Wife Wanted (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance)(69)

 

Phoebe gasped, then quickly covered her mouth. They paid Mitch to date her? That…no, it couldn’t be. He liked her, really liked her, or was it all just another lie? Just like with Riley. Phoebe felt every last ounce of emotion for him slip away as their conversation continued.

 

“I don’t care. You owe me, Yancey, and if you don’t deliver—”

 

“Don’t threaten me in my own office. We are finished. I’m ending our contract. Do what you want, but Ms. Baron is no longer my problem. Once Marston is out of the way, nothing she finds in those files will do a damn thing to save his company from being taken over.”

 

Phoebe heard Mitch curse but didn’t get to hear the rest of what he said. She glanced over her shoulder to see his assistant returning to her desk, and Phoebe hurried away before she was caught. Who did she go to now? If she started taking Mitch to task, she might lose her chance to give her mother the surgery. It was too risky, too damn risky. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out see an urgent text from Charlotte: Mom awake and very coherent. Asking for you. Get here ASAP.

 

Phoebe rushed down to her office, snatched her purse, and was about to leave when she saw Diane’s computer bag on the floor. The woman was nowhere in sight. On a whim, Phoebe grabbed it, too, then bolted out the door to catch a cab to the hospital.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 24

 

 

 

Phoebe’s mind was still reeling by the time she made it to her mom’s hospital room. The last few visits had been very brief, and her mom hadn’t really been able to say much. But when Phoebe walked in, she heard her mom laughing with Charlotte, sitting up and looking better than she had in months.

 

“Phoebe, there you are,” her mom said with a gentle smile.

 

“Sorry, couldn’t get a cab,” Phoebe said, feeling her own face light up when her mom recognized her.

 

“That’s all right. Charlotte kept me company.”

 

Phoebe kissed her cheek and thanked her friend before she sat down on the bed beside her mom. Charlotte left the two of them alone. “You feeling good today?”

 

“I am. Doctor Chambers tells me I’ll soon be ready for surgery, but I have told him it’s not possible.”

 

“What? Mom, you have to have that surgery,” Phoebe said, panicked.

 

“We can’t afford it, sweetheart. I’m well enough to understand how far in debt you are, and you are not going to put yourself in any more to try and give me a few more years.” She squeezed her daughter’s hand as Phoebe shook her head.

 

“But I have the money,” Phoebe told her.

 

“How? Phoebe, what did you do?”

 

She shrunk in on herself. “I have a boyfriend who’s willing to put up the money.”

 

Her mom stared at her long and hard. “Phoebe, you don’t love him.”

 

“That’s not the issue. The issue is you having this surgery, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

 

“Phoebe Anna Baron, you listen to me right now,” her mother said, and she turned to find her mom’s eyes narrowed. “You are not to take this money. The second you do, you are going to feel bound to this person forever. I will not let you feel like that just so I can have a surgery.”

 

“But Mom…you have to have it… You’ll die.”

 

“Oh, sweetie,” her mom said, wiping the tears away from Phoebe’s eyes as they started to fall. “I know that lately I haven’t been there for you, but I can see what pain you’ve been through. I can’t ask you to keep putting me first like this. Ever since your father died, I haven’t been myself. I miss him so much. I was supposed to go first, you know.”

 

“Neither one of you was supposed to go,” Phoebe muttered.

 

“Everyone has their time, Phoebe. If mine comes sooner rather than later, well, I’ll get to see your father then.”

 

“I can’t let you do this.”

 

Her mom grinned and leaned in close. “I’m not giving you a choice. It’s my head, remember?”

 

Phoebe smiled and let her mother hold her close, a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. Being comforted by the one woman in the world who understood her better than anyone.

 

“Now, Charlotte tells me you had a falling out with this other man?”

 

“Course she did.”

 

“Well, what’s wrong with him? She said you were quite fond of that one.”

 

“It’s complicated, Mom.”

 

“So un-complicate it. Phoebe, life is too short for complications. If you love the man, then tell him,” she said. “Don’t waste time. Please, for me. If I am only going to live for a short while, I’d like to see you happy before I go.”