*TWO HOURS EARLIER*

Hernan was in a foul mood. Foul. After receiving the news that the perfect candidate refused to be his surrogate, he couldn't concentrate on the important meeting he had in the morning.

Why couldn’t she just accept the damn deal? He was not going to make her live with him. He was going to touch her, as much as he could admit she was pretty outstanding. Hernan just needed her to sit on a chair, inside a medical office and receive his sperm, artificially. Not so difficult. Not painful.

"Sir, maybe she'll still change her mind", Cassius said in a low voice, trying to reassure the boss. Hernan glared at him and Cassius almost cried.

"Oh, she'll change her mind. Make sure of this." Hernan said, his face was a scowl and his tone, like a bucket of cold water. Cassius looked confused at Hernan, who looked back at him. “What are you still doing there?”

"Do you want me to...make it happen, sir?" Cassius questioned and Hernan nodded in agreement. “You want me to prepare a trap, don't you?”

“Yes, Cassius, any problem with that?” Hernan asked.

Hernan Allaband was a man with strong will and would do everything to have what he wanted, but not play dirty like that. It made Cassius think if his boss was not overreacting.

“But sir, there are plenty of other girls out there. And I am sure they will be willing to…”

“She is the perfect candidate!” Hernan said a bit louder than he would normally. “Cassius, I have waited, researched and finally found her. The fact that she is not into it, jumping as a hungry wolf on me, is enough for me to know she is the right choice. I don’t want a child with a gold digger!”

“But…”

"I won't lose my chair, Cassius. I'm the CEO of this Group and I'm not leaving here so that damn Xandros can take my place. Not him!" The anger in Hernan's voice was a warning to Cassius that he'd better get the girl to accept the deal.

“Yes, sir, I’ll tend to it. Excuse me.”

Hernan could get another woman since he would use artificial insemination and none of them would need to sleep with him. No, he wasn't an ugly man, but he was in a wheelchair due to an accident. That was even the reason his fiancée left him to be with… with his half brother, Xandros.

Lazlo Allaband was the founder and previous CEO of the company. He worked hard and one thing he had always treasured was family. To him, a man who cannot take care of his own family, cannot take care of a company. His son, Brennon, was not very inclined to those matters, not only family, but also, business. When Hernan, the elder kid, was old enough to learn the family’s traits, Lazlo didn’t waste time. Being the son of a woman who was not Mrs. Allaband, Hernan had to work double hard to show everybody his value. And he did.

By the age of twenty eight, he was a great CEO, but he had a defect: no family of his own. And, as much as Lazlo loved him, he could not turn a blind eye to that fact. That was why he gave Hernan a deadline and that one was coming closer by the second. When Hernan saw Danika, after months of trying to find a candidate, he knew she was different.

Cassius walked out of the office, going to his own. He has called many companies, prohibiting them from contracting Danika. Cruel? yes, but necessary. He then received a message and grinned. His boss was one lucky bastard. Sitting on his chair, he dialed the number of the person who had just informed him about Danika’s situation. “Yes… take the apartment. Pay for the whole year.”

It didn’t take too long until his phone was buzzing. When he read the ID caller's name, he smiled, but kept his cool face.

“Cassius Banks talking.” He answered, as if he didn’t know who it was. “Oh, Miss Sinclair!”

“Hmm, Mr. Banks, I would like to ask a few questions about this document you gave me.”

“Of course, I’ll answer everything with pleasure! And that document is a prenup.”

After hearing all her doubts and answering each one, he ended the call and went back to Hernan’s office, with a canty expression. He knocked only once and heard Herna’s voice allowing his entrance.

“What is it?” Hernan asked without even raising his head up, and kept on signing the papers. When Cassius remained silent, Hernan put the pen down and looked up, seeing a smile on Cassius’s face. Soon, he grinned “Did she..?”

“Yes, sir! I’m going to get your fiancé right now. Congratulations! She just asked you one thing…” Cassius knew how much Hernan hated to be asked or contradicted. That made Cassius anxious.

‘Think positive, man!’, he told himself.

Hernan sucked the air. He offered her a great amount of money. A million and a half, for someone who had nothing and needed money desperately, ws more than enough. Already annoyed, he sighed.

“What is it?” Hernan asked, expecting to hear how much more the woman wanted to let him use her womb for nine months.

“She wants to see the kid after the ‘divorce’. In her words, it is unfair to make the child grow up feeling abandoned by one of her parents. Traumatizing.”

Hernan took a few moments to ponder. He could see Danika was not a good person, otherwise he would never even ask for her services as a surrogate. But, even so, he didn't believe she would want to keep contact with the child for too long. He smiled, for what she was requesting was not so bad. He would make a few rules and that would be a problem less in his life.

“Then, Cassius led her to the apartment I had prepared for her!”