Phoenix Heart Read Online Free PDF

but I know you of all people can come through for me.” He
smiled and I felt the thumping of my heart quicken. Andrew Richards’ smile
could melt case-hardened steel.
    “Dr. Richards,” Annie began, but I could see the tight line
of her lips begin to relax. He lifted up one strong, brown hand and tilted her
chin up until her eyes met his. Her smile softened. “All right,” she said, “we’ll
get it done, somehow.”
    “You are wonderful,” he said.
    The buxom, fortyish woman sighed. “And you are the devil
incarnate,” she said.
    He shrugged. “Probably.”
    She reached up, stroked the rat once, and then turned back
to the elevator as Dr. Richards turned toward the lab and saw the two of us
standing at the door. “Chuck, where are you off to?”
    “Lunch.”
    “What else?” he said. “The stomach that walks as a man,” he
said to me and smiled, but the smile was strained.
    I grinned at his joke praying that the burning I felt in my
cheeks wasn’t visible.
    Dr. Richards cocked his head at me and looked a little
puzzled. The rat looked at me like he’d known me for years and didn’t much approve.
    “You remember Melanie Brenner, don’t you?” Chuck asked.
    “Of course I do,” Andrew says
in his deep voice. He steps toward her, close, closer, so close that she feels his
hot breath on her porcelain skin. Dizzy, she starts to sway, but his strong
hands come out and take hers and the power in his touch steadies her. “How
could I forget the moment we met at the interview?” he says. “I knew then that
we were meant to be together, that I longed for my arms to possess you.”
    “Uh,” Dr. Richards said. “Oh, yes, your name was on the list
of lab assignments.”
    “Yes.”
    “Great. Welcome. Did Chuck show you around?”
    “Yes, thank you.”
    “Fine. Listen, Chuck. After lunch, swing by the office and
see how Annie’s coming along with that paper, will you?”
    “Sure, Andrew.”
    He headed for the door, and then belatedly seemed to
remember my existence. “Good to have you with us, Melinda.”
    “Thanks, Dr. Richards,” I said as his back disappeared
through the door. The rat didn’t even twitch his tale to acknowledge me.
    Chuck grinned. “Well, come on then, ‘Melinda.’ Let’s get
some lunch.”
    “Sure thing ‘Buck.’”
    “Oh, don’t worry about that. He’s just been distracted
lately.” He looked toward the door, toward the sound of Dr. Richards’ voice
saying something to Peg, and then her reply. “Something’s wrong. I’ve never
heard him snap at anyone like that, let alone Annie.” He looked worried, but
then he shrugged and turned back to me and his infectious grin dispelled the
momentary gloom. He cocked his head and cupped a hand on his belly. “Hear that?
‘Feeeed meee!’” he said.
    I laughed and we headed toward the stairs down at the end of
the hall.
    “Since I’m officially in the lab now what’s with the rat?”
    “Oh, Bullseye?”
    “The rat’s name is Bullseye?”
    “Yep. Andrew’s had him since last year, which in rat terms
is a pretty long time. He came over from the psych department after they were
through with some behavior experiments. We were going to sacrifice him so we
could extract some proteins from his liver. Instead, Andrew showed up with
Bullseye perched on his shoulder and he’s been there pretty much every day
since. Never said a word about it, either. And we never did do the rat liver
experiment.”
    “You guys call him Andrew or Dr. Richards?”
    “Andrew. Never Andy. Don’t know why.”
    We waited out front on the curb no more than five minutes
before I saw Cheryl’s little yellow Toyota. She waved and headed towards us.
    “Well,” said Chuck to me, while his eyes followed Cheryl’s
blonde curls and her upturned nose. “I can see you’re going to be an asset to
the lab.”
    I looked up at him as his eyes never left my beautiful
friend…
    I’m pretty. Right, Cheryl,
right.
    …and I smiled with practiced ease.