Relentless by Patricia Haley & Gracie Hill

Author:Patricia Haley & Gracie Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Urban Books
Published: 2014-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Bishop waited patiently in his office. As the night rushed in, silence hummed throughout the office. Church events had concluded an hour ago. His secretary had been gone for hours, and the janitor had just left. Bishop Jones was alone, as it should be for his upcoming meeting. He’d gotten Jill Smith’s contact information from Simmons. When Bishop Jones called to make the appointment with her, he was careful not to fully reveal his intent. Hopefully Simmons hadn’t clued her in. He wasn’t sure and couldn’t worry about unknowns. About ten-fifteen, the phone rang.

“Bishop Jones, I’m at the side door.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said rushing out to let her in.

They didn’t speak much on the way to his office. It was awkward but necessary. Once they reached his office, he offered her a seat and closed the door.

“Why did you want to see me?” she asked seeming to squirm in the seat.

Bishop sat in a seat next to her. “Can I call you Jill?”

“Sure, that’s fine, but can you tell me why you wanted to meet with me so late or do I already know the answer?” she stated.

“Whoa, sister,” Bishop said drawing away. “I’m not Minister Simmons.”

The worry in her face didn’t vanish. “Then what do you want?”

“For you to stop your dealings with Minister Simmons. He has a family, and there’s no place for you in that picture.”

Fear appeared to sweep over Jill. She became visibly restless. “I will,” she mumbled until Bishop interrupted.

“I’m not here to judge you, but I do plan to get my message across.”

She began crying. “I didn’t want to do any of this, but I had no choice.”

“We always have choices.”

“Not me. Without the minister’s help how am I going to get my medicine?” she screamed out.

The outburst shocked Bishop and he was initially unprepared to respond. Careful not to cross the line, he refused to touch her even in a comforting way. She was vulnerable and he wasn’t getting caught in that age-old trap. He’d seen too many colleagues get crushed in those situations. The best he could do was hand her a tissue. “What’s this business about your medicine?”

“I have chronic back pain and my doctor won’t give me what I need anymore.”

“Why not?”

“He says I’m already on too many other medications and the one that works for me is too addictive. So, he won’t prescribe it. Minister Simmons lets me have a supply every month and it helps a lot. I wouldn’t be able to function without it. I couldn’t take care of my kids without the relief I get from the medicine,” she replied becoming overly emotional again.

“I wasn’t aware of your situation.” Her explanation caused him to pause. Maybe she wasn’t just a wayward woman looking for a quick fix and wad of cash. He had children. It wasn’t difficult to have compassion for her, but he had to set his personal feelings aside. One thing about him, he knew how to separate emotion from achieving goals.

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