Redeeming Heart (9 page)

When she graduated with a BA in business
management, she knew she had to encourage and help people climb out
of poverty. If that meant a series of seminars on money management
in order to qualify for a first home, then she would do it, so
Terri’s arguments against that fell on deaf ears.

“Well, please be careful going by yourself
into the city,” Terri warned.

“Always, I’m thinking about asking Landon.
Maybe he won’t mind tagging along. Who knows? This info may help
him get back on his feet.”

“You and your charity cases. I don’t care if
the man is good-looking. Be careful with him, too. He could have
been on drugs, dealt drugs, served prison time, run a prostitution
ring. He did something wrong for him to fall out of God’s graces,”
she mocked. “The bottom line is he had to make some bad choices
along the way.”

Octavia waved. “See you later.”

“Have you called James yet?” Terri said in a
sing-song voice.

“Not yet…” She grinned and hurried to her
car. As far as she was concerned, James was an open book; Landon
wasn’t and that curiosity made Octavia want to get to know him
better.

Church.
Landon huffed. He wasn’t looking
forward to going, but Octavia was his incentive. Boy, he missed
being around her and watching her dance for the Lord. It was as if
he had known her for years instead of barely a week and only two
days in her presence. How did she get into his head like that?

Rossi had been right. Octavia definitely
ruled, because she was taking over his thoughts as he stared out of
the empty room at the Tolliver office building. Rossi had a
computer setup for Landon to use as his work space for employment
searches and to make follow-up calls. Rossi went a step farther and
gave Landon tasks: monitor and update Tolliver Design &
Construction Company’s website. As if that wasn’t enough, Rossi’s
assistant paid him out of the petty cash fund.

Rossi’s business partner, Levi Tolliver, had
welcomed him with a handshake. “If my cousin says you’re a good
person, then you’re good. We’ll have lunch delivered before noon,
so don’t be shy.”

After creating business cards, Landon had
busied himself with updating his résumé, using Rossi’s office
address and an email for contacts.

“Hey, I’m heading out early,” Rossi said,
sticking his head into the small room. “I’ll give you a ride to
Mac’s.”

Standing, Landon stretched. He couldn’t
believe it was after four. “Thanks.”

During the short ride from the Metro East in
Illinois across the bridge to downtown St. Louis, Rossi chatted
about sports and his family. Landon kept his secrets close. Ten
minutes later, he pulled up to Mac’s Place and Landon climbed
out.

“Call me if you need anything, including a
ride to the church street service.”

“Keiner Plaza isn’t far. I’ll walk,” Landon
said less than enthused. “Thanks.”

He strolled inside and scribbled his
signature on the sign-in sheet, so the staff knew that he had
returned. Landon was relieved to have the room to himself. Grady
wasn’t there, but his Bible was lying open on his unmade twin bed.
He eyed it a couple of times. “Who am I kidding?” He didn’t have it
in him to repent and mean it. Dropping his head into his hands,
Landon sighed. It seemed like his seed of salvation had fell on
rocky soil and never took root after all those years of living and
breathing in the church.

He shut out the voices in the hall. Things
were starting to turn around, right? He was off the street for the
next ninety days for sure. He had a place to sleep, hot meals and a
friend, so why wasn’t he happy with progress?

You knew Me once, Landon, but you didn’t
glorify Me as God. Neither were you thankful with all I gave you,
but you became vain,
God whispered Romans 1:21.

It was the same chastisement that had been
haunting him since leaving home. Suddenly, he didn’t crave the
solitude. Leaving his room, the aroma from the kitchen met him
halfway in the stairwell.

In the dining room, Landon went through the
motions of eating. The meatloaf and mashed potatoes smelled good,
but he couldn’t taste their flavor as his mind drifted back to
Octavia who had endless beauty and a fresh personality, and he had
no chance with her. The devil taunted him with flashbacks of the
women he had taken chances with, but those outcomes weren’t
pretty.

Grady appeared with a tray as Landon pushed
back from the table. “What’s up?” He nodded.

“Nothing new. See you later.” Landon disposed
of the remains and rinsed his plate, then wandered to the lounge
where a couple of men were gathered.

They were enthralled by a tied baseball game
that happened to be with rivals Boston Red Sox and New York
Yankees. He sighed. That reminded him too much of what he had left
behind. Stretching his legs, Landon closed his eyes and immediately
Octavia’s face and her flirtatious smile greeted him.

The vision seemed to come alive with her
dainty voice flittering around him. Opening his eyes, he blinked
and looked over his shoulder where he had a bird’s-eye view of
Octavia in the lobby, chatting with Brother McCoy. This evening,
she was dressed in a silk bone two-piece suit and wearing her name
badge.

His heart pounded as he cataloged her every
movement.
What is she doing here?
he wondered, sitting up
straight. Octavia was an animated talker, moving her hands, swaying
her body and laughing in intervals. She brought that energy in her
praise dance as if she was one with the instruments.

When Brother McCoy pointed in his direction,
Octavia twirled around and strutted his way. The killer smile from
his memory came alive. “Hi.” She sat without giving him a chance to
stand. “Busy?”

“As a matter of fact, I am,” he answered
sarcastically. “No, actually, I’m bored, but seeing you brightened
my day”

“I’m glad to see you, too. Want to tag along
with me tonight?”

Landon was about to say yes, but then
squinted. “I can’t do church tonight and again this weekend,” he
stated. He didn’t care if it was going to cost spending time with
her.

They stared at each other, a duel, then
Octavia spoke first. “It’s a first-time home buyer’s seminar,” she
said softly with disappointment in her eyes.

Great
. Now he felt bad. He reached for
her hand. “Sorry,” he apologized, and her smile let him know he was
forgiven.

Rubbing his jaw, Landon realized he
desperately needed a shave. If he used one of the shelter’s
disposal razors; he would nick his jaw for sure and was guaranteed
to get razor bumps.

Her eyes seemed to follow his hand, then roam
over his face. “You looked very nice on Sunday. I meant to tell
you.”

“Your eyes told me,” he lowered his voice as
more men came into the community TV room, either to watch whatever
was playing on the screen or live before their eyes. Octavia had
every man’s attention. What about now?” He challenged her for more
compliments.

“You look like a man who is coming back to
life.” She squeezed his hand. “Stop fighting what God has for
you.”

Landon gave her a pointed look before
standing. “You have no idea what I want at this very moment. Give
me a sec to freshen up. I’ll be right back.” He glanced around at
the men waiting to pounce on Octavia. “Do you mind waiting in the
lobby near Brother McCoy? I don’t want to get put out for hurting
someone over you.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she
complied. Landon walked to his room with a smirk.

“Good. You’re alive, so that means you didn’t get
mugged last night,” Terri said, resting a coffee cup on her desk
and folding her arms as Octavia strolled through the office the
next morning.

“Nope. God protects His own. Plus, Landon
provided extra security.” She childishly stuck out her tongue.

Shaking her head, Terri
tsk
ed before
picking up her cup. “I’m sure that was a sight to see—a homeless
man scaring off a mugger.”

“Homeless today, CEO tomorrow. With his
personality, Landon will rebound. He mingled with the seminar
attendees as if he was at another networking event. I believe God
will restore whatever Landon lost, and who knows, I might be the
agent to sell him a $500,000 home.”

Her friend’s chuckle turned into an annoying
laugh. “I want to see his credit score and be at that closing.” She
tee-heed some more. “I doubt Kmart would give him a credit
card.”

“Stop hatin’.” Octavia frowned, offended by
her friend’s remarks. “It’s the grace of God that we have a home,
job, car and everything else. You don’t know Landon’s story.” She
settled at her desk—the small space she rented every month—and
pulled out her laptop.

“So what’s his story?” Terri lifted an
eyebrow.

“Don’t know, but I have a good feeling about
him. Landon is a fighter, and he’ll get back into the ring.”
Octavia got up and strolled into the small kitchen and placed a
sack lunch in the office refrigerator, then scanned the daily
message board.

Terri was on her heels. “You have a lot of
confidence in a man you know little about. What you see with that
man is what you get: nothing. That also goes for James. What you
see is what you get.”

“Is James paying you a commission to sell him
to me or something?” Terri had never been so resolved about any
other man she had tried to set her up with.

“Nope. I know a good man when I see one.”
Terri leaned closer. “If you wanted to, I bet you could have that
man eating out of your hands.”

A puppy. She smiled. Hadn’t she felt as if
she was treating Landon like a stray dog the night she left him at
Mac’s Place? “I’m sure James is everything you say, but Landon is a
soul who needs help.”

“And I need bridge work, but my dentist isn’t
volunteering free services. Weeks ago when I teased you about male
companionship, I didn’t think you would go to the salvage yard and
pick one out. I just get a sense he’s using you. Didn’t you say he
doesn’t want to go to church? So when are you going to cut him
loose? Surely, Mr. McCoy or Rossi could pick up the slack from
here.”

“Neither does James, but he won’t come out
and say it. We’re done here.” Octavia doctored her coffee and
returned to her desk. Terri sulked back to hers. If Octavia was a
train engine, she would be spewing steam out the stack. She calmed
down and said a prayer, then got up and strolled to Terri and
waited while another agent asked a question. When they were alone
again, Octavia took a seat. “We’ve been friends for a long time.
Let’s keep it that way. You’ve crossed the line with that hurtful
statement about another human being. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear
that because no friend of mine would ever say something that
demeaning. Now, I’m drawn to Landon for God’s purpose, which is
unknown to me. I like him as an individual. We may even become
friends at some point. As for now, I’m reaching back and praying
him forward.”

“I just feel you can do better than spending
time with him.” Terri looked away, contrite. “My apologies.” Her
eyes teared. “It was a bad choice of words. Sometimes you give so
much of yourself away and get nothing in return. I mean, the Bible
says the poor will be with us all the time.”

“Just so you know, I did invite James, but he
had other commitments,” she paused. “Don’t twist scriptures out of
context, T. If you really understood the entire passage, you would
know that a poor woman gave Jesus the best she had. Read it for
yourself in Matthew 26.”

Both of them were saved by the bell when the
phone rang and the call was for Terri. Octavia took a deep breath
and allowed her emotions to settle. How was Terri to know and even
understand that God had a GPS tracker on Landon’s soul?

Enough. It was one thing for Landon to occupy
her thoughts, but not her day. She had work to do. Back at her
desk, Octavia made follow-up calls, including to Frank Lindell from
the mixer.

“Octavia, I was hoping you would call sooner
than later. I’m meeting some colleagues for lunch, and I would like
for you to be my guest,” Frank didn’t waste time saying.

As long as he didn’t try to ogle any of her
body parts, which were well covered, despite the heat, they would
do fine. “Of course. When?” She pulled out her day planner.

“Now.”

“Now?”

“Actually, in about an hour. I’m leaving my
office now.”

“Okay…” She scribbled the name and address to
use the GPS ap on her phone, then ended the call.

As she grabbed her purse and locked her desk,
Terri asked, “Where are you going?”

“To lunch.”

“But you brought yours.” Terri frowned.

“True, but I can’t turn down a lunch
invitation from Frank Lindell at the Algonquin Club Country.”

“Ooh.” Terri nodded. “No, you can’t! That’s
how you make that Million Dollar Club,” she paused. “You know I
love you and I’m in your corner?”

“I know,” she replied softly, “but every now
and then someone needs a friend. Remember that.” She waved. “I’m
gone for the day. I have two showings later.”

As she drove, her mind revisited her argument
with Terri. Landon didn’t come across as a man who used people.
Should she be concerned? A passage from Galatians 6 came swiftly.
Be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if
you don’t faint. The opportunity is there. Do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

The GPS guided her onto a two-lane road. A
white wooded fence that sectioned off the golf course led her to
the entrance of Algonquin Golf Club: private members only. She had
heard from other agents that it was considered an elite golf and
country club in St. Louis. She saw why and wondered how many
African-Americans had been members since it opened more than one
hundred years ago.