Raven turned on her side, watching John sleep like a baby. They were lying closely in his bed, and she’d just given him the best sex of his life. At least that’s what he’d told her, and with the way he’d responded to her—before, during, and after—she believed him. He acted like some teenage boy who was infatuated with his first love, and Raven knew she was close to getting what she wanted. In due time, she would seize total control of his mind, and he would do as he was told. Actually, Raven hadn’t known he was as gullible as he was or that he’d been this taken with her for as long as he had been. She’d certainly been aware of his attraction and strong admiration, but she hadn’t realized how simple he was. Being a nerd didn’t always mean a person was simple or gullible, but when it came to women, John easily identified with a sixteen-year-old.
Raven lay thinking a while longer, mostly about Kane and how he wasn’t speaking to her again, and then she thought about D.C. Thankfully, he hadn’t called her yesterday after service or today even, but she wasn’t taking his latest visit too lightly. She’d known then that it was a threat and a warning, and it was the reason she’d decided it was time to seduce John to the nth degree. Raven still knew, however, that she couldn’t simply ask John to steal money from the church or ask him to do it this quickly, so she’d added on a new part to her plan. She’d decided that the only way to get John fully behind her was to turn him against Porsha. Originally, she’d thought it was Michelle who’d be able to help her oust Porsha from the ministry, which was the reason Raven had subtly begun carving a wedge between them. But for now, she had to focus on getting D.C. his money. She had to tell John whatever it took to make him feel sorry for her.
John moved around a bit, stretched his arms above his head, and opened his eyes. He smiled and squinted at her, and Raven knew he needed his glasses.
He, of course, wasted no time reaching for them and sliding them on. “Where have you been all of my life?”
Raven smiled but then changed her expression to a somber one. “Where have you been all of mine?”
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Everything.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t want to burden you with my problems. I didn’t come over here for that. I just wanted to make love to you.”
“It’s fine. Tell me.”
Raven waited for her eyes to fill with tears and then said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he said, touching the side of her face. “Because it might be something I can help you with.”
This was way too easy, was all Raven could think. “Okay,” she said, sighing and wiping the tears that now fell down her cheeks. “I learned yesterday from a very reliable source that Porsha is planning to take over the ministry. She’s going to push me completely out of NVCC and the entire organization.”
“Oh my goodness. Do you believe that?”
Raven sniffled. “I didn’t want to. Not when I’ve been such a good friend to Porsha, but the person who told me would never lie about something like this.”
“Can you say who that person is?”
“I wish I could, and it’s not that I don’t trust you, because I know I can. But I promised my source that I wouldn’t betray their confidence.”
“I understand, but this is crazy.”
“I know, and I’m really sorry for unloading this kind of drama on you.”
John pulled her close to him, and she laid her head on his chest.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about,” he said. “So please don’t apologize.”
“Well, then I might as well tell you the rest,” she said looking up at him.
“What?”
“Porsha and Kane have been sleeping together behind my back.”
“No way. Kane and Porsha?”
“Unfortunately, yes…and I’m sad to say that I haven’t been completely honest with you about something else.”
John looked at her in silence.
“Remember when I told you on Friday that I was tired of pretending that I didn’t want you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, part of the reason I wanted to be with you that day, right there in my office, was because of how devastated I was. I’d just found out about Kane and Porsha the day before. But please know,” she said, now resting her hand on his cheek, “that my attraction for you is real. And when I told you that I’ve always been attracted to you, I meant it. So can you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive, so don’t spend another thought on it. I can’t believe Porsha and Kane.”
“Well then, imagine how I’m feeling.”
“Did you say anything to them?”
“No, and I’m not going to until I can figure out what to do. I’m definitely breaking up with Kane, though, and I’m eventually going to confront Porsha, too.”
John shook his head and seemed puzzled about something.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Porsha seems like such a nice person, and to be honest, so does Kane. That’s why I never wanted to approach you in the wrong way. I didn’t want to disrespect him.”
Raven had known that John might somewhat question whether Porsha would sleep with Kane behind her back, so she’d come to his house very prepared.
“Porsha isn’t the sweet, holy minister you think she is, and this isn’t the first time she’s done this to me. She betrayed me two years ago, but being the true woman of God I am, I forgave her and became friends with her. We became so close that she agreed to help me start the ministry, but then she became jealous of how successfully I grew the following. Then she became jealous of my relationship with Kane. That’s when I guess she started plotting behind my back to steal the ministry from me.”
“This is awful, and so hard to believe.”
Raven knew it was time to shatter any doubt he might have about Porsha being a whore. “If I show you something, can I trust you not to tell anyone about it?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“Can you give me something to throw on?”
John got up and went into his closet. When he came back, he passed her one of his white long-sleeved business shirts, and she slipped it on and buttoned it up. John wrapped a velour robe around himself and tied the belt hanging from it.
Raven then went over to her leather tote and pulled out a DVD. She’d also made a third copy on another USB drive, which she’d brought with her, too, just in case they needed to watch it on John’s laptop. “Do you have a Blu-ray player?”
“Yeah, right under my television,” he said, pointing toward his armoire.
Raven passed him the disc. “Here.”
John reached for it and turned on the machine.
They both sat down at the foot of the bed and waited for the DVD to begin playing. There was moaning and groaning right from the start, and Raven saw how mortified John was. And rightfully so, because Dillon and Porsha were butt naked and having the time of their lives.
Raven watched more with him and then said, “So you see, I can’t allow a woman like Porsha to take my ministry from me. She knows nothing about running it, and everything will be ruined. We’ll have to close the doors of NVCC for good.”
“Gosh,” John said, holding his forehead with his hand. “This is too much.”
“I know, but you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about this.”
John gazed at her with what seemed like total sincerity. “I would never do that to you. I would never betray your trust in me.”
“Thank you for that, because you’re the only person I’ve ever shown this to. Only Dillon, Porsha, and I even know about it.”
“Well, something has to be done. I mean, you can’t allow someone like that to become senior pastor. You can’t allow this kind of woman to just push you out of the way. NVCC is yours,” he said matter-of-factly, and Raven was shocked by how disgusted he was. In a matter of minutes, he’d lost all respect for Porsha, and Raven wanted to pat herself on the back.
“I know, but Porsha has a lot of money, John. A ton of it. And it would take thousands of dollars to stop her.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help you, I hope you’ll tell me.”
“You really mean that?”
“I do.”
“I first have to figure out the best way to handle this.”
“Whatever you need, I’m here for you. And don’t you forget that.”
Raven gazed into his eyes. “You are such a sweetheart, but baby, this thing with Porsha might get ugly. And I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything that goes against your ethics. Or Christian values, for that matter. Because I’ll be honest, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stop Porsha. Even if it means doing something I shouldn’t. To keep my ministry, I might have to sin and pray about it later.”
“I don’t blame you,” he said, and Raven wanted to scream with joy. John was making it clear that he would help her at all costs, and from this point on, she would give him as much sex as he wanted. From here on out, she would satisfy him in ways he hadn’t even heard about.