Chapter 5 Turned Down The Offer

I ignored the pulse of satisfaction that came from the flattery. “And there’s no Mrs. Soriano involved in all of this?”

“I am unmarried,” Joemar confirmed. “The child will be mine alone.”

I made myself smile cruelly. “Can’t find a woman to be the mother of your children, even though you’re so rich you have your own yacht? Not a good sign, if you ask me.”

“I can see what your basketball coach thought about your attitude,” Joemar said curtly.

I laughed bitterly. “This is really happening? You’re serious?”

“As I said: I am a serious man,” Joemar replied coolly.

“I didn’t come here to be a glorified prostitute,” I said.

“Then you are quite welcome to choose the first, more traditional, contract.” Joemar slid the first folder closer, as if I couldn’t tell which he meant. “And we will be perfectly happy with that. But I think you will find the second contract far more lucrative.”

“I don’t care.”

Joemar coughed, flipped open the folder, and pointed to a line halfway down the page.

“I said I don’t care,” I repeated. And I meant it. I didn’t want to be a part of whatever this situation was, no matter how much money they offered. But my eyes locked onto his finger automatically, and I saw the number.

A big number.

A seven-digit number. The kind with two commas. $700,000!

It was an order of magnitude more than the first contract. More money than I had ever had in my life. It was certainly enough to start my own marketing company to compete with Boss Meyer. Hell, it was almost enough to retire on!

I glanced up at Joemar, who was still staring back at me calmly. He was undeniably attractive. Hell, he was fucking hot. If I was being completely honest with myself, he was the kind of guy I’d hook up with on Tinder for free, even without all the helicopters and yachts and money. To be paid to do it? It was a no-brainer, no matter how crazy the situation seemed.

But I kept thinking about my old partners. The Boss. They had that same confidence that bordered on cockiness. They walked around and made demands as if the world was their birthright. That was bad enough. Yet to have the same attitude about a woman, as if my body could be purchased at the market…

So despite the good looks, despite the charm, despite the huge fucking dollar amount on the second contract, I shook my head.

“No.”

“No?” Joemar asked.

“I won’t do it. I won’t sign this deal.”

Joemar and Roman exchanged a look. “If it’s the price that’s holding you back…”

“I don’t have to tell you my reason. My answer is a firm no.”

Joemar sighed. He looked genuinely disappointed. “Very well. I’m sorry to hear that. Roman, you may dispose of the second contract. Once we sign the first one, we can begin—”

“No,” I cut in, savoring the surprised looks on both their faces. “You’ve misunderstood me. I’m not signing either contract. You can find another surrogate.”

I stood and started to leave.

“Wait!” Joemar was on his feet too, extending a hand toward me. “I don’t understand.”

“Good,” I replied. It felt good to be in control. I was probably the first person to say no to this man in a very long time.

“Tell me why.” It was a polite request, not a demand. Curious, not outraged. “Why say no to both contracts without at least thinking about it?”

I didn’t have to tell him anything. My instincts were screaming at me to walk out of the office with the bank-vault door, to go up on deck where there was fresh air, and take the helicopter to freedom. If they would let me. But the feeling of putting this rich asshole in his place was too tempting, too delicious.

“Because you’re a fraud,” I said.

Joemar blinked. “A fraud.”

I rounded on him and smiled cruelly. “You complain about the modern world, and yearn for when things were simpler, but nothing about you is simple. You’re surrounded by servants. I counted at least a dozen on the way here, not to mention your valet, which by the way is a weird way to pronounce it. You used your connections to get access to my file before it was in the surrogacy database. You sent a fucking helicopter to pick me up! Without warning! And now I’m here, on your yacht, in the middle of the goddamn ocean, because you presumably think that will convince me to sign your contract with a way-too-big number on it. You want your child to be conceived naturally? Look around you! None of this is natural. And I’m willing to bet nothing in your life is.”

And with that, I walked out of the room.

Nobody tried to stop me.

XXX

Melissa Villar POV

My pulse was everywhere, pounding in my neck and temple and chest. The rush of adrenaline was incredible. It felt so good to tell off that billionaire! What was he thinking, offering to pay me for sex? As if I were a literal prostitute?

As I walked out into the small office anteroom, I expected guards to grab me and haul me back inside. To hold me against my will. Or worse. Could a billionaire kill someone and get away with it? If anyone could, it was a man like Joemar Soriano. Stabbed with the lobster spear and tossed overboard.

Nobody tried to stop me. I got lost walking back to the deck with the helipad. Yes, this yacht was so large I got lost. After a staircase and two turns, I ended up in the kitchen. Delicious smells bombarded me: freshly baked bread, roasted meat, vegetables soaked in butter, and garlic. Three cooks were working at once, stirring pans and chopping with knives without looking up at me.

“Looking for the helicopter?” Andre asked behind me.

“No,” I said stubbornly. After a pause, I added, “Okay, yes. This place is a floating maze.”

Andre Rivero chuckled and gestured with his head. “This way.”

“You’re not going to try to stop me?”

He gave me a confused look. “You’re a free woman. We brought you here in good faith, and we’ll take you home the same.”

“Good.”

 “You didn’t think we were, like, kidnapping you,” Andre asked. “Did you?”

“No. Not really.”

“We would never hold you against your will,” Andre said. “Mr. Soriano only kidnaps brunettes.”

I missed a step, stumbling in surprise.

“That was a joke,” Andre said, continuing to lead me down a hallway.

“All of this is a joke,” I muttered. “A weird, cruel joke.”

“I’m sorry you see it that way.”

The wind whipped my hair around as we walked out onto the helipad. I hurried into the open door of the helicopter as if I expected it to leave without me at any minute. Andre followed, climbed inside, and closed the door.

“So,” Andre said when the helicopter was airborne. “Why’d you turn down the offer?”

“Because I won’t have sex for money,” I said, as if it were obvious. Hell, it should have been obvious.

“That explains why you turned down the second contract,” Andre pointed out. “But not the first.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t owe you any explanation.”

“No, you don’t,” he agreed with a shrug and a smile. Once again, I found myself liking him… and then immediately becoming suspicious of that feeling.

A long silence stretched as the helicopter wheeled around and then headed north. Andre didn’t push me for an answer. But my heart was still pounding, and I wanted to vent to someone.

“I just got fired from a job,” I explained. “I guess you guys already know that. Joemar Soriano seemed to know everything about me. But I was working with two wealthy guys to start this marketing company from scratch. The focus of the company was digital avenues, like social media. F******k, I*******m, TikTok, Twitter. Lots of viral strategies. It was the perfect job for me.”

“Sounds like it,” Andre said.

“Until,” I said, “just before my contract was about to vest, they fired me. I lost out on all the company equity I was supposed to earn.”

Andre tilted his head. “You didn’t build in a clause to account for the possibility that they would fire you to prevent your shares from vesting.” It was a statement, not a question. But he said it gently.

“I was dumb,” I admitted.

“So now you’re afraid of contracts? That’s why you said no? Because I can assure you, you’ll have to sign one no matter who you choose to be a surrogate for.”

“It’s not the contract,” I replied. “It’s him. Joemar Soriano. He reminds me of the fucking Ross Meyer.”

“The Ross?”

“The two partners I was working with. They’re both named Ro. They’re rich, and confident, and act like everything belongs to them.”

Andre frowned slightly. “Mr. Soriano was nothing but pleasant and polite to you.”

“Exactly! The Ross were the same way. Acting like they’re friendly and reasonable, but I can tell it’s just for show. It always is.”

“I can assure you,” Andre said, dark eyes gleaming as a beam of sunlight hit them through the window, “it’s not the case here. Mr. Soriano is a good man. A great man.”

“You’re paid to say that.”

He chuckled again. “Yeah, I guess I am. But in this case, it’s the truth. Mr. Soriano pays me a lot of money to be his valet. I’ve done it for years. I could quit my job right now and never have to work another day in my life.”

I blinked. “Then why don’t you?”

“Because working for Mr. Soriano is fulfilling. He’s a great man, as I said. I’m never bored, and I get to travel the world. I don’t know what I would do with myself if I retired, but I know it wouldn’t be as exciting as working for him. Honestly, no matter how much money I earn, I’ll probably keep working for him until the day I die.”

 “Okay, so he’s nice to his servants,” I said. “He’s still insanely wealthy probably a billionaire. Nobody gets to the level of yacht-rich without exploiting people.”

Andre smiled. “You really don’t know who he is.”

XXX