1. First fanfic. Have mercy.
2. English is not my mother tongue. This is the best I have.
3. It's always good to read praises, but critics are the one you learn from. :)
Enjoy! :D
Taylor's POV
"Hmm. 11 pm. Not so bad." said Gail sleepily.
"I know. He said I can have tomorrow off."
"At least that much." she murmured.
10 minutes later I was in bed beside her. Gail facing me. For a few moment we just lay in silence.
"It's been a year. Something is up with him. Something's changing. And for the diversities sake, this time I think it is for the better." I said. But at the same time it was frustrating. You could clearly see that he was lost, and couldn't find the way forward. He worked more and more, and at the same time, he lived less and less. I wouldn't go as far as to say that my feelings for him were brotherly, but somewhere in the neighborhood of that, so I just didn't want to see him like that. It's not as if his moods affected my work, because he was the fair boss as he always is. I guess I just…well hell! cared!
"Yes. It may have been a year since he had one of those bimbos, but at the same it's been months since he was at Bellevue. Dr. Grey is getting desperate. She came here just last week unannounced in the hope to see his son. The whole thing is just…sad…"
Couldn't argue with that. Gail saw it, and I saw it as well. Hell! Anyone could see it.
"He is the living proof of that no one can live without love. And if he only would've accept it, he…Ohh, I don't even know. All I know is, that I'm tired of watching it, and even more tired of thinking about it. Can just someone give that boy a break? Can't he give himself a break?" continued her.
Well, yes. Gail's feelings towards Grey were similar to mine, if not stronger. But you can't help it, once you get to know him. He is a miserable idiot. But a good-hearted miserable idiot.
I remained silent, because really what is there to say. We all knew how he is. I noticed that even Ros cut back her snarky remarks around him. Like even she can feel the gloom he flooded from himself. Everything is silent in Grey House nowadays. Everything goes smoothly, mainly because the boss works ungodly hours. Which, the silence I mean, is not a bad thing, just an unusual thing. Because everyone used to know and fear the temper of one Christian Grey. But nowadays, it's just silence. Like he can't find it in himself to even be angry anymore. Of course it still happens sometimes, make no mistake, but it became rare. Suspiciously, fearfully, unusually rare. He became the dog that does not bark anymore, which only means one thing.
Sleep was avoiding us, and a little while later she started speaking again.
"On a happier note"…thank fuck for that…"Ana called, and said that she's leaving New York sometimes on Friday. She doesn't know when shell be here, but said that we don't need to pick her up from the airport. Which is fine whit me, since I have to cook for the weekend, and you'll probably be stuck in Grey House until God knows when."
"That is good." I said, being really glad to see her again. It's been long.. "Why exactly did she stop in New York anyway? Why didn't she came here directly from Sudan?"
"Because she had to complete some paperwork in the New York office." I nodded.
"You cleared it with Grey? He doesn't mind her staying here for a few days?"
"He doesn't mind as long as she stays in this quarter of the apartment. As I suspected." after a few moments she continued. "So, I'll cook dinner for Christian, and then the three of us can go out to have a dinner? You're free, aren't you?"
"If noting comes up." Which is always a possibility.
"That's settled then." She smiles.
Call me a horrible person, but the knowledge that she's here with me, and especially when she smiles at me like that, I can forget all the bad in the world, and all the fucked up, miserable life of one Christian Grey. And so I just smiled back my most sincere smile, trying to show all the love I have for her. Which is a lot.
We're leaving the office, and it's not even 8 o'clock. Unusual and rare, but it still happens. The one thing that is not unusual, is the mood the boss is in right now. This is the new norm for him, which is not that new anymore, since it lasts for more than a year now. Poor guy until than at least had a good fuck. Now he doesn't even have that anymore. It's been four months since we've been at that club, and even that lasted less than an hour. I remember the time when he and his current sub used to be in that room for a half a day sometimes.
Arriving home it's no surprise to see him heading towards the liquor cabinet. Another not-so-new norm.
"Sawyer." I said entering the security room.
"Taylor." he replied
"Anything?"
"Same old." he said leaning back in his chair in front of the monitors."You guys heading out tonight?"
"Yes. Gail's niece is in town. We're going to have dinner." I said, while reviewing some documents at the table in the middle of the room before leaving for the night.
"I didn't know that Gail had siblings?"
"Half sister. Carla. She died years ago though."
"Well where was this niece until now?"
"She lived with her father, a three star general, all around the world."
"Lieutenant general? Could I heard of him?" of course he's ex-marine, like myself.
„Don't know. Does Steele sais something to you?"
"No." he said absentmindedly, then turned towards the monitors, while I continued with what little is left of my work. I like Sawyer. He knows his shit, understands from a few words, and most of all, appreciates silence just as much as I do. "Female 5,40 ft, 110 lb, brown haired, coming up on the main elevator. She entered the code. Pretty too."
According to the description, this could've been each one of the fifteen women, but leaning closer to the monitor is when I see who it is. "Shit! Told her to use the service elevator." And whit that I was out of the door. Because silence, or no silence storms still happen, and his private space is something Gray is very sensitive of.
"I'm looking for Gail Jones." said the female voice in the distance. Shit again. Turning the corner I see Ana standing just out of the elevator with a gentle but cautious smile on her lips. In the door of his study Grey, looking puzzled, surprised, little wide eyed, but not angry at the brown haired, skinny, dark tanned girl. Thank fuck, because if memory serves me well, Ana is not someone who tolerates being disrespected, let alone being rude to. Thanks to the years of living among soldiers, she now perfected the art of bantering, and maintaining a poker face, and cool demeanor in almost every situation.
"Ana!" she turns at the sound of my voice, a warm, and if I'm not mistaken, a genuine smile on her face.
"Jason Gaston Paul Emmanuel Taylor!" she teased, putting her hands on her hips. "I swear you get younger with each passing day."
Yep. This is Ana. Always playful and laughing. Especially when it's about displaying emotions. Because then, her M.O. is jokes and teasing. Just like now. If I didn't know her, and if it weren't for her glassy eyes…
"Told you to call, or use the service elevator." I said scolding with an impassive face. But we understood each other. We each knew that the other is happy to see us, we just had different ways of hiding it.
And because it would've been rude and awkward, reluctantly though, but I made the introduction.
"Mr. Grey this is Anastasia Steele, Gail's niece, Ana, Mr. Christian Grey, our employer." with that Ana extended her hands towards him, her eyes looking straight into his eyes. No blushing, no lashes, no seductive smile. For all the other woman on the face of the Earth: is this really so hard to do? Grey narrowed his eyes slightly in interest, his demeanor cool, and controlled like always.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Grey!" she said seriously and firmly.
"My pleasure, Miss Steele." he said, amused if I'm not mistaken.
Ana broke the all to short handshake quite abruptly, and turned towards me.
"May I say hi to Gail?"
"No. you'll see her at dinner. Come, I'll show you your room." I said, and extended my hand to indicate the direction opposite of the great room.
"Taylor, it's fine. I don't mind, if that's your reason." and this wasn't something I expected Grey to say. Ana smirked at me.
Whit that I showed the way towards the kitchen, Ana following, and to my surprise Grey came as well. Entering the kitchen, you could instantly smell Gail preparing her Bolognese.
"Gail Jones!" exclaimed Ana cheerfully, when Gail wasn't even in sight yet."Have you got any idea how many times I've dreamt about your Bolognese?" Gail appeared on the corner, wide eyed, and grinning.
"Anastasia Steele! Don't come at me whit your big mouth, and snarky remarks. If you want my Bolognese, you shouldn't be on the other half of the globe all the time." with that they laugh, and hug each other. Yes, it was a bit different with them, but the hug was still short, thanks to Ana I suppose, because if it were for Gail, well she wouldn't have escape anytime soon. Grey and I just watched the scene.
Knowing the way to make Ana most comfortable is to joke and tease, Gail dropped the sentimentalism and did just that "Sudan agrees with you Ana. You look like a gipsy." They both chucked at that. She continued on a slightly more serious tone "So what is it this time?"
"I managed not to get shot in the ass, if that's what you're asking." she said in a no-nonsense manner. Yes, there's that. We all remember Syria two years ago. It is so Ana to joke about something like that. There's no denying the military blood in her veins.
From the corner of my eyes I saw Grey's eyes widen considerably, but still managing to maintain a cool and serious face. He walked further in the kitchen and planted himself at the counter. I walked further as well.
"What do you do in Sudan Miss Steele?" asked Grey smiling. SMILING!
I got a sudden urge to laugh. Now, there's this man. They say he's the most eligible bachelor in the state of Washington, if not the US. He's a genius in the business world, and despite being considerably younger than most of his opponents, being 32, he is respected and feared. And he's a good employer and a fair boss. I've seen dozens of women throw themselves at him. And I've seen him treating them like unfeeling objects. And now this miserable idiot, chooses to express interest in one of the few woman in this world, he can never, ever have. In this moment I realized that Fate is something to be feared of.
Gail and I exchanged a knowing look.
"I teach, Mr. Grey." answered Ana looking directly in his eyes. "By the way, thank you for letting me stay here." she continued with a warm smile.
For a moment Grey just looked at her, like she's some alien, when in fact the alien was him. "You're very welcome." he said almost softly, that smile still playing at the corner of his mouth.
Then Ana, like she remembered that she's not supposed to be kind to his man, give him a short and tight smile, and turned towards Gail. "Give me a bite, and then I'll be out of here. I wouldn't like to disturb."
"You're not disturbing." said Grey suddenly. "In fact…" he continued in his usual cold and controlled manner, standing abruptly from the counter "…I'll leave you to enjoy your dinner. I need to go out, something came up." This last part he said towards me. With that he grabbed his car keys and was out of the door. As of late it wasn't unusual of him to go out alone in the evening, doing God knows what. He preferred his morning runs to do alone as well.
We all stared after him for a moment, but no one said anything. Personally I didn't know what to make out of it, but I gave up a long time ago figuring out that man.
After that, we took the sauce and the spaghetti in our quarter and had a nice dinner. We talked about everything, but mostly we listened to Ana talking about her experiences. I've always admired the way she was thinking. She is so mature and knowledgeable for being only 24. I can only hope that Sophie turns out to be the same. And the way his father raised her…I don't know if I will be capable to do the same thing, but seeing the result, I get more and more determined to try. I start to realize that this is the only way to raise a strong and independent young woman.