A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"Ana, you're still here." Olivia's speaking to me but has her eyes briefly dart to Sawyer who's standing behind me. Since our dinner two nights ago, I've noticed the two of them stealing glances at each other, an act I hadn't noticed until my suspicion that Sawyer's the new guy in Olivia's life. "I thought everyone would've rushed out as soon as it was time to go."
"I wanted to get my article done and turned in before I left." I grab the freshly printed pages of my article and hand them to her. "So...um...have you got plans with your new guy tonight?"
"As a matter of fact, he's going to come over once he gets off work. It might be a little late, but I'm going to stay up and wait on him." Sawyer coughs behind me. I turn and tilt my head, but he doesn't say anything. I whirl back around to Olivia and find her giving Sawyer what appears to be a warning look.
"I'm curious but how did you meet him?" I button up my jacket and smile at Olivia.
"We met through a mutual friend, but it was only recently when things became more." She shifts on her heels and starts blushing. "I'll take your article home with me and look over it while I wait."
"Ok. We're going to head out now. I hope you have a nice evening."
"You and me both." She starts back to her office, brushing her hand against Sawyer's on the way. How did I not notice this earlier?
Sawyer and I walk out of the office and into the hallway where Lewis is waiting. We're about to get on to the elevator when my phone starts ringing. I pull the phone out of my purse and see that it's my mom. I hold up a finger signaling Sawyer and Lewis to wait.
"Mom, hi.", I say.
"Hi Ana. I wasn't sure if you were still at the office or already home."
"I'm at the office but about to leave."
"My department finished up early today, and I'm out running errands. Would it be ok if I stopped by the apartment on my way home? I bought a few things for the baby."
"Aww, that's sweet. You know you can stop by any time. I don't have any stops to make so I should be there soon."
"All right sweetheart. I'll see you in a little while."
At home, I change out of my dress and into a pair of sweat pants and a tee-shirt. I pull my hair back into a ponytail and go to the living room to wait on my mom. Christian had an early day at work yesterday and is supposed to have another today. I curl on to the sofa just as my mom arrives. I'm about to stand to hug her, but she hurries to me instead, dropping the Neiman Marcus bag in her hand.
"Don't get up. You look comfortable there." She leans down and wraps her arms around me. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling ok." She sits down on the opposite end of the sofa and locks her eyes on me. "What?" In the past, my mom would trash my choice of clothing, and even though things have improved with us, I'm now wondering if she's about to resort to her old self. "You're thinking I look frumpy."
"I'm thinking you look radiant.", she replies sincerely. "I still believe my little girl is going to be a mom." She reaches and hands me the bag she dropped. "I was exchanging a sweater at Neiman Marcus when I saw this and knew I had to buy it." I open the bag and find a soft yellow onesie with the words I'm New In Town. "With it being yellow, it'll be good for either a boy or a girl." The thoughtfulness of the gift added to the emotions of how far my mom and I have come unleash a barrage of tears. "If you don't like it, you can return it for something else."
"I like it, I do. It's adorable. It's just...I'm so happy we're in a good place. It means so much having you in my life especially now with the baby coming. How's work been?"
"Work's been good. The entire company feels like one big family. A new woman started last week and was openly welcomed by everyone."
"Sounds a lot like the magazine. What else have you been up to?" It's only after I've asked my question that I remember the party Kate said my mom was attending the other night.
"Kate said she told you about the party. I can see in your face that you regret asking me that question. How about we ignore it and move on?"
"It's fine. Did you...have a nice time at the party?", I ask with a slight cringe.
"It was interesting. I had never been to one of those kinds of parties although I had heard about them. We were each given a brochure containing...um items." As she's speaking, I see Sawyer hurry from the security room and towards the foyer.
"I'm not going to lie and say this conversation isn't awkward, but you're human and need things so you should do or buy whatever you need to. I can't believe I just that.", I laugh, covering my eyes in embarrassment.
"You're right about it being awkward, but we have a lot of awkward conversations to make up for." The sound of voices in the foyer draws our attention. I turn and see not only Sawyer walking into the living room but also Christian and Taylor. "Christian, hello."
"Carla, hi.", he smiles at her before leaning down and placing a kiss on my lips. "How's and baby Grey?"
"We're both well." Christian gives me one more kiss before turning around to Sawyer who's fidgeting nervously.
"I wish I could stay and chat a little more, but Sawyer wants to speak with me. It shouldn't take long. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"All right.", I tell Christian. He and Sawyer head to the study while Taylor remains in the living room. "Taylor, do you know what Sawyer wants to talk to Christian about?"
"No. Sawyer called me on our way home to see how close we were arriving. He was waiting on us in the foyer when we got here. I'm going to go and look over today's security logs." He narrows his eyes at the study and goes to the security room, leaving me even more puzzled.
"I'm sure everything is ok.", my mom says.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure.", I reply even though I'm not convinced.
"I should be heading home. I've got some laundry to do. I'm glad you liked the onesie."
"I love it. The baby is going to look so cute in it. Thank you again." Both of us stand and open our arms to the other. "I love you Mom."
"I love you too sweetheart. I'll be in touch." She releases me and waves on her way out. I wipe away my freshly returned tears and settle back on the sofa, glancing at Christian's study every few minutes. I decide to turn on the tv in an attempt to distract myself. I actually start getting engrossed in a reality show about people wanting to find their way in the film business.
"This has been my dream for so long, and I'm not about to let a few doors being slammed in my face stop me.", states a guy who's goal is to write screenplays.
The show goes on a commercial break at the same time I hear the study door open. I see Sawyer leaving the room and heading to the security room. He rushed out so fast I didn't have a chance to see his expression. Christian finally emerges and joins me on the sofa. I turn and see his eyes trained on me.
"Why are you looking at me like I've done something wrong?", I ask.
"Did you know about Sawyer and Olivia? Tell me the truth." Oh "The look on your face tells me you did."
"I had a suspicion but didn't know for sure. That's what Sawyer wanted to talk to you about?"
"Yes. Apparently things started the night we got engaged, but they've been keeping things on the down low. He wanted to get it out in the open which I'm glad he did."
"I'm sure it was difficult having to keep it quiet, but at least now they don't have to hide things any more.", I shrug, but Christian only shakes his head. "It's a good thing, right?"
"I gave him two options. He can either end things or be replaced as your security." The sound of the reality show is becoming too much to bear as Christian's words sink in.
"You gave him an ultimatum? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Because it was the right thing to do. Ana, Sawyer's job is to watch over and protect you and now the baby. If he's seeing Olivia, his full concentration won't be on you."
"You don't know that.", I scoff. "You're making assumptions."
"Maybe making assumptions is the best thing to do. Let's say there's an incident at the office, and he had to make a decision between you and her. Does he choose the woman who he's hired to protect or the woman who he's seeing? Some might call me selfish, but I'd expect him to choose you over Olivia."
"When you assigned Sawyer to me, I wasn't sure how things would play out. The last thing I wanted was someone hovering over me, but he's proven himself. The guy is good at what he does."
"I agree. I'd still keep him around as part of the security team, just not guarding you."
"I've placed my trust in him. Sawyer's who I want protecting me. I guess the part that upsets me the most is you asking him to end things with Olivia for the sake of his job. Don't you want people to be happy and find love just like we did."
"Of course I do.", he mutters. "Ana, you've always had that glass is half full kind of attitude, and as much as I love that optimism, it can also be a distraction." I get up and place my hands on my hips while burning a hole through him with my laser eyes. "Now you're getting angry."
"How did you guess?", I snap.
"You know what? You can get angry all you want, but I'm not changing my mind on this. I'm not caving."
"I'm going to go and check on dinner."
"Good morning.", Olivia says as she sits down at the table at IHOP. I called her last night and asked if she'd meet me for breakfast. With Sawyer already informing her about his talk with Christian, she agreed to my request. The waitress comes over and starts to hand Olivia a menu. "I'm going to have the French toast platter and coffee." Olivia's giggles after seeing that I've already ordered and started on my food.
"I'm sorry. I was hungry."
"It's fine. You're eating for two." She looks at Sawyer and smiles. "We might as well start with the topic at hand." Few words passed between Christian and I during dinner last night, and we went to bed in silence, not discussing the Luke/Olivia situation any further. "Sawyer...", she stops. "I got so used to him being called by his last name that it stuck. Anyway, we've had a spark almost from the beginning. I didn't want to admit it for the simple fact that I didnt want to complicate things. No matter how hard I tried to ignore those feelings, they stayed and only got stronger. The night of your engagement carnival is when things shifted. You and Christian were playing some of the games, and Sawyer and I got to talking. We started getting to know each other better and seeing our connection was even stronger than we thought. He asked me out to dinner for the next evening. I said no at first, but my heart was telling me to go for it."
"Things started progressing from there.", Sawyer chimes in from his seat at the next table. "I knew it my dating Olivia could be an issue with you and Mr. Grey. The thing is, Olivia makes me feel a way I've never felt before. It's like I'm constantly walking on clouds."
"I'm happy for the two of you. Christian and I, however, don't see eye to eye on it."
"Sawyer said Christian wasn't too pleased and that he has a choice to make.", Olivia sighs as the her food arrives. "The last thing I want is to cause problems for you and Christian. That's why we tried to end things. When that didn't work, we thought keeping it secret would be ok. Again, that didn't work."
"I love my job, but my feelings for Olivia are too strong to hide. I don't want to deny it."
"You shouldn't." I take a quick bite of my pancake and look at Olivia. "You were one of my biggest supporters when I would have doubts about my relationship with Christian, and now it's my turn to support you." I go back to my food but feel a surge of electricity. Striding towards the table in his suit is Christian.
"Why Mrs. Grey, when you said you had a breakfast meeting I had no idea it would be here.", he laughs.
"You tracked me.", I mumble. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided to have breakfast out this morning as well." He starts to slide into the booth next me, but I move my purse in the empty spot. "I see what you're doing." He looks to the other side of the table and smiles at Olivia. "Hello Olivia."
"Christian, hi.", she replies. "Ana, I'm going to let the two of you have some time alone."
"Stay. I invited you to breakfast. Christian is the one who showed up uninvited. I do need to use the ladies room. I'll be right back. Sawyer, make sure Olivia stays put.", I giggle, giving Christian a glare on my way away from the table. Instead of Lewis following me, Christian is behind me. Great. I push open the restroom door and check under the stalls to make sure no one is inside to witness the fury I'm about to unleash on my husband. "Somehow I knew you would follow me." He shrugs and backs me against the door, tracing his fingers down the side of my arm. "Stop."
"Remember that day you sexted me while out to breakfast with Kate. I was so turned on by your words. There was nothing I wanted more than to be in that restaurant so I could fuck in the restroom." He grabs and places my hand on his bulging cock. "Feel that baby? That's how turned on I am right now. You frustrate and turn me on at the same time." I lick my lips and start caressing his the spot. "Feels so good."
"I bet you'd like to fuck me right now. You want to rip my clothes off and pound into me while hearing me moan your name. Or maybe you want me to get on my knees and fuck you with my mouth. Christian, I could lick around your base and then suck you so hard you'd break a sweat. Which of those do you want?"
"Both.", he growls. "I want both."
"Too bad.", I smirk. "The only thing I want in my mouth in this moment is that stack of pancakes out there."
"You enjoy fucking with me."
"Almost as much as you enjoy fucking me." All tension between us turns into laughter. "I don't like being upset with each other."
"Me either, but you need to understand you and the baby are my world. If anything were to happen to the two of you, I...don't even want to think about it. I need your security's attention on you at all times. I have a proposition for you."
"What kind of proposition?"
"You want someone who you'll be comfortable with and who will not interfere with your work, correct?", he asks.
"Yes."
"What if Taylor and Sawyer swapped? Taylor would be with you, and Sawyer would be with me while staying with Olivia."
"Taylor's been with you for a while."
"He has, but that doesn't mean a thing here. I like Sawyer and can see him doing a good job accompanying me. What do you say?" I can see Christian mean well and is only looking out for me.
"Okay. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too." He leads me out of the bathroom and back to the table where everyone is staring. "We were having a discussion."
"All that time...in the restroom? If that's your story.", Olivia laughs.
"It's the truth."
