My dear little broccolis💚💚💚
💚 So, this story is dedicated to two particular authors with whom I have briefly touched on those issues, and who make amazing stories. paleseptember10 & Krooela. Go check them out, you won't regret it.
💚 Fallen Angel💚
How would have Christian Grey's life turned out if the Greys had intervened when Elena tried to sink her claws into him? Would he still be the same man as we know, or someone completely different ...
‼️Rated M - {Out Of Characters/All Human/Alternate Universe}‼️
‼️Romance/Angst/Drama/Lemons‼️
‼️AS/CG/The Greys/The Steeles/Jack Hyde/Elena Lincoln‼️
💚 READ & REVIEW, DON'T BE A SILENT READER 💚
Chapter 10: In The Name Of The Father (3,9K)
Christian's Pov
Anastasia Steele? I glare at her. We've been speaking for almost three weeks, and she didn't trust me for one second. Rose! I inwardly snare. Her name is fucking Anastasia, and she invented herself a whole other persona. No wonder why she seemed preoccupied, she knew the Dean was about to blow her cover.
"Congratulation, Anastasia," I tell her, giving her her diploma. She smirks at me, cocking an eyebrow up and shoots back
"Thank you, Mr Grey."
She walks away, and I gape at her. How dare she sass me when she lied all along? I just omitted my last name and what I actually do, she created a whole fake ass name. I take a deep breath, focussing on the next person, my jaw locked. What I wouldn't do to be in my boxing-room right now!
Once this is all and done with, I just want to get back to the hotel and hopefully do something to distract me. But as a benefactor, I have to stay at least for a couple of hours. There is this gathering for drinks and talks on the marquee and I just stand in a recluse corner with Elliott, rebuffing any student trying to come to me with the idea of internships or job offers. I give them HR's number, let them deal with that.
"So … that was some boring-ass speech. I got more inspired back in Sunday school," Elliott tells me and I grimace. We never liked Sunday school. But I have to agree here, whoever wrote that needs to be fired. I know it was a last second assignement, but it was bland. How did Harvey let that pass?
"Are you being in a mood? Because I turned down Kate for drinks tonight to stay with you, and you're giving me 'fuck-off-I'm-pissed' vibes. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I say, my eyes settling on Anastasia as she animately speaks with some other students, Miss Kavanagh being amongst them. How am I supposed to build a friendship with her, when she isn't even honest with me?
"So? Everything back to normal with Miss Kavanagh?" I ask him, to distract him from his perspective questions. Elliott hands me a glass of orange juice and I don't have to look at him to know that he's grinning,
"Thank you. I don't know what you told her, but I'm back on the plans to help with her move this weekend. I'm just never allowed to bring up work with her or you. And we all know how much that pains me."
I snicker because Elliott lives by the motto to never talk about work outside of the sanctity of work. He has an actual partnership with Eric, and yet, he refuses to talk work with him when they meet for drinks, or Eric joins us for our Sunday roasts.
My eyes are still on Anastasia as she animately speaks to whom I assume to be Kavanagh's twin and I squint my eyes, trying to spot if he has a black eye. I don't think I have seen any male student with a cocker, but the fucker might be from a different university.
I can feel Elliott shift next to me, and I quickly look away before he can tell that I've been staring at one of the students. But it seems that it's too late, "Do you know Ana?"
I look at my brother, staring at him as my brain is trying to understand how he knows the vixen. Is he two-timing Miss Kavanagh? He shrugs with innocence and explains, "She's Kate's roommate."
I nod, and look back at her, my jaw still locked in that strange way. She's laughing with some redhead now, throwing her head back at some joke she just said. God, she's beautiful. I shake my head, trying to get it together, and Elliott insists,
"So … Ana?"
"It's complicated."
Elliott waits, and I know he won't let it go. "It's not what you think. We're just … friends." Can I even use that word when she clearly doesn't trust me?
"Friends? You don't look at her as a friend."
"It's all it can be," I say through gritted teeth, and finally he seems to catch up.
"Oh? Because of …" I nod, glad that I don't have to spit it out for him to understand that once again, my touch issues are playing against me. "But … maybe she'd be into that. Maybe she's into that kind of kink, or maybe she's not a touchy pers—"
He stops talking, as a man with black hair and a beard picks up Anastasia and makes her twirl before setting her back down and hugging her to him. A lump grows in my throat, because for a brief second, I did try to live in that maybe Elliott was portraying. But the reality is,
"Yeah, She's definitely not a touchy person," I sarcastically point out, gulping on my orange juice.
Anastasia has her hand on the man's chest. This guy is definitely not a student. He looks too old and too confident to be a student. And he's definitely not a relative. He's too young to be her father or uncle, and they look nothing alike.
She tells him something that makes him roar in laughter before he steps back and drops on one knee. I stop breathing and feel my heart beat again when he simply bows to her under the acclamations of their little group of friends.
Elliott doesn't say anything, and I'm grateful for that. I don't need his thoughts clouding mine. Right now, I'm in a tango between two parts of me. Shall I leave and never contact her again, or shall I just walk to her and demand explanations about her lie? I am really tempted with option number one when her eyes lock with mine. She smiles at me, and my resolve dissipates in a second.
I see that she excuses herself from her crowd of friends and walks toward us. Elliott makes a move to leave, and though I appreciate the gesture, I shake my head. If she's coming to end our friendship for some reason, I want his moral support.
She brightly smiles at my brother, waving her hand at him, "Hey Elliott! I heard you were back in her majesty's good grace."
"What can I say? I'm irresistible. She couldn't stay away from me that long," Elliott boasts, and I snort in my orange juice. I'm pretty sure it's the other way around. He was the one being all mopey about it. And apparently, Anastasia thinks the same thing. She raises a doubtful eyebrow at him, a knowing smirk spread on her lips.
Then she turns to me and I have no idea what to say, so I repeat,
"Once again, congratulations, Anastasia."
She grimaces, clearly not happy. Well, that makes two of us. "Ew, please don't. Anastasia means I'm in trouble."
And then she gives me a bright smile. Did I just say she was beautiful? Scratch that, she's breathtaking! But that doesn't make me lose focus on what matters here. I lean and lowly say with a hint of a threat in my voice,
"Oh, but you are in trouble, Anastasia. One does not lie to their friends."
"Friends?" She echoes, her eyebrow up once again.
For a brief moment, I forget about the world around us. It's just me and Anastasia, lost in a bubble. And … it would be so easy to lean in and capture her red lips. I look at them, outlined by dark lipstick and making them stand out even more. She's all sin today. Red lips, red ribbon in her hair, red dress sticking to her body. Maybe I should take a page out of Elliott's playbook and just … go for it.
But then I come back to reality. I can't. She's been touching and hugging everyone today. In fact, right now, her right hand is up, ready to rest on my chest as her eyes drift to my lips.
I swallow with difficulty and clear my throat, feeling the usual tight cold that envelops me when a panic attack threatens to blow due to someone attempting to touch me.
"Friends," I assure her … and myself. I should stop thinking of her as anything other than a friend. She nods, but I do notice the minute step back that she takes. Martha is going to make such a big deal out of this. Scratch Martha, Elliott is going to be all over my case.
"Well, for your information, Mr Grey, you have no reason to be mad. I did not lie. You just never asked for my full name."
"Oh really, Stacie?"
She smirks, and I hear Elliott snicker behind me. The idiot.
"Ana-Stacie-A," She proudly enunciates and … this is such a fine print thing. But then again, I'm a businessman, I revel in the fine print. I can't fault her for this one.
"What about Rose?"
She hands me her diploma and it reads Miss Anastasia Rose Steele. I nod because I have nothing to say. She really did not lie, and now I feel like an ass. Especially when she says, taking back her diploma,
"And I did not pretend to be a normal person when I'm actually the CEO of some big company that wants to rule the world. What were you even doing in that coffee shop?"
Even though I can't see him, I know Elliott is having the time of his life. He's pretending to be on his phone, but I know he's listening and he's going to grill me later on. But I decide to ignore him,
"Big CEOs are allowed to stretch their legs and get their own coffees, you know. And I did try to give you my card, which you refused several times if I remember correctly."
"Yeah, because it is widely known that it's impossible to fake a business card. I've met so many "agents", "talent-scouts", "movie directors" and "publicists" that I know better than to trust a piece of paper, Christian."
She grins at me, and just as I'm about to say something concerning her lack of faith in the male species, Elliott suddenly straightens up, loudly clearing his throat to grab my attention. He's all stiff and before I can ask about his unusual behaviour a man walks to Anastasia, smiling at her,
"Annie. I've been looking for you. How dare you abandon me with Kavanagh?"
The man wraps his hand around her shoulder and she grins at him. He is freakishly tall and imposing, all muscles and tension. I'm pretty sure there is not a single speck of fat on him. He has a buzz cut with a five o'clock shadow on his cheeks and chocolate brown eyes are carefully looking at me, not blinking even once.
"Dad! This is Elliott's brother, Christian Grey. Christian Grey, this is my father. Raymond Steele."
"I was there at the ceremony, Annie. I know who he is," Mr Steele, still looking at me with his deep brown eyes, as if he is dissecting my soul and I am momentarily speechless. Is this how people feel when I look down at them?
"It was a very … personal speech you gave, Mr Grey." He adds, everything in his tone indicating that he clearly didn't think it was anything personal.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Steele," I finally say, presenting my hand under Elliott's shocked eyes.
If I can avoid human contact as much as possible, I do. Even at work, Ros is the one shaking most hands. I feel him slightly tugging my jacket as if to tell me to stop making a fool out of myself, but Mr Steele's eyes prevent me from looking away from him. Did that man even blink once since he walked to us?
He looks down at my extended hand, before turning to his daughter. They look nothing alike. Maybe she's adopted like I was. I'll have to find a way to ask her without offending her.
"I thought I taught you better than to follow the vultures of the corporate world," He accuses her as if I'm not here, and I can't help but feel insulted. I am not a vulture!
Anastasia laughs and shakes her head, "Christian is not poaching me for his company, Dad. He's just a serial killer I met a few weeks ago."
Mr Steele looks back at me, and at my hand that is still uselessly pointing between us, and finally, he takes it in his, crushing it in the process. I feel Elliott get closer to me, and I understand why he tried to prevent the handshake. He probably knew I'd lose my hand, and maybe my cool. This is, in fact, a bit too … close and forceful for me.
But I keep my smile on as the man curtly says, "Colonel."
My eyes briefly go to Anastasia as I recall that she just told her military of a father that I was a serial killer. Who says that? I might actually die tonight! Taylor, my CPO, is definitely not having any rest until we get back to Seattle. I want to live.
Anastasia yanks her father's hand away from mine, rolling her eyes as she taps on his chest, "Yeah, yeah, we get it, Dad, you're a scary man. We're all trembling here. You know, this is why I have so few friends."
Finally, Colonel Steele looks away from me to stare at his daughter with an amused expression, "My fault? Yeah, you accusing everyone to be criminals within the first five minutes of meeting them has nothing to do with it."
She grins as if it is completely normal to accuse people of being criminals, and he leans to kiss her temple. Well, I guess this is how he raised her. He looks back at me, and then at Elliott, his eyes hard on him, silently telling him something. And Elliott doesn't say a word, which is so abnormal. Elliott always yaps about. But not today.
"So, what are you doing here, Mr Grey? Besides poaching students out of your league?"
Anastasia rolls her eyes and admonished her father. "I told you, Christian is not trying to poach me, Dad. He's clever enough to know that a literary student will bring him no money. He's just congratulating me because today is all about me."
I repress a grimace because I have no present for her. I have no idea of what she would like. But I jump on the occasion. Anything to get her father to stop looking at me as if he knows fifty different ways to make someone disappear without a trace. Actually, I'm pretty sure he does know fifty different ways to make me disappear. Where is fucking Taylor when I need him? Can't he see that this is obviously an imminent threat to my life?
"Yes. Once again, congratulations, Anastasia."
She narrows her eyes at me, probably because she just told me a few minutes ago to not call her that. How many names does that girl have? Ana? Annie? Anastasia? Stacie? Rose? Is she a spy or something?
Her father raises an eyebrow at her, a small smirk on his lips before looking back at me, "Are you congratulating every student personally twice, Mr Grey? That must be quite exhausting."
Elliott comes to my rescue, and I have never loved my brother more than now. "No, Sir. I just told Christian that Ana is Kate's roommate, and since he knows how fond I am of Kate, he extended the courtesy to Ana."
Sir? Okay, Elliott has definitely already met that man with the killer eyes. And Colonel Steele is not impressed at all. He raises an eyebrow at Elliott, the same way Anastasia did a few moments ago, and he calls my brother out on his lie, "And where does the serial killer come in all of that?"
Ana rolls her eyes once again and cuts in, "Where is your graduation present to me? If I recalled, there was a promise about spoiling me today."
And finally, Colonel Steele forgets about my brother and me and solely looks at his daughter. They briefly exchange a silent conversation before he chuckles, "I saw you cashing in another promise."
"Well, Miguel should know better than to bet against my magnificent brain. Now, I have a servant for the rest of my life."
"Well, if you have a servant, let me treat you like a princess. I've made reservations in that restaurant you like," Her father says, gently pressing her waist to take her away from us.
She brightly grins but doesn't follow him straight away. Instead, she goes to Elliott and takes him in her arms, telling him to behave with Kate. Then, she walks to me, and before she can take a step further, I shake her hand. She smiles and assures me that she'll text me later.
As soon as they turn their back on us, I scan the crowd and spot Taylor looking at us, unbothered by the fact that I almost died under his watch. Okay, maybe I wasn't in so much danger. From afar, Colonel Steele looks less frightening and imposing. Especially when his piercing eyes and deep broken voice are far.
"So …" Elliott's voice clear next to me. I repress a groan and walk to Taylor. I think I've socialised enough for PR to leave me alone. Elliott is short on my heels.
"Just friends, eh?"
"Yes, Elliott. This is just friendship."
"Of course." He pauses as we get closer to Taylor before adding, "And hell is just a sauna"
I roll my eyes. Really. He just saw Anastasia and I redefine our relationship before his eyes, and here he comes questioning it. Sometimes, I question the intelligence of my brother. Even when things are spelt out before him, he still doesn't get them.
As Taylor gets us to the car, I drift him toward less dangerous waters than his disillusions about Anastasia and myself. "What's up with her father? Since when do you call people sir?"
Elliott stares at me as if I'm the idiot. "Do I have to explain to you in plain English that the dude is scary?"
I grimace, and I swear I see a small smirk on Taylor's lips. So Taylor did see that I was in immediate danger, but decided to do nothing. Does he know the colonel? After all, Taylor is ex-army.
Still, it doesn't make sense. "But you're with Miss Kavanagh, aren't you?"
"Yes. Thank God for that. The Steeles are a scary family. The first time I spent the night with the intention of spending the night, I woke up before Kate. I had never met Ana before that day. And I went to buy coffee and croissants because I'm a nice guy. I came back, and Ana attacked me. She thought I was a burglar. Kate had to pry Ana away from me and explain that I was indeed a nice guy."
I can't help but laugh. Elliott, being attacked by that little woman. This is something I'd pay to see. But then, something echoes in my memory. Three months ago, Elliott came to our weekly Sunday roast with a cocker and bruises. Grace had been all over his case, and he just dismissed, saying that he fell on the contestation site.
"Wait … three months ago, your accident …"
"Was named Ana, yes. I was not going to advertise the fact that a chipmunk beat me bloody because I bought coffee."
Well, apparently, gallantry really doesn't sit well with her.
"As for her father. He drops by every once in a while. And as soon as he found out I was doing Kate … How to explain. You know that Kate lost her mother a few years ago, right?"
I nod. Elizabeth Kavanagh died in a car accident four years ago. Her husband had been pretty shaken up, but I have no idea how her kids reacted. Elliott scratches the back of his head and grimaces, obviously uncomfortable sharing someone else's story,
"To make it short, Kate didn't take it well. And that's when she met Ana. Ana helped her get back on track, and the colonel did just as much. He treats her like a daughter. So you can imagine how happy he was to see me hanging with the girls when he dropped by on them.
Two days later, he showed up at my work, and he scared the living daylight out of me. He knew my whole life, and everything and everyone I had done. And the funny thing, he only said three words. 'Treat her well'. I swear, I almost shat my pants."
I nod because I can believe that. Colonel Raymond Steele doesn't need to speak to be scary. When Anastasia made light of him being scary, I did not find it funny. Her father is easily the scariest man I have ever met. Just alone by the fact that I haven't seen him blink even once. He is clearly not human!
"Friend or no friend, you better be in her father's good graces. Because if Ana can beat the shit out of me from her 110lbs, you can imagine what her father can do," Elliott adds, and I can't help but agree.
I'll ask Taylor to do a background check on Colonel Steele and find some common ground.
But all my worries temporarily fly away when I receive a text from Anastasia, making me smile against my will.
Sorry about my Dad. He likes pretending he's Terminator when in truth he's a big marshmallow. Now, my dear friend, we do have a little get together tonight at our favourite bar. You and Elliott are more than welcome to come and mingle with the soon to be unemployed students. ~ Ana (And not Anastasia. And I mean it!)
.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.
💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
💚 So,we've met Raymond Steele. Colonel Raymond Steele. I totally revamped his character, and if you follow me on Facebook, you know that he is Jason Statham. He scared the life out of the Greys, and I love it.
💚 And now everything is clear, Christian has been invited to party, of sorts. And they have cleared it out. Ana and Christian are friends
💚 And Elliott knows Ana and has met her nice and sweet punches ... What did you think of Elliott in this chapter?
💚Well, let me know what you thought of this chapter. What was your favourite part? What do you think will happen next?
💚 E L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, Everything else is mine (including the mistakes and grammar errors).
Love, Mina 💚💚💚