One More Time_A Second Chance Romance

by Rye Hart

  I turned on my heel and walked toward the elevator, quickening my pace to keep the distance between us. My heart was racing, my stomach in knots.

  Whatever I did, I didn't want to get attached to Malcolm. That wouldn't end well for either of us. In fact, it would be a downright disaster.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  MALCOLM

  Terrance kept me cornered, and I watched Casey head down the hallway. It was like he was purposely trying to keep me from her or something.

  “Excuse me, Terrance,” I said, pushing past him. “I'll be right back.”

  I hurried after her, and as I rounded the corner, I heard the elevator doors chime as they shut. I tried to push the button to get them to open, but it was too late. I waited for the other elevator, but it was coming all the way up from the first floor. I knew by the time it got there, Casey would be gone.

  I wasn't sure why I felt the urge to chase after her in the first place. Maybe it was the look of fear and sadness in her eyes. I didn't know what it was, but something bothered me. Terrance rounded the corner before the other elevator arrived.

  He stood stiffly beside me as we waited.

  “Why did you have to be so harsh to her? She's doing me a huge favor,” I said.

  “She needs to know where she stands, Malcolm,” he explained. “My first obligation is to the Crane family, the entire Crane family – not just you. It's bad enough that you're having a child with someone of mixed race, but –”

  “Wait, what did you say?”

  I turned toward him, not sure if I'd heard him correctly. Hoping I hadn't. He sighed, staring straight ahead as he spoke.

  “Malcolm, I know desperate times call for desperate measures and all,” he said, “but I'm with your father on this. Danielle would still be the ideal candidate. She has good genes, comes from money herself –”

  “And she's a gold-digging bitch who fucks other men and who's only after me for my money? But who cares about that, right?” I scoffed. “Why did you mention Casey as being mixed race? What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Because she's half Hispanic,” he said as if it were something to be ashamed of. “On her mother's side.”

  “How would you know this?” I asked. “And why does it matter?”

  The elevator doors finally opened for us, and we stepped inside. Terrance tried to use it as an excuse to avoid my question, but I pressed the issue.

  “Terrance, I asked you a question.”

  “I looked into her background a bit, Malcolm,” he said. “I was curious about the woman you'd chosen as your surrogate. It’s my job to make sure your are protected. I figured your family ought to know.”

  “Don't bring my family into this,” I said. “It's my personal affair, and I expect you to keep this quiet until I'm ready to tell them. Is that clear?”

  He didn't respond.

  “Terrance, I'm the one paying you right now, and when my father dies, I will be the one taking over Crane Enterprises. Trust me when I say that you do not want to be on my bad side. Not if you still want to remain on retainer, that is.”

  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?”

  “I do, actually,” I said. “Now if you'll excuse me.”

  “Well, who is she? Where did you meet her?”

  “You said one question, mom, and I answered your question,” I said. “Now, I'm tired and I'd like to go to bed.”

  I pushed off the bar and walked around her, heading for the door, feeling bad for keeping secrets from my mom, I turned and gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

  “Don't worry, Mom. I'm on top
of it,” I said. “Once we have a baby on the way, you'll be the first to know.”

  Her eyes softened, and she smiled at me. Her face lit up at the mention of a baby. She'd make an amazing grandmother, and I knew she was as excited about a grandchild as my father was – if not more so. I could see it in her eyes.

  “Thank you, son,” she said. “That's all I ask of you. Please, don't let Adam take the company from you.”

  “I won't. There's no way in hell I'm going to let that happen, Mom,” I said. “You can trust me on that.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CASEY

  My family – minus my dad – was sitting at the kitchen table when I got home that night. Dad was passed out on the couch, as usual, giving us all a little peace. There was food on the table – Spanish rice, black beans, and some tortillas. Mom had gotten paid, so there was a decent dinner tonight. Which was good, because I was starving.

  Mom's eyes were heavy with exhaustion and there were large, dark bags beneath them. She worked two jobs, not getting many hours at either sometimes. But today, she'd worked a double and it showed on her face. Even still, she stood to greet me when I stepped into the kitchen, hugging me tightly.

  “Casey, we didn't expect you home so early,” she said.

  I hadn't told her about losing my job.

  “Yeah, I'm actually off tonight,” I said. “Crazy, huh?”

  “Then join us, mija,” mom said, motioning at the table. “There's plenty of food for you too.”

  I gripped the paper bag in my hands tightly, the file tucked safely under my arm. I knew there'd be questions about what was in the bag, questions I wasn't ready to answer right now.

  “I'm not hungry,” I lied. “But I'll grab a plate later, okay?”

  Mom nodded. “Then join us and talk. It's rare we get to talk to one other these days. We always seem to miss each other.”

  Sierra looked over at the paper bag. “What's that?” she asked.

  “Just – personal items.”

  “Like tampons?” she asked.

  “Yes, like tampons,” I said, shooting her a look.

  Nick covered his ears and groaned. “La la la la, I don't need to hear this.”

  “Those must be some pretty big tampons to be in a bag that large.”

  She was looking at Nick, taunting him instead of me. She stuck out her tongue at our brother, and he responded by throwing a napkin at her. Sierra tossed her handful of beans at him, which caused mom to intervene.

  As mom was tending to the other two, I slipped away into the bathroom. Locking the door behind me, I opened up the paper bag.

  The first thing I pulled out were the ovulation kits. I opened the packaging and started reading the directions, my head spinning as I tried to take it all in. There were directions for tracking your menstrual cycle that only added to my confusion, and I tried to think back to my last period. I counted the days and was in the middle of figuring out when I'd be able to start testing when a knock came at the door.

  “I have to go pee, sis.” It was Sierra.

  “Use the other bathroom,” I said.

  “Nick is in there,” she said.

  I groaned, not even close to finished reading everything. I put everything back inside the back, and then realized, I had nowhere to hide it.

  Sierra knocked again. “Please, hurry.”

  I threw the bag under the sink, hiding it there for the moment. But, I knew I'd have to find somewhere better than that. The trouble was, there was no place in the house for me to hide anything. We were all crowded in there, no personal space whatsoever.

  She was about to knock again when I threw open the door.

  “Thank you!”

  She rushed inside and locked the door behind her. All I could do was wait.

  My family wasn't going to make this easy to hide, that much was certain.

  ~ooo000ooo~

  First thing, after everyone left for school and work, I hurried over to Raya's place. She lived in a trendy studio apartment in West Hollywood – paid for by her parents, of course. I knocked on her door, and half expected her not to answer since it was before ten in the morning and she was likely still asleep. She surprised me, though, and answered the door with a smile on her face. The strong smell of marijuana wafted into the hallway from inside.

  “Whoa, someone's getting an early start,” I said.

  “More like I haven't gone to bed yet,” she laughed. “What's up?”

  She opened the door, and I stepped inside. The place was small – like the size of most people's closets. But, I would have killed to even have an apartment like that all to myself.

  Raya looked at the bag in my hand and grinned, “Please tell me you brought something to eat, I'm starving,” she said. “Donuts, right? Or cupcakes? Please tell me you brought cupcakes.”

  “Sorry, no food in here, just boring pregnancy shit,” I said, holding the bag open to show her.

  Raya pouted and flopped on her lime green couch. I sat down on the floor across from her, crossing my legs, since there were no other seats in the place. The couch doubled as her bed, since it folded out like a futon. For now, though, it was just a regular old couch and there was only enough room for one.

  “So, you're really going through with it, huh?” she said.

  “Yeah, looks like it. I signed a contract and everything,” I said. “I just need a place to stash this stuff so my parents can't find it.”

  “So you want to leave it over here?” she asked. “But don't you need it?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I can come over every day to get what I need,” I said. “But, I hadn't really thought that far ahead about it to be honest.”

  “Give me the bag of goodies,” Raya said.

  I handed it over and she dug through it, pulling out the ovulation kit and examining everything else with it.

  “Man, I can't imagine having sex and not trying to avoid pregnancy,” she laughed, tossing everything onto the table. Next, she pulled out the pills and read the label out loud.

  “Clomid,” she said. “Huh.”

  “Do you know what that is?”

  “Yeah, it’s a fertility drug. My mom has taken these when she was a surrogate.”

  She tossed them over to me and I read the label myself. The prescription was written out to a Cynthia Crane.

  “Malcolm said he was giving me fertility drugs, just to increase our odds of conceiving.”

  “It’s pretty common practice for surrogacy,” Raya said.

  Raya finished digging in the bag and pulled out the pre-natal vitamins. Probably the simplest item in the bag. She read the label, then seeming to be bored with it all, put everything back in the paper bag.

  “Sure, you can keep your crap here,” she said. “In fact, I have something better. You can even stay here for a bit.”

  “Stay here?” I asked. “Don't you think this place would get crowded with two of us?”

  “I'm not going to be here, dork,” she said. “My grandparents are sending me on a trip to Sedona so I can explore the Earth's energy vortexes there.”

  “The what?” I asked and then when she opened her mouth to explain, I quickly added, “Never mind. Forget I even asked.”

  “Anyway,” Raya said. “Since I'll be gone for a month or two, maybe you could watch my place? Not sure how long I'll be gone, it all depends on how quickly I open my heart to the energy there. But, if you need a place to crash while you're trying to get knocked up, you're free to stay here.”

  “Really?” I almost couldn't believe my luck. Away from my family for a couple of months? That would make things so much easier. “I could kiss you right now, Raya.”

  “Hey, it's the least I can do. I'd hate for you to get pregnant while you're being confined over there,” she said. “The bad juju can't possibly be good for the baby.”

  “Uh huh,” I said.

  I laughed, feeling like maybe things were starting to look up for me for a change. Not only could I stash my stuff at
Raya's, I had a place to stay without brothers and sisters barging in and asking questions about what I was doing. My phone went off, and I checked it. It was a reminder for my doctor's appointment that morning. I was dangerously close to running late.

  “Shit, Raya, I have to go,” I said. “When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow sometime. Not sure yet. I'm riding out there with a few friends,” she said. “So swing by later tonight to pick up the key, maybe?”

  “Sounds great,” I said.

  I pulled myself to my feet and felt like dancing. This was going to be like a vacation, one I clearly needed. In my mind, it was a sign that everything just might work out after all.

  I hugged my best friend and ran for the door, trying not to trip over all the junk piled around on the floor. Raya wasn't the most organized person I knew, but she had to be one of the best friends a girl could have ever asked for.

  I've never been one to believe in fate or shit, but things were lining up perfectly, and I couldn't have been more excited. Maybe it was a sign that I was doing the right thing.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  MALCOLM

  Casey and I had kept in touch, mostly through text messages back and forth. I didn't want to pry and ask her about her damn cycle every single day.

  The texts were short and sweet, just a simple “How are you today?” and she'd answer the same way, every single day.

  “Good,” she said. “But no ovulation yet.”

  I was starting to think this was hopeless, but Dr. Welch assured me that Casey was in good health and didn't appear to have any fertility issues. She was young, in good shape and STD free. No history of disease or other health problems. Even her family history looked pretty good, according to the doctor.

  I kept asking Casey to come out with me – asking her to lunch or dinner, or one time, just to talk. She was a busy little bee, however, and kept turning me down. Probably for the best, I knew we couldn't actually date. Not because of what Terrance had said, but simply, I wasn't ready for a relationship. Not to mention the fact that a relationship with the surrogate who'd eventually carry my baby was just plain awkward to think about.