“I am so sorry you’re going through this,” Porsha said, “but I think I speak for everyone by saying how proud we are of you.”
All the ladies applauded.
“Because staying pure isn’t the easiest thing for anyone to do,” Porsha continued. “For a man or a woman.”
“It’s not,” Jackie said. “And I have to constantly think about First Corinthians seven, nine. My mom taught it to me when I was twelve, and she told me to always meditate on it when I felt tempted. But I will say, there have been a few times when I didn’t want to meditate on it, and I didn’t want to focus on doing the right thing. I just wanted to do what all my girlfriends were doing with their boyfriends.”
“I completely understand. But I also love that you brought this topic up, and that you had the courage to share your feelings about it. You’re one of the youngest ladies in the room, if not the youngest, but we can all learn something from this. And if you don’t mind, can you quote First Corinthians seven, nine for us? I’m sure many of us already know it, but I just think it would be good to hear it right now. And then for next month I’ll include it on one of the handouts.”
“Sure,” Jackie said. “‘But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.’”
Porsha tried to keep a straight face, because as an assumed minister she knew this scripture should mean everything to her. She should be following God’s Word as closely as she could, but she wasn’t. Clearly He didn’t expect anyone to be perfect, but when a person sinned, he or she was supposed to learn from it. Not commit the same sin all over again. And again. And again. That’s not how Christians were meant to operate. This whole idea of sinning and repenting and never getting out of that same vicious cycle only led to trouble. It caused lots of uncertainty and unnecessary pain.
And Porsha should know because she was sleeping with Dillon every chance she got. But if a twenty-year-old could abstain, so could she. Dillon wouldn’t like it, but he could either accept it or find someone else to sleep with. Because she couldn’t keep doing this. Not anymore.
Chapter 32
Raven strolled into John’s office and shut the door. Since it was Friday, she’d decided to dress down a bit and was wearing a thigh-length sleeveless blouse over a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans. Normally she dressed elegantly and professionally regardless of what day of the week it was, but now she was to the point where she did anything that might excite John. Over this last week, she’d seduced him in practically every way she knew how, and he’d loved every second of it. Raven had also successfully convinced him that she needed five hundred thousand dollars to oust Porsha instead of the original two.
She walked in front of his desk, leaned over it, and pecked him on his lips. Then she sat down in one of the chairs. “So how’s everything going?”
“Very well. I’ve reviewed every account the church has, so now I just need to figure out which to transfer from. I also have to decide on the amounts, because not only do I not want to move five hundred at one time, I don’t want to transfer more than fifty, either. But don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Raven crossed her legs. “Good. Do you still think it’ll take another couple of weeks or so?”
“Actually, no. More like a few days from now. Maybe even as early as next Tuesday or Wednesday.”
“Really? That quick?”
“Yeah, and actually the sooner the better, because we have auditors coming in November.”
This made Raven a little nervous. “That’s only five months from now.”
“Yeah, but your average income is about fifty thousand, so with you forgoing that for the next four months, we’ll have the first two hundred paid back by October. That way, even if the auditors question the withdrawals and deposits, I’ll have figured out a good explanation for the full amount by then.”
Raven nodded like she was okay with what he was saying, but she wasn’t. Yes, she’d told him she would pay all the money back; however, there was no way she was doing that. She was keeping that half million dollars he was embezzling, and when the time was right she would tell him. By then, he’d be so caught up with lust and the hope that they were going to be together forever, he would hurry to steal more money if she wanted him to.
“We should be good then,” she said. “Everything will work just the way we planned it.”
“It will.”
“I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me, because I know this isn’t something you’ve done before.”
“No, but when I told you that I would do anything for you, I meant it. Plus, I know you’re only doing this to save the ministry.”
“I am. I would never take hard-earned money from our members and online followers and not pay it back. Never.”
John leaned back in his chair, staring at her.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“Nothing. Just admiring how beautiful you are and how much you love people. You’re a good woman, and that’s why I don’t understand Kane. You know…why he slept with Porsha behind your back.”
“Neither do I, but that’s all in the past now.”
“I still can’t believe you confronted him and then broke up with him.”
“Well, I did. He left me no choice, but everything happens for a reason.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because if he hadn’t messed around on me, you and I wouldn’t be together.”
“This is true, but I’m still sorry that he hurt you the way he did.”
Raven hunched her shoulders victim-style.
“And then there’s Porsha,” he said. “I can’t believe her, either. It’s bad enough that she slept with your ex-husband, but to sleep with someone else you cared about…that’s major.”
“Not everyone is your friend. Some women will do anything when it comes to getting a man.”
“And you still haven’t said anything to her?”
“No, and I’m not going to until my attorney sends over those legal documents. Then, once you transfer the money, I’m going to offer her a cashier’s check in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars. This will be in exchange for her signing away all past, current, and future rights to NVCC and the overall ministry.”
“Do you think she’ll go down like that without a fight?”
“She will if she wants me to keep that video tucked away.”
John shook his head, slightly chuckling. “I’m still stunned about that one.”
“Actually, I’m being pretty nice, because I really don’t have to give her a dime. But she did invest the initial money for me to start NVCC, and I’m just trying to do the right thing,” Raven was sort of amazed herself at how easily and credibly she told lies. What was more astounding was the way John hung on her every word and believed everything she said. He would die if he knew the truth: that instead of offering Porsha a six-figure payout, Raven was going to blackmail her for three hundred thousand.
“Like I said, you’re a good woman, and you’ll be blessed for that.”
“I definitely try to be, but all this betrayal and deceit comes with the territory. Pastors have a lot to deal with, but we have to forgive no matter what.”
“I get that, but women like Porsha give women like you a very bad name. As it is, people are already leery about females being ministers and pastors.”
“I know, but Porsha is who she is.”
“Well, the good news is that she’ll be out of here soon,” John said. “You’ll be able to pay her and call it a day.”
“And I can’t wait,” she said, standing up. “Anyway, I’d better get back to my office so I can finish reviewing my sermon for Sunday.”
John slid off his glasses, scooted his chair back, and walked around his desk. He pulled Raven into his arms and kissed her. “You have made me a very happy man, you know that?”
Raven looked up at him. “And you’ve made me a happy woman.”
&nb
sp; “Are you spending the night again?”
“I sure ammm,” she sang.
“I hated for you to leave this morning, and now I wish I could wake up with you every day.”
He was getting a little carried away, but Raven went along with his fantasy. “I know. Maybe in the future, though.”
“You mean that?”
“Of course I do. Absolutely.”
Raven had read through her sermon notes and made a few more revisions, and now she and Michelle were reviewing her upcoming travel schedule.
Michelle leaned toward Raven’s desk. “Here’s your event calendar for the remainder of the year. I’m sure you’ll have other invites, but I don’t think you should add on much more.”
Raven scanned the document. “I agree. I purposely turned down everything for this month and next so I could enjoy the summer at home, but I didn’t realize I’d said yes to so many fall engagements.”
Michelle smiled. “Well, it’s not like I didn’t try to suggest otherwise.”
Raven laughed. “I know, but I always think it’ll be fine. Plus, I need the exposure.”
“That’s true, but you also need to find some balance between your travel, social media activity, and everything you do here at the church. We just need to figure out a better plan for you is all, and we will.”
“You never cease to amaze me, and I truly appreciate you.”
“Just trying to do my job. That’s all.”
“Well, as much as I hate to bring this up, it’s time to handle that situation you and I talked about two weeks ago.”
“You mean with Porsha?”
“Yes, and I finally figured out a way to get her out of here. And it won’t be long, either. But because this whole plan is a bit complicated and unorthodox, the less you know the better.”
“Okay, but just let me know if I can help.”
“I will. My goal, though, is to keep you completely out of this. That way when Porsha is gone, your job won’t be affected at all,” Raven said, trying to convince Michelle that she was keeping her somewhat out of the loop as a way to protect her. But in reality, Raven was only hiding the details because she knew she was preparing to blackmail Porsha and also steal from the church, and she didn’t want Michelle to know she was capable of such crimes.
Michelle didn’t say anything, so Raven slightly changed the subject.
“So I hear a lot of women showed up last night for Porsha’s new ministry. I saw one of our members at a coffee shop this morning, and she said her sister attended. She also said her sister couldn’t wait for the next meeting.”
Michelle set her notepad and pen on the edge of Raven’s desk. “I saw a couple of comments on our web site, and I have to say, Porsha is very excited about this. It’s the only thing she’s had me working on for the last two weeks.”
“Yeah, but if those women only knew who Porsha really was. If they knew about all those skeletons piled up in her closet, they wouldn’t be so quick to support her.”
“Well, just knowing that she’s been smiling in my face all this time, knowing she doesn’t like me, has really changed my feelings toward her. I have to force myself just to speak to her.”
“I’m sorry that I even had to tell you about that, but you deserved to know,” Raven said, and realized that this was the perfect moment to turn Michelle even further against Porsha. “And you also need to know this: When I was married to my ex-husband, she had an affair with him.”
Michelle’s eyes widened. “Please tell me you’re kidding? Because if that’s true, how did you become friends?”
“Because I have a huge heart, and even when people betray me I can’t help forgiving them.”
“Oh…my…goodness. How did you find out?”
“That’s a long story, but just know that some people never change. And Porsha is one of them.”
Michelle folded her arms. “And she calls herself a minister? She’s fooling so many people. Innocent people right here at NVCC.”
“Yeah, and I take full blame for that.”
“Why? Because it’s not like any of this is your fault.”
“It sort of is, because I took money from her so I could start the ministry. Then I signed a lifetime financial agreement with her. I made a huge mistake, but it’ll be fixed very soon.”
“I sure hope so, because a woman like that shouldn’t be here.”
Michelle had lost all respect for Porsha, just like John had, and this was exactly what Raven had been hoping for. Not one but two NVCC staff members had turned on Porsha, and Porsha didn’t even know it. This was only the beginning, though, and Raven wouldn’t fully rest until she was gone. Permanently.
Chapter 33
Dillon set two bags of food onto Porsha’s granite-top island. Originally, he’d invited her out to a restaurant, but she just didn’t think it was good for them to be seen in public yet. Maybe in the future, but certainly not before Porsha left NVCC and cut all ties with Raven. Plus, Steve had begun calling and leaving messages for her again this week, so she didn’t want to take the chance of running into him, either. Especially since he’d called three to four times, both yesterday and the day before. On Monday and Tuesday he’d only tried to contact her once, but now the calls were coming more frequently and he left a message every time. But Porsha had deleted all of them without listening, and she was hoping he would finally leave her alone.
“Everything smells so good,” she said.
“No one has better Italian than Gino’s. Not in Mitchell, anyway.”
Porsha lifted two house salads and two tiny foil-wrapped loaves of bread from one bag, and two entrée containers from the other. “You’re definitely right about that.”
Dillon pulled a chair back and sat down, and Porsha removed the covers from their meals. Dillon had ordered chicken Florentine, and she’d gotten cheese ravioli with marinara sauce.
“You want anything to drink?” she asked, walking over to her stainless steel refrigerator.
“Just a bottle of water.”
Porsha grabbed two of them and then sat across from Dillon. “You want to say grace?”
“I’ll let you do it.”
“Why do you always say that?”
“Because you’re the minister.”
“Yeah, but you used to be one, too. None of that matters, anyway, though. Anyone can say grace.”
“Okay, fine,” he agreed, reaching for her hand and closing his eyes. “Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this time of fellowship and for the food we’re about to receive. We ask that You let it serve as nourishment for our bodies, and we thank You for the people who prepared it. We ask these and all other blessings in Your Son Jesus’s name. Amen.”
“Amen,” Porsha said, opening her eyes. “Now, was that so hard?”
“No, not at all.”
“Well then, from now on we’ll just take turns. Sometimes you’ll do it, and sometimes I will.”
“Fair enough,” he said, forking out some of his chicken and setting it on his plate. “So have you gotten any more feedback about your ministry meeting?”
“I did. Remember when I was telling you last night that one of the young women offered to help me?”
“Yep.”
“Well, two others called me this afternoon to volunteer as well.”
“That’s great.”
Porsha ate some of her buttered garlic bread. “I also received a voice message from a woman asking if we could talk about oral sex the next time.”
Dillon raised his eyebrows. “Really? Did she say why?”
“She did. She wants to know if it’s okay to have oral sex with your spouse or if it’s a lustful sin. She said that when she was married, she never felt comfortable doing that with her husband, and it was one of the reasons he left her. And they didn’t really have other problems.”
“Well, I know everyone thinks differently, but can you blame him? I mean, when you’re married you should be able to pleasure each other any way you want.�
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“Yeah, but I don’t think a man should leave his wife just because she won’t do everything he wants in bed. Marriage is a two-way street, and both parties should agree on their levels of intimacy.”
“Maybe, but all I’m saying is that I don’t believe it’s a sin, and there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“I don’t believe it’s a sin, either—not if you’re speaking about a husband and wife who took vows before God—but it’s still a decision you have to make together. I mean, maybe all she needed was for him to be a little patient. But either way, I think it’s too bad that they didn’t sit down with a good Christian counselor and try to work things out.”
Dillon drank some of his water. “Well, I know one thing. I would love to be a fly on the wall at your next meeting.”
“It’s definitely not the most comfortable subject to talk about, because some people will think like the woman who called me, and some will think like we do. But then, who are we to judge either of them, because we’re fornicating every day now,” she said, trying to build the courage to tell him that she’d made the decision to become abstinent.
Dillon looked at her and then ate more of his entrée, but he didn’t acknowledge her comment.
Porsha bit a piece of her ravioli.
“So what’s Raven up to these days?” he asked. “Trying to find a new prominent pastor to slander?”
“I hope not, and to be honest, I’m still shocked that she said so many great things about your dad. I know you guys wanted her to clear his name, but she went above and beyond.”
“Yeah, which is why it’s almost too good to be true. Raven never does anything without some ulterior motive. So I’m wondering what else she’s up to.”
“Let’s just assume that she’s done doing that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll say this again, and I’m going to keep saying it until you hear me: You need to be careful.”
“We don’t even really communicate anymore,” Porsha admitted to Dillon for the first time. “Only if we have to, but that’s pretty much it.”
Sin of a Woman Page 18