“I’m making changes in my life right now. If you don’t hear from me, you’re one of them.” Iliketoquote.com
Xavier accompanied his mother to the bank. Less than half an hour later, they walked out of the bank with frozen looks plastered across their faces. Her name was not listed on anything belonging to Hezekiah McCoy. Sure, she had a debit card and a credit card, but the debit card was in Hezekiah’s name, something she never thought two cents about. As long as she knew his pin number and could use the card whenever she pleased, there was no concern on her part. As far as the credit card, it was in her name. Hezekiah had made her an authorized user. That was the only thing she had access to. She walked out of the bank feeling betrayed. The bank officer would not divulge if someone else’s name was on Hezekiah’s account, but she did tell Xavier that he was not on any of the accounts either.
Any of his accounts? Just how many accounts does he have? Xavier wondered. Hezekiah was up to no good, and Xavier was going to do everything he could to find out what was going on. He decided to play things safe over the next few weeks until what he hoped would be his final court date. His attorney had assured him that it would be all over and done with when they returned to court soon. After that, he would be able to fully concentrate on his new role at Holy Rock and helping his mother get to the bottom of whatever it was that Hezekiah had done.
Xavier felt that he owed Detria Graham a lot, and though he didn’t particularly like her, he still owed her for making sure he had the best attorney money could buy.
He dropped his mother off at home and then headed for Holy Rock to divulge the information of the day to his brother. He couldn’t wait to see Khalil’s reaction when he heard about his father’s latest antics. This man was out of control. He and Khalil had to find a way to restore what rightfully belonged to their mother and to them as Hezekiah’s sons.
“Eliana, how are you adjusting to working at Holy Rock?” Khalil asked his new administrative assistant.
“I like it and I’m learning quite a bit. And before she moved to the other area, Sista Mavis shared more than I expected her to. You know she wasn’t too happy about me taking over her position.”
“Yeah, but the good thing is she still has a job here; it’s just that she’s no longer working directly for me,” he chuckled.
Eliana smiled. She found Khalil both handsome and charming and she wanted him. She loved his swagger, his casual style of dress of jeans and a button down shirt and loafers. He rarely wore suits like some pastors, but appealed to the younger crowd with his simplistic messages combined with his stylish up-to-date fashion sense. He kept his hair cut low and it didn’t take much to see his natural waves. His chiseled jawline matched his strong voice. Oh and that smile. To Eliana, Khalil’s smile was enough to set the soul of any woman on fire, herself included. She could see herself as the First Lady and if she played her cards just right, and not appear too eager, then she was sure she could eventually pull him.
“My brother is on his way. When he gets here, we’re going to need some time alone. Will you move back any appointments I have scheduled?”
“Yes, you have a counseling session with Sista Wright and her daughter. I’ll see if I can move it back until later this afternoon, unless you want me to cancel it altogether and make it for later this week.”
“No, later this afternoon should be fine.”
“I know she must be devastated to discover that her fourteen-year-old daughter is pregnant, and the poor girl doesn’t even know who the father is.” Eliana shook her head in sympathy for the girl’s plight and for the teen’s mother, too. This would be their third session with Khalil. One thing Eliana knew even when she heard such highly sensitive things was to keep her lips sealed. Unlike Sista Mavis, who told her about the little girl and her mother before she moved to work for the associate ministers’ staff, Eliana was not one to gossip. Whatever she heard or saw going on at Holy Rock would stay inside the confines of Holy Rock if she had anything to do with it.
“Yeah, it’s hard I’m sure to know that you’ve tried your best to do everything right and still your child goes astray. I’m a young pastor, but I can tell you that it was God that changed me. I was on a road of total destruction. If I can say something to this young lady to help her and to help give her mother something positive to hold on to, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I admire you, Pastor Khalil. And if you need me to talk to the girl, just let me know. I know it’s not my place as your administrative assistant to sit in on counseling sessions or offer any advice, but being a young woman myself and growing up in a troubled home, well let’s just say, I think I could share some things with the young girl.”
Khalil was quite impressed. Not only was Eliana a beautiful, attractive, sexy woman, but she had compassion and feelings to go along with it, and that proved to be quite the combination for Khalil that might be beneficial for him later…and for her.
“Thank you, Eliana. That’s good to know. Maybe we can arrange for you to talk to the youth sometimes. I think I made a positive impact when I shared my testimony with them. I was the youth director before I became senior pastor. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to talk to this young lady, well not until I can sit down with her and her mother at least. But I’ll definitely check with my brother and let him know to reach out to you about speaking to the youth.”
“I would love that. And maybe my twin brother, Ian, can participate, too,” she said and flashed a tempting smile his way as he turned to walk back to his office.
“Twin? You have a twin?” he said, stopping and turning around to face her again. He gave her his own hypnotic smile and if he could have seen inside her heart, he would have felt her swooning.
“Yep. And he’s a great speaker and he has a remarkable testimony. I think Ian and I both have something to say that can help young people. My situation is a little different from my brother’s but what we’ve gone through is a direct result of what happened or should I say didn’t happen in our household.”
Khalil could see the seriousness on her face as she spoke. Whatever she’d gone through certainly had a lasting impact on her, or so it seemed from the tone of her voice and the sadness that shown in her coffee brown eyes.
“Ian and I didn’t exactly grow up in the best of environments. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we were raised up in the church, we had successful parents, grew up as middle class kids, didn’t have to want for much of anything…except love and acceptance, something my brother still wrestles with today. Being gay may be easier for some but in the black community it can still be quite a stigma placed on a person.”
Khalil’s heart dropped a notch. Dang, she likes women? Man, what a waste.
Eliana must have noticed the look of disappointment in his eyes because she immediately clarified her statement. “I love my brother; I don’t care if he’s gay or straight. But it just so happens that he’s gay and he still gets bashed for it quite a lot. He’s a schoolteacher and I think he’s looked at strangely in his profession, you know, like he’s a pervert or something. I feel like if he was famous then he’d be looked at totally different cause it seems like careers take off in Hollywood when you announce that you’re gay. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, unfortunately I agree with ya.” Khalil thought about Xavier at that point. He loved his little brother but deep inside he hated the fact that dude was a homosexual. It tore at his insides every time he thought about it. Remembering those pictures of Xavier and Raymone made him even more disgusted, but he kept his feelings to himself. “God is the ultimate judge of us all. Who are we to point a finger of blame and ridicule at someone else?”
“Right. Anyway, I didn’t mean to ramble, Pastor Khalil. But I do want you to know that I’ve got your back if you need me,” she said as she smiled and then answered the ringing phone. She threw up her hand and concentrated on assisting the caller. “Holy Rock, this is Eliana. How may I help you?”
Khalil walked away feeling even more impressed by Eliana’s openness. “Whew,” he said as he stepped into his office and closed the door behind him. “Temptation, temptation, temptation,” he whispered while he thought about her. “Got to have a taste of that.”