Diana ignored his pleas. “I want my money just as soon as you can get it back to me. Preferably today.”

“I don’t have it,” he said, lying, because now that she wasn’t going to give him the extra hundred for his media campaign, he’d have to use the hundred he had to pay off his blackmailers.

“What do you mean you don’t have it?”

“I just don’t.”

“JT, I’m warning you. I want my hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and I want it now.”

“And I keep trying to tell you, I don’t have it.”

Diana paused for a couple of seconds and then called him everything but a child of God. She cursed him in ways he’d never heard before and sounded more like a woman of the streets than she did a millionaire’s wife.

Still, JT tried saving face. “Look. I’m really sorry about this, and I promise I’ll pay you back. I can’t say when-” he said, but Diana interrupted him with another string of obscenities.

Then she hung up.

He finally laid his phone down, too. What a mess this had turned out to be, because without that other hundred thousand, he had to make a huge decision. Either pay for his radio and TV ads and push his ministry to brand-new heights or pay Weaver and Barb what they were commanding. If he did the former, Barb and Weaver would try to ruin him publicly, and if he did the latter he could forget about ever getting his name out to the masses the way he’d been dreaming about.

JT weighed all the advantages and disadvantages for both scenarios, and then it came to him. Pastors dealt with scandals all the time, and as long as they didn’t each occur all at once, most ministers were able to work through them, regain the trust of their supporters, and move on. His father-in-law certainly had. Not to mention, JT’s pimping days were long over, and actually, his congregation would probably have even more respect for him once they heard how terrible a sinner he’d been but had now turned his life completely around for the Lord. People loved hearing how sinners had bottomed out and had finally turned to God, and his members would feel the same way about him. Then, as far as Barb’s baby sister and how he’d convinced her to have an abortion, well, he would deny that part of the story until death. There was no proof that he’d been the father anyway, so most everyone would chalk that one up to mere hearsay.

There was this issue with Carmen, though, but he had that figured out, too. He would go to her, apologize profusely, and tell her he couldn’t wait for their baby to be born. She would, of course, go on and on about his leaving Alicia and marrying her, but he would find some new way to put off their wedding. He’d been doing it for four years, anyhow, so what was another one or two of them? Then, if at some point Carmen finally decided to reveal their secret, enough time would have lapsed between that particular scandal and the one Weaver and Barb were surely going to initiate any day now.

So, his decision was made.

“Hello?” JT’s media rep said, answering his phone.

“Jonathan, it’s Pastor Valentine.”

“Yes, Pastor.”

“I know we’re all set for the spots to begin airing on Monday, but I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be sending over the check by courier in a couple of hours.”

“Our agency has ongoing credit accounts with all the stations you’re buying from, so we’re good to go, anyway.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear. And, Jonathan, thanks for all the time you’ve put in on this.”

“It was my pleasure, and I think you’re going to be very surprised when you see how successful this campaign is going to be for you.”

“I hope so, because at this point, failing isn’t an option.”

Chapter 39

One could never really go wrong when choosing a Four Seasons hotel, and it was the reason JT rarely stayed anywhere else. He loved The Ritz-Carlton, too, and a few other posh establishments he could think of, but when in Dallas, it was this particular brand he tended to enjoy the most. Not to mention, he certainly enjoyed the more extravagant suites, like the one he and Veda were relaxing in now, and he was thankful for Vineyard Christian Center’s generous hospitality. There had been a slight change on his agenda, however, because while JT’s original plan had been for him and Veda to come straight to the hotel right after their plane landed around ten thirty A.M. and not leave again, Pastor Braeden had scheduled lunch for the two of them, VCC’s two head elders, and one of the assistant pastors. JT was excited to spend time with every one of these men, but by the time they’d eaten, laughed, and talked, he hadn’t gotten back to the hotel until around four. Veda had been patiently waiting in bed for him, though, with nothing on, and now they’d just finished taking a shower together and were sitting in two complimentary bathrobes in the living room area, dining. JT had ordered steak and lobster, garlic mashed potatoes, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and Veda had gone with the same vegetable selections but had chosen crab-stuffed salmon for her entrée.

“I’m so glad you could make the trip,” he said, drinking some ice water.

“I am, too, and actually it’s a wonderful relief just to be here with you.”

“So, it’s that bad at home, huh?”

“The worst.”

“I know you’d talked about wanting to wait until your son graduated, but have you now thought more about filing for a divorce?”

“I have, but I also want to make sure he’s situated in college this fall because I don’t want to cause him any unnecessary stress before then. It’s bad enough that I’m stressed out all the time myself because of how miserable I am.”

“I really hate hearing that.”

“It’s tough. I mean, as of late, I’ve been experiencing everything you can think of. From tension headaches to insomnia to heart palpitations. You name it, I’m having it.”

JT shook his head. “All because you’re in a miserable marriage.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what it is.”

“I couldn’t do it.”

“What?”

“Be miserable all the time. I could never be in an unhappy household situation.”

“Then why are you still with your wife?”

“Because for the most part, I’m very happy with her.”

Veda looked at him, obviously questioning what he’d just said, but kept eating.

“Believe it or not, my wife is a very good wife. She also understands what it’s like to have a husband in the ministry, and my congregation loves her.”

“Do you love her?” Veda asked, breaking a dinner roll in two.

“Yes…I do.”

“Then why are you here with me?”

“Because I can’t help the way I feel and because I’ve never been one to believe that anyone should deny themselves when it comes to having something they really want.”

“I’m not sure your wife would agree with that, though, right?”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t, but you know that old adage-what you don’t know won’t hurt you,” he said, thinking how careful he always was when he was with any of his women and even how today when they’d arrived at the airport, they’d taken separate car services to the hotel and Veda had shopped around in the hotel’s gift shop until JT had checked in and called her on her cell phone. He’d had her wait in the lobby for a short and inconspicuous period of time, just to be on the safe side, and then a while ago, he’d also had her close the bedroom door when their room service order was being delivered.

They ate in silence for about a minute and then Veda asked, “So, tell me, what made you decide to become a minister?”

“Well, to be honest, I really didn’t have a choice.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t have a choice because I didn’t want to go against God’s wishes. I didn’t want to ignore the job He had for me to do.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, but JT couldn’t tell whether she was impressed with what he’d said or not.