Chapter 27

Ana PoV

"Christian, would you call Welch back and ask him to accompany us to the meeting tomorrow morning?" I asked as I set down my phone. "I want him there to read Bhutan and let me know if he still thinks he's legit. Also, can he do a paternity test or will I have to procure that elsewhere?"

"He can do one," Christian answered. "He told me as much on the message. We'll get a sample while he's there. Whether by asking for one or inconspicuously."

"Perfect. Thank you, dear."

"Anything for you, Ana. I mean that." He pulled me into his arms and simply held me there.

"So if he doesn't want my money or your money, what do you think he wants?" I asked.

"I think he wants to know his daughter, Ana," Christian answered. "I think he thought of your mother often and fondly. And when he learned that his love affair with her produced a baby girl, he wants nothing more than to know you, and be a part of your life, in whatever capacity you'll have him. I hope he'll understand that you already have a loving wonderful father and that he can't step in or replace Ray. But it's okay to love him if you decided. If a father can love two daughters, why can't a daughter love two fathers, right?"

"You're far too smart for your own good, Grey," I teased.

"You'd do well to remember that, Steele," he retorted, chuckling. We cleared the dishes, Ethan miraculously volunteering to wash them. I figured out that Mia was due back from the Diner at any moment, and he'd want her to see him doing something domestic for a change.

"I remember who he is!" Elliot exclaimed, looking like a light bulb just went off above his head. "He's huge into real estate. He tried to buy one of the properties I was renovating a couple years ago. He was going to tear it all down and put up an apartment building, completely obliterating the original architecture I was restoring. I wouldn't have it. He tripled his offer eventually, and I still turned him down."

"What building was it?" Ethan asked.

"The paramount," Elliot answered. "Can you imagine not having the Paramount in Seattle? I mean come on!"

This slightly tarnished my impression of the man. But I knew that business was business to the majority of the world, and many didn't care about the history a place may have had. He likely saw it as an ideal location with lots of businesses nearby, making it perfect for any Seattle resident.

Christian and I retired to our bedroom for the evening, choosing to curl up in bed and watch a movie. Something we had not done once since we began dating. Apparently Christian wasn't big into movies or television, considering them both to be a waste of time. I was a huge movie buff and bound and determined to sway him to the silver screen side. I logged into my Netflix account from my Blu-ray player and handed Christian the remote.

Hopping off the bed, I padded into my closet and returned in a set of silk pajamas, a sky blue tank top and long flowing pants. Christian removed his pants, socks and dress-shirt, and took the lounge pants I offered him, leaving his t-shirt on. The only thing better than a shirtless Christian, was a Christian wearing a fitted white t-shirt. Hot damn. The muscles and sinews in his chest and abdomen were defined, the sleeves fitting tightly around his biceps, stopping just above the curve of his tricep. Yum. Yum. Yum.

"A picture would last longer," he teased, smirking at me.

"Eidetic memory," I countered, tapping my temple. "I never need a camera."

"Touché," he agreed, stroking an imaginary beard on his chin. "How do you think I'd look with a beard?"

"Just as handsome as always," I told him. "You could grow your hair out like Jesus and have a long zz-top beard and you'd still be sex on legs… and all mine."

"I'll definitely always be all yours, my love."

In the morning, we showered, dressed and ate a quick breakfast before heading to my office to meet with Mr. Bhutan. Christian kept reassuring me that all would be well, but in light of recent events involving his and my biological relations, I wasn't as optimistic. Anita was already there, pot of coffee waiting for me, and a smile on her face. Reynolds was at his usual post, just next to my door. Well, it became his usual post after Hyde-Gate happened. He simply nodded at me and resumed his impassive expression that only the best of security personnel can master. Taylor had it down, too.

"Morning, Miss Steele, Mr. Grey," she greeted.

"For the last time, call me Ana. We've been through enough that I think we can use each other's first names, Anita."

"Yes ma'am," she joked, saluting me.

"And go ahead and call me Christian," my man added. "I did hold you hostage that one time, even if it was in jest." We laughed together; I was glad we were able to laugh about that horrible day already.

Glancing at the clock on her desk, I noticed that we had about fifteen minutes before Mr. Bhutan would arrive. "Anita, will you send Mr. Bhutan right in when he arrives?" I ask.

"Yes, of course," she agreed. Christian and I passed her desk and went into my office. I strode to my desk and sat down, letting out a long breath. Perhaps I was more nervous than I thought I was.

Christian sat on the edge of my desk and eyed me carefully. "Everything's going to be fine, love. You know that, right?"

"I'm trying to know that, but with everything else that has happened, it's hard to be optimistic about it," I told him, revealing my earlier thoughts. "I know Welch said he checks out, and you think he's on the level, but I still have my doubts." He leaned forward and cupped my face in his hands.

"I love you Anastasia, no matter what happens today or any day, I'll always care for you. I'll always be here for you." He closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine.

My libido went into overdrive, and it was all I could do to not throw him onto the desk and have my wicked way with him. But I knew we didn't have enough time, and getting all worked up wasn't going to help the situation. Reluctantly, I pulled away from him, planting one last chaste kiss to his velvet lips and sat back down in my chair. He resumed his leaning position on my desk, but moved to the side a bit. A wide smirk decorated his face.

With that, a young man strolled in the office. It was still too early for Bhutan to be there, and this man was far too young to be any father of mine. "Welch, thank you for coming," Christian said, as he turned to see the man. Oh right, I had asked for Welch to be here. He must have been on the calendar event otherwise he'd never have gotten past Anita or Reynolds. "This is my girlfriend, Anastasia Steele," he introduced.

"A pleasure," Welch said, taking my offered hand. "Mr. Bhutan is due here at 9, yes?" I nodded. "Good, then I can go over his file with you for a few minutes, if that's alright."

"By all means," I agreed. I gestured for him to sit down. He took one of the two chairs on the other side of my desk and placed a manila folder on the surface.

"Here's all the information I was able to find about him. As I informed earlier, he seems totally legit." I paged through the files, seeing a myriad of background checks, employee files, recommendation letters from college professors, and more. True to his word, the guy seemed to pan out. But then it almost seemed too perfect.

Christian called me out on that thought. "Just because he looks too good to be true doesn't mean he is."

A knock on the door sobered the mood and Welch quickly put all the papers back in the file, handing it to me. I tucked it in my desk drawer and called out that whoever was there could come in. "Hello Miss Steele," the man greeted. He seemed slightly taken aback when he noticed that I wasn't alone. "I'm Pierre Bhutan. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." He strolled towards my desk, his eyes glistening. It looked like he was about to cry.

"Hello Mr. Bhutan," I greeted. I held my hand out to him which he took and brought to his lips for a chaste kiss. Oh right, he's French, I thought. "I believe you've already met Mr. Grey," I said, gesturing to Christian. "This is Mr. Welch, head of security," I added, pointing to the other man. I left out that he was head of Grey Enterprise Holdings' security, not mine. Welch didn't seem put out by that.

"Pleased to meet you, and good to see you again, sir," Bhutan replied, shaking Welch's hand then Christian's. "I imagine you've run checks on me," he guessed. "I hope everything came out acceptably."

"So far," I replied. "I do have to say, with all that has happened in recent months, this is kind of the icing on the cake in many ways. So forgive me if I seem rather skeptical of your true purpose here; experience has taught me to be very, very cautious with matters of biological relations."

"Totally understandable," he agreed.

"Please, do sit," I said. Christian pulled a chair from near the sofa and sat next to me on my side of the desk, while Bhutan was seated next to Welch. "I understand that you believe you may be my biological father?" I began.

"Yes. And now, seeing you in person, I know it to be true. I'll happily submit to any paternity testing you wish to do, but just looking into your eyes, I know that you're of my blood." I pressed him to continue. "You have my mother's eyes. Beautiful eyes, same color, shape, and liveliness. I'd know those eyes anywhere." I could feel a light blush smatter my cheeks and I looked down for a moment.

"I would like to have a paternity test done, yes," I replied. "May I ask why it took you twenty-six years to discover you had a daughter?" I had heard the story from Christian, but I wanted to hear it from the source.

"I didn't know you existed until recently," he replied. "If I had it to do all over again, I would have worked harder to find your mother. She disappeared off the face of the earth. Not that I didn't have the resources to find her, but it rather seemed like she didn't want to be found. And then I moved on with my life. I rarely thought of her, to be honest. In my head, she was just a young summer fling, nothing more, nothing less.

"If I had known that she was pregnant with my child, I never would have left. I never would have let my family convince me to leave her behind and never look back. And even if she tried to resist me, I would have worked harder to at least get her to let me be a part of your life. I would have loved being a father to you. Even though I was young, far too young for the responsibility, I would have stepped up."

Part of me resented the fact that he didn't work harder to find Rebecca, but a larger part of me was so glad he was here now. And I couldn't forget the fact that if it hadn't been for every life event that I went through, I never would have met Christian. If this man had raised me, I'd have been raised French, likely as not, wouldn't have two wonderful siblings, and wouldn't have met the love of my life. Then again, perhaps fate worked in mysterious ways and I would have met Christian anyway, but under drastically different circumstances.

He would have been exactly the same as he is now, I imagined. He would still have turned out to be the Dom, billionaire entrepreneur, but I wouldn't have been able to understand him. It took my own horrid childhood experiences for me to understand and relate to what he went through. Ultimately, that is what helped us both overcome everything that we've dealt with in our lives. Our understanding of each other's struggles. Without that, he'd probably be in his playroom now with a sub and wouldn't pay me any never mind. Without that, I'd probably be living in France, acting as a debutant or whatever title I'd have and would never know that true love laid across the pond.

"As soon as I saw the news story about you, and your history, I got on a plane and came here. There's nothing more that I want than to get to know you. I know I can't be a father to you, but I would love to be a part of your life. When I got here, I figured out where your building was and found your office. Then I met Mr. Grey, here," he gestured to Christian. "I assume he's a business partner of yours?" he asked.

"No, we're together," I replied, reaching over and taking Christian's hand in mine.

"Oh, you're a lovely couple. L'amour!" He clapped his hands together in joy. "I see rings! Are you married?"

"Not yet, just promised to each other," Christian answered. "I just wanted a ring, too," he added. Bhutan smirked knowingly.

"Listen, Mr. Bhutan. I've a busy day ahead of me and I need time to process all that you've said today. I'm not opposed to getting to know each other, and potentially my other siblings, too, pending the paternity test of course."

"Oh yes, I'm sure you're very busy," he agreed. "Do you need to take my blood or…"

"I can just swab your cheek, Sir," Welch answered. He dug a cotton swab that was sheathed in a plastic tube out of his pocket. "I'll have the results by tomorrow morning."

"Excellent, thank you, Welch. And thank you, Miss Steele for accommodating me today."

"Please call me Ana," I told him. "Even if it turns out that I'm not your daughter, I think it's perfectly fine for to you use my first name."

"Oh, yes, lovely. And call me Pierre… Mr. Grey," he said, turning to Christian.

"Mr. Bhutan," Christian offered, giving the man his hand to shake again. Pierre awkwardly said goodbye again and headed out the door. As soon as I heard the elevator ding, I sat back down.

"Well, what do you think?" Christian asked.

"I think that man's my father," I answered. "Do you both agree?"

"You favor him quite a bit," Welch agreed. "Even some mannerisms are the same, I noticed. I can tell you that even more so, I believe he truly wants to simply get to know the daughter he never knew he had. And he's very worried that you don't want the same from him."

"It's like I told him. I'm not opposed to it, but I certainly won't have him be the one walking me down the aisle at our wedding."

Christian PoV

Her words of walking down the aisle instantly had me envisioning our wedding. On a beach beneath the starry sky, lit only by a few strategically placed candles in the sand. Ana would wear a simple cotton dress, bare feet with her toes painted with tropical colors, and I would wear a linen shirt and matching pants. I pictured my sister, Kate, and Anita wearing matching lavender dresses, each holding a single hibiscus bloom in their hands. To my left would be Elliot, Ethan, and Taylor, each with a matching hibiscus bloom in the pocket of their lavender linen shirts. Ana walked towards me, her hair curled slightly and blowing in the breeze, held back by a hibiscus bloom perched above her ear. The dress billowed around her with each step, reminding me of the sails on the Grace.

Ana snapping her fingers in front of my face pulled me from my daydream. "Earth to Christian," she teased. "Where'd you go?"

"A beach at midnight," I answered. "You were in a white dress."

"Oh dear… I make one off-hand comment about walking down an aisle and the man succumbs to daydreams," she said.

"Miss Steele?" Anita said, poking her head in the door. "Mrs. Elena Lincoln is here to see you. I've told her to leave and Security is on their way to escort her off the premises, but I wanted to let you know."

"Send her in," Ana said.

"What?!" I bellowed.

"I'm just going to ensure that she's going to make good on her decision to turn herself in. She has yet to do it, which is only hurting her more."

Ana sat back down at her desk and shooed me and Welch into the coat closet nearby. "Not a peep from either of you, understand?" We nodded and silenced ourselves while we waited with baited breath for what kind of altercation was about to ensue.

"Mrs. Lincoln. To what do I owe the displeasure of your visit?" Ana asked, nonchalantly. I had to hold in my chuckle at her tone.

"You ruined me! You two-bit skank whore! I'm going to prison because of you!" Elena was in tears, sounded drunk as a skunk, and was nearly insane with rage. I wanted to burst out of the closet to Ana's aid, but sure enough, the woman had locked me in it. Of course she did.

"Mrs. Lincoln, I did nothing of the sort. You dug your own grave when you decided to prey upon a fifteen-year-old boy. You're a sane individual, Elena. You knew better. At least you should. If you don't, then maybe you can plead insanity." Ana was far too calm for the situation, in my opinion.

"You took him from me. Christian was just about to come back to me, and then you had to get your meddling hands into him. You'll pay for this." I heard shuffling then the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

"No!"