of what she’d said, there was nothing she could do about it. But he’d needed to hear what she had said. He of all people should be counting his blessings.
As she got into her car she forced any worries about next week aside. Tomorrow, she would go to church and say a prayer for him. She would also make sure she got all the spiritual preparations she needed for when she saw D’marcus Armstrong again.
On Sunday morning Opal sat in a pew beside Amber and Ruby in the Lakeview Baptist Church. This was Pearl’s Sunday to lead a song, and they were all excited. Reverend Kendrick would be delivering the message after the scripture was read, and Opal felt she needed to hear the Word today, more so than ever.
D’marcus Armstrong might have pissed her off something awful yesterday, but that hadn’t stopped him from invading her dreams last night. Some of her thoughts had been downright corrupt, and a lot of what she had imagined them doing together was shamefully sinful. And, to make matters worse, she didn’t even like the man. Not to mention there was a good chance he would be kicking both her and her job to the curb tomorrow. Her sisters would refuse to believe that she, of all people—someone who never lost her temper—had actually gone off on D’marcus Armstrong.
She cleared her mind of the issues facing her with her boss when Pearl stepped up to the mic to sing. The church was packed—not unusual for the first Sunday of the month. And Opal thought the choir’s new robes looked really nice.
Pearl began singing “What a Mighty God We Serve” in a way that only Pearl could do. Within no time, the church was rocking, people were standing on their feet rejoicing, getting caught up in their own testimonies to the fact that God was truly awesome. Pearl and the choir members were singing out of their souls, but it was Pearl’s beautiful voice that was stirring things up, causing jubilation to spread throughout the congregation.
After Pearl’s song ended and the scripture had been read, Reverend Kendrick stood before a packed and electrified house. “I want to thank Sister Lockhart for that song, because while she was singing I was sitting there thinking about just what a mighty God we do serve.”
He paused to glance over the congregation, and for some reason Opal thought he looked at her a little longer than the others. A guilty conscience will do that to you, she thought, shifting in her seat.
“How many of you ever pause to not only think about how mighty God is,” Reverend Kendrick continued, “but also about all the many blessings he bestows? Most of us just assume we’re at where we are in our lives because we are deserving. Well, that is not the case, because none of us are deserving. We have all sinned at some point in our lives. Some of us are still sinning.”
Opal hoped no one saw her blush when she felt her cheeks get a little warm.
“But God loves us anyway,” Reverend Kendrick continued. “He forgives us, and we have to find it in our hearts to forgive others, even those we may feel don’t deserve our forgiveness.”
D’marcus Armstrong suddenly flashed across Opal’s mind.
“But we have to forgive them, just like our Father constantly forgives us,” Reverend Kendrick went on to say.
Opal shifted in her seat, thinking it was too bad D’marcus wasn’t at church today. If he embraced the concept of forgiving and forgetting, then she wouldn’t have to go to bed tonight worrying about whether she still had a job tomorrow.
Reverend Kendrick interrupted her thoughts by saying, “We should especially forgive those who don’t deserve our forgiveness, and continue to pray for God to work to change their hearts. And I’m standing before you as a living witness that miracles can happen. You just have to believe that they can.”
Chapter 3
Monday morning Opal was seated at her desk when D’marcus arrived. He glanced over at her, gave her a curt nod as he crossed the room to his office.
“Mr. Armstrong, the minutes from Saturday’s meeting are typed and on your desk. I’ve also saved them in an electronic file.”
At her words, he’d slowly turned toward her and now she quickly searched his features for any indication that she was about to be fired. He wasn’t smiling—not that he ever did—but aside from that, she couldn’t gauge his expression. A part of her wanted to believe that he had gotten over what she’d said and that it was water under the bridge. However, she knew some men would consider her words disrespectful.
“Thank you, Ms. Lockhart, and please hold all my calls until noon.”
“Yes, sir,” she added with a quick smile of relief when it appeared he wasn’t going to let her go.
“And, Ms. Lockhart?”
She swallowed, thinking perhaps her relief had been premature. “Yes?”
“Thanks for dinner on Saturday. I enjoyed it very much.”
She blinked. He was thanking her for dinner? Gracious. As Reverend Kendrick had said at church yesterday, miracles could happen if you only believed.
D’marcus tossed his briefcase into the chair and let out a ragged sigh. He wasn’t sure just what he planned to do about Opal Lockhart. Because of her very efficient nature, she had become a vital asset to him, but, as far as he was concerned, just as he’d told Dashuan Kennedy on Saturday, anyone was replaceable.
But, while sitting in this very office on Saturday evening enjoying every mouthful of the food she’d brought him, he kept thinking that Opal Lockhart was a woman who could remind a man each and every time he saw her that there was more to life than work.
When she had shown up with the food, she had still been wearing what she’d had on earlier, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Although the length of the shorts could be considered decent, they had still shown her lovely legs. For the second time that day, she had stirred his hormones and for a split second as he had stood at the window and watched her leave, he had been tempted to call her on her cell phone and tell her to come back up to his office.
D’marcus grimaced. He was glad he hadn’t made such a move. That would have been the worst thing he could have done. His mind knew that, but, at the moment, his body wasn’t so sure. He counted backward, trying to remember the last time he’d been intimate with a woman, and was surprised to recall it had been well over eight months. It had been just that long since he’d socialized in any way. Lately, he had spent the majority of his time adding more stores to his portfolio, which required a lot of his time and concentration. No wonder he was beginning to notice just how downright horny he was now.
There was one way to fix his problem. Tonight when he got home he would check his address book to see which one of his female acquaintances who knew the score would go out on a date with him that weekend. A date that would eventually end up with them sharing a bed. If getting laid was what he needed, then he would take care of the problem—and soon.
Opal picked up the phone on the first ring. “Sports Unlimited, Mr. Armstrong’s office. Opal Lockhart speaking.”
“Ms. Lockhart, this is Mr. Stone, manager of the Viscera Apartments.”
Opal smiled. “Yes, Mr. Stone?” She hoped he was calling with good news.
“It appears I’ll have a vacancy within a few weeks.”
Opal’s smile widened. “That’s certainly good news.” Once she had made the decision to move, she had decided to check on the Viscera Apartments. They were a lot nicer than her current place and only minutes from the office, which meant a lower gas bill. Of course the rent would be higher, but she was a firm believer in getting what you paid for. And right now, she was tired of paying for sleepless nights in the party building.
“So I take it you’re still interested?” Mr. Stone was saying.
“Yes, most definitely.”
“All right. Then you can come by this afternoon with your deposit. We require two months