Faking Reality Read online

  “That should be enough,” Bishop Snow answered.

  “The viewing public wants to see more. They can walk into any church in America and hear a sermon or observe their pastor at his desk. We want to take them into your home and show them what goes on in your everyday life. This will be a groundbreaking television series.”

  “That’s right, Jimmy. You’ve watched Run’s House with me. He’s a minister, and you enjoyed watching him interact with his wife and children,” Yolanda said.

  Bishop Snow sighed heavily. “That’s different. Rev. Run was a celebrity before the reality TV show. You know I have no aspirations to be a celebrity pastor. I have nothing against anyone who does, but it simply isn’t me.” He picked up the contract and held it out toward Anderson. “I’m sorry, but my wife and I will not be able to do this.”

  Before Anderson could take the contract, Yolanda snatched it from her husband’s hand. “Why, Jimmy? You are always talking about how you want to reach more people. Now that you have the opportunity to reach millions, you are saying no.”

  “I would love to bring millions to Christ. You know that, Yolanda. But I don’t want millions of prying eyes coming into our home. I’m a simple, private person. Most of all, I’m a man of God. I will not allow TV cameras to come into our home and disrupt our lives.”

  “We don’t want to disrupt your lives at all. Of course, having cameras around will be an adjustment, but I promise that we’ll do our best not to be too intrusive,” Anderson said.

  Bishop Snow shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just don’t see how that’s possible.”

  “I’m sorry too, Bishop. I was really looking forward to you and Mrs. Snow being a part of this venture.” Anderson stood up to leave, while holding his hand out for the contract that Yolanda was clutching tightly.

  “Maybe you should leave us alone for a few moments. My husband and I need to discuss this in private,” Yolanda suggested. She walked over to the office door and opened it. “Give me a few moments to talk him into it,” she whispered to Anderson before closing the door.

  “Yolanda, I know you love reality TV shows, but let’s just stick to watching them, okay?”

  Plopping down in a chair, Yolanda folded her arms across her breasts. “You’re being unreasonable, Jimmy.”

  “I don’t think I am. You watch those shows all the time. You know they are full of nothing but drama. Why in the world do you want to be a part of that?”

  “You can’t blame the show for the drama in people’s lives. Besides, we don’t have any of that going on in our house.”

  He gave her a side-eyed look. “We have two typical teenagers at home. I love them both, but they are not perfect kids. We don’t have a perfect life.”

  “So what? We are a real family with real problems. That’s what the show is going to be about. You know some people think ministers and their wives never go through anything. This is our opportunity to show that we are just like everybody else.”

  “I don’t know about this. What will my parishioners think of me being involved in a reality television show?”

  Yolanda stood up from the chair and walked over to her husband. She stood behind his chair and lovingly wrapped her arms around his neck. She whispered sweetly in his ear, “They will be proud of their pastor. Besides, just think of all the people who will never walk into this church that you can reach? Instead of them watching other reality shows full of drama and sin, they can watch us deal with our family in a godly manner.”

  “You do have a point. There needs to be another choice in programming.”

  “Exactly,” she purred. “Our show will be something that people can watch with their family. And the money we’ll be paid can be donated directly to the church.”

  “Am I ever going to win an argument in our marriage?” he jokingly asked.

  She smiled as she slid the contract onto the desk in front of him. “Not this one.”

  Jimmy Snow awakened the next morning to the sound of his doorbell ringing over and over again. He leaned over and checked the clock. “It’s six in the morning. Who in the world could that be?” he wondered aloud.

  “It’s the camera crew. You should be up and dressed by now,” Yolanda answered.

  Jimmy rolled over in bed and suddenly noticed that she was fully dressed with her hair and makeup done. “You look great, baby,” he said.

  “Thanks, sweetie, now get up and get dressed. I’m going to let them in so they can start setting things up.” She rushed out of the bedroom, leaving him alone.

  Jimmy slowly rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to shower. As he stepped out of his master bathroom several moments later, wrapped in only a towel, he was startled to find a tall, lanky white man in the middle of his bedroom.

  “What are you doing in here?” he demanded.

  “I’m setting up. We won’t be standing around in your bedroom. I’ll just set the camera up, and we’ll control it remotely.”

  “No, you are not putting a camera in my bedroom. Get out of here right now!” Jimmy pointed toward the door, but the young man ignored him. He continued setting up the camera equipment. “Did you hear what I just said?” Jimmy yelled.

  Yolanda suddenly burst into the bedroom. “What’s going on in here?” she asked.

  “He doesn’t want me to set up the camera,” the young man replied. He rolled his eyes behind Jimmy’s back.

  “Honey, just leave this man alone and let him do his job,” Yolanda said. “Come downstairs and eat your breakfast.”

  Jimmy looked down at himself and back at Yolanda several times. “I’m not dressed, and there’s a camera in the middle of my bedroom. I knew this show was going to steal all of our privacy,” he huffed.

  Yolanda sighed; then she slowly walked to the other side of the bedroom. Quietly, she unfolded a room divider and set it up. “You can get dressed right here, Jimmy. I know it’s a bit inconvenient, but there’s no need to make such a big deal out of it.”

  Jimmy retrieved his clothes from the closet, then slowly walked behind the screen. As he dressed, he heard the cameraman quietly chuckling at him under his breath.

  Chapter Three

  “Summer, hurry up. You are going to be late,” Danita Hyatt yelled. She stood at the base of the staircase waiting for her three daughters to come down. “Vivian, can you get the girls down here now!” she yelled to her nanny.

  She stood impatiently tapping her feet until finally ten-year-old Summer, eight-year-old Autumn, and six-year-old Winter came bounding down the steps. “Good morning, Mommy,” each of them said. Danita smiled in spite of her anger and bent down to gently hug each one.

  “Vivian, what took you so long? The driver is waiting to take the girls to day camp.”

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Hyatt. Winter wanted to wear her pink Chanel outfit this morning, and I had to search for it.”

  Danita look surprised. “What do you mean you had to look for it? All of her things should be in her closet. That’s hardly an excuse.”

  Vivian glanced over at the cameraman standing about five feet from them. “Um, well, it was in the closet, but it was way in the back, and um . . .”

  Danita noticed that Vivian’s eyes were darting back and forth between her and the cameras. “Ignore them,” she ordered. “I told you we are doing this show. If you are uncomfortable with that, then you need to find another job.”

  “No, ma’am. I’m sorry,” Vivian answered.

  “Forget about it. Get the girls to the car and have Philippe stop by McDonald’s so they can eat breakfast.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Hyatt.” Vivian grabbed the younger girls by the hand and motioned for Summer to follow behind them.

  A red-haired cameraman put his camera down and began packing things into a black leather bag. “We’re going to follow the girls to school, but Gerard and his crew will be waiting to follow you to the church. All of the other stationary cameras are positioned around the house,” he said.

  Danita smiled politely a
t him and nodded. “That’s great. I’ll be ready to go in just a few moments.”

  An hour later, Danita finally walked out of her front door and climbed into the waiting limousine. Her driver, Philippe, had returned from dropping off the girls and was patiently waiting for her. He stepped onto the driveway and opened her door, then stood politely by, waiting for her to get in.

  Earlier that morning, the reality show camera crew had attached a camera to the dashboard of the limo. As Danita sat down, she scooted over to the mark they’d placed on the seat so she’d be sure to be in camera range. She smoothed out her clothes, fluffed her wig, and pressed her lips together to even her lipstick, and then settled back in her seat.

  “Are we going directly to the church, Mrs. Hyatt, or do you have some other stops to make this morning?” Philippe asked.

  Danita hesitated before answering. There was a camera pointed directly at her face and she took a moment to carefully choose her words. “Let’s stop by Piedmont Hospital. I’d like to take a few moments to visit some of my sick parishioners and pray with them. After that, we’ll go to the church.”

  Philippe gave her a strange look. He’d been her driver for several years, and they’d never stopped at any hospitals to visit any sick parishioners. When he’d asked the question, he expected her to suggest her usual route. They normally stopped by Starbucks coffee, Lenox Square Mall, and a myriad of specialty shops. Danita would spend hours shopping, eating, and socializing before finally arriving at the church around noon. He glanced over at the camera on the dash, thankful that he was out of its scope. “Yes, ma’am,” he answered. He put the limousine into drive and slowly drove down the expansive driveway to the front gate.

  As they rode through the hectic Atlanta traffic, Danita sat quietly in the backseat thinking. She was so excited that she’d been chosen to be a part of the new reality series, Revelations. The past year of her life had been tumultuous. The man who she’d believed was the love of her life had gone fishing early one Saturday morning and never came home. Two days later, his capsized boat had been found several miles down the shore. His body washed up onto the banks of Lake Lanier less than a week later. At first, it seemed to have been a tragic accident. However, autopsy reports showed there was no water in his lungs. This indicated that he’d been dead before his body went into the water. Two months later, Danita found herself on trial for his murder.

  Danita had been livid that the police actually thought she had something to do with his death. Of course, she didn’t have an alibi. She’d spent the day at home alone while the girls visited with their paternal grandparents. She readily admitted to the police that she and her husband were having problems, and that it was true that he’d asked her for a divorce a few weeks prior to his death. It was also true that she was in line to inherit several million dollars in insurance money due to his death. But she still felt that didn’t add up to murder.

  Following her arrest, her children were removed from her home, and after spending three days in foster care, they were finally picked up by Danita’s sister. Danita endured an exhausting three-month trial that consisted mostly of circumstantial evidence before being acquitted on all charges. Thankful for her freedom, she had picked up her children, then gone home feeling grateful that the nightmare was finally behind her. That’s until her late husband Ben’s family decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against her. Danita was crushed by their betrayal. Following his death, she believed she’d been very generous to his family. She’d given his parents $10,000, and they had the option to share it with his two brothers and three sisters. Instead, she felt they’d allowed a sleazy lawyer to talk them into suing her, based on what happened to O. J. Simpson following his acquittal on murder charges.

  Over half of her parishioners had left the church, and Danita had begun to think that her life was headed in the same direction as O. J.’s. Then she received the call from Anderson asking her to be a part of his new reality show. He explained to her that this show would help bring positive publicity to her church, rather than the negative publicity she’d received for so many months. He promised to be respectful when filming her children and to treat her like a lady at all times. He also encouraged her to start dating again and allow the cameras to tag along. Lastly, he told her that he felt with cameras in the courtroom, she’d have a better chance of gaining sympathy during her wrongful death lawsuit.

  It only took her one day of thinking before she happily agreed to an interview. When she received the call that she’d been chosen out of hundreds of candidates, Danita jumped so high she almost popped right out of her brand-new Beverly Johnson lace front wig.

  As her driver pulled off of the freeway onto the exit that led to the hospital, she smiled contentedly to herself. The cameras were rolling, and she intended to show the viewing public a whole new Evangelist Danita Hyatt. For over a year they’d seen a monster presented to them on the evening news. The woman whom the police had portrayed as a murderous gold digger was going to be erased from the community’s memory. She planned to be a loving, caring, praying, praising, and sacrificing minister. The viewers would love her and how well she got along with her daughters. They would cheer for her as she went on dates with handsome, eligible men of God, and feel sympathy for her if the dates went wrong. Danita had it all planned out in her head and felt that being on Revelations was the best thing that could have happened to her.

  Philippe pulled up to the front of the hospital and stopped the limousine. He hopped out and walked around to the side door and opened it for Danita. She stepped out, slowly placing her designer Louboutin boots gently onto the sidewalk. Opening her new black Louis Vuitton Sobe Clutch purse, she reached inside and pulled out the piece of paper her secretary had given her. It contained the name and room number of the parishioner she planned to visit. As she walked inside the hospital, she desperately tried to remember what the old woman looked like. Let’s hope she’s in a private room, she thought to herself as she and her camera crew boarded the elevator.

  When she arrived at the room number that had been listed on her paper, Danita took a deep breath, then lightly tapped on the door. “Come in,” she heard a woman’s voice say.

  Slowly, she pushed the door open. “Hello, Sister, how are you feeling?” she said cheerily.

  Inside the room, Sister Maxine James sat up in her bed. “Evangelist Hyatt?” she asked with a surprised tilt in her voice and a look of shock on her face.

  “Yes, it’s me. I came by to visit and pray with you. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m doing a new television show. Is it okay if I bring my camera crew in?”

  Sister James suddenly noticed the camera crew that was standing behind Danita, who’d already begun to film her. “Well, um, I guess it’s all right,” she answered.

  Danita walked over and gave the woman a big bear hug. Stunned by the sudden display of affection, Sister James stiffened up, then cautiously returned her embrace. “I really appreciate you stopping by to see me. I feel so honored,” she said.

  “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just so glad to see you sitting up and doing so well.” Danita sat by the bed and took Sister James’s hands into hers. “I was really worried when I heard that you’d suffered a heart attack.”

  “Oh no, I didn’t have a heart attack. I’m here to have my appendix taken out.”

  Danita glanced over at the cameras and quickly recovered from her mistake. “Yes, of course. I’m so sorry. I’ve visited so many people this week it’s hard for me to keep them all straight. Please forgive me, Sister.” She smiled sweetly.

  Danita sat and talked with Sister James for several moments before bowing her head in an insincere prayer. As the cameras rolled, she asked God for healing power, grace, and mercy. When she was finally done, she hugged Sister James again before leaving the room.

  On impulse, she decided to pop into a few other patients’ rooms to visit and pray with them as well. It was easy enough to pacify them for a few moments, then repeat her praye
r she reasoned. She leisurely strolled from room to room, visiting and praying.

  Finally, before leaving the hospital, she asked a nurse if she could speak with the hospital administrator. A tall, thin, blond woman joined her in the patients lounge. “How may I help you?” she asked.

  “I’d like to make a donation to this hospital,” Danita announced.

  The blonde looked at her strangely. “Um, sure, I’d be happy to give you an address where you can send donations.”

  “I don’t think you understand. I’m Evangelist Danita Hyatt. I’d like to make a donation in memory of my late husband, Ben Hyatt.”

  The blonde’s eyebrows suddenly shot up as she realized why Danita looked so familiar to her. She’d watched her on the news nightly throughout her murder trial. Like most of the residents of Atlanta, she believed that Danita was guilty and should have gone to jail for a very long time. “I see. Exactly how much of a donation are you interested in making?”

  Danita reached inside her purse and pulled out a check written on her personal account. She held it up while the cameraman took a shot of it before handing it over to the administrator.

  “You want to donate $25,000?” the administrator asked. Her voice was full of surprise.

  “Yes, as I stated, in memory of my late husband. His full name was Benjamin Franklin Hyatt.”

  The hospital administrator softened her stare as her negative opinion of Danita Hyatt began to fade. Perhaps she’s not as big of a gold digger as we all thought, she mused. “This is extremely generous, Mrs. Hyatt. Thank you so much.”