Me and Mr. Grey…part 10
Brenda pulled up in the parking garage. She saw the sign, Grey enterprises. She headed up to the lobby, received a security pass, and headed up to his office floor. On the way up, she thought about her doctor's visit, not even a week ago.
"We were careful, and the one time we were not, I took a Plan B. The next morning."
Dr. Rodriguez shrugged. "They aren't one hundred percent. It prevents 7 out of eight potential pregnancies. Not eight out of eight."
Brenda sighed. After taking a blood test and it coming back positive, Brenda was finally convinced, she was indeed pregnant. She left Tango with Julia, and decided to make a quick trip to Seattle. She had no idea if Christian was even at the office. She had his number, but she needed to tell him in person. She exited the elevator, and was asked to have a seat. (He must be here.) She sat down, and waited.
About fifteen minutes had passed, when she looked up, and saw him stepping off the elevator. He didn't see her, he was on his phone. His secretary stopped him, which didn't make him happy. She pointed, Christian turned, and smiled. He said something to the person on the phone, and disconnected the call. She stood up, and walked over to him.
"Hello...Christian."
"Brenda, Why didn't you call and tell me, you were coming to Seattle?"
"Spur of the moment."
He looked at his secretary. "Don't interrupt me."
"Yes, Mr. Grey."
He looked over at Brenda. "Come on." She followed him. As soon as the door closed, he pinned her against it, and kissed her, catching her off guard. Christian moaned, and his tongue sought entrance. She parted her lips, and their tongues intertwined, sending shivers down her spine. He moved hungrily down to her neck, sucking and kissing on it.
"Christian..."
"Shhh..."
"Stop please."
"I can't, I've missed you."
"Christian...we...need...to...talk."
"Later." He tried to unbutton her pants.
She pushed him away. "Stop. I'm pregnant."
He stepped back. "What?"
"I'm pregnant Christian."
His eyes went cold. He sighed. "Do you need money?"
"No. I didn't say I needed money, I said I'm pregnant."
Christian stared at her. He was shocked, because he thought she was different. She wanted money too. "Why are you telling me?"
"Because...it's yours."
"How do I know that?"
"Because I'm telling you. And I haven't been with anyone else."
Christian stared at her. "How? We were careful, and that one night we weren't, you took the morning after pill."
"I know, but apparently it didn't work."
"Was it a morning after pill?"
"Yes! You saw me take it."
"I saw you take something."
"Are you trying to say I lied?"
"I don't know, I only know what you told me. I didn't read the box."
"I did not lie Christian."
"Let's say you are pregnant. Are you getting an abortion?"
"What?"
"Are you terminating the pregnancy?"
"I don't know, I just found out. And I am pregnant. I've seen a doctor."
"Well, you don't have much time. What are you two months?"
"A little over."
"I'll pay for it, and throw some money your way."
Brenda was speechless. "I don't want your money, and don't talk like it's a business decision."
"I don't want any children Brenda."
"Me either Christian."
"Well, get an abortion."
"Just like that?"
"Yes. Look, I'll pay for the procedure." He walked over, and sat down on his desk.
She glared at him. "You insensitive mother f*cker."
"What do you want me do? Sh*t Brenda. Be happy? I told you I'll give you money, if that's what you want. I'll take the loss, I was stupid because I trusted your a**."
"Whoa...You still think I'm after your money? You cocky heartless son of a b*tch. I don't want your money! I told you because I thought you'd want to know." She started fixing her clothes.
"Will you put that in writing?"
"F*ck you Christian." She opened the door and left...
She made it to her rental, and as soon as she was in the safety of her car, the tears came with ease. She didn't expect for him to be happy, hell she wasn't happy. But he didn't have to talk to her like that. She started the car, and went back to the hotel. She was staying at the same hotel she stayed at before.
Emmanuel was at the desk, when she walked in. He looked up, and his eyes followed her. He could tell she had been crying. He wondered if she was ok. She boarded the elevator.
Brenda slid her card, and went into her room. She plopped down on the couch. She had to figure out what she was going to do. She called the airport, and decided not to stay overnight, she was leaving Seattle today. She had about five hours, until the flight took off. She decided to take a nap, but she couldn't sleep. She just stared at the ceiling.
A couple of hours later, she heard a knock at the door. She got up, walked into the living room, and looked out the peephole. There was man dressed in a suit. "Miss Barrett? Are you in there?"
Brenda hollered through the door. "Yes?"
"I am coming on behalf of Mr. Grey."
She opened the door. "Yes."
"May I come in?"
"No. What do you want?"
"I don't feel comfortable discussing it out in the hall?"
"I don't feel comfortable letting you in my room."
"Ok." He unzipped his leather binder. "I'm Mr. Grey's lawyer. And he told me all about this situation. I sympathize with your predicament, but my job is to protect my client. He offered you money, you refused?"
"I don't want his money. And thanks for sympathizing with my predicament, I see he employs sons of b*tches too."
The man didn't flinch. "Are you really pregnant?"
"It's none of your business, what I am."
"Anything that goes on with Mr. Grey is my business. And if you are pregnant, we want a DNA test."
"Tell Mr. Grey to go straight to hell." She slammed the door. Brenda slid down the length of the door and sobbed...
Brenda sat in the office, waiting on the counselor. (Why in the hell do I need a counselor? Just give me the damn abortion.) She looked around the room, and sighed. She had not told a soul she was pregnant, besides Christian. But he was dead to her. She wondered how simple the procedure was. Hell, if it was simple at all. What if she died? No she wouldn't die. What if she had it, and was ruined forever? The odds of that happening was slim to none. And Christian's lawyer called it a predicament. It's not a predicament. It is a baby.
Tears filled her eyes. It was a baby, and it was her baby, and she was about to kill it. She wiped her face. And stood up. The door opened, and a small middle aged woman walked in. "Miss Barrett?"
Brenda smiled. "I won't be needing counseling, I changed my mind. Thanks." And she walked out...
Since she was keeping the baby, Brenda decided it was time she told people. She needed some type of support. She told Lois first, and of course she was shocked. Brenda told her, that the child's father did not want anything to do with it. She told Lois it was her fling. Lois lectured her, on why she shouldn't have casual sex, and how she was lucky she didn't catch something worse. But in the end she was happy, and very supportive.
She told Julia, and to her surprise she was supportive too. She wanted to know who the guy was, but Brenda didn't divulge that information. She knew Julia, wouldn't keep quiet, she would go after Christian, him and his money. Well she'd try anyway…
Brenda was at Julia's house one afternoon. Conner and Sarah were playing with Tango.
Brenda and Julia were sitting outside watching them.
"Brenda, there is something I've been meaning to do. And I know you don't need it, but it is yours."
"What?"
"Your inheritance."
"What inheritance? Father didn't leave me anything."
"No, but he should have. You were his daughter too."
"Julia, I don't want his money."
"Maybe not, but I'm giving it to you."
"Why?"
"Because it's the right thing to do. And I feel like I need to."
She slid a piece of paper over to her. Brenda opened it. "Julia. This is a lot of money."
"It's yours. It isn't mine. I was selfish and greedy. I always knew it was yours, maybe that's why I never touched it. I always kept it in a separate account. I guess I was punishing you, or at least I thought I was. I was punishing myself, by being mean. Because you were not missing it. You moved on with your life."
Brenda was shocked. She was comfortable, but now she was wealthy. "Damn it Julia, you b*tch."
Julia smiled. "It collected interest."
"Well I forgive you."
Brenda grabbed her hand. "You didn't need to do this, but thanks."
Julia smiled. "It is yours and the baby's."
Brenda's eyes got wide. "The baby's...I'm going to be a mommie." She
was still trying to get use to the idea.
"A good one. You're already a great aunt. I'm sorry I kept you away so long."
"Me too. But the past is the past."
"Yes it is."
Brenda jumped up, and ran over to Conner and Sarah. "Ok kids, it's time to play hide n seek..."
Six months had passed, and Christian had not heard anything from Brenda. He saw Diana, but apparently she didn't know, because she never mentioned it. He didn't know if she kept the baby, or aborted it. Hell, he had no idea if she was even pregnant. But he needed to find out. He didn't trust anybody with information like that, so he sent Taylor to LA to find out.
Christian was sitting in his office at home, when Taylor walked in. He handed him an envelope.
"Did you see her?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"The pictures will tell you all you need to know. I'll leave you alone." Taylor left.
Christian turned in his chair, facing the window. He opened the envelope and took out the pictures. The first picture was her driving up in her car. The next was the door opening, and her exiting. She had on a dress that stopped at her ankles. At first he couldn't see her, but in the next picture she turned, and her stomach was huge. So she really was pregnant. But how did he know it was his? It was one week, and one slip up. Well, a couple of slip ups. But he watched her take the pill. Maybe she was already pregnant?
He continued looking through the pictures. He saw her going into the house, with Tango following. He had gotten so big. There were pictures of her walking Tango, playing with him, playing with a couple of kids, talking to a blonde.
After she left that day, he called his lawyer, and he was sure it an attempt at getting money. He wondered how Christian could be so stupid. And he scolded him, for being too careless. His lawyer wanted to know where Brenda was staying. Christian wasn't sure, but he guessed, and he guessed right. She was staying at the same hotel. His lawyer wanted to scare her, and apparently it worked, because he had not heard from her since. Neither one knew if she was really pregnant, or if the baby was even his.
Christian continued looking through the pictures. What if he was the child's father? Sh*t, he was not father material. What could he offer a child? His mother had f*cked him up…royally. And he would probably end up doing the same thing.
He stared at one of the pictures of Brenda. She had a small child in her lap. A girl, she looked to be about four. They were sitting on a blanket on the grass. Maybe they were having a picnic. There was a picture of Brenda tickling her. And another of Brenda sitting alone. Her hand on her stomach, staring at nothing in particular. And there was another one, with Tango resting his head on her lap. He stared at that picture for a long time…...
Brenda never told Diana she was pregnant, she finally decided she should know.
"How far along?"
"Um…I'm actually overdue. I'm getting induced…in a couple of days."
"Brenda! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?! We have spoken a million times in that time period, and you didn't say a word."
"I'm sorry Diana, don't be mad."
"I'm not mad, I'm hurt. Well, who is the father?"
"A guy I met in New York."
"During that cosmetics shoot?"
Brenda lied. "Yes."
"What did he say?"
"I haven't told him. It was just a fling, I'd rather raise the baby by myself."
"Are you prepared to do that?"
"Yes."
"Damn Brenda. I'm coming to California. I can get someone to cover for me at work, they owe me."
"Really Diana?"
"Yes, You are about to have your first child, and I want to be there."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Remind me to kick you a** after the baby is born."
"I love you."
"I love you too…..."
Christian walked into the salon. He had some business to go over with Elena. They were thinking about opening another salon across town.
All the ladies turned and looked, as he walked through. He walked into Elena's office. She was talking to the manager of the salon. "Where is Diana? I need to talk to her, I have an event Saturday, and I want her to do my makeup."
"She had a family emergency in California. She should be back by Friday."
"Oh, is everything ok?"
"I don't think it is serious. Someone is having a baby, I think."
"Oh, ok. Well here are the numbers for the month. Tell everyone to keep up the get work. Well done."
"Thanks Elena." And she left, leaving Elena and Christian alone.
Elena leaned back in her seat, looking over at Christian, who looked to be deep in thought. "Christian, are you ok?"
He looked up. "Yeah."
"Ok, well, I know how busy you are, so let's get down to business…..…."
Brenda had been in labor for seven hours, and she was exhausted. Diana and Julia stayed with her the whole time. And Lois called a million times. She was in so much pain.
Julia kissed her forehead. "Breathe Brenda. Remember to breathe."
Brenda closed her eyes and moaned. "It hurts….so…bad."
Diana rubbed her back, while Julia fed her ice.
The nurse came in to check her again. Brenda grunted, and grabbed the rails, as the nurse checked her. "She's not dilating." The machine started to beep. She pressed it. The doctor came in. "Brenda, the baby's heart rate is dropping. We are going to have to do a C section."
At that point Brenda didn't care, she just wanted it out. Everything was a blur after that. Brenda signed some papers, and she was taking to the OR. And some medicine was injected into her back.
And the next thing Brenda knew, she was staring at a blue curtain, and she felt an insane amount of pressure, and then she heard Dr. Rodriguez say. "It's a boy!"
Julia was jumping up and down, with the camera in her hand. And then she heard the most beautiful sound ever….her baby crying.
She saw him briefly, and then they took him off to be cleaned. Brenda didn't get a good look, because her tears blinded her eyes. Julia was sobbing, and kissing Brenda all over her face.
"Brenda, you did it. He is so beautiful!"
After they stitched her up, they took her back to her room. Brenda couldn't feel anything below the waist. And she was shaking terribly. The doctor said it was from the medicine.
They brought the baby in minutes later.
Diana ran over to see him. She stared at the baby. He was beautiful. He had dark hair, and Christian's gray eyes. That was his baby, she was sure of it. Why did Brenda lie?
They placed the baby in Brenda's arms. Brenda looked down at him. He was so beautiful, and he was all hers. She couldn't believe it. And he had a little mole on his chin. He looked so much like his father.
"My mouth is so dry."
Julia grabbed the empty pitcher. "I'll go and get you some water." She left.
Diana looked down at the baby. "He's gorgeous Brenda. He reminds me of someone."
Brenda looked up at her. "I'm sorry Diana, I wanted to tell you. But….look you can't tell anyone. Promise me."
"Does he know?"
"Yes…and he's not interested. I don't want to talk about it. I'm not sad, it is what it is. This is MY baby, and he'll be just fine."
Diana nodded.
Julia walked in, and placed the pitcher of water on the stand next to the bed. "Look at my nephew, he is as pretty as any girl, I've ever seen."
Diana sat down on the side of the bed. "What's his name?"
Brenda looked up at her. "I didn't tell you."
"No, you haven't told me much lately."
"I'm sorry. His name is Brayden Nathaniel Barrett….."
Diana stayed till the end of the week. Brenda and the baby went back to Julia's. She spent two months there, and then she went home. Julia didn't want her to leave, but she had to learn how to do things herself. She was getting spoiled at Julia's. There was Julia and a nanny. She didn't want to rely on either.
The months passed, one after the other. And Brenda accepted her fate as a single mother. She didn't even think about Christian. He was just a sperm donor in her eyes. She wasn't even sure if he even knew she had a baby, and she had no plans to call and tell him. Why would she? He made it very clear, that he didn't want anything to do with either of them. As time past Brayden accomplished a lot of firsts. His first tooth, his first words, his first steps, and she was there to see them all…...
It's been three years, and so much has changed. They moved into a bigger house, because Brayden had accumulated so much over the years. And he had grown so much. Mentally and Physically. He was looking more and more like Christian everyday. He had some of her features too, but mostly Christian's. And he was getting the same kind of reactions. Everywhere he went, people would comment on how gorgeous he was. His hair was jet black, and his eyes were a beautiful grayish color. People thought she should put him in commercials, and print ads. But Brenda would never do that. He was going to a normal kid. If he grew up, and wanted to do it, then maybe, but not until then. And Brayden hated all the attention. He was a typical boy. He didn't care anything about being cute, he just wanted play.
Brenda was having a barbecue at her house. Julia and her family came over. Her husband was in the swimming pool with the kids.
"You have like the best husband ever."
Julia smiled. "I know. I'm so grateful for him. Lord knows I didn't deserve him. I almost lost him once."
Brenda looked over at her. "Really…when?"
"I cheated on him once…before we were married. I was so stupid back then. I took him for granted. He left me, and it was hard as hell trying to win him back. But I did, thank God."
"Everyone makes mistakes."
"Yeah, that mistake, almost cost me a chance at happiness."
"Almost…but it didn't."
Julia smiled. "Enough about me, when are going to start dating?"
"I'm not thinking about dating. I have Tango and Brayden, they are all I need."
"They are not all you need. You are a woman with needs."
"They have things you can purchase for that."
Julia laughed. "Brenda, you need a companion. All of Jake's single friends, think you are gorgeous, and you are. But you won't give them the time of day."
"I like my life just as it is."
"I think you are still mad at Brayden's father."
Brenda shook her head. "That was a fling. I'm not mad at him. I hate him, but I'm not mad at him."
Julia grinned. "So what day are you going to Seattle?"
"The wedding is Saturday. I need to help Diana get some things done, so probably Wednesday. And thanks for watching Brayden."
"No problem. He's my third child, and I adore him."
"Trust me I know that. But I can't believe Diana is getting married. I remember when she ran into David, after all those years apart. She's been on cloud nine ever since."
"Maybe you'll meet someone at the wedding?"
"Hopefully not."
They laugh.
Brayden ran up. "Mommie, I'm ready to eat!"
She touched his nose. "Ok."
He walked over and sat at the table. Tango followed him and sat down next to the chair. Tango adored Brayden, and its been that way since the first moment he saw him. He would sleep up under Brayden's crib when he was a baby. If he started crying, and Brenda didn't hear, he'd hop on the bed, and lick her face until she woke up. Tango was great back then.
Brenda started taking the burgers off the grill. She was going to spend almost five days in Seattle. She was not looking forward to it. But the chances of her running into that bastard was slim to none…...