“Yes, sir!” They all nodded.
My eyes cut to ol’ girl. “Don’t feel offended or singled out by my harshness.Anybodywho shows up here without clearance gets treated like a federal threat. Hell, if Amazon dropped off a package I wasn’t expecting, I’d probably interrogate the driver too. Unannounced visitors and trust just don’t belong in the same sentence around me.”
The corners of her mouth twitched as if she was trying not to laugh.
I pointed directly at Zonnique afterward. “Follow me.”
I started walking, then paused long enough to glance back at her.
“But not too damn close. I’m already irritated.”
Once we reached my office, my hands were already turned into fists.
The second she stepped inside I slammed the door hard enough to rattle the glass.
“Start talking… and make it good, because right now, the only thing standing between you and the sidewalk is my curiosity.”
“Listen, Merge,” Zonnique began, “I know how ridiculous this looks. But if this works, it secures your position. It secures everything for you.”
I tilted my head slightly, squinting at Zonnique like she’d just offered me poison in a wine glass wrapped in gold.
“If what works?You know what… let’s back all the way up, because right now you’re talking like I joined a conversation halfway through. I don’t know thehow, thewhen, thewhere, the why, or which one of y’all sat down and said, ‘You know what sounds like a great idea? Secret babies and surprise women in Merge’s foyer.’ So, let’s start from the beginning… and make it quick andrealconvincing. Because if whatever comes out your mouth in the next few minutes ain’t enough to stop me from cutting you completely out my life, then today will be the last day you ever stand this close to me again.”
Zonnique straightened her posture, then proceeded with, “Okay. So, after my failed implantation, I panicked,” she admitted shakily. “I knew how much pressure you were under dealing with your father, the council, the timeline… all of it. So instead of telling you the truth immediately…” she continued carefully, “I tried to fix it first.”
Zonnique rushed ahead before I could interrupt.
“There was still viable material remaining from your samples,” she explained quickly. “Enough to proceed one more time through the clinic.”
The vein near my temple pulsed.
“So, you really used my sperm without my consent.”
Zonnique’s voice dropped. “I was trying to protect your future.”
“My future?” I repeated dangerously. “That’s funny, because usually when people are involved in my future, they ask me before making arrangements. But nah, continue. I’m fascinated now. Tell me more about thislife-changingsetup I somehow got invited intolast.”
Zonnique sighed deeply. “I started privately interviewing surrogate candidates… off the books… quietly. I screened them myself, arranged evaluations, medical reviews, psychological clearances… everything. Everything was discreet and secure. All her screenings came back clean. She was fertile, she’s healthy, stable… honestly the perfect candidate.”
“Was,” I corrected coldly. “Shewasa candidate.Ifshe’s pregnant, there is no other competition now. And what was that engagement shit you was talkin’ out there?”
Zonnique’s face flushed slightly. “I had to make the arrangement sound legitimate,” she admitted. “Most women wouldn’t feel comfortable carrying a child for a man they believed had no structure or serious intentions behind theprocess. Saying we were engaged made things appear more stable and committed.”
I kept staring at Zonnique while a thousand disrespectful responses fought for first place in my head.
“How are you sure that she’s even pregnant?”
“The ultrasound confirmed implantation,” Zonnique answered quickly. “Viable embryo. She’s a little over four weeks.”
I let out a laugh… and not because shit was funny. I really couldn’t believe what the fuck I was hearing.
“I’ll be damned,” I muttered, rubbing my jaw. “But answer this, though. How exactly did you even find thesecandidates? Like, how the hell did you come acrossher? Or any of the other women for that matter?” I eyed Zonnique suspiciously. “Surely you weren’t just roaming around asking random fine ass women, ‘Excuse me, you look fertile and emotionally stable. Wanna help save a mafia’s bloodline?’”
“Ididask around,” Zonnique sassed. “I vetted her. She came highly recommended. Actually… one of the highest.”
Sounds like bullshit.
I inhaled slowly through my nose. “And you trustrecommendationsbecause why? Because somebody vouched for her? Because somebody called her ‘sweet’? Because she spoke professionally, smiled pretty, folded her hands politely, maintained eye contact, and knew how to say all the right things?”
