The Last Option

The next morning, when Nathan went down to the parking lot of his house, he found Bernard preparing one of the cars, which again was the Bentley, Nathan's favorite for comfort. "Good morning, Bernard. I won't be using the Bentley today. I'll use the BMW."

Bernard returned the salute and nodded. He went to the BMW parked at the back of the garage and prepared it to leave. Nathan's BMW model was the i4, which, for Bernard, was not a car to drive with a driver but to drive himself, and he was surprised by his employer's request. But he prepared it anyway and in a few minutes they were heading to the office.

Nathan was going through some documents he took out of his briefcase, and Bernard would glance at him from time to time in the rearview mirror. He was somewhat intrigued he hadn't asked him yet if he had spoken to Margaret and made up her mind on his proposal.

He was about to start talking about it when Nathan put the documents back in the briefcase and smiled broadly.

"I see you are quite reserved!" he said, patting him on the shoulder. "I like that! You know I hope you tell me if you talked to your wife about my proposal, and you have me in suspense. Tell me! Did the two of you talk? What did she decided?" Bernard was a bit confused, however he took Nathan's attitude even with some reserve, but he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Well, we did talk about it, and we decided we will. Margaret will have your son."

"Yes!" Nathan raised his right fist in victory, he was almost elated. "Norma will be very happy! And so am I! Thanks Bernard!"

"You still need to have your baby in your arms. Until then you can't thank us. Not yet."

"I know everything will work out, man! Don't tarnish my happiness."

"How will we do it? I imagine that since we are talking about renting a belly, there will be a contract involved."

"Don't worry about that, I'll fix everything. Although I must tell you that we must keep all this in the most absolute secret; only our doctor and my lawyer will know about this deal, my family isn't very good to say and I don't want them to find out until it's already too obvious that we have a child. It doesn't matter if he or she is a month or a year old, they will find out when we can no longer hide the baby."

"I understand. For my part, you know that I'm very reserved, and my wife will know how to be discreet also with the pregnancy. We have an advantage that in your company and your family doesn't know me well because I've just started working, and they don't know if I'm married or not."

"Well, you'll say that you aren't married if they ask you. The less they know about you, the less they will know about our deal."

"It's understood."

"Well, let's start talking about our deal," Nathan rubbed his hands together and then clapped Bernard on the shoulder again. "What do you think of this BMW?"

"It seems to me this is a car to be driven by yourself and not a driver, if I may say so. You have to enjoy it."

"But you like it?"

"It's very comfortable. It's definitely the kind of car I'd buy if I had the money."

"It's yours. The first benefit of our contract."

Bernard looked at him again in the mirror, and then turned to look directly at him, looking surprised.

"Pay attention to the road!" Nathan said with a smile. "Don't ruin it without enjoying it first. I'm going to give it to you in advance, you will need a car in case Margaret feels unwell for any reason during her pregnancy and you need to take her to the emergency room.

"Mr. Hicks, I think is excessive-"

"And there's that attitude again! I'm going to give you an advice, Bernard, and I hope you listen to me very well: when the universe conspires to give you something, don't reject it, accept it! If you reject something that comes to you, you will be closing the doors for the rest of what coming to you, and you aren't showing appreciation. You will spend your whole life with nothing!"

"Very good advice, although I thought it was God who provided us with everything."

"And who do you think created the universe and everything in it? It's a matter of keeping it in mind all the time, moving the energies and always being positive so we lack nothing."

"Well-"

"Promise me that you won't think of rejecting everything I'm going to give you!" Nathan interrupted him. "If God and the universe want us both to have everything we are offering each other, we must not reject it. Okay?"

Bernard was cautiously silent. He thought that for anyone a rented womb would not be worth a house and a car, but for that man a child would, and perhaps more. He thought about the advice he gave him and felt he was right up to a point. And he also thought that he shouldn't contradict him anymore.

Besides, for this man a car and a house would not represent an excessive expense with all the money he had.

Yes, he would accept whatever he offered, as long as he and his wife could keep their end of the bargain and give this seemingly caring, detached man a baby.

"Do we agree, Bernard?" Nathan insisted.

"I totally agree, Mr. Hicks. Thanks."

"For now I'll let you call me Mr. Hicks, but only when you're working and to keep up appearances in front of people. When we get to the company, wait an hour and come up to my office. I'll show you something that will interest you." "Very good, Mr. Hicks. I'll do so."

Bernard refocused on the road as Nathan pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, darling," he said once Norma answered from the other side. "I have good news for you: they accepted! Call Dr. Holloway to prepare everything. Yes, I'm very happy too. Don't cry, please, when I get home we'll go out to celebrate. Okay, see you. I love you!"

Bernard thought that the man and his wife were celebrating before their time, but he did not want to ruin their moment with some reckless comment and preferred to remain silent.

Although he could not for long, as Nathan kept talking and planning the next steps they would take to achieve the desired pregnancy in Margaret's womb.

When they arrived at the company, Bernard waited an hour as Nathan had requested and started to go up, but he remembered that he would see Camila Valverde again and stopped in front of the elevator, thinking.

What could he do? He did not want to see her, because he was convinced this girl had affected him powerfully and he did not want to have even a bad thought with her; his wife didn't deserve him to think of another girl. Definitely not. However, he steeled himself to go upstairs and made up his mind not to fraternize with her too much while he called the elevator.

When he went upstairs, he entered the presidential offices and the first thing he saw near the entrance was her, walking quickly towards the door with some folders in her hands. He couldn't help detailing her head-on and realized she was wearing a short beige skirt, which matched a white blouse; he unintentionally noticed her legs and noticed they were very beautiful and shapely, without being robust. He quickly looked up and met her eyes, she drew her perfect smile again letting him know that she had noticed his gaze and when he reached her side she greeted him with a quick hello! He returned the greeting and continued on his way to Nathan's office, saddened. Upon entering, Nathan was chatting on the phone at his desk and gestured with his finger asking him to wait. Bernard looked around him and considered that even though this was the office of a very important and powerful man, it was very simple: with the occasional painting hanging on the walls and real ornamental plants in every corner of the room; the desk was modern, designed in steel and glass. The only thing ostentatious there were two walls covered in marble and the floor. Nathan ended his call and hung up the phone, inviting Bernard to sit across from him. Once he did, he handed him a magazine. Bernard took it, intrigued, not daring to open it yet. It was a real estate magazine. "Open it and look at the marked page," Nathan ordered.

Bernard opened it and located the page, realizing they were photos of an apartment; he read the headline: "Exclusive 320 m2 apartment for sale in New York." Then he read the description:

This expertly planned four-bedroom residence features luxurious French oak floors with satin finishes, 10'10" ceilings, and stunning views of the Hudson River. The kitchen has been outfitted with luxurious Smallbone of Devizes cabinets with opal white marble counters and backsplashes. A full range of Gaggenau appliances, including a wine fridge and coffee maker, really make this kitchen extraordinary. The master bedroom features two large walk-in closets and a luxurious master bath wrapped in stunning iceberg quartzite, complete with stunning Kinon paneled double vanities and full-depth soaking tub. The other three bedrooms are all equipped with suite bathrooms. The utility room with side-by-side washer/dryer, and the beautiful onyx-coated powder. The bedrooms are conveniently located in the main hallway. No detail was passed on in this truly exquisite house.

Bernard looked up and looked at Nathan, who was smiling at him for his reaction.

"What do you think?" Nathan asked. "That is the apartment where you and Margaret will live throughout your pregnancy."

"It's kind of luxurious, Mr. Hicks. Don't you think?"

"Not at all. We want you to be as comfortable as possible, especially her."

"Well-❞

"I asked you not to refuse what I offered you, so don't do it. And you know what else?"

Bernard was ashamed, so he could only make a slight questioning gesture with his mouth and shoulders.

"If all goes well," Nathan continued, "the apartment will be yours. With ownership document and everything."

Bernard already felt he could say no more. He was, in addition to being ashamed, overwhelmed by everything that was happening to him. Nathan realized this and got up from his chair, standing next to him. Then he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be overwhelmed, Bernard. From what little I know you, I know you are a good man, like your wife, and good things happen to good people. For me the best of the good things will be having my son, and for you, what I'm about to give you."