Page 48 of Recruited By the Billionaire

“Pay it,” said Robert. “Forget the talk and get your men down there to that bails bondsmen and pay it right now.”

“Yes, sir,” his lead attorney said, as the second-chair attorney hurriedly made the phone call.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Over everybody’s objections, when the limo pulled up to the police station Robert didn’t hesitate. He got out of that car, his lawyers hustling to keep up behind him, and hurried inside the building. Laine and Jerry remained in the limo.

And Jerry was none too happy with the VP. “Why didn’t you tell me they were an item, Laine?” he asked her.

“I didn’t know anything about them being an item. I heard about what happened on that plane two months ago. And I know he came down and asked to see her a day or so after that. But that was it. I had my suspicions, but that was all I knew for sure.”

“Well there’s more going on than we knew about,” said Jerry. “Way more. I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Me either,” said Laine. “Except maybe with Viv.”

But Jerry was shaking his head. “Nope. Not even with her,” he said.

Inside the station, Robert’s mere presence created an immediate buzz and the highest-ranking member of the force, the police chief, came downstairs to greet him in his uniform with its four-star insignia as if he was a general on the battle field. He escorted them into a private waiting area.

“You do understand, sir,” he said as they entered the private area, “that it could take several hours for her to be processed out.”

Robert didn’t skip a beat. “It had better take no longer than several minutes to process her out,” he said to him.

The chief, not accustomed to being put in his place, wanted to fight back. The lawyers could see it in his eyes. But he was no fool. The most powerful people in America weren’t the president, nor the governors of states. They were the NFL owners. And if he wanted to remain chief, he knew he had to act accordingly.

“I’ll get right on it, sir,” he said and left the room.

Ten minutes later and Frankie walked into the private waiting area. As soon as Robert saw her, he stood on his feet. As soon as she saw Robert, she stood there too. She was shocked that he was there at all. And her heart was filled with questions. Was he angry with her? Was she tainted in his eyes now that she did what she had done? Did he feel, as she was certain he would, that it was way too early in their relationship for him to have to deal with this kind of drama? He bailed her out, but that was probably protocol for him. She worked for the Admirals and it would be bad publicity to leave her rotting in jail. But he didn’t have to come himself.

And when he opened his arms wide to her, as if he could feel her pain even from across the room, she forgot all the questions and just went. She broke away from the chief that had escorted her into that room and ran to Robert. When she fell into his arms, he squeezed her. And they held onto each other for several long, emotional seconds.

When they stopped embracing, and despite what his attorney had reported to him, Robert took a good look at her for himself. But unlike what they expected him to be interested in, mainly her face and body, it wasn’t her physical appearance he was interested in at all. It was inside of her. How distressed she was. How anguished she was. And just looking into her eyes told the story for him. She was devastated.

And he placed his arm around her waist and got her out of there.

But as soon as they stepped out of the doors, what seemed like hundreds of cameras flashed in their faces that momentarily blinded them. It took several seconds of blinking before they could see the sea of reporters that had gathered outside of the station and was desperate to be the one to get the best photo or get their questions asked and answered or to just be there to see their very photogenic playboy owner up to his neck in drama again.

Robert’s bodyguards had to blanket Robert and Frankie, even to the point of shoving the paparazzi out of the way, as they whisked them to the limousine. Once they got inside, the driver sped away, nearly hitting several reporters, but certain it wouldn’t be his fault because the scene was so chaotic and outrageous that even he was angry.

Frankie was stunned. She knew what happened wasn’t good for the team, but she never dreamed it would reach the heights it had reached. But then again, the fact that the owner of the Admirals had made it his business to bail her out and pick her up didn’t help the situation.

But it helped her tremendously. Especially when they got into that limo and Robert still kept his arm protectively around her. She had been certain, as she sat in that jail cell, that he wouldn’t want to have anything more to do with her. But it seemed just the opposite.

He even asked if she was alright repeatedly, kissed her on the forehead, and pulled her even closer against him. If Frankie had thought Cole Lindsey’s craziness had destroyed any chance she had with ever being with Robert again, she didn’t think it any longer.

And he hadn’t even asked her if she did it in cold blood, or self-defense. She found herself glancing over at him. What kind of man was this? She’d never met anybody anything like him. Even a garbage collector would have had second thoughts being seen with her again.

And then Robert’s cell phone rang, of which he didn’t answer. And then his car phone rang.

Jerry glanced at the Caller ID. “Oh Lord,” he said. “It’s Commissioner Sperling.”

But to Frankie’s shock, Robert didn’t even respond. He wasn’t trying to deal with the fallout just yet. Francesca was his only focus.

But Jerry knew the commissioner undoubtedly saw them on TV. He knew they were in Robert’s limousine. He answered the call.

After a very brief one-sided conversation, he hung up the phone.

“What did he say?” Laine asked him. Frankie wanted to know too.

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