CHAPTER FIVE: MEETING JAYDEN WELLS

When Stacy had suggested the idea of being a surrogate, or a baby’s mother to Alisa, she had expected Alisa to reject it.

And that had almost happened. But Alisa seemed to think it was her only hope. Carry a baby and make a family, or an individual happy while making enough money to save her brother through it— At least thinking of it that way made it feel honourable and good enough for Alisa to want to do.

They got a form from Doctor Felix King, and Alisa applied. Part of her was pessimistic about it because for all she knew there were several other women with more desirable qualities going for the same thing. It was a legal thing in Palm Springs City, and it got women rich overnight, but elder members of the society frowned upon it and respectable people refused to partake in it, deeming it a thing for harlots.

Alisa did it anyway. Her brother’s life was her stake.

She had tried her best to remain calm during the period she spent waiting for a reply, in case she was chosen, and when it wasn’t working, she resorted to pretending she was okay. But while at College, she often lost concentration, chewing the end of her pencil or whatever writing tool in her hand and laughing at nothing for no reason at all.

And she was laughing like that with a few classmates who were telling her she was strong. What they had said did not amuse her as much as how ironic it sounded.

She had gotten so weak she soaked her pillow in tears all night and had now offered to carry a baby for a man she did not know. Where was the strength in that?

At least she was being a good actress. She was acting strong, and they believed it.

And she was forgetting about her application for the surrogacy too as time went past.

Her phone rang, and she walked away from the people she was with and then picked it up without checking the screen. There had been lots of calls from Stacy and people wanting to tell her how sorry they were, and this must have been one of them.

“Hello, Am I on to Miss Alisa Grant?” the caller spoke. It was a woman.

“Yes, you are. Who is this?”

“Congratulations, Miss Grant. You have been selected as a baby mother and will receive a phone call from your contractor right after this call. Please indicate if you intend to go forward with it.”

“Oh, my God,” Alisa whispered. It was the last thing she had expected.

She instantly went silent.

“Miss Grant? Are you there?” the caller inquired.

Alisa thought about her sick brother lying in the hospital.

“Yes, I will go forward with it.”

“Congratulations once again, Ma’am. You will speak with your contractor, Mr Jayden Wells right after this call.”

And the line went dead.

It felt so unreal for Alisa, almost like a movie. Everything was a bit too fast for her to comprehend. Not until her phone beeped again.

She picked up the call and a soft musical voice came through.

“Hello, Miss Grant.”

“Hello...”

“I believe we have an agreement and we should meet to talk about it?”

“Yes, Sir. When and where shall I come to see you, Sir?”

“You will not come to see me, Miss Grant.” The voice answered. “I will bring you to me. Where will I get you?”

Alisa was stunned and gave him the address as though she was in a trance.

“Good. I’ll come to get you in the College's car park.”

Alisa hurried to her college’s car park and then stood waiting there, a few notes clutched to her chest and the mild sun touching her skin. She may have appeared normal to anybody watching, but she was clutching her fists—something she did when she was nervous.

And she was very nervous. Anxious even.

Her blonde hair was bunched up in a simple ponytail, and the white linen gown she wore fell just above her knees. An old bracelet from her mother and a watch sat on her wrist, and her thoughts were scattered in her head.

She was about to go sign a contract for a baby with a man she didn’t even know for some money for her brother’s kidney transplant. And right now he was going to pick her up in a car and take her to him.

Sounded just exactly like an underground mafia boss thing.

And that part thrilled her. A bit. A very teeny bit.

“Hey, Alisa.” A voice called out.

Her heart almost flew out of her mouth. She had thought it was the contractor but the voice that called her sounded familiar to her.

She turned and saw Elliott, her friend. The one in love with her.

“Hi, Ellie. How are you?”

Elliott came towards her, a big grin on his face and gave her his hand for a handshake.

Alisa took the hand and looked at his face, but he wasn’t looking her in the eye. Elliott never looked her in the eye. His eyes were focused lower on her anatomy, her chest obviously, and she would have hated him for it if he wasn’t one of the nicest boys she knew.

“I heard John is in the hospital. I hope he’s okay?”

“He will be okay,” Alisa answered, reminded even more of her trouble.

“I’ve got something for you, Alisa, but I won’t give it now.” Elliott grinned.

Alisa was in no mood for Elliott’s games, however. She was waiting for one of the scariest car rides of her life.

“Not now, Elliott. I want to be alone.”

“Alisa?” Elliott moaned, dragging the last syllable of her name.

“Please?”

“Okay. I will see you tomorrow.”

Elliott had just turned down a corner and was out of sight when a black range rover Jeep pulled up in front of Alisa. The man who drove it came out, dressed in a black suit and shoes that looked expensive. He looked pretty old, in his sixties, and he came out and held the door of the owner’s corner open for Alisa.

Alisa quickly checked the time and noted that it was 4 PM.

“A very Good Afternoon to you, Miss.”

So this was Mr Jayden Wells. He was quite old and she was pretty disgusted.

“Thank you, Mr Wells.” Alisa curtsied as she climbed into the large flashy vehicle, her heart thumping in her chest. She almost couldn’t believe she would carry a baby for this old man. He shut the door, went into his driver’s seat and started the car.

“I am not Mr Jayden Wells, Madam. Call me Clifford. Mr Jayden Wells is my boss, and he is waiting for you.”

“Oh,” Alisa answered, a kind of relief washing over her that this man was not the one who needed her for the contract, even though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to pull through with it anymore with any man, young or old.

“So who is Mr Jayden Wells?” Alisa asked. The air conditioner was on, and she felt relaxed already.

“You don’t know Mr Jayden Wells?” The chauffeur asked. He seemed concentrated on his driving, but when Alisa looked at the reflection of his face in the mirror, he looked surprised.

Alisa suddenly remembered where she had seen that name. The Jayden Wells Construction Company, easily one of the biggest construction companies around.

“Mr Jayden Wells.” She gasped.

He wanted a baby from her.

“Yes ma’am. I was supposed to take you to his office but he has asked me to inform you that he reconsidered, and would like to receive you at a private residence of his. However, all preparations have been made to keep you as comfortable as possible while negotiating the contract.”

“Oh,” Alisa said in reply, drawing the word.

Everything was so formal. The anxiety and nervousness she felt before had now been replaced by curiosity. She knew about Jayden Wells and his big construction company, but she did not know about the real Jayden Wells. His age, what he looked like, if he led an underground mafia. She knew nothing.

And she didn’t want to ask Clifford any more questions. It felt like the more she asked, the sillier she looked.

She took out her phone and quickly searched him up quickly on G****e, but nothing much came out. There was a lot about his company, and the numerous branches scattered elsewhere, but not much about the man himself. Almost nothing at all.

She looked up at the chauffeur. He was concentrated on his driving, and the vehicle cruised smoothly on the road. She looked around the jeep. It was brand new, and she had never been in a car this big before. It then dawned on her that Jayden Wells, whosoever he was, had a lot of money.

Almost too much, if he was going to use some on a woman who would have a baby for him.

The car turned into a neighbourhood that Alisa had never been in. There were big houses here with even more flowers, and lots of spaces between them, and the deeper into the neighbourhood they went, the bigger the houses became. She looked outside the car’s window, trying not to let the chauffeur see how intimidated she felt, but the big houses made her want to melt.

The car slowed down and turned into a small road, and then two large gates were thrown open. A fountain with a wolf statue at the top stood a hundred feet away, and where there wasn’t a path, there was green grass or flowers or a statue. Ahead, stood a large white duplex.

Alisa could hold her curiosity no more.

“Have we gotten into the estate, Sir?”

“Call me Clifford, ma’am. And this is not an estate, but Mr Wells’ private residence.”

Alisa’s hands covered her mouth.

Clifford drove into a well-lit garage where Alisa could see other cars waiting, and then came and opened the door for Alisa. She came out of the big vehicle, but the Range Rover suddenly seemed small in comparison to the rest of the vehicles there.

A woman in a suit came up to her.

“Miss Alisa Grant?”

“Yes. That’s me.”

“Welcome here, ma’am. I am Maria and will take you to Mr Wells.”

Alisa’s heart started thumping in her chest. This felt like a big reveal or a surprise.

The woman led the way, and Alisa followed. They entered the main room, and a red carpet covered the floor and led up a curved stairway. Around that, were antique chandeliers that looked like they were from two hundred years before and statues of wolf heads stuck out from the walls, standing out of the red design on the walls.

The room looked like an ancient palace. Somewhere a Sultan would have lived.

“Mr Wells seems to have a fascination with wolves, it seems,” Alisa commented, admiring the taste.

“Oh yes, ma’am. You would wonder if he was a werewolf in secret.” The woman joked. “Even our logo has a wolf in it.”

Alisa laughed, her chest loosening up. She was so thankful for that joke.

“He is waiting for you on the second floor, ma’am.”

“Oh.” Alisa moaned. Her heart started thumping again.

The woman led Alisa down a hallway lined with even more antique wolf heads, and then a big wooden double door stood at the end. Alisa was now very sure she would not know her way out anymore if left to it. The woman knocked with a brass knocker that had a wolf head and opened one door.

“You can go in, ma’am.” The woman said.

And her knees buckled in fear.