CPOV
"I got a slight fever last time too, it's fine, Christian. I am not seeing doctor when we land so forget it."
"I still think it's because you got that damn shot too damn early. It's an overdose of synthetic hormones and that's why you're getting sick. Should have waited, Ana."
She rolls her eyes and married or not, my palm tingles. I'm not at all happy to be sitting in the GEH jet with the rest of the staff accompanying us to China but at least they're all sleeping and therefore not up my ass. I've got a pile of contracts that need signing and a shit-ton of thank you notes I'm being forced to sign by my wife.
"Tell me again why we need to send thank you cards for a multi-million dollar party we threw where we fed everyone the best food in the world and provided close to $400k in wine to them? Not to mention the accommodations."
She shrugs one dainty little shoulder at me and rolls her eyes for effect. Which it has. Now I really want to spank her.
"You're thanking them for their time and their gift, Christian. Honestly. Didn't your mother make you write out thank you cards when you were a kid?"
"We're thanking people who gave gifts to a charity and not to us? And enough with the eye rolling. One more time and I'll take you over my knee right here, staff or not."
"You're thanking them for donating to an organization that you started."
"You realize I pay Andrea and Jacqueline a quarter million combined to do this kind of shit for me, right?" I huff and pick up the pen with an attitude. "It was your idea to refuse wedding gifts, you should be the one signing these."
"I will be. After you do." Looking back down at her iPad as if the conversation is now over because she deems it so she flicks the screen a few times and smirks, one brow raised while she reads the latest e-mail from Kristin Howard who runs our organization. "Do you want to know how much was donated to Feed the Nations and earmarked as gifts from our wedding?"
"Lay it on me."
"Six and a half million dollars." Now that peaks my interest.
"You're shitting me," I say with surprise. "Almost seven million dollars?" She nods and crosses her arms smugly over her chest.
"Yup. Besides our guests and your business associates, People Magazine gave a million for the exclusive with Dona Cidalia and Food and Wine gave a million for the food and wine pairings and a copy of the menu." She shifts in her seat, takes a strawberry from the ever present fruit tray and teases me with a slow bite. "And, your PR department said if we decided to sell a photo of us from that day, we could net as much as two and half for it."
"Imagine what we'll rake in when we have a baby," I say half joking but she just cocks her head to the side and gives me what I'm quickly learning is a 'shut up and let it go' look.
"Christian…" she starts in warning but I'm already laughing her off and lifting her into my arms.
"I'm not saying another word about it," I joke, dropping her onto the bed before clicking the lock on the door. "But just think about all the donations that would pour in, all the cash we could raise if we had a baby and sold the story." Even though hell would freeze over before I did that.
She attempts to hide her smile as she unbuttons her shirt but I see it anyway and press my luck, leaning one knee on the bed to get closer. "I mean, so much good could come out of our procreating. Just imagine all of the food we could provide. Our baby; a true gift to the world."
"Oh my God, you're impossible!" she says on a laugh, her head tilting back to expose the column of her neck. When I jump on top of her in nothing but the skin I was born in she shrieks and covers her mouth with mine. "I'll tell you what, Mr. Grey. There will be no procreation right now but we can practice if you'd like."
"Oh," I say with a smile, "I like."
Mindful of the plane of people just outside of this door I lift her above me and watch as she slides down, her soft sigh of contentment so sweet it makes my heart swell and my chest ache. Each rise and fall only solidifies what I want with her, each glance that passes between us fueling the all consuming feelings I have for this woman.
"I love you, Anastasia," I say as I spill into her, hoping against hope that the shot won't work and we're starting a family right now.
"Mr. Grey, Mrs. Grey, welcome to the Peninsula Hotel and Spa. I've taken the liberty to have a bottle of champagne sent to your room to chill along with some fresh fruits and a tray of chocolates to make your stay in Shanghai that much sweeter."
Ana smiles and thanks our host who walks us to the private elevator that will bring us to the Peninsula Suite and a real bed which is pretty much all I care about right now. I watch with half amusement as Ana allows our host to give us a tour, I usually have long dismissed the poor schmuck whose job it is to show me where the bathrooms are, but as usual, Ana is gracious and shows genuine interest when she's shown the carved marble tub and the admittedly beautiful tea set that's been prepared for us.
I hold back the chuckle the threatens to escape when she comes across the woman putting our clothes away in drawers, Ana's unease at being taken care of still something she struggles with. Once everyone leaves I strip down and drag her into the shower where our toiletries are waiting for us.
"It's so strange to me," she says distractedly as she toys with her toothbrush after our shower.
"What is?"
"Being taken care of like this. I mean, this toothbrush. I didn't pack it, Gail did. I didn't get it onto the plane, Taylor did. I didn't take it off the plane or even think about it getting here but here it is, unpacked by some woman I don't know, in a gold holder. A gold toothbrush holder." She turns and looks at me with wide innocent eyes that have me biting my lip. "You think I'm crazy but I think this is crazy."
"Feeling guilty about having money is pointless, Anastasia. For the rest of your life you're going to have more money than almost everyone on this earth so get used to it."
She shrugs and hangs up her towel so that she's naked and slathers on lotion from neck to toe. It's times like this that I want to kick myself for having been so closed off because watching a woman shower and subsequently pamper her skin is on my list of the top five boner inducing things.
"I know. I don't feel guilty per se, just…responsible I guess. And no matter what you say I still don't see the money as mine."
Now that just plain pisses me off.
"It's yours. Your name is on the papers, baby. That money is yours. Anastasia Rose Grey's." Again she shrugs and walks to the dresser where she slips on a pair of champagne lace boy shorts and a white satin tank top. I need to give Caroline Acton a raise.
Climbing into bed she applies more lotion to her hands and watches as I pull on a pair of boxers. "I know. So, hypothetically, if I spent a million dollars a day on…crap, you wouldn't get mad?"
"I'd be ecstatic if you spent that kind of cash. Shit, I was proud as fuck when you told me you wanted that platinum cuff bracelet in New Zealand." And just to really freak her out I lay down and tell her the truth. "You could spend two million a day and not keep up with how much I make."
At that she rolls to her side, eyes wide and rests her head on her hand. "You make over two million a day?"
"I do now. Between the profits from GEH and the sound investment choices I've made over the last half a year we're netting about 2.3 million per day." Her green eyes all but bug out. "So spend away my cheap little wife."
And as much as I love sex and as much as I love having sex with Ana, I'm so tired I conk out before she even has the chance to respond. I can't help it. Since she's come around, it's almost as if my body is catching up on the rest I missed out on for the last 29 years.
In the morning I reach for her but the bed is cold. "Ana?" I say, assuming she's in the bathroom but I hear her voice coming in from the great room so I walk out in nothing but my underwear to find the laughing eyes of Ros staring back at me.
"Damn, Mr. Grey! Now that's how you turn a lesbian curious. Shit, Ana, now I get it." I turn on my heel and slam the door to the bedroom, pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before heading back out to where Ros is still blabbering on, not aware that I'm back and can hear everything she's saying. "Actually, I don't get it. It just hangs there between their legs and it fucking grows. Grows! A part of their body grows and then goes back to normal." She shakes her head and takes a gulp, not a sip, of her coffee. "That just isn't right."
Ana just laughs and hands me a cup, one brow raising with a smug grin.
"For fucks sake, Christian. I know we work together and all but you have got to keep your modesty about you. I don't need to be sitting in some business meeting while you rant and rave only to picture you in your cute little black biker shorts."
"Boxer brief," I correct.
"Excuse me?"
"They're boxer briefs, Roselyn. Not biker shorts and I should be able to walk around my twenty thousand dollar a night hotel room with my wife in whatever the hell I choose to wear. Now care to tell me why you're sitting at my breakfast table when you should be…not here?"
"We're gearing up for today's meeting with Shinzu," Ana explains with a wave of her hand while she gets me a plate of eggs, bacon, potatoes and some sort of rice dish to which she adds sugar and a dash of cinnamon.
"Didn't you do that on the plane already?"
"We did but this is more of a pep talk to deal with the mysogonistic assholes." I nod once, that much is true. After our last sit down with Shinzu things were left open ended and while they had all been impressed by my team, the women included, they had still made it a point to only deal with the men on my team once we'd arrived back at home.
"Is this a duck egg?" I ask, dipping my bacon in the yolk. Ana makes a face that can only be described of as disgusted and nods.
"Gross isn't it?"
"No. Actually it's delicious. I was thinking when we moved into the new house we'd get chickens and ducks for fresh eggs."
Neither of the women move until Ros looks up and around, back to the table and around again. "Where the fuck am I? Is this a dream? Have you had me committed?"
I snort and take another bite while Ana tries to pick her jaw up off the floor.
"Chickens and ducks?"
"Sure, why not? You want to have that organic garden for produce and we're already hiring someone to manage that so why not have them tend to a few birds?"
"Seriously. Where the fuck am I?" I smile at Ros and wait for her to leave because I know she's about to. "Hell. I'm in hell. First you waltz out here in your skivvies, then you talk poultry as if you're Old MacDonald, and now you're smiling. Smiling, Grey." She stands, grabs her papers and walks to the door in a rush. "It's too much," she mutters, shaking her head. "Just too much strangeness. I can't…I just…can't. Goodbye."
And then we're alone.
"Well, you certainly have a habit of clearing out the room," Ana chides, taking a bite of her rice something or other.
"I wanted to fuck you this morning, Mrs. Grey but you weren't available to me," I pout, tasting the rice and deciding that it's damn good.
She inhales a large breath and rolls her neck. "Sorry. I'm focused on this meeting."
"We've got half an hour before we need to be there." I wiggle my eyebrows at her with a grin. "Plenty of time for me to get you off at least twice, three if you let me do that tapping thing you like so much."
She laughs and stands, tossing her napkin onto the table between us before leaning down to kiss the top of my head while she pats my back consolingly.
"Maybe later. I need to get ready and sex is the furthest thing from my mind right now. Aren't you the least bit nervous? We're talking $530 million dollars, Christian!"
"No. I don't get nervous, Ana."
"Never? Not even when you were first starting the company?" she asks as I follow her into the bedroom where she begins to pull on garters and stockings. Well fuck me sideways. "Christian?"
"I'm sorry but you think you're going to wear stockings and a garter and not get fucked?" When I reach for her she squeals but moves away, reaching for her skirt before sitting down to put it on.
"I can't even think about sex right now, Christian! Geesh! I'm about to throw up I'm so keyed up."
"One, sex is the best thing for that. Two, you're going to do great. And three, sex is the best thing for that." She laughs and then throws on the top, my brows raising at the modest for America, immodest for China top.
"I want to flaunt my femininity in their faces," she explains while she puts in the diamond stud earrings I bought her in Italy. "They really think women are beneath them and that we can't do as much as them. I'm going to tell them to shove their misogynistic agenda up their asses by sealing this deal today, appearing in a skirt and wearing red lipstick." She nods once and then struts to the closet to get her shoes.
"You tell 'em baby." I like firecracker Ana. A lot.
"Oh, I'm not going to tell them anything. I'm going to show them."
And show them she does because when she exits the elevator and enters the conference room we've had set aside all chatter stops and all heads turn to the sexy as hell and smart as hell woman who has turned herself into a hellcat in the last few minutes. I don't know what Ros said to her but she walks in the room as if she owns it and strides straight up to Mr. Shinzu himself, offering her hand in greeting.
I watch with amusement as the men surrounding him step back, half puzzled by the assertiveness she's exhibiting and half disgusted by it. Me? I've got a raging hard on and I'm pretty sure my chest can't hold in all of the pride I feel.
"Ms. Steele," Tsang lifts one finger and waves it slowly, "My apologies, Mrs. Grey, it is good to see you again. I trust married life is suiting you well. Congratulations."
"Wonderful, thank you." Looking around the group to the left side of the room she smiles politely. "This is your home team?"
"It is. Our best and brightest, I'm sure you remember a few from Rome. I do hope you're ready today, with so many cooks in the kitchen it will be very difficult for you to keep the translations correct I'm sure. We've brought our own translator of course but I understand you will take the lead." With that he motions to a man sitting in the seat next to where Ana's place card is.
I get a little hot under the collar at his slight, the innuendo that she can't handle the job annoying her and infuriating me. But like typical Ana she lifts her shoulders, reaches her hand out and pats one of his shoulders. "I'll slow down so he, and your team, can keep up."
Graciously he lowers his head, well aware that he just got his criticism shoved back at him. When I walk over to him and extend my hand he's all business, quipped questions and comments about our wedding, the honeymoon and the new acquisition GEH made in Panama. Fuck off you fucking fuck face. If it wouldn't eternally embarrass Ana, I'd lay his scrawny ass out right here.
Shinzu makes his way over from where he just walked in, nodding to Tsang and his team before shaking my hand firmly. His eyes dart around until he finds Ana, one finger lifting as if to tell me goodbye. To my utter surprise he walks to her, grasps her shoulders and gives her the warmest smile I've ever seen from him before embracing her.
"Many congratulations to you and Mr. Grey on your nuptials." The words are heavy with his accent and clearly rehearsed but Ana is genuinely touched, launching into a quick thank you in Mandarin that has him nodding and smiling while the rest of his team and mine watch with our mouths wide open. When Tsang has had enough he beckons to me as if to tell me to call the meeting to order but the hell if I'm going to do what he wants or breakup this happy little reunion going on in the corner. Shinzu liking Ana can only be good for us. So screw everyone else.
When we do finally sit, me at the head with Ana on my right and Ros on my left with the GEH team flanking down the left side of the table, the lead attorney for Shinzu recites the points we agreed and signed upon during our last sit down and then launches into the agenda of the day. I have no fucking idea what he's saying but Ana does and reiterates it to me and my team as quickly as he speaks it.
"There are four main points that need to be agreed upon over the next three days," Ana recites to us as she listens. How she can do this I don't know. "The premium percentage of stock price, the consolidation and restructuring of the plants, the management and the employees, and the intellectual property rights."
"Finally, there will need to be a sell price that is mutually beneficial to both parties in order for this acquisition to go through." Ana waits patiently while the lawyer finishes up, asking us to open our binders to the first appendix so that we can start negotiating on the stock price first as that is the least hostile of the topics.
For three hours we go back and forth, the control of the conversation volleying between Tsang and myself until Andrea signals that it's time for lunch. Ros storms out, rightfully so after being all but ignored for the entire morning, as do the two other women on my team.
We've ordered lunch from the hotels five star restaurant and as a group decompress and hash out a new strategy over Cantonese Bunds and white wine. This is new for me, this comradery. Normally, I'd be holed up in my suite while everyone else congregated but Ana insisted on staying with the group and truthfully, after the contentious morning we've had, I had to agree that a cohesive plan had to be instituted for the second half of the day.
"I'd love to meet their mothers and tell them what assholes their sons turned out to be. God, I don't think one of them spoke directly to me the entire time!" Ros laments, throwing a stack of papers onto the table. Next to her her assistant is busy pulling information from our database to confirm the latest balance sheets and P&L's that were sent to us over night.
"We'll offer them half a percentage more on the stock price which they'll take. To them it will appear as if we're extending good will but we'll hit them in the backend with our refusal to accept their liabilities outside of their short terms and their loans." I've said my piece, eaten my lunch and now I'm finished being around people. We've got ten minutes before we go back in and I want some alone time.
"Anastasia? Join me?" I beckon to her with my arm. Once outside she takes a deep breath and lets me wrap my arm around her shoulder as we walk.
"Do you always take a walk between sessions?" she questions as we stroll through the hotel gardens.
"No. Usually I'd be in my suite going over the last three hours and refining what I needed to execute for the second half of the day but since you insist on surrounding yourself with people, I'm out here to get a break from everyone."
She stops and pulls my hand, leading me over to a bench where she sits and sighs.
"Don't you want to get to know the people who work for you? They spend more time with you than they do their families, don't you want them to like you?"
"I'm going to be blunt. No. Outside of Ros, I don't give two shits about what goes on in their lives outside of GEH." I laugh but she just cocks her head and furrows her brow. "I'm not saying I'd turn a blind eye if something were hugely amiss but no, as a general rule, I don't know, nor do I care, about their lives."
"That's too bad. Some of them are really cool."
"Ana," I huff out, my hand tugging at my hair which I'm sure is all over the place by now. "I'm sure they are. But I run a multi-billion dollar corporation. These people are accountable to me and to our investors, our employees and their families. If I get too involved in their personal lives, my authority slips and things get messy. And as you know, I don't do messy."
"Did you know that Barbara Pierce in logistics was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks ago?"
"I do and she's been given full pay leave as she fights it along with the best healthcare insurance in the country."
"Did you know that Alissa Connors from the cafeteria staff is on bed rest for a complicated pregnancy?"
"Yes. She's also been given full pay leave and also has the best health insurance in the country." I can tell I've surprised her but the people who work for me are assets and I am a man who understands the value of a good balance sheet. Keeping my assets happy ensures that my balance sheet is happy. It's just good business to invest in good people...err...assets.
"OK," she pauses and thinks. "Did you know Andrea and her boyfriend broke up the night before we left?"
"No. And that's the shit I don't want to know. I don't need to know it, I don't give a shit about it. So long as she can do her job to the best of her abilities, and so far it hasn't shaken things up, I don't care. The others, that's their health and while I may not know who Alissa from the cafeteria is, I receive a daily report on important staff matters and make decisions accordingly."
She shrugs and leans into me, the faint whiff of her perfume and shampoo so alluringly feminine that I can't help but feel all…nurturing or something.
"Look, I take care of the people who work for me and I take care of them well. But I don't get involved in their day to day minutia. Until you I didn't care about anyone's minutia."
"Fine, I admit you do take stellar care of those in your employ. But Andrea could use a bit of softness from you right now." I give her a warning glare. "She's just as stressed out about this whole deal and she's put in just as many hours as you have if not more. I'm not saying you need to hug her or anything, just stop barking at her all the time."
"Ana. I bark. That's how I run my business. Andrea knows this and is handsomely paid to deal with it." Standing, I pull her flush against me, her thin and flexible frame molding against me. "Come on, we need to get back in there so I can watch you mop the floor with these asswipes."
APOV
My shoulders hurt, my neck is stiff and my mouth is dry. Tensions are running tight between both parties but they at least get to sit back and listen instead of constantly translating and speaking. I can't count how many times I had to repeat myself for both sides or how many times I had to diffuse an argument as it was brewing because of something that gets lost in translation. Literally.
Christian, hot as he is with his black suit and starched white shirt is hitting his limit. Ros is as close to a freak out as I've ever seen her and the rest of the GEH team isn't faring any better. It's almost six which means our day is winding down but we'll be back tomorrow since the sell price still hasn't been finalized.
Shinzu and his team are holding firm to no less than $545 million but Christian won't even discuss anything above $530 million. Between the two titans communication has completely broken down as have any civilities. I've had to ignore constant barbs being thrown around, refusing to repeat some of the more colorful insults and hiding others as small talk. My counterpoint, a wet behind the ears kid who has spent more time focused on my legs than the conversation is worth about next to nothing for the Chinese team but I'm not about to tell them that.
I've also had to ignore the near constant eye rolling and behind the hand chuckling the Chinese executives can't seem to stop doing when I'm speaking. Clearly my gender is a real issue for them but that only makes it that much more sweet when I fail to stumble even after a full day.
"We're finished today," Christian announces, knocking one fist on the table to signal that he's had enough. Shinzu stands with a huff but doesn't acknowledge Christian or me for that matter and storms out, the men he's brought with him following like scared little ducks.
"Assholes," Ros mutters when the door clicks shut. Andrea and the young assistant from the Chinese team begin to sort through the myriad of papers and trash that's been scattered throughout the room, sorting and destroying anything irrelevant. "Same time tomorrow," Ros growls to anyone left in the room before walking out herself.
Just the mention of having to do this again in the morning has me ready to cry. Between the exhaustion of travelling, the brain numbing and constant debates here in the boardroom and the underlying tension of the never ending pregnancy conversation with Christian, I'm fried. I want a bath, a book, a bottle of booze and a bed.
"Why don't you head up and order us some dinner? I'm in the mood for a steak." My husband reads my mental state correctly and does nothing more than smooth the hair off of my face before turning me towards the door where Sawyer waits, a nod between the two men all the communication necessary for now.
Sawyer escorts me to the elevator that will lead directly to our suite but I glance back just in time to see Christian make his way over to where Andrea is piling up papers to bring back to her room. I want to care but I'm too tired to even hope that he's consoling her and not just talking to her like it's business as usual.
Ten minutes later I've ordered dinner and have changed into my pajamas when he comes into the room and takes off his tie, throwing it onto the coffee table before flopping on the couch to put his feet up. I can't help the giggle that rises up.
"What?" he asks as he reaches for the remote and fires up the television.
"You. You go from negotiating a half a billion dollar deal to acting like a teenager whose finally finished school for the day." He snorts and clicks through the channels until he finds a sports station covering the United States. "Sometimes you're just so...normal. Which I know sounds strange but baby, you don't do normal very well. Are you always like this on business trips?"
"Nope. Usually I'm working or reaming someone out until I all but pass out from exhaustion. And the truth is if you weren't here, I'd probably be doing just that but you are here and I want to just relax and eat and fuck you silly and then go to bed. Because this deal might just be the one that kills me." He rubs his face and pinches the bridge of his nose, his other hand working to unbutton his shirt where he's pulled it loose. "They've got nine men in there and not one of them is worth a sack of shit. I swear to Christ if those guys sent one more condescending smirk your way I was going to kill them."
"As much as I love that you want to defend me and as much as we're working together, I'm still a hired contractor. Try to see it that way, you know, separate it out." I can feel the tension radiating off of him when I reach down to help him with the rest of his buttons.
"Ana," he laughs, "you and I both know that's not going to happen. I could never see you as 'just' anything."
"It was worth a shot," I shrug, squealing when he pulls me on top of him. "So just work and bed if I weren't here huh?"
"Pretty much."
"No TV or anything?"
"Other than the occasional porn?" he says as he grips my butt, pulling me tight against his groin. "Which, by the way, I plan on making with you tonight. I scripted the whole thing in my head during the meeting."
"What? You did not!"
"Of course I did. Why do you think I was able to keep my calm in there? I bought you a special outfit and everything."
"You bought me something? As in, you went to a store and picked it out?"
At that he laughs and smacks my backside, lifting me onto my feet when he stands and begins to undress on his way to the bedroom.
"No, baby. I went online, found something I liked and ordered it with the sole intention of seeing you in it, fucking you in it and then tearing it off of you. And let me tell you, Mrs. Grey, I do think I've found a new passion of mine."
"What's that?" I ask a bit nervously, my mouth watering when he shucks off his undershirt and kicks his ridiculously expensive suit pants into the closet before pulling on his usual black silk lounge pants.
"Lingerie shopping, script writing and film directing." With the slide of one finger over my jaw he's got me wet and willing to do whatever it is he tells me to do. "I just need a really," that finger slides down my neck and over a pebbled nipple, "really," further to the waist of my pants, "really good actress. Know anyone who would be able to rise to the challenge?"
And just because I need a bit of an even playing field I rub my palm along the hardened ridge of his cock and grin. "Oh, I know someone who can rise to the challenge all right."
But this is Christian Grey and sexual seduction and control may as well be his middle name because he not only puts me right back into place but he shakes the very ground I thought I had gained.
"Baby, not only can I rise to the challenge but I can do it again and again and again." He leans in and ghosts a kiss along my ear, "And I will. First with your mouth, then with your pussy and then with that sweet ass." His kiss catches my gasp and then steals the breath out of my lungs. "And I will get exactly what I want, how I want it and where I want it so that next month when I'm on my trip to Tokyo all alone, I can pull up the tape of my wife bouncing her perfect tits as she rides my cock buried deep inside of her."
"You win," I groan, leaning into him and silently wishing we could start now.
"I always do," he chuckles and pulls my bottom lip out from between my teeth. "But first, we eat."
Horny and hungry I allow him to dictate the evening and sit down across from him once our food is delivered and set out. I'm still amazed at how employees of high end hotels are so efficient yet somehow manage to be almost totally invisible because within seconds of Taylor allowing the wait staff to enter, they're gone, a candlelit dinner for two spread out with precision and perfection.
"So what did you say to Andrea?"
"When?" Christian asks, reaching for his water and playing it cool while I nibble on my asparagus.
"When I left. I saw you go over to her."
"Ana, I talk to the girl a hundred times a day."
"Christian," I chide, aware that this new side to him is still uncomfortable for him to accept let alone express. "You are a good man, embrace the good, baby." I'm teasing but the truth is, he needs to be reminded of who he is on a daily basis and as his wife and biggest cheerleader, that job is mine.
"Oh for fucks sake I asked how she was doing and then offered her my condolences on her break up."
Condolences? Oh boy we have a ways to go still. "Was she receptive?"
"She was...Andrea," he shrugs, shoving a perfectly cooked piece of his Delmonico steak into his mouth. "Unemotional, stand offish and curt. Just the way I like her. She said thanks, that she was fine and asked if I wanted her to scan in the notes from today or just make copies to distribute in the morning."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Now hurry up because what I've got planned is going to take hours and you need to get to bed at a decent time." He cocks his head to the side and raises his brow. "Tell me, Mrs. Grey, do you think it wise to roll your eyes at a man who is about to tie you up spread eagle and film you in the throes of ecstasy?"
"Oh stop talking about it and just do it already!" I'm joking but that's all the ammunition he needs to pick me up like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and show me just exactly what was going through his dirty mind during our meeting.
The lingerie made it through an unfinished blow job, an intense round of cunnilingus and one hard round of me riding him just as he directed while he held the camera and filmed until I came, his own orgasm quickly following.
Tossing the wet wash cloth we both used to wipe ourselves clean he beckons for me to come back to the bed and tosses me on my back before showing me the newest toy to join our arsenal.
"Is that…do they really call that a…"
"Butt plug? Yes. Now no more talking unless you want me to stop. This is going to be different from the other times but I promise you'll enjoy it. No pain, baby, only pleasure."
I trust him, I do, but when he rubs the clear lube over my entire sex I tense and arch against him enough so that he clucks and lies on the bed with me so that he can suck my breasts and kiss my lips as he works the silver plug in.
I admit the sensation is new, we've only done this three times and every time the only thing entering me is the hard yet pliable penis of my husband. This however, is solid steel with a widened end that he works in and out as he sucks and kisses, nips and licks. I'm not going to lie. It feels incredibly good.
When I begin to pant he stops, slowly pulls out the plug and flips me over onto my knees.
"I was hard for hours thinking about his today, Ana." His hand holds me still by my lower back while he rubs the head of his dick over me. "Relax, baby. You need to totally relax." Slowly he pushes in, my body tensing so that he stops and stills, one hand running over my back. "Relax," he repeats and then pushes in until I feel his groin flush against my ass. "Holy fuck that looks good," he says on a rushed breath.
Behind me he holds the camera, alternating shots from my face to where we're joined. For a few seconds he holds still and then surprises me by landing a smack to my left cheek, pulling himself back only to thrust back in on another slap. So good.
"Feel good, Ana?"
"Yes," I groan, gasping when he shifts so that he can set the camera up on the mount he brought with him.
"You're ok?"
I answer with a wiggle of my lower half. He responds with a 'fuck yeah' and another slap. Within minutes we've settled into a steady rhythm, the soft 'pop, pop, pop' of our slick bodies hitting into each other all I hear above our heavy breaths and the blood rushing through my veins. God this man owns me heart, soul and body. How something so taboo can also make me feel safer and closer to him than ever is beyond me but right now, with his hands gripping the cheeks of my ass and his grunts fueling my lust, I'm not going to waste time trying to figure it out.
CPOV
I'm close. Too close for her to not be so I up my game, lift her by the back of her hair and pull her up against me so that I can reach around and play with that slick little clit of hers. I never in my wildest dreams thought anal sex could equate with love but in this moment, the intimacy and the connection between us is stronger than ever.
I love this woman. Love her. And the sight of her face turned to the side as my fingers rub against her and my cock fucks her is too much. She groans out an 'I'm gonna come' which is unnecessary since I can feel it about to happen.
Do not come, do not come, do not come, I repeat when I watch her convulse in front of me, crying out my name with each spasm, the muscles of her back shiny with sweat while she writhes in front of me. Look away or you will come.
I should pull out so that I can hold out a little longer but I'm afraid she won't let me back in so instead I grit my teeth and tense every muscle in my body until the immediacy passes and my balls stop tingling. She goes slack and rests her cheek on the sheet, limp arms thrown above her head, manicured fingers barely holding on to the headboard.
When I can, I open my eyes and take her in. Naked, on all fours with my dick in her ass and her come on my fingers. Her skin is that beautiful pink shade I love so much and her hair is a wild mess that I push to the side so that I can hold her by the back of the neck against the mattress.
"The ultimate submission," I whisper above her with the satisfaction only a man can have when his woman is good and well fucked. She groans, my hand tightens, my hips drive deep. "Who do you belong to, Anastasia? Who do you so willingly give this tight little body to?"
"You, Christian."
"Say it again," I demand, the tingle back with each hard thrust. "Tell me who you belong to?"
"You! I belong to you, Christian!" she cries, her fingers gripping the blanket beneath her. Is there anything better in the entire world than what is going on in this hotel room right now? I can't imagine there is because this is nirvana.
The tingle becomes a current, the heat and intensity of release chasing its way down my spine and into my cock as it pistons in and out of her, each slam of my hips creating a ripple on her skin that rips the orgasm right out of me.
With a roar of, "Shhhhhhhhit, baby. Fuuuuuuuuck so good." I come, pulling out just in time for me to paint her back. Damn sex with her is truly mind blowing.
It takes a good five minutes but I finally feel like I can walk and move to pick her up from where she's laying prostrate on the mattress but she just mumbles a 'no' and pushes my hand away.
"Ana, you're a mess," I chide but she turns her face away and reaches for the blanket. "Ana."
"Clean me up then, it's your fault anyway," she manages to get out in between yawns.
I have to laugh at myself when less than a minute later I'm tenderly removing the evidence of our love making from her back with a warm wash cloth before tucking her in and asking her if she'd like anything. My how the tables have turned.
The next morning I watch as my carefree wife puts on her business suit and her take no prisoners face. She didn't have to tell me that it was bothering her the way the men on Shinzu's team treated her, I could see it all over her. But instead of getting pissed or emotional, she just digs deeper and pushes forward.
I really should have hired her when I had the chance.
By the end of the second day both sides are past the point of negotiation and firmly entrenched into the mud as far as what they're willing to give up. This deal was always a bit touch and go but I had been hoping to keep it from becoming a hostile takeover, something Ros has always maintained was going to happen. Going that route will eat up millions of dollars in profit, will undermine thousands of man hours, will bring tension to the Chinese/American business community and will no doubt bring a few years of legal headaches. It's one thing to take over a company in the country that you reside in. It's an entirely different animal to do so with a foreign government, especially one like China.
At six my team assembles in a private dining room to restrategize and reenergize over dinner and drinks. Ros and my acquisitions director are going over any weaknesses in the balance sheet with the assigned CFO for this project looking for anything we've overlooked that we could use to push this thing along.
Ana is talking to Andrea in hushed tones, the copious amount of wine being consumed telling me that their conversation is less about business and more about boyfriends so I will stay as far from that as possible, that much I can promise you. Everyone else is in conversation with their counterpoint planning their next move or bitching about the lack of progress we made today.
Which leaves me with a ship to steer but deck hands that need no direction. Which is not unusual, I only hire the best people anyway but with Ana preoccupied with what appears to be a weepy Andrea I find myself texting Elliot for no reason at all which I'm sure has him freaking out.
-You're still in China, right? When are you back?
-Two more days hopefully. 10/30, why?
-You going to moms for Halloween? Maybe you could even give out candy like a normal person. I'll give you a million dollars to dress up in a costume.
-I'll ask Ana what she wants to do but I'm not handing out crap garbage to bratty kids. A million, Elliot? I made that in the time it took to type out the word M-I-L-L-I-O-N.
It takes him a minute but he sends one last text and ends it with one of those smiley things that is so Elliot it makes me laugh.
-Make sure you're there, bro. I've got something better than money planned that night. Mom wants to do dinner at 5.
I can only guess what his idea of better is but since I know he was planning on asking Kate to marry him, I assume that's why us being there is so important. What's really strange is that I want to be there for such a big moment for him. I see the importance of it in a different light and maybe it's because I missed out on so much with him and Mia but I want to be a part of the momentous things that happen from here on out.
A few minutes later Andrea excuses herself and heads for the restroom leaving Ana finally alone and adorably tipsy.
"What's going on? She looks all upset." I care, I do, but…not really.
"She's upset about her breakup with Carter."
"She was fine yesterday, what did you say to her?"
"I asked her how she was doing and she told me she was fine and then told me that you were so kind last night and it just set her off. She feels like she screwed everything up and now he's travelling with the team and God only knows what happens on the road when you're a single professional athlete. It's killing her. Wondering what he's doing with other women."
"Then why did she break up with him? And I can tell you what's happening on the road. He's a good looking, rich and famous athlete. His coach probably had two girls in his hotel room within a minute of hearing he and Andrea had broken up."
She looks disgusted but that's how pro-sports work. Everyone knows that. She knocks back a good half a glass of wine and plops in the chair next to me. Adorably tipsy is going to become embarrassing drunk if she keeps drinking like that.
"Why would his coach do that?" she spits out with disdain.
"To keep him from thinking about her and to keep him from getting into a funk. Funks lose games and when you're paying someone millions of dollars a year to win and there is a team of men who will be affected by his distraction, getting him over a breakup is the best thing the coach can do."
"And that works? Random sex with strangers is going to keep him from getting upset about the end of a two year relationship with a woman he wanted to marry and have kids with?"
"Temporarily. Not for every guy I'm sure but for most, yeah. It helps." I reach for my scotch and shrug. "Knowing Carter though and how much he was into her, I doubt he jumped into bed with someone else. He seems more the type to retreat into himself and hide away."
"What kind of guy are you? A random screw kinda guy or a tear in my beer leave me alone kind of guy?"
I scoff and take the glass of champagne she took off the table from her hand. "Don't know, baby. I've never had a break up. But if we were to ever split, I imagine I'd be an isolated, cut off, do not bother me kind of guy."
"Well for the record, Grey, if we ever do split and you jump into bed with someone right away, I'll pray that your dick falls off." At that we both laugh loudly enough for a few of my employees to turn and look, the sight of the boss being human still too much for them to handle. The waiter brings us a tall glass of ice water which I hand to Ana with a smirk. She's going to feel this in the morning if she doesn't stop now.
I'm going to regret asking anything but now I'm genuinely curious. "He wanted to marry her?" Ana nods and wraps her lips around her straw. Damn. "So she broke up with him?" A slow shake of her head and she lifts her mouth, a pale pink lipstick line left behind on the white plastic. That would look damn good around my cock. "So why'd they break up then? If she's hung up on what he's doing and he wanted to marry her, why'd she break it off?"
I can tell by the way she takes a deep breath and pushes her shoulders back that this is not something she wants to talk about but now I have to know.
"Just tell me, Ana. You're on my damn case to be more interactive with the people who work for me and here I am asking and you're suddenly all tight lipped about it. What is it? Do you want me to care or do you want me to continue on the way I always have?"
"He wants kids and she's not sure if she does. So they've been going back and forth about it for awhile and finally he told her that he'd bought a ring but he couldn't give it to her if she wasn't sure about kids because it wasn't a dream he was willing to let go of for anyone. So she took a few days, thought about it all and still doesn't know. She told him she needed time to really think and him pressuring her and being up her butt about it on a daily basis was making it impossible to do that. He then told her to take as much time as she wanted and informed her that while she was working out her shit, he'd be out of her hair."
Another deep breath and as much as I don't give a shit about Andrea and Carter's relationship, I can't help but feel for the guy. I get it. I totally, one hundred percent get it. I believe they call this empathy.
"What is the matter with you women?" My response is quick and a bit harsh but she was expecting it because she only reacts by meeting me eye to eye. "How can you not know at your age if you want children one day? And you, how can you not know when? What if you change your mind and decide that you don't want them? What if that," I point to the door where Andrea is now talking to someone else, "turns into you?"
"Christian I am not doing this with you right now. I'm not. I do want children, just not now. You know this. But if you keep hounding me and jumping all over me every time someone says the word baby, I'm going to lose my fucking mind!"
She said fuck. Which means she's serious and she's pissed. And the truth is, she's right. Beating the issue to death is only going to piss us both off. I lift my palms up and hold her face in them tenderly.
"You're right. Let's drop it. Just know that it is always on my mind and that just because I'm not talking about it doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it."
"I know. Same goes for me, ok?"
I have no choice but to believe her so I do, sealing our new truce with a kiss that leaves me wanting more. Always wanting more.
Four o'clock in the afternoon and we've reached agreements on every contractual point except the sale price. I'm not giving this company a penny more than $530 million and Shinzu won't consider selling for less than $536 million which we've negotiated down to. Three of his executives have walked out and one is on the cusp of leaving out of pure frustration. My team wouldn't dream of leaving a meeting unless I dismissed them but I have to say, four less on his side is bolstering my resolve.
Twice now Tsang has gotten so irritated with the negotiations that he's slammed his fist on the table and since he's only two spots down from Ana, that is just unacceptable. He speaks enough English to understand what I'm saying when I threaten him with bodily harm should he startle my wife again with his repugnant temper tantrum but what he doesn't understand he can guess by the low menace of my growl.
Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I don't know how she manages to cull what needs to be translated with so many arguments and barbs being thrown from each side but she does it with grace and determination. At lunch Ana went to our suite and asked to be alone if for no other reason than she needed silence but I did manage to get a chicken lettuce wrap in her, albeit by careful manipulation.
"Ros, you standing up every three seconds and throwing your arms in the air is not helping with the productivity here," Ana says under her breath. Ros mutters something about not being able to help it but she sits down and pulls her chair in tight so as not to jump out of it without some effort. She must really respect Anastasia because anyone else telling Ros what to do would have resulted in a blowout of epic proportions.
In the middle of Ana and the useless Chinese translator arguing over a word that apparently does not exist in English, I see Shinzu close his portfolio and effectively shut down. We've got two hours to finalize this before we move into hostile territory but his body language tells me he's done. And that, is not a good sign. Ana sees it too, her shoulders falling in defeat.
"Christian?" She turns to me with flushed cheeks and a determination I've only seen in the top executives of any professional field. "Do you trust me?"
"What?" is my quick answer.
"I can finish this. Now. But the back and forth and the lost verbiage is killing this deal slowly. They're talking about strikes and rallies and protests from their workers at this point and I really think it's mostly due to Shinzu's inability to stay on top of his staff because he's so caught up in what I'm saying. If you trust me, let me do this. Just he and I."
"Are you out of your mind, Anastasia?"
"Maybe. But I really think I can do this. I know your terms well enough by now since I've repeated them a billion times." She waits with big round eyes that plead to the husband in me and not the CEO. Ros and the rest of my team wait with baited breath, half of them furious at Ana for the suggestion, the other hopeful that we can put this behind us in the next few minutes.
"Mr. Grey," Ros starts but I cut her off with one hand held up.
"Ana, I trust you implicitly but I don't think you've had the experience necessary to handle this on your own."
"Christian, I have done little over the last few months outside of learn this business and this deal especially. That man and his company are about to walk and even if you take over down the road, you will give him enough time to dump the assets and rack up the liabilities and spread discontent throughout his workers." She sits back and crosses her arms over her chest and damn if I don't feel a swell of pride and a sense of ass kicking coming up.
"I stay in the room. Everyone else leaves. You, Shinzu, and me."
Her eyes dart to Ros, pleading with her to understand and not make this an issue but Ros is already packing her shit up in a huff. I can't say I blame her, she's worked tirelessly on this but the cold fact is that we're at an impasse and her being here isn't accomplishing anything anymore.
Ana ignores everyone and walks to the other side of the table, sitting in an abandonded chair to speak to the opposing CEO in his native language. Tsang jumps up, storms over and begins to yell, not speak but yell in her face but she ignores him completely and continues speaking to Shinzu as if it were only them in the room. He lifts a hand to Tsang and waves him out of the room, a dangerous move since he now has to pass by me but I hold my temper in check, deciding that firing him first will be revenge enough.
"Mr. Grey, Mr. Shinzu has been gracious enough to agree to keep it between the three of us so long as we can keep his translator in the room as well as his lawyer who will draw up the documents so that we can end this today." Well, that's a huge step in the right direction. I nod, sit next to her and watch with absolute amazement as she takes hold of the conversation and steers it in the direction she wants it to go. For the most part, he listens, she speaks, I nod. I have zero idea what it is she's saying to the guy but I know he doesn't like all of it because a few times he goes off on a tangent, once diving into a four minute monologue that has me wanting to stab myself in the ears with the Mont Blanc pen in front of me.
When he finishes, to my utter amazement, she leans forward, places her hand on his knee and says something softly and soothingly. I don't know whether to be freaked out or encouraged. For a minute he sits still and studies her before placing a hand on top of hers. I'm holding my breath as he speaks, his tone not at all business like or demonstrative like it has been the last few days but instead resigned and, if I'm not mistaken, sad. When he finishes, she asks him something to which he confirms and then speaks directly to his lawyer who begins to draw up papers.
"Ana, what the fuck is going on?"
"Why don't you go get Shea Graham so that she can get the documents in place for this sale." Her voice is as soothing to me as it was to Shinzu but since he's still got his hand on hers, she can only smile at me. "He's agreed to sell the company and the current assets to you for $527 million."
I have my best poker face on but inside I'm as close to dancing as I've ever been. "What are his terms?"
At that she grins and takes a deep breath. "You'll need to keep his son on the board of directors for two years at a salary of $500 thousand dollars a year. After that you can let him go if he's not up to standards but you will need to keep a Shinzu family member on the board for the next 20 years in some capacity." I'm shocked. "I know you wanted a complete cut from his family but there are eleven other spots on the board so his vote will count for nothing, the million you'll pay him still has you under your $530 million cap, and you'll avoid a really ugly takeover."
"I can't believe you did that," I begin, my praise dying on my tongue when her face falls at what she thinks is my put down.
"I had to! This is more than money and a company to him, Christian! This is his life, his legacy. He's less hung up on the cost than on the pride and I know you aren't thrilled,"
"Ana," I interrupt. "I meant I can't believe you did that. As in, sealed the deal and did so with both interests in mind so that we all feel like we won in the end. You were amazing." I mean it too, what she managed to do just now is nothing short of amazing. Her beaming smile makes the air in my lungs burn but I know she'd be embarrassed by any sign of affection right now so I take a minute to leave the room and call Ros who has disappeared into her room and is no doubt half a bottle of vodka deep already.
"You're shitting me."
"I'm not. It's done. The attorney's are drawing up the documents now, we just need you to come back down and sign. This is your project after all."
"Ha! Damn straight it is. I started it and another chick ended it. Take that you male chauvinist fucks!" The phone makes a thud sound when she drops it, her throaty laugh coming back on the line in a flash. "Sorry, boss. Give me five and I'll be down to shove my femaleness in their face and then I want you to fly me back here when we file with the State Department so I can fire each one of those misogynistic fuckers myself." Click.
When all is said and done not only has Ana saved us a few million and sealed the deal, but she's managed to smooth over any feathers she may have ruffled with Ros and somehow has convinced Andrea to catch a direct flight to New York where Carter Buist just happens to be playing this weekend. I'll never admit it to her but I do care that Andrea is happy and that she works her shit out. She'll just need to do it before Jacqueline pops out this kid of hers in the next few months.
APOV
"You're sure you don't want to sightsee or anything? I can have them bring the jet back here in a few days if there's something you want to see."
"I'm sure. Besides, Elliot has reminded you like, five times in the last day that our presence is expected on Halloween." And I have a pretty good idea why...
"I'm not over here all that often, Ana and I don't plan on coming back for the ribbon cutting ceremony in a few months so it's now or never." He takes a few seconds and thinks before slipping on his shoes. "Well, not never but not often."
"I'm ready for home. I want our bed and our car and our life. Plus, we've got the meeting with the new designer next week so we can start ordering the furniture for the house." Plus, there is no way in hell I'm going to miss Kate getting engaged if I can be there.
"OK then, Seattle it is. With the time change we'll get in late on Saturday but that gives us a day before we have to go back to work and my parents so maybe it's a better idea anyway." Yup, and my best friends about to get hitched so hurry that perfect hiney in the car and let's go!
On the plane Christian settles in to watch a movie in the back claiming a head ache but I think it's a few too many celebratory baijiu's that he and Ros kicked back once the papers were signed, notarized and carefully packed up. I'm tired but not enough to sleep so I spend my time reading a book by a new author until I fall asleep in the crook of Christian's arm.
It takes what seems like forever but we finally do land in Seattle, the entire team grumpy from travelling and sick of seeing each other so it's no surprise when everybody departs with nothing more than a wave and a nod. Christian, of course, just leaves but I cut him some slack since he's spent the last four hours on the phone with his attorneys in an effort to salvage a small deal going south in Detroit. I'm vaguely aware of the fact that he's purchasing an old machine making company and has so far been successful in avoiding any trips there. From the little I gathered, his lawyers are telling him that he'll need to go there at some point but Christian is flat out refusing and is looking for legal loopholes in the Michigan State law books that would support his refusal.
It takes me a minute but I realize his disdain and hesitation is because Detroit is where he was born and where he lived for four hellish years with his birth mother. It makes perfect sense that he doesn't want to go there, his irritation at everything around him suddenly paling in comparison to the storm I'm sure is raging inside his mind.
I have learned to give him his space in times like this but space isn't what he wants right now. I can tell by the way he stares at me on the ride home that even though we're both exhausted he's looking for some hard fucking. This man, who takes what he wants with force from some of the most powerful people in the world still hesitates to use me in the way I know he wants to, his fear of upsetting me so great that he holds back the dark edge that I only catch little glimpses of.
So instead of waiting for him to come to me, I offer my body to him; naked, pliable and willing. He accepts as I knew he would and through his own frustrations, brings me to new heights of pleasure, the thin razor of pain perfectly used to build up an ending that leaves me gasping and close to tears that speak directly to the intimacy of what we share. For his part, Christian is momentarily sedated but finds a last burst of energy to carry me to our room where we both pass out in the sanctity and safety of our bed.
I had been hoping to have a lazy Sunday in bed, especially since technically we weren't supposed to be home but I only got half a day with Christian lounging beside me. With the light slap of his hand on my thigh he jumps up after getting a text from Elliot and rushes to the closet where he dresses for a workout and then promises to pick up Chinese on the way home.
"Home? Where are you going?"
"Elliot's. His basketball court is finished so we're going to shoot a few games."
"Oh." 29 years of answering to no one is quite the mental shift to make so I wait a minute while he ties his sneakers before letting him know that I'm not happy. "Christian, I realize you haven't ever had to worry about someone else's opinion on what you did with your time and I'm glad you're going to Elliot's and that you have this relationship with him but I wish you would have asked me instead of just told me."
"Would you have said no?" He stands with his hands on his hips, the white t-shirt showcasing defined pecs that make me hate him for leaving and love him for looking like that. Even if he is being snarky right now.
"Of course not. I want you to hang out with Elliot and do normal things. I just want to be part of the discussion."
"It's two in the afternoon, Ana. I spent breakfast with you, I read the paper with you, watched CBS Sunday Morning with you, read a book with you. I didn't think you'd mind. Hell, I thought you might like a little alone time."
With a deep breath I fight the urge to roll my eyes and try for understanding one more time. "Would you have been upset if I had been laying here with you all day just enjoying each other's company when suddenly I get a text from Devin and I jump out of bed, shower, dress and leave without asking if you were ok with that?"
His lips pout out on a long exhale, his sexy hands that just fingered me to an orgasm for no other reason than that he wanted to watch my face when I came, pull on his hair before running down his face.
"You're right. That would have pissed me off. Are you ok if I go spend the afternoon with Elliot and pick up dinner on the way home?"
"I'm totally fine with that, baby." He smiles when I get on my knees and go to the edge of the bed to kiss him. "Thank you for understanding."
"I guess I should also ask you if you want Chinese?" he grins sheepishly which makes me go soft for him.
"We just left China and now you want Chinese?" I laugh at him but he pulls me against him and squeezes my torso to his until I can't breathe.
"I want American Chinese. I haven't had it in years. Probably since before Gail." He looks up towards the ceiling as if thinking. "Definitely before Gail." His head cocks to the side, his brows knitting together in thought before he chuffs and kisses my forehead.
"My entire life I lived with a hatred for what a woman did to me but when I think about it, women are who saved me. My mom, Mia in her own way, Ros, Andrea, Gail," he kisses each of my eyelids and sighs, "and you. You most of all, Anastasia."
My nose tingles as tears spring to my eyes because not one of those women who he thinks saved him was named Elena Lincoln.
"I'm not dressing up. There is a literal chance of zero of me putting a costume on so drop it, Ana."
"Geez, I wasn't asking you to, I just asked what you were wearing tonight." Which is true, I was just asking. But I was definitely hoping to see the playful side of my husband that I love so much. "When was the last time you dressed up for Halloween anyway?"
Next to me he pulls up a pair of jeans and reaches for a long sleeve light blue Henley. "I was a zombie with my cousin Gavin when I was twelve. The year before we were baseball players and the year before that we dressed up like The Lost Boys with Elliot and a neighbor whose name I can't even remember. He was allergic to peanuts, that's all I remember and I only remember that because the rest of us fought over who got the candy he couldn't eat. I lost."
"Tell me more," I beg. I love love love to hear about his life pre-Elena when there was so much hope and so much normalcy.
"You want more?" His face disappears as he gets dressed and then he hands me the new Gucci leather jacket I couldn't reach from the top rack of my closet. "The first Halloween with the Greys I went as the red M&M. Elliot was the green and Mia was the blue. I remember Elliot pitching a fit because she was supposed to be pink because she was a girl but my mom kept explaining that there weren't pink M&M's. The first house we went to the people made a big fuss over the brand new baby boy and holy shit did Elliot have a melt down. Full on freaking out crying meltdown." He laughs at the memory, pulling me towards the door so that we can get to Bellevue. "We didn't even go to a second house his tantrum was so epic. God, my poor parents."
But his parents are anything but poor in every sense of the word. When we arrive his mom ushers us in, flushed face excited with the prospect of having all of her children here with her for the night. By the front door is an enormous bowl of king size candy bars in every flavor known to man and underneath that is a smaller basket with toys and tangerines for the kids who are allergic to candy.
"I always think of Scott McGowan on Halloween, that poor boy could never eat anything he got."
At that Christian and Elliot start to crack up, the stories they tell about torturing poor Scott from next door keeping them entertained while Kate and I help Mia make dinner. We're keeping it simple tonight with lemon chicken over pasta and spinach. When we sit down at five the doorbell rings right away, Grace jumping up to answer the door. From the dining room I can hear her chirpy voice, oohing and ahhing over the costumes until she makes her way back in and sits with a happy, content smile as she proceeds to tell us what everyone was dressed up as. It's good to see her like this; light and airy and free from the weight of Christian's distance for all of those years.
"Did you guys go to Mike's party on Saturday, Mia?" Kate asks from across the table.
"We did. I thought you said you were coming," Mia asks, her face scrunching up in question.
"We were. But then Katiegirl here dressed like a Playboy nurse and well, we didn't make it out of the bedroom."
"Elliot Grey!" Kate huffs, her hand smacking him in the center of his chest while she tries to cover her smile.
"Well, isn't that lovely, Elliot. I'm so glad you're bits are in working order," Carrick chides, lifting his wine glass to his mouth. "However, if you could please refrain from telling your family and anyone else who doesn't give a shit, that would be great. The last thing you mother wants to hear is,"
"I'll get it!" Grace yells happily, again rushing to the door to answer it and hand out candy. Elliot just laughs.
"Yeah, she seemed real cut up about it, Pop."
Dinner passes by with a ton of interruptions but the mood is so jovial that the chaos just adds to the festivities. By eight the bell isn't ringing anymore and we're all in the living room watching Monday Night Football, empty candy bar wrappers littering the floor in front of us. When the bell rings nobody answers it, not even Grace who has taken every opportunity she can to see the kids as they come to the door. Instead I move to get up but Christian puts his hand on my knee and shakes his head.
When it rings again and nobody moves my heart starts to pound at the possibility but when Mia says casually, "Kate can you get that? You're closest to the door and I'm going to barf if I have to move," I almost scream with excitement. Kate gets up, takes one last bite of her Snickers and opens the door.
"What the...Elliot?"
All of us rush to stand in the archway of the room to see what's going on while giving them some privacy. In the doorway is Elliot Grey wearing tuxedo pants and a black sweatshirt. On it are pictures of houses, vacation destinations, little blue pills, and nursing homes along with some other things I can't make out. What catches my eye though are the baby dolls he's got glued to his waist.
"Katherine Kavanagh, I love you. Adore you, think the world of you and always will. This is me; goofy, silly, over the top Elliot Grey but what I am covering myself in, is what I hope is our future. Me, you, a few trips, maybe a few kids, definitely a few laughs." Kate claps a hand over her mouth and gasps when he whips the shirt off to reveal a crisp white button down and then gets on one knee, his eyes glistening with tears that are the window to his amazing heart. "Marry me, Katiegirl. Marry the funny me and the serious me and make me the happiest man in the universe."
She drops her hands to his face, goes to her knees and kisses him with a whisper of, "Yes you crazy, strange, hysterical man."
Next to me Christian is grinning from ear to ear, one hand in his pocket and the other around my waist. "You knew about this," I say quietly to him as we watch this moment unfold in front of us. Only then do I notice Ethan with the video camera he'd set up earlier in the day.
"I did. That's why I had to rush out of the house yesterday. He wanted to plan this whole thing and Ana, as much as I loved laying in that bed with you, being a part of something like this for my brother," he smiles big, "was something I really wanted to do."
"You did good then," I say, turning to kiss him. Next to me Ethan kisses Mia and on the other side of us I see Carrick pulling Grace in for a bit of his own loving.
"The blue pills were my idea," he chuckles into my ear while we watch Elliot push the ring he's chosen onto Kate's finger.
"Oh yeah? Of course the Viagra was your idea."
"Ana!" Kate exclaims, hugging me tight and jumping up and down while she moves around the room. "Can you believe it? I'm engaged!"
"Congratulations, Kate," Christian says with sincerity, giving her a watered down version of a hug to avoid being touched. "Welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Christian," she says as she starts to cry. Ethan grabs her shoulders and turns her around to pull her in tight as he whispers loving words into her ear.
"Elliot," Christian grins, "It was perfect." The two brothers hug a genuine, pat on the back hug and I'm left speechless by the physical interaction that seems to have no effect on my husband.
"The race to procreate is on little brother," Elliot whispers but I hear him anyway, my stomach dropping at yet another layer of pressure on the subject.
"Dream on, fiancé of mine," Kate says from her brothers chest. "I'm not even having that discussion yet."
"Fine," he says as he pulls her into his arms so that he can whisper in her ear just loud enough for me to hear but not her brother, "Then let's talk about butt sex."