Finally, Jeffrey spoke up. He said, “Hey, Ivan, let me speak to you for a minute.”

Jeffrey excused himself from his lady and Lucina as he and Ivan stepped away to speak in private.

Jeffrey said, “I like what you’re doing with the website, man. That thing is really taking form. What are your plans for it?”

“I plan for it to keep growing,” Ivan answered.

Jeffrey nodded. “You need any financial help with that? Any investor needs?”

Ivan looked at him and read his interest. With the internet boom all over America, his website must have looked plenty enticing.

He nodded and said, “I thank you for your interest.” However, he was still not quick to give up any ownership of his baby. Jeffrey would definitely not ask to invest in it without wanting a piece. So Ivan figured he would test out his interest in something else.

He said, “To be honest with you, man, this internet and website game can take a while. But if you’re looking for some heavy hitters to invest in soon, I may be heading in the real estate game. I got some inside tracks on development properties on the southeast side near Chula Vista. And I just bought a couple of foreclosure houses near San Diego State that we’re remodeling to sell or rent right now. I’ll let you check them out when we’re finished in a couple of weeks.”

Jeffrey’s face lit up immediately. He said, “Oh, yeah? I’ve always been interested in real estate.”

Ivan jumped on that quick and told him, “Hey, man, real estate is the oldest money game in the book. Forty acres and a mule, right? Black folks should still be looking for that. So at my accounting firm at Hutch and Mitchell, we always advise our clients to invest in the many values of property,” Ivan hinted.

Barry Mitchell was working on a blog on that very subject that Ivan couldn’t wait to post on the “Financial Corner” page.

Jeffrey said, “Yeah, I’ve still been meaning to call you up on that.”

Ivan blew it off to appear less eager. “Well, like you said, during the season you’re thinking about football. I understand. But football season is over with for a minute now. Now it’s time to focus on the other parts of your life. And you can remind your teammates about that, too. They probably need it more than you do.”

Jeffrey laughed and said, “Man, you already know that. You’ve been around them.”

Ivan joked, “And I couldn’t talk to them about a thing while they had the girls all around them. But maybe I can get through to them now.”