“Well, they’re not used to waiting in line, and most places they go to have cut lines. So I was willing to offer a hundred dollars for the three of us to walk on in, or they’ll choose to go someplace else, because I know they don’t want to wait.”

He nodded to me again. “Hold on.” He stepped away from me to talk to the other guys. The other bouncer looked toward my girls before one of them slid inside the club for a minute. When he returned, he gave the first bouncer the OK, and he walked back over to inform me.

“All right, come on.”

I looked toward TaShay and Tan, gave them a hand motion, and that was it. We all flowed into the club ahead of the line.

Once we were in, Tan said, “It’s good to be the king.”

I just grinned at her. I figured she would pay me back later, and with interest.

This place was a large room with several elevations for VIP. Disco lights were everywhere, flashing bright colors into your eyes. It was multicultural like Miami, with all ages. The VIP elevations were already occupied by athletes, movie stars, and people who were known for spending big money.

Tan looked up to the VIP elevations in envy. There were six elevations; four small, two large. They were all in clear view with gates and guards at the entrances.

“How do we get up there?” Tan asked me. I knew it was coming. I was just about ready to tell her ass that I was no king, and that I was only in there to please them. Then I thought about what Andrea had told me again: If you’re gonna continue to deal with women like you do, then you gotta learn how to loosen up and give them more of what they want.

So I took a deep breath and told her, “I’ll be right back.” I walked back over to the entrance and asked the girls behind the money counter, “How much is a VIP band?”

“Twenty-five for the yellow and fifty for the orange,” they told me.

“What’s the difference?”

“The yellow bands are only for the two large areas, but the orange bands can get you on the four exclusive areas.”

I shook my head and smiled while pulling out my wallet again. Parties had always been a racket to me. All you had to do was use someone’s vanity against them, and they would pay all kinds of money. Fortunately, money wasn’t an issue for me.

“The exclusive areas are only as space is available,” she continued. “So once they get crowded, we can’t guarantee you any room up there.”

That wasn’t an issue either. We were there early and they still had room. So I went ahead and paid a hundred fifty dollars for three orange VIP bands and returned to the party.

Tan saw the orange bands in my hand before I even reached them.