“Your eyes make me shy.” Anais Nin
“Khalil, thank you. The flowers are beautiful,” Eliana said, beaming with happiness, but remaining absolutely motionless for a moment.
“I still owe you lunch or dinner—your choice, or both.” Khalil said, his eyes sharp and assessing—his voice deep and sensual.
“But why?” Eliana asked.
“It’s Administrative Professionals’ Day. As your boss I’m supposed to show you how much I appreciate you. Right?”
Eliana blushed. “But you do that. You always tell me what a great job I’m doing. You buy me lunch, and today, when those flowers came, I…well, let’s just say you’ve done more than enough, Khalil. Really, you have.”
“Nope, gotta do more,” Khalil insisted. “So what’s it going to be? Lunch or dinner?”
“You must have forgotten?”
“Forgotten what?” Khalil said, looking at her curiously, while checking out how beautiful she was.
“You and some of the other staff are supposed to be taking the admins to lunch today in recognition of Administrative Professional’s Day.”
“Oh, yea, right, right. Cool. But that’s with the group. I want to show you personally how much I appreciate all you do to keep things straight around here.”
“In that case and since you insist, it’ll have to be dinner.”
“Okay, dinner it is. Tonight? Say around six. Will you be hungry again by that time?”
“Sure. I leave here this afternoon at four-thirty. I’ll run home, get dressed, and then I can meet you wherever you say.”
“Nope,” Khalil said, standing, walking from behind his desk. He perched on the end of his desk and folded his arms.
“Nope? What do you mean?”
“I’m picking you up. No driving for you. Plus, where I plan to take you is going to be a surprise. So, we’ll go to lunch with the staff and this evening it’s all about you…and me,” he added.
“Ohhkay,” Eliana said, surprised by this unpredictable man, but loving it at the same time.
Lunch with the staff and other admins went off without a hitch. Even Sista Mavis was on her best behavior, having recently celebrated her 60th birthday. Thanks to Eliana, Khalil had brought a small gift of appreciation for all the admins, and an extra gift for Sista Mavis to honor her birthday. She was feeling herself after that special show of attention.
Khalil eyed Eliana with obvious satisfaction. She was always on top of things and he loved that about her. She kept him on his game and things like what she’d pulled off today made him think how he wanted to spend some time, lots of time, with her outside of Holy Rock. He had been taking things extra slow, but now he was ready to step up his game. Tonight was the night he was going to pull out all stops. He planned to wine, dine, and romance Eliana until she was ready to melt into his arms. Of course, he wasn’t going to take her to his bed tonight—at least he didn’t think he would. That would come later, but it was definitely part of his plan.
During lunch his text notifier sounded. He glanced at his phone. It was Dee. Why did she always seem to text or call him at the most inopportune times?
Hav a donation for the tv ministry,
the text read.
Your place or mine?
Finishing lunch with staff. See you in an hour,
was Khalil’s response.
I thought we could meet up tonight?
Tonight’s not good.
Ok. Whatever. Guess I’ll hold off on this donation til you do hav time.
Khalil knew what that meant. She wanted him to answer to her on her terms. For now, he was all about the Benjamin’s.
It’ll be late.
Never too late when it comes to you. See you tonight.
He closed his text down, not bothering to respond. He would have dinner with Eliana and afterward he would go to Dee’s house to knock her off and get his money. Simple as that, but if things went the way he expected them to go with Eliana, Dee would soon be a thing of the past. Until then, he would get as much money as he could out of her to get a better than great start on the television ministry. He still hadn’t touched much of the money he stole from his father. That was his stash that he planned to use only when necessary. Holy Rock was paying him bank, paying the mortgage on his new house, the lease on his Tesla Roadster, and many other perks. He had no need to hit his own stash when he was making a killing being a pastor. What a wonderful life.
Eliana stood outside The Italian Kitchen—a five star restaurant that boasted some of the best cuisine in the city. It would cost her a pretty penny just for a house salad, so because of that, she hadn’t visited the fine dining establishment. A blank, amazed, and shaken look of surprise siphoned the blood from her face. When she asked Khalil where they were going, he refused to tell her, but thank God he admitted he was taking her somewhere fancy. She was glad he at least told her that much so she would dress appropriately, but fine dining was an understatement for this place.
“What is it? You don’t like Italian?” Khalil asked, noticing her look.
“No, it’s not that. It’s perfect, Khalil. I’ve always wanted to eat here, but, oh, my gosh.” She covered her face with her hands.
Khalil placed his hand on her back and guided her into the restaurant. The maître d' met them as they entered the warm and inviting space.
“Reservations, sir?”
“Yes, McCoy,” Khalil stated, with his flat hand remaining on the small of Eliana’s back.
This was more than she ever expected. Here she was, with Khalil McCoy, Senior Pastor of Holy Rock. This is what she envisioned, prayed about, and now she was here—with him. This was only the beginning she told herself as the two of them were led to a secluded section of the lavish restaurant to their fully set table for two. Everything was high class, exquisitely decorated.
“I don’t believe I’ve told you how beautiful you look this evening, Eliana,” Khalil said in the tone of a smooth talking, ladies’ man. He meant every word. Eliana was a gorgeous girl. Her smile made him melt. The shape of her lips, the way she wore her hair, the way she walked, talked—he didn’t have one complaint. And the dress she had on tonight accented her curves. She was perfect in every way. The kind of girl I can bring home to Ma, he thought staring at her from across the table.
“You’ve only told me about ten times since you picked me up,” Eliana giggled. She was glad she had chosen to wear the black floral midi-A line dress with the floral square neckline. It wasn’t too over the top and didn’t reveal too much. She wanted to leave a lot for Khalil’s imagination.
It was no secret that he was or had been a playa. There were women constantly calling Holy Rock and asking to speak to him. She had to field his calls like he was POTUS. Women showed up at the church, or bombarded him as much as possible at the end of Sunday and Wednesday night services. She couldn’t blame them. Khalil was as fine as they come. Added to that, his voice, the way he could say the simplest things and make them sound like he was paying a lady the highest compliment. He was thoughtful, considerate, and observant. He noticed if she changed her hairstyle, wore a new outfit to work or a new fragrance. The man was on his game.
Tonight was no different. They would talk from time to time at church. She’d told him things she didn’t expect him to remember, like the fact she loved Italian food. And now, booyahhh, like magic, here they were, at one of the most top-rated, most-expensive, most exquisite Italian restaurants in the city of Memphis.
Khalil spared no expense and Eliana was well aware that he didn’t from the prices on the menu. They dined on scallops, followed by primi and secondi dishes that included potato gnocchi, agnolotti, pork loin, and Saratoga. It was absolutely divine.
“This night means more to me than I can put into words,” Eliana told Khalil as they came to the end of their three-hour dinner. Sipping on a cocktail, she felt herself become more at ease. She occasionally had a social drink, and tonight’s dining experience with Khalil was ranked as a social event, so she indulged when the server offered her a cocktail.
Khalil chose lemon water and she felt a little uncomfortable, but he assured her it was no problem if she had a cocktail.
“I want this evening to be one you will remember for a long time.” He looked at her as if he was photographing her with his eyes.
Eliana stared wordlessly across at him, her heart pounding. She could feel the sexual magnetism that made him so self-confident. Every time his gaze met hers her heart turned over in response. Her feelings for him were intensifying. It would be so easy to fall in love with Khalil McCoy.
“Well, Pastor Khalil McCoy, if that was your goal, then you have far surpassed yourself.”