by Holly Rayner
Her mother shrugged. “How are you? What did the panel say after your presentation?”
Maddy should have known the question was coming. The truth was, she had been thinking about how to tell her mother what had transpired that week. Somehow she couldn’t quite find the right way to say it. Perhaps the blunt truth would simply have to do.
“Well, when I got there, the only person in the room was the CEO.”
“What? I thought you were supposed to present to the board.”
Maddy explained how she had started her presentation, only to be cut off by her boss and informed that the country’s political leaders wouldn’t allow further testing unless he gave money to their campaign.
“What? Did you know they were that corrupt when you took the job there?”
It took everything Maddy had in her not to openly roll her eyes at her mother. The woman had been trying to find a way to get her back home since the day she’d left, and apparently nothing would stop those efforts, no matter how many times Maddy told her how happy she was there.
“Of course I didn’t. I had a general idea, but now I know more.”
“Well is the man going to pay them so your research can continue? I know how important it is to you, honey.”
Ah, here was the revealing moment. Maddy released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and plunged on.
“He isn’t going to pay them, on principle, but the two of us have come up with a solution to ensure that the research does proceed to human trials.”
“That’s fantastic news! What’s the loophole you found?”
“Me.”
Maddy watched her mother’s face as it dropped from an encouraging smile to a furrowed brow, paired with a deep frown.
“Mom? It looks like you froze.”
“I have not frozen, I just have no other way to form my face right now. What do you mean you’re going to be the loophole?”
“I mean I’m going to be the first human trial for Chlomerol.”
“And just who is going to be the donor?”
“Akim, my CEO.”
Maddy’s mother stared at her so hard that Maddy thought about testing their connection again. Then she sat back, and Maddy knew she had just been in shock. Not exactly the overjoyed reaction she’d been hoping for.
“Madeline Carol Palmerston, you are not telling me that you plan on having a child with your boss, as some sort of experiment. You cannot be telling me that. I raised you better.”
Maddy winced. Her parents’ pride and approval meant everything to her.
“It’s not just a science experiment, Mom. I’ve wanted to have a child for a very long time.”
“Yes, and you will, someday, with someone you love, the way it’s supposed to be. Even if you someday choose artificial insemination on your own, that’s your choice, too. This is a human life we’re talking about, Maddy. You can’t just make yourself into some test subject like that isn’t the case. You will be creating life.”
“Don’t you think I know that? It’s all I’ve ever wanted! How is this any different than artificial insemination with a sample donated by a stranger?”
“Oh I don’t know, because you plan on having the child with your boss, as some kind of what? A marketing ploy for your drug, so pharmaceutical companies will invest in you? Why would you put your health and the health of another possible human being at risk like this, Maddy? I know you’re a scientist, but I raised you to have morals, too. You have to think about this a little longer before you dive in.”
Maddy stared into her cup of tea. The beverage had gone lukewarm in her hands, and she clung to her mug as though it were her lifeline to all the wonderful thoughts she’d been having directly before this conversation.
“I was really excited at the prospect of having a child. You’ve known ever since I was told I likely couldn’t conceive just how important this is to me,” Maddy said in a small voice.
Hearing the hurt in her tone, Maddy’s mother sighed, gazing into the camera. “I hate that we’re having this conversation from so far away. I know this is what you want, Maddy, but please don’t rush into it. There is no need to make snap decisions about something like this. For all you know, those politicians could have a change of heart and you could use another subject, someone with a spouse who is ready for this kind of responsibility.”
“I’m ready, Mom. I’ve been ready for a long time.”
“I know you think you’re ready, but no one understands how hard children are until they have them. All I’m asking is you take a little time to truly reflect on this decision. It’s all well and good to play house and imagine what life would be like, but raising a family is hard work, Maddy. Please, don’t do this just for the sake of scientific accolades.”
Maddy frowned. She could feel her eyes stinging with unshed tears, but she didn’t want her mother to be upset. If Charlene knew she’d made her daughter cry, this conversation would be on replay over and over again.
“I understand. I’ll take some time to think about it,” Maddy said.
Her mother nodded in approval. “That’s all I’m asking.”
“Charlene! I can’t get the car to start. Someone left the lights on all night again…”
Maddy’s mother glared off screen, and Maddy could just imagine her father standing in the doorway, keys dangling from one hand, as he waited impatiently for her mother to fix her mistake.
“I’ve got to go, honey. You get some rest this weekend, and we’ll talk in a week. Deal?”
“Deal. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too. Make good choices.”
Maddy stared morosely at the screen as it went black. It was a farewell message her mother had often used, when she was heading to a party where there would likely be alcohol or learning to drive on her own for the first time. It was something she said when she knew that bad choices were a strong possibility, and Maddy had never indulged in underage drinking or driving over the speed limit as a result. She was the perfect, obedient child, and she had never stepped a toe out of line when it came to her parents’ wishes.
So what was she going to do now?
SIX
Maddy stared with glassy eyes at her computer screen.
She’d been up half the night debating with herself. As a scientist, it had been important to her to keep an open mind to all possibilities until they could be disproven. On one hand, she understood her mother’s point. Charlene wasn’t wrong; there was a great risk involved in what they were about to do. The treatment could go wrong, or something bad could happen to her.
On the other hand, no scientific breakthrough was without risk, and what kind of person was she if she were willing to put someone else at risk but not herself? Also, she’d longed for a child for her entire life. If she could bring about her own dream, who was to say that was wrong? She had potentially created the ability to make that dream a reality, and while her mother’s words of warning continued to echo through her head, she refused to let that voice dictate her every move.
She wasn’t a child anymore. It was time to make decisions as an adult. If her parents were upset with her, she could show them their new grandchild, and they would have no choice but to see things her way.
A knock on the door startled Maddy out of her reverie, and she jumped as she turned to see Sheikh Akim’s handsome face in the doorway.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you while you’re working. Please forgive me.”
Maddy half-smiled, looking up at him. “I believe as my employer, you’re entitled to interrupt me any time you wish.”
Akim shrugged, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his button-down shirt. For a moment, Maddy imagined what it would be like to run her hands over those shoulders without a shirt covering them, and then she shook the thought off.
This was already more complicated than it needed to be. No need to bring lust into it.
“Yes, well. I was hoping we could meet later this morning, in my
office, to talk about possible testing options. Would you mind meeting me in about an hour?”
“Of course. I’ll see you then.”
“Great.”
The Sheikh paused for a moment before tapping his palm against the door and turning around, striding out of sight. Yousef arrived a second later, lunchbox in hand, a look of wonder on his face.
“Was that seriously just the CEO with his head in here?”
Maddy shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I suppose it was. Why?”
“What could he possibly want? And, between us, what nerve! After basically rendering years of research, brainpower, and our time all wasted, he decides to pop his head in and give us a merry old hello?”
Maddy could understand Yousef’s frustration. In that moment, she thought again about coming clean, confessing everything, but she kept schtum. Even if her closest confidants knew, that put them at risk, too. The men in power would do what it took to eliminate anyone who got in their way, and the less her staff knew about it, the better. Maddy chose a different lie, instead.
“He wanted to check in on us after we got the bad news. I told him that we were doing the best we can, given the circumstances, and I let him know about some of the other projects we’ll be working on until we can get the green light to test again.”
“Hmph,” Yousef muttered, setting his lunch in the small fridge in the corner before powering up his computer.
The team often came in late on Mondays—apparently it was a cultural thing. Maddy had had to adapt to so many differences in the years she had been in Elbazzar. Tardiness was so deeply frowned upon in the United States that she still struggled with it. She tried to smile genuinely as each of her team arrived over the next hour before she realized she was about to be late for her own meeting.
“I’ll be back,” she said.
A few of her team nodded as she strode out, though most were hard at work focusing on their lab work. It took quite a degree of concentration, and having to redo a test was the worst.
Maddy gulped as she reached Akim’s office door, and she took a steadying breath before she knocked.
“Come in,” Akim’s deep voice said.
Maddy could feel her heart about to burst from her chest as she turned the handle and entered the Sheikh’s office.
“Ah, Madeline. Welcome,” Akim said, gesturing grandly to the sofa across from him.
Maddy sat, though her back remained straight and tense. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Akim began.
“So, what do we need to do to get this thing going? I take it artificial insemination will be the first step?”
Maddy hesitated. She had tried not to think about this part. The baby part was fine, but what had to happen before that would be…complicated.
“Actually, no,” she replied, and Akim’s left eyebrow shot up in question.
She had never noticed a man’s eyebrows before, but Akim’s noticeably added to his handsomeness. They were perfect, black arches, and they arced over a pair of deep brown eyes framed with thick lashes. What was she saying again? Ah yes.
