By mid-morning, Ana has returned phone calls from the day before when she had left the office early, as well as dealing with, or updated on, issues that had arisen during her absence. She wanted to deal with outstanding things to free her up to resume reading the manuscript that had consume her yesterday before Christian's phone call to say that he was going to Portland. Although she had taken the manuscript home with her, she found there were too many distractions with the children, as well as her own thoughts, that she had been unable to concentrate.
Ana makes herself a cup of tea and settles down on the couch in her office. After an hour, she sets the papers aside to stand up and stretch. She takes her tea cup to the bathroom sink to discard the tea. She had been so absorb in the book, that she had never stopped to sip any of her tea and it had turned cold.
Ana sits down at her desk and picks up the file that was associated with the manuscript. When she reads an unsolicited manuscript, she ignores the covering letter so as not to be influenced one way or the other about the manuscript. If she likes what she is reading, as the case with this manuscript, she will read the other documents associated with the manuscript so that she can determine how best to contact the author.
As Ana reads the covering letter, her blue eyes widen. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she says to herself. "This must be a joke." She walks back to the couch to pick up the manuscript and returns to her desk. She starts to re-read the first pages of the manuscript as well as the covering letter.
Ana is reaching for her phone when her office door opens and Christian walks in. "Hello Anastasia." Christian says. "I didn't knock as Hannah said you were alone, reading manuscripts." He flashes his mega-watt smile. "I didn't think you would mind the interruption."
She jumps up and throws herself into his arms, giving him a passionate kiss. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?" she asks. She pulls back to look at him. "I was just about to call you."
Christian leads her over to the couch and sits down, pulling her down beside him. He turns to look at her. "Welch sent me his report on Jeremy Downing and Amber Timmons this morning. It is quite interesting. I've also been notified of the results for the paternity test." Christian cups Ana's face to look her straight in the eye: grey eyes staring at blue. "Andrew Downing is " Christian is interrupted by Ana putting her finger over his mouth. Ana's other hand reach up to stroke Christian's hair and smiles wistfully. "I know." She leans forward to brush her lips lightly against his.
Christian pulls back, gasps and sputters "You know? But how? I got the results and came straight over here."
Ana stands up and walks over to her desk to pick up the manuscript and its covering letter. She returns to the couch and hands them to Christian. "This is why I was just about to call you. Read the summary and then the covering letter."
SUMMARY
FROM SUBMISSION TO INDEPENDENCE
Sheila has been living the life of a submissive in a series of BDSM relationships. Her latest Dominant abruptly ends their relationship when she tells him that she wants 'more'. She is devastated as she had fallen in love with him and wants to exchange her submissive collar for a wedding band.
The Dominant is a generous man and pays her an exorbitant amount of money for ending the contact. Sheila sets up a meeting with a financial advisor for advice on how to invest the money so that the interest generated would supplement her income. It is love at first sight for Sheila and Oliver, the advisor, but both try to resist the attraction because of past failed relationships. Sheila is attracted to Oliver as his green eyes remind her of the Dominant whom she envisioned herself in love with. And Oliver is attracted to Sheila as she reminds him of his late wife.
This story follows Oliver and Sheila's exploration of their attraction for one another and how they overcome their past lives to find true love. Or do they?
Christian looks up questioningly to Ana. "Is this what I think it is?" he questions.
Ana nods. "Read the covering letter." Ana instructs.
Christian sets down the manuscript and reads the covering letter. It is from a Benjamin Stone of Stone & Fisher Law Offices in Portland Oregon.
Dear Mrs. Grey,
Please find enclosed a manuscript written by my deceased client Amber Timmons Downing. While she was fighting a battle with cancer the past few years, she started writing. This manuscript is the end result.
Mrs. Downing left it with me with instructions that I was to send it to your attention at Grey Publishing, but only after her death. She was adamant that it was to be offered only to Grey Publishing and no other publishing house.
Mrs. Downing also stated that any payment that would normally be given to the author would go to her only child, Andrew Downing, to be held in trust until he was of legal age.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Stone
Stone & Fisher Law Offices
"Have you read the manuscript?" Christian asks Ana. She nods. "Is it any good?"
"The story is spell bounding. I was reading it when you phoned yesterday and the ring tone didn't register for a minute or two. And again this morning. I sat down with a cup of tea to resume reading it and I completely forgot about my tea."
"Wow!" Christian exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever seen that absorbed with a manuscript before."
"I know. I haven't finished it yet, but what I have read, I definitely want to publish it. I don't think it will need much editing." Ana tells him.
"How damning is it?" Christian asks in a wary voice.
"To you?" Ana asks. Christian nods. "Sorry to break the news to you, Sir, but you are barely in the story. It opens when the Submissive, Sheila, tells her Dom that she loves him and wants 'more'. The Dom withdraws even more that his usual self and ends the contract. He leaves it for his staff to pack up her belongs which he had given her and deposit money into her bank account. She doesn't have any further contact with him."
"So anyone reading the story would not associate me as the Dom?" Christian asks.
"Nope." Ana says. "You're safe." She smiles.
"Does the story cover the birth of the baby?" Christian asks.
"I was just getting into that part in the manuscript when you arrived." Ana says. At Christian's raised eyebrow, she smiles and continues. "In the story, Sheila and Oliver start their sexual relationship almost immediately, marrying only two weeks after they had met. Two months after they married, she discovers she is pregnant. Oliver is definitely the father. The baby was born pre-mature and almost didn't survive."
"How true to real life do you think the book is?" Christian asks.
"I don't know." Ana responds. "Does it matter? It is being pitched as fiction, not an autobiography."
"I just wondered, that's all." Christian says with a shrug.
"No, you want to know what your ex-sub, who claimed to be in love with you, thought of you." Ana laughs. "And whether she portrays you in a bad light." Ana smirks. "Well, you'll just have to read it for yourself."
"I'll do that." Christian tells her. "Might be interesting reading comparing it side by side with Welch's report."
"Oh yes, you said you got the report today." Ana exclaims. "And the test results."
"Yes. According to Welch's report, the book must have stayed fairly true to fact, with minor details changed." Christian tells Ana. Christian pulls Ana onto his lap, turned so that he can look her in the eye – grey eyes staring into blue. "Jeremy Downing was an investment banker and met Amber when she became a client. She obviously wanted to invest the money I gave her as a pay-off and wisely went to an expert. They did marry just a few weeks after meeting and Andrew was born just seven months after their wedding day." At Ana's gasp, Christian reaches out to run his hand through her hair. "Hospital records do confirm that Andrew was born several weeks pre-mature and was in an incubator for the first several weeks of his life. Jeremy died when Andrew was about ten, two years before Amber was diagnosed with breast cancer."
"How did Bitch Troll manage to get her claws into Andrew?" Ana asks.
"After marrying Downing, Amber became a chartered accountant and eventually opened her own business. One of her clients was Elena. As far as Welch can determine, Amber hadn't had contact with Elena until about six years ago when Amber took Elena on a client and Amber became a customer of Elena's salon. But Welch has not yet been able to verify how much a personal or social relationship they had, or if it was just client/customer." Christian explains.
"That still doesn't explain how Bitch Troll managed to get her claws into Andrew." Ana insists. "When Amber died a few months ago, wouldn't Social Services have taken Andrew into foster care?"
Christian nods. "Yes, they should have. But they are understaffed and overworked. So when someone claiming to be a family friend, who happens to be a local business woman, steps forward offering to take care of a fifteen year old male, they quickly agreed to the arrangement."
Christian sets Ana off his lap and stands to start pacing the room, running his hands through his hair. "Fuck! Fuck! Why couldn't Amber have contacted me? I would have ensured that Andrew was taken care of after she died." Christian turned and looked at Ana. "Why the fuck didn't the lawyer send you the manuscript sooner?"
Ana stands up to draw Christian into her embrace. She runs her hands over his back. "I don't know Baby. Normally, unsolicited manuscripts are put into a pool and distributed among the junior editors at a weekly staff meeting. After they do a preliminary read through, they pass along promising ones to the senior editors and then to me for final approval. In other words, manuscripts could be here for a while before I see them. But this one was addressed to my attention and it did come directly to me." At Christian's look of concern, Ana quickly says "No, I didn't actually open the package. Protocol would have been followed and it was scanned, probed, dusted, and whatever else security measures Taylor established years ago, before it was given to me."
Ana pulls Christian's mouth down to hers and runs her tongue over his lips and then into his mouth when his lips part. After a deep passionate kiss, they break apart, both breathless. Ana runs her hands through Christian's copper hair. "As for why Amber never contacted you: why would she? Yes, she spent the last few years of her life writing what is basically an autobiography of her life AFTER her relationship with you ended. For whatever reason, she wanted only Grey Publishing to have the rights to the book. Maybe because she thought I would have an understanding of the submissive mind set. Maybe as a way to let you know that her life improved post-Christian. Who knows? Maybe she felt that the money you gave her at the end of the contract was sufficient and she didn't want you to think she was trying to extort money from you."
"True. But, fuck, I would have helped her. If she didn't need money, I could have ensured Andrew was taken care of. Surely she would have known that." At Ana's look, he raised his hands. "Okay, okay. As one of my submissives, she would have known that children had been a hard limit for me. But she would have seen in the press that I had eventually embraced fatherhood. She should have realized that I would have done whatever it took to make sure that Andrew was taken of."
Ana pulls Christian back into her arms and buries her head in his chest. "Oh, Christian. Don't beat yourself up over this. For whatever reason, Amber must not have felt comfortable enough in approaching you. You may have been her last Dom, but that doesn't mean that you had any legal or moral obligation to her once your contract ended. She moved on from you and, by all accounts, found true love and had a child with that true love. You have no legal obligation or blood ties to Andrew."
"I know that Ana. But I just feel sick to my stomach that Elena was able to get her claws into another minor. I just hope that Andrew can get over that trauma, unlike me." Christian says wistfully.
"I hope so too, Christian." Ana says. "She's only had a few months of control over him, instead of over a decade. We will stay in contact with him during his recovery, and hopefully during the trial." Ana looks at Christian and says "Have you contacted Social Services about us becoming his foster parents? We're in a different state, but you should have the resources to get around any obstacles like that."
"Oh, Ana! Moments like this is why I love you so much!" Christian exclaims as he pulls her to him for a deep kiss. "I was just about to talk to you about that." At her questioning look, he said "No. I haven't started the legal process yet. We are a team and I wouldn't do something like that before talking to you." He smirks and says "However, I was pretty sure you would be on board with such plans, so an agent with the Oregon Social Services is just waiting for a phone call from me to proceed."
Ana hugs Christian and stares into his eyes. "Christian, are you okay now that you know for sure that you are not Andrew's biological father? You were so sure that you were and upset that Amber had kept the information from you."
"Yes, Ana. I'm fine. I always tried to ensure that birth control was covered with the subs. But when confronted with a child that appeared to have been the result of one of my relationships, I wanted to take ownership of my actions and right the wrong of having not been involved in Andrew's life up until now." Christian steps back from Ana pulls his phone out of his pocket to dial a number. "Grey. Proceed with the legalities. My wife is on board with the plans I discussed with you." Without waiting for a response, Christian disconnects the call.
"Oh, I love my Mr. Control Freak!" Ana says with a laugh before rolling her eyes. "But you are learning. At least you waited for my approval before finalizing things instead of presenting me with a done deal."
"Mrs. Grey. My palms are getting twitchy with that eye rolling." Christian says with a laugh.
"What are you going to do about it, Sir?" Ana questions as she bites her lower lip.
Christian growls as he walks to the office door and locks it. "We had this office sound proofed, didn't we?" he questions as he turns with the intention to stalk Ana, but stops short with the scene in front of him.
"Yes we did, Sir." Ana says as she starts to undress and then kneels in position in just her panties.