“That much?” she asked. Her voice was strong despite her obvious shock.
“Considering you adhere to a number of stipulations, yes.”
Her eyebrows raised. “What stipulations?”
“Mr. Hampton, we…”
“First of all, this has to be a matter of the utmost privacy. You’re going to have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Nobody but you and I will know that you are having this child. If the press finds out, I will know that the only possible leak was you.” We completely left Rachael in the dust. This was a far more personal matter than she realized.
Brenna nodded then crossed her arms. “What else?”
That one was already a given. I didn’t want anybody to know that I was expecting a child. The identity of the surrogate would be kept secret no matter what, but the story was mine to tell, if and when I decided to reveal it. The press, especially the British press would have a field day if something like this came out. My family was known and this would reflect poorly on them. They didn’t deserve to get heat for my decisions. The next couple of stipulations, I had just come up with.
“I am going to cover all the costs, naturally. That’s medical, maternity clothes, supplies, food, everything. If you want money to buy nachos at three AM, I’m covering it,” I said. Brenna nodded again. She was giving me something priceless, inconveniencing herself in the most profound way. Whatever she needed, it was my responsibility, which brought us to the next stipulation. Something told me she wouldn’t be so agreeable to it when she heard.
“You are going to move into my townhouse in Chelsea so that I can make sure you maintain health standards throughout the pregnancy.”
Rachael coughed loudly. We had ignored her this whole conversation. Brenna’s mouth fell open and for a second, I thought that I blew it.
“Your first and s
econd stipulations, I can understand but this one, I simply cannot get behind,” she said.
“It’s in my best interests that you’re doing as you say you will be doing.”
“I am a grown woman who is perfectly capable of maintaining a healthy lifestyle without your supervision.”
“It’s one million dollars. One million dollars for nine months of work. That is the offer on the table, provided you move into my townhouse and live with me for the duration of the pregnancy.”
She panicked. I pushed too hard. She was going to shut it down and walk away. I couldn’t pay her enough to get her to do this for me. Back to the drawing board. They were going to set me up with someone else. This meeting after seven years would mean nothing.
She looked at Rachael, then she looked back at me. I had her, almost but something was holding her back. I wanted it to be weaker than the thing pushing her to say yes. Greed, desperation, a combination of both? It didn’t matter. I wanted Brenna Andrews to be the mother of my child in every way. All she had to do was say yes.
“Okay,” she said, finally.
“Okay?” Rachael asked, shocked.
“Okay. I’ll do it. But I have some stipulations myself,” she said. I could have cried, this was such good news but I kept my composure.
“What are your terms?” I asked her.
“I will donate an egg and I will carry the pregnancy. I agree to your terms, but I won’t do it without a down payment upfront. This kind of thing goes wrong all the time and I don’t want to get left in the cold in case something does,” she said. Nothing was going to go wrong and even if it did, I’d never leave her hanging. Money was a strong motivator for her in this, I realized. I didn’t care because I’d give her more than the million I had offered if she asked for it. Now, I was just curious. What had happened since the last time we met that would get her to a place like this?
“Fine,” I said. “Anything legal, my lawyers will figure out. Do we have an agreement?” I asked, holding my hand out for her to shake. She looked at it with something I thought was contempt. I didn’t want her to think of me like that but I wanted her in my life any way I could get her.
She took it. A spark ran through my hand and up my arm from the touch of her skin.
“Deal,” she said. “Are we done here?” she asked. Rachael said that we were and they would be in contact in case they needed anything else. Brenna thanked her and walked out of the room without a glance backward. I slumped down in the chair, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. I couldn’t believe it. I laughed. Brenna Andrews was going to be the mother of my child. If someone had told me that would be the case just this morning, I wouldn’t have believed them.
“Mr. Hampton?” the woman said. I sat up and looked at her across the desk. “Now that the agreement has been reached, our percentage is one hundred thousand dollars.” I laughed again. I’d pay a lot more than that to get Brenna back into my life.
“You’ll get it,” I said. “Anything else?”
Nope, that was all.
I walked out of the center feeling physically lighter. Talk about killing all the birds with one stone. I was going to have a child and finally get my mother off my back but most of all, some twist of fate had sent Brenna Andrews back into my life. She was having my baby and she was moving into my home. Nothing was getting better than this. Nothing.
6