Before I stepped over the threshold, I took a breath, but
the moment I entered, I heard voices. I moved toward the
conversation and when they were in my sight, Jeremy glanced
up. His lips spread into a wide grin. “Babe!” He jumped up
from the sofa where he’d been sitting across from our agent,
Clyde and another man I didn’t know, but who looked familiar.
“I called the church and then, I called your cell,” Jeremy said with excitement. “I didn’t know where you were!” Pulling me
into his arms, he kissed my cheek, then took my hand. “Come
in,” he said as if he’d forgotten this was my home, too. “I have some good news for you.”
This was the first time since I’d seen that text that Jeremy
had touched me and I hadn’t cringed. I guess because I was
just shocked; I hadn’t expected to walk into a meeting.
“Hello, everyone,” I said, pasting on a smile as Clyde and
the other gentleman stood. “What’s going on?”
“Babe, this is Lawrence Wright.” When the blond-haired
man reached his hand toward me, that was when I figured it
out. He could have been Richard Gere’s twin.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wright.” I shook his hand, then
turned to Clyde. “What’s up?”
“Just you,” he said, pulling me into an embrace.
My Word | 183
“Babe,” Jeremy said, “Lawrence is from Amazon
Exclusive.” It sounded like my husband was about to break
out into a song.
“Oh...kay.” There was silence as I waited for someone to
continue.
“Let’s all sit down,” Jeremy said, leading me to the sofa
where he’d been sitting. When we sat and his leg rubbed
against mine, I had to focus to keep my body in place rather
than sliding to the other end far away from him.
I was glad when Lawrence distracted me and said, “Mrs.
Williams, I came here to talk to you and Reverend Williams
about joining our team.”
“Oh, is this about the books that Jeremy wants to write?”
I asked.
“Wel , books would be good.” Lawrence chuckled. “What
we at Amazon have in mind is much bigger than that. Our
team has been watching the two of you for some time. And
while we know you have a deal with Netflix, we think we’d be
able to offer you a much more lucrative package.”
I frowned. “You’re talking about a development deal?”
The three men nodded together.
I said, “But I thought the Netflix deal was done, right,
Clyde?”
Clyde nodded, but now, his grin was as wide as Jeremy’s.
“It was done, but they’re willing to let us buy out of that deal.”
“Babe,” Jeremy put his hand on my knee and my eyes
looked down at where he touched me. “The plan that Amazon
has would turn us into a powerhouse couple.”
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How was I going to sit here and not push Jeremy away?
“Yes,” Lawrence picked up. “We’re talking about a package
that would make you bigger than Joel and Victoria Olsteen.”
Clyde added, “The numbers haven’t been worked out yet,
but we’re talking high seven figures.”
That took my attention away from Jeremy’s hand on my
knee. I inhaled. “What?”
The men nodded, letting me know that I’d heard Clyde
correctly.
Jeremy said, “They recognize what you and I have
together, babe. They know that as a couple, we’re just getting started. And because Amazon does so much, they want us
to do everything from writing books, to producing original
programming to even developing a full merchandise line.”
“Wow,” I said.
“Exactly.” Jeremy laughed as if he thought I was so
impressed with the deal. If only he knew my wow was because
this was never going to happen.
The men continued talking, throwing out numbers,
concepts, ideas. I just sat there thinking when would be a
good moment to tell them that Jeremy was a liar and a cheat.
After a couple of minutes of my silence, Jeremy paused.
“Are you okay?”
When he rubbed my arm, I watched Clyde and Lawrence
staring at me. This wasn’t the time to say all that I wanted to say.“I’m fine,” I managed to squeak out. “I was just thinking
about...” I paused, trying to come up with something. “The
My Word | 185
Dress for Success program. We’re going to be taking it into
schools,” I said to Clyde and Lawrence, though I had no idea
why I was explaining this to them.
“You know it’s going to be wonderful with all the time and
effort you’ve put into it,” my husband said. Then, he turned
to Clyde and explained what I’d been doing with girls in the
foster care system and how I was expanding the program
into schools. He finished with, “I’ve never seen anyone more
committed to anything.”
Lawrence grinned. “It’s that commitment that has us
confident you two are perfect for the slate of projects we
have planned. And to be honest, there is something else
that has impressed us.” He paused. “We did look at several
pastors throughout the country and like I said, we love your
commitment to your congregation and the community, but
we are just as impressed with your commitment to your family
and each other.”
When Jeremy wrapped his arms around my shoulders and
pulled me close, I had to count from ten backwards to stop
myself from jerking away.
“I am committed to my wife,” Jeremy said. “Because I
know that God blessed me with a jewel and I treat her like
the precious woman she is.” He kissed my cheek and my smile
faded. I couldn’t help it. There was no way for me to smile and not punch Jeremy in the eye at the same time.
“Well, this is going to be wonderful,” Lawrence said as if
the deal was done.
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“I have a question.” I raised my hand like I was in a class.
“Why us?”
The matching frowns on their faces would have made me
laugh if my heart hadn’t been so broken.
“What do you mean, babe?” Jeremy asked. “Lawrence just
explained it and really, why not us?”
“No.” This time it was Lawrence who held up his hand,
stopping Jeremy. “I think I know what your wife means
and it is a valid question, Mrs. Williams. Like I said, we are impressed with your commitment, but what we also know
about you and your husband is that the two of you know
how to build something. You’ve built this dynamic church,
a dynamic ministry. And the thing that’s most important
in today’s times with social media and cel phone cameras
everywhere,” he hesitated for a beat, “you’ve built a strong
marriage that’s scandal free.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “That’s been important to me and my
wife.” He took my hand into his and I wondered how much
longer I’d be able to endure this torture.
Lawrence said, “You wouldn’t believe how many pastors
we had to cross off our list for having one issue or another.
I don’t know how you do it.”
It’s simple, I thought. He keeps his hoes in check.
“It’s simple,” Jeremy said. “We honor our wedding vows.
Both of us do.” Squeezing my hand, he added, “My wife is
my everything. And the last thing I would ever do is bring
scandal to her doorstep.”
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My mouth opened with all kinds of surprise. Jeremy was
taking this too far. I needed to call Spike Lee and tell him
about Jeremy’s acting abilities, because he was putting on
an Oscar winning performance, giving Denzel a run for his
money. I wondered just how far he would go.
So, I said, “Yes, it’s like Jeremy said, he’s committed to
me.” I looked directly at my husband. “He would never do
anything to bring shame to me or our family.”
Those words were meant to be a shot to his heart and I
expected Jeremy to turn away from me, not able to look into
my eyes. I expected his eyebrow to begin twitching so hard it
would give him a headache.
But what he did was look me straight in my face and say,
“I sure wouldn’t.”
Not only was this shocking, but it was so sad to me.
Because this proved that my husband had moved from one
level to another. He was no longer just an ordinary liar, he was now pathological. And that meant I had no idea how long
he’d been lying to me. I’d always used his body language as a
sign, and since his eyebrow never twitched, I thought all was
well in our world. But now I knew that he’d probably been
lying to me for years. Maybe even since the beginning.
I wanted to stand up, scream and tell these people Jeremy
wasn’t the man he claimed to be. I wanted to blow him, his
world and this deal up.
But I didn’t. Not yet. Because I needed to know his story,
I wanted to hear his side. And until that happened, I wasn’t
188 | Gizel e Bryant
willing to jeopardize everything. So I just sat quietly with the perfect First Lady smile on my face.
But if the truth was what I thought it was, Jeremy could
kiss more than just this seven figures deal goodbye.
Chapter Fifteen
“The Word of God is infallible. Let me break it down
for you.” Jeremy’s voice, from the recording on my
phone, boomed through the speakers in my Benz. “That
means this right here,” I remembered him holding the Bible
over his head, “there ain’t no lies in here. This right here is all truth. You wanna know what God says about anything, just
go straight to the source,” Jeremy preached. “You don’t need
to talk to your mama, your daddy, or even the preacher. You
can find out for yourself if you just read the Word. Read the
Word so you can know, that you know, that you know!”
The recording ended there, but I remembered the way
the congregation had risen to their feet in the small meeting
room of the Holiday Inn in downtown D.C. Just about all of
the 81 members of the church had been in the room that day,
but you would have thought it was a stadium full of people
the way Jeremy had made those people hoot and holler. He
had rocked it on his very first Sunday.
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Even with all that was going on with me and Jeremy
right now, remembering that time warmed my heart and
gave me goosebumps. On that Sunday morning, in front of
his own congregation for the first time, it was no longer my
speculation, it was our certainty: my husband was a star. I
knew it then. I knew it now. I believed in it then. I believed it had corrupted him now.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Those were words my father used to say. Those were words
that defined my husband now. My husband, the star. The
lying, cheating star.
He was the cheating star who I found out about last week
and still hadn’t had a chance to confront. What were the
chances that right as the meeting with Clyde and Lawrence
was wrapping up last Tuesday, Jeremy would get a call that
stopped us all. Mother Hayden had passed away from a blood
clot that was the result of her hip surgery.
That news sent me and Jeremy to our knees. That night,
we prayed together and cried, too. Mother Hayden was one
of the major reasons why Jeremy was even where he was.
There’d been no time after that. I didn’t want to bring up
Katrina as Jeremy packed to accompany Mother Hayden’s
body to her home in Birmingham. That had been her wish
and he’d stayed in Alabama with the family, ministering to
them, helping them make final plans for the woman he loved
like a mother. He’d called me every day since he’d boarded the plane last Wednesday to keep me posted and to share his grief.
My Word | 191
There were moments when I was on the phone with him
that I was reminded of the man I’d fallen in love with. And
during those times, my heart went out to him and I tried to
pass him strength through my prayers.
But then, there were the other times when I just wanted
to hang up because the image of him in bed with Katrina was
just too much for me to bear.
It was just a bizarre time. Why would Jeremy and I be
apart right now? Why would Mother Hayden pass away at
this moment? Was God trying to tell me something?
What made it worse was that for the six days since I’d
confronted my husband’s side-piece, I hadn’t told a single
person about my discovery. For more than one hundred and
forty four hours, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to talk to anyone, not Dru, not Jada, not my mom...not until I could
talk to Jeremy. He had to be the first one.
I’d held onto that thought, that belief...until last night.
Because that was when Jeremy told me he’d definitely be
home tomorrow since the funeral was today. That meant
we would be face-to-face in a little more than twelve hours.
And now, after waiting for so long, I was afraid. What was I
supposed to say to him? And once I said it, what would this
all mean?
Those questions were the reasons why I was making
this right turn into the parking garage of Dru’s building. I
maneuvered into one of the visitor’s spots, locked my car, then pressed the buzzer to gain entry.
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Dru knew I was coming, so she buzzed me right in. And
as I stepped into the elevator and then headed up to the ninth floor, I practiced what I wanted to say to my friend. But it
didn’t take much time for me to figure it out. There were only six words to say: My husband is cheating on me.
Even though my steps were silent in the carpeted hallway,
Dru opened her door before I had a chance to ring the bell.
“Hey,” she said at the same time that she handed me a
glass of white wine.
I grabbed the glass, kicked off my shoes, then headed to
her overstuffed, so-soft sofa. Sinking into the microfiber, I
tucked my feet beneath my butt, lifted my glass and asked,
“How did you know?” before I took two long sips.
“Well,” Dru began as
she bounced onto the other end of
the couch. She faced me as she said, “You never call me at
night and say you need to come over. Nights are for the kids.
Who’s with them?”
“I asked Carmen to stay a few extra hours,” I said and
then, sighed. “I just needed to get out. I needed to talk.”
“I know.” She laid her wine atop her glass table in front
of us. “I know this is hard for you.”
I blinked. Did Dru know? “What?”
“Mother Hayden. The funeral was today, right? I know
this has been so hard. You’ve been so distant all week, but I
know how close you all were.”
Now, I placed my wine on the table next to hers. “Yeah,
the funeral was today and yeah, this has been really hard, but that’s not what I want to talk about.”
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Dru tilted her head as if she were confused. “So, not
Mother Hayden? Then....” She stopped and waited for me
to fill her in.
“You’re not going to believe this.” And only because I
didn’t want to play any games and keep her in suspense, I
began my story. Starting with being with the Douglases and
seeing the text.
“What?” my best friend exclaimed.
“Sit back, there’s more.”
From there, I took Dru on the journey with me wondering
if K. Brunson was a man....
“Oh, my God!”
I told her how I’d found out that K stood for Katrina
and I’d even gotten her address. “I felt a little bit like a super sleuth,” I bragged.
“I don’t know why,” Dru said, deflating my ego a bit.
“You went through all of that? If you had told me this when
you were supposed to, we could have found out who she was
and where she lived on the Internet just by using her phone
number.”
“Really?”
Dru rolled her eyes. “You don’t know anything, but what
did you do when you found out her address?” She held up her
hand. “Don’t tell me that....”
“I went over there.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
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“Is she alive?”
That made me chuckle just a little. “She was when I left.”
“And Jeremy’s still alive, too?”
That made me want to cry.
“Dude,” Dru said as she picked up her wine again. “I can’t
believe it.” Then she took a sip and shook her head. “You know what? I’m lying.”
“Wait.” I said that word so slowly, it sounded like it had
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