Missy's notes: Thank you for your continued support on this story! I was 'funk' free this week so i decided to give you guys something light and happy - the goal is to make you guys squeal or grin basically the opposite of the last chapter which is sort of heavy for my liking. Please let me know if I have accomplished that goal by reviewing (also to help the monster in me lol). Hope you enjoy reading this one and please forgive my errors
E.L James owns this amazing Trilogy
Chapter 29: Three is a company
"I'd like to talk to you about Ana. She's the most beautiful, challenging, stubborn, witty and wonderful woman I've ever met and I love her so much. I would like to ask her to marry me and I'm here today to respectfully ask you for your blessing" he said truthfully driving straight to the point
"I suspected as much the moment you invited me to go fishing" Ray muttered after a moment
"That and the fact that I too like fishing Ray" he said breathing a sigh of relief after his rather short, but specific speech. They were quiet for a while, sitting in the edge of the boat under the afternoon sun enjoying the breeze
"I treat her as if she is my own. Who am I kidding, she's my only daughter" Ray began, still staring that the water
"I know Ray and I know her well enough to know that she sees and treats you as her father" he responded
"Does she know about this?" he said finally looking him in the eye
"No Ray, I wanted to ask you first. I'd like to secure your blessing before doing anything and your support will mean so much" he said sincerely
"I can't play the age card as you two are clearly of age; I can't say that you barely know each other since clearly you've known each other though you both have made stupid decisions that ended up in the two of you being separated" he huffed "are you sure about this?" he finished. He couldn't tell if he is glaring at him or if he is glaring because of the blaze from the sun
"Absolutely sure" so fucking sure he added as an afterthought "I know that she is the love of my life and that I will never make the same stupid mistakes ever again. I've learned from those mistakes Ray. It caused me six years of being apart from her; I almost lost her for good after she left Seattle. I'm lucky that she ever considered giving me another chance after everything that I've done" he said sighing as he continued "I won't ever take that for granted Ray, I won't take this second chance for granted. Now that I have her, I intend to never let her go" he said with conviction
"I simply want her to be happy Christian"
"I endeavor to do just that Ray" he said
"You've hurt her once son; she ran off to Europe because of it. You've done it once, what makes you think you won't do it again?" Ray said almost muttered. 'Like father, like daughter' he thought to himself
"I've loved her for more than six years Ray. It took so long for me to realize that; unfortunately, she was already gone by the time I figured it out. I know what my life is like without her in it and I don't ever want to experience that again. I love her with every fiber of my being and I will spend the rest of my life making sure she is happy. I really am sorry Ray. I'm sorry for hurting her and I'm sorry that you lost her because of that" he said earnestly
~oooOooo~
"Good morning and welcome to Harry Winston, Mr. Grey. My name is Sophia Matthews and I'm the general manager of this store and I will be assisting you this morning," the woman said distracting him from the memory of what transpired during his conversation with Ray. He couldn't contain his excitement and happiness after their conversation, so he decided to have the jet ready for him to board first thing in the morning after the fishing trip, in addition to scheduling a private appointment with one of the best jewelers in the world. Harry Winston is known to showcase nothing but the rarest and highest quality diamonds available. Nothing but the best for Ana. His assistant was able to secure a last minute private viewing, early morning appointment at the store in Beverly Hills before the other stores in the area open; as well as before the paparazzi and LA traffic arrive.
"Thank you Ms. Matthews, let's see what you have" he said impatiently. She reminded him of Andrea's long-time assistant, Olivia, who is always mooning over him, which he finds completely irritating.
"Very well Mr. Grey, your assistant did not tell us specifically about this appointment, if you could tell me what kind of jewelry you are looking for so we can narrow your options?" she said making him roll his eyes. What the fuck kind of purchase would he schedule an early and private appointment for? He looked to Taylor who is trying to keep a straight face, but nevertheless nodded confirming that everyone in the room has signed an NDA.
"I'm looking for a special ring, Ms. Matthews" he said annunciating the word as if he is talking to a child. His voice deathly calm, but with a look that could freeze anything into stone
"Oh err… Very well Mr. Grey, please follow me" she said a little shaky and she led them to one corner where there is a mahogany table with a clear glass box showcasing the trays of various rings in various sizes. Ms. Matthews motioned for him to take a seat while she opened the glass box and pulled out two trays with five rings sitting on each of the grey cushion trays. Ms. Matthews babbled about the quality and styles of each piece of jewelry they offer. She insisted that they choose only the best quality material there is. He barely listened, he wasn't an idiot; he already did his research beforehand and he simply handed everything else to Andrea to set up
"I would like to remind you that these are all samples, Mr. Grey, and we do accommodate any request that you want, should you prefer to build a custom ring for Ms. Steele" she said already assuming who the ring is for
"I would like to remind you of the NDA that you signed earlier, Ms. Matthews as well as your discretion regarding this matter, but you're right, the ring is for Anastasia" he said as he examined each of the rings. Four beautiful rings caught his eye; one was round while the other three are all set with oval shaped diamonds. The first is a round brilliant diamond called Belle, a round diamond in a micro-pavé platinum setting. He found it classic and timeless; the idea of diamonds surrounding her ring finger is enticing; the only drawback is that the diamond is too small. He did the same with the second ring, discarding it not because it was ugly, but simply because the diamond is way too small for his liking. He thought that if the saying 'a diamond signifies a man's love to his woman' is true, then the love of his life should have the biggest diamond he can afford. He is therefore left with two diamond rings set in what Ms. Matthews called the biggest stones they could offer. More importantly, he wanted the world to see his love for her in a literal way. Both are set in Platinum with little with tapered baguette stones on each side, both are called classic Winston; the only difference is the shape and weight of the diamonds; One is a pear shape, it is the biggest rock out of all the rings; while the other, an oval, is only slightly smaller coming in second in carat weight.
"Excellent choice Mr. Grey" the woman said excitedly, as he took the remaining two rings side by side to make his decision. He is sure that neither one of the rings will look perfect for Ana; both will attract anyone's attention but for some reason he is reminded of what Katherine had said when she helped him pick a birthday gift for Ana; she prefers understated and while he prefers to lavish her with everything and anything money can buy, he can't help but agree with Katherine. Ana doesn't need grandeur. Simplicity is beauty. 'Grey, both rings are far from understated price wise' he thought, chuckling at his internal musing
"I'll take the oval; if you can find an oval diamond that is the size and weight of the pear" he said looking at the ring with the pear shaped diamond "I need this delivered to my office in Seattle as soon as possible; coordinate with my assistant" he said producing his card
"Very well Mr. Grey; we will make the necessary arrangements and coordinate with your assistant, Ms. Parker"
SUBJECT: Yesterdays fishing trip…
From: Christian Grey
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2017 10:45 AM (PST)
TO: Anastasia Steele
Was interesting and a success; I caught the biggest fish. Ray had fun.
I miss you, can't wait to see you and of course, I love you
Christian Grey
Fishing expert & CEO, Grey Enterprise Holding
Ana rolled her eyes, but nevertheless smiled goofily at the email from her man. The man is good at just about everything; her fifty. She is sitting inside the SUV on her way back to the hotel after a rigorous early morning meeting with her LA media executive team at the newly minted N&S LA office in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. She is scheduled to stay in the bustling city for another two days to get everything settled with the N&S LA team before returning back Seattle in time for the holidays, as well as Kate and Elliot's wedding, where she and Christian will serve as matron of honor and best man. Holidays. The first Christmas she will celebrate in six years with someone other than Alex. The first holiday she will celebrate with someone she loves 'technically second' her subconscious mused, remembering the first Christmas she shared with Christian. The thought made her cringe 'yeah you and your ass dangling in the air like an ornament, erase' her subconscious said cringing with her. 'Right, moving on! Gifts! Worry about him liking your gifts Steele!' her inner goddess screeched and just like that, her thoughts drifted. She smiled at the thought and looked at her phone again to reply to his email
SUBJECT: RE: Yesterdays fishing trip…
From: Anastasia Steele
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2017 10:56 AM (PST)
TO: Christian Grey
Why am I not surprised? My man has many talents. Glad you guys had fun
Miss you too and I love you.
X
A
Anastasia Steele
Unsurprised by her man's many accomplishments CEO, Norwood & Steele Media
She arrives at the Four Seasons ahead of schedule and she is planning on going back to her suite to freshen up before her next appointment. This meeting is with a potential Asian investor, who's been eager to meet with her and was willing to fly to London for a meeting, but Alex and her assistant made the arrangements for them to meet her in LA instead; she is stopped in her tracks when a rather familiar and beautiful specimen of a man greets her in the lobby.
"Hey Stranger" he said walking over to give her a customary peck in the cheek and a hug
"Henry" she said, startled, stopping Frank, who stood beside her with his face etched in horror.
"You look beautiful as always Ana; it's wonderful to see you. What brings you to LA? Did you finally decide to take me up on my offer" he said playfully asked, still holding her, his hand wrapped casually around the small of her back
"I'm here for business Henry. What are you doing here?" she said choosing to ignore the other question
"I just finished a meeting with a producer at the Cabana Restaurant. How about you? You staying here?" he said
"Yes actually. Err… Working on another hit?" she said looking around and noticing that they have attracted an audience. Everyone stared and she cringed at the thought of paparazzi's lurking and thermonuclear Christian storming in LA just like what he did in Paris
"I hope so. Hey, would you like to have lunch? Culina restaurant serves great Italian food" he said hopefully. One of the things that she and Henry have in common is their love for great Italian food. That and the fact that Henry cooks and speaks perfect Italian. Her subconscious sighed at the memory of Henry speaking Italian, while her inner goddess rolled her eyes and examined her nails and muttered 'you promised Christian'
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea Henry" she said apologetically
"Oh come on Ana, we were friends before we were… you know, for old times' sake? I miss talking and laughing with you" he said unleashing his charms on her 'nu-uh ain't gonna happen' her inner goddess said while her subconscious is rendered speechless
"Well…" she said unable to make-up her mind
"Please…. Per favore" He said raising both his hands as if praying and giving her his best puppy dog look
"Oh alright, I'll meet you there after my meeting. 1pm at Culina?" she said. Her inner goddess looked scandalized while her subconscious just bit her lips and blushed
"Perfecto Ana, ci vediamo" he said taking her hand and kissing it. Crap she thought
She and Frank hurriedly went to the private room where she is scheduled to meet with the Singaporean investor that Alex had begged her to meet with. The meeting went surprisingly well. She is starving by the time she walked into the restaurant where Henry was already seated and waiting. She is escorted to his corner table situated in a rather quiet corner of the restaurant.
"There she is; great to see you amore mio" he said affectionately as he stood up and gave her yet another hug and kiss on the cheeks, which made her instantly regret agreeing to have lunch with him
"None of that Henry" she said politely. 'Yeah, your Italian won't work Mister' her inner goddess said snapping her fingers while her subconscious simply mirrored 'amore mio' with a sigh
"Oh I'm sorry… I hear the Christian Grey guy is jealous" he said tilting his head eyeing her intently
You have no idea she thought as she smiled and said "That he is" she said looking at the menu. Their server appeared and immediately took their order. They opted for some anti-pasta to start; pasta for her entrée, while he ordered lamb chops and asked the server to provide a wine pairing for each of entrees they ordered
"Anyone would be extremely protective and territorial if they were dating you, don't you agree?" he said sipping his wine
"I don't know Henry; you tell me" she responded; rolling her eyes
"I know I would be" he said with a wink. 'Ugh' her inner goddess almost gagged while the still speechless subconscious just blushed
"Henry…" she said intently shaking her head as if to say: don't start.
"I know… I know… it's just that" he said, putting his hand to hold his chin "well, I've missed you. I still own the flat close to your old apartment" he said smiling his killer smile "I'm sorry. I don't want you all uncomfortable; not with me… so, how's everything going?" he asked, changing tact. 'What an actor' her inner goddess muttered
"Thanks; life is good, work is busy… been shuttling all over lately, New York, Seattle, now here. How about you? Should I get an autograph or something?"
"Oh don't be ridiculous; I can give you more than an autograph, my dear Ana" he purred in a way that made her subconscious swoon while her inner goddess gagged
"I think I'll stick with the autograph, thank you very much" she smiled
"This Christian bloke, tell me about him" he said suddenly serious
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know what does he have that I don't, aside from the money of course" he began
"Oh please Henry, none with that" she said
"Look, you didn't want to follow me here; you let me leave you. You said you didn't want to go back here and that you love London then you meet this bloke and all of a sudden you're here rather than in London with your crony Alex" he said
"I'm not going to answer that question Henry. It was ages ago; we were both starting with our careers. You asked me to give up mine and follow you here like a dog; I couldn't do that and you know it. I thought we had an understanding?" she said earnestly "besides, you got over it; fairly quickly if I recall" she smirked trying to defuse the rather serious talk
"I know what you're doing Annie" he said "your right that was the past, we got over it, dated a few people; I can't believe you dated that Kent bloke" he said incredulously making her chuckle. He and Rupert never liked each other and she doesn't get why "I mean, the guy never shuts up" he said chuckling
"Yeah, that's Rupert but he's a great man, a great friend and a gentleman" she agreed
"I never got over you Ana, always the special one in my book" he said wistfully
"Ugh that reminds me. GQ, seriously?" she said feigning offense
"Ah… my little revenge. I suspect your Christian Grey read the article" he smirked smothering a laugh
"I'm more offended by the fact that you chose a magazine that is not under my wing" she said dryly
"Ah Ana… Amore" he purred
"I'm afraid that name is tad inappropriate, don't you think?" she heard a familiar voice said that instantly made here freeze as Henry's eyes darted up and looked at the man behind her
"It's a form of affection in Italian actually; something that is very fitting for Ana… Amore" Henry said casually. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face the man standing behind her and all her suspicions are confirmed. Christian is there, standing in all his glorious perfection, wearing his usual business attire; Crisp black suit, no tie and his grey eyes gazing coolly at Henry. To anyone looking, this will look like a typical manly stare down, but she knows better, she knows that Christian is already plotting ways to bring down Henry's unwavering stare.
"Christian, what are you doing here?" she said standing up to greet him
"Hey baby, I had a last minute appointment in Beverly Hills this morning and I wanted to surprise you. You look beautiful by the way" he said affectionately, kissing her on the lips
"That you did. This is Henry Carlisle by the way; he's a good friend of mine. Henry this is Christian Grey" she said awkwardly
"Pleased to meet you Christian" he said raising an eyebrow. Christian took his hand and shook it not saying a word
"So have you been here long?" she said
"I was gonna surprise you by waiting in your suite, but Frank said you were having lunch with a friend, so I thought I would join you instead" he said annunciating the word friend
"Well you know what they say, three's a crowd but a crowd is always fun" Henry said mirroring his smirk. 'Oh no, you don't want to mess with fifty' he inner goddess warned and without another word, Christian motioned for the server letting him know that he will join their table
"So what brings you to Hollywood Christian?" Henry said
"I'm here to surprise my girl and then business. What brings you here Mr. Carlisle?" he said dipping his head to kiss her shoulders. No doubt marking his territory
"Well l live here" he said matter-of-factly
"Then why are you in a hotel?"
"Ah yes… I was meeting with a producer when I ran into Ana in the lobby. She is a sight to behold" he said smirking. She shot him a warning glare that he instantly ignored
"That she is" he agreed raising the hand he's been holding under the table and kissed it. She blushed 'plan the escape Steele' her subconscious wailed
"Yes. Which is why I invited her for lunch to catch up for old times' sake; we had a rather colorful history you see. Italian food for example; we both love Italian food in fact we traveled to Italy together, didn't we Annie?" Henry said, with his chocolate brown eyes focused on her. Whatever Henry is up to, she is sure that he succeeded, Christian froze and she could see his death glare from her periphery. 'Yep, it's a pissing contest. Might want to leave ASAP before this turns into a brawl Steele' her subconscious said snapping out of the Henry Magic
"Err… yeah, Italy" she said glaring at Henry who just pursed his lips swallowing a smirk
"Good times. The best three days of my life in Naples and the Amalfi Coast" Henry said now smiling triumphantly. 'Oh dear' her subconscious whimpered
Ana swallowed and looked at her man, who is eyeing Henry as if he is picturing the many ways to smother or torture him… slowly and painfully. He tilted his head, smiled his dangerous smile as if emphasizing that what he heard, but that it doesn't affect him, he contemplated and played with the wine glass in his hand, adeptly swirling the gold colored liquid, took a sip and said "hmmm how nice. It's a beautiful countryside" he said clearly disinterested as he rubs circles on Ana's back. He turns his attention solely on Ana as he murmurs in a seductive tone, "Baby, maybe we could spend a few days there when we are back in London. It will be so much easier to get away for a few days now that we are living together" he finished once again kissing her shoulder, gray eyes staring at her in a way that makes her insides melt like butter and the south region of her body clench deliciously
"How about sailing?" she said word farting
"Much better" he purred his eyes dancing salaciously. They both looked when they heard a distinct cough; snapping her out of the sexual aura emanating from the man rubbing circles around her back while her man looked up at Henry with his best bored-out-of-his-wits-expression. Henry suddenly looked uncomfortable looking at his blackberry as he said
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave. Turns out I have a fitting that my assistant forgot to add to my calendar" he said taking his wallet out, but Christian stopped him
"No need Mr. Carlisle; I already took care of it" he said giving him his best I-got-you-bitch smirk. 'Boys' she thought
"Oh well, thank you I guess" he said as he rose from his seat, her mirroring him to say goodbye
"Great to see you Henry" she said
"Had a great time Annie" he said giving her a swift hug and a kiss in the cheek making Christian growl a bit
"You're a lucky son of a bitch Grey, take care of her" he said nodding at the still glaring Christian
"That I am" he said nodding back. Henry gave her one last bitter sweet smile and turned to leave the two of them
"Did you really have to do that?" she said after a moment
"He started it; I only finished it for him" he said petulantly "I wasn't kidding when I said I'd like to spend a few days with you in Italy – I'll take any excuse to have you alone with me as a matter of fact. What happened to Frank keeping that fucker at bay?"
"He's a good friend"
"He also wants back in your panties Anastasia" he said glaring at her
"Well he's not welcomed, in fact he's barred from them" she said rolling her eyes at him
"What about me?" he purred
"What about you?" she said dryly
"I want in your panties Anastasia; am I welcomed?" he said licking his lips. Her insides clenched deliciously
"Well you do have the key" she said blushing beet red
"Excellent. Let's get out of here" he said swiftly standing and leading her out of the restaurant
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