Chapter 3 Discussion with Walter

Walter was waiting for Sherry at the agreed meeting spot. Of all places, he had chosen an expensive hotel, which made Sherry feel she was underdressed in her cheap night-market bought knockoff dress. The jewellery around her neck was by no doubt, false ornaments that were easy to fool someone who didn’t know their stuff.

He studied her briefly before inviting her to take a seat in a private room. Sherry peered around the place, but there was no sign of Walter’s boss.

“Later, Mr Williams will see you in private,” he explained quickly. Sherry stopped looking around, listening carefully at what he had to say next.

“Before this, Mrs Lin, I have to brief you on what Mr Williams wants you to do.”

Walter probably meant surrogacy, she told herself. She had done some minor reading up on resources on the internet on what she needed to prepare herself for. If performed in a hospital by a doctor, she didn’t have much to worry about since it was basically injecting the fertilised eggs inside her.

He might have read her mind, because he continued, “I need you to be ready for what’s ahead. Although Mr Williams mentioned he wants you to be his surrogate, there are other factors that you may find...unusual. Mr Williams is an eccentric man.”

She tried her best to stay calm. No matter how harsh the storms were, she would persevere. Stark Williams was offering an extremely high price that nobody could ever defeat. He offered a first instalment of five million baht. That translated to approximately a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, three times of what Anders’ nemesis, Lee Jung, had offered her before.

The man was also very sly. Rather than giving her a hefty sum of money at one go, he had strategized to give it to her in turns. Still, five million baht would be enough to pay for Anders’ hospitalisation fees for half a year. With her knowledge of Stark Williams as a teenager, she fathomed Walter’s words were about right. Without getting any benefit out of something, Stark wouldn’t even bother.

Perhaps the man just needed a child to inherit some fortune, just as Anders had, she thought. She told herself mentally, ‘I can take this.’ Being a wife with a husband in a coma for over a year and single-handedly bringing up her son for the last three years had made her grow up. She was strong now, and wouldn’t be easily put down.

“I need this money.”

She didn’t want to come off as sounding too desperate, but her husband was in need of this sum, before they cut him off his life support. It reminded her of how she once was in debt with Anders for her foster mother’s surgery. During that point of time, she let go of her dignity, and she was mentally prepared to do it a second time. Aside from her husband, she needed it for her son as well. Andrew’s education fees and the specialist treatment for his psychologist would require a lot of money. For this, she would swallow down any dignity she had left in her bones and endure whatever strange requirements the billionaire had for her.

A wide smile spread across Walter’s face, and he seemed to be saying the words ‘don’t say I didn’t warn you’. She ignored his overwhelming smile, and instead continued, “Take me to Mr Williams. If he can help me, I’ll agree to any ludicrous request he has.”

She wasn’t oblivious to who Stark was. Just last night, she spent hours reading about Stark’s reputation and how he repeatedly repelled women from him. Yet, one of his favourite torments was to make people, men and women alike, grovel before him. He enjoyed having authority over others.

Sherry genuinely didn’t care whether Stark liked men or women. All the more if he didn’t enjoy the company of women, she thought. Stark had never had a reputation of being seen with a woman, leading gossip papers to assume he liked men. The fact that such rumours never ceased made her believe it could be true, but even if it was, it was to her benefit! That meant, he would not want anything to do with her!

If Stark wanted her to kneel, she would, for the sake of her husband and child. She wouldn’t break easily, she reinforced herself. She would continue on strongly!

After walking up a long flight of steps, she arrived at the lobby. Then, she took the elevator to room 888. His room number was so special, that she was sure he was staying there long term. The premium suite levels required special access, so Walter had arranged for the bellboy to escort her to that floor.

She reached into her pocket to grant the boy a tip, but he brushed her off with a gesture, and professionally returned to his work, without giving her any strange looks. Once she was out of the elevator, she trod nervously across the thick carpets, walking down the long corridor until she reached Stark’s room.

Ignoring the clamminess of her palms, she reached for the doorbell and gently pressed on it. Minutes later, she heard a cold voice, “Come in.”

Stark’s voice! It was just as she had remembered it to be! Her heart skipped a beat as curiosity traversed through her to discover how Stark was after all these years. Did he look like how he was before, or had he transformed into a dignified billionaire? Even pictures online had his visage blurred, probably on purpose. With money, Stark could have anything.

Then she realised she had been clutching to the access card so long that she had forgotten its existence. A slight tap of the card unlocked the door, and opening it, she came to face the back of a tall black ergonomic chair.

Stark’s familiar chestnut hair greeted her, a sight that had never changed since her childhood. She trembled as she approached him slowly, “Mr Williams.”

A long silence ensued before he turned his chair around abruptly and smiled coldly at her.

“Sherry Summers, it’s been a long while.”

So, he remembered her name after all, she thought quietly. But if he had sent Walter after ‘Everleigh Long’, surely he knew more than that?

“Mr Williams,” she politely bowed her head. Her heart beat harder as she sensed his coldness. He had never changed, not even a single bit! He appeared to be just as he was as a teenager, only taller and older now. Dark eyes, a sharp chin, thick eyebrows and thick lips were among his prominent features. He was also rather fit, like he had been working out.

Stark impaled her with his icy stare, looking at her up and down to the point that he seemed disgusted with her clothing. Sherry trembled again, this time wishing she had enough to procure a proper dress from H&M before meeting Stark.

What if he dropped his offer for her to become his surrogate because of her tacky dress and fake jewellery?

His lips moved slowly, but his face was devoid of emotion as he said one word that caused her to freeze instantly.

“Strip.”