Billionaire’s Missing Baby Read online

  “He’s getting worse, Adam,” James continued. “I just thought you’d want to know.”

  “I’ll have the doctor come in for a house call,” Adam replied with a slight groan.

  “Good idea. I know we’re not quite ready to say goodbye.”

  ***

  “I’m just spinning with all of this,” Theresa admitted excitedly as she spoke to Sarah when she returned to work just before her seventh week. “I haven’t met the woman, of course, since she’s apparently suffering from a lot of guilt about not being able to produce a baby of her own, but Jim Connors seems like a really nice man. He seems really thrilled about the idea of becoming a father.”

  “And do you know what you’re having?” she asked.

  “Yes, it’s a little girl.”

  “And the couple wanted a girl?” she clarified.

  “Well, they didn’t really want to know,” she shrugged, feeling inexplicably guilty for finding out herself. “But I thought, you know, one secret just for me.”

  Sarah clucked her tongue, but thankfully didn’t press the issue. “That’s great, but what made you decide to become a surrogate for an American couple? Won’t that make it a lot harder on you? I mean, there’s the temptation to check up on them and all. You’d be much better off doing it my way.”

  “Come on, Sarah, it’s not like Canada is on another planet,” Theresa scoffed defensively.

  “I’m only trying to help, here,” Sarah replied with a shrug.

  Theresa’s face flamed, and she was grateful that her darker skin made the blush less noticeable. She had considered surrogacy across the border but had decided against it. She told herself this was because she couldn’t take the kind of time off work that Sarah could, but in her heart of hearts she knew it was because she couldn’t bear the thought of a child of hers living somewhere she’d never been. Because, maybe someday, someone might knock on her door the way she had knocked on her own mother’s door. She wouldn’t let her daughter down the way she’d been let down herself.

  “So,” she finally asked to quell the silence that rose up between them. “What about your baby?”

  Sarah smiled as she looked down at the beginnings of a baby bump in her midsection. “He’s started kicking already, at just four months,” she answered with a rueful laugh. “All his siblings didn’t want to move until they were almost ready to come out, and I had to go to a lot of extra checkups to make sure they were okay. But not him. He’s an active little one.”

  Theresa felt her throat close up. She asked a question that had been bothering her since she’d began this journey. “Is it… is it really hard to give them up?”

  Sarah looked thoughtful. “Well, in a sense. I mean, the baby is biologically mine, and I suppose it would be easier if he wasn’t, but I don’t know. There’s the other side of it, too. I think about Bob and Leah—the parents—and about how they’ve been working so hard to make a family for themselves. And that’s got to be worth it, you know? I guess the first time is a lot harder. You get too attached, but it gets easier.”

  Theresa nodded as she wiped tears from her eyes.

  “Don’t worry, kid,” Sarah said as she gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You’ll do great.”

  “I hope so,” she agreed. “I know that the Connors will be able to give her a home I never could—not on my salary. The wife has a good job, and she does a lot of charity work. And his family comes from old money, so I know they’ll be able to give her whatever she might need. And this whole thing… it’s a financial thing for me. I really need that money.”

  Sarah hummed sympathetically and patted her arm. They finished their lunch in silence and then headed back into the clinic again.

  Pregnancy had taken a toll on Theresa's work ethic, her sleep habits, and her stomach. She constantly told herself it would be much easier to deal with the new life growing inside her that both was—and was absolutely not—hers if the pregnancy wasn’t so difficult.

  She always felt bloated, she sweat a lot now, and was really self-conscious of smells. Sarah insisted that the hard part of the pregnancy would end soon and things would get easier, but Theresa had her doubts. She found herself coping with the trials of pregnancy by imagining everything the baby would have. The perfect nursery. The nicest toys. Sometimes she Googled little outfits for her, and imagined her with dark eyes, dimples, and curls.

  That was something else she didn’t tell Sarah, because obviously Sarah, who seemed completely detached from the baby she was carrying, would never approve. It helped with the swollen feet and morning sickness like nothing else, though. Unfortunately, it also sometimes left her distracted. She nearly knocked right into a tall man in the waiting room.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” she sputtered, then blinked. The man was tall, and very handsome, with short blonde hair and an easygoing smile. He somehow looked familiar. “Do I know you?” she asked.

  Blushing, the man stepped aside. “Oh, yeah, probably, I guess. I came in here a while ago with one of my kids. Uh, one of my students, that is.”

  “Oh, yeah. The coach.”

  “Good memory,” he replied, and smiled at her. “I just wanted to, um… to pop by and thank you for recommending the clinic to Aaron. It was a big help.”

  “Oh,” she said with a nod. “You’re welcome.”

  The man nervously clamped a hand on the back of his neck, his eyes darting from her to the nurse’s station.

  Theresa waited a moment, but when he said nothing she smiled wanly at him. “I should get back to work.”

  “Right. Um, would you… would you…” he stammered. “God, I’m sorry, it’s been awhile since I’ve done this, and we don’t know each other. I was wondering if you’d grab a coffee with me sometime?”

  Theresa stared blankly for a moment, processing the proposal. Now it was her turn to look around awkwardly. “Did someone put you up to this?” she asked.

  “No,” he shrugged. “I just thought maybe… you know what? You probably have a guy waiting for you at home and I’m being a creep, and—”

  “No, I don’t,” she stopped him. She opened her mouth to say yes, of course she’d have coffee with a handsome stranger who was good with kids and looked, well, kind of adorably awkward at the moment, but then her face fell as she remembered the commitments she already had made recently. “I can’t, actually.”

  “Right. Of course not,” he sighed. “Well. I’m glad I got to thank you anyway.”

  Theresa began to explain but stopped herself. What was she going to say? That she was pregnant, but it was okay because it was someone else’s? That great looking guys with the worst possible timing were just not something she was prepared to deal with right now? She’d sound like a crazy woman.

  “It was nice seeing you again, Mr.…”

  “Adam, please,” he supplied. “And thank you again, Ms.…”

  “My name is Theresa,” she smiled. He beamed back.

  “Okay, Theresa,” he said with a little wave. “Maybe I’ll see you the next time I try to rescue a nerdy kid from the class bully.”

  Theresa chuckled as Adam stepped out of the building. She glared down at her stomach briefly, glad it was still small enough that he hadn’t noticed.

  “God, you better be worth it to somebody.” She patted her stomach to let the baby know she was only kidding, mostly, and got back to work.

  Chapter Seven

  Adam’s attempt at asking out the pretty nurse had been a spectacular failure, but that’s what he got for taking romantic advice from a twelve year old.

  He took to visiting the clinic once or twice a week for a while, and during the times when Theresa was there he noticed that, in addition to being very pretty, she was particularly kind and competent, too, especially with children. He realized he was only torturing himself, however, and eventually decided he should stay away. Aaron’s taunting voice had become an earworm lodged in his brain. ‘Do you have no game?’ And he found that, in Theresa's case, the answer
appeared to be no.

  It was true that, romantically speaking, he’d hit a bit of a dry spell. Watching James discard beautiful woman after beautiful woman, he always felt like his best option was to set a better example. Ever since his university days, there had been no serious prospects for him. He hadn’t begrudged Sophie, the woman he'd been dating back then, for needing to spread her wings, but he hadn't really tried to replace her, either. The Costanza men were not well-known for successful love lives.

  Dating at work seemed like a bad idea, and he couldn’t imagine wanting someone his father could set him up with, but Theresa was beautiful, kind, and best of all, had zero connection to the racist man. He hadn't been expecting anything to come of it, maybe just dinner. It hadn't been a great idea hitting on her at work, either, but he thought it might help to get him back into the dating game.

  He shook his failure off as he drove over to his father's estate. Theresa was just one attractive woman saying no. Plenty of fish in the sea. And in spite of his brother’s insistence that the Costanza men must spread their seed soon, he wasn’t really that old.

  His phone beeped.

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s how you answer the phone?” his father barked. “No wonder you needed some ridiculous teaching job. You’d never survive in business.”

  “Right. Hi, Dad.” Adam grit his teeth.

  “Where are you? I need you here.”

  “I know, Dad. I’m on my way, okay? See you in a bit.”

  He hung up before his father had time to argue, and wondered if James had a point. Throwing the phone into the passenger seat, he felt about thirty years older.

  ***

  James was beginning to feel desperate. Theresa’s pregnancy was nearing its end, and he still hadn’t found a suitable ‘wife’ to help him deceive her. Naturally, she was going to expect a woman to be present at the birth of the child she assumed was about to become hers.

  The real trouble was, one didn’t just walk up to some strange black woman and offer them money to pretend to be his wife, did they? Well, more to the point, not any of the reputable ones. But James needed someone who would know how to play along and just keep her big mouth shut. She also needed to be somebody dark. His mind suddenly hit upon the perfect choice. Hadn’t that little nurse who’d gotten his dad thrown out of the hospice been rather dark? She’d been fairly hostile toward him when he’d last seen her, but months had gone by since then. Maybe she’d had just enough time to cool down.

  Besides, maybe he could use her extreme dislike of his father to his own advantage. She was a nurse, so she’d be like all the rest: bleeding-hearted, helpful, kind souls who would obviously not want any sort of harm to come to an innocent child. Yes, he could definitely use that.

  He hummed happily as he got in the car and began to drive. Yes, nurse Maggie Smith would soon come to heel for him and play along. Of that he was quite certain.

  ***

  When Maggie came to work that morning, dealing with a Costanza male was the last thing she’d been expecting. She hadn’t given much thought to that trio ever since she’d had the father thrown out for being a racist almost a year earlier. And yet now there stood the youngest of the three looking at her with imploring eyes.

  “What is it you want with me, Mr. Costanza?” she asked him warily, holding her purse in front of her like a shield.

  “Don’t be frightened, Maggie,” he said in a wheedling tone. “I promise you, I haven’t come to harass you. In fact, I’d like to make it up to you, if I may.”

  “How do you think you can do that?” she scoffed.

  “Listen, you and I got off on the wrong foot thanks to my dad, but I have a bit of a business proposition for you,” James told her. “I have a problem that requires some really delicate handling, and I think you may be just the girl for the job. Will you come eat lunch with me today? I could make it well worth your time.”

  “I won’t do business with a racist,” she replied tightly. “I’m not at work now. I don’t even have to be nice to you. And I don’t think you should be accosting me outside of the hospice, either.”

  “Truthfully, I’ve been waiting for you for a while,” he said. “I truly believe you’re the only one who could help me out.”

  “I will eat with you, but only in a public place,” she conceded. “And if I find I don’t enjoy your company or your offer, I will just walk away.”

  “Good, good,” he replied, smiling at her. “I’ve already reserved a table if you’ll just come with me.”

  “You want me to get into your car?” she asked warily, looking at the Lincoln he’d parked nearby. “No, we should go to the cafeteria in the hospital, I think. I don’t trust you at all.”

  “Fair enough,” James agreed, allowing her to lead the way inside the building instead.

  The two of them each purchased something to eat and brought it with them as they sat at one of the tables together. For a few moments neither of them spoke, but then Maggie looked at James with one eyebrow raised inquisitively.

  “So, what’s this all about?”

  “It’s sort of a long story, really,” James began after clearing his throat. “As you’re well aware, my father is a very racist man and, well, my brother is the apple who doesn’t fall too far from that tree. They’re two peas in a pod, you see. Except, my brother recently did something way out of the ordinary, and I’m quite concerned about him.”

  “How does any of this have anything to do with me?” Maggie grumbled irritably.

  “It’s rare that Adam dates anyone at all, but he and a woman dated a while ago for just a couple of weeks,” he continued. “She wasn’t his normal type of girl, though, and once she realized how horrid he can be things sort of ended badly. Because of that, once this girl knew they’d conceived a child the last thing she wanted to do was tell my brother. She came to me with the news instead, asking me what she should do. She didn’t want to get rid of the baby, but because she’s so angry with Adam, she also doesn’t want to keep the kid around.”

  “And why is that a problem? She could just have the baby adopted.”

  “The newest heir to the Costanza fortune?” James scoffed. “Just imagine if that came out later. But the worst of it is, the child will be biracial. The mother is black. Can you imagine what my father will have to say about that? I’m deathly afraid my older brother is about to get disowned.”

  “But how can I help with all of this?”

  “Well, in order to keep this whole mess under wraps, I sort of had to pull a few strings,” James shrugged. “The girl, Theresa, has told everyone that she’s a surrogate mother, and I’ve been masquerading as the man who ordered up the child, if you will. Trouble is, the documents list me as having a black wife, and I just don’t have a lot of black friends who’d be willing to play that role. Any female friends from the darker set get one load of my dad and simply send me packing, believing that I’m probably just as bad as him. But the truth is, I don’t have a racist bone in my body and my only real concern is how to help this child. So, what do you say? I could really use your help. I’d be willing to pay you for your time. Well, and for babysitting until we can figure out where to put this child so he or she can be safe from my family and their wrath.”

  “You really think the kid would be in danger from those two?” Maggie gasped. “But Adam didn’t seem like that kind of guy at all. It’s hard to believe he’d do something like this.”

  “Adam puts on a pleasant face when it suits him,” James scoffed. “But you don’t know the real man at all.”

  “I’d hate to think about the poor baby getting put through so much hell,” Maggie sighed.

  “Then I can count on you?” he asked hopefully. “I’ll pay you. And I’ll make sure you and the baby have all the money and supplies you need until the situation gets resolved.”

  “I sure could use the cash,” Maggie admitted ruefully.

  “We can discuss the details later tonight,” James nodded. �
�I know you need to get back to work right now.”

  “Well, all right,” she agreed. “I’m not saying yes just yet, but if I don’t have a problem with what I hear, it probably won’t be a no either.”

  “Great, then,” James replied with a winning smile. “Shall I meet you here, or pick you up at home?”

  Chapter Eight

  They weren’t kidding when they said there was nothing like this kind of pain. Theresa had read books that compared it to period cramps set on high, books that had compared it to a rolling pain; a wave that crested on a contraction, and then released, but no. None of those even came close.

  A red hot surge of agony moved through her body. She screamed and grunted and wished she had someone sitting next to her to yell obscenities at, to blame for her condition, someone who might cry with her when the baby came out, pink and mewling. As it was, she felt it uncomfortably necessary to hold in most of the words she would have used to describe what was happening to her since Mr. Connors and his wife sat, anxious but comfortable, waiting for their baby to be born.

  Their baby.

  Dear God, she marveled as another contraction crested and she lost her breath, letting out a long, muted groan instead of the scream she wanted to let loose. Sarah had gone through this pain how many times? She only had two children of her own. Theresa felt cheated. If she’d only known how bad it really was.

  She looked over at the couple, though, who kept shooting anxious glances between each other, and at her. Mr. Connors' wife was a pretty woman, skin darker than her own, and she kept smiling shyly at Theresa. Theresa could detect her nervous discomfort with the idea of another woman carrying her baby, and they hadn’t talked much, but she seemed sweet and was especially pleased that Theresa was a nurse.