Pecking Order, page 22
He said, “Did you ever, ah, you know, bone her?”
Ivan grimaced. “Who, Audrey?”
“Yeah,” Emilio confirmed.
Ivan shook his head. “Naw. I didn’t deal with her like that.”
“Have you known anyone who has?”
Ivan couldn’t think of anyone. Emilio was the first and only guy that she had gone after.
“Naw, she, ah, pretty much just went after you, man. And I hadn’t really been around her that long, to tell you the truth.”
Once he said that, he felt guilty again. Ivan wouldn’t have dealt much with Audrey at all had Emilio not bumped into them at the mall and fallen for her. Nevertheless, Emilio’s presence at his events helped Ivan to bring in a lot of the Latino crowd. So it became a good trade-off.
Emilio said, “Yeah, man, she told me she was still a virgin.”
Ivan heard that and said, “What?”
Emilio grinned. “Yeah, that’s what she told me.”
Ivan said, “You don’t believe that shit, right? So that means you haven’t done her yet? Well, what happened to the white girl I saw you with?”
Emilio shook it off. “That just didn’t work out, man.”
“Well, how do you think this is gonna work out? You planning on marrying this girl or something? I mean, she’s telling you that she’s a virgin, while she’s spending up your money. What the hell are you doing with this girl, man?” Ivan was becoming irritated by it all.
Emilio asked him, “What are you doing with Lucina?”
“I’m making money with her,” Ivan told him. “I don’t have to touch her. I got over that a while ago. Lucina’s a big asset to me. But this girl Audrey is nothing but a liability to you. She’s not bringing you any money.”
He added, “I thought you would just kick it with this girl, man, and move on.”
Emilio repeated, “Nah, man, like I said, I like her. Everything isn’t about money.”
Ivan just stopped and stared at him. He repeated, “Everything isn’t about money? Are you crazy? Money is the reason why we’re both here in San Diego. You got a baseball contract, and I have an accounting job and a promotions business.”
“Yeah, but we could both do that anywhere,” Emilio argued.
Ivan took a deep breath, cursing himself for getting his baseball friend into trouble with a gold digger. He said, “Let me ask you an economic question, E.A. How much money have you spent on this girl so far?”
Emilio shook it off again. He said, “It doesn’t really matter, man. It’s nothing compared to what I make.”
Ivan said, “But you could still make your money work for you instead of against you.”
Emilio said, “I’m not a moneymaking guy like you, Ivan. I’m just a baseball player.”
“Yeah, a rookie,” Ivan reminded him. “And you’re acting like one, man. You think all of these girls are around me and Lucina because they just like being around us? Hell, no. They’re working, man.”
He continued, “So, just look at it this way: you play, what, one hundred-sixty games a season?”
“Yeah, if you’re that healthy,” Emilio answered with a chuckle. He said, “But definitely not that for pitchers.”
Ivan said, “Anyway, so that’s about, sixteen into twenty four…” He did his calculations for two million, four hundred thousand dollars divided by one hundred-sixty games, and came up with, “Fifteen thousand dollars a game. And sometimes you play up to four or five games a week, which gives you sixty to seventy-five thousand dollars with no expenses. Because the team pays for everything, right—travel, hotel, food?”
Emilio nodded. “Yeah.”
Ivan said, “Well, that’s a lot of damn money to make with no expenses, man.” He said, “Now, if a big event promoter could flip some of that money and double it for you twice a month, while you’re still flying around playing ball, that would become an asset.”
Ivan caught himself and laughed it off. “Naw, let me stop that, man. I plan to make close to that myself soon anyway,” he stated.
Emilio smiled and asked him, “What if you bought one of those Hooters franchises? They’re popping up everywhere now.”
Ivan said, “See, now you’re thinking. Those things make money every day of the week. Then you can hire all of the pretty girls you want, right there. And you could pay them minimum wage, plus a couple of hamburgers, and do good.”
They shared a laugh before Emilio added, “We could get Lucina to hire the whole staff.”
Ivan hesitated. He said, “Naw, you wouldn’t want to hire Lucina’s kind of girls. They would want more money than that. They would put you out of business.”
Emilio said, “Well, how do you deal with them?”
Ivan had to stop and think again. He said, “I just try to stick to the numbers, to tell you the truth. And if it don’t add up, I tell them I can’t do it. But I always let them know that I’m still here to make more opportunities for them.”
He started thinking about Christina when he said that. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea for her to give in to him. Outside of being able to spend private time with Ivan, she hadn’t benefited much from his personal touch. But at least she hadn’t been tossed out in the street in a jealous rage from Lucina. Ivan had kept their relationship under wraps, and he and Chris continued to do business as usual.
He told Emilio, “The truth is, you just can’t get caught up with it, man. Everybody wants something…even us. So you get what you can get, give what you give, and you move on. Just try to make sure that most of the things you choose to do will benefit you in some way.”
Emilio heard him out and nodded. “Thanks, man. I really needed this talk.”
Ivan looked at him and felt good about it himself. He nodded and thought, Yeah, maybe you’ll get rid of that damn girl now. That was all my fault.
LUCINA MAY HAVE gone along with Ivan’s small cow party idea while it made them money at the end of the year, but she definitely didn’t plan on continuing his idea in 2004, if she could help it. She had much bigger plans for them, namely full-fledged concert promotions. So she set up a meeting with one of the veteran San Diego promoters that she had worked with in the past, to see what kind of interest she could drum up for the future.
However, she felt apprehension after being forced to endure a longer-than-usual wait to set up the meeting. It took her five followup phone calls. Even when she showed up on time for their agreed-upon appointment at the three-story office building that housed Randy & Ralph Entertainment, Lucina found herself still waiting inside the reception area with the secretary.
She looked down at her watch. It was fast approaching two-thirty.
“Would you like anything to drink?” the secretary asked her while she waited. She could tell that their guest was a little perturbed by the wait.
Lucina shook it off. “No, I’m okay. I’m just being very patient right now. Very patient,” she emphasized.
The secretary nodded. “I understand. And I apologize. But Randy should be out any minute now.”
Lucina didn’t respond to her. Instead she thought, It’s amusing how even old business partners can make you play the humility game when they believe they have the upper hand.
Finally, Randy Sterling rang his secretary.
“Yes, I’ll send her right in.”
Lucina looked up from her chair, where she’d been flipping through the latest issue of San Diego’s 944 magazine, and caught the secretary’s eye.
“He’s ready for you now,” the secretary told her.
Lucina closed the magazine and slid it back onto the small table in front of her. She stood and said, “Thank you.”
The secretary led her into the back office, past a hallway of framed enlarged photos of Randy and Ralph with various celebrities at their past events. Lucina was surprised to see that they had not bothered to frame even one photo of her. She had been present at at least five of the twenty events on their hallway walls.
Typical, she told herself. And there is no reason to even ask. Nevertheless, she hoped he would be open to a few new business deals.
As soon as Lucina walked into his office, Randy picked up the phone again and started blabbering away.
“Justin Timberlake? I mean, is this kid for real, or will he be another solo act that goes nowhere?” He spotted Lucina on her walk in and motioned for her to have a seat in the empty chair across from his desk.
“Hey, thanks, Linda,” he quickly told his secretary.
“No problem,” she said, and turned to walk out.
Lucina took another seat and waited again while Randy continued to run his mouth on his office phone.
“Yeah, of course I’ve heard the album. But I mean, you know, the hits, they come and go. But I guess we can do something while he’s still hot, you know. And he’s still a little young, but the chicks seem to like him.”
Randy was a brown-haired, green-eyed white man in his late thirties who was still in athletic shape with solid height and good skin. He considered himself every bit an entertainer. He gave the connected people of San Diego a premium good time at a premium price.
“All right, well, let me call you back on that. I have an old friend in my office,” he commented over the phone, with a wink in Lucina’s direction.
Lucina smiled at him out of courtesy.
When Randy hung up the phone, he went right at her. “So, Lucina Gallo, what brings you around? I see you’re still looking hot these days. What can I do for you?”
She didn’t like the tone of the conversation already. It sounded way too distant, as if they would be starting from nowhere. Lucina carried on with the bullshit game anyway.
She grinned and told him, “I see you’re still at it yourself. You’re still single?”
“Unless some goddess snuck a ring on my finger that I didn’t notice while I got toasted one night,” he joked. Then he laughed. “Yeah, I’m still the same asshole that I used to be when it comes to taking that dreaded walk to the altar. What about you? Are you still teasing them all?”
Lucina grinned and answered, “Of course. How else can you keep a man’s interest?”
“By making him some money,” Randy answered on cue.
“Well, I’ve been doing that, too,” she commented.
Randy turned serious and said, “Yeah, I heard something about that. Football parties, fashion parties, food tastings. But isn’t that all a little backwards for you? I thought you and your girls would have been working your way up to our league by now. How’s, ah, Maya doing?” he asked.
“She’s still gorgeous,” Lucina told him proudly.
Randy grunted and said, “I bet she is,” while starting to reminisce.
He and Lucina’s girl had had a short affair that didn’t end so well.
“So, anyways,” Lucina commented, moving the conversation along, “the past is the past. But I’m here to talk about the future. What does Randy and Ralph Entertainment have in its plans for the new year that is in the six-figure range?”
Randy looked at her quizzically and spoke on behalf of himself and his partner.
“Ah, everything, actually. If it’s less than that, then what’s the point?”
“Any three-or four-way splits?” she asked him.
“Not with another promoter, if that’s what you mean. No.”
Lucina read that and asked, “Any room for silent partners?”
Randy eyed her from his rotating leather chair and answered, “Not the kind of partners who refuse to be silent.” He realized Lucina loved to make sure everyone knew that she was involved. So he shook it off and told her, “But we don’t really do the local partnership thing anymore anyway. I mean, I’d invite you and a few of your girls out. I’d love to see Maya again. But outside of that…you know, we already have our hands full.”
He added, “I hear you have a new partner now yourself.”
Lucina nodded. “Oh, yes, Ivan. He has some great ideas. And he’s just getting started. So with the right direction…”
Randy looked at her and nodded back. “Is he, ah, Brazilian or Italian, too?”
“No, he’s all American from L.A.,” she answered.
“Oh, L.A.” Randy then paused a beat. “Is he black?”
Lucina told him, “You know, I never asked him that. But he is an accountant.”
“Yeah, well, that’s a good thing to have,” Randy commented. “Is he a good one?”
“Why, of course. Why wouldn’t he be?”
Randy nodded again. “That’s good.” But from there, it seemed the conversation had nowhere left to go.
Randy opened his mouth and uttered, “Well—”
Lucina cut him off. “If you come up with anything where you may need an extra six figures, then you let me know.”
He said, “I doubt if I’ll need it, but all right.” He abruptly stood up and looked at his black, gold, and silver Rolex watch. “Well, I have another meeting to take at three, Lucina. So, good luck with everything, all right? And make sure you tell Maya I said hi.”
Lucina had no choice but to stand up with him as he walked over toward his door to show her out.
“Thanks for dropping by,” he told her.
“And I’ll make sure I tell Maya,” she promised him. When all of hell freezes over, she promised herself. But she pressed him anyway. “Just remember to call me on any new business.”
Randy blew her off and said, “Yeah, I’ll let you know.”
WHEN LUCINA RETURNED to her black Mercedes in the parking lot, she felt foolish.
I should have never tried this, she thought behind the wheel. What made me think that he would ever change? If business was only business, I’m sure we could all work something out and make money. But business has so many levels of nonbusiness that it all drives me crazy sometimes.
She took a deep breath before she restarted her car and drove off with other plans boiling.
BACK AT THE OFFICES of Hutch & Mitchell, it was unrealistic to assume that Ivan could keep his good fortune away from his fellow accountants. Outside of the Nissan Altima that he continued to drive to work, everything about him had changed. His choice of clothes was snazzier, he finished his tax work a lot faster than usual, he rarely stayed late at the office or went to lunch with the guys anymore, he continued to have his hair cut low, and his confident swagger was off the charts now. The bosses had even let the cat out of the bag about his recent performance, stating that they were very pleased with all of the new clients he had brought them over the third and fourth quarters of the year. In fact, Dwayne had told him that John and Barry wanted to meet with him to address his new salary.
“You should be ready for it by now,” he assumed of Ivan. He had been drilling him for it since October.
Chip was all over Ivan at his cubicle for real answers.
“So, what’s going on, Ivan? What’s your secret? And you’re not gonna tell me that love is doing all of this for ya,” Chip pressed him. “Because if that’s really the case, then I’d like to meet this girl’s younger sister,” he joked.
Ivan was pleased he had held the guys at the office at bay for as long as he had, but even he understood that he couldn’t continue to hide his promotions business from them forever. His plans for the new year were too big to get away with that.
So he nodded and took a breath to compose himself. He looked up from his desk chair and told his fellow accountant, “Chip, instead of me sitting around complaining about how hard we work in here to make sure that the rich remain rich, I decided to create my own vehicle where I could move in that direction myself.”
At first Chip only stared at him. He said, “So, it’s never really been about a girl?” He wanted to erase the thought from his head. He had really believed the hype that a good woman had done wonders for Ivan, and he was seriously thinking about going in that direction for himself. Maybe the focus of just one woman really is good for you, he had pondered over the past couple of months. He had even started dating one woman more steadily than he had done in the past.
Ivan explained, “Actually, I do have a female partner who was very influential in the process. And there’s no way in the world things could have worked out as well for me at this point had I not teamed up with her.”
He continued, “But we haven’t been dating or anything. I mean, we both realized that making money together is more important than that. So we kind of, like, stayed away from that issue altogether.”
Chip was stunned. Now he was even more interested. “So, what kind of partnership is it?”
Ivan took another breath. He said, “I’m not going into discussing it all while we’re still on Hutch and Mitchell time, but you can go to IDPromotions.com and look through it yourself.”
“IDPromotions.com?” Chip repeated. “I.D. like in ‘Ivan David’?”
Ivan nodded to him. “Yeah.”
Chip said, “All right, I’ll check it out.”
Ivan warned him, “And Chip, I’m not gonna talk about it here. So if you want to discuss it further, we’ll have to do that after work.”
Chip nodded and said, “All right, that’s fair.” He couldn’t wait to log online immediately at his desk.
No more than a minute or two after Chip had left him, Dwayne called Ivan into his office. He closed his door behind them and wasted no words. “Well, the time is now, Ivan. John and Barry want to make you a new salary offer by the end of the day. So get yourself ready to hear them out for a four o’clocker.”
Ivan was poised and ready for it. More money, more money, he told himself.
He nodded to Dwayne and said, “Okay. I’m ready.”
Dwayne nodded back. “That’s good. So, ah…how’s the new business doing?”
“It’s growing, man, just like it’s supposed to. I can’t complain. All I got is time.”
Dwayne didn’t have much else to say. He said, “All right, that’s all.” He added, “And let me warn you, once they make this offer to you, and you accept it, be prepared to grow a tougher coat of skin around here,” he warned. “You’re gonna need it.”
