Ivan wondered about that for the rest of the elevator ride.

If the word travels that damn fast at the office about my personal life, then I can never tell these folks what I’m really into. What would they think about me throwing parties?

When he walked out of the elevator with employees from the various floors and industries, Ivan was still thinking about his dilemma.

I need to figure out a way to work this all out, he told himself on the way to his car. But hell, if this party shit don’t even work, I could put myself in a bunch of extra confusion for nothing.

As soon as he made it to the highway on Interstate 5, heading south for Old Town, he landed right in the middle of rush-hour traffic. He called Carol’s Soul Food Restaurant to speak to Ida.

“Hey, Ida, this is Ivan.”

“Oh, hey, Ivan. This phone has been ringing off the hook like crazy today, so we just might have a good crowd tonight. And the DJ is here setting up his equipment already.”

Ida Stewart—her father’s last name—was two years older than Ivan at thirty, but she didn’t look it. She looked no older than twenty-five, with smooth light brown skin, a slim frame, long dark hair, and the dark eyes of her mother. She had never been married or borne any children.

Ivan heard her out and said, “That’s good. I’m on my way, but I’m making it through slow traffic right now.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I can imagine, at this time of day. But that’s the beauty of this location. All you have to do is make it halfway downtown, or halfway away from town.”

Ivan said, “That’s a good way of looking at it. But, umm, at six o’clock, if I’m not there yet, you won’t have a problem collecting the five dollars at the door, will you?”

Ivan still had to build a full staff.

Ida told him, “Excuse me? Oh, honey, I have no problem at all asking folks for money. We think way too much about freebies as it is. Five dollars is just like you said on this flyer, a ‘donation.’ And it’s not hardly a big one. So don’t worry about the door money at all. I got you.”

Ivan laughed. “Okay. It’s good to hear that.”

“All right, well, let me get back to answering this phone, because people are ringing me on the other line already,” she told him.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a minute.”

Ivan hung up his cell phone and smiled from ear to ear. “Now, that’s the kind of woman I need on my team, right there,” he told himself.