Living the human life...
Before Christian knew it, the nurse Betty and another doctor were telling him that he had made a full recovery and he was allowed to leave the hospital the following morning.
The past week he had gotten better at understanding the new urges that happened to him; Urges such as needing to eat and use the bathroom. Now that he was feeling better the pain wasn't troubling him as much as he thought it was at the start either.
He could now use his legs without needing the nurse Betty or crutches to assist him with standing upright. He could also tell now when the right time was to use the bathroom before the urges got too strong and uncomfortable.
Despite all the new sensations and bodily discoveries he was going through, Ana was still not far from his mind. The past few nights, he had found it increasingly difficult to drift off to sleep in the hospital bed, his mind whirling with constant worries and thoughts about his charge. He always tended to stress the most at night, with wondering where she was and what she was doing while he was stuck in bed, healing as a human in the Earth world.
It concerned him how she was feeling most of all; He wasn't sure how she would be coping now that he was absent from her life and the not knowing, it was becoming to be his undoing. He hoped- whenever she was- that she was growing accustomed to being without his presence in her life. He still missed her to the moon and back though.
He'd also gotten frequent visits from this supposed family of his. One afternoon not only Carrick and Grace had arrived, but their children and his siblings, Mia and Elliot had arrived as well. He did not remember the 2 siblings either but they seemed just as accepting as the mother and father had been to explain to him in great depths what role he had in their lives.
...
That evening, after Nurse Betty had came in at her usual time to deliver him his tray of food and check how he was doing, he climbed carefully off the bed and shuffled towards the joined room that was the bathroom. Above the sink in the hospital bathroom he had discovered there was a mirror.
It had only been 3 days ago that he had finally let himself glance at the reflection of the man in the mirror for the 1st time. It had been the 1st time he had ever truly seen himself before, in his own physical body; His own face staring back at him. He found it not only startling but fascinating; Usually he were invisible to all but his charge Ana and he had not seen his body or what he looked like until then.
He approached the mirror, lifting his eyes to the reflection that shined back at him in it. The 1st time he had done it he hadn't been sure what to expect; His eyes were a deep grey, his nose angular. His hair was short and a tousled reddish brown. He even had a light dusting of facial hair around his chin, jaw area and above his top lip which he found fascinating to touch and stroke, feeling for the 1st time how rough and prickly facial stubble felt with his own hands and fingers.
He was unsure whether he was the same man in physical form as the one his charge often saw and was used to but he hoped so. When he eventually found her again he needed and wanted her to remember him. The idea of Ana not recognizing him, it terrorized him.
The 3 marks were still there on his chest at the very least; He found he liked to glance down at the marks just as often as he did his own physical human reflection curiously, just to make sure they were there. In the white baggy hospital gown he'd yank the loose fabric at the neck down to see his chest clearly, the 3 marks of his initiation and pledge fortunately always there, puckered and round.
He just hoped that once he found Ana somehow she would both recognize and remember him.
...
At 9.30 the next morning, he was awoken to Nurse Betty knocking in the room and explaining that a Jason Taylor had arrived to pick him up and that he had also brought a pair of Christian's clothes along with him.
He was not sure just who Jason Taylor was but the man appeared happy to see him as he entered carrying a bag with a change of clothes into the room. He nodded at Christian where he was, resting in bed while still trying to wake himself up.
"You are looking a lot better today, Mr Grey, Sir," Jason Taylor said pleasantly while dropping the bag near the bed. "I brought you a spare change of clothes. Also, I left the car waiting outside in the Emergency area. It shouldn't be too far to walk."
Christian realized he had a lot to learn; While Nurse Betty kindly helped him change into his shirt, carefully helping with sliding his arms through the sleeves, Jason Taylor explained to him in more depth who he was. Apparently Jason Taylor had been working for him for over 4 years now as his driver and head of security. Why it was necessary for Christian to have his own security team, he did not know but gathered he was something of a rather prominent person.
Dressed and at last permitted to leave the hospital, Nurse Betty showed them where the reception area was for him to fill out a release form and other documents. Jason Taylor lingered by, he noticed, always observing quietly what Christian and the other people around him were doing. Then once everything was finalized, Christian thanked Nurse Betty graciously for all of her help while Jason Taylor explained to him where the elevators were to take them down to the car.
"I bet you are looking forward to be heading home, Sir," Jason Taylor said as they walked slowly down the corridor together.
Christian glanced at the man, finding himself excited to learn what 'home' was and what it looked like to him. He hadn't had his own home before- aside from the home he had with Ana. "Where's home?" he asked curiously as a man was wheeled past them in a wheelchair.
"Home is at Escala Penthouse, Sir," Jason Taylor informed him. "It won't be long until we get there." Christian wasn't sure why but Taylor kept insisting on holding the bag of his clothes for him; He held them close over his shoulder as they walked down a narrow corridor. "Is there anywhere else you would like to go beforehand?"
As he glanced around curiously at their surroundings, Christian's eyes landed on the signs on the wall. One sign explained where the Children's Ward was; Straight down and further the corridor. He found himself intrigued and eager to peer inside the ward.
"Can we go further down to the Children's Ward?" he asked, noticing an odd look pass across Jason Taylor's face at the question. He found himself wanting to see what the children were like in the ward. He wondered if they would be exactly like his charge Ana or if they were younger than her.
"Er, I suppose it wouldn't hurt, Sir."
After gaining Taylor's permission, Christian continued down the corridor curiously. He saw a big sign below the ceiling that said Children's Ward very clearly and knew that they were now at the right place. Only it wasn't what he was expecting at all.
He expected to hear children laughing happily and playing. Only to his surprise the ward was completely quiet aside from the sound of televisions going off softly with children's shows. He saw a young girl lying in one bed, a strange plastic tube in her nose that was hooked up to the beeping machine next to her. She looked about Ana's age when she had started her 1st year in school; How Ana had looked so nervous and little, only he could sense something was different about this young girl. Her face was pale and she seemed almost sad and unhappy.
"Uh, Sir, I think we might have to-" He heard Taylor begin uncertainly from behind him, only he ignored him. Christian was too distracted as he started walking towards the small girl in the bed.
He smiled when the girl turned to look at him, startled by her eyes; Her dark brown eyes seemed almost dull and lifeless. They were so different from his Ana's when she were little; Ana had appeared so full of life and her eyes shone with brightness and mischievousness. This girl appeared the polar opposite of his charge.
He helped himself to the empty chair near her bed as the girl turned and watched him with wide, suspicious brown eyes. "Hi, I'm Christian." He leaned forward to speak to her, "What's your name?"
The little girl blinked at him for a moment before whispering shyly, "Hi, I'm Lucy."
"Lucy is a nice name." He peered up at the small TV the girl was watching; Some sort of cartoon was on, similar to one he remembered his young charge liked to watch when she were younger. "What are you watching on TV?"
"Um, I..." He could see the girl was overly shy. She stared down at her hands, flexing her small fingers. "I'm not really watching it, they just leave it on."
"Oh. How old are you?"
"Um, I... I'm 6. Why?"
"6?" Immediately, he could remember Ana at that age. A fond smile passed across his face. "I had a best friend who used to be 6, but now she's 15 when I last left her. Where are all the toys in here?"
Taylor stood back, watching the pair interact with widened eyes. Usually his boss did not like interacting with children, nor did he appear to have the time and patience. Seeing Christian now, speaking to this young girl, how relaxed he appeared and how genuinely interested and caring he seemed towards her, it shocked Taylor. While Carrick and Grace Grey had given him a brief overview into Christian's state after the accident, how he appeared to not be able to remember a few things, he also did not expect for him to have such a strong change in personality.
He had always known Mr Grey to even have something of a strong aversion towards children yet, here he was now, with a terminally ill girl, getting along with her so well. He could even see that Christian's concern for the girl was sincere when his boss turned back to look at him, a frown marring his face.
"Do you think we could do something about arranging for some toys to be in here?"
The childlike and compassionate new way of his boss was baffling. "Uh, I suppose we could, Sir. I think we could always arrange to donate some toys for the children?"
"We'll do that then. How about we go straight to a toy store right now and get all the toys we can fit into the car?"
Taylor was still flabbergasted when Christian finally stood, saying goodbye to the little girl. He held out his hand and the girl gave him a toothy smile as she shook his hand in return, appearing more cheered and lively by their conversation. How he was being with the young girl, it was truly touching.
"Er, that was very wonderful, what you did back there, Sir," Taylor muttered in appreciation as they finally waited for the elevator to arrive on their level. "You could see that girl was happy by having someone else to talk to, even if for a little while."
"Where's the nearest toy store around here?" Christian asked eagerly, surprising Taylor anew by his genuine readiness to donate some new toys to the children's ward.
While the previous Christian Grey Taylor knew was still a decent charitable man, after his accident now it appeared even more so.
"Uh, don't you want to arrive at Escala first, sir, so that you can rest and get settled back in?"
"Let's go find some toys first. I promised Lucy I'd give her fun new toys to play with."
...
"Why do I have so much money?" Christian quizzed Taylor as he drove the car towards Escala, Mr Grey in the backseat.
Taylor tried to hold in a puzzled laugh as he met his bosses gaze in the mirror; It was darker outside now, the pair of them having spent over 3 hours in the Children's Ward at the hospital after Christian had splurged on over four hundred dollars worth of toys.
After having to explain to Mr Grey on how to use his credit card, his boss had been truly dumbfounded on the amount of money held in in his bank account; Something that Taylor had never once expected to witness from Mr Grey.
He still couldn't overcome the shock of how different Mr Grey seemed in both personality and character. Clearly something about the accident and his near-death experience- whatever it may be- had had a profound affect on Mr Grey.
It was one thing, having to witness his boss of nearly over 4 years being startled by the large amount of money in his bank account. It had been another thing entirely to see how involved and excited Mr Grey had been in donating the toys to the hospital and watching the children, especially the young girl that he had been interacting with earlier, act so much happier.
Now Mr Grey had been flinging questions at Taylor constantly; Some he was not sure how to answer.
"Er, you have so much money, sir, because you are a hard-working, successful person," Taylor tried to explain as he halted the car at a red light. "You work as CEO to Grey Enterprises Holdings, also a company you founded roughly 5 years ago."
"And what does my company do exactly?"
"Well, your company mainly deals with telecommunications." Taylor glanced in the rearview mirror again. He could see Mr Grey was not entirely following him and tried to hold in a shocked laugh again.
It was so bizarre, the entire situation with Mr Grey. After explaining further, Mr Grey threw him another tough question.
"Am I a good person, Taylor?"
Not once in his life did he expect to hear that question being asked from the man. He found himself unsure of how to answer. "Well, I'll just say that you are like any other human, Mr Grey." He laughed nervously. "You, like me and many other mortal humans, we have our... flaws. But yes, I would say that you are a good man in your own way, sir."
Things got even stranger for Taylor once he pulled up into Mr Grey's private garage. All his numerous cars were parked in the garage, some he hadn't driven for months.
"Whose cars are all of these?" Mr Grey had asked curiously.
"Well, they actually so happen to be yours, sir."
"Mine?" He had tried not to laugh again as he rushed to hold the door open for his boss. "Why do I own so many?"
"I suppose you like your toys, sir."
Inside on the top floor of Escala, it was still much the same. Unnervingly odd. Taylor watched his bosses reaction very carefully as Mr Grey wandered around the rooms, his grey eyes permanently wide in shock. He truly were acting like an utterly different person than the one before the accident.
"It's big?" Mr Grey had observed once he did a full circle around the kitchen and living area.
"Uh, yes, Sir. I suppose it is."
"And who else lives here with me?" He watched as Mr Grey strode slowly to the large U-shaped sofa, which he was running the palm of his hand over curiously, stroking the fabric as if he hadn't felt it before. "Mia and Elliot, I'm assuming?"
"No, Sir. You live alone."
"Alone?" Mr Grey threw his head back to peer at him with arched eyebrows. He appeared strangely horrified at the thought. "But you could fit so many people here?"
"The perks of being a multimillionaire then, I suppose."
"I play?" Mr Grey had found his shiny black piano. Taylor watched silently as he carefully lifted up the cover, his fingers brushing over the keys playfully.
"You do. It's one of your many hobbies."
"What are more of my many hobbies?"
"Er, well, as far as I know... sky diving. Paragliding. Extreme sports. That sort of thing." Taylor suddenly felt uncomfortable as he observed Mr Grey eyeing off everything in his home as if he hadn't seen it before. He really ought to take his leave and allow the man to settle in for the night. "If you don't mind, sir, I might have to head off."
"OK?" He could see that Mr Grey was distracted, so he left him to it, moving towards the exit while shaking his head. Taylor couldn't help wondering if Mr Grey had changed mainly due to the experience of almost dying with the accident. Had the accident and near-death affected him in such a profound way?
Christian couldn't believe his eyes. There was a door that led out onto a balcony with a spectacular view from high up on the building. He stood near the railing, peering down, unafraid of the height and the big drop down. He couldn't believe people actually lived like this- yet, here he was, having apparently lived like this.
He could not remember any of this at all. What Taylor had explained to him, nothing made any sense. He had no sudden flickers of remembering anything. All he remembered and knew well, was mostly his time of being Ana's guardian angel and her as his charge. All of this other stuff, it was utterly new to him.
There was a second floor, he discovered. He started stepping up the stairs slowly one step at a time while observing the odd paintings on the walls. Up the stairs it thinned out into a long narrow corridor. He took his time, glancing in all of the rooms. One appeared to be a gym area with weight-lifting machines and other odd contraptions. Another room was a bedroom with just a bed and a few drawers and matching dresser, though he was unsure whether it was his room or not.
The last door he discovered was locked and the door wouldn't open, no matter how hard he tried to shake it open. It required a key but he wasn't sure where that key was right now.
Running a hand through his hair, he went back down the narrow hallway and tread down the stairs, glancing around again. Then he spied another room he hadn't entered as yet. It opened up to be another bedroom with black dressers. Curiously, he opened some of the drawers, immediately coming to the realization of what the room was.
This room rather than the one upstairs must be his bedroom. Pulling open the drawer, he could see ties were neatly folded in their own separate box compartments of different fabrics and colors. Closing it and reaching down to the next drawer, this one had socks and underwear in it this time, carefully and neatly arranged and folded.
Shutting the drawer and moving towards a room, he saw a line of suits neatly hanging on hooks. Business shirts, polo shirts. Blazers. Trousers. Right down beneath the trousers were pairs of shoes, shining and polished. Some business shoes while others were sneakers or sports shoes.
Everything was so artfully organized.
He found another door that opened up into another room- a bathroom. All white tiles and a sparkling clean bathtub, shower, and sink. He reached up, opening the cabinet near the sink. There were razors and shaving gel. Deodorant and men's aftershave.
Whoever's form he was in now, it disgusted him. He was used to simply being there for Ana, not living in such exuberance and luxury. Everything was so materialism-based, he was not used to it.
He was used to his main purpose in life being Ana, not... this. This was foreign territory.
He was used to having no possessions. All he had simply had before was his charge and his charge alone, his life selflessly dedicated to her. But now that he found himself in the Earth world, he was suddenly tied to so many possessions and materials.
In his world, materialism was considered a sin and wicked. So was to covet, to be glutenous, to be greedy.
Selflessness and dedicating oneself completely to their charge was most important. As was generosity, charity. Yet clearly his new form now, although he did not much understand it, they stood for all that he had been taught in his world was sinful and wrong.
Yet as he leisurely stepped back outside onto the balcony, the wind rustling his hair around, Christian came to a sudden startling understanding.
Wrong as it had been preached to live as this in his world, he liked this.
The discovery of having money, of owning all of these luxurious possessions, all the cars, the penthouse with the amazing view... He actually found himself liking it. He could certainly get used to this.
The only thing to add the icing on the cake and make it all complete would be his Ana. Finding his charge.
...
5 years later...
"You are not only beautiful and strong," Ana chanted to herself in the mirror nervously while fixing up her hair into a tight ponytail, "But you are also entirely capable of being on your own now."
It was something she found her saying to herself often whenever she was nervous or had her self-doubts. She smiled halfheartedly to herself while staring at her own reflection, focusing on breathing deeply while straightening her shoulders back. Even although she tried to breathe as deeply and slowly as possible, it didn't seem to ease any of her nerves. That tight little knot was still existing in her stomach.
Today was a big day for Ana. And also she knew it was every bit a big day for her mother Carla as well.
Today was the day she finally moved out of her Mom's place into her first rental apartment with best friend Kate.
They had been planning this day for a while now. After both got accepted into WSU together they decided naturally that moving in together should come next. It would be Ana's first time being away from her mother for such a long length of time. Even last night while helping Ana to pack up her room, she could sense some nerves on her mother's end as well. She guessed her mother never expected the day would come either.
She heard a light knock on her bedroom door, then Carla's gentle voice, filled with both apprehension and excitement, "Ana, honey. Are you up? Can I come in?"
Ana stood back from the mirror, turning to glance at the now bare walls in the room. Before, when she was younger, her bedroom walls used to be so full and less bare; Covered with posters and drawings she did at school. Her dresser used to always be filled with clothes and mementos from her childhood on top of it but now it was just as bare as the walls.
"You are entirely capable of being on your own now," she muttered to herself under her breath one last time reassuringly, using the same near-final words a very cherished and special person from her childhood had told her, before walking towards the door to let her mother into her mostly packed and empty room.
Carla looked around at all the boxes with a smile, and then Ana noticed her eyes beginning to fill up with tears. She knew it was just as difficult for her mother as it was for Ana; Ana having always lived with her mother. After Ana's father dying when she was younger, it had always just been Ana and Carla (and Ana's secret friend only she could see). Now that Ana would be leaving to live in an apartment closer for WSU, she honestly began to worry about how Carla would cope without her in the house.
"Wow, look at it all," Carla gushed. "You really are ready to go, aren't you?"
"Pretty much, Mom, yes. Everything's packed and ready for the apartment." She saw the brief look on her mother's face and crumbled. "Oh, Mom," Ana whispered and she reached over, slipping her arms around her mother's shoulders, hugging her very tightly. Carla put her arms around her own daughters shoulders also and hugged her back with a light laugh, pressing her warm cheek against Ana's. "You'll be fine without me," Ana assured her, patting her back gently.
"Oh, honey. I'm sorry for being sappy. I'm just going to miss you so much!"
"Me, too. I'm going to miss you a lot!"
"It just won't be the same without you. I've gotten used to you living here with me." Carla laughed softly again as she leaned back to look at her daughter, then reached up with a hand, smoothing a loose strand of Ana's hair that she had missed gently out of her face with her fingers. "You've grown up so quickly! It feels like it were only yesterday that you were starting your first day at school as a young girl." She stared at Ana fondly and Ana stared back as her eyes glistened over with tears. "Then again, you always were abnormally mature for your age. You didn't need me much anyway, did you?"
"Oh, Mom! What are you saying?" she laughed. "I always needed you!"
"Oh, no you didn't." Carla shrugged off her daughters words with a playful laugh. "You always did quite well on your own, even as a young little girl. Especially what with that friend you said you had- the one that always looked out for you and helped teach you things?"
She was speaking about Christian and Ana was unprepared for it. The instance she realized who her mother was referring to her stomach tightened up with more knots. When Ana thought of her long lost friend Christian, she always felt a curious mixture of both sadness yet happiness; Sadness because she missed him still even now, but also happiness at the chance of having someone like him around in the 1st place.
It's been 5 years since Christian had to say goodbye and he left Ana that fateful night, vanishing in her arms on her bed as she hugged him and begged for him not to go.
He was her 1st everything and sometimes, when she did let herself think about everything that had happened between them back then, Ana found herself feeling nostalgic and longing for him to reappear in her life.
He was honestly the 1st man to have ever truly broken her heart. Him leaving her at 15 was honestly the most devastating thing Ana thought she had ever been through. It had taken her such a long time to get used to him no longer being around; Going through so many years getting accustomed to him being in her life as a young girl had made it so incredibly hard to get used to being without him after age 15 when he had left.
Truthfully there were still moments where she caught herself looking for him in crowded areas even although she knew it was unlikely that she would ever see her special friend and guide again.
Sometimes she had even pretended to step outside onto the sidewalk in front of a moving car, just so that hopefully on the off-chance he would reappear into her life to warn her to look both ways before crossing the road as he always did before. Or Ana would even catch herself doing something deliberately risky just to chance it and see if he would materialize to warn her against it (like stealing something small like a candy bar for instance or a pack of chewing gum, just to see if he would suddenly come) . But sadly it hadn't worked and all attempts she had made were futile in hopefully getting her longest, most trusted friend back.
That said, she hadn't done anything stupid or risky on purpose in over 3 months now. She now felt as though she had started to give up hope and had began to accept the misfortune that her best friend was no longer coming back. He never would be in her life again.
But her mother was right; She probably was not the ordinary girl who depended on her mother for guidance and safety, because Ana always had Christian there at the time instead. Christian had always been there for her when her mother couldn't be, guiding her along and explaining to her certain things about life and the world.
"Christian," Ana finally murmured as they both laughed at the memory, even just speaking the name aloud making her bones feel like mushy tender jelly.
"That's right. Christian," Carla murmured back. "His name was Christian. I could always hear you talking to yourself in your room or when you were alone. It was the oddest thing, hearing you always having conversations when I couldn't even see anybody there!"
"Oh, gee. You must have thought I was so strange?"
"Not at all," Carla laughed, patting Ana's cheek fondly. "Although admittedly I did see a child psychologist as I was concerned about it, but he reassured me that having imaginary friends was absolutely natural at your age and could have even helped with your development."
Ana had no idea her mother had been that concerned; enough that she actively sought out a child psychologist. "Didn't you have a friend when you were younger though?" Ana asked in confusion, remembering Christian's explanation from years ago. In his words, hadn't he put it that everyone had a guardian angel, a special friend, though it were rare to see them after a certain age?
"I'm pretty sure I did, honey. But yours seemed to have lasted far longer than mine did. It worried me."
"Well, I'm fine now." They heard a car horn honking in the driveway- Kate arriving to pick up Ana and her things to take with them to their new apartment- and they pulled away. "Kate's here so we better get these boxes into the car. I still can't believe I'm moving out of the house!"
...
The 5 years that passed for Christian in his new human form were extremely enlightening and educational.
He found it easier than he thought possible to adapt. He had settled into a new, familiar routine of Taylor driving him to work where he settled and shifted into his role as CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings; Then of an evening Taylor would drive him straight back to the penthouse again, depending on his mood.
Christian also discovered a new decadent vice that was considered a sin in his other world- the joyful pleasure of drinking alcohol. If he felt in a good enough mood, he would head out to a local bar or restaurant to indulge in a fine glass of wine and a nice meal. Now that he had been living human for the past 5 years, Christian learned that there were nothing quite as pleasurable as tasting food and wine, savoring it on his now-growing palate.
He had also come to learn what resources open up to you when you have an abundance of money. His charge, although 5 years having passed, was never far from his mind. Taylor had explained to him a concept he was not all that familiar with until recently- that he had a bunch of trusted people and contacts that he went to for various different things that he had required. One of them was a private investigator named Stanley Welch.
Just late that evening before, he had contacted the man to request a background check on Anastasia Rose Steele, his charge.
He was due to work in his office that morning, preparing for a meeting with a group of shareholders, but decided he would put it off in favor of meeting the private investigator in a local Seattle restaurant to go through what he had discovered on his ex-charge.
He sat in the backseat of the car now as Taylor drove towards their destination, one hand reaching for his phone while the other ran through his hair. He pressed the button to go straight through to his office assistant who answered two rings later.
"Good morning, Mr Grey. How can I help you?"
"Andrea, I'll be arriving into the office later this morning. I have a contact to meet."
"Oh. Very well, sir." He hung up a second later, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He found he had enjoyed this as well; sinful as it were according to his old world. He found he enjoyed being waited on and the fact that he could drop anything he wanted at his own leisure.
At first, he had felt guilty about all the many things running through his head; His unexpected enjoyment at living materialistically, at having everyone at his beck-and-call, such as assistants and private trusted contacts. But now he no longer felt that guilt; He decided that if he were now living in human form, in the Earth world, then he should be allowed to live in what his previous world had considered 'sin'.
It were not considered sin in the Earth world, it were simply being called getting-by. In the Earth world, he learned that ruthlessness got you everywhere. He decided long ago that he was not going to apologize anymore for taking advantage of his form now and discovering the finer things he had since missed out on.
They arrived at the posh restaurant to meet his contact Welch fifteen minutes later. Taylor pulled up at the curb while Christian assured him he would contact him when he required him to pick him up again. He opened the door and slid out of the seat while combing his fingers through his hair, ensuring it was neat. As he shut the door and moved to approach the entrance of the restaurant, he caught a glimpse of his reflection through the glass in the window and paused to straighten his jacket of any wrinkles before doing up the final 3 buttons.
Another thing he learned very early on was that Christian liked the feeling of the clothes he wore; Suits especially. It was amazing how his mood lifted and how good he felt wearing a fine suit. He also noticed others in the Earth world took him more seriously in a suit rather than causal, plain clothes- a feeling he liked immensely.
The doorman of the restaurant rushed forward to hold it open for him and Christian nodded once in gratitude before striding towards reception. The woman behind the desk was blonde and immaculately dressed in a white blouse and skirt; The instance her eyes laid on him, Christian gained the impression that she immediately enjoyed what she saw of him.
It did not go past him either that, in the Earth world in this form, women seemed to give him a lot of attention. He basked in it and enjoyed it every time- though there were one person and one person only that his heart were admittedly set on finding. His heart still belonged to that girl he left at age 15- his charge.
He often felt he were chained to her by heart. No other could capture his attention, his dedication and loyalty as much as that charge of his even 5 years later without having seen her again as yet in his Earth form.
"Good morning," the woman said in a rather breathless, flustered way that did not escape him. She reached up to tuck a stray strand of blonde hair around her ear as her eyelashes fluttered at him. "How can I help you?"
"I'm here to meet someone. A Mr Stanley Welch."
"Ah, yes. He's arrived." As the woman stepped around the reception desk, he caught her green-eyed gaze flickering down the length of his suit appreciatively. "This way please if you'll follow me, sir."
He took off after her while observing everyone else in the restaurant. As she stopped at a table, the man who was Welch turned his head back to glance up at him. Stanley Welch appeared to be in his late 50's, with balding hair. He stood abruptly from his chair with his hand extended as the blonde left them.
"Ah, Mr Grey," Welch greeted, and Christian reached over, accepting his extended hand. They shook then let go while Christian took the seat opposite him, his fingers immediately flying out to grab the restaurants menu. "I'm happy to inform you that I have the information that you requested."
Christian lifted his grey gaze from the menu while putting a forefinger against his lips, warning the man to remain silent while he decided what he fancied for breakfast. "Just a moment, Welch. Let me decide what my palate desires first and then we can jump straight into business."
After reading the menu, Christian decided on the Eggs Benedict and a glass of Chianti. As a waiter appeared, he made his order. He noticed Welch ordered exactly the same, copying him.
Christian tried to remain aloof as he handed the waiter over his menu, yet beneath the table his body betrayed him. His left leg started jiggling uncontrollably at the anticipation of finally learning something new about his charge. He couldn't wait to hear about what she was doing now, where she was living. Was she still living with her mother Carla? Was she still friends with Kate? Did anything transpire between her and that boy Trey Michael's? The suspense was killing him.
He opened his mouth to ask Welch to proceed but then shut it quickly when the waiter appeared with their glasses and a bottle of Chianti. It felt as though time was running excruciatingly slow as the waiter placed both their clean wine glasses on the table. Christian found he was gritting his teeth in impatience as the waiter took his time filling their glasses with the red liquor.
Once the waiter finally moved from the table after filling their glasses, Christian reached over, grabbing the thin stem of his wine glass, sliding it closer to his side of the table. "So you said you have what I requested?" he prompted once it was obvious Welch was waiting for him to speak first.
"I do, sir."
Christian felt his heart palpitate extra quick when Welch removed a folded piece of paper out from inside his inner jacket pocket. So close. He was finally so close to learning recent developments of his charge.
Welch unfolded the paper, then slid it over towards hi. Trying his hardest to appear cool and unaffected, Christian sank his teeth into his lower lip as he grabbed the corner of the piece of paper, shuffling it over on the table to read it. As he requested, it was a background check.
Anastasia Rose Steele
He already knew her DOB of course; he were her guardian angel after all and had been assigned her the instance she were born and had been brought into the world by Carla in labor. He skipped that, immediately looking for her current residency address instead.
To his surprise, she had moved out from her mother Carla's house. She now lived in an apartment in Vancouver. He also felt a swelling of pride to see that she were now a student, studying at Washington State University.
As it turned out, his charge had done well after all- as he expected, of course. He knew she were smart enough to do whatever she put her mind to. As her guardian angel throughout her childhood and now, her older life, there was not a bigger cheerleader and advocate for Anastasia than him himself.
Two steaming fresh plates of their breakfast orders arrived next; Christian moved the document away briskly as the waiter placed both their plates down on the table. He allowed himself a swift read of her relationship status at current- there was none listed which meant she most likely hadn't had anything to do with that boy Trey Michael's again after all- then he folded up the paper, tucking it safely into the pocket of his suit jacket for later to read in privacy.
Soon, he reassured himself while lifting his glass of Chianti. He placed his lips over the rim, letting a mouthful pool slowly into his mouth. He let it rest there, bursting with flavor on his tongue and around his cheeks. Then he swallowed, admiring the way it slid down his throat smoothly with a slight burning aftertaste. Soon he would be seeing his charge again.
It wouldn't be long now.
Hi, hope this chapter was OK? A lot of changes as far as Christian's character goes. He's enjoying his time as an earthling. Next chapter Ana and Christian will meet again- just wanted a bit of a build up. Would love to know what you think? Hoping it isn't too badly written and that my english is ok?