Holy... you guys are FUHNEE. some of the reviews had me laughing out loud.

This is a bit of a filler chapter but we still get a few moments here and there.

Chapter 56 – wedding bells for darling, kate

Saturday, March 14th, 2020

APOV

We stand sit around and talk for a bit, catching up. I see Kate look a little uneasy. I give her our discreet girl talk signal and we slip out and run to the guest bathroom and huddle in.

"Kavanagh, what's going on? You look like you're about to cry and that rarely ever happens." I ask her.

Her lips tremble and she starts to sob uncontrollable.

"Kate, you're scaring me." I feel my own tears start to fall.

"I messed up Ana and I'm so scared. I can't believe I was so stupid."

"Kate... just tell me what happened. We can figure it out. I'm with you 100% no matter what. Steele and Kavanagh forever... just hit me with it."

"Remember when I was in London back in January..."

"Yeah... what about it?"

"I was supposed to get my shot before I left but things got so crazy that I thought I'd get it done when I came back... except I completely forgot again... Elliot and I weren't having that much sex anyway cause I was always travelling so I started taking the pill but I also fucked that up with my schedule constantly changing.

"oh..." Oh fuck.

"I didn't really have morning sickness but I wasn't feeling all that great. I went to Dr. Greene's yesterday after our lunch to start up with the shot again cause Elliot hates condoms... and we were catching up and I told her how I was feeling and we did a test and an ultrasound... I'm 5 weeks along." She's sobbing at this point.

"Kate... why are you crying?"

"Cause Elliot and I talked about waiting for at least 2 years."

"Did you tell him this morning when he proposed this morning?"

"No, I was scared to." She wipes her tears.

"Kate, he'll be over the moon."

"What if he's not?" She looks up at me with her jade green eyes.

"You won't know until you tell him but I know he will be absolutely thrilled." I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Ana, what if I fuck this up? I just miss my mom. I miss her so much... I wish I could share all of this with her... I wish I wasn't such an asshole kid back then" I hold her and she cries and I feel my own tears fall. "and oh god... I've drinking wine like it's nobody's business... what if I fucked up the baby already."

Kate and her mom Olivia never got along from the start. Olivia was from old money in Atlanta and got married to Eamon while they were still in college... but their marriage suffered as Eamon became successful with building Kavanagh media. They moved to Seattle once Kate was about to start college. Olivia suffered from depression and alcoholism due to neglect. Not that Eamon was ever unfaithful but a neglectful and workaholic husband can be just as painful. Throw in Kate who's the spitting image of her father in every way. She was a tomboy through and through, had the aggression and determination to succeed with no interest in becoming a society debutante and settling down. Their relationship remained tense up and until Olivia's cancer diagnosis and even then, there wasn't much time and she passed away within three months during Kate's senior year as an undergrad at WSU.

I pull away from her and look her in the eye. "You're not going to fuck this up. Elliot and I will not let you. Listen, you have all of us here. Ethan, your dad, Mia, Grace... everyone outside is going to help. You will never be alone in this... and Kate... you're one of the best people I know. You're going to be an incredible mother. I have no doubt about it. I have all the faith in the world that you can do this. Your baby is going to be one of the luckiest babies I know. With a mother who is the fiercest and baddest bitch out there."

She nods and tries to calm down but not before a giggle escapes her.

"I'm pregnant, Ana. I'm fucking pregnant..." She says in disbelief.

"OH MY GOD I KNOW..." I scream a little too loudly in excitement and Kate immediately silences me by putting her hand on my mouth and I mumble a sorry. We end up giggling.

I hear a loud knock on the door.

"Guys, what's going on?..." Elliot asks in a panic and I hear Christian's voice too. Fuck.

I walk to the door and open it slightly.

"Nothing, boys. Just some girl talk excitement."

"Why are you crying?" Christian asks.

"For funsies." I sass. I look back at Kate who's still feeling a little low. I need reinforcements. I open the door a little more. "Move please." And Elliot shuffles to the side.

"Why? Where's Kate?" Elliot tries to look over me.

"She's fine... but I just need some reinforcements. MIAAAAA, girl talk 911" I yell. Christian gives me a look and I wink at him. I can tell Elliot is beside himself. He too doesn't deal well with suspense.

Mia comes rushing through and I let her in and lock the door again. We whisper but before we begin I signal them to stop. I crouch down and I see a pair of feet in front of the bathroom door. No doubt Elliot is trying to listen in. I walk up to the bathroom door and bang it loudly and I hear Elliot yell as he backs away.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" He half yells and groans.

"FOR YOU TO KEEP YOUR EARS TO YOURSELF, GREY." I yell back. Kate and Mia cackle.

We huddle far from the bathroom door. Actually, this guest bathroom is huge... we could totally have a pizza party in here. Anyway, we begin to tell her and she literally screams in excitement and crushes Kate with a hug making Elliot whine from the other side of the door again.

"I'm gonna let him come in and you tell him... okay babe? You can do this Kate." She quietly nods. Mia and I give her a hug and we open the door and usher Elliot in and close the door behind them.

Mia and I walk back to where everyone is, they all are expecting the 411 but I tell them we'll soon find out. I sit with Christian and he looks at me with searching eyes and whispers.

"What happened baby?"

"It's good, I promise. You'll find out in a few more minutes." As I finish we hear Elliot yell out in celebration from afar. A minute later, Elliot comes running out with Kate in tow as she laughs.

"I'M GONNA BE A DAD." He's so fucking excited he could literally be bouncing off the walls.

I can't stop smiling and crying. Grace, Carrick and Eamon are the first to get up and hug and congratulate the couple followed by the rest of us. I look to Christian's reaction and it's measured. I know he's not one to overly communicate excitement but he pulls in Elliot for a proper hug.

"Congratulations Lelliot."

"Thanks bro... god... I can't believe it." He beams

"Kate, congratulations and welcome to the family." He gives he a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Christian... it's all rather unexpected..." She says nervously. Kate never does nervous but there's a first time for everything.

"You guys are going to be just fine, Kavanagh... " I tell her.

She nods and I see more tears fall and I pull her in for a hug and hold on to her and rub her back while she tries to calm herself.

"I tried trapping her ass but she trapped my ass instead." Elliot laughs and I smack him.

"Don't let Eamon hear you talking about his baby girl like that, he'll definitely bury you." I warn but fail to keep it serious.

Dinner is a blast. Kate and Elliot decide to keep the wedding small and to have it in Cabo... where they first met and it's decided that if possible it'll be during Memorial Day weekend and if things don't work out for Cabo then they'll have it in the Grey's humongous backyard. Kate has no desire to wait till she's further along to get married or wait till after the baby is born. She's pretty no nonsense about this stuff. At first glance you wouldn't believe that's what she'd go for but at the end of it, she just wants stuff to be simple and to the point.

Kate, Mia and I open pinterest and go crazy looking at wedding gowns and talking different styles while getting Margot and Grace's input. We're lost in our world when I get the feeling I'm being watched, I look back and I see Christian looking at me. He gives me a small smile and goes back to the conversation with Elliot and Ethan.

I don't have to wonder what's going through his mind. I know what it is. He's happy for Elliot but he's probably wanting this for himself too... and I feel a pang of guilt. Guilt for not being mentally settled enough to accept all these big changes and for making him wait till the 3rd quarter.

But I want a clean break from all this. Once the Will is read and once I know the fate of AHAK, I will make that final decision to whether tell everyone, or just tell Mama and break away and keep minimal contact.

I know Vishaal is trying to goad me into playing his stupid game but I am not giving in this time... it plagues my mind enough to figure out what he's really going for. I need to stop giving him all this power. I need to win but I don't know how to so I need to decide that I will not play at all. If I don't play, no one wins and soon all of this can be over.

But much as I try these thoughts have consumed my mind. I wake up several times a night trying to connect the possible dots. Just because you know the endgame doesn't mean that's the only endgame? There was always another hidden agenda. Running through all my memories to try and come up with a pattern to the games he'd make me play. I always lost. I could never figure out what the actual plan of attack was.

"Aana, you have got to be more sinister than that. Use your imagination. Go off the deep end."

I shake the thought and return to the conversation.

Tuesday, March 17th, 2020

CPOV

"I feel like an asshole for being jealous of my own brother." I murmur.

"Are you happy for him at least?" Flynn asks.

"Of course I am. It's just that... I want all of this too and I know I told Ana I'd wait and I will but... it's not getting an easier."

"You never were a patient man." Flynn chuckles.

"She's putting me through my paces, John."

"As she should. Relationships aren't meant to be easy, Christian. They are hard work."

"I know that... it's just... I'm not good with waiting."

"And yet she is." He says matter of factly.

"I know. She's patient to a fault."

"What's really on your mind besides the waiting?"

"I can feel that she's hiding something from me... she's been a little distracted. Keeps getting lost in thought and when I ask her what she's thinking about she deflects."

"You think it's something to do with you?"

"No, I don't think so. There's something that's worrying her... she's normally always ready to talk but nowadays I have to keep initiating conversation."

"Well, you did tell me that by her own admission she has identified that she a lot of issues she's having to face head on for the first time since everything happened."

"I know... but I want to help her."

"And when she wants help, she'll ask for it."

"She won't. She's stubborn like that... because I'm the same way."

"Then just be there for her in case she needs you. That's all you can do at this point, Christian. We can't force people to accept our help but we can make sure we're there for them when they do."

...

It's just after 7:30 when I get back to Escala. I loosen my tie and take off my jacket and head into the kitchen to fix myself a glass of wine.

"Mr. Grey, dinner will be ready in 15 minutes." Gail smiles.

"Thank you, Gail. Where's Ana?"

"She went up to the gym. She mentioned she wasn't feeling that great so she wanted to get a stretch in before dinner."

Not feeling great?

I nod and walk up the stairs to the gym to see if she's done.

We good and we good for each other
I won't put no one above ya
I won't put no one in front of ya

I think I can watch her do this everyday. Her body rolls into different positions so effortlessly. It's enough to make a grown man cry. I'm really one lucky son of a bitch... holy fuck she just did a split. I need to adjust myself. This is giving me too many ideas that need to be explored... sooner rather than later. Fuck, she can really arch that back...does she not have a spine? She ends her session by slowing down as the song comes to an end and retreating into child's pose.

Trust, trust
Trust, do you trust?
Trust, trust
Trust, can you trust me?
Like, really trust me?

She remains there for a minute and then raises her body to sit indian style and cradles her head in her hands.

I knock on the door and she jumps and looks back and swallows.

"Hey... I was just coming downstairs." She says with a small smile and quickly gets up and rolls her mat.

She walks to me and gives me a kiss and turns to walk out but I grab her hand.

"What's wrong baby?"

"Just a little tired. I haven't been really been able to sleep..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I kiss her cheek.

"I didn't think it was a big deal but I really felt it today...I'll take a Tylenol PM before going to bed tonight and maybe that will help." She smiles but I know this smile... this is the one she gives when she's trying to make the other person feel better. I can't force her to tell me anything... I just have to be here when she wants to talk.

Dinner follows the same mood. We talk but the conversation lulls every now and then. I prepare us an Epsom salt bath to soak in and relax.

I massage her shoulders and she giggles trying to suppress a moan. "Mr. Grey, I think you should quit being a hotshot CEO and become my personal masseuse."

"Miss Steele, that sounds like an exciting offer."

"Yes, I can feel your excitement." She laughs and I kiss her neck.

"Tell me Miss Steele, how did you get so flexible." I chuckle.

"Tell me, Mr. Grey, when did you become such a creeper?"

"It's all your fault... watching your body move like that has definitely got my imagination working over time." I turn her face to me and kiss her deeply and I hear her hum a moan low in her throat, the sound travels straight to my dick.

She giggles, breaking away. "I started yoga and pilates as part of my physical therapy regimen early 2015 when I was mobile enough and never looked back... that and water based exercises which eventually turned into regular swimming... I haven't been able to swim in years though. Do you know there aren't any pools in Seattle and Portland that offer women only hours? That's so messed up." She muses.

"Escala has a pool Ana."

She turns around again with eyes wide. "WHAT?"

I laugh... "Yeah, you didn't know?"

"NO. It's like you shared the brochure with me."

"Well it does and you can use it whenever you want. We can have it reserved for you."

"Okay that's a bit overboard... I don't want it to be reserved for just me... I mean I don't mind if there are other women around... just no men."

"I'll talk to management and have it done."

She leans in and gives me a searing kiss and I almost get lost. She breaks the kiss and leans her forehead against mine and whispers thank you.

"You don't have thank me, Ana."

"I know, but I want to...When I first started water based exercises for physical therapy, Julia my therapist helped me float on my back and the pool facility we used was at one of AHAK's high rise developments and it had a skylight... it was really beautiful... anyway, it had been the first time I had been in a pool in like 2 years and just laying there and looking up it was such a holy experience... it was really emotional and I got addicted to that feeling. Just to float on my back and look up at the sky."

"When it gets warmer we go to Bellevue and use the pool house if you want. You can float all day if you want." I kiss her temple.

She laughs. "Sure, that sounds like a plan."

"What's keeping you up at night?"

She tenses a little.

"Honestly, it's a mixture of things... sometimes it's a nightmare... sometimes it's just nothing. I just wake up for no reason. My mind is completely blank but I'm wide-awake. It's been this way since I came back from SF. Now I can feel it's affecting my work. I have trouble staying awake all day. Most days I can handle it but today was difficult and my upper back is in knots so the yoga helps a bit with that."

"What are the nightmares about?"

"I keep seeing this blue light and a sea of hands raised... like a dance floor... I mean I'm looking up with my hands raised and then suddenly it's dark. Pitch black and I feel myself being dragged... and then I wake up... Sometimes I hear crying and screaming... but mostly I hear nothing... sometimes I'll see or feel things that make absolutely no sense and it's all very confusing."

"It's from that night?"

"I think so. I don't remember anything of significance from that night. My mind is completely blank... and I'm scared it will all come back to me in full force and I won't be able to handle it. The few flashes I remember from my meeting with Akash were harrowing enough and yet they didn't reveal much." She says with a strained voice.

I hold her tight and kiss her cheek. "You're not alone baby, you don't have to go through this alone."

"Except, I will... I was alone when it happened and I'll be alone when all the memories come flooding back. This pain and fear is inside of me... it won't leave."

I just hold her. I don't know how else to comfort her. I can't physically take the pain away from her.

"I'm going to tell Aashu this weekend." she says after a few moments of silence.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... I want her to understand why I can't participate as much as I did at Rania and Kiran's wedding... I don't want her to be offended... so I need to explain to her why because I've declined to be a bridesmaid and I've said that I won't come to the bachelorette party... if she asks me for one more thing and I'm unable to do it..." she pauses for a moment. "I need to tell her."

"How do you think she'll take it?"

"Well she can't stand Vishaal and Kiran but she won't see this coming... even Karan didn't see it coming and he cried for me and begged for my forgiveness. He was so angry that he almost lost it and I had to beg him to not do anything cause it would mean his secret getting out too..." she says while wiping her tears. I kiss her temple and hold her tight."...my main concern is that she keep it from Imran. I trust her but I also feel guilty for asking her to keep something from her significant other since it affects his family too... it's just so fucking complicated now."

"Look at me baby..."

She turns her body slightly but doesn't look me in the eye. I hold her face and lean in to kiss her.

"I wish this could be easier on you." I tell her, breaking from the kiss.

"Doing the right thing never is." She says simply.

...

"I thought you had a call with the Abu Dhabi office?" she asks as we get into bed.

"I do, I pushed it back two hours... want to make sure you sleep." I kiss her forehead.

"Christian, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine... "

"I know but I want to take care of you."

"You're babying me you know." She giggles.

"I'd like to think I'm cherishing you... "I chuckle.

Her giggles fall into delirious laughter and she throws her arm over her eyes...

"Ana, baby... care to share the joke with the class?" I smirk.

"I... I..." she tries to control her laughter..."I'm sorry, I just remembered something from today and... I couldn't help it." she starts to wipe tears from her eyes.

I look at her as she calms her breathing.

"Well?... I don't like to kept waiting Miss Steele." I raise an eyebrow and she gives me a quick kiss.

"Oh don't I know it... any way, this afternoon at lunch we were talking about this new guy Val is seeing and Jose reminded me of something... before the wedding he gave me some advice... more like he ordered me to get laid at the wedding even though I told him that I wouldn't have time because I was going to be so busy... he said...'listen to me you hag, a wedding is like an amusement park full of dicks... just jump on anyone, try to enjoy the ride and move on to the next one.'

I roll my eyes and snort.

"... and then this afternoon he remembered that piece of sage advice he gave me and said... you just had to hop on the tower of terror didn't ya... and I had to look it up, apparently it's a roller coaster in Australia." She's beside herself laughing at that point.

"You seemed to enjoy the ride." I chuckle.

"I did... I enjoyed it a lot." She wiggles her eyebrows. "You know, Jose is the reason why no guy at GEH ever approached me. He told me that last week. Apparently some guys wanted to ask me out but they all had to stand down because of Jose."

"This I really want to hear. I wondered briefly if anyone at GEH ever tried something... and if they had I would've fired their asses."

She rolls her eyes at me and I slap her ass making her giggle.

"Even if they did, it wouldn't have worked... I wasn't in that frame of mind at all, even though Jose was trying to brainwash me... there was too much shit to deal with you know... so my mind didn't even go to that side of things... but yeah if you run the business side of things at GEH, Jose runs the tabloid side of things. He knows all the scoop and he has dirt on people so they knew not to mess with me or Jose would have ruined them. According to him he was priming me to have the best of the best... aka you... so you need to thank him." She giggles.

"I guess I need to make sure his end of the year bonus reflects our appreciation of his service to the GEH interests." I laugh.

"You better. He's a great guy and a dedicated employee. He really made being at GEH easier... we're alike in so many ways... we've had the same upbringing in a way... small middle class family. His dad was in the Navy and his mom was really involved in community stuff. He was taken advantage of by a family member early on in his life and his father never accepted him when he came out... then his mom, who he was so close to died 10 years ago from cancer... we had similar high school experiences... not feeling like we were good enough, pretty much the same fears... he can seem really overboard sometimes but it's all for shits and giggles. He's a really solid guy, gives back to the community, sends money back home and he looks out for his people you know..."

"His dad disowned him?" What the fuck? His own son.

"Yeah... he doesn't talk to him at all. Doesn't acknowledge him when he goes back to visit family."

"That's fucked up." Even thought Grace and Carrick are not blood, being disowned by them would've fucking hurt. I would've gotten over it eventually but it would've hurt on some deep level... whether I were willing to accept it or not.

"Yeah... and that's his own flesh and blood... so the fear and feeling of being disowned by your family... " she takes a deep breath "I know the fear all too well... which is why I'm hesitant to call a family meeting to put this out into the open. I have to do it slowly and reach out to everyone individually because if I were to face a rejection in front of everyone... I don't know if could handle that. This way, I can handle the situation in privacy and control the outcome somewhat"

"I get that. Telling everyone separately about the whole Elena thing... I wasn't met with all the different reactions all at once... and honestly I think it was the best way to tell them because they all had different questions and I was able to answer them and give them the time to accept all of this as best they could."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you to support you... I wish I had been strong enough to not have reacted the way I did that night." Her voice is strained and she doesn't look me in the eye.

I pull her closer to me and hold her. "It wasn't your fault Ana, it was a long time coming... and this was something I had to do on my own... so I understand your need to want to do this alone but you have to understand that I don't trust that fucker. Elena could never hurt me the way he can hurt you... I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know" she whispers into my neck. After a few moments she speaks again with a heavy voice. "Please promise you won't leave me no matter how bad it gets."

I pull away and look into her eyes, stroking her cheek. "I will never leave you... but you have to tell me where this is coming from?"

"Just when this is all over... I don't know how I'll be... I could be an even more emotional mess than before..."

"Baby, I'm here for the long haul... besides I'm not keen on losing the only passenger on this tower of pleasure." I smirk and she bursts out laughing.

"I see what you did there... you perv." She says wiping tears from her eyes as she comes down from her laughing fit.

"How about we feel what I can do for you, my freak." I start to kiss her and soon we lose ourselves.

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

"How was your session with Flynn?" I ask her as she plays around with her food.

She shrugs. "It was okay... we've been trying this new thing where I type up any problematic thoughts or memories and feelings on to a private posting board he administers and when we meet we talk about them and try to dissect everything."

"Do you feel like it's helping?"

She takes a deep breath. "It's only been two weeks... I have my good days and bad days."

"I wish I look into your mind sometimes."

She looks up.

Fuck, I said that out loud.

Her face is impassive. "I guess that would be the super power you'd want."

"The power to read minds? Yeah." I smirk.

"There's a saying you know... curiosity killed the cat."

"Must have not been a smart cat."

She laughs a little but her face falls again as she looks down on her food.

"What would your superpower be?" I ask.

"Invisibility."

"Why?"

"I miss it, I guess... anonymity can be very rewarding."

"How so?"

"Not everyone has control over their body language, the mind is just full of noise most of the time but the body can always give you away... you can learn a lot about people when they don't know you're watching."

"Do you think you have control over your body language?"

"Only sometimes. Do you think you have control?"

"Yes."

"So you think no one can read you?"

"I'm certain no one can read me." I chuckle.

She shrugs with a smirk. "If that's what helps you sleep at night and then sure... keep thinking that."

"You think can read me, Miss Steele?"

"I've already read you Mr. Grey... "

"Is that so Miss Steele, I'm intrigued to hear about your findings."

"So you can attempt to conceal yourself further?" she laughs.

"No... I'm genuinely interested."

This really should be interesting.

She cocks her head to one side and gives me a small smile.

"I'll give you a few... "

"No, I want to hear it all."

She rolls her eyes. "My findings, I can choose to reveal however much I want."

"I disagree."

"You can disagree all you want, Grey. It's your problem to deal with." She giggles. I lean in and kiss her.

"Proceed with your presentation Miss Steele."

"When you run your hands through your hair, you're frustrated... the intensity and frequency of how you do it can give me an idea into whether you're about to lose it or shut down the situation with a dismissal."

Okay, I'll give her that.

"Right now, you're listening to me intently and not moving a muscle which means you're in unfamiliar territory cause you're being put on the spot... you're not at all relaxed. This is a feeling you are never going to be accustomed to because you are too used to being in control of every interaction that involves you." She smiles. "But I understand why that is..."

I don't like this anymore.

"The dead giveaway of how you are as a person is in the spaces you inhabit. GEH as a whole and especially your office, everything is spaced out, it's almost abstract like, it's not warm and inviting but jarring, telling the other person to not feel welcome or get too comfortable. Almost a museum like quality, reinforcing the rule... 'do not touch. The colors you subscribe to both in the apartment and at GEH are dark and cool, again, not meant to evoke a sense of belonging or warmth... in fact they mirror sadness, that could be me projecting but then again, when I compare it to Elliot's apartment or your parents house, their places are the exact representation of who they are. They have warm and cool colors, their furniture isn't spaced out to create distance but to bring people closer together... in fact I think the warmest room I saw in your life was the playroom but I guess that was only to create a sense of illusionary comfort maybe given everything that... well..." she gestures her hand to further iterate her unspoken thought.

I'm really trying to not react now. We need to desperately renovate but I will touch on this subject some other time.

"The way your eyebrows just shot up ever so slightly and you swallowed and opened your mouth to breathe means that I'm not wrong in my assessment."

I blink but don't say anything. She's right on the money about everything. She continues.

"When you look out of the window you're either bored as fuck and biding your time or really lost in thought."

"That could be anyone... really."

"True... in that case, you only cross your leg, ankle to knee when you're really relaxed which is rare in a professional setting. When you tighten your jaw you really are pissed and when you sit back and use your index finger to stroke your bottom lip, you're either intrigued or mildly amused."

I REALLY don't like this right now.

"You're almost always on your phone at GEH outside of meetings in intermediate spaces to avoid eye contact and conversation. I noticed that very early on when I started working there."

"Even though you didn't want to meet me, you still checked me out." I smirk.

She laughs. "Wipe that smug face off, Grey. I didn't check you out, the rest of GEH was already busy doing that...I had not intention of adding myself to that roster but yes I did observe you. I knew you'd never notice me. I mean... you had a reputation of never speaking to female employees unless it work-related and you were always brusque... since I was never going to be in your crosshairs given that I was the second assistant... I was safe."

"You would have eventually had to deal with me once you became first assistant."

"True but the week I was promoted you were in New York and then well it was Thanksgiving... and the rest is history as they say." She smiles. "My only interactions with you were on the phone a few times." She muses.

"When was this?" We spoke? I would've remembered her voice.

She rolls her eyes. "I don't remember exact dates but on incident comes to mind. I was in Mr. Travis' office to over something and he excused himself to use the bathroom and his phone rang so I picked it up and before I could even finish my spiel of 'Mr Travis's office this is... you were like... you're not Travis, I need to speak to him. I almost replied saying yeah, no shit Sherlock." I laugh out loud at that and she giggles. "I told you he would be back in five minutes and you ordered me to have him call you back and hung up before I could even say Yes Sir. We have a few more exciting phone calls of a similar nature a few times after that."

"I really was an ass wasn't I?"

"Your words, not mine, Grey." She shrugs.

"I don't like these observations Miss Steele."

"It's not like you haven't made the same observations of me."

I can read you sexually but emotionally... you always throws me in for a loop.

"Well, your room is definitely an accurate representation of who you are but otherwise I'm still figuring you out." I say truthfully.

"It's okay, I'm still figuring me out too." She looks away and takes a sip of her water.

We move to the couches in the great room with another glass of wine and tea.

"When you were building the business, how many hours a day were you working?"

"I could never really sleep that much so I'd work anywhere from 15-18 hours."

She nods.

"And on the weekends you worked or you were... fully engaged with your arrangements?" She looks at me intently as she asks in a small voice.

I look away and take a deep breath. "No, I worked then too. I'd still put in a 12 hour work day over the weekends. Why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering. I know Ros is on maternity leave so I wanted to gauge how busy you're really going to be."

'Ana, it won't be like that if that's what you're wondering... that part of my life is over and I'd never let it be a repeat of what I had back then... it's impossible."

"I know..." She says quietly but looks away and stares into the fireplace. "How did you celebrate your 1st billion?"

"I was 23. The day of, I didn't do anything. Came home and worked some more and then on the weekend mom and dad insisted on celebrating over dinner. I never really celebrated that shit. Ros would pop open a bottle of some expensive champagne but for me it was always about the next thing."

I'm not about to tell her about the playroom shit I'd do whenever I reached a new milestone. I shake my head to rid myself of the thought.

"Didn't you ever feel lonely not having someone to share that accomplishment with?"

"No."

I was taught that was more.

She nods again.

"We're projected to hit 16 before the end of the 3rd quarter once acquire this tech company in Sweden."

"Congratulations, Mr. Grey. I'm sure Forbes will want to have you back for another cover." She giggles. "How about smiling on the in the photo this time?"

"So you've checked me out on the cover magazines." I raise an eyebrow.

She rolls her eyes and puts her cup on the table across from us and brings her knees to her chest and rests her head on top them looking at me.

"No I haven't. It was in the internal newsletter that PR sends out every month... God, don't you ever get tired of being so full of yourself." She narrows her eyes at me in mirth.

"Look at me, I'm handsome and I've got boatloads of money... why would I ever get tired?"

She rolls her eyes. "Holden came to talk to me today. American Vogue wants to do a two page feature on us with the possible option for a cover if we'd be willing."

"Why?"

She raises her head. "Hell if I know... something about America's newest IT couple shit."

"Do you want to do it?"

"Nope. If I was going to do something like that, I'd do it with a publication I actually liked and for an article that was substantive and not focused on the fluff. I mean, I get the fascination but to have a whole article just talking about us... that's a waste of time and paper."

Time to strike while the iron is hot. "Well, if you ran philanthropy at GEH then we could talk about the causes we believe in and highlight them."

She slowly cranes her head towards me. "Real smooth, Grey. Real smooth."

"Think about it." I smirk. I move in closer and pull her in for a kiss. "You know how I'm going to celebrate my 16th billion?"

"How?"

"By being buried balls deep inside of you." I bite her lip and she giggles.

"You're such a romantic Mr. Grey... I guess billion dollar sex will require that you up the ante a little." She wiggles her eyebrows making me laugh.

"Oh Miss Steele, how about I show you a little preview of what's to come?" I push her down to the couch and climb over her.

"This trailer better be good... " She laughs as I run my hands up and down her sides and silence her with a kiss.

In no time she moaning my name as her hands pull on to my hair.

I kiss and lick the mounds of her breasts. "Have I told you how much I love seeing you in silk, baby?"

"I thought you liked seeing me naked..." she pants arching her back.

"That smart mouth, Miss Steele... "

I untie her robe and she makes quick work to unbuckle my belt and stroke me. I sink myself into her slowly, savoring the feeling of her warmth.

We alternate between making love and fucking all while the sound of her voice fills the apartment...

By the end of it she falls on top of me, her face resting on my chest as we catch try to calm out breathing.

"Mr. Grey... that was quite a preview... I can't wait for the movie." she giggles raising her face to look at me and on cue I'm ready to go again. It's obsessive how much I crave her.

"Trust me baby, it's a movie you're going to want to watch again and again." I smirk.

She turns over and we lie arm in arm looking at each other.

"I'd love you just as much even without your billions, you know." She kisses the corner of my mouth.

"Actually, I think you might love me more if I didn't have the billions."

"Yeah, cause then you wouldn't be so full of yourself." She laughs.

I open her legs and slide into her biting her neck and she gasps. "With or without the billions baby, you're always going to be full of me." I whisper into her ear and have my way with her again.

Authors Note: Some of you were right on the money about the whole Kate thing, I guess it was obvious haha. The next chapter will have an update with the whole Elena-sub situation + flashbacks. And then... we find ourselves in Miami... lots to unpack there... plus some confrontations and drama and revelations... we'll get to hear some speculation on what the Will says.

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Music

Trust - Alina Baraz