Hans walked into his father’s office and saw him lying down in his old, regal, velvet blue couch. “Forty nine years in ministry and you persist in your refusal to change that couch.”

“Keeps me humble, son. This couch was given to me by the-“

“First pastor who ever saw anything good in you when you were a screw up. I know, dad. I’ve heard that story at least twenty-nine times in my years on earth.”

Bishop Ellis sat up. “What do you need, son?”

“Dad, I have good news. There’s been a major breakthrough in the negotiations for Upward Ministries. We ran into a little bit of an obstacle, but it’s been handled. The lawyers are ironing out the finer points of the deal, but I’m ready to set up a meeting between you and Reverend Christine Simmons at your earliest convenience once they let me know that they are good to go.”

Bishop Ellis sat quietly, making no facial expression at all. Hans sat down in the couch opposite his father, not sure what to make of his reaction or lack thereof. He’d expected the bishop to be elated at hearing that this deal that was so dear to his heart was on track to be completed shortly.

Bishop Ellis bowed his head for a while, then looked back up at Hans. “Son, this obstacle you have just cleared, does it have anything to do with the recent death of Elder Jordan Stevens?”

“Dad, Elder Jordan Stevens was a sick man who needed dialysis on a regular basis to survive. I did not take any action to hasten his death; he died peacefully. I’m giving you the legal answer because your lack of trust for me on a personal level, although painful, is something I understand in light of the unverified rumors you’ve heard about myself and Finn.”

That answer would’ve fooled anyone, but Bishop Ellis was far too seasoned to be just anyone. “Son, you’re clearly avoiding your very clear need to lie to me by giving me a long-winded answer. So I’ll do the opposite and be as plain as day with you: the second this deal is done, you, your brother and I are going to have a long conversation about the future of the Temple of Believers organization and your roles in it. Your behaviors are terribly unbecoming of the office of a pastor, and I have lost confidence in the two of you as leaders of our new era.”

Hans became enraged by this revelation from his father, and stood up. “Dad, you know, that high horse you’re on right now must be so far above the ground that your feet are hanging. You believe that your sons are using devious methods to get you what you really want, yet you continue to look the other way in the interest of getting the deal done. At any given time, you could pull the plug on the whole thing and it will all go away, but you haven’t. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that all you care about is that Upward Ministries comes into the fold; everything else is secondary. So while you sit here pontificating, I will go out there and continue to use my methods to achieve your goals. I will send word to you once the lawyers are done.”

He started to leave, but right as he got to the door, he turned to the highly-irritated bishop and said, “By the way, any plan that includes the removal of myself and/or Finn will be dead on arrival. You may be the head of this church, but the only way you can cut us out is to dissolve the board and I would love to see you try. Have a wonderful day, Father!”

With that, he left.

As irritated as the bishop was, he was even more saddened. His own son had just dared him, something which he’d never thought would happen. Until that moment, he’d held out hope that the boys would see the error of their ways and change. He was an old man whose strength was compromised, and he needed both of his sons to show that they could take the reins and continue his legacy. But now, Hans had blatantly disrespected him and basically called him a hypocrite. The boys may not have understood the importance of Upward Ministries to his plan, but now they would never know.

Meanwhile, he knew that whatever he was going to do about those boys needed to start now. So he got up, went to his desk and picked up the phone.

“May, could you please call Marcus Sam and let him know I need to see him? After that, please call Frank at Thames and tell him I’ll be stopping by tonight.”

****

Hans walked into Finn’s office and was about to slump into one of the two couches when Finn warned him, “My secretary and I just finished a three way on that couch with a sex addict who I was meant to be counseling and praying for.”

Hans looked at Finn in disgust, and was about to sit in the regular chair when Finn said, “That chair was involved in the tryst. Good times, brother.”

Hans just walked to the other couch and sat down as he said, “I don’t care if you peed in this one, I’m sitting here.”

Finn looked at Hans as though he had something to say, but then thought better of it and went back to typing.

Hans lay back in the couch and stared at the ceiling, bothered by what his father had said earlier. “Finn, did dad ever say why he sent Marcus to the meeting with the Upward Ministries board instead of being there himself?”

Finn responded while he continued to type, “Yeah, something about wanting him to pastor a branch in the future and serve under us when we eventually become the co-heads of the network of churches. Sounded like he wanted Marcus to learn the business, really. Why, something wrong?”

“Something dad said earlier, when I went to see him. Maybe I’m reading it wrong. Never mind. For real though, bro, you have to be more discreet. Romps in the office? People hear things and see things, man. You have to be careful.”

Finn said nothing while he typed the final line in his document. Once he had, he took his computer and went to show Hans, who read the document.

It was the guarantee for the payment to Reverend Christine and her board.

“Looks good, Finn. Remember to print it out and delete it from the computer right after. You know the risks.”

Finn put the computer back on the desk, and then sat down in the couch that Hans first avoided.

“So, you know that thing you told me not to do when we were out with the bishop a little while back?”

Hans sat up. “What did you do, Finn?”

“Well, I may have sent a honey trap.”

“Bro, I told you, messing with that man is a bad move. Did it at least work?”

Finn sighed, which was all the information Hans needed to know. “Who did you send, Finn? Do we know the person?”

Finn nodded.

“Does Marcus?”

Finn nodded. “He met her here the day of the board meeting. Apparently, she tried to flirt with him.”

It took Hans a second, but then he figured out who it was. “You sent Salma? You sent your secretary?”

Finn nodded and Hans immediately bowed his head. “What the hell is wrong with you? You sent a known face? The fact that she even agreed… oh my goodness!”

“Relax, bro. It’s not that serious. We can try again another day; I know she’ll get him.”

“Finn, you know dad’s going to hear about this, right? And this time, it won’t be some random rumor without a source; it’ll be an actual event with a person he trusts! Do you want us getting screwed on account of your stupidity? What the hell!”

“Uh huh, and then what? You think dad is going to punish me somehow when he never has before? He can’t even lift his cane, what makes you think he can do anything to me? Let the people talk, hell, let Marcus Sam go and snitch. I already know how to get out of it; I’ve been doing that all my life for crying out loud.”

“Finn, you don’t understand. Dad is trying to get rid of us. He made it clear to me today that once this deal is done, we’re out of here. I called his bluff but guy, do you see anyone being on our side with what they know about us? If you keep screwing church members and people you’re supposed to be counselling in this office on church grounds, how do you think that will affect a board vote to remove us from the organization entirely?”

Finn laughed, which annoyed Hans all the more. “Hans, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh but man, you need to chill! Remove us? We’re his only children. Bishop may be a little kooky in the head sometimes, but his legacy means too much to him for him to leave it in the hands of a stranger. He might not like the way we live, but that organization’s coming to us when he dies whether he likes it or not. Now breathe! Since when did you develop a problem with my partaking of the wonderful fish in this sea? Come on, brother, let a man enjoy good fruits.”

Finn continued laughing but Hans didn’t at all.

“Finn, there are things you fail to see which could cost you in the long run. We both know what I do, but I do it on the low and out of the public eye. You do it in front of everyone. It risks dad’s reputation and in this line of work, that’s all he’s got. I’ve tried to tell you time and again that one day he’ll do something about it, but you keep thinking he won’t. Now it may not be Marcus, but someone’s in line for our seats at the table, and I for one am not interested in giving mine up or seeing yours go.

“So straighten up, bro! Do whatever you want, but keep it on the low. And leave Marcus Sam out of this. I’ve told you, there’s something about that man. Now, I’m going to go drink and figure out how to stop our dad from throwing us off our rightful places. You coming?”

Hmm. These ‘men of God’ have a bigger issue to worry about than their father throwing them off their ‘rightful places’, if we’re being honest…