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.”

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.