Chapter 42: Mother Dearest
As they returned to her office at Bennington Steele, Anastasia's mind was spinning. What the hell was Carla doing here? She hadn't seen her mother in person in over five years, and they hadn't spoken on the phone in over a year.
Leaving all the security except Prescott outside her door, Anastasia led her mother into her office and closed the door. Seated in her daughter's spacious office, Carla took in everything. She complained, "I've been trying to get a meeting with you all day. Those nasty security guards, apes more like it, refused to let me even enter the door."
Anastasia sighed and smiled apologetically at Prescott, who just shrugged. She was saved having to respond verbally as Hannah brought in coffee and snacks.
"Are you hungry, Mother?" Anastasia asked.
"Starving," she responded. "I haven't eaten a bite all day."
"Hannah, was there any leftover pizza?" Anastasia asked.
"I think there was a box or two. I'll check the break room," Hannah replied. She left Anastasia's office, closing the door behind her.
"Mom… did you tell any of the guards that you're my mother?" Anastasia asked.
"No, but I gave them my name. That should've been enough. It makes me feel old to admit I have a child old enough to run a business like this one."
"Nobody told me Carla Wilkes was here to see me," Anastasia explained.
"I go by Carlotta Adams now," she said.
Anastasia was confused. "Since when?"
"Since I married Bob two… nearly three years ago. His mother's name is Carla, and my birth name is Carlotta, so he asked me to go by it to make things less confusing."
"Did he also ask you to change your last name?" Anastasia asked. "Because you always went by your maiden name, Wilkes, with your past five marriages. It didn't even occur to me that Carlotta Adams might be you. If I'd heard the name Wilkes, I would have agreed to see you."
"Yes, Bob asked me to take his name. And I wanted to. With the past five husbands, I didn't want the hassle of changing it back after the divorce. But I didn't intend on divorcing Bob at the time, so I didn't have any problems doing as he asked."
Anastasia didn't ask the question on the tip of her tongue. Had her mother intended to divorce the first five men she'd married even at the time that she married them?
"Did Bob come with you on this trip?" Anastasia asked.
"No, he plays golf every Monday, and I didn't want him to miss it. He lives for it. Besides, I wanted to see you. He doesn't even know you."
Anastasia refrained from reminding her mother that if her stepfather had wanted to know her, he could have. Both of them had been invited to her college graduation.
"Why are you here, mother?" Anastasia asked.
"I wanted to see you," Carla answered. She might go by Carlotta now, but Anastasia would always think of her mother as Carla.
"You could have called," Anastasia said. "The timing isn't great, Mom. I wish you'd have let me know you were coming. Where are you even staying?"
For a brief moment, Anastasia thought of offering her guest room to her mother, but she didn't. If Carla had pre-arranged things with her, it would be different. But she couldn't just show up like this and expect a place to stay.
"I've got a room in the Hyatt Regency. It's real nice," Carla replied. "I didn't want to bother you for a room, honey. I know you're probably planning to spend the night with that billionaire you're dating now. He sure is handsome."
Carla had never been subtle. Of course she came to Seattle when she found out Anastasia was dating a billionaire. Had Anastasia not predicted this very thing when their relationship went public?
Their conversation paused when Hannah knocked and brought in a couple of slices of reheated pizza for Carla. While Carla was eating a slice, Anastasia decided she wasn't interested in playing mind games with her mom. That might have worked when she was in her early teens, but she was an adult now and not in the mood for Carla's usual tactics.
"Be honest, Mom, when did you plan this trip?" Anastasia asked. "Was it last week, when the news about our relationship went public? Or was this a last-minute spur-of-the-moment thing when that video of Christian got leaked yesterday?"
Carla had the audacity to look offended. "I've been planning this trip for weeks now," she claimed. "It's been way too long since I saw you."
Anastasia sighed again. "If that were true, why didn't you think to call me first?"
"I wanted to surprise you," Carla claimed.
Anastasia chuckled humorlessly. "Really, Mom? You of all people should know I don't like surprises. Did you forget that the same way you've forgotten my birthday for the past three years?"
Carla didn't comment. Instead, she asked, "Is it true what the media are saying about you? You know I didn't raise you to let some man beat you, billionaire or not."
"You didn't raise me at all," Anastasia responded dryly. "And I'll tell you like I told my employees today. My relationship with my boyfriend is my own business and his."
"Anastasia, I'm not your employee," Carla snapped. "I'm your mother. And I'm worried about you."
"You're worried about me?" Anastasia repeated incredulously. "Since when? You haven't talked to me in over a year, Mother. You have no idea what's going on in my life. And you don't have a history of worrying about me. At all. You didn't seem worried when I fell off that horse and broke my arm when I was eight years old. It was a teacher at school that took me to the hospital two days after it happened. You weren't concerned when I went to bed hungry because you didn't remember to feed me, and I was too young to fix my own food. And you didn't seem all that worried when husband number three almost raped me. You stayed married to him and sent me to Ray. It hurt at the time that you chose that asshole over your own child, but it turned out to be the best decision you ever made for me."
Carla seemed stunned for a moment that her daughter had spoken to her so harshly. But then she smiled. "You called him your boyfriend, not your Dominant. And you're certainly not behaving like a submissive right now. Good for you, sweetheart. You've done real good for yourself. I'm proud of you."
Anastasia didn't know what exactly Carla was proud of her for. She would have liked for it to have been the accomplishment of founding Bennington Steele and making it a success, but Carla hadn't even mentioned it. It was probably the fact that Anastasia had gotten a billionaire to date her. She wasn't convinced that Carla even cared whether they were into BDSM or not. She didn't want to know how her mother knew what a Dominant and submissive were. She wasn't going to tell her anything about her life, and she didn't want to know those details about her mother's life either.
Anastasia decided not to respond at all to Carla's attempted compliment. Instead, she said, "I don't believe for a moment that you came all the way to Seattle because you're worried about me. But I'm confused about what you're hoping to gain from this trip. So I'll ask you again, Mother. Why are you really here?"
"You might find this hard to believe, but I actually did miss you, and I wanted to see you," Carla answered.
"You're right. I do find it hard to believe," Anastasia said.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Carla asked pitifully.
Anastasia looked surprised. "I don't hate you, Mother. How could you even think that? I just choose not to play your games anymore. I'm not a child, and I don't need you coming and pretending all of a sudden that you care. If you'd really been planning this trip for weeks, you would have notified me. No, you jumped on the airplane when you heard the name Christian Grey. What do you think, that you're going to get a payoff? For what, Mother? And why do you even need it? I thought Bob had money."
Carla scoffed. "Bob had money. But Bob's a gambling fool."
Anastasia raised her eyebrows. "So now the truth comes out. You think I have money to get your husband out of debt?"
"You look like you're doing OK, and your boyfriend has plenty of money," Carla replied.
"You're not going to see one cent of Christian's money," Anastasia snapped.
"You sure about that?" Carla asked. "Well, actually… I don't have to see a cent of his money. There are at least a dozen reporters downstairs who have already offered to buy my story. I haven't told any of them yet that I'm your mother, just that I'm an old acquaintance who's worried about you. But they're hungry for information about you, and I bet they'd pay well."
At that moment, Anastasia's cell phone rang. It was BB's ring tone, so she answered. She needed a mental break from her mother, so this was perfect timing.
"Christian told me your mother's there," BB said concernedly as soon as Anastasia answered. "Is she still there in your office with you?"
"Yes, she is," Anastasia answered. She didn't bother to ask how Christian knew she was there. Security had probably alerted him as soon as it happened.
"I'm on my way up," BB said. "Tell Hannah to let me in."
As soon as they ended the call, Anastasia buzzed Hannah. "When Mr. Bennington arrives, tell him to come on in," she said.
"Who's Mr. Bennington?" Carla asked. "And why is he coming here now? We're still having a meeting, and we need to get down to business, not get interrupted."
"Mr. Bennington is a good friend," Anastasia replied. She didn't comment on the rest of her mother's ridiculous statement.
"Does your boyfriend know about your good friend Mr. Bennington?" Carla asked suggestively.
Anastasia didn't respond. In fact, she didn't speak again at all until BB knocked on the door and entered.
"You have really good timing," Anastasia told him as she got up and gave him a hug.
BB bear-hugged her. "I was thinking I have awful timing. I've been stuck in back-to-back meetings all day. Otherwise, I would have checked on you hours ago, baby girl. When Christian called, I knew it was time to drop everything and get my ass up here."
Carla had been sitting there watching their exchange with a frown. BB soon had her smiling, though.
"So this is your mother," he said loudly. He turned to Carla and added charmingly, "I can certainly see the resemblance, but you don't look like you could possibly have given birth to our girl here. You must have been a baby yourself. I'd peg you for her older sister. You don't look a day over thirty-five."
Carla blushed and said flirtatiously, "Hasn't anyone ever told you it's not polite to talk about a woman's age?"
Anastasia had lost all patience with her mother and wasn't finding this exchange as humorous as BB. "Mom, meet BB Bennington. Remember my friend Jose? BB's his husband."
Carla's eyes popped. "His husband? Well… my goodness. That's… interesting."
"You want to know what I find interesting?" BB asked. He was still using his charming tone, so Carla's guard was down. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that this hunk of hotness was gay. She'd thought by how they'd greeted that Anastasia had two lovers. And by the looks of his designer suit, this one had plenty of money, too.
"What's that?" Carla asked.
BB answered, "I find it very interesting that you, Anastasia's mother, chose to show up here today of all days. I mean…" He turned to Anastasia and asked, "Wasn't this the same woman who missed your college graduation because her current husband broke his toe?"
"His ankle," Anastasia corrected.
"Right," BB responded, smiling affectionately at Anastasia. He turned back to Carla and asked, "How much were you planning on asking her for?"
"Um, what?" Carla asked blankly.
"You're obviously here for a payout," BB pointed out. "You haven't spoken to your daughter in over a year, you hear in the tabloids that she's dating a billionaire, and you jump on an airplane without even so much as a phone call. So how much? Anastasia's had a stressful day, so there's no point beating around the bush. Just spill it, get your cash, and be on your way."
"Why should I involve you in our family matters?" Carla asked BB.
He shrugged. "That's your choice. In fact, I've got what I think is an excellent choice for you to make. Let me lay it out for you." BB opened the briefcase that he'd brought with him that Anastasia hadn't noticed until that moment. He'd placed it on her desk when he hugged her. He took a form from the briefcase. "This is a nondisclosure agreement. A confidentiality agreement. Your choice is to sign it and walk out of here with $100,000 in cash. Signing it will mean that if you talk to anyone, and I do mean anyone, about Anastasia, you'll have to return that full $100,000, plus another $2 million. Don't test me on it. I won't hesitate to collect on it if you break the terms of this agreement. It also means that you leave Anastasia alone after this. No returning for another payout after this one. This one agreement covers the rest of your life."
"You want to buy my silence?" Carla asked, feigning insult.
BB shrugged again. "I'm not sure why you're pretending that insults you. It's obvious you came here today to sell your silence. So I'm buying. It's as simple as that. Your choice is to take it, walk away, keep your mouth shut, and never bother your daughter again. Or leave without signing it and do your worst with the vultures downstairs. I can promise you none of them will offer you anywhere close to this dollar amount."
"Why are you doing this?" Carla asked BB confusedly. "What's my daughter to you?"
BB smiled again at Anastasia, who was sitting there in shock, not really sure what to say to either of them. He answered simply, "She's my friend. I care about her."
"Clearly," Carla said, frowning at Anastasia like she was trying to solve a puzzle. Anastasia just stared back at her mother, waiting to see what she would decide.
Carla appeared to think over BB's offer. She picked up the NDA and appeared to skim it. Then, she picked up a pen and signed it in all the places BB pointed out for her to. She held on to the NDA as she asked him, "Where's my money?"
BB opened the briefcase and said, "I'll even throw in the briefcase if you leave here in the next five minutes and promise to never contact your daughter to ask for money again."
Carla stared at the stacks of hundred dollar bills in the briefcase thinking that this trip had certainly been worth her time. "Yes, I promise," Carla muttered as she closed the briefcase and picked it up. "Goodbye, Anastasia. It really was good to see you, and I am happy that you're doing so well."
"Goodbye, Carla," Anastasia answered. She couldn't bring herself to call her "mother" after witnessing this disgraceful act. She hoped she never saw her again.
As Carla was leaving Anastasia's office, she didn't notice one of the security tagging along behind her. On Christian's orders, he followed her to the bank where she deposited the money, and then to her hotel. He reported all of this back to Taylor.
Once Carla was gone, BB told Anastasia, "I hope I didn't overstep. It seemed like the easiest way to get rid of her for good. You did want that though, didn't you, baby girl?"
"God, yes. But BB… you just gave that witch $100,000. I'll never be able to…"
He put a finger over her lips. "If you finish that thought, I'm going to tell Christian to add an extra ten strikes to the flogging he's already got planned for you. That wasn't a loan, Ana, and I didn't give it to you. Let it go, baby. Now, get your shit. I'm taking you home."
Anastasia wanted to argue, but she knew better. Once BB had made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. But shit, that was a lot of money he'd just dished out just for her protection. Would Christian repay him? That thought made her feel even worse. She didn't want either of them paying off her mother for her. It just wasn't right.
After all of the stress of the day, Anastasia walked with BB to the garage in a daze. She barely even heard the reporters calling out their obnoxious questions. The next thing she knew, she was in BB's car without even remembering how she got there.
"Why didn't you just stay home today, baby girl?" BB asked her.
She sighed. "I should have. Christian and I argued about it this morning. He was insisting that I work from home like him, and I refused. He said he didn't think I was serious about wanting TPE."
"If you were arguing with him about going into work today of all days, then I'd have to agree with him on that," BB commented.
"But I do want TPE, BB. I want what you and Jose have," she insisted.
"With Christian?" BB asked.
"Yes!" she answered unreservedly.
"If that's true, you've got to trust him," BB responded.
"I do trust him," she insisted.
"Bullshit," BB said. "But don't beat yourself up over it. You haven't been together long enough to build the kind of trust you need for TPE. You have to believe with your whole heart that your Dom has your best intentions in mind. If you really want TPE, you've got to get to the point that you trust him without even thinking about it. If he says stay home, you stay home. You don't even question it."
"How do I get there?" Anastasia asked.
"It takes time," BB answered. "That's why you've got a six-month contract before you decide if it's what you really want or not. By that time, you'll have built the trust you need. Or you walk away."
Anastasia thought it over as she watched the traffic around them. "I don't need six months. This morning… I was stupid. I was worried that he was trying to control my work life. I mean… he's Christian Grey. He's… a powerhouse in business. But Bennington Steele is mine, and… Anyway, it doesn't matter. I know that's not what he was doing. He just wanted to protect me, and I didn't let him."
"I'm glad you realise you were wrong," BB told her.
"I deserve to be punished for my behavior this morning.
BB smiled. "You will be. I've got it on good authority that there's quite a scene waiting for you when you get to the Escala penthouse."