Pecking Order, page 33
Lucina kept her cool. “Now we get the bigger money that we both want,” she told him.
It was a subtle moment for Ivan, sitting there dressed up with Lucina Gallo in the back of the limo, while heading to a top-flight affair. Less than a year ago, he could only dream about such a thing. So he lost his wits for a minute and went after her.
“So, Lucina…once we get all this money together, and we’re seeing eye to eye, rich and all that good stuff…are you gonna let me touch you like I’ve always wanted to?”
Lucina immediately looked away. “We should not have this conversation before business,” she answered him sternly.
Ivan said, “Well, when can we have it?”
Lucina blew him off. “We’re almost there, Ivan. Behave.”
She refused to look at him.
Ivan stared her down for another minute and laughed it off. Yeah, she likes me, man, she’s just constantly fronting. She can’t even look at me, he told himself. But I’m gonna have her sooner or later.
When their limousine pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel, the valet staff were still parking cars with zeal.
Ivan looked out at them and noticed one of the guys who had worked there when he visited the hotel with Catherine. He smiled immediately.
That’s the guy I told I was coming back that night, Ivan reminded himself. I wonder if he’ll remember me telling him that.
When the chauffeur helped them out of the limo, Ivan got the valet’s attention.
“Hey, man, I doubt if you remember me, but I came here one night in May last year, the same night as the Padres party downtown, with a pretty brown girl, and I left earlier than you thought I would. And you asked me why I was leaving so early. And I said I would be back.”
The valet listened to Ivan’s story intently, wanting to remember it. And by chance, he did remember. He had wondered why the man was in such a hurry to leave the hotel, with such a pretty girl staying there.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, I do remember that night,” he responded. “You ran across the lot like you were in a hurry to get somewhere. That was you?” Ivan no longer looked the same.
“Yeah, I was rushing to get to the Padres party that night, and the girl didn’t want me to go,” he told him with a grin. “But I’ve made a lot of changes since then. I cut my hair down, got my ear pierced, started throwing parties, a bunch of things.” He said, “But I told you I would be back.”
“Yeah, you did,” the valet commented with a chuckle. Then he looked over Ivan’s style of dress, with Lucina standing behind him, waiting. They had just stepped out of the limo.
“So, you’re part of this party here tonight?” the valet asked him.
Ivan smiled slyly. He answered, “Yeah, I’m a part of it. I’m a big part.”
“A big part who’s gonna be late if you don’t come on, Ivan,” Lucina told him from behind.
The valet overheard her and put two and two together to make four.
He said, “Wait a minute, you’re not Ivan David, are you?”
That made the other valets stop and wonder for a minute.
Ivan tried to hold in his grin, but it felt good to have a recognizable name.
He said, “Somebody has to be him,” and started walking off toward Lucina. “But I’ll see you if you’re out here later.”
“All right. I’ll be here.”
The valets didn’t need any convincing after that. Any man who had a woman as beautiful as Lucina waiting around for him had to be worth something.
“Hey, man, you know him?” one of the other valets asked, once Ivan and Lucina had walked into the hotel.
The valet was still stunned. “Ahh, no, not really,” he answered. “He just, ah, ran out of here late one night a while ago.”
He thought, But I wish I did know him. He’s throwing big, fancy corporate parties, and I’m still out here parking cars for tips. Shit!
“Your people skills are special,” Lucina noted to Ivan on their way in. “You have a way of maintaining your humility with everyone.”
Ivan smiled it off and said, “Not everyone. But I’m just starting this. You gotta give me five more years before you can say that.”
As soon as they walked into the grand lobby, two of Lucina’s interns were there to greet them in gold dresses. Both of them were exuberant white girls who could make the men’s magazines as pinup poster models: one blond with gray eyes, the other brunette with greens.
“This is Ivan David, the boss,” Lucina told them. “You are both to take great care of him.”
She didn’t have to tell them that. They both realized how important Ivan was as soon as he walked through the door with her. His name was only posted on every part of the ballroom. But being meticulous with her help was Lucina’s way with things.
Before they could even reach the bubbling event, businessmen of all nationalities and ages were ready to greet Ivan with their wives and significant others at their side as they all approached the ballroom doors.
“Mr. Ivan David, we all look forward to a prosperous event tonight,” an East Indian man in his early forties stated as Ivan and Lucina passed him by in the line.
“And we intend to give you one,” Ivan told him. He then held one of Lucina’s two helpers by the hand and told her, “Make sure you get his business card and the proper pronunciation of his name for me.”
The Indian man laughed. He said, “Yes, that is very important.”
“Indeed it is,” Ivan told him with a nod. “We’ll talk later, my friend. But right now my partner and hostess, Lucina, wants me to address the crowd inside before they all become angry with me.”
More of the businessmen waiting in line with their tickets out began to laugh.
“We’ll see you inside, Ivan,” another businessman commented. “And congratulations.”
Ivan nodded to him as well. “Thank you.”
As they made their way inside, greeting Daphne, Maya, and the security men at the doors, two more of Lucina’s interns approached them: another beautiful Filipina, and an equally enticing Mexican.
Where the hell does Lucina find these girls? Ivan thought.
She said, “I need all four of you to collect the business cards and remember the names of each and every potential client who Ivan speaks to tonight,” Lucina told them.
Ivan pulled Lucina aside and asked her, “Are you sure you want them doing that if they’re all new? I just said that to be polite to the guy back there. That was all part of me working this business crowd with your girls.”
Lucina said, “Yes, I realize that, but I would rather have my experienced girls working the room where we are not there. But with the new girls, we can keep a better eye on their mistakes if they are close by you.”
Ivan thought it over and agreed with her. “Okay. That makes sense.”
They then made their way to the center of the room through the curious crowd of onlookers, buzzing with safe jazz music in the background. Red Face Lion was even forced to wear a business jacket at his DJ booth for the evening. And the versatility of his musical tastes came in handy.
“You’re looking good tonight, Red,” Ivan told him as Lucina secured the microphone in hand.
“I’m just trying to be like you, man,” Red responded.
“We’re ready to address the crowd,” Lucina stated.
Red faded down the music and raised the volume on the microphone.
Lucina walked out into the middle of the floor to address the business crowd, with Ivan beside her.
“Greetings, everyone,” she opened. “We thank you all for coming out this evening to the first annual IDPromotions.com CEO Birthday Network Celebration of executives and entrepreneurs. And for those of you who have never met me before, I am Lucina Gallo, cohost and promotional partner of the birthday man, Ivan David, who has brought us all together here this evening at the luxurious Manchester Grand Hyatt.”
She said, “But our purpose this evening is not only to celebrate, but to discuss a million ways, I’m sure, to make San Diego an even greater place to live and do business than it already is.”
The crowd was impressed with Lucina. They began to clap, nod, and toast her accented opening speech.
Ivan watched and admired her delivery himself, wondering if she had practiced it all.
Now what the hell am I gonna say? he asked himself. He had gone over a few things, but since he had not practiced or prepared with Lucina’s address in mind, he had to rethink it all.
Lucina went on to talk about all of the networking opportunities and a chance to share business ideas and knowledge, before she prepared to introduce Ivan.
“And without further ado, I give you the man who we all came here to see tonight, Mr. Ivan David.”
The crowd began to clap, nod, and toast again as Ivan stepped forward to secure the microphone from Lucina.
He smiled and decided to address everyone with humor. “Well, I don’t know if we all feel comfortable enough to share our business ideas and knowledge—a solid advantage is everything—but I think that we can at least meet and identify our business competitors who showed up tonight.”
The crowd promptly loosened up and began to smile and chuckle at Ivan’s timely candor. Lucina even spotted Randy Sterling and his partner, Ralph Collins, in attendance. They had decided to use the free tickets she had sent to their office.
Ivan added, “However, I would love for all of you to feel open enough to tell me everything that you would like, and I promise to keep all of our secrets between you, me, and my banker.”
The crowd laughed harder. Even Lucina smiled.
Ivan said, “But seriously, I’m not going to spend too much of my time in front of this microphone, because I would like to meet…” He stopped and looked around the room at the large crowd and continued, “…at least half of you one on one, to discuss how we, at IDPromotions.com, may be able to help bridge the gaps between your company’s ideas, products, and services and the San Diego community. So just look at us as the tall bridge that connects the companies to the customers and clients, while also connecting the customers and the clients to your companies.”
Ivan looked out at the crowd and spotted his friends from the San Diego Urban League, the Chargers, the Padres, Hutch & Mitchell Accounting, Raymond’s Hot Spot Lounge, his attorneys, the Wine Cavern, and plenty of other business establishments, advertisers, sponsors, clients, new friends, and associates from the past year of party and website promotions. They were all there to continue to see him do well, including Ida and her mother, Carol.
Ivan concluded, “I believe that the purpose of networking is all about positioning ourselves for progress. So please, pull out your pens, business cards, and your best conversations, and let’s all make this a productive night.”
When Ivan finished his address to the audience, Lucina nodded to him and commented, “Well done.”
Ivan said, “Not without you. You made me have to work harder for it.”
She grinned and said, “A woman who knows how to make a man work harder is always a good thing to have.”
Ivan grinned and didn’t comment. They had far too much meeting and greeting to do, while Red Face Lion blended more safe music, spinning the classics of Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, and many others. He even mixed in some Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Ritchie.
Ivan and Lucina greeted bankers, Realtors, travel agents, car dealers, doctors, dentists, professors, lawyers, artists, musicians, painters, pet care shop owners, managers of tourist attractions, venture capitalists, computer software makers, chefs, chamber of commerce officials, media professionals, publicists, military officers, contractors, architects, filmmakers, television executives, and the list went on. Many of them had ready suggestions of how Ivan’s business could help theirs.
“I noticed your website has nothing for San Diego pet care.”
“Well, with a pet care sponsor, we can put that right up for you. Just email my sales executive at EddieK2003@IDPromotions.com and let him know what you would like to suggest.”
Ivan took a business card and wrote Eddie’s email address and position on the back of the card. He would let his sales staff handle it from there.
“Thank you. I’ll do that.”
“What about a health-care page?” a female doctor asked him.
“Good idea,” Ivan told her. “And we could spotlight the different San Diego doctors in different fields. All we would need is for three to five of you guys to show genuine interest, or just have a lone sponsor for the page.”
“How much is a page sponsorship?”
Ivan wrote Eddie’s email address on the back of another business card. He had brought a box of a thousand that evening, and Lucina’s assistants had them ready in hand for Ivan each time he reached for one.
“Email my sales executive and he’ll work with you on the rates.”
“Have you ever thought about promoting a San Diego car show?” a luxury car dealer asked him. “With the beautiful young ladies you have working here for you, the professional athletes you know, and the successful parties you throw around town, I’m sure we should be able to talk about some kind of promotional car show.”
Ivan looked at the well-dressed dealer with perfectly groomed dark brown hair and brown eyes. He said, “In fact, we’ve already thought about that idea.” He wrote his personal cell phone number on the back of another card. “Call me up personally on that and we’ll go over the ideas and numbers.”
The dealer took the card and put a firm hand on Ivan’s right shoulder. “You got it, my friend.”
Ivan smiled at his four assistants and asked them, “What do you guys think about that? Would you be willing to wear something hot and sexy for a car show with Xzibit?”
They responded immediately, “Oh, yeah, definitely.”
The blond-haired girl looked a bit confused. She asked, “Xzibit?”
The Mexican girl had to fill her in. “You know, the guy from Pimp My Ride on MTV.”
“Oh, okay, you mean the rapper Xzibit.”
Ivan just looked at her and grinned. That’s why they’re rookies, he told himself.
“What about a recruiting page on your website?” a military officer asked him.
Ivan paused. He honestly wasn’t in agreement with sending young guys into the military. And he didn’t agree with the president’s support and promotion of an Iraqi war.
He said, “We would need the military’s permission to do that, right?”
“I’m gonna get you permission,” the officer told him.
Ivan remained hesitant. He said, “Well, we would have to think that over.”
“What’s there to think about? Don’t you agree with the need to support the security of our country?”
Ivan stopped and looked to his assistants again. They all grinned and looked apprehensive. How would the boss handle the patriotic military officer?
Ivan said, “We all agree to support American security. So we’ll see what we can work out.”
“Can I have one of those business cards?” the officer asked.
“Oh, sure,” Ivan told him.
Two of his assistants handed the officer a card at the same time.
He nodded and told them, “I’ll keep the extra for my higher rank.”
When he walked away, the girls teased, “You better not disappoint him.”
Ivan smirked and shook his head. Fuck him, he thought. I’m not sending these kids off to war through my website. President Bush can kiss my ass!
On Lucina’s side of the room, she received suggestions for business of her own.
“So, these are, ah, all your ladies in here, helping out with the gold dresses?” a peculiar man asked her. He looked to be staring too hard. He nursed a glass of dark wine in his hand.
Lucina studied his forward-leaning posture and was quickly put off by him. He seemed untrustworthy and plotting.
“Why?” she asked him.
“Are they, ah, for hire?”
She didn’t like the man’s line of questions, either.
She answered tartly, “No, they only work for me.”
“Well, how do I hire you?” he asked.
Lucina promptly looked around the room to escape from him by greeting someone else who gained her attention.
“Hi, how are you?” she asked, with her hand extended to a more jovial and tactful businessman.
“Hi, Lucina. My name is Seth Gardner and I represent a marine brokerage group that specializes in the sales of large yachts and ocean cruise liners.”
“And we can throw parties for the right kinds of clients on all of them,” Lucina responded to him.
Seth laughed. He said, “You must have read my mind.”
“Yes, I have to use all of my skills,” she told him. “So, what are your ideas?”
As she spoke to him, she watched the other gentleman walk away in the background.
Good riddance! she told herself while Seth continued to speak.
He said, “My idea is to build a more knowledgeable client base by having events, like you say, that would introduce much larger groups to the excitement of not only being out on the ocean, but owning the vehicle that takes you there.” He said, “And even if some of them may not be able to afford to buy a boat tomorrow or next year, they may remember us and want to buy a boat in the next two to five years, including you or Ivan,” he added.
Lucina nodded and told him, “Good idea.”
All around the room, Ivan’s staff and business associates engaged in business conversations. Eddie K. talked with newspaper professionals about the experience of internet advertisement. Jeff and Paul spoke with other computer company reps and website developers about new intellectual media. Lucina’s girls spoke with everyone about everything. And Thomas Jones, Henry Morgan, and Ava Tate spoke to several members of the African-American press.
“So, what’s Ivan’s whole program here? Is he trying to do a full crossover thing or what?” asked a representative from the Voice & Viewpoint, one of the leading African-American publications in San Diego. “He didn’t even contact us for an article.”
