Page 123 of Robbin’ the Rich

From the moment I saw her in the second I saw her in the sanctuary my heart hasn’t stopped pounding. What on earth was she doing here?

I was so mad when the security guard touched her, and even more mad when my dickhead brother brought us in here. But now that I’m here with my hands on her, looking in her eyes, I can’t help but have a little hope, and then she tells me why she is here.

“I can’t let you take the fall for me.”

“It’s already done, Robin. It’s water under the bridge. And it’s the only way it could have worked out.”

“No. I refuse to accept that,” she said scrunching up her brow and batting my hands off her shoulders.

“Robin, if my father knew it was someone not family fucking with his money, pardon my language, Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood,” I said instinctively.

“No, go right ahead young man,” said her mom.

I turned back to Robin. “He would have pressed charges. When I told him it was me, I think he almost liked it. Now I’m back here every Sunday and playing in the church band. He got what he wanted.”

“But did you get what you want?” Robin said to me with her eyes full of an emotion I couldn’t quite read.

“What do you mean?”

She starts pacing. “I can’t let you do that. I was the one who did it. I was the one who caused the police to come to my parent’s door and now for you to do whatever this is,” she said, gesturing to the stupid opulence of my father’s office. “I mean what even in this?” she asked and she picked up what appeared to be a Fabergé egg with the scene of the crucifixion on it.

“I’d put that down if I were you. I think it cost something stupid like half a million dollars.”

Her mother gasped behind her.

“Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood, it is lovely to meet you. I wish it was under different circumstances,” I said.

Her father gave me a nod. “It’s nice to meet you too, young man. I must say, Thanksgiving is making much more sense the more I learn.”

“I apologize for that and all the trouble I’ve caused your family.”

Robin stamped her foot, “Micah! You will not take the fall for me.”

I can’t help the smile that tugs at my mouth at the sight of her. The pull to be near her with her this close was too hard to resist. Before I know it, I’m at her side again cupping her face.

“Robin. This is how it needs to be.”

The sound of Silent Night filters in over the speaker.

“Do you hear that? The service is almost over. My father will be in here and we need to figure out what to tell him about why we were interrupting the service.”

“I’m telling him I was doing it because you are taking the fall for me. I'm going to tell him that I was the one who made the illegal transfer, not you. I don’t want you beholden to them.”

The singing on the speaker stopped and hushed voices came through it. It was done. The congregation was starting to filter out. We only had a few minutes left.

“Robin. Please! He will press charges. I can’t let that happen, you have to let me do this.”

“Oh, I have to let you do this? I just have to let them think it was you and so they can demand obedience from you?”

“Yes. Robin, listen to me. There are certain things my dad does not fuck around about. Money is at the top of the list. Hell, money might be the whole list. Please, don’t do this.”

I was about three seconds away from dropping to my knees and begging her.

“Honey, maybe you should listen to him,” her mother said carefully.

Then the door burst open and in walked my father, followed by my older brother.

“What in the name of all things holy is going on here? You simply don’t interrupt a man’s Christmas Eve service. There had better be a good explanation. Do you know how many new guests we have tonight? Do you have any idea how many of those people could be members? Do you know how big that is for us? What in God’s name were you thinking?”