A/N
Happy New Year everyone! And with the new year I bring you another attempt of mine at writing.
Firstly, this starts off around November 2028 (a year after DD) and I'm hopefully planning to do a few crossover-type chapters with my first fanfiction Learning To Love, because why not bring that fanfiction's OC Nina into this and vice versa. However that fanfiction is currently in September so it may be a while before I share elements between the two. Also, my other fanfiction Learning To Love is still going to be my main priority, I've just hit a wall with it recently so I'm having to put it on the shelf for a few weeks I think. Plus, I was requested by a few people to give Phoenix a girl so I'll give this a go.
I'll admit that it always takes me a few chapters before I get into the 'writing zone'. Looking back on the first four chapters of Learning To Love almost makes me feel ill because it was so slow to begin with and I made so many errors but I'll try and make this fanfiction a much faster-paced one. There will be a few fanfictions and clarifications later on, I just couldn't see the point on giving you the needed flashbacks early on without you all getting to know who Jacqueline is first, y'know? Ps her 'biography' story isn't so straightforward as it seems...
Anyway, to the point, I hope you like this first chapter. I think that this will be a nice side-project to my other story. Also I really like Jacqueline's character she has been so much fun to write in even if she is narcissistic and a bit of a sociopath. Enjoy!
It had been an average week at the Wright Anything Agency: the odd clients had come, been granted a not-guilty verdict during their court case, and then they had left. Nothing out of the ordinary, however, which was certainly a first. Trucy had been practising her magic acts none stop to pass the time and the three defence attorneys had spent their newfound free time cleaning out the office – something which was a rare occurrence indeed.
That's why it was no surprise that when a knock could be heard at the door, the four of them jumped up eagerly; allowing Athena to answer it since she had practically ran to the door. With a relieved smile she opened the door and was almost speechless when she saw an elegant young woman stood there. She had ash blonde hair that swayed down to her shoulders and was dressed in a thick fur coat – further indicating the time of year and that this winter was indeed a cold one. Either that, or this woman just loved dressing expensively; something which was also evident by the Louis Vutton handbag she carried, the diamond earrings she was wearing and the way in which she smelt like she'd bathed in perfume for over a month. She bore Athena a scarlet smile and removed her dark sunglasses (which also seemed to have cost a significant amount of money.)
"Good afternoon. My name is Jacqueline Blakesley. I was hoping to speak with a Mr Apollo Justice…?"
Athena blinked in surprise; Jacqueline looked just like she'd stepped out of a jazz bar in the early 1900's, or possibly from a novel like The Great Gatsby. In fact, Athena was unsure if the woman before her had dressed this way ironically or if she genuinely believed that they were a century behind. With the exception of the sunglasses she'd been wearing of course.
"Uhh…yeah, he's here." Athena said, mouth gaping open at the extravagant young woman. She couldn't have been much older than her, although her wardrobe seemed to add another ten years to her age.
Jacqueline waited, folding her arms.
"Oh, oh come on in!" Athena grinned quickly and held the door open for Jacqueline to follow her inside. "I'll just go get him. Make yourself at home, Ms Blakesley."
Jacqueline nodded and looked around the room whilst she waited for Apollo, reading through the framed newspaper articles that hung on the wall; smiling at one entitled: "Wright returns."
Seconds later, a flustered Apollo ran into the room, smiling anxiously at the glamorous woman stood in the front room. Athena had been right; she did indeed look like she'd stepped out of the 1920's and straight into the Wright Anything Agency. Immediately, the attorney held out a hand to shake. "I'm Apollo Justice, it's great to meet you. I've read a few of your articles in the past; you certainly have both talent and passion for what you do."
Instead of smiling and graciously thanking her enthusiast for the compliment, Jacqueline grimaced at the hand he was holding out to her and instead walked straight past him to take a seat on the sofa. "Then you will like the proposal I have for you, Mr Justice." She waited for Apollo to take a seat; although he decided to take the armchair as the journalist seemed to have a thing about personal space. "As you said, I'm a talented and passionate writer…however, I've been lacking in sources recently. And there's one particular story that I'm keen to get my hands on."
"…You need me to give you some information for an article?" Apollo was both concerned and excited by the prospect of giving away his own knowledge to aid such a prestigious writer.
"Precisely. Although I'm actually planning to write a book; a biography of sorts."
Apollo's eyes lit up. She wasn't talking about him right?! His own autobiography! "So want would you like to know? I can tell you about anything: how I came to join the Wright Anything Agency or perhaps about one of the cases I helped solve?" The attorney was blushing now; he was eager to get started.
"What on earth are you babbling about?"
He froze; sensing that he was about to be embarrassed. "My biography…"
"Your biography?" Jacqueline almost laughed. Almost. "I'm afraid you've misinterpreted me, Mr Justice. I plan to write the biography of Kristoph Gavin. I simply need you to share with me all that you know about his career as an attorney and his general life – oh, and about his crimes, of course."
Apollo would've been lying if he'd said he wasn't a bit disappointed, but then the reality sunk in: Kristoph Gavin. It had been a long time since someone had mentioned his name and the sooner that all those involved in his web of lies forgot all about him the better. He didn't want to bring up old memories but, at the same time, Apollo didn't want everything that Kristoph did to go unnoticed. This was a difficult decision for the attorney to make.
However his mind appeared to have been made up for him when Phoenix entered the room.
Upon seeing the journalist, Phoenix's face dropped – he couldn't believe she was there in the flesh, sitting on his sofa alongside one of his attorneys with her typical, glossy smile in place. "I think it's time you left, Miss Blakesley." He said without thought, folding his arms and nodding towards the door.
Jacqueline smiled his way, then stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Mr Justice. Give me a call once you've made your decision." She handed Apollo her card with a gloved hand before slinging her handbag over her shoulder and following Phoenix to the door. "I wasn't aware that you'd be here."
"Well, my name is above the door..."
"I apologise. It wasn't my intention to cause trouble."
"Really? Just like you hadn't intended to reveal private secrets about my old place of work to the press and authorities?" Phoenix was ready to slam the door shut.
"That was three years ago, let it go Mr Wright." She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "Although it seems that I did you a favour...you no longer smell of sweat and shame."
The attorney chose to ignore her snide remark. "You had good people shamed and convicted, just so you could have a weighty pay check."
Phoenix watched in disgust as Jacqueline almost smiled at the memory. "The money from the article in question paid for my current mansion…"
"I'm not going to sit back and watch you use Apollo in the same way. Kristoph Gavin left a significant impact on him and I don't want you to abuse his good nature."
"Kristoph Gavin left a significant impact on a lot of people." She bit back, although was quick to regain her composure. "Mr Justice is old enough to make his own decisions. And should he choose to contact me, you shouldn't guide him in the other direction."
"He won't want to get involved with you. Don't worry." Phoenix insisted, his hand still on the door impatiently, waiting for Jacqueline to take the hint - or become bored.
"We shall see." The journalist slipped her sunglasses back over her eyes. "Enjoy cleaning that cesspit behind you." And before the attorney could kick her out, Jacqueline turned her back; however she stopped to make one final remark before walking out of sight. "Oh, by the way, you look rather attractive in that suit."
When Phoenix closed the door, he turned around to see Athena and Apollo both looking at him intently. "What's wrong with the two of you?"
"How do you know her, Mr Wright?" Athena asked curiously.
"That's not important. What's important is that you don't call her Apollo." The attorney said with a clear amount of seriousness. The other two lawyers had never seen this side of Phoenix before; it was like the journalist had stirred up some very bad memories within him.
"What did she do, Mr Wright?" Apollo couldn't deny that he was interested in learning more about the well-known journalist. As well as in her offer.
"She betrayed my trust a few years ago. That's all the two of you need to know. Frankly, Jacqueline Blakesley is a sociopath, and I don't want to see you get tangled up in her games, Apollo."
Apollo half nodded, understanding the situation. However, he couldn't help but feel drawn to the prospect of helping the prestigious writer to pen her latest work. Even though Phoenix seemed adamant that Jacqueline meant trouble, he felt increasingly inclined to schedule an interview with her; the potential opportunity money and fame just seemed too appealing to pass up.
As soon as she'd left the Wright Anything Agency, Jacqueline swung open the door to her Aston Martin car and climbed inside, her gloved hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. Although she didn't set off driving. Instead, the writer took out her mobile phone a dialled a number from her autodial, her voice stern and determined. "I'm afraid my meeting wasn't completely successful. Could you please have a…persuasion sent to Mr Justice? Asap. Thank you. I'll see you later." Jacqueline hung up before the person on the other end could reply; although they didn't need to. The recipient had learned long ago to follow the blonde's orders without questioning her as she always knew what she was doing. Since the first day they'd met, it was apparent that Jacqueline was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it – leaving no other option but to aid her endless quests for success – even if they weren't always in agreement. Jacqueline was well and truly in charge.
Once everyone had left the office for the night, Phoenix sat alone at his desk, in deep thought. Seeing Jacqueline in the flesh for the first time in four years had really shaken him up; even if he didn't want to admit it. Unlocking and opening the bottom desk drawer, he took out an old binder that held a cluster of old documents and flicked through the tattered pages of hand-written notes and newspaper articles until something small fell out. Phoenix bent down to pick the loose item up, noticing that it was an ace of hearts. That very ace of hearts card. Examining it, the attorney saw the bright red lipstick print on the front, as well as the cursive handwritten words: My dearest Phoenix. All my love, Jacqueline. He vividly remembered the night she'd written that, the night that she'd kissed the card after winning their game of poker. It had been her only win – that Phoenix had left her have – and the night had truly been memorable. Even now that he'd tried to move on and put those days during his disbarment far behind him.
3 Years Ago…
Jacqueline smiled and set the cards down. "And it looks like I've won. Well Mr Wright, I thought that you were the unbeatable champion but perhaps the Borscht Bowl Club will have to embrace me as the reigning queen of poker, hm?"
Phoenix wished he could've wiped that smug smirk off the writer's powdered face; although he didn't want to admit that he'd grown sweet on her, enough so to let her win their game of poker.
"Aw don't look so glum," Jacqueline said, taking another sip of vodka. "See, I'll sign my winning card to commemorate this moment." She smiled and took out a pen from her handbag, scribbling something down on the ace of hearts card that had ultimately won the game. Before handing the card back to Phoenix, the writer planted a large red kiss on the front. "There, now all of your future opponents will be made aware that your ace of hearts is mine. My winning card."
The ex-attorney couldn't help but get lost in her blue eyes. She was a proud know-it-all with ridiculously expensive tastes but he just couldn't stop smiling whenever she strolled through the doors every other night. Phoenix loved her blue eyes, her elegant accent - even her cold comments. In fact, whenever the writer acted so smugly, he just wanted to tell her of his feelings even more. To tell her that he really wanted to be with her, to make her happy. Even if it was more than apparent that she was out of his league.
"Phoenix?" Jacqueline brought Phoenix back down to earth with a rosy smile. She'd moved round the table to stand over him, the mixed scent of vodka and expensive perfume lingered on her body, overwhelming the pianist; although he had become accustomed to the overpowering, yet irresistible blend that the woman wore so well. Her face was now inches from his, leaning over with a smirk. "I believe that the winner always gets a reward?"
"Well, what do you want?" Phoenix asked, unsure where this was going.
Tilting her head to the side in amusement, Jacqueline let out a soft laugh. "I want something that I don't already have. Something special." He was unsure whether the alcohol had made the two of them susceptible or if their true feelings for one another were surfacing, but the two instantly fell into each other's embrace as their lips collided clumsily. And when they eventually became tired, the pair drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. However, Jacqueline had gone when Phoenix awoke, leaving a note of apology behind in her familiar cursive handwriting. Although it would be two weeks later before the pianist realised what she had to be sorry about.
And suddenly that one word wasn't enough.
A/N
I hope this was okay sorry I've been really sleep-deprived of late so my grammar is probably bad but eh I'll check it over tomorrow during my free periods at highschool tomorrow.
This fanfiction required me to do a ton of research into Phoenix's pianist, grape juice drinking years and the Borscht Bowl Club at which he worked since it's been so long since I played AJ and I wanted to get my facts straight. You'll learn more about his past with Jacqueline soon and how she betrayed his trust by the way. I just don't want to rush in there - or go too slowly actually.
Thanks for reading!