Hey guys! So I know you wanted another chapter, and here you go! But I want to let you know that below is a new story I am thinking of posting. I will give you a taste, and you let me know what you think.
Love you, and stay blessed.
Sam made his way to the office, his mind still racing. Triplets. He wasn't ready for any of this, but it was right at his doorstep. Mercedes was amazing, though he wasn't sure how to handle it. He knew from the beginning that she was something special, knew that she would turn his world upside down, and yet that's precisely what he wanted.
The problem was that he put his feet in his mouth every time he opened his mouth to speak. Not one but both of them. She was so beautiful and intelligent, and boy, could she kiss. He could spend his whole life kissing her.
He tugged at his tie as he walked into the conference room. Blaine, Sebastian, Jake, and Mike are already sitting at the table, and Pizza and beer are waiting for him. Throwing off his jacket, he plopped down.
"Okay, man, you called this meeting of the bros; what's going on?" Blaine asked.
Sam placed his palms on the table. "Well, Mercedes had her first appointment today."
"Did you actually show up?" Mike asked. "Because we told you what a mistake that was."
Sam looked at him and rolled his eyes. "And I told you I wanted to be as involved as she would let me."
"I bet she kicked your ass out." Jake said with a laugh.
"Is this my story or yours?" Sam said, glaring at him.
Jake threw his hands up, and Sam reached to grab a slice of Pizza.
"So, as I said, I show up to the doctor, and she lets me come in."
"So you saw the baby?" Sebastian asked.
"Not exactly."
Blaine looked at him. "And what does that mean?"
"It means I almost shit my pants when the doctor told me I did not have a child, but Mercedes is pregnant with Triplets.
The room was filled with swearing and shock as they replied to the bomb he had just dropped.
"Ima need you to clarify that one more time." Sebastian said. "She's having what now?"
"Triplets. She explained it as two of them will be identical twins and the other will be fraternal."
"I mean…what the actual fuck dude…" Jake said as four eyes turned on him. "Oh my bad, I forgot who I was sitting with," Ahem. "Oh no, what the hell are you gonna do?" Jake asked in a stupid voice. "We all just heard the man, he didn't even have sex with this woman, and now he's on the hook for three child support payments?"
"And people call me brass." Sebastian laughed. "But he has a point. And we all saw her."
"Damn right, we did. Still have no idea how someone that fine went for Sam when I was sitting right there." Jake said bitterly.
Sam smirked. "If you would believe it, I hit her with this." Sam looked at Jake, stuck his tongue out, and crossed his eyes."
How the hell did she fall for this man." Jake challenged,
"Hate to break it to you, Jake, but she hit him with the face right back." Mike, who was uncharacteristically quiet. "It looked like love at first sight."
Sam glared at him. "Love at first sight? Wanna talk about what happened when we came in here?"
"No!" Mike yelled a little too loudly.
"Oh, now I need to know." Blaine said, smirking.
"Okay, first of all, Sam is just trying to change the subject because he's still with Kitty, but he has feelings for Mercedes. Second ever since you started dating Kurt, you've become a gossip. There I said it."
Blaine rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know; Kurt turned me into a gossip, and Hunter has turned Sebastian into his own personal private."
"Yeah, he touches his personal privates." Jake laughed.
"Yo!" Sebastian said.
"What we all thought it, I just had the balls to admit it out loud."
"I love how you all just stopped worrying about Mike and how he totally screwed up trying to hit on Quinn."
Mike spit out his drink, looking at Sam. "Yeah, well, you made out with Mercedes while you were supposed to take her home."
Sam's eyes widened. "He told Quinn she looked Weather and the nice should hot with him tonight!"
Mike tossed a sausage at Sam. "I was, trying to say, The weather was nice, she looked hot, and we should go out. But I screwed up, okay? But she will go out with me again. But Mercedes wants nothing to do with you. And why the hell are you chasing after her? She is pregnant, and you have a girl! Who you still haven't told you are having a baby."
Sam folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, we airing dirty laundry?"
"Nope. Wait, is that my phone." Mike said, getting up and walking out of the room, church usher style.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," Sam called out to him. He looked around. "You guys can't say what you want, but what the hell am I gonna do?"
"We don't get kids, Sam; how the hell are we supposed to know?" Jake laughed.
"Sam, does it scare you knowing she's having more than one?" Blaine asked.
Sam sighed. "The only thing that scares me is realizing that I might miss out on my kids' lives. I can't do that."
"Then you need to figure out your situation with Kitty and talk to Mercedes." Sebastian shrugged.
"Oh, not just them." Blaine added.
Sam frowned. "Who the hell else do I need to worry about?"
"Mary Belle Evans," Blaine said.
Sam sat back in his seat as Sebastian handed him a beer. "Shit, I forgot about her. She's been calling all day."
"You better call your momma back 'cause if she calls me, I am spilling all the tea." Blaind laughed.
Sam tossed the top of his beer at him. "They are right; Kurt has turned you into nothing but a big gossip!"
Mercedes sat at the table, sipping her ginger ale, and waited as everyone placed their orders. Pulse was a club hybrid, the top floor hosted a four-star restaurant, and the ground floor hosted the nightclub. They had arrived an hour ago, and Mercedes was already tired.
It wasn't that she wasn't happy to finally be at that place; she was. But she didn't feel well; she was tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep. And that ginger ale was doing very little to keep her nausea at bay.
"So I looked at her and said I know that you've been lying, and I have video proof." Tina laughed.
"Girl, that woman is crazy! She could have cut you!" Quinn warned.
Tina shrugged. "I didn't become lead anchorwoman of my station because I played it easy. Speaking of which, I got the green light for your story Merce."
Quinn shook her head. "Not Merce's story, but Santana's."
"Okay, well, I got the green light, and you will never believe what I dug up. Five women accused them of not using the correct sperm. And I have a meeting with a man who said he was reached out to this year because a woman ran tests on her child for medical reasons, and he was flagged as a relative. Come to find out, he ended up being her child's father. They ran out of the donor she wanted and used the next best thing."
That caught Mercedes's attention. "Did the Clinic not tell her that?"
"Nope. I did some digging; the man is similar to the donor she wanted."
Santana laughed. "Meaning they were the same race."
Tina nodded.
"So that means that they only told Mercedes because there was no way she wouldn't notice her child being mixed race."
Tina nodded. "That's what I am thinking. This story is going to put me on Barbara Walters's level, and I might actually win that Emmy for this segment."
Mercedes sat back, feeling sick, putting her hand on her stomach. "Guys, I am going to run to the bathroom; I'll be back."
"You want us to come with you?" Quinn asked.
Mercedes laughed. "Guys, I am not nine months pregnant on bed rest, and just going to the bathroom."
"But you are having triplets; I did some research that's a lot different." Santana said.
Mercedes sighed. "Okay, fine. I get it, but I am just going to the bathroom."
Standing, Mercedes grabbed her bag and walked to the bathroom as fast as she could. Once she entered, she ran to the toilet, throwing up her breakfast, lunch, and the way she felt, probably some of last week's meals.
She groaned, sitting on the floor.
"Excuse me, are you okay? Did you drink too much? Don't be embarrassed; my girls overindulge a lot. I have to." She laughed.
Mercedes flushed the toilet and used what strength she had left to open the door to show the woman she wasn't drunk. "Not drunk, just…they never tell you that morning sickness lasts all day."
The blonde frowned, grabbing a paper towel and wetting it. She walked closer and handed her a bottle of water. "Here its not open."
Mercedes smiled. "Thank you."
The woman moved Mercedes's hair to the side as she rinsed out her mouth. "How far along are you?"
"Nine weeks and some days."
"Oh wow, that's early. Was it planned?"
Mercedes laughed, shaking her head. "Most of it was planned."
"What do you mean?"
Mercedes shook her head, she couldn't tell her about what happened, but she could still be honest. "I just found out I was having triplets."
The blonde's eyes widened. "You…oh, you poor woman. God bless you for that cause it couldn't be me."
Mercedes snorted. "You sound like my friends." She finally stood shaking her head. "Thank goodness they keep their floors clean. And thank you, I am Mercedes, by the way."
"Kitty." She said, extending her hand.
"So what brings you out tonight, Kitty?"
"Pulse doesn't really need a reason." She laughed. "But I am celebrating. My girls and I just finished a shoot in Paris and finally got back home."
Mercedes nodded. "I knew you had to be a model."
"Why?" Kitty asked.
"Because you scream, model. You are beautiful and funny. I bet you have your degree in something like Business or Teaching, right?"
Kitty tilted her head. "I am a semester away from getting my business degree…how did you know that?"
"I work as a guest services manager at the Four Seasons. There are two types of models. The stuck-up ones who only think of themselves and the ones using their beautiful looks to finish school. Stuck-up models leave if they hear someone throwing up."
Kitty smiled. "I just want to be done with school and start actually working and living my life."
Mercedes smiled. "What were you thinking of doing with your degree? Because I have my BA in Hospitality and Business, and that's how I started working at the hotel. Though I am going to open my own B&B."
"You really have your life together? Your husband must be proud."
Mercedes shook her head. "Not married; I didn't want to wait to start my life."
"I understand. My boyfriend and I are not on the same page when it comes to that. I mean, I am nowhere near ready to get married, but I want to move forward, you know? Move in, and work towards getting engaged. He's such a workaholic. But he's gorgeous and makes me laugh."
Mercedes sighed. "If you want to move forward, the only thing you can do is talk to him. See where he stands on the issue."
"Mercedes, please don't tell me you fell into the toilet," Santana said, walking in.
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "I am fine, San." She looked to Kitty. "Santana plays like she's tough, but she's been overprotective of me since the moment she learned I was pregnant…San, this is Kitty, my new friend, and she helped me when I was feeling a bit sick."
Kitty smiled. "Well, I should get back; they might be coming to find me next."
Mercedes nodded. "Actually, here." She reached into her purse and handed her a card. "Call me when you are ready to start working, or just text me if you wanna chat."
Kitty took it and nodded happily. "Deal."
As Kitty walked out the door, Santana shook her head. "Look at you picking up strays."
"Shut up, and come on, I am starving."
Mercedes opened the door and crashed into a hard body. Two strong arms held her upright as she tried to steady herself.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." Mercedes said softly.
"That's alright, beautiful; you can bump into me any time, Mercedes."
Mercedes looked up at the man and raised an eyebrow. He looked so familiar, but she wasn't sure where she could place him. "I'm sorry, do I…do I know you?"
The man laughed a deep baritone laugh and nodded. "You could say that."
Mercedes shook her head. "Na…don't get me wrong, it's clear you know me, but I think I would know if a man as fine as Michael B. Jordan was ever in my life."
The man laughed, "Well, you may not remember this, but I met you when you ran your little purple corvet over my toe."
Mercedes raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused, before she realized who he was. "Zach, wow, I haven't seen you in like five years? I thought you had moved to London? That's what PJ said." She smiled.
"I did, but I moved back here a few months ago. You look…all grown up, Mercy." He smirked.
Mercedes nodded. "That tends to happen to people when you don't see them for a while."
Zack laughed. "Well, I have to get back to my table, but…" He pulled out his card. "In case you wanna catch up."
Mercedes took the card and smiled. "I will think about it."
Zach smirked and moved closer to her. "Use it; I promise you won't regret it."
As he walked away, Santana smirked. Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Don't."
"Don't what? You, the one who collected strays like m&m's."
As they got back to the table, Quinn looked up. "You good, Merce?"
"Oh, she's really good. Our girl got two numbers." Santana smirked.
"Okay, for one, I gave Kitty my number, she's looking to finish her business degree, and she saw me puke and helped; that's a good person."
"And the man?" Santana added?
She looked at Quinn and Tina. "I ran into Zack."
Tina raised an eyebrow. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"PJ's best friend growing up. The one who T and I ran over."
Santana laughed. "Wait, okay, and he brought that up; obviously, I wasn't around yet; please tell me what he meant by that."
Mercedes sighed. "We were eight, and Dad had fixed up a go-cart to look like a corvet, and T and I were racing Micah and his friend Asher."
Tina smiled. "Merce was killing it, and out of nowhere, PJ and Zach walked into our path. We honked and screamed, but it was too late. There was juice and ice cream everywhere."
Quinn smiled. "From what I remember of that day, he was charming about it. He and PJ even played along when your dad went all good cop/bad cop on you."
Santana laughed. "Oh, tell me you were her lawyer!"
"I was; even then, I was amazing!" Quinn beamed.
"SO the question is, are you gonna call him?" Tina asked.
"I dunno, I have this pregnancy and Cody…."
"And Sam." Quinn teased with a dreamy lovesick voice.
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Sam had no say in what I do. That being said, I just need to make sure that I am not putting anyone in a bad place. Besides, on top of the babies and Cody, Zack is PJ's friend, and we all know what happens when our friends date our siblings."
Quinn threw her hands in the air. "Look, in my defense PJ and I didn't date. We just hooked up."
"You Jones' kids are gorgeous. You can't be mad if someone is attracted to that." Tina defended.
"Tina is only saying that 'cause we don't know. I know about her and Micha."
Tina's eyes widened. "You knew?"
"He was practically my twin; I knew everything that happened with that boy."
Tina shrugged. "Whatever; it's not like we didn't know about you and Zack."
"Uh uh, don't start that; there was nothing going on between us! I ran him over, and that's it."
Tina challenged her, staring her down, and Mercedes held her ground, causing Tina to back down. "Damn, how can that work on everyone but you?"
Mercedes smiled sweetly. "Because I am not one who can be intimidated by you, ma'am."
Quinn lifted her glass. "This is to Mercedes and those fabulous trips she is carrying; San and I are happy to take one each off your hands, so thanks."
'I am not telling ya'll again, no." Mercedes said, holding her glass of ginger ale.
"Anyways, thank you for letting us share this journey with you."
Mercedes beamed. "And thank you, Quinn, for being a kick-ass lawyer. Thanks, San, for always having my back. And thank you, Tina, for getting ready to tell the biggest story of your life."
"Here here." They said in unison.
As the girls dropped Mercedes off for the night, she grabbed her keys, unlocked the doors, and froze as she felt like someone was inside her hotel room. "I am only gonna tell you to come out once before I have security come up here and kick your ass after I am done with you." She said, grabbing the bat by the door.
"Please, you couldn't kick our asses if we laid down and said we forfeit." Pj, the oldest of the Jones clan, said as he, Aiden, and Micah walked out of the kitchen area.
"Why the hell are you three here? And who gave you the key? It was Harmony, wasn't it? She could never say no to a cute face."
"Aww, she called us cute." PJ teased. "Coming in from a girl's night out? Tina, Santana, and Quinn still causing trouble?"
"We were having drinks and celebrating a new story Tina was doing. Not that it's any of your business what we do, but your obsession with my friends is borderline creepy."
"Not my fault you picked hot friends."
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Why are you here?"
Aiden, the calm, relaxed, and collected one, stepped forward. "Cody spent the day telling his cousins that he was going to be a big brother."
Mercedes glanced at him and then nodded understanding. "And in true Jones fashion, you figured you would come here and sneak up on the guy who is supposed to be the father and me?"
"I mean….mom wouldn't tell us anything, and you haven't said a word, so can you blame us?" Micah said. "Who is the clown who got you knocked up?"
Mercedes ran her hands through her hair. "Go home. I don't have time to deal with this." She said, taking her hair down.
"Mercedes!" PJ said. "We know something is going on; please just tell us."
Mercedes went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. Her brothers were just as stubborn as she was; it was a Jones trait. She wished her mom would have warned her, but they probably didn't tell her they were ambushing their sister.
Taking a seat, she swallowed, looking at her three caring brothers. "Okay, I am pregnant."
PJ jumped up. "How could you be so reckless! What are you going to do? And what about this man who knocked you up? I didn't think you were dating, and now you have a child on the way!"
Mercedes sat back, smirking as Aiden pulled PJ to sit down. "I have a feeling there is more to the story; why don't we let her continue?"
PJ's chest swelled, but he nodded.
"I am not dating anyone; I went to the clinic to get pregnant. I wanted to give Cody a sibling and be a mom again. I didn't want to wait for a man to care for me, so yeah."
"So you don't know who the father is?"
Mercedes closed her eyes. "I can't really explain it how I need to because NDAs and stuff…so I am gonna just do this."
The boys raised an eyebrow as she pulled out her phone, putting Santana on speaker. "San, I am here with Things one, two, and three. They found out I am pregnant."
"And you can't tell them what happened; say no more. Listen up, Jones babes, here's the deal. Your sister, Quinn, and I poured over a donor list so that she could get pregnant and be a momma, but the clinic gave her the wrong sperm, and now she and the father of the babies are dealing with it, and that's all. Oh, and yes, Quinn took care of business, which is why she can't speak about it. I gotta go; Brit just got here. Call me later, Merce. Love you."
Santana hung up, and the three Jones men stared at their sister. It was Micah who stood up first. "I want to meet him."
"You want to do what now?"
"I want to meet the man who is the father of your child."
"Not child, children." Aiden added. "Santana said, babies."
Mercedes sighed. "I haven't even had a chance to tell Mom and Dad yet. It's three. I am having triplets."
All three men stared at her silently; it was clear they were shocked that she was going to be having three babies. She took that as her cue to speak.
"Guys, if you want to help, help me with the B&B. Let me take care of this, and if I need your help, I will tell you."
PJ eyed her. "Who is the guy? Is he going to be around? What happens after you have the babies?"
Mercedes sighed. "We haven't figured it all out, but I am going to talk to him and his girlfriend, and we-"
"Girlfriend!" All three said out loud.
"Yeah, it wasn't like he planned on having his sperm used; he wasn't even on the donor list. This isn't the old days, where he and I got caught in the back of Dad's pickup truck, and you three held a shotgun to his back. We are two grown adults who were pushed into a situation neither of us thought we would be."
Aiden smiled. "I still look at you like that little girl with missing front teeth and ponytails."
Mercedes smiled. "But I am not that anymore. I am a strong woman, and I can handle my life."
Aiden sighed. "Welp, it's getting late. And I want to be up in time for breakfast so that we will finish this conversation in the morning."
Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, you three are not saying here."
"Yes, we are; this isn't over; we still need to talk about dinner next Sunday," PJ stated.
"Dinner?" Mercedes asked, confused.
"Well, the three of us have decided to move back home. Mom and Dad are getting older, and we want them to enjoy time with their grandkids. And learning that you are opening the B&B…."
She frowned. "What?"
Aiden smiled; he was always the one to drop the bombs because they knew Mercedes couldn't stay mad at him. "Well, our wives could use something to keep them busy now that the kids are in school, with PJ expanding his garage here and me moving my practice. Micah can write anywhere. This can really be a family thing."
Mercedes was about to speak when PJ's phone rang. "Hold on, and it's Zack."
Mercedes walked away from her brothers. "I am going to bed. Let yourself out."
"Not gonna happen." Aiden sang as Micah plopped down on the sofa.
Mercedes sighed. "Fine, but if any of you sleep in Cody's bed, you know he will yell at you."
"Not me; he loves his uncle Micah."
PJ walked into Mercedes's room as she removed her earrings. "Really, Merce?"
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "What I do now?"
"Hitting on Zack while you are pregnant?"
Mercedes laughed. "Is that what he told you?"
"No, he said he saw you and wanted my permission to call you."
Mercedes smiled to herself. "I didn't hit on him."
"But you like him; I know you always had a crush on him."
"You don't know nothing." She said, turning to him. "But if I wanted to talk to him…you'd be cool?"
"Well, he has a good job, great head on his shoulders. He has a daughter, but he and Bea are on great terms. I don't think there is a problem with going out with him, but your baby daddy might not like it."
"And why would I care?"
"Merce tell me what's really going on?"
She sighed, "I met him before; we hit it off and really liked each other. But it was the wrong time, you know? And now we are having trips, and he has a girl."
PJ sat on her bed, "I see. Well, right now, you need to focus on you, Cody, and those babies. You have our support. I love you all. And I just want you to be happy. We all do."
"I know… you guys are just annoying about it."
"Ha, you think we are annoying. Wait until Dad gets in on all this."
Mercedes froze. "Dammit….yeah, no, can't y'all talk to him?"
PJ shook his head. "Naw, that's all you." He stood, walking to the door. "I think, if you and this guy are going to do the co-parenting thing, you need to get to know him, and he needs to know you have family in your corner. Invite him and his girl to the cookout, and let's just see what happens."
Mercedes ran her hands through her hair. "I will consider it. He did want to meet Cody…."
PJ stood. "Yeah, well, he better not hurt you or that child, or we will handle it."
Mercedes nodded. "I know you will. I know, now get out of my room; I am pregnant and tired."
PJ walked over to her and kissed her softly. "I love you, lil one."
She smiled. "Love you too."
PJ walked out of the room, and Mercedes threw her hair into a high ponytail. She went into the bathroom to change and came back to her phone beeping.
SE: Just checking in to see how you and the kids are, Cody included.
MJ: We are good. Morning sickness sucks, and Cody is good. Thanks for checking in.
SE: No problem. If you need anything, anything at all just let me know.
MJ: I will. Goodnight Sam.
SE: Goodnight, Mercedes.
I promised a new story and here it goes, enjoy.
Husband For Hire
Here is a tidbit of the first chapter let me know what you think...
"I can't believe he is doing this! He knows this is a big year for me! He knows how much my daughter means to me!" Mercedes Jones screamed, tossing the magazine across the room. "He hasn't been in her life in the last five years, and now he wants to be dad of the year?!"
Quinn Frabray and Santana Lopez dodged the magazine as Roz Washington shook her head.
"Throwing a fit won't get you anywhere; you knew Preston was a bastard, told you not to marry his ass."
"Aunt Roz…" She said in a warning tone.
"Don't you get snippy with me? I don't care how old your ass is; I will still tap it." Roz said, giving off her own warning tone.
"Yes, ma'am, I know. I just…I can't have Faith getting hurt in all this."
"I think she needs to get angry," Santana said. "She needs to get pissed because that bastard is gonna try everything he can to hurt her. She needs to be pissed to fight him."
Quinn leaned forward. "We knew he was going to bring this up; he is pissed he isn't getting spousal support, so now he knows if he gets Faith, he gets child support."
"But is his case good enough to take her from me?"
Quinn looked at Santana, who cleared her throat. "So here's the deal on paper no. You have been in her life, you take care of her, and you make more money than Preston could ever."
"But?" Mercedes asked.
"I did some digging and discovered that Judge Prescott plays golf with Preston's father-in-law. And his secretary tells me they will hit you where it hurts. You own your own studio, and you tour with your music, that an not having a husband…they can say you aren't able to give her a steady home."
"That's bull shit. I gave up touring for my daughter. I built this studio so I could be home for Faith. How is it that he cheated on me, stole my money while I was pregnant, and yet I am being questioned?"
Santana took a breath before speaking. "Okay, Cedes, I am gonna be real with you 'cause you know I keep it 100. You have gone through twelve nannies in the last four years. Yes, Roz has been with you for the last five months, but she's heading home."
Mercedes nodded. "I know that's why we have the interviews tomorrow for those live-in nannies. Sylvester Agency promised I would find someone who would be perfect this time."
Santa nodded. "That's my part. You work a lot trying to start this company, and yes, you work while Faith is in school and make it home no later than 6:30, but if Preston's judge sees you are doing it alone, that you have Nannies taking care of your child and you don't…."
"So what are her choices, double mint twins?" Roz asked.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "The first choice is to take your changes in court. We provide a solid case and hope the judge agrees with us that Preston is a cockroach who needs to be squashed."
"And the second?" Mercedes asked.
The girls look at each other, nudging the other to speak.
"Will someone tell me?!"
Roz stands up and moves to sit on the edge of Mercedes's desk. "Okay, look, what your friends are afraid to tell you is that the only way you can beat Preston is at his own game. If he says you being single is your problem, don't be single."
Mercedes nodded. "Okay, I'll just get on that!"
"Look, I know you like your freedom; after what Preston did and that bastard Anthony only dating you to try and get a record deal, you refused to be with someone. We both know those toys are about done in from all those uses."
"Aunt Roz!" Mercedes said, blushing.
"What? We are all grown here. Your ass is 36 years old, and you got a daughter. You and I both know you got needs that your vibrator done filled over and over."
"We get it!" Mercedes said as Quinn and Santana snickered.
"You need a husband, Mercedes. Now the good news is you are so private; no one knows if you are dating or not; we can get someone in here and provide NDA. You get your freak on for a year; he gets paid. It's a win-win."
"Get my freak on? The hell? No, I am not gonna sex up some random man. Let alone have him around my daughter."
Santana threw her hands up. "Then I don't know what to tell you." Santana sighed. "You can take your chances with the judge he had, and there is a real chance he will get and keep full custody.
Mercedes screamed out in frustration; she couldn't believe this was her life. Five years ago, she was happy, or at least as happy as she could be. She had a wonderful husband and career and was financially set. Her music career was on the fast track, and the moment she learned she was pregnant, she worked on finding the balance between family and work.
She and Preston had been married for two years when she got the positive test, and as she excitedly went to his office to tell him, she caught him having sex with his lawyer. Needless to say, the marriage was over.
The mistake she made was telling him that she was divorcing him. He cleaned out their joint bank account that had over two hundred and fifty thousand in it. Thank God Roz taught her not to keep all her money in one account. What he took was nothing compared to what she was worth, but it still hurt.
"Merce?" Roz asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"No, Hell to the N! O! I am not biting that bullet again with some stranger on the street."
"Will you just listen to what we have planned?" Quinn asked.
Mercedes sat back and sighed. "Fine."
"The Agency already vetted these guys for us; all you have to do is pick one."
"What? Wait…you want me to hire a husband? What kinda…."
"Mercedes, it is the best choice we have. Hire him, marry him, and divorce him in a year."
She laughed but stopped when three eyes bore into her. "You three are serious? You want me to hire a man and pay him to be my husband?"
The three nodded, and she blinked a few times, running her hand through her hair. "Well shit, I don't even… I don't even know what to think here."
"You marry this guy, Quinn will create an ironclad NDA. You live together for a year as man and wife, and then…bam! You get Faith, and he gets the money." Santana said.
"And you want to find him from that Sylvester Agency?"
Quinn nodded. "Well, they prescreen, provide background checks, drug tests, shoot. Sue is crazy as hell. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't give them lie-detector tests. You got the recommendation from Queen B herself, Merce. It's the best chance we have."
Mercedes chewed her bottom lip, trying her best to come up with any other option but knowing that she really didn't have one. This couldn't be the only option she had.