Page 86 of Rich Girl
“That’s a great idea!” I turn to address Dillon Hastings. “Can we send the papers to the judge to sign off on Ray’s release?”
“No,” he shakes his head at me. “The judge needs to be present here when that’s done. There is a process he needs to follow.”
I chew in my bottom lip, phone at my ear and heart in my throat.
“How about we bring the judge here then?” I suggest.
My excitement must be palpable because everyone perks up, including Adeline in my ear.
“Yes,” she calls out. “Fly him there!”
Dillon rolls his eyes at me. “I doubt he’d want to just hop on a plane and miss more than half of his trip.”
“Private jet!” Adeline yells in my ear. Apparently, she can hear all that’s happening here even though I don’t have her on speaker.
“What if I hire a private jet to pick him up from there, fly him here,” I explain. “He signs off on Ray’s papers, then we fly him back to Vegas.”
I shrug like it’s no big deal while they all stare at me like I just offered to fly us all to the moon.
“That’s some serious money,” James comments. He eyes me funny, but I can tell there’s some respect there as well.
“She can afford it,” the attorney informs everyone. He must’ve looked me up. “And it’s a great idea. I’ll make some phone calls.”
He walks out of the room to do his thing. I say my goodbyes to Adeline since I now have to arrange for the private jet.
“I want all the details once this is done,” she calls out right before hanging up.
I take a deep breath and get to work. Thank God I have a lot of connections.
Thank God I have money.
TWENTY-FOUR
The last thirty-sixhours have been hard. All I know is that they’re working on a solution where I don’t have to stay in here for another week when the judges are back in town.
When I hear the door leading to the cell area opening, then closing with a loud thud, I remain on the hard bed, with my back against the wall. My entire body aches from lack of sleep and lots of tension.
“Ray Parker,” the officer calls out.
I stand up and approach the door. He taps the small opening where I am supposed to place my hands, and he slaps a pair of handcuffs on me. As soon as I pull my hands back, the door opens.
“You’re free to go, man,” he tells me in a low tone. “But I still have to follow the procedures when I walk you to the front office.”
My head is pounding with some weird headache. I am literally seeing spots, and I’m not sure whether I heard him correctly.
“They’re letting me out?”
“Yes,” the officer assures me. “Your girlfriend got a judge to come in and sign the papers. I have to say,” he chuckles, “that I’ve never seen anything like this. It was quite the operation.”
I swallow hard, the thought of Hayden leaving a bitter taste in my mouth right now. Despite that, I hope I get to see her when I’m out of here.
The officer walks me to what they call their front office. It’s just an enclosed counter, with another police officer sitting behind it. He passes a form to the officer who walked me here. He signs off on it, then the guy behind the counter signed off on it, then they take my handcuffs off. A bag gets shoved into my hands.
“Here’s your stuff.”
When I look down, I notice it is a small clear plastic bag containing my wallet, cell phone and pocketknife, along with the shoelaces from my boots and my belt.
“Good luck out there,” the one officer pats me on the back. “Maybe try and find a different girlfriend. One who doesn’t have psycho friends.”
