Page 156 of The Love of Priest

Priest had received nothing but bad treatment by the police. When he was coming up, he had it worse. He got treated like he was less than just because of his race. Now that he was in a position of power, he vowed to do whatever he could to prevent young boys who were just like him from having to deal with the discriminatory treatment of the police.

Leila sat in silence briefly, thinking over the proposition Priest had just laid out for her. She cleared her throat before leaning in closer to the table. "What do you want?" she asked in a hushed tone so no one could hear that she was actually going with this plan. Priest had proven how cutthroat he was with Bill. Leila didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"For now, a shopping plaza." He shrugged his shoulders, not finding his request to be too much.

Leila heaved out a sigh of frustration as she took a look around to ensure that she wasn't being listened to. "I can't get you a whole shopping plaza, Priest. That's crazy," she gritted in distress.

Priest shrugged his shoulder, unwilling to hear her excuses. "Make it happen. I'll give you a week before I put all my money behind Dante Lakes and get you the fuck out of that office." He knew his power and ability to destroy anything in his path was intimidating to Leila, so he wasn’t up to negotiating the terms he already had set in his mind.

Leila glared at Priest. She hated how much he knew the system and used it to his advantage. Bill had really fucked up when he took Priest's conniving ass under his wing. "We have a deal," she agreed.

Beside her, Leila's husband Walter let out a loud scoff of disbelief. "Leila, you can't possibly agree to this," he finally spoke up in hopes of having his wife back out of the agreement.

"Shut the hell up," J'Ru spat at Walter. "We just sat here and bitched your wife for a whole hour, and your scary ass ain't say not a word. Now, all of a sudden, you got something to say?" J'Ru shamed Walter for his lack of defense for his wife.

"Should've just sat there and ate your food," Jazzy mumbled with a shake of her head, causing Priest, Kaymen, J'Ru and Britain to laugh.

Now that the deal with Leila was set in stone, Priest advised her that she would be receiving a contract so there wouldn't be any discrepancies between them. If she delivered, then he would deliver. Simple as that.

The program for the gala ran smoothly. There were a few performances and lengthy speeches that bored Priest to death. Leila had taken up a great amount of time on stage simply talking about how she planned to better the community as if she hadn't been given more than enough time to set her plan in motion. Priest really let everything go through one ear and out the other.

"Everything you ever imagined?" Priest asked Britain before applying a light kiss onto her cheek. They were currently standing on the dance floor in each other's arms, sharing a slow dance.

Britain shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't expect for my man to be in an intense business deal with the mayor." She side-eyed him.

Priest chuckled. "I know. I should have warned you. Sorry," he apologized as he peered down at her.

"It's fine. I like seeing that side of you." She smirked up at him as she readjusted her arms around his neck while his massive hands gripped her sides.

A smile graced Priest’s face. "I turned you on, didn't I?" he heckled her, causing Britain to suppress her laughter with a roll of her eyes.

"Get over yourself." Britain hit his chest lightly.The music came to an end, and so did their dance. As Priest was ushering Britain back to the table, he kept his arms wrapped around her from behind.

"You looking really good right now," he whispered into her ear before kissing her on the cheek.

Britain beamed with a smile. "Thank you, P. You made this happen," she praised him.

Priest shook his head. "Give yourself credit. I just saw your potential," he claimed, causing Britain's heart to warm at his truth. Priest loved her exactly how she wanted to be loved. He encouraged her, stood by her, and reminded her of her beauty. The little things he said made her fall more and more in love with him by the day.

As they neared the table, Priest halted at the sight of Paula standing at the table having conversation with Leila, J'Ru and Jazzy.

"That's Paula, isn't it?" Britain asked. Her eyes graced over the woman who had a gorgeous smile that complimented her dimple-indented face. Priest really wasn't kidding when he told her that Paula was beautiful. Her bronze skin radiated in the lighting of the gala. Her classic black gown fit her slim frame perfectly. Paula’s look was sleek and minimal, but it still grabbed the attention of others. She was an absolute beauty.

"We don't have to go over there if you don't want to," he offered Britain.

Britain cleared her throat, ridding any nerves that arose at the sight of Priest's past. "No, I'm fine," she assured Priest. "We can go have a seat.”

"You sure? I don't want you feeling uncomfortable." Paula had a way of being overbearing. The last thing he wanted was for Britain to feel as though Paula was overstepping.

Britain nodded her head in clarification, confirming that she was fine, and they continued to the table. Priest pulled the seat out for Britain before taking his seat next to her.

"Priest." Paula smiled at him.

He shifted his eyes from Britain and set them onto Paula. He simply motioned his head toward her, not speaking a word. Paula let out a light laugh since she knew Priest wouldn't greet her. He knew how to hold a grudge when he wanted to, and the grudge against her was definitely still there.

"It's nice to see you again," she continued speaking to him.

He paid her no mind. He simply averted his attention to Britain, holding her hand in his. "C'mon, Paula. Don't do this here." He shook his head, his face etched with annoyance. He didn't want to have a conversation with Paula in front of everyone. She didn't even deserve a conversation from him, so he wasn't even going to entertain her.

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