“The kind that has a million spare dollars to hand out to the needy,” I said, bitterly. “He just wants to control me. He thinks the money is enough to let him do whatever he wants.”
It was. That was the worst part.
“How are you dealing with all of this?” Maggie asked.
I opened my arms out, motioning at the bar. “Clearly not well,” I said. “I mean, this deal is as raw as it gets. Besides the money, what am I getting? Just this guy controlling me for nine months of my life. And the NDA. The fucking NDA. You know, he’s rich and all, maybe he’s an important person but he can be honest, I can take it. He’s embarrassed that it's me having his baby.”
“You really think so?”
“One hundred percent. When he said he wanted me in his house, he said it was to make sure I was living a healthy lifestyle for the duration of the pregnancy. Oh please, just call me fat and leave if that’s what you want to do.”
Maggie sighed. “After what you told me about his mother, maybe he doesn’t want her to know that you’re back in his life?”
“Yeah, and one million dollars is how much it’s going to take to make sure I stay quiet. He wants me in his house to hide me from his mother,” I scoffed. “It’s not like I have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“I realize that but I’m looking a million dollars in the face. That kind of money is more than I might see in my entire life. My mother doesn’t need to suffer anymore with that kind of money. I don’t have to worry about Jameson giving me a raise. I can get a new place and get out of debt. That amount is life-changing, Maggie. I can’t turn it down. I’m going to do it. I just don’t like feeling forced to do it.”
“There’s a contract and everything, right?”
“Of course. I’m not stupid,” I said. I laughed at the absurdity of the conversation. I was really discussing my having a baby with a man for a million dollars. My first child was going to be born out of a contract with the man who thought I was trash and didn’t deserve him. That called for another drink.
I fumbled with my key in the lock to my apartment when I finally went home. Maggie ended up playing DD, making sure she was sober enough to get me home. I wasn’t stinking drunk but I was drunk enough to have impaired my fine motor skills. I dropped the keys.
“Shit,” I said.
“Brenna?” I heard behind me. None of my neighbors sounded like that. I looked over my shoulder. Holy shit. Charles Hampton at six o’clock, walking right towards me.
“When did you move in?” I said. He frowned at me. I picked my key up.
“Here, let me,” he said, taking the key from me.
“What are you doing here?” He unlocked the door and gave the key back to me. “What are you doing here?” I asked again.
“I have the contract. I thought we could go over them now.”
“Now? What the hell? No. You can’t show up at my apartment out of the blue to sign a contract.”
He looked at me squinting. “Are you drunk?”
“No, I was waiting for you so we could look over legal documents together. Get out of my house.”
“I’m not in your house,” he said. I stopped, looking over at him.
“What do you want?” I asked again.
7
Charles
She was drunk. Wasted. She stank of it and she could hardly get her words out without slurring. The first time we see each other after seven years and she gets trashed? Which one was it? Was this regular behavior for her or did seeing me again drove her to drink?
“You’re drunk. Why did you drink so much?”
“Mind your own business,” she said.
“You’re going to be carrying my child. How much you drink is my business.”
“I’m going to be carrying my child, thank you very much, since you’re a millionaire but also too cheap to get your own egg donor,” she snarked. I rolled my eyes. Was that what she thought it was? I could get an egg donor no problem but then the child wouldn’t be hers anymore. It wouldn’t be ours. That was what I wanted but now, she was almost making me second guess picking her.
“If I saw you like this, maybe I’d reconsider,” I said. She laughed loudly.
“I haven’t signed anything yet. Calm down. Like you don’t drink sometimes,” she said. She had a point. She was annoying me but I didn’t hate it. It had been seven years. Even pissed as all hell, some of that old personality I knew and loved was coming through. She didn’t let anyone walk over her. She hated being pushed around. I was glad that that was the same about her after all this time.
“Can I come in, please? I want us to look at some stuff in the contract.”
“No.”
“Please, Brenna,” I said. I wasn’t going to ask her to sign anything. She was too drunk but I did want to talk to her. I also wanted to make sure she was okay. She was so drunk I’d feel better knowing she wasn’t alone.
She shook her head. “I don’t want you to come inside my apartment. I don’t like that you came looking for me. How did you even know where I live anyway?”
“The clinic gave me your address so that I could send my lawyers over.” She made a face.
“You’re not coming in here. Just have your people call my people and set an appointment. That’s how you people do it, right?”
No, that wasn’t how my people did it. I hated that she saw me like that. There was no way I was sending anybody over to talk to her when I could do it myself. I had been waiting to talk to her again for the last seven years. I didn't want to leave. I mean, it was a reasonable request. She was drunk and on top of that she didn't really seem to be in the most chatty mood. I didn't think when I asked the surrogacy clinic for her address. All I saw was a chance to be close to her again and hell if I was going to let it get away from me.
We could do this when she was sober. Tomorrow, maybe the next day when she was sober and in a better mood, we would get a lot further in this conversation than we would tonight. I started to leave. I turned to go but my feet stayed rooted to the ground. What happened when I left? I'd just go home and probably go to sleep. Brenna would probably do the same thing here. Knowing that, I still couldn't do it.
My body physically didn't want to be away from her. After all of this time, I had finally found her, and we were going to be in each other's lives for a little while after this. I didn't want her out of my sight again. Really, if I had my way, I would drag her back to my townhouse and make sure she never left. Standing just a feet away from her I couldn't believe how I had lasted the last seven years. Her presence, her scent, everything about her was intoxicating.
That was nice to think about but it would never fly with Brenna. Not only did she hate people walking all over her, she also just didn't seem that pleased to see me. There was so much that I wanted to ask her. I had been hanging onto one question since the last time I saw her. After the summer we spent together, she disappeared. she practically dropped off the face of the Earth with no explanation. I tried but it was impossible to get a hold of her. I needed to know why. I doubted that she would tell me right away, but now that she was back in my life, I knew that I could ask her at some point. Not right now, obviously. Eventually. When she was in my space and we were both comfortable.
I used to think I was a patient man. Turned out I was wrong.
“Okay, you don't want to let me in. Can we talk about it somewhere else?” I asked her.
“I'm not coming to your house if that is what you are asking.”
“No, not that. A public place.”
“Where?”
“I don't know. I saw a place across the street when I was coming here. How about there?”
Brenna laughed. “Oh, there? Sure, I could use another drink.” She closed the door and locked it then led the way back down the stairs. Another drink? I followed her down the stairs and out to the sidewalk then saw the place that she was referring to, that I had recommended. It was another fucking bar. I tried to
stop her, but she was already crossing the street. She was through the door before me. I grabbed her arm to stop her before she got to the bar. She spun around, irritated.
“Are you serious right now Brenna? The last thing you need is another drink.”
“Look, do you want me to look at your stupid contract or not? This is the only way it is going to happen. Besides, excuse me for needing a drink when a ghost from seven years ago shows up at my house with no explanation demanding that I sign a contract for him.”
I let go of her. She was telling the truth as much as I hated the way it sounded. The bar was fairly small, but it wasn’t busy. It was a weekday and still relatively early in the night. The few people that looked over at us when we walked in quickly lost interest. I didn’t want to cause a scene. She went up to the bar and ordered a drink. I passed.
“Can I have a Maker’s. Neat?” she asked the bartender.
“Throw some soda in that for the lady please,” I said, taking a twenty out to cover the drink. She glared at me. I put my hands up in surrender, then threw the twenty on the counter.
“Can we sit somewhere a little more private to talk?” We found a booth after she got her drink.
“Ready?” I asked. She took a drag of her drink.
“Okay, let me see it,” she said. I handed her the paperwork. How productive was this going to be with her drunk and only getting drunker and the two of us at a bar, I thought. It was a battle just to get her to sit down with me. I was taking any win she was letting me get. She read silently, until she stopped, almost choking on her whiskey. She looked up at me.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she asked.
“What?”
“Compensation package,” she read.
“I want to use your eggs and for that I will compensate you one million dollars. It’s all in there.”
“I remember that. I asked for a down payment.”
“One hundred and fifty grand. It sounded fair. Too low?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Must be nice to throw money around like it’s nothing,” she snarked.
“Must be nice that I’m throwing it at you,” I countered. She ignored that. She kept reading and I got to see the moment when her face flushed in anger. She must have gotten to the stipulations.
“I can’t believe you want me to live with you.”
“Believe it.”
“Honestly, it’s insulting. I can take care of myself. Even if I couldn’t, what’s the point of s being together? You don’t know anything about pregnant women.”
“For a million dollars it’s in my best interests that you’re in optimal health at all times. In case of emergencies, I’m not being notified after the fact.”
“I think regular check-ups are far more reasonable. I don’t get inconvenienced. You, a very busy man, to be sure, won’t get inconvenienced. It sounds like a win-win to me. You can pick the doctor, pick the hospital, pick the frequency, everything.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. That one’s a dealbreaker for me. You live with me or we don’t do this at all.”
“Would you do this to any woman you were using to carry your baby or is it just me?” she asked. Good question. I felt like she knew the answer but just wanted to hear me say it.
“Nobody else is carrying my child. Your question is redundant.”
She rolled her eyes and drained the rest of her drink. Goddamn it. I didn’t remember her putting it away like this. The last time we met she didn’t even want to have a beer at the beach bonfire. I got up.
“Where are you going?”
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“Bring me back another whiskey,” she called after me. Like hell was I bringing her more alcohol. The bar had filled up a little while we were talking and there was a queue for drinks. I wanted a bottle of water. Brenna was going way too fast for my liking. She was already drunk. If she kept it going I was going to have to carry her out of here. I signalled for the bartender. He looked over, nodded and kept serving the patron in front of him. I sighed, looking at the volume of people ahead of me. It would take five seconds for him to reach behind himself and hand me a bottle.
I glanced over at the booth where Brenna was waiting for me. Fuck it. I vaulted over the bar and grabbed a bottle off the shelf.
“Hey, what the fuck man, don’t jump the bar,” the bartender yelled. I ignored it, pulling out a hundred and tucking it in his apron. A few of the patrons were laughing and applauding. I hopped back over the bar then walked back over to the booth. She wasn’t alone. There was a guy in my seat, leaning across the table.
“Look, you said he’d show up and he hasn’t yet. I think you were lying to me.”
“Oh, give it time,” she said.
“How about you give me your number while we wait?” he asked.
“Brenna,” I said, coming up to the booth. The man looked up, then did a double-take. His face blanched and he jumped up to his feet.
“Told you he was coming back,” she said.
“Who are you?” I asked the man.
“Hey, relax I was just keeping your girl company while she waited for you,” he said. Was that supposed to make it better?
“If I need your help, I’ll ask for it,” I spat.
“Maybe if you don’t want guys talking to her, you shouldn’t leave her alone so long,” he said. I put the water down.
“Leave her alone.”
“Make me,” he said, puffing his chest out. Okay. I grabbed his arm and hauled him away from the booth.
“Find yourself a girl who isn’t taken,” I said. The man shoved me in the chest.
“What if I want yours?”
I shoved him back. “She’s going to be carrying my baby,” I said. The guy looked at Brenna, his eyes roving up and down her figure.
“You should carry my baby instead, babe.”
“He’s giving me a mil to do it. How much are you offering?” she asked, laughing. I grabbed the guy, about to slam him into the wall.
“Charlie, don’t!” I felt Brenna’s hands on my arm, pulling me back. “Calm the hell down. What do you think you’re doing? Someone’s going to call the cops on you.” He was asking for it officer. He was flirting with my… my what? My surrogate?
“Why were you flirting with him?” I demanded.
“I swear to god,” she grumbled. She grabbed the contract then tugged my arm for me to follow her out of the bar. The few bystanders who had congregated quickly turned away from my glare. The guy I was about to knock out was back at the bar. He was lucky Brenna was there to defend him. If it was just the two of us, I’d be going to prison.
8
Brenna
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”
I pulled Charlie out onto the sidewalk. He stumbled out after me.
“Why were you talking to him?”
“We were at a bar, people talk to you at bars.”
“Kidding about my baby is not funny.”
“He was drunk, okay? Relax.”
“Why don’t you take his advice then?” he snapped. Okay, so maybe I was a little drunk. It had been a rough day but Charlie wasn’t making it any easier. He was being completely inappropriate. He was the one who wanted to come out to this bar. He was the one who popped up on me out of the blue so we could ‘discuss his contract’. All of that and he has the nerve to get mad at me because some douche who was also drunk thought he could score?
“You're being an asshole, Charlie,” I said. I shoved the contract into his chest.
“Me?”
“What the hell was that in there? What if you got in trouble? What if the guy knew martial arts or something?”
“None of that happened. In fact, none of it would have happened if he wasn't flirting with you. You know what? That wasn't even the bad part. You flirted back.” First of all, no I didn't. I was trying to appease the guy so that the situation didn't escalate to this fucking mess. I was going to get upset when I remembered who I was tal
king to. Of course, the guy who had almost started a bar fight over a stupid joke was the same guy making me move in with him like I had no idea how to take care of myself.
“I'm not arguing with you about that. We were talking about your contract. I am not signing up to be your prisoner for nine months because you are insecure.”
“I have to watch you,” he said.
“Why? Do you need a play-by-play of my bump growing just so you know that it's actually happening?”
He shrugged. “Clearly, if I leave you alone for a minute, you're signing up to have some other guy’s baby. I need to keep my eyes open.”
I threw my hands in the air, knocking the contract to the ground. “Oh, fuck you. Fuck you and the boat you rode in on.” He bent down to the ground to pick up the scattered sheets of his contract. I turned on my heel and started to cross the street. There was a lot of traffic, I had to wait.
So, that was what had become of Charles Hampton, huh? Just the sight of him across the beach seven years ago that summer used to make me short of breath. I became giddy and stupid whenever he talked to me. I couldn't believe that this was the same man I was head over heels for. He hadn't lost his hair or gotten a gut, no, he just became an asshole.
“Brenna,” I heard behind me. I felt a hand close around my arm.
“What are you doing? Leave me alone.”
“Come on,” he said. He pulled me towards a car. It was a limousine. What kind of psycho rode around in a limo?
“Come where? I don't want to go with you.” He opened the door and pushed me into the car, then climbed in after me.
“First you try to assault a guy in a bar, then you tried to kidnap me. You're really on a roll tonight, huh?”
“You gave me no choice. Barry? Take us home.”
“Home?” I asked. Charlie pressed something a screen between us and the driver. The car started to move and joined the traffic, but quickly came to stop again.
“We are looking over the contract tonight. I don't care how long it takes, we are reaching an agreement tonight.” He realized I was sitting right there didn't he? I didn't want to go anywhere with him, much less his home, especially after the little display he put on tonight. He sounded so sure it was annoying. And a little hot, which was more annoying.
Admit You Miss Me: A Surrogate Pregnancy Romance (Irresistible Billionaires Book 1) Page 5
