Three days later...
Knock.
The company's president, Ryan McDermott, heard a knock on his office door, and in came his grandpa, who is also the CEO.
"Ryan, how far?" The 89-year-old Alpha Seamus enquired as he made his way to the sitting area and settled on a loveseat, with Ivaan, his personal assistant (PA), following behind.
"How far with what, old man?" Ryan knew what his question was pertaining to, but he feigned ignorance.
"Do you have a partner yet? Have you started on making me some puppies, or you just can't and are only hiding behind that flimsy excuse of yours still?" The old man teased.
In just one question, Ryan got the understanding that his grandpa is teasing him of being an infertile, a coward, and even impotent. Now he felt attacked on a personal level.
He got off his desk and sat on the two seater couch directly opposite Alpha Seamus and looked up straight into his grandpa's eyes. "All you need is a child from me, right? Don't worry. It's already under way, old man."
Alpha Seamus laughed. "Hahaha." And then gave him a sceptical look, "Really? Then prove it to me. Come with them during your cousin's engagement ceremony."
"Who?"
"He is called Noah, your uncle Brody's son. He is getting engaged in a few weeks, and I heard rumours that his fiancée is that ex-lover of yours. I plan to use this engagement to introduce him to you all.
He'll also be working directly under you starting tomorrow. Don't tell me later that I didn't give you a heads up. Hahaha...." Alpha Seamus continues to laugh even after leaving his office, which annoyed Ryan further.
"Keshav!" He called his head bodyguard and PA, who moved to Ryan's desk from his hidden position in the corner.
"Yes sir?"
"Have them find everything about that said cousin for me. ASAP. He starts work tomorrow, so hurry."
"Yes sir." Keshav said and got on the phone with Ryan's private investigator (PI).
Ryan then made a quick call to the reproductive endocrinologist (RE), who is in charge of the Intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatments for his surrogacy. "Dr. Guna, how far with things?"
"Oh, Alpha Ryan, yes, we're all set now. The lady is expected to come in tomorrow for the last stage of the process. We'll be done with everything soon."
Ryan ended the call with a wicked smile on his face. "I'm going to beat you at your own game, old man."
*************************
Same Evening...
Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!! Pitter-patter!!!
Arla could hear the sound of the falling rain, so she could tell that that might be why she's not able to chatter a taxi online. The internet connection is very bad too.
She decided to call the only option available for her, despite knowing how her other friend would be very unhappy with her decision.
Rrring!!!
"Arla?"
"Hey, Freya. I need your help, and it's very urgent."
"What is it? I'm not in the capital now. I'll be setting off this dawn; can it wait till then?"
"No, it can't. I'm afraid that it might be too late by then."
Now Freya began to worry about her friend. "What is wrong, Arla?"
"It's Sienna. She's only been drinking and has refused to even go to work for days now, which you know that under no circumstances would that ever happen unless she was on leave. But I'm..."
Beep! Beep!! Beep!!!
The call cuts before Arla could finish her statement. Thinking that it might be the network due to the heavy rain outside, she called again.
"Hello? Freya? Are you there? Hello?" Arla said after the call was answered again on her third try.
"Hmm. I'm listening." Freya really doesn't want to involve herself in her friend's matter after she poured water on her weeks ago.
Arla sighed in relief and continued, "She's in a very bad condition now and I'm in need of a ride to take her to the hospital. Can you please help us? It's hard to book a taxi due to the rain."
"Like I told you earlier, I'm not in the capital now. What about your man?"
"Idan is out on a business trip that Sienna would've been the one to go had she been going to work. Idan took my car from here because I'm still not allowed to drive yet. Please. Our friend is in a dire condition."
"Hmm. Let me try and see if I can get someone to come."
"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much." Arla ended the call and went back to her friend's room to help her change and get ready for the hospital.
"Sienna!" Arla screamed at her friend, who was now holding another bottle of wine just in the few minutes that she left to go and make the calls.
She quickly rushed in and snatched the wine bottle from her friend. "You've taken to drinking for days now, are you trying to kill yourself? What happens when you end up with worse health conditions?"
"Then...at least he'll cry at...at my funeral, right?" Sienna said amidst tears. Her eyes were glazed; it's like she couldn't even register what was happening or who else was in the room with her.
*************************
"And why do you think that I would do that? If it's because of you going to bring the surrogate hindered you from helping your friend, well, that is your job. Not my problem." Ryan spat the words into the phone.
"Then should I leave your surrogate here and go to my friends myself? You know the doctor wouldn't like it if she were late, right?" Freya chose to use blackmail because she was desperate.
She couldn't get anyone to go and help her friends because of their bad road and the rain. So right now, her friend Ryan is the only one with the right resources.
"You can just send your driver only, you know."
Ryan clenched his fist at his friend's manipulation. "You know you would've been dead by now for threatening me had you been someone else, right?"
"Hmm!" Freya sighed in defeat, "I'm really sorry, Ryan. Take it as a desperate person doing desperate things in their time of need.
My friend already has some serious health issues, and if what my other friend said is true, then it's only going to get worse. We had a fallout too, so not helping at this time would seem intentional to the others. Please."
"Text me the address."
*******
9:30pm.
"She's now out of the danger now, so she will be fine. It's good that you brought her in when you did. But why did you let her get access to any drink at all knowing her condition?" The doctor directed her question to Arla.
"I hid all of them but she still went and found them. I'm sorry, Dr. Guna." Arla sighed in relief despite her Sienna's endocrinologist's rebuke.
It's been over an hour since they arrived at the hospital, and Sienna was admitted to the emergency ward, luckily, her doctor happened to be on the night shift.
The doctor nodded and then turned to Ryan. "Alpha Ryan, I got a confirmation call that she'll be here in the morning. I'll wait and finish with her before I end my shift. I will let you know once we finish with her. I didn't know that you know my patient, Sienna. Please, do advise her to stay away from alcohol, completely. It's very dangerous for her and the baby's health. Have a good evening."
"She's pregnant?!" Arla was very shocked yet pleasantly surprised to hear this.
Dr. Guna nodded. "Hm, she is. But the foetus is very young. I'll have her take a CT scan in the morning. This is even better. For I was about to inform her on her next visit that she was good to get started on the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments that she had planned."
"Oh, thank you. Thank you, Dr. Guna." Arla was overjoyed.
Ryan nodded. "Thanks, Guna."
The doctor turned and left afterwards.
***
"I'm done here. I have to g..." He turned to Arla to say something, but then his phone vibrated, and he paused to check what it was.
Ding! Ding!! Ding!!!
In came an influx of messages and images from his PI. They were what he has been able to gather on his cousin, Noah.
Ryan changed his initial plans of going home after what he had just read. He smiled as he thought to himself, 'Just what are the odds.'