EMBER
One Month Later
“Mr. Gross, are you sure I can’t stay a few extra hours later this week?”
He looked up from his nasty, oil-soaked desk. “Strange. Most evenings you’re rushing out of here. Now you’re asking for extra hours?”
Why did this man always have to make everything so difficult?
A simple “yes” or “no” would’ve sufficed.
Desperation was the only thing that helped me hold my tongue.
Bills were piling up, we needed food in the house, my bank account was overdrawn, and my rent was due.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been late paying the rent, and I knew it would be the landlord’s last straw.
She’d had enough with my late payments or there being no payment at all.
This morning, I’d woken up to a “notice to vacate” document taped to my door. I was in hot water with not even twenty dollars to my name.
“Yes, I need extra hours,” I finally responded to Mr. Gross as my pride slowly faded away.
He pushed aside his calculator and tapped the desk with his chubby fingers. “I ain’t got no extra hours for you… but what are you willing to do for some extra cash?”
My lips curled in disgust. “Not a damn thing.”
Coming to Mr. Gross was a waste. His nasty ass always looked for ways to take advantage of struggling women. I’d seen him use many former employees who were down on their luck.
Months ago, Cassie and I walked in on him and one of the employees.
She was jacking him off inside the storage room.
We would’ve never caught them if he wasn’t moaning like a little bitch.
Cassie heard the sounds first and came to me.
We had no idea what the noise was, but that day we sure wished we weren’t so nosy.
He cleared his throat to get my attention.
“In that case, I can’t help you. Keep up with that attitude, and you’ll never get nowhere in life.
My mama used to always say, ‘A bitch who don’t use that cat to pay the bills gon’ always be one broke ass bitch.
’” Mr. Gross laughed so hard that a snort burst out of him. “Man, I miss that woman,” he added.
So, broke it is. Got it.
I stared at him coldly, wishing I could slap that smirk right off his face.
“What are you staring at me like that for? See ya way out,” he snapped.
There wasn’t shit else for me to say to Mr. Gross.
It was clear that he was willing to dish out money in exchange for some pussy, a touch, a kiss, or anything else that involved having our bodies come in contact.
I’d rather swallow an elephant’s piss or vomit than have that man come anywhere near my body.
I secured my purse strap on my shoulder and held my head up high as I strolled out of his office.
“So, what did he say?” Cassie rushed me when I walked into the break room where she was waiting for me.
“Fuck him,” was my only response. “I gotta go, Cass. We’ll catch up soon. ’Cause I need to figure this shit out.”
“Here, this is for you.” She shoved a folded white envelope into one of my cargo pockets.
“No, Cassie.”
She looked at me sincerely. “Yes. Take it.”
Cassie hugged me until her husband honked from the parking lot. I grabbed my lunch bag, and we walked out together. We waved, parted ways, and headed in opposite directions.
I drove to Rhema’s school to pick her up. After that, we would go back to the house, a place we would not be able to call ours for much longer.
I sat on my couch, looking around the apartment, not knowing how I was going to tell Rhema we had to leave because I hadn’t come up with the money for the rent.
Nor was I able to persuade the landlord to give me extra time.
I was all out of favors, and nobody wanted to hear a sob story. They wanted their money.
Earlier, I gathered things around my place that I didn’t want and sold some items online, then I visited the pawn shop.
Still, all I made was three hundred dollars on top of the one hundred and fifty dollars Cassie gave me.
Thinking about her brought a smile to my face.
Cassie and her husband didn’t have much, but she always found a way to slide me something.
Her heart was rare. She never asked for anything in return, but I felt like I owed her.
There were plenty of times that she considered the things she’d given me as not being much, but it had indeed been enough for Rhema and me to eat.
Damn, I wish my parents would let us crash at either one of their places for a few nights.
If only I knew where my dad was. After he and my mother divorced, it was like he fell off the face of the earth.
Sometimes I drove by our old house and noticed that my mom still lived in my childhood home.
I just never had the courage to knock on the door and face her.
It wasn’t like she would let us inside her home anyway.
My mom and dad weren’t the forgiving type; they were stubborn and set in their ways.
I still couldn’t fathom how they were able to sleep at night knowing they had a daughter they hadn’t seen in forever and a grandchild they never met.
I couldn’t let my mind linger too long on my parents. Those thoughts took me to a dark place I struggled to get away from. Life was already kicking my ass; I couldn’t add to it.
My phone buzzed next to me, interrupting my current thoughts, and I gladly accepted the distraction.
I didn’t recognize the number and usually didn’t answer anyone who wasn’t saved.
I stared at the screen as it continued to ring.
It stopped and started again. Whoever was on the other end was persistent, and when it stopped and rang again for the third time, I answered.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Hey, Ember Heart. This is Amara Honor. I own Little Miracles Surrogacy along with my husband, Nehemiah Honor. You met our surrogacy coordinator, Tina, and our agency representative, Leiyah, about a month ago.”
Owner?
“Mrs. Honor. Hey, how are you?” I greeted calmly, but my heart raced from anticipation.
I perked up because I never thought I would hear back from Little Miracles Surrogacy after my meeting. I had given up that idea along with any hope when I didn’t hear back from them after three weeks. Now that Mrs. Honor was calling, I was very curious to know why she was on my line.
“Please, call me Amara. Is it okay if I call you Ember?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Great. You would usually hear from Tina or Leiyah throughout this process, since my husband and I are usually behind the scenes. However, you will hear from me or Nehemiah from here on out. When it comes to special cases, we like to be more involved.”
“That’s okay with me,” I answered. What else could I say? It was this woman’s business.
Amara sounded like a take-charge businesswoman. Her voice carried authority, but not the kind that made me feel uneasy.
“It’s been a while since you met with Tina and Leiyah, so I’m calling to find out if you’re still interested in becoming a surrogate?”
Oh shit! What the hell! This is not what I was expecting.
I stood to my feet and paced around the room with the phone glued to my ear.
“Hello, Ember? Are you still there?”
“Uh, um. Yes, yes, Mrs.—I mean, Amara. I’m still here?”
I was freaking out. Was it really about to happen?
“Are you still interested?” she repeated as the line went silent again.
My body tingled all over. “Yes, I’m still interested.”
“Great. We believe you meet the criteria for one of our families.”
Who, me?
“Oh, okay.” I didn’t know how else to respond.
I heard her shuffling through papers and then typing.
“I’m looking over your file, and I see that you provided your medical documents.
However, we would love for you to get a physical examination through our company.
Once that’s cleared, we’ll continue, and I’ll give you all the details. Do you have any questions or concerns?”
“No, not at the moment,” I answered quickly.
“Perfect. The number I called from is my personal number. If anything comes up, you can call me anytime, and I’ll be glad to answer your questions.”
“Thank you.”
“The pleasure is mine. When would you like to come in for your examination?”
The eviction notice on the chair handle caught my attention.
Without hesitation, I asked, “Do you have any availability for today?”
“I like that. A woman who wastes no time. Let me pull up our appointment calendar.” She was clicking away on her computer again. “Ah, you can come in right now if you’d like. It looks like there was a cancellation. Are you able to get here in the next hour before we close?”
I thought about the rush hour traffic and sighed.
Girl, you better go sit in that traffic. This could be the start of a new life.
Hmph. Fuck being pregnant for nine months with a child you can’t keep. Instead, go get that easy money from Mr. Gross’s limp-dick having ass. It will be quick and simple.
There goes my brain with that good versus evil shit again.
The thought of doing anything with Mr. Gross was all the motivation I needed to get up off my ass and hit the door.
“Amara, I’m on my way.”
“See you soon.”
I rushed to my bedroom to throw on some jeans and a tank top.
“Rhema!” I called.
“Yes, Momma?”
“Throw on some clothes. We’re going for a ride.”