“No, she’s more concerned about me and my business, aren’t you, Shay?” Malcolm said with a wink.

  “In your dreams. I could careless what you do or who you do it with.”

  “Just keep telling yourself that,” Malcolm said as he walked away, heading towards his niece.

  “Girl, you never told me that you were interested in a white guy from work.”

  “Malcolm isn’t white.”

  “Do we need to stop at Lens Crafters and get your eyes checked?”

  “I mean, he’s only half white. His father is black. Didn’t you notice that his niece is black?”

  “Yeah, but I was thinking that she was his niece by marriage.”

  “He has a picture of his sister on his desk. She’s mixed too, but she’s closer to the niece’s complexion.”

  Darla turned and watched Malcolm talk with his niece. She turned back to Shay and said, “He’s cute. Why don’t you ask him out?”

  “I already told you, I’m only interested in working on my relationship with God. A playboy like Malcolm Harris is the last thing that’s on my mind.”

  Chapter Three

  Heads swiveled and twirled around as Shay strutted into work on Monday morning.

  “You look really nice today, Shay. I love the hair cut,” Sylvia, her co-worker said as she passed her in the hallway.

  “Thank you.” Shay pulled her oversized coach bag over her shoulder and continued towards her office like a woman on a mission.

  The men in her office openly gapped, but the way they looked at her today was different from the way they had lustfully gawked at her in the past. Today they looked as if she’d stolen something from them. She had on a button down shirt and only the two top buttons were undone. So, she knew the reason for their pain… no cleavage. Boys will be boys, Shay thought as she sat down at her desk and pulled a few files out of her briefcase. She worked in the marketing department of a top notch advertising firm. After graduating with a 3.8 grade point average, Shay thought her career would take off. She fully expected to be managing a marketing department by the age of twenty-six and become vice president by age thirty. But she hadn’t made much headway. She had been at Stevens and Daniels for three years and was still a junior marketing executive.

  Her goal this year was to finally get a promotion and get her career moving forward. Shay hoped that the proposal she was currently working on with Malcolm would finally show her bosses that she had what it takes to be in management. She prayed that all the credit wouldn’t go to Malcolm as it normally did. He had only been at the company for a year and was already a Senior Marketing Executive.

  The fact that Malcolm had been promoted before her was insult enough, because everyone knew that her ideas had gotten him that promotion. But to add more fuel to the fire, she had been forced to partner with Malcolm and give him even more ideas for campaigns that he would then magically turn into his ideas. But this new client was different. They were an evangelical conservative action group. They wanted to put up billboards and run ads about the sanctity of marriage. They also needed promo material for their annual conference. Shay really wanted this client, because she believed in what they stood for. They weren’t a hate group, interested in bashing others over the head with the Bible. They wanted to communicate their message in love, while fighting the political system.

  But what most intrigued Shay about this particular client was the fact that Malcolm knew nothing at all about Christianity. No way would he be able to steal her ideas and win his next promotion from the fruits of her labor.

  She stood up and went to the file cabinet to pull out the drafts of billboards she’d been working on. She bent over to pull the material out of the third drawer down.

  Malcolm poked his head in her office and said, “Hey, I have some exciting news, do you have a second?”

  Shay grabbed the documents she’d been looking for and stood up. She turned towards, Malcolm, “I have a lot of work to do this morning, so if it can wait, I’d appreciate it.”

  Malcolm’s head did a twirl and a swivel as Shay sauntered back to her desk. “What do you have on,” he asked as he walked into the office and sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

  “Clothes.”

  “I can see that. But you don’t wear things like that. You’re practically all covered up. Have you become a Muslim or something… are you going to come to work with a scarf wrapped around your head next?”

  Offended, Shay glared at Malcolm and said, “I am very much a Christian. I just think that the clothes I wear should reflect the person I am becoming on the inside.”

  “I feel you.”

  It really bugged her when Malcolm tried to talk like ‘the brothers’. When he was with her, but he was all white boyish when he was in the presence of upper management. Rolling her eyes, she said, “You don’t have to speak the lingo when you’re with me, okay.”

  “What lingo? What did I do to upset you now?’

  “You know what I’m talking about. When you’re with me, it’s ‘you feel me’, ‘I’m down’ and things like that. But when we’re in a group meeting with Bill Stephens, our president, your tone is totally different.”

  “Your tone is different in those meetings too. And you of all people should know that I must remain professional at all times in business meetings like that. But when it’s just you and me, I feel more comfortable being myself.”

  “Mmh, and just who are you, Malcolm? Are you, your mother’s son, or your father’s?”

  He stood up, indignation set on his face. “I’m both, as you and every other person in this world is.” Shaking his head as he moved toward the door, he told her, “Obviously, something has you in a bad mood today. So, I’ll just talk to you later.”

  She wanted to stop him from leaving and apologize. Her comment was more than rude… it held a tinge of racism. She wasn’t a racist. Since President Obama had taken office, she’d had her fill of racist comments spurred from the mouths of hateful people, and sadly enough, people who claimed to be Christians. So, how could she turn around and spew such a comment herself? “Malcolm, wait a minute.” She stood up. “I was out of line with that comment. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness?”

  Standing in the doorway, he turned back to her, his eyes bright with mischief. “Okay, but if you really want to prove to me that you’re sorry for that comment, then have dinner with me.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. There has been too much friction between us. We need to spend a little time together away from work… try to get to know each other.”

  Before Malcolm finished his statement, Shay was shaking her head.

  “Give it some thought before you say no.”

  “I’m not interested, Malcolm. But I am sorry for my comment.” She sat back down and turned her attention to the work on her desk as Malcolm walked away. She opened the folder and began concentrating on the surprises she had in store for everyone in the upcoming meeting.

  Shay wasn’t about to waste her time on a date with Malcolm or any other playboy at this point in her life. She had a new attitude. She’d dated enough players, sex maniacs and godless men for a lifetime. She was done with all that and didn’t see anything wrong with a Friday night spent watching Law and Order reruns.

  ***

  Two weeks later Malcolm was still bothered by the fact that he had asked Shay out, and that she had turned him down. He had always been drawn to her. Since the day he met Shay, Malcolm had planned to date her, get what he wanted and then move on to the next woman in line. But that Friday night service he’d attended at Shay’s church had changed him.

  At the end of the preacher’s sermon he had walked down the aisle and given his life to Christ. He couldn’t explain what had happened to him. He certainly never expected to feel any different about God, after being firmly rooted in his step-fathers school of hard knocks with no help from the Almighty. But something happened to him while listening to that preacher declare the goodness of the Lord. He’d watched as grown men wept and fell on their knees that night.

  When he’d come into work on Monday he had been so excited. Malcolm just knew that Shay would be thrilled that he had finally accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. But he hadn’t been the only one to do a complete turn about over the weekend. Gone were the revealing shirts and skin tight pants. That Chaka Con weave she’d worn like it was still in style, was no more. She was now sporting a sassy little bob cut that accentuated the roundness of her pretty face. Shay now had a wholesome look about her… and Malcolm liked what he saw. He just didn’t like the attitude she had given him. So, he’d walked out of her office without sharing his good news.

  After Malcolm had given his life to the Lord, Shay had been the first person he thought of. After all, she had been the first one to tell him about the love she discovered, that was better than any love she’d ever known. He now understood why Shay had been so excited about her relationship with God. Because he’d never felt anything like this before. But as far as Shay was concerned, Malcolm decided that he wasn’t going to sweat her. If she wasn’t interested in him, then he would just trust God to send the right woman into his life.

  He grabbed his Bible and headed to the lunch time Bible study he had recently been attending. There were about twelve companies that were housed within the building his company was in. Three years ago, several employees from numerous companies within the building began meeting once or twice a week to discuss the word of God. Malcolm had seen Shay sit with this group on numerous occasions, but he had never been so inclined.

  “Hey everyone,” Malcolm addressed the group as he sat down at the round table. “What are we discussing today?”

  Sherri Winters the leader of the study group said, “I thought we’d read Chapter one of I Kings and discuss sibling rivalry as it relates to King David’s children.”

  “I love the story of how Solomon became king,” Gretchen Jones said.

  Gretchen always interjected her knowledge of what the Bible verses would be about before Malcolm had a chance to read them. Each time Malcolm read scriptures, he felt as if he was exploring new territory. He enjoyed the journey, so it bugged him when Gretchen felt the need to show everyone how much she already knew about the Bible.

  “We don’t want to give too much of the story away before others have a chance to read it,” Sherri said as she gently patted Gretchen’s shoulder.

  That’s telling her, Malcolm wanted to say. But he just smiled as he opened his Bible.

  “Malcolm? Since when do you attend Bible study?”

  He turned around in his char and stared up at Shay. She didn’t have on much make-up today, just lipstick and eye shadow. As far as Malcolm was concerned she didn’t need make-up. The girl was like ice cold water on a hot summer day… refreshing. But he wasn’t going to let her know that. “I attended the Bible study last week. But I noticed that you weren’t here.”

  “I still attend. I’ve just been busy during lunch these past few weeks.”

  “Well, sit on down and join us today,” Sherrie said.

  Shay grabbed a seat, hesitated, glanced at Malcolm and then turned toward Sherrie. “I’d love to join you, but there’s something I need to do at lunch today. I promise I’ll be back with the group next week.”

  “Mmph,” Malcolm said as he gave her a doubtful look.

  Confusion danced around Shay’s eyes as she glanced back at Malcolm. Turning back to the other group members, she said, “Well, I’ll see you all next week.”

  Malcolm watched her walk away. Shay had been a faithful member of this Bible study. He’d seen her with this group for the past six months or so. What could she possibly be doing at lunch time that was more important than this? Something was up with Shay and he was determined to discover her secret.

  Chapter Four

  What just happened? Did Malcolm really have a Bible in his hands? But the man has never wanted anything to do with God. Shay was totally and completely befuddled as she sat in a booth at a local Applebees waiting on her lunch appointment. She had been diligently working on her proposal for Coldwater Church. The pastor had been virtually unknown, but since he began broadcasting his sermons on the TBN Christian network his popularity had sky rocketed. Now he wanted to put together a publicity campaign for the annual conference his church sponsored. It was important to Shay to do a top notch job on this proposal because Bill Stephens attended Coldwater Church. So she knew that Pastor Michaels would let Bill know if he was pleased with their work, and hopefully he would even mention that he liked the worked Shay had done on her own.

  Shay had befriended the administrative assistant at Coldwater Church and had no shame about asking the woman to meet her for lunch so they could review her proposal before the big meeting.

  Desiree Chamberlain rushed into the restaurant. Her eyes darted two and fro as she tried to find Shay. Once located, the woman came over to the table and sat down. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long?”

  “You’re fine, I just got here myself.”

  The waitress arrived at the table. “Are you ready to order?”

  They put in there order and then Shay handed Desiree the portfolio she’d been working on for Coldwater Church. “I wanted you to have a chance to review the mock-ups before our meeting next week.”

  “Girl, you didn’t have to take me to lunch for this. I’m more than willing to wait until our meeting with your team to go over the proposal.”

  Shay felt that she had built the type of relationship with Desiree that allowed her to be honest about her motives for this meeting, so she said, “To tell you the truth, Desiree, I am working really hard to get a promotion and it would help if you could look at these designs and tell me if I’m on the right track.”

  “All right, anything I can do to help.”

  For the next hour, Desiree and Shay reviewed the plans and designs for the campaign. She felt bad that she was doing this behind Malcolm’s back because she had never been a backstabber, but Malcolm had driven her to this.

  After lunch Shay rushed back to the office so that she wouldn’t be late for her meeting with Malcolm at two in the afternoon. They needed to go over their proposal01 in order to be prepared for next weeks meeting. They were proposing a combination of a billboard, email marketing, television and radio campaign. Shay had a couple of other things up her sleeve, but she wasn’t about to share that information with Malcolm. She looked at her watch. It was fifteen minutes before two o’clock, so she decided to go on down to Malcolm’s office early. She had something she needed to ask him, and wanted to get it out of the way before their meeting.

  As she walked past Liz Daniels, Malcolm’s assistant, Shay pointed at Malcolm’s door and asked, “Is he in?”

  “Yes, he’s expecting you.”

  Shay knocked once and then opened Malcolm’s door. “Hey, do you have a minute?”

  He looked at his watch and then back to Shay. “I have more than a few minutes, we have a meeting scheduled, remember?”

  “Yes, but I wanted to speak to you about a private matter before we start our meeting.”

  He had been jotting something down when she walked in. He put the pen down and turned to her. “What’s up?”

  Shay sat down in the chair next to Malcolm’s desk and put the files she had carried into his office down. The question she wanted to ask Malcolm had been on her mind all afternoon, but now that she was sitting in front of him, she couldn’t figure out how to phrase it.

  With impatience showing on his face, Malcolm’s eye brow lifted as he said, “You wanted to ask me something.”

  “Hmm, well yes.” She fumbled around while absentmindedly using the index finger and thumb of her right hand to make circles around each finger on her left hand.

  “What are you so nervous about?”

  “I’m not nervous. Why would you think I’m nervous?”

  He pointed at her hands. “Some people have a nervous tick… but you play with your hands.

  She dropped her hands to her side, wishing that Malcolm didn’t know her so well. “I just don’t understand why you attended that lunch time Bible study today.”

  “Oh,” was all he said as he leaned back in his seat.

  “You had a Bible with you and you were reading it.” She knew her words were coming out all wrong. As if seeing Malcolm with a Bible was the most astonishing thing in the world, but in truth, she had been taken aback by the incident.

  When he didn’t respond, Shay continued, “What’s going on with you, Malcolm? You’ve made fun of me for my Christian beliefs, and now you’re reading the Bible and joining our Bible study group?”

  “I didn’t realize you were still a part of the group. You haven’t been to any of the study groups that I’ve attended.”

  There it was again. If it wasn’t sacrilegious, she would swear on a stack of Bibles that Malcolm was judging her now, and when he’d made his flippant comment at lunch. She looked away as she admitted, “I’ve been busy, but I fully intend to return to our study group.”

  “Okay, he said, and then as if he were no longer interested in the conversation he asked, “Is that all?”

  “Well no… not really. I wanted to know when you became interested in God’s word. We haven’t had a chance to talk in a few weeks, and I’d like to know what’s going on with you.”

  He hesitated for a moment, but then as if deciding that he’d burst if he didn’t spill his guts he said, “I found God, Shay. It happened when I attended your church a few weeks ago.”

  “What? And you never told me.” She stood up, rounded his desk and hugged him. “I’m so happy for you, Malcolm. How did it happen?”

  “The night I attended your church, the speaker’s message was titled, A Mighty Love. When he first announced the title of his message, I thought he was going to talk about how he fell in love with his wife or something. But then he began explaining that God is so loving that He continues to woe us time and time again. He spoke about God’s ability to love the unlovable and how God was willing to wait on us until the moment we took our last breath if that’s how long it took for us to love Him back.”