Chris snapped, “You know what, Ivan, you are the cheapest man I’ve ever met in my life. Audrey was right about you. That’s why she stopped working when she did. And to tell you the truth, I have a new friend now in the Marines, and he doesn’t make anywhere near as much as you do, but he tries his best to take care of me when I need something. But you have all the money you could ask for, and from the first day I met you, you’ve always been stingy about it.”

“Yeah, and that’s why I’m gonna keep it for a long time, too,” Ivan snapped back at her. “I’m not out here to take care of you. You’re a grown-ass woman.”

As soon as Ivan spoke it, a young white woman walked by and overheard him. Ivan was so incensed that he even asked for her opinion.

“Excuse me, you think a guy still needs to take care of a woman these days? What ever happened to women’s rights and equality?”

The young white woman was stunned. “Ahh, I guess it all depends on the person.”

“Does your guy take care of you?” Ivan asked her.

“Well, we, ah, both chip in to take care of each other,” she answered.

“Now, that sounds like a better idea to me. I need a woman who can chip in.”

Ivan believed in what he was saying, but he didn’t need to say it out loud like that, especially in front of a stranger. It was severely harmful to Christina.

Her voice cracked with pain when she told him over the cell phone, “You know what, Ivan, you’ll never have to worry about me calling you ever again. And I hope you burn in fucking hell with your money!” before she hung up on him.

Ivan was actually surprised at her outburst. Christina had the coolest of temperaments. So he looked around and wondered which way was up.

Was I wrong for that? he asked himself. He shook it off and mumbled, “Hell, no! I’m not obligated to pay for her.”

But he couldn’t help thinking about how easily he could write a check for twenty-five thousand dollars to pay for all of her schooling. He had written a check for a car that more than doubled that amount.

That’s for business purposes, though, he argued to himself. And if I wrote a check for her like that, then why not do it for the interns who work at my office? They work hard for free!

Ivan was so worked up about it that he decided to approach his brother with reckless abandon in front of his building.

I’m tired of appeasing Derrick, too, he told himself. He needs to get his own life together.