Ivan smiled and said, “Yeah, I already know.”

  By the time he had returned to his desk, Chip had told Mike Adams to log on and check out IDPromotions.com as well, and they were both very impressed with the site.

  Mike asked Chip, “So how long has Ivan been doing this, you know?”

  “Since he first brought up this whole story about a girl, I guess,” Chip assumed.

  Mike shook it off. “No, this looks far too detailed for it to have only been a few months. And I love the San Diego spotlight idea. That can easily make the little guys feel a big part of the deal, you know. Then they’ll have all of their friends and family members check the site out. That’s a pretty clever tactic to drive more traffic.”

  “Pretty clever?” Chip responded. “Shit, man, are you kidding me? The whole idea is genius. No wonder Ivan’s been so smug around here lately. He’s ready to become another one of those filthy-rich dot-com guys. And he’s been doing it right in fucking front of us.”

  Mike continued to check out the photo gallery, where Ivan posed in photos with professional athletes, pretty girls, San Diego small business owners, and other movers and shakers.

  Mike nodded and said, “Now I see why Ivan was asking me about wearing an earring. In this crowd here, it would all fit. It would give him something extra to stand out with, you know?”

  Once Chip spotted Ivan returning to his cubicle, he told Mike, “I didn’t tell you any of this, all right? You just happened to swing by my desk when I was logged on. Because Ivan doesn’t want to talk about it on the job.”

  Mike chuckled and said, “I bet he wouldn’t. So, are you gonna join his email list? ‘Who are you? What do you do? Let us know,’” he joked as Chip slipped away to return to his area.

  “Smart-ass,” Chip responded.

  Ivan planned to ignore it all. There was nothing more calming for him than having new money in the bank and more money on the way. He even had a dinner meeting set that night with Thomas Jones. He wanted to discuss real estate investments at Carol’s in Old Town.

  When he was finally called into John Hutch’s office after four o’clock for his new salary discussions, Ivan was as cool and calm as a nighttime swimming pool.

  Since John Hutch was the heavy on the business side of the company, he did the majority of the talking about the salary increase, just as Ivan had expected he would.

  “I guess you already know why we’re meeting with you this afternoon, Ivan,” he stated. “You’ve been performing steadily with us over the past five years, but during these past few quarters, we’ve noticed that you’ve really turned the corner and decided to become a real go-getter for the company. And since our company is always interested in expanding our client base, we’d like to reward you for that.”

  He went straight to the point, sitting behind his extralarge desk, while Barry sat in the second leather office chair to Ivan’s left.

  John continued, “As we explained when we first hired you years ago, we typically like to pay our accountants more in commissions than we do in base salary. So with that in mind, we’ve decided to give you a substantial pay raise to a hundred and four thousand a year, plus a twenty percent commission on all new clients instead of ten.”

  Ivan did the math and came up with roughly six thousand dollars a month after taxes. It was a dead-on estimate of what he figured Hutch & Mitchell would offer him. So he smiled and said, “That’s a generous pay raise, but I’m sure you both would like to know how I’ve been able to spark a new client base in the first place.”

  Ivan was well aware of their commissions ideas. He used their model in his own business.

  Barry spoke up. “Definitely. We were gonna get to that. Although we don’t always expect smart young guys like you to let us in on your methods,” he commented. He and his partner reasoned that if Ivan was indeed a gamer, he would have some counter-offers.

  Ivan figured his website and promotional events brand was strong enough now to invite bigger fish to the party. So he told them, “Actually, I have no problem telling you my methods. I’ve basically started a promotional website and network party vehicle where a small staff and I have been able to generate an average of ten thousand unique hits a day and more than eighty thousand daily impressions. And through a lot of meeting and greeting at the various promoted parties and events around San Diego, I’ve been able to win enough faith and confidence from some of the movers and shakers here that they trust me in their financial affairs, which, of course, includes their accounting services at Hutch and Mitchell.”

  John and Barry stopped and looked at each other.

  Barry said, “More than eighty thousand impressions? That sounds like an impressive number.”

  “And we’re still working on increasing that number,” Ivan told them. “But what I’d like to offer to Hutch and Mitchell is an opportunity for us to build a financial corner page, where you sponsor it for the first year, for fifteen hundred a month, to help increase an even stronger new client base here at the company.”

  He looked at Barry and added, “You could even post a blurb each month with your own financial advice page.” Then he looked back to John. “My counteroffer would be a hundred and eighty thousand. We do that, and you sponsor the financial corner page for the first year, and it’s a deal.”

  John slowed down Ivan’s optimistic idealism and told him, “Well, we would need time to look at this, ah, website of yours to determine how much of a benefit it would be. And it’s still a bit of a jump for us to get involved in your, ah, party promotions website at this point. We would just like to compensate you for what you’ve been able to do for the company lately.”

  Ivan nodded and said, “I understand that. Business is business. But my party promotions is how I’ve been able to do it. So take your time. Do your research on it. And call me back in when you’re ready. But in the meantime, I still work for Hutch and Mitchell Accounting, and I plan to continue doing my job while I’m here.” He then handed both of them his IDPromotions.com business card.

  John looked at the card and raised his brow. “Looks like you’re really putting your personal seal on this thing.”

  Ivan smiled and said, “Without a doubt. And if anyone else decides that they can do the same, I offer them an opportunity to try it. But at the end of the day, the real numbers do the talking. And we’ve been putting up the real numbers.”

  WHEN IVAN walked out of John Hutch’s office, the two partners closed the door behind him to discuss their thoughts.

  “Well, what do you think, John? Pretty bright and ambitious kid, right?” Barry quizzed his partner. He had always been impressed with Ivan. Ivan was rarely the one to toot his own horn. So the fact that he was so confident in his new business carried a lot of weight.

  John was still staring at the business card behind his desk. He was definitely curious. He had noticed the confident changes in Ivan’s personality around the office himself. He had been impressed with the young man out of South Central Los Angeles as well.

  He said, “Well, first we’ll need to investigate this website and party promotions business of his to understand it for ourselves. But for us to triple his salary, this website idea needs to be far better than average.”

  ON IVAN’S SIDE OF THE COIN, ad sales manager Eddie K. explained that the more well-respected businesses they could get involved in supporting their website, the easier it would become to entice other respected companies to fall in line. So it was paramount for IDPromotions.com to establish relationships with as many recognized company brands as possible, and in every professional field.

  As far as Ivan’s personal salary was concerned, his goal was to pull in ten thousand dollars a month after taxes, which $180,000 a year would allow him to do. However, as a compromise, he would settle for $140,000 a year, or slightly more than eight thousand a month. Eight to ten thousand a month, after taxes, would be more than enough to cover all of his personal expenses, as well as fatten up his retirement plan.

  IVAN MET UP with Thomas Jones at Carol’s Soul Food Restaurant that night, and they were both all smiles at their table.

  Thomas shook his head and said, “I still can’t believe you got folks to pay twenty dollars a head to watch Monday Night Football on a big-screen TV over at Raymond’s Lounge. And now you got ’em doing the same shit with the playoffs.”

  Ivan said, “It’s thirty dollars a head for the playoffs, including an all-you-can-eat buffet. But just look at it this way. How long have Americans been paying for bottled water now? These guys are all paying for the experience of being around a certain group and in a certain atmosphere, just like if you were going to the game. And if they don’t want that experience, then they stay home and watch it.”

  Thomas chuckled. He said, “I’m only imagining now how much money you’re gonna make once you own the place.”

  Ivan told him, “That’s what we’re here to talk about, right? Real estate.”

  Thomas asked him, “Yeah, so what’s this big interest of yours in the university area?”

  “That’s where most of my help comes from,” Ivan answered. “Both of my webmasters, three salespeople, blog writers, four party assistants, two photographers—they’re all San Diego State undergrads or grad students. And if I set up an office over there, I don’t have to worry about my interns needing transportation. They can all walk or ride their bikes to work.”

  Thomas said, “But what about the mature people who end up working for you? They might want a more businesslike atmosphere.”

  Ivan said, “The people I want to hire have to be versatile enough to fit into different crowds. I mean, we’re talking about a website and party promotions here.”

  “So, how much are you paying these guys, if you don’t mind me asking?” Thomas questioned.

  Ivan looked at him and answered, “A very generous percentage of the ad money, plus five hundred dollars a month for my webmasters; a nice percentage deal for my sales manager; and different small fees to my editorial manager, photographers, and everybody else.” He said, “But when you’re building something without a lot of up-front capital, you gotta be real creative in how you decide to pay the good people around you.”

  He added, “Like my time, donations, and the calendar of events page I set up for you guys at the Urban League.”

  Thomas laughed. “You don’t have to explain that to me, Ivan. I know how it all works. I’m just happy that you picked it all up so fast. So, how much are you trying to spend on an off-campus house?”

  “Well, I could use a three-bedroom for starters. That way I can separate my webmasters, my ad sales manager, and my editorial chief in their own office rooms. Then I can set up a cubicle atmosphere in the living room and dining room areas, just like at a regular office.”

  Thomas said, “It sounds like you got it all worked out in your head already.”

  “Hey, man, most nights I’m up all night brainstorming. But what kind of damaged property or foreclosure deals do you think you can find for me in the hundred-thousand-dollar range?” Ivan asked him. “Because I figure we’ll have to do a lot of remodeling and painting to get the place how I’m gonna want it anyway.”

  Thomas asked him, “How much do you have to put down?”

  Ivan shrugged. “Forty thousand. And that doesn’t mean that I want to spend it all, but that’s what I have.”

  Thomas eyed him and said, “Ivan, let me now explain how the game of real estate works. With forty thousand dollars, I would advise that we look for three off-campus deals. And if we can find three of them for one-fifty each or less, you put down ten percent on each, you remodel and paint all three of them, and you either resell the extra two or rent them out to pay for the one that you keep as your office.”

  He continued, “And once you start to get a little comfortable with this real estate machine, I got plenty of information on housing development companies who are open to private investors.”

  They got so heavy into talking business that they neglected to order any food. When they finally took a look at the menu, Thomas spotted Ida in the background of the restaurant. But she didn’t seem too eager to make it over in their direction to speak.

  Thomas asked Ivan, “So, what happened between you and Ida?”

  Ivan shrugged. “We’re still cool and all, but the business and personal sometimes…”

  Thomas nodded to him and grunted. “Mmm-hmm.” Then he cracked another smile. He said, “I knew that was coming. Ida’s a nice girl for you, but I think you like money too much right now to get caught up in emotions with her. So you just packed it up and moved on to the next one, hunh?”

  Ivan took a breath and said, “You gotta move forward, Thomas. I mean, I still like her and all. I respect her. I thank her for her support. But at the end of the day, I still got a lot of other things I wanna do. And like you said, man, all the extra emotions…it just ends up slowing you down.”

  Thomas grinned and said, “But you didn’t drop that Lucina Gallo girl, did you?”

  Ivan laughed it off. “Naw,” he answered, “she’s still making me too much money.”

  Thomas said, “I bet she is.”

  Twelve

  Everybody Wants Something

  JOHN AND BARRY investigated Ivan’s website and promotions brand from top to bottom at their accounting offices and loved the idea. Ivan continued to impress them as a young business leader in their midst. So they offered him a $150,000 package deal that included $132,000 in salary, plus the extra $18,000 for their one-year sponsorship of his financial corner website page.

  “And I’m going to hold you to that offer to post my blogs, Ivan,” Barry Mitchell told him.

  Ivan agreed to follow through on the blogs, but he did not agree on the $150,000 package.

  He countered, “You add another eight thousand to the salary to round it up to one-forty, and it’s a deal.”

  John Hutch quickly agreed to the revised numbers with a silent nod. There was no sense in holding up the deal over seven hundred extra dollars a month. So Ivan accepted their final offer and felt good about it.

  At lunch break, he rushed out of the office to meet up with Eddie K. at Subway to discuss their sales goals, only for Chip Garrett to catch up to him outside the building before Ivan could reach his car.

  “Hey, Ivan, let me talk to you for a minute, man.”

  Ivan looked at Chip and was prepared to brush him off. But he figured it was better to get it over with instead. Chip seemed urgent.

  “All right, hop in the car with me,” Ivan told him. He didn’t want his coworker slowing him down.

  Chip walked over to the black Altima with him to climb into the passenger seat. He looked around inside the car and commented, “Come on, guy, when are you gonna get a new car? You got things going on now, right?”

  “Yeah, I’ll get one soon. That’s just not a priority right now. But what can I do for you?” Ivan asked him.

  Chip looked at him and said, “Dude, there’s this one party girl on your website that I would just kill to meet.”

  Ivan couldn’t believe it. All of that for a girl? I hope he’s not talking about Lucina, though.

  “What does she look like?”

  “She’s a blond, with green eyes, wearing a hot pink top and a black skirt, about halfway down the latest party photo gallery page.”

  Ivan smiled. “Oh, that’s, ah…Janine.” He knew the exact picture.

  “And there’s this other girl right across the page from her in this white hat that just stands out in the middle of the crowd.”

  “Gretchen,” Ivan told him. Then he laughed. “People really do look at those pictures, hunh?”

  “Come on, man, you got the hottest girls on there,” Chip responded. “And you know them all by name. So make sure you invite me to the next big party.”

  Ivan said, “Yeah, I’ll introduce you. But I got a meeting to make right now.”

  “Hey, do what you do, man.”

  When Chip climbed out of the car, he got Ivan thinking again. With these white girls mixed in all over the website now, I wonder how many white men are watching me. And I wonder who they would all like to meet.

  It was a thought that remained with him when he met up with Eddie for lunch.

  He walked in a few minutes late and said, “Eddie, let me ask you a question. What do you think about the girls we post on the website?”

  Eddie K. was already munching on a turkey club at his table. He nodded to Ivan with wide eyes and mumbled, “They’re the best. We’re, like, an interactive Maxim magazine.”

  “You think everybody sees that?” Ivan asked him.

  “Of course. Are you kidding me? The photo galleries still get the most visits. We didn’t have anything like that at the newspapers,” he added.

  Ivan nodded and kept his thoughts to himself. Even legitimate businessmen are more concerned about the girls, hunh? Okay. So be it.

  Then he returned to business. “So, anyway, Hutch and Mitchell agreed today to sponsor our financial corner page; then I’ll have my guy Thomas Jones to help us set up the sponsorship of the real estate page.”

  Eddie nodded, loving everything he heard. He said, “This thing is really shaping up to be an online magazine. We’ll be posting close to fifteen pages now. And that means more space for advertisement. Me and the guys were even thinking about a few things.”

  Whenever Eddie mentioned “me and the guys,” he was referring to Jeff and Paul, the undergraduate webmasters. They had all become quite friendly.

  Ivan said, “Yeah, what about?”

  Eddie looked at him and paused. He answered, “Well, we know you’re being quite generous with us on the commissions and all, but we were just wondering out loud if we could buy into the company at some point. Or at least make us an offer before you make offers to anyone else.”

  Ivan shook it off with a frown. “What makes you think I’m ready to start offering up pieces of the company already? As far as I’m concerned, we’re just getting started. We haven’t even set up our office yet.”