Page 2 of The Pakhan’s Hidden Heir

I tear my eyes away from the beauty of her face and say, “Miss Volina.” I manage to keep my tone firm, at least. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.” She glances at Akim, assesses him, and brings her eyes back to me. “How would you like to start?”

“I’ll ask you some questions.” I notice in the corner of my eye that Akim seems disturbed, squirming in his chair instead of stuffing his nose in his phone again. Likely he thinks she’s unfit. I’ll decide that for myself. “Then I’ll allow you to ask a few.”

She nods and folds her hands in her lap, ready for me. I’ve not had an interview go so smoothly this early yet.

Most women want to complain about the weather or small talk to get started. Miss Volina seems ready to listen twice as much as she speaks. I like that already.

I start with what’s in her file, because I want to hear it from her own mouth. “You left school at seventeen. You didn’t finish?” When I look up at her she seems slightly embarrassed.

“No, my grandmother got sick, and there was no one else to take care of her, so I dropped out. I never went back.” The way she states facts and doesn’t try to conjure fake emotion is very honest. I respect that more than she knows.

“Both your parents are dead.” When I make the statement, she doesn’t flinch, which means it happened a long time ago or she’s emotionless. Her answer only confirms that.

“A car accident, when I was six. My grandmother raised me after that, and she’s the one I lost two years ago.” There’s a hint of sadness as she says that, which proves she’s human.

I don’t need any child of mine overly sensitive to emotion, but having a nurturer when they’re little is important—or so I’ve been told.

“The cancer that took her—is that in your blood too, or was it hers alone?” That one stings. I see her jaw tighten and her eyes go wide. Her eyebrows lift before she sighs.

“Hers alone. I’ve seen doctors, and there’s nothing in me that should concern you.” She holds my eyes as she speaks, but I hear the tremor in her tone. “Whatever you’re paying for, you’ll get a healthy child.”

The bluntness of it catches me off guard. I have to pull my attention off her mouth and back to the page. Her direct demeanor is very attractive.

This is the problem I saw the moment she walked in. I don’t ever lose my focus and yet here I am finding myself losing my train of thought as she stares at me intently.

“Have you ever been pregnant?”

“No.”

“Do you drink, smoke, use anything I’d need you clean of before you carry?” I offer a few questions rapid fire to get myself out of my head and back into this room and it works.

“I can’t afford vices,” she says bluntly, not masking the fact that she’s quite in need of financial help. It’s obvious based on the way she dresses, and completely believable. “So no. Nothing for you to worry about there either.”

“And your head,” I say. “You’ve buried your whole family. I need a woman who can carry a child in my house for nine months and not break down.”

She seems to pause at that. It’s not like she’s performing though; it’s almost as if she’s offended by my question. “I’ve already buried everyone I ever loved. If I were going to break, it would’ve happened years ago. I won’t pretend none of it touched me, but it didn’t stop me, and it won’t stop me carrying a child.”

It’s the answer I wanted and didn’t expect to get. The other ten gave me rehearsed grief, dabbing at their eyes to prove how soft and maternal they were.

This one is different—so focused I’d almost believe this was an act if she weren’t so sure of herself.

I catch myself leaning toward her and force myself to sit back again. She’s the one.

My gut already knows this, no matter how many red flags Akim is waving from his seat in the corner with all those expressions and grunts.

“Why did you answer the ad?”

“Money.” She gives it to me straight. “I owe a debt I can’t pay off. The work I find barely covers the interest, so I’m struggling. I’m young and healthy, and what you’re offering will more than cover the debt and help me get on my feet.”

I’d be willing to bet one hundred percent of those other women would’ve wasted my money on shoes or purses. This one has a plan, and it might just be her salvation. “And once it’s paid off?”

“I put what’s left into savings, invest it into my education. I’m not sure.” She lifts one shoulder. “I haven’t thought further than that.”

I close the file and set my pen down on top of it. “Then ask me what you want to know. You’ll be signing away more than you think, and you should understand all of it first.”

“Why not a clinic?” she asks. “A surrogacy through a clinic would be cleaner for both of us, and easier on you.” Her eyes flick to Akim when he grunts again, but she refocuses back on me as I begin speaking.