Serena rubbed her glossy lips together and waited.
“Nothing. And I know stressing about it is what’s causing the problem. But I can’t seem to stop stressing. I think being so high-strung and stressed is what’s stopping us from conceiving. Which stresses me out even more. So that’s why it’s my fault.”
“And your husband wants me to tell you the stress isn’t the problem?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t do that. While it’s entirely possible there’s a physical problem–”
“There’s not. We’ve both been checked.”
“And I’m pretty sure you’re provided plenty of pregnancy-ops up there at Fantasy Mountain.” Serena fanned herself again. “My God, my poor husband would be in heaven if we lived there, because I’d be horny all the time. But back to the topic. Stress has been known to be a factor in fertility, or the lack thereof.” Great. Not what she’d wanted to hear, although not exactly breaking news, either. “Not that you can blame yourself for being stressed. Has your gynecologist suggested taking a break?”
Victoria nodded. “He did suggest taking a vacation. It’s just not possible right now. Our cruise liner, Fantasies, Inc. Aphrodite, has its maiden voyage the fifth of next month. So we’ve been off-the-charts busy getting everything organized and launched. I’ve been interviewing about twenty people a day, besides setting up the usual fantasies at the mountain, flying back and forth to the ship at port in San Diego to check on progress...”
Serena leaned forward and took Victoria’s hands in her own. “Whoa. You’ve got a lot on your plate.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Look, I’m not a fertility specialist. But I do know when my cousin was trying to conceive, her doctor had her go back on The Pill for six months. And then when she went off, bammo! She was knocked up the first month.”
“Oh. Wow.”
Serena nodded. “Something about the hormones putting the cycles all back in sync. Like I said, I’m not an expert. But maybe you should ask your doctor about it.”
Back on The Pill. No pressure to get pregnant… “Thanks. I’ll definitely call right away. Britt was so right about seeing you.”
“If I might make one other suggestion?”
“Mmm?” Her mind was already on that phone call and which pharmacy to get her pills from.
“While you’re on this break, give yourself a hall pass. Do some wild, sexy stuff. Nothing can kill the fun of sex like making it a means to a baby. Besides, one day you’ll be prego, and then a mom. And let me tell ya, that living-in-the-moment business doesn’t happen much for us mommies.”
Wild, sexy stuff. Like what? Britt’s idea of sharing her with another man on the cruise? Now she was probably the one blushing. “Um. Yeah. Even though I arrange all those fantasies, I’m pretty straightlaced.”
“Something tells me there’s a vixen inside you, just waiting to get out. Give her a spin. Trust me, your man will love it.”
* * * *
Gil set the helicopter down and killed the engines. When he turned to look at the back seat, Victoria was already gathering her bags. He’d better hurry and get the door or she’d open it herself. The sun reflected in a blinding shimmer off the snow, and even with his dark glasses, he shielded his eyes as he ran around the side of the chopper to let her out. He swung the door open and gave her a hand out, pulling her just close enough to feel her against him, warm and soft–a little more soft than he’d like, in fact. He pushed his shades up so they could make eye contact.
She gave him a cool smile and cleared her throat. “Thanks, Gil. I think Senator Reynolds and his wife are leaving later this afternoon.” No mistaking her signal when she pulled her hand away from his.
She’d become a pro at hiding her attraction to him, obviously. Ever since she’d hooked up and married that cocksucker lawyer of hers. In fact, the prick was on his way across the helipad toward them now.
“No prob. I’ll get FM 2 fired up. This one’s due for a big inspection. Have a good one.” He watched her ass as she hugged her husband and then walked off. He was a patient man, but he’d waited long enough for her. Time to put the plan into action and remove Brett Grant from the picture for good.
Inside his office, he sent a text message.
Did you have your interview?
A few seconds passed, and then:
Yes. Video call with Victoria earlier.
How did it go?
I’m approved as a crew member on the maiden voyage!
He breathed a sigh of relief. At least something was going right.
Good. You know the deal. If you come through for me, $5k after the cruise. I’ll set up a drop-off for the device so you can share all the deets of the trip with the world.