Lost and Found

Derek frowned.

“He’s your friend,” she rushed on. Her fingers tightened on his arm. She felt the crisp hairs, the tight cords of muscle and sinew under warm skin. Her eyes roamed over his face, waiting for him to respond.

“That’s insane.”

She sat back onto her heels. Air whooshed out of her lungs.

“No it’s not.” She gripped him tighter. “It’s a perfect idea. Just think about it, Derek.”

He shook his head, looked like he was in pain. “It’s crazy, Krissa.”

“People do it all the time. I was on the internet. Women donate eggs to family members. Guys donate sperm. Women even act as surrogate mothers and donate their uterus for the baby. This would be nothing like that. And what could be better than having someone you know and love do that for us?”

Derek stood up, walked across to the window and stared out.

She waited. Waited. Waited. It seemed like he was thinking about it, despite his protests.

He put a hand on the window sill and leaned forward.

“Derek?”

Slowly, she unfolded her legs and slid off the bed. She moved up behind him, put her arms around his waist, laid her cheek on his broad back.

“What makes you think he would do that?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know. I don’t know if he’d agree to it. He might.”

“Jesus, Krissa. It seems weird to me.”

“Would you think about it? Please?”

He said nothing for a long moment. “I’ll think about it.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. He turned and wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t say anything to him.”

“Of course not! You have to agree, and then we’d have to ask him…he might not want to do it.” Her tummy flipped at the thought that he could say no. Oh, what if Derek agreed but Nate wouldn’t?

They’d deal with that when they had to. If they had to.

“We‘ve gotten approval to manufacture a new medication that treats Alzheimers.”

The Vice President of Human Resources at Austerlitz Pharmaceuticals leaned on the table in the board room where they met. Krissa nodded.

“This is completely different than our others products. Our salesmen don’t know how to market this to doctors. We need to hire a new sales team with the right kinds of skills to sell this drug.”

“I think it’s wonderful that you recognize the different skill sets required, and recognize that your current sales team doesn’t have them.”

It was difficult to keep her mind on recruitment and selection when all she could think about was Nate and his sperm. Well. She forced her mind back to the discussion.

The HR Manager, Niles Arnett, nodded. “We knew that early on. The new product will be ready to market in two months. Is that long enough to recruit a new sales team? We aren’t sure what we’re looking for.”

“Two months is tight,” she said. “Very tight. I’ll need to do some research. Do you have information about the demographics?”

They provided her with a folder full of promotional information about the new drug, and she asked a few more questions, took notes, working hard to keep her focus.

“I’ll have a plan to you within a week,” she told them as they all stood. She shook hands with the men in the room. “I’m looking forward to working with you again.”

It helped that she’d done a fourteen-month stint in their HR department a few years ago, knew the players and understood the business.

When she left she felt a ripple of pleasure at the new contract, but her mind quickly went back to making a baby. Her stomach clenched. God, she hoped Derek would agree to ask Nate.

Nate heard the phone at the same time as he heard the door open. Probably Krissa home from work. He wasn’t sure if he should answer it anyway. She picked up mid-ring and he wandered from his bedroom to the kitchen where she talked.

“Hello?” She paused “What’s wrong?” Again she listened. “Do what, honey?”

Nate walked into the kitchen to see Krissa leaning against the counter. Her powder blue suit hugged every curve, the short jacket nipped into her waist, the skirt ending just above her knees. He’d seen her legs, of course; she wore shorts all the time, but today those legs ended in a pair of sexy stilettos. Wow.

“Do you want me to come over? Where’s Eric? Oh.” Krissa glanced at Nate. “I’ll come over, then. Be there in…twenty minutes.”

She hung up the phone and straightened. “Hi. Gotta go.”

He arched a brow.

“My friend Cameron is having a meltdown.” She started toward him, removing her suit jacket as she walked, exposing a silk blouse in shades of blue that resembled a water-color print.

“What’s the problem?” He stepped aside so she could get though the door. She sighed.

“The usual. She’s overwhelmed and her husband is out.”

“Want me to come?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s okay. Sorry to leave you again, though.”

He shrugged, followed her down the hall. “Are you sure? I could help.”

She stopped in the door of her bedroom. He’d been about to follow her in there. Whoa. He was getting way too comfortable there.

“You’ve had a long day, too,” he pointed out.

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll just change and we can go.”

She closed the door and he backed off. She looked so professional, she seemed like a different person than cute, casual Krissa. The sleek hair, the makeup, the suit, the heels…it was kind of intimidating.

When she emerged, she’d changed into a short denim skirt and a tank top. Still looked damn delicious. She grabbed her keys and purse. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Does this happen often?” he asked, as they drove.

“Not often. But it has happened before. Just since the baby was born.”

“How old is the baby?”

“Emma’s three months old. The twins are three. They’re a handful. And Emma’s a pretty good baby, but you know…all babies are work. And she’s had these colicky spells.” Krissa shook her head. “She doesn’t stop crying for hours. I think that’s what’s happening. It makes Cam insane.”

A baby screaming non-stop. What was he getting himself into? Nate grimaced.

A short time later they pulled up in front of a small cottage on a palm-lined street. It was nowhere near the mansion that Krissa and Derek owned, but it was nice. Not that big. Probably crowded with three kids.

Krissa rang the door bell but didn’t wait, just let herself in with an easy familiarity. “I’m here,” she called out. Nate immediately heard the harsh, exhausted cries of a baby.

“Sit down!” a woman’s voice screamed. “Just. Sit. Down!”

Nate followed Krissa to the back of the house to a family room off the kitchen. The baby’s cries grew louder, joined by the frightened sobs of a toddler.

A woman stood there, baby in her arms. Tears streaked both the woman’s face and the baby’s scarlet cheeks. The two children sat on the floor, one crying, the other near to tears. A bowl of cereal had been dumped onto the carpet, milk seeping in a circle around it.

One small boy covered his face with his hands. He looked so forlorn, Nate’s chest squeezed.

The baby continued to howl, Cameron continued to cry and the twins both began sobbing.

What a nightmare.

Chapter Eleven

Nate glanced at Krissa, feeling lost.

Krissa reached for the baby and Cam released her.

“Have you fed her?” Krissa asked.

“Yes.”

“Changed her diaper?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then. Go. Go wash your face, change or whatever, and go.”

Cam stood there. She glanced at Nate who forced a smile. “Go where?”

“Wherever you want,” Krissa said patiently, giving her friend a small push. “Shopping. A movie. Go sit at the beach for a couple of hours. You have to get out of here. If you can hear the baby crying, you’re too close.”

Cam turned, looked over her shoulder at them as she went down the hall.