The Billionaire's Surrogate: A BWWM Pregnancy Love Story (7 page)

“
Your
heart…? I thought this was a business arrangement?”
Martha prompted.

Max was quiet for a
bit. “It's not that cut and dried. It's not possible to have a
child together and remain detached. Especially when the other person
is already a friend. A good friend. Almost family. I’m just
trying to be realistic about likely scenarios,” he said.

“
Have
you talked to her about this?” Martha asked.

“
I
want to. It's difficult to find the words.”

“
And
that’s why you wanted to talk to me?”

“
Exactly,”
Max replied.

*****

“
Hello,”
Christine said answering her phone.

“
Hey
Chris. How are you?”

“
I’m
doing great. You?”

“
Well,
could use a good stiff drink but I understand I’m pregnant.”

“
You’re
pregnant? I thought
I
was pregnant.”

“
It's
our baby, we’re both pregnant.”

“
Aww,
how sweet,” Christine said sarcastically.

“
So
I wanted to find out if we could maybe talk?”

“
Oh,
you want to sign the papers and shit?”

“
That…among
other things. Will you meet me?”

“
Yes
of course,” Christine said.

“
Coffee
at the Thinking Cup?”

“
That
is weirdly appropriate,” she said.

“
How’s
five o’ clock work for ya?”

“
Works
just fine.”

“
Okay
then, see you then.”

*****

The coffee shop was
full when Max drew up at exactly 5pm. He wondered if they would get
seating but then spotted Christine sitting at a table reading
something with a bag saving him a seat opposite her. He walked slowly
toward her expecting her to look up at him but she continued to read.
Max walked up to her and stopped right in front of her chair.

“
Hey,”
he said making her jump. She really hadn’t heard him
coming…granted the coffee shop was noisy but...

“
You
scared me,” Christine said.

“
Sorry,”
Max said moving to his seat and moving her bag to the table.

“
No
problem. What’s shaking? You have the papers?” she asked
holding out a hand for him to drop them into.

“
Er…no.
Clarence needs to get back to me on some specifics but I thought
maybe we should talk about logistics, the way forward, how to handle
this whole situation.”

“
Okay…but
I thought all that would be in the contract?”

“
Some
things you can’t legislate,” Max said looking her in the
eye, then his eyes dropped to the cup sitting in front of her. “What
are you having?”

“
Mocha
cappuccino. Wanna taste?”

“
No
thank you, I’ll just have an espresso if I can catch the eye of
a waiter in this place. Wow, it's loud here.”

“
Lots
of people talking,” Christine said with a shrug.

“
Yeah,
well anyway that Harry Potter character said it’s the best way
not to be overheard,” he said, making her smirk.

“
You
are such a nerd,” she said.

“
So
are you,” he replied.

“
Okay
enough with the small talk. What’s up?”

Max leaned back in his
seat studying her intently. “How do you feel about a marriage
of convenience?” he asked.

“
You
mean in general or…?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“
I
mean…would that be something you’d be interested in?”

“
Why
would I be?”

“
Well,
what if someone was offering?”

“
Why
would they offer?”

“
Because
maybe, the baby you’re carrying might want to grow up with both
parents.”

“
I
thought he already was,” the smirk was still on Christine’s
face.

“
I
meant together, together. In the same house. It's not like you have
anything else going on.”

“
Wow.
That was my dream proposal. Hey Chris, how about it then? Not like
you have anything else going on,” Christine said sarcasm
dripping from every word.

Max smiled. “Hey,
if I thought dinner and dancing in the moonlight would convince you
I’d have gone that route. But I know you; you’d just
think I was shining you.”

“
And
you’re not?”

“
Why
would I? To what end?”

Christine shrugged, “I
don’t know. Who knows why men do what they do?”

“
Not
you, right? So why not take the safe bet? The man who won’t
break your heart and who happens to be the father of your kid as a
bonus.”

“
As
a bonus. Yay,” Christine repeated.

“
So
is that a yes?”

“
That
is a ‘I’m not sure what exactly is going on around here.
I might need a few more conversations before I do’ answer,”
she said fingering her teaspoon.

“
Okay
then, where would you like to have these conversations?”

Christine looked down
and then glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “I’m
just sayin’…I think I rush into things and it gets me
into trouble. Case in point…pregnant. I wanna do something
different and take my time. Weigh my options. Find out what I’m
getting into.”

“
If
you were anyone else, I would describe to you the generosity of the
prenup and turn your head with a diamond the size of your head. But
since it's you, I don’t know how to convince you that this
would be a good idea. At least not without pushing some buttons I
know would upset you.”

Christine narrowed her
eyes, “What buttons?”

Max took a deep breath,
regarded her intently and then opened his mouth. “Did you enjoy
growing up with an absent father?”

Christine’s
eyes narrowed further and Max hastened to jump in before she could
say anything. “If you had a choice, wouldn’t you rather
have your mother and father living in the same house if they got
along?”

Christine continued to
glare, “We get along?”

Max shrugged, “More
than most employer/housekeepers’ granddaughter combos I’ve
seen.”

Christine laughed
reluctantly, “Is that our frame of reference?”

“
Hey,
grading on a curve has got me through every day since kindergarten.
I’m taking it,” Max said with a shrug.

“
I…will
think about it,” Christine said. “But so…does that
mean no contract?”

“
I
thought we would combine the contract and the prenup if you’re
amenable.”

“
I
think this is probably something you’d have to explain to your
board of directors.”

“
Again,
they don’t run my life.”

“
What
about your mother?”

“
She
doesn’t run my life either.”

“
I
mean
are
you going to tell her?” Christine asked slowly as if he was
retarded.

“
Tell
her what? You haven’t given me an answer.”

“
What
about the baby?”

“
Plenty
of time for her to hear the bad news.”

“
Bad
news?”

“
The
fact that she’s not my only heir?”

Christine lifted her
brow, “Cynical much?”

“
Realistic,”
Max said sipping on his coffee.

“
Well
anyway, this has been great and all but I have work tomorrow, I need
to get my rest and there’s traffic so I better get a move on.”

“
Yeah
of course, let me pay the bill, I’ll drop you off.”

“
I
have my car thanks.”

“
Oh.
Alrighty then. So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“
Ye-es?
See me for what?”

Max shrugged, “Just
cause.”

“
So
eloquent. I love it,” she said with a smile.

Max smiled back but
made no reply.

*****

She was eating dinner
with her grandmother when something occurred to her.

“
Oh
my God, I have to tell mom about this don’t I?” she asked
her gra.

Martha shook her head,
“Why do you have to?”

Christine shrugged, “I
don’t know. Maybe because she’s about to be a
grandmother?”

Martha smiled a bit
cynically, “Forgive me but I don’t think Cordelia is
ready to be a grandmother just yet. That dead beat boy toy she’s
married to is definitely not ready to be a granddad.”

“
And
they’d probably be out for what they can get too. Asking for
loans and shit from Max?”

“
You
can probably count on that.”

Cordelia
Richards walked into her house, her eyes on the tabloid newspaper in
her hands. There was a picture of her daughter having coffee with
some rich guy. Cordelia was pretty sure it was the rich guy her
mother worked for – it had been a while since she saw him but
she was pretty sure he had a French name and so did this guy.

“
Hmm,
look what Chris is up to,” she told her husband Kevin as she
held the magazine out to him. He leaned forward to see the picture
and read the caption.

“
You
think they fucking?” he asked her.

Cordelia shrugged, “Who
knows. Maybe. Hey, you think that’s why Mama’s kept that
job so long. Because she was pimpin’ Chris out?”

Kevin snorted, “Your
mama be singin’ in the choir every Sunday and shit…I
don’t think she's in the pimpin’ game.”

“
So
this Max guy just like dark meat then?” she asked peering at
the picture of the guy.

“
You
talkin’ bout your own daughter you know, right?” Kevin
said with a laugh.

“
Oh
I know. But look how they sittin. They lookin so cozy and shit. I bet
they fuckin.”

“
Well
then good for her right? He’s loaded ain’t he?”

“
Pretty
loaded. According to this article he’s a billionaire.”

“
That’s
good right?”

Cordelia looked up from
the article to stare at him. “You remember the last time she
tried to hook up with a rich guy? My friends are still laughing at
me,” she said a tad bitterly.

“
That’s
coz they jealous of your family doing well and all. Fuck em.”

“
Yeah
well my ‘family’ may be doing well but I don’t see
no benefit from it. You’d think my darling professional
engineer daughter might share the wealth but nooo…she pretty
much ignores me.”

“
Yeah
she a bit stuck up,” Kevin agreed. “You want some weed?”
he asked holding out a blunt.

“
Yeah
okay,” she said putting aside the paper to take the blunt.

*****

“
Good
morning Martha,” Max said as she came through the front door.
He was waiting in the foyer again, looking hopefully over her
shoulder like he was waiting for someone else to come through.

“
Good
morning sir. Are we expecting company for breakfast?” Martha
asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“
I
don’t know. You tell me.”

“
Well
as far as I know the answer is no. But perhaps Andrea can confirm
that for you.”

“
God,
you’re such a pain sometimes Martha. Tell me how Chris is.”

“
Chris
is fine. She left for work at 5am; something to do with a major power
outage downtown. You should know if you’re headed to your
office.”

“
We
have back up power so…anyway, so she’s at work huh? Did
she have breakfast before she left? Isn’t that a bit early? Did
she throw up?”

“
Yes,
yes, yes and yes,” Martha said.

“
Wow,
does she need anything? Do we need to make an appointment with the
doctor?”

“
Have
you chosen an obstetrician yet or is it the fertility doctor who will
take you through?”

“
Yeah,
Dr. Mulholland will be taking us through.”

“
Great,
so when is your next appointment?”

“
Next
Thursday, I think. That last meeting is kind of a blur in my mind, I
don’t think I heard anything after the doctor said ‘You’re
pregnant’.”

Martha
smiled, “I don’t blame you; it's shocking news even when
you’re expecting it. Topped with everything else that’s
been going on with you, I’m guessing your body just wanted to
shut everything down for a minute.”

“
Yes.
Exactly. That’s why I love talking to you. You always know
exactly what I mean.”

“
Then
maybe she’s the one you should be making marriage proposals
to,” a voice said in the doorway making Max jump.

“
Chris!
I…didn’t see you there.”

“
No
shit,” she replied with a shit eating grin.

“
What
are you doing here?” Max asked and then almost bit his tongue.
“I mean…not that I
don’t
want you to be here.”

Christine waved a
dismissive finger at him. “There was an accident at the site; I
was told to go home for the rest of the day and I thought I’d
come here and see my grandmother.”