CEO's Last Hope

Chapter four

Marcos

Two weeks later...

That situation was... curious, to say the least.

Sitting on the couch of my office, at the headquarters of MH Technology, my company, I observed the three envelopes on the table, which contained photos, information and, most importantly: the results of the exams taken by the three 'finalists' of Thiago's search.

He actually found women willing to rent their uterus. For the amount I agreed to pay, it didn't admire me so much. They've all been through interviews. He also hired a trusted psychologist to make an evaluation consultation with each of them, after all, I didn't want any psychopaths who could kidnap the baby, make me threats or anything like that. Finally, all of them underwent medical examinations to see the general health conditions and whether they were able to become pregnant. At the end of all this, there were three left. Young, physically healthy and mentally stable. And now I should choose one of them based on... I had no idea.

"There are pictures of them to help," Thiago said, sitting in the armchair on the other side of the table, pointing to the envelopes. "It will be your child's address for nine months, it is only fair that you decide for the most beautiful."

"This is not the rent of an apartment, Thiago," I reproached him, slightly annoyed. "They are three human beings we are talking about."

"It's a rent, buddy. And, if I may add, a very expensive rent. All three have similar ages and are equally healthy. The only parameter left is physical appearance. Come on, look at the pictures and go ahead."

I wasn't going to do that. No, it was too much for me.

I got up, walking slowly through the spacious room.

"Where did you find these young women? None of them know who I am, do they?"

"You're not dealing with an amateur, buddy. Of course, none of them know the identity of my client. You'll probably want to follow up on some medical tests during pregnancy, so the chosen one will have to sign a confidentiality agreement. We're going to surround ourselves as much as we can so this never gets to the media."

"All right. But where did you find them?"

"I threw some bait around. I mentioned the case with half a dozen people... Rest assured, none of them know you. One of them in person volunteered at the same time. Of the other five, three later commented with friends who ended up looking for me. The others, as I said, left ads in theme groups on Facebook. By the way, you could create a group system in Connection, right? It's a piece of cake."

I wasn't willing to discuss my app's tools with Thiago. So, I insisted on the subject, "And these three 'finalists', where did each come from? By the way, do you have anything to say about each one, so I have anything besides medical history and photographs to make the decision?"

Thiago turned the armchair around, facing me.

"Two of them came from the groups. Number one is the youngest, she's twenty-five, no kids, she works as a teacher..."

"Isn't that going to be weird?" I interrupted him. "She's going to be pregnant at work. Colleagues and students will ask later for the child."

"Do not forget that you will bear all the expenses of the chosen one during the nine months, Marco. The point is so she doesn't have to work and becomes more reclusive. It will be paramount that only people closest to these women know what is happening, as few people as possible."

"And who would be the least of this girl?"

"She lives with her parents and three siblings." Five people... it wasn't good. Too many people involved. "Continuing, number two, who also came from a group, is twenty-six years old. She's married, but she doesn't have any kids either."