AN: This is still Madison's friend. Today, 11/16/21, I was able to update 2 of her stories. But some people in the comments have not been very happy with the speed in which I am updating the stories. When I volunteered to update Madison's stories. I did it in good faith. Thinking that I would have all of her stories updated to completion by now. However I did not realize at the time that my personal life would completely implode. And that things would get so much worse. I promise you I am doing the very best I can. But after the negative comments on my update speed. I realize that my best is NOT good enough for some of you. So, I have a question for you. So, I am updating all of Madison stories again today. With this message. So that you Madison's readers may vote on how we proceed in the future.
My question is, do you want to continue with me updating the stories as I am able to? Or do you want me to send the stories back to Madison, for her to update at her convenience? I will wait 72 hours before I do anything. So, the most people have a chance to vote.
If you read Unwritten. I have not forgotten to update it. There's a problem with 1 of the chapters. I'm waiting on Madison to correct it at her convenience. It happens to be the next chapter in the story.
Chpt. 26 CPOV
"Am I only one who thinks this is odd?" I ask. "We're here to meet a client that we know nothing about to discuss a project we know nothing about…"
"The woman who set up the meeting said everything would be discussed tonight; according to the attorney I spoke with the NDA is standard and doesn't commit us to any project now or in the future with this potential client," Elliot explains.
"But why the secrecy? Why not just say who they client is and what they want?" Taylor asks.
"I don't know," Elliot shrugs. "All I was told that the client just finalized an acquisition with another company in Seattle and will be relocating to a new office space that they want renovated. My guess is the secrecy has something to do with the acquisition."
"That sounds reasonable," Ana chimes in.
Two days ago a woman called our office looking to set up a meeting with a potential new client; she was clear that she wanted the meeting to be with the three owners and our interior designer. She was also clear in that the name of the client and details of the project could not be revealed until our meeting and only then after we all agreed to sign a NDA. We reserved a private room at a local restaurant that we've used a couple times over the years on occasion; never for a meeting quite like this though. When we first sat down to discuss the potential new client we all agreed since we know next to no information about the client or the project that we didn't want to meet at our office. We scheduled the meeting at the restaurant and informed sent the information to the very vague email address we were provided. The four of us arrived here early to set the tone of the meeting; we may have agreed to this mysterious meeting but we're not going to be blindsided after this. For a project to be successful we need to be open and the client must be honest with us, neither of which this mystery conveys.
"Right through here sir," I hear the waitress say as the door to the private dining room opens.
The four of us stand in preparation to greet the person coming through the door, though when she steps aside the person who walks through the door is the last person I expected to see tonight.
"Oh hell no," I mutter as Carrick enters the room.
"Is this some kind of a joke?" Elliot is the first to address our father.
"It's no joke," Carrick says raising his hands as if surrendering.
"You set up a business meeting under the disguise of wanting to hire us for a project, but it's really because you wanted to get us in one room," I argue knowing that Elliot hasn't returned his phone calls or text messages just as I haven't.
"No," Carrick quickly answers. "Regardless of what you may think of me, I did not schedule this meeting just to talk to the four of you."
"Like hell you didn't," I say.
"I'm not going to lie," he ignores my comment. "Yes, I'm hoping that tonight we can address the elephant in the room and that you'll allow me to apologize…to all four of you. But, even if that does not happen I do have a project I would like to hire you for."
"Why would you want to hire us?" Taylor asks.
"I….can we sit?" he gestures to the table. Elliot looks to me questioningly; I shrug my shoulders having no idea what the hell to make of this. I glance at Ana and Taylor, but I can't tell from either of their reactions what they're thinking. Elliot nods and we all take our seats around the table. "I have a case I'm working on right now, with a young girl who went through a very traumatic experience. A very competent plastic surgeon in the area donated his time and resources to help this young girl. As part of our litigation process, I had to ask him to testify in court about…what he treated her for and the extent of treatment required. We've been working together over the last couple of weeks preparing his testimony for the upcoming trial. We met in person last week; up until then our meetings were over the phone. At the end of the meeting he asked if I was related to the owners of ECJ Construction, who it turns out had just completed an extensive remodel on several of his offices."
"Dr. Thompson," Ana realizes.
"Yes," Carrick nods. "Dr. Thompson spoke incredibly highly everyone, but in particular you Ana and the work you had done on both of his offices. He showed me pictures on his website of the remodel and redesign of the space your company had done on both of his offices. Over the last couple of years I…I didn't pay enough attention to your business I hate to admit. When we all spoke, it was always about the business side of your company and not necessarily about the work you actually did. Until that moment I hadn't seen any before and after pictures of your projects. I was taken back in that moment when Dr. Thompson showed me the differences you all did in his offices."
"His remodel wasn't very extensive," Taylor explains. "We opened a few walls up to create a more inviting space in both offices, constructed built in storage areas in each room and then he worked with Ana on the design aspect to create the vision that he wanted."
"What is it you're looking to have done?" Elliot asks. "The woman who called, your assistant I assume, mentioned something about a new office and an acquisition?"
"Yes, the announcement will be made in the next two weeks but my firm will be merging with another law firm in Seattle which we believe will move us to be one of the top personal injury firms in the state. In preparation for this merger, I will be leasing several floors of a large office building downtown. Right now the floors are empty; it's a completely blank slate. I would like to hire you to design and develop the site."
"Even though you think that Ana is trying to take the company from us, you want to hire us?" I can't hide the anger in my voice.
"Until the day I die, I will regret my reaction to your announcement," he looks directly at Ana. "I cannot apologize enough to you, to any of you, for what I said that day."
"What changed?" I bark. "Out of the blue you suddenly realize that Ana is not after our business and our money? What about us?" I gesture towards Taylor and Ana.
"If you can't accept their relationship, there will be no project with us," Elliot surprises me by saying. "The four of us work together, we consult on all projects; this isn't something that you can only have one or two of us working on."
"I wouldn't ask you to do that," he says. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted to your announcement Christian; I'm sorry that I assumed you were after the company and their money Ana and Taylor I'm sorry that I thought you would betray Christian. I'm sorry for what I said that day to the three of you and to you Elliot. While it's no excuse the lawyer in me always jumps and assumes the worst; I reacted as a lawyer and not as a father that day and for that I will never be able to apologize enough. You asked me what changed Christian and I'm sure it's no surprise to you, but your mother kicked my ass the moment you left that day. She made me realize I was a complete ass to all of you and…how my words were said."
"You mean when you said that it would matter who the father was when the three of us have a child together?" I raise my voice, not caring whether or not anyone outside the room can hear us. Ana reaches under the table and takes my hand in hers, squeezing it gently.
Knock knock.
"Your dinner is ready," the wait staff enter the room and place dishes in front of each of us. The tension can be felt throughout the room as we all sit in silence and wait for the wait staff to leave.
"I was wrong that day and I can't say that enough," Carrick starts the moment the door closes. "I tried putting myself in your shoes and it took your mother handing me my ass that night for me to realize I can't do that. I can't put myself in your shoes, because I'm not you. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to understand how Ana you can love these two equally-"
"I do," she interrupts quickly.
"I know you do, I can see that and you were right to put me in my place that day," he says. "I may not be able to understand how someone can love two people the same, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It doesn't mean that you love either of them less. I don't understand how your relationship works, but that's none of my business-"
"Damn straight it's not," I agree firmly.
"As your father though I should have supported your choice," he says. "I will support your relationship, no matter how much or how little I understand of it. Just because it wouldn't be something I would do doesn't mean I won't support you."
"Mr. Grey, it's not like the three of us set out for this type of a relationship," Ana points out. "We didn't wake up one day and say lets complicate things and fall in love with two people at the same time. Honestly, if you would have asked me if I could ever love two people equally a few years ago I would have told you it's not possible. I wouldn't have understood how a triad would work. But, then I met Christian and Taylor and everything I thought I knew changed."
I can't help myself as I lean in and kiss Ana, appreciating her words. As soon as I release her lips, Taylor encourages her to turn her head towards him so he can kiss her. Are we pressing our luck? Probably; but fuck it. I'm not hiding who I am to my father; he either accepts our relationship or he doesn't.
"The point is this is who we are," I say. "We're not going anywhere; we've bought a house together, we've proposed to Ana and we will be getting married."
"Your mother told me, congratulations," Carrick smiles. "I was so caught by surprise that I failed to see what was right in front of me that day. I didn't see the change in you or in you Taylor; you both were the happiest, well until I ruined it, you were the happiest I had seen either of you in years. If this makes you both happy, then that's all that matters."
"What did you mean when you said it would matter who their child's father would be?" Elliot who has been quiet for the last several minutes, asks.
"It was a horrible choice of words; I hadn't realized how it would was taken until after you all…left," Carrick answers. "I didn't mean that you would treat the child any differently or that you would love the child any less if you weren't the child's biological father."
"But that's exactly what you said," Elliot argues.
"No, what I said was it would matter who the child's father was," he corrects. "Maybe it won't, but again it was me trying to put myself in your situation which I shouldn't have done. I love the two of you just as much as I love Mia, I would hope that neither of you would have felt otherwise growing up. It has never mattered to me or your mother that the two of you came into our lives differently than Mia did."
"Then why would you think it would matter in our relationship?" I ask.
"I might be wrong, but I would think that if you had a son that had a head of dark hair that you would assume that Taylor was his biological father. Or that if you had a little girl who had a bunch of red curls like you did when you were younger Christian that you would assume that you were the child's biological father."
"Why would it matter though?" Taylor asks.
"I…I just assumed that you would want to know, that you would need to know which one of you fathered the child. That you would wonder if it was your child or yours."
"Say we did wonder, say we even had a DNA test done and determined that Christian was the biological father our child," Taylor suggests. "Do you think that I would love the child any less because I didn't contribute to his or her DNA?"
"No," Carrick answers quickly. "I know that's what you asked that day, but honestly that's not what I heard and that's my fault. I was so fixated on the idea that you would wonder and want to know who the father was that I wasn't listening to you."
"I asked mom at dinner the one night if you and her ever wondered where some of our traits came from," I'm so thankful that Ana arranged that dinner because it's been nice having her on our side during all of this. She's been supportive and understanding, never once questioning our decision even when I told her that we were going to get married. "She said of course she did; she recognized traits we obviously had gotten from the two of you. She said that she could see traits from both of you in both Elliot and me. Obviously you didn't wonder who we got our hair or eye color from, instead you focused on other traits that had nothing to do with our DNA."
"It would be the same way for us," Taylor adds. "If our son or daughter plays the piano well I'll probably assume that they got that from Christian. But if they can cook…well anything ," he smirks at me and I chuckle. "I'll assume they probably got that from me or Ana. I'm not going to assume that it has to do with DNA. Your son and Ana have both made me realize that family is not who we're biologically related to. I don't see how that would be any different for our children."
"Some kids will have two moms, some will have two dads, some will have a mom and a dad, some will have one parent and unfortunately some won't have any to call their own," Ana points out. "As I said that day, any children we have will have two fathers and a mother who love them."
"I realize that, I do," Carrick says. "Again, my reaction was my own ignorance to your…unique arrangement and had nothing to do with my love for you and Elliot. The two of you have been my children since the day you were handed to us. I hope one day you both can forgive me for what I said that day and my reaction to your news. I am truly happy that the three of you have found each other."
I glance at Elliot to find him looking at me; I shrug my shoulders at him not really sure how to take Carrick's words. While I get what he's saying, it's still hard to reconcile what he said that day.
"I don't expect any of you to forgive and forget, especially not today," Carrick continues after several moments of silence.
"What is it you want?" Taylor asks.
"A chance," he answers. "Give me a chance to prove that I'm better than the person I was on that day. Give me a chance to show you that I didn't mean what I said."
"Okay," Elliot agrees.
Taylor and I both nod; Ana takes both of our hands in hers, solidifying our bond. Several minutes of silence pass before Carrick suggests we eat the meals that were brought in what feels like hours ago at this point. I pick at my food, my mind still too focused on the conversations we've had since we walked in here. It's so odd that while the three of us haven't talked in depth about having kids together, we're all on the same page. When Taylor was talking about traits our future kids could have and what we would think, I was right there with him. I can easily picture us in our new home, with a couple kids running around the backyard. When I picture it though, I always picture the kids as a mixture of the three of us. I love the idea of Ana pregnant with our child; watching her stomach grow, feeling the baby kick from within her, knowing that the three of us created the life inside of her. I never once saw it as only two people creating that life, no matter who was responsible for the actual conception, the three of us would be responsible for Ana getting pregnant that I have no doubt of.
"Would you like to schedule another meeting to discuss the project or….." Carrick offers.
We spend the next couple of hours talking about what Carrick has envisioned for his new office space; we all take notes, without even seeing the notes I know we've each focused on a different area because that's just how we work. By the end of the night we have a good idea of what needs to be done and have agreed to take on the project, the decision surprisingly coming easily. We explain that a project plan will be put together along with a quote to be sent via email to Carrick next week.
"Thank you," he says as we prepare to leave.
"For?" Elliot asks.
"Not walking out when you saw me," he smiles sadly. "For giving me a chance to talk to you; for giving me a chance…."
It doesn't happen too often, but because we knew this meeting would run later, we met back at the condo and all drove in one vehicle. Before we even approach the car, Taylor grabs the keys from my hand offering to drive without saying a word. I nod in thanks; my mind is still a jumbled mess from that meeting. Between everything Carrick said and then the new project he's hiring us for, I think Taylor realized I'm not right to drive right now.
"You okay?" Ana asks as she slides into the back seat next to me.
"Just wasn't what I was expecting tonight when we walked in there."
"Me either," Taylor agrees from the front seat.
"I thought it was big of him though," Ana says. "To set up the meeting, to admit he was wrong; I've known some people who wouldn't do that."
"Agreed," Taylor says.
"I hope he meant it," I admit quietly.
Ana simply rests her head on my shoulder, not saying a word; I wrap my arm around her shoulders tugging her a little closer to me. I don't know that he'll ever know how those words made me feel that day, but at the same time I'm not going to hide my relationship because he doesn't get it. I don't need him to understand why this works between the three of us, because to be honest I don't know why it works. I just need him to accept that we're together and it's not going to change, ever.
The rest of the ride home is quiet, I don't think any of us really know what to say. As soon as we walk into the apartment, Taylor grabs us each a beer and we sit on the couch in the living room. Ana puts on some comedy show which quickly has us laughing and thankfully easing the mood that was still leftover from dinner. By the time the show ends, most of the heaviness from dinner is gone.
"You guys ready for bed?" Taylor asks when the show ends. "Or did you want to watch another one?"
"Christian?" Ana defers.
"I could go to bed," I shrug not sure if I'll be able to sleep though. I have a feeling that once I lay down that I'll be replaying dinner in my head over and over again. Not wanting to admit that, I stand from the couch and offer Ana my hand as she starts to rise. The three of us head into the bedroom, stopping in front of the bed, where we begin to undress. Ana turns to me, standing in front of me wearing only a pair of sexy black lace panties, and glides her hands over my chest. Without saying a word, she leans up and kisses me; my hands instantly go around her waist tugging her closer to me. She reaches a hand behind her, blindly searching for Taylor who steps into her grip. She tugs him close, bringing him into us; he presses himself against Ana, kissing her neck as she kisses me.
"I want to get lost in you," I press my hard dick against her sex causing her to moan against my lips.
"What do you need?" Taylor asks.
"A bed," I groan when Ana tugs my underwear down.
"I think we have that taken care of," he chuckles.
I watch as he kisses his way down Ana's back, she giggles when he nips at her beautiful ass. He slowly tugs her panties to the floor, urging her to spread her legs wider after she steps out of them. She gasps in surprise when his mouth finds her sex, she leans against me as she struggles to hold herself up with how Taylor's distracting her. I slowly back up, thankful for the bed right behind me when my legs hit it. When I lower myself to the bed, I urge Ana to bend over, giving Taylor easier access to her. He groans in appreciation when this opens herself to him.
"Fuck baby," it's Ana's turn to surprise me when she takes my erection in her mouth, swallowing me in one quick motion. She moans around me, the vibrations making me even harder in her mouth. I know if she keeps going I'm going to come a hell of a lot sooner than I want and not where I want to come. I want to be inside of Ana when I come; I want her coming around my dick when I come deep inside of throbbing sex. I want Taylor there, teasing her nipples, coming at the same time as we do. I push back my release, wanting Ana to come on Taylor's mouth before I get inside of her. When her movements become less purposeful and her moans become louder I know she's close.
"Does she taste good Taylor?" I ask knowing how much Ana loves us talking dirty to her when we're in bed together.
"Fuck yeah she does," Taylor groans.
"Her mouth feels amazing; I love how she swallows me, taking me so deep in her mouth that I can feel her throat."
"Fuck Christian," seems Ana isn't the only one affected by my words.
"Make her come Taylor," I'm losing my hold. "I need to be inside of her."
Taylor must do something, because Ana suddenly screams around my dick, her body tensing against us as she comes. She grasps my dick stroking me as she tries to catch her breath while Taylor slowly brings her down from her release. Taylor stands up, gently pulling Ana against him as he does so her body is on full display for me. I quickly stand up and am in front of them both in two quick steps; I can smell Ana's arousal on Taylor's lips and fuck if it doesn't make me even harder.
"I need you," I whisper.
"Yesssss," she hisses.
"I need your mouth on me," Taylor nips at her ear.
"Mmmmmmm," Ana moans when my hand slides between her legs, feeling how wet she is from her release. I lead her over to the bed and encourage her to lay on her stomach towards the end of the bed. While I climb onto the bed, Taylor must understand what I was wanting, because he steps right up to the bed, the height of it putting Ana in the perfect position to—
"Ana," he hisses when she takes him in her mouth.
I climb behind Ana, teasing her sex until she's moaning around Taylor, at which point I slide right into her warm sex, loving the way she grips me the moment I enter her. She sucks me further into her beautiful body, like she's afraid I'm going to pull out. Little does she know, that deep inside of her is exactly what I need right now. I need to lose myself in her, in this; I need to forget everything that was said and focus on what I know and that is this. I know this works; I know this is right for us. I know I don't need anything other than Ana and Taylor. I lean over Ana's back, my arms resting right next to hers as she grips the comforter tightly. Taylor cradles Ana's head as she sucks him while I plunge in and out of her warmness.
I close my eyes and do what I've been craving; I lose myself in our lovemaking. I lose myself in Ana's body, in the sounds that both her and Taylor make and the feel of the bed we share below us. When I feel Ana tighten around me, I know she's close to another release; I start thrusting faster into her which instantly has her moaning around Taylor. I reach forward, wrapping my hands around hers which are still clutching the comforter tightly. Each time I thrust into her, I go in fully, hitting that spot that has her nearly screaming each time. It only takes a few more thrusts before she calls out my name as the release hits her.
With her still coming around me, something touches my lips and I instinctively open without even thinking. Taylor and I both groan when his dick slips into my mouth; I don't think, I close my lips around him and allow him to slide in further.
"Oh God!" Ana gasps and I feel her coming again only seconds later. I want to smirk knowing exactly what triggered another orgasm for her, given what she told us it does when she sees us kissing. I don't, instead focus on how incredible she feels around me.
I slowly thrust in and out of Ana while sucking on Taylor; I feel Ana lean forward and I open my eyes just enough to watch as she slides her tongue around the base of his dick. Taylor groans above us; I don't look up but I have no doubt that he's watching both of our mouths on him. I never would have considered doing something like this before or with anyone else, but with the three of us it just feels right. And now I can't help but wonder what it would feel like to have Taylor and Ana's mouths on me at the same time. My hips thrust forward, hard and deep, at the image.
Taylor's hand slides over my back, almost caressing me as he starts to gently move in and out of my mouth. Concentrating on either one of them is impossible; I'm torn between needing to come inside of Ana and wanting to continue to explore Taylor with my mouth. A few minutes later the decision is made for me when Ana bucks against me, begging me to move within her. I let go of Ana's hand and instead grasp Taylor's dick where Ana's mouth had been only moments ago. Just before pulling him out of my mouth, I flick his opening with my tongue causing him to gasp my name in need.
"Suck him baby," I tease Ana's lips with Taylor's head. "Suck him while I make you come again; while I make us both come."
"Hmmmmmmm," she moans in agreement opening herself to take him in fully.
"I love you," I whisper before pulling back from Ana.
I kneel, grasping her hips tightly as I plunge in and out of her convulsing sex. She's moaning, gripping me even tighter; I feel the orgasm building, my balls are aching with need. I know the moment she comes, I'll be done; her beautiful body has a way of pulling me right over that edge when I'm this close to it. We're all moaning as each get closer and closer to the release we're chasing.
Taylor is first; he bends down just enough to reach me, pulling me towards him until his lips crush against mine. Both of our hands go to Ana, as he groans against my lips. The orgasm slams into her seconds later; she comes silently between us which immediately ends my battle and I empty myself into her. Ana collapses onto the bed, Taylor slipping from her mouth as she does. Taylor eases his grip on my head, the kiss becoming slower as we both come down from our releases. Eventually he steps back, but not before leaning down to whisper something in Ana's ear. Unfortunately my heart is racing too loudly for me to hear what he says. While he goes into the bathroom to get a damp washcloth to clean Ana up with, I lean down until I'm practically lying on top of her. Her hands find mine, squeezing them gently but not saying a word.