Walter: Quadruplets (Members From Money Book 27) Read online

  *******

  “Here,” he handed her the plate of bagel bites. “We didn't get to finish our meal.” After the frantic bout of lovemaking they'd hit the shower and started all over again.

  Carole accepted the plate and watched as he went to sit on one of the sofas in the large bedroom.

  “And our discussion.” She nibbled at the bagel.

  He looked up at her as he took out a folder from his briefcase. “I thought we had.”

  “Walter, please don’t do that. I'm not some brainless wife who just sits and nods at whatever is thrown at her. I want to do this and I'm asking you to think about it.”

  He looked at her for a moment, his expression hooded. “I will.” He inclined his head as he got to his feet. “I have some things to read. Go to bed.”

  She watched him leave the room and head towards his home office. She'd come to know him well enough to know that when he had work to do he wouldn't come to bed until the early hours of the morning sometimes. She also knew that she was pressuring him but she didn't care. She loved him, but she needed this and she had every intention of getting it. She put away the plate and climbed off the bed. With a slight moment of hesitation she reached for her robe and putting on her bed slippers she made her way to his office. It was a replica of the one he had at Bingham Inc. only smaller. It had the large desk with the desktop computer, a phone next to it and several products that they sold online. It also had a small fridge and a coffee dispenser. He had a drink in his hand and was staring at something on the computer. He looked up and saw her and for a moment a frown etched his brow. “You want something?”

  “I do.” She went into the office and sat on the edge of the desk, one leg swinging. “I want my husband to have a conversation with me.”

  “I thought we already did that.” He tossed back the liquor and placed the glass on the smooth polished surface of the desk. The housekeeper certainly did a good job.

  “Not quite.” She folded her hands in her lap. “You never asked me why I want children, and four of them.”

  “I'm assuming that it’s because of your past. You want to prove to yourself that you can be a better parent than your parents combined,” he said a little carelessly.

  “Do you want children?”

  “You know I do.”

  She took one of his hands and placed it on her flat stomach. “I want to get big with your children,” she said softly. “I want to see our children and know that they are products of this awesome and incredible love we have for each other. I want a family with you.” She had no idea that the tears were coming until he moved and came to stand before her. “I want to go into their nursery and look at them and know that I am their mama and you are their daddy. I want it so much.”

  With a groan he took her into his arms and carried her back to bed.

  Chapter 2

  “I had to put a gun to my husband’s head to have him agree to this meeting,” Carole said with a smile as the doctor ushered them into his office. “Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice.”

  “No problem Mrs. Bingham,” he smiled at her, his dark, creased face gentle.

  “Please, call me Carole. I'm afraid I'm still getting used to my new last name. And you know my husband Walter.”

  “My wife and I use your online company to buy everything from household items to personal,” the doctor said with a grin. “We are great fans.”

  “Thank you,” Walter said briefly as he shook the man’s hand. “How does this work?”

  “We run a series of tests on your wife and see how viable it is then we'll check ovulation times.”

  “How risky is it?” Walter asked a little tersely.

  Carole looked at him for a moment and then at the doctor.

  “Not very, but you stand a chance of the eggs not catching or losing the babies during the term. Carole will be closely monitored through the entire procedure.”

  “Is there any risk to her?”

  “As I said, we will be monitoring her very closely.”

  “And the success rate?”

  The doctor looked at Carole and then at Walter. “Ten percent so far.”

  “And the rest of the family is left to pick up the pieces,” Walter concluded grimly.

  “Doctor Miller could you give us a minute?” Carole asked with a forced smile.

  “Of course, my dear.”

  Carole waited until the man had left his office and closed the doors behind him. “What are you doing?” she asked Walter quietly.

  “I'm trying to get you to see reason and I'm trying to save you from the distress and agony of this thing not working out,” he told her grimly.

  “I know the risks Walter, and I'm prepared to take them. We spoke last night and I explained to you why I wanted to do this. I poured my heart out to you.”

  “And I heard you. I came here with an open mind but don’t you get it?” He got to his feet abruptly. “It's too risky! It's taking a lot of chances without knowing what’s going to happen.”

  “You run a billion dollar business, which means that you take risks every single day!” She got up from her seat and faced him. “Every single day is a risk!”

  He reached up and grabbed her arms, hauling her up to him, his grey eyes flashing. “What if I lose you?”

  “What?” She looked up at him in a daze.

  “This is too risky. I'm going to spend the rest of the time wondering if I am going to lose you. Don’t you get it?”

  Carole stared at him in understanding. “You are not going to lose me,” she said softly.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I've done a lot of research and I know that there are risks but as long as I'm careful and do as the doctor tells me then I'll be okay.” She used her hands to frame his face. “I want to do this, and I want you to support me.”

  He bent his forehead to hers and took a deep breath. “I would not survive losing you.”

  “You won’t.” She put her hands around his neck. “I promise.”

  *****

  Barbara Bingham brushed her long dark hair slowly as she stared into the mirror. She purred in satisfaction as she thought about Calvin. He'd just left. She suspected that the staff knew that he was more than just the pool boy. She chuckled as she realized that she'd just become a cliché. She was having mad passionate sex with the pool boy, who was young enough to be her son. As a matter of fact, he was two years younger than Walter. But she was lonely and he needed help financially. They needed each other and it helped that he told her over and over how much he loved her. She was realistic enough to realize that he was just saying that because of the things she gave him, but it still felt good feel appreciated. She twisted her hair into a bun before examining her face in the mirror. She'd always been beautiful, that had been the main reason Walter Senior had chosen her over her less attractive sister. She'd graced his arm at functions and he'd been so proud of himself. They had been the perfect couple outside but at home he'd always ignored her until the one time a week when he felt it was his duty to take her to bed and rut on top of her. He'd been without finesse and she'd always lain there and endure it for the few minutes it took him to finish. He'd cheated on her from the time he'd married her but she had never allowed it to bother her because the benefits of being his wife had far outweighed the disappointments. Her one true love had been her son, and had continued to be her son until he'd met Carole. Barbara’s expression darkened as she thought about her daughter-in-law. Barbara had' never approved of her and she'd made it plain that Carole would never be good enough for her son. The woman had been a realtor for crying out loud. Barbara got to her feet and walked swiftly to the balcony to look out over the vast grounds of the manor. It was too big for one person, especially since Walter had moved out, but the place belonged to him. As a matter of fact everything was in his name. Her husband had left her two measly million dollars to live off of but had left the entire estate and money to their son. Not that she minded. She was happy that he'd left everything to Walter, but it showed the contempt he'd always had for her. Walter had been furious and had tried to change things but the will was iron clad. He had done the next best thing and given her a weekly allowance, telling her not to touch the money that had been left for her because he would take care of her. The dear boy, she thought with a smile. But that wife of his... She had him twisted around her little finger and had probably dazzled him with sex, she thought in disapproval. She wrapped the silk robe around her as the breeze stirred against her skin. She hoped that he would come to his senses before it was too late.

  *****

  Doctor Miller had explained the seven steps to them from the beginning and of course Carole had been doing a lot of reading up on it as well. She had finally gotten Walter on board to help to give her the injections. She had also been secretly praying that everything will happen naturally. Walter had spoken to her again trying to change her mind but she was adamant and he had let it go for the time being. Now it was time to retrieve the eggs.

  “How long will it take?” Walter asked the nurses tersely. He'd taken the time off to accompany her for the procedure.

  “No more than thirty minutes sir,” the head nurse said with a charming smile. There had been more than casual looks as he walked into the large hospital and headed to the private room where the procedure was going to be held. “Your wife will be administered an anesthetic and then the fertility specialist will do the procedure.”

  “I'll be okay baby,” Carole assured him as she was instructed to take off her clothes.

  He came over and lifted her chin up. “Are you sure about this?” he asked her quietly.

  “I am.” She clasped his wrist. “Please understand.”

  “I'm trying to.” He kis
sed her briefly before stepping back. “I'll be waiting in the room,” he said as he looked at the nurses before leaving the room.

  “You have nothing to worry about Mrs. Bingham,” the nurse told her with a reassuring smile.

  “I know,” she took a deep breath and then continued, “Let’s do this.”

  *****

  “How soon will we know?” Carole asked anxiously as they sat there with the doctor and the fertility specialist. She'd woken up a few minutes earlier and was dressed and ready to leave.

  “Within five to six days,” the man said briefly. “Unfortunately not all the eggs will fertilize and reach embryo stage.”

  “We just want four,” Carole said with a shaky laugh.

  “We extracted more than enough eggs to even the odds,” the man said with a faint smile.

  “We want you to go on about your life as usual and not worry about a thing,” Doctor Miller told her with a smile.

  “That’s going to be very hard.” She tightened her hand around her husband’s as they got up to leave.

  “You'll let us know as soon as possible?” Walter asked.

  “Most definitely.”

  ******

  “I'm going back to the office,” Walter told her briefly as soon as he let her off at the apartment.

  “I thought we would spend the rest of the day together. It’s so nice out today and you know that the weather's changing soon,” she protested.

  “I have things to do, Carole,” his voice was a bit terse as he turned to leave. The housekeeper was still there, they could hear her somewhere in the laundry room downstairs.

  She caught his arm. “Are you going to be mad at me for the entire time we have to do this?”

  He turned and looked at her and then sighed. “No,” he tilted her chin and kissed her. “I want you to go and get some rest. You've been through a procedure. Get some sleep, I'll be home early.”

  “I love you,” she told him softly.

  “I love you too.” He ran a finger down her cheek and then turned to head out the door. “Eat something.”

  Carole wandered around the spotless apartment a little aimlessly at first. She felt wired and tense and didn't want to sleep. Now that the procedure had actually started she was nervous about it. She was wondering if she actually wanted it too much. She was even planning about the different sets of babies she could have; would it be two sets of twins? Two boys and two girls. Or maybe three boys and a girl.

  She looked up as Sara came up from downstairs and walked towards her. “Would you like some lunch?”

  “Thanks Sara. I'll be out on the balcony.”

  “Miss Barbara called for you. She said she was trying you on your cell phone.”

  “I'll call her back,” Carole said with a forced smile. She hadn't shared what she was doing with her mother-in-law what and she'd asked her husband not to either. “I don’t want to jinx it,” she'd told him. She went out to the balcony and leaned against the rails. The smell of roses filled the air as the cool September breeze wafted towards her. It was so peaceful up there that she was almost tempted to believe that nothing bad really happened, but she knew better. She'd grown up in a home where misery was the order of the day, especially after her father had left. She blinked back tears as she remembered her mother telling her that men were no good so it would be best for her if she stayed by herself. “Why did Daddy leave, Mommy?” she'd asked her mother one night as she crept into the bed next to her.

  “Because he is a no good son of a bitch!” her mother had screamed. Her eyes had been red as if she'd been crying and her hair had been straggly because she hadn't combed it in days.

  “Does that mean that he's not a Christian anymore?” she'd asked her mother innocently.

  “He never was, baby girl,” she'd said coldly. “I'm the faithful one and I am the one being punished.”

  “Miss Carole?”

  She wiped her hand across her cheeks before turning around. “Just put it on the table, thanks. I'll serve myself.”

  “Miss Barbara is on the phone.” Sara handed the cordless phone to her.

  “Thank you.”

  She waited until Sara had left, closing the doors behind, her before she put the receiver to her ear. “Hello Barbara.”

  “I was beginning to think that you're avoiding my calls.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “I haven't heard from either you or my son in three days. What's going on?”

  “Nothing is going on.” Carole took a seat and lifted the silver cover to sniff appreciatively. “I'm just about to have lunch.”

  “Is my boy okay?”

  Carole stiffened at the unspoken implications that she had something to do with his not being okay. “I'm sure he is.”

  “How are you dear?”

  “I'm very good thank you.”

  “I'm having a luncheon on Saturday and would like you to be here.”

  “I am not sure—”

  “I will speak to Walter and let him know about it.”

  “Of course,” she said stiffly.

  “Good. Now take care. I'm going to try and call up that son of mine.”

  “Take care.”

  “You too, dear,” Barbara said before hanging up the phone.

  Carole took a deep breath before digging into the meal. She was not about to let Barbara Bingham spoil her day.

  *****

  “Are you sure you don’t want to tell her?” Walter took her hand in his as they made their way towards the side of the house where the luncheon was being held. Cars were lined around the circular driveway and several valets were busy parking the vehicles. Barbara Bingham did nothing small and today was no exception.

  “No!” She forced herself to appear neutral as she said it. She was wondering if she'd made a mistake in wearing the shoes she had on as she picked her way carefully along the cobbled stones of the driveway. “Please just let it be between us.”

  “Okay.” He put her hand through his arm. “Are you worried?”

  “About what?”

  “You know about what, baby.”

  She shrugged. “I've prayed for the best.”

  “I don’t want you stressing over it.”

  “I'm not.”

  “Good.”

  “Darling!” Barbara came forward with outstretched arms, the sleeves of her champagne-colored silk blouse streaming behind her as she greeted her son. Walter let go of his wife’s hand and gave his mother a hug. She stepped back to look at him. “You look a little thin. Is something wrong?”

  Carole almost ground her teeth at that.

  “I always look a little thin to you,” he told her in amusement. He looked around. “I thought you said that this thing was going to be small.”

  “You know me darling, I love the crowd. And when I started to announce it, more people responded than I anticipated but the more the merrier.” She turned to Carole. “My dear what a lovely outfit!” Carole could feel Barbara's eyes raking over her, from her turquoise printed pants suit to her spiked hair and coral lipstick.

  “Thank you.”

  “I would have thought that this color would be too strong for you, but I was wrong.”

  Carole ignored the snide remark and waved to several of the wives present. “I think I'll go and sit with Carrie and Olivia.” She turned to her husband and reaching up while totally ignoring her mother-in-law she kissed him on the lips. “I'll leave you to catch up with your mother, baby.” Without another word she carefully made her way towards the girls.

  “I was just about to come and rescue you,” Olivia told her with a wicked grin.

  “Thank you,” Carole pulled out a chair and took a seat. “How are you?”

  “We're good.” Carrie looked at her closely. “Don’t let her rile you.”

  “I keep telling myself that,” Carole said with a laugh as she looked over to where her husband was talking to his mother and several others. “It's great in theory but when I come face to face with her it’s an entirely different story.”

  “Bear up honey. When the children come she'll come around.”

  Carole looked at her sharply. “What?”

  “I'm assuming you're planning on reproducing?” Carrie said with raised brows.

  “Of course.”

  ******

  “Honey you haven't called in weeks!” Cynthia Brown’s voice came over the phone clearly and petulantly. Her mother didn't know what it was to be happy and she made sure everyone knew it, including her daughter.