Surrogate For The Billionaire: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance (15 page)

“
Oh,
what’s up?” Carolyn asked.

Max
opened his mouth to reply but then the world was replaced with
darkness and he knew no more.

*****

He
woke to a beeping sound and the feel of a cool breeze on his
buttocks. He had difficulty opening his eyes, they seemed welded
shut…that or he had no eyes any longer.

“
Hallo,”
he croaked still trying valiantly to open his eyes. “Anybody
there?”

“
Mr.
Lestrange sir, you’re awake,” the voice of his
housekeeper said sounding relieved. “I’ll get the nurse.”

“
Martha
wait,” he said sharply and felt her stop moving. “What’s
wrong with my eyes?”

“
Oh,
they applied some sort of paste over them, I think to stop them
fluttering…you were convulsing sir. Anyway, I’ll get the
nurse,” Martha said.

Max
waited impatiently for someone to come and tell him what was going on
with him. He continued to try and open his eyes. He thought of wiping
the paste off with his hands but when he tried to move them, he felt
a pinprick of pain and a pulling sensation he didn’t like so he
ceased to do that forthwith.

“
Ah,
Mr. Lestrange, welcome back to the land of the living,” a low
male voice said to him, sounding too familiar for someone he’d
never met.

“
And
you are?” he asked coldly.

“
I’m
doctor Schofield, your physician,” the voice said.

“
I
see,” Max replied. “And what exactly is wrong with me?”

“
We’re
not sure yet,” the doctor replied breezily.

“
Could
you remove this paste so I can open my eyes?” Max asked
irritably.

“
Of
course. Nurse?” the doctor’s voice said. After a moment,
Max felt a cool cloth wiping him gently around his eyes. He could
feel whatever was holding his eyes closed loosen its hold and
suddenly he could see again, his eyes were open and he was staring at
Martha, his black housekeeper for nigh on fifteen years now, and a
young man with black hair and vivid blue eyes who was wearing a white
lab coat. He was also smiling at him as if he couldn’t be more
pleased with himself. Max hated him on sight.

“
So
you don’t know what’s wrong with me, why am I here?”
he asked coldly.

Dr.
Schofield’s smile faltered a bit but it came back, almost at
full wattage. “We’re running tests. Your temperature was
elevated very high when you came in. So much so that you were
convulsing. You almost went into shock but we pulled you back. Your
white blood cell count is also elevated which means you’re
sporting an infection of some kind. Hopefully once the blood work
comes back we’ll know more.”

Max
stared into the middle distance. “I see,” he said. “My
doctor’s name is Carlyle Benson; I’m sure my
housekeeper’s told you. Would you kindly summon him?”

“
Your
housekeeper did inform us of your doctor’s name and the fact
that you would want him – but he is not affiliated with this
hospital and so-“

“
Then
move me to a facility with which he
is
affiliated,” Max interrupted.

That
at least wiped the smile off Dr. Schofield’s face. “Mr.
Lestrange you have to know that you are very weak right now and not
in any position to be moved,” he said in a more subdued tone
than he’d been hitherto using. “It would not behoove you
to try and do so. At least wait until you’re stronger.”

Max
glared at him, wanting to punch him in the face but truly feeling too
weak to move. He hated it, this weakness; and it scared the hell out
of him. What had happened to him?

“
Have
you checked my system for drugs?” he asked.

“
It's
one of the tests requested,” Dr. Schofield said. “If you
can be just a little patient we should know in an hour or two what
ails you.”

“
An
hour or two?” Max exclaimed in disbelief.

“
We
ordered extensive tests sir,” Dr. Schofield said.

Max
just glared at him, wanting to get out of bed, possibly hit
something; preferably the good doctor. But he just lay back in defeat
and stared at the ceiling.

“
Martha,
did you bring my bed clothes?” he asked.

“
Yes
sir, right here,” Martha said placing a pair of pajamas on the
bedside table where Max could see them.

“
Can
I at least change out of this mortifying gown?” Max asked the
doctor.

Dr.
Schofield opened his mouth to explain hospital policy but then closed
it again. This level of politics was above his pay grade. “Sure,”
he said and walked out of the room together with the nurse so that
Max could change. As soon as they were alone, Max relaxed.

“
Martha
what happened?” he asked.

“
You
collapsed at the fight sir,” Martha begun at once. “The
casino called an ambulance and the mayor called me. They had already
brought you here to this hospital by the time I could get here. I
called Dr. Benson and he arrived to check on you but they only
allowed him in as a professional courtesy but they said he could not
treat you because of that affiliation thing. He said to call him as
soon as you woke. I’ve already sent him a text.”

“
Good
girl. Anything else?” Max asked.

Martha
shook her head. “Everything is under control sir. Whitby is
handling the press, Constantine has informed the board of what is
happening.”

“
What’s
he telling the press?” Max wanted to know.

“
No
information at this time,” Martha said.

Max
nodded. “That might not be the best strategy for the stocks.
Ask him to change that to a bad case of the flu.”

“
Yes
sir,” Martha said taking out her phone to text Whitby.

“
Where
is Andrea?” Max asked.

“
She’s
taking care of canceling or rescheduling appointments sir. She should
be here this afternoon.”

“
Right.
Good.” Max said.

“
Also,
your mother called,” Martha said tentatively.

Max
was silent, staring at the ceiling.

“
She…wanted
to know how serious it was,” Martha said.

Max
turned to look at her. “What did you tell her Martha?” he
demanded.

Martha
shrugged her ample shoulders. “I told her the doctors didn’t
know. She asked me to keep her informed.”

Max’s
eyes narrowed and Martha hastened to add, “I said I would tell
you to get in touch.”

Max’s
brow cleared and he snorted, “She probably was hoping I’d
cop it and she’d have a chance at inheriting everything.”

“
Yes
sir,” Martha said obediently.

Max
looked around the room, his frown returning.

“
I
have some things for you in the car, your robe, slippers, laptop,
some flowers to brighten the room and your throw rug for the floor,”
Martha said seeing the frown. Max nodded his approval.

“
Great,
bring them in. Especially the laptop,” he said.

Martha
nodded and left as Max lay back.

*****

“
Hey
gra, how are you?” Christine called as she heard her
grandmother come in. She looked at the clock tick tick ticking away
in the hall. Ten pm. Late even by her grandmother’s standards.
That Mr. Lestrange worked her too hard.

“
I’m
good, how are you?” Martha replied.

“
Wonderful.
We got a new intern at work today. Eager to please, good looking…I
hate him,” Christine replied.

Martha
laughed shaking her head. “What am I going to do with you
Chris?”

“
Stop
calling me by a boy’s name?” Christine asked. “Anyway,
why are you home so late? Another dinner party?”

Martha
stopped massaging her feet to look up at Christine in surprise. “Mr.
Lestrange is in the hospital Chris, show some compassion.”

“
What?
What happened?” Christine asked moving to help her grandmother
with her other shoe.

“
The
doctors say it's some kind of infection. I don’t have the
details. I’m not kin,” Martha said.

Christine
snorted, “You’re as much kin as any that man has.”

Martha
did not disagree.

“
So…?
Is he gonna be okay or are you out of a job?”

Martha
glared at her. “You are so unfeeling at times girl.”

“
I’m
not…I just…I don’t think Max appreciates you as
much as he should,” she said.

Martha
smiled. “Girl you know nothing. Now go get me a cuppa tea and
stop bitchin,” she said making Christine laugh as she went.

*****

Strings
had been pulled and Dr. Benson had been given a temporary pass to
treat his patient, Max Lestrange in the hospital. The tests were back
and Dr. Schofield and Dr. Benson stood before him to explain the
results.

“
Your
blood work showed elevated levels of white blood cells which would
seem to indicate an infection. We did differential testing to narrow
down the source of the infection and we’re pretty sure it's
some form of prostatitis. We still need to do further tests,
including a biopsy, to narrow down the possibilities,” Dr.
Benson said.

“
Biopsy…isn’t
that to find cancer?” Max asked concentrating on making his
face impassive.

“
Yes.
It's just to cover all bases. You’re thirty eight years old and
that’s still below the high risk age for prostate cancer but we
can’t ignore the possibility,” Dr. Schofield replied.

Max
studied them and then nodded. “Okay then…when?”

“
Tomorrow
morning,” Dr. Schofield said.

“
What
does it entail?” Max asked tensing just a little bit.

“
The
procedure we’re going to do is known as a trans-rectal biopsy,”
Dr. Benson said. “It means we’ll be accessing your
prostate through your rectum. The procedure will be done right in
this room. A nurse will be by early to give you an enema.”

“
Enema?”
Max repeated in horror.

“
It's
necessary,” Dr. Benson replied.

Dr.
Benson turned to the nurse motioning her forward. “Nurse Marcus
here has a consent form for you to sign, feel free to read it over
and if you have any questions I’m around.”

“
Thank
you,” Max said taking the form and trying to read. His vision
was blurry however so he picked up his phone and hit speed dial two.

“
Clarence?
I need you to come tell me if I should sign this consent form or
not,” he said into the receiver.

“
I’m
at the administration wing facilitating your move to somewhere where
we can control the environment better. I’ll be there in ten
minutes,” Clarence said.

“
Okay,”
Max said and hung up. There was movement at the door and he looked up
to behold a fairly tall woman the color of café au lait, her
honey eyes regarding him with cool curiosity. She’d tied her
curly black hair in a pony tail with the ends exploding all over the
place like a squirm of wriggling worms; only much better looking. Her
cupid’s bow mouth was pursed in disapproval like it always was
when she looked at him. She had on some sort of dark lipstick and she
was dressed for work in blue coveralls.

“
Hey
Chris,” Max said.

Her
frown got even worse. “Don’t call me that,” she
said.

“
Come
to see if I’m dying?” Max asked with a mouth twist of his
own.

“
Oh
you wish you were that important to me. Gra sent me to bring you
lunch.”

“
Kind
of you to go out of your way like this,” Max said still in that
baiting tone.

“
Actually,
there is a faulty transformer I need to look at nearby. The hospital
is on my way. So you want your lunch or not?”

Max
shrugged. “Hey, you’re the one lurking in the doorway.”

Christine
stepped into the room proffering a small square bag. She placed it on
the table and unzipped it, unloading a plate piled with greens and
covered with transparent foil. She put the plate on his bed table and
then extracted another plate arranged with fish fingers and baked
potato. Lastly, there was a container of sauce.