Accepting an Unexpected Offer

Tara

By the time I got home, it was almost six o'clock in the morning.

“I’m sorry Mia. You know the drive from the club back to the house usually takes almost thirty five minutes if you were driving a normal car. But with a car like mine, it takes me another ten minutes. Today it felt like it was even longer. Probably ten more minutes longer than my regular time”, I said to Mia when I finally got home.

“It's fine my friend I knew you would not be home early because of the nature of your job. And anyways how else would you have been able to raise the rent if you came home early?” Mia yawned tiredly as she spoke

“True. I'm happy you understand”, I sighed, relieved that she wasn't upset.

“Were you able to get enough money for our rent? Because if you didn't get enough, we will be completely homeless by tomorrow the landlord said I could wait for you here till you come back from work and if we don't have it by tomorrow morning he will have us removed from the premises completely”,Mia said worriedly.

“Don't worry my friend. Today was a good day, trust me. The landlord will not be getting kicked out. I was able to raise the money we need to pay our rent while working. I think we need to make the payment as soon as possible”, I said excitedly.

Immediately Mia heard what I said, she jumped and hugged me tightly, and then we went to the landlord's apartment.

Knock! Knock!

“Who is it ? What's so urgent that can't wait till morning?” he screamed at us.

“We have our rent. Can we have the keys now?” I said when he opened the door, then I brought out some cash and handed it to him. He counted it. After counting the money I gave him, he looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze, almost as if he was hoping I wouldn’t show up with the money,

“One minute. I'll be back”. He said, closed the door and went back inside.

“Here is your key and your receipt. This rent will be due in two weeks because you are already almost two weeks late”, he put both the key and receipt in my hand, glaring at me and went back inside.

Mia and I walked back to our apartment, heaving a sigh of relief. After moving our things back into the apartment, we both slumped on the couch, staring at the ceiling with our feet raised on the table.

“We need to get more money soon if we don't want to get kicked out again in the next two weeks because I am sure the landlord will not hesitate to throw us out again”, Mia said bluntly, shifting her gaze towards me.

“Yes we need to get more money. Hopefully we'll be able to get some before then so we can avoid another embarrassment”, I agreed.

“I hope so too”, Mia said, looking dejected.

“That reminds me, you are not going to believe who asked to see me today”, I had almost forgotten to give Mia this gist.

“Who please tell me my friend”, she snapped, turning to face me excitedly, looking for anything to take her mind off our rent problems.

“Logan Carter”, I smiled, knowing Mia was always interested in a good gossip

Immediately she heard those words, Mia stared at me for a long while with a scrutinizing look. I could tell she did not believe what I had just said, but I could not blame her either. It still felt unbelievable to me.

“I don't believe you. Like Logan Carter himself? Arthur Carter son?” she looked at me wide eyes. Obviously as surprised as I was when Julie first told me about Logan wanting to see me.

“That was literally the same thing I asked my manager when she informed me. And yes my friend I am talking about Logan Carter himself, Arthur Carter son”, I chuckled, amused by her shock.

Mia remained quiet for a while and then tapped me excitedly,

“That's great news. Why didn't you say so since you got home girl?” she faked a frown.

“Sorry Mia, I wanted us to be inside first. After my performance, I was getting ready to come home when Julie, the club manager, came to inform me that Logan Carter wanted to see me. I hurriedly packed the rest of my stuff in my bag and went out to meet him. The man waited till the end of work hours to see me”.

“Let me guess he wants you like other men?” Mia raised one eyebrow, questionably.

“Yes he wants me too but not like other men. He had a business offer”, I said, rolling my eyes at her quick judgment.

“A business offer? What business offer?” Mia sounded confused.

“I’m not sure I should really call it a business offer but he's willing to pay me for the job”. I explained.

“Okay. What job is that? And why do you seem uninterested?” she asked me.

I heaved a deep breath, and hesitated for a while. Trying to find the words to say this without sounding crazy, but it proved a lot harder than I thought.

Well? What is it?” Mia repeated curiously.

“He wants to hire me to be the surrogate mother of his child Mia.” I blurted and immediately felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest.

“What?!” Mia exclaimed with a look of disapproval, just as I expected.

“I thought he was joking when he first made me the offer but he wasn't. I asked him why he wanted a surrogate mother instead of getting a wife to have his babies, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he told me he hated being questioned. I'm really confused about what to do now”, I said, lowering myself into the couch.

Mia pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. I knew she was having a difficult time processing this and did not expect her to support the idea.

“It is really a strange offer,” she started.

“But from a man like him, Tara it may not be so bad. Don't you think so?” Mia said in a matter-of-fact tone.

I shifted my gaze towards her, puzzled and shocked. Mia was the last person I expected to hear those words from. I could not help but wonder what had changed.

“Yes it may not be so bad but I still don't know if I should really do it. I mean, what if something goes bad? What if he abandons me halfway? What if it ruins my chances of going back to school?” I thought out loud.

“Tara, I think you should take this job. I don’t particularly like the nature of it, but I am sure you will be well paid and taken care of when you're pregnant. I mean, you can't be carrying Logan Carter’s child and be living in poverty. This could be the breakthrough we have been wishing for Tara. Your whole life could be sorted out with this job”, Mia said, encouraging me.

know Mia. That's why I am confused. Logan gave me twenty four hours to make a decision so I think I'll sleep over it”, I remained skeptical, unable to bring myself to accept the offer despite Mia’s support.

After a long while of not being able to make up my mind, we went to bed not long after.

The next morning, my mind was made up. Being a surrogate did not seem so terrible, besides this was the opportunity of a lifetime and I’d taken on way worse jobs than this. Compared to my stripper job, this was a diamond in the rough and I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

“I’m going to Logan Carter's office Mia. I've finally made a decision. I said to Mia as I was about to leave the house for Logan Carter's office.

Mia did not say anything to object me, she only nodded in response, but just as I was about to walk out of the house, she called out to me,

“Tara, are you sure?” She asked with a concerned look.

Turning back toward her, a weak smile appeared on my face and I nodded, “I need to do this, Mia.” And without waiting for her response, walked out.

It didn’t take long before I arrived at Logan’s company. As soon as I walked through the front doors, a woman dressed in an office suit spotted me and approached me with a warm smile.

“His office is that way, Ms. Tara. You can go in now, he is expecting you”, The lady said.

Alright. Thanks”, I replied, twisting my face in confusion, unsure who she was or how she knew me, but then I walked towards the direction she had just pointed at.

“I have to do this. This is my life and if I don't take control of my future I don't think anyone will do it for me. This may not be the best decision but it's better than nothing. I will definitely benefit financially from this deal so why not?” I thought.

Knock! Knock!

“Come in”, a hoarse voice resounded, sending chills to my spine.

I hesitated at the door, taking a deep breath to regain my composure, and then opened the door and walked in. My eyes marveled at the sight of Logan’s office. It was like nothing I’d seen before. The luxurious decoration of the office was enough to make anyone stop and marvel.

“Hello Tara. Good to see you”, Logan greeted with a warm but confident smile.

“Good to see you too Mr. Carter”, I paused and continued, “I gave your offer a thought and I agree. I'm willing to be the surrogate mother of your child”.

A weak smile stretched across his lips as he heard this, and then stood up abruptly, “Alright but you also have to pretend to be my girlfriend till the child is born”, he said.

I froze momentarily when he said that. This wasn’t part of the offer, but still I didn’t see any downside to it. Being Logan Carter’s girlfriend was a better deal than what I went through being a stripper. “Okay I can do that”, I said avoiding his eyes.

“Alright tomorrow marks the beginning of our relationship. You are to undergo some medical tests. I'll make the arrangements”, he said.