Overdue - A Rockstar Romance

Chapter 12 - Phoebe

After three books, one of which required a deep wizard voice and a squeaky cat, she was finished. She thanked me profusely as I scanned and stamped her two books.

I watched her leave with a smile. My heart ached a little watching them go. I had never known my mother as a maternal figure, Nanna had taken me in when I was one. She didn't say much about what happened but from what I understood my mother had not been caring for me properly and I was on the verge of being thrown into the system when they found her.

My birth father was as young and foolish as my mother, but he knew that his own mum would take good care of me and signed away his rights without hesitation. My mother, a flighty nineteen year old air hostess had met him on a flight to a party island and though she hadn't really wanted me, she thought it would be 'so much fun' to have a 'mini me' running around.

Nine months later I turned up. An unhappy accident and one she soon regretted. Apparently, she hadn't realised babies were harder to keep alive than pot plants and she hadn't exactly had the best track record with pot plants in the past anyway.

It had been years since I had heard from her and though she had never led me to believe she would ever change a small part of me had hoped she would grow up and take an interest in me. But she had stayed a wild, unpredictable party girl never with the same guy more than a couple of weeks.

Perhaps that was why I had such issues with dating and love. Maybe I was just like her? I knew I wasn't to look at, I had photos that reminded me of this, but I was bound to inherit something. Shame it had to be commitment issues. Sometimes I would look at the photos, trying to imagine what life might had been like if I had stayed with her. Her eyes were a vivid blue where mine were more of a green. Where her hair was light and always curled, mine was mousey and so thick it had broken a number of hair bands over the years.

"Phoebe," trilled a high reedy voice, breaking into my daydreams.

I fixed a smile on my face and turned slowly, "Ms West, how can I help you?"

She giggled and fluffed her dyed platinum locks, "Oh call me Brenda darling. You make me sound so old."

She wasn't old but the work she had had done didn't help with the aging process. Her forehead too flat, her laughter lines obliterated as she could now only smile as wide as the surgeon had allowed. There was very little resemblance between her and Richard. She was elegant where he was slimy. Sociable whereas he had a very real chance of offending everyone he spoke to.

"Brenda." I said with another forced smile.

"I'm just here to see my darling boy. Where is he?" she tittered.

I thought briefly about letting her discover her son's laziness but then remembered he was the one who could make my life a misery if he wanted to.

"Of course. I think he's on a call. Just give me one moment and I'll check." I turned before she could respond and scurried towards the office.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door, "What?" Richard shouted back.

I could hear the irritation in his tone and rolled my eyes, "Your mother is here." I called back.

He swore and I heard furniture clattering around. Had he run into his desk? It sounded like it.

Something slammed closed and then the door was wrenched open. His face was red and nostrils flared in anger as he stormed by.

I glanced back into the office before the door closed, hoping to see what he had been bumping around with. But nothing looked out of place. Wandering back to the front desk I gathered the small pile of returned books to put back on the shelves.

"See you later Mummy." Richard simpered, air hugging his glamorous mother he waited just long enough for the door to close behind her before wheeling round on me.

"I said," he spat, "I was not to be disturbed. Tell me, which part of that was complicated for you?"

I leaned back to avoid the shower of spittle flying my way. One arm protectively moving the books behind my back, "But it was your mother." I mumbled.

"Never disturb me like that again." He snapped.

I blinked; this really was a disproportionate level of anger for someone who had just had their Netflix binge interrupted. What was he doing in there?

"Yes, Richard." I said quietly.

He made a huffing noise of annoyance before stalking back across to his office with all the grace of a wounded hippopotamus. I bit my lip; he would be furious if he caught me, but I just had to know what was going on. What was he being so secretive about? I tip toed towards the door he had disappeared through and cautiously leaned forwards, pressing my ear to it.

A woman's laugh made me start and stumble back. Was someone in there? I placed my ear back against the door "-you get rid of her?" the voice was a breathy moan.

"Yeah, where were we." Richard's slimy over eager response followed.

There hadn't been anyone in the room when I had looked earlier so who was he talking to? I thought back, the only movement in there that I had seen was the flickering light of his computer. I heard a grunt and my hand shot to my mouth. My boss was doing the dirty with someone on the computer.

The acidic burn of sickness rose in my throat and I heard her exaggerated moan in response. I backed away from the door. He was a pig and I had had enough of doing all the work round here. Something needed to change.