The Choir Director

by Carl Weber

  I shook both men’s hands. “Well, I’m willing to listen to anything you gentlemen have to say.”

  “Thank you, Bishop Wilson,” Mr. Cohn replied. “We’ve put in calls to Ms. Simone Wilcox several times to find out if our offer to buy the senior housing property was approved, but we got no response. From what James has told us, he doesn’t think the offer was ever presented to you. He told us that time was of the essence, so at his request, he set up this meeting and we’re contacting you directly.”

  My eyes went from James to Monique. “Yes, time is of the essence. We only have a week before our follow-up meeting with the bankruptcy lawyers. And James is correct—Simone hasn’t told us of any offer from you.”

  Goldberg handed me a folder as Cohn continued to speak. “We made her a ten-million-dollar offer for the property, with a five-day turnaround for payment. We can have a cashier’s check in your hands Tuesday morning.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. I looked at James and said, “With ten million dollars, we wouldn’t have to go through bankruptcy.”

  He nodded his head as if to say “I told you so.” James had always told me the property was worth at least five million, and as usual, he was right.

  Cohn continued his pitch. “Bishop Wilson, we think that’s a fair price. The buildings are almost done, and we plan to make them into condos. From what we’re hearing, our offer is only slightly better than our competitors’, but our turnover time is much quicker.”

  “Competitors?”

  “From what I’m hearing, there were quite a few bids. I’ve been in real estate for most of my life. Recession or not, that price for one hundred units on Merrick Boulevard is a good deal for us all.”

  I couldn’t begin to comprehend why Simone hadn’t informed us of this bid, not to mention all the others that were supposedly made, but I knew James. If he had brought these men here, then it was his way of telling me that this was the best deal for the church. We could sort out the mess with Simone later. In the meantime, I was not about to let these men out of the room without securing this deal.

  “Mr. Cohn, Mr. Goldberg, if you can really turn things over by Tuesday, you’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll call an emergency meeting of the joint boards and get this done tonight.”

  “Well, in that case, I’ll have our attorneys prepare the paperwork and have it over to your office in the morning.”

  We shook hands, a gentlemen’s agreement that we had a deal. “Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you very much.”

  “Don’t thank us. Thank your friend over there.”

  I turned to James and he winked at me. Once again, my good friend had pulled off what others couldn’t, and from his deathbed, no less.

  After Cohn and Goldberg left, we made so much noise whooping and hollering that a nurse had to come down and threaten to kick us out.

  When we finally calmed ourselves, I turned to James. “Thank you, friend.”

  James lifted the oxygen mask. “You’re welcome. Now, call that bitch Simone and find out why she didn’t tell you about those other offers.”

  I pulled out my cell phone. “Doing it right now.”

  I dialed her number and she answered. “This is Simone.”

  “Good afternoon, Simone. This is Bishop Wilson. I’m calling an emergency meeting of the joint boards. I’ve found a ten-million-dollar buyer for the senior housing property.”

  There was a muffled hesitation on the line, almost as if she had covered up the phone and was speaking to someone else. “Bishop, I’m sorry to say it, but we just closed on that property ten minutes ago.”

  I almost dropped the phone. “Excuse me, you did what?” I shouted. “To whom and for how much?” Oh my God, this couldn’t be happening. This woman had to be the most incompetent businessperson in the country.

  “We sold the property to Pelican Trading Company for three million dollars. You signed the papers yourself, remember?”

  “I did no such thing! I signed papers agreeing to negotiate with them.”

  “Bishop, I’m not sure what you think you signed, but I have the papers right here in front of me. Didn’t you read them before you put your signature on them?”

  The truth was I hadn’t read them carefully. Maxwell had brought the papers to me when I was rushing off to officiate a wedding, and I’d signed them without giving it much thought. Just like James, I trusted Maxwell to have the church’s best interest in mind. Even after I’d signed them, he’d agreed to hold on to them for at least another week before moving forward. I had no idea how we’d gone from that point to now, with Simone insisting that the property was already sold.

  “Simone, listen to me very carefully. You have to undo that closing. Tell them we will pay a million dollars to negate the deal. They can’t say no to a profit like that.”

  “Bishop, they’re not going to do it. The buyer already has plans to make them into condos. Besides, the funds have already been allocated to our creditors.”

  As I paced back and forth, I could feel James’s eyes on me. I really wished this conversation was happening elsewhere. I wasn’t sure James would be strong enough to handle this type of stress.

  “Simone, why didn’t you tell me you were closing today?” There was something she wasn’t telling me. I could tell by the shakiness of her voice.

  “The buyer called me this morning and said we had to make this happen today or the deal was off. I was busy getting everything together. I’m sorry. I’m just one person. I thought Maxwell would tell you.”

  “Maxwell knew?” Now I was both angry and confused.

  “Yes, of course he knew. The closing was at his office. He’s sitting right across from me.”

  “What? Put him on the phone!”

  Again there was a muffled conversation on the other end, and then Simone said, “I’m sorry but he’s busy right now. He says he’ll talk to you later.”

  I flipped my phone closed, fighting the urge to throw it against the wall. “Fuck!”

  The profanity that escaped my lips took everyone off guard.

  James pulled down his mask and struggled to sit up in the bed. “Calm down and tell me what’s going on, T. K.”

  “They sold the property to Pelican Trading Company for three million dollars.”

  “Oh, no,” Aaron and Tia said in unison.

  Monique said, “How is that possible? Can Simone even do that without you present?”

  I started to explain what Simone had told me about the papers that I’d supposedly signed, but James stopped me.

  “Hold on a minute. What was the name of the company that bought the property?”

  “Pelican Trading Company.”

  “That son of a bitch.” James shook his head.

  “Who?”

  “Back in the nineties, I used to do a lot of business with Pelican Trading Company. I helped the owner start the business and sold him a lot of property as his exclusive Realtor. I didn’t even know he still did any business under that company name.”

  “Well, apparently he does, and he just bought our property. You think you can talk him into selling it back to us for a small profit?”

  James shook his head. “I doubt it. The owner of that company is a pretty shrewd dude. He wouldn’t sell unless he was going to make a huge profit. Knowing this guy, he may end up selling it to Cohn and Goldberg for fifteen million.”

  Just when I thought I’d heard enough to make my knees buckle, James threw the knockout punch.

  “T. K., you’re never gonna believe who the owner of that company is.”

  “Who?” Nothing could have prepared me for James’s answer.

  “Maxwell Frye.”

  Monique

  51

  “Maxwell Frye. Maxwell Frye …” T. K. kept mumbling under his breath as we sped down the Grand Central Parkway, weaving in and out of traffic toward Queens Boulevard and Maxwell’s Rego Park office. We were headed there to confront Maxwell about the scam he had pulled with the senior housing property
.

  I glanced over at the speedometer. T. K. was doing eighty, and if traffic had allowed, I’m sure he would have pushed one hundred miles an hour. Tia and Aaron were sitting in the backseat. From the look on Tia’s face, she was horrified by my husband’s driving.

  Thank God no one could see the look on my face. It probably looked like I had an upset stomach. That’s just what I felt like inside, like I’d eaten something rotten and it was just sitting there covered with maggots. I know that sounds nauseating, but it was the truth. How else was I supposed to feel? I hadn’t been in the same room with both T. K. and Maxwell since he started blackmailing me and our bi-weekly rendezvous started. I didn’t know how to act.

  “Slow down, T. K.,” I pleaded, gripping the door handle. I was scared to death, not so much because of the speed we were going, but because of the collision that was about to happen when he and Maxwell bumped heads at his office. I’d never seen him this mad.

  I was about to be in the same room with my husband and the man I’d been sleeping with, and it was under the worst of circumstances. T. K. was ready for war. He was so fired up that it appeared as though he’d use every gun he had to shoot Maxwell down. My only worry was that Maxwell had all the ammunition. If T. K. pissed Maxwell off too much, no telling what Maxwell would say to get back at him.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get there before that bastard leaves.” He eased his foot off the gas pedal, but I could see the anger and frustration written all over his face. Part of me was afraid he was going to kill Maxwell, while the other part of me wished he would—as long as he didn’t get caught.

  “I know that, but what good is it going to do if we don’t get there in one piece?”

  He shifted his eyes in my direction and I shut up quickly.

  When we arrived at Maxwell’s office, T. K. screeched to a halt at the bus stop in front of the building and parked it there without a second thought. He jumped out of the car and headed straight for the elevator with me, Aaron, and Tia on his heels.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Maxwell’s receptionist protested as we stepped off the elevator and walked right past her.

  “I’m here to see Maxwell,” T. K. said as he continued down the hallway.

  “But you need an appointment. Besides, he already has someone in his office.”

  By this time, T. K. had already flung open the door and stepped into Maxwell’s spacious private office. I watched as he appraised the situation with a cool eye. I hung back, letting Tia and Aaron go into the office before me, because I was scared to death of what might happen when Maxwell saw my face.

  “Well, Bishop, looks like I lose this one,” Maxwell said sarcastically. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his billfold. He peeled off a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to none other than Simone, who was sitting next to him. “You know, I bet Simone a hundred dollars that you wouldn’t come over here.”

  T. K. went straight to the point. “Do you own Pelican Trading Company?”

  “Now, where would you get something like that?” Maxwell smirked and glanced over at Simone, who had the nerve to smirk too. I wanted to smack that bitch, but like Maxwell, she had information that could destroy my marriage, so I held back.

  He reached into his pocket and stripped off another hundred- dollar bill from his billfold and handed that to Simone too. “James, right?”

  “Yes, James told me. Now, answer my question. Do you own Pelican?”

  Maxwell had a smug gleam in his eye. “Yes, Bishop, I own Pelican.”

  They stared each other down for the next few seconds. “Good, then this is going to be easier than I thought since I’m friends with the owner.” T. K. took a deep breath. “Maxwell, I need you to sell the properties back to us so we can save the church.”

  I was proud of him. He’d put the deal on the table in the calmest way he knew how, considering the circumstances. I could anticipate Maxwell’s answer, though, so I knew that it really didn’t matter how T. K. carried himself.

  Maxwell cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

  “What do you mean you can’t do that?”

  I could see every muscle in T. K.’s body tense up.

  “Because I’m turning that property into condos.”

  I saw my husband do a double take, as if he couldn’t believe the man standing before him had been one of his closest friends, his confidant. If Maxwell got to running his mouth, T. K. would have more he couldn’t believe.

  Up until this point, Maxwell hadn’t made eye contact with me. I’d stayed strategically positioned behind my husband, Tia, and Aaron.

  “Buying that place for three million was a steal. I thought it was gonna cost me at least four or five million.” Maxwell shook his head and smiled like the whole situation amused him.

  “You mean to tell me that you would let the church go down just so you can make some money?”

  Oh, no. T. K.’s veins were starting to pop. I imagined his blood boiling inside. I didn’t need a monitor to tell that his blood pressure was rising. Hell, I didn’t need one to tell that my own blood pressure was going up too.

  “Yeah, I’d do it to the church.”

  Looking at the expressions of everyone in the room, I could tell that they were shocked by this arrogant bastard—everyone but me, and possibly Simone. I’d seen this side of Maxwell recently . Unfortunately, I’d seen more sides of him than I could stomach right now.

  “But more importantly, T. K., I’d do it to you.”

  “Why, Maxwell? Why are you trying to destroy our church family?” T. K. was beside himself, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t even want to know.” T. K. took a step toward the door, and I think I was the happiest person in the entire borough of Queens at that moment—that is, until Maxwell spoke up.

  “Are you sure about that?” Maxwell was playing my husband like a cat toying with a cornered mouse.

  It pained me so much to stand by and watch it all go down, but then again, wasn’t I complicit in some way? After all, I could have warned T. K. a while ago that Maxwell wasn’t who he thought he was, but after weighing my options and counting the cost, I felt keeping T. K. out of jail was more important. Now that I saw the depths of Maxwell’s hatred, I wondered if his story about T. K. stealing money from the church was even true. Had he doctored the papers I saw in order to get me into his bed?

  For the first time since we’d arrived, Maxwell’s eyes found mine. I tried to reposition myself to avoid his gaze, but it was no good.

  “T. K., don’t you want to know why?” Maxwell looked at T. K. briefly, then right back at me, taunting me. I felt like I might pass out.

  “No, I don’t want to know.”

  I felt my breath catch in my throat. I had to resist the urge to grab T. K.’s arm and drag him out of there before Maxwell said any more. But it was too late anyway. Maxwell was hell-bent on dropping that bomb.

  “Well, allow me to share with you anyway,” Maxwell insisted. “The real reason is love. You know that old cliché all’s fair in love and war? Well, this is about love, and me and you, we’re at war.”

  T. K. turned back to him. “What are you talking about, Maxwell? Have you completely lost your mind?”

  “Maybe I have lost it, but only because of the woman standing next to you.” All heads turned in my direction. “Or should I say the woman standing behind you? Way behind you, I might add.”

  Suddenly, my protective instincts kicked in. How could I stand back here, practically hiding, as this animal, who had stabbed my husband in the back, prepared to drive the knife deeper? I boldly walked and stood next to my husband, almost daring Maxwell to confess my sins. At the same time, though, I was praying to God that he didn’t call my bluff.

  “What the heck are you talking about?” T. K. demanded.

  “You took the only woman I’ve ever loved,” Maxwell said, looking directly at me. “So, I’m taking your church, the only thing you’ve ever r
eally loved.”

  “Huh?” T. K. looked dumbfounded. “Will somebody tell me what the hell he’s talking about?” T. K. turned to me.

  T. K. knew that before we got together, I’d been around the block a time or two, and he loved me nonetheless. Even so, he never knew that his friend had sat behind the wheel of the car.

  “I’ll tell you what I’m talking about.” Maxwell decided to explain further while I stood there wishing I could disappear. “Before I went to Iraq, I fell in love with Monique. I went to Iraq to make money so I could marry her.”

  He pointed at me, and everyone’s eyes followed his finger to look at me with puzzled expressions. Well, with the exception of Simone, who just shook her head. “When I came home to visit three years ago, you were married to her.”

  My husband turned to face me. Just like I couldn’t bear to let him touch me in these past couple of weeks, I didn’t want him to look at me right now. I felt too ashamed.

  “Is this true?” T. K. asked me. I couldn’t speak.

  “Oh, it’s true all right,” Maxwell said, his face hardening.

  All I could do was drop my head by way of admission.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Look, T. K., there was nothing to tell. We were through.” I lifted my head to explain. My husband at least deserved that much respect from me.

  “But my best friend?”

  In a panic, I threw my hands in the air. I wanted nothing more than to escape. “I’m not going to discuss this right now. We have bigger issues to deal with. I’m going to the car.”

  And I did just that. I exited the office, but I didn’t go far. I didn’t think my legs would carry me. I stood right outside the door with my back against the wall, trying to steady my breathing and slow my heart rate. I’d felt so suffocated in that room. I had to get out, but I also needed to hear just how much more Maxwell was going to tell my husband about us.

  While I was still within earshot, I heard Tia say to my husband, “Don’t worry about her, Bishop. I can go see about her if you’d like.”

  I didn’t hear a response from T. K., and Tia never came out. There was silence, too much silence, so I leaned in and peeked, just to see what was going on in there. What I saw was a staring contest between Maxwell and T. K. Simone sat at the desk, looking almost too afraid to speak.