The Billionaires Hired Baby Mother: When the wife and surrogate are two different people (3 page)

Lily Frazier has been accepted into the Dandridge program at The
Castlewood Preparatory Program. We are pleased to inform you that
this includes a partial scholarship in the amount of $10,000. The
remaining tuition amount of $13,000 will be due prior to the start
date of September 19th. The deadline for registration is September
1st. Please find attached a list of all necessary books and materials
as well as information on uniforms.

Sincerely Linda Lynn Holbrook - Headmistress.

Ettie was overjoyed. Lily’s scores has granted her spot at one
of the most prestigious schools in Austin. She jumped to her feet to
go tell Andrea and her little girl when suddenly her heart dropped.
Thirteen thousand dollars. Where on earth was she going to come up
with that kind of money? She couldn't imagine telling Lily, after all
she had gone through studying and that she couldn't go because she
couldn't afford the tuition? Lily wanted to be a be a cellist and
Castlewood was the best school there was. Ettie stood up from the
table and ran the water in the sink, splashing her suddenly hot face.
There was no way she was going to make enough money, not even with
overtime and not with their bills anyway. Her father’s pension
barely covered the mortgage and Andrea’s medication. There was
no way she could ask her mother for help. Crestfallen, she decided
she would call her good friends Abigail and Gina. She needed advice
before she could face telling her daughter that she couldn’t
go. Ettie held the letter clutched to her chest. Andrea walked in at
that very moment and nervous Ettie shoved the envelope haphazardly
back into the bread box.

“
What was that?” Andrea asked.

“
Nothing important mom,” Ettie replied
forcing a smile.

“
Hmmm,” Andrea responded. She knew
when Ettie was keeping something from her but she also knew her
daughter and she knew that she would tell her when she was ready.
There was no way that Andrea would check the bread box and they both
knew it, although Andrea eyed her daughter curiously.

Later, after lunch and when Lily went outside to play, Ettie found
Andrea. She had fallen asleep in her room with the television softly
playing again.

“
Mom?” she asked timidly at the
bedroom door.

“
I’m up. What’s wrong Ettie?”
Andrea called from her bed and used her remote to turn the TV off.

“
Lily got accepted into the school,”
Ettie said softly coming to sit beside her mother.

“
That’s wonderful news. I knew she
would. She’s smart like her mother,” Andrea beamed
proudly.

“
Mom, she didn’t get a full
scholarship,” Ettie said handing over the letter.

Andrea quickly scanned the letter. Her face fell slightly but then
she quickly recovered.

“
We could raise the money in time,”
she started.

“
Mom. Thirteen thousand dollars,”
Ettie said defeated.

“
We’ll sell the house!” Andrea
shot back.

“
Mother don’t be ridiculous.”

“
You could call George. It’s about
time he…”

But Ettie cut her off.

“
No. I’m not calling him. This has
nothing to do with him,” she said adamantly.

“
Well, we will figure something out
Henrietta. We always do,” Andrea replied determined.

Andrea grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye, nodding. Ettie
kissed Andrea on the forehead. When she reached the door, she turned
to face her mother with a forced smile.

“
I’m going to go start dinner. I’ll
let you know when it’s ready.”

Dinner was a quiet affair. Lily could tell something was wrong but
she didn’t question it. Afterwards, Ettie cleaned the kitchen
while Lily and Andrea went to go watch a movie on DVD. Her mother
gave her a pointed look, she knew her mother was telling her to get
out and clear her head. Ettie needed to think. She needed some real
advice and so she called her best friend Gina. Gina answered on the
third ring. She could hear her godson Jordan cooing in the
background.

“
Gina. It’s me. Can we go out for
drinks?” Ettie asked with an audible sigh.

“
Oh honey. I don’t think I could find
a babysitter on such short notice. Abigail is still at the hospital.
Her shift doesn’t end until eleven,” Gina replied.

“
It’s okay. Another time,” Ettie
said disappointed.

Gina knew her best friend and former college roommate probably better
than anyone. She could hear the stress in Ettie’s voice.

“
You know you are more than welcome to come
over and have a couple glasses of wine though.”

“
I’ll be there at seven,” Ettie
replied.

*****

“
Well, what are you going to do?” Gina
asked pouring Ettie another glass of wine.

“
What can I do? Without selling a kidney
there is no way I can come up with that money,” Ettie said a
grimace on her face.

“
You can have a yard sale,” Gina said,
obviously being sarcastic.

Ettie rolled her eyes. That was one thing she loved about Gina. How
so much sarcasm could fit in that tiny body of hers Ettie was
clueless. Gina was five one with a petite frame. Ettie towered over
her best friend by several inches. What she lacked in size she made
up for in her personality. Coming from an Italian background, her
olive complexion was a stark contrast to her dark hair which she wore
in a flattering bob. She was an attractive woman and alluded
sexuality with her pouty lips and the animated way in which she
talked. But that was far from her personality. Gina was one of those
people who commanded an audience, something Ettie always envied. At
only twenty seven, she was the youngest public relations managers for
one of the largest telecommunications firms in Texas.

They heard the key turning in the door. Abigail was home. She walked
into the living room with a huge smile.

“
Ettie! I didn’t know you were coming
over” she said hugging her friend.

Abigail was Gina’s partner. They were the perfect balance.
Where Gina was petite, Abigail was tall and voluptuous. Gina was
extroverted while Abbie was more quiet and reserved. Where Gina was
dark, Abbie was fair, pale even, with long wavy blonde hair. But
together they brought out the best of one another. And they loved
each fiercely, it gave Ettie hope.

“
Where’s Jordy?” Abbie asked
kissing Gina.

“
He’s been asleep for a while,”
Gina said smiling at her wife.

“
How was your shift?” Ettie asked.

“
Long. I could use one of those,” she
said pointing at the glass of wine in Ettie’s hand.

Abbie was a RN at Austin General and usually worked long shifts. It
was nice to spend time with the pair as they were usually so busy. As
the friends talked, Ettie caught her up to her situation. Abbie took
a sip of her wine, deep in thought.

“
Ettie” she said suddenly. “What
about becoming a surrogate?”

Ettie laughed.

“
A surrogate?” she replied
incredulously.

“
No, hear me out. When I got pregnant with
Jordan the fertility clinic we worked with also used surrogates.”

“
That’s true” Gina piped up.
“There are a lot of women who can’t get pregnant
naturally. The clinic used a lot of surrogates. They make anywhere
from thirty thousand and more plus expenses.”

“
You guys can’t be serious,”
Ettie said laughing.

“
I am dead serious,” Abbie said. “If
it wasn’t for in vitro we wouldn’t have Jordan. If you
were okay with us using donor sperm why couldn’t you see
renting out a womb as an option?”

Ettie sipped her wine, her mind going into overdrive.

Roy Gardner pulled into the circular driveway of his home on Saturday
afternoon, surprised to see his wife Melissa’s sedan already
parked. He had spent the morning negotiating over a round of golf and
drinks. He was happy to see her. Lately they had not been spending
much time together, she was always so busy.

“
You’re home! Do you want to go out
for dinner?” Roy Gardner asked his wife as she sat on the couch
flipping through a magazine.

“
No. Let’s order takeout,”
Melissa Gardner said, not even looking up at him.

“
Okay,” Roy said quietly walking out
of the living room.

Melissa looked up. She didn’t mean to be so
dismissive. She felt like going after him but she had had a rough
day. She had spent most of her Saturday organizing a sweet 16
^th
birthday gala for one of her client’s daughters. Normally, she
would’ve stayed and made sure the event went off without a
hitch but she was exhausted. So she left it in the capable hands of
her assistant Courtney.

To anyone looking in, Melissa Gardner lived the perfect life. A
beautiful home, a successful company and the perfect devoted husband.
They had met in college, fallen in love and had been happily married
for seven years. Roy Gardner was not just any husband. No, Melissa
had landed “The Roy Gardner”. They had met at Rice
University where he was considered the most eligible bachelor. For
one thing he was a star running back on the football team, in fact
everyone was sure that he would go pro. He was smart, funny, popular,
and he was handsome. He stood at nearly six two with dark black hair,
thick eyebrows and icy blue eyes. His jawline was strong and he had
one dimple in his right cheek that showed anytime he flashed his
brilliant smile. What made him “the Roy Gardner” however
was his legacy. Roy's father, Royston Gardner Senior was an oil
tycoon. A business handed down from his great-grandfather. The
company was worth billions. Roy’s actual net worth after
graduation was somewhere in the high hundred millions. To most women
that would be a dream come true but Melissa wasn’t impressed by
the money. In fact, she was considered a catch too. Her mother was a
former beauty queen, one of the first African American women in Texas
to have that distinction and her father Morris Carter was a real
estate tycoon. Nowhere near as wealthy as Roy Gardner but enough to
not be impressed by is wealth.

When Roy first met Melissa he was instantly intrigued. He was so used
to dating the typical cheerleader type that he was astounded by
Melissa and her exotic beauty. She looked like an Egyptian queen,
with her honey complexion and her long elegant neck. Melissa was
slim, full breasts, and a small but firm rear. Her hair was ebony
that fell in waves down her back. She had a perfect face with
accentuated cheekbones and big hazel eyes with eyelashes too
impossible to be real. She carried herself with a quiet elegance, too
mature for someone her age and when she spoke, her voice was strong
but soft so that you were drawn into her every word.

The only problem was Melissa wasn’t interested in football
players. Especially rich legacy ones. So he chased her and chased her
hard. When the usual tactics like twelve dozen roses, and expensive
gifts didn’t work he turned to his best friend and roommate,
Justin Richards for help. Justin and Melissa were friends, had a few
classes together. Eventually Justin convinced Melissa to give Roy a
chance. He explained that beneath all that bravado and dumb jock
persona Roy was a really great guy. Melissa decided the she would let
him take her out to a foreign film festival for their first date.
Afterwards they went for coffee at a little spot near campus. When
Melissa asked Roy what he thought about the film he told her that he
thought it was really interesting with a moving message, trying to
impress her. Melissa laughed.

“
Really?” she asked. “I thought
it was pretentious.”

Roy laughed in relief.

“
I hated it,” he replied “I was
beginning to think we had nothing in common.”

From that moment on Melissa and Roy became a couple, to the envy and
heartbreak of their fellow classmates. A year after graduation Roy
proposed and they had been together ever since. Justin was even his
best man and still very good friends to them both.

But things were not as perfect as they seemed. On the surface things
seemed fine. They enjoyed the time they spent together. They laughed
at the same things. She really was the one for him. It seemed fine,
but something in Melissa had changed. She seemed to be always just
out of his reach, like she was somewhere else even when she was with
him. They were happy for a long time but after seven years of
marriage, things were becoming strained. The main problem between
them started three years ago when Roy decided that he wanted to start
a family. At first Melissa was excited, despite running a successful
event planning company, she was looking forward to becoming a mother.
They did everything they could to get pregnant but it just wasn't
happening. They went to see fertility specialists who put her on
fertility pills, they tried fertility shots and finally just a year
ago they tried in vitro fertilization. Still they couldn’t get
pregnant. A few weeks after the procedure failed, their doctor, Harry
Blue sat them down. Melissa would never forget his face as he flipped
through her medical file. “I don't know how to tell you this,”
he said finally, “but your eggs are not viable.” Melissa
was in shock and could only nod her head as Doctor Blue explained in
depth, words she didn’t want to comprehend. They spent the ride
home in silence, silent tears running down her face. Roy did not know
what to say to comfort her so instead he held her hand and continued
driving.