Page 213 of Sing with Me

“You forgot something.”

“Oh?” When was the last time he had forgotten anything important?

“Flowers for your girlfriend.”

Diehl stared at Jodie. “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do know, Mr. Brooks.”

With that, Diehl knew that his trusted assistant was about to spill into her “if you asked me” routine. He waited.

“Do you know how my two husbands lost me?” Jodie asked.

“Incompatibility?”

“Nope. That was the fun part. The problem was time. They never had time for me. I don’t know why I kept finding men who wouldn’t spend time with me before or after work—except to produce children.”

Diehl wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear any personal stories.

“This is not personal,” Jodie said.

Whoa. She read my mind.

“This is about the health of the company your grandfather started—that’s paying my salary and the salaries of hundreds of other people. If you go down, we go down. When you burned out in May…” Her voice trailed off. A second later, she steeled herself. “I thought we were going to lose our jobs.”

“No, that wasn’t going to happen.”

“Thank God—if there is a God.”

“There is.” Diehl smiled. “It was a good thing that I took a couple of months off. I found God—and His only begotten Son, Jesus. My life has changed. It’s all different now—my perspective, point of view, purpose, plan. All different.”

“Then why are you working yourself to the ground again?”

Good question. “Well, I’m trying to focus on work…”

“At the expense of your own personal welfare?”

“We’re at a crossroad here.”

“Is your God not bigger than your crossroad?” Jodie asked.

Diehl was stunned. Coming from a non-Christian, the question was theologically profound.

“Send her flowers,” Jodie repeated.

“Skye?”

“Is there another?”

“No.”

“Then why haven’t you sent her flowers or chocolate or something? Do you even know what she likes?”

To be honest, Diehl didn’t.

“Let me call her office and ask her assistant.”

“She doesn’t have an assistant.”

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