Beyond Temptation Read Free Page B

office?”
    “Does there have to be a reason?” Morgan asked, putting his bottle down.
    Donovan released a long-suffering sigh. “For you, yes. So spill your guts. Get it out.”
    Morgan glanced away for a moment and when he returned his gaze to Donovan he saw the questions lodged in the darkness of the eyes staring back at him. Knowing he couldn’t waste any more time he said, “There are two reasons that I wanted to meet with you. The first is to let you know that I met with Edward Dunlap again.”
    Donovan nodded and lightly rubbed his chin, regarding his brother intently. “Does that mean you’ve finally made a decision about running for that city council at-large seat in the fall?” he asked his brother.
    He’d known that for years a number of the African American leaders around town wanted Morgan to strongly consider a political career. He had charisma, charm and an ingrained sense of doing what was right. His community service—as well as his public service record—was astonishingand included such notable accomplishments as leading Charlotte’s Economic Development and Planning Council.
    Another plus was that Morgan had been born and raised in Charlotte. The Steeles were one of the first families to begin a black-owned business that now employed a lot of people and who didn’t hesitate to pay their employees a very decent salary.
    Another plus Donovan knew Morgan had in his cap was the Steele Corporation’s infrastructure. They were a company that believed in being loyal to the people who worked for them. When they had a chance to make a bigger profit by outsourcing a lot of their production department, they had refused since it would have meant putting over five hundred people out of a job.
    Yes, there was no doubt in Donovan’s mind that if Morgan ever decided to seek a political office he would get it. Some even had him pegged as the man who would eventually become the city’s first black mayor.
    Only a selected number of individuals were born to be public servants, and he’d always felt that Morgan was one of them. And although Morgan downplayed such, Donovan knew that deep down Morgan did want to become a political candidatemainly because of his ingrained sense of always wanting to help people.
    “No. I haven’t made a decision, but I am giving it more thought than I did before. Dunlap feels the time is right. He’s also afraid if I don’t run, Roger Chadwick will, and both you and I know if that happens he will hurt the city more than help it.”
    Donovan chuckled harshly. “That’s an understatement.”
    “I have to know that I have certain things in place before making my final decision, and one of them involves you,” Morgan said.
    “Me?”
    “Yes. You. I’d like you to be my campaign manager if I do decide to run.”
    Donovan smiled proudly. That meant Morgan being a candidate was a high likelihood. “Consider it done.”
    Morgan nodded. “Thanks. Now for the other reason I wanted to meet with you. I met with Lena today because I’ve decided to sell my house and plan to buy a new one. She’ll be handling both transactions for me.”
    Donovan looked at him and shook his head. “It’s your house to do as you please with, but I’m surprised you’d want to sell it. You’ve alwaystalked about how much you like your home. According to you it was the ‘perfect’ house.”
    “It still is, which is why I wanted to meet with you.”
    Donovan leaned back in his chair. The expression on his face was one indicating he was clearly confused. “Evidently, I’m missing some point here, so maybe you ought to go ahead and tell me what I got to do with you selling your house.”
    Morgan picked up his beer bottle and took another sip. “Lena mentioned that once I put my house on the market she’d probably begin showing it to a lot of people.”
    Donovan rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s usually how it works.”
    “That’s all well and good,” Morgan said, ignoring