“I am not responsible for them. I am sure Max is talking to her family. If you would like, I can give you her number, and you can ask her yourself,” Reverend Ferguson said sarcastically.
“No thanks! I’ve met that mouthy broad, and I plan on staying as far away from her as I can,” he replied.
“Oh really?” his mother said, looking at him.
Matthew looked at his mother. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh nothing,” she said, looking at her nails. “You seemed mighty interested in her earlier today at the hospital. I understand you two went outside to have a conversation.”
Matt’s face turned red as Grandma Nellie cackled upon hearing what Rachel said.
“We had a disagreement. I told you she’s a mouthy broad!” Matt snapped.
His mother gave him a knowing smirk. “Of course, son.”
“So, Matt, you like Max, huh?” Eric said, snickering.
“I don’t like her at all,” Matt replied angrily. “She’s just an irritating, mouthy broad!”
“Was that why you were staring at her butt?” his mother asked innocently, looking at him.
Matt turned red, and Eric laughed again.
“Well, well, well,” Eric said. “Someone’s closet door has been opened a crack, I see.”
“You’re crazy!” Matt said, walking away from the two of them.
Charlotte came out of the kitchen and whispered to her husband. Reverend Ferguson stood back up and looked around the room. “All right, everybody. Let’s eat!”
CHAPTER 23
THE ULTIMATUM
Jeremy and Michael sat in the conference room surrounded by Emerson Hunt and several other executives of Chaz. Of course their lawyer was there shuffling papers.
Emerson Hunt III was the CEO of Chaz Inc. Having taken control of the company ten years ago from his father, Emerson Hunt Jr., he had taken the company to new heights, and profits had increased ten million dollars since he was in control of the family business. He had an eye for detail and an ear for public opinion, and he knew what the people wanted.
Michael fidgeted nervously in his seat and kept whispering to the agency’s lawyer that was seated to his left. Jeremy wished that they would just get on with it.
“We were very pleased with your work over the past two years, Mr. Ferguson. Chaz profits are up 10 percent. The promotions where you and Ms. Fleming have made appearances have generated an increase in sales at those particular stores.” Emerson Hunt spoke as he continued to tap the keys on his laptop. His mouth was in a fine line as he studied the figures.
“As you know,” he continued, “Ms. Fleming’s movie role last year and then her subsequent working with you was an added bonus. The people love seeing you two together. What we’d like to do is to sign you both to a two-year deal and promote the two of you with a family theme. Family values are a great profit angle. Displaying a wholesome, clean-cut family will work well with not only our clothing line, but with our expanded line of children’s clothing. We’re currently searching for an infant less than a year old and a four-year-old to photograph with you and Ms. Fleming.”
Michael spoke up. “What about the fragrances and toiletries? Will you no longer need him for those?”
“We will continue to use him there also. We still want to appeal to the single male,” Emerson Hunt said. “Our European market is growing, and we will need to market more of our products there. You will be traveling there for promotions also.”
Emerson Hunt nodded to his lawyer, who pulled out some paperwork.
“I believe that if you look over our offer, you will find it very generous,” Emerson Hunt remarked, not looking up from his laptop.
The lawyer passed the copies to Michael and Jeremy. Jeremy began to glance over the offer.
“You can take your time to read it over and get back to us next week,” Emerson replied. “If there’s nothing else, then we will adjourn, and I look forward to hearing from you.”
He stood up, shut his computer, and looked at his watch.
“Just a minute,” Jeremy said, looking at the papers. “It says here that you plan to promote Joan and I as husband and wife and that I will be required to cooperate and not to admit or discuss my actual marriage while promoting your products or while working for your company… that I will promote Joan as my wife and refer to her as such during promotions.”
“That is correct,” his lawyer responded.
“It’s all part of the promotion,” Emerson Hunt said. “People like seeing you two together. You are a great-looking couple. It’ll pay big for people to believe that something is really going on between you two. The gossip columnists will keep your name out front, and as you promote Chaz, more interest will be generated. You two will travel together and appear to be a happy couple for your public.”
Jeremy stared at Emerson Hunt in disbelief. “Mr. Hunt, are you married?”
He looked surprised at Jeremy’s question. “Why yes. Why do you ask?”
“Do you seriously think that I can go home and tell my wife that I am required to promote another woman as my wife and that I have to call this woman my wife in the presence of others and deny her?” Jeremy snapped. “If I have to travel to Europe for any length of time, I want to be able to take my wife with me.”
“I am sure that once your wife sees the amount of the contract, it will more than compensate for any… discomfort,” Emerson replied. “Taking your wife with you on these promotions would be counterproductive and not in the best interests of Chaz.”
Jeremy looked at Michael, folded up the contract, and wrote no on it. He handed it to him, and Michael looked at Jeremy, his eyes pleading. Jeremy turned back to Emerson Hunt.
“I won’t begin to speak for my wife, Mr. Hunt. However, I believe that she will not like this. I don’t like it myself! My personal life has nothing to do with my work. I am willing to work with you, and we can do photos and promote a ‘husband and wife’ theme as you stated, but calling Joan my wife and denying my actual wife is going a bit far.”
“Look,” Emerson said as if he were talking to a child, “there’s a lot of money involved here. I am sure that once you explain things to your wife, she will understand. However, you are the man in the relationship, and you need to act like it. Get some balls and make her understand.”
“I don’t need you to tell me how to be a man, Mr. Hunt,” Jeremy said, standing trying to keep calm. “And I can assure you that she knows I have balls. Perhaps you need to check your own!”
“Jeremy—” Michael stammered.
“Be quiet, Michael!” Jeremy said. He turned back to Emerson Hunt. “Contrary to what you or anyone else might think, I know what I am. I know I am a man. I don’t need you or anyone else thinking otherwise.”
“I expect you to show a little more gratitude. Pretty faces are a dime a dozen,” Emerson said, trying to put Jeremy in his place.
“True, but dignity is forever, and I will leave here with mine—with our without your contract!” Jeremy snapped angrily. Jeremy pushed his chair back and walked out of the conference room, leaving Emerson Hunt totally flabbergasted.
Matthew Ferguson Jr. left his parents’ house after the so-called meeting, trying to keep his cool.
His Grandma Nellie had insisted that he take her home instead of Eric so that Eric could get back to the hospital to check on Nadine and the babies. It seemed that the hospital was going to release her the next day, and he still had some preparations to do.
He didn’t mind taking her home; he just didn’t want her to start up again about him being attracted to black women. It was ridiculous! He helped her in the car, and they drove in silence for a while.
“So how’s your business going, Matt?” she asked.
“Fine, Grandma. It’s growing every day.”
“Do you have a special lady?”
“I date. However, I don’t date black women, okay!”
“Fine!” she replied chuckling.
“Why are you so worried about who I’m dating anyway?” Matthew asked.
“You’re a handsome, young man. I would have thought that some lucky girl would have snatched you up by now,” she said.
“I’m still looking, Grandma. I guess I just have high standards. If I find her, you’ll be the first to know.”
She didn’t respond, looking at him sideways. Matt gave her a quick glance and saw her staring out of the car window with a smirk on her face.
“Just because there are men in the family that have had affairs with black women doesn’t mean that I’ll end up with one.” Matt said coolly. “I’ve never dated a black woman.”
“I see” Grandma said still smirking.
“I’m not attracted to them, OK?” He persisted.
“OK”
Matthew returned his attention to the road and wondered why he was trying so hard to convince his grandmother.
Max left the gym to get a bite to eat. She had been running back and forth from the job to the hospital to the apartment. Nadine would be released that day, and there were still so many things to do.
She just needed a little peace and quiet so that she could get her thoughts together. She put her iPod in her pocket and planned on having the earplugs in her ears as she ate. That way no one would try to start up a conversation with her. She really wanted quiet, so she wasn’t going to be listening to any music, but no one would know that. She carried a magazine in her bag for extra security. No one would bother her if she was reading and listening to music.
She went into Logan’s, which was one of her favorite restaurants, and asked to be seated in the back. She sat in the last booth and looked at the menu. She decided to order the trout and put the earplugs in her ears after giving her order to the waitress.
She looked up as two men walked to the back of the restaurant. She noticed that they were staring at her, and she pretended to be listening to her iPod as she began flipping through the magazine she had with her.
The two men sat down in the booth in front of hers, and she noticed that they kept glancing her way. She pretended to be absorbed in the magazine and began moving her head to the imaginary music.
“Excuse me, miss,” one of the men said. She pretended not to hear him. What could they possibly have to say to her? She then felt guilty and decided that if they called her again, she would answer.
She was surprised when she heard the older man say to his companion that he was sure that she wasn’t listening to anything they were saying. This comment made her ears perk up as she wondered why they were concerned about her overhearing their conversation. She strained to hear what they were saying while still pretending to read the magazine.
“Good,” the smaller of the two men said. They were talking low, but since there weren’t any other customers, and it was relatively quiet, Max had no trouble hearing their conversation.
“Look, it’s all set,” the older man who had tried to get her attention replied, still occasionally glancing her way. He lowered his voice, and she began to move her head some more, pretending that she was into the music, pretending to be absorbed in reading.
“I talked to Ferguson, and he’s in. I’ve convinced him to invest in our little business venture. He’s willing to put up five hundred grand.”
“You sure he’s got the money?” the other man said.
“Yeah, my sources told me that his little temporary agency is doing quite well. I am sure this will drain a good portion of his resources. Everything is in place. I’ve hired people to look like busy customers. When you bring him by the place tomorrow, it will be swarming. It’ll convince him to buy in for sure. He won’t find out the real shape the business is in until we are long gone. As soon as he signs on the dotted line, we’ll take the money and run.”
The other man laughed. “Good. Mr. Matthew Ferguson is a greedy little SOB. I thought he’d fall for it. He did try to snoop around, but we had our bases covered. Everybody reported back to him just what we wanted them to. He doesn’t have a clue. In two days, it’ll be a done deal! After you show him the place, we’ll give him the contract and tell him we’ll meet him the following day. That way, we won’t look like we’re in too big of a hurry.”
The waitress came over with her food, and Max felt like she had lost her appetite. She couldn’t stand Matthew Ferguson, but she didn’t want these goons to drain him dry! She looked up at the waitress.
“Can you just pack this up to go?” she said, removing one of the ear buds.
“Sure, honey,” she said, taking the plate back.
“I saw you moving to the beat,” the older man said to her before she could replace the ear bud. “What are you listening to?”
Max looked at him dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, sir, could you repeat that? I’m a little hard of hearing.”
The man looked surprised and relieved at the same time. “Never mind.”
Max smiled to herself. She gathered her things and walked to the front of the restaurant to get her food.
Aura was surprised to return to her apartment and find Jeremy there. She thought he had told her that he had a full day of shooting at Chaz.
“Hey there,” she said, walking over to him.
“Hey, babe,” he replied.
Aura could tell that something was bothering him.
“I didn’t expect to see you, especially here. I just came by to pick up a few things, and I was going back over to your place. I think I’d rather stay there because your place is bigger than mine.”
He frowned. “Yeah, but mine costs more. We have to remember that too.” He ran his hand through his hair and looked at her. “We need to talk.”
She sat down beside him. “Look, this place is cheaper than staying in Manhattan. It’s just the two of us. I’ll have no problem getting rid of my place. We have to look at the big picture.”
Aura wondered what brought this on. “You didn’t get the contract, did you?” she said. “I’m sorry, but I know you will find something else.”
“Look, babe. I got the contract. It’s a very good one too, more money than the last one.”
Aura looked puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
“They want me to pretend to be married to Joan. As long as I’m working, I am not to talk about my real marriage, but I’m to promote this fairytale marriage with Joan. They are even trying to get another movie deal tied up in this for the both of us. It seems the Jeremy and Joan relationship is a hot item right now.” His voice was bitter.
Aura gasped. “What did you tell them?”
He looked sheepish. “I kinda told the CEO of Chaz off and walked out.”
“Jeremy!” Aura said.
“I wasn’t feeling it, Aura.” He stood up. “I mean, I’m willing to do the photos and promotions. If they want to present us in pictures as a married couple, fine. If they want us to do a part in a movie, fine! But to only refer to Joan as my wife and if someone point blank asks me about having a wife, I am only to talk about Joan? I don’t think so.”
Aura was quiet for a moment.
“What do you want to do?” she said, standing and putting her arms around him. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. I don’t mind really. If you want to do it—”
“I don’t want to do it,” he said, cutting her off.
“There’s a lot of money, and your career’s at stake, Jeremy. I am not that naive. This is your career you’re talking about. Can’t you negotiate? Just tell them to take that part out but that you won’t promote your real marriage while you are working.”
Jeremy walked over to the window and looked out. “I don’t know, babe. Today I realized that I have to start thinking about life after this career. Emerson Hunt told me today that a pretty fa
ce is a dime a dozen, and he was right. Plus, I’m getting older every day. I can’t do this forever.”
She hugged him. “Don’t let them determine your destiny. See if you can negotiate your contract. We can sit down together and talk about what you want to do after modeling if that’s what you want. You have money saved, and there are options. I’ll help you; you know that.”
Jeremy turned around and kissed her. “When a man finds a wife, he finds a good thing. Proverbs 18:22.”
“Absolutely!” she responded.
Rachel was surprised that Max called and told her that she needed to talk to her right away.
“I thought you had to help Nadine,” Rachel said “She’s coming home today, isn’t she?”
“Everything’s ready,” Max said. “Eric is going to bring her home. She didn’t have much at the hospital anyway. I will pick you up, and we can go back to my place. We’ll have a little time before Eric gets there with Nadine.”
Rachel was confused. “Don’t you think Eric will need some help?”
“He’ll be fine,” Max assured her. “This is really important.”
“All right then,” Rachel conceded. “However, I’ve got a few errands to run. It will be better for me if I get Matthew to drop me off at your place.”
“Your son or your husband?” Max asked.
“My husband. Why?” Rachel asked.
“Do you think you could get your son Matthew over here?” Max asked.
“I doubt it. He got mad at me for those comments I made at Daniel’s house the other day. I haven’t even talked to him since then.”
“Well you’re his mother. Can’t you exert your motherly dominance over him and demand that he take you? You know, throw a guilt trip on him like mothers do and force his hand?”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Rachel said “What’s this all about anyway?”
“I’d rather not get into it on the phone,” Max said. “But this is really important. I’m not going to say life and death, but almost. I need you to get him to bring you. Trust me on this, Rachel.”
The Preacher’s Son Page 22