Before we get into this story I'd like to welcome you all and thank you for giving this story a try. Hopefully you enjoy it, I came up with it 2 days ago in my wordpad and decided to see if anyone would like me to continue it on Fanfic. If this story receives 25 reviews for this chapter I will continue it. I'm planning on making this story 20-22 chapters.
"What is the name of that store you bought that bracelet from Kate?" I ask, as I walk into the living room to see her lounging on my sofa.
"Pandora?" Kate says. I plop down beside her and steal some of the popcorn from her bowl.
"With the charms? I want to get a new charm bracelet for Daddy." I shove the popcorn in my mouth, giggling as she cringes.
"First off gross, second do men even wear charm bracelets?" Kate questions, as she scrolls down the Netflix list and puts on some baking show called 'Nailed It'.
"I don't know, but i'm sure he'll wear it." I shrug. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for dinner at Elliot's parents?"
"About that..." Kate smiles, slyly. I roll my eyes, knowing she's up to something.
"What do you want Blondie?" As I lick the cheese powder residue from my fingers.
"I asked Elliot if it would be ok if you came." Kate's mouth twitches. "Please!"
"Why do you always wait to ask me for favors at the last minute." I sigh.
"Well it's not like you need to impress anyone. I'm the one they're going to be judging and scrutinizing." Kate sighs. I know this is all new for her, she's never met the parents of someone she's been involved with before.
"Lucky you." I quip, giving her a teasing smirk. She slaps my arm and I hiss. "Ow, Kate!"
"You're so lucky I love you." I add, as I get up and head for my room to find something to wear.
A few hours later, three to be exact we're in Elliot's truck and I'm in awe at the estate in front of us. I know the Grey's are rich but this place is massive.
As we get out of the truck, I notice an Audi SUV stop by Elliot's truck as we head for the steps. A quick glance and I notice Taylor getting out of the front seat and opening the back door.
"Hi, Uncle Jay!" I say, as I walk over to him.
"Annie, what are you doing here?" He says, hugging me. "I didn't know you knew the Grey's."
"I don't, Kate's dating Elliot and asked me to tag along for moral support." I joke. I hear a throat clear and look beyond Taylor to see his boss. The man could be a Greek God the way he looks. I'd seen him at my graduation when he handed me my degree.
"Mr. Grey, this is Anastasia-" Taylor's cut off by him as he gives me a breathtaking smile.
"Steele. I remember from WSU. Call me Christian." He says, shaking my hand. "It's lovely to see you again."
"Uh, you too." I blush, who'd of thought he'd remember me.
"Ana!" Kate shouts as she waits by the door that's now open.
"I should..." I gesture to the door and Christian nods, following me.
"Hey Banana, what do you think of Mr. Mega Mogul." Elliot jokes.
"Fuck off Lelliot." Christian scoffs.
"This place is breathtaking." I whisper.
"Thank you, it's the first thing I thought when Carrick and I had it built and did our first walk through." Mrs. Grey says, as she greets everyone.
"Mother, this is my girlfriend Katherine Kavanagh and her best friend Anastasia Steele." Elliot introduces us. I watch as Mrs. Grey gives Kate a tentative smile and a handshake.
"Please, call me Grace." She says, as she gives me a handshake as well. I wouldn't expect a hug, but I'd of thought Kate would have gotten one considering Elliot says his mother is a very affectionate person.
Kate and I share looks but say nothing as Grace hugs her sons, and leads us to the dining room. I see who I know could only be Carrick, and Elliot's sister Mia according to the brief info Kate gave me.
"Carrick, this is Elliot's date Katherine Kavanagh and her best friend Anastasia Steele." Grace says and I have to force myself not to snort at her demotion of Kate's place in Elliot's life.
Kate frowns as she narrows her eyes on Grace. What the fuck is going on? According to Elliot his family are generous, kindhearted people. But so far Grace has been very aloof.
"Nice to meet you both, I'm Carrick as Grace has said." Carrick gives Kate a hug before, hugging me and my mind instantly conjures up thoughts of it being opposites day.
"I'm Mia." The woman says, her hair is blond but her roots are dark. I narrow my eyes at her as I feel a sense of familiarity with her.
"Kate." Kate says, as Mia gives her a hug. I tilt my head as I see a familiar necklace on her neck and I cringe in memory of why she's so familiar.
"Ana..." Mia says, moving to hug me. My eyes narrow as I see a slight swell in her stomach but I give her my bitch brow freezing her in her steps.
"Amelia..." I say coldly.
"Wait... Amelia?" Kate gasps, looking from me to Mia. She knows exactly who the little snake is in front of me. "I thought your name was Mia."
"Mia's her nickname, Amelia's her actual name." Elliot fills in.
"Why don't we all have a seat." Grace announces. I take a seat beside Kate who's seated beside Elliot, sitting across from Christian and Mia as Carrick and Grace take their seats at the heads of the table.
"So how do you two know each other?" Elliot questions, ever the curious being he is.
"Well... Uh-" Mia stammers, but gets cut off as Ethan rushes into the dining room.
"Hey sorry I'm late." He says, panting.
"It's fine, Ethan. I'm glad you could make it." Carrick greets.
"Ana..." Ethan gasps, his eyes wide in surprise. "What... Uh what are you doing here?"
"Having dinner." Kate deadpans, scowling at her brother. They haven't talked in a while because of what happened a few months ago, not that I encouraged it as much as I hated him he was her brother.
"I can't believe you're actually still with her." I scoff, a bitter laugh coming out as I swallow.
"Ana-" I cut him off.
"Congratulations." I say, nodding my head towards Mia. I look towards Grace and Carrick who both look confused. "Thanks for having me, but I need to go."
I excuse myself, making a hasty retreat. A firm hand grasps my wrist, turning me. I glare at Ethan.
"Let go." I hiss.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He pleads for what I don't care to know.
"So let me get this straight." I laugh humorlessly. "You slept with that renowned whore for months! Lied to my face while fucking her behind my back and now she's pregnant and all of a sudden you didn't mean to hurt me."
A few gasps tear through the room, as my words wash over everyone. Mia says nothing as she scowls at me.
"As a guest in this home you will not disrespect my daughter." Grace says and I scoff.
"I'm not going to be a guest for long and I'll be damned if that backstabbing whore recieves any respect from me." I say not caring who was offended, hurt or angered by my words. I was pissed.
"Ana..." Kate's eyes widened.
"You should probably test that kid when it's born, considering her flock of partners while you thought she was all yours." I snort. Mia screeches. "Oops, was it a secret?"
I twist my arm out of his hold and storm out of the house. Sighing as I realize Elliot was my ride. I take out my phone to order an Uber.
"I figured you could use a ride." I hear Christian says as he comes to stand beside me.
"You're offering me a ride after I 'disrespected' your sister?" I snort. This whole family was a joke, from Grace's obvious instant downplay on Kate to Mia's presence all the way to Christian now wanting to help me.
"If what was said is true, which by how my sister reacted I would assume so. Your behavior was quite understandable." He shakes his head. "If I were in the presence of a cheating philanderer who had done me wrong I would have been much worse believe me. I believe in monogamy and trust."
"Guess your sister missed out on that common decency lesson." I shrug. I lock my phone and place it back into my purse, figuring since he's offering I may as well take him up on it. Besides Taylor works for him so he can't be too horrible.
"She must have..." He hums to himself, gesturing for us to head to the Audi. "When she first brought Ethan around I instantly disliked him. There was something about him that I didn't trust but it's her life I know nothing good comes from trying to stop Mia from doing stupid shit."
"We were friends you know." I bite my lip as he opens the door for me and I slide in. He follows suit and tells Taylor to drop me off first.
"Really?" He's genuinely shocked. "You and Mia are so different... Well so are you and Katherine..."
"Yeah... I met her at this baked goods expo and she seemed nervous as hell. She wanted to open her own bakery but after a short conversation I was sure it would have flopped." I shrug.
"Ah... Amelia's Sweet." He chuckles. "She tried to make me invest in her business, well more like fork over the money without a proper business plan or basic knowledge. It's obvious that I refused."
"I was shocked when she invited me to a recently closed shop and told me she bought it." I scoff. "She wanted me to be a baker there for her, as if I would. She didn't have the basic understanding of how to run a business and it would have been a conflict of interest considering I own my own bakeries."
"You do?" He raises a brow.
"Yes. Steele's Confections and Publications." I say, proud of my business. It wasn't easy to start and even harder to get people to invest but I worked hard for years to get to the point where I am now.
"Ah, so you're the publishing house that took SIP off the map." He smirks. "I've actually tried to buy into your business quite a few times but always got the run around each time. I thought a publishing office paired with a sweets cafe where people could enjoy a book and a sweet was a good idea and it seemed quite lucrative. You just hit your 9 million mark."
"Thank you." I smile. "I first got the idea when I was just 13, I loved to read and often found myself lost in the world of fiction. The library was my safe space, but unfortunately it didn't allow eating or drinking there and everyone knows a nice sweet snack and a cup of tea is perfect while reading a nice book."
"I'm sure it is." His eyes twinkle as he listens. "I remember in my research that you started SCP three years ago? You were what 18-19?"
"Yes 19, I worked my ass off after school and during the summers to save up enough money to start my business. It was hard at first no one wanted to sign to a teenager but as soon as they saw my vision and actions, it became easier." I admit. "There are some people who tend to disrespect me because they think I'm too young for the industry but I tend to let my actions and success make them bite their tongues and have a slice of humble pie."
"I never knew you owned SCP. In my research report it never stated a gender, nor an age. Anyone who'd had contact with you and your company never spoke up, I'm assuming you made them sign NDA's?" Christian brows furrow.
"Yes. Anyone that I or my company deals with whether potential client, investor or employees must sign an NDA. I don't like my business being spread and I also hate the idea of having to get security. Uncle Jay and Daddy seem to think I'll need a CPO sooner than later as my company is quickly growing and gaining attention from the media."
I catch Taylor's sly smile in the mirror. He's been telling me about men he knows who he and Daddy could trust with my life but so far I hadn't given an answer.
"They're right." Christian nods. "Security is very important, I was too naive in the beginning of GEH to accept the fact that I needed protection. I nearly lost my life in a hostage situation when I fired an employee."
"What happened?" I ask. I clear my throat realizing it's a personal question. "If you don't mind me asking."
"The employee was trading inside information and cost me a multi million dollar deal. 15 Million dollars to be exact, its safe to say I was pissed. I fired him and blacklisted him from the West and East coast business community he could barely find a janitor's position after I was done with him."
"I was out with Elliot, he was drunk at some bar and drunk dialed me so I went out to get him when we were ambushed in the parking lot. The man was inebriated and could barely manage the gun, Elliot and I rushed him and in a struggle he was shot in the back. He's paralyzed now."
"Was this covered in the news? I don't remember hearing about it." I frown.
"No, at that point the media was just gaining interest in me so I paid any witnesses off and had them sign NDA's before working with the police department to seal the report." He runs his fingers over his bottom lip in thought. "After that I started interviewing Ex Military, Marine and Navy men working in the private sector and came across Taylor."
"I'm glad you found him. He's a very loyal and protective person." I smile at Taylor.
"Me too." Christian agrees. "Ever since then I've gotten death threats, kidnap threats and several failed plots at taking me down. Haven't had anyone get close enough to me due to Taylor and his team."
"Wow." I breathe out. Maybe it is time for me to commit to a CPO. As much as it would be a change, I'd rather have someone covering me than end up dead because of my unwillingness to be cautious.
The conversation is cut short as Taylor enters the garage of Escala. I see Christian laugh to himself as Taylor parks in a spot filled with other Audi cars.
"You live at Escala as well?" I ask.
"Penthouse C, I live on the 30th floor." He admits.
"Ah, I live in Residence B on the 19th floor." I exit the SUV as Taylor opens the door for us before leading us to a private elevator. He heads towards the service elevator.
"So strange that we're neighbors." I giggle nervously. The guy's fucking hot, and we're going to be in an elevator alone?
As we enter the elevator, I put my key in and press the 19th floor watching as Christian does the same for his floor.
"So, uh... What do you think happened after we left?" I try to break the silence, shivering slightly as goosebumps ghost up my arms.
"Mia and Ethan most likely were grilled by my father and mother. As stiff as my mother may have seemed, she was simply unsure of Katherine. My brother has brought half a dozen girls to family dinner just this year alone. My parents are quite tired of it." Christian explains.
"So he's not as into Kate as she's into him?" I question, my teeth biting into my bottom lip in nerves.
"I'm unsure really. He seems to be more attentive and is really trying to impress her. He normally doesn't care to impress any girl he's planning on bedding. He told me he's had quite a few dates with Katherine which isn't the norm for him." Christian reassures me.
"Did.." I bite down harder on my lip in shame as I wager whether I should ask him this. "W..When did Mia bring Ethan around?"
"A little over a year ago. We were having a birthday dinner for Mia when she introduced him. She was pretty adamant about her friends not posting any pictures with Ethan saying he didn't want his father finding out he was dating a Grey." He explains.
"So they were together longer than I thought." I whisper to myself.
"It it's any consolation. I'm truly sorry for any pain my sister caused you. I know just how selfish and tactless she can be, I never would have imagined she could do something like that though." He seems genuinely disappointed.
"You have no reason to apologize, you weren't the one who befriended me and you sure as hell weren't the one in a relationship with me." I sigh as the elevator stops on my floor in my private vestibule.
"Thank you for giving me a ride." I say and lean upwards to kiss his cheek, blushing as he stiffens and his eyes darken.
"You're very welcome." He stares at me with a look of pure wonder?
Hope you all enjoyed my newest idea. I honestly love where this story is heading in my head
and believe you all will enjoy it as well. I'm sick of the same old
same old. I want to try something different for myself. This is an HEA but be warned
there will be some main character deaths none of which include Christian and Ana.