When I become aware of my pulse again, it's beating through my body with such intensity it drowns out whatever it is Christian is saying. Christian Grey is Grace Trevelyan's son? How did I not know this? She and her husband have been married for 30 something years, why is he a Grey? Is Travelyan her maiden name? Is Christian a step-child? Why is no one serving wine at this god forsaken event?!
The questions pile in my mind, one on top of the other until I'm forced to shake my head in hopes they will miraculously fall from my skull and the past thirty seconds will have been some sort of first day jitters induced hallucination. I close my eyes, force a breath and despite my irrational hopes, have no such luck. Christian Grey, as fuckable as the day I left Seattle, is a mere thirty feet in front of me.
As subtly as I can manage in my panic, I shift myself to the side in an attempt to obscure myself from his line of sight. Knowing a mad dash to the exit would only draw attention to myself and questions from Grace, I stay put and listen to his speech.
"Though I have had the privilege of calling her mom since she adopted me at the age of four; I know I have shared my mother with countless children over the course of her illustrious career. She has cared for each child under her charge with the same warmth and dedication as she would her own. I am lucky to have Grace as a mother, and Seattle Children's Hospital is lucky to have her as a doctor. And so in that vain, I would like to formally announce the opening of –" A rare smile comes to his face as he nods to someone at his left. The cloth covering the signage above the archway falls, and the crowd gasps in delight. "The Grace Travelyan Gray Center for Pediatric Oncology".
The panic I feel softens when I see the large sign bearing the name of a doctor I admire so much. Dr. Trevelyan absolutely deserves this honor. Though the idea of it coming from Christian is… mind boggling, to say the least. He never spoke of his family. I knew his mother was a doctor, but he never told me she was in pediatrics. With Christian's distant emotions, the thought of him with a mother as doting as Grace seems somehow misplaced.
My eyes turn down and I see Grace back on the podium, tears in her eyes as she hugs her son. The gray haired man next to her must be her husband. Carrick, I think? She had mentioned him sporadically, but like many doctors, she liked to keep her private life and her work separate. A few mentors have told me there has to be a line between work and home. Especially when it comes to Oncology.
The staff that had come in for the dedication slowly start to filter out. Despite my promise to Grace that I would stay, I try to follow a group to the elevator bank. Today has already used up all of the extroverted energy my typically introverted self has to offer, and a run in with my former Dom was not listed on my first day itinerary.
"Carrie, how could you have kept this from me! The children I can understand, but – hold on. Sophia!" Grace's voice is close enough behind me that I hear the admonishment of her husband and my name at the same distance. Well, it looks like we're doing this. I turn, putting far too much mental energy into the nonchalant smile on my face. A smile that says 'Please don't realize that I fucked your son in every imaginable and a lot of unimaginable ways? Please.'
"Dr. Trevelyan, Con-"
"Grace," she corrects me with a warm smile.
"Grace," I concede. "Congratulations. A very well-deserved honor if I do say so myself."
She runs her fingers under her eyes, cleaning up the barely noticeable trace of wet eyeliner. "I had no idea," she sighs. "My son normally likes to keep donations of this nature private, so when he said he was going to do the unveiling of the new wing I should have suspected something, but this!" One hand goes over her chest and another rests on Carrick's shoulder. "Well, I never thought."
"As your colleague said, darling. It's well-deserved." Carrick says. He lifts his wife hand to kiss it softly, then offers me his free one. "Carrick Grey."
"Carrie, this is Doctor Sophia Claremont! She was the pediatric oncologist I mentioned to you last week."
Carrick nods. "Yes, fresh off a residency at Columbia Presbyterian I think she said."
I tell him I was an intern here first, and Grace peppers him with a few complimentary anecdotes of my time here during medical school. If I had known that the doctor I yearned to work with, the one I picked up every open shift if I knew it coincided with hers, was the mother of the man I was spending my weekends role playing the most depraved sexual fantasies we could think of… I think I might faint.
As if the forces of the universe know I am at my mental limit, the silky, familiar voice that croons behind me sends a shiver down my spine. "Mother, I will need to get going."
He's behind me. Good. Maybe he won't –
"Christian, just give me one more minute. I have someone I want you to meet."
She reaches forward and grabs his arm, pulling him in front of me before I can even begin to formulate an exit strategy.
"Sophia?" Christian says, as stunned as I felt when he took the stage judging by the tone of his voice. His deep gray eyes lock onto mine and suddenly I am no longer a doctor in a hospital. The smell of leather and lavender flow unbidden over my senses, and I feel like I'm back in his playroom. The silent stare that passes between us lasts a beat too long.
"Mr. Grey," I smile, given that following my instinct to run as far from this awkward encounter as possible would raise more questions than I'm sure either of us would care to answer. "How lovely to see you again."
Carrick and Grace exchange a confused, albeit delighted, glance. "You two know each other?" Grace asks.
"Mr. Grey was a donor to the agriculture department while I was as UW Medical," I rattle. It was the same explanation I had rehearsed in case anyone saw Christian and I on the occasional times we left his apartment. "I helped advocate for the regenerative farming program, given the benefits more easily accessible produce would have on early childhood obesity rates in urban areas." That is the truth of how we met. It simply leaves out the aftermath of that meeting and subsequent two years of our dom/sub relationship.
Christian cocks his head to the side. Clearly he's impressed I remembered our cover story. "I had no idea the two of you were related." I add for good measure.
"His surname is Trevelyan-Grey," Grace says, the annoyance clear in her voice. "Though someone thinks that's too much to fit on a business card."
"It is a mouthful, mother." Christian turns his attentions back to me. "I wasn't aware you had returned to Seattle?"
Part of me questions the sincerity of his words. If memory serves me, there is very little Christian Grey is unaware of when it comes to his submissives – past or present. "I've only been back for a few days." I tell him.
He opens his mouth to speak but a group of hospital administrators interrupt our group and ask the Travelyan-Grey family to gather for a few press photos with the rest of the board.
"Of course," Grace says. "Sophia, why don't you join us for dinner tomorrow night. Christian, you too. It will give all of us a chance to catch up, and Sophia, you can tell me about the research projects you have planned. I've heard some very promising things and would love to discuss it with you."
Christian swallows hard. He wants an excuse to get out of this as badly as I do, I'm sure. "Mother, I'm sure Sophia is very busy getting settled –"
"The woman needs to eat. And we all know how you are if skip a meal." She teases her son as she starts to lead the group over to the press line. "Sophia, I'll email you with the address. Plan for seven."
I wave, standing in stunned silence as I watch my medical idol and my former Dom walk away, neither of them knowing what the other has meant to me in my life. I glance down at my watch. A gorgeous vintage Rolex. A gift from Christian, come to think of it.
Leaving Seattle, and Christian, was one of the hardest decisions I'd had to make. But it was for the best. Columbia was a highly coveted residency, and Christian and I both understood the nature of our relationship. There was never going to be a happily ever after with a man who didn't allow me to touch him. We had wonderful, enjoyable weekends. I had hoped to be able to leave them unmarred in my memory. It was a large part of the reason I didn't email him about my impending return. Christian made it clear in his contract there were no second chances at the sub position. However long the arrangement ran its course, that was it. No round two.
Now I'm sure he wishes he'd added a clause banning family dinners.
