“Wow,” was all Shay could say as she continued listening to Malcolm.

  “Tell me about it. I was mesmerized by the message being delivered. And that’s when I knew I didn’t want to wait until I was on my death bed to beg God’s forgiveness for the way I’ve lived my life, nor did I want to wait to experience this mighty love that preacher talked about. So, I went down to the altar that night.”

  Tears were in Shay’s eyes as she said, “I’m so happy for you, Malcolm.”

  “I’m glad you approve. And I owe you a big thanks for inviting me to your church.”

  Shay stared at Malcolm. He was different from the Malcolm she knew. He still had the same sense of confidence about him, but there was also a humbleness about the man that was very attractive to her. She couldn’t help staring at him. This was her Malcolm… a man of God.

  “You’re looking at me as if I have broccoli stuck between my teeth. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Shay confessed. “I’m just amazed at the changes in you.”

  “Would you like to pray before beginning our meeting?”

  “Wow,” Shay said again right before they prayed. The rest of the meeting was spent kicking herself for letting her ambitions out way her number one job as a Christian… which was to minister Christ to everyone in need. She had allowed herself to think of Malcolm as competition, rather than a soul in need of Jesus Christ.

  Chapter Five

  “I don’t believe it,” Darla said for the third time in the space of two minutes.

  “Believe it. Malcolm is totally devoted to God,” Shay told her as she recounted the conversation from earlier in the day.

  “You know what this means, right?”

  “No Darla, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me what you think it means.”

  “Whatever,” Darla said as she giggled and then continued, “Maybe God was in our plan to get you this new look from the beginning.”

  “How so?”

  “Because God knew that Malcolm would never have taken you seriously with all that weave you were sporting.”

  “Uh, I hate to break it to you, but Malcolm doesn’t seem at all interested in me. As a matter of fact, he’s been very distant. He didn’t even tell me about his conversion to Christianity until I asked him about it.”

  “He didn’t seem distant when we saw him at the mall. I think the man likes you.”

  “You are just a romantic at heart, but I on the other hand have been jaded by the losers I’ve been dating.”

  “He asked you out, didn’t he? I think you should give Malcolm a chance.”

  “No, Darla. I told you, I’m not interested in dating right now. Every man I’ve dated has wanted me to do something that would not be pleasing to God.”

  “But you just told me that Malcolm is a Christian now. He’ll understand why you don’t want to have sex until you’re married.”

  “He’s still a man, Darla. Trust me on this one… sooner or later, he’ll get bored with kissing and holding hands.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “Work on my relationship with God and my career… and leave men out of the equation.”

  Shay was serious when she told Darla that she intended to leave men out of the equation. However, during her Bible study time, she opened her Bible to Romans 12:17-21

  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

  Shay was convicted by the words in her Bible. For the past two weeks she had been engaging in deception at work. She had allowed her anger over Malcolm’s promotion to cause her to deliberately withhold information concerning the proposal they were scheduled to deliver to Coldwater Church from Malcolm. She’d been sneaking around, adding things to the proposal that he knew nothing about. And on top of all that she had missed the Bible study at work because she’d been using that time to plot her strategy against Malcolm.

  Now that she knew Malcolm had not only attended church at her request, but had gone down the aisle and given his life to God, Shay felt even worse. As a Christian, she should have more concern for her co-workers souls rather than mainly being concerned with promotions and back stabbing. She lifted her eyes to heaven and prayed, “Lord, please forgive me for my selfish behavior. I allowed myself to become so consumed with fighting a battle that You are more than able to handle. I should have been concerned with fighting the Christian battle of winning souls for You and your son, Jesus.”

  At work the next day, Shay knocked on Malcolm’s office door.

  “Come in,” he said from inside the office.

  She opened the door and walked in. She stood in front of his desk wringing her hands.

  “There’s no need to be nervous around me Shay, we have worked together for over a year now.”

  She looked down at her hands and then pulled them apart. “I came to apologize. I’ve been working on some extra creative mock-ups for the Coldwater Church proposal that I never discussed with you.”

  Malcolm leaned back in his seat and studied her for a moment. “Did you think I would notice that you had different designs than the ones we’ve been working on when you presented them at the meeting?”

  “I didn’t care,” she answered honestly. “Once you noticed, I was going to take credit for the designs, in hopes that the boys upstairs would begin to think seriously about giving me the promotion I deserve.”

  “So, why are you telling me now? You should have waiting and sprung your designs on me in front of the group.”

  “I have too much integrity to do something like that.” She knew that her words sounded hollow, especially since she had planned to do exactly that. But Shay thanked God for conviction… and for the fact that her ambition hadn’t moved her too far to be able to hear from the Lord.

  “Do you mind showing the designs to me?”

  That’s it? Shay thought for sure that Malcolm would at least take a jab at her claim of integrity, but he hadn’t. As a matter of fact, Malcolm didn’t appear to be judging her at all. “I’ll go get them and be right back,” she said as she turned and left his office. When she returned she had several files folders in her hands.

  “Whoa, you’ve been busy,” Malcolm said as he moved his paperwork off his desk in order to make room for Shay’s folders.

  She looked a bit embarrassed as she said, “You’ve already seen most of this information. I’ve probably only added one or two things in each folder.”

  “Well let’s take a look.”

  Shay sat down next to Malcolm and opened the first folder. “The information you and I came up with for the internet campaign is in this folder. The thing I added is right here.” She handed him the last page in the folder.

  He lifted the page, quickly looked over the info and smiled. “This is perfect. Since Facebook just added Skype, Pastor Michaels could definitely benefit from a Facebook/Skype campaign.”

  “You’re not mad?” Shay was astonished by the way Malcolm was handling this. Had she judged him wrong?

  He put the paper down as he said, “Look Shay, I’m not going to lie. If you had gone into this meeting without letting me know what you’ve been working on, I would be furious. But everybody makes mistakes… and I’m willing to give you some grace on this.”

  As Shay went through the rest of the documents she was impressed by Malcolm’s calm demeanor. If the shoe had been on the other foot, Shay would have gone tickety-boom.

  When they had reviewed everything, Malcolm asked, “Okay, I’ll pull everything together and then I’d like to present this information in the meeting.”

  No wonder he’d been so calm about everything… he’s going to take credit for my work. She stood up and grabbed the folders off of his desk. “It’s not right for you to take credit for my work.”

  He lifted his hands. “Hold on, I wasn’t trying to take credit for your work. I just thought it would be a lot easier for us to let everyone in the room know that you did this extra work, if I said it rather than you.”

  “Oh, well, thank you.” She turned and tried to rush out of his office.

  Before she could reach the door, Malcolm said, “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  She turned back toward him, “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.”

  Shaking her head, Shay said, “I told you that I’m not dating anyone right now.”

  He got up, walked around his desk and stood within an inch away from her. “I’m not asking you on a date. Since we have new material added to our proposal, we’ll need time to go over it so that I’ll be comfortable with my presentation.”

  That was logical, and since she had been the one sneaking behind his back and didn’t tell him about the new material until the last minute, she at least needed to give him enough time to become comfortable with the new package. “All right, dinner it is.”

  “To make this work, we’ll probably need to do dinner tonight, breakfast on Saturday and then after church on Sunday we can meet again.”

  “Are you planning to come to church with me also?”

  He inched closer. “I could, if you want me too.”

  She stepped back and shyly turned away from him. “We can just meet after church,” she said as she fled his office. She didn’t want to admit it, but it was getting a bit hot in there. Feeling foolish for becoming flustered by the enemy, she retreated to her office.

  As she sat down behind her desk, she wondered if she should continue to think of Malcolm as the enemy. After all, she truly believed that she and Malcolm were on the same team now. She wished she had stayed at church that Friday night to hear the entire Mighty Love message… it must have been something else.

  Then a thought that Shay was completely unprepared for hit her, as she wondered if she and Malcolm were meant to share a mighty love of their own?

  Chapter 6

  They got out of the car and entered the restaurant. The floor-to-ceiling windows, with their panoramic view of the ocean, took Shay’s breath away. The hostess seated them at a table overlooking the beach. It was stunning, and the fading light of evening made the look and feel of the shimmering water that much more appealing. Shay leaned closer to Malcolm and whispered, “Do you hear a piano playing?”

  “They have a pianist in the lounge. We can go over there after dinner, if you’d like.”

  Instead of looking at each other, they picked up the menus and studied them as if they had an exam coming up. By the time the server returned to take their orders, they were ready. Shay ordered seared shrimp and scallops with risotto, while Malcolm ordered steak and smashed potatoes with a side of broccoli. They made small talk until the food arrived. Then Malcolm took Shay’s hand in his and said grace.

  An electric current went through her body and left her with a flutter in her stomach as Malcolm held her hands and prayed. What was he doing to her? She pulled her hands away from his the moment they said, ‘Amen’ and concentrated on her food.

  After a few bites of his steak, Malcolm sighed contentedly. “I love this place. The food is always fantastic.”

  “I guess you bring a lot of women here, huh?” Shay said.

  “No; actually, I’ve come here with only one other woman.”

  “How do you think she’ll feel about you bringing me here?”

  “I don’t know, but the next time I speak with my mother, I’ll ask her.”

  “Ha ha ha, you’re a very funny man,” Shay said as she shook her head. She turned back to her plate and devoured it, trying to ignore the way Malcolm gazed at her from across the table.

  “Why are you so nervous?”

  “I’m not nervous. I just don’t understand why you brought me to a restaurant like this when we’re supposed to be having a business meeting?”

  “I know you got rid of your weave, Shay, but can you just pretend to let your hair down and enjoy yourself?”

  She put her fork down and pushed her plate away. “There’s no reason to let my hair down. This is business, not pleasure.”

  “What’s wrong with a little bit of both?”

  What’s wrong with a little bit of both? How about that fact that I don’t trust you or any man for that matter. You all say one thing and do another… that’s what she wanted to say, but instead she opened her briefcase and pulled out a file folder. She plopped it on the table and said, “Let’s work on getting you to that comfort zone you need in order to present the new material in this proposal.”

  “If you say so; but I think you would enjoy walking on the beach with me.”

  “We don’t have time to walk on the beach. We have to get ready for the Monday morning presentation. Let’s not forget that I’m still in need of a promotion.” She looked at him pointedly and added, “Unlike some of us.”

  He held up his hands. “So, you’re going to hold that against me, huh?”

  “I’m not holding anything against you. I just really need this promotion.”

  He wiped his hands with his napkin and then clasped them together. “Okay, let’s get back to work.”

  They worked on the new material for over an hour. Shay yawned and then Malcolm said, “Past your bed time?”

  Shay looked at her watch, it was almost 11 o’clock. “Yeah, I’m normally in bed by now.”

  Malcolm asked the waitress for the check. “We’ll take this up again in the morning.”

  “Can’t you just review this stuff on your own this weekend?” Shay protested.

  “I really don’t think I’m asking for much, since you just provided me with the info this afternoon.”

  Guilt landed on Shay’s chest like a two hundred pound weight. “Okay, I’ll take you to breakfast in the morning.”

  Breakfast turned into an all day event. Malcolm took Shay to his Niece’s birthday party and then they were off to a brother’s anniversary celebration which as it turned out was on the beach. “Why did you want to meet for breakfast when you knew you had all these events to attend today?” Shay asked as she and Malcolm walked along the beach.

  “You’ve been a bit stressed lately. I just thought that hanging out with my family today might help you unwind. Are you sorry that you came with me?”

  “No, you were right. I have enjoyed spending the day with your family.”

  Malcolm stopped walking, gave Shay a look that said he was highly offended, as he said, “Oh, so you’re just using me for my family… you don’t want to have anything to do with me at all, huh?”

  She shoved him. “Shut up, Malcolm. You know what I meant.”

  “I know what you said.”

  “Okay, will it make you feel better if I admit that I’ve had fun with you too?”

  “Well now I think you’re just trying to make me feel better.”

  Shay turned to Malcolm and asked, “Then you tell me… what will convince you that I am really enjoying myself with you?”

  “Kiss me.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He grabbed hold of her hands as he said, “You heard me. I said, kiss me.”

  That same flutter that she’d felt last night when Malcolm had held her hands while saying grace over their food was back in her stomach. What kind of power does this man have over me? “Why would I kiss you, Malcolm? We are business colleagues… nothing more.”

  “We could be so much more, if you would just give me a chance.”

  She pulled her hands out of his. “Why do you do this stuff?” She turned away from him and threw up her hands. “I don’t understand why you keep asking me out… and now you want a kiss. Why me, Malcolm?”

  He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her back around to face him. “Don’t you know how I feel about you? I’ve been trying to get you to take me seriously for months now. I can’t stop thinking about you, Shay. And now I know exactly why I’ve been so drawn to you.”

  Everything he said sound so right, that Shay wanted to believe him. But she had put her trust in too many men, only to be let down. So, she simply asked, “Why?”

  “Don’t get this wrong, Shay, you are a beautiful woman. But I’ve dated plenty of beautiful women who couldn’t hold my interest. It’s your inner spirit that attracts me more than anything. I didn’t fully understand that until I gave my life to Christ, but now I know why I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  Her brow went up, hands on brick house hips. “So, you’re telling me that you’re not interested in the way my body looks at all?”

  “I’m not blind Shay. Of course I like the way you look. And to be honest, I noticed your face and your body before I noticed that there was something different about you. But, if that had been all, I would have gone out with you a few times and then quickly moved on to the next. I want more where you are concerned.”

  Could she believe him? The only man she’d ever been right about was Jesus. And now this man was standing here, trying to convince her that he truly wanted to be with her. “How do I know that this is real… that you won’t get what you want and then cut and run?”

  He lifted her chin with his index finger and lowered his head until their lips touched. And once they touched, Malcolm hungrily devoured her mouth. He pulled her into an embrace and deepened their kiss. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he said as their lips parted.

  Breathless, was the only way Shay could describe how she was feeling. She dropped down on the sand and inhaled like an asthmatic patient in need of an inhaler. “Wh… why did you do that?” she asked as Malcolm sat down next to her.