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That kind of suspense required a lot of effort to tease out. Hence the flurry of meetings for the next two days.
“If I may switch topics…?” Tristan asked.
“You may.”
“Melinda Norris. You do intend to impregnate your surrogate at some point, yes? Or at least attempt to do so?”
I felt my heartbeat rise at the mention of Melinda. “That’s the idea.”
Tristan stared blankly at me. “And you do have some sort of plan regarding this? Because as of yet, you have treated her no differently than any other servant or assistant in your orbit.”
“That’s not true. We’ve been watching TV together at night.”
“Ah yes, watching television,” Tristan said. “How steamy.”
“Our friend is right,” Andrew interjected. “Ten days at sea and you’ve barely acknowledged her.”
“I have a plan,” I said simply.
“Is it the same plan we discussed previously?” Andrew insisted. “Because the three of us sat down and talked about it at great length before offering this woman the contract. We were on the same page at the time. If that has changed, I’d like to know.”
“As would I,” Tristan said curtly.
“Nothing has changed,” I assured them. “The plan we discussed is still ideal, unless you two are getting cold feet…”
“Absolutely not,” Tristan said.
Andrew shook his head. “I’m still game. But the way you’ve acted around her…”
“I’m letting her get comfortable,” I said. “We have six months. There’s no need to rush anything.”
In truth, I was thinking of Melinda the same way I thought of the investors who would be visiting for the next two days. I wanted to build up the suspense. Make her come to me, not the other way around. Melinda was my ideal woman: smart, impulsive, and stubborn. I knew that I needed to give her a chance to lower her defenses before I even thought about making a move.
“She’s a good fit,” Andrew said. “The more time we spend together, the more I like her.”
“I share Andrew’s opinion,” Tristan said. “Melinda is quite…” He searched for the word, then shook his head and sighed.
She is a good fit, I thought. I spent two years waiting for the perfect surrogate. It’s Melinda, or it’s nobody.
I just hoped she was worth the wait.
11
Melinda
As relaxing as the ten-day boat ride had been, I was antsy to do something. Arriving on the island felt like that event: the destination to the trip. Things were finally going to start happening!
But then, at breakfast, Tristan informed me that Pierce had a busy schedule.
“What do you mean, he’s completely busy for the next two days?”
“Pierce is an extraordinarily busy man,” the dry personal assistant said. “Investors from around the world will be visiting him.”
“Can I sit in on these meetings?”
Tristan furrowed his brow as if I had suggested we invite the local spiders to dinner. “You may not.”
“Why not?”
