The Billionaire's Secret Surrogate (MANHATTAN BACHELORS Book 4)

by Susan Westwood

  “Yeah. I would be carrying someone else’s child for nine months and give birth to it and then I’d be done. He would have the baby and I would be paid a lot. A whole lot.” Kate chewed at her lip again as her fingertips toyed with the hem of her blouse.

  “I can’t believe it. You could knock me over with a feather.” Her mother took it in quietly for a long moment and Kate waited. Theresa continued. “Well, how much does this wealthy man plan on paying you for carrying his baby?”

  Kate breathed in long and slow before she answered. “Almost six hundred thousand dollars, when it’s all said and done. Plus, he wants to provide me with a penthouse condo on Fifth Avenue and take care of all my needs while I’m pregnant. Healthy happy mommy, healthy happy baby, I guess.”

  Theresa gasped. “Judas Priest!” she exclaimed in amazement. “Six hundred… are you sure? Do you think he’s serious about that?”

  “Yes Mama. He’s serious, and he’s wealthy enough that that kind of money isn’t anything at all to him. This is the real deal,” Kate replied, waiting for the shock to wash over her mother. She had felt that same shock herself earlier that day, and she had only just begun to be able to think about it without being overwhelmed.

  Theresa was quiet for a few moments as she considered it. “The biggest question on my mind is whether you could let this baby go at the end of it. I mean, this baby would be half yours. That is no small thing my girl. Trust me. I would first tell you as you consider this job to think long and hard about whether or not you could hand your own baby over to someone and probably never see that child again. If you can, and I guess some ladies are able to do it, you would certainly be set financially for a long time. It would be a big help to you.”

  “It would be a big help to the both of us Mama,” Kate replied. She hadn’t thought about the part of the surrogacy where she would be giving up her own child at the end of it. That part of the equation settled itself into the back of her mind as she sat there with the phone in her hand.

  “Here’s what I know for sure baby,” Theresa continued. “I raised you right. I know that you are definitely your own person. You can make your own decisions, and you will make the right decision for yourself. You might be looking for answers from me or maybe even from your girlfriends, but you have to trust in yourself that whatever choice you make in the end, it will be the right one for you. You’re the one who will have to live with it for the rest of your life, but I know in my heart that no matter what you do, you’ll choose whatever is best for you.”

  Kate smiled as tears welled up in her eyes. “You’re right Mama. As always, you are right. I’m going to sleep on this and I’ll let you know what I decide as soon as I figure that out.”

  “That’s my girl. Good luck honey.” Theresa sounded proud of her, and she could feel it in her heart.

  She went to bed that night with all of it running through her mind; Pierce’s incredible offer, Olivia’s perspective, and her mother’s words and faith in her that she would choose exactly what was right and best for her.

  Kate slept long and deeply, and when she opened her eyes her mind went straight back to the subject, and she knew. She had her answer, and the first one she wanted to call to share it with was Pierce.

  Digging his card out and hoping that it wasn’t too early to call him, she dialed his number. He answered just after the first ring.

  “Kate?” he asked, sounding somewhat breathless. She was sure he had been anxious for the call, having made the offer and then having to wait. She didn’t envy him that torturous length of time.

  “Yes, this is Kate. Good morning, Pierce,” she said with a little hint of a smile.

  “I’m guessing that you are calling with an answer to my proposal.” He sounded as if he was standing at the edge of a cliff and might very well be about to jump off of it.

  “I am indeed.” She drew in a deep breath, all the way to the core of her. “I’m going to help you. I’m going to take you up on your offer and give you the baby that you want to have.”

  There was a split second of dead silence at the other end of the line, and then a gush of the breath that he had been holding in. At the end of the breath was a quiet laugh of happiness and relief. “That’s… that’s incredible news. Thank you, Kate. Thank you so much. I know that it was a big decision, and I know that you would be making some sacrifices. I want you to know how much that means to me. I’m going to take excellent care of you the entire time, and I will do my best to make sure that this is as mutually beneficial an arrangement as it possibly can be.”

  She felt like he was promising her the world, and somehow she really wanted to reach out and take it. “I’m a little nervous, as I’m sure you are too, but I think if we both work together on this, it will be ideal for us both. Thank you for offering it to me.”

  “It’s entirely my pleasure.” He still sounded tremendously relieved. There was another quiet moment on his end and then his voice took an upward tone, lightening just a bit. “So I guess the next step is that we move you into the condo as soon as possible. When do you think you could do that?”

  She raised her eyebrows and looked around her small dingy apartment. She hadn’t thought about when she would leave it, just that she would leave it. “I guess I could do anytime, really.”

  “Does today work?” he asked, sounding excited, almost like a boy at Christmas.

  She blinked. That was fast, she thought to herself. Very fast. “Uh… yeah. Yes… I guess today would work.”

  “I know it’s fast,” he seemed to echo her thoughts, “but we do want this to happen as soon as possible, and there’s never any time like the present to get things taken care of.” He gripped the phone a little tighter in his hand, feeling the thrill of what was to come coursing through him.

  “Today it is then.” She tried to wrap her mind around it. “I guess I better go find some boxes and round up some friends. I don’t have much. It won’t take me too long.”

  “Oh no, don’t bother about that. I’ll have a moving company come take care of it for you. Just send me your address and I’ll take care of the rest. In fact, let’s do this. I’ll send a car for you. Pack a bag of your clothes and necessities, and you can come straight to the condo. I’ll have the moving company come get your things today, and you’ll be settled into the condo in no time. Does that work? I’ll send the car in say, two hours from now?”

  Kate couldn’t even think for a moment, everything was suddenly becoming a blur to her. “In two hours…” she trailed off and lifted her hand, running her fingers through her blonde curls. “Uh… sure. I can have a bag packed in two hours.”

  “Perfect. Oh… and Kate,” he smiled widely then, “you should quit your job at the restaurant. You’re not going back there again. You’ve already had your last day. Just tell them that you have had a pressing family situation that has called you away and you won’t be able to return. That’s it. I will take care of everything else for you.”

  “A pressing family situation that has called me away,” she laughed, in spite of her amazement at the rush of things. “Well, it’s the truth. I guess. Okay. Quit my job, pack a bag, and you’ll send a car in two hours. Got it. I’ll text you my address.”

  They said goodbye and she texted her address to him as she had promised. Panic and excitement and anxiety began to rush through her body and she had to sit down and take a few deep breaths to calm herself before she could pick up her phone to call the fancy Italian restaurant on Fifth Avenue. Her whole life was changing on a dime, right before her eyes, or rather, on almost six hundred thousand dollars. She could barely make herself believe it.

  Two hours later, just as promised, a car arrived. It was a stretch limousine, and it didn’t come empty. Pierce was at her door ready to help her with her bag. He took one look at her apartment and shook his head. “I’m so glad that you’ll be staying at the condo rather than here. You deserve so much better than this.” He didn’t say it in an insulting way, but rather in a c
aring way, and she knew as she looked at him that he meant it.

  She smiled and followed him out, turning to look over her shoulder at the place one last time. She was astounded to think that she was never going to see it again. For a moment there was the tiniest bit of nostalgia in the back of her mind for all the time she had spent there, but then she realized that she hadn’t actually spent that much time there when it came down to it, and she turned her face to the door and walked out of it into the future that was waiting to change every single thing about her life, beginning with her very first ride in a long black stretched limousine with a handsome billionaire.

  Kate had no idea what to expect, but whatever it was in her mind that she imagined, it was nothing compared to what she saw with her own eyes when she got to the condo. The building was an enormous structure, reaching upward to the sky. There was a doorman who touched the edge of his hat with a wide smile when he saw Pierce walking up to the door. The door was opened and waiting for them. Pierce paused long enough to introduce Kate to the doorman.

  “Kate, this is Henry, Henry, this is Kate. She is moving into my condo today, and she’ll be staying for quite a long while. I trust that you’ll take as good a care with her as you do with me.” He gave Henry a pointed look and a smile, and Henry nodded.

  “It would be my honor, Miss Kate. I’m so pleased to make your acquaintance.” He gave her a welcoming nod and a little bow, and she didn’t miss the look of amazement in his eyes that he just couldn’t quite hide. She smiled to herself, wondering just how rare it was that Pierce brought women through Henry’s door to his condo, but from the look on the doorman’s face, she suspected that it was somewhere between rarely and never.

  The lobby was elegantly designed with marble floors and Corinth columns rising up to a high ceiling. There was a receptionist desk, and Pierce walked Kate over to the desk, introducing her to Evan, the receptionist on duty. He made sure that she had keys and clearance for anything she wanted to do in the building.

  Pierce showed her to a private elevator, set apart from the main elevators for the rest of the floors. They took this elevator up to the penthouse and when the doors slid open, she gasped at the foyer that they stepped into. It was oval shaped, and looked as if it could have been in a five-star hotel.

  He walked her to the double front doors and opened one of them, leading her into what was her new home. It was a spacious area; a living room and at the far end of it a dining room that together were bigger than her entire apartment. There were glass windows all along the side of the room that looked out onto Fifth Avenue, and set in the glass windows, she saw that there were glass double doors that opened from the living room onto a big balcony where glass and steel chairs and a table were set beneath a canopy. There were potted trees, plants, and flowers all along the balcony, and another set of doors opened onto the same balcony from the dining room. He walked her through those and they went from the dining room into the kitchen.

  The kitchen was huge, and designed with an Italian style. She laughed and teased that it made her feel like cooking a big meal, just walking into the place and seeing it, it was so inspiring. He chuckled and shook his head. “You have the service to do your cooking for you, unless you want to cook something yourself, but they are around to take care of you. They live on another floor here, and they are at your disposal, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for anything that you need or want. Do not hesitate to use their help; I’m paying them a great deal and I want them to earn their money. They’re here to see to your every need.” He smiled at her and they walked out of the kitchen down a hallway.

  There were two large bathrooms, three bedrooms, and a library filled with bookshelves that went from floor to ceiling. The library and all three of the bedrooms had fireplaces, though it looked as if only the fireplaces in the library and in the master bedroom had ever been used.

  “I’ve always used the master bedroom, but I am no longer staying here. This is your home now, so I’ve put you in the master bedroom. The other two rooms are guest rooms. Now that I think of it, they’ve only been used on rare occasions by my siblings and my father when they’ve stayed in the city overnight. Normally we’re all out at the big house in the Hamptons. Anyway, the place is all yours now, and none of my family will be dropping by.” He gave her a laugh and a wink and walked her into the master bedroom.

  It was one of the largest rooms in the home, with a stone and glass fireplace and tall, wide windows that looked out onto the city and Central Park. The bed was enormous, and was set up on a carpeted pedestal about half a foot off the main floor. There was a big dresser and a wardrobe made of mahogany, as the bed frame was, as well as a walk-in closet that was bigger than her bedroom had been in her apartment. The en suite bathroom had a wide and deep sunken jetted bathtub beside frosted windows that slid open, looking out to the park below, as well as a stone shower with ten different showerheads in it, in a Swedish style.

  She shook her head in utter disbelief. “I think I must be dreaming. I’ve never seen any place that looked like this.” She touched the stone wall of the shower and promised herself she would indulge in all the wonderful amenities of the house as soon as she could.

  “You aren’t dreaming. You’re home,” he replied, leading her out of the bedroom and into another room that was up three steps. It was surrounded by glass on two sides and had a glass roof. “This is the conservatory,” he said, walking over and slowly running his hand over the glossy ebony grand piano that was sitting amidst a veritable garden of flowers and plants.

  “Wow. This is so beautiful!” she gasped in delight as she looked around and bent to sniff at some of the roses that were growing out of a big pot. She looked over at him as he gazed at the piano. “Do you play?”

  He smiled widely and affectionately at the instrument before him. “I do. It’s one of my true passions.”

  She was surprised and she paused in her wonder at the home, taking a few moments to appreciate its owner as he stood beside the elegant piano. “What do you like to play?” she asked, taking a few steps toward him, keeping her eyes on him. She never would have guessed that he was musically inclined, but then as she thought about it, it made perfect sense. A businessman, a number cruncher, and math and music were the same. His brain was hard wired for it.

  He shrugged. “I like many variations of music. I love to play jazz, usually on a weekend morning or on a rainy night.” He looked up at the glass. “There’s great percussion in here when the rain really comes down. It’s magic.” He lifted the cover from the keys and his fingertips drifted over them lightly. “I love to play classical and old rock from the fifties, and no one knows it, but on a blue moon I might sneak in a showtune song here and there.”

  She laughed. “You like live theatre?” She was surprised again. He lifted his eyes from the piano and met her gaze. “I do.”

  “Play something for me then?” she asked, making a bold request.

  He considered it for a moment, and she wasn’t sure but she could have sworn that she saw a faint blush creep into his cheeks as he sat down and grinned. She could easily see how much he loved it as his fingers hovered over the keys for just a moment, and then he struck a few chords and she recognized Debussy’s Claire de Lune. She said it aloud and he nodded, appreciating the fact that she knew the piece right away.

  He played some of it and then stopped and turned to look up at her, and she took a few hurried steps toward him, not wanting to break his momentum. “Please! Please continue!”

  “You want to hear it all?” he asked in obvious delight.

  She nodded and gave him a grin. “Definitely.” He acquiesced, and when the last notes faded away, he stayed there for a moment, still in the feeling the music had created around them, his fingers light on the keys, his eyes closed, his face restful in peace.

  Kate barely breathed, not wanting to change the moment like a broken silence. He finally drew in a breath and opened his eyes, looking up slowly at her. She
smiled at him and spoke softly.

  “That was so beautiful. Thank you very much. I don’t remember the last time I heard something that lovely.” She meant it.

  He looked down and that hint of pink returned to his cheeks as he closed the cover over the keys again. “Thank you. I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it.”

  Standing up from the piano, he walked her back into the living room again. “I suppose I should be going, and then you’ll have a chance to look around and explore the place for yourself. Make yourself comfortable. I meant what I said, you’re home.”

  He reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a check. It was made out to her in the amount of ten thousand dollars. “Here’s your first stipend.” He handed it to her and she felt her heart drop from her chest to the floor. She’d never held so much money in her entire life.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, somehow tearing her eyes from it and looking back up at him. He was watching her.

  “Thank you, you are giving me the greatest gift that I will ever receive. I don’t take that lightly. Now then, to that end…” he trailed off and paused a moment. “We should get started on this endeavor right away. I am glad to give you three days to get settled in, but I’ll be by right after that to get started on creating this child. I hope that will work for you. The sooner you’re pregnant, the sooner there’s a baby.” He was serious, though his voice was kind.