CHAPTER 8
ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO ELJ
CHRISTIAN
After receiving a text from Gail, I reluctantly extricate myself from Ana's warm body. I look at her and she's sleeping soundly. Just to be sure, I nudge her shoulder and she doesn't so much as budge. Thank goodness, otherwise she would have felt my hard as a rock dick that was resting between her ass cheeks. I quietly tiptoe out of the room and make my way to the kitchen where I find Gail and Taylor.
"Good morning, boss," Taylor says with a smug smile on his face. I know why he's here with Gail, and I choose to ignore his ass. He takes a sip of his coffee and smiles over the rim of the mug.
"You couldn't leave him at home, Gail?" I say as I walk over to her.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world, boss," the smug bastard says.
"Boss, why don't you let me cook the breakfast and you can carry it up to Ana?" Gail says to me.
"Well, I kind of told her that cooking breakfast was my specialty, so I have to do something."
I hear Taylor do something between a snort and a laugh.
"Boss, do you even know how to turn on the oven?" Taylor asks. The answer to that is, I don't. We always had a cook at home, or mom would cook for us when she was off. Grandma would cook as well, so I've never had to learn. Elliot and Mia had an interest, but not me. When I went off to Harvard, I had a meal plan and a credit card with no limits, so cooking was never even on my radar.
"Don't make me fire you this early in the morning, Taylor. I'd hate for you to start married life at the unemployment office," I say to him.
"I guess that's a no to my question, Gail." He starts to laugh again, and I give him a dirty look that only causes him to laugh harder.
"Ok, boss. So, you said she wants French toast, scrambled eggs, fruit and tea?" Gail asks.
"Tea only on rainy days, so coffee today."
"We're short for time, so I'll make the French toast. Can you scramble some eggs?" Gail asks.
"Gail, he doesn't even know how to turn on the oven. I'll bet my next paycheck he doesn't know how to scramble an egg," Taylor says.
"He's not wrong," I confess.
"Fine. Let me do the cooking. There's a new fruit platter in the fridge. Why don't you grab a bowl and fill it for Ana? That will be your contribution to making this breakfast."
Since we have to work quickly, I simply nod and go to find a bowl.
"Where are the bowls?" I ask while scratching my head, and Taylor's laughter fills the kitchen.
"Go ahead and start cooking, Gail. I'll help him find the bowls," Taylor says, finally making himself useful and helping me out.
Twenty minutes later, Gail has prepared two trays containing French toast, eggs, fruit and coffee. She stacks our plates on two trays, so I can carry them upstairs easily.
"Go, boss, before she comes down here looking for you. Taylor and I will clean up," Gail says.
"Why do I have to clean up? I already found the bowls for him in his own kitchen." Taylor asks.
"Get your ass over here, Jason Taylor," Gail orders. I watch as Jason gets up and silently starts to clean up. I give him a smug look before picking up the tray.
"I can't wait until Ana starts bossing the boss around," I hear Taylor say behind me.
Yeah, right
I'm the dominant around here.
I quickly make my way upstairs and to my bedroom. I had left the door cracked open, so I just push it in only to find the bed empty. I look around and find the little snoop nosing around in my closet.
"Do you want to borrow one of my suits?" I ask her. She jumps at the sound of my voice. She turns to face me, and I see a blush creep up her neck and face. Busted.
"Uh, I was just looking for you." Such a little liar.
"I promise you, I never hide in the closet. Come on. I have breakfast." I nudge my head towards the bed. She follows me and climbs back into the giant bed. She props herself on a mountain of pillows.
"You didn't have to make me breakfast, but I'm glad you did. I'm famished."
I prop her tray in front of her, and I walk around to my side of the bed. I've never had a woman in this bed before, so it's odd to think that I have a side. I get in and grab my own tray.
"Oh my God! You made this? It looks and smells incredible!" She leans in and takes an exaggerated inhale of the food before cutting into the French toast and taking her first bite.
"Mhhhmmm," she moans, causing my dick to harden. She licks some syrup off the side of her lips and I can do nothing but watch her. I totally forget about my own food.
"This is incredible. The best French toast I've ever had," she says as she continues to eat. I take a bite and I have to agree that it's delicious. I typically don't eat processed carbs like this, so this is a rare treat and a nice break from my regular omelets.
"I'm glad you like it," I say as I watch her take another bite, followed by a sip of her coffee. Thankfully, Gail knew how she liked her coffee.
"How did you know how I like my coffee?" She asks as she next digs into the fruit. At least I can take credit for putting that in the bowl.
"Just a lucky guess."
"This is so good. You actually made this?"
"I brought it to you, didn't I?" I ask carefully. I have to make sure I don't lie outright. To distract her from asking any more questions, I put a piece of strawberry in her mouth. That does the trick because she stops asking questions.
We eat quickly, and I usher her into the shower. Since she has to be in by seven, I shower in one of the guest bathrooms. I'm back in my closet getting dressed when she comes out of the bathroom dressed in her black and white uniform.
She has her hair in a ponytail and her face is free of makeup. She looks so beautiful that I can't move for several seconds. I watch as she bends down to put on her shoes, giving me a nice view of her ass. What I wouldn't give to be able to put my hands on her ass right now. Soon, Grey. Patience.
She walks over to me as I tie my tie. She gets on her tippy toes and gives me a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for everything. You made a horrible day into one of the most memorable days of my life. And memorable in a good way. You didn't have to do any of this for me, but you spent your entire day making sure I was ok. Thank you for that. I don't remember the last time anyone took care of me the way you did yesterday." She goes to kiss me on the cheek again, but I turn my face and capture her lips with mine. We stand in my closet and lose ourselves in the kiss. I pull her to me, not even bothering to hide my erection from her. I press my desire against her and feel her moan in my mouth.
She suddenly breaks the kiss.
"We've got to go," she says shyly.
I grab her chin and lean down and kiss her again.
"Ok, but before we do, I have something for you." I go to my nightstand and pull out the new iPhone I had Taylor pick up for her. "This is to replace the one who had that unfortunate accident with the wall."
"Oh, wow. Thank you, cut I can't accept this. I can't afford to pay you back."
"It's a gift. You need a new phone, so it's yours." I hand it to her, but she refuses to accept it.
"Take the phone. I'm not taking it back because I got it for you. You need it. How else am I going to be able to contact you? You better get ready, girl," I say to her as I hand her the phone and finish tying my tie.
"Ready for what?"
"For hurricane Christian, of course," I say rather arrogantly as I lead her out of the bedroom.
"Imperious," she says after me.
"Commanding," I respond.
I take Ana's hand as I escort her to the café. Taylor is right beside us trying his best to hold in his laugh as Ana talks.
"Next time Christian should make French toast for all of us, Jason. It was seriously the best I've ever had." I should feel shame for passing Gail's French toast off as mine, but I don't. I want to jump up and cheer at her saying next time.
"Yes, I think I would enjoy that very much. Maybe we can all watch him prepare it next time. You can give Gail a few pointers, boss," Taylor smirks. I give him a dirty look, but he just keeps on smiling.
"Wait here, Taylor," I say as I walk Ana behind the counter. It's still rather early so there is only one customer at the counter. Pink hair is there taking the order and Jose is at the register. He freezes when he sees us walking towards him holding hands.
Not giving a fuck who is watching, I give her a not so chaste kiss on the lips right there at the café. Everyone is stunned into silence. Of course, Ana blushes
"Come and find me when you take a break," I say as I walk away.
"Gurl, you better start talking right now," I hear Jose say.
"Not now. We're at work."
"I don't give a fuck where we are. Talk or I swear to god, I will shut down this café!" That's all I hear before I turn the corner to the elevator.
I manage to get a few hours of work in uninterrupted. I even have a call with Ros where she confirms she'll be back in the office on Monday.
I look over at my buzzing phone and decide to finally take Elliot's call. He's called about four times already today, and each time, I was too busy to answer.
"What?" I ask abruptly.
"Fuck you, too, bro. Answer the phone the first time I call your ass."
"What is it, Elliot? I've been away, and I've been playing catchup.
"I've been calling you since last night! So has dad, by the way. He and Mia will be home tonight, and he wants to have lunch with us tomorrow."
I let out an exasperated breath.
"I really don't have time to deal with this shit, Elliot. And I'm really not in the mood for another lecture from dad. Maybe he should lecture his wife instead of us." I grab a pen and toss it across the room in my irritation. Whenever Elliot or I would have a disagreement with mom, dad is always around the damn corner waiting to lecture us. It was fine when we were teenagers, but I'm an adult now, and mom is the one with the problem.
"No shit. I'm not in the mood either, but you know he'll only harass us until we agree to meet with him. Or he'll just show up at your office or mine. At least if we meet him at a restaurant during the week, we can always make the excuse of having to get back to work."
"Yeah, but aren't we too old for that shit, Elliot? What the hell is he going to lecture us about this time? I refuse to apologize for my sex life. It's no one's business. And what the fuck are you supposed to say? Mom, sorry for giving you the grandson you love so damn much. Give me a fucking break."
I grab a stress ball and start tossing it in the air.
"He says he just wants us to get back on track as a family and won't lecture us." Yeah, right. And I'm a naïve idiot.
"Bullshit, but if that's true, he needs to talk to his wife. I'm not going." I say this already knowing that Carrick Grey won't give us much of a choice. I can put him off for a few days, even a few weeks, but eventually he will just show up at the office or at home.
"Well tough shit because I'm not going alone. I was just warning you. Gotta go," he says before ending the call. I take my phone and toss it across the room, where it lands on the couch.
"Motherfucker!" I say out loud.
I hear a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," I bark.
My irritation immediately ceases when I see who it is. I feel my mouth turn from a frown to a smile as she approaches me with what looks like lunch.
I go to her and pull her to me, kissing the top of her head.
"Is this a bad time?" She asks shyly.
"Never a bad time for you."
"I brought you the lunch you didn't get to eat yesterday. You haven't eaten yet, have you?" She's biting on that damn lip as she looks around my office. I grab the bag of food from her and place it on my desk. I turn around and lean against my desk so I can watch her.
She's in the middle of the office just looking around. I watch as she touches and smells the flower arrangement on my coffee table. She runs her delicate little hands all along the furniture just like she did the first time she was in the office alone.
She looks towards the bathroom door.
"Do you want to go in and smell my cologne?"
Her eyes practically pop out of her head before she covers her face with her hands.
"How do you know?" She croaks out.
"Cameras, baby."
"Oh my goodness. I'm so embarrassed."
"Don't be. Come here." She's still blushing as she takes me hand and I pull her into my body. "I'd offer you a tour of the office, but I know you're already familiar with it. Or were you just lost?"
She let out an embarrassed laugh before she buries her face in my chest for a few seconds, before abruptly moving away from my chest and my entire body.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to touch your chest."
"It's fine as long as you don't touch me with your hands." I say that to reassure her, but I can feel the mood in the office has gone from light to awkward in the space of about five seconds. Where she was once in my arms, she's now standing just out of my reach. I move towards her and grab her chin, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
"I want you to touch me, but-", she cuts me off before I can finish.
"I understand. It's ok. You explained it to me already. You asked me if it would be an issue for me, and it won't be. I would like to be able to touch you, but if it's not possible, then I can deal with it. I don't want you to think you have to apologize for explain it to me every time, okay?"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
"Thank you," I say, feeling immense relief. I grab her and pull her into a hug. I know she's doing her best right now not to touch my no go zones as she puts her hands on my forearms.
"Is this ok?"
"It's perfect," I tell her before kissing her lips.
"I have to run. It's the lunch rush and Jose will come up here looking for me if I don't get back downstairs."
"Okay. I have to work late tonight since I've been gone for almost three weeks."
"I have to go home and start packing anyway. I've put it off long enough. And I have to let myself be interrogated by Jose," she says with an exaggerated eyeroll. "I'll come and say goodbye before I leave. Around 3:30?"
"Fuck! I'll be in a meeting with some department heads at that time. Maybe I can cancel," I say as I reach for my phone.
"Don't do that. Call me later."
"Call you?" It's been almost a damn decade since I've a woman just to chat.
"Call me. Now go eat your lunch."
"Authoritarian," I tease.
"Cheeky," she says right before kissing my cheek and turning to head towards the door. I grab her elbow and pull her to me and kissing her with everything in me.
"Mother," I say a few hours later.
"Hello, darling," she says. She sounds like my mom again, except she sounds tired. "I was wondering when I would hear from you. I hope you haven't forgotten about your grandmother."
I run my hands over my face. It's after eight o'clock and I'm still in the fucking office. I don't need a guilt trip too.
"Mother, I left only forty eight hours ago. How's grandma doing?"
"She's doing well, darling. She's been walking around and is recovering nicely. She's on schedule to be discharged on Saturday. Hopefully, we'll be home that same night."
"I told you I would have sent you the jet."
"I've charted one for medical transport. We'll have a nurse with us, dear. How's everything with you?"
"Great," I say thinking about Ana. "Everything is great."
"Really? Well, I'm glad to hear that work is going well."
"Work is going well, but that's not what I'm talking about." Ana and I aren't official yet, so I'm debating on whether or not to tell mother, but I know that it's just a matter of time until we're together.
"Oh?" She clears her throat. "I hope whatever it is doesn't bring more shame upon us, Christian."
I sigh. For a second, I thought I had gotten my mother back.
"Only if my happiness is a source of shame for you, mother. Is that what you're saying?"
"I've always wanted all of my children to be happy. I can't see where your life's choices have made any of you happy, though. Your brother is raising that precious boy alone, and you're doing god knows what behind closed doors. There's still hope for Mia, I guess. Only the lord knows."
Since when was my mother religious? Never.
"There's more to any of us than what you're choosing to focus on, mom. Elliot is a great father to his son. And despite what you think, I didn't bring shame to this family. I'm not the one who caused this." I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. During this shit storm I finally went back to my shrink at the urging of Gail and Taylor, and that's one of the things I got out of it. This shit was not my fault.
"Your actions caused this. If you didn't have this fetish, this never would have happened. Yes, those women talked, but there would have been nothing to talk about if you never sought out their services."
"Their services? They're not prostitutes, but you know what? Never mind. I'm done trying to convince you. It's one thing when the entire world judges me, but it's another thing entirely when my own mother won't let shit go. This has died down. Everyone's moved on except you, mother. I'm done discussing this with you. You're the only one who feels shame." I abruptly end the call and toss my phone on my desk. If my own fucking mother can't move on, then what the fuck am I supposed to do?
Fuck it. It's her fucking problem, not mine. The world's moved on and so has every fucking person that I care about except her. I fucking know that this is another thing she's going to run to dad about. If he wasn't going to lecture me before, he is now.
The last fucking thing I need is a Carrick Grey lecture. I'm not going to stand for it this time. If he wants to lecture me, he'd better bring his A game.
I grab the phone and dial the only person I want to talk to right now. She picks up on the second ring and I hear her sweet voice.
"Hey, baby," is all I manage to say.
"Hey. What are you doing?"
"Still at work and thinking about you." Totally not cliché. She giggles at that and my heart soars.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Is that him? Put him on speaker, Ana?" I think I hear Jose say in the background. I hear them have some dialogue and then I hear footsteps and the slamming of a door.
"I'm hiding from Jose in the bathroom. Why are you at work this late?" She whispers.
"Because I've been gone and so has Ros. Plus, I have a call with China in ten minutes."
"Who's Ros?"
"My second in command. How was your evening?" I ask, not wanting to talk about Ros.
"Ok. We didn't actually get any packing done. We ate dinner and just relaxed. Am I going to see you in the morning?"
"Nothing will keep me away. I want to see you tomorrow night too."
"That sounds like a plan. You want to go dancing? I'm supposed to go with Jose and some friends?"
Not exactly what I had in mind, but maybe she'll come home with me afterwards. If we're doing to do this relationship thing, I'll probably have to get used to Jose as being part of the package.
"Only if you agree to come home with me afterwards," I say to her.
"Deal."
"Deal. Now I have to get on my call."
"Promise you'll go home afterwards?"
"I promise. I'll text you when I get home." We say our goodbyes, and I spend another hour on the phone with China before I go home.
When I get home about, I immediately text Ana letting her know that I'm home. She texts me back letting me know she'll see me tomorrow. I eat dinner in the kitchen alone, and all I can do is think about how different things were just twenty four hours ago when Ana was here with me. I'd do anything to have her here now.
I'm standing in line with Taylor at the café the next morning, willing the line to move so I can see Ana. I'm quickly responding to some emails that came in overnight when I hear giggling. Ana's giggling.
I lose all interest in my email and look to see just what the fuck is so funny.
There's some fucker in an expensive suit standing in front of her holding his cell phone in her face. There are only two people between us, so I can hear what he's saying.
"This is my clumsy attempt at making blueberry muffins. I found a recipe online but they look nothing like yours."
I hear Ana giggle again at this fool. What the fuck?
"I can't even imagine what you did wrong. Those don't look anything like muffins. Are you sure you followed the recipe?"
"I don't know what I did. Maybe you can come to my apartment one day and teach me."
I've heard enough.
"I'm about to kill that fucker, Taylor," I whisper under my breath.
Taylor doesn't say anything, but I see his jaw clench and he lets out an irritated breath.
"Not if I kill him first, boss." Taylor and Gail, my most loyal employees and friends. Maybe mother should take lessons from them.
I walk past the people standing in line in front of me and go stand in front of that fucker. I recognize his face immediately. He works for GEH. I don't know what department or who he works for, but that asshole works for me.
"I'm pretty sure I pay you to work and not flirt." He stands there stunned, not sure what to say.
I see Jose standing there looking from me to Ana to that asshole whose name don't even know. He crosses his arms across his chest, waiting for the action to start.
"Uh, Mr. Grey," he begins. I ignore him, reach for Ana's hand and gently pull her towards me. I lean across the counter and give her a not so chaste kiss on the lips. I hear hushed whispering in the line behind me, but I don't care. I continue to kiss her right there, sending a message to any other asshole who thinks they can try and take what's mine.
"Oh, shit!" I hear Jose explain. "I told your ass he was possessive."
I end the kiss and Ana is completely red and flushed in the face.
The asshole is stunned speechless and just walks away without ordering anything.
"I'll have my usual," I say smugly. Soon, I'm handed some type of muffin and a large black coffee.
"He was just being friendly," she says.
"He's going to be one friendly unemployed fool if he flirts with you again." I trace my finger on the side of her face. "Come find me when you get a break." I lift her hand and kiss it before I walk away.
"I told your ass, Ana!" I hear Jose say.
"Oh, shut up, Jose!"
I'm irritated for the rest of the morning. That asshole flirting with my woman just put me on edge. That fucking job of hers puts her on display for every straight male in this building, and everyone else who wanders in for coffee.
I don't like it one bit, but pretty soon she'll have her own CPO standing watching. She'll officially be mine soon. Patience, Grey. Patience.
The rest of the morning is one clusterfuck after another. I had to back to back meetings, and an offsite meeting with my lawyers about a new acquisition. It was during that time that Andrea tells me Ana came up to my office to find me. So, I missed seeing my girl who is probably irritated with me over that pissing contest this morning.
Just as expected, Carrick walks into my office right around midday. I've been ignoring his calls for days, but ever the predictable Grey, he walks into my office with Elliot right behind him holding a bag with I imagine is our lunch.
I shake my head. As predictable as he is, dragging Elliot with him is a complete surprise. I was betting on him finding me and dragging me to some restaurant for this lecture.
"Son," is all he says.
"Dad. This is a surprise," I say. Him being here right now is the least surprising thing, but I'm still irritated. I have been since that asshole decided to flirt with Ana this morning.
"I've been trying to reach you for days. We need to talk," he says. He grabs the bag from Elliot and proceeds to arrange lunch at my table. Andrea walks in with bottles of water.
My irritation increases. Not only does he barge in here, but he's giving my assistant orders as well?
"I got your favorite. Subs."
Is he for real?
"Subs? Really, dad?" My irritation keeps climbing.
"For fucks sakes, Christian. Just call them hoagies. Can we just get through this, please? No need to get all worked up." Elliot huffs and takes a seat.
"Language, Elliot. Sit down, Christian."
He sits down and begins to eat, waiting for me follow him. Elliot starts to eat while sitting across from dad, but I grab my sandwich and move to the head of the table.
I wait for him to speak.
"What are we going to do about this family, boys?" Dad asks between bites.
"Talk to your wife, dad," I respond.
"She's trying," dad says. I hear Elliot snort.
"Really? Is she? By calling EJ a mistake? By never letting me or Elliot forget that we're not perfect and we don't fit into her image of what our perfect little family is supposed to look like? I'm not going to apologize for my sex life. In fact, I'm done talking about it."
"And I refuse to apologize for my son, dad. What happened is what happened, and I'm happy he's here now. I don't know what else to tell you," Elliot says. It's about time he found his balls.
"I'm not here to talk about any of that. I want us to move past that. Elliot, your mother loves EJ more than words. You know this, but she worries about you being a single dad. That's all." Bullshit. Maybe that's part of it, but that's not all. It doesn't fit her image.
"And, Christian, you know this impacted the entire family. Her practice was affected. Her reputation at the hospital. She's still dealing with all of that, but she loves you."
"Dad, I've apologized for that. The way she acts, you'd think I was a serial killer or something. And this has all died down. No one is talking about it except her. She's the one who can't let it go. You had the same issues as her, but you don't remind me of it every day." I don't mention that her practice really didn't suffer much at all. A few people found other pediatricians, but her practice is so busy now that she can't even accept any new patients.
"Your grandmother will be home this weekend. She's doing well, so we want everyone over at the house for a Sunday barbeque. We haven't done that this summer. It's time we start acting like a family again."
I look at Elliot and we roll our eyes. Dad's missing the point here. Elliot and I aren't the problem. His wife is.
"Again, talk to your wife."
"And you owe your mother an apology, Christian. Both of you, actually. Elliot, for the crude comments you made, and Christian, for the things you said to her in Montana and on the phone yesterday." Of course, she went crying to him.
"Wait. What happened yesterday?" Elliot asks.
"More of the same. I called to check on grandma, and when I told our dear mother that things were going great for me, she reminded me not to bring anymore shame to the family. Makes sense since bringing shame to the family is my M.O. lately."
"Christian-," dad begins.
"And what am I supposed to apologize for, dad? I made a crude comment to my brother as a joke. I didn't know she was behind us eavesdropping. How about, I'm sorry mom for not keeping it in my pants and for giving you a grandson. And Christian can apologize for what? Having hormones? Or his touch issues? Or being a kinky bastard?"
I almost choke on my water when he says that. I let out a half snort, half laugh.
"Enough, boys. Apologize for being disrespectful towards your mother. That is all. I've talked to my sons, and I'm going to talk to your mother as well. I want all of this behind us."
"She's the one who won't let it go, dad!" I almost feel like beating my head against this table.
He's about to respond, but there's a soft knock on the door. Thankful to get a reprieve from this conversation, I quickly yell out come in.
Ana walks in holding what looks like coffee and lunch. As soon as she notices my guests, she stalls and looks like a deer in the headlights.
I walk to her and take the coffee from her hands.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were in a meeting."
"Don't apologize," I kiss her hand. "You remember Elliot? And this is my father, Carrick Grey."
To his credit, Carrick quickly wipes the surprised look from his face. He gets up and shakes Ana's hand.
"Dad, this is Ana Steele. My girlfriend," I say even though we haven't made it official, but as far as I'm concerned, she's mine.
She arches her brows at me, challenging me. I lean in and give her a loud, wet kiss on the cheek.
She lets out a loud giggle before crossing her arms and looking me over.
"Overconfident," she says.
"Brazen," I respond before giving her a kiss on the lips this time.
I had forgotten all about my uninvited guests until I hear the sound of a throat clearing. I look and see both Elliot and dad staring at us.
"It's hot in here, dad. Can you ask Andrea to turn up the AC," Elliot says as he pretends to adjust his collar.
Dad chooses to ignore him.
Ana is once again embarrassed and tries to move out of my arms. I don't let her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear." He takes Ana's hand again and kisses it. I guess I know where me and Elliot get it from. We grew up with him kissing mother's hand all the damn time.
"I didn't mean to interrupt. I see you've already got lunch. I'll leave you three alone." She's completely red in the face.
"Don't leave on our account, Ana," Elliot says. "You just saved us from the rest of dad's lecture."
"Oh," is all Ana manages to say.
"Enough, Elliot," dad chastises.
"Join us for lunch, baby. Dad brought plenty."
"You move quick, bro."
Now Ana is completely embarrassed.
"Shut up, idiot," I say.
"I can't stay. It's the lunch rush. I just thought I'd surprise you with something to eat since I missed you earlier."
"Thank you. I'll eat the sandwich later." That's way too many carbs. I'm going to have to put in a two hour workout tomorrow. She starts walking towards the door before I can say anything else.
"It was nice to see you again, Elliot. Nice to meet you, Mr. Grey."
"It's Carrick, my dear. I hope to see you again soon. Real soon." Dad runs to Ana and kisses her hand one more time before I walk her out of the office and to the elevator.
"I'm glad you came to see me even though my dad and brother are here. Come back up before you leave for the day." I give her a deep kiss before she steps in the elevator.
When I get back to my office, dad is still standing in the same spot, but now he has a smile on his face.
"That was unexpected, Christian. She's a beautiful girl," dad says.
"She is," I agree. I go back and sit down to finish my lunch. Seeing my girl has put me in a much better mood.
"How did you two meet each other?"
"She works downstairs at the café." I swear if he says anything snobby, I will kick him out of my office.
"Wonderful. She seems just lovely, son. This is different than your usual-?" He raises his eyebrows waiting for me to fill in the blanks.
"I'm not going there, dad, but I just introduced you to her and kissed her in front of you. Yes, this is different. And are we really going to do this now? Because some money hungry women without morals decided to put my personal business out there, you're going to use that opportunity to bring up my sex life every time I breathe? Are you really going to ask me how I plan to take Ana to bed, dad? You think you now have the right to invade my privacy? You want us to get back to being a normal family? Let me be the first to tell you that this type of questioning is not normal." My anger and frustration have boiled over at this point. I'm so fucking sick of defending myself to my family.
"Calm down, Christian. I was out of line." That's all he says. For someone who is always on me and Elliot to apologize, he certainly not quick to offer any apologies himself.
"Sit down so we can get this lecture over with, Christian," Elliot says between bites.
"Anyway, son, I could tell right away that she's special to you. Bring her over to the house on Sunday."
"I haven't even agreed to come over on Sunday. I don't want mom saying anything to scare her off," I say. It would be nice if mom would be as excited as dad, but I just don't know how she'll react.
"Your mother will be excited, and she would never offend a guest. Leave her to me. And your grandmother wants the family together on Sunday, so you'll be there. You too, Elliot. We need to heal and being apart will not get us to where we need to be. We need to come together as a family, boys."
Again, he needs to talk to his wife.
A/N: I guess we got our answer about Christian's cooking skills, or lack thereof. I hope you liked this chapter. Our favorite couple is making progress. Let's hope Grace behaves herself when she meets Ana. Until laters.
