Time for the Ape and Sloth to meet their fate.
What's a Pope?
Christian
I wake up and notice that the bed is empty but I hear some sounds coming from the ensuite bathroom. Sighing, I push myself up and walk over to meet my woman, hoping she'll let me get my fill of her. Surely we have time for a morning quickie? I lean against the door jamb and a few seconds later she notices me and giggles. I walk over and wrap my arms around the front of her waist and trail kisses from her bare shoulder up to her neck.
"Hmm, you smell good." I hum, wanting more. "Want me to help zip this up?"
She chuckles and looks at me through the mirror, "yes, please."
"Still mad at me?"
"A little bit."
I bite down on her earlobe, "maybe I can change your mind." I grind my erection into her ass and she gasps trying to playfully push me back. When she turns around laughing, I pick her up and sit her on the marble counter. She pulls me closer and kisses me hungrily, begging in between our fighting tongues to fuck her. Your wish is my command, Miss Steele.
She buries her face in my neck to muffle her passionate cries as I begin to drive into her, hard. All the anxiety and longing from yesterday begins to melt away. Her body begins to steadily pulse around me, climbing to that peak where we'll both find our release. We're almost there, any second now.
1
2
3
The loud sound of glass shattering interrupts everything and I open my eyes and hear both And and Sloane's voices from a distance.
WAIT A GODDAMN MINUTE?
I'M IN BED?
The fuck?
It's uncomfortable to be lying face down in an empty bed with a painful erection begging for reprieve. I look around and see that my suit is hanging from the door. The light to the ensuite bath is off. I roll off the bed and do a few quick pushups to calm my body. It doesn't do much, there's nothing like an actual fuck or an ice cold shower to rid yourself of a boner.
It's not been like this since I was a teenager. It's all Ana's fault.
I peek through the door and see Sloane standing a slight distance away from her mother.
"I'm serious, Sloane. Do not come here." She says sternly, "I need to clean this up. Go get your bag from your room so I can sort out your lunch situation."
Sloane nods and runs over towards her room which is across from Ana's. When she notices me, she smiles big. All dressed up and ready for the day. She's in dark green overalls with a white t-shirt and hair made into two small buns. She's too cute.
"Good morning, sleepy Ape!" she giggles, "Mr. Sawyer and Mr. Taylor brought breakfast and your clothes. Hurry up and get ready so we can eat. I'm starving!"
"Good morning, hungry Sloth!" I smile and she giggles again. "I'll be out in a few minutes." She disappears and I see Ana. I know she's heard us but she doesn't look my way and instead takes out the food from the bag Gail no doubt sent. By her expression, I can tell that she doesn't seem happy. I much preferred the dream scenario than the reality I woke up to.
Perhaps she'll be a little more amenable when I'm dressed for the day as well. She did after all tell me she likes seeing me in a suit. Time to turn on the charm.
When I walk out, they're both silently sitting on the table across from each other.
"THANK GOD! You take so long to get ready like Aunt Kate." Sloane groans and I laugh. "I am so hungry now."
"You should've started eating," I chuckle.
"Mommy said we have to wait for you. It's bad manners," she replies before taking a sip of her orange juice.
"Well, thank you for waiting for me." I lean down to give Ana a quick kiss, she doesn't react to it like she usually does and her expression remains impassive even when Sloane makes fun of us. Okay, this will be interesting. When I move to take the empty seat at the head of the table, I see there's no place setting.
"I want you best friends to sit together," Ana orders. This is the mom voice. And we both are in trouble though I suspect Sloane has no idea what's about to go down because she's the happiest about this arrangement.
There's coffee poured for me and I drink it while Ana begins to silently make Sloane a plate, who otherwise is incredibly excited at the breakfast offerings.
Ana doesn't make eye-contact with me but quietly drinks her tea and eats a pancake. The only sounds are Sloane and I making conversation about the food and her plans for daycare today–they're supposed to watch a movie about polar bears–cutlery clinking and the occasional beeping of my phone which I silence after a while.
"I wish my tummy was bigger so I could eat all this food. It's so yummy," Sloane sighs, rubbing her stomach solemnly.
And for the first time since we've been eating, Ana looks up directly at Sloane.
"Sloane, would you like to tell me what happened last night?"
Oh shit. Here we go.
"Um, I called Christian on my walkie-talkie and then he came over to see us." She shrugs with her big innocent eyes.
"I see. And who did you ask before opening the door?"
She opens her mouth to speak but then closes it for a second before speaking again."But Mommy, he's my best friend. He can come into our house." Sloane argues.
The kid's got a point. It wasn't a stranger, it was me. Christian Grey, bestest best friend to the Sloth. This kid has got this situation in the bag, so I can relax.
"I don't care if he's the President of the United States!" Ana snaps.
Or not.
"You're the President? Oh my!" Sloane looks at me with a big smile, clapping in delight. "I'm best friends with the President, Mommy!"
I chuckle, this kid is too fucking adorable "I'm not the President but I do have way more money than him."
"I NEED BOTH OF YOU TO FOCUS!" Ana growls but I obviously ignore her since I was really done speaking.
"And, I'm better looking than him. See for yourself." I pick up my phone and do a quick google search to show her a side by side comparison. Sloane nods in agreement. We both look towards Ana who's pretty much fuming and glaring at me.
"Are you done with your vanity exercise?"
"For now, yes." I quip with a smirk but she's not having it.
"Oh no!" Sloane's hand flies to her forehead. "I forgot! I have something for you, best friend. Thank you for minding me."
"You mean, reminding you," I say.
Sloane rolls her eyes, "that's what I said. Thank you for minding me!" I chuckle and shake my head. I'd love for her to spend the day at GEH with me. It'd be entertaining to see how she cuts through the bullshit. Hell, I'd love to see Ros react to her.
She disappears into her room and I look at Ana who's sitting with her arms crossed and lips set into a hard line. Now if she had let me work on her last night, she'd be more relaxed this morning. It appears her little trip to self-pleasureville wasn't all that effective. This is why she needs me.
We stare at each other and I give her my panty dropping Christian Grey smile but all she does is raise an eyebrow. I'm not going to win this am I? She's in mom mode… nothing can win against that. I have a feeling all those tears I made Grace cry in frustration over me during my teenage years have finally found Karma's number and she's shown up at the door to my life with an axe.
"I'm back!" Sloane runs out, buzzing with excitement holding two objects in her hand and around her wrist. They're in neon pink and really ugly neon green. "I made you a friendship bracelet. Mommy helped me make it too."
"Oh, uh…"
"This pink one is yours and the green one is for Elliot because green is his favorite color."
Elliot gets the neon puke green. I can live with that.
"Why did you get pink for me?"
"Mommy said pink was your favorite color," she blinks in confusion. I look back at Ana and she flashes a sinister smile at me before her expression is impassive again. This woman plays dirty. I like it and it's a turn on but I'm not liking that she's using it against me right now.
"You have to wear it. Look, I'm wearing it too." She's so damn excited, shit.
"How about I carry it in my pocket?" Please.
I give a pleading look to Ana but she checks her nails and leans back in her chair.
"But then how will everyone know we're best friends?" This kid always has a point and now it's not looking so cute for me.
"I don't want to lose it," it will also ruin my entire CEO vibe, "it'll stay safe in my pocket,"
I see sadness grow on her face and settle on a compromise to wear it for now but before work, I'll slip it into my pocket. I take the neon pink plastic wire ornament and slide my hand through it to settle on my wrist. Sloane claps in delight and takes a seat next to me.
I can't believe this is my life right now. Every meal with them is so entertaining, kind of like how it used to be for a few years when I was a kid till I lost my mind once the hormones kicked in.
I steal a glance at Ana and her eyes land back on Sloane who's now munching on a piece of bacon again.
"I need to speak to you and I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me again." She tells Sloane who gives me a quick look before nodding at her mother.
"Sloane, you broke the rules last night." Ana declares in her very scary mom voice. "Unless it's an emergency and you already know what those emergencies are, I don't care if it's Grandpa, Aunt Kate, Efun, Christian or the Pope at the front door… you WILL NOT open the door unless I tell you to. Do you understand?"
Sloane gulps and nods. "Yes, Mommy." Ana picks up her mug to take a sip of her tea. "What's a Pope?"
"It's this old dude who wears a white dress." I chime in, "he needs to update his style."
Ana glares at me, "Sloane, the Pope is the boss of priests that we see in the Church."
They go to church? But Ana said she wasn't religious… I need to investigate but anyway, back to our execution.
"Then why does he wear a dress?"
"It's not a dress, Christian was just joking. It's a uniform that's like a long coat." She huffs.
"You joke too much Christian." Sloane turns to me, shaking her heading disapproval. I wink at her and she giggles.
"Is Christian in trouble too?" Sloane asks.
"Yes," Ana reples, taking a bite of her pancake. "He got into trouble last night."
Sloane turns to me again and whispers, "you didn't make the face?"
"I tried but it didn't work."
"WHAT FACE?" Ana narrows her eyes at us and I know we're at the end of our rope.
Sloane slides off her chair and walks over to Ana and drapes her tiny body in her lap, looking up at her mother. Oh shit, she's really making the face, pouty lips and all. Yeah, she's getting us out of this mess. I've got nothing to worry about. There's a saying that the House never loses, I'm changing it to the Sloth never loses.
"The "I'm sorry and I love you face", Mommy." Ana remains stoic and unimpressed against her daughter's charms, "I didn't wake you up because you were sleeping and so sad, Mommy. Like a cute sleeping raccoon," Sloane cradles Ana's face and squeezes her cheeks with her tiny hands.
"Really? And what does my face look like now?" Ana arches a brow, not giving in at all.
"An angry badger," Sloane giggles, "but a cute angry badger." She tiptoes to rub her nose against her mothers but it doesn't do anything to help the situation. Her expression towards her daughter remains cool.
"Finish your breakfast," Ana replies. "We're leaving soon."
The coldness in her voice cuts through me and I watch Sloane straighten herself and walk back solemnly to her seat next to me. The Sloth lost. Now we're really doomed. Once she's seated, Ana speaks again.
"If you do this again, I will ground you. I will take away your TV time, iPad and walkie-talkie. No sleepovers with Aunt Kate or Efun. No talking to your best friends and no dessert for a week."
"But Mommy," Sloane protests with teary eyes. "I'm already on the ground."
I purse my lips and mask my burst of laughter by coughing and clearing my throat. I steal a glance at Ana and she pinches the bridge of her nose. She really is a tough crowd today.
"I said IF you do this again. And being grounded means getting punished." Ana reminds her. "But for now I'm letting you off with a warning. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Mommy." Her voice is tiny and trembling. "What will happen to Christian if he does this again?"
"He already knows."
She'll cut me into small pieces kid, with those eyes alone.
Sloane looks at me, "no dessert for a week is really bad." I sheepishly nod but Ana gets up and walks back to her room leaving us alone. Sloane bows her head and her voice trembles more when she speaks again. "I don't like it when Mommy's mad at me."
"I'm sorry, I got you into trouble." I tell her, she looks at me with teary eyes. Damn it. I made her cry. It cuts through me even harder. "I'm really sorry," I whisper.
"I'm never opening the door for you again," she growls and crosses her arms, staring at the piece of bacon still on her plate. After a few seconds, she grabs it and bites off a piece like an angry animal.
"Are we still best friends?"
She nods silently, "how did Mommy punish you?"
I can't tell you, Sloth. And trust me you don't want to know.
I shrug, "I got yelled at."
"Like I did?"
"Worse."
"Oh, wow. Did you cry?"
"I told you, I don't cry." I totally cried on the inside from being denied yet again. I think I cried a little this morning too. Had to take an ice cold shower to numb myself.
Before I can say anything again, Ana walks back out with her bag and two manuscripts in hand and informs us that we need to leave. Sloane and I exchange a glance and silently help carry all the dishes to the sink where Ana works to load the dishwasher in double-time asking us to not hover.
Our ride down the elevator is deathly silent again. Sloane holds her mother's hand and leans into her, periodically looking up to see if Ana's ice facade will thaw but it doesn't.
The ride to daycare is also thick with tension. Ana remains on her phone while Sloane tries to make conversation with her. She answers her daughters questions with brevity and there's no warmth in her tone. I feel the guilt turn my stomach inside out with knots but isn't she taking this too far?
"Bye Ape," Sloane mumbles, looking up at me when Ana helps her out of the booster seat to walk her over to daycare.
"Bye Sloth. I'll see you soon, okay." She nods, "have a good day."
This has got to be the most solemn goodbye I've ever experienced with her. No bright energy, no high five, no smiles, just a little heartbroken Sloth schlepping along with her mother towards the door.
I watch from the tinted windows and see Ana kneel down and give Sloane a hug and kiss on the forehead. She says something to Sloane and I see her acknowledge what her mother says with a nod and then enthusiastically give her another hug which Ana returns with a similar emotion. Sloane waves back at the car again and I automatically wave too only to chuckle when I realize she can't actually see me.
"You were really hard on her." I mumble.
"And the world will be ruthless," I look and see Ana staring outside the window intently. I wonder if she's talking about herself. "She broke the rules, she needs to know what the consequences could have been."
"She was responsible about it," I argue, "she looked through the peephole and made sure it was me. I told you this last night."
"If she was responsible then what were you, Christian?" She counters sharply, eyes filled with fury.
She's not going to let this go and if I press more she'll lose it. And this is not how I want to start my day.
"I don't want to fight with you."
"Then stop doing things that bring us to this point."
"I told you, I just wanted to make you feel better and of course I didn't want Sloane to be mad at me either."
Her hand cants sideways and she raises an eyebrow in skepticism at me. I need to go in for the kill, I need to dickstract her to see it my way. I press the button for the privacy window to go up and she watches me unclip the backless booster seat and place it on the floor to slide in closer to her. When I'm close, her eyes remain fixed on mine and her breathing is even but not for long. I grab her chin and pull her towards me and I see her resolve start to weaken but she holds firm regardless. She's a formidable opponent and I love her all the more for it. She doesn't make it easy which makes the reward at the end much sweeter… now if only she'd let me have a taste.
"Are you really mad at me?"
"You think I put all that effort in for something I didn't mean?" This woman and her snark.
"And what a show it was, Miss Steele. You had me shaking in my boots for a minute there."
She rolls her eyes and snorts but doesn't reply. The car stopped in front of SIP a few minutes ago but we've been busy locked in a staring contest since then. Her skin is warm in my grasp and she hasn't made a move to leave until now when she begins to shuffle.
"Are you really going to leave this unresolved between us?"
"Oh I resolved it last night and again at the kitchen table this morning. It seems you're the one who's struggling with the outcome of the resolution."
Fuck this! I crash my lips against her and she responds by pulling on to the lapels of my jacket and snaking her arm around my neck to get closer, when we pull apart we're both panting, wanting more but of course we lack the time and room… though, I wouldn't mind taking her here. At this rate, I'd come the moment slid inside her.
Anastasia
I lose my damn mind every time this man gets close. I need some sort of vampire ring thingy that can help fight off this man's sexual aura and all that jazz.
"Stop fighting me," he growls, biting my lip.
Stop pissing me the fuck off!
"I'm late for work," I mentally try to collect myself and remember that I'm a mom who needs to get her ass to her job. His face drops and he loosens his hold on me. I gather my things and turn to look at him before I open the door. "I'm going to inform Roach of my involvement with you."
"He doesn't need to know," he's annoyed now but I don't care.
"He does. He is my boss. I'd rather him find out from me than anyone else and have it compromise his opinion about me. You obviously have never worked for anyone before so I don't think you realize the nuances of the workplace at my level. You've always been a boss so you don't really care what anyone thinks about you because no one can say anything to you. Me? I'm different. I'm trying to build a name for myself and I don't need anyone doubting my hard work, ever."
"You're blowing this out of proportion, Ana. No one will have the fucking nerve to say anything."
I grind my teeth at his dismissal. He doesn't fucking know, nor does he care. It's obvious.
"Obviously, you'd think that. If nothing affects you negatively then of course to you it's all just an overreaction. Fuck my feelings right? I should just lie down and take it." I open the door to exit the car and slam it shut. Fuck being respectful. I know Victoria said that all men are children but he's an errant ape and I don't want to fucking deal with him anymore right now.
I'm so mad that I storm through the front door and rush to my office to scream in my cushion. First the shit last night and then the making fun of me while I tried to discipline my daughter and now this.
I take a few calming breaths and think of what I'm going to say to Roach and pray to god he doesn't think any less of me.
My office phone rings and I answer it. Hannah tells me Roach is now in his office and I thank her, darting out of my office to beeline for his. Unfortunately, he only has five minutes and I know if I wait to come back at a later time, I'll get distracted and eventually chicken out.
"Ana, come on in, I'm afraid I don't have much time." Roach gestures me to take a seat while lifting his cup of coffee for a sip, "how is your daughter feeling?"
"Much better, thank you." I smile weakly, "Uh, so I wanted to inform you of a–"
"Are you leaving SIP?"
"What? I squeak, "Oh no! I mean… no, I'm not leaving." I laugh and he chuckles in relief.
"You know I'm just going to say it. Okay?" I try to calm myself and he nods, waiting for me to reveal my truth. "I'm in a relationship with Christian Grey."
His eyes widen in shock and then narrow in subtle suspicion.
"It's very new and when you told me yesterday, I was… " I lose my words.
"As I said, I reached out to him to see if he was still interested but did you by any chance tell–"
"Oh no, no, not at all," I assure him. I'm slightly offended he'd think that of me but I suppose anyone in his position would wonder that. "It took me by surprise as well. I did not know, I assure you. I like to keep my professional life and personal life as separate as I can. I knew that what you told me was strictly confidential and I honored that… until yesterday when I couldn't help myself but ask him."
"I see," his tone is clipped and he's not making eye contact.
"I know you haven't known me very long but this isn't something that will hinder or influence my ability to work for SIP or Grey publishing in a negative way. I'm not going to expect to be treated different or show off my proximity to Chris–I mean Mr. Grey in that way. In fact, you're the only person I'm telling because I didn't want you to find out from anyone else except me but I understand that if and whenever this all becomes public knowledge, my relationship to him that the culture in this office could very well change for the negative."
This feels like I'm confessing a crime to my father and he's going to turn me in to the police.
"I appreciate you telling me, Ana." Roach finally says. "I don't care if Grey now owns SIP, as long as I'm in charge of this operation on a day to day level and you're performing as you have been in the past, then I have no problem."
I exhale deeply and give him a tentative smile.
"Thank you for um, you know, hearing me out. I appreciate it."
He smiles and asks me about how things are progressing with Ryan Crane. I give him a quick synopsis and tell him I have a lunch scheduled with him for next week, that he's paying for since it's fancy. That makes Roach laugh because apparently Ryan is known to be a cheapskate.
The day went by in a flash, including the meeting with Carrick and Mr. Koslov. My lunchtime meeting with him was quick but to the point with Mr. Koslov giving me a slightly more in depth understanding of how things work. All in all, it's looking like the judge will override José's petition and most definitely settle for joint custody since there seems to be nothing, at least on the face of it, that I can prove as negative in terms of Sloane's safety. For my sanity, he will counter with a request for a psych evaluation, home inspection and drug testing in addition to keeping me as the custodial parent.
I hope he's taking drugs. I can't believe it's come to this.
Sloane was incredibly happy, having forgotten her early morning scolding session when I picked her up from daycare. In the five minute drive home, I'm told an insane amount of polar bear facts and how we need to help protect them because the ice caps are melting.
"Mommy, you're not still mad at me, right?" Sloane asks, hugging me and kissing my belly. "Because I'm a sorry Sloth, I promise."
I want to burst into tears and my throat becomes tight, so I smile at her and cradle her face in my palms. She gets the message and remains leaning against me
This is the part of parenting I hate but there's no one else to reinforce these rules so I end up being the bad guy. But it's for her protection and mine and I wish Christian could see it. He hasn't messaged me all day and neither have I. I'm so mad at him. He probably thinks I fucking love being like this, always having to repeat myself and tell him what I don't like. Not everything is fun and games.
Dinner is a quiet affair, with cajun chicken, creamed spinach on the side and garlic bread. It also helps that it can be my lunch for the next two days.
Sloane asks to sleep with me tonight and I agree. We're both feeling a little low on love given this morning I think. But she needs to know that I did this because I love her and don't want her to get hurt but her mind is too innocent and simple to grasp the nuances of my dating an ape who wants to just steamroll into everything. For her, life is fun and games which it should be at her age.
Instead of drinking my feelings, I suppose I could eat them. I open the freezer and see there's no ice-cream. I totally forgot to order it over the weekend. A raspberry popsicle won't do the trick, so I start to go through the cupboard and look for cookies. My phone rings and I startle.
It's Christian.
I'm not in the right headspace to talk to him but if I ignore his call I feel like it'll be yet another issue.
"Hello."
"Hey," he replies and is silent for a few moments. We both just breathe like creepy villains in a movie, the thought makes me want to laugh but I don't. "How was your day?"
"Busy," I sigh, wishing I could go on vacation.
"What did Roach say?"
I take a seat on the couch but then lie down instead, "he wanted to know if I had told you anything about SIP beforehand even if he had been the one to reach out first and that as long as I continue to perform as I have been, he doesn't care who I'm dating."
"I told you it wouldn't be a problem." I roll my eyes. He's never had to deal with catty bitches and entitled assholes in the workplace.
"I don't want to rehash this with you, Christian. You don't get it so it's better not to discuss it further. You do you and I'll do me."
"But that's the problem, I want to do you. Repeatedly. Now even more so given how I'm not allowed to touch myself."
I burst into giggles, hating myself for finally breaking but given that it's been a long day, my defenses are weak. Here I am a puddle of giggles and horny feelings now.
"I missed that sound," he croons and I bite my lip trying not to smile.
"Is this your attempt at a booty call or permission to mastrubate?" He chuckles and asks if it's working, "do you think about anything other than sex?"
"No, I'm an ape… remember?" I sigh and he laughs again, "are you still mad at the both of us?"
"I'm always mad at something, Christian. It's in my job description." He then asks me how Sloane was after I picked up and I assure him that she's not sad anymore.
"I think you need to apply for another job then."
My phone chimes and I immediately know that it's an important email notification. I tell Christian I need a second to check it and when I do, all the air leaves my lungs.
"What happened, baby?"
"It was from José's lawyers," I gulp and tell him that I met with Mr. Koslov and his Dad this afternoon, giving him a brief synopsis of what we discussed and that he was going to email José's lawyer to get the ball rolling. "They have responded to our request for mediation. Thursday at 3pm."
A/N: Lots of things happened in this chapter. Sloane got scolded big time and that too in front of Christian. I'm sure y'all will have some thoughts, lol. Who missed José? Well, he's gonna show up in the next chapter.