Hired as a Surrogate, Abandoned as a Single Mother

Chapter Three

Mike had been out of the house for four days now. That was his normal modus operandi whenever we had a big fight.

In his absence, I had resigned from my shitty job as a waitress in a dying diner that paid minimum wage, and started drafting out my essays for the colleges I'd be applying to.

I was on my way back from Evercare after going through and signing some paperwork with Maureen when I remembered my best friend, Jessica had asked to see.

Deciding it was best to see her at work than have her come over to my place, I pulled up in the parking lot of Trimz. It was a unisex salon she ran with her younger brother.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Jessica teases as I walk in. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were avoiding me."

Her salon is only big enough to fit in three styling chairs and one dryer chair. In fact, if all the styling chairs were filled, and she ever had more than one waiting customer, the second one would have to wait outside. But Jessica acts like it's a whole showroom with celebrity clientele and so, she's always dressed stylishly and donning her apron, whether or not she has any customers. And I loved it.

I laugh, placing my bag on the counter and getting my wallet out.

"I had a meeting," I tell her before dropping some notes in front of her. "And now, I don't owe you anymore."

Jessica rolls her eyes, picks up the money and counts it before sticking it into the pocket of the apron she's wearing.

"Have you been avoiding me because you owed me?”

“Did you ask to see me because Micheal called and whined?” I retort.

She chuckles, walking out from behind the counter to pull me into a hug. “You and your lover.”

“Whom I haven't seen in four days now.”

“Vanessa…”

“You know what?” I exhale, freeing myself from the hug. “If you're gonna take his side, maybe I should just go. I don't want to have to argue with you too.”

“When were you going to tell me you were going to be a surrogate again?”

“Definitely before my big mouth of a boyfriend told you.”

“You know I'm not a big fan of Mike, and no, it's not like I'm going to side with him or anything. But you have to admit. He has a really good point. Your first time as a surrogate was very stressful on you.”

“Which is why this time, I won't be working while pregnant. The couple whose baby I will be carrying are wealthy. They're footing everything. My medicals, my wardrobe, and even feeding. Juliette says all I need to do is call her and ask.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jessica scoffs.

“I'm serious. I get my first half when I'm six months gone. And then the balance once I go into labor. I'll be half a million rich by the time I'm out of the theatre.”

“Vanessa…”

“Tell me something,” I say, leaning on the counter. “If Mike and I were married and wanted three kids, do you think we wouldn't have started planning for the second despite how the first pregnancy went?”

“Knowing Mike, you'd already have your second,” Jessica laughs.

“So why is he so against this?” I hold out my hands. “He blames me for letting Gary make us lose our money. He forgets that the only reason I even gave Gary that money in the first place is because Mike had issues at work and got into trouble with his boss. Rather than give him the entire money to have him give his boss to clear up the problem, I decided to try and double it. So we wouldn't be left stranded. If I'd just deposited that money as tuition the second I got it, I'd be in sophomore year by now.”

“You're getting angry. Come on and sit down,” Jessica says calmly, wrapping her arm around my shoulders and leading me to sit on one of the two chairs in her waiting area.

“I just want a better life for myself. I want to go to college, get a job, and climb up the corporate ladder. Is that too much to ask?” I continue.

My voice is getting shaky now and I'm grateful there's no one else in the salon to watch me cry.

“Nothing wrong with that, baby. And you'll get it. I know he's just worried about you. Especially because all this is going pretty fast. He said you're getting inseminated before the end of the month?”

I sniffle, wiping the side of my eyes with the heel of my palms. “Yes. Juliette says her husband's birthday is coming up and she'd like it if I were already some months gone by then, so she could surprise him with the news of a new addition to the Rosswell family on his birthday.”

Jessica's eyes narrow. “Rosswell? Juliette Rosswell is your client?”

I turn my face to look at her, arching at her. “You know her? Is she one of your customers?”

“I wish!” Jessica snorts, getting up.

I watch as she goes to a small table beside a styling chair and flips through the stack of magazines on it before settling on one. She's still flipping through the pages of the magazine she picked while walking back to me.

“Is this her?” She finally asks, holding out the magazine to me.

I take it from her and look. My eyes grow so wide as I see the large photo that covers two pages of Lakeview Weekly.

“Yes!” I exclaim, not able to take my eyes off the photo. “She looks so good here, but trust me, she's even prettier in person.”

“She's the wife of billionaire George Rosswell, CEO of Rosswell Luxury Holdings,” Jessica informs me, sitting back down.

My hand fly to my mouth in shock.

“Nessa, you should be collecting millions if you're carrying their baby,” she goes on, her face now lit up in excitement.

“Oh my God,” I manage to say. “I mean, I knew she was rich. But I didn't know she was this rich. I wonder if Maureen knows.”

Then it hits me.

“Of course she knows. That's why she kept calling for over a month to just meet with her. She couldn't let the business pass her by.”

That's also probably why Juliette came to Evercare. If she went to one of those high-end fertility centres, she'd pay a lot more than she was paying me.

Jessica and I spend the next few minutes poring over the magazine that featured her. Apparently, she had donated a huge sum to a foundation for children with special needs and the event had been covered.

“You need to make very good use of this opportunity, Vanessa.”

“Tell that to Mike.”

“Oh, I will. He's definitely going to hear this. You're his lucky charm. He should know that. I think you should call Maureen and have her review your pricing.”

“I'm just going to sound greedy. Five hundred thousand is more than enough for me,” I protest. “I'll be getting other allowances too, so it's all good. Besides, what if she just decides to go with someone else?”

“She waited a month for Maureen to hunt you down, didn't she?” Jessica reminds me. “A little extra cash isn't going to chase her away now. And since she has a target to have the baby growing before her husband's birthday, she's practically got no choice but to agree to your terms.”

Jessica has a point. And that makes me ponder on the thought.

I linger in my car for a few more minutes when I get home. And before I can change my mind, I get out my phone and dial Maureen.