Chapter 6 – Not Ward Cleaver
APOV
"It's okay Sawyer, this is my father Raymond Steele." I say motioning towards my office, with Sawyer in tow.
"He doesn't need to be here…what is…"
"This is Luke Sawyer and he is my CPO, he's here because it's his job to protect me. Sawyer is doing his job by reacting to your aggressive behavior here today and he will remain outside of my office door while we speak, if you have a problem with that you can leave." I shoot him a death glare that says I mean business. I've never stood up to my father so soundly before, but there's no turning back at this point, I am an adult and business owner, I have endeavored to be the perfect daughter, I've done everything he's ever asked of me, and I don't deserve his bullshit. No doubt he thought he could intimidate me showing up here to confront me. Bad idea.
"Have a seat…" He glares at me and sits in the chair across from my desk. "I have a meeting in thirty minutes that I should be preparing for, so we need to make this quick."
"Annie…"
"DON'T ANNIE ME!" I scream as my catharsis, I wave Sawyer off who was at my door in a flash as a result of my raised voice – "you lost to right to address me in that way when you called me a whore and when I realized you yourself have been trying to whore me out to your friend Hyden Jackson for your benefit."
He turns six shades of red, he looks as if he's going to combust.
"That is simply not true, he's a good man – I was thinking of your future..." he says trying to sound convincingly magnanimous – but I can tell he's not falling for it himself, I cannot believe this.
"Oh please, at least give me credit for common sense Ray. But let's say for the sake of argument that he is a good guy and I just didn't have a connection with him – why is this so important to you?" I pause dramatically and glare at him – not breaking eye contact.
"I…I..."
"I am your daughter, but rather than give me the benefit of the doubt you call and accuse, berate and demean ME – your own flesh and blood - without so much as a chance to speak in my own defense; based on the word of a stranger, a man I have told repeatedly that I wasn't interested in him romantically, a man I told you made my skin crawl."
"Christian Grey is my boyfriend, for the first time in my life I care deeply for and am romantically interested in a man. He's is wonderful to me, Grey Enterprise Holdings has not signed on as a client of Elite; I did not whore myself for a contract and not that it's any of your damn business I've not had sex with Christian. I have waited my whole life for Christian, to bring a man like him home, introduce him and have you shake his hand and you reduced our relationship to that of a prostitute and a john. Thank you." He looks furious yet ashamed, but I know my father he will never admit he's wrong, he never has.
"Anastasia I just want what's best for you – I just thought you were being a little stubborn about Hyden…"
"No means no." I say nonchalantly flipping through papers on my desk. He seems annoyed by my acerbic wit and stoic resolve.
"I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Stanford with a degree in business, yet you allowed a stranger to convince you that I thought so little of myself that I believed my greatest asset was between my legs and not my ears." He seems stunned at my boldness.
"Like I was saying, I AM on your side. You just don't understand when he called me…"
"Save it Ray, what does he have on you?" He gasps.
"How dare you talk to me like…"
"Well you came here, uninvited I might add – you don't like what I'm saying, in my office you can walk your ass out the way you came in. Why are you even here—did he tell you that you needed to get me under control? Did he leave out the little tidbit about the permanent restraining order Kate and I secured based on the overwhelming evidence of his aggravated stalking? – Did he mention a prior stalking charge or the beating he handed a former girlfriend?"
His face is pale and cold.
"Yeah, that's what you wanted for your daughter." He is silent, but his expression has changed now. He no longer looks angry, he looks broken. "I can get you a copy of the petition for the order and the videotaped evidence, should you want to review it on the way back to San Francisco, but right now I have a meeting and I need to prepare." I say standing and gesturing toward the door.
"Anastasia…I…"
"Not now. I don't know when…if ever…but not now." I say shaking my head no. "Please don't involve mom and RJ in this, it would destroy them – Don't push me Ray, or I swear you will regret it."
"I'm still your father Anastasia…"
"Well that's something that should have occurred to you before you called me screaming at me accusing me of being a dumb whore." That was the final straw for him, he sees he can't work me over with words and intimidation any longer. I don't see fear on his face anymore I see desperation and that scares me. I watch him walk away without a backwards glance.
I clicked the voice memo from my conversation with him because I honestly thought he might break down and confide in me, but what I got was worthless, I'll keep the voice memo anyway. I feel exhausted and numb; I decide to call it a day, I didn't actually have a meeting, but I have the need to get out of here. I have to get out of here – I grab my phone to send Christian a quick text and notice I got a few from him, likely Sawyer called him when my father dropped in.
Do you need me – C
five minutes later
I'm here for you – C
Ten minutes after that
Let me know what I can do – C
I immediately send a text
Sorry, my father showed up for a showdown – A
I'm okay, I'm headed to Escala – A
"Need a ride?" I hear from my doorway.
I drop my phone on my desk, and run the few short steps to his waiting arms. "Please don't let me go" I'm angry, I'm sad I'm emotionally spent I'm exhausted, I'm safe.
Sixteen hours earlier
RPOV
"You better get your sorry ass down here and talk some sense into her, she's going off the rails. You know I should just contact the FTC and turn your sorry ass in, there's no proof of my involvement, I suggest you remember that motherfucker. You owe me for saving your neck and you haven't delivered on the one thing I wanted."
"How can I make her want to be with you, she's an adult who has her own mind. Besides, she hung up on me."
"You find a way! This thing she's doing now is completely outrageous, she told me she's got a boyfriend and that his contract would dwarf mine so she doesn't need our business anymore, and threated to pull the contract."
"What happened? Did you two have an argument?"
"No! Like I told you, she invited me over I brought breakfast – she must have forgotten she invited me because in walks the billionaire bad boy, he tells her to get rid of me and she goes off on me and they walk me out – I don't know why she acted like that. I tried calling her and she never came home that night. She told me she gave Grey personal service and that if I was worth billions maybe she would have felt differently about me."
This doesn't sound like my daughter, I admit I've been out of the loop with Annie for some time now, but this sounds completely out of character.
"What the fuck are you going to do about this shit Ray!? If you don't get her line I will destroy you. You can pretend you didn't know, but when you needed to get out of that albatross of a dot com you used the insider information I gave you and they never traced that to you. You could go to jail if I used what I have at my disposal. Not to mention that other thing. I gave you a leg up in the standards world and you've never come through on the one thing I've asked you to do."
"Annie has a mind of her own, I don't have any idea what has transpired between you two…"
"Fuck you! You don't have any idea! I just told you what happened you asshole, now I suggest you get down here and make her see reason or I swear Ray by this time on Monday your life will be over as you know it and that hot little MILF version of Ana you've been keeping in Gucci and gold will be on to her next meal ticket and your boy can kiss Georgetown goodbye."
Fucking asshole. I can't believe Annie would do this; she could ruin me. How much effort could it possibly take just to be nice to the guy, she doesn't have to marry him.
I can't believe she hung up on me – and now she's not taking my calls, I have to fly in to see her and check out this Grey asshole, since when does she date anyway? I was maybe a bit harsh, but I'm still her goddamn father and she will listen to me. It's pretty easy to be tough over the phone, she will answer me when I see her in person, and she will pay for putting us all at risk.
Present day
As I'm leaving Anastasia's office I notice a well dressed young man flanked by another man in a black suit – they pass by me and I brush it off because I'm fuming. First my daughter hangs up on me, then she sits me down and dresses me down like she is the fucking parent, how dare her talk to me like that – and what's with the CPO shit – Hyden wouldn't hurt her.
Hyden stalking her, yeah right – she's always been so damn sensitive, typical spoiled little princess, she needs to understand that everything is not about her. I decide to sit tight and maybe give her some time to cool off, she is impulsive and emotional, but she'll get over it and do what I ask ultimately. I'm sitting across from her office building when I see her and the two men I passed in the lobby and her CPO heading to an SUV parked directly in front of the building.
Annie is wrapped around the younger man and he kisses her temple before putting her in the truck and closing the door. He climbs into the other side of the truck and they take off – I follow them to a luxury high rise building – and the truck disappears into the underground parking garage, it's time Mr. Grey understood who the real man is in Annie's life.
###
CPOV
I was almost in a full out panic when Sawyer called to inform me that Ana's father had shown up at Elite and made a scene, even though he told me she handled him like a boss, I still wanted to be there for her. What if her dad convinces her she shouldn't be with me – I know most girls are daddy's girls, Mia sure is. What if he convinces her I'm not worthy? No matter what his motives are he's the man who raised her, sent her to college – she's looked up to him for her entire life and I've known her for less than a week. What if she comes to her senses and decides I'm pushing her too far too soon.
I'll send her a text just so she knows I'm here for her, I then send two more all in the span of fifteen minutes and I've not gotten a response. I need to relax and focus on work. No I need to get over there.
I pick up the phone and call Taylor and tell him I need to go to Ana's office. Two minutes later we're on our way, I'm probably overreacting but I need to see her – okay I'm definitely overreacting.
The lobby is quiet save one middle aged man in a decent suit who is leaving the building – I'm walking into the office suite when I get a text from Ana and then another one.
"Need a ride?" She looks stunning, I should have told her that this morning.
Ana practically runs into my arms and begs me not to stop holding her, my heart is racing I know she can feel it – I was so afraid she would feel torn about our relationship after talking with her father. I lift her chin with my finger – and kiss her.
"Hey baby, I was worried about you."
"No need, I handled it—but I just want to get out of here right now – I want to get home" she called Escala home "and put on my sweats and a tee shirt and relax, can we go now?"
"You can do whatever you want. I know you've been cooped up all weekend, are you sure you don't want to go out for dinner?"
"I'm sure Christian, I just want to be with you – I know Kate is there too, but she won't bug us, and I have a feeling Elliot will keep her occupied."
"He already called and said he was dropping by after he went home to shower and change." This elicits a huge smile from her.
"I love it when you smile, you're so beautiful." She chews that sexy lip, and reach up and free it from her teeth, and lay a passionate kiss on her and she responds, kissing me as if to tell me how happy she is to see me.
###
In no time we're back at Escala, me in sweats and Ana in leggings with my Harvard tee shirt swallowing her…Ana has her hair pulled up in a messy bun and we're both wearing flip flops.
Ana fills Kate and I in on what happened today in the office and especially with her father – Kate is going back to the office tomorrow, she decided to take another day because her mother told her she needed the rest, and after much arguing she agreed, Gail has been teaching Kate to bake bread – and the two of them took a leisurely trip to the market.
"I cannot believe he came to the office…from San Francisco! What the fuck Steele, what did he want?"
"To be honest I really don't know, I let him have it – every time he tried to speak I pounced. I didn't realize I was so angry – I yelled at my father and I didn't back down and when I was done talking I dismissed him. What got to me most of all was his accusing me of terrible things without benefit of doubt based on a stranger's word, so much for all his family first bullshit. I just don't get it."
Ana told me in the car that she recorded the conversation and would play it for me later, but she didn't want Kate to hear it because she pointedly and directly questioned her dad about his motives, and what if anything Jekyl had on him.
"Sir?"
"Yes Taylor is something wrong?" I already know there is from his tone.
"Mr. Raymond Steele is in the lobby demanding to see his daughter."
"What do you want to do Ana?"
"I'm fine Christian, I'm not afraid of my dad, clearly he followed us here or found out from that idiot where you live, if you feel up to it send him up."
This is certainly not the introduction I fantasized about when meeting Ana's parents, but it is what it is – he wants access to his daughter and perhaps he thinks I'm keeping her against her will – or that he has lost control because someone else is now in control when neither could be further from the truth.
I nod in Taylor's direction to send up Mr. Steele. I'm standing in the great room in flip flops and sweats, looking like the anti-CEO – it's fine at this point, I think any chance of him being thrilled by his daughter dating me is now a moot point.
"Mr. Steele." Taylor announces as the man I passed in the lobby of Ana's office building walks into my great room.
"Mr. Steele, I'm Christian Grey, pleased to meet you" I say extending my hand.
He takes my hand warily, gives it a firm shake and lets go.
"What are you doing here?" Ana asks not bothering to hide her irritation.
"I was hoping I could speak with you alone…"
"We already did that."
"Well just like then you aren't allowing me to get very much out…"
"Before I cut you off? That's only because I'm afraid of what nasty thing you might say next, you know those things that were maybe were a little harsh."
"Hi Ray, good to see you again." Kate chimes in trying to break the tension.
"Kate." He says curtly.
"I'm going to go and see if Gail needs any help with dinner, Elliot called and he's on his way."
"Again Ray, why are you here?"
"Ann…Anastasia, I know you're upset with me and I understand that I just, well we're family, what are you doing here with this guy…"
"What!?" Ana steps in front of me – a gesture that's not lost on me – and closer to her father "I suggest you remember your manners and remember that you're standing in this guy's home, you better watch your mouth or I swear to god I'll have you thrown out on your ass before you can blink twice." Oh shit! I can't NOT watch this. I'm glued to the floor I want to be here for her, but clearly she doesn't need me here, I'm not sure what to do.
"Are you living with him now?" Dude when you're in a hole, stop fucking digging.
"Not that it's any of your business but Kate and I still own our townhouse and we still live there, Kate and I are here with Christian because of the very real threat to our safety that was visited upon us by your forcing that asshole Hyden Jackson into our lives."
"You know, I told you I didn't like him, that he made my fucking skin crawl and you still insisted I go out on a date with him. How could you do that to me?" She's yelling now and I instinctively place my hands on her shoulders to calm her and to remind Raymond Steele that she's not here alone. Ana takes my hands down and wraps them around her waist and leans into me – she's trembling and I'm getting pissed.
"What have you done to my daughter?" What have I done? You're delusional dude. Ana shakes her head in disbelief.
"I haven't done anything to your daughter Mr. Steele, I care for her very deeply. I only want her to be safe and happy. Ana is capable, brilliant and formidable, I feel very fortunate to have met her." I don't let my emotions get the better of me, I love this girl but I'd like nothing better than to knock him on his ass."
"She has never spoken to me in this way before, I don't know who this person is."
"I was thinking the same about you." Ana says, her comment dripping with venom.
"Sir." Taylor enters the room with a manila envelope for Mr. Steele.
"This is all of the information we gathered in order to obtain the permanent restraining order for Mr. Jackson, we've burned you audio and video used in support of the petition, your daughter is afraid of Mr. Jackson and we've taken security measures to insure both her and Ms. Kavanaugh's safety. He has threatened her business and refuses to leave her alone even though she was very very clear about her disinterest. He installed tracking devices on her car and listening devices in her home – where he visited on more than one occasion without an invitation."
"Well you can't just lead a guy on…"
"OH MY GOD YOU'RE FUCKING DELUSIONAL. GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" Ana is screaming and crying at this point. I let go of her and run both of my hands through my hair – I'm so upset I'm at a loss and I just stare at him – I see red and I want to hurt him, I'm snapped back into reality by her sobs and Kate's yelling.
Kate is screaming at Mr. Steele, and Ana is hysterical. I grab Ana and hold her close to me and she buries her face in my chest bawling her eyes out.
"What are you talking about Ray?" Kate says charging into the room with tears in her eyes. "Ana NEVER led him on, she tried everything she could do to let him down easy, he just wouldn't go away…"
"Well we all know YOU let him down easy don't we Kate?" Ana gasps and cries even harder. Enough! I lunge at him and Taylor stops me.
Before I can react, Sawyer and Reynolds are ushering him out of the penthouse, but not before he takes some parting verbal shots.
"I see you're building your fucking harem Grey, do you always get your women to do your dirty work? Is that how you trained them. The best money can buy huh Grey!? You're fucking Charlie Manson in a suit! Be a man, you use your goons and women to do your dirty work, be a man! You brainwashed my daughter, you brainwashed my daughter! I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!"
I'm so angry that I don't realize what's going on around me I know I'm trying to get to him and I can't, Ana is holding me around my waist while Kate and Taylor each have hold of an arm. I'm brought back to the present by Ana stroking my face and calling my name over and over. I can hear her, but I'm enraged and don't respond.
"Taylor, something's wrong, Christian please talk to me!" Her plea refocuses my attention on her after a moment or so.
"I'm okay Ana, I'm okay baby." I look down and she's in tears, Taylor and Kate are staring, they have released my arms, but Ana is still wrapped around my waist, she's looking up at me expectantly – and I take her face in my hands, wipe her tears with my thumbs and lean in kissing her gently.
"Are you okay baby?"
"Christian I'm so, so sorry, I shouldn't have…"
"What?...baby I don't blame you for anything, you're not responsible for what your father says or thinks. I'm here for you, okay?"
She nods her head, she looks so sad and lost.
"I don't know what happened to my father, this is not the same person who raised me. I need to call my mother and check on her and RJ."
"That's a good idea."
"I'm going to go into the study and give her a call."
"Christian…that is NOT the man I met freshman year. I don't know what's happened to him, he was incredible with Ana, I just don't understand. I'm not trying to sell him to you, believe me—I just want you to know that I believe something else is going on and since you and Ana are both very bright people, I know you already know this. Mr. Steele has always been the salt of the earth – this person is not Ana's dad."
"I can't imagine that Ana would have been so enamored by someone who behaved as this man just did—there is something definitely going on with him and I intend to get to the bottom of it, if he wants to hurt Ana, he'll have to come through me."
APOV
"I'm okay Mom, I don't know why he's here, what did he tell you?"
"Only that he needed to meet with Hyden Jackson and that he would try and see if you and Kate were free for dinner while he was there, he didn't get into any real details. What's going on honey you seem so upset?"
"Dad came here to convince me to make up with Hyden and give him a chance, after he called me from San Fran cursing and screaming at me yesterday."
"What are you talking about make up with him – how can you make up with someone you have no relationship with, I thought you couldn't stand him."
"Exactly mom, I made that clear to both of you, he's talking to me as if I led him on."
"Oh nonsense when he showed up at our dinner that time, your body language said everything, I argued with Ray later about it, he told me it was your choice not mine. I can't say I blame you – he makes my blood run cold whenever I'm in the room with him, I've never understood your dad's relationship with him. I spoke to him about matchmaking the two of you, I thought he was blinded by the money and wanting a rich man for his daughter."
"I not only am not interested in him…I...l have a boyfriend mom, one that I'm falling in love with, his name is Christian, and Kate and I are staying at his place right now because Hyden has been stalking me. We were issued a permanent restraining order against him yesterday; partially because of the evidence we gathered, but also because he has a prior incident of both stalking and physically abusing a former girlfriend."
"My god, does your dad know all of this?"
"Well he does now, we gave him all of the info, but he yelled and screamed at Christian and I and we had to have him removed from the apartment – I don't even know how he knew where Christian lives, I think Hyden must have told him. He showed up at my office earlier and his plan to bully me didn't go very well, I sat him down, had my say and dismissed him."
"You did what?" She says suppressing a giggle. "He's been very standoffish the last two days, stressed out – I can tell with him. I haven't seen him like this since before he was deciding to change the focus of his business ten years ago. It was a no-brainer when he decided to sell off his shares and we made a bundle, but he didn't seem happy in spite of the money." My mother is a sweet woman who has always been there for RJ and I but in terms of her relationship with my dad she's like a fifties housewife, with a career, pure window dressing. She's loving and attentive, and compliments my dad well, but she's never wanted to know anything, my dad could have a different family and as long as he was home by six and the lights came on when she flipped the switch she could care less. She's the type of woman that needs taking care of.
"Yes mom, I dismissed him – my father called me and based on a conversation with a man I find repugnant accused me of trading sexual favors to advance my business."
"Oh Ana – I…I don't know what to say to that. I do know he's been under a lot of stress lately, maybe…"
"Stop making excuses for him mom. I just called because I needed to talk to you and let you know what's going on. I will e-mail you copies of what we have on Hyden Jackson; enough about that - what is RJ up to?"
"He's at practice right now, he's very focused these days, and he's been going out with a girl, Darian – I think they're going to the prom, but he hasn't said. He's been babying me a lot lately, it's cute always asking if everything is okay with me – he used to follow in your dad's shadow but lately it's all about his mama, he even let me teach him how to cook, he's pretty good actually. I know he misses you, but he says you guys Skype about once a week, wait until he finds out you have a boyfriend, I know he wants you to be happy."
"How are you mom? It won't be long before RJ is out of the house – how are you going to deal with an empty nest?" My mother is a proud woman and it's clear RJ is worried she will be sad without him. She has spent all these years focused on her children and now she's going to be there all day waiting for Ray to come home. My mother started working for the school district as an RN so that she would have off when I did including summers off – she loves children and loved being a nurse so it was a perfect combination; once my dad made a lot of money she retired. She has a few friends, so maybe she can spend some time with them during the day, her entire life has been her children. My mother was at every recital, play, game, PTA meeting and conference, my dad missed my college graduation because of an important business deal he had to close. She is beautiful and truly is an amazing mom and in my opinion my dad has always taken for granted the incredible partner he has in my mom. I don't want my issue with my dad to become hers, but I know he'll get an earful once he slithers his way home.
###
We enjoy dinner with Elliot and Kate at the breakfast bar – after we clean up the kitchen Christian and I retire to the bedroom, where we sit on the bed and talk.
"I won't apologize for my father's behavior Christian, because I know it's not my fault, but I want you to know that I know he's wrong and I don't for one moment doubt your feelings for me. Part of why I've been successful in business is that I trust my instincts and they haven't failed me yet; I have had nothing but good feelings about you from the very beginning and I know you're a good man and that you're good for me. It scares me somewhat the depth of my feeling for you given the length of time I've known you, but I have no plans of pulling back or second guessing my feelings. You feel right."
I straddle his lap and take his face in my hands and kiss him passionately. "Thank you Christian."
He kisses me back pulling my body flush against his "my feelings scare me Ana, you feel perfect, I know now just who I've been waiting for and it's you."
###
When I wake at five the next morning I'm still wrapped around Christian, he was waiting for me. Oh my god. My family is likely never going to be the same, my father has no doubt done something illegal and my mother and brother will be devastated, yet I'm happier than I've ever been because Christian makes me feel as though I can handle anything.
"Don't over think things." I hear him sleepy mumble.
"How did you know I was awake?"
"I don't know, I felt your breathing change I think, or you moved. I generally don't sleep very well baby, except when I sleep with you – so when you're not sleeping I think my body is somehow aware…tuned in." I'm speechless.
"Why don't you sleep well?"
"I have nightmares about my childhood, and about my dealings with Elena. I haven't had one nightmare or instance of insomnia since you started staying over, you're my dream catcher baby." Wow.
I plant kisses all over his face and then kiss him deeply. "I never did ask you how your day went yesterday, and I didn't tell you how gorgeous those flowers are."
"My day was uneventful except when I used an emoticon and got texts from my girlfriend." He says with a smile. "Ros brought a potential acquisition to me and while she's thrilled about it's potential, I've got some thoughts that give me pause, mainly because of what this will mean for the workers who will be laid off. There's no chance we can save the company, so that means selling off the parts, and most of the positions would be redundant. So, it's always hard for me, we would make a lot of money, but it's not always about money; the company will go under eventually so again, it's difficult."
I'm stroking the hair on his neck as he's talking. I realize how much is weighing on this man daily, he is nothing short of phenominal. He's got all of this on his plate and now he's taken on my shit too.
"I know what you're thinking – I can juggle many things, and you are not a burden to me Anastasia." I sigh, how does he know what I'm thinking?
"I…I Christian…"
"Don't pull away from as some sort of noble gesture to un-complicate my life – that I couldn't handle." He lifts my chin and kisses me. "I could never be better off without you baby. The thought of you not in my life is very painful. Not an option."
"Okay?"
"Okay."
"I would venture to say that by late afternoon we should have a lot more insight into what's going on with your father and Jackson. Please don't worry Ana, I've got you baby, I know you have no reason to believe or understand, but you can trust me."
"I know." I whisper.
"I'm looking forward to the ball next month. I actually have a good idea of the type of gown I want. I can't wait to see you in a tuxedo – I've had a few daydreams about it." I say with a sexy smirk.
"Oh really, and am I on a runway in this tux or doing a striptease in this room." He leans forward and kisses me on the nose and then starts humming stripper music. "You want a show baby?" With that he jumps up off of the bed, still in his sweats and breaks into his sexiest Magic Mike routine.
Oh my gawd! Am I drooling? "I don't have any cash on me." He falls over onto the bed laughing at my faux sad expression.
With that he jumps up, hoists me over his shoulder and playfully slaps my butt.
"Let's get a workout in before work – I'll fulfill your stripper fantasy some other time."