Seething, Delilah slammed the phone down for the umpteenth time. “That cow won’t put my calls through.”
She had been trying to reach Samson all day, but Elaine kept saying he wasn’t available. Samson wouldn’t answer his cell phone either. Agitated, Delilah logged on to her computer to play a game of Bejeweled to help relax her mind.
Her instant message alerted her that Samson was online. “Got you now.”
She typed in a few lines and sent the message. There was no response. The computer beeped and the words “offline” appeared near Samson’s login name.
He was playing games with her—the ignore game. That was one game she didn’t like to play. She got ignored when she tried to tell someone about the predators in her foster homes. She got ignored when she had to showcase her body on the stage for perverts. Men only saw her physical beauty; none were interested in knowing the woman within. No, being ignored was no fun, and she wasn’t going to play it with Samson.
Satan seemed to know when to hit a person at her weakest moment. Delilah picked up her phone to call Samson again, but William was calling her at the same time. Instead of hearing Samson’s voice, she heard William’s on the other end of the phone. “You got something for me yet, darling.”
“Maybe.” Delilah gritted her teeth.
“It’s either yes or no.”
Delilah would give Samson one more chance. Samson loved his church and dear wife too much to allow their affair to be made public. If he didn’t react the way she felt he should, then she would have no recourse but to give William what he wanted—the ammunition to use against Samson. “He’s coming around,” Delilah responded.
“Buy more low-cut blouses, tighter dresses. Do whatever you have to do. I want that property.”
Delilah dropped the phone. She swore the phone grew hot as she listened to William go on and on about the land he wanted. She was glad when he finally decided to end the call.
“Samson must have forgotten about the video,” Delilah said as she typed a long e-mail to Samson reminding him.
The computer sounded. “You’ve got mail.”
Delilah laughed. “I knew that would get your attention.” Samson’s login name showed in the “sender” section of her e-mail.
She read his words out loud. “I thought you destroyed it.”
She opened up her instant message browser and typed, “My computer made a backup.”
The computer beeped to alert Delilah of an incoming instant message. Samson responded, “Delete it.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Samson, Samson, Samson,” she said out loud and then typed. “Why have you been avoiding me?” Delilah hit the send button in the instant message box.
“I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to talk to the woman responsible for putting fire back into your marriage?”
“Don’t say that.”
“Don’t deny it. I bet you think of me when you’re making love to her.”
“Are you going to destroy the video or what?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” He put several question marks at the end of his statement.
Delilah had Samson agonizing. He had no idea what she was going to do next, and that’s exactly how she wanted it to be. “I need to see you this weekend,” she said, as she typed those exact words.
“I will see you at church.”
“That’s not what I want and you know it.”
“Fifteen minutes. I can stop by for fifteen minutes and then I have to get home to my wife.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Delilah put a smiley face at the end of her sentence.
Regardless of Samson’s motives for going over, Delilah had no intentions of giving him the only copy she had of their liaison. If he thought he could sweet talk her into handing over that piece of evidence, he would be making a wasted trip.
Delilah wrapped her pink satin robe around her and waited for Samson to stop by. While waiting, she placed a DVD in a case and set it on the table.
The doorbell rang alerting her to Samson’s arrival. She rushed to the door. “Come in,” she said as she moved to the side so he could enter.
“Where’s the disk?”
“I know your mama taught you better manners than that. At least give a sister a hug.”
Delilah moved in for a hug. Samson inched back. “We better keep our distance.”
“I know I’m hard to resist.” She tightened the belt of her robe and walked into the living room. She knew Samson wasn’t far behind her.
“Delilah, I don’t have time to play these games with you.”
Just the mention of the word game set off a bell in her head. She stopped and turned around. “Oh, I know you’re not talking about me playing games. I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Ain’t nobody that doggone busy.”
“You’re not the only member I have.”
“But still you could have called me back.” Delilah picked up the disk from the table and waved it in the air. “If I wouldn’t have mentioned this video, I would still be waiting to hear from you.”
Samson reached for the disk. Delilah placed it behind her back. “Not so fast. What happens after I give you the video?”
“Nothing.”
“Then give me one good reason why I should give it to you.”
Delilah sensed his frustration with her but wouldn’t give up her antics. “I need the reassurance that no one else will see it. Julia wouldn’t understand.”
She placed the video beneath her robe near her chest. “If you want it, come get it.”
“I’m not touching you.”
“I guess you don’t want it then.”
“This is blackmail, and it’s not right.”
Delilah laughed. “You have options. Are you going to come and get it?”
Samson paused to walk away, but on second thought, turned around. “This is the last time.”