When he got up to walk away, Lucina’s eyes followed him across the room. She studied his mannerisms and how people responded to him. But every time he glanced back in her direction, she made sure that he never caught her staring.

After another minute in his absence, she called her messenger back to her table.

“What do you think about him?” she asked her. “And don’t look,” she warned.

“Umm…I mean, I don’t know. He has nice eyes, I guess.”

Lucina frowned at her. “But do you trust him?”

“Do I trust him?” her girlfriend repeated. How am I supposed to know if I trust him? I don’t even know him, she thought. But she wouldn’t dare say it.

“Yes,” Lucina pressed her. The girl was so irritating. She had so much to learn.

“Umm…I guess. I mean, he looks right at you when he speaks. That’s usually a good sign, right?”

“Yes, thank you. Bye,” Lucina responded, and brushed her away. She saw that Ivan was headed back to the table. It was time for her to get to the point of the evening and test his will with her pitch. So as soon as Ivan sat back across from her, Lucina looked around the room at the majority-African-American crowd, who were sipping wine, conversing, and listening to the music. Then she looked back into Ivan’s eyes.

“So, I-van, are you throwing parties for business, or just because you like parties?”

Ivan frowned at her and got back to business himself.

“Nah, I’m not throwing parties just for the hell of it. I got major plans,” he told her. “But it’s just gonna take time. So I’m learning to be patient.”

When he said that, Lucina stared at him. “Patient?” she repeated.

Ivan caught on to her objection. “What, is that a bad thing? I thought patience was a virtue,” he commented.

“Virtues don’t make money,” Lucina told him.

That comment caught Ivan off guard. He laughed it off. And it was true. People seemed to want the forbidden fruits ten times more.

But while Ivan laughed and grinned across the table, Lucina remained about business. She said, “Let me ask you this question. Are you just trying to make black money, or do you want to make money money?”

Ivan looked into her colored eyes and was speechless. He couldn’t even think for a few seconds. When he finally did think of something, all he came up with was, DAMN! In real life, Lucina was icier than she had been in his dream.

Before any words could tumble out of his mouth in response to her, she pulled out a business card from her expensive purse and placed it on the table in front of him. Then she stood up to leave him there.

“You call me and we’ll talk. Okay, Ivan? Because I need a new partner.”