The Life of Mrs. Fifty Shades | Chapter 5

Christian

“Mr. Grey.” Andrea opened the door to my office. She wore a skintight black dress and her hair was glossy with shine. She’d served me loyally for years. She kept her mouth shut and did her job.

But she never stopped staring.

“Yes?” I looked away from my open laptop and met her gaze. I was a busy man and couldn’t afford to waste time—not even a moment.

“There’s a man here to see you.”

I raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied with that answer. “That’s all you have for me?”

She kept her hand on the door like she was nervous. She didn’t like to displease me. I never raised my voice or behaved like anything less than a professional, but some people thought I was intimidating.

And they were right.

“He stopped by earlier this week, and when he didn’t have an appointment, we sent him away. But now he’s back. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to leave without a moment of your time. Should I call security?”

This didn’t bode well. “Does he have a name?”

She shook her head.

“No name?”

She shook her head again.

That was becoming more disturbing. I rubbed my fingers across my chin as I thought behind my eyes. “I’ll see him in thirty minutes.”

“Of course, Mr. Grey.” She walked out.

I had a strong suspicion whom it was. I received a letter in this office just a month ago. The content was disturbing because it opened the gateway to my past. I shut that door and locked it a long time ago.

But it was beginning to splinter.

I called Taylor and he answered before the first ring ended. “Mr. Grey?”

“I need you at the office—bring your gun.”

He didn’t ask a single question. He followed orders—like always. “Yes, sir.”

***

Taylor stood by the door, his arms resting at his sides. His gun hung on his hip and he could draw it at a moment’s notice. His primary job was to look after Ana. But I needed him in that moment.

Andrea opened the door and ushered my guest inside.

He was a man of average height. He had dark brown hair and fair skin. He was probably handsome at one time, but stress and a lifetime of bad choices had ruined his appearance. He looked far older than he probably was. The most disturbing part of all was his eyes.

They were identical to mine.

I didn’t rise from my desk to greet him. I didn’t offer a handshake to uninvited visitors. And this man definitely wasn’t invited. The only reason why I allowed him in my office was his obsessive behavior. If he wanted an audience with me, I’d rather him get it here—instead of at my home where my family slept.

I refused to speak first so I eyed him with my intimidating gaze. I was prepared for anything. On the outside, I appeared calm and indifferent. But inside, I was ready for war.

He stopped when he reached my desk, his eyes taking in my features with extreme detail. He examined my pristine suit and the watch on my wrist. He looked at my face as well as the dark hair on top of my head. He sized me up with interest. Threat was nowhere to be seen on his curious face.

“Thanks for seeing me.”

I hadn’t blinked since he walked inside. “You have my attention. What do you want?”

“You don’t know who I am. I thought I’d come here to—”

“I know who you are.” I hadn’t seen him once in my life, but the resemblance was too similar. As much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. The truth was sitting right in front of me, a door to the past I wished could be forgotten. “If you expect money or connections, you’ll get neither. All you'll get is a short conversation before you’re back on the street.”

His expression didn’t change. “I don’t want money. I don’t want anything.”

I didn’t believe that for a second. “Then what? I’m a busy man. In case you haven’t noticed, I have a company to run.”

“I knew she was pregnant with you, but I didn’t stick around. I left because I couldn’t handle the responsibility. I paid for a night, but I got the burden of a lifetime out of it. By the time I changed my mind, you’d already been adopted.”

“And here we are, twenty-five years later.” He had this knowledge for decades but didn’t choose to act on it until now—for an obvious reason.

“It took me a while to find you because they changed your name. I didn’t get the right paperwork until recently.”

My birth name wasn’t Christian. It used to be something else. I didn’t want to know what it was. “Let me tell you something about me, since you don’t know a thing. I hate liars. And I hate liars who lie about lying even more.”

The hope slowly drained from his face when he realized how callous I was.

“You saw me on TV, a magazine, or some other form of media. You noticed the similarities in our gray eyes, the way our jaws are chiseled with constant distaste, and the slight curve of our noses at the tip. You decided to take a trip to Seattle to collect some kind of cut from your abandoned son. Now here you are—hoping I’m a fool.”

His shoulder tensed with the quiet insult.

“Now you’ve seen me. Now you’ve spoken to me. And now you can leave.” My eyes glanced at the door, commanding him to get out of my office before Taylor threw him out. “And thank you for wasting my time.”

***

The last few weeks had been a complete nightmare.

Ana was having coffee with a handsome author whose book she couldn’t stop thinking about, and my birth father was trying to reconnect with me. When his letter didn’t work, he decided to confront me in person.

Hopefully, that would be the end of it.

I didn’t owe that asshole anything. And for him to actually think I did was ludicrous. Maybe we shared the same despicable DNA, but that was the end of our connection. Grace and Carrick were my parents. They raised me with more love than I’d ever known.

This man had nothing to offer me.

I never even asked for his name.

Ana knew something was off. She saw it in my steel colored eyes, and the violent way I snapped at the slightest offense. I wanted to spend time in the playroom instead of our bedroom. My children wanted to spend time with me, but all I could think about was how unfit I was to be a parent.

My mother was a crack whore. My father was a loser.

Was I any better?

The only thing that comforted me was work. The numbers, the location, everything dulled the stress between my ears. I understood people and math. I understood how to run a company and delegated tasks to people. It was something I was unnaturally good at it.

So I worked even more.

I had an arrangement in Western Italy, a drop off location before my supplies were transferred across the Mediterranean and to the refugees of the Middle East. I had a contact there that I had a great deal in common with. Our relationship was based on friendship before it became business.

And I needed to get away.

When I came home from work, the children were already eating dinner at the table. Chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. Mrs. Jones cooked for Teddy and Phoebe when Ana and I were at work. But the second Ana was home, she wanted to be in charge of everything related to the children. She wanted to be involved as much as possible.

She was a great mom.

“Hey.” Ana looked at me over the kitchen island. The second she looked at me, she knew something was wrong.

I didn’t bother hiding it.

“How was work?”

“Good. How was your day?” I came around the island and kissed her on the cheek. I forced myself to give her the affection she deserved. Just because my life was in the trenches didn’t mean she should be punished for it.

“Good.” She asked me what was wrong without asking me a single question.

I walked to the children at the table and kissed each of them. My hand ran through Teddy’s dark hair before I touched Phoebe’s cheek. She had the fairest skin—just like her mother.

“Daddy?” Teddy looked up at me, his dinner only half finished.

“Yes?” I would never get used to hearing that title. I was a father. I never knew my real father. And what I knew of my real mother, I hated. How did I behave like a good parent when neither one of my own had been around?

“Will you watch Power Rangers with me tonight?”

I needed my space. I needed my time to think about my problems. But I could never deny a request from my son—because I refused to be an asshole like my parents. “Of course.”

He returned to eating.

I walked away and headed upstairs to the bedroom. I wanted to shower and feel the warm water drip down my body. I just wanted a few moments in my life where nothing could find me. Ana understood my moods better than anyone. I couldn’t hide anything from her.

She appeared behind me when I entered our bedroom. “Christian.” The tone in her voice suggested I wasn’t going to get away with it this time. She’d given me enough space but now the reprieve was over. “What’s going on?”

           

“Nothing, Ana.” I kept my back to her as I pulled my tie off. I unbuttoned my jacket next and looked out the ornate windows that opened up to the bay. “I have a lot of things going on at work right now.”

“I don’t believe you.”

I turned around and stared her down. “We’re leaving for Italy tomorrow. I’ve already spoken with my parents, and they’ll take Phoebe and Teddy.”

“We’re going to Italy?” she asked in surprise.

“I need to go for work. There’s someone I need to see, and it’d be easier to speak with him in person.” I turned around and met her gaze. Slowly, I unbuttoned the front of my shirt until my chest was visible.

“I don’t know if I can leave tomorrow. I have work—”

“You can do whatever you want, Ana. You own that company.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have things to do.”

“You’re coming with me. And that’s final.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s final?”

           

“I’m not leaving you behind.”

“How long?”

           

“Two weeks.”

“I’m not leaving our children for two weeks.”

“They’ll be with my mother. They’ll be fine. They love staying over there.”

“Even so—”

“I thought you’ve always wanted to go to Italy.”

“Of course,” she said. “It’s just sudden.”

“That’s how work can be.” I undid my watch and tossed it on the table. “We’ll leave in the afternoon so you’ll have time to prepare.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why won’t you just tell me what’s bothering you? I know there’s something there.”

I would tell her eventually. But right now, I wasn’t ready to. It was something I wasn’t comfortable saying out loud. It was something I wasn’t ready to come to terms with. “I will. Just not tonight.”

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