by Tia Siren
“How is your mom, anyway?” Jules asked.
“You know Mom,” I said. “She’s fit as anything, considering her age.”
“I don’t know how she manages it; I’m shattered now half the time. God help me when I’m old.”
I giggled to myself. Good old Mom. She’d tried so hard to get me interested in Kyle. She’d never give up trying to find me a man. She was desperate to make sure I didn’t end up in the same situation as her, even though I had chosen to be a single parent.
“What’s up?” Jules asked, grinning. “And why are you chuckling to yourself?”
“Mom’s neighbor, Kyle,” I said. “I parked in front of his house. He came to Mom’s, told me to move it, and then asked me out. He was so determined. As much as I said ‘no,’ the more he tried. It was comical really. If it had not been for the city doing road work, I would have thought she’d set the whole thing up. He even gave me his business card.”
“Wow, business card, how romantic,” Jules said, laughing.
“Nah, he is okay though. I’ve known him since I was a kid. He had a bowl cut, big teeth, glasses, and was really skinny in those days.”
“Let me guess,” Jules said. “The ugly little duckling turned into a swan. Now, he’s six-four, solid body, and the bulge in his pants is huge?”
I laughed. “You’re not far off. Just not sure about the bulge.”
“Well, from the way your mom was pushing you to give him a chance, he’s probably a good catch. Maybe even perfect husband material. And if you’re lucky, he is still a virgin.” Jules laughed.
“Mom did say he had a decent job,” I said.
“He works for someone else? Yuck, I thought everyone these days worked for themselves. Don’t tell me, he is an accountant?”
I burst out laughing. “Oh my god, that’s funny. He is an accountant. How did you guess?”
“It’s obvious. He works for someone else, lives in a decent neighborhood, and has a business card. Come on, Piper. An obvious accountant.”
It was uncanny that she had guessed exactly what Kyle’s occupation was. I could see the method in her madness for working it out. It made a lot of sense.
“Why don’t you take him up on his offer?” Jules asked with a wink. “It could be a change and a bit of fun. And you never know what might happen.”
“I can’t,” I said. “It’s wrong. I’ve never liked the thought of dating two guys at the same time.”
“Well, you and Evan are not exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, are you? And nothing is stopping you from giving this Kyle a call. It’s not like you’re tied down by anything.”
I turned a deaf ear to Jules’ comments about dating Kyle, or anyone else for that matter. I couldn’t remember if the contract actually mentioned anything about me being able to see other people. But knowing Evan, there was probably something that tied me down so I could be at his beck and call for additional servicing.
“It’s not in me to date two guys at the same time,” I said. “I just couldn’t face myself. I would be dishonest to someone else and to myself. How do you show feelings for two people at the same time? I mean, it’s impossible to like two people equally, isn’t it?”
I thought about the contract to see if I remembered anything that said if I could or couldn’t see other people. I knew it said no sex with other people, but dating them was an entirely different thing altogether.
I moved to my desk and rested my chin on my shoulders. I could hear something as I was daydreaming. I snapped out of it as Jules began yelling at me from the far side of my office.
“Pick up your damned cell phone, will you?” she called.
“Sorry, I was daydreaming,” I said.
I picked up my cell phone and answered.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hi, it’s me,” Evan said. “I really need to talk to you, seriously.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Not on the phone. We have to talk face to face. When are you available?”
“I’m just with Jules at the office, so any time you want. I’m easy. I have nothing major to do this afternoon.”
“In that case, if you can come and pick me up from the golf course. I was with Tyler, and he vanished with my car and a waitress.”
“Sure, I’ll leave now and pick you up,” I replied.
“I’ll see you in about thirty minutes,” he said.
“Okay, no problem,” I said, excited to hear his voice on the line.
“I’ll be outside waiting. It’s one of these strict clubs, dress code, and all that.”
I entered the gates to the golf club. The long winding drive appeared to be going nowhere. I drove over the brow of the hill, and there it was. Wow, an old Victorian-styled clubhouse sat in a sea of green. The grass looked as if it had been painted onto the landscape. It was that short. And it was immaculate.
I reached the parking lot and wove my way through all the expensive cars. Ferraris, Bentleys. You name it, it was there. All of them, and I was in my trusty Toyota.
I approached the front doors, and Evan was perched on top of a raised garden bed. He looked so sporty in his golfing outfit.
I stopped the car, and he climbed inside.
“Where to?” I asked.
“Home is as good a place as any. I could do with a shower after that workout.”
“You said you wanted to talk face to face about something?” I asked.
“I was with Tyler, and I was bandying a few things around in my mind. And then I started to think about us again.”
“And what were you thinking about?” I asked.
“It was about—”
I glanced to the side to see why he’d stopped talking. Evan picked up Kyle’s business card from the air vent where I had shoved it. He read the front and turned it over in his hands.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“It’s from an old neighbor I bumped into and had a chat with,” I said.
“Do you make a habit of talking about old times with many old acquaintances? Or neighbors who just happen to be male?” Evan sounded angry.
“Don’t be silly. He was just saying hello. I went to visit my mother and parked by his house. When I came out to move my car, we talked for a while. Then, at the end of it, he asked me out and gave me that card to call him.”
Evan looked upset. He was like a child who had their favorite toy confiscated for being naughty. He frowned and pouted his lips. If he had not been upset, I would have thought he looked sweet; almost human.
“There is no need to be jealous,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything. I turned him down and never intended to call him. I was actually going to throw his card away. I just forgot to do it earlier.”
“A likely story,” Evan said. “How many men give you their number when nothing is intended?”
“I told you he asked me out,” I said. “And I told him I wasn’t dating anyone at the moment.”
The expression on Evan’s face changed. I could see he was upset, and it was not like him to get like that.
“You could have told him you were seeing me,” he said.
“And why would I do that?” I asked.
“Just because,” he mumbled.
“Anyway, I thought it was one of your rules in the stupid contract to not talk about it,” I said, my voice getting heated. “You can’t just change the rules when you see fit.”
“You didn’t have to mention the contract to him. You could have just said you were seeing me, that’s all.”
“Sometimes, Evan, you don’t make sense to me,” I said, angrily.
“That guy or any guy only has to know that you’re seeing me,” he said.
“Is that what you’ve been telling your clients while you have been dodging me for the past few days?” I yelled.
Evan glared at me, and I could see he was now pissed. He lifted his ass and reached for his cell phone. He flicked against the screen. He mumbled while he was searching for something.
“There you go, have a good look at this,” he said, angrily.
I pulled over. I could see the pictures of two really stunning girls. It was evident these were replies from his website in one form or another.
“That is what I have been dodging while I have not been in contact,” he barked.
I had to trust him at his word; there was no way to prove it. Even if he had told the truth, he was still getting requests. And how many would he have before his urges took over and he gave in? It wouldn’t be long before he replied to one of those potential clients. I was sure his intentions were right, but after years of doing the same thing, I wasn’t sure. I’m sure one day he wouldn’t be able to resist.
“Maybe I should stop turning people away and get back to normal,” he said. “Then we could both know where we stand.”
We continued the drive in silence. His phone received another message. Evan looked at me, and I looked at him. Neither of us was sure what to say.
The moment was comical, even though we had just been arguing. I chuckled to myself inside but showed no sign that I found any of it funny.
“You better check what it is, don’t you think?” I said.
“I better,” he said. “It could be important.”
I glanced from the corner of my eye. I watched him open his message box.
“It’s the hotel,” he said.
“What do they want?” I asked.
“They said there’s a package at the reception desk for me,” he said.
I looked at his face, and he looked really puzzled at the text.
“Can you take me to the hotel, please?” he asked.
“I guess I’ll have to!” I replied.
Evan frowned, clearly puzzling over what it could be.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“No one leaves packages at the hotel unless they have been instructed to. I have no idea what’s waiting for me there.”
We arrived at the hotel, and I stopped at the front doors.
“You can go now,” Evan said.
“You’re joking,” I replied.
“Just leave me, and I’ll deal with,” he said.
“No chance,” I said. “We’re not finished yet.”
Evan stepped from the car, and the valet came to open my door. I got out of the car and followed Evan into the lobby.
Chapter 29
Evan
Piper halted the car next to the lobby doors. I unfastened the seat belt and opened the door before the staff could open the door for me. I shoved my cell phone into my pocket as I stepped from the car. I started to walk into the hotel lobby and could hear Piper behind me.
“Evan, wait for me,” Piper called.
I had no intention of waiting for her. I was still pissed at finding the business card in her car. She’d said she was going to toss it, but she had shoved it in the place you generally put things where you don’t want to lose them.
I walked through the doors and crossed the marble floor toward the reception desk. I could hear Piper’s footsteps as she hurried to catch up to me.
“You texted me,” I told the girl behind the desk. “You said I have a package?”
“Yes, it’s a large envelope,” she replied.
The girl reached under the reception desk and pulled out a large brown envelope. She handed it to me, and I felt it in my fingers. It appeared to be empty apart from a small box like bulge that was in the middle.
There were no identifying marks from the sender. The only thing written on it was the number of my hotel suite in thick black marker.
“A courier delivered it just before we messaged you,” the girl said. “We thought it could be important so we let you know right away.”
I peeled open the tab of the envelope and peered inside. I could see a smaller envelope and a little red box. I reached into the envelope and pulled out the box. I put the envelope under my arm and flipped the lid. Inside the box sat a pair of rather expensive gold cufflinks.
Now I know. It’s from the cute client. I remember her.
I knew exactly where it would have come from. One of my older clients was due to give birth around this time. It was evident to me she had given birth successfully and fulfilled the final stage of the agreement. She must have sent the picture, too, as they were all instructed to do. The cufflinks were a welcome addition.
I shoved the box back into the large envelope and rolled the top so nothing would fall free.
I took hold of Piper’s hand and walked her toward the elevator. She resisted and tried to free herself from my grasp. I had not really finished talking to her. I wanted to figure things out between us once and for all before she left. She was pissed about the cuff links I supposed.
The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside. I could see Piper’s reflection in the mirror. She’d gotten upset since seeing the cufflinks. She now had firsthand knowledge that I did indeed have older clients. Up until today, it had just all been abstract, which was easier to accept.
I could feel the way things were going. I wasn’t going to be able to talk to her about what I wanted to. The situation was pulling in the wrong direction.
“Is that a regular thing?” she asked.
“Is what a regular thing?” I replied.
I pushed the button, and the elevator started to rise. Piper gazed into the mirror and into my reflection.
“Receiving gifts for services rendered,” she snapped. “Do they all do that?”
“Not all of them. Just some of the more satisfied customers. And it’s just a token gesture more than anything.”
We reached the floor and exited the elevator. In silence, we strolled toward the door of the hotel suite. The number on the door was a reminder I had just received a special gift. I walked into the living room and placed the envelope onto the table. Piper sat on the couch, and I went to the bedroom.
You shouldn’t be looking inside this box, but I know you will not be able to resist.
I returned, carrying a large wooden box, and placed it onto the table next to the envelope. I flicked the combination and opened the lid. Piper stood beside me at the table. I slid the smaller envelope from the package and slipped it into the box next to the others without opening it.
“Are you going to open that envelope?” she asked.
“No, that stays sealed,” I replied.
I have no interest in the contents; it’s no concern of mine. The agreement says so.
“What’s in there?” she asked, puzzled. “Evan, you haven’t even looked!”
“I know exactly what it is, so I have no need to look at what’s inside,” I replied.
“Well, what is it?” Piper asked, confused.
I knew once I told her this, the cold realization of what Baby Maker was all about would finally be dumped firmly on her shoulders. I wasn’t sure how she would react, but I wasn’t in the mood to pull any punches with her at the moment.
“It’s a photo,” I replied.
“A picture of your client?” she asked.
“No, it’s a photo of their newborn child,” I said.
Piper looked inside the box and then looked at me in shock.
“All these envelopes are photos of your children?” she asked.
“They are pictures of the clients’ children, not my children,” I replied.
“There are a lot,” she said, softly. “Have you ever counted them?”
“No, I have never counted, and I have no interest in counting them. And it’s just something I do as final closure of the agreement.”
I looked at Piper, and she looked pale. Even without counting the envelopes, it was obvious the box held a lot of pictures. It was a lot for her to take in. I had accumulated nearly ten years’ worth of photos from previous clients. As my success rate was ninety-nine percent, this meant basically all the women I had serviced had, in the end, sent me a picture that would be filed away into this rather large box.
I stared into the box myself. Busines
s had been good, and I had been very busy.
“I don’t feel well,” Piper said. “My head is swimming. I have to sit down.”
Piper returned to the couch. She sat and placed her head in her hands. I could hear her breathing deeply, trying to regain some composure.
“I’m at a loss for words,” she said. “That’s a hell of a lot of clients you’ve had, and they all have babies from you.”
I closed the lid of the box and picked it up. I walked past Piper and returned it to its hiding place in the bedroom. I returned to the living room and stood close to Piper.
“That is who I am,” I said. “There’s no hiding the reality of what I’ve been doing.”
“I don’t know how you could do all that,” she said, distraught.
“You knew who I was the day you signed the contract,” I said, angrily. “It’s the cold facts that are hard to swallow.”
I could sense Piper judging me after seeing the box of pictures. This upset me. She wasn’t in a position to judge me or what I did. After finding the business card from fucking Kyle in her car, she should look closer at herself first. Especially before judging me for what I was doing.
“This was not who you used to be,” she muttered.
“Maybe so, but it is who I am now, and it’s who I’ve been since I was at college,” I said.
“I can’t believe I loved this person that you’ve become,” Piper said.
“You knew all of this and what you were getting yourself into. I gave you the opportunity to get out, and you still came back.”
“Yes but—”
“Don’t fucking ‘yes but’ me,” I snapped. “You knew exactly what was involved. You just chose to ignore it.”
Piper was getting me angrier and angrier, which would lead me to say something I might regret. That was her choice. She knew if I were backed into a corner, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Please, Piper, don’t push me any further. I don’t want to argue with you.
“I see what this is all about now,” she said. “This is because of Kyle.”
That was it. The final straw. I went to the desk drawer. I rifled through folders and pulled out Piper’s agreement.
“You have filed me with the rest?” she asked.