Page 9 of Flynn

"And well off, enough to care for her medical bills." He sighed softly. "I certainly know how to pick them."

"That's why we are such good friends." Ryleigh joked. "What did you tell him?"

"To go to hell, and I never want to see him again."

"It's a curse being a trust fund baby." She grinned at the look he sent her way.

"You have no idea," he said feelingly. Michael was from a very prestigious family and had been expected to follow in the family's footsteps by joining the pharmaceutical company, but they had disappointed them by not only being gay but also becoming a public servant.

They tolerated and loved him in their own way, but he was the black sheep of the family, and he was aware of it. He had also accepted that they would never accept his lifestyle, which is part of the reason he kept his relationships private. He also clung to his friendship with Ryleigh because she was always there for him and offered no judgment.

"I know you said we are not supposed to venture into the subject of that asshole, but I think you should get back out there."

"You sound like Rosalyn." She told him dryly. "She ordered me to go to a bar and pick up a stranger and bang his life out."

Michael laughed at that, eyes twinkling. "I would not exactly offer that advice, considering the danger, but I think the perfect revenge is to get involved with someone. Show that bastard that he has not won."

She played with the condensation on her can, expression thoughtful.

"Unless you have already put something in motion?"

"Not exactly." Lifting her head, she stared at him and wondered if she should disclose her thoughts. Michael was highly discreet, and she knew that she could tell him anything without fear of hearing it back. "I was made an offer."

His eyes crinkled with interest. "Oh?"

"Not the one you are thinking of. Something else, something highly unusual."

"Now I am intrigued." Leaning forward, he stared at her. "What is it?"

"To be a surrogate." She smiled at the stunned look on his handsome face.

"Come again?"

She told him the details briefly and watched as he started in surprise at the name of the family.

"Are you going to do it?"

Ryleigh shrugged restlessly. "I think that it's something I would love to do."

"Darling, the child would not be yours, and I cannot begin to highlight the risks involved."

"I have thought about that aspect as well, and I think it's what I need to take my mind off what I have been through."

Chapter 3

He was just lifting the glass of champagne to his mouth when he realized the shift of attention from the group of men he had entered into a desultory, if somewhat tedious, conversation with.

A few of them were his friends; the others, he knew, were men determined to pick his 'brain' to find out his 'supposed secret' - the one the various financial magazines are constantly referring to when they call his unprecedented success, surpassing the 'American Dream.'

He knew some of these men resented his rise to power and wealth and hid it beneath vapid smiles and forced joviality.

He did not care who accepted him; he had attained the impossible and intended to stay right where he was.

A touch of anger and annoyance shimmered through him as some of the men standing next to him started murmuring as they took in the stunning woman who had glided into the large and overcrowded ballroom on the arm of a man who could easily pass for a model.

Giving him a cursory glance, Flynn let his gaze wander over the exquisite curves of the woman he hoped would agree to provide him with an heir.

The dress was of a metallic blue color, shimmering from the dozens of dazzling chandeliers hanging from the concave roof. Even from several feet away, he could see the flawlessness of her cocoa-brown skin. Her shoulders were bare, the dress snugly highlighting her curves.