“Yeah, and it’s all good for you to look out for me like that, but you already know most of that money is going into bills and my child support payments. It’s not like I see much of that money. So I need to be able to hold something.”

“Then find yourself a job to hold,” Ivan told him.

Derrick cut to the chase and said, “Look, man, are you gonna help me out or what?”

Ivan told him, “I’m already helping you out.”

“So that means no?”

There was a long pause over the line while Ivan thought it over. If I help him, I may as well sponsor Christina for college, too. Then again, he’s my brother. And that is a priority.

But instead of him agreeing to anything too soon, he told his older brother, “I’ll have to think about it.”

Part V

Bigger Fish

Thirteen

Setting Up Shop

THE IDPROMOTIONS.COM HOME OFFICE, near San Diego State University’s campus, was up and running by February 2004.

Outside of the remodeling and painting budget, Ivan had spent an additional fifty thousand dollars in office furniture, website equipment, and supplies.

Jeff and Paul walked into their master bedroom office on the second floor of the house and were hyperventilating.

“Oh, shit, man, to see it happen is just…I mean…” Jeff ran out of words.

Paul finished them for him. “It’s the shit.”

“Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “We’re gonna graduate this year in style. Hey, Mom, look at my new office,” he joked, aiming his small digital camera at himself behind his new desk.

Ivan watched him and laughed. He had set their twin desks on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. In between their desks were six small conference chairs arranged in an oval, two on each side and one at each end. Against the wall between two bay windows that looked out into the main street was a dual computer station with all of their needed equipment. And in all of the corners of the room were file cabinets.

Ivan told them, “Now, I know you guys like it all dark and cave-like, but you can both do that in here on your own.”

Paul shook his head and said, “Hey, man, we’re versatile. We don’t need to be in the dark.”

“Yeah, Paul never liked it so dark anyway. That was more my taste,” Jeff commented.

Ivan smiled. He was happy his guys both liked the place. Jeff and Paul had already made close to twenty-five thousand dollars in their business with Ivan, and that was just the beginning of things. With Eddie K. on board as the advertising manager, and Ava Tate as their new editorial manager, Ivan projected a first-year income for Jeff and Paul in the eighty-to-hundred-thousand-dollar range.

“How’s that for two crazy guys coming right out of college?” he joked to them.