The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(47)

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Tami was sure, in fact there was something intriguing about a guy who would send his barista six bouquets of flowers. “One thing though, did you give him my address?” Katie gave a dramatic gasp.

“Oh hell no! I might be an idiot but I wouldn’t do something like that!” Tami bit down gently on her bottom lip.

“Hmmm…” There was a sound of muffled talking on the end of the line.

“Hey Tami? I have to go, Carla is telling me we’re out of Columbia blend beans and I know we’re not because I unpacked a box of them this morning. Urgh! Keep me in the loop though, k?” Tami nodded without realizing it.

“Sure…talk to you later.” She hung up the phone, still deep in thought as to how Albie could have found her address.

Albie was still sitting at his desk daydreaming about the possibility of a life with Tami when the phone rang. As per usual, his secretary picked it up.

“Mr. Johnson? I have a call from a Mrs. Amanda Adams on line one, she says that it’s quite urgent that she speak with you.” Albie picked up the phone.

“That’s fine Allison, patch her through.” There was a click on the line and a woman’s voice spoke.

“Hello? Is that Mr. Johnson?” Albie waited for Allison’s phone to hang up before he spoke.

“Yes, this is he. May I ask what you are calling in regard to?” There was a brief silence on the end of the line and just when Albie was about to hang up, the woman spoke again.

“Mr. Johnson. Do you recall a few years ago that you visited our institution located on Firth Street and made a…deposit?” Albie frowned, he didn’t even know where Firth Street was.

“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to be a little more specific, I have bank accounts at a number of various institutions.” There was another silence.

“I’m afraid you misunderstand, Mr. Johnson. I am from the Dunkirk Cryobank.” She waited for a moment to see if the name rang any bells.

“Ohhhh, yes. I remember that.” He laughed awkwardly. “I’m sorry, you were talking a whole different kind of deposit!” The woman on the other end of the phone didn’t laugh, in fact she was eerily quiet.

“Well, how can I help you Mrs. Adams?” She coughed quietly.

“You see, Mr. Johnson. Well, the thing is…there has been a terrible mix up.” This time it was Albie who went silent. “Mr. Johnson? Are you still there?” Albie was still there but for the moment his brain was fixated on the sheer number of possible mishaps that could have taken place.

“Yes…I’m still here.”

“Mr. Johnson, I’m afraid that your sample got mixed in with another…batch and it would seem that due to this mix up your donation has been…umm…utilized.” Albie could feel the paralysis setting in as it traveled from his toes, creeping slowly all the way to the top of his head. He stared at the swirling detail of the woodgrain on his desktop. “Mr. Johnson?”

“I…” He didn’t know what to say. Just moments ago he had imagined the possibility of having his very own heir, a small family of his own, and now it was happening. It was happening so very out of his control, but it was happening nonetheless.

“We will of course do everything we can to make this right.” Mrs. Adams was breathless and quite obviously flustered by the whole situation.

“Which would be what, exactly?” Albie tried to pull himself together.

“We…umm…we would like for you to come down to the bank as soon as is convenient so that we can discuss any and all options with you. We will also be inviting the individual who purchased your donation in hopes that we can all find some kind of resolution to this awful mix up.” Albie wanted to laugh. A mix up was when they accidentally put tomato on a sandwich that was ordered without tomato, it was not selling your genetic product so that someone could make a baby with it.

“Mr. Johnson? When would be a convenient time for you?” Albie wasn’t sure that anything about this was convenient.

“I suppose the sooner the better. I will also be bringing my attorney.”

“I understand, Mr. Johnson. Would 5:30pm today work for you?” Albie didn’t even bother to look at his organizer.

“Fine. We will see you then.”

Chapter 5

The Truth

The Dunkirk Cryobank was much more sterile than Albie recalled it being on his first visit. Truth be told however, Albie didn’t recall all that much about his first visit, money had always been a powerful motivator for him.

“Mr. Johnson?” A young petite blonde woman smiled over the front desk. Albie nodded, his ability to speak obviously having sunk to the bottom of his stomach along with everything else. “We’ve been expecting you. Dr. Goldstein is in his office waiting to speak to you. If you wouldn’t mind following me?” She stood up and slipped through a small gap behind the desk. “It’s just this way.”

Normally, her swaying hips would have captured Albie’s attention but since his fascination with Tami, he had been less preoccupied with his philandering ways.

Dr. Goldstein sat at his desk, he looked noticeably nervous as he stood to greet Albie with a handshake.

“Mr. Johnson, please have a seat.” Albie sat.

“I think it only fair to tell you that in lieu of my attorney’s inability to make this meeting at such short notice, I will be recording everything that is said.” Albie pulled a small Dictaphone out of his pocket and set it on the desk in front of him, pressing the record button.