Chapter Seven
After their conversation last week, Eric did his best not to bring up baseball. In fact, he had been the one to answer her phone when her father called and pointedly told him that she wasn't going to be able to make it to All-Star week.
"Maybe next year, when I win 'Comeback Player of the Year'. Ana will congratulate me in Erudite Blue," he had so bluntly told her father. Damn, she wanted to see Marcus's face for that. Marcus had called her back after and Eric had taken the phone and shut it off, telling her that she had him now and not to worry about it. "I'll handle your father."
The realization of the night before came back to her once again - they were dating and she genuinely liked Eric, liked being with him, spending time with him, talking to him and especially having sex with him. It was different. She felt that strong connection to him. Perhaps it was because she had shared with Eric bits and pieces of her childhood - and of course her family's dirty secrets, but that didn't stop him from being there to support her.
Eric was in the shower now as she prepared their dinner. They were supposed to go out and eat, but she knew more than anything that Eric wanted to stay in and watch the All-Star game.
Of course, she could see his fingers flying across any text messages, emails or social media posts about All-Star week whenever they were together. But he didn't bring any of it up with her.
Toby had won the Home Run Derby the day before. Eric hadn't commented on it.
The day before that was the Futures Game. Ace, Chase and Austin had been part of that game. Ace had looked good, too. Again, Eric hadn't commented on it.
She remembered that Eric had tied her father and grandfather for winning the All-Star MVP two years ago - something that Tobias had yet to do. That had been an eventful dinner at the Eaton household, when Slick Rick Coulter had achieved a title up there with Marcus Eaton, Logan Eaton and other great players like Willie Mays and Cal Ripken, Jr. If Tobias received it today, then he would be tied as well. Still, Eric hadn't commented on it.
Her brother Matthew was participating in it as well. He would have been on the same team as Eric - if Eric had been playing for the Blues. She wondered what that would have been like - for the two of them to talk, after word had come out that they were 'dating'. Eric had not commented on that either.
He had been tight-lipped about baseball and the All-Star week. She even brought up that she had given her ticket to Elsa to take a friend. Still, Eric had no comment for that.
Elsa invited her father. Because unlike Ana, Elsa had a good relationship with her father. Elsa had sent her a picture of the two of them from the Flames stadium. Mr. Hoskins looked extremely delighted to have been there. He wasn't a Flames fan, but he was a huge fan of the Candor Knights.
Gerold "White Bull" Hightower was one of the players participating in the Legends/Celebrity game. He had helped the Knights hold a record-winning season, which was beat by a team in Seattle by one game in the 2001 season. But the fact that they had done that consecutively- held record-setting seasons and won World Series - made them one of the best teams in the history of MLB. Even her grandfather and father had admitted that. And her father had played against the Knights when they were at the top of their game.
Ana was glad to see that her tickets were being put to good use with Elsa and her father who were soaking up every minute of being there with MLB greats and future MLB players. Of course, today he'd get to see a few Knights players in action. She had mentioned to Eric that she should get Elsa's father a couple tickets to a season game for the Knights.
Again, no comment.
She reached up to grab the olive oil from the top of the shelf and had a small blue gift bag fall on her. Ana had totally forgotten about it. Elsa had gotten it for her, and she planned to wear it later - just to see Eric's reaction to it. Hopefully, he liked it.
Finishing the salmon, she placed it on the sheet and slid it into the oven. It smelt nice and it hadn't cooked yet. She looked at her phone as another text came in and saw that it was from Elsa. She opened the message to see another picture. Only this time it was Elsa, her father and Toby.
"You didn't tell him that you gave the tickets away, so when he heard that we were your guests, he came up to see who it was," Elsa had wrote.
"I just texted him about half an hour ago, but his phone must have been put away already," she typed back. "Have fun. But not too much."
"Not with my father here," was her quick response.
It caused Ana to laugh.
"Hey, what's up with the food," Eric came out and gestured to the counter. "I thought we were going out to eat?"
"We were," Ana replied, putting her phone down. "But I know that you rather be at the Flames stadium right now."
She saw Eric sigh and notice the guilty expression on his face. He had been trying to hide it all week, but she knew. "Ana..."
"Did you want to watch it?"
"No."
"Be real, Eric."
"Well, do you want to?"
"Not really," Ana shook her head, giving him a smile, letting him know that she was okay. "But I know that you've been extra quiet about All-Star week. I know that I said while you're with me, you're just Eric. But I also know that you're Slick Rick."
"You say that like we're two separate people," Eric chuckled. "We're the same person."
"Well for today, I don't mind being with Slick Rick Coulter," she replied, going to grab the chips and dip and open a couple beer bottles for the two of them. "We're pre-gaming," she said as she set the bottles down.
She saw the confusion but also the concern wash over his face. He knew that this was a huge sacrifice for her and that only made it more endearing.
"Be honest with me," Ana started. "Are you refusing to talk about All-Star week because you know my feelings on baseball or because you're not participating in it?" He went to answer but she put up her hand. "Because if it's the first one, then you don't have to worry about it. Not today. And if it's the second then we can totally skip it."
Eric took a deep breath and then nodded. "I want to watch the game. But I know you have a no baseball rule, so I want to respect that. However, if you're giving me a free-pass..."
"Which I am," she answered.
"Then in that case, I would like to watch the game. I know a lot of the guys playing, some of them I have been good friends with since I have joined the league. And it will be nice to see it from a fan's perspective. Because since I'm being honest," he smirked, "I'm usually playing in it."
"Wow. Conceited much," she teased.
"You told me to be honest," he said as they both laughed.
"Alright then, let's put it on."
"Ana, are you certain?"
"Yes, I'm completely certain," she answered. Then she decided to mess with him. She took a chip and went to sit down, turning on the television and grimaced as the announcers came onto the screen. She pretended to hurl and gag. And then when her brother showed up, she turned to Eric and placed her hand on her forehead. "I think I'm going to faint. I change my mind. I can't watch a second more of this torture."
Eric chuckled and threw his chip at her, causing the dip to smear her cheek and then drop on her shirt. She snuggled into Eric after grabbing the chip and eating it. She leaned up when he touched her chin with his hand because he wanted a kiss. The players' names were announced, and she recognized Edward and surprisingly even his other teammate, Dillon Duke.
"They're both cool guys," Eric said and then turned to her. "I'm pretty sure Eaton isn't their biggest fan."
"Nope," Ana smiled and shook her head. "My brother has mentioned their names a few times - included in his Slick Rick rants. So, they must be excellent players if they got Toby all riled up."
She felt Eric's chest vibrate with laughter before they turned back to the game. He leaned down and kissed her hair and then made her look up at him again, pressing his lips gently to hers. "Thank you, Ana." She simply smiled again before snuggling back into his side.
Ana's obvious knowledge of the sport should not have come to a surprise to Eric, but she was able to read not only her brother's pitches - but she also had the beat on a pitcher for the Knights.
"Huerta delivers," the announcer stated, "and it's a foul."
"It got away from him," Ana mumbled, shaking her head.
"You can see right there," the announcer said in the replay. "And that was something that haunted Huerta in the regular season. That fast ball comes out of his glove and the power, look at his throw."
"It got away from him, Jason," the second guy added, confirming Ana's earlier comment.
"It did," Jason agreed.
"How can you tell what type of ball he's going to throw," Eric asked her.
"Every pitcher has a tell. Marcus made sure that Toby and I knew it. We studied so many videos of games and watched so many pitchers," she leaned her head back on the couch and groaned. "It was so annoying, studying throws and pitchers. That is until I got older."
He turned to see her lips had curved up.
"I was at that age where I was recognizing the male species for being particularly attractive. And the cute ones, I pretended to not know so I had to watch them on film again and again."
The way she said that last sentence made Eric think about her watching porn.
She tilted her head and smiled at him. "By the time Tobias had gone to University, I didn't get to watch as many tapes. Marcus felt like he had to ensure that Toby knew and understood more about the importance of building his baseball career. But I'm pretty sure if I saw your tape, I might have watched it over and over again."
Eric smirked. "Earlier I thought you were talking about porn and now it definitely sounds like it. You, watching an attractive male on film - again and again," he moved his eyebrows up and down. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there's no sex tape of me out there."
"Thank God. I am so glad for that," she replied, rolling her eyes and hitting his chest playfully. "Although, I'm sure you probably had offers to make one," he noticed how soft her voice had become and that her body seemed to tense slightly.
"I haven't found the right girl."
He did not know why he had replied with that answer. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes.
"Well, we're not making one either, mister." They both started to laugh as the commercials ended and the game came back on.
If the past few days were any indication of whose sister she was, of the blood that ran in her veins, watching a game with her certainly was. She was an Eaton - whether she liked it or not. And she did not like it. But as she sat here and watched the game, called out pitches and knew the rules of the game, there was not any doubt that she was the Princess of Baseball. He is sure that there were others out there - other daughters of former players, former baseball legends. But none of them were like her - none of them were his girl.
"Really," she threw out her hand and gestured towards the television. Another thing he learned about Ana - she loved to gesture animatedly. Despite her known hatred for the sport, she could also be very passionate about it. "The ball was fair!" He loved seeing the passion take hold of her as she argued that Edward had hit a good ground ball pass the third base. It bounced down the line and now that they were showing the replay - Eric could see that she was right. "See! Get Wright out of there."
And of course, she knew the umpires.
"I would agree with you. But you know this game isn't a real game, right? The umps make bad judgement calls a lot of the time. I believe that one out of every five pitches are called incorrectly but you cannot..."
"Boo," she shouted 'boo' at the television and a few of the fans and players had started too - as though they could hear her battle cry. She sat back down and shook her head.
"Did you scream this much when you watched me play?"
"How do you think security knew I was there," she asked, smiling over at him. "I was actually trying to get the other team to heckle you before the Rockets took you out."
And if Eric could, he would have picked her up and carried her to bed. He enjoyed it when Ana commended him, but he adored her even more whenever she teased him. She knew when to flatter him, when to criticize him. He wanted more days like this - just the two of them spending time together, having fun, being Eric and Ana.
A sudden image of the two of them sitting down, watching the game at his parent's house with a little girl - the spitting image of her mother, but wearing her father's retired jersey from the Blues - suddenly came to his mind. He could not will the image away. In fact, he wanted that more than ever. He was about to reach over for her when she stood up and said that she needed to check on dinner.
He did not want to eat anymore. He did not even want to watch the game. All he could think about was that vision in his head. That is what he wanted more than anything.
Eric glanced up to see that the inning had changed. The announcer was talking about how after All-Star week, he has noticed a few players seem to grow stronger later in the season - and he started talking about Edward and Dillon. Sam had also been invited to the All-Star week but declined since his daughter's birthday was the same week. That was why he got her a puppy. He wondered if he could that - balance life and work. And something told him that with Ana, he could. He wanted to.
"Hey," Eric chuckled as a picture of him and Ana walking hand and hand from her building showed up on screen. "They're talking about us."
She did not reply.
"Ana?"
Still no reply.
He turned to look for her and saw her walk slowly into the living room. Eric took her in and stood up immediately. An Erudite Blues baseball jersey was on her - and not just any jersey. Judging from the number on the front, it was his jersey. He glanced down to see that she only had on the jersey. In a few minutes he was about to find out. And if she did not, God, he was hard for her already.
"Elsa got us jerseys to wear to the All-Star game," she turned around and moved her hair.
COULTER
There it was. His name. She peered back at him over her shoulder as he stalked towards her. "Well, she already had a Knights shirt she was going to wear because her dad is a huge Knights fan. But she knew I didn't have one and said that she can't believe I still don't have my man's jersey."
Her man - damn, he loved the sound of that. He was her man. And she was his woman. They were dating - really dating. Of course, it was just a tactic used to get the reporters off their back and stop them from painting Ana in a bad light. But right now - it was real.
"What do you think? Do you like it?"
Eric grabbed the jersey fabric right by her waist in his fist and pulled her back into him. He slid his hand down lifting it slowly and groaned when he did not feel the fabric of underwear. She fit her ass right up against him and started to move slowly, grinding on him.
"I think you like it a lot," she replied.
"You can be such a tease sometimes," he groaned and leaned down to kiss and then suck and bite on her neck and shoulder, moving his jersey slightly to expose her skin. She moaned in his arms and continued to move erotically against him.
"Eric," a delightful squeal left her as Eric pushed the jersey higher, wanting to see more of her. She turned in his arms and took a step away, her chest rising rapidly from their grinding. Her eyes were clouded over in lust, and he knew that if she were to look at him, she would see the same thing too. "I'm sorry. You were watching the game," she attempted to innocently bat her eyes and moved towards the couch.
"Fuck the game," he grabbed her and pulled her back to him.
"What? No," she pushed at his shoulder and then smiled mischievously. "We can continue this later."
"Later," he growled and then smirked, moving one hand to wrap in her hair while the other moved back to grip her waist, pulling her even tighter to him. "More like right now."
His cock was hard as he went to devour her, their mouths and tongues moving furiously, sloppily. But he knew it was the lust and passion that was taking over now. Maybe a part of it was seeing his name on her. Sure, he had seen a lot of women with his jersey on, had even signed his name across a few of those jerseys when they pushed their chests in his face. He was young and he had to admit that at first the attention was amazing for a single, twenty-two-year-old fresh out of college. But Ana - in his jersey. It did things to him. Things he was not sure he wanted to admit to her, for fear she would run.
Eric moved to her neck again, causing her to scream out his name as he moved his hands higher, under the jersey and brushed along her wetness. She was ready. He was ready. He was about to turn her around and bend her over her couch when she pushed away - harder this time.
"You really," she said in between catching her breath. "You... wanted to watch the game, remember?"
Eric shook his head, because right now he did not even know if he could focus on the game.
"Well, I remember. So, why don't you sit right here," she moved them, guiding him to sit on the chair and then slowly climbed into his lap.
She kissed him slowly at first, shyly. Eric felt one her hands slip down between them and started to undo his jeans. It was still slow - excruciatingly slow. Eric wanted to take over, but he let Ana be in charge.
For now.
Ana moved her lips away from his and started to move to his neck. He gripped her ass and squeezed it, wanting to slip his fingers into her. However, she moved lower still, lifting his shirt and kissing his stomach before moving off of his lap, his jersey rising as he noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra either, catching the underside of her breasts as she knelt in front of him and slowly pulled open his pants. Her hand gripped his cock as she worked it a few times.
He groaned and tried not to take ahold of her, letting her lead this. They had sex - slow and easy, hard and fast, in the shower, in her bed, in his rented apartment - even once in her office at her job. But she had never gone down on him. He was not going to force her to. Although he had imagined her mouth on him several times. He was a guy, after all.
"This way, you can still watch the game," she whispered just before taking him in her mouth.
"Fuck," he grabbed her hair, pulling and moving her head.
Eric tried his damn best not to be too rough, but she licked and sucked him so deep. He relaxed his hold as her mouth continued to work on him because it was obvious, she did not need his coaching. She was so damn good at this, the way she took him, the way she sucked as she moved up and then moaned when she went down. His vision grew blurry as he looked at his name on her jersey once more, moving her hair on the side as her eyes flitted up at him.
"You are an amazing woman, Ana. So hot," he groaned as she sucked harder.
Eric whispered her name again, lovingly, longingly. He was so in love with her - and not just because of this moment. It was more than that. She had watched his first game back, then willingly watched the All-Star game with him and now was worshipping him. He knew exactly what it cost her to watch him play or to even watch a game, but she was doing that for him. And the feeling was consuming, overwhelming.
He could not see the television screen in front of him anymore as he exploded in her. The only thing he saw was Ana.
Before he knew it, she was cleaning him up, licking every drop of him. Ana moved up slowly, kissing and licking his stomach, his chest and then arrived back at his neck and when she had crawled back in his lap and felt her wetness touch his cock, he took the initiative to have his turn. Flipping her around, she squealed his name and giggled. It was a sound that he could get used to.
She raised her ass in the air as if she knew what he wanted to do. He ran his hands over her cheeks and spanked it lightly, enjoying the delighted moan that left her mouth. She looked back at him over her shoulder and wiggled her ass.
"You really like the jersey, don't you?"
"I like the jersey," he answered kissing her lower back and moving the jersey. "And I like you," Eric reached with one hand in front of her to cup her breast, loving the weight of it in his palm. "You in my jersey? Magic." He kissed the back of her neck and pulled her up. His front against her back as he reached down and moved inside of her.
"Eric," she moaned loudly, her hands reaching around to grip him, as if to pull him deeper into her.
He started off slow, just as she did, moving in and out, swiveling his hips as she moaned and pushed back against him.
And because she was such a tease - and obviously did not like the slow pace - she taunted him that his 'batting' could use a little practice. God, did he love her. He squeezed her breast harshly as his movements turned to a relentless pace. Over and over, he thrust into her causing her to pant, moan and scream his name. Her nails dig into his skin, urging him on, pulling him back into her.
"So close."
"I'm right there," his reply comes out hoarse.
Ana is the first woman he has been with in a long time. One of the reasons why he wanted to find something casual here in Dauntless. But now that he has founds her, he does not want to let her go, does not want their time to be up.
They finished their round on the couch, catching their breath as Eric felt like he had done squats and planks for days. But it was all worth it to hear her say that she thought he was magic, too. He slowly released his hold on her as she turned to look back at him. The smile on her face told him that she was experiencing the same sort of emotions he was. He was about to open his mouth and say something to her, feeling as though this moment needed their feelings to be addressed. Then she had told him that dinner was ready a while ago and now she had to heat it up because she didn't think they would be in the position that they're in now. Instead, he picked her up and carried her to the kitchen, placing her on the island and moving to sit between her legs.
"Forget dinner. I'll take my dessert."
Ana looked at the flowers, looked at the card and then looked at Elsa's desk. She had not come in to work yet, but Ana knew it was only because Jeanine had sent her on a coffee run. The coffee machine had broken down the night before. And Jeanine wasn't about to walk out of her lair when she could have sent one of them to get coffee for her. She glanced at the card again and debated about texting Toby.
Yes, Toby had sent Elsa flowers. And apparently, he knew it was the anniversary of Elsa's mother's death. She flicked at the card between her fingers and again thought about texting her brother.
She knew that Toby had taken Elsa and her dad out for drinks last night after the All-Star game because Toby had posted it on his Instagram. It had over a hundred thousand likes this morning when she got the notification, but she was curious as to why Toby had sent flowers to Elsa. Did that mean they had hit it off?
Ana hoped so. Not just because she felt it was time for her brother to start trying again, but because she knew that Elsa was genuine and wouldn't take her brother for a ride.
Just when she was about to walk to her office, Elsa walked in and started to distribute the coffee. First, she went to Jeanine's office.
A minute later she came out and rolled her eyes.
"I should have known she wouldn't say 'thank you'," Elsa stated, placing a cup on Carrie's desk.
"Thank you," Carrie said as Elsa paused to look at her. Suddenly, Elsa, Carrie, Ana and even Jane had started to laugh before Elsa finally made her way to her desk and handed Ana her cup.
"Thanks, Elsa. Although," Ana looked back at her office, just as Elsa snorted.
"Of course, he'd buy you coffee and your favorite donut. He's so annoying," Elsa sat down, still not noticing the flowers.
"He's my boyfriend."
"What happened to you're not in love with him?"
"I'm not. He's leaving. He's going back to Erudite. But for right now, he's my boyfriend. And yesterday, last night, late in the night, early this morning and even later this morning - he was not annoying at all."
"Ooh," Elsa swiveled in her chair and smiled up at her. "Do tell?"
"I'm not going into details, but just know that we started watching the game and before seventh inning stretch, we were already not paying attention to the television. He really appreciated the jersey. So, I wanted to thank you for what had to be," Ana leaned in and started to whisper, "the hottest, most amazing sex fest. I mean it was just one day, but it felt like heaven, like euphoric."
"Mm," Elsa moaned and then sat back, her eyes grew big, and Ana turned to see that the flowers finally caught her attention.
"Speaking of what happened last night, how was your night," Ana asked. "Judging by the flowers, I'm assuming that it went rather well."
Elsa sat up slowly and reached out to touch the flowers. "Are they from..."
"My brother, yes," Ana answered.
"They were my mother's favorite." Ana heard Elsa's voice slightly choke as she smiled. "My father had mentioned it to him when we dropped him off."
"You and my brother dropped off your dad? Together?"
Elsa nodded and continued to look at it. "My dad had such a wonderful time last night. He got to meet and have drinks with the White Bull. They spoke as if they were friends for years. He met a few others. He was so happy. He drank a little more than usual. And I may have had a couple more beers than I was supposed to, but it was so easy talking to your brother, so comfortable, so fun."
"My brother? Are you certain it was Tobias that you folks met," Ana joked.
"I couldn't drive my dad back, so Tobias drove my car. After we dropped off my dad, I fell off to sleep. He didn't know where I lived so we ended up at his place." Elsa quickly turned to look at her. "Nothing happened, Ana. He had me sleep in the bed and he took the couch."
"That's why you were the last one in," Ana smiled. "It wasn't just the coffee run."
They were about to talk about it when Jeanine walked out with her tablet and announced that their meeting was starting. She paused to look at the flowers on Elsa's desk before making a clicking sound with her tongue and teeth. Nita came out and saddled herself right next to Jeanine and smiled at them as they took their time, filing in next to Jeanine.
Jeanine went through the items for the day as she walked to the conference room, her heels clicking and clacking on the marbled floor as they went. When she mentioned that she needed Ana to go to Candor, Ana almost faltered, but kept up when Elsa pinched at her side. She heard that there was a slight problem in Candor with Jonathan overseeing the project. That was news to Ana. Last she heard from Jonathan; everything was on schedule.
"What seems to be the issue? Maybe we can resolve this matter from here," Ana began as Jeanine stopped.
Carrie nearly collided into Nita, who turned to give Carrie the stare down.
"Isn't it the usual practice that I have you folks run one another's numbers in order to ensure there are no errors?"
"Yes, ma'am," Ana replied as Jeanine took a step closer to her.
"Right now, no one is running his numbers," added Jeanine, turning to continue their walk. "Jack Kang is still stalling. He thinks I don't know."
"Of course, you know. You're brilliant."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Nita," Jeanine scolded.
"It's not flattery if it's the truth," Nita replied which caused another pause in their walk. Jeanine glanced at Nita, looking her up and down, before narrowing her eyes and then walking into the conference room.
Ana paused to see that her father was in there, along with a few other men and women. Jeanine took her seat at the head of the table, gesturing for Nita to sit next to her. Ana followed next and did her best not to look across the table to where her father was moving to sit. Until this moment, he didn't know where she worked, believing that she was living off his and Tobias's baseball fortune.
"I want to thank everyone for coming today. As you know, we're discussing the Allegiant Holdings." Ana did look up at her father then. The Allegiant Holdings belonged to Evelyn. And as far as she knew, Tobias signed to sell his shares back to Jeanine after he had made his first million. Did Marcus still have some shares in Evelyn's company? "I'm ready to purchase the remaining shares."
"Miss Matthews," one of the other gentlemen spoke with a slight smile on his face. "I think Mr. Eaton is here to discuss that you sell your shares on the company over to him."
"And why would I do that?"
"According to our analysts, you have purchased three companies this year. I don't think you have the money to risk purchasing Allegiant."
Of course, her father had done his research. She glanced away from his stare to look at the others in the room - all men that she knew worked for her father. Some of them had known her as a child, but they masked their surprise and shock at seeing her quickly. She had felt vulnerable and open after revealing to Eric about how toxic and controlling their father had been to her and Toby. And now to sit down here at this table - with her father made her feel weak. It was something that she had worked to get over - something that Jeanine had attempted to train her out of.
"Anastasia," Jeanine's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
Ana stood up slowly, pushing back the chair and pressing the button on the projector. It displayed the numbers and charts that she had been working on and suddenly she realized why her aunt had been pushing her so hard these past few weeks. They had secretly been working on taking over Allegiant as well.
"Three percent growth over the last ten years. Thank you, Anastasia," Jeanine said before turning back to the chart as Ana walked slowly back to her seat. The charts and graphs changed, showing the investment in Allegiant for her father would be an unwise decision.
Ana knew that he had the money. Marcus Eaton had made smart decisions. He didn't live extravagantly, nor did he splurge his money on frivolous things such as mansions, ranches - although her father did own two homes and one of them did sit on a hundred- and ten-acre ranch in Abnegation, the very place she grew up. After Toby had been signed to Dauntless, Marcus made sure that he owned a house in Dauntless. It was really a shrine to Toby more than a home. Still, she knew that for Marcus to spend the dollars on something - other than to advance his career or that of Toby's - had to mean something.
The meeting was long and brutal and surprisingly her father had remained quiet throughout. Jeanine had negotiated the best she could but no one on her father's team was ready to give up Marcus' part of Allegiant.
"We'll meet again soon gentlemen, when you all are ready to speak like managers and businessmen. However, I will make this perfectly clear," Jeanine stood and ran her hand down the front of her skirt. "This is my late sister's company. She would hate to see that you have put it in such dire financial straits such as it is in right now, Marcus. You should seriously consider signing it over to me."
She gave Ana, Nita and the rest of her workers a small nod as they hurried to get out of their seats and follow her.
"May I have a word with my daughter?"
Ana was really hoping that Jeanine would say 'no'. Instead, she merely nodded and continued to walk out. Elsa looked like she had wanted to stay but Ana just gave her the best smile she could muster. Carrie gave her a tentative smile in response before following Jeanine. A few on her father's team had reached over to shake her hand, two of them even commenting on how much she had grown since they last saw her and to offer their congratulations on her new relationship.
She waited with a slight tremble of fear as her father moved to stand.
"How long?"
"Excuse me?"
"How long have you been working here, Anastasia?"
"Four years," she answered.
"After that situation with Banner," he stated more so than asked as he placed his hands, fingertips down on the conference table.
She hated that he had brought up Cain Banner. Cain had just signed onto one of the organizations in the league. They knew one another when they attended university. She was young. She was naive. She believed that Cain had loved her when he said he did. But in truth, he didn't. He just saw a big, fat paycheck. Jeanine had found out all the information on him and presented it to her, telling her that she would take care of it. And take care of it, she did. But not before her father and grandfather had found out. They had come to her rescue and for a brief moment - so very brief - Marcus was her father. He had ruined Cain's career without so much as lifting a finger. Ana didn't know how, but Jeanine and Marcus were like the perfect criminal couple - minus the 'couple' part.
"Does your brother know?"
"I wanted to repay Tobias for the apartment. It was difficult for me to get a job in Abnegation. Aunt Jeanine called me."
"Of course, she did," he walked to the window and looked outside of it. "I don't like this - any of this. The secrets you keep, Anastasia," he shook his head. "A secret job. A secret relationship. I do not know what is worst – you, working for this vile woman or you, bringing Slick Rick Coulter into our lives."
That rustled some of Ana's feathers. She bristled and walked over to match her father's stance at the window. "He's in my life," she emphasized as the tone of her voice started to grow louder. "He was always in your life because your life revolves around baseball. It always did and it always will."
"So, that's what this is? You're trying to punish me for being absent during your childhood? I was working to put a roof over your head," he yelled and she almost faltered but instead straightened her shoulders and stared back up at him.
"Absent wouldn't be right 'a' word that I would use. Antagonistic. Even abusive. Or asshole," she listed.
Ana had no idea where the sudden outburst came from, but she noticed the small bit of shock on her father's face before he began to shout back at her that she was being insubordinate, disorderly and hysterical. "If I didn't know better, you are behaving exactly like..."
"Like who? Like my mother," she questioned. "Thank God. I rather be like her than you any day."
He seemed to pause at that and turned away from her. She watched as he took a deep breath. Their relationship was destructive. Ana knew the only thing they had in common was Toby. And even that was a long shot. She could hear Blossom telling her that none of the stress was worth it. It did not matter how hard she tried, she would never have her father's love and admiration. She did not know a mother's love either.
Ana knew the story, knew how it went. Evelyn and Marcus were married young, because she got pregnant with Tobias. Evelyn did not want to become a housewife and therefore resented Marcus. And because Marcus was stuck being a husband and a father when he was about to start the MLB, he too, resented Evelyn. Evelyn had started Allegiant to spite Marcus. Marcus had an affair. Then Evelyn had an affair. Marcus gained a daughter from said affair, while Evelyn lost hers. And according to Aunt Jeanine it was easy for the media to assume that Ana was Marcus and Evelyn's child. Easy for them, but difficult for Evelyn to accept.
"Sometimes I wonder," Ana laughed, "why you took me from her."
"Because I loved her. I wanted a piece of her with me."
Ana shook her head. "That wasn't love."
"I," Marcus began to speak. But whatever he had to say, Ana was certain she didn't want to hear it. "Everything I did... I did all of that for Tobias and you. I was doing what was..."
"Don't you dare say that you were only doing what was best for us," Ana growled. She walked closer to him. "Sell the company, dad. You owe Evelyn that much."
She stalked out of the conference room, and she didn't know what possessed her to. But as she was walking past Nita who was holding files in her hands, Ana shot her hand out and hit the files causing the papers to scatter around the floor. Nita looked appalled at her. Ana smiled at her and continued to walk out. Elsa, Carrie and Jane called out for her, but she didn't answer them. Jason - the building's head of security - escorted her down and called a car service for her.
Ana gave the address to the car driver and silenced her phone. She had just stepped out of the car when Eric had finished his practice. He smiled at her, and it made her feel warm, appreciated, cherished. Hell, it made her feel loved. His smile fell. No doubt, he saw how tear-stained her face looked. She wiped her face quickly, not realizing that she had been crying all the way here to the stadium. He reached her quickly and took her hand in his, kissing her fingertips.
"Let's go take a drive, huh?"
All she could do was nod. She wondered how Eric had become her rock in such a short amount of time. It was a dangerous feeling to become so attached to him, but she was. She was attached.