Chris gave him a resentful eye and took a deep breath. I don’t believe him, she told herself.

She warned Ivan, “I will, but it’s gonna cost you.”

Chip heard that and grinned. As soon as she walked away, he said, “Wow, I’ve seen her on your website, too. But she’s even more stunning in real life.”

Ivan said, “They all are.”

Ashley reached them before he could get out another word.

“Is there anything you need, Ivan?”

“Naw, not right now. I’m trying to give my friend here a private tour of the party.”

Ashley grinned and said, “Oh, well, have fun with it. And let me know if I can help.”

“Naw, I got it,” Ivan told her.

Chip was grinning his ass off. He asked, “How does that feel, man?”

Ivan told him, “Don’t get it confused, it’s only business. They’re great at giving me the illusion of being in control. When in actuality they’re all getting paid to make it look that way.”

Chip said, “I wish I could pay a bunch of girls to act that way with me. I’d surely take it.”

“Hey, I-vaaannn!” a couple of girls yelled out from the dance floor.

Chip looked at him said, “You paid them to do that, too?”

Ivan laughed it off. “Naw, that’s, ah…the regulars. They just know me by now.”

“Hey, Ivan David, we want to thank you, man,” a Latino couple told him in the middle of the dance floor.

Ivan said, “Thank me for what?”

“Your ‘San Diego Spotlight’ page at IDPromotions.com got us together,” the guy told him.

The young woman added, “Yeah, we were like a perfect match, same hobbies and everything.”

“Yeah, so I emailed her, and we’ve been going out now ever since.”

Ivan looked at them both, and they certainly looked good together. He smiled and said, “Well, make sure you invite me out to the wedding.”

They laughed and told him, “We will.”

“Seems to me like they all know you in here,” Chip commented.

“Not all of them, just a lot of them.” He then pointed to Timbaland, who was dancing his heart out with a group of delirious girls around him. He said, “More of them know that guy right there. I’m just playing my position.”

Christina found Gretchen and brought her back to them. Gretchen wasn’t wearing her white hat that night, and her hair was cut short and stylish with blond highlights.

She said, “Hey, what’s up, Ivan?”

Ivan wasted no time with his introductions. “Gretchen, this is Chip. Chip, this is Gretchen.”

Gretchen nodded and smiled to him. “Nice to meet you.”

Chip said, “The pleasure is all mine. After I saw your picture on the website, I told Ivan that I just had to meet you.”

Chip was giving too much information for Ivan’s taste. But to each his own.