in his eyes. ‘It was their housekeeper, Rachel. She got the sack after selling her story to some gossip magazine. Turns out she’d been blabbing to them for years – she was their inside source. Aren’t you lucky, arriving in the wake of that shit-storm?’
‘I take it she didn’t say very nice things?’ I looked out of the window at the streets I had not yet visited, at the buildings passing in a blur.
‘They were burned. Badly. Hence the new and improved agreement we all have to sign.’ He turned to me, his face growing serious as the driver pulled up to the kerb. ‘We’re here. Now, Roz, this is a deal-breaker. You can walk away, and we can have you on a flight home tonight. You can tell your friends that you had a really weird weekend with some gay guy who did your make-up and gave you fashion advice. But you’d be blowing the chance of the best start in life for this little one.’ He nodded towards my tummy and his voice grew quiet. Sincere.
My breathing fell in line with his as I drank in his words. This was serious. My last chance to back out.
‘There’s nothing to be scared of,’ he continued. ‘It’s just an agreement saying that you can’t talk about them or tell anyone who they are. It’s customary. We’re well paid for our loyalty and that is all they ask of you.’
‘Along with the baby, of course,’ I smiled.
‘No, they’re not asking you for your baby. You’re asking them to give your baby a home. They’re being gracious enough to compensate you for the next six months of your life.’ He paused as his mobile phone beeped with a text notification. ‘Don’t lose sight of that, Roz. They are giving you the biggest gift of all. Hell, I wish they’d adopt me. What I’d give for a life like that!’
I nodded. He was right. It was just so much to take in.
‘Be humble. They will love you for it. But darling, if this is all too much for you, and I can see how it would be, do yourself a favour and back out now. The people you’re about to meet will be beyond your wildest dreams. But an experience like this . . . it’s not for everyone.’
I almost laughed. I mean, who were they? His admiration for them was obvious, but he was talking about them as if they were gods. I wanted to tell him not to patronise me, but took his earlier advice to be humble instead. To tell the truth, I was grateful for his presence, and a bit of hand-holding never did any harm. I took a deep breath and unclicked my seat belt.
‘I’m in.’
Twenty minutes later I had signed the documents and was leaving the way I came.
‘All done?’ George said, sliding his phone into his breast pocket as he met me in the corridor of the lawyer’s office. I followed him outside, in no doubt that the lawyer had already confirmed to him that I had signed. Regardless, I nodded, offering him a wide smile.
‘Well, in that case we have some very important people to meet.’
‘Who?’ I said, unable to wait a second longer.
‘Hmm . . .’ His eyes twinkled as he enjoyed drawing out the suspense. ‘Can you handle it, though? You might be better off sitting down.’
‘Just tell me!’ I shrieked, grabbing him by the arm.
Beaming, he put me out of my misery, drawing me close as he uttered the words. ‘It’s Daniel Watson and Sheridan Sinclair.’
I barely remember getting back into the waiting car as George’s words began to sink in. ‘You’re joking.’ I shook my head in disbelief. ‘Who are they really?’
George pursed his lips, a habit I was beginning to recognise. He was trying but failing to contain his smile. ‘I told you they were special, didn’t I?’ He looked me up and down. ‘Best you compose yourself, though. You’re catching flies.’
I snapped my mouth shut. Daniel Watson and Sheridan Sinclair? It couldn’t be. This was all one big joke. George was pulling my leg. There was no way I was making myself look any bigger a fool than I already had today. But the confidentiality agreements, the lawyers – it all seemed possible.
‘I had a feeling you’d find this hard to swallow. Here, cast your peepers over this.’ George thrust his phone under my nose. I glared at a series of photographs on the screen. It was George, his