THE SURROGATE FOR THE CEO

The sterile smell of the hospital burned Lily Carter's nose. It was the smell of fear, of dying, and of dollar signs she didn't have.

"Ms. Carter," the doctor said, his voice devoid of emotion. "The surgery is scheduled for next Friday. But the hospital requires a fifty percent deposit by tomorrow morning. Two hundred thousand dollars."

Two hundred thousand dollars. The number echoed in Lily's skull like a gunshot. She made barely three thousand a month waitressing and doing temp work. She had exactly forty-two dollars in her checking account.

"I'll get it," Lily whispered, her voice cracking. She squeezed her mother's frail, sleeping hand one last time before rushing out of the ICU.

She was halfway down the hospital corridor, tears blurring her vision, when her phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number.

'We have reviewed your emergency application. If you want the money, come to the Blake Tower. Top floor. Be here in thirty minutes. Ask for Mr. Blake. Do not be late.'

Lily froze. She hadn't applied for a job. She had applied for a high-risk medical trial.

But desperation was a ruthless master. She wiped her tears, hailed a cab, and twenty-five minutes later, she was standing in the glass-and-marble lobby of Blake Tower, feeling like a beggar in a palace.

Upstairs, the elevator doors opened into an office that felt more like a museum cold, expensive, and utterly silent.

Adrian Blake was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the city skyline. He didn't turn around when she walked in. He wore a dark, tailored suit that probably cost more than her mother's entire medical bill.

"You're three minutes late," he said. His voice was deep, smooth, and utterly freezing.

"The traffic" Lily started.

"I don't care." Adrian turned.

Lily's breath hitched. He was devastatingly handsome, but it was the coldness in his dark eyes that made her shiver. He wasn't looking at her like a woman; he was looking at her like a line item on a spreadsheet.

He walked to his massive oak desk and slid a thick document across the polished wood.

"Sit," he commanded.

Lily sat. She looked down at the paper. In bold black letters, the title read: SURROGACY AGREEMENT.

"I'm sorry, what is this?" Lily asked, her heart hammering against her ribs.

"Exactly what it says. I need an heir. You need two hundred thousand dollars. It's a simple transaction."

Lily felt the blood drain from her face. "You want to buy my body? You want to buy a baby?"

"I want to hire a vessel," Adrian corrected, his tone business-like. "Look at the fine print, Ms. Carter. You will move into my estate immediately. You will undergo the medical procedure. Once the child is born, you will sign over all parental rights, and you will walk away with enough money to pay for your mother's surgery, plus a generous bonus to start a new life. You will never see me or the child again."

Lily stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. "You are insane. This is this is illegal. It's disgusting."

"It's a contract," Adrian said coolly, slipping his hands into his pockets. "And according to the lawyers, it's entirely legal. My lawyers, of course. I don't have time for romance, Ms. Carter, and I don't believe in love. I need an heir to secure my company's future. You need cash. We are both getting what we want."

"I'm leaving," Lily spat, turning toward the door.

"Are you?" Adrian's voice stopped her dead in her tracks. "Then I suppose your mother will just have to deal with her failing heart. It's a shame. The doctors say she only has a few weeks left, isn't that right?"

Lily froze. Her hand hovered over the door handle. Tears of sheer rage and helplessness welled up in her eyes.

She turned slowly back to him. He hadn't moved. He was a predator who knew he had cornered his prey.

"You're a monster," she whispered.

"I'm a realist," Adrian replied, picking up a sleek black pen and holding it out to her. "Sign the papers, Lily. Or walk out that door and watch your mother die."

Lily's hand shook violently as she took the pen. She hated him. She hated the contract. But she loved her mother more than she hated him.

She stepped back toward the desk. But as she reached for the paper, her eyes caught something else on the desk-a photograph of Adrian standing next to a beautiful, smiling woman. Lily recognized the woman from the society pages. It was his ex-wife, who had famously vanished five years ago.

Before she could stop herself, Lily grabbed the photo. "Is this the woman whose place I'm taking? The one whose baby you want me to have?"

Adrian's eyes flashed with sudden, terrifying violence. He moved faster than a snake, his hand snapping out to grab Lily's wrist so hard she gasped. The photo fluttered to the floor.

"Do not," he growled, his face inches from hers, "ever mention her name again. Sign the contract, or leave."

Lily's wrist throbbed. But looking into his eyes, she didn't just see a cold billionaire. She saw a man hiding a massive, dangerous secret.

Trembling, she pulled her hand free, picked up the pen, and scrawled her name on the dotted line.

As soon as the ink dried, Adrian grabbed the contract, shoved it into his drawer, and locked it.

"Pack your bags," he said, turning his back on her and walking back to the window. "The car will pick you up at 7:00 PM sharp. Don't be late again."