Life with children is never as expected... You make plans and almost 98 percent of the time they never come to be lol.
Anyway, here you go. Sorry for the delay.
I don't own the characters I'm just having some fun.
Christian
"What is it now Taylor?" I ask running my hand through my hair in frustration. It's too early for this shit.
"Ray asked to put a CPO on Ana." He says and avoids eye contact with me and my nerves get the best of me. Why the fuck would he ask for a CPO?
"You keep in contact with Ray?" I ask out of curiosity.
"Yes sir." I raise an eyebrow when that's all he says. What the fuck is he not telling me?
"Spit it out Taylor? What is it? Why would Ana need a CPO, when she's adamant she nor the kids need it? What the fuck are you not telling me?" I feel my anger bubbling on the surface and my hands clench into a fist.
"Ray is just being cautious." Taylor defends Ray, but continues. "He made a solid point when he mentioned the trouble the media would cause when they get wind of your relationship and we know they will eventually drag the children into it." He pauses and looks at me as if he's fighting with himself to continue. "He also mentioned the possibility of Manki attempting to see or speak with Ana."
I close my eyes willing the impending headache, I know is about to come, away. How the fuck, am I supposed to tell Ana, she will be getting a CPO, when she told me herself she'll reach out to me when she decides it is necessary? This is a major clusterfuck!
"Yo bro!" Elliott's thundering voice comes from the direction of the stairs with his phone in hand. "Have you seen this shit?" He points to the screen of his phone and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Great more fucken bad news.
"What are you talking about?" I ask while I rub my temples.
"You made the news," He says and takes a seat on the barstool. "On the plus side, Ana's identity is still unknown." He shrugs and turns to me before shoving a forkful of pancakes, "At least that's good." Elliot says and I'm possibly more annoyed with Elliot and his 'all good' than with Taylor who has been withholding this information.
"No NOT fucken good!" I growl and turn my sight back to Elliot who wears a frown "Do you not know how far these fuckers will dig to find out the identity of Ana? And let's not forget her children asshole."
"And you," I point to Taylor who's standing at attention near the breakfast bar. "Why the fuck didn't you inform me?" I say pulling out my phone and click on the internet browser and search for my name. Sure enough there are magazines, gossip columns, and even internet posts about my date with my mystery woman.
"Sir Welch and I decided it wasn't a major concern since her face is obscured by her hair." I ignore Taylor and mind the screen on my phone.
Picture after picture of Ana and I running around Seattle on our date plastered with little side notes asking who she is and what she looks like since the asshole photographer only captured pictures of Ana's face hidden behind her hair.
"Taylor I want this shit brought down immediately." I order and head back inside my bedroom for my shoes and suit jacket, not even bothering to acknowledge his 'Yes sir.'
As soon as we stepped inside the elevator I called Andrea and Ros and told them I had a family emergency and I wouldn't be in the office today. Andrea informed me I had a conference call with the owner of Stone Wall that she will reschedule for tomorrow and after I received an ear full of complaints from Ros she followed instructions and responded with her simple, "Yes Grey."
"Taylor do you have someone in mind for Ana and the children?" I ask when he parks the car in one of the vacant spots in the underground parking structure.
"Yes sir," he nods and turns around to look at me. "His name is Luke Sawyer." Reaching for the glove compartment, he opens it and pulls out a manilla folder which contains his BGC and his detailed information.
I scan his folder quickly, "I'm guessing since you have a line of communication with Ray," I raise my eyes and see him fidget a bit, which is odd and completely out of character for him to do. "He's seen his BGC?"
"He's actually the one who brought the information to me Sir." A small smile brakes on my face when I see the tips of his ears turn red. He pulled a fast one on Taylor.
"Maybe I should fire you and hire Ray instead." I deadpan and laugh when he turns his attention towards the windshield.
"I'm here to speak to Ms. Steele. My name is Christian Grey." I inform the receptionist at the front desk.
"Go right ahead Mr. Grey." He smiles, nods, and points to the bank of elevators. "Rachel, Ms. Steele's PA, will meet you on the 22nd floor."
I smile and thank him before walking towards the elevators.
It takes four minutes to arrive on the twenty second floor and I'm surprised to see Ana is waiting for me and not Rachel as the front desk mentioned.
"Hi." She whispers in greeting and I smile wrapping my arm around her waist, pulling her flushed to my chest and giving her a kiss on the lips.
"Hi." I greet back and she giggles.
"What brings you here?" Ana asks holding my hand, and guides me in the direction of her office, while my eyes focus on the sway of her hips.
"I wanted to talk to you about something." I tell her but I can't seem to remove my sight off her body. I'm taking the sight of her all in as if she'll banish before me, and damn what a sight she is.
"Christian?" When did she turn around? I must have confusion written on my face, because she giggles, making her breast bounce, and my eyes have found a new target. God what I would give to see her breasts again.
"Christian focus." She says more sternly and my eyes shift to hers. "I'm sorry I was momentarily distracted." I say truthfully and rearrange my hard on.
"What am I going to do with you?" She asks playfully and my mind has come up with way too many scenarios. My house, her house, boathouse, my car, her car, my boat, my jet, on my piano… oh the endless possibilities.
I groan and wipe the drool I may or may not have on the corner of my mouth and attempt to distract myself from ogling her even more than I already have.
"Your office is nice." I say taking in her office. Nice way to change the subject Grey!
I see a photo framed of Phoebe and Theodore that sits on on the center of her cherry oak L shaped desk to the left of her computer. A five foot four plant on the corner of the wall to ceiling windows and a medium sized glass table between the four guest chairs. Her office has the same feel her home does. Ana.
"Why are you really here?" She asks and I turn around to face her, just in time, to see the blush rise to her cheeks. "I mean thank you for the surprise visit, but…" her eyebrows furrow and I can tell she's trying to say what she wants to say without sounding rude.
Taking a seat in front of her desk I take a deep breath and pull out my phone to show her the pictures I've saved.
"I need you to see these and then we will talk about why I'm really here." I hand my phone over to her and she looks at me with a worried expression before looking at the screen.
Anastasia
Oh my god!
I feel my mouth drop open while my finger swipes at the pictures of us on our date from yesterday. I send a silent Thank you to Kate for doing my hair since the photographer wasn't able to get a good picture of my face.
"Who took these?" I ask Christian who is just silently looking at me while I look through the pictures on his phone. Why are there so many?
"A freelance photographer who had a once in a lifetime opportunity." He growls under his breath, but I caught it.
I sigh and hand his phone back to him. This is it. He won't want me.
I can feel the tears forming in my eyes and I will myself not to break. Why would I cry? It's not like I've known him for long. That may be true, so why does the idea of not having him around hurt?
I'm momentarily confused when I feel his hands cup my face and he turns me to face him. When did he move beside me?
"Ana if you decide this isn't something you want," he takes a deep breath and tilts his head to where his phone lies on the table. "I'll understand."
I sigh and close my eyes, "Christian I don't want this to affect your reputation." I shrug and turn my face away from him.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm a divorced mother of two," I answer annoyed that he forgot. "I don't want it to affect you in anyway." I answer truthfully and stand from my office chair and walk over to the side table next to the door and pour myself a cup of room temperature water from the pitcher. I need distance from him, because I feel like I'm just a thin thread away from crying.
I can feel him standing behind me, before I even have a chance to turn around. "Baby, I could give two fucks about my reputation." he says annoyed and I turn around.
"You say that now," I don't dare look at him in the eye instead I focus on a spot on his chest while I speak, "but what if I cost you to lose a merger? Or what if-" my ramblings are halted when he covers my mouth with his. Kissing me with such intensity I forgot what I was saying.
"I don't care about the so called damage you think would happen." He says laying a kiss on my forehead while I attempt to control my breathing. "I just want to make sure you're okay with being associated with me?"
Looking up at him I can tell he's worried I'm going to say it's not worth it, but it is, he is very much worth it.
Wrapping my hand around the back of his neck I pull him down towards me and kiss his lips, "So I'm guessing we're going to need CPOs?" I ask him, which causes him to laugh.
"So his name is Luke Sawyer."
After Christian and I finally agreed we didn't care about what the media may portray, he called Taylor and requested he bring the background check on the close protection officer who is intended for me.
"What about Teddy and Phoebe?" I ask turning to face him from my seated position on his lap.
"Taylor and Ray are looking for someone to hire. I did mention I would feel comfortable if a woman would be hired as Phoebe's CPO." He says while running his finger up and down my neck. I shiver when he runs his finger over my collarbone.
"So when are they supposed to start?" I ask involuntarily tilting my head so he has better access to my neck. "Well," I can feel his hot breath on my neck between his open mouth kisses as he speaks, " If I could I'd hire them today, but I want Taylor and Ray to have enough time to find someone suitable to protect the children." He finishes and sucks on the spot where my neck and shoulder meet.
"Christian!" I laugh, shrugging him off, and stand to fix my skirt. "Talking about the children. I need to pick up Teddy and Phoebe soon." I say and bite on my bottom lip when he once again rearranges himself. Oh if only I could…
"What are you thinking about baby?" He asks smirking at me, and I blush at having been caught daydreaming about the girth and width of his male appendage. "Nothing." I answer him quickly and he laughs.
"Dinner tonight" Christian reminds me when the elevators open once we reach the underground parking. "Yes." I smile and begin to make my way to my truck, but I'm pulled back by Christian, holding onto my wrist.
"You can't leave without a proper kiss." he says before bending down and capturing my lips with his. His tongue invades my mouth and dances a gentle beat with mine. I feel my knees going weak when his arm wraps around my waist, and his other one runs through my hair bringing my mouth impossibly closer to his.
Running my hands through his hair I tug gently, causing him to moan in my mouth. Oh god! I moan feeling his hard shaft being pressed against my abdomen.
Pulling his lips off mine he begins to kiss the corner of my mouth and once again begins to kiss my neck stopping shortly to suck on my collar bone.
"Christian we have to stop." I try to say firmly but fail, even to my own ears I sound needy. Geez!
"I know." Christian answers back, but still keeps sucking gently on my collar bone.
"I have to pick up my kids." I moan feeling his teeth graze over my neck, "and if I don't leave now," I stop and turn to capture his lips with mine. "I'm going to be late." I say out of breath and cup his face to look at me.
"Okay." He answers back and I can see the lust that is clouding his grey stormy eyes. I don't think I have ever seen his eyes this stormy grey before, and it makes me feel desired.
"Mommy!" Teddy and Phoebe yell in unison when they see me.
"Hi kiddos." I greet with open arms and hold them to me while I lay kisses on top of their heads. "Did you both have fun at school today?"
I ask and they both begin to tell me all about their day.
"Is uncle Jose going to be at home?" Teddy asks me when we come to a stop at a red light. We are about 5 minutes away from home and for the past 5 minutes Phoebe has been quiet, nothing unusual, but still quite while Teddy keeps going on about the science project he did in class.
Something is bothering her and I want to ask my daughter if everything is okay. Even though she's too young to understand certain things she's very in tune to her surroundings and has an inquisitive mind.
"No Teddy," I shake my head and glance at him through the rearview mirror. "He made plans with his dad today."
"Oh okay." he says and I can hear the disappointment in his tone.
And just like that the mood in the car has changed.
It's been close to thirty minutes since we arrived home and Phoebe still hasn't said a word and I'm beginning to worry.
"Baby girl," Knocking on Phoebe's slightly open door, I push it open and I see her shove a bright yellow paper under her pillow.
"What do you have there?" I ask quietly taking a seat next to her on the bed, she doesn't look at me as I pull the now crumpled piece of paper from under her pillow. Biting the inside of my cheek, I read the bold neon purple header, Father-Daughter dance.
"Phoebe when did you get this?" I ask scanning the paper quickly and stop when I see Friday the 17th at 6pm. Wow, that's only a couple of days away. I'm not mad, just confused for why she didn't tell me.
She shrugs, stands off her bed, kneels down on the floor, and begins on her vocabulary worksheet. She still hasn't answered my question, so I slide off her bed and sit next her on the floor.
"Phebs why didn't you tell me?" I run my hand soothingly over her head, moving the locks of her hair away from her face, just in time to see a tear roll down her cheek.
I instantly pull her towards me, cradling my daughter in arms trying my damn hardest to comfort her the best way I can.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask her, refusing to let my hold loosen on her body, and I begin to rock her forward and backward.
She shakes her head and I can feel her tears dampening my chest where she pressed her face.
"Okay babygirl," I say comforting her and cup the back of her head, while I place kisses on the top of her crown.
My heart once again aches and it angers me that Josh still has the power to hurt my children even when he was absent from the first time they took their first breath until now. I shake my head and continue rocking Phoebe in arms, while I pull out my phone and send a quick text letting Christian know I'll have to cancel our dinner tonight. He responds asking if everything is alright and I text back family emergency. I place my phone back on the floor and ignore it while I concentrate on what I should do now.
It's minutes later that I realise Phoebe has cried herself to sleep cradled in my arms, although she does take shuddering breaths every now and then, I still haven't been able to come up with a proper response for what I should tell her to make this impossible pain go away. Standing with slight difficulty since I still have Phoebe in arms, I make my way down stairs, lay her on the sectional in the living room, and head into the kitchen where I start with dinner.
I've already set the pre-made lasagna Jose made last night in the oven, made homemade lemonade, and I've started on a green salad that is almost done when I hear Teddy coming down the stairs.
"Mom have you seen Phoebe?" Teddy asks, turning the corner of the kitchen.
"She's sleeping on the sofa." I point towards the living room. He nods and looks down at the chopping board where I'm currently slicing the green bell pepper for the salad.
"Do you need help?" Teddy offers and I smile, "Sure," I nod and point to the kitchen table. "Can you set the table?"
"Of course mom."
Placing the slices of the green bell pepper inside the salad bowl, I hear the doorbell.
"That's weird," I say to myself and turn to look at Teddy who is placing the plates on the table, while I make my way to open the door.
Who can it be? I know Kate and Jose have plans and my dad is with his buddies, so it can't be them, and it can't be Erick since he's out of town. Unless…
I can feel my anger rising with the thought of it being Josh. But he wouldn't knock and he sure wouldn't use the front door. I don't know who to expect but the way I feel right now it better not be Josh.