Chapter 6
A month had passed since the implantation procedure. Just as everyone had hoped, it had been a success. The home pregnancy test that Kelly had taken a week and a half later had come back positive. She had immediately called Dr. Landis, who had confirmed the pregnancy. Grant and Monica were over the moon.
Kelly tried to tell herself that this was the reason she had agreed to this deal. She was making a childless couple so happy. But she knew at the end of the day her real motivation was money, and that this was just a nice benefit. Still, it made her feel good—even if she did think that the Stones had an odd relationship.
Kelly had been studying for a test when her room phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Kelly, it’s Grant.” Oh right! She remembered that he was swinging by today to drop off a check.
“Oh hey Grant!” She got up. “I’ll come let you in.”
Kelly headed out of her room, and down to the main floor. She opened the lobby door, letting Grant step in.
“It’s good to see you!” He looked her over as he stepped inside. Kelly smiled at him.
“Thanks.” She glanced around. The lobby was deserted. All of the other residents were out at class or something else in the middle of the afternoon. “Why don’t we sit?”
“Yes, let’s.” Grant followed her over to a couch. “You shouldn’t be on your feet too much.” Kelly laughed as she sat down.
“Grant, I’m fine. Even the doctor says it’s good for me to be up and moving around.”
“Well, that’s good.” Grant sat down beside her. “So how are you feeling?”
“Not bad.” Kelly shrugged. “I have some morning sickness. And certain foods make me nauseous. But other than that, I’m good.”
“You’re not too tired?” Grant asked. “I hate to think of you spending the entire semester sleeping because you have no energy to do anything.” Kelly laughed again. Maybe it was too flirtatious of an action.
“I wouldn’t be the first college student to sleep through a semester.”
“I should have guessed. We were that way when I was in school.” Grant leaned back on the couch. “But most of the ones that did that when I was in school failed out.”
“That happens too.” Kelly was dead set against that happening to her. He mother would really kill her then.
Grant reached into his coat pocket. He withdrew an envelope from the sport jacket’s interior pocket.
“Here you go. As per our agreement.”
“Thank you.” Kelly was glad to get the check. She tucked it into her lap, not wanting to open it now. “So how is Monica?”
“Oh she’s fine.” Grant shrugged. He always seemed to have few words when Monica came up when they were alone.
“Is she getting the nursery all set up?” Kelly asked.
“Oh, not really.” Grant rolled his eyes. “Monica is very busy.”
“Oh?” Kelly was suddenly intrigued. “Does she have some sort of a new project.” Grant waved his hand dismissively.
“She’s busy with charities and basically being wrapped up in herself.” At the look on Kelly’s face he suddenly realized what he had said. “Oh, no, don’t worry about the baby. She’s going to be the most obsessive mother ever, I promise you that.”
“I really am so glad that I can do this for you guys,” Kelly told him. “Really, I want you guys to be happy.”
“Yeah, me too.” Grant sounded a little sad. Kelly raised a brow.
“Is everything not ok?” Grant looked over at her.
“I just…I don’t know if we’re going to be the picture of a perfect family.”
“Please don’t think like that,” Kelly offered sympathetically. “You guys really do deserve happiness. I mean, you’re such a beautiful couple.”
For a second, she couldn’t believe that she’d said that, but Grant merely laughed.
“Well, thank you. I’m glad to know that others can look at us and see that. You know, we occasionally make magazines. It hasn’t been as much lately, but before I turned thirty—we were in the ‘Top Thirty Under Thirty’ all over the place.”
“That’s awesome!” Kelly couldn’t believe how exciting that sounded. “You guys are so incredibly lucky.”
“I guess that we are,” Grant agreed. “It just doesn’t always feel that way.”
They were silent for a moment. Then Kelly smiled.
“Well, just wait until this little one gets here. You two will be so wrapped up in him, or her, that you won’t know what to do with yourselves.”
“I really hope you’re right.” Grant smiled over at her. “It’s going to be a lucky kid. I am going to make absolutely certain of that.”
It occurred to him that he should go. It was not right for him to be sitting here talking with her like this—he was a married man, after all. But she was such a nice girl, and so incredibly easy to talk to. It made him want to sit with her for hours. The fact that she was such a pretty girl did not help things one bit.
“Well,” he got up, “I should be going.”
“Ah ok.” Kelly hated to sound like it bothered her. He was married—and older than she. She did not have a right to want him to sit and talk to her all day. “I should get back to studying anyway.”
“Yes you should.” Grant headed for the door. “Just in general studying or a specific exam?”
“Test in Asian history.” Kelly shook her head. Grant winced.
“That sounds awful.”
“It is certainly difficult,” Kelly agreed, holding the door open for him. “Thanks for the check.” She held up the envelope. “I’ll get it cashed soon.”
“Whenever you get around to it.” Grant smiled at her. He looked her over for a minute before turning. “All right. See you later, Kelly. Call us if you need anything.”
“You know I will.” Kelly closed the door behind him, and Grant headed across the parking lot to his Mercedes.
Once he settled inside, he had to take a minute to compose himself. Why did he seem to fall apart when he was around Kelly? She was a college student—and he was married. He had to remind himself that he could not relive his youth with her. She was pregnant with his baby—a baby that he was going to raise with his wife of five years. He needed to get his act together—and fast.
Grant drove himself home. He would get home, and see if Monica wanted to go out to dinner. Maybe the two of them could really talk. He would enjoy that. They could get to know each other again. Maybe it would be the start of them really reconnecting. They needed to get busy on that before the baby came.
When Grant pulled up in front of the house, a car that he did not recognize was parked in front of it. Grant frowned. Was it one of Monica’s friends? Or was it a social committee meeting? There were no others, so it must have been a one off.
He headed into the house, dropping his keys on the front table.
“Monica?” he called.
She was not in the downstairs living room, or the den. She was not in either of their offices. That only left upstairs, and he could not imagine who she might have over that required a trip upstairs. There were only bedrooms on the second floor, and absolutely no place for entertaining.
As he reached the top of the stairs, he thought that he heard voices. They appeared to be coming from the master bedroom. Had he misinterpreted the car? Was it actually a cleaning service? Monica had been talking about having the carpeting professionally cleaned.
But the master bedroom door was closed. That seemed particularly odd. Why would Monica bring a cleaning person into their bedroom and close the door? He told himself that she must have done it to show them something specific—a particular spot on the carpet or something of that nature.
“Monica?” Grant pushed open the bedroom door. Instantly he froze. What he saw before his eyes was the last thing that he was expecting.
Monica lay in their bed—naked. Beside her, was a man that Grant could only see his back. Then the man turned to face him, and he instantly recognized him. The man was Philip Behr—the head of accounting from his office.
“What the hell is going on here?”
“Grant, I can explain—” Philip was sitting up, pulling the covers to his chest.
“The hell you can!” Grant yelled. “Get out of here!”
“But—” Philip stammered.
“Grant, calm down just a minute—” Monica began.
“No!” Grant snapped. “For that matter, you get out too!”
“Now just wait—” Philip tried, but Grant grabbed the handful of clothes which lay at the foot of the bed.
“GET OUT!”
“Okay! Okay!” Philip was fumbling into clothes. Monica was getting out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her.
“Grant—”
“OUT!” Grant was shoving a crumpled dress at her. “GET OUT! NOW! HOW DARE YOU, MONICA! HOW DARE YOU!”
Grant turned, storming from the room. He grabbed an antique vase from a hall table. Immediately, he pitched it down the hallway. From the bedroom, Philip and Monica both winced at the sound of the breaking china.