Ripples of the Aftermath

OCTOBER 2016

The apartment was cramped and the floor was simply swamped. It was an unimaginably crowded space for three women. They had their belongings overlapping one another and the clothes could barely distinguish its owner.

"Look at this pile of shit!" One yelled and the rest of the two hustled over to peer over the former's shoulder.

"What does he even bring with him?" The shorter one commented.

"You know what I think?" The one with the most connection at the upper echelon said. The other two spared a glance in her direction out of interest and pure curiousness. She wanted to be queen bee but the rest of the women didn't give a shit. "We shouldn't be focusing on him, we should target Rodriguez."

All she received was puzzled looks.

"If you go around taking pictures of this elusive club membership card you found in his wallet," the same girl continued. "It won't achieve anything significant since the lifestyle has already been exposed. However, I was told very recently that the Senior Rodriguez's time is getting closer, and Junior is going to crumble."

"So is our time," the first sighed heavily. "We were all photographed."

That didn't came out as a surprise but they also knew that their time was limited. The plastic surgery and hair bleach they endured could only hide them for so long.

"Shall we do something to speed things up?" The second one asked but the third one smirked and shook her head.

"Let it be a coincidence. We can just sit back and watch nature pull the rug from Junior and we can expose him. He'll never recover, and Grey won't have a leg to stand on once they fall."

Her birthday was shit, and their talk had been shittier. Christian was actually sick and tired of Anastasia's work schedule that kept interrupting their talk, which was supposed to have ended long ago. Probably even months, but they still didn't exactly settle anything.

So, a few days earlier in the middle of October, he took a Monday off and forced her to sit in a conference room with him just so they could get everything out on the table.

With the three women, now recognized to be the crazy exes on the run, he had insisted on a CPO for her full time.

One of them wrecked his car, another followed Elliot and emptied his pocket sans phone, while the last one stalked Anastasia.

Initially, she was going to negotiate for a compromise regarding security, but after one of the blonde actually approached her and confronted her, she conceded to having and full time.

The most shocking revelation of course, for Anastasia was the fact that he was the one who donated blood for her. She didn't dwell on it for too long, mostly aware of his trypanophobia, she was only mildly curious about the process; but it wasn't like she couldn't live without knowing them so she'd rather not have him relive the moments.

To him however, was what had occurred in the operation room. Something that neither of the security guards had let him in on. They had informed him of basically everything about what happened in the playroom from their perspective, but none went into details about what went on in the hospital; and also the fact that Sawyer stepped in before the Steeles arrived.

"You flatlined three times?" He nearly fainted at that. The only thing pulling him back and preventing him from passing out was the fact that she was sitting right within his reach.

"Apparently, that's what Sawyer told me, or maybe Addie. One of them since I was talking to the both of them together."

"How can you be so calm about that?" He nearly scratched his scalp open as fear coursed through his veins.

"Because that really isn't something worth stressing over with. It's out of my control," she stated plainly, unsure of how to react to his demeanor at the moment.

He wanted to say more on this subject matter but he couldn't exactly formulate any words. Now that he had let her opinion sink in, he reluctantly admitted to himself that there really was nothing that could be said or done at this point. It had been months already.

"On a happier note," she continued, this time sounding upbeat as if the somber topic discussed earlier was forgotten and completely dismissed. "I met with Jeanie the other day, and guess what?"

"Who's Jeanie?" He asked confused, seemingly neglecting the excitement in her voice. Her face fell for a second but quickly restored the previous expression.

"My colleague. An OBGYN."

He raised an eyebrow, now that got his attention.

"I got an IUD."

He nodded slowly but he didn't dare make any assumptions to the implication of this piece of news.

"You aren't reacting the way I expected you to," she confessed.

"What did you expect?"

"I thought you'd be jumping up and down in joy."

When it took him too long to formulate an answer, she continued.

"Maybe, just maybe… that's a way of me telling you that I'm ready for sex."

"Without a condom?" He took a leap of faith and asked hopefully.

She nodded, because he finally got it.

His phone buzzed in his pants pocket during the short moment in complete silence. They initially agreed on to toss their phone out of the conference room altogether, but given both of their crucial roles in their respective workplaces, they settled on leaving it on silence.

"It must be important," she encouraged gently. She wasn't the one who was so keen on getting the conversation over with, she was more interested in moving on in life instead of revisiting them and talk about them; hence, her reason to not seek out a therapist. Christian was eager to get everything out on the table between them but she thought they weren't exactly hiding stuff from each other.

He scoffed with an eye roll.

"It's my brother," he told her before even glancing at the flashing screen.

"He's been calling since this morning," she frowned. "It must be something important. Take it," she prompted.

"He's been calling since last week," he revealed.

Her brows remained tightly knitted.

"I have been ignoring his calls."

"Why? I thought you guys hashed everything out in the few joint sessions together since my birthday debacle."

He nodded grimly but she wasn't sure why he nodded.

"Something else came up?" She asked in concern.

"Not exactly," he took a deep breath and met her affectionate gaze. "He confessed that receiving the call from the parents isn't the reason that pushed him to the bar that night. He wasn't going to go out that night after taking the call. That's not to say that he wasn't upset when he learned that his parents basically ditched one son for another."

"What're the others?"

"His first response was to call me, but he didn't."

"Why?"

"He said he didn't want to intrude on my night but I'm sure he just doesn't want to hear the whole truth behind why I cut them off in the first place. He was still under the impression that I wasn't going to leave the family and that the family was still tight-knitted as ever."

Is this guy delusional? Anastasia thought to herself but she didn't voice it thought she was certain her facial expression probably said something similar.

"I don't know where he got the idea that we have been a tight-knitted family in the first place, but it is true that he had been heavily reliant on the family's support because he's always trusted that we have his back—which we did, and still do."

"Even your parents?"

"Especially my parents. He was like the golden boy in their eyes."

"Doesn't he has a playboy reputation?"

"Yes, but he's way less a troublemaker than me. I've been viewed as this shady kid with a bunch of skeletons hiding in my closet. Elliot's behavior had been more understandable by the adults. He's a typical teenager after all. That courtesy skipped past me and was extended to Mia. So, the both of them actually believed that our family is loving, while to me it was anything but because I felt like an outlier."

Her face fell at that confession.

"They didn't know that until very recently after they accused me of pulling away from them. They claimed that I was spending too much time with you that I'm not really into sibling bonding with them. It is true that I go to you for practically everything and they knew nothing about my life other than what's been in the news."

She silently mulled over that revelation, and came to the conclusion that it was indeed fact. He turned to her for everything and anything like they were best buddies, and she confided in him like she used to with Kate. They truly were best friends.

"I wasn't pissed that Elliot phoned Mia after he got drunk instead of me. He used to call me and ask me to be his wingman whenever he goes out, but that gradually stopped after we got serious. What I was angry about was the fact that he only thought of me because I'm resourceful."

She now had finally somewhat fully comprehended the depth of the relationship between the Grey siblings. She initially thought they were thick as thieves after those bonding sessions. She thought he just didn't want to sound he was exaggerating when he relayed his day with them on the day before her birthday.

"He lost everything other than his phone, so he thought I was his best shot at retrieving all of his stuff. I don't mean it like I didn't want him to reach out when he needs help, like a hypocrite, but he only reached out to me this time because he needed my resources and not."

He sighed. He wasn't doing a great job at explaining his feelings but she understood him nonetheless. It was the feeling that he felt used and taken for granted.

"There I stupidly believed that he, like Mia, had accepted the reality that I am still in contact with them but not remotely close to them; we don't share the intimacy siblings do. I view them more as friends than anything; just acquaintances," he added accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders.

She wanted him to vent but if she didn't say anything he might mistook her silence as vexed feelings.

"I get it," she wasn't sure if that was the best response, but she was his girlfriend, it was her privilege to side with him to talk shit about whoever and bitch about whatever. Her hands reached across the table to touch his. "That's what I've gathered since you told me about your outing with them that day."

He stared at their linked hands and darted to her wrist, but his thoughts were nowhere near what he was looking at.

Running his thumb over the back of her hand in a smooth circular motion, it seemed to be helpful at making him forget—about everything. Now that they had gotten over the tough parts that no one really wanted to hear, he was starting to reflect on the past few months of their lives, and one question surfaced in his mind. Even though he was more curious about when she'd officially seal the deal with him since she had already told him that she was on birth control.

But, he knew that if he voiced that question, she'd definitely glare at him that said something along the lines of 'are you serious'. So, he refrained.

"I owe you an answer," he declared suddenly. She tilted her head in question but let him carried on. "You asked me in early August if I felt obliged to take care of you."

She nodded, now recalling that conversation. It never really started and it never ended. It was just on a seemingly indefinite hiatus.

"The simple answer is no."

That was enough for her but by the sound of it, he had more to tell her.

"I've talked to Flynn and rationalized a few things, and the longer answer is, the idea of you moving in to stay with me probably stemmed from my guilty subconscious. However, Flynn also pointed out that the feeling of guilt and shame has been foregrounded by myself ever since all hell broke loose at the beginning of this year. So, I guess, I may have convinced myself to believe that I owe it to you but that is actually the justification for having the confidence to ask you to stay with me."

She listened to his reply intently. That actually wasn't what she really anticipated, because from the past two months that they were together, she had already felt it through his actions that he wasn't doing all he was doing because he felt like he should be doing it in return to all that she had done. He was taking care of her because he genuinely wanted to be with her.

"I do love you, Ana." When she said nothing after his little speech, he said, wanting to elicit some kind of reaction from her.

"There is the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone."

"Yes, I know, and I am in love with you," he corrected. Her reaction was honestly disappointing.

His heart plummeted when she made no sound after his proclamation. He reached for her other hand and held both of them in his hands as he slowly brought them to his lips.

"I know that we lack a little intimacy lately," he tried again. "Not just about sex, but over all affection. We both have been busy and has neglected our relationship, but I was hoping that we'd change it."

She breathed out softly. What he was proposing was also what she really wanted, but for the second time, she seemed to be having trouble finding the right balance between work and life. She knew she had to make more of an effort to connect with him and show him that she did care and did return his sentiments.

"Fuck!" He swore aloud when his phone vibrated again interrupting their moment.

"You should probably get it," she whispered, swallowing the tears that were shimmering in her eyes. She stole a glance at him and was slightly relieved that he was too distracted to notice.

"What do you want?" He barked into the phone and she suddenly felt like she was intruding on a private moment between two brothers, so she took out her own phone and cursed at the message—she needed to go to Baltimore on the weekend at the beginning of November.

Seemed like her end of the year schedule was already packed.

"No, I haven't."

Anastasia couldn't help but eavesdrop that one-sided conversation—she was the only other person in this room, after all.

"I don't intend to recover anything for you, Elliot. You shouldn't have made this poor choice in the first place. I did my best and traced the girl you allegedly saw, your belongings cannot be retrieved. Your other choice is to sue that girl for your items. I cannot help you."

He sounded like as if he knew the identity of the woman that drugged Elliot. As a matter of fact, she believed that he actually had investigated into the three stalkers that she had pictures of, and concluded that they were plotting something together.

"They were my ex-submissives, yes," he confirmed exasperatedly which in a way shocked her. However, she was also faintly aware that this might be the case. "I plan to sue them."

"What really is your history with the Rodriguez?" He was still puzzled regarding the issue that she seemed to be more wary of them than he was.

She didn't know why she was asked this but she still humored him without further inquiries. It probably had something to do with the fact that she really hadn't shared that part of her life with him. They didn't exactly go over their lives apart in great detail, only covering the life-changing bit; and more recently occurred.

After she went through the sweet and the sour regarding her encounter with the entire Rodriguez family, she was expecting him to make a comment on how he now understood why she didn't make it to his birthday. He didn't explicitly wrote that he was disappointed in his death note, but the resolute tone had told her that.

What happened on his birthday was entirely a misunderstanding mostly rooted from their tendency to doubt and think too much.

"Yeah, so that's why I couldn't make it to your birthday. It really was last minute. Though, it is on me for chickening out and not informing you about me bailing, but… yeah," she let her voice trail off indicating that she had finished her speech and was now awaiting his verdict.

He sat in silence for a few minutes rubbing his fingers over his jaw as he pondered. It was now painfully obvious why the two of them viewed the Rodriguez family so differently. She was wary and he was friendly.

"I guess I can understand why you're so worry about that family."

She tilted her head to the side and stared at him after his very unanticipated response.

"You're friends with the less talented Rodriguez."

"What does that mean?" She stared at him confused.

He smiled softly and knowingly. She was too lenient and kind-hearted.

"All businesspeople are shrewd and calculated, yeah?"

She nodded.

"But they're reasonable and rational."

"Stereotypically," she assented.

"That's the kind of businessmen that Senior and I am."

"But not his son?" She voiced the unsaid words.

"No," he said as he shook his head. "Junior has the tendency to take advantage of things and situations as an easier means to achieve what he wants."

"Cheating?"

"Not necessarily," he shook his head again. "It's a blurry line but no, Junior is just manipulative. He doesn't cheat but he takes advantage of your kindness."

She frowned.

"The way I see it, I believe he's guilt trip you into staying."

"You mean the time when I missed your birthday?"

"Yes. He's seen the potential in you professionally and know that you will be a great connection to have in his corner."

"So, I shouldn't have taken his money or ask for it to begin with?"

"No, you told me yourself that you cashed in your favor for being your proxy on the East Coast but not for buying me out. He took advantage of your dire situation and desperation to save my company."

"They offered to negotiate with Ros though."

"Senior talked with me," he clarified and studiously ignored her uneasy expression. "That offer was viewed differently by the father and son. Senior sees this as a business partnership but Junior sees this as an opportunity to uneven the favors between you and him."

"He wants me to think that I owe him more… favors?"

"More importantly he wants you to believe that you owe him a lot because of the excessive amount they spent on buying my company out."

Anastasia groaned, this was the furthest theory she could've thought of. Maybe that was why she couldn't make money as quick as Christian could. At the rate he was operating his company at, she was sure they'd be rising to the billionaire status that he had so narrowly missed just last year. Though, that may take a few years still, since he was only just over the millionaire mark.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Start apartment hunting," he listed off with the help of his fingers. "Learn how to say no to Junior when he asks for favors, be more like Adam. Don't act like you owe him because you don't."

"Why not just cut ties with them."

"That's not going to be in our favor. We need a connection like them but we just have to make sure that it remains professional and not too personal."

"Easier said than done," she mumbled dejectedly. This was really turning out to be a larger mess than she had initially anticipated when she started to doubt José Junior's true intention.

"Just limit contact with Junior and stick with Senior."

"So, you're not cutting ties?" He shook his head, then she remembered that technically she was friends with Junior and he was with José Senior, the more reliable one.

Ros high-tailed into Christian's office with the door closing on its own behind her. With the way she bumped open the door and strode into the room, people would think she was the owner of this very office. Her eyes darted between the couple and offered them a smile and a courteous nod before pulling a plush chair around the table. She was just about to verbally greet them when her eyes landed on the box sitting in the middle of the table.

"Is that food?"

Anastasia could see her salivating at the cardboard box like Pavlov's dog. She stifled a giggle when she saw Christian's gaze turned from annoyance to beyond vexation and anger. He had assumed that it was for him when Sawyer brought it over on-demand.

"You two were locked in the conference room all morning doing… whatever," she gave the couple a meaningful glare which both of them deliberately ignored. They had been doing some heavy talking and nothing inappropriate. "When did you have the time to bake?"

"I baked yesterday. I intended it to be my extremely belated birthday cake. Just to stop him from finishing it off, I thought I can share it with everyone since it's not a small one."

"And you emptied our fridge, you didn't even leave a slice at home," Christian pouted, sulking rightfully.

"Oh good," Ros exclaimed, "thank god the GEH board only has three people!"

"I didn't call this board meeting for you to eat my cake," he protested. "I'll reluctantly agree to share this with everyone at the executive meeting in the afternoon since it's not a chocolate cake."

Ros rolled her eyes. She had been getting under his skin for over four years since they built this company from scratch together, and she knew him better than colleague that stayed the same amount of time.

"Fine," she conceded, "I'll be waiting."

"So," Anastasia took this opportunity to steer the conversation away from the stand down between the boss and his second in-command. "What about that press conference?"

It had been over a month since Elliot cock-blocked his brother, the same amount of time that left Christian frustrated. Anastasia didn't seem to have any intention of rectifying his blue-balls situation. Not that he could put the blame all on her since he had been working late these days as well, prepping for the press conference scheduled before Thanksgiving as well as negotiating with several investors. She hadn't had a light workload either.

"Grey," he picked up his phone without looking at the screen, his eyes fixed on the computer before him with a report drawn up.

"Hey," her soft voice drew him out of his blank stare at the jumble of words on his Mac.

"Hi baby," he couldn't believe that he would still grin whenever she called. He was well aware that they probably resembled a pair of old married couple in Ros's perspective since they hadn't been too affectionate lately in public or in private.

"Do you have lunch meetings?"

"Not today," he let his smile lace with his words.

"Can you come over early?"

"With food?" That had been the best request he had ever heard from her since her birthday and the board meeting a couple of weeks ago.

"Yes, with food." He could hear the fatigue in her voice but also the delightfulness. They hadn't been eating lunch separately for weeks now, apart from Sundays where they would cook together with Taco.

Christian grinned and stood up from his table. Slamming his computer lid shut without a care in the world, he knocked on the door to the security room calling for Taylor as he scrolled through the list of food that he could order from on his phone. The reports be damned, he was going to take an early lunch break today and no one was going to stop him. Dutifully ignoring all the speculating gaze sent from every cubicle and staff loitering around his building, he practically skipped toward the car. He knew there was a spring in his steps.

"Early lunch, what gives?" He asked her the instant he set their lunch onto the table in the empty staff lounge. Doctors and nurses were rushing around in the hallway outside but none paid attention to this room. "You have a surgery in the afternoon?" He took in the weariness written all over her face and his tone suddenly softened.

She shook her head as she peeked through the bags waiting for him to set the table.

"Then what?" He took the seat next to her and touched their forehead just to feel her temperature; she wasn't sick.

"I'm going to a bidding auction this afternoon out of Seattle. I also need to go to Johns Hopkins for a meeting—Addie invited me—the first weekend next month. There's a conference in London around Thanksgiving," she revealed after pecking a feathery short kiss on his lips. "Then, I have to go to Congo before Christmas."

"Back to back trips?"

She nodded with a heavy sigh.

"And, they can't send anyone else?"

She shook her head again. Truth was, they could but she just didn't want to miss this opportunity. It would be fantastic for her career as well as good network.

"Adam didn't get the chance this time, and it's a big one so I can probably get up to a thousand dollars in cash," she lowered her voice considerably since it was technically not in her job description to attend those bidding auctions during working hours; but she liked the extra cash. "Besides, they're going to be more generous toward the end of the year since they need to get their apparatus sold, so I might be going to more of these; and, these people invites me to those meetings."

Christian shook his head in disappointment, it was what he hated the most about doctors. He knew that she had no trouble spending his money but that was also built on the fact that she was contributing to the account. He knew exactly what she meant—the agents were bribing her. The last thing he wanted was for her to get sucked into the black hole of bribery because of a meagre wad of cash that he could easily make in a matter of minutes, or seconds even.

"When are you heading home?" He changed the subject before letting himself voice his disappointment in a public setting. He was going to address this issue with her tonight and try harder to convince her.

She sighed, she knew what was coming next; it was written all over his face and she could read him like an open book. Digging into her food after absentmindedly spending five minutes choosing.

"I'll try to be back at a reasonable time."

"Dinner?"

"Don't wait up."

He lifted an eyebrow, that was their code for returning home very late at night.

"Okay, I'll try to rush back at around seven or eight. It's over an hour drive."

"I'll pick you up."

"What? No, Christian. That's not necessary. Really."

"Gail is going to cook for us tonight and Taylor is going to drive me, and Sawyer will be driving your car back."

That sounded final.

"Okay," she relented. She had totally forgot about Sawyer.

"And, we seriously need to address the problem that you seem to be under the impression that I'm not making money."

"Christian…" she started to protest but was silenced by his authoritative glare.

"We are going to talk about this, at home. You need to understand that I am making more than enough for the two of us."

"Christian, I know that you can probably make my salary in less than an hour."

He touched his finger to her lips, silencing her once again.

"Home," he reminded and also giving their surrounding a once over.

The door opened just seconds later and both of their heads whipped in that direction.

"Oh, Ana, finally," Jeanie, Anastasia's fellow colleague as well as her OBGYN. "I've been looking for you and Adam's in surgery right now."

For some reason, since she worked with Adam so much, their colleagues always thought they were extra close.

Anastasia groaned at the sight of her. Not her as a person, but specifically what she was here for.

"I know," Jeanie sympathized.

"I don't have time to listen to whatever they have to say!"

"I understand, but they are requesting your presence."

"I am not even going to be in the delivery room!"

"You signed off the medication and you are the one who prescribed them."

"Your patients and Adam's are the worst sometimes, I swear!" Anastasia shot up from her seat, abandoning her half eaten meal. "Where are they?"

Christian glanced between the two doctors like a deer caught in headlights. He hated to see her leave with only a couple of mouthfuls but he didn't dare interrupt. He knew firsthand how it felt to be interrupted in the middle of an irritating acquisition.

"Just outside," Jeanie led the way out of the room.

Sighing mutely, Christian returned to his meal and deliberately slowed down his pace so he could wait for her.

Almost half an hour later, she returned, kicking the door shut with a look of utter exasperation on her face as she plopped down in her chair in front of her half eaten lunch.

"Everything okay?" He asked tentatively not wanting to poke the angry bear.

"Some family of the patients giving me shit about the liability waiver."

"Is this patient in a critical condition?"

"She's a pregnant woman who switched to C-section last minute, but she's got all sorts of complications according to Jeanie that it makes it very difficult for me to decide what's the best form of anesthesia."

"Are you going to be responsible?"

"No, I'm not assigned to this case but since I am a chief physician and friends with Jeanie, she consulted me and I advised her to have a liability waiver just in case. You know it costs the hospital tons of money with each lawsuit."

He nodded in understanding but he still thought she shouldn't be held responsible for it.

"There's very little sense that could be knocked into the head of a patient's family. It happened recently with one of Adam's patients but this family is worse."

He had a bad feeling that if this was what she was dealing with in the hospital, then he dreaded to think what José Junior could've done to utilize this situation.


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