Anointed (Urban Books)

by Patricia Haley

  “Come on, darling, let Daddy sit you here on the steps.”

  “No,” she screamed out. “You’ll leave and I don’t want you to leave.”

  “Darling, I won’t leave. How about we all have dinner together tonight? Would you like that?”

  “Yeah,” Tamara yelled, finally releasing the grip she had on his neck. He placed her on the step next to Don.

  “Mommy and I have a special surprise,” Dave told the kids.

  Madeline returned with their oldest son. “I found the little guy watching TV as I suspected instead of doing his homework,” she said, twinkling her fingers on top of his head as she and Sam entered the room.

  “Come here, big guy, and give your dad a hug,” Dave said, taking a seat near the foot of the staircase. Tamara immediately squeezed in, leaving a tiny space for anyone else. Sam didn’t readily fly over. So, Dave went to him and bent down to hug his growing boy. “You know,” Dave said, pulling back and taking a good look at Sam, “I think you’ve grown a whole fraction of an inch since I saw you yesterday. Is that possible?”

  Sam blushed and leaned in. Dave was touched. Actually, he’d seen Sam yesterday, but his son hadn’t seen him. Dave had sat on the side of his son’s bed and watched him sleep for many nights. Getting in at ten and 11:00 P.M. was too late to wake his children, but being close to them, poking his head in their rooms and seeing their angelic faces, was fuel to keep going. Before long, Sam and Don were at their mother’s side, with Tamara clinging to her dad.

  The work had been hard and the sacrifice huge, but Dave knew he was in the will of God. He didn’t claim to understand why his calling required him to be away from his children so much, but God had a reason. Dave was certain and didn’t question Him, not yet.

  He kneeled and beckoned for the children to come closer as they all gathered around him in the foyer. He loosened his tie and draped it across Sam’s shoulders. “Remember I told you that we have a big surprise for you?” Don and Tamara each responded in their own animated way. Madeline stood close but was quiet.

  “Well, do you remember Andre?”

  “Yes, he’s our god brother who lives in Arizona,” Sam said.

  “No, he’s not. He’s Uncle Jonathan’s son,” Tamara said, seeming upset.

  Don kept clinging to Madeline.

  “You’re both correct. He is Uncle Jonathan’s son,” Dave said, fighting back his emotions. The kids couldn’t see him break down. They wouldn’t understand and would probably end up scared. He dug deep for great strength and continued. “And he is your god brother, too.” Dave drew in a long breath. “Well, he’s going to need our help.”

  “Why?” Tamara asked.

  “Well, his mother went to heaven when he was a baby. Now, his father, Uncle Jonathan has gone to heaven too. So that means Andre will have to live with us, because he doesn’t have any parents left.”

  “For real?” Sam said, showing the first sign of excitement.

  “Yes, for real. I’m going to get him in a few days.”

  “Cool,” Sam said. “Can I go pick out some of my baseball cards for him?”

  “Sure,” Dave said, barely able to finish speaking before Sam was bouncing up the stairs, with Don taking much smaller steps, not able to keep up, but trying.

  “Make sure you do your spelling and math facts, mister, before you get those baseball cards,” Madeline said, although he probably didn’t hear her as excited as he was.

  “What about you, little lady, how do you feel about Andre coming to stay with us?”

  “I’m very happy, Daddy, because if we get a new brother, that means you’ll come to live with us too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’ll all get to live together again and we can see you every day and not just some days, right?” Dave was stunned, which quickly converted to hurt, an ache deep within his soul. Was that how his children felt, that their father was a casual visitor who popped in every once in a while? The recurring image of sadness coupled with the raw wound of Jonathan’s death was too much, and he struggled hard to maintain composure.

  Madeline must have sensed him caving because she grabbed Tamara. “Come on, missy. I need you to go wash up and get ready for dinner.”

  “But I want to talk with Daddy some more.”

  “You can talk later, after dinner.”

  “But . . .” Tamara eked out.

  “No buts, let’s go get washed up.”

  Tamara traipsed up the stairs in no hurry, until Madeline put a foot on the bottom stair and acted as if she was coming behind her. Tamara picked up her pace.

  “Are you okay?” Madeline asked Dave, kneeling down next to him.

  Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sighed. “I didn’t realize how much the kids miss me.”

  “You know how children are. They want attention all the time at their age. Even if you were here with them all day, they’d want more.”

  “Thanks for saying that, but I know there’s more to it. They need their father. I just haven’t figured out how to do what my Heavenly Father has called me to do while also being a father to my kids.”

  “I don’t have your answer, but I can say that we’ve made a huge investment into building DMI. We’ve worked our behinds off to get where we are. We can’t let the company slip away.” Madeline squeezed next to him. “We’re partners and we have to make this work. So, you stay in the office and do what you have to do there, and I’ll take the sabbatical like you suggested and take care of everything here.”

  They embraced quickly and released. Dave stood, extending a hand for Madeline to get up too. “Let’s be honest. I’m definitely going to miss having you at the office. I’ve seen you every day, all day, for twelve years, thousands of hours together. What am I going to do?” he chuckled.

  “Guess you’ll have to get another phone line since we’ll be talking a lot.”

  They ascended the staircase laughing and joking, a sensation Dave cherished, but would soon question.

  Chapter 5

  Dave should have returned to the office last night. Opting to stay at home and make a family night with Madeline and the kids had a price. Up at three-thirty, out of the house before four-thirty, and sitting at his desk by five, he’d been paying already.

  The phone rang and it was Madeline. “Don has a slight fever. I won’t be able to make the meeting with Mr. Stenton this morning.”

  Dave sighed. “All right,” he told her, although it wasn’t. His head drooped as he slowly rubbed the palm of his hand across his eyebrows and closed eyelids. The East Coast was Madeline’s baby. She’d created the marketing plan, the list of potential clients, and the cost structure. She owned the East Coast expansion. No one in the company, including him, was more in tune with what had to be done for the new account.

  Dave extracted the files from the heap and pondered after ending the call with his wife. Finally, he sat up tall in his chair and put on his reading glasses. The clock was ticking and fretting wasn’t adding fresh minutes. The reality was that Madeline wasn’t there to lead her meeting and wasn’t going to be, indefinitely. He had to go with his gut on this one. “Lord, help me do what I need to do,” he prayed. Reassurance seeped in. God had given him favor and wisdom every step of the way in building DMI. Dave didn’t see any reason for him to lose faith in God’s ability to get them through this transition period, either.

  There was a knock on his door around eight-thirty. “Excuse me, Mr. Mitchell, there is a gentleman here to see you,” the DMI receptionist said.

  “Oh shoot, already,” Dave said, buried in a pile of paperwork. “It should be Mr. Stenton from the Eastern Lutheran Group. Bring him up.”

  Dave would have preferred more opportunity to prepare but time had run out. His faith meter rose as his surging thoughts calmed.

  “Mr. Stenton, it’s good to see you again,” Dave said as the man entered his office, accompanied by the receptionist. “Thanks for bringing him up here,” he said. “Please hold my ca
lls.” The receptionist left, closing the door behind her. “Please, have a seat,” Dave told his guest.

  “Will Madeline Mitchell be joining us? I’ve had quite a few conversations with her over the past month.”

  “No, she has a conflict and won’t be joining,” Dave said despairingly. “But don’t worry. I’m going to handle your account personally.”

  “Well, fine then,” Mr. Stenton said.

  “Have you gone over the proposal that we sent over to your office last week?”

  Stenton rustled around in his chair appearing uneasy. “I have and the revised numbers are better, but six hundred thousand is still steep for our budget.”

  Dave sat down. “Tell me this, do you value the services that we offer? In other words, can we help you?” Dave knew the answer, and Stenton should have been shouting a big fat yes given the highly publicized leadership challenges they had been experiencing for over a year.

  “We do.”

  “Then we need to cut to the chase and work out a deal. You’re wasting time haggling over dollars while your organization falls apart. What are you willing to do to get back on track? For goodness’ sake, I’m handing you a lifeline, man, take it,” Dave said in a raised voice.

  “I can’t afford to spend funds that we don’t have.”

  “Quite frankly, you can’t afford not to,” Dave said emphatically. “What number do you need to see in order to make this work for you?”

  Stenton rustled more and finally said, “I can’t be a penny over four hundred and twenty thousand.”

  “Done,” Dave said, slapping the table and sitting back.

  Stenton seemed dumbfounded. “What do you mean?” “I mean done, we have a deal.”

  “But how can you afford to give such a deep discount and not impact your bottom line?” Stenton stammered.

  “Because I’m not driven by the bottom line. My goal is to help churches who need it.”

  “Sure, but you’re in business too and you’re not doing this for free,” Stenton said.

  “I could do it for free, because I’m not in it for the money.”

  Stenton grunted. “I’m not sure how you can cut the price on a whim, but I’m willing to take it.”

  “I make my decisions based on the leading of the Lord. I’m not worried about my bottom line, and you shouldn’t either.” He reared back in the chair, locking his fingers over his head and pulling them down behind his neck.

  By noon he’d sat in two meetings, done the preparation for four, and was ready to take a quick break before heading to the next meeting. He popped into his office, hoping to sneak a call to Madeline. She’d want to know how the East Coast meeting had gone. The phone rang. Dave hustled to the desk, figuring it was probably Madeline thinking the same way he was. He grabbed the phone. “Dave Mitchell.”

  “Mr. Mitchell, I’m Field Agent Tim Stephens from the Internal Revenue Service.”

  Dave’s spirit dropped. He’d had this call four times in the past eight years. Today, of all days, wasn’t the time to get a call from the IRS. “What can I do for you?” he said, as if he didn’t already suspect what they wanted.

  “We have several questions about your recent corporate filings.”

  “What kind of questions?” Dave asked, staring out the window.

  “I’d rather not get into details over the phone. When can we come out and take a closer look at your financial records?”

  No time was convenient. He was booked. Dave should have been totally flustered by the notion of the IRS constantly riding DMI, but he was only mildly agitated. Other than poor timing, he understood their concern. DMI had gone from operating at a loss in the first few years to grossing nearly $200 million in twelve years. The growth was miraculous. He knew it and understood the probing eyes. Dave took comfort in the realization that if God orchestrated the growth, He’d also fight the flurry of battles that seemed to daunt their journey. It was his only answer.

  Chapter 6

  Dave was writing on a legal pad of paper at his conference table when Frank, the oldest of the Mitchell men, rapped on the door. The clock hanging near the door showed six forty-five.

  “Heard you were looking for me?”

  “Have a seat,” Dave offered.

  “What’s going on?” Frank asked. “You look as if there’s something on your mind.”

  “It’s the IRS. They’re going to do another audit.” “What? Come on, you’ve got to be joking. Why do they keep harassing us?” Frank drummed his thumb on the table, shaking his head. “Aren’t there a thousand other companies out there they can pick on for a while and give us a break? We don’t have time to keep messing around with them.”

  Dave had the same sentiment, which was why he had to make some changes. “I hear you, brother, but what can we do?”

  “We should be able to do something. I refuse to be helpless, even if it is the government. Shoot, we pay their salaries and I’ll be darned if they rake us over the coals and take our money. Maybe we can file a complaint or fire up a set of lawyers who can put the IRS on defense. Let them be the sitting ducks for a change. How about that?” Frank said, relaxing in his seat, seeming satisfied with his response.

  “That’s precisely why I wanted to talk with you. I have a full plate with Madeline’s East Coast and my southern region expansions.”

  “Yes, and I saw your note about getting the Church of God in Christ national account. COGIC is actually the acronym they use.”

  “Well, congratulations on the COGIC account, and don’t worry about operations. We’ll be ready to take on the extra business. My team is fired up and ready to go. Bring it on,” Frank said, lightly slapping the table.

  “I hear you. This is precisely why I need you to take on the financial role in DMI, too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I want you to become chief financial officer. It has to be someone I trust completely.” The decision was easy for Dave. Growing up, the two of them were as close as brothers four years apart could be. No matter how busy he was or what was going on, Frank had always made time for him. Dave hadn’t forgotten Frank teaching him how to ride his bike, to chuck pebbles into the creek, to catch frogs, and to hit his first baseball. “Put together your own team; completely take on the financial aspects of DMI, including the financial audits. I just don’t have time to do it and also keep growing at the rate God has allowed us to realize. This is a critical juncture for DMI and I don’t want to fall short because we’re drowning in a sea of audits and red tape.”

  “What about the accounting firm that you have on retainer?” Frank asked.

  “Like you said, they’re on retainer. We can pull the work in-house at any point. You’ll have to put together a simple transition plan but I’ll leave that to you, and let me know if there’s anything you’ll need from me.”

  “Are you sure this is the route you want to take?”

  “Certain.”

  “Okay, then I’m your new CFO,” Frank said, extending his hand to Dave for a shake. “When do you want me to assume the role?”

  Dave glanced at his watch. “Oh, about eight hours ago when I got my call from the IRS.”

  They were both amused.

  “I got you, little brother. What about operations? Who’s going to do that?”

  “That’s the bad news. For the moment, I need you to remain chief of operations, too, especially during the expansion. We have to maintain stellar customer service and training programs for the new accounts. It’s what we’re known for and we don’t want to see a dip in quality during the growth period. So, I need you steering the operations ship until we can find the right replacement. As busy as I am, you’ll probably have to find your own replacement.”

  They were amused again.

  “Now that you’ve doubled my workload, I better get moving, otherwise, I’ll be spending a lot of late nights here.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Frank tapped the table one last time before standing. �
�I don’t know how you get away with being here late every night. Madeline’s the right wife to have if you’re going to run a business like this, because you know how mine is. She wants me home by dinnertime. Chief operations officer doesn’t mean a hill of beans to her. As far as she’s concerned, I’m Frank Mitchell, the husband and father who better get home if he knows what’s good for him.”

  “Madeline is definitely very understanding, mostly because she loves the thrill of our business and the smell of victory. This is her company too, and I know how difficult it is for her to step down.”

  “Step down?”

  “Yes, she’s going to take off for a while to spend more time with the kids. And, I didn’t tell you yet, but Jonathan passed away.”

  “Oh, man, you can’t be serious. He’s the same age as you. What happened?”

  “Heart attack,” Dave said, fast, before his emotions could catch up.

  “Wow,” Frank said. “You have my condolences. I know how tight the two of you were.”

  “We were, which is exactly why I’m going to adopt Jonathan’s son.”

  “Whoa,” Frank said, leaning on the back of the chair and letting his head bob a bit. “You’re better than I am, because I’m not sure how I’d feel about taking in another man’s child and raising him. It’s a big step.”

  “It is, but Jonathan would have done the same for me. It’s the least I can do to honor him.” Grief wanted to have a public display but Dave refused to let it surface. “So, once we get him here, Madeline’s hands are going to be full at home with four kids. Throwing DMI into the mix is going to be too much, even for her, as wonderful as she is. That’s why she’s stepping down.”

  “Gotcha,” Frank said. “We’re definitely going to miss her around here. I know for certain I’m going to miss her. She’s feisty, but brother, you already know that. We’ll see how long the stay-at-home housewife gig lasts.”

  Dave grinned. Truth be told, Dave wouldn’t mind more evenings at home with the kids, especially after being with them last night and seeing how starved they were for his affection. He was saddened but didn’t let it show with Frank. His heart was at their estate on Mayweather Lane but his calling was at DMI. The time with his family would come, but for now he had to do the job he was created to do.