She nodded and composed herself. “Right, lead the way.”
Cassandra knocked on Lamont’s door and then opened it after hearing him say, ‘Come in’. “Your eleven o’clock interview is here. I gave you her resume yesterday.”
Lamont picked up a piece of paper off his desk. “Yes,” coming to his feet, he walked around the desk and extended his hand. “Hi Margie, I’m Pastor Lamont Stevens. Thank you for interviewing with me today.”
When Margie’s eyes fell on the pastor of Overcomers Outreach Ministry, she wanted to turn around and run out of the church door, screaming to the Lord to deliver her from finer than fine preachers. With his light green eyes and caramel complexion, the man standing before her was the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on.
When he put his hand in hers, Margie could swear she felt the earth move. Or maybe it was just the part of earth that she was standing on. Run. Run now.
“Would you like to have a seat so we can discuss your resume?” Lamont asked.
Trying to regain her senses, Margie shook herself and then started stuttering. “Y-yes, I-I’d like to have a seat.” She sat, hoping that her part of the earth would stop moving as she silently prayed for strength.
“I think I’ll be heading out, Lamont. So, if you need anything after your interview, just call my cell phone,” Cassandra said as she backed out of the room.
“Thanks for all your help, Cassandra. I know you need to get home to see about the kids, so I’ll try not to bug you today,” Lamont said with a chuckle and then turned back to Margie. “I guess it’s just you and me then, Ms. Milner.”
God help me, she prayed as she said, “I’m ready to get started whenever you are.”
As Lamont took his seat, he said, “I’ve read over your resume and I’m convinced that you can handle the office manager job, so I really only have one question for you.”
Oh God, here it comes. Margie’s greatest fear was about to be realized, she just knew that when Pastor Lamont opened his mouth again, the question he would be asking would have something to do with her inappropriate relationship with JT or her testimony against JT. She felt like getting up and walking out of the office right then and there, but her daughter’s precious face flashed before her eyes and glued her to that seat. She would take whatever Pastor Lamont dished out and then she would beg him for the opportunity to prove that she was a changed person.
“Are you ready for my question?” Lamont asked with a big grin on his face.
Not able to speak, she simply nodded.
Lamont asked, “How soon can you start?”
Four
“Run that by me again?” JT asked after Lamont told him the name of the woman he had just hired.
Lamont was seated in JT’s home office with a puzzled look on his face. He repeated, “I hired someone for the office manager position. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is not what you did, but who you hired. Did you tell her that your church is a sister church to mine and that I am mentoring you?”
When Lamont originally broached the subject of starting his own church, JT had been dead set against it. He’d told Lamont that at the age of twenty-six he was much too young to take on the responsibility of pastoring a church. But Lamont knew he’d heard from God on this one and refused to back down. He even reminded JT that he hadn’t been much older himself when he became the pastor of Faith Outreach.
JT had then mumbled something about not being ready for the responsibility at that age either, but then he stepped out of Lamont’s way and began helping him to fulfill his God ordained destiny. Since Lamont knew that JT was still watching and waiting for his ‘I told you so’ moment, Lamont didn’t want to admit that he spent little to no time at all interviewing Margie Milner. So he said, “She seemed perfectly qualified, I don’t see what the problem is.”
“Maybe I’m making big deal out of nothing. Maybe this wasn’t even the same woman. What did this Margie look like?”
A grin spread across Lamont’s face before he could stop it. Margie was one of the chocolate beauties that took your breath away. She had long hair, but it was those high cheekbones and that devastating smile of hers that could rock a man’s world.
“If it’s the Margie I know, then I can guess why you have that silly grin on your face.”
When Lamont didn’t respond, JT walked over to him and popped him upside the head. “Boy I told you before, don’t let a big butt and a smile get you caught up.”
Lamont rubbed the back of his head. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I hired an office manager and she happens to be pretty big deal.”
“I know that you haven’t heard this name in almost five years, so I understand why you don’t remember, but Margie Milner is the woman I had an affair with while I was the pastor of Faith Outreach Church.”
“I thought you had the affair with Diane, Lily’s mom,” Lamont said.
Nodding, JT confirmed, “I had an affair with both women, and they both were trying to take me to court for using my power as a man of God to manipulate them into a relationship with me.”
Lamont thought for a moment and then leaned back in his seat and said, “That’s odd.”
JT rushed back over to Lamont. “What’s wrong? Did something happen between you and Margie during your interview?”
“Calm down, nervous Nelly. Nothing happened between me and Margie. I just thought it was strange that Cassandra never mentioned anything to me about Margie.”
With a dumbfounded expression on his face, JT asked, “Cassandra was there… she saw Margie?”
“Yeah… she didn’t tell you about it?”
JT sat back down and picked up his cell phone. Even though Cassandra was upstairs, the house they now lived in was way too big to be hollering from one floor to the next, so he called her. When Cassandra picked up, he said, “Hey baby, can you come down to my office.”
“I’m trying to put Lily to bed, so it may take a few minutes,” she said.
“All right, if you could just pop in as soon as you can,” he said and then hit the End button on his cell.
“I wonder why Cassandra hasn’t said anything to you about Margie,” Lamont mused.
JT didn’t respond. He sat in his seat, tapping his fingers on the coffee table that was placed in between his and Lamont’s chair.
Cassandra opened the door, peeked her head in. “What’s up?”
“Come in, Sanni, I just had a question for you,” JT said as his wife joined them in his home office.
“Okay, but make it quick, you know how these kids are when I’m trying to get them into bed.”
“Yeah, and I know that they don’t mess with you unless they are having a crazy moment,” JT said with a laugh as Cassandra walked over to him. Then he said, “Lamont just told me that he hired Margie Milner to be his office manager.”
“Yeah, I know,” Cassandra said without so much as a second thought.
Trying to be patient, JT asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know that I was supposed to tell you about Lamont’s office manager,” she said with a straight face.
“Come on Sanni, don’t play dumb. You knew that I would have advised Lamont against hiring Margie.”
“I don’t know why. She’s qualified for the job, so who are we to stand in her way when all she wants is a job so she can support her daughter,” Cassandra’s hands were on her hips and her neck was rolling.
JT held up a hand, “Look Sanni, I’m not trying to start a fight with you, but I just can’t see how you knew Margie was interviewing for that position and didn’t say anything to either me or Lamont.”
Cassandra turned to Lamont and earnestly said, “I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any problems with my husband. But, honestly, I looked over Margie’s resume myself and she did seem to be a good match for what you need.”
“I thought so, too,” Lamont said.
JT got to his feet. “I don’t have an issue about
whether or not Margie can do the job. My problem is what she might do to Lamont. And I don’t want him getting off focus.” Pacing the floor again, JT mumbled, “Lamont is a young preacher, he’s going to have women coming at him from all directions as it is… so he doesn’t need that kind of distraction in his business office as well.”
Cassandra sat in the seat her husband vacated and studied him for a moment. “Look, JT, I know that you visit Overcomers quite a bit to help Lamont get things up and running, so are you worried about Lamont being distracted or yourself?”
JT turned and faced his wife. “That’s a low blow, Sanni.”
Lamont held up a hand. “Can we talk about something else? I really didn’t mean to get anything started.”
“That’s okay, Lamont,” JT said and then turned back to his wife. “I know I haven’t been the best husband I could have been, but I haven’t so much as thought about another woman other than you in the last five years. Now if that doesn’t convince you that I’m not interested in any kind of distractions, then I don’t know what to tell you.”
Standing up, Cassandra went to her husband. “You’re right. That was a low blow. And I don’t think that you’re looking for distractions. But, JT, you need to understand that Lamont is a grown man and since he is single, if he wants to date any woman, that’s his decision.”
Lamont jumped up, hands flailing in the air. “Hold up, who said anything about me dating… I’m not looking for a woman. I have too much to do with my ministry.”
***
Margie put a slice of pizza on Marissa’s plate as her daughter watched the singing and dancing Chuck E. Cheese characters that were performing on stage. Marissa had a huge smile on her face as if she were really enjoying herself. Margie was glad about that. It might not be the princess birthday party her daughter wanted, but with a new job, Margie felt that it would be okay to splurge on pizza and a little entertainment Chuck E. Cheese style and call it a party.
“This is a bad idea, Margie… just all the way around bad.” Betty interrupted her daughter’s musing.
She turned back to her mom and said, “I know this isn’t the most ideal situation, but what can I do? Bills have to get paid and I need a job to make that happen.”
“I know, baby, I know… I hoped and prayed that you would never have to see that miserable excuse for a preacher again in life. And now you’re working for one of his friends.” Betty shook her head. “No good can come of this.”
“I’m not receiving all this negativity today, Mom. I hope, pray and believe that God is going to bless me and that’s that.”
“I really don’t see what the big deal is,” Dynasty Wilson, Margie’s high school friend said as she put a slice of pizza on her plate.
“You wouldn’t,” Betty said as she gave Dynasty a disdainful look.
“Mom! That was uncalled for,” Margie said as she threw an apologetic look toward her friend. Dynasty had been a stripper for years, but then she gave her life to God and started attending Pastor Walt Jenson’s church. As a new babe in Christ she was vulnerable to anyone telling her things that even remotely sounded as if it might be God. And that’s how she ended up as Walt Jenson’s mistress and the reason that Margie’s mother held her in such disdain.
Betty held up her hands. “All I’m saying is that Dynasty is the last person you should be listening to. Mark my words, Margie. Bad company, ruins good intentions.”
Before Margie could respond to her mother’s accusations against her friend, Marissa yelled, “Mommy, look at Mr. Munch dance,” as she pointed toward the stage where Chuck E. Cheese and the rest of his band were performing for the kids.
When Margie glanced at the stage where all of the characters were dancing, she asked, “Which one is Mr. Munch, sweetie?”
“The fat one.” Marissa kept pointing.
Margie looked around, hoping no one heard her daughter call Mr. Munch ‘the fat one’. She turned back to her daughter and said, “It’s not polite to call people fat. Do you mean the purple character?”
Lowering her head in shame, Marissa said, “Sorry Mommy. Mr. Munch is purple, he’s not fat.”
“Now, we’re not going to turn the girl into a liar just so she doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.” Betty leaned over to her granddaughter and said, “Mr. Munch needs to stop eating so many of these Chuck E. Cheese pizzas and then nobody will call him fat… right?”
Perking up, Marissa nodded. “Right. Mr. Munch should eat a salad like Mommy.” Marissa pointed to the salad that Margie was eating and then turned back to the stage to finish watching the characters perform.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” Margie told her mother as she shook her head.
“That’s easy, just love me and listen to my advice.”
“I listen to your advice.”
Betty looked at Dynasty again and said, “Not about everything.”
Dynasty stood. “Look, I’m not going to keep sitting here while your mother treats me like I’m nothing.” She hugged Margie. “I’ll give you a call later.”
“Hopefully when you call, you’ll be single and free of all things that don’t belong to you,” Betty said.
In a huff, Dynasty stormed away from the table.
“That was uncalled for, Mother,” Margie said as she got up from the table and followed Dynasty out. When she caught up with her friend in the parking lot, Margie apologized. “I’m sorry about that, girl. My mother shouldn’t have said those things to you.”
Dynasty took her car keys out of her Coach purse and moved a few strands of hair out of her face. “You told your mother about me and Walt, didn’t you?”
Margie backed up, held up a hand as she said, “I didn’t tell her anything. I think she overheard one of our conversations.”
“Whatever.” Dynasty rolled her eyes.
“Look, Dynasty, I haven’t made my feelings a secret. I think what you’re doing is wrong and you are going to come out on the losing end. But my mom shouldn’t have come at you like that, and I’m sorry.”
“I gotta go. I’m supposed to be meeting up with Walt.”
Margie didn’t respond, but the look on her face said it all.
“Whatever,” Dynasty said again as she got in her car and drove off.
As Margie went back into Chuck E. Cheese’s and sat back down with her family, she silently prayed that Dynasty would figure things out before she destroyed herself over a man who would never treat her as anything more than a chick on the side.
Betty wagged a finger in her daughter’s face. “You need to stop hanging around that girl and you need to quit this job.”
Margie nudged her mother’s shoulder. “There you go worrying again. When are you going to believe that I am sold out for Jesus Christ and there is not a man fine enough to cause me to turn my back on the Lord again?”
“Humph.” Betty frowned. “He was that fine, huh?”
“What are you talking about, Mama? You already know what JT looks like.”
“I’m not talking about JT, I’m talking about this preacher you’re going to be working for who happens to be a friend of JT’s.” Betty tapped her fingers on the table. “You’ve told me about everything that happened during your interview, but not once have you even described this man. That tells me that you’re hiding something.”
“What would I have to hide?”
“How about the little twinkle you keep getting in your eyes as you talk about this Pastor Stevens.” Betty pointed at her daughter. “You’re practically glowing.”
Margie averted her eyes. “I am not.”
“Face it or don’t face it, Margie Ann, but I’m warning you right now… God don’t like ugly. So don’t you get yourself caught up in no mess with another jack-leg preacher.”
If she lived to be a hundred years old, Margie still wouldn’t understand how her mother could read her like a book. But Betty Louise Milner was right. She had been drifting into crazy thoughts concerning the gorgeous Pasto
r Lamont Stevens. But now Margie realized that she needed to float back down to earth and step away from non-productive thoughts. She was taking that job to earn money, and nothing else.
She patted her mother’s hands. “He is gorgeous, Mom. But, I’m not going to lose my salvation over Pastor Stevens or anyone else. Just trust me, okay?”
Five
Margie’s first week at Overcomers Outreach Ministry was more challenging than she thought it would be. She kept her head down and concentrated on doing her work as she tried not to get in Pastor Lamont Steven’s way. The man could become a distraction if she let him, but Margie didn’t intend to let that happen. Every time she got sidetracked after talking with Pastor Stevens and started dreaming about happily ever afters, Margie simply focused on how horror stricken her mom’s face had looked the day she discovered that Margie had been carrying on an affair with the married pastor of the church Betty had been attending for over thirty years.
Margie’s mom had been at Faith Outreach when Bishop Turner had presided over it. She’d heard the rumors about him carrying on with some of the women in the church, but had never paid it one bit of attention. But then Margie confessed to her mother that she’d had an affair with JT. After that, the truth had come out about JT and all of his womanizing, and when Diane Benson had taken JT to court, it had also come out that Bishop Turner was Cassandra’s father.
By that time, Betty had decided to leave Faith Outreach and had been floundering around looking for a church home ever since. But for one reason or another, she always seemed to find something wrong with each church she attended. Margie felt as if she was to blame for her mother’s loss of faith in humanity. And she was striving hard to make sure that she never did anything else that would cause her mother to drift further away from the church. Her plan was going good until Thursday when JT Thomas showed his face at Overcomers. He walked right past her without so much as a, ‘How are you doing?’. Margie didn’t mind that so much, because she wanted to stay as far away from JT as possible. But then, not five minutes after JT stepped into Pastor Steven’s office, Diane Benson, JT’s baby mama, came tearing through the place, screaming at the top of her lungs.
Forgotten (Book 3--Forsaken Series) Page 3