My dear little broccolis💚💚💚
💚Sweetie, Let Me Give You The Daddy💚
"The best investment I ever made, was when I lost fifty million dollars and met the love of my life as a result of that."
‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️
‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️
‼️AS/CG/The Greys/The Steeles/José Rodriguez/Grace Grey‼️
💚Now, in case it wasn't clear, this will be a Christian POV story. and I know you will want Ana's PoV, but it will just be Christian.
💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚
Chapter 8: Iris (7,7K)
In the two days that followed the surgery, Christian spent all his late afternoons and evenings in Grace's room, along with Ana. It was only the three of them since everyone who wanted to visit Grace did it in the morning. Mary came all the way from LA, Jose came every morning, Raymond and his wife also showed up, and obviously Andrew. Thankfully, Christian didn't have to suffer his annoying British ass, since he had work in the mornings.
He had a very unpleasant conversation with Ros who threatened to not keep him informed while he was in the hospital. She didn't appreciate not knowing exactly when he was getting his operation, invoking the notion of long-time partners and the fact that she had always had his back, but given the fact that he still hadn't told her about his daughter, he felt weird telling her about the true nature of his operation. But he knew that this was a conversation that he would no longer be able to avoid when he got back to Seattle.
So, he spent his mornings taking the very few phone-calls Ros couldn't cover and working on the projects that were his, though on both mornings, Carrick and Elliott paid him a visit. Obviously, Carrick didn't listen when Christian told him that he didn't need anything, and insisted on bringing him breakfast, which ended up being eaten by Elliott because, even though the operation was past them, Grace and himself were still on a rather strict diet, to not shock their fragile livers.
Although Carrick didn't mention the lecture he had given previously, Christian could tell that he disapproved of him working whilst in a hospital bed. But he and Elliott did help Christian when Christian swallowed his ego, and finally asked for help to find the perfect stuffed animal for Grace. The stuffed toys seemed to mean so much to her, so he didn't want to mess up his present. Especially since this one would be special: it would be the one that symbolised their first actual exchange as father and daughter.
The second morning, his father and brother showed up with several catalogues, and the three of them argued on what would be best. Christian wanted to go safe and find a dragon, but Elliott argued that most fluffy dragons were ugly, to begin with. And Christian had to admit that except for the ones from the cartoon he had seen with Grace, he hadn't noted any dragons on her bed.
Carrick kept saying that he should go for the traditional teddy bear, because a teddy bear was something that always stayed in a child's heart, and in fact, Christian remembered that Grace didn't seem to own any bear. He had asked Ana for her input, but she simply dismissed the idea, saying that the type of toy wasn't what would matter to Grace.
Right now, Christian was sitting in his wheelchair (because the doctors refused to let him walk on his own, even though he could now go to the bathroom without any assistance), and looked at Ana talking to Doctor Cohen by the door, whilst Grace was talking about her brave scar again, and how she didn't cry when she saw it.
He praised the little girl, his attention on Grace, though his eyes were still on Ana, and he realised how full of life she seemed. Grace's condition had really weighed her down, and now she was hopeful again. She was even smiling naturally, a thing that had been almost non-existent before the successful surgery.
"Christian?"
"Yes, Grace?"
"Do you think my mommy is pretty?"
Finally, he blinked away from Ana and looked back at the young girl who was expectantly looking at him. She had obviously caught him staring at her mother, and so he honestly answered, "No. I think she's gorgeous."
She frowned, and so he explained, "Pretty is good, beautiful is better, gorgeous is superb. When you tell someone that they are gorgeous, it means that they are pretty times ten over."
Grace kept her brows furrowed, before quickly glancing at her mother, and looking down her hands then, as she asked, "Do you think I'm gorgeous?"
"No," he immediately said, though he quickly realised that this had been the wrong thing to say, and so he tried to make himself clear. "It's not appropriate to say that a little girl is gorgeous."
"What is 'inappropriate'?" She asked with her little pout and focused expression of leaning a new word.
"It means that it's not … polite."
She nodded, and looked back at her mother, whispering, "I don't look a lot like my mommy. I wish I could be 'gorgeous' like her."
"You're better than gorgeous, you're the cutest," Christian assured her, his heart feeling a pang as his daughter was already concerned about her appearance at such a young age.
"Cute is better than 'gorgeous'?"
"So much better."
She smiled brightly, reassured by his words, and suddenly her face became all serious as she planted her blue eyes in his grey orbs. "So! I am feeling a lot better now, that means we can talk about the cookies."
"What cookies?" Ana asked, walking back inside the room and narrowing her eyes with suspicion at her daughter. Grace shook her head, declaring, "It's between me and Christian."
"Christian and me, honey," Ana corrected, and Grace repeated the correct formulation, before looking back at Christian, her face showing that she meant business.
"Did you tell your mommy to make the pumpkin cookies?"
Christian had to repress a chuckle. It was obvious in her tone that she still doubted their existence. But he also found it adorable that she was being so serious over cookies. And though he had no proof of it, he was sure that his parents would claim that he had acted the same way when he was younger and had wanted to negotiate something.
"I'll ask her to make some especially for you next time I see her."
"And they will be just for me?"
"Grace …" Ana said with a warning tone. Grace pursed her lips, and begrudgingly said, "I will share some with you, Christian."
"Deal." He presented his hand, and though she hesitated for a second, she shook it, looking so important and so sure that she had just struck the best deal of the year.
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
On the third morning after the surgery, Christian was on the phone with Ros after his family's daily visits, and the news she had for him was anything but agreeable.
"Roger sent me a text this morning. He's been trying to call you all night, apparently."
Christian rolled his eyes, his phone on speaker whilst he was scrolling through his emails on his laptop. Roger was his PR, and ever since he had informed him of Grace's existence, he had been trying to call Christian every two days. Sure, he was helping Christian keep both Ana and Grace anonymous and away from the public eye, coaching him on how to make sure they would not be photographed. But he was also pleading his case that Ana and Christian should release a statement about Grace and pose for a paparazzi to take pictures of the three of them, so the tabloids wouldn't have an unauthorised shot to sell to the tabloids. Every two days, Roger was trying to find a new way to convince Christian, but Christian remained firm on the matter. If he could protect the two girls, he would.
"Yeah, I saw the missed calls this morning. I'll call him back when I get out," Christian sighed, all the while reviewing some documents he had been sent concerning his next trip to Singapore.
"No. You have to call him back now. Apparently, it has been leaked that you are in a hospital. He's trying to hold off the news, but there is only so much he can do."
"What? Oh, for fuck's sake!"
His thoughts immediately went to Grace and Ana, and how they could easily become the centre of the media's attention. It was for this very reason that Roger had been constantly trying to get a hold of him since he had learnt about his daughter, and now, they were going to be thrown into that circus because he had kept on delaying taking care of this publicity issue.
Without even thinking about it for a second, he hung up on Ros and immediately called Roger, hoping against all hopes that his PR would have a viable solution. As he connected with him, he put him on speaker so he could still message Ros and let her know that he would be in touch with her later in the day.
For ten long minutes, Roger ranted on how this would have never happened if Christian had warned him that he was about to be hospitalised, and how they wouldn't be in this predicament if Christian had listened to him from the start, and made a statement about having a daughter. It was just when he was finally starting to talk about a solution that Ana walked in, cookies in hand.
She smiled to him, but her smile quickly dropped when she saw his worried face. He patted the bed by his side, and took a cookie, letting his PR know, "You're on speaker, Roger. Ana's here."
"Oh, hello, Miss Steele. It has been a while since we last spoke. I hope you are alright."
Christian mouthed that it was his PR and a crease grew between her brows. He gently squeezed her hand, but she didn't respond to it, simply listened to Roger summarise the situation to her.
"As I was explaining to Mr Grey, the news has been leaked that he is hospitalised. They don't know yet which hospital, but it's just a matter of time before they do. There is no paparazzi involved for now, but I was thinking that this could be the opportune time for Mr Grey to release a statement about the predicament that binds the two of you."
"Predicament?" Ana echoed in barely a whisper. Christian squeezed her hand again, but it was to Roger that his words went to.
"I told you, I'm not making any statements about my daughter yet."
"Then, how do you plan on explaining that you are staying in the hospital's children's wing?"
"Then I won't stay here. I'll move to the regular recovery wing, and none will be the wiser. I'll make a statement tomorrow. Just try to find the best bullshit you can that would justify my presence without lying too much. If it has to be a burnout, go for it."
"Mr Grey — "
"I told you, Roger. She is off-limits," Christian cut him off, not wanting to enter yet another discussion on how the apparition of a daughter was perfect to melt his image of a stone-cold businessman, and how he should have a photoshoot with Grace and Ana to show off his newfound family.
He hung up, turning his head to Ana who hadn't said another word, though her face clearly showed worry. For a moment, they stayed silent, and then, she cleared her throat and pointed to the cookies.
"Jacob gave the all-clear for some intake of sugar. Grace said you should have some to help you work."
"Ana … Don't mind what he said. Roger always — "
"He is doing his job, Christian. I understand. There is nothing better than a family to make a wolf appear like a sheep. He is here to keep your image as good as possible, and letting the media know you just underwent an operation to give a little girl part of a vital organ … well, who wouldn't swoon for that?"
He nudged her jaw with his finger, so she would look him in his grey eyes. "I don't care what Roger says. I'm not telling the world about my daughter when I still haven't told her."
She smiled softly, removing his hand from her face, though she kept it on her own. She looked down for a moment, before she asked, "So, you want to make a statement about Grace?"
"More like I have to. It's the best way to be ahead of them, and not have to sneak around when I want to spend time with her."
She nodded, but Christian could tell she wasn't fully convinced, and he couldn't blame her for this one. He didn't want Grace to be the centre of attention, and he was hoping that having always been very private about his personal life, would keep her sheltered for a while.
Still, it surprised him, when she said, "Thank you, Christian. I know it must not be easy for you, and — "
"I told you, Ana. She's my child too. I might not be the father you'd want me to be, but I'm still her father."
She got up, before kissing his cheek, and as she straightened her clothes, she let him know, "You know, I'm sure that's all that will matter to her in the end. The fact that you're trying. I know I'm far from being the perfect mother, but I try and I show her that I care."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
The couple of weeks they had to spend in the hospital passed as a blur for Christian. In addition to him being focused on his upcoming trip to Singapore, he was also still running things for the New York office, even though Ros was doing her best to keep him away from work since he was still 'in convalescence.'
Ana called him every night for Grace's bedtime story after he was transferred to another ward, putting him on speaker. It was an initiative that completely came from her. The first day he didn't try to contact them, and in truth, he got so wrapped up in his work, that he forgot about them. Ana didn't say a thing about it, but she always made a point of texting him every night afterwards, warning him of the upcoming call for Grace's bedtime story.
Grace didn't seem much bothered that he no longer came to visit her. She did ask the first night if he was okay, but after he explained he was very busy, she didn't question it any longer. But she didn't argue with her mother either when he virtually joined their night-time ritual. In fact, she made fun of him when he tried to join in the reading of the story, and completely failed at making different voices, like Ana did.
Still, even though the girls were not necessarily in his mind 24/7, he was still anxious about telling the little girl about her parentage. Though he asked Ana repeatedly, neither of them knew how she was going to react to the discovery that he was her father. Ana was rather optimistic, but Christian couldn't help but remember the disappointment he saw on Grace's face when she didn't receive a fluffy toy from her 'Daddy.'
So, it was with this image in mind that he bought a teddy bear just as big as Grace as a gift. First, because he had noticed that she did not have any bear per se. She had all sorts of stuffed animals, but no bears, and he liked to think that Ana had done it on purpose, to give him the opportunity to do what she had asked of him in her letter.
And now, he was standing in front of their door in the middle of the afternoon, his heart beating much faster than it should. After all, he was just telling his kid that he was her father, no big deal. He wasn't confessing to any crime, nor was he trying to bluff his way into a contract. He shouldn't feel so anxious over something so mundane.
Ana opened the door with a bright smile, though she shook her head in amusement when she saw the toy in his hands. He walked in, and heard Grace before even seeing her, "Is he here? But Mama, we haven't made the lasagna yet!"
She ran into the living room, stopping when she saw Christian, relief washing over her face, "Oh, it's just you."
"Hi, Grace."
Her eyes narrowed, looking at the toy he was holding, and she quickly turned her head to her mother, tears welling up in her bright blue eyes, "Is he not coming?"
Ana promptly took her daughter in her arms and kissed her cheek. Then, she sat on the sofa with her, leaving the armchair to Christian, and, after glancing at him briefly, she explained, "The thing is, your father has come to see you many times. We just didn't want to upset you before going to the hospital. You have noticed that Christian has come to visit you so many times and brought you this teddy bear today. Well, it is because... well, because he is your dad."
Grace turned her head to Christian, who tried to smile in a non-awkward way as he presented the toy to Grace. She grasped it by the arm (given the fact that she couldn't decently take it in her arms), but there was no conviction in her gesture. Christian could tell she only accepted it out of politeness. And what she said afterwards just confirmed Christian's thoughts.
"Thank you for the toy, daddy."
He couldn't be sure of what he hated the most: the formal tone she just used or the fact that this word he had longed to hear in her voice sounded extremely wrong in this moment. He saw Ana looking at him, but he hid his unhappiness with a smile and was grateful when she took over because he had no idea of what to say.
"Grace, honey, do you have any questions?"
"Can I go to my room?"
Ana let her go, and Grace walked out of the living room, leaving the teddy bear behind her, and failing at concealing her tears as she walked away. Christian looked at the disregarded toy, reading into that simple gesture Grace had made. He had always seen her with a stuffed animal, and she had always been proud of them. But this time, she had just left the toy behind, because it had no significance to her.
He got up at the same time as Ana did, but it was obvious they didn't have the same intentions. He was ready to leave, and she stopped him by taking his hand. "What are you doing?"
"Giving her space. She obviously — "
"Running away is not the solution, Christian. You should talk to her."
"'Talk to her'? Did we just witness the same thing? Maybe you don't care, but I am getting tired of seeing my kid cry because of me."
"Christian … How do you think she will feel if you're not here when she comes out of her room? Just give me five minutes, and she'll talk to you."
"I don't want you to force her into a relationship with me! I … just want to be her Dad. Not the man who brings tears in her eyes every time she sees him," he burst out, and she just squeezed his hand, using her other hand to calm him by caressing his cheek.
"That's what being a parent is. It's not just the highs. The lows are also here. We just have more lows than highs right now, but that will make us appreciate the good moments even more."
He closed his eyes, calming down under her touch, and admitting that she was right. He couldn't expect his life as a parent to be as rosy as movies depicted it. And this will just make him work even harder to create good moments in the future. Ana held his gaze until she was sure he wasn't going to leave, and then went in their daughter's room.
He stayed in the living room, mindlessly playing with the toy that Grace had refused, thinking of how she could ask her mother to never speak to him again or never see him again. Finally, after an hour of his brooding and anticipating the worst, Ana came out of the room.
"Well, I am going to start working on that lasagna. If you want to go and see her, she said she would be good."
He looked at her expectantly, hoping that she would give him some sort of insight of what he was walking into, but she just confidently smiled at him, subtly letting him know that she was not interfering in his relationship with Grace. So, he walked to his child's bedroom, the big teddy still in hand, and knocked on the door, before poking his head in.
The first thing he noticed, beside Grace being on the bed, was the fact that there were no more stuffed toys on her bed. They were all on a shelf by the small library she had, and Christian had no doubt that Ana was the one who arranged them to make it look natural. In fact, he was sure that Grace had thrown all her toys out of her bed as soon as she got in her room.
He cleared his throat, and walked to the bed, sitting on the floor with his useless toy in his hand. Grace was sitting on her bed, wiping tears from her eyes, and waiting for him to say something. For a moment, they remained silent, Grace continuously spilling silent tears, and finally, she cried out, her voice broken, "Why don't you like me?"
"What?! How could you think something like that?"
She sniffled, and all Christian could do was stare at her, wishing he could take her in his arms as Ana did earlier, but the memory of her crying her heart out when he tried to do so was still vivid in his mind.
"You only came to see me because I was sick, but we were always in the same country. Mama said my daddy lived in America, and when we came here, she said he was very busy. But you weren't that busy because you came to see us. Why didn't you come before I was sick? We were in the same country!"
New tears spilt from her eyes, and once again, Christian had to repress himself from reaching out to her. But as Grace wiped her tear-stained face with her hands, he promised to do everything he could so she would never cry because of him again.
"I'm so sorry, Grace. Your daddy is an idiot. That's what your mommy should have told you. But I'm here, now. And I'm not going anywhere."
She shook her head, unbelieving. "Mama said you were leaving soon. She said you had to work in … Singeipoor. You don't want to be with us."
"That's what she said?"
"No. She said you want to be with us, but you're busy. But I think she lied because she doesn't want me to cry."
Finally, Christian reached out for the little girl's face to wipe her never-ending tears, and though she didn't jump in his arms, she didn't recoil. The tears that had been silent until then turned into real cries, and he waited for her fit to pass, soothing her by patting her back.
"Your mommy would never lie to you," he assured her when her sobs calmed down, and she just looked down. "Grace …" He waited for her to look up, but she never did, keeping her eyes down.
"Sweetie, look at me." She did, and so he let her know, "I haven't been a very good Daddy, but I promise I will make it up to you. I will call you every night whilst I'm abroad, and when I come back to New York, I will spend time with you. We will go wherever you want and do whatever you want. We will do all the cool stuff little girls get to do with their daddies, okay?"
She nodded weakly, and Christian felt a glimpse of hope. Sure, it was going to be difficult, but at least she was willing to give him a chance. He cleared his throat and got up, but she looked up, and said in a whisper so low he had to listen very closely, "Do you want me to call you daddy? Mama said I don't have to."
In all honesty, he wanted her to call him daddy, but in the meantime, he didn't like the way it felt so foreign earlier when she said it. Besides, he'd had the conversation with Ana, and she had convinced him that it would be more meaningful if it naturally came from Grace.
"I want you to call me whatever you're comfortable calling me."
"I think it's weird. I always call you Christian or Mr Christian."
He smiled to reassure her that he didn't resent her, and she got out of her bed, eyeing the teddy bear disregarded on the floor. They remained silent for a moment before she looked up, a mischievous smile brightening her face.
"You know, I never had a toy as big as me. It makes me feel big."
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
In the week that followed the reveal, Christian did his best to come every night. Of course, since Grace had just come out of the hospital, there was always someone having dinner with them. Mary, Jose, Elena, Andrew, the Wilkss. And he discovered that Grace loved the attention … and the sweets. Ana had to police that, reminding the little girl that she should pace herself because she had been sick just a little while ago.
But the moments he liked the most were the bedtimes. The first night Grace asked him for a bedtime story, instead of Ana, his smile was so big that Ana kept repeatedly pointing it out later. Of course, he quickly abandoned the idea of making different voices, but Grace loved the fact that he could read in different languages.
He promised her that, when he would be in 'Singeipoor' he would read her Chinese fairy tales about dragons via Facetime, and now, she was so excited for him to go abroad so she could hear the story.
Of course, he had to tell Andrea to make sure to free half an hour every morning so he could read his daughter the bedtime story she wanted. And so, when he went to Singapore, he found himself narrating the tales of The Four Dragons between two meetings.
Grace seemed to really enjoy those moments, though she was really confused as to why it was morning where he was, when it was night where she was. He also let himself go with her, in the way he never really felt like he could with Ana, buying everything that made him think of his daughter. He particularly found pride in a glass dragon lamp that he was sure Grace would absolutely love.
And there was also the fact that Elliott had been right, Grace was bright, especially when it came to learning languages. Every night, she asked for him to teach her ten Chinese words, and was so proud when the next night she would recite them to him, all smug when Christian would praise her. In fact, he didn't want her thirst for languages to die down, and so he started looking for tutors online, so when he got back to New York, he could have this conversation with Ana.
And, things with Ana were… making him hopeful. They rarely talked, Grace usually snatching the iPad from her mother's hands when Christian would call, and monopolising his attention, but they texted a lot. And he was so grateful that Ana was an early bird. She would sleep whilst he was working, and text just before she went to bed, or just after she woke up, which worked perfectly for him.
Especially when her texts always brought a smile on his face. And Christian loved having this part of Ana back from before. There were a lot of things that changed about Ana after the surgery, and it only allowed Christian to understand how terrified she had been. Ana had not allowed herself to feel or even hope, guarding herself against the world, until she knew that her, their, daughter would make it.
Here is a picture of the view I have for the next couple of weeks. Next time I'm coming here, I want you and Grace to be by my side. -Christian
If I recall properly, nothing good came from you sending me beautiful pictures like this. In fact, if I recall, some sweets were denied… ;-) -Ana
If I get the baker in the end, I am willing to go on a diet and not get any sugar. It will be hard, but so will I 😏 -Christian
Keep on bragging … You just keep your views, and I'll keep my sweets. -Ana
You're always the one claiming that one should share. I'm just trying to share, so you would be in the sharing mood as well. -Christian
Stop making sexual innuendos and get to work. I have to go to bed. By the way, don't forget to call your parents. They called today so we can find a date for them to meet Grace, and I told them you would call. I think she should meet them with you around. ~ Ana
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
After his two weeks in Singapore, Christian had to go to Seattle for a week, before coming back to New York. He had many things to settle with Ros, and he had been postponing it for over two months since he had discovered that he had a kid. Moreover, he had realised that he needed additional support and that he needed to pull back a bit from running things from the forefront if he wanted to spend quality time with Grace.
Unlike Ana, Grace never hesitated on calling him out when he was on his phone when he spent time with her. Even during their nightly FaceTime for stories, there had been a couple of times when he answered texts whilst talking with her, and Grace expressed her displeasure in his practices.
Because he had always been hands-on for everything happening in his company, he couldn't suddenly retire and let someone work their ass off whilst reaping the benefits they're making. He needed to train someone, and he trusted no one more than Ros to find the perfect person.
He was running over a few documents, sipping on the early tea that Andrea had gotten him (since she refused to give him coffee 'so soon' after his operation), when Ros finally got into his office, holding a coffee cup of her own and looking rather exhausted.
"It feels like I haven't seen you in ages. Reminds me of when you were dating… When you started up the New York office," she said as a good morning, sitting in front of him and putting down some paperwork of her own. Though Christian never said anything, due to his inclination to stay as private as possible, Ros had picked up over the past not to talk about Ana and the period they had spent together. It always infuriated him, and she didn't like working with him when he was upset.
Christian barely looked up, used to Ros finding some way to be playfully mean, and as he looked over his agenda for the upcoming couple of days, he let her know, "You need to find me a replacement for you."
"If you want to fire me, Christian, this is not the best way to go at it. Why would I find a replacement for myself? I'm not stupid," Ros retorted, shaking her head and sipping on her coffee.
"Because I no longer want you as my COO."
He was still busy looking at his calendar, appreciating that Andrea had booked a half-hour slot for him to keep talking to Grace, even though he never asked her to do so. Ros didn't say anything, apparently waiting for him to say the fateful words, but when he remained silent, she asked for answers.
"Are you really firing me? Just like that?" Ros questioned, seeming to develop first signs of panic.
But Christian replied as deadpan as ever, "No. I want you as the new CEO of this company. But I need someone to replace you first as a COO."
Another small silence followed, during which Christian sent an email to Andrea for her to move a meeting that was supposed to happen tomorrow for the week after, and it was only when Ros broke the silence again that Christian looked up.
"Are you dying?"
"What?"
"Are you dying? You'd never give away your position as CEO unless you were dying. Is that why you were hospitalised? Is it cancer? I mean, you never said anything, and the statement you gave a few weeks ago was just bullshit. I just think that, if you're dying, you should — "
"I'm not dying, Ros," he cut her off from her rambling. She let out a relieved sigh and so he explained, "I just came to a moment in my life where I need to withdraw from the business a bit." She looked at him, confused, and he couldn't blame her. As she often pointed out, the office was his home and his penthouse just a very expensive storage room for his clothes and watches. He let out a heavy sigh, and let her know, "I just found out that I have a daughter. And I can't be the chairman and the CEO if I want to spend time with her."
"You have a kid?" Ros repeated with shock, and he just nodded, looking back on his iPad, searching for a picture of Grace, courtesy of Andrea who had scanned Grace's album and synced it to his devices.
But before she could see the picture, Ros asked, "Is it Angela's kid?"
Christian grimaced, annoyed that everyone immediately assumed that his daughter was the result of a fling, instead of being the result of the 'loving relationship' he portrayed for two years.
"No. She's Ana's. And her name is Grace," he said, showing a picture of the two brunettes covered in flour whilst baking. Ros took the iPad and awed, "Awww, she's so cute. Her name is Grace? Like your mother? How … I mean … it's been a while since you saw Ana and …"
"It's complicated," he eluded. "Bottom line is, my kid needed me, and that's why I went to New York and got operated on. I'm trying to keep the news at bay as long as I can. So keep that to yourself. So far, only my family and Andrea know.
But to get back to business, I need more personal time, and to do so, I need another you. I need a shark, someone hungry for more, someone who already had a life and won't mind the hours. Let's be honest, it is a lot."
Ros nodded, giving him back his tablet before she took her agenda out with a pen, and started scribbling things in it. Ros had always been more old-fashioned than Christian, preferring notebooks and agendas to the utility of a tablet.
"Well, how stingy do you want to be?" she asked, and when he gave her a look, she explained, "Because if you want real peace of mind, without driving me to the nuthouse with a burnout, you should hire two people. One for here, one for New York. And you should hire someone to take some weight off your shoulders when it comes to your other investments."
Christian frowned, not liking having to rely on so many people, especially all at once. Especially when it comes to his company. Ros must have felt his discomfort, because she added, "It's going to take time, anyway. You'll have plenty of time to dislike them and sack them if you want."
"That's for sure. Do you have anyone in mind that we can poach from some other company?"
"Well, if you're willing to wait, I think it's better to pluck young graduates. We could mould them as we want, and we won't have any residue from another company. We can start headhunting for promising scholars graduating this year, and the ones that just graduated. I'll get on it tonight."
"Good. Now, let's talk business."
Ros smiled, but before she started her usual brief, she let him know, "Thanks for the promotion, by the way. It means a lot to see that you do want to rely on me. I hope I'll get to see your little cutie soon."
"I hope so, too," he said, keeping for himself that ultimately, he was hoping to convince Ana and Grace to move in with him in Seattle.
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
It was Christian's last day in the Seattle office for a while, and as he rang his daughter on his iPad, he tried not to linger on how much he hated having to wish her goodnight via the tablet. Even though he still didn't get a goodnight kiss or a goodnight hug, he didn't like having to interact with her via social media. But at least he knew that Grace enjoyed their little talks. Ana had texted him several times that Grace always anticipated his calls, and she even sent a couple of sneaky videos showcasing Grace being all excited when her tablet would ring.
What he didn't expect was for Grace to pick up straight away, when Ana usually was the one to pick up first whilst Grace was getting comfy in her bed. This time, however, she was clearly not in her bed, and Christian immediately questioned her on that.
"Where are you, sweetie?"
"I'm at Tío Jose' house. Mama said I'm supposed to stay for two periods of sleep, and then I can go back home. Are you going to finish the story of the Dragon Princess, tonight?"
"Yes, of course. When we finish, could you pass the tablet to Jose?"
She nodded, and he first asked about her day. She let him know that in the morning, they went to the mall, so she could buy her school clothes. She was excited about it, and Christian didn't doubt it for a second, Grace loved to learn. She also explained to him why it was morning in China and night in New York, saying how happy she was that Uncle Karl explained it to her.
After ten minutes of small talk, she lied down, holding her Light Fury in her arms, and she told him, "The big teddy was too big, so Mama said I could only bring a smaller toy."
Every night, Christian had the joy of seeing his daughter fall asleep with the toy he had bought her, though it was highly impractical. Most of the bear was behind her, but one of its arms was safely secured in her small arms. At least, he felt that she didn't resent him anymore if she was sleeping with her stuffed animals again.
Once he finished the story, Grace was halfway on her way to Morpheus's world, but she still found the strength to ask, "When are you coming back?"
"Monday."
"You're going to miss lasagna night. Mama said she will be back for lasagna night."
"Are you going to save some for me?"
"No. But Tío Jose said he will make heirloom broccoli tomorrow night; I will ask him to save some for you."
Christian chuckled, noticing that Grace looked less sickly than when he first met her. To begin, she no longer had this yellowish colour on her skin. And now, her cheeks were less hollowed, and it no longer seemed that the skin hugged her bones. In his opinion, she still needed a few more pounds, but considering that the surgery had been more than a month ago, he thought she was on the right path.
She yawned, before calling, "Tío Jose! Christian wants to say goodnight to you."
Christian heard someone coming in the room, and Jose appeared on the screen, kissing Grace's cheek. He took the iPad, but Grace stopped him for a second, "Wait! Goodnight, Christian."
"Sweet dreams, Grace. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
He waited for Jose to move to another room, hoping that Ana's friend would be cooperative, and even more that she wasn't on a date or something. Though he had already done it several times, he checked his phone, just to make sure that Ana hadn't texted him with the reason why she had left their daughter with her Godfather. Finally, Jose stabilised the iPad on what seemed to be a kitchen table.
"So, I gather she didn't take my advice, and let you know …"
"Let me know what?!"
Jose glanced up, though Christian had no idea what he was looking at, before Ana's trademark serious look stared back at him, and let him know, "She flew to LA early in the afternoon. Mary died last night, and the funeral is tomorrow. She couldn't take Grace, because well … despite the operation, she feels Grace is still a bit young to go to a funeral."
Christian remained silent for a second, checking his phone yet again to see if Ana had contacted him. "Does Grace know?"
"Not yet. Ana will tell her when she comes back with the urn. It's the first time Grace is having a sleepover; she didn't want to upset her even more with the news that her Grams was dead."
Christian nodded, agreeing with Ana's logic. Though he had only seen them together once, Grace seemed pretty attached to the old eccentric woman. She was in fact very excited to prepare Thanksgiving with her in a couple of months.
"Thank you for letting me know, Jose. I'll call Grace tomorrow in the morning if that's okay."
"Of course. I won't tell her though, it will be a surprise, then."
Once again, Christian nodded, and just as he was about to hang up, Jose added, "Christian … she kept a facade for Grace, but she didn't take the news well. I just thought you should know."
Jose disappeared from the screen, and Christian was left with his thoughts. Andrea popped her head, letting him know that Ros and the board were waiting for him for the end of the week review, and he got out of his office chair, his phone in hand. He hesitated for a moment, before stopping on the spot and trying to call Ana, just to hear for himself how she was doing. After all, Ana had always been strong, and grief didn't seem like something that affected her.
Christian looked at his phone once again, willing it to light up with Ana's number. It was her last day in LA, and he had no idea if she was going to come to his place when she came back to New York. On the phone, she didn't seem that affected by the death of her friend, Ann; she didn't even ask him to fly to her for support.
He knew that everyone dealt with grief differently, and maybe she would want to stay on her own for a while, which deeply disturbed him. Though he would understand, he liked the idea that she would rely on him to comfort her. That's what boyfriends did, no matter how fake they were.
He fell asleep trying to catch the sound of her coming back. She never even told him when her flight was back to New York. He woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty as if he had just run a marathon. He went to the kitchen but found Ana curled up on the sofa, watching some old rerun.
She turned to him, looking the same as usual, though she seemed a bit more tired, and he waited for her to mention the death of her friend. But she never did, though she made a point in inviting him under her blanket, to watch reruns with her. And he was certainly not going to pass the opportunity of having her so close to him.
With a sigh, he pressed Ana's icon on his phone, hoping against all odds that she would pick up, but as expected, she didn't answer. He left his office and told Andrea to find him a flight to LA as soon as his day was over. Though his gut was telling him to leave it as it was and wait for Ana to tell him when she was ready, his brain only focused on two things.
One, the fact that Ana's best friend, the man who might as well be her brother, clearly stated that she did not take the news well. The second was that Ana never really told him about Ann when she died. He had called at an inopportune time. He was sure that if he hadn't called, she never would have told him.
❌PLEASE DO NOT COPY, DOWNLOAD OR SHARE THIS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE❌
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚 So, yes, this is a cliffhanger, because I am evil like that. I really wanted a cliffhanger on this one, because of how the next chapter is going. 😈😈
1. How do you feel about Grace's reaction?
2. Did you notice that little thing that changed between Christian and Grace?
3. What do you think Christian will do?
4. And I killed Mary ... So, if you recall, last story, I made a point on telling you that Ann's death was necessary and that it was important to remember how both Ana and Christian reacted ... well ...
5. As per usual, what was your favourite part?
6. And what do you think will happen next?
💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).
Love, Mina 💚💚💚