MARCH 24TH 2001
He was pissed, not sort of pissed but the deeply hurt kind of pissed. "Are you done?" he growled as she wiped the single tear running down her face.
"Yeah, yeah… as long as I don't look at you, I'm good." Rose hiccupped struggling to catch her breath. This was why he didn't tell her, he expected her to be amused by his dilemma, but he also expected some sympathy from her.
"Not a single person in my life is of some use…"
"You actually expect me to help in this, maybe you have forgotten, but I am fifteen years old. This kind of shit doesn't apply to me." Yeah, he had forgotten her age simply because of that kiss, the kiss that happened over three months ago still run through his mind like a telecast.
Actually, I have… you don't have the body of a fifteen-year-old, aside from being short as hell you look like most of the seniors. You also happen to have developed in the chest area since the summer." His tone and look remained impassive so much so Rose thought nothing of it. As far as she could tell it was an observation, pure and simple.
"Despite my big boobs, I can't help you. You got yourself in this position, I'm sure you can get yourself out."
About a month ago he had a late practice as usual and stayed behind to work on some things with the coach. He'd, therefore, found himself in the locker room alone. Usually, Susannah would turn up while he showered and they'd more than likely end up having sex. So naturally, he expected Susannah, except her best friend Leila, turned up and in a moment of sheer stupidity thought it was the perfect way to get rid of Susannah. Susannah turned up to find her best friend on her knees ready to blow him, and without a word stormed out of the locker room. That should have been it, but luck wasn't on his side.
Susannah catching him and Leila didn't work, later that night she called saying she understood. He couldn't believe his ears, Susannah had claimed they weren't exclusive which was true, but fuck, that wasn't the point, he wanted her off his back. Now not only did he have Susannah on his case, he now had Leila as well.
Both girls had claimed they were happy to share as if he was the latest fashion accessory. Elliot thought he had hit the jackpot and Rose found it hysterical, fat lot of use they were.
"Come on, that big brain of yours can think of a way to help me out." He practically begged. "If I was actually getting sex out of this it might be bearable." Wrong choice of words because Rose lost it again. "Oh, fuck me." He groaned, and she practically lost her breath laughing.
He was grateful when he finally arrived at school. He was quick to get out of the car leaving Rose in the car still laughing. He arrived at his locker to find the cause or rather causes of his trouble standing there obviously waiting for him. "Hey Christian." Leila purred much to his annoyance. How could I be so stupid? I want to go to Harvard and Leila is how I choose to solve my problem?
"Yeah, I've had enough…"
"Finally, he picks." He succeeded in hiding his smile. So that was what the lack of sex was about, they were trying to force his hand and only managed the opposite.
"Actually, no… I'm not picking either one of you. Instead of being straight with me, which let's be honest, I have been with you about not wanting a relationship. You chose to play games… well, I don't have time for it so guess what?" They looked at him in disbelief. "I'm not picking either one of you, in fact, I am so done. My life would be made so much easier if neither one of you ever spoke to me again. Goodbye." He said calmly before slamming his locker shut. Unlike Logan, he was subtly in his rejection, not for Susannah and Leila, but subtly as in quietly done. This is what you should have done from the get-go instead of waiting near on a month for… let's be honest a threesome that was evidently never going to happen.
He didn't give a damn when come practice, the news was Susannah had dumped him for Curtis Jones. He welcomed the news; maybe just maybe one of the cheerleaders would feel sorry for him and blow him in the shower later. He was known for staying behind after everyone was done. In reality, he knew who and what he wanted, but it wasn't happening. He'd been at war with himself since that late afternoon, and there was no end in sight. She was fifteen to his almost eighteen he kept reminding himself.
Hell, I can rack my brain around it as much as I want she doesn't see you that way. Yeah, that kiss was hot, but the minute it was done so was she. As she told me later, she wanted her first kiss to be good. That was that.
He was surprised when he learned Carla had agreed to come to their home for dinner. After all, Rose spent a great deal of time there so Carla should at least meet the family. If he was honest, he thought it was bullshit, several months later she finally accepts a dinner invitation. His parents spent most of the time talking to Carla while he and Mia talked to Rose. Carla was lovely enough, but there was something about the woman he couldn't shake. He had caught the way Carla looked at Rose sometimes, and he could have sworn there was no love in her eyes. As long as she didn't stop Rose from coming around, he didn't care.
"She told me she has met someone… I thought she looked like her old self, not completely, but getting there." Christian thought she seemed happy for her mother. Most kids he knew didn't take their parents dating again well, whether after the death of a partner or divorce.
"Who is he?" He asked staring at her side profile a little too hard.
"I don't know she said she would arrange for us all to go to lunch sometime," Rose said with a shrug. Her stepdad's death had happened less than a year ago, and already Carla had met someone. He wasn't going to bring it up unless Rose did, but he knew she wouldn't.
"You stare at me far too much sometimes." He didn't realize she had noticed.
"I thought I was surreptitious enough in my gawking." He admitted.
"Why do you stare?" There was a loaded question.
"I can't stop thinking about that kiss." Honesty was the best policy when it came to Rose.
"Right... you are giving it to much credence." That response hurt, but he didn't show it. "How about we kiss again, and you will see it wasn't as big a deal as you think it is."
"There goes your big brain working." He teased more so to hide his eagerness at her idea.
She walked over to the edge of the bed, this time there was a hesitation to their movement, as neither knew where to go from their position. Christian pulled Rose between his legs, she ran her fingers through his hair and leaned in planting a soft kiss on his lips. As if a spark had been ignited they deepened the kiss, lips moving in perfect synchronicity. Christian pulled Rose closer to his body needing to feel the heat her body produced. He wrapped his arms around her, and she moaned welcoming the closeness. Christian forced his tongue into her mouth, her tongue welcomed his as she dominated the kiss. He let her after all he wasn't the one that needed to be convinced about the gravity of their kiss.
He was surprised when she straddled his lap her breast pushed against his chest. Fuck, he wanted to feel her skin but didn't want to startle her. He needn't have worried about that. "Anastasia, time to go," Carla shouted. She pulled away from him slowly.
"Why can't she accept the fact that my name is Rose?" She said with a groan.
"I don't know." He breathed running his fingers up and down her spine. "I don't know about you, but that was fucking incredible." He said taking a deep breath just as she did. Unfortunately, as incredible as it was she was fifteen, and it was still a no go.
"Yes, it was." She moaned still on his lap.
"But we can't do that again." She leaned back staring at him.
"Good luck with that." She planted a quick kiss on him and jumped off his lap.
"I have more willpower than you think." He countered.
"You are a hormonal teenage boy. The word willpower doesn't exist in your vocabulary." Indeed, if he had any the likes of Susannah and Leila will never have been on his radar. "See you Monday." She said walking out. Great, now I'm at war with myself and the instigator.
By the time he got downstairs, Rose was now spending the night. Mia wanted to watch a movie, and since no one had any objections, it turned into an impromptu movie night. His family loved Ana as soon as they met her, she had a brilliant mind and a strong personality. Carrick especially liked the fact that she kept Christian in line. His parents had put a lot of trust in him allowing him and Ana to spend time alone in his bedroom. Mia was with them most of the time, but there were times they were alone with the door closed.
Christian felt like he was betraying that trust, he knew that second kiss should never have happened. That was the nature of these things, you don't think about the practicality until after the fact. When the need has worn off, and the reality sinks in. His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he felt Ana's hands on his cock. His head shot over to his parents though he knew they couldn't see what was going on with a blanket providing cover, and the room in relative darkness. "Rose, cut it out." He whispered. She pretended she couldn't hear him. She wasn't doing much, her fingers just tapped a rhythm on his cock over and over again. If she kept this up for the entire movie, it would have the desired effect. I am so fucked… literally.
Minutes, after the company plane took off with Ana onboard Kate, was knocking on Emilia's door. Why pay for a private investigator when she had Emilia. The girl was terrifying with a laptop. "Coming." Emilia groaned.
"Hey Kate, what's up." She said as she yanked the door open.
"I need you to find someone for me," Kate said all pleasantries lost on her.
"Okay, who?" Emilia said pulling her laptop out of her bag.
"Christian Grey."
"The name sounds familiar, I saw something on SIP's servers about him." That has to be good, for Ana's sake you better have been waiting, Christian Grey. "Just as I thought, I guess his family… no, not his family… the man owns Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc." Neither of them had heard of the company, then again they lived on the other side of the pond. "It is primarily involved in telecommunication and manufacturing," Emilia added.
That is all well and good but what about the man himself?" She asked eager for his personal information. "Is there a picture of him?"
"A few grainy pictures but nothing else, he has gone through a great deal of trouble to keep his personal life personal. Truth be told, I don't know if it's the same Christian Grey you are looking for. Back in 2006, he kept himself in the public eye, but for some reason, it all stopped and not only that, he had every info from back then wiped clean. I mean you can never wipe things cleanly off the Internet you just make it impossible to find." Emilia clarified.
Ana had stopped looking by mid 2005, long before Christian Grey became somebody. If only Ana had persevered. "So he has someone like you working for him." Kate surmised.
"Very much so. You will need someone like me just to know info about him has been taken off the net. It's not hard when you know what you are doing, I mean it's like typing... if you know how to type it's not that hard to do." Every analogy Emilia used was computer based.
"Get me an appointment with the man for Monday," Kate said almost jumping on the bed with excitement. That was until Emilia looked at her as though she had suddenly grown another head.
"Hacking that company's servers would be like hacking Steele Media Group." Shit.
"What else can you find out about him?" Kate asked trying to figure out a way to get Ana to see this man the minute she arrived from the Bahamas.
Considering how successful his company is, I'm surprised we haven't heard of it… I know a hand full of people know about our company over here." Emilia rattled on as she typed faster than Kate could comprehend.
"Are you trying the hacking thing?"
"Well, I have to at least try." Emilia uttered absentmindedly earning a grin from Kate.
"I'm sure we have heard or use something his company manufactures. Millions around the world read our magazines, but ask them who the publishing company is, and they couldn't tell you." Kate said collapsing on the bed.
"Kavanagh, I really don't need your scent in my bed." Emilia moaned only to have Kate roll around in her sheets. "I hate you." She grumbled.
"No, you don't." Kate teased her voice breathy with need. "By the way, I'm sl…"
"Son of a bitch, I'm in," Emilia muttered surprised she pulled it off. "Well, I can tell you he has a free couple of hours after lunch on Monday, other than that I can't help you." Emilia groaned wishing she could do more.
"That is good enough," Kate said with a smile.
"You were saying something before I got all excited about getting into the company's mainframe.
"I like your bed a hell of a lot better than mine." Ana was going to rip her a new asshole for sleeping with Emilia, but she hoped after she told her… fuck, she still knew nothing about his personal life. Like Emilia said how did she know if it was the same Christian Grey. "You said there was something about him on the SIP servers."
It was late on Saturday when Welch finally called with some information. "His name is James Kane, his practice is actually in Scotland. He practiced here in Seattle for many years and then a year after Raymond Steele had died he left the country. Unfortunately, he is currently away, his daughter is getting married in the Bahamas."
When will he be back?"
"His secretary wouldn't say," Welch informed him.
"Okay." He said hanging up. He had waited years for her, he could wait a little longer. After Rose was taken from him, he buried himself in his studies, and within two years he had graduated from Harvard. He didn't want a moment's rest, a minute of idleness brought back memories of her. He poured every ounce of energy and time into building GEH. The media showed interest, and he lapped it up, appearing in front of magazine covers labeled a genius. He welcomed it because exposure meant Rose could one day pick up one of those magazines and see him.
That was until a tabloid paper printed pictures of him kissing April Lincoln at a fundraiser. He wasn't, but the angle of the shot made it appear that way, it didn't help that other pictures had them sat together, talking together closely. Worse, he realized late on that there were several pictures of them at different galas. Private dinners with April that appeared far more intimate than it was. He couldn't let Ana see that she would think the worst. It would kill her and in turn him. He soon learned the downside of allowing the media access to him as much as he did. He paid the tabloid paper that owned the pictures a pretty penny to make them disappear. Three months later he bankrupted the company sending a message out to the rest. They left him alone, a small part of him hated it, if he closed himself off, she was never going to find him. That was when he made the decision to actively look for her, after all, he had the money and means to do so. For the longest time he had told himself to let her go, she'd most likely had moved on, but until he knew for certain, he couldn't let her go. He was so close he could taste it.
"Sir," Taylor called from outside his office door with a knock to boot.
"Come in." He mumbled feeling drained
"Miss Lincoln is in the lobby, she..." Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.
"Send her up." If he turned her away, he'd never hear the end of it.
The Lincolns had been very welcoming when his family moved to Seattle a year after he lost Rose. He was at Harvard by this point, but he welcomed the idea of not having to go back to San Diego. The thought of sleeping in the same room that was saturated with memories of Rose was too much. The boathouse they had painted together, everything about San Diego reminded him of her. To find her, to nullify the threat of Carla he needed to focus, he needed to make something of himself, and he did.
He found Dr. Garcon soon after he hired Welch and Barney, he had been pleasantly surprised when Dr. Garcon had told him and given him what he needed. Turns out Dr. Garcon had hated doing what he did and had given Rose the only thing he could. He had advised Rose to give him permission to give Christian her files. In fact, the only reason the doc still had them was that he was waiting for Christian. He handed everything over, as far as Dr. Garcon was concerned he never met a Rose Lambert. With the doctor's help, Barney pulled one hell of a feat wiping her info of the medical database. If someone somehow managed to pull any remnants of her file off the datatbase it will be corrupted. He didn't know why the doctor was doing what he was doing and when he asked the man simply gave him a sad smile. He had the distinct feeling the man in his youth had been in his position.
"Hey," April said from the door snapping him out of his memories.
"April, what can I do for you?" He asked as politely as his mood would allow.
"Nothing really…" she mumbled fidgeting in the doorway. He wasn't going to give her an inch because April Lincoln would take fucking miles. "I just wanted to see how you were… I haven't seen you in a while." April had at one point thought she and Christian would end up together. A few years ago she was his date to every society event. She was the envy of every girl and then out of the blue Christian distanced himself, chose to go to events by himself or with Mia. Worse, the pictures of them all disappeared. She soon realized despite what she thought she had never really had him, he had always been distant emotionally with everyone, but his family.
"I'm good, I was away on business and naturally, I had a lot of work to do when I got back. As you can see I'm in here working on a weekend when I could be out with the family." She got the hint loud and clear. If he didn't have time for his family, he didn't have time for her.
"Okay then, as long as you are alright." She turned and left without waiting for a response. She consoled herself with the fact that there wasn't another woman involved.