Ivan kissed the back of her hand like a gentleman.
“Oh, I’m fine, and thank you for the compliment,” she responded. So far, she had good manners, but her look was over-the-top. She was trying way too hard to dazzle.
Ivan flattered her anyway. “No, you deserve it.”
“Well, you don’t look bad yourself,” she responded.
“Thank you,” he told her.
The second young woman climbed out of the limo in dark blue heels and a solid blue dress. She wore silver jewelry with a small silver purse. She was darker than tan, with black wavy hair, a sign of a mixed breed of black. Her tiny dark eyes hinted at Asian blood.
“How are you?” she asked Ivan. When she smiled, her eyes looked even smaller, with dimples on both cheeks. But she never extended her hand to him. She kept her hands wrapped around her small purse.
Ivan said, “I’m good,” and he preferred her look already. She could dress up or down and still kill it with her naturalness.
Ivan’s night of research at the mall had just begun, and all eyes were on them before they even budged.
He said, “Well, you both know who I am. Now I need to know who you are.”
“I’m Audrey,” the bleached blonde responded.
“And I’m Christina. But you can just call me Chris.”
“Chris? Is that what everybody calls you?”
“Yes,” she answered softly.
Ivan extended his hand forward. “Well, are you ready to shop?”
“Of course,” they both answered.
The driver said, “I’ll be parked right around in this area when you’re ready.”
Ivan nodded to him. “Okay. That’s good.”
The girls began to walk toward the mall. It was an outside, multilevel shopping mall of high-end fashion stores—Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Coach, Bebe, St. John, Caché—with lower-end stores such as Banana Republic, the Gap, and Old Navy. It was anchored by larger department stores—Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Belk—and mixed in were specialty stores, jewelry shops, a food court, and a movie theater on the top level. And it seemed that they had entered at the most expensive end of the mall.
“Oh, my God, this reminds me of an outside Bellagio in Las Vegas,” Audrey stated. She walked right into the Fendi store and started looking at the most expensive carrybags. Ivan looked at a few of the price tags and winced. Damn, all that for a purse?
Chris stood close by him and smiled at his reactions.
Ivan asked her, “Where are you from?”
“Seattle.”
“Do you drink coffee?”
Chris paused before she chuckled at his question. “I know, right? There’s, like, a coffee shop on every corner in Seattle. Why, have you been there before?”
“No, I just have friends who told me about it. But I’ve been to other places.”
“What’s the farthest place you ever been to?” she asked him. She acted as if she were uninterested in shopping.
Ivan lied and told her, “Japan.”
Chris grinned and said, “My father is Japanese.”
“Oh, yeah? I thought you had an Asian look to you.”
She smiled, giving her heritage away again. “My eyes, right?”
“Yeah, but you’re Japanese and what?”
“Black.”
“I figured that, too.”
“Because I’m dark?”
Ivan said, “You’re not that dark, but you’re dark for an Asian girl.”
“That’s because I’m not Asian. I’m only half Asian. But I’m darker than you.”
He said, “That’s not hard to do. I’m not dark at all.”
She asked him, “Are you mixed?”
“Do I look mixed?”
She looked him in his face and nodded. “Yeah.”
“What makes you say that?” he asked her. He figured he was still clearly a black man, even with his hair cut low.
She said, “You have black features, but your skin is light and you have those light eyes.”
Ivan asked her, “And do I look like an attractive man to you?”
She looked him right in his face and said, “Yes. I think you’re very attractive.”
He nodded and said, “Thank you. And you already know how you look. I’m sure that plenty of guys have already told you.”
She grinned and said, “Yeah.” That’s all she had to say.
Boy, she knows she bad, Ivan thought. He began to feel comfortable with her, but he’d been ignoring Audrey. So he walked forward and asked the forgotten friend, “What are you about to do, buy the whole store in here?”
“Oh, they just have so many great bags,” Audrey told him. “They have some I haven’t seen before.”
“In Vegas?” he asked her.
She turned to face him. “Yeah.”
“Is that where you’re from originally?”
“Well, I’m actually from Hawaii, but I’ve been in Las Vegas for two years now,” she answered. “Do you like this one?” she asked him, holding up another large Fendi bag.
It looked like a typical Fendi bag to Ivan. It had the up and down F’s all over it in brown, burgundy, and beige, like the majority of them. He didn’t see what the big deal was with Fendi. Most of the bags were not even leather.
He flattered her anyway. “That’s all you.”
Then he turned back to Chris. She had walked over to check out a lone Fendi bag on display in the middle of the store. It was the only one that looked different, a multicolored bag that didn’t even look Fendi. There were no F’s all over it.
One of the female salesclerks commented on it. She could see that Chris was admiring it.
“That’s one of our newest bags,” she said. “It’s our latest promotion.”
Chris nodded to her. “I like it. It’s different.”
“Would you like to have it today?” the salesclerk asked her. She angled toward Ivan when she asked her. She was a crafty, older white woman with dark brown hair and hard green eyes.
“Sure, if I could afford it,” Chris told her with a sly grin.
The salesclerk looked right at Ivan. “Wouldn’t this bag look beautiful on her? She’s gorgeous.”
That even got Audrey’s attention. “Oh, my God, I didn’t even see that one.” She walked over to it immediately.
The multicolored bag was practically the first purse you saw when you walked into the store. Ivan didn’t see how Audrey could have missed it. But Chris hadn’t missed it. And all eyes were on Ivan now.
He thought, Okay, am I supposed to buy them this now? I’m not spending thousands of dollars on these girls. Is this how Lucina hooks them up, with that “generous” shit? Because I’m not into it.
So he came up with his own response system. He said, “I’m basically seeing what their tastes are like today. But this store isn’t going anywhere, and they both plan to settle down here in San Diego. So we’ll have plenty of time to come back.”
“Oh, I see,” the salesclerk commented with a nod. “So you two are both from out of town?” she said addressing the girls.
“Yeah,” Audrey answered. “But we both would like a change of pace, you know? San Diego is nice.”
Ivan didn’t believe her. She seemed to have lost a chunk of her luster as soon as she realized that he wasn’t buying them anything. Ivan made note of that along with everything else he observed.
When they walked out of the Fendi store empty handed, they bumped into Emilio Alvarez from the San Diego Padres.
“Hey, E.A., what’s going on, man? Where have you been? I tried to invite you out to two of our last events.”
At first Emilio had to look twice at Ivan’s new haircut.
“Oh, shit, Ivan, you cut your hair down,” he responded. “That looks good on you. You look like an agent now.”
Ivan laughed it off and noticed that Emilio was with a new, white girlfriend. She had shopping bags full of expensive items with her. She had authentic blond hair and gray eyes, but she didn’t look half as stunning as either one of the two girls with Ivan. She looked frail, with weak skin, and lacked a body. Ivan saw that and felt sorry for the baseball player immediately. He was being taken to the bank by a seven instead of a nine. Maybe he allowed it because she was white.
Audrey looked at his new girlfriend, carrying the shopping bags, and she stood right there in front of them for an introduction. Ivan went ahead and gave her one just to see what she would do with it.
“Oh, this is, ah, Audrey from Las Vegas, and Christina from Seattle.”
Emilio nodded to both of them. “Nice to meet you.”
Audrey stared at him and said nothing. Chris cracked her dimpled smile again.
Emilio looked at Ivan and said, “Yeah, I heard about your parties, man, but I was just busy trying to stay focused on my first baseball season in the majors.”
Ivan nodded. “I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. But I’ll have some more things coming up for you.”
Audrey heard that and continued to stand there, soaking it all up. Just like at Hooters, Emilio didn’t bother to introduce his companion.
Finally, she said, “I need the keys. I’m going to the car.”
Emilio dug into his pocket for his Mercedes key ring. He told her, “I’ll be right out in a minute.”
As soon as she walked away, Emilio pulled out his cell phone and said, “Hey, give me your number again, man.” He peeked at Audrey and said, “I’ll definitely make it out to your next one.”
“What position do you play?” Audrey asked him.
Emilio looked at her and was surprised that she was talking now.
“Shortstop.”
“And are you happy with it?” she asked him.
Happy with what? Ivan thought. He looked over at Chris for Audrey’s meaning. Chris did her usual smiling thing. But did she know, or did she not know?
Emilio answered, “Yeah, I’ve played shortstop all of my life,” as if Audrey were talking strictly about baseball. But Ivan wasn’t so sure about that.
“And you never wanted to play any other position?” she asked him.
Chris smiled so hard that she had to turn away. Ivan caught that as well.
Emilio answered, “Well, you know, I thought about it.”
Audrey looked him in his face and said, “Okay, I just wanted to ask.”
Emilio looked at her and seemed stuck there for a minute.
Audrey shrugged him off and looked back at Ivan. “Okay, well, I’m ready to do some more window-shopping now,” she hinted with sarcasm.
Ivan grinned it off and said, “Let’s go. I’m following you.” He reached out to shake Emilio’s hand. “She’ll probably be at our next event, man, if you can make it out,” he told him in reference to Audrey.
Audrey and Chris caught on to that. Ivan was making his own moves now.
Emilio still seemed dazed by the girl. “Oh, okay, well, I’ll call you up, man. And you got my numbers, too, right?”
Ivan nodded. “Yeah, I got everybody’s numbers. That’s what I do. But sometimes I can lose them if nothing’s going on with them. If you slow you blow, you know.”
Chris and Audrey looked at each other again. It was a game-recognition thing. Ivan had it good. His cadence was natural and realistic. He was fully believable. And he was extracalm at it, too.
Emilio smiled. He said, “I hear you, man. So, like, you know, I’ll call you up, now.” The rookie baseball player struggled to pull all of his words together.
Ivan told him, “You do that,” and walked away behind the girls.
When they were alone again inside the Gucci store, Audrey was too curious. She stopped looking at clothing and smiled back at Ivan.
“So, you think he likes me?”
Ivan grinned and answered, “Definitely. You look better than that girl. He knows that. He plays baseball and they all have good eyes. Now he just has to learn how to catch better.”
Chris and Audrey started laughing. Ivan was starting to loosen up for them and talk shit while he was at it.
Audrey stopped in front of him and said, “So, Ivan, how close are you and Lucina? Because she told us you’re her good friend.”
He had her full attention now. She had seen and heard enough for her instincts to kick in.
Ivan flipped the script and told her, “Yeah, and she told me you were both our new friends. So I’m here to check y’all out for myself.”
Chris stopped to listen to him as well.
Audrey said, “Oh, so that’s what you’re doing?”
“I’m not supposed to?” Ivan asked her.
“I mean, I thought that Lucina had already did that.”
Ivan figured the girl was ready to tell him something important.
“Lucina already did what?” he asked. It was his moment of truth to find out what his elusive partner’s game was.
Chris kept her silence and listened to them. She had already observed enough about Ivan. Now she was studying Audrey.
Audrey took a deep breath and said, “I’m just confused right now.”
“Confused about what?” Ivan pressed her.
Finally, Chris spoke up and told her, “You’re thinking too hard. Just have a good time with him. If Lucina says he’s a good friend, then that’s what he is. Show him some respect.”
Audrey looked at her and paused. Then she nodded. “Okay, you’re right.” She turned back to Ivan and said, “I’m sorry.”
A few of the Gucci salesclerks looked on curiously, wondering when they should ask them if they needed any help with anything.
Ivan told both girls, “Let’s walk out and talk for a minute.”
He knew he wasn’t buying anything from the Gucci store. And if neither girl had her own money, there was no sense in teasing them.
They followed him out and realized that Ivan’s priority was making money and not spending it on strangers. He was incredibly poised about it. He didn’t seem pressured by them at all.
Once they were back out in the center of the mall, he asked them, “So, which way do we walk and talk?” as if it made a difference.
Christina answered, “It’s all on you. We’re on your time. And if we’re not really buying anything here, then how long do you want us to look at stuff?”
She had a point. Ivan smiled and said, “Maybe so, but I’m just trying to make sure, you know, that you see everything you came to see.”
Audrey said, “We did. We checked you out, and you checked us out, right? Now we’re all good. And we like you.”
Ivan said, “You like me?”
Audrey nodded and said, “As a businessman.”
“Basically,” Christina agreed with her. “From what I can see, you’re about getting money like Lucina. I mean, you stood your ground and told us what time it was, and I like that. I can see what you’re trying to do. And we’re trying to get money like that, too. That’s why Lucina wanted us to meet you. She’s clever,” the Seattle girl concluded.
Ivan agreed with her. “Obviously, she is…And so am I,” he added with a chuckle.
Audrey grinned and said, “Yeah, we saw that. We noticed how you lured your boy Emilio. And if you’re getting money, we both want to be down with you.”
“And what about Lucina?” he asked them.
Chris said, “We’re all friends here, right? She told us to hang out with you. And you were the first person she wanted us to meet. I think that means something, right? Obviously, you’re the most important person to her. And now we know why.”
Ivan stood still for a minute. Lucina continued to amaze him. And he continued to rise to the occasion. Not only was he there to test them, they were there to test him. So Ivan broke into a grin and laughed. He was tickled by the whole thing, as long as he got it right. He would settle up with Lucina later.
He said, “So you both want to help us build up this party game in San Diego? Is that it?”
“Yes,” Chris told him. “It’s whatever.”
The girl had a baby face, but her willpower was iron. She thought fast. And he liked her.
Then he looked at Audrey, whom he liked less.
She nodded and said, “It really is. We want to help you get whatever you need.”
