Instead of offering salaried positions, Ivan wanted commissioned hustlers who earned from what they brought in. Only problem was, he had no idea who could really sell. So he made note of the most organized applicants with long résumés of experience. In the meantime, he continued to master the website jargon: banner ads, skyscraper ads, pop-up ads, pop-under ads, text ads, content pages, public domain information, subscriber information, unique site articles, click-through sites, visitor impressions…There was plenty of it to learn.

Ivan kept his poise through the process. As Lucina had told him, time does exactly what you choose to do with it. So he remained active and kept his interviews productive.

Near the end of his first week, he had spoken with twenty-four prospects over the phone, internet, and in group lunch and dinner meetings. By that Thursday night, Ivan was exhausted.

He sat down to dinner with his new partner, Lucina Gallo, downtown to discuss it all.

“So, are you going to use all of them?” she asked him over steak, potatoes, and wine. Ivan was having the same, Lucina’s treat.

“I have to see what they can do first,” he answered. “I mean, a qualified résumé is one thing, but a check in hand is the real deal.”

She said, “Well, I’m sure that the most qualified people will bring you those checks.”

“We’ll soon see,” Ivan told her.

“So, how much are you giving them to sell each ad again?” she asked him.

“Twenty-five percent for new ads, fifteen for recurring ads.”

“And how much would you give me?”

That caught Ivan off guard. She had slipped it in effortlessly. But he should have known to include her. Ida was already included as a salesperson. Ivan had given her the benefit of the doubt.

Ivan answered, “I’d give you the same thing,” and grinned at her.

Lucina didn’t flinch. “You’ll give me the same as everyone else? I didn’t give you twenty-five percent of the party.”

Ivan caught on to her point. He said, “I can’t give you fifty percent of ads. I still have to pay the web designers to put them things up.”

“And how much are you paying them?”

“Twenty-five percent for newly created ads and fifteen percent for maintenance,” he answered.

“Well, you give me half of what you get.”

Ivan looked across the table and said, “Shit.”

Lucina told him, “What’s fair is fair, Ivan. I give you half.” She only budged to eat a piece of her steak.

Ivan started smiling and thinking about the suspicions that were surrounding her. It was best to talk about them with her face-to-face. He had waited all that week to confront her.

He said, “So, who are you gonna get to sell these ads, your girls?” He ate a piece of his steak while waiting for her to respond to his sarcasm.