Womb For Rent Part 3

"I don't see why not. I'm paying for it and having it at my place. What's not to agree?" Derek thought about the Children's Castle. An organization he would support to his dying day.

"True."

Shaking hands in the parking lot, Derek clapped Anthony on the shoulder. "Remember, my office at five."

"Right."

Anthony slid behind the wheel of his Buick Park Avenue and reached for his cellular phone. He punched in a set of numbers and waited.

"Anthony Baretti here. Yes, Mr. Cameron would like to meet with you at five this afternoon. His office." Pausing, he listened. His face broke into a wide smile and he nodded. "That's right. Great, good luck."

Dropping the phone onto the pa.s.senger seat, he checked the rear view mirror and pulled away from the curb, whistling the entire time.

Derek looked out the side window of the limousine and surveyed the buildings around him. Some had definitely seen better days. He leaned his head back on the plush leather seat and thought about the evening ahead. The Children's Castle was a project he had endorsed since its conception, which he of course had created.

He remembered back roughly five years ago when he first became aware of the plight of the homeless children in the city. They weren't at fault for their circ.u.mstances. They were just born at the wrong time. Derek felt an immediate kins.h.i.+p with the sad faces he saw the day he visited the orphanage for the first time. His Christmas visit was one Anthony had recommended he make, a gesture of goodwill to the city, as well as a way to get his name and face before the people of Detroit. Derek walked into the dirty, dark lobby, his steps dogged by a glum-faced photographer, not wanting to be there any more than Derek did. Derek waited patiently, his arms laden with brightly colored holiday packages. The matron slowly shuffled her way down the steps, squinting in the dim wattage of the dusty lights overhead.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" she questioned, unsure of this man being tailed by a photographer in her lobby.

"I'm Derek Cameron. I have an appointment with Mrs. Byrd to drop off gifts for the children." Derek hoped the appointment would be fast, as he had a pressing brunette dinner engagement he hoped to have conquered by dessert. Four hours later, amid the discarded colorful wrapping paper, Derek found himself playing toys on the scuffed floor with the children. Their sad eyes had turned to glee as he pa.s.sed out the presents. A painfully thin little boy, three years old, started to cry upon opening his gift to discover a fire engine just for him.

Gently, Derek lifted the little boy into his lap. "What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

Sniffling, the little tike said softly. "I ain't never had a truck of my own before, Mister. I love it and I love you."

The little boy continued to cry out his joy, his thin arms wrapped around Derek's neck. Derek awkwardly patted his back until the tears subsided. From that moment on, Derek was hooked. These kids deserved better and he planned to give it to them.

Over the years, he had given his time and money to the organization. He built them a new three story building exclusively for their use. This one with a huge backyard for the kids to play in. Derek had installed an on-site doctor and nurse to tend to the sick children and hired a staff of competent, caring workers. Each child had her or his own bed, their own linens and a pillow. Hot healthy meals filled their plates as the children watched in stunned silence at the food placed before them.

Last Christmas, when Derek dressed up as Santa for his Christmas visit, one little girl had wandered over to him and plopped herself down on his lap.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Sarah," she replied, around the thumb wedged tightly in her mouth.

"What would you like for Christmas, Sarah?" he asked, with a merry ho, ho, ho.

The curly topped red-haired little girl popped her thumb out of her mouth and looked him straight in the eye. "I want a Mommy and a Daddy." She stated her answer very matter of fact.

Derek's heart did a flip flop. This was one wish he couldn't make come true, no matter how hard he tried. Her eyes bore straight to his heart as he vividly recalled that day. It was forever frozen in his mind. He could give them a home and a Daddy, but not a Mommy.

Mentally shaking himself, Derek brought himself back to the present as Joseph opened the rear door of the limousine.

Derek looked over the stack of resumes Anthony had given him at lunch. Out of the entire pile, only three caught his eye as potential candidates. He rifled through the pile of resumes and cursed aloud as the papers slid off the edge of his desk, slowly filtering downward to the carpet. Bending over, Derek fumbled for the papers, just as a knock sounded on his office door.

"Come in," he called from under the desk.

The door opened, allowing Derek a direct view to a pair of very long, feminine gams. Ensconced in sheer nylons, the legs whispered out a caress with each step. From his covert position under the desk, Derek watched her approach. Looking up the expanse of skin, he felt like a voyeur.

"Mr. Cameron, are you in here?" A sultry voice inquired.

Derek lifted his head and connected soundly with the underside of his desk. "d.a.m.n," he exclaimed loudly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

(BM) CHAPTER 3.

As he struggled to sit back up, Derek almost risked another run-in with the edge of the desk. He drew up short at the rest of the picture the legs failed to present. A tall, statuesque woman stood quietly on the other side of his desk. He rubbed the back of his head with his hand and studied her.

Outfitted in a tailored gray suit with a silky white blouse, she leaned across the desk, trying to see where he was. A tantalizing trail of creamy bare neck peeked out from the soft folds of her blouse as it s.h.i.+fted with her movements. Her face, from what he could see of it, was hidden by a pair of ugly, oversized, gray tinted horn-rimmed gla.s.ses and a huge gray fedora. A neat chignon held auburn tresses in place at the base of her neck.

"Mr. Cameron, are you all right?"

Her voice was delicate and fragile in the deafening silence of his office. Moving slowly, willing the pounding in his head to still, Derek stood, striving to recall the name he had seen on her resume. "Miss?" He faltered, at a loss.

"Tallulah Jayne Paxton, Mr. Cameron. I a.s.sume you've read my resume?"

A light blinked on in Derek's brain. That was it. Tallulah Jayne Paxton. How could he have forgotten?

"Yes, I did read your resume. Please, have a seat." Derek gestured to the chair in front of his desk and waited for the woman to sit. A moment pa.s.sed before Derek claimed his own chair and began to speak.

"So, Miss Paxton, my attorney tells me you're interested in the position I'm offering. Tell me why, if you don't mind." Derek steepled his fingers and waited for her to begin. His eyes studied her intently as she began to speak.

"To be quite honest Mr. Cameron, the money was a big factor in my decision. I hope to open my own business eventually and it would give me the means to secure my future."

Derek nodded appreciatively. A businesswoman. One for the plus side. "You would be willing to put your future business on hold until my child is conceived?"

"Yes, it would be put on the back burner until a more suitable time arises."

"I see." He couldn't fault her response. Two for the plus side now. She was direct and spoke without hesitation. Derek paused before continuing. "Miss Paxton, I have to tell you, I have had more than my share of--shall we say, strange and unusual applicants these past few days. Your resume impressed me, as did your answers to the questions I've posed. You say you've lived in the area your whole life, you have no relatives here and no emotional ties at the present time. Is that accurate?"

"Yes, very accurate. I am not seeing anyone now, nor have I plans to anytime soon. I'm quite free."

Derek had to admit this one had great potential. So far, everything he'd seen or heard pleased him. Still, he wished he could see her face without those G.o.d-awful gla.s.ses. Somehow he believed her eyes would be as nice looking as the rest of her.

"I noticed on your resume that you're fond of animals. I have four very exuberant dogs at my home. Would it be safe to say that you're not adverse to having them underfoot?"

She met Derek's stare with a hint of alarm. Did he see through her disguise? Was this a test? Or possibly she was just overreacting to a very normal question. "Well Mr. Cameron, I have absolutely no problem with having dogs underfoot. Actually, I welcome their affections, as they can tell you so much about a person, more so than the average human can."

Derek nodded, letting her words filter through his brain. For a brief minute, he was sure he had heard those exact words somewhere before. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he spoke up.

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to be a vegetarian or a heavy drinker, would you?"

Miss Paxton looked amused. "No, neither, Mr. Cameron."

"Sorry, just curious." Derek placed his hands on the edge of the desk and pushed himself upward. "I may have mentioned, this is only the third day of interviews, but to tell you the truth, you are the best candidate I've seen so far."

She inclined her head politely. "Thank you, that's high praise coming from a man such as yourself." She stood and extended a hand across the desk. "Mr. Cameron, I appreciate your taking the time to see me. I hope we can do business together." Her slender fingers caressed his palm as their hands broke apart.

"I will be in touch," Derek confirmed, as he walked her to the door.

She turned at the elevator banks and paused, surprised to see Derek still in his doorway watching her, then hurried into the crowded car.

Derek watched the elevator doors close behind her. Shaking his head, he pushed away the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before.

Talli reached the parking structure and walked toward the dark car that awaited her.

The driver's window opened as a deep voice inquired from within. "Well, how did it go?"

Sliding the gla.s.ses down her nose and pulling the large gray hat from her head, Talli shook her hair free of the confining bun. "I'm not positive, but I think I've got the job."

Anthony Baretti opened the driver's door and smiled broadly. "Excellent. Allow me to escort you home." Moving to the pa.s.senger side, he opened the door and bowed low. "Your chariot awaits, my dear."

Talli laughed and slid across the cream colored leather seat, eager to rid herself of the high heels that were at this moment killing her toes.

Leaning back, she allowed her long auburn tresses to float over the back of the pa.s.senger headrest. "How do women keep their hair pinned up all day? It would drive me crazy."

Talli ran her fingers through the loose curls. "I don't think he recognized me. It was touch and go for awhile. I thought for sure he'd recognize me. If he did, he never said anything." She looked at Anthony. "You realize how mad he's going to be when he finds out I've tricked him."

Anthony turned toward Talli. "My dear, he won't find out til after the contract is signed. I'll see to that issue myself. Besides, we both tricked him. I'm as much a part of this as you are, remember that."

Talli waved from the top step of the porch, her smile cheerful in the afternoon sun. Her shoes swung from one hand as she skipped lightly up the steps, to let herself quietly into the mansion. Stopping to listen, she heard the sounds of laughter interspersed with the barking of the dogs coming from the kitchen. Maimie must be spoiling them again, she mused.

She tiptoed quietly across the foyer to the stairs when a throat cleared loudly behind her.

"Well, how did it go?"

Talli whirled, her shoes clutched to her chest, to find Joseph less than three feet from her.

"How did what go?" She stalled for time, playing dumb.

"Why, the interview with Mr. Cameron, of course."

Talli's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?" She whispered, fearing her ruse had been discovered.

"Mr. Baretti called and left word for me that he would pick you up this afternoon. We a.s.sumed from the conversation you were off to interview with Mr. Cameron."

"Well, you know what they say about a.s.suming, Joseph. It makes an a..." Talli drew herself up to her full height, trying to look imposing as Joseph smiled, shaking his head in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Biting her lip, Talli's shoulders slumped. Defeated, she leaned back against the wall and sighed.

"You and Maimie don't miss a trick, do you? All right, I don't think he recognized me. As for the interview, it went really well--except for when he cracked his head on the underside of the desk as I was walked in."

"Really, I wonder how that happened?" Joseph queried bemused.

"I don't know. I was so nervous I didn't really pay attention."

Derek shook the distinguished hand of the Mayor and his wife and forced his thoughts to the evening ahead. There would be time to rehash his interview with Miss Paxton later. The Children's Castle was first and foremost on his mind this evening.

"Mr. Mayor, Mrs. Bryant. I want to thank you both for agreeing to meet with me tonight."

"Mr. Cameron, it is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you and the work you do for the Children's Castle." Mrs. Bryant spoke up, and reached out to shake Derek's hand.

"Thank you. I hope both you and the Mayor will agree how much this benefit would mean to the children and how the city would benefit from the function as well."

The Mayor's wife nodded. "I definitely agree. I can't tell you how much I look forward to hearing your ideas. Keeping our children safe, strong and healthy is indeed a great concern on the minds of everyone these days."

"Excuse me, Mr. Cameron. Your table is ready now, sir."

Derek stepped aside to allow the Mayor and his wife to precede him to their table. With the Mayor's wife on his side, his charity ball just might become a reality after all.

Two hours later, Derek sat back satisfied, as he watched the Mayor lift his hands in defeat. "Okay, go ahead with the ball. You already have Clarissa on your side, so I'm outnumbered two to one."

"Thank you Mr. Mayor, Mrs. Bryant. You won't regret it, I a.s.sure you. I'll have my secretary send over the arrangements once they're finalized." Derek reached across the table to clasp the outstretched hand of the Mayor. A look of deep satisfaction crossed Derek's features as he signaled for the check.

In the quiet of the limousine, he thought back to his interview with Tallulah Jayne Paxton. Such a long, Southern belle type of name for a woman as pretty as she was. His mind's eye remembered her legs as she approached his desk. Long, and lithe, surely leading up to skimpy silk lingerie.

Black - no red. Grimacing, he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. What was wrong with him? He s.h.i.+fted on the seat, trying to ease his tortured body into a more comfortable position. He was supposed to be interviewing for a surrogate mother position, not thinking about what she might be wearing under her suit. Too many long nights had taken its toll on his business sense.

Sighing, he leaned back and looked out the window at the dark night. "Bet it was red," he whispered to himself.

Talli stretched cat-like in contented satisfaction and dropped the wire brush back onto the bedroom carpet.

"Perfect," she announced to the small dog before her. "You look mahvelous, dahling." The dog wiggled happily, eager to please.

Talli leaned across the pooch and reached for the remote. Now, to top off the evening with a good tear jerk movie. She settled herself back against the bed and channel surfed until she found the perfect flick. Gracie pressed closer, snuggling happily against her side. Talli reached down and idly caressed the Ba.s.set's soft, silky ears, while her other hand reached for the tissue box at her side.

Three hours later, she clicked off the television.

"Why can't real life be as wonderful as the movies," she sniffed, wiping her eyes a final time with the tissue.

"Oh, to have a man like that love me as much as the Captain loved Mrs. Muir. Gosh, what a way to go." Talli sighed at the thought.

Gracie thumped her tail on the carpet in agreement.