Sweetie, Let me Give You The Daddy (FSOG) Chapter 25: Carbon, a fifty shades trilogy fanfic

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 25: Carbon (4,3K)

So, this title … carbon is a key element of making alcohol and diamonds ... Simple as that

Over the following week, Christian worked as much as usual, eager for February to be over. It was only the second week, but it was already draining. He flew to Washington from Tuesday to Wednesday with Jamie and Roxanne to check on some investments GEH had just made. Jamie made a couple of suggestions that Christian actually approved of, and when they got back, he cornered Christian in his office before Roxanne got in.

"I have always wondered…why do you have a board?"

Christian raised an eyebrow, surprised by Jamie's question. Jamie had stopped running with Ana in the mornings, and coming to his place on weekends, probably finally realising that he should only focus on his work and leave Christian's family alone.

And when it came to work, he never had anything bad to say about Jamie. In fact, more than once Jamie intervened with constructive critiques and comments that he appreciated. But Christian was still puzzled by the man's question since Jamie knew that any big company needed a board to regulate the expense of money.

Jamie didn't seem deterred by Christian's surprise, and he explained his point-of-view. "What I mean is … you built GEH. From the ground up. You didn't have to answer to anyone then, so why did you make your life ten times harder by having those … buffoons?"

It was a secret to no one working closely with Christian that he strongly disliked the members of his board. They were all pompous asses more interested in sucking money out of him than helping out young struggling entrepreneurs. They were the exact type of people who would have turned their back on Christian when he was barely nineteen and already trying to start his company.

But then again, "They keep me in check. I got the board after my first ten million. I didn't trust myself to not go overboard, and they have been useful and stopped me from doing some impulsive shit in the past."

"And yet, every time we have a meeting with them, you leave the meeting in a bad mood. I get it, being a young twenty-something with millions at his disposal can lead to some stupid decisions, but that was years ago. Haven't you matured?"

Christian glared at Jamie, not appreciating being called a child by someone who, not only was younger than him but who also had less experience than him in the same industry. "So, what's your solution? I can't run billions of dollars without a board. I'm already overworked as it is."

"I never said that. What am I? Stupid? I'm just saying, you're not just the CEO of your company, you're the creator. Get rid of the chairman, you don't need him."

"And who's going to take his place? You?" He scoffed.

"Technically, you're already the chairman. And you know it, that's why you're always pissed after a meeting with the board. McCoy just likes pretending that he holds the power, but at the end of the day, they can't do shit without your say so. You're just letting something that used to be your guardrail become your anchor."

Christian thought about it, seeing reason in what Jamie was saying. McCoy had been chairman for too long anyway, and replacing him was long overdue, but maybe he didn't necessarily need to. After all, the board couldn't make decisions without him either. And it would make him considerably less moody.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

The following day, Jamie was in New York on his own so he could work a couple of days with Ros. Christian wanted her honest opinion on the man, working closely with him before he made any major decision concerning the board. Sure, he agreed with Jamie, but he didn't feel confident trusting the man completely yet. After all, Jamie was still young, and still new to his job. And he couldn't be entirely sure that this wasn't a ploy so Jamie would get the opportunity to get closer to Ana.

The function he was attending with his family was the next evening, but he still had much to do before then. Andrea left earlier than usual, but she did remind him of his schedule for the rest of the day like she always did, and Christian couldn't help once again but be grateful to have her as a PA. Not even once had she ever complained about the amount of work he gave her, and yet she always made his life so much easier.

After reviewing yet again his latest acquisition in London, he sent Roxanne home. She tried to stay with him since he usually dropped her home after work, but he simply had Taylor drive her home. He told her to enjoy her weekend and rest since she would be travelling for the first time the next week - they were going to London with Jamie, as she finally had her passport.

Shortly before eight, he called Roger, ignoring the incoming call that beeped in his ear a couple of times, and together they polished the last details of his speech for Saturday night. He usually didn't care much about any of them; whether he was the keynote speaker or receiving an award, he had Roger get someone to write a speech that would inspire people, and he would stick to the script.

The only time he actually added something more was in Washington, on Ana's birthday.

"And I'd like to finish by using this saying that my father has lived by all his life. 'Behind every great man, there is a great woman'. For a long time, I always thought that my father was just saying that for the sake of it because it would please my mother. But now, I understand. I understand exactly what he meant, and why he always used that saying when times were rough.

Because my mother was his rock. She was the one who saw him at his weakest and still managed to build up his confidence. She was the one who gave him the strength to challenge adversity. She was the one who told him when he was in over his head. She was more than his lover, she was his confidant, his aspiration, his best friend.

And now, after all those years…I understand."

Christian's eyes were solely on Ana as he said this improvised part of his speech. He usually tried to avoid those as much as possible, but Roger had insisted again and again that he couldn't continue refusing to make speeches. It wasn't good for his public persona, nor his would-be future business opportunities.

But this last part, this last part had been solely for Ana's ears. Because she was all of that. She was his first thought in the morning, the first person he would think to share his successes or his doubts, the first person who would make him question himself.

And her smile was enough. She was as gracious as ever, but he was used to that by then, and, as everyone applauded him, she did the same, slightly bowing her head to him with that beautiful smile of hers. And it was all he needed to be sure he had made the right decision.

He left the stage and used the opportunity to steal a kiss from her, sure that Roger would love the picture as photographers went crazy when their lips connected. After all, he had never kissed her in public, and he was sure that the press was starving for this kind of opportunity.

As he sat next to her, and she chastised him for not warning her ahead of time, Christian had to repress himself from telling her how he felt about her then and there. He had this whole plan in his head, on how he would declare his flame as she would blow out her candles, and how he would convince her that they could have a long-distance relationship for her year abroad. He would travel every weekend to see her if necessary, but they would make it work.

But one way or the other, the contract would end tonight. He already had the amount to cover his breaking of the contract, and all he could hope for was that Ana would just accept to continue having a relationship that would be more meaningful than a few stolen kisses under mistletoes or in a hotel room in Vegas.

In the middle of the evening, Roger called him, as Christian had expected, all happy that Christian had finally shown some PDA he could play with and feed to the press.

"That was not what we agreed on, but it was genius. The press is loving it." Christian rolled his eyes, muttering a "whatever", all the while eyeing the exit where Ana had gone to "powder her nose".

"No, really. People will start to see you as more than just a cold and hard businessman. It's good. Everyone likes the story of a man in love. We can even release a statement saying that — "

"No statement. Let them drain whatever they want out of tonight, but no statement. Leave her out of it," Christian cut him off, his eyes on Ana as she came back to the room and spoke to a man he had never seen before. He repressed his desire to go to them and stake his claim and when Roger started insisting, he strongly said,

"I mean it, Roger. I didn't say that for the press to revel in it. I said it to let the woman I love know how I feel about her. Don't even try to capitalise on that."

When he hung up with Roger, his speech was done. Christian had insisted that it should be clear and concise, without any complicated words. Grace would be there, and he was sure that she would listen attentively and ask thousands of questions afterwards. In a way, he was glad Ana didn't put any sort of veto on this outing, because now he had a chance to show to Grace the results as to why he was so busy all the time.

After his phone call with Roger, Christian stayed in the office, doing his best to have the least amount of work on the next day, so he could enjoy being with the girls an hour or two before the event. He had more than one reason to be rather nervous about it.

One, as Roger pointed out several times, this would be his first official outing with his family, and cameras would be there. Roger said that there were two papers he absolutely needed to pose for and that it would be best for him to do it with the girls.

The second reason was that he wanted to talk to Ana when they would get back home. Over the past month, he had thought more and more about the kid issue, and after today, he was sure that Grace was not enough. He wanted the full experience. He wanted to see Ana carrying his child and to see his kid go from baby to adult with his own eyes, not through pictures.

It was more than Hassan's words that had kept playing into his ears. The moment that made it click for him was when he went out for lunch, to stretch his legs whilst speaking on the phone with Ros. He saw by the reception desk, one of his board members kiss who he assumed to be his wife and rub her prominent belly with unconditional love.

And seeing this pregnant woman from up close, Christian had realised that this was something he would never get to experience. He would never get to see Ana have that special glow, and he would never get to feel his child kick beneath her skin…

And he wanted that. For himself. For her. For Grace. For their family.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

When he got home, it was later than he usually did, it was almost two. But he had managed to clear most of his Saturday and only had a debrief to do with Jamie in the morning. He was not sure if he would do it over video conference, or if he would get Roxane and Jamie to meet him somewhere for coffee.

Still, it was so well into the night that he did not expect to find Ana sitting on the couch, looking at the window sipping on some wine in the dark. He smiled to himself, though he clearly thought that she should have gone to bed. She would barely get any sleep given the time she woke up in the morning.

"Babe, you didn't have to wait up for me," He told her, putting his things down and removing his coat. Ana did not move, her gaze set on the skyline and he switched on the light, feeling that maybe he was lucky, and he would get to speak with her now.

However, when he walked to the couch where she was, she turned a hard face to him, and coldly asked, "Do you have any idea of what day it is, Christian?"

"Friday. Well…Saturday, now. I'm sorry I got home so late. I got swamped with work and…" He stopped talking on his own, seeing her poker face crumble to make way for anger.

He had never seen her angry at anyone, let alone aimed at him. Ana had always been sweet and smiling. Even when she had thought he had treated her like a prostitute, she didn't show anger but kept her emotions in check. So, he quickly tried to do a rundown of the past week, wondering what he could have done wrong to earn that kind of anger, and her hard, blue eyes pinned him where he stood as she asked,

"Friday? Don't you remember the promise you made about being here for dinner not even ten days ago?"

And finally, he remembered the promise he had made Grace about having dinner with her on this day. He grimaced, recalling that Andrea had reminded him twice that he had plans with his family. Once in the morning, once before she left. But then, he had worked, and gotten on the phone with Roger, and everything slipped his mind.

"I'm sorry. I forgot," he said earnestly, wondering what he could get Grace to make it up to her. He thought of another cat, but Ana might think it was over the top, so maybe he should capitalise on another fish to go with the ones his mother had given the young girl.

Ana had a disabused smile and shook her head before she got up, taking her empty wine glass with her. She went to the kitchen, Christian hot on her heels, not liking the judgement emanating from her. Surely, of all people, Ana understood the delicate situation he was in.

"It slipped my mind. I'm sorry. I- "

"No, Christian!" She cut him off, putting the glass down a bit too violently. "You promised you would be here, and you weren't. It's that simple."

"It's the first time it's ever happened! Let it go and don't try to turn it into a bigger deal than it actually is! It's not as if I was partying and slut hunting! I was working, Ana! You know that!" He retorted, feeling his anger rise against this unjustified attack from her. She had no ground to lash out to him like that. Yes, he forgot dinner, but it was just dinner. He would make it up to Grace. He did realise that the mixture of tiredness and alcohol probably made her more abrupt than usual, but this wasn't an excuse to lash out at him.

She narrowed her eyes at him, her cheeks slightly getting darker. "Let it go? Christian…" She took a deep breath through her nose, trying to calm herself. "Work isn't everything. You have a family and — "

"And I have to work."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do! Even more now than ever! I have to provide for Grace and for you! If I don't do it, who's going to do it? You? Playing Mother Teresa and saving the world one kid at a time?"

He knew this was a low blow, but she had to understand that she couldn't have everything. She couldn't help trying to save the world, taking the most difficult route and refusing Raymond's help to connect her with reputable people and going to a small unknown association and expect him to stop working. Who was going to put the food on the table if he didn't?

She needed to realise that this idealised version of a family that she had in her mind only existed there. In the real world, things were not as great as in her twisted reality where everything was sweet and rainbows.

Ana shook her head again, taking another deep breath as she put her hands on her hips. "This is not about work or providing, Christian. It's about you, owning up to your word. You promised your daughter you would be home. You promised her that you would be here for dinner today, and she had been looking forward to it all week long. And yet, you never showed. You never picked up the phone when she tried to call you, and you didn't have the decency to text her a simple apology message.

I didn't force you into her life, Christian. You said you wanted to be more than her father, you said you wanted to be her dad. Well, last time I checked, dads don't act like that. Last time I checked dads don't make promises they don't keep. I…"

She stopped herself, obviously frustrated, and for a bleak horrifying second, Christian had the awful feeling that she had been about to say that she had made a mistake trusting him. And that was probably why he lashed out on her.

"Come on! Don't pretend for a second this is just about Grace, and not about you!"

"What?!"

"Since day one that we've been together, I've been on probation! You've put me on trial, waiting for an excuse to keep me at bay! You don't want to commit and Grace is the perfect excuse! You're just waiting for me to make the teensiest of fuckups to take her and leave.

I'm not allowed to screw up like any other dad, because every fucking day, you're putting me on trial. Because you have this fucked up ideal of what a family should be when in truth, you don't know! You have no idea what a mother or a father does because you never had one! You're an orphan!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. He knew how Ana was insecure about being a mother, and he was sure that part of it was due to her past. But never, in a million years, did he want to use Ana's past against her. Especially something that had scarred her so deeply.

Ana's face became unreadable in an instant. She didn't cry, she didn't hurl herself at him. She just looked at him, and he hated what he saw. Her eyes were dead. There was no life in them. And he hated that he was the one who blew the life away.

He took a step toward her but stopped when her eyes shifted to his feet, silently daring him to try to get closer.

"Babe…I'm sorry. I'm tired. I don't know what I'm saying. Of course, I didn't mean — "

"Yes, you did. You didn't mean to say it out loud, but you meant it," she cut him off, her voice cold enough to let him know that he was in no position to say anything back.

She took a deep breath before taking the glass of wine to the sink and rinsing it. For a whole minute, Christian did not dare talk, afraid to have pushed her too far. All she had wanted was for him to be home for his kid and he had hurt her even harder than if he had hit her.

"Babe…" He pleaded, and she turned to him, her poker face on and a small disabused smile on her lips.

"The funny thing is, Christian…If I had wanted to take Grace and leave, I wouldn't have had to wait for you to fuck up. Because the truth is, you already did. Over and over again, you keep fucking up, and like an idiot, I keep covering up your messes. You fucked up from the moment you knew she was yours for good.

I mean, missing dinners and weekends was already bad enough, but from Christmas onward…have you spent a single hour with your daughter, without work buzzing around you? Do you realise that you missed the New Year celebrations with her twice? Twice in the span of seven weeks.

Tell me, Dad, what's your daughter's favourite colour? Tell me, Dad, what is her current bedtime story? Tell me, Dad, what about those piano lessons you promised her? Tell me, Dad, what's the name of her best friend? Of her teacher? Of her fish? Tell me, Dad, what does she want for her birthday?"

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to give her a single answer, but the truth was, he didn't know. He had no idea because he had been swamped in the annual overload of January and February.

"Ana…I…" He had no idea what to say, but Ana summed it up for him, pushing him further into his grave.

"You already fucked up, Christian. And today…" She took a shaky breath, her voice wavering with emotion. "Today, I couldn't cover up your mess because you made her realise that she wasn't important. That she didn't matter that much to you. It was her first Valentine's Day, and all she wanted to do was have the special dinner she had made just for her daddy and give him her present.

And because you didn't even fucking bother to call her, she cried herself to sleep, realising that no matter what, daddy will always be too busy for her.

So Christian, if I was just waiting for you to fuck up, it would have been long ago that you would have come home and found your apartment empty. But I guess being the fucked up orphan that I am, I'm just too stupid and I keep deluding myself trying to hold this family together."

And on those words, she left the kitchen and walked to the lobby. Christian caught her as she was calling the elevator, her keys in her hands, and he grabbed her free hand, only then seeing several bandages and cuts on it. He frowned, concerned. "What— "

She snatched her hand from his, glaring at him. And she pushed her finger in his chest, making him feel like he was the smallest one out of the two of them. Her ire was so great, that he would not be surprised to have seen smoke coming out of her ears.

"Look at me, Christian Grey, look at me good. The next time you accuse me of using my daughter as a tool…" She took a deep breath, her jaw locked.

"I'm not you Christian. I don't weaponise my child to get what I want. Whether it was to get to me, or for us to move in with you, to move to Seattle, for you to fucking propose, you used Grace every single step of the way as a buffer. After all, who cares if she gets her hopes up and she gets hurt in the process? In the end, you always get what you want, right?

But mark my word, Christian Grey. The next time you accuse me of stooping so low that I would use my daughter the same way you do…that will be the last time you would ever see either of us. I don't care who you are, and I don't care how many people you can buy off, say that again, and you will never see either of us again."

The elevator dinged its arrival, and Ana grabbed her coat. And though Christian could understand that she needed to cool off, it was almost three in the morning. "Are you leaving?"

"I don't want to say things that I don't mean."

"What about Grace?" He reminded her, in a last attempt to make her stay, and maybe talk to him. But it had been the wrong thing to say. She glared at him. "Are you telling me that I can't rely on her father to look after her?"

Christian swallowed with difficulty but had nothing else to say as she pressed the button again for the doors to reopen. Still, before he could stop himself, he was stopping the doors from closing, "Ana…I…I love you."

"No. You don't."

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.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

💚 So, I can't wait to read how some of you will blame Ana and find excuses for Christian, haha. Really, because it always opens my eyes on other ways to see the story from a different perspective, though sometimes it just baffles me, haha

💚 And I kind of like that last sentence.

💚Now question time,

1. Okay, Christian missed Valentine's Day, and Grace is heartbroken … However, as he pointed out, it's officially the first time he screwed up. Sooooo how do you think Grace will react?

2. We had an insight on that speech on Ana's bday. Now, I want you to remember how Ana felt during that speech, and what she said about PDA when it comes to her love life. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

3. And Christian wants babies now …

4. And there is a tiny hint that has been shown in this chapter and the previous one. Which is …?

5. And finally, what are your feelings on the arguments? Christian said some things, and Ana said other things, though she made it clear that she was mad for Grace, not for her. That's for another chapter …

6. As per usual, what was your favourite part? AND a twist, what was your most heartbreaking moment?

7. 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 💚💚💚