Chapter Seven
Michael
This time, I was the one waiting impatiently in the conference room for Lee. She raised an eyebrow at me as she came in. “If I didn't know better, I'd say you were excited about this meeting,” she said with a smile.
I rolled my eyes. “I just want to get the ball rolling on this,” I said. “As soon as the paperwork is all finished, we can start the actual action.”
“How did you choose this woman anyway?” Lee asked curiously.
“She's the one who came up with the idea of surrogacy,” I told her. “Anyway, she's attractive and intelligent. She seems like the perfect choice.” I frowned. “The only downside is that, like I said over the phone, she apparently has some changes that she'd like to make to the contract. I'm not sure how I feel about that.”
“We'll have to see what it is that she wants to change,” Lee said.
Paige walked into the room, looking more businesslike than she did at the bar. I appreciated the way her blazer emphasized her curves. Her slacks were tight-fitting and accentuated the length of her legs. I could feel my dick twitch with interest already, and I spared a thought to hope that we would be able to come to some sort of agreement that day, because I didn't want to walk out of here knowing that I couldn't sleep with her, and I doubted she would sleep with me if she thought it was an attempt to get her pregnant despite her not having signed the contract.
I shook my head to clear it and nodded at her as she sat down across from me. “Good afternoon,” I said.
“Hi,” Paige said, smiling at me. She sounded breathless, as though maybe she was as nervous and excited as I was. It made me smile to think about. “Is this your attorney?” she asked.
“My name is Lee Atwater,” Lee said smoothly. “Now, Mr. Adams said you had some changes that you wanted to make to the contract.”
“I do,” Paige agreed. She pulled her copy of the contract out of the folder that she'd been carrying, and I could see that she'd marked it up heavily. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you trained in law?” I asked her.
Paige laughed. “Oh, of course not,” she said. “But I've got a friend who gave me a little advice. Anyway, I figured as long as I had my thoughts out there, Lee could help with figuring out exactly what I can ask for.”
“All right,” I said.
“Now, the main concern I have is, are you sure this doesn't count as prostitution?”
“What we're planning to do is completely legal,” Michael said. “We've already considered that. But just to keep things from going to the media and causing an uproar, I had you sign the NDA.”
“Right,” Paige said. “Regarding the NDA, I hope you don't mind that I told my best friend all about this. I live with her so she would get suspicious if I didn't tell her where I suddenly got my money from. And she'd want to know who the dad was if she thought that there was a chance of there being an actual relationship between us. She's a romantic, deep down.”
“But you aren't?” I asked curiously.
Paige shook her head. “I'm a realist,” she said. “Sure, I think that two people can build a life together if that's what they want, but I don't believe in soulmates or anything like that. Relationships take work. And sometimes they don't work out. But most of all, I guess I just don't see myself ending up with anyone long-term. I'm just not interested in anyone in that way.”
“Good,” I said, feeling relieved. Just as I'd suspected. It sounded like she could be the perfect candidate for my surrogate. Except that there were these unknown changes that she wanted to make to the contract. Who knew what those could be.
“The first stipulation I have is that you pay me half the money when I conceive,” Paige said. “I'll need to take care of myself if I'm going to have a baby. You probably don't want me living with a roommate in a studio apartment, and you probably also don't want me working at the bar every night. I'm going to need to buy proper, nutritious food, pay for visits to the doctor, buy maternity clothes, and so on.”
“That's fair,” I said slowly.
“I'm also afraid that things might change and that I might grow too attached to the child in the end,” she continued, looking nervous. “If I give birth to the child and decide that I want to keep it, you can keep the rest of your money, but I get to keep the kid.”
I was silent, staring at her, my jaw tight. “That defeats the whole purpose of this arrangement,” I said. What kind of an idiot did she take me for? I stood up. “I'm afraid you're wasting my time,” I said, my voice betraying my irritation. “Have a good day; I'll find someone else.”
“Hang on, hear me out,” Paige said, holding up a hand. “I'm not finished.”
I stared at her for a long moment and then slowly sat back down. “Well?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.
Paige took a deep breath. “If I decide to keep the baby, we'll do it again. And that time, you'll get to keep the child. So it might take two years, but I still promise to give you a child of your own.”
I frowned, thinking that over. I didn't like that she thought she could make demands, but then again, I had wanted an intelligent woman, so I supposed this was what I got for that. I didn't like the idea of waiting for the second-born child, but then again, if I turned her down and had to go find a new woman to discuss this with, that would take time as well.
“All right,” I agreed even though I didn’t like the changes. Then, I paused. “What if after you have the first child, though, the doctor says that you're not fit to have another child?”
Paige frowned. “What if I carry the baby for eight or nine months and it's stillborn?” she challenged. “What if the baby has some cognitive disability and could never take over your business? You're asking me to deliver you a human life. There is always going to be the chance that you're not going to get a healthy baby.” She paused. “But then again, isn't that what business is all about? Risk and reward. I'm sure you've had investments flop before.”
I thought that over for a second. “You're right,” I sighed. “I want this to work.” I continued to think it over for a moment. “What are your other changes?” I asked.
“That's it,” Paige said, shrugging. “I need to be able to talk about this with my best friend, I need half the money up front, and I get to keep the first child if I find myself too attached to it.”
“That all seems fair,” I said slowly. I nodded at Lee. “How long do you think it will take to draw up the paperwork?”
“I can have it ready in fifteen minutes,” Lee said, already typing away on her laptop.
“Okay,” I said, getting to my feet. I offered Paige a hand up. “We'll be in my office. Paige, why don't we go get some coffee,” I suggested.
“So you own this whole place?” Paige asked curiously as I led her away from the conference room and back to my office.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing around and trying to see it through her eyes. It was impressive, I supposed. “My father gave me a loan to start an investment company. The first thing I did was invest here, and since then, it's made me my millions. But lately, I don't have much hand in the actual goings-on of this company; I prefer to take the money I've made and invest it elsewhere. Currently, I'm working with a couple companies that promote scientific advancements in the renewable energy field. It could be very lucrative in the coming years.”
“I'd imagine so,” Paige said, sounding interested. “So you'd expect your son or daughter to do the same?”
I paused, thinking it over. “I'd like to have an heir for my fortunes,” I said finally. “But if they weren't interested in business, there are plenty of opportunities out there in the world. I can afford to send them to the best music schools in the world, or help secure the best internship opportunities. The kid will have whatever they want in the world.”
“Sounds like you're on track to spoil them,” Paige said, a hint of a smile on her face. But I didn't like what she had said.
“It's none of your business, how I choose to parent them,” I reminded her sharply. “If they're spoiled, that's my prerogative. You won't have any part in how the kid is raised.”
I shouldn't have said it as sternly as I did, but I wanted to be realistic about this and make sure she was thinking through all the ramifications of signing the contract. If she was feeling at all wishy-washy about it, I had to know. I didn't know her very well, but I didn't want to get her involved in something she wasn't comfortable with.
I didn't think I could give her the kind of relationship she must have always imagined for herself, and if she thought that was what this was, she was destined to be disappointed.
Paige turned silent, but when Lee brought in the contracts a couple minutes later, her hand was steady as she signed her name.
“You know, the timing is perfect,” she said with a laugh as Lee left the room. “I haven't had a chance to re-up my birth control prescription for the month, and I should be ovulating this week.”
I grinned at her. “Well, in that case, why don't you come over to my house tonight?” I asked. “I'll make dinner, and we'll see where it takes us. Text me your address, and I'll have a driver come by to pick you up.”
“Sounds good,” Paige said, her eyes already dark with lust. This was going to be too easy.
I was surprised at myself. Sure, she was attractive, with those bright green, bewitching eyes of hers and that lithe, athletic physique. But I had never been so attracted to a woman before that I was impatient to bed her. And I had never invited a woman over to my place for dinner before.
It was partly her intelligence, I knew that. It was the fact she had read through the contract and come up with a reasonable list of demands of her own. But still, I had to remind myself I couldn't be interested in her. Bedding her was just a means to an end. Once the child was born, I would have nothing to do with her.
For some reason, the thought made me unhappy. It wasn't that I wanted a relationship, but perhaps I imagined us as friends. That would be too difficult, though, and too confusing.
“See you tonight,” Paige said, giving a wave and then leaving me alone in my office.
I sank into my desk chair, staring at the door and wondering if maybe this contract had been a mistake after all. It wasn't too late to go the clinical route, I didn't think.
I shook my head and forced myself to look at some of my current investment opportunities. I was just overthinking things.