Looming in the Dark

BOXING DAY 2016

The past two days couldn't been more perfect for Christian, and after he dropped her off at her meeting place with the promise from her to be careful, he drove off to meet his grandfather. He was going to discuss more about the housing arrangements and the Rodriguez a little bit more.

For one, he was over the moon that she had finally decided that it was time to end both of their misery. He felt closer to her than ever, and not just physically.

However, now sitting in the car at the front door of the conference arena where Anastasia said to pick her up from, he wondered why was she working on a holiday, and why was anyone working on that day.

He was also anxious to see her reaction to where he was taking her. He wasn't sure if she'd receive it well when she arrived at the GEH Christmas party after having a late lunch, however he was going to risk it because they had been doing so well together in the past few days, and he thought they were at the stage where he could be more daring.

He hated walking on eggshells around her, and that was practically what he had become gradually for months before he dragged her to see John. It was either her way or no way, and there was nothing he could say or do to go against her because he feared that she wouldn't want to deal with his ass any longer if he went against her. She was also under a lot of stress, too, so he didn't want to add to it.

That probably did more worse than good.

"Hi," the door was yanked opened abruptly accompanied by a sweet, cheerful voice and followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.

"Hey," he leaned over, puckering his lips shamelessly asking for a proper greeting.

She obliged giggly. Grabbing his head so it stayed in place as she moved her lips against his.

"Hey you," she laughed as he stretched his neck after being craned in such an awkward position for pleasure.

"How'd the meetings go?"

"Great! I got a thousand dollars, in cash," she waved the wad of cash in the air. It was ironic how she was sitting in a Jaguar XJ that costed over a hundred thousand, and considered as one of the most expensive and luxurious sedans, but was giddy over a thousand dollars.

"Do I get half of it like usual?" He jested, already giving up on trying to persuade her for going to those auctions, because accepting those cash would be considered as a kind of bribery on technical terms.

She narrowed her eyes at him but still took out five-hundred and stuffed them in his chest pocket, patting them as if to secure it in its place.

"Thank you, honey," he jibed sweetly. "Why do you even have meetings at the end of the year, and don't those people have families to return to or something?"

"This usually doesn't happen, but they have some kind of sales goal that they need to achieve."

He knew exactly what she was referring to because his company also had quarterly goals, and they were always on top of it, but that still didn't make him feel any better for having to be separated from her on a holiday just so she could work. They honestly didn't need this extra thousand dollar cash.

"Two auctions and only a thousand?" He joked.

"Well, I got three hundred for a signature earlier in the first meeting. It wasn't an auction, I just had to sign something."

"Your signatures are expensive."

"Yours worth even more, Mr Grey."

He grinned, revealing his perfect white teeth.

"So, where are we going? You're all dressed up, are you sure I'm in an appropriate attire?"

"You can change if you want to, but I think you're good enough… to eat," he smirked at her wickedly.

"Change?" She stared at him crazy and studiously dismissed the innuendo. He had definitely returned to his old insatiable self after Christmas Eve, and honestly, she still hadn't really recovered from the activities merely hours ago this morning, and yesterday morning as well yesterday night.

She swore the moment she freed her mind, he charged at her. Then, he'd take any chance to strip her naked whenever they were alone behind closed doors. He never rested.

"I brought you a formal dress," he nudged his chin at the bag sitting on the backseat that she hadn't realized earlier.

"I need a formal dress for it? Where the heck are we going? Don't tell me it's another function, because I'm going to strangle you alive."

"Strangle me alive," he laughed, shaking his head. "No, we're not going to any events, just to this newly opened restaurant."

"You own it or you're planning on buying it?"

"Why, woman? Why do you always assume that I've got an ulterior motive when I was simply invited to the grand opening. The chef's an associate."

"You did that the last time you went to The Mile High with me."

"That was four years ago, where I do have spare cash in my hands."

"You don't have now?"

"Well…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You're still filthy rich you know?"

"You're actually dating a legit millionaire."

"How legit?" She humored.

"We're worth more than half a billion, baby." He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it tenderly, and placed it on his lap.

"Half a bil? When?"

He smirked at her secretively.

"Just before Christmas," he told her, feeling incredibly proud at her gaping mouth. He had impressed her, that was for sure, which was the reason why they were having some extra budget to put into this year's Christmas party; much to Andrea's delight.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I'd wait a bit."

"Till when?"

He shrugged. He honestly didn't have any idea when he was planning on telling her. "Yesterday? On Christmas?"

She snorted unladylike and crossed her arms in front of her defiantly, making him chuckle.

"It made the news, actually," he revealed figuring that with all the time he kept her in bed, naked and sated lately, she wouldn't even think about connecting with the outside world.

She huffed, feigned anger and crossed her arms even tighter. He laughed softly, reaching over to pull her arms apart and grabbed her hand to place it back on his lap after pecking the back of it.

"You're the majority shareholder, remember. So, you're richer than I am now."

That still kind of bugged her but she didn't know how to voice that without getting shunned by Christian. He would always sweet talk himself out of this topic whenever she brought it up, so now she was avoiding it.

It was indeed extravagant as they stepped into the GEH lobby. She could barely recognize that underneath the green and red decoration was the cold, clinical office place that her boyfriend worked at.

"They really went out of their way this time," he chuckled at her awestruck face and she lollingly leaned into his side.

She was already beyond impressed when they dined in the fancy restaurant earlier, and she felt so out of place in her work clothes that she'd willingly gone through the trouble to change in the tiny toilet stall.

They were greeted politely and hugged, and she felt like she had instantly became a mascot overnight with the way people were gushing at her, complimenting her, and fawning over her. She wasn't sure if they were doing it for their own benefit to get into Christian's good grace, or they were actually trying to socialize with her. Then she remembered the last time she showed up here, and that prompted her to put on her best smile because she really needed to thank them.

Those in attendance were the ones that actually stood by her and her man when he was at his darkest time, had faith in him, supported him, and continued to have faith in him; they had invested their time and energy in this company, which was a reassurance for Christian's leadership ability.

"Theo might show up for an hour or two to see Burt, and some of my executives."

"Your grandfather?" She shuddered unconsciously at the greeting she had received yesterday, she was only hoping that the old man would rein it in a little in public.

"He is a lawyer with connections," he bragged. "Many of my executives and managers came from powerful families, and their spouses are sometimes a huge deal in some ventures."

"And they'd show up for this?"

"They'd show up for any GEH events. We always invite families of significant standings, and the plus ones will always be vetted."

"Is there something like this in New York?"

"No," he kissed her temple laughing at her. "We don't have enough money, besides, Seattle is still the headquarters for now."

"For now?"

"Yes, for now. I told you, two years, and we can move anywhere you want."

"Does it have to be within the States?"

He pulled away and eyed her curiously. "You want to move out of the country?"

"I don't know where I want to move, or even if I'd still want to move after two years, but I just want to prepare you in case I come up with some crazy ideas."

"You know, I can always veto whatever crazy shit you come up with, right?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "You said two years and I get to decide," she pouted petulantly at him, unaware of the whispers and stares they were currently receiving. As much as the boss had changed for the better and brighter in personality, it was still very uncommon for them to witness how the man at the realm behaved with his queen.

Discretely, he spied a cameraman moving about and he was aware that he was the center of the shoot. He knew it would only take a very short amount of time before she realized that someone was following them around with a big-ass machine on their shoulder.

He caught Sam's eyes and gave him an approving nod subtly. Anastasia caught sight of the exchange just in time, so Sam sauntered over playing it off like he had been summoned. He did have something to discuss with them anyway.

"Ana, it's so good to see you again," he pulled her into a courteous hug that Christian seemed none too pleased about. "You look beautiful," he praised sincerely and released her remembering that not only was his boss jealous but also extremely possessive.

"Thank you," she shifted in Christian's uncomfortably.

"You look ravishing, baby," her boyfriend leaned in and reassured her quietly. He was now relaxed after sensing that she had no objection in mingling with his colleagues.

Sam was still beaming at the couple, looking radiant with positivity, so Anastasia composed herself gradually becoming very self-conscious and self-aware of the fact that she might've lost a significant amount of weight recently because the dress wasn't hugging her subtly curves like when she bought them. Though, Christian hadn't said anything about her thinning figure, he did try to fatten her up here and there by continuously stuffing her with food, and piling on her plate.

"Mr Grey," Sam spoke, catching the couple's attention. "I know it's an inappropriate time to talk business right now, so forgive me for bringing up work." His eyes darted to their side and that was when Anastasia noticed a camera focused on them this entire time. She had seen it but didn't give it too much attention, thinking it was just to capture the extravagance for future propaganda or something to do with marketing and documenting the company history.

The couple returned their attention to Sam—Christian with expectancy and Anastasia with curiosity.

"A few months ago, I brought up the suggestion of filming a documentary to record the transition phase of this company and Mr Grey. It was filmed but not been made into anything at the moment only stored in the files."

"I thought you said no to it," she turned to her boyfriend confused, now finally putting the pieces together.

"I said no to rushing it for the sole purpose to build my reputation, but I think in the long-run, this film might be in our favor. This is a transition period in our life, given all that we've been through and publicized."

Anastasia was still staring at her boyfriend with an unreadable look that was a mixture of a ton of conflicting emotions. He stopped talking because his reasoning was clearly not convincing enough for her.

"Are you nuts, Grey? Did you get your head bashed on the toilet or something?" She fired off the questions at him, completely forgetting that they had audiences momentarily. She observed him, and he looked unfazed by her tone, so hers changed, too. "You seriously want to make a documentary?"

"It is very unlike me, I know, but you also know that we are starting over, so we need to put ourselves out there. At least I have to, and maybe not completely returning my aloof and almighty self all the time can help me in some negotiations and dealing with different people."

"So, you want this to be some kind of propaganda just to show the public that you have fifty shades reserved for different occasions?"

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. He nodded, deciding to keep the thought to himself for now.

"Okay," she accepted the logic, then returning her focus to Sam, who appeared highly amused to actually witness his hardcore boss having to explain his decision to his woman and actually reason with her. Other than Christian's personal staff, his employees in the office were still under the impression that he didn't report to anyone. "So, what exactly does the plan look like? How long do you plan to spend on this project? What is the content? What exactly is this going to achieve?"

Christian couldn't help but admire how she took charge and immediately rattled out critical question that needed to be considered in the overall plans. If he wasn't at a public event, much less his own company's event, he'd be taking her to the nearest corner and fuck her senseless. He just knew that she would thrive in her career as the executive. The authority made a good call for promoting her because she was born to lead and not follow. That revelation also made his heart simmer with warmth and pride that he had made the right decision to let her take over his empire and keeping the majority share.

"We will set up a meeting after the new year to settle every detail," Christian suggested. He really just wanted her approval and support, which he received, because he was ready to destroy all the footage that he had planned for the documentary if she was really against the idea.

A flurry of blonde whirled past them almost knocking Anastasia off of her feet if Christian wasn't by her side steadying her. He lifted his gray orbs and met Taylor's in a steel gaze. The latter nodded at the boss with a grim face and pressed on his ear piece listening to a report from Sawyer.

Sam excused himself from the couple after sensing the tension creeping into the atmosphere around them, and the way his face darkened all of a sudden, the way his lips pressed together in a thin line, Sam knew someone had dropped the ball somewhere to offend the duo.

"It's one of them, Christian," Anastasia's eyes followed in the direction the rude woman went and instantly recognized the familiar shake of the body as she walked; it was the same view of a blonde's back as one of the three that stalked her.

Christian was right, the girls could change their physical appearances by cutting up the cheek bone or the eye lids, but there were just those fine subtle details that no one seemed to notice that would give them away.

"Sawyer is already after the case," Taylor reported, briefly meeting up with them. "It seems like she has purposefully led him to a designated spot."

"Is any attendee aware of this breach yet?" Christian checked and was relieved when Taylor's response came back negative.

"Steele!" Anastasia was nearly knocked off the second time when another blonde barreled toward her. "I'm late, sorry," the blonde hugged the brunette while throwing the words carelessly to the man behind her best friend.

Taylor and Christian exchanged a few more words before he left.

"I was going to tell you I have a surprise for you, but I got caught up so the timing was a tad bit off," Christian simpered at Anastasia, giving Kate a simple curt nod.

"You're in Seattle? When did you get back?"

"Your boyfriend invited me, so I made my way over as soon as I finished shopping. My assignment has been a pain in the ass, and guess what, I have to return to it after the new year…" and the girls started to catch up, both sharing their busy months. Kate had been all over the States following the footsteps of the Greys.

Christian lingered for a moment before getting dragged away by Ros and Gwen before he could start eavesdropping, because from the pensive look on Anastasia's face, he got concerned.

"I have to ask you something, Ana," Kate lowered her voice considerably and her tone suddenly turned mysterious. "I don't want to go to your boyfriend with this, so I'm hoping you can help."

"You want me to ask him?"

"No, but it might help. It really depends on you. I don't want to put either of you at a difficult position, so if you want to bring it up to him then do it. Just keep it discrete."

"I will. He won't be saying anything to anyone, trust me," Anastasia assured, leaving out the part about how her boyfriend had actually cut off his family, and also the part where she wanted to help mend his relationship with his siblings by encourage interactions between them.

Kate took a sip of her drink from her champaign flute and glanced around. "Is it true that his parents went off to Detroit to chase Isaac?"

Her friend's breathed hitched as she stared back at the blonde who just asked the question. The friend, too, glanced around wary that her boyfriend might show up to interject.

"To simply put it, yes, but Kate, you have to keep in mind that I don't like his parents so anything that came from me cannot possibly be neutral. I am extremely biased when it comes to them, I'll admit it outright. But, where did you hear that from?"

"My parents were talking about it, they heard it from some event that they've attended. I asked them about Coping Together saying it's my assignment to write about the legacy of the Grey family since you know, they left the state. I have to actually interview them."

"More like they scurried away with their tails in between their legs." Anastasia grimaced at the thought of having to see them again.

Kate snorted, "that's definitely going off the record."

Anastasia rolled her eyes.

"But, let's not talk about work. Stand up, hon," she ordered her friend who hopped off of the stool staring at the blonde over the rim of her wine glass. "Spin around… damn girl!"

"What?" Anastasia shuffled back to the bar and hissed at her. She was after all a huge deal at this party since she was the girlfriend of the owner, or technically, the owner of this company.

"This is the new dress you bought in New York."

"Yeah, it is. Christian picked it out for me."

"Your man is good at this shit. Damn, never thought I'd see the day."

"What?"

Kate was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"You, settling down with a man after your own heart."

"With the way I was so adamantly trying to establish my own profile in the medical field, you'd think I'd be old and gray with a bunch of pills."

The both of them snorted in unison, which made them giggle then turned into full-blown laughter with their heads thrown back.

They continued to talk and drink champaign, and then proceeded to mingle around. Kate soon told her that she had to leave soon because she promised to have dinner with Ethan at home. So, she left her at Christian's side who had been talking to Burt and Theo at the time.

She had been privy more company secrets than what was considered socially acceptable for someone still with in the girlfriend status. However, from the way everyone gushed and behaved around them, she got the impression that there weren't any ill feelings toward her when she took charge six months ago.

The party ended on a high note with a toast from the boss, and for once, she enjoyed this party.

Taylor opened the door to the backseat as Christian roused Anastasia from her nap. She had managed to fall asleep.

"We're here," he whispered in her ear and nudged her shoulders.

"What?" She lazily blinked open her eyes and scanned around slightly disoriented. Her eyes grew bigger when she noticed that they weren't parked before the building that she had grown accustomed to. "Why are we here?" Her eyes were immediately drawn to the vast amount of glass that made up this building.

There was no mistake where they were.

ESCALA

"I want to show you something."

They piled out of the car and walked into the building that they just exited not two days ago, where they went through yet another unpleasant and possibly mildly traumatic experience. And just the thought of what happened the last time they were here made her hand sweat.

"Hey," he tugged on their intertwined hand, slowly becoming aware that if he didn't grasp on hers it might slip from his hands. "Don't fret, okay? It's going to be alright."

She peered at him wondering why was he being so cryptic, then her eyes followed his hand as they reached for a single button on the panel and not for the keypad at the top of it.

"Are we visiting someone?"

"We are visiting, yes, but not someone."

She narrowed her eyes at him, now relaxed and curious. She was partly scolding him for acting so mysterious but also liking this playful side of him.

The elevator stopped on the twenty-ninth floor, just one floor beneath the penthouse unit which took up the highest two floors.

"You know the building we live in right now is also owned by the same real estate group?"

She shrugged carelessly, unaware of the fact but also not wanting to be aware of it.

"Who's condo is this?" She asked as he unlocked the door to reveal a private foyer. She noticed another door oddly out of place on the adjacent wall of in the vestibule, so she reached up to touch the doorknob debating whether to twist it.

"That one is currently rented out on a short term. We can have it too in a few months."

"We?"

"This is the apartment that my grandpa is talking about yesterday."

"This? You call it an apartment? This and that," she pointed to the connecting door. "Combined is the first floor of your penthouse."

"Yeah, so it's so much smaller than what we used to have, but then again," he shrugged. "I'm sure you won't want to go back upstairs."

"Not really…" she assented. "What are you going to do about it then?"

"Sell it, or rent it."

"Renting sounds more profitable."

Christian eyed her amusingly.

"Don't laugh at me, Grey. I like money okay?"

"I just like you and only you."

"Smooth, Christian, but now's not the time."

"When is it the time then, love?" He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, so their cheeks touched.

She shrugged, purposely bopping his head as it moved along with her shoulder.

"Do you like this place though?"

"I have a feeling that you've already signed the paperwork, so I'll just say, when are we moving in?"

He nuzzled his nose in her neck to hide his face for being called out.

"You did didn't you?"

"I did," he admitted.

"What's the rate that we're paying?"

"We own it."

"What?" She spun out of his grasp but was quickly pulled back in.

"My grandfather gifted it to me but he said if we want the one next door we'd have to earn it and buy it from him."

"Gift for what?"

"Our engagement."

She took a step back and his arms dropped subsequently. Her heart stopped. She studied him intently, her eyes boring into his.

"You just made that up on the spot didn't you?" Humor danced in her eyes but she sounded like she was dead serious.

"I truly don't have a ring with me right now."

"Nor did you buy one."

"I have a design that has yet to be submitted to Cartier," he confessed.

She continued to stare, bemused.

"Okay, I'll admit, this did come out in a spur of a moment, but if I do ask, what will be your answer."

"I'd say yes now even if you don't have my ring and aren't on your knee."

"You want the show?" He teased, raising a brow.

"Humor me," she dared.

He shook his head but couldn't contain that infectious smile on his face. He was aware that they were still in the foyer, but that was also fine.

He fiddled around his pocket and looked around when he located a slip of paper that the Taylor handed to him when he came back to report that Rebecca, Susannah, and Leila were all arrested for trespassing.

The blonde that bumped into Anastasia was Rebecca and she led the chasing Sawyer to a darkened area outside of the building where the rest of the two were. What exactly went down wasn't disclosed but the end result was their arrest.

Taking her left hand, he knelt to the floor. Then looked up at her humorously but kept from laughing. She was stifling her own giggle when he wrapped the slip of paper clumsily around her ring finger.

"Marry me, baby?" He asked holding the end of the paper together with his index finger pressed on it.

"Yes!" She played on cue and retracted her hand when he stood up. She was feeling super giddy at the moment. The paper ring fell to the ground. "Oh, my ring broke. Guess we're not engaged anymore," she giggled loudly almost making her snort.

"Shut the hell up, fiancée," he locked her in his arms, to prevent her trailing arms from getting hurt or hurting innocent people like him—well, he was the only other person in the place.

"Okay, liar, how did you persuade Theo to gift you the place?" She swayed them from side to side as they waddled together venturing deeper into the spacious area.

She liked it so much better than where she was currently living, and maybe that was solely because of the vibe or because of who the place belonged to; but she was starting to feel like the small apartment they were renting from José Sr. was somewhat dark. This place was so bright even though they were here at night.

"Liar? We are engaged whether you like it or not," he jested half seriously.

"Fine, we'll make it official and announce it once you get the ring."

And, that topic was effectively shelved.

"He offered. Theo offered to sign it over to me, and initially I declined it, but he insisted and he also said that it's important to have a place that feels like home. So, I took it, and that's when he said that if I really want to pay him for something, then I can buy the one next door as payment."

"Really?" Her eyes were widened now that she knew they weren't fooling around anymore like they did with the whole engagement thing that was meant to be serious.

Well, forgive them for lacking the attitude because they've been strained for the entire year.

"Are you going to buy it?"

"Do you want it?"

"Kinda…" she squeaked. "I don't like the idea of having some stranger living just a door away," she explained quickly even though it was completely unnecessary.

"Me too," he concurred, pecking her lips. "We'll buy it."

"Once we have money to spare," she added.

"Which will be very soon, trust me. The sooner we're out of the Rodriguez's radar, the better. Especially if we managed to get rid of the parasite—that's Junior—the better."

"But how?" They stood before the glass door that would lead them out onto the deck. It was too cold to step outside. "He's going to hold it over my head that I owe him because of how much he's spent trying to save me."

"I discovered something today, and that is Senior used his own money to bail me out."

"That's… he's so rich…" she stuttered.

He chortled, affectionately. His face found its way back to the crook her neck.

"When do you want to move in? We can do it anytime?"

"After the holidays?"

"Why?"

"You want to celebrate the new year here?"

"Sorta," he confessed rather sheepishly.

"Then let's do it tomorrow," she announced decisively. He had been doing everything her way for too long and she couldn't imagine how much he had to sacrifice, so she thought it was time to spoil him, too.

"Tomorrow? Really? Are you for real?" He beamed. "I love you so much!"

Christian hoisted her up against the shower wall behind her, and she soon found her back making contact with the cool glazed tiles. She gasped as the coolness penetrated her burning skin. He had managed to make her all hot and bothered in the short car ride back just to demonstrate his excitement.

"Wrap your arms and legs around me," he commanded, reaching up to take the handheld shower head as she complied. He adjusted the sprinkler so it was now shooting out water column with a much higher pressure.

He grinned erotically at her in response to her puzzled expression. His hand snaked behind her to pull her closer while the other held the sprinkler that was now aimed at her inner thigh. She arched her back to aid him and his lips latched onto her throat, enjoying the vibration when she moaned. His lips moved south and the water column moved closer to her core, which was desperately for some attention.

"Oh!" She yelped in surprise when the water shot through her folds and accurately struck her clit. His lips twisted upward into a smirk against her sternum, and he nuzzled even deeper into the trough between her breasts.

"Ah!" He chuckled when he felt her sagging at the increase in pleasure when he directed the water pressure to more sensitive places. He could no longer feel her legs squeezing his waist when he fully latched on her nipples, twirling them in his mouth, playing with them using his tongue, and grazing his teeth over them.

"Please!" She cried out beseechingly. "Christian," she hugged his head closer to her chest as he explored her pleasurable sex with the water and two fingers.

"I love you, Christian. Now, please, fuck me!" She bit down on his shoulder to silent her screams as she rubbed her core against his shaft, trying to evade the water but at the same time wanting to meet it for a more intense ride.

He plunged himself into her. There was no way he could last any longer with the way she was grinding on his groin.

Setting an unbelievably fast pace, he hung up the sprinkler and directed it at her tits just for the added stimulation effect. It drove her insane and her head lolled back lost in the sensation.

In the Seattle Police Department, a man of status showed up. He looked lost, but he after filling out paperworks and talking to more people, he walked out with three women.

"Thank you, José," one said, kissing him on the cheek. "I know I can count on you."

"You know that I'm gay, right?"

"I don't mind being your beard," the woman giggled girlishly, attempting to snuggle with him but got brushed off.

"I honestly don't know why I bailed you three out," he sighed, glancing around the dark lantern-lit street of Seattle, he stopped in his tracks and halted the three women. "We're even now. You three kept me entertained, and consider this bail my tip. Goodbye."

With that final farewell, he walked off where a car stopped next to the sidewalk and picked him up.

He pulled out his phone and called someone whom he knew wouldn't pick up at this hour of the day, so he left her a message.

"Ana… listen, I'm sorry to intrude on your holiday, but can I ask for one last favor from you? My dad, he got sick. Came down with a cold, but Adam said it might be the flu so he's now in the hospital and his condition isn't looking up. Can you just come in tomorrow to meet up with Adam, please? I don't have any ulterior motive. If I did, they're all worthless now, because my father needs you. I got the message that you want to break the lease of the apartment that you are currently using. I've been trying my best to step in my father's place, so I've been reading his emails. I truly need your help, we can talk about any compensation you have in mind."


Thank you for reading and reviewing!

X