Brenna laughed. “Oh, there? Sure, I could use another drink.” She closed the door and locked it then led the way back down the stairs. Another drink? I followed her down the stairs and out to the sidewalk then saw the place that she was referring to, that I had recommended. It was another fucking bar. I tried to
stop her, but she was already crossing the street. She was through the door before me. I grabbed her arm to stop her before she got to the bar. She spun around, irritated.
“Are you serious right now Brenna? The last thing you need is another drink.”
“Look, do you want me to look at your stupid contract or not? This is the only way it is going to happen. Besides, excuse me for needing a drink when a ghost from seven years ago shows up at my house with no explanation demanding that I sign a contract for him.”
I let go of her. She was telling the truth as much as I hated the way it sounded. The bar was fairly small, but it wasn’t busy. It was a weekday and still relatively early in the night. The few people that looked over at us when we walked in quickly lost interest. I didn’t want to cause a scene. She went up to the bar and ordered a drink. I passed.
“Can I have a Maker’s. Neat?” she asked the bartender.
“Throw some soda in that for the lady please,” I said, taking a twenty out to cover the drink. She glared at me. I put my hands up in surrender, then threw the twenty on the counter.
“Can we sit somewhere a little more private to talk?” We found a booth after she got her drink.
“Ready?” I asked. She took a drag of her drink.
“Okay, let me see it,” she said. I handed her the paperwork. How productive was this going to be with her drunk and only getting drunker and the two of us at a bar, I thought. It was a battle just to get her to sit down with me. I was taking any win she was letting me get. She read silently, until she stopped, almost choking on her whiskey. She looked up at me.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she asked.
“What?”
“Compensation package,” she read.
“I want to use your eggs and for that I will compensate you one million dollars. It’s all in there.”
“I remember that. I asked for a down payment.”
“One hundred and fifty grand. It sounded fair. Too low?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Must be nice to throw money around like it’s nothing,” she snarked.
“Must be nice that I’m throwing it at you,” I countered. She ignored that. She kept reading and I got to see the moment when her face flushed in anger. She must have gotten to the stipulations.
“I can’t believe you want me to live with you.”
“Believe it.”
“Honestly, it’s insulting. I can take care of myself. Even if I couldn’t, what’s the point of s being together? You don’t know anything about pregnant women.”
“For a million dollars it’s in my best interests that you’re in optimal health at all times. In case of emergencies, I’m not being notified after the fact.”
“I think regular check-ups are far more reasonable. I don’t get inconvenienced. You, a very busy man, to be sure, won’t get inconvenienced. It sounds like a win-win to me. You can pick the doctor, pick the hospital, pick the frequency, everything.”
I shook my head. “Sorry. That one’s a dealbreaker for me. You live with me or we don’t do this at all.”
“Would you do this to any woman you were using to carry your baby or is it just me?” she asked. Good question. I felt like she knew the answer but just wanted to hear me say it.
“Nobody else is carrying my child. Your question is redundant.”
She rolled her eyes and drained the rest of her drink. Goddamn it. I didn’t remember her putting it away like this. The last time we met she didn’t even want to have a beer at the beach bonfire. I got up.
“Where are you going?”
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“Bring me back another whiskey,” she called after me. Like hell was I bringing her more alcohol. The bar had filled up a little while we were talking and there was a queue for drinks. I wanted a bottle of water. Brenna was going way too fast for my liking. She was already drunk. If she kept it going I was going to have to carry her out of here. I signalled for the bartender. He looked over, nodded and kept serving the patron in front of him. I sighed, looking at the volume of people ahead of me. It would take five seconds for him to reach behind himself and hand me a bottle.