Escape to Love
5th book in the Praise Him Anyhow Series
by
Vanessa Miller
Prologue
“I won’t do it, Marlin. I can’t believe you’re asking me to do something like this.” A year ago, Renee Thomas thought she had met the love of her life, but day by day as other things got in their way, the love they had was steadily dwindling.
“It’s not like you haven’t done it before. Stop being a prude,” Marlin Jones said.
“I can’t even believe you’re bringing that up. You put something in my drink. I know you did it, Marlin.”
“I don’t have time to argue with you.” He shoved a drink in her face. “Swallow this and let’s get this show on the road.”
“I can’t drink,” she told him while touching her belly. “I’m pregnant.”
“You’re what?!” Marlin stepped back, fixing his mouth as if he’d swallowed something foul as he stared at her. “You can’t be serious. You better tell me something quick because this is not how I do business.”
“What business? I thought you and I were in love. Don’t people that are in love have children together?”
“You knew I didn’t want kids when we got together.”
“It’s not as if I planned it.”
“Whose kid is it?” Marlin demanded.
“What kind of question is that? I haven’t cheated on you.” Renee couldn’t stand the sight of Marlin sometimes. He’d been like a prince to her the first few months, taking her on shopping trips, exotic vacations and moving her into his mansion. She thought he loved her and wanted to be with her forever. But things had changed.
“Don’t give me that crap. We both know you’ve cheated on me.”
“And we both know that you’re a liar and a fraud. I have the paperwork to prove it, so don’t mess with me.”
He swung around, stood in front of the window and took a few deep breaths. When he turned back towards her, he put the drink in her face again. “I don’t have time for this. Drink up and let’s get to it.”
She took the drink from him. But instead of swallowing it, she threw it in his face. “I hate you.”
Snarling like a wild animal, Marlin lunged at her. Renee’s eyes widened in fear as she tried to escape the blows he punished her body with. She cried out for help as he knocked her down in front of the fireplace and began kicking her. “Help me, he’s trying to kill my baby. Please help!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, knowing that Marlin had guests downstairs. She prayed that someone would come to her rescue.
“No one’s going to help you. Don’t you get it? You belong to me and I can do whatever I want to you.”
“I’m not a slave. You can’t do this to me.”
“I can do whatever I want to you. You’re nothing.” He grabbed her face and pulled her close as he said, “Get it through your dumb, thick head. You’re nothing but what I tell you to be.”
“My daddy didn’t raise no dummies and I’m not going to be treated like this.” She reached out and dug her nails deep into the hand holding her face.
Marlin snatched his hand back. When he saw the blood dripping down his fingers, he grimaced. “Now I’m going to really mess you up.”
Renee desperately scanned the room and caught sight of the poker in front of the fireplace; she started crawling towards it. She wasn’t just going to mess Marlin up if she got hold of it, she intended to gut him.
But Marlin saw what she was headed for and grabbed it before she could get to it. He then whipped her with it like she was a runaway slave who’d been brought back home in chains.
With every punishing blow, Renee screamed as if he was killing her, because the pain was just that bad. She tried protecting her stomach, but Marlin had no mercy and was now punching and kicking her again.
She could barely speak from the pain, but with the strength she had left, she begged, “Please stop.”
He grabbed hold of her hair and yanked. “Are you as dumb as I think you are?”
She didn’t fight it this time, just nodded.
“Say it,” he demanded with a slap to her face.
“I’m dumb.”
“And you’re nothing without me, right?”
“I’m nothing,” she agreed.
He left her alone then as he walked out of the room, mumbling about how she would be useless to him that night.
She lay on the floor sliding in and out of consciousness. When she was finally able to move, she crawled over to her cell and called for an ambulance. She hadn’t admitted that she’d been beaten. Instead she told them she’d had an accident, because she didn’t ever want anyone to know how truly worthless she was.
1
Looking herself over in the full length mirror, Renee Thomas liked what she saw. She’d often been compared to Angela Bassett. When Renee first began hearing the comparison, she felt compelled to remind people that Angela Bassett was in her fifties and old enough to be her mother. But then Renee realized just how ageless Angela Bassett seemed to be. She might be in her fifties, but the woman could pass for a thirty-something. So whenever she heard the compliment these days, Renee simply smiled and accepted it.
Outer beauty had never been a problem for Renee, but her inner beauty had taken a beating because of her dealings with Marlin Jones. He had constantly made her feel as if she couldn’t do anything without him. The night he beat her and made her lose their child, had caused her self-esteem to sink even lower.
Her father and stepmother had been praying for her and after months of doubting herself, Renee was finally ready to re-enter the workforce. Wearing a navy blue suit, she grabbed her purse and headed out of the house. She’d messed up her life by making so many wrong choices in the past, but this was a new day for her, a new beginning.
“Looking good there, Ms. Thomas,” Carmella Marshall-Thomas said as Renee entered the kitchen.
“You’re looking pretty good yourself, Mrs. Thomas.”
Carmella handed her a glass of orange juice and a bagel with vegetable cream cheese. “I figured you’d want something light to get you going.”
“You’re always so thoughtful.” Renee kissed Carmella’s cheek. “I haven’t always been as thoughtful where you’re concerned, but you’re good people. I still miss my mom, but I am so thankful that my father married you.”
“You’re always going to miss your mom, Renee. I still miss mine. But you were so young when your mom died... I just wish you could’ve had more time with her.”
“Yeah, me, too. But que sera sera, right?”
“I used to believe that. Now I believe that what we pray for is what will be.”
Renee didn’t respond to that because she sure didn’t believe it. Yeah sure, when her brother, Ram came up against some woman he couldn’t handle because she was too crazy to be rational, the family had prayed, and even she had prayed for Ram. And yes, God delivered Ram out of that woman’s hands. But Renee had been through too much in her life to believe that God just sat around heaven waiting to answer her prayers. If that was the case, her mother would still be alive and she wouldn’t have miscarried her baby.
“I know you don’t believe me. But just know that I’m praying for you anyway,” Carmella told her.
Renee smiled. “Just make sure you center them prayers around me getting a job, and quick. I’m starting to feel like I’m Ronny.”
“You leave Ronny alone; he is doing just fine. His company has really taken off. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls in a million or more this year.”
“In that case, I might just be asking my brother for a job, if this interview doesn’t pan out.”
“O ye of little faith,” Carmella said as she
kissed Renee’s forehead. “Go get that job.”
Renee got in her car and headed for her interview. She was meeting with an internet mogul who’d found instant success after starting a social media website that was like Facebook, but this particular site was strictly for professionals. No videos of cats or messages about a person’s hum drum life... nothing but wheeling and dealing went on twenty-four hours a day. If a person had a business, they wanted to be on this site. Consequently, advertisers also flocked to the site.
The professional media site had grown so fast that Pro-Site was now going public and needed an assistant to help one of the co-owners get organized. If it wasn’t so pathetic, Renee would laugh at how her life had turned out. She had an MBA, but was interviewing to get someone’s coffee and run errands. It had been stupid to take a year and a half off from the job market.
But Renee thought she had finally kissed the right frog and would be living the princess lifestyle she’d always craved. After moving in with Marlin, Renee just knew that life would be filled with shopping, exotic vacations and love, lots of love. He’d allowed her to shop as much as she wanted on his Visa Signature, World Elite Master Card and his black American Express. The vacations to tropical islands were wonderful, as well. But Marlin didn’t love anyone but himself and Renee found out the hard way that some fairytales could become your worst nightmare.
Even though she wished she was excelling in her career like the rest of her sisters and brothers, Renee wasn’t going to cry over it. She was going to take her second chance by the horns and make the best of it.
As she parked her car, Renee received a text message. Thinking it was probably Carmella with some scripture for her to meditate on before going into her interview or a Praise alert, Renee pulled her phone out of her purse and read the message.
Tell your brother to stop harassing me or else.
The text was from Marlin. She had no idea what he was talking about, but Renee hoped that Ram wasn’t involved in anything that had to do with Marlin. She quickly called her brother. When he picked up, she said, “I just received a text message from Marlin... something about you harassing him. What’s that all about?”
“Ha!” Ram was practically giddy as he said, “He wishes I would take two seconds out of my day to think about an insect like him.”
“Then what is he talking about?”
“I know he just applied for a loan at my bank and got turned down. Maybe he thinks it’s my fault that his credit report indicates he’s been taking out loans all over town.”
“He’s a jerk; I’m glad you didn’t give him the loan.”
“Wasn’t me. Someone else had that pleasure. I refuse to do business with that clown. His money is no good with me.”
“Trust me, brother, Marlin’s money is no good in more ways than you know.”
“Don’t respond to him. He just wants to have something to say to you.”
“I’m deleting his message the moment I hang up with you. Don’t worry. I want nothing to do with Marlin Jones, or anyone like him, for that matter.”
“Good.”
“Talk to you later. I’m on my way into a job interview.” They hung up and she deleted Marlin’s text just as she said. She then turned off her phone and got ready for her new beginning.
***
Jason Morris was seated in the conference room with his executive staff planning out the strategy for the most important IPO of his life. If all went well, the company would be worth billions and he and his business partner would be able to walk away multi-millionaires. If things went really well, they would join the billionaire’s club.
“Now I don’t have to explain to anyone in this room the necessity for closed lips. Nothing we discuss is to be repeated outside of these walls.”
Heads nodded around the room.
“These next few months will make or break us. So I’m going to need dedication and long nights... if you have vacation plans, scrap ‘em. If we keep our heads down and work hard this next month, I promise you, it will feel like Christmas every day around here after we finalize this public offering. Now are you with me?”
“Of course,” Larry, his right hand man said. “I’m in it to win it. So if I have to cancel a few dates for a while, I’m sure I’ll survive.”
One of the women said, “I have kids, so I may have to take work home from time to time, but I’m in as well.”
“Thanks, Sally, I appreciate your dedication. I know how important your children are to you and I promise I won’t make you sacrifice your time with them for too long.”
She nodded.
“Well,” Jason clasped his hands together. “Let’s get to work.”
His team scattered and then Jason went to his office and grabbed his coffee cup. He was in for a long day and needed to fill up on the blackest coffee he could find. He went into the break room and poured the coffee in his cup, took a couple of sips and then headed back down the hall towards his office.
Jason caught sight of a beautiful woman standing in front of his secretary’s desk. He rubbed his eyes, figuring that fatigue had already set in, then glanced at her again. That’s when he realized that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. Renee Thomas, the girl he’d attended high school with and youth club at church... she was also the same girl he’d carried a secret crush on for more years than he could count. He hadn’t seen her since high school. Now she was standing about five feet in front of him and suddenly he became that shy, gangly kid again.
He’d almost worked up the nerve to ask Renee out during tenth grade biology class, only to discover that Renee had started dating his best friend. So Jason contented himself with playing the field and quietly pining after the one woman he couldn’t have. Then after graduation they all went off to college. Now they were all grown up.
Unbuttoning his jacket, Jason puffed out his chest as he walked toward her. He now had muscles, biceps and certainly wasn’t shy around the ladies anymore. He was determined not to be shaken and to remember who he was now. “Renee Thomas, what on earth are you doing here?”
She turned toward him. It took a moment, but recognition shone through her eyes as she said, “Oh my God, I didn’t know you still lived in Raleigh.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.
“I moved back last year,” he told her as they ended the embrace.
“I’m glad to know that you still live here.”
“I actually just moved back a few months ago. I was living in Charlotte... my brothers live there.”
“Ramsey and Ronny are in Charlotte?”
“Yeah, and I have another brother through marriage now. His name is Dontae. He lives there also.”
“Your dad re-married?” Renee nodded and then Jason said, “Good for him. He deserves some happiness.” There was a brief moment of silence and then Jason asked, “So what brings you to our little company today?”
“I have an interview with Mr. Richards, but I think he must have forgotten about my appointment because he’s not here.”
Jason’s secretary chimed in. “You know how Dean gets when he’s programing.”
Jason turned back to Renee and said, “I apologize for my business partner. But if memory serves, he was supposed to be interviewing for an assistant this week. I’ve been on him to get someone to help get him organized, and believe me, he really needs the help.”
“That’s good because I really need the job. If earning my MBA taught me nothing else, I’ve certainly learned a few organizational techniques that I could use to help Mr. Richards.”
Jason wondered why someone with Renee’s credentials would be interviewing for an entry level position. She should have years of experience by now, but he didn’t want to pry so he turned to Dawn and asked, “Can you give Renee a tour of the office and then put her to work at getting Dean organized?”
“But what if Mr. Richards doesn’t want to hire me?” Renee asked.
“You worry abou
t getting Dean organized and let me worry about getting you hired,” Jason told her as he walked away, thinking that he didn’t need his coffee to get him going any more. His mind would be running a mile a minute with thoughts of Renee Thomas.
2
“I got the job!” Renee screamed as she came through the front door.
Carmella was in the kitchen finishing her dinner preparations. She wiped her hands with the dry towel and rushed to meet up with Renee. They grabbed hands and jumped up and down. “You got it... you really got it.”
“I couldn’t believe it. But I kept telling myself that today was my new beginning and look what happened.”
“Look what God made happen.”
Renee stopped jumping. She walked into the kitchen shaking her head. Carmella followed and when they sat down behind the counter, Renee said, “I’m not sure you can credit God with this one. An old friend of mine from high school is one of the partners in the company. I hadn’t seen him in years, but the guy I was supposed to interview with today wasn’t there, so Jay said that I could just have the job. I didn’t even interview for it.”
All of that sounded like the favor of God to Carmella, but Renee just didn’t get it. Carmella wasn’t interested in beating anyone over the head with the knowledge of Christ, so she simply said, “I’m so happy for you, Renee.” She pointed toward the stove. “Fix yourself some dinner. I need to go upstairs and take care of something.”
With a heavy heart Carmella climbed the stairs and went to her throne room. It actually used to be Dontae’s bedroom, but ever since he moved out, Carmella had been using the room as part office, part prayer room. She worried about Renee sometimes. The things she’d been through in her young life had caused her to doubt God. Carmella decided that it was time for her to stop worrying and start praying.
Opening the door she stepped into her throne room and then fell on her knees and steepled her hands as she lowered her head. “Lord God, I thank You for all that You’ve done for my family. You’ve kept us safe from seen and unseen dangers and I’m grateful for Your faithfulness. I know that it is in You that we live, move and have our being, but Renee doesn’t know that. She doesn’t believe that she can trust You with her life, so I’m asking that You make it plain for her. Show Renee that You are not just my God, but hers as well. Bring her closer to You and join her in relationship with Your son, Jesus Christ.
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