Chapter 14
Alvin White walked into the boardroom and did a double take. Samuel was sure it was because he was used to being the first to arrive. It was not the case for this meeting. Well surprise! Samuel fought to suppress his smirk. Another thing that gave Alvin White pause was the occupants at the table. In addition to all the board members was Lewis Wilson. He didn’t normally attend board meetings. However, Dad was insistent that he be in attendance to lend support.
Samuel and Hannah had a long discussion with his in-laws concerning the disrespect their daughter had experienced from Alvin White. Dad was outraged when Hannah described the last conversation.
“I don’t know where that man gets off. We will support whatever you want to do, Hannah, but I hope you are finally ready to throw him out on his ear.”
“Finally?” Hannah had questioned.
Dad moved from his seat beside his wife and pulled up a chair, so he sat before Hannah. “Yes. Did you forget what I told you when they appointed you to the position of Co-pastor?”
“That I didn’t need their approval. It didn’t matter what my name was, I would always be a Wilson in my heart. Our family built this church from two members to what it is today.” She answered.
“Yet, you have allowed that man to act as if you did.”
“I thought if I was agreeable, it would be better.”
“But now?” Her father questioned.
“I’m here to lead. My actions can’t be dictated by man’s agendas.”
Dad clapped his hand loudly. “That’s my girl. What do the young people say? Let’s show Alvin White our family is not to be played with.”
Alvin White greeted the occupants in the room, none of whom returned his smile. Once he called for the meeting to come to order, he opened the floor for discussion. It was a common occurrence for the monthly meetings.
“Thank you. I have some things that need to be addressed. The board is an essential part of the church body.” Hannah began.
Samuel kept his eyes on Alvin White as Hannah spoke. He seemed to fidget in his seat. “Hannah, we are well aware?—”
“It’s Pastor Hannah…” Samuel had been adamant she carry the last name Cho. With two of them carrying the same name, it became confusing. The decision was made to call them Pastor Hannah and Pastor Samuel. “…Mr. White and I have the floor. Please keep your comments and questions until I have finished.” Her tone was polite and firm. It was such a turn on to see his woman stand up for herself. She continued to speak about the importance of the board and leadership working seamlessly together. “For too long, this has not been the case.”
Alvin White, “Incorrect?—”
“I still have the floor.” She responded. “Our responsibility is to our church body and the community at large. We must be good stewards. Which means we must make tough decisions. To quote the word. If your right foot offends you, cut it off. It is time for a removal?—”
“I see you are taking things personally, Hannah.”
Samuel loved the power his wife was exhibiting and was happy to leave her to handle her business. Her father wasn’t so inclined. “You have already been reminded once to address the pastor with the respect she has earned. When you are addressing her, when it is your turn, refer to her as Pastor Hannah. Don’t forget your place. Being on the board is a privilege. Leading it is to be done with humility.” Dad put up his hand, stopping his tirade. “I’m sorry, Pastor Hannah. My apologies. The floor is yours.”
“Thank you. You are mistaken. This isn’t personal. Respect for leadership is important. So is being fiscally responsible. Additionally, it’s best not to make unilateral decisions without consulting the rest of the board or leadership. For those reasons, I would like to pass a motion to have Alvin White removed from the board immediately.”
The motion was passed unanimously.
“I don’t understand why you all did this. I paid back the payments to Jeremiah out of my own pockets.” It wasn”t exactly voluntary. Only after Nigel and Samuel suggested that the matter be made public and investigated was the money returned. Alvin White was thanked for his service and immediately dismissed from the board. It was made clear he was still welcome at the church. It was Nigel and another board member who dealt with stripping Alvin White of his privileges, that being the head of the board afforded him.
While Hannah spoke to her godmother after the meeting, Samuel and her father had a moment. “It makes a father happy to know that both his daughters have found good men. I love what you have been doing. Hannah is blossoming with you by her side.”
“Well, she means the world to me.”
“It shows.” He said clamping him on the shoulder. “We are expecting you both for dinner tomorrow.”
Samuel was glad they had no obligations for the night. They were going to celebrate today’s triumph. As they walked to the vehicle, he asked her what she wanted him to make for dinner. “I was thinking we could pick something up. Save that time for other activities.”
“Or we can order in.” she offered.
“That’s an even better idea.” She didn’t shy away when he gave her a barely decent kiss as he helped her into the SUV. In fact, her full lips formed a sultry pout. The entire ride home, he was distracted. Her skirt displayed a good portion of her thighs. He knew she’d done it intentionally. It hadn’t been like that on the way to the meeting. It was times like these he hated driving a stick shift as both of his hands were occupied.
The moment they entered their house, Samuel whipped his shirt over his head. He freed himself and sunk onto the couch. He watched with greedy eyes as his wife stripped for him. It was a first and he would ensure it would not be the last. Hannah’s confidence was incredibly sexy. He was beyond hard. “Come here,” he beckoned. His intent had been for her to sink onto his length. She had other ideas. Dropping to her knees between his parted thighs, she greedily engulfed his cock. There was nothing to do but enjoy the moment. He closed his eyes and allowed his head to fall back. The sensation of her bobbing on his length was pushing him to his release. “Jagiya, you’ve got to stop.” He needed to release inside her tight walls.
Hannah was not too pleased with being interrupted, but her grievance was soon forgotten. Face-to-face with him, she straddled his thighs and slowly slid down his length. The heat of her core radiated from her body, cocooning his cock. As she rode him, he felt a surge of pleasure coursing through his veins, his heart racing with desire. Every movement she made sent waves of ecstasy rippling through his body, making him feel alive and consumed by the intensity of their connection. One hand grasped her nape, pulling her in for a kiss, while the other cupped her full globe. His thumb teased her hardened bud. She whimpered in his mouth, sending a bolt through his body. It was all he could take; he thrust upward, commanding the pace of their coupling. The sound of their moans of pleasure melded together, becoming one as she tightened around him and with a last thrust, he released into her convulsing core.
When Samuel set his plan in motion to marry Hannah, he’d anticipated so many obstacles. He thought it would take months, even a year, for them to come as far as they had.
Despite their differences, they got along so very well. It wasn’t just their physical chemistry. They also had had great conversations. He looked forward to the daily grind. Things that Samuel would have found mundane he looked forward to because he was doing them with Hannah.
He watched as she’d faced hurt and fears. His woman was amazing as she tackled them head on. Her return to the pulpit had been a success. Samuel had kicked himself that he hadn’t done a better job of making sure she was emotionally prepared. She carried so much… without complaint. He’d lost sight of the emotional toll her loser ex-husband’s actions had on her psyche. Together, they were working on it.
The feelings he’d had for her paled in comparison to what he now felt. Their bodies were still joined, her head rested on his shoulder, as he rubbed circles on her back. The words he hoped he showed with his actions finally made it past his lips. “I love you, Hannah.”
“Mm,” She groggily responded. Then her body stiffened. Hannah sat up. “What did you say?”
“I said, I love you.” Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened. Then she abruptly closed her mouth. They remained in the same position, looking at each other neither saying a word. It was enough that she knew how he felt. He could wait to hear it back. “Let’s get cleaned up?—”
“I love you too, Han-uel.”
Nothing could prepare him for hearing her uttering those words again to him. This didn’t feel like before. She said it without hesitation. It was a beautiful moment. It had taken decades for them to get to this point.
They spent the rest of the night reaffirming their feelings. By the time they paid attention to their stomachs, the dinner delivery services had stopped for the night. The couple ended up having peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches for dinner.
The following morning, he met up with Daniel, his brother-in-law Tao, and Nigel for basketball. Daniel had lost their last few games and wanted to play something he had a better chance of winning. They had just pulled up to the gym when Corinth called. It was unusual. “Pastor Samuel, is Pastor Hannah still scheduled to stop by this morning?”
“Yes, she was just running an errand before she got there.”
“Well, I tried to contact her, but she wasn’t answering her phone.” Hannah was notorious for having her phone on silent, somewhere in the bowels of what she called a purse.
“It’s probably on silent. Why what”s up?”
“Well, Jeremiah was hanging around the parking lot when I arrived. I checked again on my coffee break and he’s still out there in his white Lexus.” Samuel didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“Thank you for letting me know.” Samuel was surprised he sounded so calm as he disconnected the call.
“I need to head to the church.” He informed the occupants of the vehicle.
“Now?” Nigel queried.
“Yeah, right now. You guys getting out?” Samuel was impatient. The vehicle was already in drive.
“Why?” Daniel asked.
“Because Jeremiah is lurking around the church, and I want to know why.” By this time, he was tapping on the steering wheel.
“No, we are coming with you.” His brother answered. Samuel didn’t wait to see if the other occupants agreed. He high tailed it out of the gym’s parking lot. While Samuel drove, Nigel and Daniel brought Tao up to speed.
As Samuel was waiting on traffic to turn into the church parking lot. Daniel instructed. “Do not fly off the handle.” When he pulled in the lot he saw why his brother gave that instruction. Samuel couldn’t park in his parking space because there was a white Lexus there. However, what set his temper through the roof was Jeremiah, standing at the open door of Hannah’s car. The SUV was barely in park when Samuel jumped out of the vehicle.
“I’m not telling you again, back up so I can get out of my car.” He heard Hannah’s raised voice. He ate up the steps to where they were.
“I just want to talk?—”
“Move away from her!” Samuel bellowed.
Jeremiah put up his hands and took several steps back. Samuel fought the urge to lay him out cold in the parking lot. Instead, he focused on his wife. “Are you okay?” He asked her, looking over to her.
“Yes. I would just like to get out of my car.” He reached in and took her hand.
Not knowing the danger he was in, Jeremiah said, “Stop being so dramatic. I just wanted to speak to you for a moment.”
Turning on him, Samuel said. “What did you say to her? If you value those teeth, don’t speak to my wife like that again.”
Hannah got between the men and placed a hand on Samuel’s chest. “I’m fine, Baby.” Her voice was soothing as she spoke to him. The look she sent him urged him to calm down. When he released a pent up breath, she turned to Jeremiah. “Now that I am out of my car. You were saying you weren’t happy about something?”
“Yes. How petty…” “Watch it.” Samuel growled. After a pointed glance, Jeremiah continued like he hadn’t spoken. “…do you have to be to remove an elderly man from serving his church just to get to me.”
Samuel was just about to forget his home training and salvation and tell him where to go when Hannah’s laughter stopped him. “Be for real, Jeremiah. No one is thinking about you. I don’t owe you an explanation why Mr. White no longer has his position. Now please leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you reinstate Uncle Alv.”
“I bet you are,” Samuel told him, taking a step forward and moving his wife to the side. “You are not a member of this congregation. Get in your car and leave.”
“If I don’t, what are you going to do about it?” Jeremiah said stepping forward.
Samuel had enough of this man. “You can walk out of here on your own steam or you can get rolled out of here. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“You act more like some kind of thug instead of a pastor. Look at how you are dressed.” Jeremiah taunted. Samuel was in a sleeveless basketball t-shirt and shorts, so his tattoos were on full display. No one driving by would guess he was the pastor of the church.
“Let’s just say we are all multifaceted. Look at all those years you were pretending to be a pastor when you were just a cheating loser.” Samuel smiled when he saw Jeremiah ball his fist. He sent up a prayer that the man would swing on him.
He felt someone place their hand on his shoulder. Samuel turned and saw Nigel. “Pastor Samuel, why don’t you help Pastor Hannah into the church? And allow Jeremiah and I to catch up.”
Samuel didn’t want to take Nigel up on his offer, but Daniel was there too, requesting his keys. He looked at his wife and she all but pleaded with him to let it go. In another life, he wouldn’t have walked away, but for Hannah Cho, it was a no brainer.
He left the situation in the more than capable hands of Nigel. Hannah was his sister-in-law, and he was very fond of her. It didn’t play out the way Samuel thought it would. Later, when his brother-in-law called, he was laughing. “I was all ready to lay into Jeremiah, but you got to watch for those quiet ones. Daniel beat me to it. He told Jeremiah he was a failure as a minister, husband, and just in general as a human being.”
While Nigel was surprised, Samuel wasn’t. It took a lot to get Daniel worked up, but when his brother got pissed off, he was like a dog with a bone.
“Jeremiah wasn’t too happy with your brother’s assessment. Stepped right up to Daniel. He didn’t even flinch. Jeremiah was all mind your own business. With his fist balled up. Daniel reminded him that Hannah was family, and men who cornered women would get what was coming to them. Then he told him to put his fist away, before he put his hands on him, and it wouldn’t be for healing. We thought everything was squashed after that. Daniel and I were walking away when Jeremiah tried to attack him from the back. Tao was on alert though, stopped it before Jeremiah could make contact, then worked him over good. Was that guy a boxer? Because he landed some sick punches.”
“He was a kick boxer for a while,” Samuel answered.
“Nice. Too bad he didn’t get a chance to demonstrate his kicking. Anyway, all in all it was a good talk.”