Outtake #3
The Legal Battles
JANUARY 2017
Two hearings.
That was the least of his concerns at the moment, because he didn't even know if the personal lawsuit against his exes could yield a verdict after just one trial. Burt had warned him that they would most likely make an insanity plea to drag the case out—given that they had the money to afford a battle.
"An affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for his or her actions…" Christian's mind resonated with the sound of Burt reciting from the Wikipedia page in an attempt to make him understand their obstacle in winning the lawsuit easily on the first week back to work. He was trying to tell him the potential consequences of an insanity plea.
Christian was honestly over legal battles but Burt specifically warned him not to relent to an excuse plea, because for one, the judge simply wouldn't accept it.
He tossed and turned in bed, trying his hardest to not wake Anastasia. It was getting ridiculous with the way his mind was working right now. He could laugh at himself for thinking that the woman beside him would let him rouse her just for another round of sex just because he was getting himself all worked up.
"What are you doing, Christian?"
He was instantaneously awake, a stark contrast to the unconscious state that she was currently in.
"Did I wake you?" Despite what he was thinking about earlier, he still felt bad that his stress level was depriving her of a good-night's rest. They both needed to work tomorrow and it was already past midnight.
"What's bothering you?" Instead of answering his question, she scooted closer to him forcing him to turn around and cupped his cheeks.
"Nothing," he murmured unconvincingly. "Go back to sleep, you have a busy day ahead of you."
He tried to turn her around to spoon her but she wasn't cooperating.
"Tell me," she demanded, and left out the detail that she couldn't sleep too well with him tossing and turning next to her.
"It's the trial."
"That's two weeks away," she frowned.
"It's tomorrow," he muttered, not realizing that they weren't talking about the same one.
"When has it moved? I didn't even ask for a day off," she was now wide awake and hovering over him.
"It's the original date and we aren't required to attend," he murmured. "I was talking about my lawsuit with the Seattle Nooz."
"GEH versus the Seattle Nooz?" She visibly relaxed, but she didn't settle back down next to him.
He nodded against her palms. His hands made their way to her forearms.
"What are you worried about?" She pressed with concern but he didn't like that worried look in her eyes, so he simply shook his head, dismissing the thought.
His only concern was that he wouldn't get enough out of the sly offending company, especially since Elena had died and she was the one who tipped the media company.
"Forget it," he pulled her head down to close the distance between their lips before she could inquire further and ruin the mood entirely.
Her mouth opened automatically when he pushed his tongue through her parted lips, and she was lost in the sensation from the massage given by his tongue. Every last thought of worry dissipated down her spine as his hand traveled along. She threw her legs over his but before she could nestle in between his legs comfortably considering his gradually hardening dick, she was flipped onto her back.
He straddled her hips and pinned her arms above her head and closed to her ears by her wrists. That was his way of telling her that he was in charge, because in this moment, he needed her more than she needed him. Keeping her legs only slightly parted, he reached down to check her wetness and inserted one finger followed by a second one.
"Oh, I love how responsive you are," he crooned in her ear, pumping his fingers in and out of her in quick succession, and pulled out just when she was starting to really enjoy it. "Suck, baby," he pushed his glistening fingers into her mouth. She obliged. "Fuck," his voice came out strained, just like how he was feeling down below pressing against her pubic bone.
She bucked her hips up expressing her wish to be filled. Her knees tried to bend, but both attempts were blocked by the pressure applied by his hips straddled across her hips.
A low growl sounded from deep in his throat, and more pressure was applied to her clit when the top of his cock pressed against her. She wiggled but with her wrists bounded together by his large hand and her lower body under his, she was completely at his mercy. He bit her shoulder down along her collarbone, silently warning her who was in charge.
She whimpered and he smirked at her helplessness.
"You're mine, baby," he growled and sank into her, claiming her. His other hand went behind the arch of her back and pushed them even closer, positioning himself on his knees, he plowed into her.
She gasped at the rough intrusion when she thought he was going with love making, but no, he was going to love her… hard.
There was no time for her to catch her breath, no place for her to move; all she could to was absorb all the pleasure. No matter how overwhelming, there wasn't a single coherent thought going through her mind, with her eyes closed and her mouth wide open. She breathed through waves and waves of sweet sensation.
He lowered his head to hers and she could feel him panting into her mouth as their lips touched but they weren't kissing.
"Harder, Christian!"
He obeyed, getting more and more turned on by the pants, the moans, and the whimpers followed by her request.
"So tight!" He pulled at her bottom lip, watching his sweat drip onto her forehead, and mixing with hers. The unrelenting speed that he was going at was making her dizzy, and it was making him hard to hold back his own orgasm. Her closed legs weren't helping the matter either.
He grunted, his telltale sign that he was close, and she clamped down on his member. "No, Ana," he protested weakly at her wickedness. "Cum with me, baby!"
He slowed down his ministrations and stroked her long and slowly. She threw her head back and her back arched with the support of his hand beneath, he picked up his pace once more after steadying his breathing, and to pull himself back from coming before her.
"C'mon, baby," he chanted. His hand freeing her wrists to pinch her clit as his other went to grab a handful of her ass.
Her walls quivered and with a few final pumps, he could feel her squeezing him tightly forcing him to empty every last drop inside of her.
"Holy fuck," he moaned in her ear after he collapsed next to her, still buried deep inside of her.
"I love you," she whispered still catching her breath. "Goodnight, baby," and with that, she was out.
He couldn't help but let out a chuckle, he had tired her but only got himself more excited. He traced her jawline and caressed her cheekbones while admiring her beauty as she slept peacefully in his embrace.
…
"Your man made the news," Adam skipped over to her with his phone, practically barging into her office as she got changed out of her white coat and into her own. They were getting off at the same time, for the first time in forever, and she was giving him a ride home.
"He's always in the news," Anastasia barely glanced at the screen, she was more curious in the expression on Adam's face, because he had been unashamedly drooling over her boyfriend whenever a picture of him was splashed across the internet. "Are you drooling again?" She teased as she locked her cabinet up.
"No, well, yes, he's in a suit dammit!" He admitted. "But, your boyfriend just won a lawsuit!"
"Between you and me," she pulled him closer all mysterious and conspirative. "He's my fiancé."
They were only accepting the dating status because they hadn't made the official announcement yet.
Adam gave himself whiplash with the way his head was going from her to his phone, and she high-tailed out of her office as if nothing had happened.
"You coming?" She called over her shoulder.
"Where's the ring?" He called after her, catching up with her down the hall.
"I told you," she hissed at him quietly. "Between you and me."
"Holy shit balls," Adam suddenly grabbed her arm as they made their way to the hospital parking lot, stopping her in her track abruptly. "My fucking Jesus," he muttered frozen on the spot. "There goes my ride."
"What?" She followed his line of sight, and she now understood what caused him to be so starstruck. "Sawyer," she called, her eyes still fixed on the scene before her equally awestruck. "Drive Adam home," she dropped her keys off in the hands of her bodyguard and gave Adam a wink, then took off, launching directly into the arms of the man in suit and currently leaned against his tinted window sedan.
"For you, baby," he handed her the bouquet of mixed wild flowers ranging from roses to peonies and tulips. It was a bit of everything. "I picked them out at someone's back yard along the way," he winked just to bring the bad boy image home.
"committing theft right after winning a lawsuit?" She teased softly against his lips so no one could eavesdrop their exchange.
"Swoon," Adam whistled. Sawyer rolled his eyes behind the man, only making Anastasia giggle harder. "I'm going. I'm going," he lifted his arms up in surrender when he realized that he had just interrupted their moment and now was receiving too much attention from the hot man.
"How much are they paying?" Anastasia didn't waste any time after the car began to merge with the other ones on the busy street, contributing to the evening traffic.
He studied her profile in amusement, but his heart also warmed at the sight of her sniffing at the flowers in her hand. There was still that tinge of shyness in her whenever she received a gift or a compliment. It was something that was special about her and also something that he loved.
"How much?" She glanced up to the side, catching him blatantly staring and broke him out of his spell.
"I was going to tell you myself that the judge ruled in our favor, but I guess the media is still faster," he sighed defeatedly.
"GEH is getting compensation right? Did you manage to push all of Elena's wrongdoing onto their head?"
"We faulted them for it and blamed everything on them," he nodded. "But, the judge didn't accept that argument, so Elena's tip counted as her own offense."
"But what is the total number?" She really wanted to know because this had been the first lawsuit that was close to her and was won. Most of the lawsuit that she had heard from the mouths of her colleagues were all of medical malpractice, and ended up paying a lot of compensation.
"Twenty-two million," she gasped but clearly he wasn't finished. He was going to break it to her slowly. "That was the compensatory," he grinned widely at her reaction. "Also for for the loss that GEH has endured, but the heavy bit is on the punitive fine," he paused and she mentally did a drumroll. "Two hundred million," he revealed, he was rounding the numbers.
"That's…" she squealed excitedly. "Oh my god, Christian!" If she wasn't bounded by a seatbelt, she would've thrown herself at him.
He smiled cheekily at her, but he still had no idea why she was so excited for him. Granted, he was happy that she was this happy for his win.
"The punitive is twenty-two percent of GEH's total worth in the beginning of last year."
"Oh shit," her grin widened, matching his. "Are we celebrating?"
"Hell yes we are!" He picked up her hand and brought it to her lips. "But," his eyes twinkled mischievously once their eyes met. "We're doing it at home."
That one look immediately had her clenching her thighs together, in anticipation.
…
The silicon lid brushed past her face for the third time this evening, and she was starting to think that he was trying to get on her very last nerve. Taco's tail whipped against her leg like a belt beating against her flesh. If her skin hadn't bruised, she was going to think that he had happy tail syndrome, which was a very legitimate suspicion. Taco would never consciously let his tail come in contact with anything hard, and his owners' legs were the perfect percussion instrument.
Right then, Anastasia couldn't decide which of her boys she was more annoyed with.
"How many times do you have to open that damn lid, Christian?" She screeched, and the tail wagged even harder as if he was equally amused at the banter between the couple, hitting her harder in the leg. "You watch where your tail is, Tucks," she pointed at Taco who stared up at her through his gentle hazel eyes and playful expression. Her intimidation had obviously not been taken seriously enough, but at least he was now injuring Christian.
Taco was always first to arrive in the kitchen and the last to leave whenever his owners were cooking, or he'd be there sniffing through stuff and pawing through drawers even without his owners around. Stealing stuff from the kitchen to bring it to his own corner had been his delight.
"Gotcha," he held up the dead shrimp that had been sliding around on the cutting board, though why it was there was a question that would never get answered.
"That thing was covering the shrimps?" She turned around locating the green silicon material next to a bowl of shrimp that Christian was going to cook to add to their stir fry mix. When her eyes found her boyfriend, the question of how old he actually was intellectually surfaced again. He was fooling Taco with a tiny piece of shrimp, and commanding the poor dog to perform every trick he knew in the book. "Are you done?"
"I thought you're using the stove," he said without turning around.
Yup, he's the brother and Taco's the younger one.
"I'm using the oven, Christian," she emphasized as if she was truly talking to a toddler. "We're adding everything together on the stove after the rice is cooked and my salmon is almost ready."
"Okay," he responded, quickly tossing the barely visible shrimp to his eager dog. Poor thing didn't even know what he had eaten before it went down his throat. "I love cooking with you," he wrapped his arms around her waist from the back and said in her ear. "Just like I love you, baby," he said sweetly, peppering her face and hair with kisses.
That was for making up to the time he wasted fooling around with their dog. He was a pro at asking for forgiveness by sweet-talking her into forgetting what had pissed her off. He wasn't sure if Taco got the skills from him or vice versa, because he did the same each time Anastasia scolded him.
"Go cook your shrimp," she twisted her head and pecked his lips.
He was forgiven.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" He asked as they sat down with their dinner, Taco sat in his usual spot—right next to the table at the head where his chin could practically rest on the surface.
"I don't know," she sighed. "I've never testified in court before, heck, I've never been to a hearing."
Taco shifted on his feet, and licked his lips, moistened his nose, reminding the couple of his presence and his always empty stomach. He even made sure that he was seated in the perfect posture, not the slacking kind where he could lie down at a command. His eyes fixated on the movement of their hands, and dropped along with the piece of salmon as it fell from a fork.
"You might not even be called up, because other than stalking, and invasion of privacy by hacking your Instagram account, the other charges are all filed by me."
"Stalking and hacking are important, are they?"
Christian shook his head, and took a sip of his wine mimicking her action.
"You weren't physically harmed, so the two aren't felonies, just misdemeanors. The offenses against me are considered more severe. So, you're basically there for my moral support."
"What if they plea insanity? Or bring up what happened in the playroom?"
"They don't have any evidence for the playroom, plus we've got more grounds to stand on because they trespassed first. As for the insanity plea, they definitely will, because there's no way they can be ruled not guilty due to insufficient evidence, or any reason. They are the culprits."
"Then what?"
"The procedure drags on," he shrugged his shoulders. "It's not that tricky or complicated, it's just tedious and costly, but there's no way that I'm going to accept the insanity defense."
"What if it isn't ruled in our favor?"
"Then I'll take it up higher, but I doubt the judge would rule it in favor of them for mental illness."
"You are just going to get dragged through this case this year?"
"Pretty much. I think it's worth it. I'll just be knee-deep in legal affairs, that's all."
"And, that should be a common occurrence for businessmen?" She mocked at his no-big-deal attitude, and he laughed.
…
The gavel struck the sound block, and the room quietened. Another moment of silent fussing from corners of the room and everyone was seated, in deathly silence.
"They still use the hammer?" Christian leaned into his fiancée subtly just in time to catch her barely audible question. "I thought they only use that in Hollywood." He chuckled discretely, and grabbed her hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. He knew she was only saying everything as if she didn't know the real terms and regulations because she was nervous. As much as he could he couldn't be sure that she wouldn't have to testify.
"Relax," he whispered next to her through his teeth, fully aware of the subtle glare sent his way from the judge and bailiff. "You won't have to go up unless absolutely necessary," he assured, and it was the very thing that he had stressed to their team of lawyers during their many meetings.
"You are here for the hearing of a suit filed by the plaintiffs, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, against the defendants, Leila Williams, Susannah…" the judge droned off reading from the information before him and reciting the words that he had been repeating for decades. "The following charges, stalking, defamation of character in the form of slander, breach of Non-disclosure Agreement, and trespassing of private property are committed by all defendants.
"The following charge is filed against Rebecca Nelson. Defamation of character in the form of libel by hacking the social media account of Anastasia Steele.
"The following charge is filed against Susannah Thompson. Invasion of privacy which resulted in the exposure of Elliot Grey's personal life, thus involving brother Christian Grey in a minor scandal, classified as slander.
"The following charge is filed against Leila Williams. Vandalism of valuable property of Christian Grey."
Anastasia got lost along the way and was unable to comprehend a single phrase coming out of the mouths in the room, she glanced sideways and saw that Christian was still very much present. She sighed, and decided to focus on her breathing to calm he racing heart, because the subject of stalking and her Instagram had came up, and she was afraid that she might be asked to testify. Christian had already been called up.
Christian reached for her hand again as if sensing her bundle of nerves and her erratic heartbeat. He leaned forward and picked up the pen and paper that he hadn't touched since the beginning of the hearing on the table, and scribbled something down acting like he was making notes.
He even got her fooled until the page was slipped in front of her. Then, he watched her sideways waiting for her reaction.
It's getting over soon. They're going to make an insanity plea, which means they admit that they're guilty.
Their eyes met and he thought he could see a fleeting look of relief but it still appeared troubled. He darted his eyes to the slip of paper indicating that she should write down her concerns.
When he saw her scribbles, he shook his head firmly. He didn't know how she could be a ball of nerves at the prospect of her testifying when she spent five days a week drugging or thinking about how to drug people, and stand in a closed room with a cut up unconscious human being.
You'll be fine. Concluding very soon.
He reassured, passing the reply back. It seemed to ease her a little more, and he was almost as relieved to hear the final hit from the gavel to the block.
…
"I honestly can't focus. I don't know why I'm so worried," she fussed on their car ride home. "I don't think I've been this nervous before."
"It's okay, baby. It is nerve wrecking," he confessed since he had to get up and answer questions about his past with the three women. "I was pretty sure that you don't have to speak but I just didn't want to give you false hope, so I didn't promise you anything."
"How much jail time are they getting?" She steadied her pounding pulse and repeated to herself that she didn't have to return to that intimidating atmosphere again. The environment was seriously suffocating and intense, completely different from an operation.
"Their crimes aren't considered some serious felonies, other than vandalism and trespassing, they're all a bunch of misdemeanors. So, the most they'll get if they plead guilty or are ruled guilty, is around two to four years. They can probably negotiate to pay more fine than jail time."
"Seriously? That's all they're getting for pissing all over our lives?"
"If they don't pay up in time, we have the right to sue them again and lock them away."
"How much would the fine be?"
"In the millions to begin with, of course."
"Why?'
"My R8 is worth nearly a million to start with since I've got a lot of high-tech system installed."
"If they're pleading insanity, who's going to evaluate them?"
"They will hire a team of psychiatrists and a hearing will follow with their findings, once they present the reports, everyone will then debate and the judge will rule whether he believes it or not."
"What if they cheat? Why can't we appoint people?"
"Our people will be part fo the investigation team."
"Can I be part of it?"
He blinked his eyes in rapid motion trying to assure himself that she truly did say this. "What?"
"I want to look at their brain scans, and be part fo the procedure."
"I don't think it's fair for the plaintiff to be involved. It has to be a third party so maybe you can request the scan…" he trailed off, leaving her to fill in the blanks at his suggestion.
He meant that she would be able to call in some favors to have the scan sent over to her. He was more than certain that she had enough connection in the medical world to achieve that.
…
FOURTH OF JULY 2017
They clinked their glasses together for a toast that Christian proposed. She was more than ready to crawl under their comfortable cover and soft cozy mattress in their own home, and call it a day so she could start her night beginning with her soon-to-be husband.
"What exactly are we celebrating?"
"We did spend this special day in a rather boring way," he began, his eyes locking tight with hers.
"I hope it's only going to get interesting," she whispered huskily in pure lust, and watched as his gray orbs turned a few shades darker.
"It is," he licked his lips in response. They were in public social events since the morning going from meeting the demands of his new role as a prominent businessman in the United States of America by walking the required red carpets, to the afternoon where they fulfilled Anastasia's duty as an eminent doctor in the medical field by appearing at the Johns Hopkins Hospital celebration and award ceremony where she was nominated but didn't win; as she had expected. They could now finally attend to their own special day in private. "However, I have news that I've been dying to share with you but decided to wait until this evening when everything is out of the way."
She gave him a puzzled glance but was still paying full attention as she swirled the crimson red wine in her hand basking in the tinge of coolness in the Baltimore summer heat on their balcony and listened to the sloshing and swashing of the water against the dock. This house by the waters was their own private resort reserved just for their getaway, hence no one actually knew about their ownership, and their reserved dock for their yacht still in manufacture.
"We are officially lawsuit free."
Christian announced and watched the words travel to her ears and register in her brain. Her lashes snapped opened, uncovering those crystal blue eyes that he found himself falling in love with deeper everyday with.
"What's the final verdict?" She could barely contain her excitement, but she managed. She wanted to hear the whole story before jumping his bones and forget about every bother in the world.
"The judge called bullshit and ruled them guilty."
"They didn't plead guilty?" She felt incredulous at their choice because she had seen their MRI and CT scans herself, and not the result on the report. She knew the girls were anything but what they claimed they were. They didn't have a leg to stand on with their claims of being a psychopath, a sociopath, and an act of irresistible impulse due to schizophrenia.
"They wouldn't to save their lives," he snorted. "More than one forensic psychiatrists and doctors witnesses claimed that their disease doesn't qualify insanity. Who would believe that Rebecca is a psychopath, that Susannah is a sociopath, and Leila has schizophrenia and acted on irresistible impulse just based on a single act. All security footage and recordings are there." Christian argued passionately.
When he refocused on her, he saw the widest fucking grin of glee he had seen on her face in the five years that he knew her.
"Let's celebrate in the bedroom," she leaned forward and removed his wineglass from his hold. He happily obliged and allowed her to take the lead.
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