Page 7 of Recruited By the Billionaire

But Frankie Clark wasn’t about to turn around, not even with her two best friends pleading for her to do just that. She was a pregnant woman now, but her anger made her move with a swiftness Tay and Royce could barely keep up with. They hurried across that graveled parking lot and up the side stairs to that motel’s second floor so fast that when Frankie stopped at door number eight, Tay almost slid into her.

“Frankie, you don’t want to do this,” said Tay. “Just divorce his ass. Why you got to make a scene? You’ve got too much to lose. Royce, tell her!”

But Royce wasn’t saying all of that. “You don’t see your husband’s car parked in some motel parking lot,” she said, “knowing what he’s up to inside that motel, and just drive away. I’m sorry, Tay. You confront his ass. You slap his face. You make certain he knows you aren’t the fool he took you for and he’s not getting away with it another second.”

But mostly, Royce thought as she looked at the pain on Frankie’s anguished face,you make sure he gets to see for himself just how much he hurt you.

But when Frankie tried to open the locked motel room door and then began banging on that door like she was the Police, even Royce became concerned. “Be careful girl,” Royce said, looking around. “We black. We don’t want no cops coming up in here starting no mess. We black.”

But Frankie’s singular focus was on her husband. She had to see his face to believe it. She still just couldn’t take somebody’s word for it without seeing it for herself.

But when he wasn’t opening the door, she began to get angry. “I know your ass in there, Devin!” she was yelling as she banged. “Open this door! I see your car in this parking lot. You have to come through this door to leave and I’m not leaving so you may as well open this door before I kick it open! Open this damn door, Devin!”

The door flew open before she could finish saying his name. And Devin Clark, her tall, chocolate, good-looking husband in a bathrobe, was as on fire with anger as she was. “What’s wrong with you, woman? You done lost your damn mind? Making all that noise!”

Frankie was devastated when she saw him standing there. It was as if there could be no more excuses for him. No more hope that this was some bad dream or just a plain old mix up. But when he said, “what the fuck you want anyway?” as if she was some intruder he didn’t have time to be bothered with, her anger returned and she began forcing her way inside.

Devin tried to place his big body in between her and the motel room, making for a powerful and painful tug of war, but Royce and Tay pushed with Frankie. They might not have approved of her tactics, but they were ride or die. If she wanted in, they were going to make sure she got in.

“Take your hands off of her!” Royce insisted, pushing Devin backwards, as they all pushed on into the room so hard they nearly fell on top of each other.

“What’s all this commotion? What’s going on out here?”

And that was when they saw her come out of the bathroom in a bathrobe exactly like the one Devin was wearing. As if he bought both robes for their motel retreats. And there she was. The other woman. Thegotdamn secretary!

But all Tay could see was her whiteness.

But all Royce could see was her beauty.

All Frankie saw was her replacement. All she saw was that she wasn’t good enough for her husband just like her mother said. She was never good enough. And it broke her heart.

She looked at Devin, the man she met later in life after she was so over bad relationship after bad relationship that she swore to never fall in love again. But she fell for Devin.

It wasn’t love at first sight. She didn’t marry him because she was madly in love with him. She married him because he declared he was madly in love with her, and would never hurt her, and would always do right by her. But soon, his sweet words became a tonic and she fell in love with the promise of love. And then, nearly a year after they were married, she fell in love with him too. And fell hard. Now, three years into their marriage, she was all in.

But just when she became pregnant with his child, he decided to cheat on her? At a time like this he decided to betray her?

Or had he been betraying her all along?

Tears welled up in her large, honey-brown eyes. It was as if she settled for less when she married Devin, but even less didn’t want her.

“You need to leave,” Devin said to Frankie as he grabbed her arm. She snatched it away from him. “Just leave, Frankie!”

“Who’s she supposed to be?” the other woman asked as if Frankie was the side chick.

And Frankie was over it. “Who amIsupposed to be? I know your ass didn’t just ask that question. Who the fuck are you supposed to be? What are you doing in this motel room with my husband?”

The woman looked genuinely shocked. She looked at Devin, who was running his hands over his face. “You’remarried?”

“It’s not like that. I can explain everything.”

“No you can’t,” said Royce.

“You stay out of it, Royce Miniver!” Devin yelled, attempting to distract. “Your ass always up in Frankie’s business!”

But his mistress refused to be distracted. “You’remarried?” she asked him again.

“We’re separated and she knows it,” Devin said.

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