Chapter 5
MILES
“Look,” Miles said to the doctor in front of him, “I don’t know if I’ve made myself completely clear — money is no object here. Whatever it costs, I’m willing to pay it.”
“I understand that,” Dr. Barroway told him.
The man must have been in his seventies.
He spoke with a wheeze, and he sounded tired, as if he might have had this conversation a dozen times in the past. As if he could predict everything Miles was going to say.
“Money isn’t the issue. This is a complicated procedure, and it takes time.
” He settled back in his chair, clearly indicating that time was of no particular concern to him.
“But I’m in a hurry,” Miles said, gripping the arms of his chair. It was maddening to see this man look so calm when he was feeling so frantic.
He supposed most of his feelings had more to do with this father’s condition than with the things he had come here to discuss.
He was still distraught from yesterday’s hospital visit.
He would be going back there after he finished up here and had some lunch, and he knew he’d feel better about it if he had something good to report to his father.
Even if the good thing in question was going to have to be a lie.
Dr. Barroway raised his eyebrows. “You’re in a hurry to have a surrogate carry a child for you? What’s the rush?”
“I told you already. My father is ill.” He sat forward in his chair.
“The only thing he wants from me is a grandchild, and I have to give him that. The trouble is that time has now become a factor, and I don’t know how much of one it will be.
All I know is that I can’t afford to wait.
This has to happen, and it has to happen now. ”
“Well, I can’t condone anyone rushing into parenthood over something like that, although you certainly have my condolences,” Dr. Barroway said. “You have to think about what would be best for a child, not just for you and your father.”
Miles resented the implication that he hadn’t thought it through. He tried to control his agitation. “I’m not just doing this because of my father,” he said more calmly, though it was a borderline lie. “I always planned to have a child. The timeline is the only thing that’s changed.”
Had he always planned on having a child? The truth was that he wasn’t sure. If it hadn’t been for his father mentioning that he wanted an heir for the company, would Miles have even thought of children?
How much of my life would be completely different without his influence, though? That’s always the question, and the answer is that it’s probably almost everything. But Dad’s influence has always worked out for the best before, and I’m not going to start doubting him now.
He turned his attention back to the doctor, his resolve giving him the control he needed to continue.
“My father’s illness means that I need to find a way to do this promptly, especially since I’m not married,” he said.
“That’s why I’m here today. But I’ve always wanted to become a father. That part is nothing new.”
“Well, be that as it may, it takes time to find a suitable person, time to agree on the legalities, and then there’s the implantation process, which isn’t always successful on the first attempt. These are problems money can’t solve, Mr. Aspin, no matter how much you have to offer.”
“What can we do, then?” Miles asked. “I want to start this process today. Immediately. I don’t know how long my father has, and I have no time to waste.”
What he didn’t say — what he couldn’t say — was that he had already promised his father a child.
Dr. Barroway was already skeptical of him.
The man would probably throw him out in disgrace if he realized Miles was the kind of man who lied about something like this, that he was only rushing to get it done so his father wouldn’t catch him in his fib and realize that Miles had been dishonest.
I can’t stand that I lied to him on what might be his deathbed. The only way to fix things now is to make the lie true.
Miles had made his father a promise. In nine months, he needed to be able to deliver on that promise, so the timeline was already unbearably fine.
He had to get started immediately. The months of work Dr. Barroway was describing simply weren’t going to be an option for him.
They’d have to find another way. There was always another way.
There was always something that could be done.
Dr. Barroway was simply going to have to figure it out.
“I’ll begin the search for a surrogate who meets your needs,” Dr. Barroway said. “We want to prioritize confidentiality?”
“Yes, she can’t go public with this.” Gold Standard didn’t need that kind of press, and besides, he couldn’t risk his father finding out the truth of what had happened.
“The public story will be that my child’s mother — an anonymous woman — simply didn’t want to be involved in the parenting, and that I decided to be a single father. ”
Dr. Barroway nodded. “Fortunately for you, that’s the kind of problem money probably can solve. It’ll be a matter of finding a woman who is willing to accept your terms, and of course that’s much more likely if she’s being well paid for her efforts.”
“I’m also going to need her to defer to my medical decisions for the baby, within reason,” Miles said.
“Nothing that would compromise her own health, of course, but I need to be sure she’s following any dietary plans I want her to adhere to, taking the right vitamins, getting proper rest and exercise, and going to all her medical appointments. ”
“That’s fairly standard,” the doctor assured him. “As long as you don’t have any requests that are too unorthodox, it won’t be a problem.”
“I don’t think I do.” The truth was that he had no idea what was considered normal for something like this, nor did he know what his requests would be. All he knew was that he wanted to have control over things. “If I do want to make a request, what’s the appropriate way to do it?”
“You’ll need to put down a list of instructions you want the woman to follow, so she can agree to it beforehand.”
“Beforehand?” He frowned. “What if I change my mind about something?” This child was going to be his heir, after all. He ought to be able to make decisions about its well-being. “What if I learn something new about what’s healthy for a baby and I want to add it to the list?”
“We can stipulate that.”
“And I think she should check in with me before she does anything out of the ordinary.”
“That might be a bit much,” Dr. Barroway said.
“When you contract with a surrogate, you need to remember that she’s still an independent person with her own life.
A lot of people make the mistake of looking at it as if they’re hiring a full-time incubator for their child.
But you can’t think of it that way. Whoever your surrogate is, she’ll continue to go to work if she has a job.
She’ll see her family and friends, and she’ll do whatever it is she does for fun. ”
“Why would she need to have a job when I’m paying her?”
“Presumably she’ll want to return to her work when she’s done carrying your child,” the doctor said.
“I did tell you money was no object. I have no hesitations about setting this woman up for life, so she would never have to work again.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that,” the doctor said. “For one thing, I think you’ll find it hard to find anyone who would take an arrangement like that, because it would make her financially dependent on you for the rest of her life. Would you take it?”
Miles had to admit that he probably wouldn’t.
“Aside from that, many people are attached to their jobs,” Barroway said.
“I don’t know about you, but there’s no amount of money someone could give me to make me leave medicine.
And given the list of attributes you’re after in a birth mother, I’m guessing you’re going to want someone who’s pretty dedicated to the things in her life — not someone who’s willing to abandon something she’s worked for at the drop of a hat. ”
Dr. Barroway had a point. Miles was starting to understand why all this was so complicated, and why it took such a long time.
He’d envisioned coming in here and choosing a potential surrogate from a book, but of course it wasn’t that simple.
Women weren’t sitting around on a shelf waiting to carry other people’s babies for them.
“What’s the absolute fastest you think we could get this started? Is two weeks long enough?” he asked. Surely someone could be found in that time.
The doctor sighed and shook his head. “I feel like you aren’t hearing what I’m telling you. There is no way to get something like this done that quickly. It simply isn’t going to happen.”
Miles wasn’t used to hearing that something he wanted wasn’t going to happen.
In every other avenue of his life, there was always a way.
If money couldn’t solve a problem, compromise, charm and persuasion could.
It was how he handled himself in the business world, how he was able to close all the deals he negotiated, and it was also how he conducted whatever personal affairs he carried out.
But those things wouldn’t help him here. There was no way to persuade Dr. Barroway to do this more quickly when the man was telling him it couldn’t be done. And it was apparent now that Miles’s financial resources weren’t going to be any help in this business.
He was stuck.
“Go ahead and get things started,” he told the doctor. “Please try to make it happen as quickly as possible.”
He got to his feet, said his goodbyes, and left the room, feeling dismal and hopeless. He had expected this meeting to go much better than it had. He always left meetings having gotten what he wanted.
I guess there’s a first time for everything.
But what was he supposed to do now? He had promised his father a child. He had to deliver.
He was so caught up in his thoughts as he walked out of the office that he didn’t even notice the woman coming around the corner until he had collided with her. She gasped and dropped her purse on the floor. The contents spilled out and went everywhere.
Miles let out a curse. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t see you there… Oh, hey, did I hurt you? You’re crying!”
She turned away, color rising in her cheeks. “I was crying before,” she said, her voice quiet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“No, you didn’t. Let me help you get your things.” He was on his hands and knees at once, picking up loose items and handing them to her so she could put them back in her purse. “I should have been looking where I was going,” he said as he got back to his feet. “I’m the one who needs to apologize.”
She was smiling through her tears now. “We keep going back and forth,” she said. “What if we accept each other’s apologies?”
“What if I take you out for coffee to make this up to you?” She was cute, with her wavy blonde hair, tanned skin, and green eyes — and God knew he could use a distraction.
Coffee with a pretty girl would be a good way to unwind from this appointment before he had to go back to the hospital and see his father again.
She gave him an appraising look. “What would you say to something a little stronger? It’s been a rough morning.”
“You’re not alone there,” he said. “All right, you’re on. There’s a pretty good sports bar near here, we can get some cold beers and something to eat.”
The woman smiled. “I’m Chelsea,” she said. “Chelsea Burke.”
“Miles,” he said, deliberately holding back his last name in case she recognized it. This wouldn’t be the relaxing break he needed if she knew who he was. He gave her his most charming smile and held an arm toward the door.
Chelsea Burke flashed him a small smile that went through him like lightning. This is going to be an interesting lunch.