The Choir Director Page 9

  “T. K….” Smitty was backing down in a hurry. “Bishop, you don’t understand. If this gets out, my life as I know it is over.”

  “You’ve been keeping secrets for so long you don’t even realize that life as you knew it has been over for a long time now. But I’m gonna give you a chance to keep the status quo.”

  “And how are you going to do that?”

  “I want you to go into that meeting and let them know you want to keep Aaron Mackie as the choir director. You do that and I’ll see to it that your secret stays with me.”

  Suddenly, it was as if all the fight had gone out of him, like his body was shrinking before my eyes. He was clearly a defeated man. What I didn’t know was that the pressure he was feeling wasn’t coming solely from me.

  “You don’t understand. They have the same information that you do, T. K. This is way bigger than just some simple hiring of a choir director. This is about you. They want you out, and they are not going to stop until you’re gone.”

  “Who, Smitty? Who could want me gone that bad?”

  He didn’t give me an answer. With fear in his eyes, he got up and headed for the door, his head hung low. “I can’t go into that meeting and say what you want me to say, old friend. They’ll ruin me if I do. But I’ll give you a fighting chance by not showing up at all. You think that will be good enough?” For the first time since I returned from hiring Aaron, I saw the real Smitty again. I saw my friend—and he looked deeply troubled.

  “If you’re not there to push them, it just might be. But, Smitty, please, I need to know who’s doing this.”

  “I can’t do that. You’re a man of God, so I’m going to trust that you’ll do the right thing, the godly thing, and keep my secret. Them, on the other hand … there’s no telling what they’d do if I revealed their identities. I have a family to consider. All I can do is warn you. Resign before this thing gets ugly. This whole thing is way bigger than you or me.”

  Simone

  12

  Aaron Mackie and Simone Wilcox. I wrote it on my day planner and surrounded it with a heart. Silly, right? Well, I had been doodling silly stuff like that all day long. I’d met the man only two days ago, but I just couldn’t get him out of my head. Sure, I’d had my share of crushes over the years on some of the finest men you’d ever want to meet, but this was different. It was like he was a missing piece of me I didn’t know existed. I truly felt like he could complete me. Lord knows it had been a long time since a man had taken over my mind like this. A very long time.

  “Simone, your father’s on line four.” Anita Lowery, my secretary, popped her head into my office, snapping me out of my fantasy world and back to the reality of running a car dealership.

  Oh, great. Just what I didn’t need today, a call from dear old Dad.

  “How’d he sound, Anita?” I held my breath as I waited for her reply.

  “He sounded agitated. He snapped at me twice.”

  That wasn’t a good sign because Daddy liked Anita.

  “He didn’t ask to speak with Willie, did he?” I asked hopefully.

  “No, he just wanted to speak to you. I told him you were on the floor with a customer, and he said he didn’t care, that I should go get you.”

  “Oh Lord, what the hell does he want?” I wondered out loud. Anita shrugged, probably glad that it wasn’t her he was upset with. “Okay, Anita, thanks. I’ll take it from here.”

  Anita pulled her head back and disappeared into the hallway, shutting my door. I, on the other hand, stared at the phone, willing it to spontaneously disconnect the call. I took a deep breath and finally picked it up, pressing the flashing red button.

  “Hey, Daddy,” I said in an upbeat, almost teenage-sounding voice. I was in my late thirties, but I knew the best way to keep my father calm was to butter him up and keep him thinking that I was still his little girl, helpless and always in need of his help. “How’s the greatest father in the world? Still handsome as ever, I’m sure.”

  It wasn’t a lie. My father was a great-looking man for sixty-six. He was still trim and fit. Since he and my stepmom retired to a Sarasota, Florida, senior community, he walked and exercised every day. He even lifted weights. He pranced around like a male peacock, so I treated him like one.

  “Don’t you BS me, girl. I’m not in the mood.”

  His voice sounded brusque. This was a problem. It was evident that he wasn’t buying what I was selling, which could only mean he’d found out something that I didn’t want him to know. The real question was what did he know, and just how damaging was it?

  “What do you mean, Daddy? I wouldn’t BS you.” I stuck with the girlie voice in case it might still soften him up.

  “Did you fire Michael Nixon?”

  Damn! How’d he find out about that? My palms got sweaty, and my heart started pounding. I knew what was up, and I wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation. I sure wished the nosy-behind folks around here would mind their own damn business. They were always diming on me. Just jealous, that’s what they were.

  “Yes, Daddy, I fired him.” I sighed loudly as I pulled the phone away from my ear in anticipation of the yelling I was sure to hear. My father didn’t disappoint.

  “What the hell is wrong with you? That man is our best damn salesman!”

  The phone was three feet away from my ear, and I could hear every word he said as clear as a bell.

  “Daddy! Daddy! Please … please hear me out before you start screaming again. Please.”

  “You got two minutes!” he huffed.

  Michael Nixon had been working at Wilcox Motors for almost fifteen years, and my father was right; he had been our top salesman since the day he started. With that being said, I still fired his ass last week when I found out he was getting married. No, it wasn’t the brightest move I’d ever made, but it sure as hell made me feel better. You see, on top of being the best salesman, Mike Nixon was by far the most handsome man in the company. I’d started sleeping with him about two years ago when my father retired and turned the business over to me. It wasn’t anything serious, at least not for me, and after a few months, I got bored and gave him the boot. I did, however, let him keep his job. I figured it was the right thing to do. Like I said, he was our top salesman.

  Everything was fine until he started strutting around the dealership last week talking about getting married. Now, I didn’t even know the woman he was marrying, but there was no way I was gonna let him support some floozy with company funds when he was clearly just on the rebound from me. So, I fired his ass and hired two cuter, noncommissioned guys for half of what he made.

  “Daddy, I didn’t want to fire him, but I had no choice when I found out he was planning on opening his own dealership down the block next year. No way was I going to let him finance our demise and tear down what you built with money we paid him. I’m sorry, Daddy. Maybe I should have spoken to you first, but I felt I had to act fast.” I knew I shouldn’t be lying to my father, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Besides, I’d been lying to him for as long as I could remember. It was practically second nature at this point.

  There was silence on the line when I finished speaking. Then my father exploded. “That sneaky son of a bitch!” he shouted. “Don’t worry about it, baby. You did the right thing.”

  “Thank you, Daddy.” I held the phone away from my mouth and exhaled.

  “But don’t think you’re off the hook yet. Weren’t you supposed to get me a check out last week?”

  “We didn’t send you that check?” I tried to sound surprised. “I’ll have to check with accounting on that.” I was stalling for time and trying to placate him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t buying it. As often as I lied to him, there were still times I couldn’t fool him.

  “Don’t play games with me, Simone. You know that check didn’t go out. I already called Lisa in accounting.”

  “Daddy, I’ll be sending it at the end of the week. I promise.”

  “I don’t want your p
romises, Simone. I just want my check. And it better not bounce,” he warned. “You do not want me to catch a plane to New York and make some changes. You may run the company, but technically I still own it.”

  “I know, Daddy. You’ve made that pretty clear the past two years.”

  “Don’t you dare patronize me! You missed last month’s payment, and when you finally sent it, it bounced. I didn’t put you in charge of my company so I could worry about my retirement.”

  “You don’t have to worry, Daddy. I got this, okay? And you don’t have to come to New York. I’ll get you a cashier’s check and text you the tracking number tonight, all right? Look, I gotta run. Love you.”

  “I love you too … sometimes.”

  “Sometimes?” I repeated, not believing my ears.

  With that, Daddy hung up. I closed my eyes and rubbed them, thankful to get out of that conversation with just a mild tongue-lashing and a demand for a check. Daddy could be so coldblooded when it came to his money. I was going to have to get him that check. Last thing I needed was for him to be taking a trip to New York and snooping around with all the things I had going on.

  Anita stepped into my office and closed the door behind her, looking flushed. She leaned against the door frame and fanned herself with her hand.

  “Anita, what is wrong with you?”

  “Simone, there is a customer out there waiting to see you, and he is so fiiiine!”

  “He asked for me?” I had an inkling I knew who the gorgeous man was. “Is his name Aaron Mackie?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She nodded.

  “Oh my God. He’s here?” I lifted my head, primping my hair with my hand. “He wasn’t supposed to come by until around six.” I glanced at the clock. It was six, all right. Where did the time go?

  “Gurrl, who is he?”

  “He’s the new choir director at my church.” I smiled proudly.

  “Well, then consider me a new member of your church.” It was clear from the look on her face that she was dead serious.

  “Anita, you are a trip.”

  “I didn’t see a ring. Is he available?”

  “No, he’s not available.” I cut my eyes at her as I brushed off my suit. “And if you value your job, I better not catch you flirting with him.”

  She raised both eyebrows. “Oh, my bad. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize he was one of yours. I mean, he’s just so damn fine. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Well, now you know.” I gave her a pointed look to make sure she understood that the conversation was over.

  I liked Anita, and she was a good secretary, but there were reasons I didn’t have very many women working here. Number one: I don’t like competition, despite the fact that there usually isn’t any. Number two: Bitches are sneaky when it comes to men. I knew I was, and if I would do something, I damn sure knew another bitch would too. However, it did feel good to watch another woman go crazy over a man who was mine—or at least who was going to be mine.

  “You want me to show him in?” Anita asked with a hint of an attitude. Obviously she was pissed about the way I spoke to her, but I didn’t give a damn. All’s fair in love and war.

  “No, wait. Just a minute.” I picked up my compact, freshened up my lipstick, swiped my makeup sponge over my face, and ran my hand through my hair. I sat up straight in my chair and crossed my legs. “All right, you can send him in now.”

  She nodded, then stepped out of my office, no doubt rolling her eyes once her back was turned. Three minutes later, I was standing up to greet my future husband and the father of my unborn children.

  “Trustee Wilcox, so nice to see you again. You’re looking well.”

  You’re looking better than well, I thought as we shook hands. “Nice to see you, too, Aaron. I’m glad to see you made it through the vote unscathed.”

  “Thanks to you and the bishop. I heard you were instrumental in swinging the vote my way. Thank you, Trustee.”

  “No thanks needed. Besides, you had nothing to worry about with the bishop in the room. Now, on another note, would you please stop calling me Trustee? I thought I told you when we first met that my name is Simone, at least when it comes to my friends. And I hope we’re going to be friends.”

  “I hope so, too, Simone,” he said, letting the sexy back into his tone. “I was just trying to be professional.”

  I’d like to give you a professional.

  “I appreciate that, but I’m not like the rest of those stuffed shirts at the church. I’m pretty laid-back.” I paused for a moment to let him imagine me “laid back,” preferably naked in his bed. “Well, with that being said, I take it you’re here for the car that was promised to you.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I thought I’d come down and pick up my ride.” He was smiling like an excited little kid.

  I picked up my phone and dialed an extension.

  A man answered. “Wilcox Motors, Willie speaking.”

  “Willie, this is Simone. Do you have that burgundy Escalade ready?”

  “Yep. It’s all prepped and ready to go.”

  “Okay, I’ll be out with the owner in a minute.” I hung up and looked over at Mackie, who was still grinning. He looked so cute. “Well, your car’s ready. How’d you like to take a sister out for a ride and some dinner as payment?”

  “I’d like that a lot.” He gestured toward the door. “Lead the way, fair lady.”

  I got my purse and guided Aaron to the new-car prepping lot and our very first date.

  Aaron

  13

  I was on cloud nine as I drove down the Wantagh Parkway in Long Island toward Jones Beach. I still couldn’t believe I’d finally gotten the Escalade I’d been dreaming about for the past five years, and without one dime coming out of my pocket. I didn’t think life could get any better—until I glanced over at fine-ass Si-mone. She was sitting in the passenger seat beside me, rocking her head contently as John Legend played on the satellite radio. Out of the corner of my eye, I sneaked a glimpse of her long legs. They seemed to pour out of her red miniskirt, right into a pair of sexy red stilettos. Talk about the perfect accessory to a luxury vehicle. She was so beautiful I was almost afraid to approach her, but she’d been giving me that unmistakable vibe ever since we sat down to dinner a few hours ago. My instincts never seemed to fail me when it came to women, so there was no doubt in my mind that she was just as interested in me as I was in her.

  The only problem was that I had to approach her carefully. Simone wasn’t one of those slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am church sisters I’d run into down in Virginia. No, she was in a class by herself, and putting aside the fact that she was the chairwoman of the board of trustees at my job and technically one of my bosses, she was closer to being girlfriend material than anyone I’d met in a long time.

  “So, what did you think of the food at Costa de Espana?”

  “It was good. I’ve had Mexican and Cuban food, but I’ve never had authentic food from Spain before. Same flair, but a different taste.”

  “Uh-huh. I found that place about two years ago. I only take people I’m trying to impress.” She smiled, showing off the huge dimple in her left cheek.

  “I’m honored, but you wanna know what really impressed me?” Even as I spoke, I was thinking about how I couldn’t wait to get her into bed so I could impress her.

  She nodded. “Yeah, I do. What?”

  “The fact that you speak Spanish so fluently. I know a few words, but you were having a full-fledged conversation with that hostess when we were leaving. It looked kind of intense. What were you talking about?”

  “You.”

  “Me?” I was used to women talking about me, but the fact that it was one as beautiful as Simone was flattering. “What about me?”

  “She was asking me if I could get your autograph for her and her friends. Didn’t you notice there were a lot of people staring at us?” I shook my head. “Well, evidently, Mr. Mackie, you look like some Spanish soap opera star.”

  “Get out. Rea
lly?” I was getting a kick out of this. “They say we’ve all got a twin. I guess mine is a Latin TV star.” I laughed. “You should have told me. I would have given them all an autograph.”

  “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You’ve got enough going on with being First Jamaica Ministries’ choir director. I didn’t want you to get a big head.”

  “I heard that, but the truth is I didn’t notice anyone looking at me because I was staring at you.” I lifted one eyebrow, giving her the patented Aaron Mackie smile.

  She smirked. Clearly she was used to admiration from the opposite sex too. Still, she tried to stay humble. “It wasn’t because I had something stuck in my teeth, was it?”

  “No,” I said with a laugh. “It’s because you’re a beautiful woman, Simone Wilcox.”

  She blushed. “Thank you.”

  “You are most welcome.” I took her hand and kissed the back of it. “And I really am impressed that you speak fluent Spanish.”

  Coyly, she said, “If you think that’s impressive, you should hear my French.”

  I hoped she was telling the truth. Two foreign languages? There was nothing more attractive than a fine-looking woman with brains to match. This woman was sophisticated. She might be more than girlfriend material; I was starting to think she could end up being wife material.

  “You speak French too?”

  She leaned in close, placing a hand on my leg as she whispered in my ear, “Only when I make love, mon amour.”

  “Oh my, my, my,” I sighed. Needless to say, all the blood in my body rushed to my groin. Thank goodness we’d just pulled into the parking lot of Jones Beach, because any more talk like that and I might have had an accident and killed both of us.

  “So, where’d you learn to speak all these languages?” I asked as we got out of the truck.

  “My best friend in grade school is from the Dominican Republic, so I learned Spanish from her. If you didn’t know how to ask for it in Spanish, you didn’t get anything to eat in her house. And I took French in high school and lived in Paris for a year when I was a college student, so I learned the language firsthand.”