THE BADASS BILLIONAIRE'S SURROGATE

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.

CHAPTER 36

For Adriana, going back home to face a man who had stolen her heart all for revenge was the hardest thing to do. She had been pushing off this very moment. But it was inevitable. She knew it was something they'd have to talk about. And tonight, she intended to get this over with. She didn't cook. It was pointless. So, she bought some meals and microwaved them. As the twins chatted happily, she half-listened and half-watched them. Noah, on his part, played the perfect father. He answered their questions and cautioned them when they were out of line. Finally, the meal was over, and it was bedtime.

"Mom, you and dad should tell us a story." Elizabeth said pleadingly.

"Not tonight." Noah said, his eyes locked with his wife and he nodded.

Adriana was surprised. He had somehow sensed her foul mood. "Go to bed and be good. If you do, you'll get some treat tomorrow." She added, and the twins nodded happily while their father took them in. she cleared the table and stored the dirty dishes in the sink. Upstairs, she undressed and waited for Noah impatiently. He didn't come up immediately, and she wondered if he was avoiding her too. She went to turn off the light, hoping to catch some sleep in her widely disturbed state.

Tossing and turning, she gave up sleep and tried to remember how she had met Noah, wondering if their first meeting had been planned. Had he planned this revenge before meeting her? Or was it after he knew her as the enemy's daughter that he started this? They had met after a court case she had handled. Her mom had insisted she left the case, but she had been adamant. The client was a hardened criminal charged with the offence of killing his neighbor. Because he had served and was known with anger issues, it was easy to believe he committed the crime. To nail him further, forensic and psychological evaluation of the body pointed out that the assailant was angry. The depth of the wound was too deep to be ignored. The client's father had approached Adriana. He knew this time that his son was innocent as he was his alibi. They were together the day the murder happened. He was bent on clearing his son's name.

Several lawyers had turned him down, and Adriana was his last resort. She took the case and, having proven the man was innocent, dug her nails in. It was a complex case to crack. Even the jury found him guilty. After series of digging, the real victim, the neighbor's husband, was found. And Adriana had won again to the surprise of every lawyer who turned it down.

Of course, the media was ablaze. To evade the cameras, Adriana used the back door. As she stepped out, Noah had been there waiting for her.

She had used this door to avoid the cameras and all, but sometimes, it wasn't strange to find a few people waiting at the backdoor. That day, it had been just Noah. Maybe she should have been suspicious. But her relief when it was just one person lying in wait didn't make her see any foul play there. Thinking about it now, she remembered seeing another person. He was walking away from the courtroom.

"That was an impressive performance." Noah applauded as she came down the few steps. She smiled at him but continued on her way. "Everyone assumed you'd lose the case."

"What a vote of confidence. FYI, I have never lost a case." She gave him a look before walking towards her car.

"Another impressive record." He smiled at her.

Adriana had stopped when he smiled, and she was ultimately won over. He had a charming smile. "Do you need something?" She asked. "I'm exhausted."

"No. I just came to cheer you up. You did well."

"Thanks. Then, I have to be on my way." He was standing in her path, she reminded herself as she walked into the car. The driver started the car and was about to drive off when she noticed him murmuring something. She lowered the glass. "What?"

"Can I have your card? I might need a lawyer for this case."

Again, that smile! She handed over her card, smiled tiredly then tapped the car so the driver could take her home. They never did get round to the case he needed a lawyer for. He had called some days later. They had a few drinks. Then they went on a date, and before she knew it, they were dating and crazy over each other. One thing was clear now, Noah knew who she was from the beginning. He had been in the courtroom that day and knew exactly who she was and what she did. She tossed on the bed, wondering what was keeping him waiting.

Finally, the light flipped, and Noah walked in. He saw her squint at the light. "Sorry," he apologized. "I would have slipped into bed but decided something is bothering you. We should talk about it. Yeah?"

She nodded. Damn, right, we should. "Yes, let's." Sitting up, she said, "You can start by telling me what your name is and what I did to deserve this."