A Wrong Surrogate for the CEO-Chapter 49: Working overtime

Lara’s phone was ringing.

Startled, she raised her head from the document she was going through and picked up the ringing phone.

The caller was Curtis.

Lara sighed and rubbed her eyes as she clicked on the green icon.

"Hey. What’s up?" she said as a form of casual greeting.

"Come outside right now," was Curtis’s curt response. Lara’s brows furrowed into a slight frown.

"Why?" she asked.

Curtis was silent for a moment before he responded.

"What do you mean, why?" he countered.

Exhausted from working all day without a break, Lara yawned. "I mean, you just called me to come outside and meet you, probably. But you can’t just do that. I am working currently," she insisted.

"I see. When I gave you that job, Lara, was it in our agreement that you will be working overtime?" he asked.

Lara’s confusion deepened. "What? No! What are you..." she started to say but he interrupted her.

"Look at the time."

Lara’s eyes traced the wall until she settled on the wall clock, and her jaw fell open.

It was way past the closing hour. She had gotten so lost in what she was doing that she had lost all track of time.

No wonder she was this exhausted.

"Oh my God. I can’t believe I stayed this late. I am so sorry, Curtis. It wasn’t intentional," she apologised as she stood up.

Curtis’s resigned sigh was evident through the phone. "Just pack up and meet me in the parking lot. And don’t keep me waiting."

He was about to hang up when Lara stopped him.

"Please don’t rush me. Rushing is an unhealthy habit for pregnant women," she said, keeping her voice light and teasing.

"Very well then. Do you want me to come over and carry you down to the car?" he asked. And Curtis was so serious when he asked the question that Lara could not help bursting into laughter.

"Absolutely not. I was just messing with you, you grumpy old man. I’ll be down in a few," she said and hung up.

Lara smiled as she packed her stuff. It was nice, talking and getting along with Curtis. She could actually see them becoming friends as time goes on, and a large part of her was excited for that to happen.

As she made her way out of her office and down to the garage, Lara noted that the company was almost empty. The only people remaining were stragglers and Lara nodded a greeting to everyone she ran across.

Curtis was tapping his fingers against the steering wheel when Lara walked out. She saw him first, and a small smile split her face into two.

"Hello, grumpy," she called out to him, effectively drawing his attention. He got out of the car and walked towards her.

"Hello to you too, Lara," he greeted back in a slightly brusque manner and reached out to collect her handbag. Lara raised her eyebrows at the gesture, but Curtis ignored her.

"Hold on. Let me get the door for you," he said and rushed forward to open the door of the passenger’s seat.

Lara’s eyebrows shot upwards.

When she was seated and he settled in beside her, she turned to face him.

Curtis held her gaze.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked blandly.

"You opened the door for me," Lara said instead. It was not a question, it was a statement.

Curtis continued to look at her.

"Yeah. So?"

Lara narrowed her eyes at him. He was acting weird.

"You carried my bag for me earlier," she said again. Curtis saw where the line of questioning was going and he rolled his eyes.

"Stop staring at me with those eyes, Lara. I am not a monster. And besides, you are the mother of my children. Doing those things for you should be natural," he stated firmly.

Lara shook her head at him.

"Natural for other men. Not for you. You are Curtis Rodney."

At those words, Curtis felt a pang of disappointment. Lara had said those words like he was...a myth maybe. Or an alien. Or a man with no human emotions.

But he was more than that.

"That’s ridiculous, Lara. I am human too. I have feelings," he said, and his voice came out sharper than he intended.

Lara was startled by the expression on his face.

"I am...sorry. I did not mean to offend you," she said softly. Curtis ran a hand through his hair.

"That’s fine. I’m sorry for snapping at you," he apologised too.

Lara nodded and Curtis started to drive. Silence stretched between them. It was slightly weird, but neither of them said anything.

After a while though, Lara noticed that Curtis was not driving them home. He was going through an entirely different route.

"Where are we going?" she asked. He glanced at her before responding.

"It’s a secret. Or call it a surprise. Whatever."

Lara’s jaw was hanging open.

"You organised a surprise for me?" she squealed, suddenly excited. Curtis felt a shiver of pleasure at how happy she looked.

He kept his expression blank as he spoke though.

"It’s not a big deal. Stop squealing like that," he reprimanded her slightly. But Lara didn’t listen to him.

She was on a roll, and her antics made Curtis smile. He was happy.

And he thought that she looked so beautiful with the laughter slipping out of her lips.

Curtis caught himself staring and quickly averted his gaze.

With every day that passed, his heart kept falling deeper and deeper for the woman carrying his babies.

If someone had predicted that he would fall in love with her when they met months ago, Curtis would have called whoever it was a liar.

But here he was, falling deeper and deeper every damn day.

In a few minutes, they got to where they were going. It was a private garden.

The air was filled with twinkling lights, and the atmosphere was romantic.

Lara gasped at how utterly beautiful everything was.

"Curtis. This is... breathtaking," she whispered and there was a revered awe in her voice.

He smiled widely, unable to stop himself. She looked so fucking pretty, and he badly wanted to kiss her.

But he restrained himself. Curtis cleared his throat and gestured for her to walk with him.

"Come on, there’s more," he said. As they made their way deeper into the garden though, Curtis’s phone started to ring.

It was his mother. He ignored the call, determined not to let her, or anyone else ruin his night with Lara.

What Curtis didn’t know was that he should have picked the call.

But he didn’t.