Ruthless

by Shelia M. Goss

Genres: African American Christian; African American Women's Fiction; Christian Fiction

Synopsis

Shelia M. Goss brings readers a modern day retelling of David and Bathsheba. Bathsheba Richards has just discovered that she has a half-sister who needs her help. Sheba's long lost sister isn't too happy about their reunion, though, since she has a lot of problems of her own. Sheba's dealing with her husband's boss, who wants her all to himself. After succumbing to his advances, Sheba gets pregnant, and there's no question about who the daddy is, since her husband has been overseas for the past three months. David King is the CEO of one of the largest media conglomerates in the country. Few people know that David has a calling on his life, but he's been running from it. He thought having fame and fortune would fulfill the need. Only after Sheba gets pregnant does he realize the error of his ways. Praying for God's mercy, David tries to right a wrong. Whether he will succeed or fail remains to be seen. With a long lost half-sister and a husband who will surely feel betrayed, Sheba's life is filled with turmoil. Will David be her knight in shining armor as he professes to be, or is her nightmare just beginning?

Release date: January 1, 2012

Publisher: Urban Christian

Print pages: 304

Sample

Sheba rushed out of the bathroom to answer the phone. The sound of her husband’s voice was on the other end. “Uriah, I told you I’m coming.”

“Hurry up. I want you to meet my boss before he leaves.”

“Give me ten more minutes. I’m getting dressed now.” Sheba sat on the edge of the bed and finished drying off. She had worked up a sweat from shopping, so she wanted to take a shower before changing into the new dress.

“I don’t know why you had to get a new outfit. Now you’re late. There was nothing wrong with the dress you had.”

Sheba loved Uriah, but they had two different views when it came to money and spending it. She loved the finer things in life, and he was a tightwad. She had hoped that with him getting the new job, he would stop tripping about the amount of money she spent.

“You want me to make a good impression with your new boss, don’t you?” Sheba asked. She removed the sheer hosiery from its package and put it on as they talked.

“Yes, of course.”

“Then trust me. When you see me in the new dress, you’ll be glad I bought it.”

They ended their call. Twenty minutes later, Sheba, dressed in a floor-length silver gown with a slit, cascaded into the hotel ballroom as if she was the queen of the ball. Men and women stared at her as she stopped to scan the room, in search of her husband. She was aware of her natural beauty, so she automatically ignored their glances.

She noticed a hand waving in the air. It was Uriah. She walked in his direction. The slit moved to the rhythm of her pace and showed her well-toned legs as she walked. The man standing with Uriah turned around to face her. His eyes seemed to pierce straight through her. Since he was a public figure, she recognized him immediately. He was the well-known David King. The CEO of DM King Media and Uriah’s new boss.

She flashed her one-thousand-kilowatt smile and graciously walked up to where Uriah and David stood. Uriah reached his hand out for her, and she grabbed it. He kissed her on the cheek. Not once did she take her eyes off David. She could see why women flocked to David. He was a very attractive man. He stood at least six feet tall and had broad shoulders and naturally wavy brownish-red hair. He was what her friends would call a pretty boy.

“Mr. King, I want you to meet my beautiful wife, Bathsheba.” Uriah smiled as he made the introduction.

Sheba held her hand out to David. “Call me Sheba. It’s nice to meet you.”

David’s hand seemed to hold on to hers longer than necessary. “The pleasure is all mine.” Without taking his eyes off Sheba, David said, “Uriah, you didn’t tell me you were married to a model.”

Sheba continued to smile. She was never one to be bashful, but something about David made her feel a little uneasy. “You’re too kind, Mr. King,” Sheba said.

“It’s David, and I’m telling you the truth.” He winked his eye.

Sheba could feel Uriah’s hand on the small of her back. “Well, David, thank you for the compliment.”

An awkward silence fell among the three of them.

David finally broke the silence. “Uriah, don’t forget there are two settings for you and your lovely wife at my table. Dinner will be served in about fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” Uriah responded as they watched David leave to go speak with someone else.

Uriah led Sheba to a table near the front of the room. He held out her chair. She took a seat and waited for him to sit before saying, “So how did I do?”

“Now, you know when you told me the meeting was in Dallas, I would have no problem taking off work. I love shopping in Dallas.”

“I know. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you. I hate to get next month’s credit card statement.”

“Dear, you’re making six figures, so why shouldn’t I be able to splurge every now and then? Besides, I have my own money. I didn’t work my butt off to be an RN for nothing.” Sheba tilted her head and recalled the hard work it took for her to achieve her goal to become a registered nurse. She’d worked many long hours at one of the Shreveport, Louisiana, area hospitals before getting her license.

“But most of your money goes toward your spending habits. For once, I would like to buy myself something,” Uriah complained.

“Don’t I always buy you something?” Sheba asked. She rolled her eyes. “Here we go again. Arguing over the money I’m spending. This argument is getting old.”

“Let’s talk about this later. I don’t need you embarrassing me in front of my coworkers, and especially my boss.” Uriah turned his back to Sheba and started talking to the man sitting on the opposite side of him.

Sheba looked up and across the table and into David’s hazel brown eyes. He flashed a smile. She glanced away. Uriah’s actions had upset her. She wanted to leave but knew how important this event was to him, so she chose to put her feelings aside and pretend to have a good time.

Dinner was served. Sheba remained quiet throughout dinner. She spoke only when spoken to.

Uriah placed his hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed it. He leaned closer to her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Forgive me?”

With a half smile forming on her face, Sheba responded, “Fine.”

“I can tell you’re still mad at me.”

“We can talk about this later, Uriah.”

“Dance with me. Maybe that’ll make you feel better,” he said.

“I don’t feel like dancing,” Sheba replied. She loved to dance, and the song that was playing was one of her favorites. Uriah knew she could be stubborn, so why he had chosen to upset her now, she didn’t know.

“Just one song. I want everyone to see what good dancers you and I are.”

Sheba made the mistake of looking into her husband’s eyes. She was a sucker for his puppy dog eyes. Looking into them, she couldn’t resist giving him what he wanted. She pushed her chair away from the table. “Come on. One dance.”

Uriah led them to the dance floor. Although it was a mid-tempo song, he pulled her closer into his arms. “You know you’re the prettiest woman here tonight, don’t you?”

“Tell me anything to get back on my good side.”

“Baby, you know we’re trying to save up for another house. That’s why I want you to curb your spending.”

“It’s not like we can’t afford the things I buy.” She held on to his arm as he dipped her.

“For now, let’s forget about all of that and just enjoy each other,” Uriah said.

Sheba pushed the conversation to the back of her mind. The next song was an old-school number by Kool & the Gang. She snapped her fingers and moved from side to side like her husband. She turned her body around, and when she looked up, David stood near the dance floor, watching them with a sly grin on his face.

David’s date for the evening was a tall brunette named Majorie Logan. “I wish you would look at me like you’re looking at her,” Majorie whined.

David stopped staring at Sheba, the beautiful woman who captivated him the moment he saw her in the shower, and gave Majorie his full attention. “What, Majorie? You got my attention. You want to dance, too? Come on.”

Before she could protest, David pulled Majorie onto the dance floor. She could dance, but her body didn’t seem to have the smooth rhythm of Sheba’s. David found himself stealing a glance in Sheba’s and Uriah’s direction. To his disappointment, they were no longer on the dance floor.

After finishing out the song, David grabbed Majorie’s hand. “I think I’ll sit this next one out.”

Majorie kept up his pace. When they became stationary, she said, “David, this has been fun, but I know when it’s time for me to bounce. Good luck.” She got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

“Majorie, you don’t have to.”

She placed her index finger over his lips. “Shh. No need to apologize. I’ll have your driver drop me off at home.”

David escorted her outside. “Bye, Majorie,” David said.

“Good-bye, David,” she responded right after entering the limousine.

David waited until the limousine had driven away before returning inside. He got a glance of a silver dress going toward the restrooms. He would know that body anywhere. He looked around for Uriah. Uriah was nowhere in sight. Instead of going back to the ballroom, David went in the opposite direction and headed toward the restrooms.

He pulled out his iPhone and sent Uriah a quick text message. He wanted Uriah to keep some of his investors entertained until he returned. Once he received confirmation back from Uriah that he’d received his text, David placed his phone back in his inside jacket pocket.

A young lady who worked for the hotel walked in his direction. When it appeared she was going into the restroom, David stopped her. “Can you tell the woman that’s in there that someone’s waiting for her outside?”

“Sure,” the young lady responded.

David slipped her a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill.

The young lady looked at him. “Do you need me to do anything else?” she asked.

“No, that will be all,” he responded.

A few minutes later Sheba exited the restroom and looked around. She paused when she saw David. “Is everything okay? Where’s Uriah?”

David responded, “Uriah’s fine.”

Sheba sighed. “I thought something was wrong. Are you the one who sent the girl into the bathroom for me?”

“Guilty as charged,” David admitted. His hand flew up to his chest in a bashful manner.

“Why? Where’s my husband?” Sheba’s forehead wrinkled.

“He’s handling some business for me right now, so he’s occupied.” A mischievous grin was plastered on David’s face.

“Fine. I’m about to head back and wait for him at our table.”

“Why don’t you walk and talk with me for a minute?” David asked as he walked closer to her.

Her floral fragrance filled his nostrils as he inhaled her scent. He had to stop himself from reaching out to her. He placed his hands in his pockets as they walked to the opposite end of the hotel.

“Uriah’s one of my best employees. Hiring him was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

“He enjoys working for you.”

“That’s good to hear. He’s done a great job overseeing my Shreveport affiliate.”

“I will have to let him know to keep up the good work.”

David opened the door leading to the balcony. “After you.”

“Maybe I should get back,” Sheba said as she stopped in front of the door.

“Uriah’s still busy. Enjoy the view.”

Sheba stood and thought for a second and then followed David out onto the balcony. The other people on the balcony went back inside the hotel. David watched Sheba from the corner of his eye as she leaned on the rail. They both stared in silence at the beautiful view of downtown Dallas .

David eased near Sheba and said, barely above a whisper, “Sheba, I have to be honest with you. I find you to be a very attractive woman.”

Sheba turned to face him. “I’m also happily married. And I do stress the word happily,” she said.

“You didn’t look too happy at the dinner table earlier. I could tell you two were having some type of disagreement,” he said.

“That’s what married couples do. We sometimes disagree. It doesn’t mean we’re unhappy, though.”

“What if I told you I could make your money problems go away?” David had overheard Uriah speaking with Sheba earlier about their finances. David knew he was crossing the line, but he had to have Sheba.

“Cool. That means I can tell Uriah that you’ll be giving him a raise.” Sheba batted her long black eyelashes.

David laughed. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

“Well, what exactly did you mean, Mr. King?”

Before David could respond, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. “Hold that thought.” He glanced at the phone. “That’s one of my Hong Kong buyers. I need to take this call.”

“Good-bye, Mr. King,” Sheba said as she quickly retreated from the balcony, leaving David alone.

David wanted to protest, but duty came before women. That had always been his motto, and he wasn’t going to disregard it, no matter how much he wanted Sheba. David spent the next thirty minutes putting out fires at his Hong Kong office. Once he was satisfied that the vice president of operations could handle the rest, he ended the call.

When he returned to the ballroom, Sheba was nowhere to be found. “Uriah, where’s your beautiful wife?” he inquired, after approaching his employee.

“She was feeling tired, so I told her I would meet her in the room.”

“Thank you for talking to those investors for me. Look for a bonus on your next check,” David said as he patted Uriah on the back.

“Thank you, Mr. King.”

David remained in the ballroom until everyone had left. He didn’t feel like going home to his empty mansion, so instead he checked into one of the executive suites. He poured himself a glass of apple juice and sat back in the huge plush chair in the living room area. He leaned back and closed his eyes, not to sleep but to meditate.

“Lord, I know that your word says in Proverbs six not to ‘Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.’ Well, Lord, it’s too late. Bathsheba Richards has gotten under my skin, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

David heard a whisper. “Yield not to temptation.”

David’s eyes popped open. The room was empty.

“Ever since we got back from Dallas, you’ve been acting a little funny,” Uriah said to Sheba over dinner the Monday following their weekend trip to Dallas.

“Baby, we had a full weekend. The shopping, the partying. I’m not as young as I used to be.” Sheba wasn’t tired physically, but mentally. She had been debating what to do about David. Ever since the night he led her onto the balcony, she hadn’t been able to keep him off her mind. She knew he’d wanted to do more than just talk. She’d been prepared to turn him down, but he didn’t seem like the type of man to take no for an answer.

Uriah stuck his chest out. “I know it’s hard to keep up with big daddy and things. I gave you a full workout this weekend, so maybe we need to put you on some vitamins.”

Sheba pushed David out of her thoughts and laughed. “Big daddy, I don’t need any vitamins. At thirty-one, I look better than those twenty-year-olds.”

Uriah licked his lips. “Yes, you do, baby. Well, I just wanted to make sure my baby was doing okay.”

“Baby, I’m fine. Just regretting I switched shifts with one of my coworkers.”

“I don’t like you working graveyard.”

“It’s only for this week, and then I’ll be back on my regular schedule,” Sheba assured him.

After dinner Sheba dressed for work. She was barely through the hospital doors when one of her coworkers and longtime friends pulled her to the side. Annette Johnson said, “Yesterday we had a patient admitted, and you’re not going to believe this.”

“What?” Sheba asked.

“She looks just like your mother. I looked at her chart, and you both have the same last name.”

“Did you ask her if she knew me?” Sheba asked.

“Well, not exactly. She’s unconscious. Someone shot her, and she lost a lot of blood. Right now the doctor’s aren’t sure if she’s going to make it.”

Sheba’s heart rate increased. “I need to see her.”

Annette waited outside as Sheba entered the ICU room. The patient had a visitor. The teary-eyed woman never looked up. The woman said to Sheba, “Please tell me you came bearing good news.”

“I’m sorry. I just stopped by to see her,” Sheba said. Sheba picked up her chart, and there it was in black and white. The patient had her maiden name. Even with all the tubes hooked up to her body and a swollen face, Sheba knew this had to be the woman her mother had been looking for all of Sheba’s life.

“You know Delilah?” The woman glanced up. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. She peered at Sheba and then down at Delilah.

“I think she might be my sister,” Sheba blurted out.

“She never told me she had a sister.” The woman stared at Sheba in disbelief.

“She didn’t know. I just found out myself. I’ve been looking for her for two years now.” Sheba stood near the bed and couldn’t take her eyes off Delilah.

“Well, apparently, you didn’t look for her too hard. She’s been right here in Shreveport.” The woman had stood up and was now on the opposite side of the bed.

“I’m still not sure she’s my sister, but she has to be. Too many coincidences.”

“I can’t believe the resemblance.”

“Are you one of her friends?” Sheba asked.

“Yes, I’m Keisha.” Keisha’s face softened.

“Keisha, I’m Bathsheba, but everyone calls me Sheba.”

Just then a police officer walked in the room. The blond-haired police officer said, “We were checking to see if the patient was conscious. We’re still trying to find out who did this to your friend, Mrs. Graham.”

“It’s Ms. Graham, and I think I know who did it,” Keisha responded.

“Let’s step out of the room and give them their privacy,” the officer stated.

“It’s okay. I’m supposed to be working, but I’ll stay here until you get back,” Sheba said to Keisha.

Keisha and the officer stepped out of the room and closed the door. Sheba could see them through the glass window. She walked near the bed to get a closer look at Delilah Baker.

“Even with all the bruises, you look just like Mama,” she whispered to the woman who could be her sister. “Too bad Mama died last year, before I could find you.” The noise from the machines filled the room. Sheba went on to say, “She loved you. She had to give you up because her parents wouldn’t let her keep you. She tried to find you when she turned eighteen, but no one would tell her where you were.”

Sheba looked up, as if to the heavens, and said, “Mama, I found your little girl.”

Delilah’s eyes fluttered open, and the alarm on one of the machines went off. Sheba did what she was trained to do as a registered nurse. The door to the room flew open as some of the other hospital staff came in to assist.

A doctor yelled, “Her pressure is dropping. Someone give me the defibrillator stat.”

One of the nurses yelled, “Bathsheba, this isn’t your unit. What are you doing here?”

Sheba stuttered, “Sh-she’s my sister.”

“Let us handle it from here,” the ICU nurse said.

Sheba moved to the side and said a silent prayer. She couldn’t lose Delilah. She was her only link to her mother. “Please, God. Please spare her life.”

The beeping noise from the machine sounded normal again. The doctor said, “Did you say you were her sister?”

“Yes. Well, I thi. . .