Raven replayed the horrified look on Porsha’s face and laughed out loud. Even with all of Porsha’s millions, Raven had brought her to her knees. Of course, Porsha had tried to act as though she wasn’t fazed by Raven’s demands, but Raven knew she was scared solid. She’d been caught terribly off guard, and Raven had enjoyed seeing her squirm. That was what she got, though, for sleeping with Dillon behind Raven’s back and then thinking she could make decisions about NVCC. If Raven had said it once, she’d said it ten thousand times: New Vision Christian Center and New Vision Ministries, Inc., belonged to her and only her. Sharing any control or decision-making wasn’t an option, but Porsha obviously hadn’t gotten that memo because she’d begun incorporating whatever she wanted. But that was okay, because Raven had figured out a genius way to fix her for good. Porsha would pay that money, pack her office up, and never show her face at NVCC again. And if it was possible, Raven would make sure she never used the name Daughters of Ruth again, either. Yes, the whole single women’s ministry idea had been all Porsha’s, but she’d started that ministry at Raven’s church. So Raven felt as though she owned it. But she also knew that names of churches and titles couldn’t be copyrighted, so there was no sense thinking about it.
If she could, though, she would ruin Porsha to the point where no church would have her; something that would be easy to accomplish if she released that video. But it was like she’d already concluded before, starting a new war with Dillon and his family wasn’t worth it. Although, if she wanted she could probably find a good film editor who could shadow Dillon’s face and show only Porsha’s. But instead, Raven would be nice and have mercy on her—if she paid that three hundred thousand dollars and signed every single one of those documents.
Raven wrapped her hair up with a silk scarf and climbed into bed. It was only nine o’clock, but she’d showered and slipped on her pajamas an hour ago. Part of her had hoped she might be able to go see Kane, but when she’d called him earlier he hadn’t picked up. He also hadn’t answered when she’d phoned him back last night.
But now she tried him again.
“Yeah?” he finally said after four rings.
“Is that how you answer the phone now?”
“Raven, why are you calling me?”
“I told you yesterday. I’m not giving up.”
“Well, I wish you would.”
“Kane, every couple has problems.”
“Yeah, but not these kind. And if they do, more power to them. Because I’m not living like this for the rest of my life.”
“Like what?”
“With a woman who only cares about herself. What she can get. Who she can use. How much fame she can drum up. And let’s not forget, how much money she can accumulate.”
“Why are you being so cruel?”
“I’m not. I’m being real.”
“But that’s not who I am. I mean, I do want to grow the ministry to the highest level it can be, but I’m not selfish.”
“Yeah, you keep right on thinking that. And anyway, what part of growing the ministry do you think is most important? Or do you even think about things like that?”
“I don’t get what you mean.”
“Just what I said.”
“You’re confusing me, and what’s with all these crazy questions?”
“They’re not crazy. I just want to know how much your growing the ministry has to do with people. Like for example, are you really doing this to help God’s children? Are you really concerned about souls being saved? Or do you only care about the tithes and offering contributions they give?”
Raven’s mouth flew open. “Wow. Just wow. Is that really what you think of me?”
“Why can’t you just answer my questions?”
“Because they don’t make sense. They’re foolish and uncalled for.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure they are—to you, anyway. And to be honest, your lack of response says everything. It shows exactly how self-centered you are.”
Raven had never heard Kane use such a nasty tone with her before, and for the first time, she had a feeling that this truly was the end for them.
“Maybe I should give you some space and call you in a few days,” she said.
“Don’t bother.”
“Do you hate me that much?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because this whole time you and I have been together, I never cheated on you once.”
Raven squinted her eyes. “Yeah, and I’ve never cheated on you, either.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really,” she said, wondering what he knew.
“So I guess you’ve been spending all that time at John’s for no reason? Ever since you and I had that big blow-up.”
Raven tried to conjure a quick lie, but nothing came out.
“Yeah, that’s right. I followed you to his house one evening, and then I drove by there again on a few other days close to midnight—and your car was still there. So don’t even try to deny it. Don’t say anything. Just make this your last time calling me. And if you call me again, I’m blocking your number.”
“Oh my God, Kane—” she said, attempting to explain.
But he hung up before she could finish her sentence.
Raven closed her eyes and covered them with her hands. How had she let something like this happen? And been so careless? She’d spent so much time giving John what he wanted in the bedroom so he could transfer that money to her that she hadn’t covered her tracks. But to be honest, she hadn’t worried about Kane following her because he wasn’t that kind of man. He was mature and confident, and he never resorted to anything petty. He certainly had never spied on her before or even acted as if he wanted to. Until now.
Still, it was shocking, and she knew she had to end things with John quickly and carefully. She’d planned on doing that anyway, but she’d also decided that at the very least, she’d be able to keep him on as her CFO. But that whole idea had become null and void a few minutes ago. The more she thought about it, too, John had become just a little too obsessed with her. He even acted as though he thought they might get married someday. So she definitely had to let him go. Not just because of what Kane had found out but for many reasons. Raven would give him fifty thousand dollars of the money he was embezzling for services rendered, though, because he’d certainly earned it.
She also wanted to double check with John again about their overall plan, making sure everything was set to go. John had assured her that it was, but she just wanted to confirm with him one last time. So she called him. But after a few rings, the call went to his voice mail. She didn’t bother leaving a message, though, because she knew he would call her back within minutes. He always did.
Raven still had another call to make, however, which actually was the most important one of all. So she dialed D.C. Interestingly enough, his phone rang and went to voice mail, too, so she hung up. She’d been hoping to tell him that she would bring him his money by the end of next week, which was a little sooner than expected. But now she would just wait and call him again when Porsha delivered that cashier’s check. Raven was also happy to be paying D.C. a lot earlier than planned, so she could finally sleep normally again. In fact, she sort of wished D.C. had been willing to take a cashier’s check himself, because then she could have paid him immediately. She knew he didn’t operate that way because of the paper trail aspect, but it certainly would’ve been easier than having to withdraw so much cash. But nonetheless, all would soon be well, and Raven would be able to get back to the great life she was creating.
The kind of life that most people only dreamed about.