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Back Pecking Order Save as PDF
Chapters (37)
  1. Cover
  2. Colophon
  3. ALSO BY OMAR TYREE
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Contents
  7. Introduction
  8. Part I
  9. One
  10. Two
  11. Three
  12. Part II
  13. Four
  14. Five
  15. Six
  16. Part III
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Part IV
  21. Ten
  22. Eleven
  23. Twelve
  24. Part V
  25. Thirteen
  26. Fourteen
  27. Fifteen
  28. Part VI
  29. Sixteen
  30. Seventeen
  31. Eighteen
  32. Part VII
  33. Nineteen
  34. Twenty
  35. Twenty-one
  36. Closing Interview:
  37. About the Author

In confusion, Zee-Dog and Perry looked at each other and shrugged. It was not Ivan’s intention to end their stage presentation with such authority, it just happened that way. All the while, Lucina stood at his side in silence, with a grand, money-getting smile.

When Ivan realized he had cut the football players short, he tried to apologize to them offstage. “Hey, man, I didn’t mean to cut y’all off like that, I was just—”

Zee-Dog stopped him and said, “Shit, man, I didn’t want to be up there no way. I’m glad you did that.”

Perry added, “Yeah, they already know I’m halfway damn drunk in here. And this is the perfect shit to get back to the party with. Girls love this damn song.”

Zee-Dog stepped right into a circle of three excited girls and started dancing in the middle. Perry joined him and did the same. The party was back into full swing.

Ivan looked at Lucina, who barely moved to the beat. She seemed above dancing. She was only teasing the music.

He asked her, “How did that look when I did that?” He was still self-conscious about his short address to the crowd. He didn’t want to seem like a showboat or a control freak. But how did the crowd view it?

Lucina smiled at him, beaming away. She pulled his left shoulder down toward her to speak directly into his ear through the music.

She said, “I-van, you don’t even realize your full po-tential yet. But for-tunate-ly, I do. For both of us.”

Part III

Learning to Deal

Seven

Like a Pimp

AS SOON AS IVAN stepped away from Lucina at the Chargers party, he walked into Jeffrey Morefield, the overly cautious wide receiver, who had been able to play the background more successfully that evening. Jeffrey wasn’t even dressed for a weekend party. In his tailored suit and button-up shirt, he was only a tie away from a corporate business meeting.

He nodded to Ivan and told him, “That was good. It was straight to the point and no-nonsense.” He extended his hand for a shake.

Ivan took his hand and said, “Actually, I would have rather been in the crowd like you were on this one. I had no idea they were gonna pull me up there for that.”

Jeffrey smiled at him. He shook his head and said, “Naw, brother. You can’t hide in business. In business, you’re supposed to be on the field. That’s just who you are, Ivan. You were right where you needed to be to police things back in the right direction.” He jokingly added, “Those defensive guys can easily get out of hand on you.”

Ivan smiled back at him. “Thanks. I appreciate that. And I thank you again for working with us.”

“No problem. You’ll be hearing from me,” Jeffrey told him. He quickly disappeared into the crowd.