Grey Reflections: Episode 13—Beginning the Babymoon Bliss

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Episode 13—Beginning the Babymoon Bliss

CHRISTIAN

“I didn’t think I’d even be able to come out here again,” Jason says as he stands behind me in the office of my boat. I turn around to face him and he’s examining the globe.

“I didn’t ban you from my boat,” I say matter-of-factly.

“I’ve never boarded uninvited,” he says, “unless it directly involved my job duties. You know that.”

Yes, I do know that.

“Is everything ready for our journey tomorrow?” I ask. I wasn’t at the prenatal appointment, and I didn’t get to ask Dr. Culley if there’s anything that we shouldn’t do, anything that we need to watch out for with Butterfly heading into her 29th week, but I guess we’ll just play it by ear. If necessary, we will not interact with anybody on this trip to keep her stress levels down and I mean that! It’ll be me, her, security, nature, that cabin, and that’s it!

“Yes, sir, everything’s ready,” he says. “It’ll just be me and Chuck accompanying you. We’ll leave SeaTac at 6am and we’ll be landing in Lebanon, NH at the Lebanon Municipal Airport at or around 4:30pm Eastern time. Your travel concierge will have an Audi Q5 waiting at the tarmac for you and your expecting wife’s comfort, and we’ll have a 40-minute scenic drive to Barnard, Vermont. We’ll arrive just in time to have aperitivo before dinner for you and your wife unless you would rather go straight to dinner. I would think that Ana would want to freshen up and relax after her flight and maybe even take a little nap. If not, you all can always tour the grounds before dinner.”

“You sound like a travel brochure,” I say with a chuckle.

“Just covering all the bases, sir,” he says.

“I thought it was only called aperitivo in Italy,” I say. He shrugs.

“You’re probably right, but you get the idea,” he replies. “You appear to be more laid back than I’ve seen you in a while… if ever,” he adds after a pause.  I lean back in my chair.

“That’s a combination of things,” I tell him. “The decision to do more work from home and less from the office was a good one. I thought I would be out of touch—lose the killer instinct, but I haven’t. As long as I don’t abandon my post at GEH completely, I can walk right back into it at any moment…” as proven yesterday with the Rosin Brothers.

“Being able to relax while I work has had a profound effect on me,” I continue. “It’s almost unbelievable how much work I can get done when I’m not stressed or wound up—when I’m left to my own devices. Having the junior and senior executive teams has given me permission to focus on areas that are more important without having to do all this micromanaging that I’ve been doing over the last two years. When she’s finally fully back to work, Butterfly is going to be surprised by how much the load has been lightened on the entire executive team.

“I had to make myself see what was important. I had to re-evaluate what counted most to me. I’ve changed and I know it, even though other people can’t necessarily see it. Yes, I’ve gotten softer, I know that too, but my opponents make the mistake of thinking that I’ve gone so soft that they can take advantage of me. By the time that even happens, I will be comfortably retired and traveling the world with my wife while one of my children will be at the helm of Grey Enterprises Holdings. Since my children are all either toddlers or unborn, that won’t be a concern for quite some time.”

I stand and walk past him into the Skylounge. I go over to the bar and pour myself a single shot of Scotch. I offer him a drink but of course he refuses. It’s business hours.

“I’m not dredging up bad feelings or memories,” I say, “but it was very important for me to finish my twins’ bedroom. It’s because I had never done anything like that before in my life. The closest I had ever come to constructing something that didn’t simply involve writing a check, throwing down some plastic, or giving someone an order was playing with Legos when I was a kid. You don’t even have to be present for that. The biggest ‘buck-pass’ in the world—literally—is to hand somebody a credit card. ‘Here, you make sure this is right. I’m going over here to do something else.

“Finishing my kids’ room gave me a huge sense of accomplishment—bigger than any merger or acquisition I can even remember. With my own hands, I laid their floor, I put together their furniture, I moved in all their things, I even painted a wall even though I originally fucked up. Did you know that I chose that paint color?”

“I think I may have heard something to that effect, yes,” Jason says. I nod.

“I chose the mat at the front of the door,” I continue, “I chose a lot of the accessories. It was one of the most useful things I had ever done, and I just wanted to bask in the glory a little longer.” I take another sip of my scotch.

“Yesterday with the Rosin brothers,” I say, “did you see how quickly I got in that elevator when you told me that they were fighting on the first floor?” He raises his brow.

“Yes,” he says expectantly.

“Out of character, wasn’t it?” I ask.

“Very,” he says matter-of-factly. I would’ve expected you to wait out the commotion until the police had taken care of it. Then, we would’ve left by the underground garage like we usually do.” I pause.

“In most cases, I wouldn’t have cared if those two had ripped one another apart as long as the blood was appropriately cleaned from the marble and they didn’t break anything in my building,” I reply, “but this was different.

“I went down to the first floor because I had just had a conversation with Patrick Rosin about the condition of his company, of his life,” I tell him as I begin my stroll back to the office. “Patrick told me how many endless days and sleepless nights his father had sank into the success of that company along with how many lonely days and nights it cost his mother. He told me how she always put on a happy face and smiled, providing a full life for her boys and the picture of perfection for the rest of the world.

“He told me how they traveled, how they wanted for nothing, how his father was respected by many because he literally built that company on his back. The company was highly successful, and the Rosin name was revered, but at the cost of buckets of blood and sweat from the senior Mr. Rosin and gallons of tears from Mrs. Rosin.”

I take a seat and place the scotch on my desk while Jason leans on the buffet across from my globe.

“He told me that the company was first and Mrs. Rosin was second, and she knew it,” I say, resting my hands on the arms of the chair. “I thought about all the times that Butterfly said those exact words to me. She said that she knew the pecking order between her and my company because GEH was here first. She said that GEH was the wife, and she was the mistress.” Jason’s eyes widen.

“I didn’t know that,” he says. My brow rises. “I mean, I didn’t know that she said that.” I turn around and pick up my drink.

“I was falling into the same thing that Rosin, Sr. had fallen into, and my wife was suffering the same fate. It wasn’t as bad—yet, but it was well on its way.” I scrub my face.

“Do you remember Christmas before last?” I ask. “We were spending long hours at GEH and when we got home, yuletide had shat all over the Crossing?” He nods.

“I remember,” he says.

“I went to work, and my son was crawling,” I declare. “I saw him the next day, and he was walking!”

“I remember that, too,” he says, his tone softening.

“My whole family was crying for my attention, begging for it, and I was too busy at the helm,” I say, shaking my head and looking down into my glass of scotch.

“Rosin said that once his father died, his brother Pierre went on a power trip and went about the business of destroying every bit of goodwill that company had, the reputation that his father worked so hard for. From what I could tell, there were bad deals, bad business decisions, bad faith moves—Rosin is certain that his father is rolling over in his grave. Those were his exact words. Pierre and his attorney came into my conference room so cocky like they had something to bargain with and they were too fucking blind and arrogant to know that they were handing me a rotten peach that I would have to bring back to life.

“Patrick tried to save it,” I say, “tried to undo what his brother was doing as quickly as his brother was doing it, but it was no use. The company was failing with no hope of return, and by the time he figured it out, his wife Becca could see them falling into the same abyss that the senior Mr. and Mrs. Rosin did and she was not having it. She took his kids and swiftly got off that merry-go-round. She only asked for child support, but he loves her so much that he gave her alimony, too.”

“Loves,” Jason says, “present?”

“Yes, present,” I confirm. “I don’t know how long they’ve been split up, but to hear him tell it and watch his reaction, it happened yesterday! If I didn’t hear that he actually had a plan for his life and his share of the money, I would be concerned about his mental well-being.” Jason frowns.

“Bali?” he says. “Becca? Is that what that was about?” I nod.

“He wants to get as far away from his brother as he can, and he thinks Bali is the place to do it. He has plans for how he wants to live and possible income-generating strategies that will take minimal effort from him. His words were, ‘If I can’t get my Becca back, I might as well get the hell outta here.’ All I could think of was Butterfly… how if I lost her and the kids, none of this would be worth it—not the money, not the power, not the respect, none of it!”

I turn around, finish off the rest of my shot, and put the glass on the desk. I suddenly feel so forlorn thinking about losing my family.

“When you told me that he was downstairs confronting his brother, I saw a man who had nothing left but this dime that he had just made, and I had just heard him talk about how that dime didn’t really mean that much to him… that he would take whatever pennies he could get and run as long as he got away from this situation. I heard him mourning the loss of his children and the one woman that he ever loved, and now, he’s in the lobby facing off with the man that he felt cost him everything and almost cost him those few little pennies, too.

“If that were me, Jason, if I felt like someone had cost me my family like that, I would’ve torn him limb from limb with my bare hands. That’s why I had to get down there. I knew he would kill him because I knew I would. I told him to go to his woman, because I knew that he would do everything in his power to convince her that she had nothing to worry about. That she was the most important thing in the world to him and that he would give up everything for her… and he did.” I sigh heavily.

“Boss…?”

“I’m relaxed because I’ve decided what’s more important,” I say. “No matter how much I love the rush, I’d give it up in a heartbeat if I had to choose because I love my family more.”

There are several moments of silence while I rein in my feelings and realize that I’ve made the right decision and Butterfly’s not leaving me. We’re having another baby, and I’m taking her to relax on a babymoon tomorrow. She still with me… She’s still here with me…

“Christian?”

I spin around in my chair to see that Jason has left, and Butterfly stands there in his place.

What did she hear? How much did she hear? What’s the last thing that I said?

She says nothing. She just walks across the office, leans down and kisses me deeply. It doesn’t matter what she heard. She’s here. She’s here with me.

I return her kisses, feverishly lapping into her mouth, our tongues doing a sensual tango. Oh, God, I can never get enough of her. My whole body hardens at the feel of her, the smell of her, the taste of her kisses. I feel like I’m on fucking fire!

She falls gracefully down to her knees, still kissing me along the way. Her fingers begin to undo my belt buckle and I feel like I’m going to burst from my fucking jeans. She continues to kiss me as she unzips my fly and grips my jeans at the waist, stopping only to allow me to raise my hips so that she can lower my pants.

I’m trying not to sit here looking down at my wife like I’m the king of my castle sitting on my throne and waiting for her to service me, but it’s hard not to feel that way with her looking up at me with those big, blue eyes and her lips all pouty as she frees my not quite erect cock. She pulls my jeans all the way down to my ankles and removes only one shoe to release one foot, allowing me to open my legs so that she can move between my knees.

Still looking up at me, she grasps my cock with both hands and takes the head into her mouth. I’m trying to stay cool—powerful, arrogant Dominant Christian Grey looking down at his obedient soumise as she services him while he sits in his seat of power thinking, “Good girl…”

But that’s not what’s happening here.

The moment those soft lips and that hot mouth caresses the tip of my cock, Greystone jerks at the contact and begins to rise. Something catches in my stomach, moving up my diaphragm and taking my breath away—that emotional feeling that I get when I’m about to come, and she hasn’t even done anything yet!

I grip the armrests and hold on, pushing my ass down into the seat so that I don’t float away in ecstasy before I even get my blowjob. I love this woman. I love this woman so much that the sight of her between my legs is enough to cause my heart to explode, and the feel of her hands and lips on my organ threatens to fire me to Nirvana in seconds—not because I’m aroused, but because I’m so overwhelmed with what I feel for her.

She holds my cock up and fellates my head deliciously, each suck causing my dick to harden quickly. It’s veiny in moments—moments—and I’m grimacing, biting my lip, and gripping the seat trying to resist the feeling.

But she knows… she knows what this is doing to me… and she doesn’t stop. She’s instantly merciless. She sucks and sucks—just the head—until Greystone is standing up on his own. Then she puts her hand on either side of my dick, flat on my pelvis, and sucks a little more of the head in with each stroke, just below the rim.

I hiss as her fingertips caress the skin around the base of my cock, on my pelvis, and near the crease of my thighs. She’s still looking up at me. She wants me to watch… and I’m mesmerized. The sight and the feeling, Greystone reaching up to greet her eager mouth—sucking not too slow and not too fast, just a beautiful, fiery, steady rhythm giving me the perfect combination of suction and friction.

Sweet Jesus!

She pops my cock out of her mouth, then sucks it back in again, this time using one of her dainty hands to help with the stroke against her mouth. As her hand strokes my cock while her mouth works my head, I feel fucking fire in my dick and I can hear my teeth grinding from the sensation. I see her saliva start to collect and slide down my cock and once she collects it on her hand, she begins to twist it with each stroke complimenting it with circular movements of her mouth and head.

Holy mother of God!

There’s nowhere for me to go. I’m planted in this chair, now groaning and panting with desire. Will she let me fuck her? Will I be able to fuck her once she’s done with me? Her mouth is magical, but I can’t remember the last time I felt her hands on my cock. She’s so fucking good at this!

Just as I’m thinking how good her hands feel, she removes her mouth from my cock and begins to jack me off. At first, I think that I want her mouth back on me until her masterful hands pull, massage, and rub my dick into a passionate, near orgasmic frenzy.

“Shhhit!” I hiss, with heavy emphasis on the “h,” pushing a heavy breath out of my lungs. She strokes and strokes and strokes my cock over and over and over, her rhythm quickening as my ass begins to rise slightly out of the chair. She brings her mouth back to my cock and matches the furious stroke of her hand, my head disappearing into her hot mouth as she sucks and strokes me closer to imminent release.

Maybe it was the fact that I was thinking about Rosin and his wife, how much I could tell that he loves her, how devastating it would be for me to lose Butterfly and the emotion those thoughts evoked coupled with the relief of seeing her standing in my office door at that moment that causes me to be so weak and vulnerable right now. Whatever it is, everything stiffens, and I cry out as pain and ecstasy wrack my entire body, my shaft thumping so intensely that I feel each orgasmic muscle spasm in my glutes and lower back. She sucks hard, dropping down on my dick and pulling back with force, drawing out my seed like a delicious nectar and groaning with each squirt of my cock and balls.

I sound like a girl as she relentlessly drains my balls and swallows my seed. I hear it and I don’t care. It only makes me come harder. This feeling is just as agonizing and delicious as those cries sound, and I’m not holding back. I’ll sing a falsetto aria to the heavens without taking a damn breath.

I’m tender, and I want to tell her to stop, but she keeps manipulating my now flaccid dick. She takes only the underside of my cock—the tender frenulum—in her mouth and sucks like she’s catching the flavor melting from a lollipop. It’s agonizing and exquisite at the same time.

I allow my head to fall back, once again gritting my teeth, gripping the armrests, and squeezing my eyes shut as she continues with this femdom post-orgasmic dick torture. I growl in my chest trying to withstand the incessant stimulation of my tender head and cock.

After a minute or two, she’s rubbing my balls now, and despite the agony that she’s imposing on my sensitive dick, it begins to rise once more. It’s only now that I realize that this is her goal—a little pain with my pleasure. She’s going for round two.

The thought of her satisfying me this way overwhelms me once more, and she tunes in to the moment my body appreciates her actions. My cock is still a bit flaccid, but she’s determined that it won’t be that way for long.

She takes my entire cock in her mouth and sucks it. I know that she’s able to deep throat me when I’m hard, but when I’m not quite there yet, she can take the whole thing in her mouth and torment me thoroughly with her tongue and the magnificent suction of her jaws.

“Aah! Aw fuck!” I groan. I raise my head to look down at her and the sight of her lips pressed against my pelvis—my cock disappearing completely in her mouth—surprises the fuck out of me. I knew that’s what she was doing, but when I see it…

“Fuck, Anastasia!” I groan reverently as my thigh begins to tremble with anticipation. She raises her eyes to me again, then sticks her tongue out and caresses my balls with it… with my cock still in her mouth.

“Oh, God,” I groan, feeling my cock thicken in her mouth.

Don’t grab her head, Grey.
Don’t grab her head, Grey.
Don’t grab her head, Grey.

She adjusts her stroke to accommodate my hardening cock, but it still doesn’t come out of her mouth. How the fuck does she do that? She explained it to me once, but my fragile mind still can’t comprehend it when my cock is in her mouth being worked like a bitch! There’s a lot of me! Where does it all go? And how can you not scream when you feel that?

I’m losing every bit of my cool as my dick gets harder and I feel it in the back of her throat now. It’s like her pussy—same, but different. The contractions of her core are just as warm, tight, and wet, but they’re involuntary. Her pussy molds to my cock and moves with me. Her mouth and throat are deliberate—intentional suction, movement, and rhythm set on my undoing.

I feel my cock get thicker, longer, angrier, and she just adjusts her stroke and suction, leaving not one inch of my shaft neglected. I want to fuck so badly… fuck deep and long. And as if she heard my thoughts, she adjusts herself so that she’s directly over me and begins the most vicious throat fuck I think she’s ever given me. I can feel it when my cock passes a certain point in her throat and she swallows it, the muscles tensing and contracting around it… and she never stops bobbing on it, never stops manipulating it.

She sucks and sucks and sucks and Greystone is reaching impressively into her mouth, giving as well as she can take it, but she’s determined to come out of this the victor. She never tires and never falters. She sucks and sucks and sucks until Greystone is at his thickest, veiniest, and angriest, threatening a cosmic explosion that promises to cause shockwaves across Elliot Bay!

Now she’s gobbling me, fucking me so deliciously with her throat with deep, powerful sucks and strokes. I’m trying not to thrust into her mouth, but she’s forcing me to… dropping so hard down onto my shaft and pulling off of me imitating a wet, gripping, bouncing pussy. I’m trying to pull back from her, enjoying every searing, hot, blinding stroke immensely, but afraid that I’m going to leave her unable to speak. But she’s got this rhythm and stroke perfectly—sucking me greedily, swallowing me fiercely, and working me into mindless pleasure. Fuck! Oh, God! Fuck!

“God! Oho, God! God!” I scream as she manhandles my angry cock, fucking it relentlessly with her mouth and hands until it’s shining with her saliva and burning with friction. I grab her shoulders as I have to touch some part of her as she fucks me with abandon, sucking so hard and so wildly that the cum spirts from my cock just as she releases it from her mouth. It squirts onto her and she continues to jack my burning, squirting cock wildly, her expression one of orgasmic pleasure as she rubs my cock over her now wet cheeks and mouth.

I’ve never particularly been a fan of facials, but at this moment, this is the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. She’s never done this to me before—ever! And I don’t think she ever has to do it again, because this image will last me a fucking lifetime!

I drop my head on the back of the chair, fighting to catch my breath and choking on air while silently begging her to please leave my dick alone. She strokes it a few more torturous times before she grants me reprieve. I hear shuffling as she stands and movement as she leaves the room.

Jesus! Is she going to leave me here like this? I need a fucking nap now!

I realize that she’s gone to the head when I hear water running, and I quickly take a moment to catch my breath. I can’t perform to save my life right now, but I can get my wits about me and lick that pretty pussy…

I open my eyes and she’s standing over me, cleaning my seed from my pelvis and cock with a damp cloth. I must’ve briefly slipped off to sleep because I feel like I’ve lost some time. She puts my foot back into the leg of my pants and pulls them up to my ankles, leaving them there for me to finish the job, then she stands and leans over me.

“You’ve proven more than once that I’m not the mistress,” she says softly and kisses me gently on the lips.

“Don’t be long,” she adds with a smile. “We still have to pack and I know you’ll want to spend some time with the children.” I struggle to raise my head and look at her as she walks towards the door.

“Butterfly,” I say, my voice more strained than I would like. She turns around to face me. “What about you, baby?”

“You’re taking me on a romantic getaway for the entire weekend,” she says. “I’m only too sure that you’ll take very good care of my body while we’re away.”

Damn straight, I think to myself as I gaze lasciviously at her, taking in a deep breath through my pursed lips as I consider all the things I plan to do to that beautiful, luscious, swollen body.

*-*

After what my wife refers to as one of my “crack of dawn” flights, we arrive in Lebanon, New Hampshire in the late afternoon. The flight was nearly eight hours, long enough for us to have two meals—a continental breakfast just after takeoff, and a mediterranean style lunch around mid-flight. Try though she might, Butterfly wasn’t able to get particularly comfortable on the flight. The excitement wouldn’t allow her to sleep, and her eight-month belly wasn’t in the mood to relax… not to mention that we didn’t have any whole, fresh lemons on board. I will make sure that situation is rectified for the flight home.

Driving out of the airport was a typical small-town trip—two-lane, tree-lined streets for several miles until you get into “town” if you can call it that before we hit the freeway on the other side of Main Street. Three miles in, we cross the Connecticut River and we’re in Vermont. It’s amazing to me that the nearest airport to our destination was in the next state.

Twenty minutes down the interstate and we’re back on beautiful tree-lined roads again. We appear to have driven through or past two—maybe three—state parks, and I make a mental note to explore the option of the best one to visit before the weekend is over. Butterfly started out a bit anxious for a little while, but she appears to have loosened up a bit, opening the window of the Audi and leaning out a bit to allow the wind to caress her face and blow through her hair. She’s starting to relax and settle into the solemnity of her vacation getaway, and I’m very pleased with that.

It’s a very relaxing ride. The entire trip is only about 25 miles, but we travel through a cluster of several small towns down Woodstock Road to get there—no connection to the festival. It’s a comforting journey down simple two-lane streets lined with large New England colonial homes or Victorian-farmhouse style buildings and surrounded by lush green landscaping welcoming the newness of spring.

The exception is the town of Woodstock itself. Though not a thriving city like Seattle, you can tell that the municipal heart of the area most likely lies in this little town. Downtown, as it were, boasts wider streets and more buildings, each still exhibiting the New England colonial flavor and none of them more than two stories tall.

A turn off of Woodstock onto Pomfret Rd and we’re back on the narrow roads again. This makes me happy, not only because we’re back in the serenity of the countryside, but also because on Woodstock Road, we were driving into the setting sun. It was irritating for me and not very pleasing for Butterfly. I can only imagine what a trial it was for Jason having to maneuver the vehicle.

Nonetheless, our final stretch is down a quiet country road with little to no traffic, only travelled specifically by people with business here. A house every mile or so or some other lone structure, a small church in the middle of a field of grass… we even saw a covered bridge. The entire scene reminds you of Little House on the Prairie. I’m expecting to see three little girls running down a hill of wildflowers somewhere off in the distance.

Our journey finally takes us to a dirt road surrounded by lots—and lots—of trees, like the road was carved right into the forest, which I’m certain that it was. I can tell that my wife is trying not to feel uneasy, but she’s a lot more alert than she was a moment ago when her head was hanging out the window like a puppy.

I know that Jason is most likely following the GPS, but I hope he has some idea where he’s going. If you don’t know where you’re headed, he’s just driving blindly through the woods… and night is about to fall. I feel a little better when, somewhere down the road, I see a house and a garage on the road with a late model car parked outside. So, at least I know that we’re not down here alone.

We turn off the dirt road and onto the Royalton Turnpike which is partially paved. I’m beginning to wonder if this all-inclusive, exclusive resort is as posh as it’s famed to be. I’m soon to find out just how wrong I am to doubt.

It’s quaint-meets-luxury if you can imagine a combination of the two—fields of rolling green grass and lush green trees as far as the eye can see; lodges and cottages, gazebos, gardens, luxury cabins, a full lake on site. I wish I owned something like this because this place has got to be making a mint for what I’m paying per night for four people. It is all inclusive, after all, with several other attractions nearby.

“Wow,” Butterfly says as we round the drive into this 300+ acre exclusive resort. Twin Farms is a luxury all-inclusive that offers gourmet meals, activities such as hiking, biking, and skiing, and personalized service in an intimate setting. It’s a farm surrounded by farms. Whatever they don’t grow themselves, they get the items from other local farms. So, all the meals are fresh and the ingredients are locally produced.

Dinner is a tailored experience and is different every night. Twin Farms learns as much as possible about the guests before they arrive and attempts to match their tastes as closely as possible. There’s a chef’s table in the kitchen if you’re so inclined to partake of it. It would’ve been perfect for Sophie, but Twin Farms is an adult-only resort with the minimum age being 16. Maybe next year, Soph.

Besides the main lodge, they only have eleven cabins with a total capacity of 40 guests and we took two of them which should accommodate 6 – 8 people. So, we’re taking 10 – 20% of their capacity for the weekend. My wife is awed by the beauty of the main lodge as we climb three short flights of four large stone stairs, each separated by a landing of gorgeous stones, flowers, and other plant life. You’re passing through three terraces of gardens to get to the front door. Butterfly stops to admire the springtime blooms before we go inside to check in.

Twin Farms 11

Our cottages are the Chalet Cottage and the Lodge Cottage—not to be confused with the main lodge. Butterfly and I will take the Chalet while Jason and Chuck are in the Lodge. Both cottages are large enough to be someone’s small starter house, but I want my wife to be comfortable this weekend, only needing to be clothed if she wants to or if utterly necessary.

The Chalet is quite beautiful—two spacious stories with luxurious but comfortable furnishings. Rustic-beam ceilings meet a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace on one side and a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows on the other. The temperature-controlled hot tub in its own sunroom allows cooling of the water to accommodate my pregnant wife. And although there’s an eating area, a sitting area, and an office area downstairs, the bedroom upstairs boasts a king-sized bed facing another set of floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that open to a large terrace in the back of the cottage nestled in the privacy of the trees.

Dirty Dancing Analysis: May 2018

“This is stunning,” Butterfly declares. “I felt like Baby in Dirty Dancing trekking up the stairs to a private cottage in the Catskills right before I sneak off to meet Johnny in his room,” she adds with a giggle. We ascend the stairs to examine the rest of the cabin and find quite the comfy but luxurious bedroom on the second floor.

“Oh, Christian, look!”

She’s pointing to the bed where I see a doll. I think it’s a Cabbage Patch Kid. Jesus, I haven’t seen one of those in decades. She goes over to the bed and retrieves the doll.

“Isn’t it cute?” she croons. “And it’s a little boy. I’ve always wanted one of these… my whole life! Do we get to keep it?”

I chuckle at my wife. She sounds like she just found a new puppy and she’s trying to convince Mom and Dad that she’ll feed it and clean up after it. I retrieve the envelope that she left on the bed that was underneath the doll. Inside is a card and another piece of paper. I read the card:

Dear Christian and Ana,

Congratulations on the upcoming addition to your family. Hopefully, this little guy will keep you company until his arrival. Enjoy your babymoon!

A note from
Guest Experience

“Yes, dear,” I say with a smile. “You get to keep him.” I hand her the card and the envelope with the extra piece of paper.

“Oh my God this is so cute!” she says all in one breath. “Did you see this? It’s a birth certificate! I’ve always wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid and now I have one!”

She hugs her little boy doll close to her and I see that little girl curling up in her bed in Montesano with a new friend. I try not to imagine the scared teenager in Las Vegas clinging to the same doll for comfort at night while singing Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer.

“What?” she asks, noting the change in my demeanor no doubt. I shake my head to shake off the thought.

“You look so adorable,” I say.

“That’s not what you were thinking,” she confronts.

“No, it’s not,” I admit. “But you look so adorable… and we’re not going to talk about what I was thinking, because it’s not worth the energy.”

“Unpleasant domino?” she correctly deduces.

“You know me well,” is all I say.

“Then, we won’t talk about it,” she says. She raises her doll up to her chin and holds it with both hands.

“You can play with my toy,” she says in a childlike voice while sporting a ridiculously large smile. I can’t help but burst into laughter.

Crisis averted.

*-*

Very shortly after our arrival, we take a quick look around our cabin not only to find the adorable little Cabbage Patch Kid, but also to discover that our room has been packed with all types of juices and sparkling non-alcoholic beverages as well as few choice wines and snacks–enough to keep us satiated for the entire weekend. When my wife went to freshen up, they delivered a local meat and cheese plate for a snack. While I’m sure that she will appreciate the snacks and specialty treats, her reaction to that Cabbage Patch Kid was well worth the trip all by itself.

After a snack and a nap, my wife still isn’t quite ready for dinner. Neither am I to be honest. Not to mention the fact that she looks so huggable in her yoga pants and this oversized sweater that comes down to her mid-thigh and nearly covers her hands. She looks so refreshed walking around in her socked feet after her short nap that I just want to sit on the sofa in front of the fire and cuddle her and my son.

So, I do.

We talk about several fickle little things as I cuddle her in my arms, relishing the feeling of her body next to mine. I trail kisses from her collar up her neck and to her ear. When she purrs softly, I make my way around to her mouth. I kiss her gently at first, then firmly, pulling her closer to me and parting her tips with my tongue to explore the softness inside.

I’ve just settled into the warmth of snuggling with my wife and feasting on her soft lips when my hip begins to vibrate.

Oh, fuck! Not now. Everybody that knows me well enough knows that I’m tucked away in the rolling hills and pastures with my wife for a long weekend… so I guess it must be important. Ripping my lips away from Butterfly’s, I groan and fish my phone out of my pocket. It’s Allen. I roll my eyes and swipe the screen.

“I’m on vacation, Forsythe,” I say. “If it’s not on fire, I don’t want to hear it.” I lean down and partake in a few kisses of my wife’s neck, and she giggles softly.

“Oh,” he says, matter-of-factly. “So, I guess you don’t want to hear that your account will soon be $11M heavier.” I pause and raise my brow.

“Come again?” I ask.

“Good news,” Al says. “It looks like you’re going to be seeing your $11M soon.”

“Hot damn, now that’s a fire!” I exclaim happily, straightening up immediately with Butterfly in my arms. “The insurance company?”

“No,” he says, “the FBI.”

“Really?” I say surprised. “How did that happen?”

“Remember when I told you that the insurance company would have to do an investigation?” he says. “The FBI doesn’t want any more investigations, especially not into this particular matter.

“This is how I see it,” he continues. “The FBI are under the impression that Robin Myrick took your money, as were we—but we heard recordings when Mikey was kidnapped that Anton Myrick had your money. Imagine how bad it would look for the FBI if an investigation into the fate of your money revealed that two of their protected witnesses had syphoned millions of dollars from you and had been living on it all this time. Not only that, one of those witnesses baby-napped your kid.

“We all know this is true, but a third-party organization digging into this Pandora’s Box? Ten’ll get you twenty that they don’t even know who all this duo hit, how much money in how many banks Myrick really has squirreled away, and how far back this goes. Trust me, they don’t want the thoroughness of an insurance investigation digging into their mess.”

“Why didn’t somebody else bark before now?” I ask. “I know for certain that they hit other people before they hit me.”

“Nobody knows,” Al replies. “It could be that the people that were hit before didn’t think it was worth it to go public. Did you ever really go public with the hacker situation, or did you just let the feds handle it? What kind of mess would a full-out insurance company investigation discover if they followed the money trail to its final destination?”

Yeah, he’s got a point there.

“They were so concerned with putting you in jail that they didn’t think about seizing this man’s accounts once he was dead,” Al says. “It just goes to show what a bang-up job they were doing in the first place. The guy that I was speaking to was none too pleased to find out that these accounts were still out there, no doubt because he doesn’t know who all may have had access to them.”

How could they not know that I didn’t get my money back? Whoever else didn’t bark about whatever they didn’t get back and why, they should’ve known that I didn’t get my money back. Granted, the other guys may have just gone with the settlement from the insurance company, some if not most of them completely unaware of where their money ended up in the first place, but dammit, 11 million is nothing to sneeze at! How the fuck did these fuckers not know that I didn’t get my money back?

If I didn’t know for sure that Myrick was dead, I would think he was still alive with all the loose ends that the FBI is leaving open. I’m very glad, if you can believe it, that Agent Fuck-up and Agent What-An-Asshole made such a fuss to get an indictment at my pretrial hearing. That drives home the fact that he really is dead. I’m even more pleased that I got pictures of that fucker on a slab, confirmed by my own security.

“You can be assured that you’ll have your money back before your baby is born,” Al confirms. “You can also take comfort in the fact that Agents Fuller and Wright are not very happy at the moment. Wherever they are, they are well and truly carrying around the stench of, ‘I have really fucked up’ and something is going to happen to them because of this. I don’t know what, but I got a ‘heads will roll’ kind of vibe from this guy.”

That fills my heart with glee.


ANASTASIA

Once our snuggle-fest was interrupted with the welcome news from Al that we’ll be getting the money back that Myrick and his son—Ginger Creepy Guy—stole from us, I’m driven to actually become Baby and roam the grounds of our exclusive weekend playground. There’s a firepit that I’m certain I’ll want to partake in before the weekend is over, and there are numerous lawn games to indulge in. I’ll definitely be doing some yoga in the morning, and I’m told that there’s a lake very nearby where we can lounge on a canoe if we like. There’s also the option of a picnic lunch, which sounds utterly divine, and we can partake in dinner until 10pm. That gives us a few more hours before we must go to bed hungry, which is a virtual impossibility since they’re constantly sending goodies and healthy farm-to-table snacks to our room.

This evening, we decide to take part in the Not-So-Newlywed game in the main lodge. We discover that more wives are in the mood for a quickie more often than husbands, with Christian being the one husband that was in the mood more often. None of us get the question right about which aspect was more attractive between brain, personality, and body. There’s quite the variety of mates on the panel, but my husband is obviously droolingly gorgeous and as rich as a Roman emperor. I should’ve gotten it right with the personality—which he guessed.

“How could you not get that right?” Christian asks with bemused mirth. “You hated me when we met!”

“Yeah, but they asked about which aspect was more important in a husband,” I argue. “By the time we got married, I adored all those things about you. So, which one do I pick?” I shrug. He laughs good-naturedly and gathers me into his arms for a kiss, right there in front of all the guests and many of the women coo at us.

The funniest question was the one about NASA—that if they were doing a scientific study in our bedroom last night and someone had shouted out, “Houston, we have a problem,” what would they be referring to? There’s no way in hell I was going to mention our toys and I don’t know what Christian said, so I just answered the obvious.

“Probably that we weren’t there,” I say with a shrug. “We slept on our boat.”

“Yes!” Christian hisses with fist pull and reveals the card saying that we weren’t there. I clap and giggle like a schoolgirl and kiss him.

“Why were you sleeping on your boat?” someone asks.

“It’s a long story,” I say.

“The short version is that our house is undergoing a lot of renovations, and our yacht is like a floating resort,” Christian chimes in. “So, sleeping out there is like a staycation.”

“So, you slept in your boat in the driveway?” someone else asks.

“No,” I say, “our boat is moored in our boathouse on the lake behind our home.”

“Oh,” someone else says, “that sounds delightful. We always have to go to the marina to get to our boat. It must be lovely to have it that close to home.”

After a short conversation about boats and boathouses and marinas, Christian and I tied for first place with the Not-So-Newlywed Game, which is pretty good since a lot of these couples have been married for a long time.

We finally have dinner around 8pm, a delectable spread that begins with a delightfully smooth tomato bisque soup and a fresh house salad made with mixed field greens, julienned carrots, and crumbled Danablu blue cheese tossed with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Our entrée is a boneless grilled rack of lamb wrapped in a puff pastry with spinach and mushroom duxelles and served with bordelaise sauce along with Linguine Puttanesca—Italian linguine tossed with dice plum tomatoes, capers, marinated olives, garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. It would’ve been divine with my Cabernet Sauvignon, but alas, young Trevor made that an impossibility. So, the kitchen indulged me with a lemon spritzer prepared to my specifications.

Totally full and completely content, Christian and I do partake in the fire pit for about an hour, lit and stocked with the makings for smores. That works out well since I decided to forgo dessert. We giggle like teenagers and neck for a bit at the fire as we make perfectly messy and delicious smores for dessert, then decide to retire back to our cabin to clean up.

I head straight to the bedroom to strip out of my chocolate-stained sweater. When we get there, he pulls me back into his arms. He kisses me gently but passionately, cupping my face with his hands before he lifts me into his arms. I wrap my legs around him, never breaking the kiss and I feel him carrying me. He sits on the bed with me in his arms and settles me on his lap straddling him. He only stops kissing me long enough to pull my sweater over my head, and then he’s lapping his tongue deliciously into my mouth again.

His head travels down my neck and to my chest, slowly… very slowly. He cups my breasts with both hands and massages them gently before pulling the cups down to reveal my tits. He licks and sucks the mounds while I gently caress his hair. He lathes my nipples then begins to flick them alternately quickly with his tongue. I’m getting hot very quickly… and very wet, as he teases each nipple and I’m trying not to squirm, but nothing gets past my hot, horny husband.

He sticks his hand into my yoga pants and then into my underwear and begins to massage his long, skillful fingers against my clit with the tip of his middle finger slightly breaching my core. Fuck, it feels good and I’m wiggling against his hand. He covers my mouth with his when I begin to mewl and continues to manipulate my clit. Shit, if he doesn’t stop soon, I’m definitely going to come.

As if he heard me, he stops his ministrations and pushes his hands into my pants first cupping my ass then pushing my pants and panties down my cheeks. I have to get off his lap to take off my pants. When I do, he slides them down my legs. He kneels down to my feet and slowly removes my shoes and socks, then my pants and panties. He kisses up my legs then manages to bury his face in my core, quickly licking and flicking my clit.

“Ah!” I mewl, already so close to orgasm from his finger play. I put my hands on his shoulder because my knees will certainly buckle if he makes me come. He licks until I feel my legs begin to tremble and then he stops and looks up at me, my juices coating his mouth.

I’m breathing heavily as I watch him pull his sweater over his head, wiping his mouth with it as he removes it. His T-shirt is next before he rises off the floor and stands before me. He toes out of his shoes while simultaneously undoing his belt, again staring lasciviously at me as he undresses. When he removes his pants, his dick bobs impressively from his underwear. When he sits on the bed again, I can’t resist.

I fall to my knees and take him into my mouth. He gasps and licks his lips. He’s thick and hard in an instant, grimacing with sex face before I even get a chance to get started. His hand moves to my head as he watches me suck him into my mouth—only halfway—and work the tender meat of his head and frenulum. I can feel him begin to thump a bit in my mouth after only a few minutes.

“Stop! Stop!” he hisses, and I stop sucking. He beckons me up onto the bed and I straddle him once more. He kisses me again as he unhooks my bra and tosses it to parts unknown. He reaches behind me, grabs his cock, and guides it to my core. I push against him, welcoming the breach into my ladyparts. He groans quietly and lays down on the bed, taking me with him.

I try to stroke, but I’m so tight that he can barely thrust into me. He grasps me just under my butt cheeks and guides my hips as he thrusts up into me—short, powerful strokes that make my juices begin to flow. My pregnant belly doesn’t allow us to kiss in this position, but he never takes his eyes off me. With my hands on his chest, I examine him lasciviously, relishing the feeling of his strong hands clasped around my thighs just under my ass as he guides me onto his cock. He’s so thick inside of me that I can feel him filling me, but I can barely feel him moving inside of me. I wiggle a bit to see if I can give him deeper penetration.

“Shit!” he hisses, grasping my ass just a little tighter. I sit up a little to see if the angle will assist us.

Fuck! It does!

He slips deeper into me, and I bite my lip to keep from crying out from the sensation. He grabs my ass to take advantage of the deeper thrust, licking his lips and still locking me with a heated, lustful gaze.

Shit, this is good.

He puts his arms around me and loves me, pushing into me and kissing my neck, my chest, my breasts, my nipples, rubbing my back, squeezing my ass, holding me up so that he can get a deeper stroke into me and fingering and teasing my rosette when he does. It’s maddening. It feels so good that I almost don’t know what to do with myself.

Once he gets a good coating of my juices on him, he lifts me off of him and lays me on the bed, somewhat on my stomach but slightly on my side, then he enters my pussy from behind.

“Yeeeeeesssss!” he hisses. His cock is rock hard and I feel him thrusting into me, finally getting the penetration that he needs. He’s so thick and hard that I have to acclimate to him in this position for a moment, but when I do…

“Yes, baby… wet this dick. It feels so good…”

He’s thrusting into me with long strokes and a grunt and a groan with every move. I feel the glide, the veins of his shaft thickening inside of me, and I know that the friction is maddening for him. His hips piston faster, and faster still as he grabs my hip and sinks his fingers into the meat, guiding me against his cock with each stroke.

Slow down, husband. I’m not there yet.

“God, this ass looks so good,” he groans, and his incredibly stiff cock thickens and his stroke quickening even more.

“Fuck!” he hisses. “Fuck!” he hisses again. No, I lament inwardly, not yet! I’m not done yet.

To my dismay, he grabs my hip and I feel him emptying violently inside of me, his dick thumping so hard that I can feel it against my inner walls.

Dammit!

He pauses for a moment, breathing heavily before I feel him withdrawal from me. Sonofabitch!

He climbs up onto the bed—content and sated, I can tell, and I don’t even look at him. I can still hear him breathing deeply and I lay here unsatisfied.

“Come here.”

I try to quell my disappointment as I roll over to look at him. He’s sitting with his back against the headboard beckoning me over to him.

And his dick is still standing at attention.

Oh, yippie!

I try not to scramble over to him, and he instructs me to turn around, facing away from him. I do as I’m told and straddle him once more. He instructs me to put him inside of me, which I do.

“Love me, baby,” he says, his voice low and inviting.

I move, finding the stroke that feels best to me. When I do, I begin the rhythm, rolling my hips over his pelvis and getting the depth and stimulation that I need in this position. I’m in control. I can sex this dick the way that I want to and dammit, I am! It’s delicious, and he’s enjoying it just as much as I am as I hear him groaning mournfully behind me with each stroke.

“Baby, you’re killing me,” he laments between his mournful groans. “Ssssss… shit… ah… ugh…”

I swear to God, if he comes before me this time…

I’m soon to realize that I don’t have to worry about that. While he’s enjoying the session tremendously, he holds out resisting any urge to come. I ride and ride, getting my fill of this hot, thick, hard dick until I’m nearly dizzy with pleasure. Noting my surrender, he leans back on the headboard while I’m sitting on his cock, closing my eyes and loving him, riding that shaft as I lean back against him. I groan as his hands roam my body, caressing our child and squeezing my eager breasts. He pinches my nipples and my pussy signals that it’s about to salute.

“Christian,” I breathe, “I’m going to come.”

“I feel you, baby,” he coaxes in my ear. “Give it to me.”

I try to keep my stroke, I really do, but I feel the orgasm rising in my thighs and I stroke faster, chasing the feeling until…

“Christian!” I call out, freezing and trembling as the orgasm strikes. He grabs my breasts and holds me against his body, continuing the stroke into my core as I lean back helpless against him, my pussy thumping a maddening tattoo around him.

“Baby,” he groans, “you feel so good…”

I’m out of breath as I try to recover from my orgasm and Christian continues to stroke into me, his dick unforgiving. I don’t know if he’s about to come or not, but I can feel him still at grand attention inside of me, stroking with that maddening control he always exhibits.

Once I’ve caught my breath, I fall forward on the bed, leaning on my hands for leverage as I ride him. The change of the angle hits a spot inside of me that sparks immediate pleasure even though I just came.

“Baby,” he hisses, his hands moving to my hips and grasping tight as I ride, “Baby, yes!”

He lets me lead for a minute or two before he takes the reins once more. He pulls me back towards him and now, I’m sitting up again, and he forces my legs open with his, as wide as they’ll go. He’s holding me around my waist and his cock is giving long deep strokes into my pussy. I feel like my fucking brain is going to explode—in, out, in, out, in, out, not too slow and not too fast, but deep so that I can feel every inch of him as he thrusts.

I feel him getting thicker and I can see the reflection of us against the floor to ceiling glass doors and the night landscape of the trees. His dick is beautiful—wide and throbbing, disappearing inside of me and reappearing coated with my juices, that vein on the underside so thick that I’m sure it’ll explode any minute.

My eyes roll back into my head from the pleasure. My legs are open, and I can’t close them with him holding them open with his. My clit is swollen, hot, and sensitive, and my pussy is getting the thrashing of its life while he relentlessly strokes every inch of his shaft in and out of my hot core. I bite my lip and watch some more, my husband and I making our own porno as we chase our pleasure.

He groans as his stroke quickens only slightly, and I can see him bending his knees a bit and stiffening his thighs to get maximum thrust. I can’t see the color change of his cock to the purple, but I can see the veininess becoming prominent on his shaft as his hips roll ever so slightly underneath me to get maximum stimulation and thrust. His dick angles and thrusts in from the right and slides out on an opposite angle to the left. He was loving me before, but he’s fucking me now, and the sight is so fucking hot.

“Christian,” I mewl, and he groans, deep like a growl and grasps my waist firmly as he holds me in place and continues to punish my pussy, now chasing his own orgasm, I’m sure. I’m watching my breasts bounce wildly in the glass. Damn! This is the kind of sexy unscripted abandon that I would pay to watch. It’s spurning me on, watching him fucking me, rolling his hips into me, and watching his cock hit all walls and spots while my tits bounce like a sexy porn star.

I groan as the visual assault and physical pleasure combined become too much for me. My pussy is burning with this masterful stroke, and it looks so good. I want it to last longer, but I can’t stand it anymore. It’s the perfect combination of physical and mental stimulation and I’m not sure I’ve ever had it this good before in my life or if I ever will again.

“Ah!” I cry out in a high-pitched orgasmic cry, closing my eyes and leaning back on my husband’s rock-hard body as I picture him thrusting into me and feel his thickness against all my walls as I come.

“Aw, fuck!” he cries, thrusting hard and mercilessly into me. “Aw, yes! That’s it! That’s it right there!”

He thrusts a few more times, hard and masterful, and I feel him sit up behind me, wrapping one hand around my belly and one around my breast, grasping one tightly in my hand. His head falls onto my shoulder, and he holds me firmly against him while I watch his thighs tremble and he whimpers, his dick thumping hard inside of me. His testicles rise with each whimper and I’m certain that the pleasure must be unbearable. He’s finally silent and he freezes as I watch them continue to rise and fall, that muscle in his perineum pushing every bit of semen that he has to offer into me. If I wasn’t already pregnant, I would be after this!

I want to reach down and torment his thumping balls so badly, but I can’t move—not only because I’m still reeling from my own orgasm, but because he has a firm hold on me while he’s paralyzed in his. I can only gasp for air while he’s holding me against his body and riding out his climax. The thumping in his cock is finally calming and, in our reflection, I can see a bit of our mixed juices sliding down his cock still inside me before he finally lifts his head and takes my mouth in a delectable kiss over his shoulder. I have sweat running into my eyes, but I don’t give a good goddamn.

Watching us fuck like that was insane and delightful. I’m only glad that my belly hasn’t dropped yet, or it would’ve blocked my view.

“You naughty little minx,” he chastises. “You were watching us.”

“I couldn’t help it,” I confess. “It was right there looking at me.”

“Did it look as good as it felt?” he asks, suggestively, brushing his lips over mine.

“Almost,” I confess. “It looked hot and wet and magnificent… but it felt better.”

“Good answer,” he says, covering my mouth with his again.


A/N: CREATIVE LICENSE—Twin Farms is usually not open from mid-March to May which they call “Mud Season.” However, had I waited for them to open, Ana would’ve been about to burst.

I might’ve spoken about Little House on the Prairie before, but it was a series of books and then a television series in the 70’s and 80’s. The opening scene is three girls running down a hill of wildflowers.

Baby and Johnny were lovers in Dirty Dancing. The workers resided in a separate set of cabins away from the guests that required climbing a tall flight of stairs to get to them. The stairs at Twin Farms aren’t as steep, but the scenery would be the same which is why Ana said she felt like Baby heading to Johnny’s cabin.

Ana and Christian’s weekend getaway can be found at Twin Farms—Barnard, VT.

Pictures of places, cars, fashion, etc., can be found at Grey Reflections (Season Seven).

The question-and-answer thread can be found on the left, second from last on the menu or you can click HERE.

If you feel the need to talk, visit the link on the left in the menu titled “Do You Need To Talk” or click HERE. No subject is taboo, but please show respect for those who have concerns as well as those who respond.

You can join my mailing list on the “Contact Me” page. Just click the link and it will lead you to a form to join the list. 

~~love and handcuffs redux 2

Grey Reflections: Episode 12—CONFLICT!!!

If you would like to “Buy Me a Glass of Wine,” you can click this link or the ***DONATE*** link at the bottom of the menu on the left. 

All previous disclaimers apply. 

Episode 12—CONFLICT!!!

CHRISTIAN

Jason and I have a wordless ride into Grey House on Tuesday morning. I wouldn’t have minded working from my yacht again today, but I have the signing with Rosin and Rosin this morning and it couldn’t be avoided. I want to get this done so that I can get to Dr. Culley’s office for my wife’s appointment and then back to the comfort of my home and family. I’m going soft, and I don’t care. I like being a family man, but I know how to turn on the asshole when I need to.

Today may be one of those days.

“Don’t make it weird, Jason,” I say when we get to my office and he’s still eerily silent. “There’s a lot going on this week including the babymoon this weekend. It’s going to be as boring as the last one and I’ve emailed you the accommodations, so get started on travel plans.” He tries not to look irritated, but I know he could just choke me.

“All inclusive,” he says as he scrolls through his phone, “so no venturing out, just like the Sonoma coast.”

“Pretty much,” I say. “We may go into ‘town’ whatever ‘town’ is for some shopping or something, but that’s about it.” He nods.

“How many of us do you need?” he asks. I twist my lips.

“I’ll let you decide,” I reply. “You see what it’s going to look like, and what you see is what you get. There are no surprises. You’ll need to get the jet ready. I’ll want to leave Thursday morning. You know we lose a day travelling back east.”

“Will do,” he says. “I think Chuck and I will be enough.” He’s going to subject Chuck to the torture of being without his woman on a romantic weekend getaway as well. That’s kind of cruel. Oh, well…

“Sir, your nine o’clock is here in the conference room,” Andrea’s disembodied voice says.

“Thank you, Andrea,” I say and text Al.

**Showtime **

It only takes a few moments for Al to join us in my office, and he, Jason, and I walk to the conference room. Butterfly’s appointment is in an hour, and this shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, so I’ll just make it. I’m a bit surprised when I walk into the conference room. Both Rosin Brothers—Patrick and Pierre—are present along with three other gentlemen.

It’s just a signing. Who are all these people?

“Gentlemen,” I greet when I walk into the office. “You know my attorney Allen Forsythe-Fleming, and my personal security.” I gesture to the party of five in front of me as if to say who are all these fuckers?

“This is our legal counsel,” Pierre Rosin says, the younger of the two brothers. I frown. What the fuck? Did they bring the whole legal team? We’re just signing the closing documents. The deal has already been made.

That’s when I realize that only one of us has a deal, because two of the lawyers are stone-faced while the third looks like the cat who caught the canary. Oh, great, here we go with this shit.

“Okay,” I say, taking my seat. “Mr. Rosin, Mr. Rosin, if you would direct your attention to the contracts in front of you, you will see that everything is in order as we discussed.”

“Just a moment…” the canary-faced attorney says. And here we go. “After careful review of the contracts, we’d like to make a few changes to the terms.”

“Changes?” Al questions. “We already have a deal with the Brothers Rosin.”

“But the deal isn’t final until the contracts are signed,” Canary-Face retorts. He hands a copy of the new contract to me and one to Al, then a copy to each of the Rosin brothers. Al immediately begins reading the contract.

“There’s no need to read the entire thing,” Canary-Face croons. “I can highlight the key changes for you.” Is he on drugs?

“I never sign anything without having it read thoroughly,” I inform him, “but not to worry. My attorney is a speed reader.”

Canary-Face’s brows rise in disbelief, but he allows Al to scan the document, nonetheless.

“Hmm,” Al says several times in the few minutes that we sit and allow him to scan the document. I say nothing to the gentlemen on the other side of the table as my attorney informs me with each hum and grunt about the changes in the document. When he’s done, he closes the document and places it on the table, intwining his fingers over it.

“There are four changes,” Al says, looking at Canary Face. Pierre looks from him to Al and back, and Canary Face momentarily looks a little pale.

“Carry on, counselor,” Al says, addressing him in the generic as none of them have introduced themselves. “You have the floor.” He raises a brow at Al but continues.

“The first change involves a price adjustment,” Canary Face says. I look at Al and he nods. “The Rosin brothers feel that the recent change in their financial performance is surely worth a 10% increase in the purchase price for the acquisition of their assets.”

“You must know that the change in financial performance is solely due to the fact that it’s common knowledge that Grey Enterprises is absorbing Rosin and Rosin,” Al argues, “notwithstanding the fact that because GEH is absorbing liabilities as well, you don’t even net a 10% increase in the purchase price even with the improved performance.”

“The constant growth will more than pay for itself in the future,” Canary Face says.

“You do realize that what you’re proposing is that we pay you for our goodwill,” Al says, breaking down exactly what I was thinking.

“Semantics,” Canary Face says with a shrug and that canary smile. The whole thing is so ridiculous that we can’t even argue it anymore.

“Continue,” Al says. He knows that I’m detached. I just want to know what they have to say.

“Well, concerning employee protections—we hardly think that a 25% decrease in staff is necessary. Rosin and Rosin boasts some very valuable talent, another asset being acquired by GEH. A 13% cut in staff would more than accommodate eliminating redundancies.”

This man is giving me a headache. I give Al a look and he reads it perfectly.

“Next,” he says.

“Okay,” Canary Face says, “divestitures. Big corporations are known for acquiring smaller ones, and then chopping up someone’s life work and selling off business units like worthless parts of a stolen car. The Rosin Brothers would like a contractual guarantee that GEH will not dismantle their company once it is absorbed. We realize that this can’t apply to the entire company part and parcel, but we are willing to cede     to 8% divestitures.”

Eight percent? Is that really in the contract? I look incredulously over at Al. Eight percent? Is he serious? Is he pulling these numbers out of his ass? Fuck, I’ll have bids on 10 – 15% of business units before the ink is even dry on this contract.

Al nods.
Well, I’m ready to go.

“What say you, gentlemen?” Canary Face says, and he sounds proud of himself. Now, I realize this entire pitch is utterly ridiculous—not even worth my consideration—but I know that I heard my attorney say that there were four concessions, and I only heard three.

“You’re forgetting one, counselor,” Al says. Canary Face begins flipping through the contract.

“I don’t think so. I think we’ve covered them all,” Canary Face retorts. “Maybe you misread in your… speedreading.” He’s ridiculing Al.

Why do you want to poke the bear? Al’s expression doesn’t change when he guides me to the section to which he’s speaking, his eyes never leaving Canary Face.

“Page 13 under Intellectual Property, section IV,” Al says, and Canary Face frowns. I look at the section. I almost want to laugh. He can’t be serious!

“The Rosin Brothers only wish to retain property that they’ve been working to develop for years,” Canary Face begins.

“Which is an impossibility since we’re buying the assets and the liabilities lock, stock, and barrel,” Al retorts calmly. “You know this, counselor. This is Business Law 101. What I find unfathomably illogical is that not only do you expect to hold on to these assets and this division, but you also expect for GEH to sink financial support into this division in the form of assistance for ongoing research and development.”

I thought that’s what I read! I’ve never heard of anything so ludicrous in my life!

“Again, we don’t see anything wrong with allowing us to keep this small section of the business,” Canary Face says. “Once the patents and intellectual property have been developed, we can revisit negotiations for the department and the intellectual property.”

Dear God, this man has fallen and bumped his head, cracked open his skull and all his good sense fell out on the ground before he got here.

He seriously expects me to allow the company to keep their research and development division along with all their pending intellectual property. What’s more is that he expects me to fund said R&D with the hope of possibly purchasing the property that my money has paid to develop in the future.

I look over at the Rosin brothers. Pierre looks at me expectingly while Patrick has completely dropped his head, I think in disbelief.

I look incredulously at Al, waiting for the punchline. There has to be one. The first three concessions they’re asking for are ridiculous, but the final one is inconceivable! When I get no further input on the punchline to this farce, I stand and button my jacket. I can’t even entertain this, much less try to negotiate.

“Get them out of here,” I say to Jason, waving at the Rosins and their attorneys as I head towards the door. I don’t have time for this shit. I don’t know what game they’re playing, but they know that these demands are ridiculous. Maybe they found someone else ready to get in bed with them and they’ve offered a sweeter deal. It has to be that, but I’m not willing to negotiate beyond what I’ve already offered. We had a deal and in the 11th hour, you want to change the rules. You know the routine. It’s your funeral.

“Seriously, Grey?” Canary Face taunts. “You’re not even willing to negotiate?”

“Is that what you call this?” I ask, appalled. “You call this negotiation? This joke that you placed before me after we had already made a deal and we’re at the table ready to sign? This is negotiating to you? How often does that work for you?”

“Everybody wants a sweeter deal,” he says in that same snake oil voice. “This isn’t much to you, Grey, but this is the Rosin Brothers’ life work. It wouldn’t hurt you to sweeten the deal a bit.”

I look at the Rosin Brothers and their demeanor and posture says a lot. Patrick is sitting back in his seat, his gaze down at the table and his hand over his mouth—just listening. Pierre is looking between me and his head attorney like it’s a tennis match. I laugh and proceed towards the door. I have better things to do with my day.

“Come on, Grey, is what they’re all saying about you true?” Pierre says. “Have you lost your nerve?”

I stop and turn around slowly and walk back to the table. Pierre is glaring at me and waiting to see what I’m going to do. Patrick hasn’t moved his hand from his mouth, but he’s leaning on his hand a bit, his eyes are now closed, and I can see him infinitesimally shaking his head. I don’t know what they think they have to lose, but Patrick wants none of this smoke.

Smart guy.

“You’d like for that to be the case, wouldn’t you?” I say, leaning down into Pierre’s face. “Grey’s having a baby—becoming a family man and now he’s getting all soft. What you should be more concerned about is that Grey had to sit quietly and act like a good little boy in the public eye while his pregnant wife pleaded their family’s case in the hope that he would beat a murder rap when the entire time, he wanted to charge through the street like a feral lion seeking whom he may devour.”

I have their attention now, though Patrick has not moved.

“I’m a starving vampire looking for blood and you’re waving your jugular in my face. You’re coming in here with this shit,” I hiss, swiping my copy of the contract off the conference table and back in his face, “this mangled version of our agreement and you’re expecting me to bow? To even negotiate with this garbage? Who exactly convinced you to come up here and throw yourself on the altar this way—these jokers?” I say, gesturing to his team of lawyers, two of whom are now quivering in their chairs.

“He’s unstable!” a voice that I don’t recognize whispers, but not quietly enough.

“No, sir,” I say, snapping my head in his direction. “I’m quite stable. What I am is pissed. I know people like you. They’ve tried and failed to ruin me more than once, some of them even in my own camp. What pisses me off is that you’re convinced that you’re smarter than me because you think that there are things that you know that I don’t. You may convince them of that…” I say, pointing to the Rosins, “but not me.

“You’re so stupid that you think you’re holding all the cards,” I hiss at the attorneys because I know that this is their work and not the Rosins. “What did you do—read current events and gossip columns and come in here ready to bluff?

“I’ve been doing this for 14 years, sport,” I say looking into the face of the asshole who called me unstable. “I was a self-made millionaire before I could legally take a drink. No, my money’s not that old, but it’s not inherited. I made it all on my own. And you may know some things that I don’t know, but I know more than you because I’ve seen more than you. What I don’t know, he knows for me…” I gesture to Al.

“But what I do know is that you pussies brought a knife to a medieval duel. You come into my building talking about concessions that you can’t even pay right now, and patents that you don’t even have.” The three attorneys look uncertainly at one another, looking for some way to patch this sinking ship.

“What?” I say. “Did you really expect me not to do my homework? $2B deal and I’m not going to know exactly what I’m dealing with? And you have the nerve to ask for more? You have nothing else to offer me and you’re asking for more? I got a royal flush, spades, and the king has his sword directly at your throat and you’re talking shit to me with two pair?

“Wherever you found these fuckers, you better throw them back because you’re at the risk of being bounced out of here with your asses in your hands. I’ve got much better things to do with my time than playing this cat and rat game with a bunch of small-time swindlers. Choice is yours.”

They lean in and briefly talk amongst themselves. Patrick doesn’t join in the confab. He just sits with his hand over his mouth and his gaze on the table. Canary Face tries to stop Pierre before he speaks.

“We’ll…” Pierre swallows hard, “take the original deal.”

“No, you won’t,” I say, my voice firm and all eyes are on me now.

“We had a deal, and you made a counteroffer. Now, it’s my turn. Five percent decrease of the purchase price; staff cuts increase from 25 percent to 35 percent—not including redundancies; divestitures of not less than 15 percent of subsidiaries, guarantee of not more than 30 percent—buyer’s choice; and your current board will be dismantled and dismissed.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Canary Face hisses before turning to Pierre. “He’s tearing apart the whole company! They’ll be nothing left!”

“Believe me, gentlemen, with what you just tried to pull on me, I’m being very generous!” I hiss.

I glare at Pierre, and I certainly don’t blink. This time, I want him to see into my soul. I’m missing my wife’s prenatal appointment for this bullshit and they’re going to make it worth my while or get the fuck out of my building and never darken my door again. Take your chances with the vultures out there who are really waiting to rip your ass apart. Take it or leave it, asshole.

I’m so focused on him that I don’t realize that his weasel head attorney is still yammering on.

“Shut up, Vernon!” Pierre barks, his voice deep. So, that’s his name.

“You can’t let him do this…!” Vernon continues his protest, and he’s the only one still speaking.

“I said shut. Up. Vernon!” Pierre repeats. Vernon is silent for a moment but starts again.

“This is robbery!” Vernon says.

“Shut up before I put my fist down your throat, how about that?” Patrick says coolly.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Vernon says, aghast.

“You wanna try me?” Patrick says. “Keep talking. I’ve got bail money.”

Apparently, Vernon believes Patrick and the taste of fist doesn’t appeal to him. Pierre is still glaring at me.

“Original 25 percent staff cuts,” he says. “We’ll take the rest.” I pause for a few more moments. Dumbass—one concession and you negotiated staff that’s going to go anyway. You should’ve negotiated the board.

“Mr. Forsythe-Fleming,” I say without moving my gaze, “have the new contracts drawn up and on my desk for review as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” Al says, tapping into his computer. I know that the contracts will only need these three changes and Al can speedread those puppies in a few minutes for accuracy. The Rosin Brothers will need a little longer to review them.

“Get him out of my building,” I say to Jason pointing to Vernon. Jason stands and Vernon’s ears turn red.

“What?” he says highly affronted.

“I find you loud, offensive, overbearing, and combative. You spent most of this meeting barking orders at people and declaring what I can’t do with my money in my company, that is when you weren’t barking ridiculous demands and concessions at me. You’ve wasted quite enough of my time, and I want you out of my building… now!”

“You can’t throw me out, I’m head counsel!” he barks.

“And there are two other members of your legal team here who can review the contracts,” I turn to the remaining men, “unless you all want to go with him.” Patrick rolls his eyes. He looks like he’s had enough of all of this.

“Vernon, get out,” he says, “just get out. Your services aren’t required at this meeting anymore.”

“You can’t throw me out in the middle of negotiations!” Vernon protests. Where the hell did they find this guy?

“Negotiations are over!” Pierre barks! “Leave, Vernon!”

Vernon is shocked. Two more security details show up in the doorway and wait for him to move.

“You won’t get away with this, Grey!” Vernon warns. “When I’m done with you, you won’t be able to buy a popsicle stick!” This coming from a man who couldn’t even negotiate a sweeter deal for his current bosses.

“You go right ahead,” I threaten. “It’s been a while since I’ve had ‘such meet food to feed’ my disdain. Please, give me fresh employment!”

I think I broke his mental circuitry by partially quoting Shakespeare because he looks completely horrified by what I just said, as well he should be.

“Understand something, little man,” I nearly growl, “I make a hobby of ruining the lives of those who unjustly cross me, or have you so quickly forgotten the fates of Fairlane LTD and Hoberman PSW?”

His skin blanches and I can see the sweat beading on his forehead from here. I nod at security, and they gesture him toward the door. Once he scrambles out, I turn to the Rosins.

“Stay,” I say, “or leave. I don’t care. The new contracts will be drawn up within the hour. You can review them here. I expect them to be signed by you in two. I will sign them and give you a preliminary copy, then have the final copies ready for you tomorrow once they’ve been signed by my business partner. And Pierre…” I stand and lean down to him.

“You actually are dealing with the kinder, gentler Grey. She’s not half owner of this company because she’s a sweet piece of ass. Had you been dealing with her instead of me, fuck losing your shirt! You wouldn’t have walked out of here with that suit you’re wearing.” I straighten and leave the conference room. I stop at Andrea’s desk before going into my office.

“Have a brunch refreshment tray sent to the conference room,” I tell her, fighting to turn off the asshole, “and please call my wife. Apologize profusely and tell her that I’m stuck in negotiations. Her appointment is in 20 minutes.”

“Yes, Mr. Grey,” she says, picking up her phone as I go into my office.

I close the door and frost the glass in case any of those assholes decide to leave the conference room. I walk over to the bar and pull out a glass.

“You know it’s not going to take an hour to revise those contracts,” Al says coming into my office behind me.

“I know,” I say, pouring myself a glass of the insanely expensive Glenlivet whiskey and putting my feet up on my desk as the cabinet opens to reveal my large screen monitor. “I’m just letting them sweat for a while.”

“That’s not sweat—that’s piss,” he says, and I laugh as I bring up the conference room on the monitor. They’re talking amongst themselves, but they’re not going to get much louder with security in the room. I send a text to Jason.

**Get security out of there. One at a time. Three minutes. **

Jason stays in the room, but the other two guards leave one behind the other. Finally, Jason pretends to say something into his wrist and leaves the Rosins in the room with their attorneys, closing the door behind him.

Wait,” the attorney says going over to the door and peeking out. How stupid is he?

“We can’t agree to this!” he hisses quietly after determining that the “coast is clear.”

“You know damn well that even with the changes, this is the best that we’re going to get!” Pierre hisses. “We were out of our minds to let Vernon come charging in here with that bullshit.

“I tried to tell you,” Patrick says coolly.

“Shut up!” Pierre barks. “You were no help!”

“Oh, I was plenty of help!” Patrick says. “You just didn’t listen, brother. Grey had us on the ropes before we even got here this morning! And whatever we leave this building with—if we come out of this with nothing at all, those fuckers still get paid!” He points at the attorneys. “Vernon had nothing at all to lose coming in here yapping his trap and fucking things up for us! Grey could’ve raked our asses across the rails and left our balls on the tracks!

“He’s right! His offer was very generous—both of them! Thanks to your prized legal eagle, we almost left out of here with nothing. You know we wouldn’t have found a better deal anywhere, and that fucker wanted to come in here and play chess with Grey with our company! And you let him.

“I agreed to the first deal!” Patrick continues angrily. “I told you it was golden. I came in here ready to sign, and Winkin’ and Blinkin’ over there sat silently while you let Nod run off at the mouth and cost us $100M. And now you have the fucking nerve to say that I was no help? Fuck you, Pierre!

“I don’t give a fuck about dismissals, liquidations, or the fucking board!” he shoots. “Under Rosin, this company is a sinking fucking ship! Grey has the resources to make it functional and thrive again? Great! Wonderful! Have at it. I’m going to take my share of this sale and get as far away from you and this fucking company as I can! And while I hate losing the family business, the biggest consolation that I take from this is knowing that I don’t have to be in business with you anymore, you brainless, spineless little coward!”

He stands just as the food is arriving and storms out of the conference room.

Now, that’s entertainment.

*-*

I’m pissed as shit that I missed Butterfly’s prenatal appointment for this shit, but luckily an hour and a half after this performance, I have a signed contract with these assholes with more concessions than when the meeting started. I kind of like Patrick. He pulled a last-minute move that shows that he has balls the size of Texas. After he had the showdown with his brother, he began typing on his phone. I thought he was doing it solely to keep from speaking to his brother. However, after a few minutes, he shows up at Andrea’s desk. I don’t hear what he asks, but he leaves her desk with several pieces of paper.

“What did he ask for?” I ask Andrea once he’s gone.

“He wanted to use the wireless printer,” I say.

“Did you see what he printed?” I ask.

“No, sir,” she says. “I didn’t look.”

When he gets back into the room, he places the papers face down onto the table and waits for us to arrive. Once I’ve felt like they’ve suffered long enough, I send Al in there with the new contract and give them an hour to review it, which they do in 45 minutes and summon me back to my conference. We have pens at the ready when I hear Patrick’s voice.

“Wait,” he says. “I have an addendum to the contract.”

Oh, shit. I’m ready to scrub this whole thing and go home.

“Patrick!” Pierre protests, but Patrick ignores him and distributes a single piece of paper to us all.

I really like this guy.

I hand the addendum to Al. Pierre looks at it, then turns to Patrick.

“You don’t trust me?” he asks his brother.

“Quite honestly, no,” he says, “but I trust that little sniveling weasel that ran out of here even less.”

“What if I choose not to sign this?” Pierre says.

“Then I won’t sign any of it,” Patrick replies, “and this company can sink into the ground for all I care.” Patrick looks at me.

“Will this be a problem, Mr. Grey?” Patrick asks.

“No problem at all,” I say, signing the document that says that half of the money for the deal will be wired to a separate account in the name of Patrick Rosin. Pierre doesn’t want to sign the document. What was his plan—to run off with all the money?

“Sign it, Pierre,” Patrick says, “or your deal is dead. I’m bound by the contract to pay 50% of whatever expenses are attached to the sale. I’ll pay mine. You better make sure that you pay yours or I’ll hunt you down.” Pierre glares at his brother, takes a deep breath and signs the single sheet of paper.

The brothers quietly sign the rest of the documents and slide them over to Al.

“Here are your preliminary copies,” Al says after handing them the copies that I’ve signed. “We’ll speak tomorrow, gentleman.”

Pierre purses his lips and leaves quickly with the two attorneys behind him. Patrick sits for a few moments. I discover that he’s waiting for the signal from the elevator. Once Pierre and company have left, he stands and straightens his jacket.

“Good day, Mr. Grey, he says and makes his way to the door.

“Rosin,” I call out catching his attention. He stops and turns around to face me.

“How did it get this way?” I ask. He examines me for a moment.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asks. “My brother is an asshole, and not a very smart one. People respected my father, but once he died, that man ran this company into the ground! I take responsibility for my mistakes. I lost my family—my wife, the only woman I ever loved—trying to fix this shit while he just made bad decision after bad decision after bad decision tearing down everything Dad built. You’re not destroying the business by tearing it apart—it’s already destroyed!

“He thinks he’s big shit and everybody’s laughing at him!” he continues. “He cost us $100M because he’s got these fucking delusions of grandeur of what the company used to be! He’s banking on the Rosin name and Dad’s rolling over in his grave. If he wasn’t already dead, this would surely kill him. I hate that my name is even attached to this legacy! What a joke.” Patrick laments, shaking his head with his gaze downcast.

“My parents put everything they were into this company—yes, my mother and my father! We went to the best schools, circulated in the best company, travelled all over the world, and my mother never saw my father. She never hounded him or harassed him about not being at home. She never accused him of being unfaithful, and from what I knew, he never was. He was married to this damn business! This was his original love—Mom was second in line!”

That analogy sounds eerily familiar.

“She kept his home, she raised his boys, and she cried—a lot!” he hisses. “She wanted her husband, and she would’ve gladly given up all the trappings of wealth to have him home. And when Becca saw the same thing happening to us, she left my ass before I could think. She didn’t even want anything except reasonable child support for my kids, but I gave her alimony anyway because I loved her… still do.”

I know this is more than he intended to tell me because he’s getting emotional. His voice is cracking and he’s trying not to cry.

“I will gladly take whatever I can get, move to Bali, live like royalty on part of the proceeds and invest the rest or start some drop-shipping export business or something as long as I can get as far away from this loser as I possibly can. I hope Dad’s ghost comes back and haunts that little pussy until he dies! I can’t get my Becca back; I might as well get the hell outta here.”

He sniffles, but no tears fall. This is the very reason I’m staying at home with my family more often. None of this is worth it if I lose Butterfly and my kids. I proffer my hand to him.

“I wish you luck, Mr. Rosin.” He raises his gaze to me, then looks at my hand.

“Thank you, Mr. Grey,” he says, straightening his back and shaking my proffered hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, sir. You’re a man’s man. You make me miss my father.” He turns and leaves the conference room. I watch him get on the elevator and then look over at Al.

“Talk about a family feud!” I say. “I believe he would strangle his brother with his bare hands if he had the chance.” I leave the conference room and head for my office. Al is right behind me.

“Do you think it’s that serious?” he asks.

“Worse,” I say. “He blames Pierre for destroying their father’s business, the demise of his marriage, and now for costing them $100M on the sale. The last one is correct. The other two, I don’t know.

“Did you see him during negotiations?” I say, closing my laptop and packing it up in the case. “He was a mouse. A 2-billion-dollar deal and he said nothing until he was ready to put his fist down Vernon’s throat. The most animated I saw him was when it was time to split the proceeds.”

“Maybe that’s why he wouldn’t take the elevator down with his brother,” Al says. “Two volatile personalities in a little silver box.”

“Maybe,” I say. At that moment, I get a ping on my phone. It’s Butterfly’s monitor. Her blood pressure is a little higher than normal and rising. I frown.

“I better get home,” I say, speed-dialing Jason’s office. “Butterfly is a little upset. I’m wondering what the doctor said… or if she’s pissed at me.”

“Sir,” Jason answers.

“Let’s call it a day,” I say. “I need to get home to my wife.”

“Is everything okay?” he asks.

“I don’t know but walk and talk. I’m texting Chuck right now to see why her BP is fluctuating.”

“On my way,” he says and ends the call. I shoot off a text to Chuck.

**Is everything okay? My wife’s blood pressure is a bit unstable. **

I slide my arms into my trench coat and retrieve my laptop bag.

“Is everything alright?” Al asks concerned.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “I’m waiting for Chuck to respond.”

“Was it really high?” he asks, and he looks like he’ll dash out of the building behind me if I don’t give him the right answer.

“Not terribly high, just high enough for me to know that she’s agitated about something.” I turn the light off and close the door to my office.

**She’s fine, sir. A little displeased with Marilyn right now. We’re on our way back to the Crossing now. **

“She’s fine,” I say to Al. “A little miffed with her PA according to Chuck.” I look at my phone and her BP is settling again. I show it to Al and he sighs, relieved.

“I’m gone for the day, Andrea,” I say. “Have a good afternoon. Bye, Auntie,” I call to Luma. She smiles and waves and Andrea wishes me a good afternoon as well. Jason is walking quickly and meets me as I push the button to call the elevator.

“One second, sir,” he says. “Is Dr. Grey okay?” I furrow my brow.

“Chuck says she’s fine,” I reply, concern growing in my stomach.

“Good. Then you might want to wait for a moment.”

“Why?” I ask.

“There’s a disturbance in the lobby,” he informs me.

“What kind of disturbance?”

“The Rosin brothers,” he says. “they’re having a disagreement and apparently, it’s not pretty.” He looks at his phone as the elevator signals its arrival. “And it just got uglier.”

“How ugly?” I ask.

“Their disagreement just got physical.” Al and I exchange a glance.

“He’s going to kill ‘im,” we say at the same time and get on the elevator.

“Sir…” Jason protests.

“Get in before I leave you!” I tell him.

By the time we get to the lobby, there’s yet another bloody man on the marble floor of my lobby. Pierre is out cold. He looks like his jaw is broken, and Patrick is standing over him breathing like a bull. In a second, three security details pin him down and cuff him with a zip tie. He doesn’t even struggle.

“What happened here?” I bark.

“We don’t know, sir,” one of the guards replies. “They were talking one minute; voices were raised for maybe three seconds and then fists started flying.”

I look down at Patrick who doesn’t even raise his gaze to me.

“He’s cuffed and he’s unconscious, so I’m assuming the police are on their way,” Jason says.

“And the paramedics,” the guard says. I’m still looking at Patrick who’s still breathing growling breaths and never making eye contact with me.

“I guess he should’ve waited a while longer,” Al says. Pierre groans. He’s coming around.

“Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?” one of the other guards say, speaking to Rosin.

“Yeah,” he groans.

“Stay still,” the guard says, “the paramedics are on the way.”

“I want him arrested,” Pierre says groggily. I roll my eyes and walk over to the information desk.

“Show me the surveillance of that altercation,” I say to the guard at the desk.

“Sir?” he asks like I just requested the Di Vinci code. I glare at him.

“Are you deaf?” Jason barks and startles the shit out of the guy—out of me a little, too, if I’m honest. The guard is momentarily stunned, but only momentarily. He starts typing on his computer and apparently, he’s not moving fast enough. Jason comes around the desk and nearly shoves him out of the way. By the time I clear the desk, I see Pierre pacing in front of the elevator. The attorneys are gone and he’s waiting there by himself, waiting.

Patrick steps off the elevator and moves to walk past his brother. Some words are exchanged but Patrick tries to keep walking. Pierre grabs his arm and halts his progress, snatching him back to continue the discussion. Patrick says something and you can tell the conversation is becoming more heated. Pierre pushes his brother and Patrick moves to leave again. Pierre pushes him again and when he doesn’t get the response that he wants, Pierre grabs Patrick’s arm and pulls him back like a ragdoll.

Pierre swings on Patrick and misses the first left but connects with a right. Patrick responds with a quick left hook, a swift right cross, and an upper cut and dropped his brother right there on the marble. Pierre fell like a sack of bricks. I look at Jason, then go over to the brothers Rosin.

“Can you hear me?” I say to Pierre. He opens his eyes and looks at me.

“What do you want?” he says, his speech slurring.

“Just to tell you that the way that you fell, you might have a concussion,” I say. “So, please wait for the paramedics and don’t move.”

“Your concern is touching,” he says sarcastically.

“Also, to tell you that the reason I know how you fell is because the entire incident was captured on security cameras,” I add. Suddenly his gaze is clearer.

“Yeah,” I add, “that means that it’s clear to see how this incident escalated and who threw the first punch. You might want to think about that before you talk about having someone arrested.”

He sighs, clearly defeated, and closes his eyes again. I walk over to the detail guarding a cuffed Patrick.

“Is that necessary?” I ask, referring to the cuffs.

“For our safety, sir,” he replies, “and for theirs.” I look down at Patrick. He still hasn’t raised his gaze to me.

“If you need the security footage of the altercation, they’re at your disposal,” I say to him. Now, he raises his gaze to me.

“Thank you,” he says.

“If you had swung first, it would be available to him, too,” I say.

“I understand,” he says. “I tried to leave…”

“I saw,” I say. I look at Jason and gesture my head towards Patrick.

“Here’s my card,” Jason says, putting the card in Patrick’s inside pocket. “Call me if you need that footage.”

“Thank you…” he waits for Jason to give his name.

“Jason Taylor,” he says and Patrick nods. I nod at Jason and go back to the desk. I’m not sticking around for this. I’m going home to my wife.

“Make that footage available for the police as soon as they arrive,” I say to the guard behind the desk.

“Yes, sir, Mr. Grey,” he replies. I walk back towards the elevator but turn to Patrick before I leave.

“Bali,” I say, my voice low, “soon. And call Becca. Tell her you sold the business. Tell her your plans. See what happens. You can’t end up any worse off than you are now.”

He examines me for a moment, then nods without taking his eyes off me. I head back to the elevator and the lower-level parking structure so that I can go home.


ANASTASIA

“Did you tell him?” Marilyn asks when she walks into my makeshift office off the formal living room. No greeting, no contrition of any kind, just did you tell him.

“Should I have?” I retort. “You’re kissing this man out in public like you don’t care who sees you. Are you hoping that someone else is going to tell him… because you can’t? What kind of person does that make you—that you’ll let somebody else rip his heart out because you can’t tell him what the problem is?”

He’s the problem!” she retorts sharply, and I kind of feel like somebody hit me.

“Why, is he fucking other girls?” I ask, because that’s the only thing I can think of that would make him the problem over what she’s doing… unless he’s battering her, and I don’t see any evidence of that.

“No,” she says, her voice maudlin, “he would never do that.”

“And you know that,” I accuse, “but you’re doing this. He loves you…!”

“Yeah, he loves me!” she cuts me off. “But he can’t forgive me!”

Okay, and I suddenly feel like I’ve been hit again.

“What?” I say, bemused.

“He loves me,” she confirms as she starts pacing around my office, “and he wants to forgive me. He really does. I know he does, but he can’t!”

She says the last three words with fever as she turns to me.

“He’s hurting, he hasn’t healed,” she says. “He only took me back because I looked like shit, because I looked like I was dying, but he hasn’t gotten over it and I don’t think he ever will.

“Every time something happens involving a baby, he goes right back to the day that I terminated the pregnancy. He clams up and shuts down, he gets depressed… sometimes for days! When you and Val announced your pregnancies on Christmas day, it was like somebody hit him in the stomach with a sledgehammer! He fell into this deep, sorrowful melancholy and he still hasn’t come out of it.

“Do you remember when you called to invite me to Val’s gender reveal because you didn’t want me to be sitting at home alone while Gary was working?” she asks. “I wasn’t alone. I was there with Gary. He had fallen into one of his baby depressions and couldn’t bring himself to go. I was miffed because I wanted to be there with the fun, and I couldn’t even tell him because he was mourning his loss all over again.

“I see him trying,” she says, “I really do, but this is bigger than him. No matter how he tries to get past it, I’m always going to be that murderous bitch who killed his kid. A year later, and I’m still that murderous bitch! I can see it when he looks at me, whenever he bothers to look at me! I said it then and I’ll say it now. I will not go through this. I’ll be alone before I let somebody put me through this. I went through hell—literal hell when we broke up and he left me. I don’t deserve to go through hell while we’re together!”

Those are profound words my PA just said… and she’s right. I want to be angry. I want to feel some type of betrayal here but she’s right. It’s not fair for her to be tried in the fire twice over this—three times if you count her parents virtually sending her to the fiery depths of hell unless she repented for this sin.

“Are you going to tell him?” she asks.

“It’s not my place to tell him,” I reply.

“You’re his friend,” she says.

“That’s exactly why it’s not my place to tell him!” I retort. “He’s my friend. I’m not the one fucking him, you are! But you’re my friend, too. So, if I tell one, I’m betraying the other. Not my place… but you should.”

“He knows,” she says her voice somewhat disgusted. “If he doesn’t, he’s in denial. We used to see each other every day. Now, we barely talk. I answer the phone maybe once every third time he calls—when he even bothers to call, and I don’t call him at all. What does he think I’m doing—sitting here stroking my clit waiting for him to get over the fact that I terminated a glob of cells that I can’t bring back?”

Oh gosh, that’s harsh.

“Have you had this conversation with him?” I say, “because it’s one thing to feel like the relationship is over. It’s another thing all together to just move on and not say anything! If he really is still broken up about what happened with the baby, you’re adding insult to injury.” Her eyes widen.

“And we’re back to Gary’s feelings!” she declares. “The good thing about all this is that I’m not living in his apartment anymore,” she barks. “He never forgave me. He lied to me. He told me that he could forgive me when he couldn’t. And even if he tried, when he realized that he couldn’t forgive me, he wasn’t man enough to tell me that he was wrong. And quite frankly, there’s nothing to forgive. This is my body! This was my choice!! I should be the one who should be trying to forgive him!

“This entire situation has been all about how everybody else feels… Gary, the general public, my family, Jesus—it’s never been about how I feel until Marilyn stopped eating! Yeah, then everybody was concerned if I was going to die, but nobody’s been concerned about my heart!” My mouth falls open.

“That’s not fair!” I nearly hiss. “I’ve always been concerned about your heart, and you know it!”

Her expression displays the slightest bit of contrition but only the slightest bit.

“Does Jerry even know about this?” I ask. “Does he know that you’re still-in-not-quite-maybe-ending a relationship with another guy?”

“Jerry knows everything,” she says. “We’re not getting married or building a future. We’re just having a good time and enjoying each other’s company.”

“Which was the same thing that you and Gary were doing until you moved in together,” I point out. “And isn’t that dangerously close… Gary and Jerry?”

“Well, it’s not really an issue since I’m only calling out one name lately,” she replies snarky. Jesus, how could she see nothing wrong at all with this, because she obviously doesn’t?

“Look,” she begins, “I didn’t mean for anybody to see this. I went to a part of town that I didn’t think anybody who knew Gary frequented…”

“Do you know every person Gary knows?” I ask. “Coworkers, friends of friends, spouses and significant others of friends who may know who you are? You two were canoodling outside of a restaurant on the street! Anybody could’ve seen you. In fact, anybody did!” I say raising my hand. “And not just anybody, one of the guy’s closest friends. I just happen to be one of your closest friends, too!”

“Okay! We’ve established it! Now, you’ve seen it!” she snaps angrily. “Now, either go tell him about it or stay the hell out of it!”

Has she lost her mind? Has she completely forgotten who she’s talking to? Has kissing that cop fried all of her fucking brain cells that she has completely blanked out on my position here?

“Oh no, you don’t get to push me out the way and sweep this under the rug,” I protest. “Besides you and Gary, I’m more invested in this than anybody! My husband and I have front row seats for this disaster.

“We gave you couples therapy. We did everything we could to nurse you back to health when you weren’t eating. You lived in my house, and I watched your every move because I was afraid that you were going to die! I turned you on to meditation and gave you advice because I was afraid for your heart and your mind. You don’t get to blow me off because now you’re doing something that may not be on the up and up when it comes down to your relationship!”

She’s silently glaring at me with anger and just a bit of conviction. She wants me to butt out and let her do what she’s doing. Part of me agrees with her, but another part of me is outraged—the part that watched her every move and worried about her like a mother; the part that was afraid that at any moment, I would have to snatch her back from the cliff. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

“I am the very last person in the world to try to police your pussy,” I say without raising my gaze, “but you’re doing this out in the open for the whole world to see. You’re not even discreet about it and you have the nerve to tell me it’s none of my business? It’s the whole world’s business!”

“Gary doesn’t frequent that area,” she protests firmly.

“Oh,” I say, “oh, okay, I stand corrected. Gary’s not going to see you so that makes it all okay. How foolish of me to be concerned at all!” I can tell that she’s getting angry again. Fine. I don’t have the strength or desire to deal with this.

“You don’t want to be with Gary anymore, fine,” I say. “You don’t like how he’s treating you; you don’t feel like you two can move past what happened, I get it. Nobody deserves to feel convicted all the time and certainly no one wants to feel like they’re not able to make decisions that affect their own future. You’ve been through enough with this situation, but he deserves to know that you don’t want to do this anymore.

“Leaving him in the dark without telling him that you have moved on is cruel and hoping that someone else is going to stumble upon your indiscretion and make that announcement for you makes you a crummy fucking human being—and the Marilyn that I know is neither of those things!

“My husband recently lost his uncle,” I say, fervently. “He also recently found his bio-dad and discovered that everything he knew about his bio-mom was a lie. He has now inherited a full-blood half-brother; my son is still having night terrors; and we’re still on tender hooks wondering if this pregnancy is going to go full term without any problems. With all my feelings about this situation and everyone who’s involved, you are 100% correct about one thing.

Either go tell him about it or stay the hell out of it! And you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to stay the hell out of it! As far as I’m concerned, I know nothing, I’ve seen nothing, and I don’t want to be involved in it at all… and I mean at all! Tell him if you want to, don’t if you don’t, but I am completely washing my hands of this—completely! I have my own fucking fish to fry and I’m not going to argue with you about what you do with your snatch!”

I turn around to storm out of the room and run right into the curious face of my husband. I didn’t know that he was home, but most likely he came searching for me because his phone was going nuts.

Fuck it! If she wants to tell you, let her tell you. I brush past him and head towards the kitchen. Since I can’t have a drink, I need to find some fucking ginger tea.

I’ve calmed a bit later in the day and decide that I need to get a few things done around the Crossing. After buying a gaggle of baby clothes for Minnie, Mikey, and Trevor today, I realize that I need to know what the twins have in storage so that I can weed through what can be kept and what can be donated. By the time that I’m ready to have another baby—if I’m ever ready to have another baby—the boy clothes will have been twice used and well past their usefulness, and the girl clothes will have just sat around for more years when I’m certain that they can be put to better use now. Some of those things are still brand new, not to mention the haul that I got from Italy which they have already grown out of.

Speaking of Italy, I need to know where the things that we purchased from Italy are stored—the globes, the compass that Christian bought in Bellagio. I haven’t even seen my initial seals, not that I would have anything to use them for. Nonetheless, with a partial plan of action in mind, I page Windsor to meet me in the grand entry.

“I know that we have storage, but where exactly is it?” I ask him when he arrives.

“It depends on what you’re looking for,” he says. “Seasonal items and things needed for immediate use are in the main-house storage area on the other side of the garages. Things with no immediate need are in the storage area in the boat house. There are other smaller storage areas throughout the house, but they’re mostly utility.”

Okay, this is a huge ass Gail’s Pantry can of worms. I already know. I sigh heavily.

“We bought all kinds of things when we were in Italy,” I say. “Globes, trinkets, Murano glass… where is that stuff?”

“I’ll have the boathouse storage checked, but I think that’s all in the main-house storage,” he replies.

“I’m going to need to see what’s in there,” I say. “What’s the best way to handle it?” He raises his brow.

“That would be for you to come out to the storage,” he says, “but in your delicate condition…” he trails off.

“I’m not that delicate!” I snap, then remember myself. It’s not his fault that he’s concerned. “I’m not going to lift anything,” I add.

“But what if you take a spill?” he says gingerly. Now, I’m getting irritated again.

“I’m pregnant, not invalid, Windsor,” I say, firmly. His shoulders fall infinitesimally, and he thins his lips.

“Mrs. Grey,” he says, his voice soft, “if I take you out to the storage area and anything happens to you and the little one, I might as well retire.”

He says it so matter-of-factly that I know he’s right. I can’t even argue. I twist my lips and nod.

“Duly noted,” I cede. “What do you suggest?” He ponders the thought.

“I’ll get someone to help me go through the storage areas this afternoon and give you some kind of inventory of what’s in there.”

“You’ll have to go through every box!” I lament.

“Not every box,” he says. “Most of them—if not all of them—are labelled. We would’ve had to do this at some point. We might as well do it now. May I suggest bringing the fragile items in immediately once we identify them so that they’re not being shifted around? We can move other items to the front of the storage areas so that they’re at arms’ reach when you want them.” I nod.

“Thank you, Windsor,” I say. “Get started on that, please? If it’s more than one storage area as you have suggested, please don’t try to do it all in one day. Right now, I’m looking for items that we purchased in Italy, fragile items—like you suggested, and anything baby… clothes, toys, breast pumps, diaper bags, furniture, anything.” He nods.

“Will do, Mrs. Grey,” he says before he leaves. I go back to the table facing the lake and have a seat, beginning to check off the tasks on my “to do” list.

Grace has seen to organizing office space for Nichelle and Harmony closer to ours to allow more privacy for intake and therapy. She has also ordered them office furniture of their choice and created sitting rooms in both offices to make intakes and residents feel more comfortable.

Keri has detailed teaching plans on tap well throughout the summer and is taking a break before she starts focusing on the fall semester. She has expressed concerns about being able to take care of Trevor while doing her school planning. I’ve assured her that the responsibility won’t fall solely on her. I plan to be pretty hands-on with young Trevor and there will most likely be a rotation of her and Gail during the times when I’m otherwise occupied.

We’re heading to New England in two days, and I haven’t even begun to pack. New England… right next to New York. I haven’t even thought about Mishka since before Mikey was kidnapped. I wonder what she thought about our rescue mission. She had to see the details of Ebony’s demise and she had to be dead to miss the whole ordeal that was Christian’s house arrest for possible murder charges.

Nonetheless, I have seen the danger of underestimating the silence of your enemies more than once just since I’ve been with Christian. Although he believes this is his fish to fry, that guppy became all mine when she threatened my family. I don’t plan to visit her during our trip back east. Hell, I don’t plan to visit her at all, but very soon, I’ll need to send her some kind of message.

I’ve pushed all things Mare and Gare out of my mind because I mean it when I say that I’m out of it. This is not my battle…

Not my monkey, not my circus.

She has avoided me all day and I’m wondering if she’s just going to sneak out of the Crossing without telling me that she left if she hasn’t already. I think we’ve both deliberately been doing things that don’t require us to interact with one another. Christian had followed me into the kitchen right after our tense discussion trying to get some information on the situation.

“What was that all about?” he asks.

“Absolutely nothing,” I tell him.

“Butterfly, that was not nothing,” he disagrees. “I called Chuck earlier to see why your blood pressure was rising. I was already on my way home, but that put a little urgency to the mission.”

“And I’m sure that you’re going to see that it went right back down,” I say as I’m preparing my tea. “You’re back to working inside now?” I ask.

“A combination of places,” he says, “and stop trying to change the subject.”

“I’m not trying to change the subject, Christian, because I’m not discussing the subject,” I say, my voice even.

“So, now you’re keeping something from me?” he asks. “You were obviously upset.” I turn to look at him. You’re pushing it, Grey.

“Christian, we’re not talking about this situation because it has absolutely nothing to do with you,” I say firmly. “In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with me. I inadvertently got pulled into something that shouldn’t be my concern, and I’m inadvertently pulling my ass right back out. That’s the big and the little of the situation, and I’m going to respectfully request that you let it go before your phone starts buzzing again!”

Those were the magic words.

“Okay, okay,” he says, throwing his hands up in surrender, “but I need you to understand something. Whatever you were discussing had you upset before I got here. That’s why I had Jason drop me off at the portico. If you’ve got it under control, that’s fine by me. I won’t push it, but bear in mind that we’ve got a whole restraining order in place because someone upset you enough to send you to the hospital and threaten your life and Trevor’s. So, please don’t reprimand me when my phone starts buzzing!”

I look up at his firm expression, all the while, the Bitch is stomping her feet petulantly while folding her arms and rolling her eyes.

“Duly noted,” I say, my voice slightly chastised. We stand there looking at each other for a moment before he kisses me on the cheek and heads off to parts unknown and I finish making my tea.

I remove my glasses and lean back in my seat, rubbing my eyes. I’ve had my tea, Windsor has begun to tell me what he has located in the storage, there are no fires at Helping hands, and I really need to figure out what to pack for this trip…

“I’m leaving now.” Her voice breaks into my thoughts and I look to my side to see Marilyn standing there.

“Anything to report?” I ask, then quickly direct the conversation. “No sightings of me leaving Dr. Culley’s office, hits on AnaChris, or predictions on the name of the newly expected ‘messiah?’”

That last part caused her to laugh a little against her will.

“No, it’s been pretty quiet on the front,” she says, “all the usual stuff and nothing to be concerned about.” I nod and crack my neck.

“I’ll be going to Helping Hands tomorrow to tie up some loose ends, and then, we’re off until next Monday,” I tell her. “You’ll be on call for emergencies and I’ll, of course, be a phone call away, but Christian and I will be in Vermont from Thursday to Sunday for our babymoon.” She nods and starts typing into her phone. We’re silent for a moment.

“Are things going to be awkward between us now?” she asks. I look up at her.

“Awkward how?” I ask. “Nothing happened. I saw nothing. I mean that. I’m in a lose-lose situation here. When this comes to light, I will be giving an Oscar-worthy performance of ‘I had no idea.’ I will disavow any knowledge of this situation and call you a liar to your face if you try to say that I knew anything beforehand.

“This is not my problem,” I continue. “This is not my dilemma. Even though you were trying to get me to just shut up and let it go, you were absolutely right to tell me to stay the hell out of it. The two of you are hurting, and hurting each other, and I’m not going to be a part of this. Even your friends got a little grazed in this because we’re all wondering why you’re lying to us when you’re actually lying to each other.

“I’m stepping completely off this stage. You’re incredibly valuable to me and I don’t want to lose you. Gary is extremely valuable to me, too, so I have no problem compartmentalizing this thing that was your relationship. That’s the safest thing for me to do.”

“Okay,” she says, surrendering, “then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” I reply.


A/N: For those of you who had varying opinions of Ana’s reactions and expectations, there you have it. On the one hand, she was front and center for the train wreck and suffering of both her friends right after the termination and break-up, not to mention her investment of time, love, and energy to Marilyn’s recovery and to their reconciliation. On the other hand, you’ve got the two of them lying to each other about one thing or another and she’s caught in the middle. I would be pissed, too. I would also be following Ana’s example—dropping that ball and running away. Not my monkey, not my circus.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had ‘such meet food to feed’ my disdain. Please, give me fresh employment!”

Christian talks about confusing Canary Face Vernon by partially quoting Shakespeare. In Act I Scene I of Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick almost immediately begin tearing into each other in the “merry war” of words that they have going on between them. Benedick is talking to the prince and the count as they’re walking away from him.
Beatrice (reworded): “Why are you still talking? Nobody’s listening to you.”
Benedick (reworded): “My dear lady Disdain. Why aren’t you dead yet?”  
Beatrice (verbatim): “Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick?”
Beatrice is telling him that Disdain can’t die when his presence continuously feeds it. Later on in the play, Benedick begs the prince to give him any meager, menial task or “employment” rather than to stand there and have to converse with Beatrice. So, if the learned counselor has any true education of Shakespeare, he knows that Christian just gave him the Shakespearean version of, “Fuck around and find out.”

Pictures of places, cars, fashion, etc., can be found at Grey Reflections (Season Seven).

The question-and-answer thread can be found on the left, second from last on the menu or you can click HERE.

If you feel the need to talk, visit the link on the left in the menu titled “Do You Need To Talk” or click HERE. No subject is taboo, but please show respect for those who have concerns as well as those who respond.

You can join my mailing list on the “Contact Me” page. Just click the link and it will lead you to a form to join the list. 

~~love and handcuffs redux 2

Grey Reflections: Episode 11—Results of the Resistance

If you would like to “Buy Me a Glass of Wine,” you can click this link or the ***DONATE*** link at the bottom of the menu on the left. 

I figured that I would get this posted today because I have a funeral to go to tomorrow and I’ll just want to relax for the rest of the weekend after that. 

This is a work of creativity. As such, you may see words, concepts, scenes, actions, behaviors, pictures, implements, and people that may or may not be socially acceptable and/or offensive. If you’re sensitive to adverse and alternative subject matter of any kind, please do not proceed, because I guarantee you’ll find it here. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.

I do not own Fifty Shades Trilogy, or the characters. They belong to E. L. James. I’m only exercising my right to exploit, abuse, and mangle the characters to MY discretion in MY story in MY interpretation as a fan. If something that I say displeases you, please, just leave. If you don’t like this story or me, please don’t spoil this experience for everyone. Just go away. For the rest of you, the saga continues…

Episode 11—Results of the Resistance

CHRISTIAN

Both of my father figures cried today… one of them, twice.

Ray cried when I told him how much the gun and skills that he gave me meant to me, and that I hope to pass both of them down to Mikey when he’s old enough.

Dad cried because my Aunt Nell took Pops’ furniture from the den from the house in Detroit and he has vowed not to speak to her again. However, on a softer note, he cried when Elliot told him that he’s naming his son after our father.

“I have to tell you, Dad,” Elliot had said. “Christian and I had to flip for it. I won.”

Dad ended up gathering us both in a hug and sobbing like a baby. It meant a lot to him that we both wanted to name our boys Carrick, but it meant more to him that we didn’t fight over it.

The party went well into the evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. All “The Usual Suspects” as Butterfly calls them were in attendance. Even Jerry and Levi were there, and we talked a lot about getting out on the fishing boat very soon now that fishing season is starting. Marlow appears to be taking his lessons very seriously. Even the caliber of his dates has improved—college girls that engage in intelligent conversation and know how to present themselves in a family atmosphere.

Yes, I’m impressed.

Butterfly makes it a point to illuminate the work that I did in the twins’ room and encouraged everyone to go up and see it. Phil and Zac look to Chuck and Jason for confirmation while Marlow stands quietly by. Upon getting confirmation that I had indeed finished the room on my own, they all congratulated me on a job well done. I answered their accolades with noncommittal nods that didn’t go unnoticed. I heard somebody ask somebody else if I was still “sore” about what happened last weekend.

Sore…

Here’s the thing about that word.

If you think that I should be “sore” about something that happened, then somebody owes me an apology, but I don’t expect to get one.

“The room really looks great, Christian,” James says when just about everyone had left for the night. “Do you… not want to talk about it?”

“Why would you think that?” I ask.

“Because you didn’t seem enthusiastic when everybody else complimented you on how good it looked,” he says.

“Only certain people,” I admit, “the people who thought I couldn’t do it.” There. I’ve said it out loud. James frowns.

“Why… did they think you couldn’t do it?” he asks.

“Because I’m rich and I always pay someone to do things like this for me,” I say, “so that must mean that I can’t do it.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I still don’t see what that has to do with anything. Just because you don’t always have to do something doesn’t mean that you don’t know how.”

“I’ve never held a paintbrush in my life, so I destroyed one of the walls,” I say. “That meant that I was unfit to do anything else in my twins’ room.” James’ eyes widen, then his gaze softens, and he twists his lips.

“I can assemble furniture,” he says, “especially that Ikea stuff. I’m a master at that… but I can’t paint for shit.”

I raise my gaze to him, and he shrugs and smiles at me.

“Have a good night, Christian,” he says, “and happy birthday.” He squeezes my shoulder before he goes off to find Al.

And this is why I consider this guy my friend.

I finish my beer and sit on the chaise, looking out at the lake, enjoying the fire in the fire pit, and admiring the silence once more since everyone is gone.

“It was nice,” I hear him say from off to my left. “I think everyone enjoyed themselves.”

“They always do,” I say opening another beer and taking a swallow, “and yes, it was nice.” He sits down near me… near me, but not too close.

“Are you going back to the boat?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “Maybe.” I take another swallow of my beer.

“You can’t avoid me forever, you know,” he says.

“I’m not avoiding you, Jason…”

“Aren’t you?” he asks with no malice. “I’m your head of security and your best friend and my wife has seen you more than I have. Ana has been out of this house two or three times this week and you haven’t asked for one status check or debriefing. I have no idea when I wake up if we’re going to be at the Crossing or at Grey House. I do know that Allen came here once this week to speak to you, but I usually know everything that goes on in your day and right now, I know nothing. So… you’re not avoiding me?” I sigh silently.

“My whole life, I never fit in anywhere,” I tell him. “Before you, my best friends were Lincoln and Flynn. What does that say?”

He sits silently looking at me because he knows I haven’t gotten to the point, yet.

“For years, the world bent to my will,” I continue. “If they didn’t, fuck ‘em. I didn’t care what they thought. I’m a billionaire. I could buy anything I wanted, have anything I wanted, make shit happen, and anybody who didn’t like it could kiss my ass. And then… I met her, and the whole fucking world changed.” I look out at the lake.

“Last weekend, she served me brunch in bed. She gave me a cup of black coffee and I knew that she had made it. She asked how I knew and I told her the truth—that the first time she made me a cup of coffee changed my life. Sitting in her kitchen in that condo that night, I knew I would never be able to be without her again.

“I had no idea what love was, but I knew that my life was changing,” I say. “I knew that there couldn’t be a night that I could spend without her or without knowing where she was… and I was right. Any night I spent without her that I wasn’t being an asshole was pure agony. I knew that she would forever be a part of my life, that she was already changing the man that I was. It wasn’t until I met her, and she got her hands on me, and her heart on me that I felt like I fit in anywhere.

“She makes me feel like I can do anything.” I take another swallow of my beer. “Some things, I can’t do, but she makes me feel like I can do anything. She makes me feel like a goddamn superhero.

“When we decided that we would spend more of our life living and less of our life working, I was all for it. I still am. GEH was everything to me, and now it’s not. It’s a huge part of my life, but it’s not everything. That woman, those twins, that boy in her belly, my family, my circle… that’s everything, everything that I never had and didn’t think I wanted.

“I spent years sitting in that chair on top of the world looking down on people, signing contracts, changing and ruining lives, making million-dollar deals, becoming richer and richer every 15 minutes and not giving a fuck about how anybody else felt. And then I met her, and I married her, and I built a family with her, and she introduced me to love and family and empathy and a whole new state of mind—and she makes me feel like I can do things I really may not be able to do.

“Someone kidnapped our son and when the FBI took all her hopes away, she put all her hope in me,” I say. “And together, we eliminated the fuckers who took our son and brought him home.

“She took a curmudgeonly man who spent his weekends beating fembots as you so affectionately referred to them and turned him into a husband and a father, a family man who could finally hug his mother when he couldn’t do it for nearly 30 years.

“I would’ve normally put Radcliff out on his ass for how he treated his family and how he spoke to me, but because of her, I helped him get his life together and get his family back.

“I have helped countless people—invited people into my life as family, including you, Chuck, Keri, and Gail—when before I met her, I wouldn’t have looked twice at any of you as family or friends. I walked Gail down the aisle. I flew my jet to Anguilla to bring Keri back. You have custody of Sophie and the two of you live in my house. Who is that guy?

“Christian Grey, faster than a speeding pedophile,” I jest, but not, “more powerful than corrupt FBI agents, able to leap tall kidnappers in a single bound, but he can’t fit in with the normal guys and paint a wall.” There’s a pause.

“All of this from painting a wall?” he asks incredulously.

“No,” I say. “All of this from not being able to paint a wall. You put a paint roller in my hand and said, ‘Go for it.’ Is that what happened to you the first time somebody put a roller in your hand? Did you get it right the first time without instructions or did somebody tell you what to do? Or did nobody tell you what to do and you had to do a little trial and error?

“Twice during times that may not have been crucial to you all but were crucial to me, people who have sat at my table, ate my food, and were welcomed into my homes made me feel like I didn’t fit in. And what was I supposed to do—cry and whine about it? ‘Wah, wah, wah, they won’t let me paint.’ Poor little sensitive billionaire.” I mimic a child’s voice.

“But deep down, way deep down in here…” I point to my chest, “in that place that I don’t like to let anybody see, that shit fucked with me because instead of showing me how to do it, all the normal guys ridiculed me for not being able to do the normal shit that normal guys do. Phil showed me what to do and now, you can’t look at that wall and tell what side I painted and what side someone else painted, but you and I almost came to blows because I ‘shouldn’t have been in there anyway.’”

He drops his head when I remind him what he said last Saturday. I turn back to the fire.

“It may not seem like something important to all of you, but it was really important to me,” I confess, “to be a part of constructing my children’s room besides being the person that just throws down the credit card. I have always enjoyed being wealthy—the power and respect that the dollar brings, the things that you can buy and achieve. I have never, ever resented the money until that moment,” I hiss. “I bought everything in the room, and that was the end of my usefulness.

“That’s why I put that room together by myself,” I say. “At first, I wanted to show you all that I could do something normal, but by the time it was all done, it wasn’t even about that anymore. That’s why I didn’t strut around the house like, ‘Look what I did,’ because it wasn’t important for you all to know what I had done. It was important to me.

“The reason I fell asleep on the twins’ floor was not because I was tired. It was because I laid on my back and felt how comfy the mats felt and that my babies wouldn’t be hurt if they fell in that room. It was because even though I made a mistake and painted the bottom coffer, it was a good idea to paint it because it looks really good. It’s because my babies have somewhere to store their books, toys, and nightlight because I read the directions.

It’s because the only thing the bathroom needs is some bubble bath in the tub and my babies because I arranged everything in there by myself. It’s because I felt a huge amount of pride and accomplishment for what I did in my children’s room and what you normal guys take for granted, and the only reason that the fan blades weren’t changed out is because I would’ve needed some kind of ladder and had I done it on my own and hurt myself, you normal guys would’ve ridiculed me again.”

So, there it is. Tell me I need to grow a pair or get over it or that I’m getting soft or whatever flippant comment you need to make to minimize my feelings because the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipotent Christian Grey is pouting about not being able to fit in with the cool kids. I can take it now because just like when Butterfly fled to Montana, I know what to expect.

“Damn, man,” Jason says. “Even though I’ve worked for you all these years, I don’t know what it feels like to be a billionaire. I’m well off, but I’ve never been able to wave my magic wand and make things happen, close a company, buy a corporation, or make things appear. I can do some things, but I’m part of the normal guy crew, too. I guess being over here, you take simple things for granted when you’re constantly around someone who has everything. I’m sorry, man. I didn’t even think about it like that.”

I try not to react. It’s not that I never expected Jason to apologize to me. I just… didn’t think he would.

“The twins’ room looks really good, though,” he says. “You did a great job.” I twist my lips.

“Thanks,” I say, trying not to let on that what he just said means a lot more to me than I thought it would. We’re silent for a moment.

“You’re right,” he says. I look over at him and now he’s looking out at the lake.

“I would never dream of trying to sit in that seat of power that you occupy every day and rule the world. I have my instructions; I know my limits. I know what I’m supposed to do.

“When you suggested paint party, I said, ‘Okay, no big deal.’ Yeah, you normally paid somebody to do that kind of thing for you, but you had your go-to guys down there building a pool. One of them is doing double duty designing your office. You grabbed me some able-bodied volunteers—Zac actually has some hidden skills and Phil just loves that shit—and we were all set to go… and here you stand waiting for a paint roller.” Now, he turns to look at me.

“I’m not going to lie, man, that shit threw me off. ‘Why the fuck is he in here trying to paint?’” His voice is incredulous. “But… your house,” he continues, “so I handed you a roller and said, ‘Have at it.’” He shrugs.

Actually, that’s not what you said. What you said made it clear that you had no faith in me from the very beginning, but it’s your turn to talk so I won’t interrupt.

“I wasn’t paying attention,” he says. “I was making sure that I meticulously got that blue paint across the wall to the markings where Zac, Phil, and Marlow said it needed to stop so that it wouldn’t interfere with the blue squares. When I finished and it was perfect, I turned around, and purple lava was coming at me from the other side of the room, not to mention that there’s paint on the ceiling that we taped off and didn’t intend to fuck with. I was so pissed because I knew we would have to fix that shit.”

“And that’s when you came barreling at me ready to scold me like a child who had gotten into Daddy’s tools,” I interject, “but Phil headed you off and showed me what to do which you should have done in the first place.”

“I get that now,” he says, “but at the time, all I could think was, ‘Why is he in here? He has no idea what he’s doing! He shouldn’t even be in here, but nobody can say no to him. Now he’s fucking shit up and making more work for us…’ and I resented that!”

“And therein lies the problem,” I say, “not me and the paint. You resented my presence; you wanted to know what the hell Mr. Mogul was doing in the room with the paint roller in the first place. This is not his arena, so why is he here? You made that achingly clear with that comment about me going downstairs and building the pool.”

He looks a bit convicted. I’m certain that he didn’t think I heard him because I was no longer in the room. Surprise, Jay, I heard you.

“You and everybody in earshot knew that the pool was a specific set of skills that none of us had, and you made it painstakingly obvious that I no more belonged in that arena with you all and the paint rollers than I did downstairs with Elliot in the pool room. As a result, you became angry that I didn’t know what I was doing when you already knew that I didn’t know what I was doing.

“When I made a mess, you got mad that you set a toddler loose in the kitchen instead of telling the toddler what to do when he got to the flour milk and eggs. And I realize that this may be a bad fucking analogy, but even if you fuss at a toddler, that toddler’s going to go to his room and not come out for the rest of the day. And if and when he comes out, you’re still mad, he’s going to go back to his room. So that’s what the hell I did, I went to my room.

“But I’m not a toddler.

“So, I went back to my kids’ room, and I finished my kids’ room, because that’s what I set out to do in the first place… regardless of what everybody else felt I should or shouldn’t be doing or thought I could or couldn’t do.

“Everybody wants to avoid a bad situation if they can,” I say. “The only time I walk face first into a bad situation is when I’m going in for a hostile takeover. I already know what’s about to happen. I gird up my loins and put on my armor and go in ready to fight. Why would I think I needed to go into my kids’ room to paint a wall ready to fight? And if each time I see you thereafter, we’re going to go back to that original fight, why do I want to do that? I didn’t like it when it happened the first time. Why would I want a fucking encore?

“When we came downstairs and we were eating the truffles, you had claws already out. Even Gail saw it, and your final blow was, ‘You still got paint in your hair.’ That’s when I knew this was never going to end. It didn’t help matters that my wife turned me away from our bed because my hair smelled like paint thinner.” There’s a pause and he looks at me.

“Dude, why did you put paint thinner in your hair?” he asks. I glare at him for a moment.

“Because I asked someone what I should do and they gave me instructions,” I say. “Right or wrong, they didn’t tease me about not knowing. They gave me instructions. Although I smelled like a chemical processing plant when it was all over, the paint was out of my hair.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he says in defense. “For future notice, any oil will get that stuff out of your hair. Just work it in real good and comb it out with a fine-toothed comb. Some of it’ll slide right out. Some of it will need a little more work… but then you’ll be washing your hair for three days because if you don’t, you’ll look like an oily slick rat,” he laughs.

It was supposed to be a joke, but I didn’t find it funny, because I did wash my hair for the equivalent of three to five days in one night. I don’t bother telling him that there’ll probably won’t be a future in this for me. I’ve learned my lesson with paint… Or maybe it was my lesson with the normal guys. I don’t know yet.

“Tough crowd,” he says when he gets no mirthful reaction from me.

“You besmirched to me, man,” I say. “You besmirched me hard. And I normally leave people with their faces cracked and on the ground for making me feel this way, but what was I supposed to do now? What was I supposed to do this time? What recourse do you have on your best friend for rightfully telling you that you should have stayed in your lane?”

“Man, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way,” he says.

“Yes, you did,” I contradict him, “you just didn’t think I would take it this hard. And you had a right to think that. Any other time somebody pissed me off, I would just throw my hands up and walk away depending on the situation or I would go and plot my revenge. After drowning my head in enough water to solve the drought, I was just going to work until I was tired because my wife was already fast asleep and my plans for her were a definite no-go. I had all this energy and frustration and nowhere to send it and in order to get to my new workstation I had to pass the twins’ room.

“That would be my revenge,” I say, “to work on the twins’ room and let you all know that Mr. Mogul who shouldn’t be holding a paint roller could actually do something normal.  That wasn’t planned; that was a spur of the moment decision. I was just going to lay some floor tiles and let you experts handle the rest—the cutting, the sizing, the perfect placement. I absolutely knew I couldn’t fuck up putting some floor tiles in the middle of the floor. Before I knew it, one thing led to another, and the room was finished.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more of a sense of accomplishment for anything else in my life than I felt at that moment looking at my children’s room all completed by my hands. That’s why I fell asleep on the floor. I wasn’t hiding or moping, which I’m sure my wife thought was the case—I crashed. I crashed from the relief and the contentment and from the adrenaline all rushing out of my body at once. At that moment I realized I didn’t do it for you or to impress anybody else. I did it for me and I did it for my kids.” Jason takes a deep breath and blows it long out of his mouth.

“I really didn’t mean to make you feel this way,” he says sincerely. “I admit that I did feel like you didn’t belong in that room with us and those paint rollers. You walk around all day in $3000 suits waving your hand and empires fall. You have to forgive me for feeling that you were way out of your element with a paint roller, and you should’ve left it to us. I really didn’t know that it meant so much to you. I had no idea you would take it this hard, and I’m really sorry. You gotta cut us some slack, though, Christian,” he adds. “Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t have been in that room.”

And there’s that word again.

“I’m not going to keep trying to explain to people that no matter how much power I have, I’m a person first,” I say. “If that wasn’t the case, all my adversaries would be completely crushed under my feet if not dead by now. Nobody would dare attempt to go up against me at all because I would wield that white hot iron sword and destroy everything in my path simply because I have the power to do it. I guess that’s what people expect of me, because they can’t seem to wrap their heads around me being a human being with feelings.

“I’ve joked a lot about buying a small island, naming it something like ‘Greyville,’ and moving my wife and kids there and living in peace. I have no problem doing that because they are the center of my world and I have absolutely nothing to prove to them… but it would drive them nuts, so that’s out. But that’s just how much I don’t have to deal with people if they don’t want to deal with me…”

“Come on, man, you know that’s not the case,” Jason interrupts me. “You make it hard as fuck for somebody to apologize to you.”

He’s right, I’m making it very difficult. I don’t know, I just want vindication, but I know that’s something that I’m not going to get.

“I’ll do my best to be more conscious of your feelings as a person and not just look at you as a stone tower of power and strength,” he says, “but cut me a little slack for expecting that tower of power and strength that I’ve seen for more than ten years. It takes a little deprogramming on my side, okay? I’m not perfect either.”

I sigh. The big “owie” isn’t all healed with his revelation and apology, but he’s right. Me stepping out of the image that I’ve built of myself all these years is a huge adjustment for all parties involved. I just hate that the only person who grabbed it and said, “Okay, this is who we’re dealing with now,” was my wife! The minute I came to her and said, “I want to be a part of this,” she shoved a palette at me and said, “Which purple is better?” No questions, no hesitation, just, “Okay, dear, help!”

But I digress.

“Duly noted,” I say with no malice. “Apology accepted.” Jason laughs.

“You’re the only person that I know who can make an apology a business transaction,” he says. I raise my glare to him. Is he ridiculing me again?

At that moment, he shoves his hand at me, proffering it for a shake.

“Bygones?” he says, waiting for me to accept his proffered hand… which I do.

“Bygones,” I say, giving his hand a firm shake. I go to release but he holds my hand, causing me to raise my gaze to him.

“Cut me some slack,” he says. “Cut us all some slack.”

His blue gaze holds my grays, telling me without words that this isn’t the last time that something like this is going to happen and that there’s going to be some growing pains for all parties involved. I sigh again and nod.


ANASTASIA

I’m standing in the family room, looking out of the sliding glass doors at Christian and Jason talking near the fire pit. Nearly everyone has left his birthday party minus a few stragglers. Gail and Ms. Solomon are in the kitchen, putting leftovers away and cleaning up and the children are still awake in the family room playing with the dogs and watching television.

“He’s pissed, isn’t he?”

I look over my shoulder to see Marlow standing next to me and looking out the door at Jason and Christian. He’s dateless today. I don’t know why I find that refreshing.

“I don’t know,” I say, “you would have to ask him.”

“I don’t have to ask,” he replies. “I’ve studied him for years, mimicking him and trying to be like him because I want to command the respect that he does—even more so now that I’m 18. I know when he’s pissed and he’s pissed, only I haven’t seen him like this before.” My brow furrows.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“It’s like he’s hiding,” Marlow says. “I’ve never seen him hide. I would imagine that he’s doing it because he doesn’t know how to handle the situation, but I don’t know for sure.”

“What situation is that?” I ask, looking at him with a furrowed brow.

Has he become that astute that he knows exactly what’s going on here without having the complete inside scoop? I don’t know what my expression says to him, but it says enough for him to know that I need him to fill in some blanks.

“I saw his face, Ana,” he says. “He had a hundred things that he wanted to say to Jason when he made that crack, but he didn’t—a hundred things. He just left the room… and we haven’t seen him since. He showed up for a second—a second—to get something to eat, and then he was gone. There were no fire-breathing, heads-will-roll, Christian Grey admonishments. There was just silent horror-anger-rage-shame-disbelief, then stomping out of the room.

“We expected the bedroom to be finished the next time that we saw it; we just didn’t expect him to do it. Then he’s not at Grey House all week and I come to find out that he’s been hanging out on his boat, not even coming in for meals. He’s hiding. I’ve never seen him hide before, and if he’s hiding that elaborately, it must be from someone in this house. If he were hiding from you, he’d go into Grey House—at least I would if it were me. If it’s not you, it has to be Jason, and the only reason I can think of for him to be hiding from Jason all week is that crap that happened with the paint last weekend.”

“What happened with the paint last weekend?” I ask. He frowns.

“Don’t you know?” he asks. I turn to him.

“Enlighten me,” I say, turning to face him but never letting on that I know exactly what happened with the paint.

“Christian was painting the concave wall with Chuck,” he says. “The rest of us were trying to get the colors, squares, and measurements right on the other wall. I thought everything was going okay until Jason screamed out our Lord and Savior’s full name. We all turn around and the wall, the ceiling, and Christian are all a purple, sopping mess. I swear, it reminded me of that episode of I Love Lucy when she destroyed the Mertzes’ apartment…”

He chuckles a bit and I’m getting a clearer picture of why Christian felt ridiculed.

“You haven’t seen the episode?” he asks, noting that I’m not laughing with him.

“Oh, I’ve seen it,” I say, flatly. “I didn’t think you would have. It’s a little before your time. Was it really that bad?” He raises a brow at me.

“It was pretty bad, Ana,” he says, mirth still in his voice. I thin my lips and nod, saying nothing. “Anyway, Phil helped him clean it up, but there were a couple of cracks at his expense… you know, guy stuff.”

“Did it feel like ‘guy stuff’ to you?” I ask. “Was it something that any of you would’ve said about anybody else in that room?”

I’m not trying to make him feel bad. I’m just trying to put him in Christian’s shoes, since he’s making the blanket assumption that Christian is just hiding.

“They might’ve said stuff about the rich guy trying to paint,” he says uncomfortably. “Somebody said something about Picasso and somebody else said something about fingerpainting. He seemed alright until he and Jason got into it, then he stormed out of the room. Jason made the crack about him going downstairs to build the pool…”

“Um-hmm,” I say, adding nothing.

“I’m not one of the people who teased him,” he adds, “but… I guess my silence was probably just as bad. I mean, this was his party, and he didn’t really interact with anybody that was in that room last weekend—not even Phil, and Phil showed him what to do.” I sigh.

“I can’t tell you yea or nay about Christian’s feelings, you would have to ask him,” I say. “Lord knows that he’s a very complex man and even after three years of marriage and two and a half children, I wouldn’t attempt to analyze what he’s feeling without him present to confirm or deny but let me ask you this.

“Let’s say for the sake of argument that you’re right and he’s hiding because of that situation,” I begin. “In all honesty, Jason lives here and is under our employ, so Christian could just confront him about it, but let’s just say for the sake of argument that you’re right. When Christian left that room after he and Jason had words, did anyone follow him? Did anyone try to assure him that no one else felt the way Jason did about his efforts? You all certainly had a good laugh at his expense, but did anybody do anything to dispel his assumptions?”

“I wasn’t laughing at him!” Marlow retorts. My eyes widen and I cross my arms.

“You just compared my husband to Lucille Ball,” I counter, “one of the greatest natural comedic actresses ever known!”

Marlow looks at me and when I don’t break his gaze, he realizes that this is not a rhetorical question.

“No,” he says, shaking his head, “nobody followed him, but we just thought it was better to leave him alone… at least I did.”

“Okay, but you weren’t the only one in the room, and even you said that you think your silence may have been part of the problem,” I point out. “Then today, none of you took my word for it that the room was finished, and that Christian had done it on his own. So, if your disbelief and lack of faith in him lasted from last weekend to this one, how was he supposed to feel about that today?”

My young friend is convicted.

“And finally,” I say, “a few months ago, Christian Grey took a bullet from the man who kidnapped his son and put that same man on a slab with a bullet from his gun. Does that strike you as the kind of man who needs to hide from anybody?”

Marlow twists his lips in contemplation, and I can see the moment he realizes his faux pas. It’s not that I don’t think Christian was hiding. His escape could be construed as a form of hiding, but the last person that needs to think he was hiding is his protégé.

“If you want to know what the purpose of this exercise was, ask him,” I say. “Don’t try to come to your own conclusions. Yes, he may have a bonehead moment here and there like all of you people with the penises, but 99.9% of all of his actions are deliberate and you know that.”

Marlow is at a loss for words, and I can almost see the relief on his face when Gail interrupts our conversation.

“Excuse me, Ana,” Gail interjects. “Sophie left truffles in the refrigerator for Christian—a batch of the regular chocolate and some of the Oreo and white chocolate. Should I leave them there or should I take them out to the yacht?” I twist my lips.

“Let’s wait to see what Christian is going to do,” I say. “I’m not sure if we’ll be spending the night out there or in here. If we go out there, I’ll make sure that they get out to the galley.” Gail nods and goes back to the kitchen, and Marlow scoffs.

“What?” I ask.

“Sophie,” he says. “If Gail hadn’t just said something, I wouldn’t have even known that she was here today. I guess somebody must have talked to her, too, because she avoids me like the plague. If I see her at all, it’s like she’s there one minute and then she’s gone the next.”

I want to tell him so badly about the context of her disappearance, not that she’s sweet on him, but that she’s hurt and that it’s because of him. I don’t think he can hear it though because he already feels like she wronged him.

“And you’re quiet,” he adds, “so I must be right.” I sigh.

“Marlow, you know I’m a vault,” I begin. “I know that Christian talked to you, and that’s not a secret or breaking of a confidence because the conversation was had in the middle of my kitchen… on Black Friday, but you have to consider something.

“If adults… and yes, I am saying adults—plural—heard and saw how you were treating Sophie and pointed it out, how do you think Sophie felt? Do you really think anybody needs to wave a flag at her to tell her that it might be a good idea to avoid confrontation with you?

“Even when I noticed your behavior and I was angry with you for it,” I continue, “I never defended hers for how she treated you or your dates. I only pointed out to you that she had stopped engaging. But, Marlow, there’s a little person in there… with a heart and feelings who, unless you have forgotten, has been through a lot of shit just like you, maybe different shit but still a lot of shit.

“You may not be that much older than she is in terms of life experience, but you have had more encounters than she has had with people and attitudes. She’s still a teenagery teenager, and she’s still trying to find her way. You’re an adult teenager now out in the world all on your own. You’re in college; you have your own place; you’re living your life. With very few exceptions, you’re making your own rules. Her future is still pretty much uncertain because of her wacko ass mother.

“You’ve been there,” I continue. “You had your father who was abusive to you, and she had her mother who you know neglected her and still does. You know what she’s going through to some degree. You know she’s a ball of emotion because you were a ball of emotion, you just handled yours differently. And no, I’m not excusing her but let’s face it. She is a girl. When I met you, you were angry and sullen. She’s sad and sullen, still in the midst of trying to cope with what you’ve already conquered.

“I’ve already said too much, but I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea about her behavior,” I say. “Nobody’s forcing her hand. She came to this decision all on her own. If anybody talked to her, it was you. No, you didn’t talk directly to her, but the things you said around her were enough to make her behave, for lack of a better word. You said things to and about something that I wasn’t even present for, and I heard about them. And not from Sophia. So, you might want to think about that.”

“I don’t know what to say about that, Ana,” he says. “Even though I felt justified in my feelings and still do, I was completely made out to be the bad guy and I’ve seen the err of my ways and I don’t engage her in that way. But now I feel like I’m being made out to be the bad guy again because she won’t engage. At all.”

I rub his arm. Poor simple little boy.

“One day, you’ll understand,” I say, “that women—even friends, sisters, and mothers—at every age are a strange animal that you may never figure out. Even now, the great Christian Grey may appear to have all the female answers but trust me when I tell you that he doesn’t. With all the women around him, he more than once finds himself banging his head against the proverbial wall looking for answers.

“Nobody’s pointing you out as the bad guy… at least not anymore.” I raise my brow at him. “We’re only having this conversation because you brought it up and I just don’t want you to think that somebody somewhere ‘shook some sense into Sophie.’ The only time I’ve ever known Sophie to be chastised about this matter was when you snitched on her at the twins birthday last year.”

“Snitched on her?” he says appalled. “I didn’t snitch on her! She was being insufferable. I didn’t know what else to do!”

“And I personally think you did the right thing by letting it be known how she was behaving,” I say, “but she and everyone who heard about it feels like you snitched on her. Deal with it. It’s done now. And again, I only brought that up because that’s the only time that I know of that anybody chastised Sophie about her behavior towards you and your dates.”

I don’t tell him about my conversation with Sophie about her behavior because not only am I keeping a confidence, but also by the time I had my conversation with her, she had already resolved herself to avoid him.

“If anybody drove the point home, it was you, dear,” I say with no malice. “I just want you to know that because you started the conversation with ‘somebody must have talked to her.’ Somebody did, but it’s not who you think.” He scrubs his face.

“And I’m the bad guy again,” he laments.

“Why?” I ask. “Have you said something else disparaging to her since Christian talked to you?” He shakes his head.

“No,” he says emphatically. “I can barely get her in the same room with me.”

“Well, then, you’re not the bad guy again,” I say, “and I certainly wasn’t trying to make you feel that way. I’m sorry if I did. Our actions have consequences—some good and some bad, you know that. Maybe she’ll go through her little-girl-sister-mad-at-her-brother phase and get over this… ” even though I know that’s not what this is, “… but apparently, right now this is her way of dealing with it.” He sighs and ponders for a moment.

“I remember when I first met her,” he recalls. “I didn’t know her whole story at the time but I just kind of knew that she needed a friend. And we were friends—we talked about school and the different things that we wanted to do. It was like having another  Mags around. It was really cool.

“That all changed at Mia’s wedding. Yeah, I know shots were fired, but I honestly don’t remember who fired first. The only reason I think Maya fired first is because you and Christian said so. The next thing I knew, every girl I brought around was a target, even the ones who never said anything to her. I was so pissed the first time that happened I couldn’t even see straight!

“Every time it happened after that, especially after I ‘snitched,'” he says the word with disdain, “I felt like she was out of control, and I just wanted to protect myself and my dates from her verbal swords! It wasn’t until Christian made me think about it that I realized that the swords weren’t even flying anymore. I can’t even tell you when they really stopped. I just thought about what he was saying and realized that she hadn’t said anything to my dates for a while. In fact, she hadn’t said anything at all… And she still hasn’t.”

He looks slightly forlorn with a situation. I’m realizing now that the only breakdown of a relationship that he ever had to deal with that I know of was his father, and now he’s not quite sure how to deal with the breakdown of the relationship with Sophie especially since he’s not in the thick of their disagreement anymore.

“I have friends that don’t talk to their family members at all for lesser things,” he says, gazing at me. “I hope that doesn’t happen with us.”

I’m shocked. I would’ve thought that he felt so wronged that he wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with her. I guess he really is maturing a bit.

“Give her some time,” I say. “I’m sure she’ll get over it eventually.” He twists his lips.

“Time?” he asks incredulously. “It’s been a year, Ana, maybe more. I’m not even sure.”

I’m not sure either. If I have to count backwards, I’d say it’s been about a year. I know it was before his graduation and that was last June. And now I remember that she did have an altercation after The Big Snitch because she took shots at Ms. Thot-A-Lot at Christian’s birthday barbecue last year.

“Give her some more time,” I say. “That’s all you can do.”

I wish I could tell him that she’s nursing a broken heart. If he’s trying to mend their relationship, that piece of information might help… but I can’t tell him that. The only person that can tell him that is sealed up tight as a drum and probably wouldn’t engage if he was the last person on earth.

*-*

I was distracted with the family visiting and the somewhat “surprise” party for Christian on Sunday and I forgot to give him his present. So, I give it to him on Monday which is his actual birthday along with a special dinner that I cook. It’s a tungsten bracelet with engravings on the front and back. The front has his three children’s names and the back says, “Christian Grey, Savior to Many, Father to a Lucky Few.”

CG's Birthday Present 03

CG's Birthday Present 01CG's Birthday Present 02

“How do you figure I’m a savior?” he asks softly.

“How do you not?” I reply. “Just ask Marlow, Marcia, and Maggie, Luma and her girls, the Martins, the Radcliffs, Sarah, the students getting scholarships from GEH…”

“Okay, okay,” he says with a soft, sexy chuckle.

“Thank you, Butterfly,” he says, clasping it to his wrist. “It’s beautiful.” He smiles and kisses me reverently.

I cook the very first meal that I had ever cooked for him—oven-seared pork loin with rosemary, butter garlic cheesy crushed potatoes, and butter basted Brussel sprouts—and served it to him on the yacht. He remembered immediately. We could barely get through dinner before he was groping me again. He ate every bite staring at me with a lascivious gleam in his eye. I guess it didn’t help that I served him dressed in a white eyelash lace sheer mesh cold shoulder babydoll with matching sheer panties underneath.

“Christian sends his apologies, but he cannot get out of this signing with Rosin and Rosin…”

I’m speaking to Andrea on Tuesday morning, and she’s telling me that Christian had a breakfast signing for a merger that the team had been working on for quite some time. We had set our appointment with Dr. Culley a little later today since it appears that the Paps have given up trying to catch us going to and from the doctor’s office. This was to accommodate him going in to take care of the breakfast meeting after which he would be at home for the rest of the day. Apparently, the other side had other plans and have decided to play hard ball with the negotiations.

“Thank you, Andrea,” I say, only slightly disappointed. “I know that wild dogs wouldn’t keep him from one of the appointments, so this must be important. Let him know that I’m going to do a little shopping after the appointment, and then I’ll be back at home.”

“Will do, Ana.”

I do everything I can to make sure that I didn’t overreact to the news that he wouldn’t make it to the appointment. All I needed was for his phone to start alerting him that I was upset and distract him from these negotiations. He’s missing his son’s prenatal appointment for this, so he might as well land the fish, right?

Luckily, I succeed.

Chuck comes along with me for the appointment and sits in the waiting room while Dr. Culley gives me the “all clear” to go to New England this weekend. That makes me very happy and goes a long way to soften my sour mood. Had she told me that I couldn’t go, I’m not sure that I would’ve been able to keep Christian’s phone from alerting him of my blood pressure.

Mindy was wearing this adorable vintage running suit at Christian’s birthday barbeque this weekend and I simply had to know where Maxie found it. Imagine my surprise when she told me that Seattle has a consignment shop that carries vintage children’s clothing. It’s in the Columbia City area, so I’m sure that I can avoid the Paps as I never frequent that part of town. It’s not a bad area—I just don’t go there.

I could see myself going into this little shop and buying everything they had on the shelf! Except for the “Minnie and Mickey” moments, I don’t dress my children as twins because they’re different sexes. They might wear similar colors, but not the same outfit. Vintage clothing is the perfect opportunity for them to start breaking away from the whole twin thing.

Oh, dear God.

I truly did nearly clean the shop out—cute little sandals and popsicle breeze-knit shoes; big-kid swimwear and adorable hand-made dresses; rompers and tote bags and sleepers, oh my!

I resisted the urge to buy adorable costumes since it’s only April but promised Jeneva that I would return at Halloween to take advantage of the cuteness.

Chuck is carrying our haul back to the parking lot which is a couple of buildings away from the boutique while I walk in front of him. I raise my gaze just in time to see Marilyn exiting the restaurant across the street and kitty corner to the baby boutique.

What are the odds?

I never come over here just because I have no reason to be in this particular part of town and I’m only here because Maxie told me about the gorgeous running suit that she found here for Mindy.

I begin walking in her direction and as I get closer, I almost call out to her… until I see that she’s not alone. I stop in my tracks, staring across the street and causing Chuck to bump into the back of me as he’s staring across the street as well. I look at him gape mouthed, and he looks at me wearing a surprised grimace. I think we’re both at a loss for words.

We’re far enough away from City of Lights that unless Gary was just aching to see her, he wouldn’t come this far on his lunch break… only I don’t need to be that close to see that the person who has exited the restaurant behind her and is holding her hand, now getting all cozy and snuggly right there on the sidewalk is definitely not Gary. In fact, it’s Gerald!

Holy cow Batman! How long has this been going on?

She looks happy—very happy, that new love kind of happy… or maybe just new dick, I don’t know.

I walk back to the parking lot dragging Chuck along with me. I’m appalled! I’m standing here on a public street looking right at you! What the fuck, woman?

I pull out my phone and call her. I won’t embarrass her by walking up on her in public, which would be exactly what she deserves. I put the phone up to my ear and watch her. She stops canoodling long enough to look at her phone.

“Hey Bosslady,” she answers, her voice carrying just a hint of suggestion.

“Hey, Mare,” I reply casually. “Will you be on your way back to the Crossing soon?”

“Actually, I’ll be on my way back in a minute,” she replies. Gerald kisses her neck… or something… which causes her to giggle.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I ask. She swats at Gerald and while he still stands in close proximity—very close—he allows her to finish her conversation.

“No, I’m fine,” she says. “Did you need me to do something before I get to the Crossing or just put some pep in my step?”

Oh, no, I’m quite sure that you have enough pep in your step.

“Yeah, I need you to stop at Chrysanthemum and pick up a package for me,” I say.

“Okay, what’s that?” she asks.

“Chrysanthemum?” I ask. “It’s a baby boutique on Rainier. It’s down the street from that old Italian restaurant. You know the one—it’s been there forever… La Medusa?”

The line gets quiet for a moment as she realizes that I’m onto her, but from where I’m standing, I can’t see if she reacts at all.

“Where are you?” she asks coolly.

“In the parking lot across the street from La Medusa,” I reply flatly. “I just left Chrysanthemum.”

She’s smooth. She doesn’t react. She doesn’t raise her eyes to look over at me. She just clears her throat.

“Okay, I’ll see you back at the Crossing in a few,” she says, her voice not betraying her predicament one bit.

“Yeah, see ya,” I say crisply and end the call. I don’t know what to feel right now. Gary is my friend, but so is Marilyn. What the hell is going on?

She smiles sweetly at Gerald and says something to him. He returns her smile and opens the door for her. When she gets in, he closes it behind her and skips—yes, skips… as much as a man can skip—to the driver’s side of the car. I watch them ride off down Rainier. I know they’re not headed to the Crossing because she has to get her car and she dare not have Gerald drop her off there. How long have they been keeping this secret? And dammit, what about Gary?

“Ana?” Chuck gets my attention. I begin walking to the car.

How could she do this? How could she do this out here in front of the whole world?

It really isn’t my business who she fucks. Truly, it isn’t. Even though Gary is my friend, it’s still really not my business. But dammit, I was rooting for her! Christian and I were completely invested in this situation. When she and Gary broke up, we thought she would die… literally. She starved herself damn near to death—to the point that I nearly had her committed and Christian attacked Gary at my victory party.

We brought her to our house, nursed her back to health, watched her like Mother Hen and Father Goose, even counseled her and Gary when their couples’ therapy was shit. We invested time and energy into them, shared our own relationship woes with them, revealed some of our secrets, and opened our hearts and our home to them when they were trying to work things out. Christian even revealed that he made me a personal mix tape where he covered several love songs, and Gary did the same thing for Marilyn. She was giddy damn near to tears when she told me about it.

And now this is the result of all our hard work?

Gary hasn’t told me that they broke up. He can’t know about this. If he did, he would’ve told me by now. Yes, Marilyn is my PA and my friend, but Gary was my friend first and I know he would’ve told me. Although…

I know there’s been dishonesty between the two of them and between them and us—the us being their friends—but I’m sure that he would’ve told me that they broke up. Maybe he’s too ashamed to tell us…

Nope, that’s not it, because had they broken up, she would’ve told me even if he didn’t. They’re not broken up, at least not officially. And now, she clearly doesn’t care. She’s doing this in broad daylight for the whole world to see, and I’m caught in the fucking middle, because they’re both my fucking friends.

“Ana?” Chuck says again, and I realize that I’m standing outside of the car. I shake my head.

“Take me to the Crossing,” I say.


A/N: And there you have it. No matter how much I tried to pretend that Marilyn would stick faithfully by Gary’s side, she’s tipping out with Gerald. Some of you hit that nail right on the head. What do you think will happen when they get back to the Crossing? Tune in next week!

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~~love and handcuffs redux 2

Grey Reflections: Episode 8—More Resistance

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Episode 8—More Resistance

CHRISTIAN

I’m so glad that I didn’t take my yacht back to the marina yet.

I spend the morning conferencing with CJ and nailing down the specifics of a joint venture regarding a breakthrough of AI technology and robotics that can revolutionize several products and functions across numerous industries. Of course, this technology is already in use in some arenas, but his designs and applications are beyond anything I’ve ever seen. If I weren’t already a billionaire, I could see making my first billion on this technology. With my backing and his company’s original design, he stands to become a billionaire and I stand to add a tidy sum to my net worth.

Once we did the virtual handshake on the preliminary plans, we set a meeting for him to come to Seattle in a couple of weeks so that we can work out the final details and make the joint venture official. I’m pretty excited about the potential.

After that meeting, I conference Leo in with us so that the three of us could discuss my intention to send deserving students to college, followed by offering them internships. I have several divisions and industries in Grey Enterprises, but to have an electronics semi-giant in Silicon Valley as well as a robotics design and manufacturing firm in southern California on the list of possible internships, we could possibly be responsible for shaping some of the most talented executives and business minds of the century!

Gail calls in the early afternoon to make sure that the lake hasn’t swallowed me up and I’m deep in the Skype call with Leo and CJ. So, she and Ms. Solomon bring me some lunch, then leave me to my devices. CJ, Leo, and I set another meeting to discuss more particulars about the tri-company internship program and I end the call and set out to review the four business deals that Ros and Lorenz have forwarded to me.

Two of the companies are ripe for the picking and anxious to find a generous bedfellow—Lewis Industrial, Inc and Cummings International, Inc. I’m examining the subsidiaries to see if there are any mousetraps hiding in the corners. There are a few skeletons that need to be addressed with Lewis Industrial, but nothing detrimental. So far, CI2 is looking like a juicy peach just waiting to be bitten, so it’s most likely full speed ahead with both of these after I address the bones falling out of Lewis’ closet.

Hakuterrin Biotech may need a little more fancy footwork. They released news about that enzyme last year that caused a dramatic increase in their stock price, but they’ve sat on it all this time and there’s been no progress since then. Now, stockholders are barking that this may have been a phony push to gain more capital and the stock prices are beginning to slide again. Someone in their R&D department needs a swift kick in the ass as well as that CEO over there that’s letting the breakthrough biotechnology fall to shit along with the company’s stock prices and reputation. I’ve put a little pressure on the president and the board with the reality of their shortcoming and possible failure.

I’m in a meeting with Ros and Lorenz to move forward with counteroffers and negotiations on the three companies but we decide to let Walker-Roundtree LTD go and see who else wants to get in bed with them. They’re trying to play hardball and they’re not that big of a jewel… not even a potential jewel. We’ve set up a status meeting of the executive and junior executive teams on Wednesday. I haven’t decided yet if Butterfly and/or I will be in the office, but my executives are prepared for us to be home this week as this is the whole purpose for hiring a junior executive team.

“Any plans on the horizon for you two this year?” I ask. “I must say that I’m really enjoying my new virtual setup, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stay at the helm and not enjoy yourselves as well.”

“We know that, Christian,” Ros says. “I don’t have any plans in the immediate future, though. Having the junior executive team able to take some of the weight off of us makes coming into the office not so daunting. Having this much help, I almost can’t imagine how you and I did this on our own all those years.”

“We had nothing but the company,” I tell her. “At least I did. Any extracurricular activities that I had were restricted to a few hours on the weekends and whatever excursions that I could fit into business trips. It’s a little different now.”

“A lot different, I’d say,” Lorenz interjects. “You’re building a family over there. You can’t have your face buried in spreadsheets, projections, and portfolios anymore. You did a great job here, Christian. You built your empire and your fortune solidly before you started your family and now, it can pretty much flourish on its own. You still have that magic touch that promotes its growth without having to sacrifice your personal life to recognize that massive success. You have no idea how many marriages I’ve seen fail because the executives were too wrapped up in the business.”

We all fall silent and even though we’re on Skype, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Lorenz and I are both a little convicted looking at Ros.

“Oh, no,” she says, “my marriage didn’t fail because of the business. My marriage failed because I was a raving idiot and a cheater. Gwen was just fine with me running the business. She was the perfect business wife. I was the one who fucked that up, not GEH. Don’t feel sorry for me.”

“At the risk of overstepping,” I say, “what… do you do to relax?”

“I’m not a hermit if you’re concerned about that,” Ros says. “I still go out and do things. I have friends—I just don’t intend on getting romantically involved again anytime soon. Gwen was my great love and I didn’t realize what I had when I had it. I had beautiful green grass on this side, yet I was looking across the street at the turf. Totally my fault but I think I’m just out of that arena for a while, if I ever decide to get back in.”

“You’re a beautiful woman, Ros,” Lorenz says, “successful, ambitious—you’re truly the full package. Don’t let one mistake take you completely out of the game.” Ros smiles.

“Mr. Fineman!” she says, playfully, “if you weren’t already married, I would think you were trying to ask me out on a date!” We all laugh.

“No, I’m officially out of the game for a while,” she continues. “Focusing on myself and why I let such a fucked-up thing happen in the first place—not to mention that I realized too late that I’m still in love with Gwen.” Lorenz and I both raise our brows.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I say, “unhealthy, get over it, living in the past, blah blah blah. Trust me, my friends have beaten me over the head with it. They’re planning a girls’ trip in a few months and they’re almost to the point of harassing me to go.”

“You should definitely go,” I encourage her. “There’s no romantic pressure with you and your girls, right?” She shakes her head. “If for no other reason but a change of scenery, I think it’s a great idea. Where is the trip going to be?”

“Believe it or not, they’re taking a page out of your book,” she says. “They’re talking about Tuscany.”

“I order you to go!” I say, and she and Lorenz laugh. “But seriously, Italy is one of the most beautiful, intriguing, diverse, educational places that you’ll ever visit. I highly recommend it.”

“Just please don’t do it at Christmas,” Lorenz says. “I’m taking the family to Vienna.”

“No shit?” I say. “That sounds like a great time. Let me know what you think. That’s one of the places that I haven’t been.”

We continue the conversation a bit longer, trying to convince Ros to take her friends up on that trip to Italy and not really sure that we were successful. It’s late afternoon when I end the call and decide to move the yacht from the boat house to the dock. Once I get it moored, I see a light drizzle of rain begin outside the window. I head up to the flybridge and sit just under the awning near the bar to enjoy the breeze and the smell of the rain. It’s so peaceful and I find myself wondering why I haven’t done this more often.

My mind wanders to the things that I want to do with my family. I’ve changed my mind about our babymoon location. This time around, we’re going to spend a long weekend at Twin Farms in Vermont. It’s an extremely exclusive adult-only all-inclusive resort where my wife will be waited-on hand-and-foot for anything her heart desires. Good food, scenery, activities—all in the blooming New England springtime. She’s going to love it.

The air smells so fresh and clean up here—no hint of the city hustle and noise. I breathe in deep and hold it in my stomach, allowing it to refresh me as the clean, crisp oxygen weaves through my cells and limbs. This must be what meditation feels like for my wife… a renewing of the cells and the mind, a cleansing of the thoughts and spirit. I can’t believe how free I feel!

I indulge in the simple freedom of fresh air for a while when my phone rings. Butterfly is calling and she sounds like she has had a long day. I want to tell her about mine, too, but I really don’t want to go back to the house. I want to stay here in the fresh air and freedom. I convince her to join me to partake of the coming sunset hiding behind the clouds in the distance. I’m having a hard time waiting for her to get here and when she arrives, she’s another breath of fresh air like the smell of the drizzling rain falling on the lake.

“Hello, beautiful,” I say, opening my arms as she ascends the stairs.

“Hello, yourself,” she says with a lovely smile. She walks into my arms and allows me to kiss her, still holding onto her umbrella like Mary Poppins.

“I should’ve had some hot chocolate made for you,” I say, rubbing my nose against hers.

“That’s easily rectified,” she says, pulling out her phone and swiping the screen.

“Gail,” she says, “bring hot chocolate out before dinner, please? Mr. Grey and I would like to watch the sunset…. Thanks.”

“You’re having dinner brought out here?” I ask.

“I got the feeling you would like it,” she says.

“You got the feeling correctly,” I say, smiling again. We stretch out on one of the sofas under the awning—my girl snuggled between my legs under a tartan blanket as we await the quickly approaching sunset. The rainy evening air is utterly delightful and with my wife snuggled here in my arms, I’ve certainly found my happy place.

“This was a wonderful idea,” she says.

“Mm-hmm,” I agree. “It’s peaceful.”

“I’m assuming the day got away from you again,” she concludes.

“A little,” I reply. “The wraparound desk on the second floor is functionally perfect, but it feels a bit too generic for me. I’m the captain of my ship out here—literally. There’s not the odd noise to distract me and wherever I’ve worked, I’ve never liked looking at a wall. I’ve recaptured the ‘master of my destiny’ feeling out here sitting at my large desk with my globe to the left of me, stock screener playing on the flat screen to the right of me, and the lake staring back right in front of me out the window. I’ll admit that I won’t spend all my time out here, but for the moment, this is it. I can do everything out here that I can do in there except see the children, which I plan to rectify, but for right now, I have you and I’m highly content right where I am.”

“Speaking of globe,” she says, “we’ve got that globe that we bought in Italy and never put it in your office. We had it put it right in storage when we got back.”

“Oh, hell,” I say, “I forgot all about that globe! Will it even fit with the new design?”

“We’ll make it work,” she says.

“We’ve got the nautical stuff from Bellagio, too,” I remind her, “and what about all the Murano glass?”

“Oh, dear God, we really need to go through the storage,” she says. We’ve got stuff just rotting away in there! We need to get the twins’ cribs out of there and their old baby clothes. Trevor can use some of Mikey’s old things but Minnie’s things need to be donated. I need to sanitize the breast pumps, too.” I twist my lips.

“Do you think we should just get new ones?” I ask. “You haven’t used them in a while.” She shakes her head.

“I sanitized them before I packed them away,” she informs me. “They’re just like any other appliance—clean ‘em up and use them, like you would a blender.” I nod.

“You’re right,” I tell her. “If it ain’t broke…” I squeeze my arms around her.

“You see how much clearer your mind is out here on the water?” I say, holding her closer to me. “It so peaceful and things that may have been sitting in the back of your mind in the clutter for months—or years—just float on the river to the forefront like it’s just been waiting for you to sit down and take a moment to clear your thoughts.” She looks over her shoulder at me.

“I’ve always known that,” she says, examining my face. “What’s floated back to you?”

“That I’m glad I didn’t take my yacht back to the marina,” I say. “I know she’s going to need to regain her sea legs soon, but with all the construction going on in the house, I kind of like being out here.” She’s quiet for a while.

“We don’t have a need for staff’s quarters on the lower deck,” I say. “Anybody who boards the yacht is really family and friends. I’m thinking of converting the crew areas down there to play areas for the kids and maybe a room with a couple of exercise machines.”

“Christian, are you trying to move out here?” she asks. I shake my head.

“No,” I reply, “but you have to admit that it’s pretty much been a showpiece and nothing more. We’ve spent very little time out here, and I spent a fortune decorating this thing. In light of recent events in the life of the Greys over the last year, I’d like to get some more use out of it.” She raises a brow at me.

“I can’t dispute you on that,” she says, “although I’m sure this isn’t what Gia had in mind when she decorated it.” I shrug.

“Maybe she did… she just expected her to be in this spot and not you.” I bring my hands down to her stomach and rub my son.

“I’ve been thinking about a cruise up the Pacific Coast to Alaska,” I say. “I haven’t done any of the real research to do it, but it’s something that’s been on my bucket list ever since I bought the Slayer.” She looks over her shoulder at me.

“You mean… sailing,” she says, “doing it yourself.” I nod.

“Me and a skipper, of course,” I say. “I don’t know when I would ever fit it into my schedule. I know that the trip can be as little as a week or so to as long as you want to make it. With the baby on the way, I’m sure you wouldn’t be willing to be at sea anytime soon…”

“Oh,” she says, interrupting me, “you mean… both of us.” I furrow my brow.

“Why would I want to go on a cruise without you?” I ask, bemused.

“Well, you said you had been considering it ever since you bought the Slayer,” she protests. “I didn’t want to assume…”

“Assume,” I interject. “As little as a week up to as long as you want it to be? Without my wife? I don’t think so. It’s an even better reason to get the quarters below kid ready—and dog ready, too, for that matter.” Butterfly laughs.

“I’m certain Gia Mateo didn’t have that in mind,” she says with mirth. I chuckle.

“I think you’re right,” I say.

“Ahoy!” I hear from below. I look over the rail and see Gail, Sophie, and Ms. Solomon standing on the dock.

“Ahoy!” I call back with a wave.

“We thought it would be easier to bring the food out here and let you serve it up when you’re ready,” Gail says. “We’ll put the cannisters on the counter in the kitchen and I’ll make your hot chocolate in the kitchen down here. It’ll just be a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay,” I say waving to her, and the three of them disappear across the passarelle.

“The rain has stopped,” Butterfly says. “Pity.”

“But we still have that fresh, clean smell in the air,” I say, taking a deep breath and getting that thought-cleansing feeling again.

“Jason says you’re not speaking to him,” she says. I can tell that she’s approaching the topic carefully.

“I’m not not speaking to him,” I say. “I just haven’t seen him. I haven’t seen anybody. I slept most of the day Sunday, then I took a lovely walk with my family and my dogs, after which we spent a peaceful night on our yacht, and I’ve been here ever since. It’s peaceful and quiet out here and I’m just not ready to go back in yet.

“You asked me what floated back to me,” I continue. “I’ve gotten so much done today. I’m looking into a joint venture with CJ on a revolutionary project that joins AI with robotics. He and Sheila will be coming to town so that we can ink the final deal and catch up a bit.”

“Well, that sounds just delightful,” Butterfly says. “How have they been? I could use some good news about our babymoon after hearing what happened with Kiley and her monster husband.”

“They’ve been doing very well,” I tell her. “The girls are healthy and growing like weeds, and CJ says that Ashley is the ultimate big sister. I can’t wait to see how Minnie and Mikey take to Trevor when he arrives.”

“Yes, this dynamic is going to be quite interesting with the kids and the dogs,” Butterfly laughs.

“I talked to Leo, too,” I add. “He and CJ are collaborating with me on internship placement programs once GEH scholarship students graduate from college. I can easily place students in New York and Seattle. I’m working on having some locations available overseas, but I can’t turn down good opportunities in California.

“I’ve got three deals cooking that look like they’re just about ready to be served, and one guppy that I had to throw back. It had a lot of the markings of Fairlane, and I’m just not feeling it. Too much drama and I just don’t feel like dealing with it this week. Maybe some other time, but not right now.”

“You really are getting into this whole mind-clearing-relaxation thing,” she says.

“I sure am,” I say. “I don’t know if my location will be home or yacht yet, but I’m not going into the office at all this week.” She looks over her shoulder at me again. “You can go in if you want to, but I’m not. I’m testing the whole theory of completely running the business virtually so that I know that it won’t disintegrate if I’m not present. We’re even having a meeting of the junior and senior executive teams on Wednesday. I figure we could both just attend virtually from the yacht or you could do it from your workspace in the formal living room if you want. You always have the option to go to the office, though, if you prefer.”

It’s funny that I’m only just now deciding that I want to attend the meeting virtually.

“Oh, no, I want the comfort of home, too,” she says. “Remember, I’m supposed to be taking it as easy as possible until the baby is born.”

“You’ll get no argument from me,” I reply. “Ros and Lorenz are finally looking at taking some real vacations.”

“Really?” she asks. “When?”

“Lorenz is taking his family to Vienna for Christmas,” I say.

“Oh, that sounds just lovely,” Butterfly says. “I hope they take lots of pictures.”

“Me, too. It sounds like a great destination for our family in the future. Ros is on the fence about taking a fall girls’ trip to Tuscany.”

“A girls’ trip,” Butterfly repeats. I nod. “Tuscany seems like a more romantic place than a girls trip destination.”

“It can be very romantic, but it can be friendly, too,” I tell her. “Think of sharing all of the lovely sights that we saw in Florence with Valerie. Then, add a wine tour, olive oil tastings, and a countryside drive. Chianti beef and wine, cooking classes, and a scenic trip to Sienna.”

“I could see doing that,” she acquiesces.

“It would be good for her,” I say. “I ordered her to go. Her last two sessions of time off were bullshit. She really needs to decompress, not to mention that she confessed to still being in love with Gwen.” Butterfly’s eyes widen.

“Oh, my gosh, really?” she says. I nod.

“Really,” I reply. The closest thing I’ve ever felt to being in love with someone and not being able to have them was when I thought I was in love with the Pedophile, and we couldn’t be together that way. Every time I was separated from Butterfly, I knew that one way or another, we would be together somehow. But the thought of being without her permanently…

“You’re drifting away,” she says, interrupting my train of thought.

“I can’t imagine being without you,” I reply. “I can’t fathom the thought of you not wanting to be with me anymore…”

“I had a feeling that’s where your mind was going,” she says, turning around and placing her hand on my cheek. “Ros is not you, and I’m not Gwen. We have a lovely family that’s continuing to grow and I’m not going anywhere. Are you?”

“Definitely not,” I croon as I mold my lips to hers. She’s my whole life. She and my children are my whole reason for living. I don’t care that it’s unhealthy. It is what it is, and I have no intention of changing it.

“Cocoa coming,” Gail announces as she ascends the stairs from the upper aft deck. I break the kiss with my wife and gently rub my nose against hers.

“I love you,” I whisper with a smile.

“I love you, too,” she says softly.

“Well, don’t you two look cozy,” Gail says as she approaches. “I’ll only be a minute, then I’ll be out of your hair. I put your things in the bedroom on the first floor. Anything else for now?” she asks as she places the hot cups of cocoa on the table in front of us

“No, this is fine,” Butterfly says, sitting up and wrapping her hands around the mug.

“Give me a ring if you need anything else,” Gail says.

“Thanks, Gail,” I say. “Enjoy your dinner.”

“You, too,” she says waving behind her as she descends the stairs.

“She brought our things?” I ask Butterfly. “What things?”

“Just some night clothes, toiletries, and a change of clothes if we decided to stay on the boat for the night,” she says, blowing her hot chocolate and taking a sip. “Oh, that’s really good.”

I’m smiling on the inside that my lady wants to share my peace and solitude with me on our yacht. I don’t know what it is. I just feel very at home out here and I just don’t want it to end.

I point to the beautiful colors being painted over the Seattle sky over the lake. My wife turns to look at it as the sun reflects gorgeous hues of yellow, pink, orange, and purple off of fluffy cumulus clouds and a serene lake.

“That’s so stunning,” she says as she takes a sip of her cocoa.

“Yes, it is,” I reply as I alternate between the view of the breathtaking sunset and my equally breathtaking wife.

*-*

Over a delightful dinner of garlic buttery lamb chops served with whipped potatoes and steamed asparagus with lemon, olive oil, and cracked pepper, Butterfly tells me about her day. Adelaide surprised us all by giving Courtney her trust fund—everyone, that is, except my mother. Courtney lost her shit thinking that her grandmother was dying and was trying to leave her something before she kicked the bucket. Once that crisis was averted, Courtney settled into having the money and trying to decide on the responsible thing to do with it.

After we enjoy a dessert of frozen Samoan coconut pie, we’re lounging on the foredeck, admiring the stars and the waxing crescent moon peeking out of the remaining clouds in the sky. It’s silent as we sip mocktails—watermelon spritzers reminiscent of Aperitivo in Italy.

“You spent the entire night on Saturday finishing the children’s room,” Butterfly says, breaking the silence. I continue to look at the sky but say nothing. “What brought that on?”

“I just wanted to have a hand in decorating my children’s room,” I say, trying to dismiss the topic quickly.

“You already had a hand in it,” she retorts gently. “You picked out the paint, the design, a lot of the extra décor. You even painted one of the main walls…” I scoff before I think about it. She’s silent again and I drop my head.

“Why did you do all that work on your own?” she asks. “Jason told me that he and Chuck and Windsor and the staff were ready to pitch in on Sunday morning and you wouldn’t have had to do it all yourself.” I raise my gaze to her.

Because they were making fun of me. They teased me for not being a regular guy who fixed things around the house and built bookshelves and painted walls and shit. They made it seem like I was somehow deficient because I’m rich and I can handle a spreadsheet and a credit card better than I can handle a hammer and a paintbrush. These rugged, normal guys made me feel like less than a man…

But I don’t tell her that.

“I’m their father,” I say, hoping that’s enough explanation, but knowing that it’s not. “I just wanted to finish the room. Actually, I only intended to do the floor tiles, but seeing it coming together, things just got away from me and before I knew it, everything was done.” I look over at her.

“When Trevor’s things get here, I’ll be assembling those, too,” I say. She just looks at me and I turn my gaze back out to the night sky. It’s quiet for a moment again before she speaks.

“It’s perfect,” she says. I look over at her again and she’s gazing at me with those big guileless blue eyes.

“The twins’ room is perfect,” she continues. “The floor tiles were placed immaculately, and everything is arranged perfectly. I couldn’t have done a better job if I had planned and placed everything myself.”

She places her drink on the table and cups my cheek with her hand.

“You’re a good man,” she says. “You’re a wonderful father. Our children are very lucky to have you, and so am I. There’s nothing you can’t do when you put your mind to it and I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud to be Mrs. Christian Grey.”

She gazes at me for a moment, then leans and places a tender kiss on my lips, and then another one. In moments, our kiss moves from tender to passionate and heated. I take her possessively in my arms, molding my lips to hers and she gives it right back, probing my mouth with her tongue and thrusting her hands forcefully into my hair. Fuck, that releases the dragon, and I feel like I can take her right here on the forward deck. Instead, she breaks the kiss, takes my hand, and leads me down the stairs and inside the yacht past the pilot room and to the captain’s cabin.

She unzips my jacket and pushes it off my shoulders. I raise my hands as she lifts my sweatshirt, but she’s adorably shorter than usual in her sneakers. So, I grasp the bottom and pull it over my head. As I remove it, she simultaneously toes out of her shoes and pulls her jacket from her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor. I toe out of mine as well as she closes the space between us and rubs her hands over my chest over my T-shirt. Her touch ignites me, and I try not to react, but even I can see my biceps flex with the reaction. Her eyes move to the slightly tightening muscles of my arm and her hand slides over to caress it. The motion is curious… erotic…

Control yourself, Grey.

Her fingers gently caress my arms like she’s seeing them for the first time. Then her hands move down to my belt buckle. She craftily undoes the buckle and button of my jeans, then raises her gaze to mine as she unzips my pants. She pulls the T-shirt from my pants, and I relieve her of her task once the hem of the shirt reaches my waist. Just as I pull it over my head, she’s tossing her sweater to the floor with the rest of our clothes.

Now we’re both naked from the waist up except for her bra.

She caresses my bare chest, lovingly outlining my scars with her fingertips. How the hell do I find that shit arousing?

But I do.

My dick is hardening against my boxers and I’m glad that she unzipped my pants. It’s thumping madly as she circles each burn with her delicate fingertip. I put my hands on her hips as she replaces her fingers with her lips and tongue. I run my teeth over my bottom lip, amazed that my wife has somehow turned these horrible scars and memories into erogenous zones. As I attempt to take measured breaths, my libido is rising quickly as she surprises me and sinks her teeth into a chuck of meat near my nipple.

Fire!

I grunt at the surprise, forcefully digging my fingers into her hips and she does it again, this time taking my nipple into her mouth and sucking hard.

“Fuck!” I declare, wrapping my arms around her and dropping back onto the bed in the sitting position. We’re face to face now and I thrust my tongue into her mouth, gripping her ass hard as she reaches around to undo her bra. When I pull her back from me, her breasts escape from their prison and I gratefully take one of them into my mouth, sucking hungrily at her nipple as I continue to cup her luscious ass. She mewls and throws her head back, pressing her breast into my mouth as she once again thrusts her hands into my hair. I continue to torment the pretty pink little thing until it pebbles. Then I turn my attention to its neglected mate.

Too many clothes. Still too many fucking clothes!

As if she hears my lament, she pulls herself back from me and her nipple slips out of my mouth with a “pop.” She crawls out of my lap and grasps my jeans at the waist. I lift my hips and allow her to pull them down and remove them and my socks at the same time.

Shit! Why didn’t you take the boxer briefs with them?

She stands at the end of the bed staring at me as she discards her bra that’s now hanging from her arms and removes her own pants now revealing a beautiful pair of French cut panties just underneath her baby bump. She walks over to me again and I reach for her as she gets to the bed.

“No,” she says softly. “Scoot back.”

I do as I’m told and scoot to the head of the bed. She crawls onto the bed and kisses me again, hungrily, thrusting her hands in my hair and lapping her tongue through my mouth. My dick is throbbing in anticipation as my hands roam over her body, beautiful and swollen with my baby. I fucking love it when she’s like this.

She breaks the kiss again with a bite to my lip, just enough to cause a small bit of pain that shoots pleasure right to my balls. I hiss involuntarily as her lips move across my chin, to my ear, down my neck, licking and sucking and sometimes biting the entire way. I gasp with untamed arousal. She’s fucking feral and getting hotter and hotter every second.

She’s moving down my body with her lips and her teeth. When she bites my nipple, I nearly lose my shit right there and then.

“Fuck!” I hiss loudly, throwing my head back as I lean on my hands and give her full access to my body. She outlines my abs with her tongue and as she moves further down, I can see that Greystone is peeking out of the waistband of my boxer briefs.

Hello? Did someone summon me?
Talk to the nymph crawling down my body, dude.

She looks up at me when she gets down to my pelvis, then she pulls my boxer briefs down, freeing Greystone from his cotton prison. He springs forth, eager and erect and ready for action… but she doesn’t touch him yet.

I’m leaning on my elbows now, watching her masterfully work her way down my body. She licks the skin above my hip at the top of my V, then grazes it roughly with her teeth.

“Fuck!” I hiss as I grab handfuls of the bedspread beneath me. She’s driving me fucking crazy! I never knew until this moment how much I like being bitten. This shit is a goddamn mega turn-on! I’m losing my fucking mind!

She’s sucking, kissing, and biting across my waist, up and around my pelvis, my hips, the tops of my thighs, clamping her mouth onto the skin revealed as she slowly removes my boxer briefs. I’m emitting various sounds of torture and pleasure as I viciously resist the urge to crawl up the bed and scamper up the wall away from her. A look of carnal possession clouds her eyes as she devours mouthfuls of my skin, tormenting me slowly until she finally gets my underwear down to my feet.

Fucking hell!

I’m panting embarrassingly, feverishly, as she stands at the foot of the bed watching me with untamed hunger. I’m leaning on my elbows, silently begging her to give me a chance to catch my breath, to calm the gooseflesh on my skin! Once she discards my boxer briefs, she cups her breast without taking her eyes of mine, then runs her hands lasciviously down her swollen body to her hips. She grasps the waist of her French cut panties and slowly slides them down her body, never taking her eyes off mine. My mouth is watering at the sensual sight.

She rises back up onto the bed, looking hungrily at my dick and I know what’s coming. She adjusts herself comfortably on the bed forcing me to open my legs. Her lips and tongue graze and tease my inner thigh before she gently sinks her teeth into the meat there and sucks it hard into her mouth.

“Fuuuck!” I growl at the pain. I’m going to have a damn hickey. It’s so hot that I almost want to cry. She quickly releases the meat on my thigh and her tongue is now lapping hungrily at the underside of my balls. I wasn’t ready yet.

“Shi… it!” I hiss, the pleasure so surprising that I almost crawl away from her again. I’m clutching the bedspread again, my dick bobbing with the movement as her mouth mercilessly works the skin of my testicles, pulling and sucking and licking and rolling them in her mouth.

“Oh, God, baby,” I lament as I watch her feasting on my balls, licking and causing my dick to wobble and swing back and forth, the head thickening and now shining with pre-cum.

“Fuck, Ana, that so good,” I groan, opening my legs a little further to give her full access to her target. Taking the cue, she uses her whole mouth to manipulate my balls, my perineum, and the sensitive skin in the valley of the creases of my thighs.

“Ah! Oh, shit!” I tremble as my breath is coming in short and my dick gets harder, thumping with the slight of whiff air against it.

Woo hoo! It’s party time!
Damn straight it is!

She licks and torments my balls until I’m moaning in damn near agony, ready to crawl out of my skin and then she stops. I look down at her and nearly lose my shit when I see her lick her hand and grasp the head of my cock. She squeezes and manipulates it as she goes back to my balls, licking and sucking them to submission nearly ready to give her the offering she seeks.

I can’t watch. It feels too damn good.

I throw my head back and surrender to her ministrations. She’s pulling on the head of my cock and stimulating that rim of sensitive nerves, the skin holding my balls up, the nuggets and skin completely exposed to her talented mouth and tongue. Lick, squeeze, pull, suck, lick, squeeze, pull, suck…

I’m going to come. I’m fucking going to come.

When I feel my dick starting to throb in her hand, she stops the manipulation of the head. I gasp in some air to try to control myself, but my reprieve is short lived. Her mouth and hand switch places and her talented lips are now massaging the head of my cock while her gentle hands cup and manipulate my balls.

“Oh… hell… I’m gonna come… I’m gonna… come…” I warn.

She doesn’t stop. She gently licks the head of my cock, repeatedly, softly, every so often taking the whole thing in her mouth and giving it one long thrust and suck while still caressing those balls. Shit, she’s tormenting me. She deep-throats my cock a couple of time and I can damn near feel the orgasm rising in my fucking ass. This is too much.

I withstand a minute or two more of this incessant torture—tease, suck, caress, tease, deep-throat, tease—until my toes are fucking hurting from curling. That’s when she crawls up the bed and straddles me, that luscious body on top of me, those beautiful pink aroused breasts staring at me.

“Lie back,” she commands, and I nearly fall flat onto the bed. Never taking her eyes off mine, she flattens her hands on my chest and raises her hips, With a few strategic movements, her core finds my head and we both gasp. She slowly and torturously begins to push down onto me, the tip of her tongue touching her top lip as I breach her opening. She’s so tight that I’m panting as she pushes down onto me—down a little, then up, then down a little more, then up, then down a little more…

Fuck, I’m going to come before I even get all the way inside her, and my breathing is embarrassing!

She’s sitting on my pelvis and I feel like she’s all the way down on me and she wiggles just a bit. Oh, baby, don’t do that. This is going to be over very quickly.

“Open your legs,” she breathes and I comply.

“Wider!” she hisses, and I open them wide, so wide that I feel the air on the underside of my wet balls… and my cock juts straight up in the air and straight inside of her. It feels so fucking good.

“Yes,” she hisses, “that’s it.” She closes her eyes and perches herself on my lap, her pussy swallowing my cock so deep that I can feel her ass cheeks on the top of my balls. Shit! She tucks her feet under my thighs and locks them in place so that I can’t close my legs. Fuck this is hot.

She just sits there for several moments, my cock buried deep inside her warm core. When she begins to move, I feel like I’m about to lose my mind. She rolls her hips so that my shaft and head hit all of her inner walls. I grab her hips and feel my eyes roll back into my head as she tortures me—fiendishly and masterfully. I can’t thrust because she’s not thrusting. She’s rolling in flat circles on my dick so that every centimeter of it gets constant stimulation… constant, burning, incessant stimulation.

“Shit!” I hiss, helplessly, gripping her hips afraid that if she lifts them, she’ll rip my dick off with her pussy. She better stop or this is going to be fast…

But she has no intention of stopping.

That’s when I realize that she’s stimulating her clit on my pelvis. She’s taking my cock balls deep and stimulating her clit on my pelvis at the same time. If this feels half as good to her as it does to me, she’s going to pass out.

She mewls as she grasps onto my forearms, her hips still rolling and her clit rubbing roughly against my pelvis. I hold firmly onto her hips as she steadies herself on my arms. It’s almost like outercourse, but I’m hitting all her walls and if I can feel it, she can feel it, too. She’s tormenting my whole dick—my whole dick. I don’t think we’ve fucked this deep in years, if ever. I’m going to come so hard that they’ll feel the vibrations in Portland!

I feel the burning, the tightening, the inevitable explosion, and I close my eyes and grit my teeth. I can’t stop it, and I can’t stop her. She’s got him wrapped so tight that even if I come, she’ll still be able to ride him for a while.

It’s coming… my balls begin that tingle, that tiny tightening at the base that usually makes me pump faster, thrust harder in search of that pending orgasm. The muscles in my perineum are starting to pulse—slightly at first and then a bit painfully.

She mewls again… and again… I can’t watch. My balls feel like they’re swelling between my legs, and I couldn’t close them if I wanted to for fear that the skin would explode.

She’s rolling and rolling and as if it could, her pussy is getting tighter on my cock. I lose it. I completely lose the fight as my dick begins to thump inside her, hot cum shooting up my shaft and threatening to burn her insides.

“Gooooo-ooo-oooo-ooo-ooooooo-oooood!” I cry in dismay as I’m certain that I’m leaving handprints on her hips. She’s now rocking with deep, short movements and I hear some kind of squeaking crying sound, but I don’t know if it’s her or me. I’m gritting my teeth, silently begging for mercy behind my clenched eyelids and after several moments, she collapses on top of me, panting and choking.

I put my arms around her as much as her pregnant belly will allow and we both lie there fighting for breath. Neither of us says anything. Once I’ve caught my breath, I’m ready for round two. I mean, I came—hard, but Greystone could still use a good fuck. As if her body heard my wishes, she begins to move, stroking this time.

Oh, shit, yes!

She’s still lying on my chest trying to move, and she gets a bit frustrated with not being able to stroke in this position. So, she sits up again and begins to ride.

Baby, yes! Fuck, baby, yes!

She’s taking me just as deep as she was when she was sitting on me, only now, I get the stroke—the deep, long, hot stroke over the length of my cock with just enough rhythm and friction to torment me.

Why are you doing this to me, I ask with my eyes. She doesn’t reply. She simply fixes me with a determined glare and continues to fuck me, deep and meticulous. I can feel our combined juices gathering on my cock and I grit my teeth as she licks her lips then bites the bottom one while simultaneously and masterfully moving her hips in a hard thrust against me. Her body and her expression are saying the same thing…

This is mine!

Fuck, I wish my camera was down there. I know my cock is curving into her, sliding in and out of that pussy while that juicy ass bounces on it and our juices have me shining and pulsing. I grab her sweet ass and imagine that we’re in one of our personal pornos and I’m squeezing her delicious cheeks, holding them open while she bounces on my cock for the camera. She must have the same visual, because she moves in that hard, rolling, grinding deep thrust against me again and I try not to whine, but I grab that ass again for the camera—squeezing and pulling while she gives her masterful performance.

I want to talk dirty to her…

Yes, baby…
Fuck me…
Right there…

But the silence somehow makes it hotter. Nothing but our sex sounds… heavy breathing, a groan, a moan, or a whimper or whine, and these angry, possessive expressions that we’re exchanging.

Take it all!
This is my dick!
Gimme that pussy!

I meet her deep thrusts with a couple of thrusts of my own, up and into that hot core, taking all that she’s giving and giving all she can take. She accepts the challenge and grinds into me again… and again… and again. Each time she comes down on me, I fucking feel like I’m going to cry.

Fuck that cock, baby.
Make it weep…

I want to cry when she rises off of me until I see her quickly turn to face my feet. Oh, fuck. One of my fucking favorites…

Reverse cowgirl!

I bring my lags together and she straddles me, quickly taking me inside of her and sliding down onto my awaiting erection.

“Fuck!” I hiss as I watch my cock disappear behind her marvelous ass. Son of a bitch, that looks divine!

“Baby, damn!” I growl as I watch my angry, pink dick swallowed by her beautiful alabaster skin. Normally, I would open my legs and let her settle in between them, but not this time. She has me pinned down between her legs and she’s bouncing in that saddle like the Lone Ranger.

“Fuck, baby!” I lament, unable to keep silent as she works Greystone like only she can.

Fuck! Is her ass bigger?

I grab a handful of these beautiful globes of meat bouncing on my dick, her glutes tightening with each bounce and thrust. Fucking hell, fucking hell, she looks like a bonafide porn star riding on my cock! This is insane. This ass is unbelievable! I fucking feel like I’m dreaming! And this shit is all mine.

“Yes, baby!” I groan. “I love this shit!”

This meat is wobbling and bouncing and tightening, the ass cheeks are rubbing together and clapping with her movements. I want to grab it and squeeze it and work it on my dick, but if I hold it, I can’t watch it wobble and bounce. Just one cheek… I’ll just hold one cheek. Fucking hell, this is the stuff that pubescent wet dreams are made of!

I don’t fucking know what to do with myself! My dick is burning with anticipation again and she’s doing things with her ass as if she knows that I’m just watching her—bouncing and rolling and alternating flexing the ass cheeks as she’s riding me. I can’t even touch her anymore because I want to watch this ass wobble. It is bigger! Luscious and delicious and hot and…

“Oh my God…”

I choke the words out as she opens her legs wide and proceeds with a faster, rhythmic stroke that torments my dick, up and down on the shaft but squeezing the head with masterful pressure and precision.

“Jesus! Ana!” I gasp, now wanting to grab a hip and fuck her but unable to move as I watch her slide hotly up and down my aching cock. Fuck, she’s going for another cosmic orgasm. I don’t think I’ll be able to take this…

“Baby,,,” I protest, pleading with her to keep going and to have mercy on me at the same time. These delicious, wobbling, bouncing balls of meat that are literally making me drool on myself right now. She’s fucking making me lose control of basic bodily functions.

“Oh, baby,” I groan as I try not to come yet but attempt to withstand the exquisite burn in my dick. My balls can hold out a little longer, but my dick is feeling the strain. This is that infernal orgasm control that makes the dick command more and more stimulation while the balls hold the ejaculation to prolong the torment and pleasure. Fuck, I’m not even trying.

She leans forward and that juicy ass opens just a bit to reveal her sweet rosette as she continues to wobble that beautiful ass on my dick. Oh, fuck, this is unbearable. I move my hand to the top of her ass and caress that tight bundle with my thumb. She groans loudly and throws her hair over her shoulder, looking lasciviously back at me. I can just barely see her face over her shoulder and…

Fuck! She is hot!

Her stroke quickens just a bit along with her breath and I hear her whimpering with her movements. Sweet Jesus, I’m going to die back here!

Those cheeks are bouncing on my dick and I can barely keep my hand in place as that meet wobbles then flexes and clinches, then bounces and wobbles, then flexes and clinches… and she’s making these delicious keening, cooing sounds that synchronize with each bounce and flex. The skin on my cock is burning as the muscles of her pussy pull and slurp at it, causing me to groan loudly.

And that ass. Sweet Jesus, that ass. Fuck, she gets more ass with each kid! Please don’t let her lose this ass, either… oh, please…

Now, I’m envisioning a butt plug in that juicy ass while it’s bouncing up and down on my aching cock, now pointing forward to accommodate the angle of her stroke, pressing down into my balls and making them weak.

No… not yet… not yet…

Butt plug in the big, juicy ass.
Rings and streams of our combined arousal collecting on my dick.

Not yet… p… please… n… not… yet…

Juicy globes bouncing and flexing on my cock…
Butt plug…
Streams of white juice…

I can feel it. I can feel the change inside of her, like my skin is melting and my muscles are going to crack from the pressure and the vibration.

I grab that ass with both hands as the eruption starts. I can’t fucking take it anymore. My cock is blowing hard, and she continues to bounce rhythmically and deliciously on me, the bed giving the perfect amount of bounce and resistance to thrust me back into her with every pump. I know something is coming out of my mouth because my chest is rumbling, and I can only assume that I’m yowling or growling or moaning a glorious sex song that matches this glorious orgasm. I can see the veins on the top of my dick pulsing with each pull of her pussy and each squirt of my cum. More thick drops and streams of juice flow down my dick as she rides and rides and my cum no doubt fills her as its now escaping from her pussy down my dick.

I’m lying still, trying not to move. My thighs are shaking violently as I watch her pump that juicy ass over my throbbing, pulsing, squirting cock. Rings and strings of our mixed juices continue to coat my dick as she rolls and pulls, thrusts and squeezes my rod with her hot, wet pussy. I don’t know if she’s coming or not but I’m watching my dick thumping so hard that it feels like my head is about to explode! Her pussy is mercilessly pulling and rubbing the walls of my shaft and Greystone shows no sign of tapping out even though my balls are blowing what feels like every bit of semen that my body has to offer.

Please… please…

Greystone finally hears my plea and begins his final swan song. Maybe he was just holding out to torment me a bit more, because I’m now fairly certain that my wife has come and is shaking out the final aftershocks of her orgasm as she rides me through the final agonizing squirts of mine.

And this jerk is burning again.

“Fuuuuuuckkk! Pleeeeeeease!” I cry out as my wife rises off of me, spins around with the speed and precision of a contortionist and drops her hot, lipstick-clad lips onto my cock. She only takes the head into her mouth but sucks powerfully, tormenting it with her tongue and pulling my juices out with powerful suction of her lips and mouth.

She sucks it like a delicious lollipop, tasting it with her lips and tongue until her mouth is filled with my cum and she allows it to slide out of her mouth and run down the sides of my shaft.

Sweet mother of God!

I shiver in delicious agony as she continues to delicately torment the tender skin of my head while I try to catch my breath.

*-*

Is it morning?

When’s the last time I slept all the way through the night?

I sit up and realize that I’m alone in bed, and I’m aching like I’ve run a triathlon! Shit, maybe I needed some aftercare!

Where’s Butterfly?

I press the remote to raise the blinds. Yep, it’s morning. I can’t tell how late it is, though. Was I supposed to do anything today? I’m glad the bedroom window is currently on the west facing side of the boat. The lake looks beautiful in the morning, but I don’t want the sun shining in my face.

I swing my legs out of the bed and hobble to the bathroom. I’m rubbing my eyes and I enter the en suite, but when I turn to the sink, I get the shock of my life. I look in the mirror and see something I’ve never seen before. Yes, I’ve seen it and only with Butterfly, but not to this extent.

Love bites! I’m covered in them!

I’m very aroused and feeling quite amorous looking at the many battle scars that dot my neck, chest, and even my thighs, eliciting sensual memories of the night before. My dick is tender and can’t even salute with morning wood, but all the other feelings of lust, longing, and admiration are present and accounted for.

I run my hands over my body, admiring my wife’s handy work. Some of them are very purple and tender, causing me to momentarily forget that I need to relieve myself. I quickly go back to the bedroom and retrieve my phone from the pocket of my jeans. I return to the en suite and open the camera on my phone. Shamelessly, I take several pictures of the erotic bruises on my body, including the ones close to my genitals.

Especially the ones close to my genitals!

I don’t know how long I stand there gazing at and photographing the evidence of our hot, wild, untamed passion from last night before I remember—again—that I need to piss. I relieve myself then quickly type out a text to my wife.

**Where are you? **

She responds quickly.

**In the galley. **

**Are you alone? **

**Yes. **

I’m assuming that Gail or Ms. Solomon has brought us breakfast, so I head down to the galley with just my phone in search of sustenance sans any underwear or other garment intent to show off Mrs. Grey’s handiwork.

The sight before me is enough to put a little life back into Greystone.

She’s standing in the kitchen plating up some fresh scrambled eggs wearing this sexy little sheer seafoam nighty that’s only just long enough to cover her ass and her baby bump. She’s standing here looking all domestic and edible donning a short matching robe over that seafoam nighty with a pair of those slide pumps that she wore that first night at her condo. Did she plan this??

“You are trying to kill me,” I warn. She looks up at me and freezes.

“Says the man standing naked in the kitchen,” she accuses. She takes a good look at me, then laughs.

“Looks like I got a bit carried away last night,” she says with mirth.

A bit?

“Battle scars,” I say, my voice suggestive. She shakes her head.

“I knew you would say that,” she chuckles, turning her attention to the fresh toast from the toaster.

“Where did all the food come from?” I ask, walking all the way into the kitchen and stealing a sausage link from one of the plates. She raises her gaze to me.

“That’s your plate, now,” she says, placing two pieces of buttered toast on my plate. I shrug and take my plate over to the table. Butterfly opens one of the drawers in the island and retrieves a small towel.

“That leather is not going to feel good on your bare ass,” she says handing it to me. I take the towel and place it over the booth seat before sitting on it.

“To answer your question, Gail and Ms. Solomon brought supplies for breakfast when they brought dinner last night. She left a note telling me that she would bring breakfast if I didn’t want to cook, but left food in case we didn’t want to be disturbed.”

“Smart woman,” I say, nodding and taking another bite of my sausage.


A/N: Pictures of places, cars, fashion, etc., can be found at Grey Reflections (Season Seven).

The question-and-answer thread can be found on the left, second from last on the menu or you can click HERE.

If you feel the need to talk, visit the link on the left in the menu titled “Do You Need To Talk” or click HERE. No subject is taboo, but please show respect for those who have concerns as well as those who respond.

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~~love and handcuffs redux 2

Grey Reflections: Episode 7—Silent Resistance

If you would like to “Buy Me a Glass of Wine,” you can click this link or the ***DONATE*** link at the bottom of the menu on the left. 

Baby Bronzy got really sick this weekend and I’ve had a lot of balls in the air. Sorry the Episode is a little late.

All previous disclaimers apply

Episode 7—Silent Resistance 

ANASTASIA

I awake alone in our bed in the same position that I went to sleep last night, pillows and all. That means that Christian didn’t come to bed. He normally moves the pillow behind me when he comes to bed so that he can spoon me.

Oh, dear, is he somewhere brooding because I told him to wash his hair again?

I sigh and pull on some yoga pants with my extra-large U-Dub football jersey that I acquired just for this pregnancy—one of my ‘Ana Steele’ throwback comfort items that’ll fit over my baby bump. It’s so large, I could wear it by itself, but I don’t want to make anyone else in the house feel uncomfortable.

It’s still pretty early, so I don’t wake the children yet. The two-way will notify me if they stir. I could use a little something to eat, though. Not a full-on breakfast, but maybe just an orange or something… or a lemon.

I quietly exit our room and head towards the stairs. The faint smell of paint reminds me that the twins’ room has been painted and should be dry by now. I walk over to the room and the door is partially open. I’m very surprised when I walk partially inside.

I’m greeted by the Minnie and Mickey door mat and then a completed floor of blue, pink, and purple foam tiles. Two of the tiles are missing under the mat and I realize that needs to be the case or the door won’t open. The wall in front of me looks great and I’m surprised that they decided to paint the bottom layer of the coffered ceiling as well. It looks good.

When I push the door open, I’m shocked to discover that most if not all of the children’s things have already been moved into the room. Boy, they must’ve moved this stuff in here before the paint even dried. I don’t know why they didn’t do the fan blades though. I don’t think there’s anything left but the beds. I look over at the Minnie and Mickey walls and the decals and what do I see on the floor in front of the bookshelves?

My husband!
He slept on the floor in the twins’ room?

“Christian?” I call out to him, but he doesn’t move. All the rooms in the house with beds and he comes in here and sleeps on the floor. Was he that miffed about the paint thinner?

“Christian?” I call to him again. He’s lying on the floor in the fetal position with his hands under his face. He looks downright content. I can’t help but laugh to myself. I stand next to him and bend as much as Trevor will allow.

“Christian?” I say, rousing him gently.

“Hmm?” he says, and he sounds very sleepy.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” He opens his eyes and looks around, not at all surprised by his surroundings.

“I fell asleep,” he says.

“That’s obvious,” I say with mirth. “How long have you been sleeping?”

“What time is it?” he asks.

“Not yet 8:00,” I say. “I just want a snack.”

“Not long,” he says, his voice thick with exhaustion, “not even an hour.”

“What have you been doing all night?” I ask.

“Working,” he replies.

“Well, it’s Sunday,” I say. “Come and get some sleep.”

I help him off the floor and he doesn’t fight me. He walks to our bedroom almost with his eyes closed and falls into the bed. I don’t even think he’s completely horizontal before he’s asleep again.

And his hair doesn’t smell like paint thinner anymore.

A little while later, Gail and Jason join me in the family room while I’m enjoying a cup of ginger tea.

“Good morning,” Gail says as chipper as a birdie.

“Good morning,” I say. Watching Jason’s cock strut behind her, I know these two either had a great night or a better morning… or both.

“I see you’ve got your tea,” she says. “I was going to go and wake the children and get their day started. Do you want to come, or should I wait for Keri?”

“No, I’ll come,” I say. “Christian is still asleep.” Jason raises his brow.

“You’re awake and he’s asleep,” Jason says. “That’s a change.”

“He worked all night,” I say, standing from the sofa.

“He’s done that before. That never bothered him,” Jason says.

“Maybe he had a particularly hard issue he was working on,” I say as we head to the stairs. “I found him asleep in the twins’ room.”

“The twins’ room?” Jason asks, bemused. “Why the hell was he in there?” I shrug.

“I don’t know,” I say. “Maybe he wanted to see the progress.” Jason twists his lips.

“Jason,” Gail chides as we climb the stairs.

“What?” I say looking from him to her.

“The boys had some type of spat yesterday and I still haven’t found out what it’s about,” she says. I look at Jason.

“He almost fucked up the purple wall,” Jason defends. “We had to paint the bottom level of the coffered ceiling purple because he got paint all over the ceiling!” I frown.

“Well, it looks great to me,” I say.

“Now!” Jason says. “It wasn’t supposed to be purple. Before we got it fixed, it looked like we had set a kid loose in that room! Then he acted all sensitive because the guys were giving him a hard time.”

Oh… I can imagine Mr. Grey didn’t like that.

“I better go in here and make sure he didn’t screw anything up,” Jason huffs as he walks to the twins’ new room. I look at Gail.

“I didn’t even know they were bickering,” I tell her.

“Like kids at recess,” she laughs.

“Ana!”

Gail and I look at each other, then make quick time to the twins’ room and a bellowing Jason.

“What?” I ask when I get to the room. Where’s the fucking fire?

“Who did all this work?” Jason asks accusing. “Was it you?” I frown.

“No,” I say bemused. “I thought you all did it.” He shakes his head.

“No,” he replies. “Chuck and I were getting up this morning to get the floor done, and Windsor and some of the staff were going to help us get all that stuff in here from the twins’ nursery.” I pause, look around the room, and back at Jason.

“Jason, are you telling me that none of this was done by the time you guys came to dinner last night?”

“The paint wasn’t even dry yet!” he declares. “We were able to get the decals and the runners done after dinner, but that was it.”

We all examine the room more closely. No paint scraped off the wall. The puzzle tiles are fit to perfection, and the only pieces of furniture missing are the toddler beds, which are both in our sitting room. Of course, the Minnie/Mikey ceiling fan blades haven’t been installed, but there’s basically nothing else that needs to be done in this room unless we want to rearrange the furniture.

And then it hits me.
He was working.
He was working all night.
He hadn’t been asleep for an hour when I found him.

“Shit!” I hiss quietly.

“What?” Jason and Gail ask simultaneously.

“Christian came to bed smelling like turpentine last night,” I begin. “He said that it was the only way that he knew to get the paint out of his hair. I sent him away and told him to wash it again because I couldn’t stand the smell. I was certain that he was somewhere brooding about it because he never came to bed.” I look around the room.

“I found him in here asleep on the floor this morning,” I continue. “I knew that you all had finished the painting and I wanted to see how it turned out. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you had all but finished the entire room… only now, I discover that you hadn’t. He did this.” Jason looks at me incredulously and looks around the room again.

“He did all of this?” Jason asks. “The floor, the furniture, everything?” I shrug. “I’m telling you—we painted, it dried, we put up the decals and the boarders… that was it! Those bookshelves even needed assembly!”

“How hard was that?” I ask.

“Well, not really hard with the directions, but he’s got the furniture moved in here, the floor tiles…” He trails off and examines the tiles closer to the wall, then at another wall, then he lifts the welcome mat by the door.

“Two layers of tiles,” he says incredulously, “cut and installed to perfection. He even had the foresight to do the single layer at the door and put the welcome mat down there. It looks like all of Minnie and Mikey’s belongings have been moved. There’s nothing else to be done in this room except the fan blades—maybe rearranging a little if you want it to look different and moving the toddler beds. All the manual labor has officially been done.” I look around in amazement.

“What exactly happened in this room yesterday?” I ask. Jason shrugs and shakes his head.

“We ragged him a little bit about the paint, but that was it,” he says.

“You ragged him a little bit?”

“You saw his hair!” he says in a high tone, somewhat affronted. I twist my lips.

“Christian Grey can take a little ribbing,” I accuse. “What happened?”

Jason shifts his weight and puts his hands on his hips. He tells me the story of Christian wasting nearly a gallon of purple paint by slathering it on the wall so badly that they had to act fast to correct his error before the paint drippings dried on the wall that way; that not only had he splattered enough paint over himself to look like an evil minion, but that even though they had taped off the ceiling, he still managed to get paint on the bottom tier of the ceiling coffer and that’s how that tier became purple when it was supposed to remain the original color.

He continues to tell me about the altercation that nearly ensued when Christian defended himself about the original paint job and that the guys did have a couple of comments as Christian was finishing up. Since they were only doing painting, decals, and borders yesterday, once he finished the portion of the purple wall that they would let him paint, he left the room.

“I knew that truffles argument was a little more spirited than it normally is,” Gail observes. “If left to your own devices, you two would’ve come to blows over those damn truffles. So, that truffle tussle really wasn’t about the truffles. It was an extension of what happened in here.” Jason looks a little sheepish.

“I don’t know it coulda been,” he says all in one breath without making eye contact with her or me. “He was taking handfuls of the truffles, and he had his own in the refrigerator,” he defends like a tattling toddler.

“As were you, and you had your own in your apartment,” I retort matter-of-factly. He twists his lips still not making eye contact with me.

I examine the room carefully. Every piece of Disney paraphernalia has been unwrapped and placed somewhere in the room that could be its permanent home, including the picture tiles in the bathroom, all of the toiletries, soap dispensers, towels and the shower curtain and rugs.

The tables and chairs, the books, stuffed toys, the art easel, everything! Even their clothes are still neatly tucked inside the drawers and arranged in the closet. The remaining tiles and the toolbox are neatly stacked against the wall inside the closet somewhat out of sight where you wouldn’t see them unless you were looking for them. He probably didn’t know what to do with them or they would’ve been removed, too.

He wasn’t brooding. He was working. Or maybe he was working and brooding, but the fact that he did all of this by himself in less than eight hours when this is something that he easily could’ve—and under normal circumstances, would’ve—let someone else do says a lot about his state of mind last night and in the early morning hours.

I thought he just slept in here because he didn’t want me to smell his hair, but there were other places that he could’ve slept—with a bed! And the smell was gone from his hair when I retrieved him this morning. In fact, he smelled like fucking lavender!

“The room stays like this,” I say. “We won’t change a thing except to install the fan blades and bring in the toddler beds when it’s time.” Jason scoffs.

“There’s nothing to change,” he comments. “Can you see anything he forgot?”

“He didn’t forget anything,” I reply. “I don’t even have to examine the room to know that he didn’t. I remember when I told him earlier in the week that I was planning the children’s room. He was momentarily a bit crestfallen that I hadn’t included him in the planning. Once I told him that I had just started and could really use his help, he jumped in with both feet, all the way down to personally picking that particular shade of purple.”

I point to the wall, and I can see Jason’s expression change when I tell him about the purple Christian vetoed for looking like grape Pepto Bismol. I don’t know what Jason is thinking right now, but I sure as hell know what Christian was thinking as he spent the night doing the work of four people in this room…

I’ll show them. I’ll show them all.

I sigh heavily and I think Jason gets the picture, too.

“I’ll get somebody to move the tiles and tools and take the trash out,” he says. “The fan blades will be installed in an hour.” I smile softly.

“Thanks,” I reply.

*-*

My husband’s sleepy grey eyes flutter open as I gently run my fingers through his curly hair. He’s past due for a haircut although it’s not unkempt… it’s just longer.

“Hey,” I say, sweetly, only inches from his face.

“Hey,” he replies, just barely conscious.

“I hate to wake you, but it’s late in the day and you need to eat.” He blinks a few times.

“What time is it?” he asks with disinterest.

“After 2pm,” I say. His eyes widen for only a moment, but then return to their half-mast state.

“Shit,” he says softly, stretching a bit under the covers. Rising is obviously the last thing he wants to do. I run my hand through his hair again and gently scratch his scalp.

“If you’re trying to get me to get up, that’s not the way to do it,” he says, closing his eyes again. I place two gentle kisses on his lips, and he opens his eyes.

“The twins’ room is stunning,” I say softly while caressing his face. He blinks, but his expression doesn’t change.

“Thank you,” he replies.

Sausage Hashbrown Cups“Of course, you’ve missed breakfast, but Sophie made these delicious breakfast popper thingies. She calls them hash brown cups. They’re small bites of hash browns, eggs, and sausage. They’re delicious in their simplicity.”

He struggles to sit up and I uncover a plate of Sophie’s delightful hash brown cups. Christian takes one and pops it into his mouth.

“Oh,” he says while chewing, “now, that’s delightful.” I smile and uncover a glass of orange juice and pour him a cup of coffee from the carafe.

“There’s ibuprofen here if you need it,” I say, handing him the coffee. He twists his lips and holds out his hand. I put two ibuprofens in his hand, and he swallows them, then takes a sip of his coffee.

“You made this,” he declares. My brow furrows.

“How do you know?” I ask.

“I know your coffee,” he says, taking another sip. “It’s the best.” I can’t help my blush.

“How could you possibly know my coffee?” I ask.

“I remember your coffee from the first day I tasted it,” he says, placing the cup on the nightstand and taking my hand. “It was the first night we sealed the deal.” He pulls me closer to him.

“You were wearing that cute little mini dress with the flowers on it.” He keeps pulling me to him, forcing me to climb into his lap.

“That coffee changed the course of my whole fucking life,” he says, brushing his lips against mine. “Of course, I’ll never forget it.”

He bends me over his lap and kisses me deeply. Shit, I want to fuck now! Control yourself, Grey!

“You need to eat,” I force myself to say. “You took that ibuprofen…”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, kissing me again before sitting me up on the bed. He enjoys more of the hash brown cups, and we share some delicious strawberry cheesecake tacos, also made by Sophie’s hands.

Strawberry Cheesecake Tacos

“How do you feel about a walk?” he asks, and I raise my brow. “Just around the grounds… down to the lake and out by the dock, maybe. I just want to get some fresh spring air in my lungs. We can take the twins… and the dogs…” I smile.

“I think I really like that idea, Mr. Grey.”

The walk around the grounds was delightful. Christian and I had a long talk about him doing the twins’ room on his own after it was painted. He insisted on just wanting to have a hand in decorating his children’s room. I know it’s more than that because he has more than a hand in it. He picked the main paint color; he chose the design for the boy/girl wall; he chose the decals; he found the area rug and most of the furniture. And even though they teased him, he still painted part of that purple wall. He tried to downplay his hand in the final product but kept referring back to being normal. I’m not quite sure what that means.

By dinner time, Christian has worn our little prince and princess out, chasing a ball and playing with the dogs. We’re out by the boathouse and Christian suggests us having dinner on the Slayer—dogs and all. I warned him that the dogs might have an accident on his valuable carpet and wood floor and that they would definitely track outside dirt onto the boat. He shrugged and waved me off, declaring that it’s a hazard of owning dogs, stating that the adults can remove their shoes and he’ll have it cleaned if the dogs do any damage.

Now, I know something’s wrong.

He still didn’t let on that anything was amiss, though. Ms. Solomon brought dinner and snacks out to us, and Christian asked for pull-ups and pajamas for the twins as well as food and snacks for Ruby and Rome.

“You want to sleep out here?” I ask.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” he says. “Me with my little family. We can watch movies and stuff.”

I shrug and nod to Ms. Solomon to go on and bring the items that Christian requested along with a nightshirt for me and pajamas for Mr. Grey. This request brought Gail and Keri out to the boat as well with everything that the twins would need for a “sleepover” and supplies for our pups.

“Do you want one of us to stay and help?” Gail asks, her brow furrowed in that worried matronly way. Keri looks a bit concerned as well.

“No, we’ll be fine,” Christian assures her. “I promise to call if we need anything.” He looks at me.

“We’ll be fine,” I say. “They’ve been sleeping in the room with us every night.”

“But de dawgs,” Keri says, “de need ta use da bahfroom.”

“I’ll run them before we go to sleep and again first thing in the morning,” Christian says. “They should be fine.”

Gail and Keri are still obviously skeptical, but they agree to leave us with the promise that we would call if we needed help.

The evening is ideal. We have fried chicken, tater tots, and fresh rolls with fruit punch. I guess the staff thought that we should have a kid’s meal for dinner, but I rather liked it. Christian thought it was the bee’s knees. All six of us pile into bed with popcorn and a doggie treat or two and fall asleep watching Alice in Wonderland.

*-*

I awake in the morning with my children snuggled in bed between me and my husband and our dogs at our feet. Christian had closed the door so that they don’t wander all over the boat, and I assume they thought it a good idea to sleep at the foot of the bed. I have a feeling Christian’s not going to like that.

“Hey,” I say, shaking his arm to rouse him. “Wake up.”

“Hmmm?” he says, immediately stretching and remembering where he is. “What time is it?” I look for a clock but there isn’t one, so he retrieves his phone from the nightstand.

“Seven thirty,” he says, casually throwing his legs over the side of the bed. “I need to walk the dogs.”

I’m waiting for him to flip out that the dogs slept in the bed with us, but he doesn’t. He just takes off his pajama pants, steps into his jeans, and summons the now alert dogs to follow him. They both leap off the bed and out the door they go.

“Okay,” I say, rolling out of bed to relieve myself. I slept like the dead! I don’t know that anything is different with this bed, but with the six of us snuggled in here last night, I didn’t roll over once. I wander around the boat for a bit once I’ve relieved myself and make my way to the kitchen to see if there’s anything to eat. Of course, there’s no real food—a few dry ingredients and a few vacuum-sealed pouches of coffee. I quickly check the coffee filter for dust, rinse the carafe, and run a pot of water through the machine to make sure that it’s generally clean. Then I set the coffee maker to make a pot before going back to our bedroom.

Minnie has awakened when I get to the bedroom. She’s looking around in confusion, trying to take in her strange surroundings. I’m sure that if she had awakened in this large bed by herself, she would have had a fit. However, seeing her brother lying next to her most likely gave her a bit of calm, but still hasn’t answered that eternal question…

Where am I?

“Hey, Mouse,” I greet, coming into the room. Minnie is both surprised and thrilled to see me, she quickly crawls to the edge of the bed and opens her arms out to me. It warms my heart as I scoop her up and situate her alongside Trevor.

“Hi,” she says to my stomach as she constantly feels the need to speak to Trevor before speaking to me. Her brother stirs just a bit, and I don’t know if it’s in response to his sister or because he’s just waking up. She lays on my stomach like a pillow and puts her fingers in her mouth, and I’m in seventh heaven snuggling with my baby girl.

“Are you decent?” I hear Christian’s voice after Minnie and I have snuggled for several minutes. Master Michael still hasn’t stirred.

“I’m not naked,” I reply, alerting him that I’m still only wearing my nightshirt. He sticks his head into the room to investigate.

“Come on in,” he says, gesturing to whomever is behind him. “She’s fine.”

I watch the door to see Keri and Gail enter the room.

“It’s that time, Mrs. Grey,” Gail says. “Time to get the day started.”

“Mikey may beg to differ,” I say, gesturing to my sleeping son.

“He always weyk last,” Keri jests. “Need him beauty sleep.” I chuckle.

“Was it a peaceful night?” Gail asks. I nod.

“Very peaceful,” I say. “We all slept like the dead. Mikey only protested when Rome left the bed, and he went right back to sleep.” Gail’s brow furrows.

“Ya all sleep in de bed?” Keri asks. I nod.

“All of you?” Gail says. “The children and the dogs?” Christian nods.

“I kept them in the bedroom because I didn’t want them running around the boat at night, or worst yet, jumping off the boat,” Christian says. Gail shrugs.

“That makes sense,” she says, coming over to the bed where I’m holding Minnie. Mikey is still asleep, but it’s time to wake up for a bath and breakfast.

“Go on to Gail, Minnie Mouse,” I tell her and kiss her on the forehead. She climbs out of my lap and crawls over to Gail who scoops Minnie up in her arms. Gail puts Minnie’s jacket over her shoulders and Keri lifts a sleeping Mikey from the bed.

“Bye bye,” Minnie says as Gail carries her from the room and Christian kisses her hair as they pass him. Mikey opens one eye sleepily as he lays on Keri’s shoulder. I wave at him as they leave, and he opens his hand in a lazy attempt to wave back. I smile as my nannies take my beautiful babies to start their day.

Christian follows them out to the deck, and I see that he’s handing them the children’s shoes. I walk back into the kitchen to pour us some coffee.

“Where are the dogs?” I ask when Christian joins me in the kitchen.

“Chuck collected them when Gail and Keri started across the backyard,” he says. “I think they wanted to make sure that we hadn’t fallen in out here.” I laugh. “Coffee?” he asks, questioning if I were going to drink it since I rarely drink caffeinated coffee while I’m pregnant.

“Just one cup,” I assure him, and he nods. “They were coming out as you were walking the dogs?”

“I’d would bet they were standing in the kitchen or the family room waiting for one of us to stir,” he says. “The children have never spent the night on the boat. Hate it or love it, they’re surrogate moms. They probably didn’t sleep a wink all night.”

“I feel bad for them.” I say, “because I slept very well.”

“As did I, Mrs. Grey,” he says, taking me in his arms and kissing me sweetly on my cheek. “How about my boy here? How did he do?”

“Didn’t bother me one bit although he’s quite active this morning!” I say rubbing my belly. He places his hand on top of mine.

“The nursery,” he says, “It looks pretty empty now.”

“Yes, it does,” I concur. “What do you think we should do about that?”

“Well, we still have one of the rocking chairs,” he says. “The baby furniture has been in storage now for over a year…”

“Definitely new baby furniture,” I say, and he nods. “What about the old furniture? It’s still in good condition, but I just want new things for Trevor.”

“Donate it,” he says. “Can Helping Hands use it?”

“Oh, definitely!” I say. “Excellent idea, Mr. Grey. Corked pregnancy brain or I would’ve thought of that. Speaking of which, I’m going in for a little while today. I really need to see how the staff is doing. Keri is doing very well with the academic coordination from home. I think she likes it better—being able to stay at the Crossing with the twins and still be able to use her teaching credentials. They’re like my license, use it or lose it.”

“It looks like things worked out for all parties involved,” he says.

“I agree,” I reply. “What do you plan to do today?”

“Same thing I do every day,” he says, “try to take over the world!” he says in a goofy master of the universe voice. I laugh.

“Aaaannd once that doesn’t work out, what’s next?” I say.

“Well, I’ll start by trying to clean out a few emails,” he says. “Then I’m going to reach out to Ros and Lorenz. I want to put the work-at-home theory fully to the test. I don’t plan on going into the office at all this week. You can if you want to, but I don’t plan to. I really want to see how the place operates knowing that I don’t plan on being on site at all, not just on vacation—just not there.

“There are many owners and extremely high-level executives that don’t go into their offices at all or very rarely—once or twice a month if that. I don’t plan on going that far, but I do want to see what these junior and senior level executives plan to do in my absence.”

“You won’t get any argument from me,” I say, heading back to the bedroom. “I do want to get going, though. I don’t know how long I’ll be at Helping Hands, but hopefully, not all day.” I pull on my jeans from yesterday and fasten my belly button band onto them.

“That’s smart,” he says examining my belly button band. “Where did you find that?”

“Vickie,” I say. “Nearly all maternity pants look like leggings, and I didn’t want to wear leggings everywhere. So, she gave me these. I can fasten them on to the button and buttonhole of any pair of pants that still fits my thighs and my ass, and I can wear them as long as they’re comfortable.”

“And fit your ass, they do,” he says, taking two healthy handfuls of my ass and pulling me against him.

“I had every intention of taking advantage of you the other night,” he says. “I plan to cash in on that.”

“Promise?” I say, holding onto his biceps.

“Most definitely,” he replies before searing my lips with a deep, hard kiss.

“Get going,” he says when our lips part, “before I make good on my promise.”

“What’s stopping you?” I coax.

“The fact that the way I feel right now, if I start, they won’t see us until Wednesday.”

I hiss, then clear my throat.

“I’m… going to go take a shower and get dressed,” I say. “Are you coming?”

“Mrs. Grey,” he warns. I smack my lips.

“I mean coming into the house!” I say, slapping his arm. He laughs and kisses me again.

“I’ll be in shortly,” he says. “It’s Monday morning, and I didn’t do a thing yesterday. I’ve got a couple of projects on the hopper, and I want to hurry and check my emails for those. Then I’ll check TSE and KRX from the satellite. They opened 15 minutes ago, and I’ve got four companies that I need to check their performance like yesterday.”

“TSE and KRX,” I say. “Stock exchanges, I assume?” he nods.

“Tokyo and Korea,” he confirms. “You snooze, you lose, and I can’t afford to do that.” I pat his arm.

“Get to it, mastermind,” I encourage. “I’m going to get in the shower. I would assume that breakfast is going to be in about an hour.”

“Gotcha,” he says and kisses me again.

*-*

An hour and a half later, I’m about to leave for Helping Hands and my husband still hasn’t emerged from his boat. I’m sliding my jacket onto my arms when I call out to the boat.

“Yeah, baby?” he answers, sounding like I’ve interrupted something.

“You missed breakfast,” I scold. “Chuck and I are leaving.” There’s a short shuffle.

“Oh! Fuck!” he exclaims. “I got caught up in this deal that CJ and I were working on. I told him that I would look at it this weekend and I totally forgot.”

“CJ… that name is familiar to me,” I say.

“CJ and Sheila from the babymoon?” he reminds me.

“Oh! Oh, yeah,” I say in realization.

“Yeah, he’s got this new technology that I’m sending through R&D to see if I want a piece of it, and he and Leo both want to collaborate with me on internship opportunities for the GEH scholarship. I just got lost in the info and lost track of time.” I laugh.

“Would you like for me to have someone bring your breakfast out there?” I ask.

“Yes, please,” he says. “Have Windsor do it… and a change of clothes… and my laptop. I have some files on there that aren’t on this one. Send a carafe of fresh coffee, please.”

“Yes, dear,” I say. “Should I come back out for my kiss?”

“No, my darling. I’ll send you my love through the phone and I’ll see you when you get back,” he replies. “I love you. Promise not to work too hard.”

“I love you, too, and I promise,” I say, ending the call. Everyone at the table looks at me.

“He’s running the world from his phone as usual,” I say. “Please pack him a breakfast and a carafe of coffee. I have a feeling he’ll be working from his boat today.”

“Working from his boat?” Jason says. “He never works from his boat.”

“Yes, he does,” I say. “He worked from his boat the last two times we slept out there. He admitted that he hadn’t done it before then, but he does now. He even had a new laptop sent out there, but he wants the one from his desk, too. He says that he needs some files from it. Activate two-way communications.” After the ping, “Locate Windsor.” Jason raises a brow.

Windsor.”

“Windsor, Christian has requested that you bring his laptop from his study out to the yacht in the boathouse. Stop in the kitchen and get his breakfast and coffee before you do.”

“Okay, Mrs. Grey,” he replies.

“End two-way communications.” I retrieve my purse and look over at Jason who twists his lips.

“I guess that means I’m grounded for the day,” he says.

There’s an uncertain tone in his voice that I can’t place. Any time Christian works from home, he’s grounded, so what’s different today? I look up at Chuck who just shrugs, and we leave for Helping Hands.

There are quite a few things that need my attention at the Center today, not because anything was wrong. Just because they needed some direction. Grace was on call at the hospital last night and won’t be in until this afternoon, so I spend the morning putting out minor fires and talking to some of the newest residents. Two families were discharged today—one was able to secure housing of their own and the other is going to live with family members. Both success stories as far as I’m concerned because they won’t be returning to violent significant others.

We had one intake today—a mother and her young daughter. The daughter is very quiet. She won’t answer any questions and only shakes her head when asked. The mother is not very forthcoming either. I’ve come to realize that mothers on the run hiding from particularly violent spouses are very mum concerning where they came from. Nonetheless, I have to get a full name to do a background check since we house a lot of endangered families here. I have to know what I’m dealing with, and I’m not willing to sacrifice the whole for the safety of one, no matter how cruel that may sound—especially after my most recent encounter with one Ebony Carson Sable Assbitch whatever the fuck her name is.

Grace breezes into the Center with a wave and a smile, alerting me that more time has passed than I thought and I’m just about ready to wrap things up and go home. Just as I’m making final notes on a few items and packing my things away, a figure appears at my door looking a bit distraught.

“Ana, I need to talk to you,” Courtney says entering my office.

“What’s up?” I ask, lifting my head from my laptop.

“I… got some news today. It just came out of the blue.” Okay, now I’m concerned.

“Good news or bad news?” I ask.

“Good… I think,” she says, but her expression is still uncertain as she takes a seat in front of my desk.

“My grandmother gave me my trust fund today,” she says. My eyes widen.

“Really?” I ask in surprise.

“Really,” she nods and drops her gaze. “Six million.” My mouth falls open.

“Six million dollars?” I ask in awe. “Six million dollars? Good you think? That’s great!”

Courtney is still less than enthusiastic.

“You don’t seem pleased,” I point out. She raises her gaze.

“I didn’t expect to still get my trust fund, but this has so many implications for me.” She stands and begins to pace the room, fidgeting the entire time.

“When my trust fund was taken off the table, I remember a comment from my grandmother about ‘spare parts,’” she says. “Honestly, this money just brings back a whole lot of bad memories and new fears. I remember waiting for my grandmother to die so that I could inherit her money. So, does this mean that she’s dying?

“Is she okay? Is she trying to give me something before she leaves? Does she feel guilty or something? Why did she do this? I never expected this. I never even expected that we would speak again after how I treated her, after what I said… I took her for granted.

“I remember that Courtney and I hate her,” she says. “I can’t believe I ever was that person, and I don’t want her to come back. I’m afraid that the money might make her come back.”

“Do you think you’re that weak that money can influence you to sacrifice everything you’ve built?” I ask. “Everything you’ve accomplished?”

“Ye… no… I don’t know…” She pauses. “No… no, I’m not. I can’t. I can’t go back to being that person. I… I can’t… I just can’t.

“I don’t even want the money!” she says frustrated. “Why did she do this?” She’s coming a bit unglued.

“She must’ve felt like you deserved it, Courtney,” I try to convince her.

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Something’s wrong. This came out of the blue. We never even talked about it. Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong with my grandmother.”

She’s wringing her hands now and I can see her chest beginning to heave.

“Courtney, sit down, please,” I coax. “I’m sure that nothing’s wrong.”

Courtney takes a seat and clasps her hands tightly in her lap, her heel bouncing madly on the floor.

“Something must be wrong,” she says, panicking. “We never talked about this. I never mentioned—never even hinted that I wanted this…”

“Courtney, if something was wrong, Addie would’ve told you,” I try to comfort her.

“How can you be sure?” she sobs, the damn bursting. “Grandfather was almost gone before I found out!”

I can’t be sure, so I pick up the phone and dial for backup.

“Hello?”

“Grace, is Addie okay?” I ask when she answers the phone.

“As far as I know? Why do you ask?”

“When is the last time you talked to her?” I press.

“Saturday,” she replies. “Who’s crying?”

“Courtney,” I reply. Grace is silent for a moment.

“I’ll be right there.” She ends the call and moments later, she’s in my office.

“What’s wrong?” Grace asks. “Has something happened?”

“Courtney got her trust fund today,” I tell Grace, who doesn’t seem surprised. “She’s afraid something’s wrong with Adelaide,” I add after a pause. Grace turns back to a weeping Courtney.

“Oh, you dear, sweet child,” she says sitting in the chair next to Courtney and taking her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with your grandmother. I have lunch with her every week. She’s fine.”

“Why did she do this?” Courtney asks. “It doesn’t make sense. I didn’t ask for this. What if something’s wrong and she just didn’t tell you? Grandfather’s gone,” she sobs. “She’s the only family I have left.” Her chest is heaving now. The thought of losing Addie scares her down to her bones and this is the only reason she thinks she’s getting her trust fund.

“We should’ve said something to you,” Grace says, taking several tissues from the box on my desk and handing them to Courtney. “We just talked about it Saturday and it was time. The trust was set to revert to you, and she asked my honest opinion. I told her how well you were doing here and in school and that you’ve of course met someone that you love, and she decided to just allow the natural course of things to happen. The only difference is that you weren’t forewarned.” She gently cups Courtney’s tearstained face.

“This isn’t a doomsday signal,” Grace says. “This is good news. Adelaide completely feels that you’ve made a remarkable transformation, and she just wants you to know how proud of you she is.”

“What must Grandfather think?” she asks. “Wherever he is… he thought I was only after Grandmother’s money—which I was at first, but I’m not anymore!” she defends vehemently. Grace smiles a matronly smile.

“Wherever Fred is, he knows that,” Grace says. “If he can see you now, he knows what kinds of leaps and strides you’ve made from the Courtney that you used to be. At one time, you were going to get a trust fund just for being Fred and Adelaide’s granddaughter. Now, you’ve earned it! You’ve shown that you’re worth the investment and not just the inheritance.”

“Have I really?” Courtney says, no longer sobbing, but still crying. “All the crappy stuff I did… to Mia, to my grandparents, to people who were just trying to be kind to me? I was a wretched human being! I’m surprised you all even gave me a second chance.” That’s when it hits me.

“You don’t think you’re worthy,” I say. Grace raises her gaze from Courtney to me. Courtney says nothing.

“That’s why she thinks Addie’s dying,” I say to Grace. “That’s the only reason Addie could be giving her money, because Courtney doesn’t think she’s worthy of it.” Grace turns a bemused gaze back to Courtney.

“Is that it?” Grace asks. Courtney only cries but doesn’t respond.

“Oh, Courtney,” Grace says sympathetically. “Nobody can make you see your own self-worth. That’s completely up to you but look what you’ve done over the last two years. You’re going to school—for social work, a profession that by its very description means helping other people. You’ve been invaluable to the center, and you started here as a volunteer. I can tell by that beautiful ring on your finger and the few interactions that I have seen that Victoria loves you very much. My daughter-in-law is allowing you to live in her condo. That takes a lot of trust. And I know of one person—probably more, but one in particular who would probably say that you saved his life.” Courtney raises a confused gaze to Grace.

“Jack, Jr.?” Grace says matter-of-factly. Courtney’s shoulders fall as she drops her gaze again.

“That was a big thing, Courtney,” I say, cosigning Grace’s comments. “Jack, Jr. came here for help, but he wouldn’t have stayed without your encouragement. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened to him and his father if it weren’t for you.”

“That kid… changed my life,” she says tearfully. “I… had to help him. I didn’t know how… I just knew that I had to.” She raises her gaze to me and smiles.

“We’re Facebook friends,” she says. “He’s doing great.” She drops her gaze again. “He and his father left the state after the divorce. They’re happy now… and at peace. He changed my life…”

“And you changed his, can’t you see that?” Grace says. “Yes, you were a horrible person. Yes, you did some terrible things. You’re not that person anymore. Forgive yourself… everybody else has, even Mia.” She raises her gaze to Grace then scoffs.

“I guess if Mia can forgive me, I kinda should give myself a break, huh?” she says with a tragic chuckle.

“Yeah, you kinda should,” Grace says, smiling at her. “Why don’t you go and wash your face, get some water, and call Addie. It’ll make you feel better.” Courtney throws her arms around Grace’s neck.

“Thank you, Ms. Grace,” she says, still sniffling. Grace rubs her back.

“You’re welcome, child,” she says warmly before they release the embrace.

“Thanks, Ana,” she says to me. I smile and nod.

“You’re welcome, Court.” She stands and leaves my office, and I can still hear her sniffling and stuttering breaths as she proceeds down the hallway. Grace turns a stunned gaze to me.

“That is certainly not the Courtney I remember,” she says.

“That’s not the Courtney I met,” I concur. “She was an entitled, insufferable little brat—inconsiderate, unfeeling, insensitive…”

“I know!” Grace says. “She’s made a complete 180 and she can’t see it.”

“I don’t think it’s that she can’t see it,” I say. “I remember a conversation she had with Mia where she made it completely clear that she was making a change but that she was making it for herself. I think it’s just that she feels like she owes so much for the person that she used to be. I’m sure that she can see the change, but she feels like she just hasn’t paid it back enough yet.” Grace nods.

“Well, she can pay it back by continuing to be who she is and not going back to that person that she was ever again!”

“Hear, hear!” I reply.

About an hour later, I still haven’t made my way out of the Center, and Courtney shows up at my door again, no longer a wet, sobbing mess.

“You look much better,” I say gesturing her into the office.

“Thanks,” she says. “I feel better.” She takes a seat in front of my desk again.

“I talked to Grandmother.”

“And?” I press.

“She said the same thing that Ms. Grace said—that it was just time and that I earned it.” She sighs. “I made her promise to tell me that if something was wrong with her that she wouldn’t keep it from me, that she wouldn’t wait until the last minute to tell me… so that I could try to prepare myself.”

“What did she say?” I ask.

“I made her cry,” she responds. “She promised to tell me and then she said that she knew she had done the right thing… giving me my trust fund, that is.” She still has a hint of stuttering breaths from earlier.

“There was a time in my life when this was all I was waiting for,” she admits. “Now, I’ve got this money, and I don’t even know what to do with it. It doesn’t fit into my life where I am right now. It only serves to distract me from my goals. Have you ever heard of such a thing?” I smile.

“There are a few things you can do with it,” I say. “Have you and Vickie set a date yet? Plan your wedding. You can now have exactly what you want. I also recommend contacting a financial adviser. Make some good, solid investments and start planning now for purchases that you want to make, retirement, trips, things like that. You still haven’t bought a car—now you can get one! You can also choose to donate some of it. You can donate to that shelter where you stayed when you first found yourself down on your luck…”

“And I can donate back here to Helping Hands,” she says.

“You already donate your condo rent here,” I point out. She twists her lips.

“Yeah, that reminds me,” she says. “I’m going to be moving out of the condo soon.” I raise my brow.

“Oh?” I say curiously. She nods. “Getting a place of your own?”

“No, I’m going to move in with Vic,” she says. “She’s asked me more than once to move in, but I kind of felt like a freeloader. Now…” She trails off and shrugs.

“She has a lovely home and I really like it,” she continues. “I spend all my time there anyway. The condo is just storage at this point. Might as well make it official. She’s been pressing me to set a date. I guess we can now… since I’ll feel less like a burden now.” She smiles and shrugs.

“I don’t think she ever saw it that way,” I say with a soft smile. “When she thought that you were going to turn down her proposal in Madrid, I saw her whole life flash before her eyes. I thought she was going to pass out!” We both laugh.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am that she chose me,” Courtney says, looking at her ring. “I know you all say that I should forgive myself, and I promise that I’ll work on it, but Vic… she’s the whole package—the whole package! And she chose me.”

I smile at her description. I feel the exact same way about Christian.

“I’m happy that you’re moving on with your life, but it makes me a little sad, too,” I admit “It was nice having somebody there to watch my condo.” She smiles.

“I’ll make sure that it’s clean when I leave and give you the keys,” she says. I wave her off.

“I know,” I say. “I’m not worried about that at all.”

I must admit that I really do like having someone in the condo. Maybe I should consider subletting it after all. Even with security, I’m not really comfortable with it being empty.

*-*

By the time I make it back to the Crossing, I’ve spent the entire day at Helping Hands. Trevor is screaming for a lemon, and I feel every bit like I’ve done a full day’s work. I got a lot accomplished today. I’ll probably go in one more day this week to finish up a few things that I started, but things are looking pretty good down there.

“Where’s Christian?” I ask Ms. Solomon as I finish my last slice of lemon.

“Still on the boat, I think,” she says, and I raise my brow at her.

“Really?” I ask. She nods.

“He asked me to send out a ham sandwich and some soup for lunch. He still hasn’t come in.” Now my brow furrows.

I stop in the family room and give my children a kiss and a hug, then do a double-take when I look out at the lake. I walk over to the patio doors to make sure that I’m seeing what I’m seeing.

“The boat is in the dock,” I say to no one in particular, but Jason moves behind me looking out onto the dock.

“Did he take the boat out on the lake?” I ask, looking over my shoulder at Jason. His brow furrows and he shakes his head.

“Not that I know of,” he says.

“You would know if he took it out onto the lake,” I say.

“Maybe,” he says. “He hasn’t spoken to me since Saturday.” I jerk back in surprise.

“Saturday?” I repeat, and Jason just looks at me.

I look at him for a long moment, then turn my gaze back to the boat. He hasn’t spoken to Jason. When is the last time he hasn’t spoken to Jason? Has he ever not spoken to Jason?

Anguilla—that’s the only time I can remember. Never again since they declared their friendship that I know of. I pull out my phone and speed dial his number.

“Hello, beautiful,” he answers.

“Hey yourself,” I reply with a smile. “How was your day?”

“Very productive,” he says. “I’ve got the ball rolling on final negotiations of two mergers and one acquisition. Put the kibosh on the fourth deal—not worth the headache. And if the projects are as promising as they seem, CJ and I just may be joint venture partners on some upstart AI technology.”

“You have been busy,” I say.

You doubted?” he asks.

“Of course, not,” I reply.

“What about your day?” he asks. I sigh.

“It’s been a day,” I say.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Always,” I reply. “Whatcha doing?”

“Are you home?” he asks.

“Yes,” I reply.

“I’m sitting on the flybridge forward deck of my grossly expensive and ostentatious superyacht, enjoying the fresh air, drizzling rain, and the breeze, and waiting for the sunset. Join me?”

“Absolutely,” I say. “Give me a minute and I’ll be right out.”

“One… two…”

“Stop it,” I giggle into the phone.

“Three four fivesixseven,” he speeds up his counting.

“Christian!” I scold mirthfully.

“Keep giggling and I’ll count to a thousand,” he warns. I laugh again.

“I’m on my way,” I say.

“I’ll see you soon,” he promises. I end the call and turn around to Jason holding a pair of my sneakers.

“He’s already not speaking to me,” he says. “He’ll probably fire me if your heels get caught in that dirt and you fall.” I twist my lips.

“How could that possibly be your fault?” I ask. He shrugs.

“Better safe than sorry,” he says, handing me the sneakers. I take them from his hand.

“Dinner on the boat again,” I call out to Ms. Solomon, “forward flybridge.”

“Will do,” she calls back.

“Do ya wan de bebbies?” Keri calls out.

“No,” I say. “Put them to bed wherever is convenient for you. If we’re not back in by their bedtime, we most likely won’t be.” I fasten my sneakers.

“Gail, if it’s not too much trouble, will you pack us an overnight bag? A change of clothes and toiletries—send it out with dinner.”

“Okay,” she says, rising from the sofa. I stand, grab an umbrella, and exit the family room patio headed out to the Slayer.


A/N: Keri’s translation

“But de dawgs…” “de need ta use da bahfroom.”
“But the dogs…” “they need to use the bathroom.”

“He always weyk last…” “Need him beauty sleep.”
“He always wakes last…” “He needs his beauty sleep.”

“Ya all sleep in de bed?”
“You all slept in the bed?”.

“Do ya wan de bebbies?”
“Do you want the babies?”

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~~love and handcuffs redux 2