by Katie Dowe
“We would like you to come to dinner.”
He looked at her sharply. “You already know my answer to that, Mother.”
“You are busy, too busy to sit to dinner with me and your stepfather.” She said resignedly. “He has proven to you that he is not out to get control of your fortune through me Ryan.”
“I already know that,” his mouth tilted into a smile. “I am going to the islands in two days and until then I have a lot of things to get out of the way.” He paused and looked at his electronic calendar. “I will make time when I get back.”
“Is that a promise?” she asked hopefully.
“Definitely.” He watched as she got to her feet gracefully. “Leesa Wellington and several of the other wives of the club members are having some celebration at the High moon hotel. Why don’t you and Evan go?”
“I think we will.” She said with a smile as she looked at him. He was a very powerful man who had risen to the top by sheer determination and hard work but she was aware that he was not happy and she wished he would find some nice woman and settle down with. “Are you going to be working late?”
“Probably.”
“Make sure you eat something substantial.”
“I will,” his tone was amused. “Take care.”
He sat there thoughtfully for a moment before he got to work.
*****
Aaliyah went back to the library and sat in her tiny office, closing the door and looking at the documents before her. She looked at the number and could not believe it. She had seen the name on the contract and had been stunned. Ryan Sullivan was one of the most powerful men in the country! Why on earth was he shopping for a baby when he could have all the women he wanted in the world? She sat back against the chair and closed her eyes. She had not said anything to her boss yet and she was not sure she intended to. A lot of people were going to judge her and question what she did but she needed to do this. It was going to take them out of debt. Her heart jarred as she remembered that at the end of the term she was not going to be able to keep the baby she was carrying. Taking a deep breath, she stared down at the document again. She had not discussed it with her mother again and she was not going to. Her mother was old fashioned and expected things to be done in the right way. She was supposed to get married and have children with the man she loved and could not see her life without! She was not supposed to be selling her baby and that was what it felt like! She tapped the pen on the document and worried her bottom lip. She quickly slid the document into her desk when she heard the discreet knock on the door. “The books came in just now,” Sally Reynolds told her pushing in her frizzy red hair, her glasses slipping down her nose. “I saved you some corned beef sandwich.”
“Thanks, Sally. You did not have to do that.”
“No worries, girl. You want me to catalogue them?”
“I will be right there.”
With a sigh, she shoved the contract into her large pocketbook and headed out.
Chapter 2
“You are kidding right?” Maxine stared at her friend incredulously. They had met for a quick lunch in the café near the department store where Maxine worked.
“No. I’m not,” Aaliyah said with a shaky laugh as she dug into her Caesar Salad. It was coming to the end of summer and the change in the weather indicated it. She had worn a long black skirt and a black and white blouse and teamed it with a light white sweater. “I have done the necessary examinations and have been prodded and pried and declared fit to carry a child. I have visited the IVF where the very nice Doctor Webber explained everything to me. It is done, Maxine, and there is no turning back. In another couple of weeks, we will see if I am pregnant.”
“Have you met with the parents?”
Aaliyah hesitated. Maxine was her best friend but she had a big mouth and one of the stipulations was that she did not disclose the name of the donor. “Yes,” she lied. “They are nice.”
“What does your mother have to say about all of this?”
“She thinks it is coldblooded, but at least we get to pay off our debts and get her the surgery she needs.”
Maxine stirred her smoothie and looked at her attractive friend curiously. She worked in a department store and used the tons of makeup and deals on clothing to make herself look attractive. Aaliyah was wearing clothes from several seasons ago and never bothered with makeup yet somehow managed to look better than she did. She attracted men to her when she was not even trying!
“How are you going to give up the child?”
“I keep telling myself that I will cross that bridge when I get to it.” She said with a shrug. “This is something I have to do, Max, so please can we stop talking about it?”
*****
Ryan let himself into his penthouse suite and hung up his jacket on the peg, his stance weary. The meetings had gone very well, and very soon they would be breaking ground for another hotel in the Bahamas and Jamaica. His contractors were very reliable and he had worked with them in the past. He went straight into his stark and modern bedroom with the silver and white décor and undressed. He did not spend a lot of time here so the place looked untouched. He had a woman who came in and did the daily work but he never saw her. He would leave out early and come in late just to catch a few shut eye and be off to his office again. And he traveled a lot. Which was why he was wondering what he was going to do when the baby came. He took off his shirt and stood there staring at himself in the mirror. He had not told a single person not his mother and certainly not his friend Bradley who would not understand his need to do it this way. He could hire a nanny and install security systems all over the place. He was planning to cut back on the hours he worked so he could spend time with the kid. He ran his fingers through his russet brown hair and watched as the strands fell back into place. The agency had called him and kept him apprised of the progress. It had started and he felt a dart of anxiety. He had told them that he wanted no contact with the surrogate and that they should handle everything and make sure she had everything she needed. There was no need to worry about money. He took off the rest of his clothes and headed to the large chrome shower install where he turned on the jet sprays and stood beneath the warm water. Even though he had traveled on his own private jet, hopping from island to island had taken its toll. He lifted his hands and let them pass over his wet hair. Ryan Sullivan was very tall and powerfully built, his muscles downplayed by the suits he wore. He was ruggedly handsome and had played basketball in college. He had dreamed for a moment that he wanted to go pro but had not made the cut. He had started working in a hotel in his senior year in college and had been fascinated at the mixture of people who came through the doors. It was then and there he had decided that he was going to own hotels. He had pursued his dream with a single-mindedness that was frightening at times and had never given up on it even when he was greeted with skepticism by the business world. He had bought out ailing hotels and revamped them turning them into hotels only the very wealthy could afford to stay in. He had done the same with the two airlines he had bought out as well. He was ruthless and a perfectionist. He did not accept excuses and as long as the job was done he was okay with that. He stepped from the shower and reached for a soft-scented towel to wrap around his trim waist. He padded to the ultra-modern kitchen and looked at the selection of meals his housekeeper had left there before choosing the lasagna and crisp salad. He went to his collection and took out a bottle of red wine before going to the table and prepared to have his meal. He clicked something and Beethoven filled the air as he ate.
*****
“You are pregnant,” Doctor Webber said with a pleased smile as he examined her. “Three weeks to be exact.” He took off his rubber gloves and dumped them in the bin.
Aaliyah took a deep breath as she swung her legs off the bed. “What next?”
“You will be monitored carefully during the term.” Doctor Webber got to his feet and checked his chart. “You will be required to come here every other week so
we can check on you and the fetus. You are due next June.”
“Oh,” she put her hand over her flat stomach.
“I will advise Mrs. Lawson of the status. The client will be pleased that it happened so quickly.”
“Thank you.”
Aaliyah got dressed and went to the outer office to collect her medications and her appointment date and walked out of the medical facility. She was pregnant! She thought dazedly. More than the money, she felt a tenderness to the baby growing inside her that she knew could not be cultivated. She was just a carrier and it had been drummed into her head over and over again. Her mother had finally gotten used to the idea even though she did not like it. She went out and sat in her car for a moment trying to adjust to the news. She felt the loneliness of her position as she realized that she had no father of her child to call with the good news. The child was not hers! It was an arrangement that she had made in exchange for money and for a moment she felt the sadness overwhelming her! With a bracing of her shoulders, she switched the engine on and went back to work.
*****
“We have excellent news, Mr. Sullivan.” Mrs. Lawson could not help the excitement in her tone.
“Ms. Cole is pregnant,” Ryan felt the quickening of his heartbeat as he realized that several months from now he was going to be a father.
“Yes, sir. And Doctor Webber said she and the fetus are doing well.”
“Good,” he said briskly. “I will release the funds to you so you can give it to her. And Mrs. Lawson?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Good work. Please feel free to call me if there are additional expenses.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.” The woman said quickly before he hung up.
Ryan went into the file he had saved with her picture and information. He found himself staring at her face and especially her eyes and lips. She really was quite attractive, he thought carelessly. No doubt with the money she was getting from this she could buy whatever she needed. He read her portfolio again and realized that she was a qualified accountant who had taken a lesser paying job to come home and look after her mother. She had made a sacrifice and he wondered how many people would do so? His mind drifted back to that time ten years ago. Her name was Barbara and he had fallen in love with her jet black hair and white skin and of course her forest green eyes. They had spent a lot of time in the tiny office working to get his company off the ground, so of course they had grown closer and closer. He leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. He had seen her just three weeks ago. She was married to some lawyer and had no children. He had seen her at one of the functions put on by the wives of the members of the club he was a part of. She had come over to him and started a conversation but he had cut her off and walked away. He could have forgiven her for dumping him but he could never forgive her for aborting his child. His eyes snapped open as his intercom sounded. “You have a call from Spain, sir.”
*****
“What are you going to say to people?” Agatha Cole asked her daughter that evening as soon as she came home and gave her the news.
“It’s none of their business,” Aaliyah stretched her legs out and wriggled her toes as she sat next to her mother on the worn sofa. It had been a very busy day at the library and she had been feeling queasy all day.
“Are you going to tell them at work?”
“I have to,” she said with a sigh. “I am still trying to think of what to say to Mrs. Pritchett. I could always say that I was knocked up and the father wants nothing to do with the child so I am giving it up for adoption.”
“Or you could tell the truth.”
“Or that,” she said with a wry grin. “The truth makes things less complicated.”
“I am not going to see my grandchild.” Her mother said quietly.
“Mom, you cannot think of it that way,” Aaliyah protested feeling guilty.
“And you don’t?” her mother asked her shrewdly.
Aaliyah curled her feet beneath her and considered. “I do, but I am trying to adjust to the fact that this child I am carrying is not mine.”
“How successful is that way of thinking?”
“Not very, but I figured if I keep telling myself that, then eventually I will convince myself.”
“When I was pregnant with you after ten years of marriage and thinking that it would never happen I was over the moon,” her mother said with a reminiscent smile. “Your father bought me the biggest stuffed toy in the store and brought it home and made dinner for me, which of course I ended up throwing up in the toilet.” She added with a fond laugh.
“You are making me feel worse, Mom.”
“It was not my intention, honey.” She reached out and clasped her daughter’s slender hands. “I want the best for you and I hate that you are saddled with our bills. I know you are doing what you think is best and I admire you and love you even more for it.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Aaliyah said a little tearfully. “I want what is best for you, too.”
Later that night while Aaliyah was in her bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself. She always knew she was attractive to the opposite sex but over the past few years she had never paid much attention to her body. Now that she knew she was carrying a baby inside her made her examine every inch of her body. Her breasts were small and her waist was tiny. She was taller than five feet three and she had a long graceful neck made more obvious by the short cut of her thick natural hair. Her hands cupped her belly and she imagined that she could feel the child moving inside her. She laughed at that and realized that it was much too early for that. Her mother’s words came back to haunt her and she closed her eyes briefly. She moved away and went to set her bath dispelling the gloom that had started to come over her.
*****
“Come on in my dear,” Ivey Pritchett said with a smile as she saw Aaliyah at the door. It was the end of October and Aaliyah figured that she would start showing in November or December. Doctor Webber said it was going well and had given her a list of healthy things to consume. She was almost two months pregnant and had yet to meet the powerful Ryan Sullivan. She had read where he had broken ground for hotels in the Bahamas and Jamaica and had seen him in pictures at various functions. “I hear we are having something different this year for the Christmas function.”
“Yes, we are thinking that instead of the usual party we could have a benefit concert and give the money to the children’s home.” Aaliyah perched on the chair.
“Good idea,” the woman said with a pleased smile. “Is that what you want to talk to me about because you know I trust your judgement and always look forward to your ideas.”
“Actually, it is something else.”
“Go ahead, my dear.”
“I will be having a baby come next June.”
The woman looked at her for a moment and then nodded. “Congratulations. You don’t have to worry about your job, my dear; it is safe.”
“It is an unusual situation.”
“It is none of my business.”
“I know, but I think you should know.” Aaliyah told her about being a surrogate but left out the part where she was carrying a child for one of the most powerful men in the world!
“I see,” she nodded again. “I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Not really,” Aaliyah said with a small laugh. “But it was the only way out.”
“Okay, my dear, thank you for sharing and you have my support.”
“Thank you.”
*****
“I am coming home for the holidays Ryan and I am bringing Carlos with me. Please promise me that you will not give him the third degree and scare him off.” Elaine begged him.
“Have I ever done that?” Ryan asked her mildly.
“You have scared every single man I have tried to build a relationship with.” She reminded him.
“And have you stopped to ask yourself why they scare so easily?” he asked her dryly.
“Not eve
ryone is out to get what you have Ryan. Some people just want to live a normal happy life.”
“Normal and happy does not go together. And true love comes with a price.”
“Just because that bitch hurt you all those years ago does not mean that all is doomed.”
He was silent for a space and she had a feeling she had gone too far.
“I am sorry–”
“Just let me know when you are getting here.”
“Okay,” her tone was subdued. She hated that he was hurting and that he appeared so isolated.
“I have another call Elaine, so I will talk to you. He hung up before she could respond. He buzzed his secretary. “Please, come in.”
*****
“We are so happy you came for dinner,” his mother was absurdly pleased as she bustled around clearing the dishes. He had bought her the sprawling house as soon as he made his first million and her second husband had moved in with her after some misgivings. It had taken a while for Ryan to accept that the man genuinely loved his mother and in spite of his occupation as a teacher and his low salary he made sure he provided for her and his daughter.
“Yes, we are Ryan, your mother and I do not get to see you enough,” Evan said quietly as he accepted the cup of coffee from his wife with a loving smile. “Now that Elaine has gone we are getting quite lonely.”
“No, we are not,” his mother rebuked her husband gently. “I worry about you and Elaine and I know you are both adults and have your own life to live, but I am a mother and I worry.”
“She is coming home for the holidays with the man she met.” He said as he sipped the coffee.
“She called and told us. She is scared of bringing him because of you.”
“I had him checked out and he appears harmless and appears to be in love with her.” Ryan shrugged and looked at them both. “If he is as he appears to be then he has no worries.”
Rosalie looked at her powerful son and the hard cynical expression on his face and often prayed fervently that he would find someone to love. He looked so isolated and aloof.
“He appears nice.” She ventured.
