“Hello,” he said, the hint of British accent making it sound like hallo.
“Hi,” Lateisha said with chagrin, her hand reaching up to the hat; so much for not drawing attention to it.
Bryce’s eyes followed the movements of her hand and Lateisha stifled a cringe. Quickly removing her hand, Lateisha handed him the bag. Bryce passed her a few bills and she made change.
“I’m sorry to drop in on you unannounced. I just wanted to see you.”
Lateisha frowned. “What?”
“Where you work I mean,” he added quickly, a strange look passing over his face. Before Lateisha could identify it, the look was gone.
“Right. Well this is it. Lovely isn’t it?” Lateisha joked, waving her hand around like she was showing him a mansion.
Bryce chuckled and Lateisha ignored the flutter in her stomach. This was so wrong on many levels.
“That it is,” Bryce answered, looking at her oddly. He shook his head and his face changed, as if remembering something. Or remembering how he knew her maybe. “I spoke to the doctor. I’ve made an appointment for you tomorrow at ten if that’s alright?”
Lateisha nodded, “I don’t work until four so that’s fine. Why didn’t you just call?”
“I did. But when you didn’t answer I figured I’d tell you in person
. I also wanted to see why everyone was ‘lovin’ McDonald’s,” he said with a smirk.
Lateisha laughed. “Well enjoy.”
“I will,” Bryce answered, taking an exaggerated bite of his burger.
He waved and the Town Car drove away. His absence left Lateisha feeling empty and she didn’t like it one bit.
*****
The next morning Lateisha woke up early. The unexplained anxiety at the appointment today made her unable to sleep. Normally she was a ‘sleep till ten’ kind of girl but today she was up at six. Rubbing her sleep encrusted eyes, Lateisha climbed from bed after tossing and turning for an hour. She needed a shower and coffee, in that order. Stumbling to the shower, Lateisha snagged a towel from the linen closet and moved down the tiny hall to the bathroom she shared with her friend Becky in their two bedroom apartment. Lucky for her, Becky was already at work and she didn’t have to explain why she was up so early when she didn’t work until four.
Lateisha switched on the shower and stepped in, rubbing her eyes as she ducked her head under the hot water. The anxiety she had felt when she woke began to melt away and after twenty minutes she felt like she was awake and shut the shower off and stepped out. Towel drying her hair gently she stepped into the walk-in closet. Becky took the bigger room but Lateisha got the walk-in. It was a trade off. Now what should she wear to a doctor’s appointment in which she would be checked out like a piece of meat to make sure she was fit to carry someone’s baby? Lateisha snorted; her life right now resembled a bad Lifetime movie. Eventually she chose a fitted black t-shirt and dark skinny jeans, deciding it was not necessary to dress up for this part of the ‘job’. Running some frizz serum through her curls, Lateisha glanced in the mirror. She looked pretty good. Not that it mattered, this was a business deal.
Lateisha went downstairs and ate a quick breakfast; Lucky Charms and coffee, before realizing she still had two hours until it was time to leave. Sighing, Lateisha sat at the kitchen table with her laptop. Maybe it was time for a job search. She waded through all of the ads for nurses.
Part-time help at nursing home. No, she needed full-time to live.
Night shift at the hospital ER. Lateisha couldn’t stand being up all night.
RN wanted for private practice. She sat up straighter; that was a job she could do. Opening the ad she read it over and frowned. Minimum 3 year’s experience.
Fuck!
Discouraged, Lateisha closed the website and slammed her laptop. She was never going to find a good job. Running a hand through her hair she stood and glanced at the time on her phone; still over an hour and a half before the appointment. Anxiety began to grip her stomach, what if she didn’t get this surrogacy gig? Not being able to give Becky the rent money at the end of the month would be humiliating. Lateisha couldn’t do that to her, not after all Becky had done for her. Sighing with frustration, Lateisha stood and grabbed her purse. She needed to get out of the house a bit before this appointment to clear her head.
*****
Bryce ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. It was time for a haircut. He checked his watch again; Lateisha was now fifteen minutes late for the appointment. Maybe trusting her with something as important as carrying his baby was a bad idea.
“Sorry I’m late!” Lateisha said loudly as she flew into the waiting room, leaving a trail of coconut scent behind her.
Bryce felt a stirring in his chest, and somewhere farther south, at the smell of her but repressed it. He wasn’t so happy about her being late.
“What happened?” He asked rising.
“I got a flat tire. I left my house over an hour early to go get some Dunkin Donuts and my damn tire blew on the highway.” Lateisha said slightly out of breath.