Chapter 3
Three days later, she was flying to New York to meet with Margaret Stanford. She had no idea if it was something she would really go through with, but the money sounded good and it was an all-expense paid trip to the Big Apple. What harm could there be in checking into it further?
Her plane arrived late, almost two hours past its arrival time. She hoped it wasn’t an indication of things to come. It had been her intention to get into town and check into her room, maybe take a nap and freshen up a bit before the meeting, but that wasn’t going to happen due to the delay. Instead, the driver that had been sent to pick her up at the airport waited while she checked in and had a quick change of clothes in her room. A mere twenty minutes after having arrived at her hotel, he was now parking in front of a rather innocuous looking building that looked like anything but a clinic.
“Ah, welcome,” a young lady behind a desk told her as she stepped inside and told her that she was there to see Ms. Stanford. She listened as she was given directions and then headed toward the elevator.
She reluctantly stepped off at the correct floor and made her way slowly toward the door she had been instructed to enter. Now that she was here, her nervousness was kicking into full gear as she considered why she was even considering this. Though she had no real intention of going through with it, the money was more than she’d ever had in her life. She did okay for herself when she didn’t have someone else putting her in deep debt, but this was like winning the lottery, except you had to exchange a baby instead of the winning ticket. It was money that would get her back in good standing, with plenty left over, but Christ . . . having a baby for it?
“Miss Durham?” a well-dressed woman said to her as she stepped just inside the office door.
“Yes. Ms. Stanford?”
“Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Have a seat and we’ll get right to things,” Ms. Stanford replied, walking around the desk to shake her hand.
She didn’t waste any time. That was good. She could be in and out of here quickly, with the rest of the day at her disposal. Ashley sat in the chair opposite the woman’s desk while she resumed her seat and opened a file on the desk in front of her.
Ms. Stanford launched into what Ashley assumed was a very tiresome speech for her. How many women came through this office with no intention of following through, just for the opportunity to get a free night out in the city? Was she the only one with such shallow goals? The thought made her feel bad about the possibility that she was alone in her duplicity, but wasn’t it that sort of thinking that always ended up with her as the one being taken for a fool? Well, not this time.
“If you choose to allow us to complete a preliminary exam and testing, which would be done today on premises, you’ll receive one hundred dollars cash for your time. It doesn’t take long, and the results will be back within hours. If you are a match to one of our clients, you’ll be asked to come back in for an interview and further discussion. How does that sound?” Ms. Stanford was saying.
“Sounds great,” Ashley replied.
She had to admit, she was still a bit overwhelmed by the revelation of how much this paid. She had always believed surrogates were only paid a reasonable living wage to replace lost work and expenses. Anything beyond that, she had thought, was illegal. The idea that she was being offered millions to do this was, in itself, suspect. The initial fee wasn’t much, but it was truly just a drop in a bucket. Still, that Ben Franklin would buy her a great night out beyond what expenses were being covered. She could use it to go toward bills, but why bother when a hundred dollars wouldn’t even chip the edge of the iceberg bearing down on her?
“Let’s get you started then,” Ms. Stanford replied, standing to walk her out.
Ashley found herself being left in a rather sterile white waiting area behind some doors further down the hallway. A woman who didn’t look old enough to be a physician came out to meet them and escorted her into a nearby exam room where she began talking her through the tests they would do.
“Before we start, and I mean no offense, but are you a licensed doctor?” she asked.
“I am a resident at Mount Sanai and assist here as required,” the woman replied with a smile.
“I’m sorry. You just look so young,” Ashley told her.
“Yes. You aren’t the first to ask. It’s okay. My name is Dr. Bartlett. If you will slip off your underwear and lie back on the table, we can get started. This won’t take long. I will only be doing a quick physical exam, including a pelvic, and taking some blood for further analysis.”
“Okay,” Ashley replied, pulling her panties off, and stuffing them into the pocket of her dress before lying back on the paper lined exam table.
Why not? She usually paid her gynecologist to look at her hoo hoo. She might as well get paid this time. Besides, the quicker she got this over with, the sooner she’d be out of here and sipping a nice glass of merlot in a New York rooftop bar somewhere. She lay still as the doctor did her exam and then drew a few small vials of blood.
“All right, that’s it. We’re done here,” Dr. Bartlett said cheerfully.
Ashley stood and accepted the wipe the doctor provided her, turning away as she cleaned herself off and slipping her panties back on while the doctor stood at a nearby counter, labeling her collection of medical vials. She asked her some final questions relating to her medical history and menstrual cycles before walking her out, back down to Ms. Stanford’s office.
“We’re finished, Margaret,” the doctor told her before saying a polite goodbye to Ashley and leaving.
“Well, you’re done here for today, then,” Ms. Stanford told her, retrieving an envelope from the desk, and handing it to her. “Here’s your payment for the exam. Our driver will return you to the hotel.”
“Thank you,” Ashley replied.
“Do you have any questions before you go?” Ms. Stanford asked.
“I can’t think of any,” Ashley told her.
In fact, she had a million questions, but they were pointless to ask, since she had no intention of seeing this through. Instead, they said their goodbyes and she left the clinic, nestling back into the dark sedan that carried her back to her hotel room. Inside, she took the nap she had missed earlier so that she could be fresh for a night out in the Big Apple.
She was awakened a few hours later by the sound of the room phone ringing. Shaking off the deep sleep she had been in, she answered it, at first not comprehending what was being said from the other end, but finally waking up enough to absorb that it was Ms. Stanford.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Ashley asked.
“Dr. Bartlett has finished with your tests and you are a match for one of our clients. I’d like to see if you could return to our office in the morning for a meeting with him.”
“My flight is booked for early morning,” Ashley replied, making her polite excuses quickly.
“That’s no problem. We can take care of rearranging the flight we provided and set you up for an additional night in your current suite, with expenses, of course,” Ms. Stanford replied.
Ashley considered this. It sounded as if she was making a point that they had been the ones who had provided the flight, but perhaps that was just Ashley feeling guilty for taking advantage of an opportunity that presented itself with no intention of following through.
“Okay. I guess that is what I came here for,” she replied.
There had still been no talk of exactly how much the fee to become a surrogate was. Ms. Stanford had told her that they could only fully discuss that portion of the compensation if she was a match for one of their clients. She only said that it was far higher than normal fees and that it was well over the usual fee. The doctor was the one who had mentioned that some of the fees ran into the millions of dollars.
Once she was off the phone, Ashley became curious and googled surrogate fees. She learned that, while it was not illegal to pay a surrogate, payment was limited to what was considered reasonable. Perhaps the doctor had been wrong, she thought, but then she remembered that Ms. Stanford had said the same in their initial call. It was what had sparked her interest in the first place. Now, though, she seemed to be downplaying it a bit. All Ashley could think was that maybe she wasn’t suitable for that client but another.
According to her research, even the highest payments were only forty thousand, usually paid over a ten month period of the pregnancy. Four thousand a month was still a pretty nice payment and would get her through her debt and unemployment quite nicely, but at the expense of being pregnant with someone else’s child. It was a lot to ask, in her opinion. She climbed out of bed and showered, getting dressed for dinner and a night out. Tomorrow, she’s listen to what they had to offer, but tonight, she planned to enjoy her time in the city.