Businesswoman Chapter 70

The voice sounded clean but raspy somehow. A tenderness remained in it. “I know you,” he said.

“Call me Loreen, please, Reverend,” Businesswoman encouraged. “Tell me your story before you talk about this space.”

“Well, Loreen,” Pastor Freedmont said, “I’d been in prison for twenty years. I got saved when I was in there. When I came out, I could only find menial work. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, ‘Build me a church.’ So, I figured out a way to do that. I’ve got about five hundred parishioners. I don’t think you can call it a ‘megachurch’ just yet but we’re pretty strong.”

“Yes, I just wanted to match up your story with the research I’ve already conducted. You were imprisoned for tax evasion, tax fraud and robbery.”

“But by the grace of God, he delivered me.”

“While I’m no believer in the unknown and unknowable, I can still aid you in your business. If you can present your tax information, we can see how much we can save you and prevent you from going back to the penitentiary.”

He drew up on his computer. Everything from the power to water to prayer cloths showed on the screen. Most of it looked like the numbers had been out of place.

“I’m glad you called me. You may have been on your way to the prison walls again. I can rearrange all of this into a cohesive whole. Every figure will not only be accounted for, but also will process automatically.”

“You can do that? I guess that’s why they call you Businesswoman.”

Loreen smiled. “I may not approve of your ideas, but I respect anyone who wants to do right,” she intoned.

Freedmont chuckled a bit and shook hands with Loreen and showed her the spacious sanctuary.