Read Love, Lies and Scandal for Free Online
Authors: Earl Sewell
go dancing. Gambling is just not in my nature."
"Not even a little? You won't even play the penny slot machine?" JoAnn asked, slightly horrified by his unyielding position.
"That's right. Now, tomorrow, while I'm running the race, I want you to wire the money to the business account back home."
"Fine," JoAnn said as she picked up the remote and turned on the television. Jesse locked the safe and then went to take a shower. "Can we at least order some room service?" JoAnn asked sarcastically.
"Yeah." Jesse shouted out his answer.
"Cheap bastard, I can't stand your ass sometimes," JoAnn mumbled as she picked up the room-service menu. "I'm going to order the most expensive item they have," she said as she scratched the palm of her right hand. "I must have some unexpected money coming my way. That's what it means whenever the palm of your hand begins to itch for no reason at all." JoAnn smiled at the thought of having a large sum of money at her disposal to do whatever she pleased with. With that thought, both palms began to itch. "Shit, luck must be on my side."
There were thousands of people preparing to run the 26.2-mile run and no matter how many times JoAnn had witnessed the number of people who were crazy enough to participate in the race, she was always amazed by their dedication to it.
JoAnn had just finished helping Jesse stretch up and was walking with him to the starting point of the three-hour-and-forty-five-minute-pace group.
"So, do you actually think you'll finish the race in three hours and forty-five minutes?" JoAnn asked.
"If I finish it in four hours and fifteen minutes, I'll be happy. But if I can hang with the pace leader the entire way, it would most certainly be a personal best for me."
"Well, good luck and don't hurt yourself," JoAnn said, giving him a light kiss on the lips.
"At what mile marker should I be looking for you?" Jesse asked.
"Look for me around mile ten. That will give me time to wire the money," JoAnn explained.
"Good." At that moment, a loud air horn went off indicating that the race had begun.
"Okay, baby. I'll catch you later," JoAnn said as she stepped away from the crowd. She watched as Jesse disappeared in the sea of runners.
As she made her way back to the hotel, the palm of her hand began to itch again.
"Damn," she said as she scratched. "It's a sign. I can feel it. Luck is with me, I know it is." When she returned to the hotel room, she unlocked the safe with the key Jesse had given her. She pulled out the cash and held it firmly in her grasp. JoAnn began to feel the need to gamble. She was quite familiar with the symptoms. Years ago, gambling had been a problem for her, but she had learned to quell that compulsion. Now those old familiar pangs lured her back. Itching palms, feeling lucky and having cash in her hand excited her. She knew she should resist.
"Damn, girl. Do the right thing," she muttered to herself.
CHAPTER 4
JESSE
A t the mile ten water station, Jesse was feeling strong and was still on track to finish the race in three hours and forty-five minutes. He looked on both sides of the street and scanned the cheering crowd in search of JoAnn, but she was nowhere to be found. He didn't think much of her absence, assuming that it had been too difficult for her to get back to that location at the exact time he'd be there. He knew for certain she'd be at the end of the race waiting for him. He adjusted his white running cap to keep the blazing sun out of his eyes and began to think about how blessed he was to be healthy. This was his twelfth consecutive marathon and he had no intentions of stopping anytime soon. His body type wasn't that of a marathoner. He was two hundred and ten pounds of solid muscle as opposed to a lean and wiry elite runner. He had no desire to compete with the elite runners for the half-million-dollar purse because there was no way in hell he'd be able to run 26.2 miles in under two hours. As Jesse approached the
"Not even a little? You won't even play the penny slot machine?" JoAnn asked, slightly horrified by his unyielding position.
"That's right. Now, tomorrow, while I'm running the race, I want you to wire the money to the business account back home."
"Fine," JoAnn said as she picked up the remote and turned on the television. Jesse locked the safe and then went to take a shower. "Can we at least order some room service?" JoAnn asked sarcastically.
"Yeah." Jesse shouted out his answer.
"Cheap bastard, I can't stand your ass sometimes," JoAnn mumbled as she picked up the room-service menu. "I'm going to order the most expensive item they have," she said as she scratched the palm of her right hand. "I must have some unexpected money coming my way. That's what it means whenever the palm of your hand begins to itch for no reason at all." JoAnn smiled at the thought of having a large sum of money at her disposal to do whatever she pleased with. With that thought, both palms began to itch. "Shit, luck must be on my side."
There were thousands of people preparing to run the 26.2-mile run and no matter how many times JoAnn had witnessed the number of people who were crazy enough to participate in the race, she was always amazed by their dedication to it.
JoAnn had just finished helping Jesse stretch up and was walking with him to the starting point of the three-hour-and-forty-five-minute-pace group.
"So, do you actually think you'll finish the race in three hours and forty-five minutes?" JoAnn asked.
"If I finish it in four hours and fifteen minutes, I'll be happy. But if I can hang with the pace leader the entire way, it would most certainly be a personal best for me."
"Well, good luck and don't hurt yourself," JoAnn said, giving him a light kiss on the lips.
"At what mile marker should I be looking for you?" Jesse asked.
"Look for me around mile ten. That will give me time to wire the money," JoAnn explained.
"Good." At that moment, a loud air horn went off indicating that the race had begun.
"Okay, baby. I'll catch you later," JoAnn said as she stepped away from the crowd. She watched as Jesse disappeared in the sea of runners.
As she made her way back to the hotel, the palm of her hand began to itch again.
"Damn," she said as she scratched. "It's a sign. I can feel it. Luck is with me, I know it is." When she returned to the hotel room, she unlocked the safe with the key Jesse had given her. She pulled out the cash and held it firmly in her grasp. JoAnn began to feel the need to gamble. She was quite familiar with the symptoms. Years ago, gambling had been a problem for her, but she had learned to quell that compulsion. Now those old familiar pangs lured her back. Itching palms, feeling lucky and having cash in her hand excited her. She knew she should resist.
"Damn, girl. Do the right thing," she muttered to herself.
CHAPTER 4
JESSE
A t the mile ten water station, Jesse was feeling strong and was still on track to finish the race in three hours and forty-five minutes. He looked on both sides of the street and scanned the cheering crowd in search of JoAnn, but she was nowhere to be found. He didn't think much of her absence, assuming that it had been too difficult for her to get back to that location at the exact time he'd be there. He knew for certain she'd be at the end of the race waiting for him. He adjusted his white running cap to keep the blazing sun out of his eyes and began to think about how blessed he was to be healthy. This was his twelfth consecutive marathon and he had no intentions of stopping anytime soon. His body type wasn't that of a marathoner. He was two hundred and ten pounds of solid muscle as opposed to a lean and wiry elite runner. He had no desire to compete with the elite runners for the half-million-dollar purse because there was no way in hell he'd be able to run 26.2 miles in under two hours. As Jesse approached the
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