“Yes, Mr. David, you have a call from Ida Stewart on line two. Would you like to take the call?”

Ivan hesitated. He hadn’t heard from Ida in a while.

“Ah…yeah, put her through.”

“Thank you.”

When Ida got him on the line, she said, “Hey, Ivan, it’s been a long time, right? My mother told me you stopped by the restaurant for a bite to eat last week.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll always support,” he told her.

“Just not on your website anymore, right?” she hinted.

Ivan paused. He said, “Those weekly rates have gone waaay up.”

“Even for the people who started you off?”

Ivan felt the trap coming. Immediately he felt he had made a mistake by answering her call.

So, I guess she hasn’t healed, he mused. She’s calling me up for a marketing war.

To nip the argument in the bud as quickly as possible, Ivan asked her, “What do you guys need? I’ll pay for it myself.” She had Vance Wellings to thank for that. Ivan figured he would pass on the generosity.

Ida said, “Well, it would be nice if we could have a three-year anniversary event at my mother’s restaurant, especially since we were your first successful promotion. And I see you’ve been lining up second and third annual events everywhere else. What happened to us?”

Her assessment was only half right. IDPromotions.com was repeating only the major events: his second network birthday party, a second luxury car show, a second summer boat cruise, a second Hutch & Mitchell Golf Tournament, and other events that were heavily supported.

Ida’s suggestion was a bit more than he expected, but he figured she was right. He did owe them continued support through an annual event. It wouldn’t take much to pull off. And he liked the idea.

He said, “Yeah, we can work that. That’ll work. All I need is a good date.”

“Just like that?” she questioned.

Ivan grinned. He said, “I’m the boss. If I say it, it’s done.”

“Are you sure? You must no longer be with, um…Lucina, then,” she jabbed. Ida just couldn’t let the opportunity slip by her.

Ivan only chuckled at it. He said, “As a matter of fact, she’s her own boss now. I think that’s how all new power women want it. Even Hillary Rodham Clinton couldn’t wait to run for senator of New York as soon as Bill was out of the office and out of her way. Next she’ll run for president,” he joked.

“She should,” Ida commented. “I’ll vote for her. But how many votes can a sister get from you now, Ivan? I look at your website now and don’t see any black people anymore, sisters or brothers.”