Page 55 of Recruited By the Billionaire

Everly looked at her brother. She always had his back but he never had hers. She snatched away from Robert and sat in the chair across from her brother. RJ sat back down too.

When Robert walked back over to the sofa, Frankie sat down with him. Then Everly got up, went and sat on the other side of her father and leaned against him as if she was daddy’s little girl and they didn’t have a mountain of problems between them. But Frankie was pleased when Robert placed his arm around his daughter, despite their differences, and pulled her closer against him.

Frankie liked that no matter how his children treated him, Robert was always the grownup in the room. He never went low with his children, even though they went low plenty. His children were a challenge to love. Frankie had only just met them and she could see that herself. But Robert seemed to love them dearly, and wasn’t afraid to put them in their place either.

But Everly leaned over her father and looked at Frankie. “Who are you?” she asked.

RJ laughed. “You are so dumb. You’re the only person in this entire town that doesn’t know who she is.”

“I don’t know her. Shoot me, but I don’t.”

RJ laughed again. “Interesting choice of words.”

Robert gave RJ a hard look.

“I was just joking,” RJ said. “Geez! Can’t even joke about her?”

“Who is she?” asked Everly. “Is somebody going to tell me who she is?”

“Her name is Francesca Clark,” said Robert.

“Dad’s girlfriend,” said RJ.

Everly stared at the couple. “Your girlfriend?”

“That’s correct.”

“You never brought a girlfriend around to see us before. Not ever. We’ll just see you with them at parties and stuff and you wouldn’t even introduce us.” Then she looked specifically at Frankie. “What makes you so special?”

“Must be the shoes,” Frankie replied.

When she said those words, Robert and RJ burst into loud laughter. But Everly was lost. “Hun?” she asked. “What does shoes have to do with it?”

“They don’t, Ev,” RJ said. “How should she know why she’s special to Dad? That’s her point.”

“But what does shoes have to do with it?” Everly asked again.

Robert looked at RJ. “Don’t let her drive,” he said, and RJ laughed at that too. Frankie was surprised how RJ could come off as so cold and calculating, and so warm and likeable at the same time.

“I’m not high,” Everly said again.

“Whatever,” said RJ. “Dad asked me where you were. He wants to know where you’ve been.”

“None of your business,” Everly replied.

“I said Dad wants to know.”

“And I said none of your business.”

RJ looked at her and shook his head. “You’re stupid. You know that, right?”

Everly was offended. “You stupid!”

“Forget you,” RJ said.

“Forget you!” Everly shot back.

“Enough!” Robert bellowed. “You two sound like cackling hens.”

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