One Toe Out (A Complicated Love Story) Read Online Free Page A

sniffed deeply and almost gagged on the stench from the garbage. I’ll be making two million dollars a year. The amount still boggled her mind.
    “ And it’s not like I’ll be losing out on a relationship,” she whispered sadly, thinking of the man boy in the diner who wanted to holler at her. He was typical of the men who were interested in her. At twenty-eight she had only one loving and positive relationship and that was with her high school sweetheart, Sean Miller.
    They had dated for three years and when she was fifteen, they had made love for the first time. He had taken her to her senior prom. One summer night right after they graduated from high school he had been standing in front of, Moxie’s, a corner store, hanging out with some friends, when a car drove by and pelted the group of young men with bullets, three were killed and four were critically wounded. Sadly, Sean was one of the fatalities.
    Rodney, her last boyfriend, had spent ten years in prison for selling drugs. They had started dating after he had been out for a year, whereas some women wouldn’t have given him a second glance, she believed in giving people second chances.
    But it didn’t take long for him to show his true colors. Not only did he return to selling drugs, but he convinced a couple of nineteen-year-old girls to strip and prostitute themselves and give him the money. As soon as she found out, she dropped him faster than a bag of burning shit. “If I marry J.T., I won’t have to deal with that crap! But is it worth it? Can I live a fake life for millions?”

Chapter 6
     
    Simone nervously glanced at her fiancé then at her ring. J.T. had given her a twelve carat emerald cut platinum engagement ring, which cost more than her mother’s house.
    Engrossed in reading and responding to his e-mails on his Phone, he didn’t notice her nervousness. Simone picked up the latest Essence magazine from the table and thumbed through it. But she ended up throwing it down after skimming the first few pages.
    Her life had changed tremendously over the last month. She had gotten engaged. And to show his commitment to their arrangement, J.T. had surprised her by writing her a check for half a million dollars and buying her a new car, a new GranTourismo Convertible Maserati. After a lot of persuading and some begging, Simone had purchased a modest home for her mother. Anyone would have thought Simone had bought her mom a mansion based on her reaction when she saw it, she had cried so hard that Simone was afraid she’d make herself sick. The small ranch that she currently owned could easily fit inside the five bedroom, four sided brick home. With the move-in date only a couple of weeks away, Lillian was scrambling around packing up keepsakes and family pictures. She was selling everything since Simone had promised to completely furnish her new home. Simone’s next item on her to-do list was to buy her mom a new car and taking her shopping for a whole new wardrobe, she planned on doing that as soon as J.T. gave her her two million dollar check.
    As soon as J.T.’s check cleared, she’d quit her waitressing job. The five dollar tips that she had coveted just a month ago, seemed like pennies now, she was on the cusp of becoming a multi-millionairess. Joe’s eyes had gotten as big as one of the pies sitting on the dessert carousel when she’d flashed her ring. He had congratulated her with a hug and had given her a free lunch on the house as an engagement gift.
    Simone glanced at her outfit and hoped that it would impress Marcella. J.T. had warned her that she could come across as a bitch, but she was a bitch who cared about her clients. The girl at the store in the mall who had helped her pick out her outfit had called it casual chic and Simone loved it. With the weather being cool for April, Simone had picked out a pair of leggings and paired it with an oversize sweater that she belted, showing off her small waist. She finished it with a pair of