Page 32 of Recruited By the Billionaire

Taymar was surprised. This man was acting all protective of Frankie already? And Frankie still didn’t believe he loved her? Why would he be there if he didn’t havesomefeelings for her? And it couldn’t only be because he thought she was so great in bed. Every man Frankie ever had cheated on her because she wasn’t so hot in bed. Or they were just dogs. At least that was Taymar’s takeaway. “You’re right,” she said. “Sometimes my tongue gets ahead of my brain.”

Robert smiled. Taymar noticed how he glanced down at her breasts.Uh-oh, she thought. He was proving his reputation with the ladies. Frankie had better be careful!

A few minutes more of conversation and Frankie finally came out. To Taymar’s shock, she was wearing the very first outfit she had discarded: a little black dress that hugged her tight little ass and flat stomach perfectly, and that covered her undergarments. But just barely. It was perfect just like Taymar had originally said.

She and Robert stood up when Frankie came into the living room. And when Robert saw her beautiful face and those big, almost-staring eyes, his heart felt a warmth inside he only felt around her. How could just seeing her again give him such a feeling? The same reason he was there at all, he decided.

And her style was impeccable. Without those hats she loved to wear, he could see the fullness of her hair as it dropped down along her shoulders in a beautiful thick bounciness that framed her small face in such a way that it made him proud she was his.

She was his? How could he think such a thing? He exhaled and wondered what was wrong with him.

“Good evening,” Frankie said to him when he just stood there as if he didn’t know what to say. Was he having second thoughts? Was her look displeasing to him? Part of her would be disappointed if it was. But another part of her couldn’t give a damn. She just couldn’t! She was tired of turning herself into pretzels for these men and these men not even turning their heads for her.You beg her to love you. But me? You don’t ask. She wasn’t going down that road with Robert too.

“Good evening,” he said to her. “Ready?”

“She was born ready,” Taymar said with a laugh, and Frankie wanted to strangle her. But she smiled instead. That was Taymar just being Taymar. Why should she ask for anything more?

“Lock up when you leave,” Frankie said to her, gave her a little hug, and she and Robert left.

Robert wore a double-breasted tailored suit, which made her glad she opted for her little black dress rather than the more casual look she was going for, and she wondered what fancy restaurant he had in store for them.

But when he put her in his Porsche that still smelled brand new, and they took off to a part of town she knew as millionaire’s row, she wondered what restaurant would be tucked away in such a residential space?

And that was when Robert pulled up to a massive mansion that she just knew had to be his. And it was all so surreal to her again. This man owned aplane. This man owned amansion. This man owned an NFL football team! What was she doing with this man? Or more importantly, she thought, what was he doing withher?

But she still held her peace until the security gate was opened by the guard in the guard station out front, and they began driving toward the main house on the vast estate. And she could no longer hold her peace. “What’s the name of this restaurant?” she asked him.

Robert was confused at first, and then he caught her joke and laughed. “Robert’s Place,” he said. “How’s that?” Then he looked over at her. “Does it meet with your approval, Miss Clark?”

“Call me Frankie,” Frankie said and Robert laughed at that too.

But Frankie wasn’t sure how she felt about him taking her to his home rather than a restaurant for dinner, even though it wasn’t as if he was a stranger to her anymore. Not after their intimacy on his plane. Not after the way he held her in his office. But he did have a certain reputation with the ladies, and she did not want to be a member of that club. Although, she suspected, she already was.

Because if she wasn’t, she would have told him to take her back home. She would have told him she wasn’t that kind of girl, who did he think he was dealing with? But she didn’t say any such words. She joked, “it’s not exactly the restaurant I would have chosen,” and he laughed at that joke too. And that was that.

But as soon as he opened her car door and they walked inside of the beautiful home, their playful energy changed. A tension filled the room. A tension so sexually-charged that neither one of them could deny it. It was so electric that they both began to wonder how in the world were they ever going to make it through dinner.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Robert escorted her through a maze of open spaces inside his mansion to a gorgeous courtyard out back that was filled with botanical gardens and sweeping waterfalls. It was also where his chef Andres, a maître d, and a team of servers were waiting to serve them. Robert pulled out her chair at the beautifully-decorated table, and she sat down still amazed that she was even there. He sat across from her. A menu was then handed to her.

“A restaurant in your own home,” Frankie said with a grin. “I’m not mad at you.”

Robert laughed again, which caused Andres and the maître d to glance at each other. Mr. Marris laughing? And at such a simple joke? They could never recall ever seeing such a sight.

But Frankie was getting used to it. He seemed to take most of what she said as a joke. Or was she the joke? She curbed her enthusiasm just a tad just in case.

“There are a lot of choices,” she said as she perused the menu. “I’m amazed by these choices. And so varied.” Then she looked at Robert. “What are you having?”

Robert was surprised by her question. Every woman he’d ever wined and dined didn’t give a damn about what he wanted. It was always all about them. As if he didn’t matter. His wallet did. But not him. He loved that Francesca never forgot him whenever they were together. “I’m having whatever you’re having,” he said.

“Oh, you’re smooth,” Frankie said, wagging her finger, and Robert laughed again. Andres, who had been with Robert for years, was shocked.

“But I’m smoother,” Frankie said. “I’ll have whatever you’re having, Mr. Marris,” she said. Truth was, she had never had any of those menu items anyway. In New York, she was a delicatessen kind of girl. Here in Florida, she was southern fried soul food.

Robert quickly realized that she wasn’t like any of the other women he wined and dined, most of whom were gold-diggers from the cradle and knew all about the high life. But Frankie was different. That was why he’d been in Florida for three long years, after acquiring his football team, and she was the first woman he ever took home with him.

“We’ll have the stuffed rigatoni and corn sabayon, Andres,” Robert said to his chef without looking at the menu.

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