by Alexis Gold
Jim let him come down from his post-game excitement and level out a bit before he told him that he’d found a woman who he thought was a good fit. Jim had screened several possible applicants and had narrowed it down to a few. He’d taken the time to interview those few in person and of that select group, he found one he thought would be perfect.
“Cameron,” Jim said as they were sitting together at lunch,
“I’ve found your girl. It took me a while, but I waded through the masses and came up with one that would really be ideal for what you want to do.”
Cameron felt excitement surge up inside of him at the idea that his plan was actually moving forward.
“Who is she? What’s she like?” he asked, as questions flooded through his mind.
Jim sipped his drink, taking his time.
“She’s a nice girl. She’s smart; went to Berkeley, she’s working on a doctorate. She’s healthy and her family has a history of good health.”
Cameron sat there, imaging her in his mind, putting the pieces together to create some sort of approximation of who she was.
“Is she African American? The guys and I thought that it would be best if she was.”
Jim nodded.
“Yeah, I made that a priority. She’s young enough; twenty-four years old. She’s also an athlete. She’s a swimmer. Very fit. She’s a hero, too, saved a kid from drowning in the bay after a boating accident once. She’s the right lady for this,” he said.
He took a bite of his sandwich.
“She’s interested in doing this. We told her she’d have to sign a contract that absolutely gives all rights to you and prevents her from ever seeing the baby or contacting you.
“She knows it’s just long enough to carry the baby and give birth to it, then give it to you. She knows she has to keep the deal to herself, no media, no press, no telling anyone, and she agreed. I told her we’d pay her half a million to do it. She accepted.”
Cameron sat at the table in silence, amazed at what he was hearing. It was incredible to him that what he wanted looked like it might actually be happening. He tried to picture her in his mind. A twenty-four year old African American swimmer, a college woman, and someone who had agreed to his idea.
“What’s she look like, Jim?”
Jim looked at him for a long moment and then took another bite of his sandwich and swallowed it.
“She’s good looking,” he said simply looking away from their table and watching the pier.
Cameron couldn’t resist his curiosity.
“I want to meet her. Before we do this, I want to meet her to see what she’s like.”
Jim cleared his throat and looked at the young man before him.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, son. Just trust me on this and let me handle it for you. You don’t have to meet her. She is going to sign the contract, you visit the doc and give him your contribution to the project.
“Then she has an in vitro procedure, she carries the baby for nine months, gives birth to it and she’s out of the picture forever, poof… gone. You have your son, and the matter is finished. There’s no need to meet her.
“No reason. Just go see the doc and I’ll keep tabs on her and you’ll have your son, probably before Christmas. Simple is best.”
Cameron didn’t take his eyes off of Jim.
“I want to meet her, Jim. Please. Make it happen for me, okay?”
Jim slid his hand over his mouth and looked down for a moment and then raised his eyes to meet Cameron’s.
“Alright. I’ll set up a meeting somewhere downtown.”
Cameron clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, buddy. I really appreciate it.”
Chapter Two
Two days later, Cameron was sitting in a board room in an office several floors up in a building nestled in the business district of San Francisco. Jim was outside at the reception area, waiting for the woman that had agreed to carry Cameron’s child for him.
Cameron tapped his fingers on the table and looked at the grain in the wood on the table. He reached for the glass of water near him, closed his hand around it and took a drink of it, setting it back down and placing his hand flat on the table in front of him.
He looked at the lines on the back of his hand, not really seeing them. He stood up, pushing himself away from the table and walked toward the window, looking at sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay, and he jammed his hands deep down into his pockets.
The door opened and he jumped, spinning around to see Jim filling the doorframe. Cameron’s hand flew from his pocket and he touched his stomach.
“Is she here?” he asked, his mouth dry again.
Jim nodded, and Cameron reached up and straightened his jacket and tie before planting his hands back in his pockets, and then pulling them back out again. His eyes were glued to the door.
Jim turned and waved behind him, and then walked in and held the door open. A woman followed him, and Jim closed the door behind her. She looked up at Cameron and he thought his heart would pound out of his chest.
She was small, about a head shorter than he was, and petite, but obviously fit. She was slender, but her body was rounded and curvaceous. She had olive green eyes and her black hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck in a ponytail. Her skin was the color of hot-chocolate, and seemed to glow with health.
She was dressed in a grey business jacket and skirt, and she seemed to have a sort of graceful bounce to her step, almost like she was dancing. She smiled shyly at Cameron and paused for a moment. Then she walked toward him and extended her hand.
“Hi, I’m Delilah.”
He quickly moved to meet her halfway, reaching for her hand as well.
“I’m Cameron. It’s nice to meet you.”
He shook her hand briefly and made a mental note of the strength in her handshake. It indicated confidence.
He pulled out a chair for her.
“May I offer you a seat?” he asked.
Every one of his nerves felt like it was a bolt of lightning. She smoothed her skirt and sat down at the long table near him.
“May I get you a drink? Tea? Coffee? Juice or water?” he asked, looking intently at her.
She smiled and nodded.
“Water, thank you.”
She relaxed a little, feeling the enormous bubble of anxiety in her chest begin to dissipate. She’d been nervous going in, but he seemed really polite and thoughtful, and it helped to dispel her uncertainty. He poured her a glass of water and she took the opportunity to get a good look at him while he was focused on his task.
He was tall with short, curly blonde hair and big blue eyes. His cheeks were tinged with pink and he was clean shaven. He was solidly built, but being a football star, she’d expected it, and seeing him in person put it into a different perspective. She hadn’t realized just how thick and solid he would be. His waist was narrow, but his upper body was bulked up.
He handed her the glass of water and smiled at her.
“Here you go.”
She thanked him, and Jim sat on Cameron’s other side, placing a file folder on the table.
“Delilah,” he said as he opened the file,
“I’d like to review the contract with you once more before you sign it. Is that alright?”
She looked at Jim and nodded. “That’s fine.”
He pulled a thick stack of papers from the file and laid it before her. Colored tabs poked out in several areas from both sides of it.
“You’ll find everything in the contract before you, but the basics are these: you will be checked in to the medical facility in one week, they will perform the in vitro procedure and in two weeks you’ll be officially tested to determine if the pregnancy is positive. If it isn’t, you will go in for a second in vitro procedure.
“If it is, you will immediately be under our care. All of your living and medical expenses will be covered; food, housing, utilities, clothing, any medical needs, transportation and all of your medical appo
intments. You’ll schedule and keep all of your appointments with your obstetrician, and we will receive regular reports on your condition. At the end of the term of your pregnancy, you’ll give birth to the baby and at that time, give up all rights to him.
“You will have no further contact with the baby at any point in the future for any reason, and except for this meeting, which Cameron has requested, you will have no further contact with the father of the child for any reason. All communication must be with me.
“You may not at any time reveal the details of this contract to anyone, and you may not at any time disclose the nature of your deal with us or the identity of the father of the baby you are carrying.
“You may not have any contact with any media or press, do no interviews, and don’t speak to anyone about the pregnancy or any association with Cameron; if you do, you immediately relinquish the right to be paid for what you are doing, and Cameron retains the parental rights to the child.
“You agree to the total sum of $500,000 for the service of surrogacy and childbirth, and agree that no further compensation will be due at any point in the future for any reason.
“Do you have any questions?”
He finally stopped talking, noticing that Delilah was watching him and listening closely.
“I’ve read it, and I understood everything you’ve said. I don’t have any questions,” she said.
Cameron looked from Jim to Delilah and then back to Jim again.
“Wait a minute. Wait, please, Jim. I… this is so… cold, so… automated. It feels weird. I wonder, if it’s alright with you, Delilah,” he said.
Turning his eyes to her for a moment, he said,
“If it’s okay if we just talk for a few minutes, just the two of us. I’d kind of like to know a little bit about you for myself before anyone signs anything. Would that be alright?”
She looked at him, blinking in surprise.
“I… uh… yes. Yes, I guess that would be alright, if that’s what you want to do.”
Jim put his hands down on the table and pushed himself up, giving Cameron a serious glare.
“May I talk with you for a moment, Cam? Come here.”
He walked to the other side of the room, near the door, and Cameron followed him.
Jim gritted his teeth and spoke through them in a low whisper.
“Do you remember me telling you to keep this simple? Remember that? I said you didn’t need to meet the girl. She was willing to do this with no interaction from you. None. Keep it simple, I said. Did you listen? No. You wanted to meet with her. Well now you’ve met her.
“She’s still willing to just do this. You don’t need to talk with her. You don’t need to spend any time with her. You don’t need to get to know her. Just stop. Just keep this simple. Let her sign the contract, thank her for coming and get out of here. Are you listening to me?” He glared at Cameron.
Cameron smiled at him and a dimple appeared in his cheek.
“I really appreciate you looking out for me, Jim, I do. I’m not going to mess anything up, I just want to talk with her for a little bit, and then she can sign the thing and go. Really, it’s no big deal. Just a few questions. I’ll keep it simple.
“I’m just a little curious about her, that’s all. What if my son has some of her personality traits? It’s just preliminary field work. Don’t worry. Can I just have a few minutes alone with her to talk? Please?”
Jim narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips together.
“You got five minutes, and don’t flash that dimple at me, kid, because I know it only means trouble.”
Jim peered closely at Cameron for a minute and then turned and walked out of the door, closing it behind him. Cameron let out a huge sigh and turned to face Delilah.
“Whew! That’s a relief. I think I was more nervous with him in here.” He flashed a smile at her and lifted his hands toward the door.
“Do you want to get out of here? Maybe go downstairs? I thought I saw a café down there in the lobby. Maybe we could get a coffee and talk outside of this glass box we’re in. Get a little air. Then we can come back up here and finalize all this paperwork. Would that be okay?”
Delilah was surprised again. She hadn’t expected him to be so friendly and polite. She slowly pushed her chair from the table and stood up.
“I guess that would be okay.”
She walked toward him and he opened the door, peeking out to see if Jim was around.
“The coast is clear! Let’s go!” he said conspiratorially.
He walked quickly toward the elevator. She giggled and followed him, and when the elevator doors slid closed before them, he sighed again in relief, and turned to Delilah with a smile.
“He really is a good guy, and he’s just trying to look out for both of us, but I just needed to get out of that room for a minute. It was so… cramped and serious.”
He stopped for a moment and then continued.
“Don’t get me wrong, this is serious, but… it was just a bit too serious in there for me, and I needed to get out. I just wanted to meet you, to talk to you a little and kind of get to know what you are like. Is that okay? Do you know what I mean?” His nerves had begun to settle and he felt calmer than he had in the board room.
She smiled back at him, nodding. She agreed with him.
“I know what you mean. It was a little nerve-wracking. I understand how important it is; I totally get that, but you’re right. Jim was really serious in there.”
The elevator doors slid open and they stepped out together into the lobby and headed for the little café that overlooked the street outside. He asked the host for a private table and the host did a double take, and then grinned and nodded obligingly.
He put them in the furthest corner and instructed one of his waiters to put a screen up between their table and the rest of the café, so that they’d have some privacy.
Delilah watched them in wonder and after they were alone at their table, she asked him quietly,
“Do people do that for you often?”
He nodded.
“Oh yeah, well, it can be difficult for both the business and for me if a crowd of people suddenly comes up to me, so usually I call ahead, or someone calls for me, and I have a private table set aside when I get there, but this was kind of spur of the moment, and we were lucky that they were able to hide us, really.”
The waiter brought them both coffees and left them.
“So, uh… how did you wind up wanting to do surrogacy?” he asked her.
He looked up at her, liking the color of her eyes, wondering if his son would have his eyes or hers, and thinking that if it was either, it would be fine.
“Well, I’m working my way through school and it’s expensive. This is going to enable me to pay it all off and be debt free before I get my doctorate, and that’s really important to me. It’s kind of a sacrifice, but I look at it more as an opportunity to help someone else have a family and it becomes mutually beneficial that way.”
“Oh!” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“That’s a good way to look at it. I guess it must be kind of a surprise that it’s me you’re doing this for. Did they tell you?”
She shook her head.
“No, they didn’t tell me at first, not until Jim contacted me to let me know you wanted to meet me. He said he wanted me to be prepared so that I wouldn’t be surprised when I found out it was you. I was still surprised, but I was prepared when I met you.
“I’m really surprised by the way you are… I mean, I guess I thought you’d be… I don’t know, hard to talk to, maybe more standoffish. You’re friendlier than I expected, and polite. That’s a nice surprise.”
He laughed lightly and shrugged.
“Well, it’s just how I am. My mom would be pretty put out with me if I wasn’t polite. It’s just how we were raised. Where are your parents?”
“They live in Berkeley. They’re both professors at the university; he teaches history and she teache
s psychology.”
“Do they know you’re going to do this? No one is supposed to know about it,” he said, worrying a little about her answer.
She shook her head.
“No, they don’t know. They’d be pretty upset with me if they knew, but it’s okay. I didn’t want to lie to them, so I just told them I was doing a work study program in biology and I’d be living on site for a year, so they wouldn’t be able to see me, but we could talk on the phone, email, text, things like that. They were fine with that.”
