Chapter 2: Chosen

I arrived at the headquarters of Ryan Inc. without any major traffic on the way. It was my lucky day.

Slowly, I walked into the tall and looming building. It was almost the height of a skyscraper but fell a little short. I went up to the fifth floor where the ad said to go for the interview. There was a short line in front of the receptionist’s desk.

I saw one other woman in front of me. She looked around my age and was pretty with a tall and slender build. The woman was being overly perky.

“I can’t wait to get interviewed for this position! I can’t believe that I found the ad.”

The receptionist looked bothered by this woman’s enthusiasm and motioned for her to sit down.

Shortly after, the perky woman got out of her chair and left the room. I was relieved that she wasn’t going to stay around me any longer.

I took the opportunity to walk up to the receptionist. I said, “I’m here for an interview for the position of a surrogate. Where exactly do I go?”

“You can sit over there and someone will call your name when they’re ready to interview you.”

The receptionist directed me to chairs that were a few feet from her desk.

I sat down and it didn’t take long before I was called.

“Danica Winters.”

I went back to an office with a woman that was several years older than me. She sat down and motioned to the seat across from her for me.

She began to read a series of questions off a list. “Do you have any known health conditions or take any special medication?”

I was a little surprised to be asked at first but quickly realized I was being silly. Their position needed to know my health, so they could see if I could carry the baby.

“No, I don’t have any health conditions or take any special medication,” I told her.

The woman jotted this information down and continued, “What kind of job do you possess Ms. Winters?”

“I’m a waitress at the diner about two blocks from here.”

She asked one final question, "Have you ever been pregnant before?"

I answered back, "No I haven't."

When the questions were done, the woman said, “You have to take a physical exam now before it is decided if you’re the right candidate or not.”

I was a little nervous, since I hadn’t received a physical exam in quite a while. As far I knew, I was pretty healthy. Hopefully I would pass it.

The receptionist directed me back to a room that looked like a hospital room. A doctor stood by the table and welcomed me.

“Hello Ms. Winters. I will be completing your physical exam today. Please go get changed into this gown and come back.”

I came back with the gown on and felt very awkward, as the doctor was a very handsome man. Why couldn’t I have had a different doctor? Not that I’d ever see this man again.

He performed the exam, which didn’t take as long as I thought it would be.

Afterwards, I changed back into my regular clothes. The doctor informed me that I was perfectly healthy and said I had to go back to the office I was in a moment ago.

I started walking back to the office and thought I had a chance at the position. Things seemed good so far. I had to stay positive and convince myself I could get picked.

When I got back to the office, the woman had a big smile on her face. “You’ve been selected as the surrogate. It will be a payment of one million dollars to carry this child.”

Wow. That was more than enough to help out my sister. I was a little surprised, because the ad had been vague about the pay for the position. I would be able to have a better life as well. It was too good to be real.

I told her, “Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

“You’re welcome.” She paused and added, “You are going to be a surrogate for Dax Ryan.”

That was one part of the position not advertised in the paper. I wondered why he needed a surrogate.

My mouth dropped open and I asked, “You mean Dax Ryan, CEO of Ryan Inc.?

I’d be a surrogate for a CEO of this successful company? How was this possible?

She nodded and I tried to wrap my mind around what I had gotten myself into. I was just a waitress struggling to pay rent. I was way too ordinary to be carrying his child, and this thought made me nervous. That was a lot of pressure for me.

Dax POV

I snuck a last look at the woman through the two-way mirror. It was hard not to be intrigued by the turn of today’s events.

She stood there shocked at whatever had been said to her. It was luck that she had shown up for the interview. Part of me was thinking I’d never find the right woman for the position. I couldn’t waste time in finding the surrogate and now it was all over with.

I had finally found the right woman. I knew as soon as I saw her through the two-way mirror when she had arrived. None of these candidates knew that I could see them from my office. It was sneaky, but I had to know what they looked like.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would see this woman here. These interviews had been going on for a couple of weeks without any good results.

When I first advertised this position, a lot of women came in for interviews. From one look, I knew they weren't

who I was looking for. In the back of my mind, a sixth sense almost told me “not her.” I rejected several of the hopeful contenders and made my personal assistant call them to deliver the news.

Of course, there were many healthy and qualified women, but I knew who I wanted after today. The woman I had been patiently waiting for was standing in the office.

She was very eye catching and beautiful. I hadn’t seen a woman this attractive for a while. It was hard to look away from her, as I felt almost entranced.

Her eyes were the color of emeralds, and she had full lips that were covered in red lipstick. This woman also had definite curves around her hips.

But her looks weren’t the reason I had chosen her. Surprisingly her looks didn’t mean much to me.

I actually cared about a woman’s personality over her physical appearance. . It was clear that I was different than other friends of mine.

I had my own private reasons for why I had chosen her. I would tell her the next day when we met. I just hoped it wouldn’t stop her from accepting the position. I would not lose her.

Looking for a surrogate had been a distraction to my life. I didn’t enjoy getting sidetracked from work. Work was everything to me, especially as a CEO. I couldn’t afford losing focus.

I tried not to think of how life would change after the baby was born. That wouldn't be for months, so I pushed it

it out of my mind. Maybe I’d come back to it at a later time. I had no room in my life to add another pressure to it.

But one question lingered in the back of my mind, no matter how confident I was in my choice. Would she live up to my expectations or prove to be the wrong choice?