“Well, if that’s true, then why are you all of a sudden saying that you’ll extend my deadline if I clear Pastor Black’s name? Is part of that three hundred going to him?”
“Nope. This is just part of our deal, plain and simple. Now take it or leave it.”
Raven wanted to slam her phone against her windshield, but she knew it wouldn’t change anything. “Fine. Three hundred it is.”
“And a new video. By tomorrow evening before midnight.”
“What? I need more time than that. I have to figure out the best way to fix this.”
“Then I suggest you get busy. I’m already bein’ nice to you as it is, because I could make you record that video tonight.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said, trying to stand up to him.
“No, you’ll either do it or our deal is off. And when you finish, that video had better leave Pastor Black lookin’ like a saint.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You’d better not be playin’ games with me.”
“I’ll get it done.”
“And my money?”
“I’ll get you that, too. In thirty days.”
“For your sake, I hope you do. Because if I have to contact you again…well, let’s just say you know how I do. And I don’t make promises without keeping them. I softened up a little before you went to prison, but not this time.”
Raven tried to toughen up her tone, acting as though she wasn’t afraid of him. “Like I said, you’ll have your money in thirty days.”
“And it better not be a day later.”
D.C. hung up, and Raven wanted to cry. Not because she was hurt, but because she was outraged. The reason: Pastor Black was no longer a blackmail option for her. She’d been thinking that if she continued making accusations about him, he would eventually become so worried about his reputation that he would pay her whatever money she asked for. Worse, if she told enough lies, he might think he was facing prison time and he would pay her an even larger sum. But now, Pastor Black and D.C. had beaten her at her own game, and she had to switch her plot to plan B.
She was now going to blackmail Porsha. Actually, this scenario would work out better for Raven, because with Porsha there wouldn’t be any repercussions. When it came to Pastor Black and Dillon, however, if she’d tried to blackmail them, they would play a tit-for-tat war with her for years. She would end up doing something awful to them, they would do something worse to her, and the saga would continue. But with Porsha, Raven would only have to make her demands and wait for payment. And there wouldn’t be any negotiating, either. Porsha would simply pay Raven three hundred thousand dollars, plus sign over all her rights to anything relating to New Vision Ministries, Inc.—including her ongoing 50 percent profit—or Raven would leak that sex tape. She would send that raunchy video of her and Dillon to every local and national media outlet she could find, and she knew Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes wouldn’t want that. She would never allow something like this to happen, not when it seemed as though she was trying to become some new devout Christian. When Raven had viewed that mini message of hers last week, she’d seen something different about Porsha, and she’d also noticed the same thing when she’d watched her message from yesterday. Raven didn’t know where this sudden change in Porsha’s personality was coming from, but it wouldn’t stop her from kicking Porsha out of her church.
Then, once Raven received the three hundred thousand from Porsha, she would pay D.C. as promised, but she would still get John to transfer the original two hundred thousand she’d already planned for—plus another three hundred. Because the more she thought about this, why shouldn’t she get paid right along with D.C.? Why shouldn’t she walk away with five hundred thousand dollars free and clear, so she could finally build her dream home? The house she wanted to construct would run anywhere from seven hundred fifty thousand to a million dollars, anyway, so a half million would make the perfect down payment.
Just thinking about the way this whole next month would play out got Raven excited, because not only would her debt to D.C. be paid in full—which meant she would no longer have to live in fear—but she would also be five hundred thousand dollars richer. It was so interesting how Porsha’s money would be saving her life, and John’s financial expertise would fatten her personal bank account like never before. The whole scheme was brilliant, and now Raven wasn’t as sorry as she had been about D.C. showing up at Bible study last week. Because if he hadn’t, there was a chance Raven might not have had the courage to blackmail Porsha. Well, maybe she still would have at some point, but she wouldn’t have made an attempt this soon—not to mention she likely wouldn’t have discovered a much easier way to oust Porsha and keep all the profit from the ministry for herself. Raven also wouldn’t have risked losing Kane, which was exactly what she was doing by sleeping with John. Although, it was like she’d been thinking all along: She did love Kane, but he didn’t take priority over her ministry. It wasn’t like she was going to get caught with John, anyway. So once D.C. became history and Porsha did, too, Raven would end this charade of a relationship with John. He would certainly be hurt, because she could tell how in love with her he was, but he would have to move on and find someone else. What he needed was someone who was more noticeably on his level—a plain Jane, so to speak—and Raven would get back to being the powerful woman that Kane deserved. She would reap multiple rewards and become wealthier than ever. She would have everything she wanted.
Chapter 29
Porsha had been meeting with Michelle for the last fifteen minutes, and Michelle’s attitude seemed worse than it was last week. Porsha had called and asked her to come to her office to review a few more documents for her women’s ministry, but Michelle seemed totally put out by it.
“Okay, look, Michelle,” Porsha said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Well, then why do you seem so different?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re treating me very coldly, and it’s never been like that with you and me before. We’ve always had a great relationship, and in all honesty, a good friendship. So please tell me what’s really going on here.”
Michelle sighed a bit louder than normal. “I’m just busy is all. I have a lot to do, and I also need to get ready for our staff meeting. Which is only an hour from now.”
“Is your health okay?” Porsha asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Because if you’re not feeling well or going through anything at all, you know you can tell me.”
Michelle half nodded but seemed uninterested.
“Do you have any questions?” Porsha said.
“About what?”
“The e-blast schedule I need you to set up or the three handouts I need you to create. I also need the date and time included in both of this week’s automated phone call announcements. And in the one the day before the first meeting as well.”
“Everything will be taken care of.”
Porsha wanted to ask her again what was bothering her, but finally she said, “Then that’s all I have.”
“I’ll see you at the staff meeting,” Michelle said, already on her way out the door.
Something wasn’t right, and while Raven was the last person Porsha conversed with anymore, either at church or otherwise, she got up and went to go see her.
She walked down the corridor, just past Michelle’s office, and knocked on Raven’s door.
“Come in.”
“Hey, you have a minute?” Porsha said, entering and shutting the door behind her.
“I’m getting ready for staff, but if it’s important go ahead.”
“This won’t take long, and I’m just wondering if you’ve noticed something different about Michelle.”
“Not really. Like what?”
“The way she’s been acting. Almost like something’s wrong or maybe she doesn’t feel well.”
Raven shook her head. “No, I haven’t noticed anything like that
. As a matter of fact, when I first got here this morning, she told me about this new store at one of the outlet malls. She went shopping there yesterday.”
Porsha folded her arms. “Oh. Well, maybe she’s just upset with me about something.”
“Does she have a reason?”
“No.”
“Did you ask her if something was wrong?”
“I did. Both last week and a few minutes ago. That’s why I decided to come check with you.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Oh, and by the way, I watched that little message you gave on Sunday morning, and it wasn’t bad. But it’s like I told you last week, the more you do it, the better you’ll be at it.”
Porsha didn’t even bother responding to Raven’s demeaning comments and simply said, “I’ll see you in the meeting.”
Then she headed back toward her own office. Raven was being just as cold as Michelle was, and the only difference was that Raven acted as though Porsha was beneath her. Raven had been indirectly doing this kind of thing for a while, but now she didn’t even try to hide it. She showed her true colors boldly and unapologetically, and she seemed to enjoy trying to make Porsha feel bad. But Porsha wouldn’t let her do that. Not when she believed she was finally doing what God wanted her to do, and that her words were lifting people up. Raven was just upset because Porsha was now speaking before the congregation every single Sunday versus only every now and then. She didn’t like it, but until Porsha mapped out her exit and went to Raven to discuss it, she would continue sharing a short message with their parishioners as planned.
When Porsha arrived back at her desk, she smiled. She wasn’t sure where they’d come from, but two dozen red roses quickly brightened her mood. She loved flowers, especially roses, but when she realized who they likely were from, her spirits dropped. She and Steve hadn’t spoken since two days ago when he’d stormed out of her house, but she’d had a feeling he wouldn’t be leaving things as is. She’d tried to explain her position as best as she could, but it had only made him angrier. He hadn’t understood her decision, and to some degree, she doubted he ever would.
Porsha went around her desk and lifted the small envelope from the arrangement. She opened it and pulled out the card. Just as she’d thought, the roses were from Steve. It was a nice gesture, but he was going to have to find a way to get beyond this. Their affair was over, and although Porsha wasn’t sure about a number of things evolving in her life right now, she was clear on this: She wouldn’t sleep with Steve again, or with any other married man for as long as she lived.
Porsha slid the card back inside the envelope and sat in her chair. But as soon as she picked up her pen, her phone rang. As expected, Steve was calling her, and she didn’t want to answer him. But she also knew that if she didn’t, he’d either call her again or drop by her house, and she definitely didn’t want that.
“Hello?”
“How are you?”
“I’m good. What about you?”
“How do you think, Porsha? I mean, this breakup is obviously pretty easy for you, but I haven’t slept in two nights. I’m miserable, and I really need to see you.”
“But we already talked about this. You know how I feel and that I can’t see you anymore.”
“Why, though? Why did you decide this now?”
“I haven’t felt comfortable with our situation for a while, but this week I knew I couldn’t continue being with you.”
“And it’s all because you’ve suddenly become this godly woman? No other reason?”
“You’re saying that like it’s a joke and you don’t believe it, but God really has shown me how wrong I was to sleep with another woman’s husband. I always knew it was wrong on my own, but now I know that God will never allow me to have real peace until I move on from our relationship. He also won’t bless me with a husband.”
“That’s what this is really all about, isn’t it? You want to be married.”
“You’ve always known that, Steve, so please don’t make it sound like you didn’t.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just asking if this was your real reason for breaking up with me.”
“Maybe partly, but it was mostly because I don’t want to sleep with a married man anymore. I keep telling you that, but you’re not hearing me.”
“Well, what if I left my wife and got a divorce? Then what?”
“I don’t think that’s the answer.”
“Why?”
“Because I realize now that if you did leave your wife and married me, I would always be waiting for you to have an affair. And there wouldn’t be a single thing I could really say, not when I knew I deserved it.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. You know I wouldn’t.”
“But you did it to Denene, Steve.”
“That’s because I don’t love her, and to be honest, I don’t think she loves me, either. She never questions me about anything. I can basically come and go as I please.”
“But you loved her once upon a time. Am I right?”
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“It has to do with everything. Because just like you fell in love with her and then somehow stopped loving her, you could do the same thing to me.”
“But I wouldn’t. Things would be different with us. I would be faithful to you until death.”
“That’s easier said than done. But none of that matters now, anyway, because I don’t want to be the reason you leave your wife and son.”
“You say that today, but I can remember you asking me to leave them plenty of times.”
“And I was wrong, I told you that on Sunday.”
“Can we talk about this in person?”
“No, let’s just move on with our lives.”
“But you know that’s not what I want.”
“I’m sorry. I know you want me to say something different, but this really is it for me.”
“Then I guess I’ll talk to you later,” he said, and hung up.
He hadn’t even waited for her to say good-bye, so maybe this would be his last time calling her. Maybe he would think long and hard and do what she’d suggested to him on Sunday: seek professional counseling and work things out with his wife. Because if he did, maybe he would see that there was still hope for his marriage. Maybe he would fall in love with his wife all over again, and life would be good for them. That’s what Porsha hoped for. That’s what she would pray for tonight before going to bed.
Chapter 30
Kane still hadn’t called Raven, but now he’d shown up at her home unannounced. Normally, she never cared if he dropped in without calling, but he was interrupting her Facebook Live preparation. D.C. had given her until midnight to complete the broadcast, and since it was already eight p.m., she wanted to get this over with.
“So I guess you’re not mad at me anymore?” she said, sitting on the sofa in her family room.
Kane sat across from her in one of the chairs. “I’m still not okay with what you did. You’re really wrong for this.”
“What? Telling my story? Being honest about what happened to me?”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. I’m talking about that video you recorded for the congregation. Because all that’s going to do is make people accuse Pastor Black even more.”
“I didn’t share that video with the public. That was only played for our members.”
“But baby, you know some of our members are going to tell family and friends outside of the church. It’s guaranteed.”
“Well, I can’t be responsible for what everyone else does,” she shot back. “And anyway, why are you so worried about a man who sent me to prison? A man who slept around on all three of his wives? You act like you care more about him than you do me.”
“That’s not true. Plus, you’re talking about Pastor Black’s past. He’s very public about his terrible history, but he also regularly shares why and how he changed for the better. But even if he hadn
’t, no one should have to deal with these kinds of accusations. I told you that before, and now you’ve made things worse.”
“How?”
“By giving more details about your rape and then alluding to the fact that you borrowed money from this pastor, and when you wouldn’t pay him back he raped you. Well, everyone knows that you stole money from Pastor Black and then you went to prison.”
Raven was getting tired of Kane grilling her the way he was. “Exactly. I said in the video that I borrowed money. So why would anyone think I was referring to my situation with Pastor Black?”
Kane shook his head as though he thought she was lying. “Your choice of words won’t make a difference in some people’s minds. All most folks care about is the idea that you couldn’t pay back money you owed to a prominent pastor, and he raped you before you went to prison.”
“Well, that’s not my problem.”
“Why couldn’t you just say, ‘I won’t be identifying my predator, but I do want everyone to know that Reverend Curtis Black didn’t do this to me’? One sentence was all it would’ve taken.”
Raven knew she wasn’t getting ready to clear Pastor Black’s name out of the goodness of her heart, and that she was only doing it because D.C. was forcing her. But what a perfect opportunity she was being given to make it sound as though she were.
“Well, if you hadn’t rushed in here being so self-righteous, I would’ve told you about the broadcast I’m doing tonight.”
“Where?”
“On Facebook Live. I thought more about it, and I realized I was wrong. Just like you said.”
“So you’re actually going to say he didn’t do this to you?”
“I am, and I’ll admit something else. Even though I really was raped, a part of me was hoping that people would begin to think Pastor Black was my assaulter. Right or wrong, I still haven’t gotten over the fact that he sent me to prison. I also saw this as a good way to get back at Dillon. So you were right about everything you said last week. You know, about me not having a great relationship with my ex-husband or his family. I wanted them to suffer for causing me all the pain they did.”
Sin of a Woman Page 16