Chapter 2
“It’s been a month,” Sandra said as she took a seat next to Mia’s desk. She'd closed the doors behind her to give them some privacy even though it was late in the day and most of the staff had already left. The papers were filled with speculations as to the the CEO’s chances of recovering and coming out of the coma he was in.
Fortunately, the shares hadn't taken a nosedive due to the unfortunate events but for how long? Sandra and Mia kept the company running, along with Simon who'd rallied around them, making sure that nothing slipped past them, legally. The board members were still not in an accepting mood where Sandra was concerned but the Bell siblings owned the majority shares in the company so there was nothing they could do. It was almost Christmas and the new software was making waves around the world.
“It’s still early.” Mia quickly recorded something she needed to deal with first thing in the morning before turning to her friend. It always surprised her, the differences between the two siblings. Sandra was marginally attractive with dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. She was tall and gangly and was never and could never be as confident as her brother. An abnormality in her uterus had shown that she would never be able to bear children and she'd come to accept it. Sebastian was tall and handsome, with his dark good looks and his arrogance —which he wore like a cloak—but the two were fiercely loyal to each other.
Sandra took a deep
breath and stared at Mia before speaking. . “Two years ago,
after I discovered that I could never bring a child into this world,
I spoke to Sebastian about us dying and not having anyone to carry on
our legacy.”
“Sandra—”
She held up a hand.
“Please, let me finish Mia,” she said, talking a breath.
“You're in love with my brother and you've proven yourself to
be very loyal. As I was saying, I persuaded Sebastian to freeze his
sperm in case anything happened to him. He scoffed at the idea but I
never stopped until he agreed to do it.”
Mia looked at her
with a frown. “What are you saying?”
Sandra looked her squarely in the eyes. “I want you to carry his sperm.”
Mia stared at the woman in shock.
“I know it's a lot to ask you—”
“How long have you been thinking about this?’
“A week,” Sandra said with a shaky laugh. “I want it to be you, Mia, for the obvious reasons. Aside from Sebastian and me you're the only one who really cares about what happens to this company.”
“Sandra, do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?” Mia asked her slowly.
“It sounds like
madness, I know, but I need to know that if anything happens and he
doesn't wake up—”
“He will!” Mia said
grimly.
“You keep
saying that but there's no guarantee.” She took her friend’s
hands in hers. “At least he'll have someone carrying on his
legacy.”
“Sandra this is—”
“I know, and I've turned it over and over in my mind. Will you?”
Mia stared at her and thought about it. She was in love with the man and she suspected that she would always be in love with him no matter what happened. She shivered at the thought of carrying his child or children inside her! She blinked and looked at the woman. “I must be as crazy as you are, but yes.” She shook her head. “God help us both!”
*****
Doctor Michael Blasdell stared at the two women inside his office for a long time before speaking. “I'm going to need his consent,” he said slowly.
“Michael; my
brother's in a coma so as you know he's incapable of making a
decision or giving consent,” Sandra said impatiently.
“I'm
not sure about this Sandra—”
“We've donated millions to this facility for research, Michael,” Sandra said with a touch of arrogance. Mia hid a smile as she realized that the woman had more of her brother in her than she'd realized. “I'm Sandra Bell, part owner of one of the largest tech companies in the world and I'm giving consent. If you have a problem doing what we ask then I have no problem going elsewhere, and that would be a downright shame.”
“Of course,” the man said with a smile.
“Good. Now what’s the procedure?”
He looked at Mia. “We
will make sure you're ovulating-‘
“I'm ovulating as we
speak,” Mia said smoothly. “We came prepared Dr.
Blasdell, so let’s do this.”
“Now?” He stared at her.
“Why not?”
She shrugged elegant shoulders. “As I said before, I'm
ovulating so now's the time.
“There are procedures—”
“Like
unfreezing the sperm and washing it. We read up on it.”
“Good.” The doctor looked at both women with a dazed expression. “We'll get started.”
*****
“Third time's a charm, right?” Mia said as she handed Sandra a glass of wine. It had been weeks, since they'd first decided to go ahead with the implantation and much to their disappointment the first two hadn't caught on. She hadn't gotten pregnant but had decided to keep trying. Sebastian had been in a coma for three months but both women found that the implantation procedure and the waiting and anxiety had taken their minds off the troubling thought of him not waking up.
Now, at the manor Sandra shared with her brother, both of them were waiting on the urine test that Mia had just done in the bathroom. The doctor had told them that the test wasn't a hundred percent accurate but they could do an initial test at home before coming in. Christmas had come and gone with the atmosphere around the towering building that housed Bell’s Technologies shrouded in sadness. Sebastian Bell was an arrogant and calculating boss but he was a fair one and was missed. The company was off for the holidays and would open again on January 2nd. Mia had come over the night before and would be spending a few days with Sandra.
“Right,” Sandra swallowed down the rich burgundy wine quickly. It was almost midnight and the staff had already turned in for the night. The two women were in Sandra’s elegant pale champagne suite, in her sitting room as they waited on the result. “Are we doing the right thing?”
“Isn’t it too late to ask that?” Mia asked with lifted brows. The stick was on the table between them and they were waiting for it to say positive or negative.
“You're right.” Sandra took a deep breath and looked at her friend. “Want to do the honors?”
“No. You do it.’
She moved forward, and picking up the stick stared at it for a full minute before saying anything.
“Sandra, you're making me nervous.”
The woman stared at her friend, her expression dazed. “It’s positive.”
“What?” Mia lurched forward and grabbed the stick. “Oh, God!” she whispered as she stared at the positive sign. “I'm pregnant?”
“That’s what it says.” Sandra drew a tremulous breath.
“Okay,” Mia was staring at the stick. “We're going to be smart about this and wait until it's confirmed by the doctor. Right?”
“Screw that! You're pregnant with my brother’s child or maybe children!”
“Sandra, calm down.” Mia felt her heart racing inside her chest and her hands trembling. “Oh my Lord. I'm pregnant with his child.” She put her hand on her flat stomach. “There's no turning back now.”
*****
It was confirmed. She was indeed pregnant.
“What’s the next step?” Mia asked the doctor briskly as she and Sandra sat inside his office after the thorough examination.
“To monitor the pregnancy and make sure you get all the right vitamins,” Dr. Blasdell told them.
“I know: eat all my vegetables and all that. I eat healthy doctor, so that’s nothing new. I want to know if I can still go on my regular runs and use the treadmill. Will there be any harm to the fetus?”
He smiled a little at the her. “No, it won’t. I'm going to want you to come and see me every month.”
“No problem,” Mia said with a nod.
“There's another thing, Michael,” Sandra interjected. “As you know, being a Bell we happen to make news and the reporters have been sniffing around the hospital and trying to find out what's the status concerning my brother and the company. This cannot get out at all.”
He looked at her, obviously affronted. “I've been your doctor and friend for more than fifteen years, Sandra.”
“Good.” She nodded. “I would like to keep it that way.” They both got to their feet. “Thanks, Michael.”
They waited until they'd entered the unobtrusive vehicle before they let out a whoop of joy.
“We're really doing this!” Sandra said in wonder as she stared at Mia.
“You mean I'm really doing this,” Mia said dryly with a grin. “I'm pregnant with your brother’s child, and I know it's crazy and we're probably going to regret what we've done but right now I'm over the moon!”
Sandra stared at her for a moment. “Because you love him.”
Mia snapped on her seatbelt. “Because I love him.” She glanced at her friend briefly. “It might not make sense to you, because frankly it doesn't make much sense to me. I fell in love with Sebastian in spite of the arrogant ass he always is. I thought it was just lust for an incredibly attractive man but it was more than that. I love everything about him. I can close my eyes and remember every nuance of his expression, the way he concentrates when he thinks he's on the brink of the next new discovery. The way he looks when he has to meet with the board about something difficult. Even when he's on the verge of breaking it off with one of those silly women he sees.”
“And even seeing him go out with them you still love him,” Sandra said with wonder as she tapped on the window for the driver to go ahead.
“It's not something you can turn off just because the guy's a jerk,” Mia said with a smile. “I'm always practical. And practically, I knew that I was in love with the guy and it was not going away.”
*****
“Uncle B?” Mia stamped the snow off her boots before she came inside and took off her coat. It had been two days since she'd found out that she was pregnant. She'd left the manor and drove straight to his place on her way back to her apartment.
“In the kitchen, love. I have hot chocolate waiting and some store bought cookies.”
Mia walked into the cozy kitchen to see him seated around the small table where he often had his meals.
“Sit,” he gestured to the seat opposite him and pushed the cookies towards her.
“I see the guy
came to put in the heating system,” she commented as she took a
sip of the beverage. “It’s nice and warm in here.”
“And
I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The old joints really needed
the warmth.”
“You're welcome.” She sipped some more and stared at him.
“It’s not like you to hesitate. Spill it, girl.”
She'd called and told
him she had something to tell him.
“You're right.”
She put the cup down. “I'm pregnant.”
Beres Graves
stared in obvious surprise. “Who's the guy?”
Mia picked up a cookie and shredded it slowly. “Sebastian Bell.”
“So he woke up
and you two had sex.”
“He's still in a coma Uncle B
and you know that.”
He shook his greying head. “Forgive me for being so dense, girl, but I don’t understand.”
Mia laughed softly at his expression and explained it to him.
He stared at her for a long moment and didn't say anything.
“Say something.”
Beres drank a mouthful of the hot chocolate and stared at her. “You're an adult and I've always admired the way you go about things. You're determined and ambitious and confident. I told you that you remind me of your mother not just in looks but also in temperament. I trust you to know what you're doing.”
She stared at the man she thought of as a father and, reaching across, she gripped his hands with hers. “Thank you.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Great! I suspect that in another two weeks or so I'll be saying something different.”
*****
And she was right. The nausea came two weeks later. And it was more than morning sickness, it lasted all through the day with her feeling weak and sometimes unable to get out of bed. The doctor gave her something to take the edge off and that was how she was able to get to work and be her usual productive self.
“You can always take some time off,” Sandra told her two weeks after she'd been back to work.
“Because I'm pregnant with your brother’s child?” Mia scoffed as she scanned the document she was sending off to the R&D department. She made a note of everything, the messages, and the calls and put them in a folder on her computer for when Sebastian woke up. “I'm a professional, honey, and I will continue to work even though I feel like crap most days.”
“At least cut back on the hours,” Sandra insisted.
“Is that an order or a request?” Mia asked with raised brows.
“I don’t want to make it an order, Mia. You're my friend first and foremost and I know that you don’t do very well with orders,” Sandra said dryly.
“You know me too well,” she said with a laugh. “Okay, if I still feel like crap when evening comes I'll go home and rest and try and eat something. I can't eat meat, so that’s out. The smell of lasagna turns my stomach. I mostly eat vegetables and I crave pickles, which I never liked before.”
Sandra laughed at
that. “At least it's nothing disgusting like chalk or
dirt.”
“Yuck!” Mia made a face. “That’s
where I would draw the line. Honey, you're going to have to tell
Simon.”
Sandra stared at her for a moment. “He's not
going to understand. He's best friends with Sebastian and he is also
a lawyer who's going to see it as an invasion of privacy and the
taking away of his choice.”
“So make him realize that we did it in his best interest. You're sleeping with the guy Sandra, surely you can make him understand.”
Sandra looked at her sharply. “How long have you known?”
“I'm offended
that I'm supposed to be your best friend and you never told me. I'm a
hound darling, I sniff things out. There's nothing that goes on here
that I don't know. For instance: the receptionist, Marlene is
sleeping with Bart from accounts and Phyllis from accounts is
secretly seeing Julia from the PR department.”
Sandra looked
at her with round eyes. “Phyllis is a lesbian?”
“I would say she's bisexual since she's married to a man, with kids of her own,” Mia said with a laugh.
“These things are happening under my nose and I had no idea,” Sandra said in wonder.
“We're not changing the subject, honey. Is it just sex or is it serious?”
Sandra shook her
head. “I would like to think it's more. He knows I can't have
children because we spoke about that.”
“And he's okay
with that?”
“He's more afraid of Sebastian. They're best friends but he isn't sure my brother would ever approve of our relationship.”
“You're a grown-ass woman and it's not your brother’s business who you see,” Mia told her. “He spent his time screwing empty-headed women so he shouldn't talk.”
Sandra laughed at that. “You're right, of course, but I'm not oblivious to Sebastian’s mercury mood the way you are.”
“You think I am?” Mia asked her wryly. “He terrifies me! But the trick is not to let him know it. That would give him power over me and I have no intention of allowing that to happen!”
*****
“What were you
thinking?” Simon asked furiously as he prowled the length of
her elegant sitting room, his light green eyes flashing. “You
allowed Mia to influence you to do something so foolhardy, Sandra?
You should have come to me.”
“And have you behave the
way you're behaving right now? I don’t think so.” Her
voice had gone frigid as she looked at him. “And I'm insulted
that you think I'm so easily influenced, Simon. I was the one who
went to Mia with the idea.” She pointed to herself. “Me!
I happen to be able to make my own decisions. I run a billion-dollar
company in case you don't remember.”
He stopped abruptly
and came to sit next to her. “I didn't mean to imply—”
“Of
course you did,” she told him coolly. “You and the
members of the board think that my being a woman means that I'm
incapable of making sensible decisions, but you're wrong.”
“I
know you're smart and you're doing a tremendous job with the company,
Sandra, but this is ludicrous! What is Sebastian going to say when he
wakes up?”
Her heart skipped a
beat at that. “One: I'm happy that you're so confident that my
brother will wake up. And two: we'll cross that bridge when we come
to it.”
“Why would Mia agree to something like that?
Did you offer her money?”
Sandra stared at him
and shook her head. “Is that all you can think about?”
“No,
but what would make a woman—” He broke off as he stared
at her. “She's in love with him?”
“You're smarter than you look.” Sandra got to her feet to pour herself a glass of wine without offering him any.
“How long?” Simon demanded.
“Does it matter?” Sandra asked as she sipped her wine.
“It will when your brother wakes up and finds out what the two of you did. Sebastian is cold and ruthless, Sandra, and doesn't take kindly to decisions being made without him.”
“Tough!”
Sandra felt fear at the words. “He wasn't awake to make it and
I—we did it in case—”
“In case he doesn't
wake up,” Simon said slowly. “You're not able to carry on
the line so you thought of the next best thing. Very smart darling,
and we'd better hope that he thinks so too.”
“Did you
come over here to drive fear into my heart?” Sandra demanded.
“No. I came
over here to be with you and for us to have a nice dinner and make
love, but at this point I doubt that is going to happen.” Simon
ran tapered fingers through his sandy hair as he stared at her. “How
long has she been in love with him?”
Sandra shrugged,
feeling as if she was betraying her friend but Simon was her lover...
and more than that. “Almost from the moment she started working
for him.”
“And he never
guessed?”
“She hid it well,” Sandra said with a
smile. “She has this thing about not getting involved with
anyone she works with, and she was determined not to be one of the
women he sees and dumps after a few weeks.”
“I never saw it,” he said, shaking his head.
“She's very good at hiding it.”