For the first time all night, something flashed in his otherwise dead eyes. A shadow passed over his face as he turned to me.
“Understood, Mr. Crane,” he said. “I will not talk to your family about this matter.”
The elevator landed on the main floor, and I hurried out, glancing around the lobby. One of our security guards was sitting at the front desk, but otherwise, we were alone. I rushed out of the building and into the street, looking everywhere, but there was no sign of her.
A bus pulled away from the curb just as I started up the steps, and I saw Casey's face peering back at me from the window. When she caught me looking, she turned away.
Terrance came out of the building and stood beside me.
“I'll keep your plans secret, Malcolm, but just know that I have your entire family's best interests at heart. Not just yours. That is my job and I will execute it as faithfully as I can.”
He walked to the parking lot and disappeared among the few rows of cars still there. My fists were balled up at my sides as I watched him walk away. Maybe I should have hired my own lawyer to work on this – someone who wasn't tied to my father.
It was too late now though. I'd been in a hurry and needed to get moving on this.
Hopefully I wouldn't pay for it later.
~ooo000ooo~
Ever since I'd split from Danielle, I let her stay in our condo while I'd been sleeping in my old bedroom at my family's home in Beverly Hills. It just seemed easier than dealing with Danielle at the moment.
Only a few days into the stay at my parent's house though, and I knew I'd need to get my own place. The condo had too many memories for me to go back there, even if I did kick Danielle out. I figured I'd just let her have the condo. She could take over the payments and I'd find somewhere else to live, eventually.
“Mom, what are you still doing up?” I asked when I got home that evening.
It was after ten by the time I made my way back home. She was usually in bed by that time. Instead, she sat in the parlor room, drinking tea by the fireplace. She smiled and stood up when I walked through the door.
“I was waiting for you, dear,” she said. “I wanted to see how you're doing in regard to the task your father set out for you.”
I knew mom would support me in my decision to enter into an agreement with a woman like I had, but Terrance's words came back to me. His comments about Casey being mixed race and what my family would think of that. A nervous ripple rolled through my body and I wasn't sure why.
I was mentally exhausted though, and in no mood to answer a hundred questions or have my mother beg to meet Casey, so I decided to keep it under wraps for now. Especially since Casey wasn't even pregnant yet – and we weren't even sure this would work.
I whipped around my mom and headed for the mini bar, where I poured myself a Scotch. I leaned against the bar and drank, finishing most of the glass before I knew what I was going to say.
“I'm working on it, mom,” was what I finally decided on.
She raised an eyebrow. “Just working on it, Malcolm?” she asked. “How close are you to finding a surrogate?”
“Close. Just give me a little more time.”
“We don't have a little more time, Malcolm,” she said.
She got up from the sofa, crossed the room, and stood in front of me. My mom was not a tall woman, but she could make herself seem tall and mighty when she wanted to. Even when I was staring down at her, it felt like she was the one sneering down at me, a mother's stern expression on her face. An expression that rarely failed to make me feel like a child all over again.
“I'm serious, Malcolm,” she said. “If you don't want Adam to take over the company, you need to be on top of this.”
“I am on top of it, mother,” I said, finishing the Scotch.
I considered making myself another one, but she grabbed the glass from my hand before I could pour it.
“Do you think Adam is taking his dear, sweet time,” she asked. “Or do you think he's out there trying to have a baby?”
“I really don't want to think about Adam's sex life, mom,” I said. “And honestly, I'd rather not be talking about my sex life with you either, so if you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed.”
She stood in the way though, hands on her hips with her lips pursed in a thin, solid line.
“Just answer one question for me, Malcolm. Do you have any potential surrogates lined up?”