Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 409 -

*Giovani*

Olivia slept soundly, her breath even. I brushed my thumb under the dark shadows circling her eyes, her lack of rest and the large quantity of alcohol she'd consumed coming back to bite her. "Surrogate, huh?" I mumbled to myself in the quiet hours of the night.

It was just like her to drop a bombshell on me and then pass out in my arms before I could even respond.

I wished we didn't even have to discuss all of this, that I could provide her the baby she wanted without this roundabout way of doing it. But life didn't have that in the cards for us, apparently.

I sighed, holding her a little bit closer as I tucked her head under my chin and breathed in her scent. In the morning, I'd have to start researching surrogacy agencies.

Whatever my beautiful wife wanted, she would have.

Turns out, by the time I woke up, Olivia had already gotten a head start.

Before I knew it, it was nearing noon, and we'd spent the whole day in bed just researching.

"What about this one?" Olivia showed me the page on her phone.

"I'll add it to the list," I told her, taking note of the number and adding it to my own phone. Surprisingly, there were quite a few surrogacy agencies within the area, and we already had twenty agencies and professionals to call. "This one's a bit far, but it says it has faster matching," Olivia pointed out.

"I think we have enough, carina," I told her with a small smile. "I can start calling to narrow it down, and we can schedule an appointment with the best ones, alright?"

"Yeah, okay." She sighed. "I just want us to be as prepared as we can be. I don't want any surprises to pop up later down the road."

"We'll be prepared, carina. I promise it'll all go smoothly," I grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckle with a smile. "I'll be right back so I can start vetting the agencies." "Alright," she mumbled, suppressing a yawn behind her hand.

"I'll send somebody up with some lunch, and then you, Mrs. Valentino, are taking a nap." I chuckled, getting to my feet. "Oh, really?" She crossed her arms, a playful glint in her eyes. "And what makes you think you can tell me what to do?" "Because I'm your loving husband," I said arrogantly as I firmly wrapped her up in the blanket and tucked her into the bed.

"That you are." She giggled, yawning as she finally gave in. I made sure her eyes were closed before I left, sneaking away.

I headed for the kitchen, asking one of the maids to hold back Olivia's lunch for a few minutes to let her rest. I headed for my study, the list of agencies in my hand. It was my turn now to narrow them down. I sent some of them to one of my most trusted men to vet the places and started calling the professionals one by one.

I grabbed my laptop, putting the phone on speaker as I began to take as many notes as I could about the process. I wasn't going to put Olivia or our unborn child at risk. Nothing could be left to chance.

Each professional had different things to say, but they were all very clear about one thing-it would be our decision.

It only took an hour for my men to get back to me about the vetted agencies, and it was clear that one stood above the rest. I grabbed my laptop and headed back to Olivia to get her opinion before I made the appointment.

Of course, I would have to check the background of whoever we chose and make sure they had no problems or anything suspicious in their history, but otherwise, it didn't matter to me. The surrogate could be made of plastic for all I cared.

I just wanted Olivia to feel comfortable, and our little child to be born healthy. I promised her a family, and I would reach into the sky and give her a star if I could. She was the love of my life, and she deserved the world.

I quietly snuck back into our bedroom, and to my relief, Olivia was sleeping away. I watched her chest rise and fall for a minute before climbing in next to her.

"Olivia." I felt bad about waking her, but this decision needed to be made. She stirred, her eyes opening as awareness came to her.

"I narrowed it down to a few agencies, but I think this one would be really good for us. What do you think?" I offered her the information I'd stored on my laptop, including the page from the chosen agency. "What makes this one special?" Olivia yawned, sitting up in bed.

"They were the most detailed about the women they employ, and all of their background checks came out squeaky clean-not a single fishy employee or affiliate. Plus, they are very involved with the surrogates. They know a lot about them." "Seems great." Her eyes piqued with interest as she scrolled through the information. "When can we make an appointment?"

I smirked, glad I had thought ahead. "We're in luck because they have an opening in a few hours."

"A few hours?" she cried. "You should've woken me up sooner!"

And off she went, jumping out of bed and heading straight for the closet to change. I chuckled to myself, happy her mood seemed to be improving after these last couple of days.

She had been so crushed when she found out she couldn't carry her own child, but this seemed like a good alternative for us.

Surrogazione Generazionale was exactly what I thought it would be. A massive rotund building with only one sign at the entrance-it was sleek in design and could be any healthcare building if you didn't know what you were looking for. I was impressed when a representative met us at the doors-an older woman with gray hair and a friendly smile.

"Welcome, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Valentino," she said as we stepped out of the car and onto the entrance. "I'm Mrs. Ortez, the matching agent here with Generazionale. Please come inside."

"Thank you," Olivia smiled, the relief evident in the woman's professional manner. She grabbed my hand, and my heart warmed at how naturally she did so. Like she didn't even have to think about it.

I could feel the band of her wedding ring pressing against my fingers, cold and metallic, but it only brought me comfort.

"Right this way then," Mrs. Ortez showed us inside. They had a waterfall in the middle of the atrium-comfortable seats in what resembled a waiting room and receptionists waiting at a desk-all very normal. It reminded me of Dr. Schmitz's office in many ways.

Mrs. Ortez showed us into the back and opened up the doors. The building was much larger than it looked on the outside, and she led us down winding halls until we reached an office area.

There was only a desk with a laptop, shelves on the walls, and a binder sitting innocently on top of the table. Olivia and I took the visitor seats as Mrs. Ortez settled into the computer chair.

"Now, this binder has a list of all of our current clients-those tagged with a red marker are currently serving as a surrogate to a different set of parents and won't be available for months, but I did mark a few with the green tab that I think would work best for the two of you and your needs."

I grabbed the binder, passing it over to Olivia with a small smile. "Pick whoever you feel more comfortable with."

Olivia nodded, flipping open the book, and I gazed over her shoulder as she checked out the green tabs first. Women of all ages, colors, and backgrounds were included-in detailed reports, and I was incredibly impressed by how thorough they were.

They listed everything from their name and age to their horoscope signs and blood types, but strangely enough, no last names or addresses. For privacy, probably, I thought.

Olivia paused on a page of a blonde woman in her late twenties by the name of Alessia. She had a sweet-looking face, looking younger than her age, and the page listed that she had already been a previous surrogate.

It didn't take long before she paused on a second woman-this one a little bit younger in her mid-twenties. She had a plain-looking appearance to her but looked rather polite. Elena, it said at the top. No prior surrogacies. Olivia pursed her lips and then nodded.

"What do you think? I can't decide between these two?" She pointed to Elena's page and then flipped back to Alessia.

"It doesn't matter to me," I said honestly, "Whichever you feel more comfortable with."

She pouted at me, giving me a look as if to say I was zero help, and I shrugged, a bit helplessly. There was nothing I could do about it. I really didn't have a preference. Neither of the women was to my taste. That is to say, neither of them were my gorgeous wife.

"So, Alessia and Elena, is it?" Mrs. Ortez said as Olivia handed her the binder and nodded, "You don't have to decide now. I can set up a meeting with both women, and you can choose from there. Is that alright?" "That's perfect," Olivia smiled.

"Alright, let's see," Mrs. Ortez typed into her computer, pursing her lips as she searched for something. "Both of them should be free on Friday, two days from now. Alessia can meet at noon, and Elena right after at one. Does that work with both of you?"

I thought back to my own schedule and made a mental note to move one of my appointments on Friday to the day earlier. Gabriele wouldn't be happy, but he could be bribed with a vacation to the Bahamas or something. Olivia looked over at me to check, and I nodded, confirming it was okay.

"That works for us," Olivia said respectfully.

"Alright then, I'll see you both on Friday to meet the women. Congratulations on your first steps to becoming parents," Mrs. Ortez smiled.

"Thank you so much," Olivia said, her voice a bit wobbly, and I knew she was getting emotional again. I chuckled, getting to my feet and shaking Mrs. Ortez's hand before I led my wife out of the building.

"I can't believe we're really going to meet the potential surrogates. What if we don't like either of them? What if they hate me? What if they think our child is going to be ugly?" Olivia rambled, paling a bit. "That is impossible," I said confidently, wrapping her in my arms. "Because you're the most adorable thing in the world, and our baby will be just as cute as you are."

She blushed, and I held her close as I dipped my head. Our lips met in a slow and sweet kiss, one completely unhurried.

"You're not too bad yourself," she flirted, her cheeks flushed as her arms curled around my neck. I laughed, feeling over the moon.

Our child.

We were really doing this.