Chapter 10
“This is highly inappropriate,” Ms. Stanford was saying to someone as Ashley reached her door.
Rather than going in, she stood outside and waited. No doubt, she had been seen, but she didn’t dare go in. Much to her surprise, she heard Colin replying, so he was apparently on speaker phone.
“Look, we had too much wine and things happened. It changes nothing other than it saves you and me some time in waiting for the pregnancy to take root. I’ll still pay your fees and hers, and it’s all good. Just make arrangements to send her over here immediately.”
There was a click on the other end of the line, as Ms. Stanford started to say something and then stopped, realizing he had ended the call. She pushed a button and looked up at Ashley, who now stood in the door waiting.
“Go ahead. Come on in here,” she said, sounding exasperated.
There was no doubt that she ran a well-oiled, professional machine and didn’t take kindly to this sort of breach of protocol. She pursed her lips and sighed as Ashley sat down.
“Okay, well, we are apparently ahead of schedule and I need to get you sent to Scotland. How soon can you be ready?”
“I just need to put some final things on hold and in storage. I’m pretty much ready to go already.”
“Fine. I’ll have accounting cut you a check for the remainder of the initial payment and rebook your flight so that you can return home today to take care of your personal business. I’ll get you a flight to Scotland for first thing Monday morning. That gives you five days to sort things out before you leave. Is that adequate?”
“Yes, more than enough time.”
“Good. Wait here.”
She disappeared while Ashley waited quietly in her office. Though she had been prepared for this, or so she thought, now that it was actually happening, she felt incredibly unnerved by it all. She was about to leave everything behind to move over three thousand miles away and have a strange man’s baby. Sure, she knew Colin to an extent, but this was on a whole new level for her. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became.
“Ashley?” a voice said from behind her.
She turned to see Dr. Bartlett standing there.
“Yes?” she replied.
“I’ve the blood test results back. You are definitely pregnant. This envelope contains a copy of your medical records. Take it with you to Scotland for the doctor there. Under no circumstances are you to see any doctor but the one that has been arranged for you there, so if you get sick or anything before you leave or along the way, get in touch with Ms. Stanford for a referral.”
“Privacy concerns?” Ashley asked.
“Partly, but also you are carrying a child with a different DNA pattern from your own. We can’t risk any tests that might result in discovery of that. It could lead to a lot of unwanted questions for everyone involved.”
“Ah, I see. Thanks,” Ashley replied, accepting the sealed manila envelope in her hands.
Ashley’s mind ran wild with farfetched notions about ending up in some government lab like a top secret lab rat. Maybe she hadn’t thought this thing through well enough. So many things could happen that could make her life difficult. It was hard to believe that she now had a baby growing inside of her, especially one that didn’t really belong to her. For a moment, she considered that they had never asked for any proof that this was Colin’s child. Why had they not considered that she could be pregnant by someone else and passing it off as his in case the insemination didn’t take place.
It was something she would never do, but how did they know that? Surely, there were women in the world that would do such a thing and then find a way out of the contract just for the comforts being offered while pregnant. Then it hit her, of course they knew she was telling the truth. Colin had confirmed the liaison, but she could have slept with someone else. What didn’t lie was the blood test Dr. Bartlett had taken while she was in her office. She had always heard that you couldn’t determine the father of a child while it was still in the womb without more invasive measures, but these people were far advanced. She was guessing that there was some marker in her own blood now. Something that indicated the presence of shifter DNA in her system, in this case, in her womb.
“All right, Ashley. We’re all set. Here is a check and here is a confirmation for your ticket leaving here at four this afternoon. You can pick up your ticket at the gate. I will email you the arrangements for your departure to Scotland a little later this afternoon. The car is already downstairs waiting for you.”
She was all business now, obviously still pissed off about the situation, but always a model of professional courtesy. Ashley nodded and accepted the envelope she offered, thanking her and making a hasty exit from the building. She climbed into the waiting sedan and leaned back against the cool leather seats as they made their way through the New York streets back to her hotel. She had been prepared to stay there for a few days per Ms. Stanford’s instructions, but now she found herself packing what she had only unpacked last night when she arrived.
Once that was done, she lay across the bed and stared at the ceiling, everything whirling wildly about her head. She put her hand on her flat tummy, wondering how long it would take to even start showing. She realized she knew next to nothing about being pregnant. Popping back up from the bed, she grabbed her bag and headed down to the front desk for directions.
Twenty minutes later, she was standing in a large bookstore near Times Square buying several books that might help her learn about what was going to be happening to her body in the coming months. She paid for them and then decided to spend some time walking around, as she had a couple hours to kill before the driver returned to take her to the airport.
Spotting a branch of her bank, she ducked inside and deposited the check into her account. It was a cashier’s check, so she didn’t have to wait days for it to clear, which was good. As soon as she got home, she intended to use it to get herself out of the mess that Dennis had left in his wake. It would be nice to be in the clear again. She realized that she hadn’t thought twice about him since the day he had left. It just went to show how done she had been with him from the day she said goodbye, most likely even before that.
By nightfall, she had landed in Atlanta and was on her way home in her own car. She would have to take it to the garage she had found so that the attendants could keep an eye on it as well as move it about from time to time to prevent a litany of issues created by it sitting in one place too long. With all the small details she had thought of, she couldn’t help but think there was something she was bound to have not considered. It was just something she’d have to deal with if it came up. All she could do was be as prepared as possible.
Five days later, as scheduled, she was boarding an overseas flight to begin the slightly less than nine month adventure she had signed up for. She sat looking out the window, waiting for the flight to finish boarding when she heard a familiar voice in the aisle.
“Is this seat taken?”
She looked up to see Colin smiling down at her. Puzzled, she crooked her head at him and blinked, as if she might be hallucinating.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you make the trip alone, did you? I would have been here sooner, but I got held up on my flight in from New York. I was afraid I was going to miss the flight back out and not even be there when you arrived in Scotland!” he laughed.
Ashley chuckled nervously as he took a seat beside her and leaned back, going ahead and putting his seatbelt on.
“I really hate flying,” he commented with a groan.
“You mean in a plane,” she added.
“Of course,” he said with a wink.