by G H Edwards
“I’m sorry,” Claire said softly. “I know I’m not supposed to come here, but I didn’t know where else to go.” She ascended the staircase toward him. It was late afternoon, and the sun illuminated the cavernous office floor.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Claire didn’t answer right away; she reached the top of the stairs and stared at the floor as she walked past him into his office. He was caught off guard by her entering his office; rarely did he allow anyone outside of his closest advisors in. He had the first level of his office specially made to meet people so they’d stay away from his actual office.
“What is it?” he said, his concern turning to annoyance.
“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. It’s my fault.”
“Yes, it is. I told you not to come to my office. People are always watching and would love a piece of juicy gossip. Especially when it’s true. Now I have to figure out a reason for you to be here.”
Allen had in fact warned Claire many times that they shouldn’t be seen together. He had a habit of reminding her just after sex that she could tell no one. His attitude toward her after sex almost bothered her more than anything else.
Claire stood silently in front of his large desk with her head hanging down.
“Well, what is it? You’re already here, so we need to make it quick.”
There was a long silence in the room before Claire quietly cried, “I’m sorry.” She finally said, “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Confused, Allen raced to try to figure out what she was talking about. When he realized the situation, the color drained from his face. His mind switched gears and spun into overdrive as he assessed the problem. He barely heard her when she told him she was pregnant. His thoughts were already five steps past that.
“You said you were on the pill!”
“I’m sorry, the pills made me sick” Claire lied.
“Are you sure it’s mine?” Allen asked, even though he knew for a near fact that it was. If she’d been with anyone else, he would have known. She gave him a look that told him she knew that he knew it was his. “Are you sure? Did you take a test?” he asked, and received nearly the same look. “Have you told anyone?”
“Of course not. I just found out this morning. I pretty much came straight here,” Claire said through tears.
“Pretty much?”
“Yes, I bought a juice then came straight here.”
“Did you talk to anyone? Was anyone watching you? Where is the test?”
Claire laughed. “What are you talking about? I didn’t talk to anyone. And people look at me all the time now. I’m the new ‘it’ girl, remember?”
“Where did you get the juice?” Allen asked aggressively.
“What! Are you serious?” Claire said, beginning to wonder if coming to his office was a good idea. She had expected him to be upset, but his tone seemed so stern, almost deadly. She originally thought they should meet somewhere in public, but she knew he’d never go for that—too much exposure, he’d say.
“Does it sound like I’m serious?” Allen said, sounding very serious.
“The coffee shop across the street from our building,” Claire answered, sounding confused.
Allen walked to his desk, sat down and began to work.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He ignored her and was clicking and typing at high speed. Feeling uncomfortable standing in front of him, she sat down on one of the white leather chairs facing the desk. She had expected a reaction like this.
“Have you gone to the hospital yet?” Allen asked without looking at her.
“No. I told you I came straight here. After the coffee shop, I came straight here.”
He continued to work for a few minutes. Claire felt the time drag on; she was desperate to know what he was working on. She needed to get his attention; she needed to find out what he was doing—and catch him doing it. She began to cry loudly and put her face in her hands. Allen looked up from his screen. He took a deep breath and exhaled, but this problem wasn’t going away. He got up and walked around the desk to her. Then he took her hands from her face and guided her up and into his arms. She cried into his chest as he held her and rolled his eyes.
After the brief embrace, Claire stepped back and hit him on the chest. “You don’t care about me or this baby. You just care about your image!” she yelled, then walked away from him to the corner of his desk.
“Claire, that’s not true. I’m sorry. This is just such a shock. I’m still trying to process this. I do care about you. Calm down and sit with me.”
“I thought maybe you’d be happy or something. I mean, you’ve talked about wanting a child before.” She cried as she casually took a few steps to look at his computer screens. She saw something she’d seen many times. Not just from her old job working at the hospital but also from staring at them with Michael after the diagnoses. “Are those my medical records?” she exclaimed as she pointed to his computer screen. Allen’s eyes grew wide as he shot to the desk and began to close the records. As the records were closed and disappeared, the screen below was displayed. It was snapshot from what looked like a security camera from the coffee shop Claire had just left. “Is that the coffee shop I went to today?” Claire yelled in near hysteria.
“Claire, calm down,” Allen said as he turned to her and put his hands on her arms. “I just wanted to make sure that word hadn’t leaked out somehow.”
“Oh my God!” Claire yelled in his face, “How the hell did you get access to my medical records? And the tapes from the coffee shop?” she yelled as she tried to turn and run from the office, but his grip on her arms was too tight.
“Claire, listen to me. Calm down. One of the companies I look after files medical records, so I pulled yours up. It’s not a big deal. Take a deep breath. I only want the best for you,” Allen said in a calming voice, but Claire continued to struggle. “I only want the best for our child.” She stopped in her tracks and began to sob. Allen wrapped her up in a hug, and she leaned into him. She felt his last comment more than she had wanted to. She needed to clear her mind and focus on her mission.
“We’re going to figure this out. Don’t worry,” Allen said as he leaned his head against hers. “But you might be worrying about this for no reason. We should get you to a doctor to verify this and make sure everything is going okay.”
Claire chuckled. “Let me guess. You just happen to know a doctor who’ll keep this very quiet.”
“Claire, listen to me,” Allen said as he separated from her and put his hands on her arms again. “This isn’t a joke. Word of this can’t leak out. I’m serious. Can I trust you to not talk to anyone until we figure this out?”
“Yes, Terry,” Claire snipped.
“Okay. I’ll set up the appointment for today, and then we can meet up tonight to talk.”
“You’re not going to come with me?” Claire whimpered.
“I’m sorry. I can’t. Your going into a doctor’s office would draw enough attention, but if I take you, there’s no telling what kind of rumors will pop up. Why don’t I call Heather and she can go with you?” Allen said as he went to his desk. Without waiting for Claire to answer, he picked up his phone and dialed Heather’s number. Claire noticed that he didn’t need to look it up; he knew it. She waited for him to pretend to be a near stranger to Heather. When that happened, she waited for Heather to amazingly not be too busy to drop everything she was doing and take Claire to the doctor. And right on cue, Heather had been dispatched to his office to pick up Claire. Claire was pleased that everything about today confirmed her beliefs. When this unexpected event happened, the veil of this made-up world had started to slip.
CHAPTER 60
Claire once again imagined how this doctor’s appointment would go before Michael had died. She thought maybe he would hold her hand and wait in nervous excitement as the doctor announced the great news. They would hug and kiss, and he would gently touch her belly.
But instead she sat with a woman she didn’t even really like. Not someone she would ever be friends with in her previous life. In the examination room, Heather droned on and on about the latest gossip around town—who was in and who was out, but Claire didn’t listen to any of it. Allen had told Claire not to tell Heather the real reason for the doctor visit; he told her to say she was having trouble getting an appointment so he was helping her out. He instructed Claire to say she had found a possible lump in her breast. Heather acted overly concerned, but Claire knew that deep inside Heather secretly hoped Claire had cancer so she could use that in the media.
Claire adjusted herself uncomfortably as she sat on the paper-lined exam table. She was reminded of the horrible day she had sat and listened to the doctor tell them Michael was going to die. The surprised in the doctor’s voice when he read the diagnosis. The way he delivered the death sentence with a practiced certainty. The memories created a nearly physical pain in Claire. She tried but failed to think of anything else. She had noticed the worst memories seemed to have sticking power and would soon be all she could think of. She felt the tears rising up. She knew the image of Michael lying dead in that old truck would appear soon. So she did her best to stay focused and positive about the situation, but she felt hopeless to stop the memories from dragging her into a pit of despair. This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life, but instead she was sitting in a cold doctor’s office with a woman who was only pretending to be her friend. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Heather, who was still talking a mile a minute while looking at her phone. At that moment, Claire felt nothing but hatred for this woman. She knew Heather really didn’t actually care about her or anyone else for that matter. Claire debated whether she still needed Heather any longer. She thought about how nice it will be to kick her to the curb. A light knock at the door shook Claire out of her trance.
“Yeah,” Heather belted without looking up from her phone.
A good-looking doctor with salt-and-pepper hair came in, smiling pleasantly. Claire stood up without knowing why. The kind-looking doctor asked Heather to leave the room. She complied with a smile and left without taking her eyes off him. Claire sat down awkwardly on the bench waiting for the news. Her heart was pounding as time seemed to slow. She knew what results she wanted, but did she actually want that? Maybe she’d been wrong about everything; maybe she didn’t know what she actually wanted. Suddenly she felt like she wanted to stop everything and go backward, like she was sliding toward the edge of a cliff. With surprisingly little fanfare, the doctor delivered the news that Claire was indeed pregnant.
She exhaled a big breath she didn’t realize she was holding. He continued explaining that they had conducted a wide range of tests and everything looked good. She barely listened as he suggested things she should and shouldn’t eat and do, as well as activities she should avoid. Shocked, Claire stared straight ahead but quickly changed her expression so she appeared happy to receive the news. She looked at the doctor and began to listen intently and ask a few stupid questions to fill the part. She correctly assumed the gentleman doctor would report all findings and reactions to Allen.
After the doctor left, Claire walked out of the exam room and summoned Heather. Heather pretended to be happy that there was no pretend cancer and continued to talk nonstop. In the car, Claire pretended to listen but often wanted to tell Heather to drive more carefully. She felt she needed to be more careful with every step. She looked at the skyline, which peeked out between the never-ending rows of skyscrapers, and felt happy. She was torn a little bit, but now she knew what she was doing and everything was working out. Her mood swings were making her tired.
When they reached Claire’s building, Claire was surprised that Heather followed her up to her apartment and sat down. It seemed that Heather planned on staying for a while. Claire desperately wanted to be alone to think but assumed this was what Allen told Heather to do, so Claire played along. She poured Heather a glass of wine and pretended to be busy in the kitchen so she wouldn’t notice that Claire wasn’t also having a glass. Heather continued pattering on about celebrity news and upcoming events until she received a text message and abruptly said she had to leave. Claire smiled and nodded and assumed that Allen would arrive a few seconds after Heather left.
After the brief goodbye, Heather left and Claire received a phone call from Allen. Surprisingly he invited Claire up to his apartment on the top floor. She had assumed he would come to her apartment and try to keep the story between them. But if they went to his apartment, that might mean Sharon wasn’t there and wasn’t coming home that evening. It was already 6:00 p.m. Claire had thought she could predict what was going to be happening, but this was a new wrinkle. Maybe Sharon knew about her and Allen. Maybe Sharon was okay with it. But Claire assumed Sharon couldn’t keep a secret because she was the gossip queen of Houston, but this was about her husband; maybe that was different. Recalculating her plan, she realized that Sharon being there would actually be better and safer.
Allen had asked Claire to come up right away, and Claire accepted. For the millionth time, she went over her plan. She calmed herself with deep breaths and began to get herself ready. She was finally taking Heather’s advice to heart because she knew tonight could be one of the longest nights of her life.
CHAPTER 61
After the quick elevator ride up, Claire was knocking on the lone door in the short hallway. She glanced at the camera above the door, ensuring it got a good shot of her face. Her heart pounded as the large wooden door opened and Allen invited her in. He wore a fitted button-up shirt with suit pants and his hair was still in its perfect position from his workday. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek as she entered the giant apartment. He led her through the large entryway and into the living room. A fire was lit in the fireplace, and Sharon was sitting on the large red couch. She wore a silk blouse and long skirt; she looked as though she was trying to look relaxed, but her face gave her away. Claire knew right away that Sharon knew about the affair. Sharon stood up and greeted Claire warmly, walking toward her for a hug. Claire went with it and smiled as she breathed in Sharon’s expensive-smelling scent. She was sure Sharon could feel her heart pounding as they embraced.
“Claire love, I know about everything, and it’s fine. Please relax and sit with us,” Sharon said, motioning toward the couch.
She sat and Sharon sat down beside her. Allen sat in the large chair facing the couch. Claire was instantly reminded of the night the three of them had spent together, and for a second she forgot about the baby and her plan and felt embarrassed. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down.
“Claire,” Sharon began, “I’ve known about you and Terry for quite some time, and it’s fine. Terry and I don’t have what you might call a normal relationship.” She placed her hand on Claire’s.
“Yeah, I thought so, I’m sorry,” Claire said sadly..
“Honey, it’s ok, we aren’t like most married couples. You see, I don’t mind if he sees other women. That’s just how he is, and I’ve known that since the day I met him. As long as he’s careful, it doesn’t bother me.”
“Well, this probably bothers you then, I guess,” Claire stated more bluntly than she’d intended.
“Oh, darling,” Sharon said in a light, laughing way. “I don’t really mean that kind of careful. Well, I guess I do, but what I mean is a different kind of careful. You see, we’re a very high profile couple. And we know our image is a very important aspect of our life and business. So when I say careful I really mean that as long as Terry doesn’t do anything to embarrass us, then I don’t mind.”
Allen sat in the large chair, rubbing his chin silently.
“And you’re afraid this might embarrass you, because I’m assuming you both know what the doctor said before I even tell you,” Claire said once again more bluntly than she had intended.
“Yes, Claire we know,” Allen said, leaning forward. “I told you about the medical-record company I ow
n. But we invited you here so the three of us could sit down and talk this out.”
“I know you two are afraid I’m going to run to the news stations and tell everyone about this baby, but I’m not,” Claire said as she adjusted herself on the couch, careful not to bump her cell phone, which was recording the conversation.
“Oh, darling, you’re so sweet,” Sharon said, “but Terry and I have a…proposal for you. No, ‘proposal’ isn’t the right word. We have an idea we think will work out for everyone.”
Allen got up from his seat and sat on the armrest of the couch, his large hands on Sharon’s small shoulders.
Sharon smiled and started again. “We want you to keep the child. We want you to grow big and cute and take care of that bump.”. Sharon paused, “I don’t know if you know this or not but I can’t get pregnant. I’ve never really told anyone else this. We didn’t know until after we married and tried for a child, but I can’t. My body just won’t let it happen. So we were thinking that we could maybe be involved in the child’s life.”
Claire was confused. “What do you mean by ‘involved’?”
Allen spoke up. “We’re proposing that we tell the media that you’re acting as a surrogate mother for my and Sharon’s child.”
Claire felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. All the air went out of her lungs. She was frozen in shock. She thought she had planned for all possibilities, but this was a surprise.
“I know it’s a strange idea, but just think about it,” Sharon said. “We’d look like such a hip, progressive couple, and you’d become a saint who’s helping us”.
Claire was still in a nearly catatonic state, trying to think of a way to get her plan back on track. This wasn’t supposed to go this way. It was supposed to be just Allen, and she was going to blackmail the real truth out of him, but now suddenly Sharon was talking about using her as a prop.
