Page 155 of The Love of Priest

"With a reputation like yours, you wouldn’t even qualify," Leila waved him off.

Priest shrugged his shoulders with another light laugh. "Check my stats, Leila. With a reputation like mine, I still manage to do your job without the title or the authority. I might as well be up there in office."

Leila rolled her eyes, not finding anything he was saying convincing. "What is this to you, a game?"

Priest tilted his head to the side, his eyes glimmering in amusement. "If it were, you wouldn’t be on the scoreboard.”

"Excuse me?" she snarled, clearly offended by Priest's sly remark.

"Let's be realistic here" Priest sat up and cleared his throat.

By now, tension had risen around the table, leaving everyone but Priest, Kaymen, and J'Ru uncomfortable. They knew the plan, and Priest was executing it perfectly.

"Everything you have in motion for the community right now is what Bill had already set in stone, and you're doing a half-ass job of continuing it. And let me not forget to remind you that everything that Bill started came from me. I was his community outsourcer, sort of like a liaison between him and the community. No one knows those streets, that neighborhood, or those people like I do, not even you. Plus, if you really want me to hit you where it hurts, you're a poor excuse of a black woman since you really lean toward the culture you married into." Priest glanced from Leila to her Caucasian husband who was growing redder by the second.

Britain wanted to cut in and just stop Priest from continuing any further. How could he just be so comfortable talking to the mayor in that way? Britain wasn't sure what was going on, and at the moment, she was afraid to find out.

Priest shifted his attention to his Piguet watch that was nestled cozily in his wrest. "We got about three hours left here. If you're ready, I can give you a play by play of what I've been doing for my community while you've been busy going around the city leaching off every successful person with nothing else better to do besides fund your upcoming campaign." Priest spoke with so much authority that Mayor Jenkins couldn't help but feel shallow in her seat.

Her hazel brown eyes glanced around the table, seeing everyone's eyes on her, awaiting her response to Priest.

"What are you doing that I'm not already doing?" Lelia smacked her lips before taking a sip of her champagne.

Priest let out a hearty laugh while nodding his head in satisfaction. "Now we're having a conversation!" Leila was coming to her senses.

Priest averted his attention to Kaymen who was now invited into the conversation. If there was one thing Kaymen could do, it was speak facts, numbers, and ethics. He paid attention, even when others thought he wasn't.

"With elections coming up in a few months, you've been using your time wisely to get out in the community to speak and gain support. Sadly, you've been focusing on the wrong part of the community—" Before Kaymen could continue, Leila lifted her hand, interrupting him.

"I'm sorry. Who are you again?" She furrowed her brows in question.

Kaymen flashed her a light smile. "I'm someone you should wish you had on your team instead of against you." He shrugged his shoulders. "If you want to continue to be mayor for the next four years, I suggest you don't interrupt me."

J'Ru couldn't contain the laugh that exploded out of him. Kaymen was the quiet one, but when he spoke, everyone’s best bet was to listen.

"Back to what I was saying. I checked your supporters' demographics, and did you know you lacked the black vote more than all the other potential candidates running for your spot?" Kaymen raised a brow at Leila who shifted in her seat in embarrassment. She was the only black politician in the race for heaven's sake. Everyone assumed she was getting the black vote, but she wasn't.

Leila cleared her throat. "Yes, but that's only because those people aren't interested in voting," she scoffed.

J'Ru sat up, his face contorted into a mean mug. "Those people?"he asked her, offended by how she was referring to her own kind. "Last time I checked, you were one of those people. Don't let the fact that you’re getting bent over by that cracker next to you whitewash you into thinking your negro ass ain't one of us."

Leila clenched her jaws. "Excuse me!"

J'Ru was on the verge of finishing her deranged ass off with more insults, but Kaymen stopped him. "You don't even gotta do all that, bro. Let me educate her," Kaymen assured J'Ru before averting his attention back to Leila.

"The reason you're not getting the black vote isn't because we aren't going out to vote. It's because you don't care to get us to vote for you. You don’t host any events in the community. You don’t visit any schools. Hell, you don’t even have any posters set up with your face on them to encourage them to vote for you. You’re sitting high in a seat that was handed to you because that sick bastard Billy pulled the trigger on himself. You think you have this shit in the bag when really those same black people you’ve been avoiding make or breaks whether or not you’ll get to sit your coon ass behind that desk once votes are in. You’re neglecting a demographic that makes up the majority of the very city you wish to win over," Kaymen explained to her, causing a look of surprise to mask Leila’s face. She had gotten arrogant and thought she had a good chance of being reelected since she had done such great damage control after Bill’s suicide. She didn’t care to realize that the people were looking for more than her cleaning up a scandal. They wanted to know how she would be beneficial to their day-to-day lives.

"The city has a 53 percent majority of black people, and instead of trying to convince them you would be the best mayor, you spent your time, effort, and campaign dollars on white motherfuckas who will barely remember your name when they see it on the ballot," Kaymen chuckled, pitying Leila for the loss she was about to take in the upcoming election. “Have you even checked your opponent, Dante Lakes' numbers? He's having a field day with your ass. You wanna know why?" Leila swallowed down sharply, too embarrassed to cave in and ask Kaymen why.

Kaymen picked up on the shame that filled her eyes, prompting a smirk to grace his face as he enlightened Leila tauntingly with the reason. "Because he has the black vote.”

Leila cut her eyes in Priest’s direction. "What do you want?" she asked him. Priest had her back against the wall with all these facts. It only meant that he had a way to trick the system and get her what she wanted: a win.

"I like to win, so having me on your side is your best bet." Priest shrugged his shoulders suggestively. "Like I was for Bill, I would be your community outsource. I'll handle the school improvements, transportation funding, housing assistance, police defunding and everything else that can serve as aid to the community," Priest proposed to Leila.

"Police defunding? You can't be serious?" She shook her head.

Priest scoffed. "You really think a man like myself would fund the police? You have a crooked-ass department on your hands. I'd be a fool to sell out for your sake."

---