Phoenix Rising

CHAPTER THREE

“Ms. James?” Lucy said over the intercom. Phoenix had come back from lunch with the girls and had been working from the moment she sat down. Looking at her watch, she realized it was ten o’clock at night and Lucy was still there.

Pressing the intercom, she said, “Lucy, what are you still doing here? I thought you left hours ago?”

“No ma’am, I knew you would be working late and I wanted to be here if you needed help. But that is not why I buzzed, ma’am. Mr. Crown is here to see you,” she finished. Looking at her watch she realized that she had totally forgotten about their dinner plans.

“Oh SHOOT!” Phoenix said swinging her legs off her Louis-Philippe inspired design desk, Rue de Lyon, which expertly blends old world styling and modern functionality. Crafted from maple solids, select hardwoods, and American cherry veneers and finished in a rich chocolate patina it shows off its cleanly flowing lines and bold classic arches. Drop-front drawer with removable pencil tray can function as a lap drawer or a keyboard tray with pedestals that feature a felt-lined drawer with a pencil tray, utility drawer with adjustable wood dividers, and fully extending file drawers. “Please send him in,” she said pulling her skirt down.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh and Lucy?” Phoenix said.

“Yes?” Lucy said.

“Thank you for staying, but go home,” Phoenix said to her.

“You’re welcome,” Lucy said smiling, happy she had finally managed to please Phoenix.

Phoenix was using her compact to freshen her makeup and realized she still had her hair pulled back with pencils holding it in place. She quickly removed the pencils and shook out her tight curls. Her hair hung halfway down her back.  It was and had always been, very curly. Being the product of an interracial marriage her hair was… well, her grandmother used to say ‘confused’... her hairdresser said ‘a challenge’ and Phoenix said ‘on her damn nerves.’

Knock, Knock. Clearing her throat trying not to get too worked up she said, “Come in.” Phoenix could feel her pulse pick up as Nick turned the knob and walked in.

Squish.  Phoenix was going to have to change her drawers. Nick Crown was 6’3”, one hundred and seventy-five pounds of pure s*x appeal. His chocolate brown skin was shining in the office backlight. Phoenix had gone out and bought a bottle of Proactive the day she got up close to him and realized his skin was really that smooth and perfect. He was slender but not skinny, his shoulders were broad and his whole body was chocolate muscle. She thought back to the first time they had had s*x in the back of her Town Car. When she had straddled him and yanked his shirt open and saw his amazing twelve-pack and the names of his wife and daughters tattooed over his heart, she had tried to ride him like a Brahma bull. Naked or dressed; it did not matter. This man was a homemade bottle of sin.

“Hello, gorgeous! How was your day today?” Nick said to Phoenix walking over with his arms outstretched. He was greeting her like she had not stood him up. She could never resist falling into his arms. ‘He always smells so good and…’ Phoenix was thinking.  “Snap out of it, girl, you have to talk tonight and keep your damn legs closed.” Walking away from him pretending to not have an interest in this visit, she said. “Great! Very busy! I am trying to land a 100 million dollar account.” Phoenix sat down in her chair and pretended to be able to see anything in the room but Nick.

“Phoenix, love, talk to me.   Tell me what is wrong?” Nick said to her in that damn sexy accent. It was so unfair for him to be so fine, have an accent and be so unavailable emotionally.

“Nothing is wrong. What would make you think that something is wrong?” she said looking at the spreadsheet on her laptop.

“Well, for one thing, you are treating me like I am a bloke off the street and next, you did not give me my welcome hug,” Nick said sitting on the edge of her desk, running his finger along her shoulder. Nick loved how soft Phoenix was all over.  She called herself the ‘stay puff marshmallow woman’, which he hated, but the way his d**k got hard any time he was within a ten-foot radius of her, he knew she was Athena to him.

“I am busy, Nick, what do you want?” Phoenix said to him sitting back in her chair.  

“You naked on the floor over there with my tongue all over your c**t and my fingers inside your p***y as you scream my name like you did the other night,” Nick said bluntly to her. He and Phoenix had never minced words with one another.  That was one of the things that he loved about her. She was a dirty girl behind closed doors and an amazingly funny, smart, sexy lady everywhere else and he thought about her all the time.

‘Don’t start with the bullshit, mate,’ Nick thought to himself. ‘You have already had this talk with yourself.  You are not getting attached to this one or any other one for that matter.’ Nick was determined to never love another woman again after what had happened to his family. Loving him had gotten them killed. Melanie Carpenter had been the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. For the short time they had been together she had become not only his wife but his best friend. Now that Nick thought about it, he did not know how he had kept his family secret from her as long as he had. Shaking his head back into the present, Nick looked at Phoenix.  He could tell something was bothering her. Taking her hand, he pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear. “Talk to me, love.  Tell me what’s wrong.” Phoenix melted into his arms and started to cry. She then realized letting him see her cry was not going to make this any easier and as Granny used to say “No one likes a cry baby.”

“This, Nick,” she said stepping away from him. “This is wrong. What is this?  What are we?” she said to him folding her arms across her chest.

“What do you mean, what are we?” Nick said pretending to not know what she was talking about.

Bunching her lips together and raising her left eyebrow, Phoenix said, “Don’t play with me, boy! You know what I am talking about,” she said walking over to the bar.

“Phoenix, don’t drink, love!” Nick said taking the decanter that she had just picked up from her and sitting it down. Nick hated that she depended on alcohol to help her with her anxiety.  It was not good for her. Turning and picking up the decanter, Phoenix poured herself a shot of brandy. “The only people that can tell me what to do, Nick, are my daddy and my man and YOU are neither; so cheers,” she said before downing the entire shot. ‘Jesus that s**t burns! That will show him, brainiac!’ she was thinking. Walking over to her window, Nick put one hand in his pocket and the other on the back of his neck. “Don’t start this again, P. Why does it have to be anything? Why can’t we just enjoy each other?” Nick said to her turning around to face her.

“Nick, do you see Vixen and Daniel? s**t, even Nya and Sal? I want a relationship; a bond with someone that I can count on and that can count on me. Not just a regular d**k to service me. Not that your d**k is not fabulous, but damn,” Phoenix yelled at him.

‘DAMN IT,’ Nick was thinking. ‘Not you, Phoenix. I thought you understood.’

Putting his head back and looking at the ceiling, Nick decided to stop the bleeding before it got worse.

“I am sorry, love, but you are not the type of woman that I would marry,” he said looking at her and putting his hands in his pockets.

“Ha,” Phoenix said taking a moment so that she would not let him see that he had just broken her heart. “That’s fine, Nick, I am more than enough for a man that is man enough for me. That obviously is not you,” she said walking over to her chair and sitting down. “Now, please get the hell out of my office before I have you removed,” she finished. Phoenix started typing a memo like she was not devastated.

Nick started to walk toward her. He knew that he had pushed her too far but he did not want her hoping she would get something he couldn’t give. “Phoenix, love, I just…” he started to say but was cut off by Phoenix.

“I am sorry.   Did you forget where the door was?” she said angrily without yelling. The James women had a way of telling you to ‘kiss their ass and go to hell’ with just a look.  Vixen was A LOT better at it than Phoenix but she was doing a hell of a job right now. “Let me help you; it’s right over there,” she finished pointing at the door.

“P, I am not leaving until we talk,” Nick said to her.

“Ha! Really?” Phoenix said smirking as she pressed the emergency button on her desk.   Within two minutes, members of her executive security team were walking into her office.

“Yes, ma’am?” one of them said.

Phoenix stood up and said as she was walking to the bathroom, “Mr. Crown seems to be having trouble getting the f**k out. Help him out, won’t you?” she said before slamming the bathroom door. She waited until she heard her office door close and slid to the floor and cried.