“Oh. And why is that?”
“It’s a long story, and I’ll fill you in when I see you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it now? I mean, my break is almost up, but I can extend it and get one of the other nurses to cover for me if you need me to.”
“No, it’s not that serious at all.”
“Okay, well, then I’d better get back to work.”
“I’m sure I’ll speak to you again before next week but I’m really looking forward to seeing you, Mel,” Alicia said, signing on to her computer.
“We’ll have a great time.”
“All right then, well, take care.”
“I will, and you do the same. Love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Alicia hung up the phone and smiled. It really was wonderful hearing Melanie’s voice, and Alicia missed her a lot more than she’d realized. She loved her new life with JT, but there was a part of her that missed her old surroundings and the people she’d known and cared about since she was a child. She was sort of shocked to be feeling this way, what with her finally having all that she’d ever prayed for. But deep down, she did miss attending her father’s church on Sunday mornings, seeing her family on a daily basis, and visiting Melanie a lot more than she was able to now. She did have her mother and stepfather right there in the area, but she still felt a tiny void in her heart. In a perfect world, everyone she loved would reside in the same city, but sadly she knew that wasn’t possible.
After browsing Neiman Marcus’s website and that of Marc Jacobs, she checked some of her NLCC e-mail. She read one after another and was elated to see she was still receiving so many responses from church members. Their words continued to show such amazing support and approval of her marriage to their pastor, and she couldn’t wait to become more involved with the overall ministry.
She read a few more messages but got nervous when she saw the last one, which said, “Guess who?” She didn’t recognize the address and hoped Levi hadn’t found some way to e-mail her. She wasn’t sure if inmates even had Internet or e-mailing privileges, but just the fact that Levi had asked his friend Darrell to contact her one week ago was enough to put her on edge.
But she clicked on the message and felt relieved when she saw that it was from a girl she’d gone to elementary and junior high school with. She hadn’t seen Renee in years, not since they were children, and she was so excited to be hearing from her. They’d been such good friends, but when Renee’s parents had divorced, Renee’s mother had no longer been able to afford private school tuition and Renee had been transferred to one of Chicago’s public schools instead. She and Alicia had talked on the phone for almost a year and sometimes visited each other, but eventually they’d lost touch.
Alicia read the rest of the e-mail and thought about how wonderful it would be to have a girlfriend close by. No one could ever take Melanie’s place, of course, but it would certainly be nice having someone she could get together with, every now and then, on a moment’s notice. It would be neat having someone to shop with, do spa days with, and maybe even confide in from time to time. It would feel good having someone she could laugh and talk with face-to-face whenever she wanted to, so she printed out Renee’s e-mail message and called her.
JT’s heart plummeted, his chest muscles tightened, and he knew he must have been dreaming. Had to be if Carmen was sitting in his living room with his wife and acting as though they were best friends for life.
Alicia smiled when she saw her husband and went to go greet him. “Hi, sweetheart. I’m so glad you got here in time to meet Renee. Well, actually, I should say Carmen, but when we were kids, I always called her by her middle name. Anyway, this is Carmen Wilson.”
Carmen stood and reached out her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Pastor.”
JT wanted to rush back out to his car but tried acting as calmly and as unsuspectingly as he could. “It’s nice meeting you as well.”
“I was going to call you,” Alicia said, “but since Carmen got here, we’ve pretty much talked nonstop. She’s been here for three hours, and we’ve been catching up on everything. Oh, and thanks, baby, for the beautiful flowers.”
JT looked at both of them in a stupor.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Alicia asked.
“What? I mean, yeah, I’m fine. So, how did you guys meet?”
“In kindergarten. We went to school together all the way through eighth grade but we haven’t seen each other since right after we started different high schools. But thanks to you, Carmen was able to find me.”
“What do you mean by that? What did I have to do with it?”
“Well, since you decided to make me your wife and someone told her I had just gotten married to the senior pastor at NLCC, she went to the website and saw my e-mail address. And that’s how she was able to send me her phone number.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, and I’m so glad she did. We’ve had the best time this afternoon, and it’s almost as if we were able to pick right back up from where we left off nine years ago.”
JT was dumbfounded and wondered what Carmen was up to. He wondered why she’d had the audacity to come into his home like she was welcome and why she’d never once told him she knew his wife personally. He wanted to kill her, but he stood there pretending he couldn’t have been happier about their reunion.
Alicia started out of the family room. “When you came in, I was just on my way upstairs to get some photos of my parents and of Matthew and Curtina, so I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Carmen picked up what looked to be a glass of iced tea. “We’ll be right here,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. Then she set it back onto the coaster on the coffee table and made herself more comfortable on the sofa.
When Alicia was gone, JT looked at his former mistress and spoke in an angry whisper. “Carmen, what in the hell are you doing here?”
“Wow! The good reverend is now resorting to four-letter words? Shame, shame, shame,” she said, snickering at him. “I mean, not the man who’s always claiming he loves God so much. The man who despises curse words of any kind.”
“Look. I’m not playing with you, Carmen. What are you doing here?”
Carmen’s face turned cold. “And I’m not playing with you either. I told you this wasn’t the end for you and me, and that’s exactly what I meant.”
“You’re crazy. You’re sick, and you need a psychiatrist.”
“Maybe. But if you don’t end your marriage to Little Miss Thing, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Oh, and I suggest you unblock my numbers on your phone, too. Unless you want me calling the church or calling you here at home.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“You know why.”
“Carmen, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave right now and you’ll never come back here ever again.”
Carmen laughed at him and crossed her legs. “And if I don’t?”
“If you don’t, you’ll wish you had.”
“Oooooh,” she said, feigning fear. “I’m so scared I don’t know what to do.”
JT opened his mouth to respond but closed it when he heard Alicia coming back down the stairs.
“Here they are, girl,” she said, walking back into the room and sitting down next to her friend.
“Oh my. Your little brother is such a handsome little thing, and your sister is a cutie, too.”
“I know,” Alicia said, and then showed Carmen a photo of her father and Charlotte and then one of her mother and James.
JT looked on for a few seconds but then politely excused himself and went up to their bedroom. When he arrived, he removed his blazer, slammed it onto the bed, and gritted his teeth. He was fuming and couldn’t believe Carmen had been willing to do something so psychotic. He’d dumped a number of women over the years, but not once had any of them been this obsessed with him.
JT paced back and forth across the room, trying to figu
re out the best way to handle this situation. What he wanted more than anything was to get rid of her. Not just for the moment, but permanently, so he’d never have to lay eyes on her again.
Chapter 13
JT pulled open the door, slipped onto the patio, and then closed the door behind him. Alicia was getting dressed for a publishing seminar she’d registered for a couple of weeks ago, and this gave him ample opportunity to call Carmen. His first instinct was to wait a day or two before contacting her, but when he’d thought about all the trouble she might end up causing, he’d decided it was better to deal with her as soon as possible.
He dialed her number, and she answered right away. “Hi, baby,” she said. “Miss me already? I mean, I just left your house not even a whole hour ago.”
“This has to stop, Carmen.”
“Does it?”
“Yes. It does. But one thing I wanna know is why you never told me you knew Alicia. I wanna know why you kept that hidden all this time.”
“Why? Because you’re a liar and a cheat. And when I found out you were dating that high-priced ho, I knew my relationship with her just might be the insurance policy I needed.”
“Insurance policy?”
“Yes. You heard me. You’d been dating me for all those years and had me believing I would eventually be your wife, and then you betrayed me with that tramp. Then, when I saw that you were really going to marry her, I realized my past friendship with Alicia was well worth keeping a secret.”
“You’re acting like a complete fool, you know that?”
“Well, your wife certainly doesn’t think so. Because as it turns out, she’s thrilled to have me back in her life. She’s excited to have someone right here in Chicago that she can spend time with, and I’m going to be there for her as much as she wants me to. Before you know it, I’ll be her best friend in the world.”
“No, what you’re going to do is stay away from my wife and me. Or else.”
“Or else what?”
“If you don’t leave us alone, you’ll be sorrier than you’ve ever been about anything.”
“I don’t think so. Not with everything I know about you. Not with all the dirt you’ve done, all the horrible things you had me do, and all the people you’ve hurt in the process. If you push me, JT, I’ll tell everything I know. To your congregation and the whole city of Chicago.”
JT clenched his phone tightly. He hated this. Hated ever having gotten mixed up with the likes of Carmen and then being careless enough to confide so many incriminating pieces of information to her. Although, he knew those moments of sharing had only come right after they made love, a time when he was most vulnerable about everything.
Carmen continued, “Look, it doesn’t have to end this way. We don’t have to be enemies, JT.”
“Hmmph. Well, from where I’m sitting, I don’t see where we have any other choice.”
“Oh, there’re always other options. Because don’t get me wrong. I do despise the fact that you married Alicia, but I also understand your reason for doing it. You wanted to use her father as a way to grow your ministry, and I don’t blame you for that. Actually, I don’t blame you in the least, and that’s why I’m willing to give you six months to do what you need to do…and then I want you to file for a divorce. And in the meantime, I expect things between you and me to go back to the way they were. We’ll spend time together the same as in the past, and everyone’ll be happy.”
JT wanted to yell “No!” as loud as he could, but he knew it wouldn’t change anything. He knew Carmen really did know way too much and could ruin him on a moment’s notice. So he said, “Fine. Whatever you want, but you have to stay away from Alicia.”
“I’ll keep my distance, but now that we’ve reconnected, it’s not like I can just cut her off for no reason.”
“Then make up something. Tell her that you have to go away for a while to take care of a sick relative. Tell her whatever you have to.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good,” JT said, and looked inside the house, making sure Alicia hadn’t come downstairs yet. “Hey, I need to get going.”
“Okay, JT, but just let me say one more thing.”
“What?”
“You know I’m only doing this because I love you, right?”
“I guess.”
“I do, JT. Sometimes I think I love you more than I love myself. Sometimes I wonder if life would even be worth living if I can’t be with you, and that scares me.”
JT raised his eyebrows. He didn’t dare respond to what she’d just said, but little did she know, he was scared, too. He was afraid of any woman who thought that lowly of herself.
But he said what he could to pacify her. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“You promise?” she said, sniffling, and now he was even more worried. Here just a few minutes ago, she’d been threatening him to no end, and now she was sobbing into the phone.
“I promise,” he hurried to say.
“Then I feel better about this whole thing. I feel better than I have in over a week.”
“I’m glad, but I really have to go, okay?”
“I love you, JT.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, and ended the call.
Right after he did, he went back inside the house. It was barely in the nick of time, though, because Alicia was already walking down the staircase.
JT waited for her to come into the kitchen.
“I sort of regret not being able to go to Bible study with you this evening,” she said. “But I’m also really looking forward to this seminar. The main focus is actually going to be on self-publishing, and while it doesn’t look like I’ll have to go that route, I still want to learn everything I can about the business side of the industry.”
“Of course. With anything you do, it’s always good to learn as much as you can.”
“Over the last year, I’ve read a ton of books on writing, publishing, and marketing, but it’ll be good to hear someone talk about it in a class setting.”
“All the time you’re putting in, baby, is definitely going to pay off, and it’s only a matter of time before you see all the rewards.”
Alicia strode closer to the door leading to the garage. “The seminar is from seven to ten, so I guess I’ll see you around ten thirty or so, okay?”
“So, you’re not even going to kiss me good-bye?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, baby,” she said, walking back toward him. Then she gave him a peck on the lips.
JT grabbed hold of her. “I really do love you, Alicia. I love you more and more as the days go on,” he said, and meant every word.
“I love you, too, and I’ll see you when I get back. Oh, and enjoy Bible study.”
JT watched her leave and sighed deeply. He sighed because if he didn’t leave now, he’d be late getting to Diana’s.
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day,” Diana said with her arms wrapped solidly around JT’s neck. “It’s been over a week since you last came here, and that’s much too long for me.”
“I know,” he said, looking at her diamond stud earrings, which were at least two carats each. “And that’s why I asked Minister Payne to lead the Bible study session tonight. So I could see you.”
“But what about the last four or five days? Why couldn’t you be with me then?”
“Well, for one thing, I’ve had a lot of church business going on.”
“Really? Because I thought maybe it might be because you’re spending a lot more time with that young wife of yours.”
“No, that’s not it at all,” he said, but knew he had in fact spent every evening with Alicia over the last few days.
“I need to see you more often, JT,” she said with conviction. “I need to see you at least once or twice every week.”
“I’ll do better,” JT acknowledged, but wasn’t sure how he was going to make that happen. Especially since Carmen was now demanding that he spend time with her again and a
lso because he didn’t want Alicia becoming suspicious about the amount of time he spent away from her. Not to mention he really did want to be at home with his wife the way he was supposed to. When he’d married her, he hadn’t counted on falling in love with her, but just at this very moment, while embracing Diana, he realized he had. For weeks, he’d begun admitting to himself the fact that he did love Alicia, but it wasn’t until now that he knew just how deep his love for her actually ran.
“All I ask is that you try,” she said. “Because it’s like I told you: If you keep up your end of the deal, I’ll be more than willing to keep up mine.”
“Of course,” JT said, kissing her, and Diana stepped away and started unbuttoning her snow-white, sleeveless silk blouse.
“So, how are your marketing plans going?” she asked.
“Fine. We’re planning to appoint a committee and then attend a few seminars, but what I’d like to work on right away is a major media blitz. We do have money in the church’s PR account, but if your offer is still on the table, I’d really like your help. I really need it because the more funding we have to work with, the more TV and radio stations we’ll be able to advertise on for three to four weeks straight. We’d also be able to do ads for the same period of time in both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.”
“How much do you think you’ll need?”
“I’m not completely sure, but we’ll be hiring an ad agency soon.”
“Well, if I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably going to need at least a hundred thousand dollars just to start. That is, if you want to do this campaign the right way and make it as memorable as possible.”
“Yes, probably at least that much.”
Diana unzipped her St. John jeans and stepped out of them. “Whatever you need, sweetheart, it’s yours,” she said, still undressing herself.
JT finally pulled his shirt over his head and then slipped off his pants.
Diana slid into bed and gazed at him with enticing eyes. “You know, it really ought to be a crime for a man to look as good as you do.”
Be Careful What You Pray For Page 7
