“You look incredible,” Emoni said. “Who knew you cleaned up so well?”
“I know I didn’t,” Montana said.
Emoni said, “This looks so much better than your church dress.”
They both laughed.
“You ready to go and get your prince now?” Emoni asked.
“It seems like he’s insisting on it, huh?”
Quentin certainly didn’t have a problem with letting his intentions be known. He was in pursuit of Montana and planned to claim her, at least for the evening. But as much as Montana loved the new dress, shoes, and jewelry, she wasn’t impressed. Spending money was easy for Quentin. He’d have to do more than buy her things to win her heart.
CHAPTER 51
Quentin stood at the foot of the spiral staircase, fully dressed in his tuxedo and bow tie, and beheld the mansion transformed into a ballroom. With all of the drama that had gone on in the past couple of weeks, Quentin hadn’t taken time out to remember what the event was all about. They were going to raise a boatload of money for the women at Transitions.
The auction area was full of unique and rare jewelry pieces and an art collection by a local painter who was featured at a New York City gallery. Of course, the rich bachelor auction was sure to rake in the dollars as well. It was going to be a great event.
Estelle walked up and kissed his cheek. “You look quite dapper, son. I wish your father was still alive to see you in a tux.”
“He did, at my wedding, remember?”
“That’s right. Well, you’re older now, and more handsome. You look just like him.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
The guests had started to arrive, so Estelle turned on her hostess charm. She moved through the room, granting air kisses to her associates and real hugs and kisses to her dear friends. Estelle was never fake, and every one of the party’s guests knew where they stood with her.
It was hard to tell who was who with the sea of masks floating through the front door. Quentin had opted not to wear a mask, but many of the men did. The masks gave the event a haunting feel that made Quentin apprehensive.
The party really became festive when the band started to play. They had opted for old-school R & B and jazz instead of classical or gospel, and many of the couples took to the dance floor even though dinner hadn’t yet been served.
The social circles in Atlanta were quite small, and most everyone had heard about the demise of Quentin and Chloe’s relationship. Quentin felt fortunate that no one, so far, had asked him where Chloe was. He planned to say to anyone who asked, “I don’t think she’s going to be able to make it.” It was the truth without giving away any of the bad blood or embarrassing Chloe even further.
Emoni walked by and hugged Quentin. “Look at Lord Chambers, looking quite scrumptious. I might just have to ditch my boyfriend. Who’s your date for the evening?”
Quentin laughed. “As much as I would love to have you on my arm, I’ve asked Montana. Plus, your man is kind of swollen in the biceps area, so I think I’m going to pass.”
“Your loss. It would’ve been grand!”
“You are a nut. Where’s Montana?”
“Well, she has to make an entrance. She looks spectacular. You better make her official real quickly, because if you don’t, she is going to have a long line of suitors after tonight.”
Quentin nodded. “I hear you. I plan to make that happen real soon.”
“Don’t snooze, playa.”
“How did you get so hood, Emoni? Where did Bishop go wrong?”
Emoni punched Quentin in the arm. “Where did he go right, you mean? Don’t make me beat you down and get your little tux all dusty.”
And then Quentin saw Montana walk into the room. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her in the pale blue dress. The sparkling shimmer of the fabric seemed to extend to her arms, face, and shoulders. She was aglow, and like the star that she was, she caused all activity in the room to cease. Dancers stopped dancing, chatters stopped chatting, and those who were eating appetizers stopped chewing as she captivated all with her presence.
From head to toe, there was not one flaw Quentin could find in Montana. He wanted to end the party right then and sweep her away somewhere, to Vegas, and make her his bride.
While everyone gazed at Montana, she seemed to have eyes only for Quentin. She beamed at him as she stood facing him. Who was Quentin kidding with not announcing Montana as his date? Anyone who looked at them would see that something was there. And that something was an attraction so deep it was almost like there was no one else in the room.
“Hi, Quentin. What do you think?” Montana asked.
“Uh . . . wow. I can’t think! You look incredible.”
Her smile grew. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You can have every one of those dresses if you want. I’ll plan a formal dinner every night of the week just to see you wearing them.”
Montana slapped Quentin on the arm. “Stop trying to buy me stuff.”
“No. I am not going to stop buying you stuff. You’re just going to have to get used to it.”
“They’re about to serve dinner,” Montana said. “I promised the members of Freedom of Life that I’d sit with them. Is that okay with you?”
Montana looked so breathtaking that he didn’t want her out of his sight. “Of course it’s okay. I want to sit where you’re sitting.”
Montana blushed and looked away from Quentin’s intense gaze. Quentin was serious about what he’d said. He wasn’t going to stop buying her things. He wasn’t going to stop wooing her. He wasn’t going to stop chasing her until she was caught.
Montana waved as she made her way to the tables reserved for their church members. Estelle had wanted them to have a high-society experience, just like they were millionaires too, so their table was near the center of the room. Bishop and First Lady Prentiss looked stunning in their attire, and Bishop Prentiss’s assistant, Oscar, looked like he was having a good time for a change. Emoni and Darrin were perfect together.
The men at the table stood when Montana and Quentin approached. Montana waved for them to sit down, but they waited until she slid into the chair Quentin held out for her.
Tyler, Bishop Prentiss’s oldest son and fellow bachelor in the auction, said, “So who does everyone think is going to get the highest bid in the auction tonight? Me or Quentin?”
Quentin laughed out loud. “I think it’s more than obvious that you are going to lose, Tyler. It’s all right, though. You can graciously defer to your host.”
“Man, listen! Lots of women want to be a preacher’s wife.”
Darrin said, “Y’all should just be glad Emoni wouldn’t let me be in the auction. Every woman wants a man who can cook.”
“And why would you be in a bachelor auction?” Emoni asked. “This is how you get yourself in trouble.”
Darrin laughed, “I wouldn’t, sweetheart. I’m just teasing you.”
Emoni frowned until Darrin kissed her cheek and her sour facial expression melted. Quentin couldn’t wait until he and Montana had that rapport. He knew that they were at the beginning of their journey, but Quentin was convinced that he and Montana would be soul mates.
“Montana, honey, you look lovely,” First Lady Prentiss said. “Estelle just raves about you all the time. She said she couldn’t have done this ball without you.”
“We worked really hard to pull this together. And it’s for a wonderful cause.”
Bishop Prentiss said, “A blessed cause. Quentin, Montana has been telling me so much about the work you do at Transitions, and Freedom of Life wants to be a help to you. You don’t need to do it alone.”
“Right, Quentin,” Tyler said. “We’ve got ministry partners who would be glad to volunteer for shifts at Transitions.”
“Freedom of Life wants to partner with you,” Bishop Prentiss said. “It was Montana’s idea, though. She saw the ministry there. You never stopped serving God, son. Your ministry was ou
tside the church walls.”
Quentin grinned at Montana. He wanted to kiss her right here at the table. She’d gone, on his behalf, to talk to Bishop Prentiss, because she saw a need. He needed help with Transitions. It was time for him to stop carrying that particular burden alone.
“Bishop Prentiss, I welcome your help,” Quentin replied.
“Well, you’ve got it. We’ll meet and talk about it next week.”
Quentin squeezed Montana’s hand under the table. He kept talking to God about Montana, and all he felt was confirmation that she was the one and that He didn’t fail.
God didn’t fail, but Quentin was all too aware of his own imperfections. He’d been blessed with a near-perfect woman in Chandra, a soul mate and a partner. Could he be blessed again? Would God favor him that much to give him a second woman of his dreams?
CHAPTER 52
Dinner had gone off without a misstep. Every course of the meal was scrumptious, and the guests couldn’t stop buzzing about how talented a caterer Darrin was. Montana was excited for him, because there were holders of millions upon millions of dollars in the ballroom. He only had to connect with the right ones. Next up on the evening’s agenda was the wealthy bachelor auction, the highlight of the night for a lot of the women in attendance. Montana knew quite a few of the ladies from Freedom of Life had pulled money from their savings accounts to land a date with one of the wealthy guys. Montana was happy she didn’t have to bid for Quentin’s attention, and she was happy to be the auctioneer. She’d taken over those duties when it became clear that Chloe was no longer going to be a part of the festivities.
Montana stood on the stage, ready to be the auctioneer. She looked around the stage area and didn’t see what she was looking for. Her wireless microphone. Then she remembered. She’d left it in Quentin’s office when she went to put away the invoices for the final flower deliveries.
Montana dashed off the stage to go and get it. This was one time she wished the house was smaller. It took her several minutes to get to Quentin’s office from the ballroom. As she pushed the door open to grab the microphone from the desk, she was shocked to find something other than what she was looking for. Or rather, someone. Chloe sat at Quentin’s desk, wearing a formal dress.
“What are you doing here?” Montana asked. Her question was more surprise than accusation, but Montana could see by the dark look that came over Chloe’s face that she took it to mean the latter.
“What am I doing here? I should’ve asked you that the first day you stepped into this mansion.”
Chloe got up from the desk and walked around it. Montana took a few steps back. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation, but Chloe seemed to have been waiting for one.
“I must say, I underestimated you,” Chloe said. “If anyone had tried to tell me I was about to lose Quentin to a domestic employee, I would’ve laughed in their face.”
“I’m not the reason you and Quentin broke up,” Montana said.
Chloe walked closer to Montana. “Let me see. Before you start working here, I’m going on trips and shopping sprees and to every high-society function in Atlanta. After you start working here, my credit cards are canceled and you’re on his arm. Explain how you aren’t the reason.”
“Maybe God didn’t want you together.”
Chloe threw her head back and let out a cackle. “I just love how church folk get so mystical when they’ve done dirt. You stole my man and you just blamed it on God.”
“I didn’t steal him,” Montana said.
Montana felt herself get annoyed with Chloe’s accusations. She knew that what she and Quentin had embarked upon was more spiritual in nature than what he and Chloe had shared. It was unfortunate that Quentin was still seeing Chloe when they met, but what had happened wasn’t done on purpose.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Chloe said with a shrug. “I got what I wanted from Quentin anyhow, even in the midst of your treachery.”
“Your money.”
“Yes, honey. He gave me a twenty-million-dollar settlement for my five years of standing in the gap for him.”
“Standing in the gap?” Montana asked. “When did you expose yourself for Quentin’s protection? When did you raise up a defense for him? You don’t know what it means to stand in the gap.”
“I protected him from his grief. When he was with me he wasn’t thinking about his first wife, I guarantee it,” Chloe said.
“He wasn’t healing either. Actually, he was spiritually dead.”
Chloe rolled her eyes and walked back to the desk to retrieve her purse. “I don’t like you, nanny, but I’m gonna give you a word of advice. Don’t believe Quentin’s promises. He has no intentions of keeping them. Five years from now, you’ll be standing in a room looking at your replacement.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I know you don’t. I wouldn’t believe me either, if I was you.”
Chloe walked out of the office with her head held high. But she left Montana with more questions than answers. She knew there was no treachery on her part with Quentin, but what if the rest of what Chloe said was true? How did she know she’d be any different? How did she know her love would be enough for Quentin?
Lacking the answers she sought, Montana went back downstairs with the microphone in her hand. Quentin caught her before she went on the stage.
“Is everything all right?” he whispered.
Montana closed her eyes. She wanted to tell him about her conversation with Chloe, but what good would that do if Quentin’s intentions were poor? He wouldn’t let on now if they were.
“Chloe’s here,” Montana said. “Or she was. She might be gone now.”
“Do I need to call security?”
Montana shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think she was waiting to talk to you.”
“Are you okay? What did she say to you?”
“Nothing. I’m fine. Let’s start the auction, okay?”
Microphone in hand, Montana stood in front of the crowd on the band’s stage. She tried to push Chloe’s warning out of her mind while she addressed the partygoers.
“Thank you to everyone who came out to this event to support Transitions! I have had the opportunity to visit there myself, and it is truly God’s work that Quentin Chambers is doing there. You are in support of a worthy cause.”
“Bring on the hunks!” shouted a lady in her mid-sixties. Her husband, who was seated next to her, shook his head in embarrassment.
Montana had to restrain her giggle. “Yes, indeed! It is definitely time to bring on the hunks.”
First on the stage was Tyler Prentiss. The catcalls started as soon as he started up the stairs. He was very handsome, with long locks that he wore tied neatly in back and a muscular physique. His skin was the color of cream, and he had light eyes like his mother. Montana watched the ladies swoon.
“Well, first, we have the very fine bachelor Pastor Tyler Prentiss. He’s the assistant pastor at Freedom of Life, where he serves with his father Bishop Kumal Prentiss. He enjoys tennis, bowling, and spending time at the beach. His favorite foods are Italian and . . .”
“I will start the bidding at one thousand dollars!” yelled Dorcas, one of the sisters at Freedom of Life. Montana saw Emoni roll her eyes and again had to keep from bursting into laughter. There was no love lost between the two of them.
Another one of the church sisters said, “I’ve got two thousand on him, baby!”
Tyler looked tickled at the attention as if he wasn’t used to it. He was Freedom of Life’s most eligible bachelor. Everyone expected him to take over Bishop Prentiss’s position one day as senior pastor at Freedom of Life.
After some furious back-and-forth bidding on Tyler, his mother, First Lady Diana Prentiss, rescued him by making a final bid of fifteen thousand dollars. The ladies, of course, were disappointed, but he gave all of the highest bidders a hug, so they were somewhat pacified.
The bachelors walked onto the stage one by one, eac
h one nabbing thousands of dollars for Transitions. The auction was a great idea. Montana was going to recommend that they make it an annual tradition.
Quentin winked at Montana as he took the stage. He was the final bachelor and the one everyone wanted for an afternoon lunch date. Montana herself couldn’t afford to bid, so she hoped one of the thirsty elderly ladies won a lunch date with her tall drink of water.
“All right, everyone! Our final bachelor is the founder of Transitions, my boss and your host, Quentin Chambers! I think it’s only fair if we open the first bid at two thousand dollars!”
The bidding took off in a noisy frenzy, until there were six women contending for that date with Quentin. When the bids surpassed twenty-five thousand dollars with no signs of stopping, the room went loud with noisy catcalls and cheers.
“Twenty-five thousand going once! Going twice . . .”
“One hundred thousand dollars.”
The bid came from Estelle. All the women in the room groaned. If Estelle was going to get in on the bidding, they’d never win.
When no one countered, Montana said, “Well, that’s one hundred thousand from Mrs. Chambers going once . . . going twice . . . going three times . . . Sold!”
Estelle burst into laughter. “I have done my duty as a mother, protecting my son from all of you barracudas!”
“You can’t watch him all the time!” someone yelled, causing everyone in the room to join Estelle in laughing.
Quentin took the microphone from Montana. As he did so, he stroked the side of her face, a very public gesture that shocked Montana.
Quentin said, “I hope you ladies have fun on your outings with your bachelors. I’m almost one hundred percent sure my mother has something up her sleeve for me. So if I may solicit one more thing from you, I would appreciate your prayers.”
“Can everyone give the beautiful Ms. Montana a round of applause,” Quentin continued. “She came in and really pulled this event together at the last minute. She’s been such a blessing to me and this household.”
Montana could’ve died of embarrassment. Many of the high-society ladies gave her a head nod of approval, and some of the church members, Emoni included, shouted “Hallelujah” like Quentin was preaching a sermon.
The Replacement Wife Page 24
