“All I ask is that you try,” she said. “Because it’s like I told you: If you keep up your end of the deal, I’ll be more than willing to keep up mine.”

“Of course,” JT said, kissing her, and Diana stepped away and started unbuttoning her snow-white, sleeveless silk blouse.

“So, how are your marketing plans going?” she asked.

“Fine. We’re planning to appoint a committee and then attend a few seminars, but what I’d like to work on right away is a major media blitz. We do have money in the church’s PR account, but if your offer is still on the table, I’d really like your help. I really need it because the more funding we have to work with, the more TV and radio stations we’ll be able to advertise on for three to four weeks straight. We’d also be able to do ads for the same period of time in both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.”

“How much do you think you’ll need?”

“I’m not completely sure, but we’ll be hiring an ad agency soon.”

“Well, if I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably going to need at least a hundred thousand dollars just to start. That is, if you want to do this campaign the right way and make it as memorable as possible.”

“Yes, probably at least that much.”

Diana unzipped her St. John jeans and stepped out of them. “Whatever you need, sweetheart, it’s yours,” she said, still undressing herself.

JT finally pulled his shirt over his head and then slipped off his pants.

Diana slid into bed and gazed at him with enticing eyes. “You know, it really ought to be a crime for a man to look as good as you do.”

JT smiled. “Thank you for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome. Now, take off those sexy little briefs I bought you and come to Mommy.”

JT wasn’t sure why those words always turned him on-“come to Mommy”-but they did. Maybe it was because of how old Diana was and because of how fascinated he was with their age difference. Maybe it was because he’d lost his own mother when he was just a young boy and he liked the way Diana sometimes nurtured him. Diana was his lover, but in a quiet sort of way, she was also his protector. She cared about his success, she was willing to do whatever she could to help him, and JT was grateful for her. Grateful she had no problem giving him the two things he craved most: mind-blowing sex and lots and lots of money.

He didn’t want to keep sleeping with Diana, not with him just realizing how in love he was with his new wife. But God forgive him, he didn’t want to stop sleeping with her either. Diana was sort of like an addiction, except there were huge benefits involved, and he just didn’t see how he’d ever be able to give her up. Although, once he figured out how to fix this Carmen fiasco, he’d only have to split his time between two women, and that wouldn’t be hard to do at all. He’d see Diana once or twice a week the way she wanted him to, and he’d spend each of his other days with Alicia. He’d keep both of his women happy, and there wouldn’t be a single thing to worry about. If anything, life was only about to get better for him.

It had been a full week since Diana had agreed to give JT six figures, but even now, all sorts of advertising and promotional wheels were still spinning in his head. But more so, he fantasized about the kind of results each of these efforts was going to bring. He could see himself now, heading up a church with ten, twenty, and at some point, maybe even thirty thousand members, and eventually being seen on television by millions of people worldwide. He would first move forward with televising locally and then regionally. But in five years or less he’d go national on TBN, TLN, BET, or TV One, or even better, his sermons would air on every one of those networks on different days of the week. What he wanted was to be bigger and more recognized than any of the leading well-known televangelists out there today.

JT thought even further into the future and burst out laughing. Not because anything was funny but because he was literally overjoyed about all the wonderful things God was getting ready to do for him. He was thrilled about all the blessings he would soon be receiving, and he was ready to contribute his part to the process. He’d learned a long time ago that God helped those who helped themselves, and it was the reason he’d asked Janet to pull a very important file for him. The administrative staff kept a separate folder for every minister they invited to come speak, but little had JT known this orderly procedure of theirs would now be extremely beneficial to him.

JT opened his father-in-law’s file and saw Curtis’s lengthy and very impressive bio, a few articles outlining some of his major accomplishments, and then the speaker’s agreement he’d signed and returned to them months before his date of appearance. Next, JT flipped past the first two pages, but when he came to the last of them, he leaned all the way back in his chair and grinned. At first, he’d had second thoughts about doing this, but now that Curtis’s signature was staring him straight in the face, he realized that this was going to be much easier than he’d planned on. He’d wondered if maybe a big-time pastor like Curtis might scribble his signature the same as some physician, but based on what JT saw before him now, this definitely wasn’t the case. His handwriting looked pretty straightforward, and JT couldn’t wait to start practicing it. He would learn every curve of every letter. He would pay close attention to the way Curtis dotted the i in his first name and the way he looped the l in his last. JT would practice multiple times a day until he was able to replicate it perfectly. He would master it so well, not one person would ever consider the idea of forgery. Not Janet and not any of the pastors each letter of recommendation would be going out to.

On the other hand, however, there was a chance a few of them might call Curtis, not necessarily to confirm the authenticity of the letter, but possibly just to make small talk and to mention that they’d received it. This, of course, did worry JT slightly, but in the end, he was sure the majority of these ministers wouldn’t bother wasting their time. They would either decide to invite him to their churches or not, and that would be the end of it. Still, if word did get back to Curtis and Curtis confronted him about it, he would simply play the role of a very desperate and very apologetic son-in-law, the kind who’d only been trying to create a better life for Alicia-Curtis’s beloved daughter. He would beg Curtis’s forgiveness and promise to never do anything so deceitful again-he would do and say whatever he had to, squashing any thoughts Curtis might have about pressing charges against him. JT would overcome any obstacles Satan placed in front of him. He would rise above any stumbling blocks, the same as always.

As soon as Alicia looked at the Caller ID screen and saw that her father’s agent was calling, she hurried her mother off the phone and answered the other line.

“Hello?”

“Alicia?” she said.

“Yes, this is she.”

“How are you? This is Joan Epstein.”

“I’m great, how are you?”

“Well, actually, I’m feeling fabulous now that I’ve had a chance to read your novel again. Alicia, it’s absolutely wonderful.”

“Really? You think so?”

“Yes. I just love it, and I have no doubt that your future readers are going to feel the same way. As a matter of fact, I haven’t felt this motivated and sure about the future of a brand-new author since quite a few years ago when I first agreed to represent your father.”

Alicia closed her eyes, wanting to scream with joy, and said, “Oh my God. I can’t believe you’re so happy with it.”

“I really am, and I think it’s because you’ve incorporated so much honesty and so much feeling into it without being preachy. You’ve written a story that so many young couples will be able to relate to, and you’ve also shown just why so many of their marriages end in divorce.”