His Surrogate For Hire

Clay walked her inside and bid her goodnight, no further mention of their kiss. Instead, they ended the night after two bottles of wine and good company. Diana slid her shoes off halfway down the hallway, walking the rest of the way to her room in her bare feet. The kiss both puzzled her and incited a place in her that had not been awakened in a while, but she was going to play the situation as Clay did. It was possible that it was just a friendly kiss. She reminded herself not to get too caught up in the lifestyle or any of what was happening because it was all temporary. The only thing she needed to do right now was enjoy the fairy tale. It was not meant to last forever.

*****

The part that was not so glamorous was the many trips to the doctor’s office. That was what kept Diana aware of the reality that she agreed to be a surrogate. Between monitoring ovulation and her body’s hormones, as well as her diet and increasing exercise, Diana started to feel like a guinea pig.

She was supposed to be inseminated, but after all of this poking and prodding, she wondered if it would not be easier to just get pregnant the old fashioned way. But that was not the option at hand. She had to play by the rules, and with the pay off she was going to receive, it would all be well worth it in the long run.

Although she was living it up in a mansion with a billionaire, Diana did not want to take any of it for granted. Just yesterday she was trying to figure out how to pay her bills. Today, she woke up in her own suite, a space that was three times as big as her apartment.

Diana was not sure what she should do with her day. There were twenty- four hours in a day and she did not have one thing on her agenda. It was for the best anyway because she had to be available for a visit with the doctor at the drop of a dime.

Between being held to a workout schedule and her diet being monitored by both Charlotte and the in-house chef, Diana wondered how much more strict things would become once a baby was on the way. She could not imagine the staff letting up on any of the care and attention being showered on her.

The phone rang, her friend Teresa on a video call.

“Good Morning,” Diana greeted.

“You know I had to call on the video phone so I could get the grand tour.”

The two women began giggling like young girls as Diana walked around the suite, holding the phone up so Teresa could see.

“I’m telling you, Teresa. This is like a fairy tale. I’m like, like Cinderella,” she said, figuring it out in the moment as they spoke.

“So are you saying you found your Prince Charming?”

“I am definitely not saying that, Teresa.”

“Well then what are you saying?” her friend asked.

“I am not really saying anything.”

“Maybe you should be, Diana.”

Diana hated when her friend made such valid comments. “Or maybe I should just let things be as they may. I’m not sure this is the kind of thing that needs to be pushed in any way.”

Teresa scrunched her face. “That’s up to you. Either you can sit and wait for the man to really make a move or you can make some moves happen. Which girl are you?”

It was like Teresa was some type of coach, calling out plays from the sidelines.

“I am not going to mess up what I have going on here. For all I know, Clay is just being pleasant to the woman who will birth his child. I don’t think it is anything more than that. I’m pretty sure he would not be some complete jerk when I am not in a position to be stressed by anyone.”

Lips still pursed, Teresa conceded. “Fine. But I still want you to consider what I’m saying. Keep your eyes peeled and pay attention to what is going on there. I’m sure you will figure out what I’m talking about in a minute.”

“I have to go.” Truth was she did not have anything else to do, but he wanted to end the conversation. She had already made her point very clear and knowing her friend well, Diana knew Teresa was not going to change her mind.

They bid their goodbyes and Diana threw herself on the bed. She had not given much thought to anything other than the need to change her life’s circumstances. There was nothing she wanted to get in the way of her windfall.

But Teresa was right, Clay would be a great potential catch. He was intelligent, a bit on the eccentric side, but his unconventional wisdom and personality was part of what made him attractive.

The fact that she used the word attractive to describe him briefly got under her skin. He was her employer. And besides that, he was way out of her league. A man with the kind of money he had and the lifestyle, he could afford could have any girl he wanted. Just because they had some friendly conversation, it did not mean he was interested in her for anything other than the job she was there to do.

There was no reason for her to start thinking that way at all. That was not even the reason why she was there, moved in to his home. They had not met with the intention to date or do anything other than the work at hand.

Diana did not want to let Teresa’s musings get her off track. She would have to ignore her the next time Teresa brought up the subject. She had to stay focused, but living a bit of the life of those on the other sides of the track would not be so bad either.