Page 69 of Protecting Silver
She reached out and placed her hand over Patch’s where he filled out his own stack of papers. “Andrew works so hard, and such long hours, and I can’t have a baby keeping him awake and away from his job.”
“Now, Silver, you don’t have to worry about me. I can adapt.” Patch leaned over and kissed her temple. “If you want a newborn, we’ll try for one.”
“No, I think a young toddler will do.”
“Very well,” Merriweather didn’t wait for a response, or to talk them out of getting a toddler and going for a younger child. “Do you have any preference as to a boy or a girl?”
“No,” they both said. This time Patch took up the lie. “We would like a healthy child. I may be half as rich as God, but I don’t want to spend all our time with doctors or in hospitals. Not that sick children don’t need love and attention too, but…”
“I understand,” Merriweather said. He grabbed his own stack of papers and began filling them out. Between everyone writing, it took a good thirty minutes to finish just the application. After Patch and Silver handed them back, Merriweather didn’t say anything as he took them.
“As you know, we’ll have to do background checks on both of you, and if you pass them, then we’ll have to do in-home inspections to make sure your home, well, passes inspection.” He laughed. “But before that, we’ll have to contact your references, along with your bank.”
“We understand,” Patch nodded. He looked at his watch, and saw that it’d been over an hour. “I know you have a lot of work ahead of you, I do, but do you know if there’s any timeline on when we can expect a child.”
“Now, Mr. Roundtree, I can’t answer that.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for pushing you. It’s just that this is the most excited I’ve seen my wife in almost a year. I can finally see hope shining in her eyes. In case you didn’t realize it, but I adore my wife and would give her the world if I could.”
“Isn’t that sweet,” Merriweather said, and Patch swore his lip curled as he said it. He made sure his tie clip showed the disgust on his face. After several minutes of silence while Merriweather took the papers, and began banging them against the almost clean desk, he sighed as he looked at Patch.
“I always hate this part of the initial interview.”
“Oh, why?”
“Because it doesn’t seem right that potential new parents should have to pay for a child.”
“But, are we paying for a child, or the fees for you to do your work?” Silver asked.
“Fees,” the weasel quickly amended, and chuckled. His eyes began to glow when Patch reached inside his suit jacket and withdrew a checkbook. He also pulled out a gold pen, and clicked it several times.
“Who do I make the check out to, and for how much?”
“As I said, adopting a child isn’t easy, nor is it cheap.”
“We understand, but how much?” Patch asked impatiently. He was more than ready to get the hell out of that office. “How much?” He said a with a little more force.
“Fifty thousand dollars,” Merriweather didn’t hesitate in his response this time. Again, his eyes gleamed as Patch began to write, then he rubbed his hands together as the check was torn from the book, and tossed on the desk before the other man.
“There you go,” Patch said, and quickly stood. “Thank you for your time, and you’ll let us know if you need anything else, or if there’s a problem with the paperwork? I hate to leave so quickly, but I have another appointment to get to.”
“Wonderful, and yes, I’ll let you know if there’s any problem with the paperwork.”
“And if you need any more fees?” Silver asked. “I’m only asking, because a woman I know from work adopted a baby from overseas and it seemed like she and her husband were constantly paying fees.”
“As I said, it’s not cheap.”
“Yeah,” Patch said, and helped Silver to her feet. In less than two minutes they were walking out of the front door of the building, and neither of them said a word. Not even after their ‘driver’ opened the car door and let them inside. Not a word was spoken until they drove around, before heading back to the Bureau.
Chapter 32
Patch didn’t saya word until he walked into Daniel’s office, and quickly loosened his tie. Once everyone settled in the seating area, or as in Daniel’s case, in a chair before his desk, they watched Patch remove his tie, then his jacket. It took several passes around the area for him to calm down.
He stopped and looked Daniel in the eye, before he spoke, “It was him. Merriweather is Merrick.” And began to unbutton his shirt, and once it was off, he held his arms out for Decker to remove the wire. The female agents had taken Silver into the bathroom down the hall to remove Silver’s cameras. When they returned, Silver immediately walked up to Patch, and placed her arms around him.
“You okay?”
“No, but I will be with you in my arms.” He held her tight, laid his head on the top of hers, and closed his eyes. The others in the room went about their business, leaving the couple to themselves. It was almost ten minutes before Patch lifted his head, took Silver’s chin in his fingers, and gently lifted her head. He whispered, “Thank you,” just before he kissed her. After that short break, he acted like nothing had bothered him. He looked over at Daniel and apologized.
