Phoenix's Heart (15 page)

She squeezed his
hand. “I'm not sure, but it is possible.”

“Then marry me.” Her mouth dropped open, and she started
to laugh.

She shook her head
. “You don’t want to marry me. You are just doing it to help me and I don’t want that. I will only marry you if you love me, and want to be with me forever. Not because of what my dad wants.” He opened his mouth and she smiled as she was shaking her head. “No my love, I know you think you can't fall in love with me. But in time I think you will.” She brought his hand to her lips to kiss his knuckles.

“I don't know, but I am trying.”

“I know,” she said and he smiled at her, and she couldn’t believe he was hers.

“Now, let
's get back to work.” She stood up, and threw away her trash.

Phoenix took her hand and she grinned
.

They walked
into the office holding hands, and she didn’t care who saw them. She loved Phoenix, and hoped in time he would love her. He squeezed her hand one last time, before letting go. She walked to her desk and he walked into his office.

Jennifer
knew she was completely in love with Phoenix and she wanted to rip out her own heart. There were times when Phoenix looked at her, and she thought he was starting to have more feelings for her. She told herself she was fooling herself; he had already told her that he didn't know how to love. She hoped what they had will be enough for both of them.

When her office phone rang she jumped
. “Mr. DuPont’s office,” she said.

“I need to talk to Phoenix,” a
woman’s raspy voice said.

“May I ask who is calling?” Jennifer
asked sweetly.

The woman sighed
. “No.” Jennifer was told not to let anyone talk to Phoenix without finding out who was calling. “But if you must know, I am his mother.” There were many things Jennifer wanted to say to this woman.

“Please hold,” s
he said through her teeth.

***

Phoenix smiled at his office phone. His beautiful Jennifer was calling. “Yes darling angel. Have you changed your mind about marrying me?”

She laughed
, and it was the sweetest sound he had heard. When she laughed it made his chest tight and warm. “No, but you have a phone call. The woman said she is your mother.”

He had
n't talked to his mother in over ten years. “Put her through.”

“Phoenix, I am
here if you need me.” He smiled, that was the angel in her.

“Thank you
, darling.” He picked up his phone when he saw it flashing. “Hello?” He felt like he was ten years old again, and wanting his mother to love him.

“Phoenix son, how are you?” Her voice
was raspier then he remembered.

He rubbed
his forehead with his fingers. “I know you didn't call to chat, why are you calling?” He had a good feeling he already knew what she wanted.

“Now is that
anyway you talk to your own mother?” She raised her voice.

He felt his own anger rising, and kind of wished
he’d asked Jennifer to come in. She could calm him down, with just her smile. There was silence on the other end, and he shook his head. “What do you want Amanda?” He couldn't bring himself to call her mom or anything to do with that.

“I am in trouble. I need money, and I know you have it. I have search
ed the Internet, and read everything I could find.” She sounded proud of him.

Phoenix sighed
, no matter what this was the woman that gave birth to him. Yes, she wasn't the mother she should have been, but he had an urge to help her. “How much?”

“Twenty-thousand,” s
he said, and his mouth dropped open. That was a lot of money, and he wanted to know why.

“Why?”

“Damn it, Phoenix, I just do!” she yelled.

“Fine stop by my office and I will write you a check. But after this I want nothing to do with you.”

She laughed. “Phoenix, I am the one that wants nothing to do with you. You are a demon and you belong in hell.” She hung up the phone and the last thing he heard was her laughter.

***

Jennifer wanted to check on Phoenix. She had a feeling that he needed her; she stood up and knocked on his door.

She loo
ked at the intercom and smiled when it turned green. “Come in, darling.” His voice sounded drained.

As soon as she walked in
, she shut the door. Jennifer turned around and saw Phoenix at his desk with his head in his hands. She rushed to him, and grabbed his head.

“Oh Phoenix,” s
he said, and he opened his eyes.

With his midnight blues
pinning her, she felt her heart racing. “She wants money,” he said. He reminded her of a little lost boy.

“We
ll I hope like hell you said no,” she said, as she ran her fingers through his brown wavy hair.

“She is still my mother, no matter ho
w much I wish she wasn't.” She smiled down at him, and lowered her lips to his. He pulled her closer, and moaned when his lips touch hers.

He pulled
her into his lap, and she giggled. “I can't get that sound out of my head.” He grinned down at her and slowly kissed her. Jennifer wrapped her arms around his neck. She was crazy about Phoenix; he moved his lips from hers and down her neck. “I feel like I am going crazy when I don't have you in my arms.” He moved his warm lips to her ear lobe.

Phoenix's office phone started
ringing. “Shit, darling that is probably my mother.” He brought his midnight blue eyes to hers; he just smiled as he stared into her eyes.

She cleared
her throat. “I should get off of your lap.” He tightened his arms around her back.

“I don't want you t
o, you are where you belong.” She smiled up at him, and brought her hand to his face.

“I know you don't love me, but it doesn't stop me. I am completely in love wit
h you Phoenix DuPont.” His smile fell a little.

“Then ma
rry me,” he said.

She shook
her head; she didn't want to have an empty marriage. “Not until you can love me.” He opened his mouth to say something, but she placed her fingers over his lips. “I know what you said, and I understand. But I won't marry you until then; I don't want a loveless marriage. I just want to be with you.”

He smiled
his warming at her. “Darling, you have me.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

Jennifer got
off of his lap. “I can't be drained by you, so I want you to just be with me.” She looked down, and prayed he would agree to what she wanted.

“I will try, I don’t want to f
uck up what we have.” She felt his fingers under her chin, he nudged her chin up. “Darling, I won’t mess around on you, you are what I want.” There was a knock at the door, and she didn't miss the hurt in his eyes.

“I will be right out
side if you need me.” She smiled at him, and he nodded.

“Okay, I just want to g
et this over with.” He moved away from her, and stood behind his large desk.

Jennifer walked to the office door, and opened it to a woman waiting. She had
long wavy brown stringy hair, and chocolate brown eyes. Phoenix's mother was about five foot, five inches tall, and skinny. Really skinny. Those chocolate brown eyes narrowed on her.

“Hello, Phoenix
said to go right in,” Jennifer said. She had an urge to put her hand on her stomach, protecting her unborn babies.

The other woman's eyes glance
d down at Jennifer's stomach. “You need to kill that demon in you.” She reached out to touch Jennifer, but she moved back out of her way.

“If you want what you came for, then get in here and leave Jennifer alone.”

Jennifer kept her eyes on the other woman, she saw her nod slightly. “Fine, but you need to tell her what you are.”

“Ma'am I know what Phoenix is, and what our babies will be
. It is you that is the monster,” Jennifer said, and then walked past the other woman.

***

Phoenix watched Jennifer walk out of his office and stared at the woman that gave birth to him. She looked bad, like she was on drugs. He pulled out his checkbook and did what she came for. He walked back to her, and shoved the check at her.

“Here, take this and I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“How could you Phoenix? How can you make more of you?” He glared at her, and he felt his eyes growing darker.

“You need to leave, and like I said Amanda
, I don't want to see you.”

She nodded
. “Trust me, I won't see you again.”

There
was a question that had bugged him his whole life. “Did my father tell you what he was?”

She shook her head, but Phoenix did
n't feel sorry for her. “No, I didn't find out until a week before I had you.”

“Do you have an
y pictures of my father?” He had never seen one.

He did
n’t miss the hate in her big brown eyes. “No, I got rid of everything,” she said coldly.

Phoenix smile
d at her. So she did get rid of everything that reminded her of his father, he’d never know him. “So what is the money for?”

She lo
oked away, as she played with her long brown wavy hair. “I just need it, I owe people.”

He sighed
. “If you need more I have it.” Amanda looked down.

“Why would you help me? I have done nothing for you.”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Because you are my mother, no matter what.” And he was the better person that would forgive her.

She did
n't move for a few minutes and neither did he. Then she shook her head. “No this is fine, but thank you Phoenix.” He took his hands away from her and nodded.

“That offe
r will always be good.” She nodded, and then turned around to leave.

Amanda nodded again thanking him, and walked out of his office, he felt
his chest hurting.

***

Jennifer watched Phoenix's mother walking out of the office. Jennifer glanced at her phone and saw that she had a missed call and five text messages. The missed call was from Ryan, and he left a voicemail. She didn’t want to deal with that right now. She looked at her text messages and four of them were also from him and one from Megan. She looked at Megan’s first.

I’m going out with a sexy doctor tonight, please don't be home. Go to your sex gods, I am hoping to find my own!! Love ya!

Jennifer smiled at her phone then went to text Phoenix.

I need to stay at your place tonight if you don't mind. Megan is going to be having sex with your friend tonight.

She pressed send and stared at her phone, waiting for his reply. About a minute later it vibrated in her hand.

I don’t mind, I still want you to move in with me.

She smiled, and didn’t reply. Jennifer put her phone back into purse, and went back to work.

Chapter Eleven

Jennifer smiled when Phoenix walked out of his office. His eyes were on her and her only.

“Can we stop by my place? I want
to get some clothes.” He shook his head and she frowned.

“Darling I already had some maternity
clothes delivered to my place.” She was shocked, and pleased.

“Thank you.” She
felt tears filling her eyes.

Phoenix moved
to her. “Oh darling, if you don't like them I can send them back.”

She stood up and shook
her head. “No, that isn't it. It's just that is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her to him. “Thank you.” She whispered against his chest.

“Darling, you should know by now I would do anything for you.” He
said sweetly, and she smiled against his chest.

She only truly wanted
one thing, and that was his heart. “I do know that.” She felt him kiss the top of her head.

“Good, now let
’s get home. I have dinner waiting for us.” Jennifer's heart swelled, she was head over heels for Phoenix, but she had a feeling that she was going to get her heart broken.

Jennifer pulled
her car behind Phoenix's black SUV. She got out, and he was already walking to her.

“I invited someone over,
” Phoenix said, as he was almost to her.

She narrowed her eyes at
him; she had no clue who he would have invited. “Who?”

He stopped
about a foot in front of her, and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck. She lilted her head back to look at him. “Your father.” He wrapped his arms around her, she tried to move away but he didn't let her.