AN: this is Madison's friend updating still. my dad's nose break was much more severe than we thought. But he made it through surgery just fine. He's on his way home now.
It turns out I misunderstood a direction that Madison gave me. Now that I figured it out things are going much more smoothly. And I'm so excited that my dad is doing well. I decided to bless you all with another update. In case you read Madison's other stories. I'm going to try to update all five of them again today. But I may not get it done before he gets home. And if I don't it'll be in the middle of the night at least before I get back to updating the stories.
Chpt. 7: Christian's POV:
"Yes mother, I will be there tonight" I sigh.
"And I expect you to stay behind the opening ceremony. At least stay for dinner Christian" she begs.
"I will try, but it business calls-" I begin.
"Don't give me that, Christian! There will be no work emergency tonight; it's a Saturday night and all your employees would have left for the night if they even worked today. If you leave early due to a work emergency I will have no choice but to assume you created one" she interrupts.
"I will be there" I realize I am not losing this battle.
"Try to enjoy yourself this evening Christian, it's for a good cause" she says.
"I will; see you tonight" I hang up.
I realize the charity ball tonight is for a good cause; that's why I would rather just write a check to the charity and not attend it. These events are always dull; women will basically eye fuck me and the men just want me to provide them with free business advice. Typically I spend no more than an hour at these types of events and then excuse myself saying something at the office needs my immediate attention. Clearly my mother is on to me though; I wonder if I can come up with a new excuse? Something tells me no matter what the excuse she would see right through it.
"Taylor!" I call.
"Yes sir?" Taylor enters my office moments later.
"I will be attending the charity ball tonight at my parent's house" I say.
"Yes sir, I will have the car ready for you. Will you need anything else?" he asks.
"Please have Gail get my tux ready; also please let her know I would prefer a late lunch today since dinner will be served at the ball" I direct.
"Yes sir" he walks out of my office.
I spend the rest of the afternoon reviewing the financial records for a company that Ros has suggested we look into purchasing. The financial records look fairly promising despite the obvious mismanagement of funds; they have a decent amount of revenue coming in monthly, just too much overhead and expenses. I read through the summary report Ros submitted outlining the problem areas she has identified and her recommendations for immediate corrections to bring the bottom line back into the positive.
Several hours later, Taylor and I are on our way to my parents' house. As usual, my mother has gone all out with this event and truly transformed the backyard to an elegant ball. I am always surprised at just how the yard is transformed for events like this. From the large white tents, to the dance floor to the stage everything is perfectly arranged and looks as if it belongs in a magazine. This charity is very close to my parents' hearts, they always make sure it only the best is provided for this ball. My biological mother had a significant drug problem when I was young and it eventually took her life. This charity aims to provide support to women struggling with drug addiction who also have children in the home. The charity provides therapy to the entire family in an effort to keep the family together while the mother works on her recovery. Most drug rehabilitation services are designed only for adults and do not take into consideration parents with children. Therefore parents are typically left with the choice of going to rehab and taking care of their children. If they have no family support, who will watch their child when they are in rehab? I know very little about my biological mother and have no idea if she had any desire to end her drug addiction but I fully support this charity for wanting to aid those mothers who do want to begin their recovery.
The evening starts like every other event my mother hosts; plenty of uptight people walking around kissing ass to those they want to impress. I only half listen to most of the guests tonight, trying desperately to tune them out and just get through the night until I am satisfied my mother will not be mad if I left. I hope she does not expect me to stay all evening; I think staying through dinner should be sufficient. She can't possibly expect me to stay through the fireworks, could she? Cutting me off from my thoughts the DJ announces the first dance auction is about to start. Personally I hate this part of the ball; why would you pay an obscene amount of money for a dance? I mean I get that it's all for charity, but why not just ask for donations? At least with the silent auction you end up purchasing an item or a service; this is just a dance. My mother says the dance auction brings in significant donations which is the reason she continues to conduct it every year. What do I know; event planning is definitely not my thing.
I stay towards the back of the stage area enjoying the spectacle of the DJ's attempt at auctioning off women. He is obviously making up characteristics about each girl, but I give him credit for putting some humor into the action. Elliot stands up quickly when it is his date's turn for the auction and I decide to give him a little run for his money and begin outbidding him. After a good laugh, I stop bidding and allow him to place the winning bid of $25,000 for a dance with his date for the evening. Just as I'm about to turn away, the DJ introduces the next girl up for auction and I immediately freeze. I swear the woman on the stage is Rose, although he introduces her as Ana which I suppose could be her real name if Rose was an alias. Moving closer to the stage I am convinced more than ever that the beautiful woman in front of me is Rose; she looks exactly as she did in Taiwan. I snap out of my shock, realizing that others are bidding on my Rose…wait did I just say my Rose?
"Fifty thousand" I say sternly.
"Seventy-five thousand" says a male voice from across the room.
I search the crowd quickly to find the man who bid such a large amount and my eyes immediately land on an overweight middle aged man whom I know from one of the BDSM clubs. When I wasn't finding fulfillment at the one club in Seattle, I decided to try a different club. Upon walking into the club I quickly realized that the club was not for me as there were too few private rooms which resulted in couples engaging in sexual activity in the open. Despite a large fee to enter, the facility was set up in very poor taste in my opinion. I only stayed for one drink but during that time I recall seeing this same man engaging in a fairly brutal discipline scene with a very young sub in the middle of room. He seemed to be trying to impress the audience rather than focusing on his sub who was in obvious discomfort.
"One hundred and fifty thousand dollars" I call out essentially ending this auction.
As I assumed, the man across the room did not counter my bid not that it would have mattered because I would have bid much higher to keep Rose or Ana away from him. There is no way that my sweet and innocent Rose belongs with a man like him. Not after how brutal he was with the sub who barely looked of age. I realize she consented but to me he was too much into how the scene looked to others instead of focusing on the needs of his sub which is the only job he has as a dom. I personally do not see the appeal of public scenes but I know there are plenty of couples who find having an audience to be erotic.
I make my way over to the auction table so I can write the donation check for my winning dance bid. Several of the women at the table swoon over me and compliment me at the rather large sum of money I donated for the dance. A donation of this large amount is rarely seen at an event like this, even for the silent auction items. Finally breaking away from all the fuss, I begin to walk towards the stage area to try to find Rose again. I can't see her through the crowd, but I'm sure she would have stayed near the stage area given that the band is setting up to begin the first dance song. Finally getting closer to the stage steps, I set eyes on the woman who has haunted my dreams for almost a year now. Much to my disbelief, she is talking to the man I just outbid for the dance! Rage immediate courses through me as I approach them, but decide to step back and listen to their conversation. If this is her dom, I will not interfere as it would be in bad taste for me to do so.
Conversation overheard…
"What a surprise to see you here Miss…." He says.
"Yes, as it is you" she answers, omitting her name.
"I would be honored to have a dance with you" he states.
"I don't think so, I need to find-" she begins.
"Excuse me for interrupting" I say cutting her off. "I believe we should take the dance floor for the first dance."
"Of course, please excuse me" she says, however the shock is evident in her eyes.
I take her hand and immediately feel a zap of electricity the moment our hands connect. I escort her to the middle of the dance floor and pull her close to me as the music begins. Her eyes are still wide with surprise as I'm sure she struggles to find the words which I am finding myself struggle with as well.
"Ana is it?" I ask remember the name the DJ used to introduce her.
"Yes, well…Anastasia but I prefer Ana" she says quietly.
"Christian" I introduce myself.
"I can't believe you're here" she whispers.
"I never thought I would see you again," I admitted. "I tried to find you but…"
"You couldn't find any record of Rose being at the club that night I assume?" she asks.
"Right…I had nothing else to go on" I sighed.
"I thought about finding you too," she admits quietly. "But with only an alias and only knowing that you live somewhere in the states I had nothing to go on."
"Please tell me you haven't been in Seattle the entire time, so close to me" I say.
"No, actually I just moved here a couple of weeks ago from New York" she says.
"Thank you ladies and gentleman for your participation in the first dance" the DJ says interrupting us. "If you would please find your seats, dinner is being served."
"I guess I should go" she says quietly.
"Can I talk to you after dinner?" I quickly ask, not wanting to let her out of my site but seeing as dinner is being served I don't have much of an option.
"I would like that" she smiles at me.
I walk her to her table where I am surprised to learn that she has already met my brother seeing as though his date is her best friend. I give her a gentle kiss on the cheek as she sits down which immediately causes her to blush before returning to my table. I sit down in shock; I can't believe I found her. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would have run into her tonight especially not at my parents' house.
Same Day: Ana's POV
"Ana, how do you know Christian?" Elliot asks as Christian leaves our table.
"We ran into each other while in Taiwan actually" I say smiling at the memory.
"What were you doing in Taiwan Ana?" Kate asks.
"Dad asked me to look into a space there that he was interested in but was unable to visit in person" I explain. "I have always wanted to go to Taiwan so I decided to make a small trip out of it and spent five days there. Two days before I left, I met Christian in a local bar."
"I remember that trip, Christian was pissed he had to go there because the owners of the shipping yard refused to deal with Ros because she is a woman" Elliot explains.
"What?!" Kate exclaims.
"It's a cultural thing, Kate. I ran into it when I was there trying to gather information for my dad too. The trip was useless for my dad since I really wasn't able to gather the information he wanted except for the geographically layout of the company" I say.
"What does your dad do Ana?" Elliot asks as we begin eating our main courses.
"He is in manufacturing and distribution. He was interested in warehouse space that he thought was in a key location however he has since decided to purchase space elsewhere" I explain.
We continue with small talk over dinner and every so often I find Christian watching me. We make eye contact and smile at each other; I think we are both still in shock that we found each other. Christian is exactly how I remembered him and doesn't look a bit different despite almost a year passing. I wasn't surprised when he said his name wasn't Taylor, as I had long ago assumed it was an alias. Never did I expect to find him again; I had pretty much given up hope that we would ever see each other. I have butterflies in my stomach as I think of the possibilities now that we have found each other. I'm getting ahead of myself though, I don't know that he even lives in this city or if he has a sub currently. If he has a sub I will not be involved with him until that relationship is terminated. When the dance auction first ended I was afraid that the overweight middle aged man from the BDSM club had placed the winning bid. I was trying to come up with an excuse to get out of the dance when Christian interrupted us seeing as though he had been the one to place the winning bid.
"May I have this dance?" Christian asks approaching me as soon as dinner is finished.
"Of course" I take his hand to stand up.
As we approach the dance floor I see Kate and Elliot whispering back and forth while staring at us. I'm sure both are dying to know more about how we met in Taiwan but there is no way I'm having that discussion with either of them.
Christian dances me around the dance floor through several songs, however we don't talk to one another. I'm not sure exactly what to say; I don't know if he felt the strong attachment to me that I felt to him. I doubt that he has thought about me as much as I have thought about him over the months. I desperately want to know if he is still involved in the lifestyle, if he has a sub or if decided the scene is not for him any longer but this is obviously not the place to have that conversation. It was obvious in Taiwan we were both knew to the lifestyle as we both had a certain amount of nervousness that was evident in our exchange those two nights. The thought of him having a sub now disgusts me; although I haven't technically had a dom since Taiwan I was involved in a scene with one.
"I know this is sudden but I would love to take you somewhere more private so we can talk" he whispers.
"I would like that very much" I reply.
"I need to tell my mother I'm leaving, will you wait for me?" He asks shyly.
"Of course, I need to let Kate know as well seeing as though I came with her and Elliot" I answer.
"Let Kate know that I will see that you get home safely" He says walking away.
"Kate?" I approach Kate and Elliot on the dance floor.
"Everyone okay Ana?" Elliot asks.
"Yes, it's fine" I answer. "Christian and I are going to leave, he will drive me back to the hotel tonight."
"Oh?" she says smiling.
"We're going to catch up Kate" I giggle knowing exactly where her mind is.
"Sure" Kate laughs and returns to her dance with Elliot.
I return to my table to crab my clutch while I wait for Christian. I can't help but wonder what he is thinking…
"May I have this dance?" a voice interrupts my thoughts.
I look up and am immediately disappointed when I see the man from the club again. I swear he must be following me tonight.
"I'm sorry, I was getting ready to leave actually" I explain.
"How about a quick dance and then I drive you home? I'm sure I could make the ride worth while for you" he smirks.
"I don't think so, now if you will excuse me" I stand up searching for Christian.
"Oh come on…we both know we would be good together" he says grabbing my wrist.
"Let go of me" I say through gritted teeth. "If you don't I will drop you to your knees so fast you won't know what hit you."
"I might enjoy it" he says smugly but let's go of my wrist.
"I wouldn't doubt it" I quickly walk away disgusted.
"There you are" Christian says from behind me as I walk towards the bar. "I went to your table but you weren't there."
"Sorry" I say downing a glass of wine. "I had some unwanted company."
"Is it the guy from earlier?" Christian says angrily.
"Yes" I answer.
"Are you with him Anastasia?" he asks bitterly.
"No!" I exclaim quickly. "I swear I have never been involved with him!"
"Good," he sighs running his fingers through his hair.
God I've missed that hair, I remember running my fingers through it the second night we were together.
"Shall we?" he asks taking my hand in his.
"Please" I follow his lead out to the driveway where a black Audi SUV is waiting.
"Ana this is my head of security and driver, Taylor. Taylor, this is Ana" he introduces us with a slight smirk on his face as I blush remembering the name.
"Ma'am" Taylor says opening the door for us.
"Would you mind if we went back to my place? I think we need privacy to talk further; I don't want to risk going somewhere public…" Christian says.
"No, that's fine. I understand" I answer.
"Taylor, to Escala" Christian directs.
"Wait! Escala? As in the apartment building?" I ask shocked.
"Yes, why?" Christian asks.
"I am in the process of purchasing a condo in that building" I laugh.
"You're kidding?" he smiles.
"No, I close in two weeks" I explain.
"What condo did you purchase?" he asks.
"The junior penthouse" I answer.
"I cannot believe it" he says. "After meeting you half way across the world I lose you; now I found you not only are you living in the same city as me but you are moving into the same building."
"What are the odds?" I laugh.
We ride in a comfortable silence to Escala where Taylor drops us off at the front entrance while he parks the car. We take the elevator to the penthouse and I am immediately taken back by the vast size of this condo. It has clearly been updated; there is beautiful marble tile floor throughout the entryway and a curved staircase is just off the foyer.
"Wow, this is amazing Christian" I say in awe.
"Thank you" he says. "Shall we go into the great room? Would you like a drink?"
"Yes please" I follow him into a very large tastefully decorated room.
Christian turns on the gas fireplace before leaving the room to get us drinks. I find myself very nervous suddenly; I don't know what he is thinking right now.
"White wine okay?" He says interrupting my thoughts.
"Yes, that's fine" I take the glass as he sits on the couch.
"So…." He begins.
"Your brother asked me how we met" I begin as his face pales. "I told him we met in a bar when we were both in Taiwan for business. I'm guessing your family doesn't know about your involvement…"
"No they don't" he says relaxing. "Thank you for not telling him the truth."
"Kate doesn't know either" I say.
"I have to ask...do you currently have a dom?" He asks suddenly.
"No" I answer. "Are you currently…do you have a…."
"No, I'm not involved with anyone and I don't have a sub" he answers realizing what I'm trying to ask.
"Good" I say under breath but seeing him smile I realize he heard me.
"Have you had many doms since Taiwan?" He asks.
"No….really only one on one occasion" I answer.
"What do you mean one occasion?" he asks.
"I visited a club in New York right before I moved here and was involved in a scene with a dom however that was the extent of it" I explain.
"I see" he says quietly.
"Can I ask the same question of you?" I ask; I'm unsure my role here and what I should be asking.
"Similar to you, I have engaged in a couple scenes with different subs in a club but never more than once" he answers.
"Oh" I say.
"Ana" he sighs. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since Taiwan; I don't know what it is but the brief time we spent together has formed this incredible memory with me."
"I feel the same way Christian" I say relieved. "I felt so connected to you even after that first night; I've thought about you constantly. When I went to the club in New York I was trying to find someone to recreate that closeness with."
"And did you?" he asks shyly.
"No, the opposite actually. I had one scene with a dom who was nice and all but I left feeling used once the scene was over" I admit.
"I think I was trying to find the same thing here" he says. "I kept thinking I needed to find the right sub to recreate the intensity that we shared but after two scenes with two different subs I left feeling unsatisfied."
"Can I ask you something?" I ask after a few moments of silence.
"Anything" he answers.
"Do you think the intensity and closeness we felt was because we were both so new to the lifestyle or do you think it's because we were such a good match? I've wondered about that…" I say.
"I don't think it was because we were new; I would think if that were it we would have felt at least one sided closeness to our next partners and It's obvious neither of us felt that" he answers taking my hands in his.
"True" I sigh.
"How did you know that guy?" he asks.
"What guy?" I'm confused.
"The one who was talking to you before we left" he says.
"Oh him" I say with disgust. "When I first arrived in Seattle, my life was hectic and I felt it was spinning out of control. I was desperate; I thought if I found a BDSM club and perhaps participated in a scene I would feel more in control. I had so much going on with work at the moment I couldn't risk being out of control; there was too much riding on it. I found the name of a few clubs and decided to visit one. Immediately when I entered the main room I knew it wasn't my scene; but I decided to at least have a drink before I left. That's when that guy approached me; it was obvious he had just finished a scene with someone as he was still panting and his clothing was a mess. He tried to get me to engage in a scene with him in the main room, which is when I left. I had no idea here would be here tonight."
"Club Risque?" he asks.
"Yes, you've heard of it?" I answer.
"I went there once as well, only to quickly realize it was not a place I wanted to be affiliated with. I saw that man involved in a very public scene with a very young sub that he was administering a punishment on" he explains.
"I can't say I'm surprised" I sigh.
"So you are still interested in the lifestyle?" he asks after a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Yes" I answer.
"I had a room built upstairs that is almost a perfect replica of the one from Taiwan" he says shyly.
"Really?" I say trying to hide my sudden excitement.
"Yes, I mean I've upgrade the quality of a few items like the bedding and furniture but otherwise it's pretty much the same room that we shared in Taiwan" he describes. "It's never been used."
"Wait…you have a playroom upstairs but you've never used it?" I'm shocked; if you have a room upstairs why even bother with a club I wonder.
"When I had the room installed I thought I would find a sub that I was compatible with at the club and then discuss a more private arrangement where our scenes would occur here. I don't like the risk of being scene in a club by someone that I might run into in work" he explains.
"I understand" I say. "I've had those same fears. It was why I chose Club Risque; it was outside of Seattle so I figured my chances of running into someone I would do business with would be minimal."
"I don't know where you're at right now…." he pauses. "I would very much like to show you the room upstairs and perhaps…"
"I would like that very much" I interrupt.
"We should probably exchange limits first; I have updated mine since Taiwan and I'm sure you have as well" he says.
"Yes. I have a secure thumb drive with me; my list is on there if I could use a computer to print it?" I ask.
"Of course, I also have a NDA form on my computer that perhaps we both can sign?" he asks.
"That's fine" I walk into a very large office; probably as large as the master bedroom in the condo I'm buying.
I quickly sit behind his enormous desk as he fires up his computer. His office is tastefully decorated with various pieces of artwork on the walls and another gas fireplace. His desk is covered in files and paperwork, clearly showing that he was working on something today. His shelves are filled with several business books and I make a mental note to ask him later what he does for a living. I quickly locate my file and print out the list of limits as Christian hits a button on the computer and prints his list. We both sign NDAs and exchange lists.
"Ana?" he asks looking confused as he reads my list.
"Yes?" I hold my breath fearing that I may have adapted my limit list too much and perhaps we are no longer as compatible as we once were.
"You have listed sexual intercourse as a hard limit?" he asks quietly.
"Oh, that" I laugh and blush deeply. "It took me a really long time to get up the courage to finally engage in a scene with another dom after our time together in Taiwan. Although I very much wanted a scene, to give up complete control to someone again, I couldn't stomach the thought of having sex with a stranger. I thought that perhaps if the scene went well and I felt a connection then I would remove it from my hard limit but I never felt the connect and never tried another scene."
"But it's no longer a hard limit?" he asks shyly and doesn't make eye contact me.
"No, it's not-not with you" I blush again realizing what he's asking.
"I'm glad to hear that" he lets out a breath.
"I think we've both added a couple items that are the same" I say reading his list of limits. "Both of us added scenes in public along with public humiliation as hard limits."
"Yes, I imagine we both added it after our visit to Club Risque?" he asks.
"I was really turned off by the amount of activity going on in that room" I admit.
"Do you agree that our limits are still compatible?" he asks after a few moments.
"Yes" I say nervously.
"Would you like to join me upstairs?" he asks without making eye contact.
"Yes" I take a deep breath and follow him upstairs.