To keep the excess money working for him, Ivan acquired three new commercial real estate properties. Outside developing, branding, and selling a percentage of the Latino Club for a sizable gain in Chula Vista, he developed the three new properties into the Ice Mountain Brewery, Club Paradise, and Jock Nation Bar & Grill.

“The setup is simple,” he had told his investment groups. “You give the customers flyers and website maps for the locations, and we keep working a dedicated crowd with special guests and events until you get tired of making money. And if you ever do get tired, I can either buy back your percentage or find another investor.”

Ivan no longer bothered to overpitch his projects and services. His momentum of success allowed him the confident luxury to take or leave money as it came. With Mike Adams continuing to double-check the accounting numbers of his business plan and proposal writers, just as Thomas Jones had told him, Ivan allowed the numbers to speak for themselves. And the influence of his website allowed him to continue to push whatever pet project he chose to.

However, his idea to utilize the allure of sexy young women in all of his nightclub properties caused a strong rift between him and Lucina.

“Are you trying to copy what Hooters does? I find that to be very distasteful,” she told him at his downtown apartment.

Ivan grinned at the suggestion. He remembered the competitive struggle Catherine Boone had had with the women who worked at the Hooters chain when he first started.

He said, “Naw, we’ll keep them dressed way more tasteful than that. And their dress codes would fit the themes of each club. So, just like we have our Hispanic theme at the Latino Club, we’ll have a ski lodge theme at the Ice Mountain, a cheerleader theme at Jock’s, and a colorful island theme at Paradise.”

It all made sense to Ivan. He liked developing a variety of ideas just to see which one would earn the most support from its dedicated customer base. But Lucina blasted the idea.

“That all sounds very generic and degrading,” she told him.

Ivan argued, “Well, welcome to America, Lucina. Generic is what works for regular guys drinking beers all night. Not everybody’s gonna be impressed by that upscale shit. It intimidates them. But these regular pretty girls, who still need someplace to work, can find steady employment with us with plenty of tip potential.”

It was another argument of quantity versus quality, and Lucina was not going for it.

She snapped, “Well, I don’t want to be a part of that.”