THE BADASS BILLIONAIRE'S SURROGATE

CHAPTER 33

And while the kids had their private conversation, the parents Swiss were also having theirs. Mrs Swiss had cleared the table. The couple had moved to the inner chamber. It was a room they often used for their pre-court sessions. In this very room, the two would argue the defence and opposing lawyers' case and determine who would win. Their law journey had started in this very room. Robert ran his hand down the seats. "It's dirty and rusted."

"I've not been able to come in here ever since you left." Robert looked at her gloomily. She must look that for pity, "I'll have the maids clean it up tomorrow."

"It's not that." He said, moving towards the big judge's seat on the stage. He always sat here to picture his courtroom scene the next day. "I had no courtroom anymore." He explained, "I'm not sure I remember what it's like anymore. Dirty and rusty, like the seats."

"Oh." she said, getting his drift, "neither did I." When he removed the cloth covering his seat and sat down, not minding the dust, she sat down too. "I missed it so much. Now, I just help Adriana with her cases. She's had zero loss in court so far." She beamed with pride.

"And she got that from her mother. You've raised them well."

"Our younger daughter might beg to differ." She smirked.

"Evangeline took your side of the gene. You're both resilient and stubborn. Only her could have violated the family law-gene and escape your wrath." He teased.

"She blames me for your absence." She told him sadly. "All she does now us rebel against me for that singular mistake."

He had sensed it too. "Let me speak with her. She needs to know you had nothing to do with that."

"She's an adult now. I'm sure she'll figure it out later."

He stood up from his seat and went to sit beside her. "Thank you for doing a good job with them."

She shrugged. "It's okay. I still believe anyway that they have your lawyer instinct, not mine. Evan is well, stubborn and unrelenting. A trait that's helping her in her business. And Adriana, the cases I couldn't even imagine she'd win, she comes out of it glittering. It's like she likes going for such condemned ones."

"You were here to guide her." He still praised her. "Do you suppose they can handle this now?"

"Trust me, they can." She replied, giving him a confident look. Then a worried expression overrides the confidence.

After a while, he notices her sigh heavily, "But this isn't what you want to know right now."

Mrs. Swiss sighed, "That obvious?"

He nodded, "So, ask away."

"Do we have the allies now?" She asked that was the single important solution to all these.

"Damn well, I have. And if what I'm seeing us right, Evan may have gotten us another solid ally." He announced proudly.

To really understand why today wasn't just like any other day, you'd have to be in her shoes. For some days now, she had put deliberate effort into making this a success. She had shopped online for the perfect outfit and matching heels. She even changed her eye color from black to blond to look just like her rival. She was determined to make this work at all costs.

It wasn't every day one wakes up to love. Love didn't happen for some at all. For most, love was an ass, unrequited and painful. But when you find love and though it's unrequited, and the situation seems to change that, it was a once in a lifetime situation that mustn't be missed. When Zoe had called her to settle the ongoing war with Evan, she said something that changed everything. Evangeline is pregnant! Mary didn't even bother to know who she was pregnant for or when it happened. She only liked the idea the news proposed. It could only mean one thing; she wasn't available anymore for Logan Thames. Now, she could claim the man for herself.

Mary had carefully planned this day. Her hair had to be dyed to mirror his ideal woman. She had gone through profiles of his exes to find out he did like his women blond and sassy. She was sassy; that wasn't a thing but blond? That had to be tried in. Her stylist was paid to work her magic on her wardrobe. All primed up, she called her prey to the slaughterhouse. And when Logan Thames walked into the room, he knew just what he was walking into, although in his defense, he did try to play along.

When he entered the club and sat in his favorite corner that night, he was served his favorite blue spiked drink and was sipping when another drink was sent to him. He quirked his brow at the waiter questioningly.

"From the lady in the red room" was the mysterious reply. He then handed over a card. Logan snatched the card in irritation and read the four words. Meet me in 10.

"Ohhh!" He smiled. "Looks like someone is in a hurry to have me naked." He winked at the man and dropped the card. "And where's this lady? We don't want to waste her time. Now, do we?" He stood up, adjusted his round neck polo and followed the waiter. He was led through a back door through the foyer. Then the waiter stopped at the door and excused himself. He knocked and waited until a lady said to come in.

The room was what it was called 'The red room.' It was every shade of red. But what caught his attention were the sex toys hanging everywhere. On the walls were all kinds of the whip; long, twisted, sharp, piercing. It wasn't a pleasing sight. He looked away. On the little bed placed at the corner of the room was a set of cuffs; for the hands and legs. Logan walked away from those too. He was never interested in inflicting pain during or before sex. And so, whatever this lady had planned, she had failed miserably. He was turned off, as it were. The only things that fascinated him were the pleasuring toys. Every dick size was right there. He had always marveled at how women go about pleasuring themselves with them when they could have the real deal. But then again, he could never understand.

The woman who called him was all masked up. From where he stood, he couldn't tell who she was immediate. Her hair was blond, meaning it could be any of his exes. But it definitely wasn't Evan. Evangeline wouldn't have done this. She knew he hated the BDSM sex choice. He's never tried that. So, that left his other girls who should know better too. Aileen was his last girl before Evan, and she wasn't in LA at the moment. So, who could this be? He moved closer to the woman sitting pretty on the small stool, her legs wide open invitingly though it was clad in dark skin net. She wore a skimpy pink skirt on it with a revealing blacktop. Her face was covered in a pink mask. And as he moved closer, he sensed even before she stood up that it was her. Mary.

Interested in whatever game he was playing, he stood indecisive for a while. Then he went on with the game. 'See where it lands us.' "Heard you wanted me in 10." He teased as he lightly caressed the lady's hand.

"Yes, Please." She purred, so he wouldn't know it was her. Then he pulled him closer and started kissing him. "No talking necessary." When Logan kissed her and seemed to be into her, she came down from the stool and began to undress him. He let her kiss her way down to his slack before lifting her head for a deeper kiss. She moaned, and he mentally hissed but continued with it.

She began to undress him again. "In a hurry to have me, I see." He held her hands and took her to the bed. Well, since the toys were laid out for them, he might as well put them to use. He cuffed both hands to the bed. Watching her squirm, he caressed her face lingering over the mask. He sensed her tension, "What?" Though he knew why she tensed up, it was fun watching how she intend to get out of this.

"The mask stays." She purred again.

"But I want to see the woman behind this bold move. He teased, still whirling his fingers around the mask. She continued to turn her face away.

"Maybe after." She said like handling a boy a golden stick. He took the bait and moved away from her face. He lightly let his tongue roll over her lips. She raised her head, wanting a kiss. He was ready for that. He shifted his head and instead began to kiss his way down her chest but couldn't find the urge to carry on. He removed her mask in one swift move. Mary gasped and stepped back.

"I can't believe you'd play this same stunt on me again. After all, you did breaking up my relationship." Logan said, pushing away Mary from him in disbelieve.

"And why wouldn't you? I love you."

He looked at her pitifully before removing the cuff. If she had said it years back, when Evan hadn't been in the picture, he had have believed her. But now, it was all a stupid game to Mary. And he knew her well enough that she loved having toys. She would go any length to have something she craved, but once she was bored of her toys, she discarded them. He wasn't going to be used that way, not even by a supposed childhood friend. "This was before you introduced me to Evangeline, your friend, who I'm in love with, by the way." She cringed when he said he loved her friend, but he ignored that.

"Was it before we started dating or after?"

"Before." She said almost in a whisper. She forced back the tears that threatened to fall as she began to undress. This wasn't over.

"You didn't say anything." he said, looked at her almost naked body and turned away to leave. "Don't undress, Mary. We've been friends for years, and if I were ever attracted to you, we'd have fucked" he threw the words at her then left the room. And Mary sat down in total shame and defeat.

CHAPTER 34

Jason sat in his office, staring blankly at the file on his table. His team waited tensely for his approval. But though he kept looking at the file, he saw nothing. The team leads each stared at their boss, perplexed. After what seemed like ages, James, who had been standing by watching the hilarious scene before he stepped in. coughing slightly, was able to get his boss back to the room. He had been that way since they got back from Evan's. "Should we reconvene?" he asked his boss, who now was looking at the file. Something might have caught his attention after all.

"Yes. I think I'll take a deeper look into this. How about we meet tomorrow, same time here?" Everyone nodded and stood to leave. It wasn't like they had any choice in the matter, actually. When the last person had left, James went to close the door. Then he stepped back into the room, watching Jason closely.

Though slightly older than his boss, he had come to respect him for his intelligent moves and concentration. But now, more than ever, when he needed him alert, his boss was slacking. He had come to work for Jason Valdez when he was barely young enough to cater for himself. His father, Thomas Valdez, was always on a business trip and needed a buddy security detail for his only son. His own father being the security head, then had picked him. Like Jason, he had required a companion too. His mother had just passed away while giving birth to the brother he never met. It had been a stillbirth, and his mother had passed away from the backbreaking labor.

He was angry with the world and everyone then. Meeting Jason Valdez had for a while taken away his anger as he watched him. He couldn't understand how someone with a mother feels so alone. His mother wasn't always around. She was always planning parties and travelling with her husband. The poor boy barely knew his mother. Though rich with everything available for him, he was still a lonely boy. It wasn't hard to believe they were both the same. Kids with no motherly love.

The first time they were introduced, his father made sure that James had no mom. It was then that Jason looked their way briefly before turning back to his laptop. When his father left, Jason turned to him instantly. "What happened to your mom?" He was very curious then as he still is.

"She died." He replied rudely. He hated talking about his mother. Though it was a year now, he still felt sad. Sometimes he caught his father staring at her photo on the standing and crying. His mother had been a laughing, happy woman always cheering on her family.

Sighing, he remembered adding that, "She died while giving birth to the tiny weasel." Jason then had patted down a seat beside him, asking him to sit. And he did sit. "If the weasel had survived, I'd have hated him." He told him.

"No, you'd probably just feel bad for him." Jason told him plainly. He was doing something on his laptop, and though it didn't make sense to him, Jason was bent on tweaking something.

"Why would I feel bad for him?" He asked. The boy stopped pressing his laptop and looked at him. His eyes were blue and sad. He had never seen anyone so rich and unfortunate before.

"Because you have these shared moments with your mother while he didn't get a chance. He will have to live with stories you tell him about his mother who died giving birth to him."

And though he was bent over the laptop again, James realized he might have been older than Jason, but the little boy was wiser. Life had forced him to grow up. And had the boy looked at him, he would have seen the pure admiration in his eyes. "You're right." He agreed. "He would feel guilty all his life too."

"Yes." Jason said both in response to James and whatever he had been doing on the laptop. He turned it off, set it aside and went to get two bottled drink from the fridge. He offered James one.

"So, do you get to see your mom often?" James asked, trying to swallow bitter bile stuck to his throat at the mention of 'mom'.

"No. She's on a trip presently. I haven't seen her in 45days." He replied and shrugged.

"45 days? Wow. I see... saw mine every day."

"Lucky you. At least now, you have good memories of her." He drank and sighed. "I barely know my mom's face. And she has this sister who looks so much like her. Sometimes I see their pictures and can't pick out mine."

He had felt so sad to hear the boy talk. But that was it. The moment they got distracted from mom talks, Jason was a cool kid to be with. He had lots of gadgets and loved coding. The computer was his friend. He understood the computer more than he did his parents. When he spoke about his laptop, his face glowed, and his blue eyes were lighted so brightly the color seems to fade out to a clear sky blue. They became good friends afterwards

Jason stood up now and started pacing the room. Shaking his head, James spoke to his boss without being spoken to. He hardly initiated talks, but now wasn't time to play protocol. "You okay, boss?" he asked simply.

"No. I think we should get Mrs. Swiss to meet again." He told his head security detail. And even as he said it, he wasn't sure why he was doing it. What he should be dealing with was this growing attraction he was having for his surrogate, Evangeline, not meeting her mother. But he needed to be distracted. He didn't want to think about Evan now. He still feels pretty shaken up about last night. If that call hadn't come in, he'd have slept with the woman barely months after Ellen's death. Guilt washed over him. He sat down again, lost in thought.

"She may not want to meet, like before." James told his boss.

"Still, let's try."

"How about the inventory the developers brought? They were really excited about it" he tried to distract Jason.

"I'll check in later. Call the woman." He said, took his car keys and started walking out.

"There's something."

"Can it wait?" He said without a backward glance. He was gone before he could tell him what he had been noticing for a while now. He immediately called Sam, the driver, with his two other security. "Hey Sam, is Tobin with you?" He listened to while he watched through the glass as Jason dismissed Sam and sat in the driver's seat.

"Take Tobin and two other men, follow him." Jason was driving away already. "Don't lose him at all. Some men have been tailing us. Need I tell you how important this is?" He watched as the men got into the car and zoomed after the boss. "Good."

Disconnecting the call, he pulled a call through to the Swiss as Jason had instructed.

Mrs. Swiss was with her husband when the call came in. she stared at the phone. "You're saying Jason Valdez is an ally we can count on?"

"Yes." Robert said as he picked the call then handed it over to his wife. "Which is why you must meet him." He whispered.

"Hello again." Mrs. Swiss replied. "Let him know I'll be free this weekend." She listened to what the other person was saying. "The Shades sounds fine to me. Alright." She shook her head as she ended the call. "I can't believe you made me pick his call. The man impregnated my daughter without..."

"Your permission?" He completed for her. "It's the 21st-century wife. More so, it is not the kind of impregnate in that sense.."

"We are the ones who know. Does anyone? I'm guessing that you're all not going to know what I'm talking about now. Wait till the press starts spreading this." She smiled at the man. It's only a woman that seems to be bothered by all these.

"It's the 21st century, relax. Nobody really cares." He patted her on the back. "I have to go lie down."

"Well, it appears I'm meeting him at The Shades this weekend." She called after him.

CHAPTER 35

James immediately called his boss to relay the message. He was sure this was something that could keep Jason back on track. He picked on the second ring.

"Yes, James. Why do I have your men tailing me?" Jason asked, peering at his rear mirror. He had noticed the black sedan tailing him almost immediately after he left the office. He could understand the security's need to keep him followed but never had he requested two full cars.

"You mean Sam and the men?"

"Yes. Who else?" He slowed the car to a reasonable speed then adjusted his belt. Putting the call on speaker, he asked. "Why the whole team anyway?"

"What do you mean the whole team?" James asked and was immediately chatting up Sam.

"Two cars are tailing me."

"No. Ours is the black sedan." He read Sam's reply. "They grey Camry isn't ours. I was trying to talk to you about that this morning." Sam and his men apparently found the car tailing them. The occupants were two black men in a dark suit, and the men were trying to get a good capture of their faces to run their profile on their database. He didn't tell Jason that. What he told him instead was. "We are on it. Are you on your way back here?"

Jason looked at the two cars behind him doubtfully. "When did this start?" He asked rather than reply to his security head.

James sighed. He knew this would upset him. "Two days ago."

He swore. "And you're just telling me this now?"

"You've been a little distracted lately." He tried to sound bland.

"I'm on my way." Jason said and disconnected the call. James immediately called Sam. "Stay on the men. We need to get their faces on our database today."

Jason turned the car at the next available turning without any signal. He watched as the other vehicle swerved dangerously to keep up, "The hell!" He swore, knowing the men in the Camry meant business. He continued to make several turns until he lost them then drove back to his office. "So, mind telling me what the hell is going on now?" He said as soon as he walked into the office. Dropping his suit on the chair, he turned to James, who was on call.

James got off the phone and told him, "They lost the men."

"Who are they, and why the freaking hell are they tailing me?" He repeated, feeling really stressed out.

"The men came into town the very day Robert Swiss arrived back in Miami." He paused to make sure the name mentioned sunk in, satisfied it did, he continued. "We think they might be associated with the Swiss."

"And why are they tailing me instead of the Swiss?" He said sitting down now. This didn't sound right.

"That we are yet to figure out." James said disappointedly.

"Then you better get to work."

"On it." He said and started to leave. At the door he stopped, "Mrs. Swiss agreed to meet."

"Okay. Good. Text me the details. And speaking of, get someone to stay with Evangeline 2.4.7."

"Okay, boss." James said and closed the door.

Jason watched the closed door. His mind drifted back to his baby mama and their last time together. Even thinking about her now was giving him a hard-on. He told himself to get a grip. Ellen would probably turn in her grave in disgust. He needed to stay away from Evan as far as possible. But even he knew that would be selfish, and Ellen would frown at that. The child she was carrying was his, and he had a duty to be by her side.

I just need to get my hormones on track... He cautioned. The file his team brought to him earlier in the day lay unattended on his table. He took his seat and opened the file needing a distraction. He wondered what their discovery was this time.

He hadn't read much to discover this was a brilliant idea. He picked the coms and dialed his secretary. "Get me the Lead Developer." He said, still looking at the file. A knock on his door made him glance up. "Come in."

The man stepped in and sat down when Jason pointed to a seat. "You wanted to see me, Sir."

"Yes. I must commend you and your team on this. It's amazing." Jason said. Still looking at the file, he flipped some more pages before turning to the man. "And I must say, I'm torn between the two projects." He skimmed through a few pages, "Using AI technology with the mobile phone and an advantage for the visually impaired."

"Perhaps I should ask first that how do you intend to do this? Before we discuss the second project."

The man sat up straighter and told him with bright eyes what they intend to accomplish. "With the AI image recognition software on the phone, visually impaired people can put it to great use. The phone can identify images, people, items placed directly in its camera view. This way, they can detect strangers in their home, unusual movements, read text messages, do some calculations. The possibility is endless, sir."

"Wow, I like that." Then, he looked earnest. "How about the profit margin? Did you make any calculations on the production cost and all?"

"Yes. We intend to make the software available in different languages, including English, so that users all over the world can access." Then he smiled. "Production will be slightly high at the beginning, but as more users subscribe, we can have our profits reeling in."

"Well, that's nice." Jason looked at the other project. "How about this other one. You intend to aid CCTV limitations using AI?" He bent over something in the file. "Hmmmmm, haven't we done this before?"

"Yes, but not quite like this. You know how crimes happen, and CCTV helps point out the offenders?" When his boss nodded, he continued. "We intend to help the CCTV to stop crime rather than detecting it only after it has been committed."

Jason nodded, quite fascinated, "Okay."

"To do this, we will enhance our technology to be super sensitive. It will detect suspicious movements, spot offenders holding harmful objects or weapons, and report on strange excessiveness that could lead to crime. Then the AI would alert the authorities. And our work is done. It is now left for the Police to take that up and be at the scene to stop the crime."

"Viola." Jason applauded. "This is amazing." He closed the file. "Tell your team leads and their members that I'm treating them to a fancy meal tonight. And a bonus in their salary."

"Thank you, Sir." The man bowed and took his leave. The look on his face was beyond happy.