Chapter Seventeen
As soon as the lights came on, Jimmy stood up from his chair and rushed out of the room, leaving Yolanda sitting alone in her seat. He ran out of the front door, and as soon as he stepped on the porch, the waiting paparazzi spotted him and surged forward. He dropped his head and pulled his coat up to cover his face. As their flashbulbs went off, he pressed his way through the crowd until he was behind the velvet rope and continued walking until he was at the end of the driveway. Driven by shame and humiliation, Jimmy looked both ways, trying to decide what to do. Then he began walking down the street.
Julian stood lurking in the shadows watching the partygoers. As soon as he saw Jimmy leave, Julian slid out of his hiding place and walked up the driveway of Danita’s estate, wearing a long black trench coat, black pants, and a black chauffeur’s cap. Walking up to the third limousine in the line, he lightly tapped on the window. The young driver who had been dozing sat up and rolled down the glass.
Without a word, Julian drew back his fist and punched him directly in the face. The driver slumped over unconscious. Julian looked around to be sure no one was watching; then he opened the door and pushed the driver to the other side of the seat and climbed in beside him. He reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out a gag and some wire. It only took him a few moments before he had the driver bound and gagged and slumped over in the front seat.
Julian covered the driver with his coat. He rolled down the partition and leaned into the backseat, where he placed a bottle of champagne and a note on the seat. After he put everything into place, he closed the partition and waited behind the steering wheel for his beloved Ophelia to return alone to the limousine.
He kept the window separating them rolled up and did not look back at her as she got into the limousine and sat down. Fearful of her recognizing him, he pulled his hat down lower and slowly drove to the end of Danita’s driveway. Just as he was about to pull out into the street, the driver groaned and began to wake up. Julian reached over him and opened the passenger door and with one swift kick of his foot, he shoved the bound man out of the car onto the driveway. He watched him tumble into the ditch. Then he slammed the door and sped off down the street.
As he continued walking, Jimmy noticed one of the white limousines from the party go past him. A few yards away it stopped and began backing up until it was directly beside him. The window came down, and Zack Morton stuck his head out. “Get in the car, Bishop,” he said.
Jimmy was too angry to respond, so he kept walking as the limousine followed him moving at a slow crawl before it stopped again. Zack stepped out and held open the door. “Get in, Bishop. It’s cold out here.”
Another white limousine went racing past them as Jimmy reluctantly got in. He was surprised to see Brandon sitting inside. He slid over and made room for Jimmy.
“Were you really gonna walk all the way home?” Zack asked.
“I don’t know what I was going to do. I just needed to get out of there,” Jimmy replied.
“That’s obvious, because your house is in the opposite direction. It’s a good thing we came this way first,” Brandon laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“I looked at that screen, and I all could see was red.” Jimmy took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.
Brandon nodded. “We understand. That’s why we came looking for you. Just so you know, Yolanda gave us the Cliffs Notes version of what’s going on with you guys and Julian.”
“She told me that he kissed her, and she immediately pushed him away, but that kiss seemed to go on forever,” Jimmy said. “I believed her, and I forgave her. Now I feel like a complete fool.”
“You shouldn’t. What you saw tonight was the work of clever editing. We all know that it didn’t really happen that way,” Zack said.
“Maybe so, but something happened. My wife was so intent on being a TV star that she compromised our marriage and our family. Everyone in my congregation watched this show tonight, not to mention my children.”
“Do you honestly believe that your wife cheated on you?” Brandon asked.
Jimmy hesitated before answering. He knew that what he’d seen on the screen was probably manipulated by Julian to get back at them. He sighed. “No. I’m positive that nothing happened between them.”
“Then that’s all that matters. There will be a lot of gossip and rumors, but as long as you know the truth, you guys can get through it,” Brandon assured him.
“I guess you’re probably right. It just made me so angry when I saw it that I couldn’t think straight. I knew I had to get out of there before I did something crazy.” Jimmy sighed again. “Would you guys mind heading back to the party so that I can talk to Yolanda?”
“She’s probably gone by now. Charlene and Tia were going to make sure she got home safely while we came looking for you. They should be there by the time we get to your house,” Zack said.
Jimmy felt deeply grateful that his cast mates had come to his rescue in his time of trouble. He was also somewhat surprised. Although they had worked together for months, and there were no problems between them, he didn’t realize the bond that they’d formed. Silently, he thanked God for the friendship. Then he expressed it openly. “I really want to thank both of you for coming after me. I overreacted, and it’s good to know that someone has my back.” He held his arm straight out and did a fist bump with Brandon, and then with Zack.
They pulled in front of Jimmy’s house and parked directly behind the other limousine. The three men got out and went inside. Charlene and Yolanda were seated in the family room sharing a glass of tea. As soon as she saw him, Yolanda ran to Jimmy, and he hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry,” they both said.
“Don’t apologize to me,” Yolanda said. “This whole mess is all my fault. I should have known Julian was up to something when he didn’t show up for the party.”
“I’m sorry for walking out like that. I promise you we are going to get through this together.” They kissed and held each other tightly.
Zack held out his hand to Charlene. “Come on, honey, I think the crisis is over, and we should leave these two alone.”
“I agree,” Brandon said. “We should get going too. Where’s Tia?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t ride with us,” Charlene answered.
As soon as Brandon and Zack had left to search for Bishop Snow, Tia realized that she did not want to hang around and babysit Yolanda. She wasn’t surprised at all that something was going on between Yolanda and Julian. Tia felt that it certainly would explain why Yolanda had suddenly shot to the forefront of the show. Not only that, but Tia could care less about the whole thing, as none of it held any benefits for her. The padding was shifting inside her evening gown, and she was beginning to itch and sweat. All she wanted to do was go home, take it all off, and hop into a hot shower. So while the other ladies were hovering over Yolanda, she snuck outside and jumped into the first limousine that she saw. She was about to give the driver instructions when she noticed a bottle of champagne and a note sitting on the seat.
“For my star,” it read.
It figures, Tia thought. Julian didn’t leave champagne in our car for us. This must be for his mistress, Yolanda. Well, it’s mine now.
Tia had not had a drink since she began pretending to be pregnant and champagne was her absolute favorite. Since she was alone, she decided to pop the bottle open and take a few sips before giving the driver her address. She did not notice that the cork was already loose, and it had been previously opened. After gulping down a few sips, she felt woozy, so she put the bottle down. Before she realized what was happening, Tia slumped over in the seat and blacked out.
As Julian sped down the highway on his way out of Georgia, Tia lay unconscious in the back of the limousine, unaware that she’d been drugged and kidnapped.