Lucina caught Ivan’s eye as soon as he approached them at the table. She stood up to greet him by taking his left hand with her right. Then she introduced him to everyone.

“O-kay, everyone, this is I-van Da-vid, from IDPromotions.com, one of the best upcoming websites for San Diego parties.”

The biggest football player looked impressed and nodded. “Is that right?” He had to be at least six foot seven and three hundred pounds. He sat at the far end of the table to give himself plenty of uninterrupted space. They had left an open seat at the closest end for Ivan.

Ivan pulled out a stack of flyers from his party at Raymond’s Hot Spot Lounge and passed them around the table. He still liked the flyer, the party just didn’t turn out right.

They all checked out the flyer, while Ivan took a seat in the empty chair. Plates of steak, shrimp, chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables littered the table along with drinks.

“So, how did this party turn out?” a much smaller and younger football player asked him. He inspected the flyer front and back.

Ivan answered him quickly. “It was basically a party for a new friend who wanted more late-night traffic for his bar. So we gave it to him. That’s what we do.”

His answer was satisfactory enough for a nod from the three Chargers. The third Charger continued to observe him in silence. He was smaller in size than the first, but larger than the second. His age seemed to fall in between theirs as well. He looked to be in his late twenties, like Ivan. They were all casually dressed. But with the extra sizzle of their jewelry, confidence, wealth, and the hot women who surrounded them, they produced an overload of energy in the nearly empty room.

Lucina said, “Zachary is the birthday boy. He’s turning twenty-four in two weeks. And we want to throw a big par-ty for him.”

“Go, Zee-Dog! Yaaay!” the hot women cheered. As Lucina’s signature, her girls were a mixture of races and nationalities.

The smallest and youngest player grinned sheepishly at their excitement for him.

The big guy in the back belted, “Yeah, Zee-Dog’s from Chi-town. He’s trying to go after ten interceptions this year. He set a new rookie record last year with seven.”

The silent player still had nothing to say. He looked on and smiled, taking everything in. In many business transactions, the silent ones were the deal killers. So Ivan paid him the most attention.

“Well, how big of a party do you want to throw for him—two thousand people at a hotel ballroom? Or do you want to stay classy with five hundred, special guests only?” Ivan asked Lucina. He tried his best to appear professional.