Derrick looked surprised by his brother’s abrupt candor. He said, “Oh, it’s like that now? You saying I don’t know how to hustle for mine?”

“It ain’t about hustling at this point, D, it’s about working. And you don’t know how to work. Period!”

Derrick said, “Yeah, whatever. You down here smelling yourself now. You hanging out with these rich white folks, thinking you got something going, but it can all change in a heartbeat, Ivan. Then we’ll see what kind of work you do to get it all back.”

Ivan didn’t feel like arguing with his brother anymore. The argument was frivolous. There was no way in hell he was going to lose his living. He was all legal, and the groundwork for his continued success had already been set. Even if his IDPromotions.com offices burned to the ground, his equipment was all insured, and the popularity of his website would continue. He could throw a party now and pocket thirty thousand dollars at a drop of a dime on any given weekend.

Once he solidified more of his real estate operations, Ivan planned to build million-dollar properties to sell. And none of that included the wages or commissions he still collected from Hutch & Mitchell Accounting, nor the six-figure party plans that he and Lucina had mapped out for late spring and then summer.

Derrick was out of his mind! He just didn’t know any better. So Ivan ignored him.

He said, “So, you’re down here again to do what, man? What do you need from me now?”

His brother paused. He said, “What if I just came back down here to hang out with you, man? Has that idea ever crossed your mind?”

Ivan said, “You haven’t done that before. Why would I think that now?”

Derrick shrugged and told him, “Everybody can turn over a new leaf, man. Even me.”

That comment got to Ivan. It showed a little bit of sincerity on Derrick’s part. So Ivan took a breath to calm himself.

He said, “Well, we don’t have any parties this week, D. We don’t have anything set up until May. I’m just promoting other people’s parties through the website right now.”

Derrick said, “It don’t matter. I’m just down here for another weekend to clear my head from L.A. for a minute, like I always do.”

Ivan asked him, “You need another hotel room?” He was still hesitant to have his brother stay over at his place. He figured it would be too much of a tease.

Derrick said, “Naw, man, let me just crash at your place. I don’t wanna spend no more of your money,” he joked.

“I’m having company over tonight,” Ivan lied to him.