A little bit about Taylor, Gail, Ana and me, Pt 1

When Taylor and I walk into the elevator to go up to the penthouse, I inform him that I would like to be the one to tell Ana and Gail about the day’s events. I want them both to know that we are fine and no worse for the ware. Taylor answers me with a simple “Sir”. The elevator door opens and Ana is there to great her husband with a big hug. “I don’t know what this is all about”, I say, “but I gladly accept it”. Taylor makes his way into the kitchen and gives Gail a hug and she receives it with “a glad to see you,’’ response. “Me too”, he says.

I ask Ana if she wants to join me in a glass of wine and she tells me that she would be delighted. “It’s been one heck of a day”, she tells me. I give her my smile that reaches to my eyes. After we finish our drinks, I ask Gail and Taylor to come into the great room where Ana and I are seated. I ask Taylor to summon Sawyer and Ryan as well. Gail comes in with a puzzled look on her face and Ana glances over at me as if to say, “Okay, Grey….what’s up now”?

I motion for them to sit and start off by telling them that Taylor and I have something to tell them but they shouldn’t get panicky “because as you can see, we are just fine”. Both Ana and Gail jump to their feet and at the same time, ask, and not in a calm way, “What happened?” I go into a full blown explanation of what took place. During my explanation, when I come to the part about thinking that Taylor got hit by bullets, Gail does the unexpected. She faints. As she starts to fall to the floor, Ana grabs her giving Taylor enough time to get to her before she hits the floor. He lays her on the couch while Ana darts off and returns as quickly as she left, with a bottle of smelling salts. I’m wondering where in the hell did she get those from. I didn’t even know there were any in here. I’ll ask her about that later.

When Gail is revived and snuggled safely in Taylor’s arms, Ana just stares at me as though she is reaching into my soul to pull it out of my very being. I go to her, wrap my arms around her and say to her “please, baby. Try to keep it together. We are both fine as you can see”. I ask them if they want me to continue. Gail just shakes her head in the affirmative while Ana just continues to stare at me like I am an alien from outer space. I’m thinking that maybe I should wait for a few more minutes. I look at Gail who has tears running down her face and I look at Ana who still has that blank stare and make the decision to just get it the hell over with.

After the incident is completely relayed, I tell Ana what I have agreed to let the ball crusher do. As I start to escort my wife to our bedroom after telling her that we need a private moment, my blackberry rings. I look and think, “Oh fuck! It’s Elena”. I let the call go to voice mail and proceed to guide Ana. She is like a zombie. I don’t know how she made it to the medicine cabinet unassisted. All of a sudden, Ana starts gasping for air, tears start flowing and she starts shaking. “Ana, baby”, I say as I scoop her up in my arms. She throws her arms around me and goes completely ballistic. She starts screaming “no, no, no”, and thrashing around to the point that I almost drop her. I deposit her on our bed and just hold her as close to me as I possibly can and start rocking her gently.
When she finally calms down and her sobs become whimpers, I start planting kisses all over her beautiful face, ending up on her lips that get so soft when she cries, runny nose and all. I reach for the box of tissues and gently wipe her nose. She quiets and looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes. “Christian, if anything ever happened to you, I would die….just die. Please! Don’t leave me, Christian. I would not be able to live”. “Anastasia, I feel the same way about you so I guess we are stuck with each other, forever and always, even in death and beyond. Don’t worry, baby. It looks like neither one of us is going anywhere”.

I tell her to go wash her face and get ready to come with me to meet her best friend and then we are going to play Santa Claus. “How do we do that, Christian?” Her voice is still rather weak but she seems to perk up at the thought of seeing Kate. I tell her that every year, I go to some of the stores that have layaway plans in and around Seattle and pay for all of the layaways that parents have had to cancel because the money was just not there. She looks at me, throws herself on me, hugs me tight and tells me that I am the best person in the world. I just smile, and ask, “You think? Now let’s get going, baby, before we end up doing the vanilla thing. The stores stay open much later around this time of year so we should be good to go”.

After we spend about $25,000 dollars, we head for Escala. I tell Anastasia what my plans are for Taylor and the rest of our staff at home as well as my mom, dad and grandparents. She can’t believe when I tell her what we are getting for Taylor. “That reminds me”, I say to Ana. “Don’t let me forget to give Elliot and Mia a call tomorrow”. She agrees, pulls my head down and gives me a loving kiss on the cheek. “Oh, and by the way, I will leave it up to you to choose gifts for Ray, and your mom and Bob. And please don’t spare the cost. Remember Ana, you are a wealthy lady now and money is just not an object. Ana smiles, holds my hand and says in an almost whisper, “Thank you, Christian”. I ask her what she is thanking me for. “Remember my wedding vow to you”? I repeat what I vowed to her…”What’s mine is now yours”. You don’t need to thank me for what is already yours, baby”. I look down at her and gently wipe away a tear that has fallen down her cheek. Damn, I love this woman, I think to myself.

Ana and I finish up our last minute shopping as she tells me what she has purchased for Ray, her mom and her husband, Bob. She looks at me to see what my reaction is when I find out how much money she spent. I smile at her approvingly and we walk, hand in hand through the beautifully decorated stores. Christmas is such a special time of year but it certainly hasn’t always been that way. My thoughts go back to when I was with my biological mother. Not pleasant thoughts but that is going to be taken care of soon.

When we arrive at home, the live Christmas tree has been delivered, decorated and is standing tall in the great room, looking every bit as beautiful as any she has ever seen. Ana just marvels at how beautiful it is. I tell her to wait until she gets into her house with all of its decorations, inside and out. The house is just about done but Ana changed her mind about a few things which threw the renovations off a little bit….quite a bit, really but Elliot is doing a fantastic job. No problem, her ‘brother’ tells her. (My brother). She calls him brother ever since he made that toast at our wedding where he referred to her as his “sister”. “Anything for you dear sister. I just want you to be as happy as you have made my little brother”. Talk about someone making someone happy. Ana beams and lets me know how much she loves my family. I tell her that they love her back just as much. “Sometimes, I think they love you more than they love me”. She makes my most favorite sound in the world….she giggles.

As Ana and I prepare to go to our prospective places of work, she reminds me as we enter the elevator, not to forget to give Elliot and Mia a call. I thank her, give her a kiss and tell Sawyer to take care of my girl. He smiles and says that he “has her covered, sir”. Ana and I say our “see you laters” (never good bye” as it sounds too final}.

Taylor and I walk into my building with a bevy of “glad to see you both, sir”, from the staff. I want to make sure that Andrea is okay so both Taylor and I, enter her office after a slight peck on her opened office door. “Glad to see that you are here and okay, Andrea. “I’m fine, sir. I was just a little shaken when I took the call”. I laugh out loud and repeat in a question like format. “Just a little shaken huh”? “Yes, sir.” she says looking down, embarrassed. “I hope to hell I never see you a lot shaken”, I retort. Taylor tries to stifle a chuckle which he is not very successful in doing. I ignore him and ask Andrea if she is up to taking instructions for the day. She jumps up, pad in hand and follows us into the office.

This is top priority, Andrea. Write a memo to all thirty thousand employees and remind them that GEH is a zero tolerance company. This is in light of the recently passed law that makes that whacky tobacky shit legal. If an employee is sick enough to have to smoke it, then they are too sick to be employed here. If I get fined for discrimination, then so be it. I will just have to pay the fine. There will be absolutely no drugs of any kind allowed on the premises of any building that is under the name of Grey Enterprises Holdings, here in the United States as well as those that are abroad. Put it in language that there will be no reason for them to not understand and have each one of them sign that they have read and understand this directive. I want them returned to me within three days. Each building manager will be responsible for checking to make sure that all have signed and dated, and then they are to be sent back to me with the manager’s signature, verifying that each employee has signed. Any breach of this directive will be cause for immediate dismissal, regardless of what the law says. This is Christian T. Grey’s law and it is to be followed to the inth degree. If anyone has any questions or is not clear, they are to get in touch with me directly. Antibiotics or over the counter drugs for the relief of a headache, cold or any preexisting or newly acquired ailment i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., is exempt. Sincerely, so on and so forth. And by the way, while I am thinking about it, send a notice out to all of the staff here in our north east area that all offices will be closed tomorrow, due to the predicted heavy snow warning. I don’t want anyone sliding in on the road just to get here. Notify Welch that he is to activate the security system to automatic and notify the police department in all locations of our plans. Tell the security detail that they also have the day off. We will play it by ear for the next few days.

I proceed to let Andrea know what else she is to do. I then ask her if she has heard from my European interest. She tells me that it is all taken care of and we can expect delivery early next week to the company here. She is talking in code and I understand every word. “Good job, Andrea”, I tell her. “One last thing. Is everything set for Christmas Eve?” She said that it is. I thank her and tell her that she deserves a medal. I turn to Taylor and ask him if everything is taken care of per my instructions. “Yes sir”, he says and looks like he is going to salute. I simply say to him, “Thank you, Taylor. Have you and Gail made plans yet for the wedding?” “I’m not sure, sir. I will have to check with her”. “Taylor, you act like you are already married, but that’s okay. Women are supposed to take care of all of that kind of stuff. You are not expecting a bachelor party, are you? “Yes, sir”, Taylor says. Taking me completely by surprise, I look at him and say “WHAT?” “Yes, sir. Ryan, Sawyer and Welch insist on it”. I’m wondering if I am going to be invited since I didn’t know anything about it. As if he is reading my mind, he says, “I think they are going to ask you if you will help to plan it.” I tell him that I will gladly accept the challenge. “Oh, fuck….what in the hell did I just agree to do? I think to myself. “I don’t do shit like that”. Oh well, I guess I’m committed. “Damn”.
~~~~~
We pick up Anastasia and Sawyer and I tell Taylor that I want to make a stop at the Sherman Clay Music store where I bought my piano. Taylor says, “Sir” and weaves his way expertly through the heavy holiday traffic to Fourth Avenue. We arrive in record time, due to Taylor knowing all of the shortcuts. As we exit the Audi SUV, Taylor tells Sawyer that he is “going in with the Grey’s and he should keep a watchful eye at the door”. Sawyer says, “Yes sir, boss”. I smile as we enter the store. Anastasia asks me if I am going to buy another piano. I tell her yes but it is going to be a surprise for her. She looks at me quizzically.

The same salesman that met me before greets us and shakes my hand. Mr. Bellamy is expecting you. I introduce Mr. Bellamy to Ana and he surprises her by saying “Mrs. Grey. How very nice to meet you, and congratulations on expecting your first child.” Ana’s mouth drops almost to the floor and I have to laugh. I put my arm around my wife’s expanding waist. “We are here to purchase a child’s Baby Grand piano”, I tell her. She looks at me like I have just taken leave of my senses. “Christian, we haven’t purchased anything for the baby yet. Not a crib, not a diaper, not a bottle…..nothing and you are going to purchase this unborn child a piano?” You can’t give this child lessons until he or she is born”. Mr. Bellamy says, “Well I always say, you can’t get them started too early”. Everyone in earshot starts laughing, even Taylor. I lean over, kiss my wife and tell her to “let’s get this over. I’m hungry.”
I have instructed Mr. Bellamy to order in 3 pianos of different colors, because we don’t know if this child is a boy or a girl.

I tell Ana that we can just chose the white one if she would like. She looks at me, frowns and says, in a shocked tone. “If I’d like?” Why don’t we just ask the baby?” she says. “Wow”, I think. I haven’t heard her smart mouth in ages. I really have missed it. That is one of the reasons why I fell in love with this person. “Well sir, ma’m, when the children out grow them, we can exchange them for larger ones”, Mr. Bellamy says. I say that we will probably keep them all because we plan to have several children. I have to catch Ana as she stumbles back and says, “We are?” “Yes, baby”. I whisper quietly in her ear. I want as many extensions of you as I can possible get. Ana sighs and says, “As you wish, Christian. We are going to have to add a special room for all of these pianos”, Ana says. I tell her “that there will be no need for that…they can stay right in the room with my Steinway. Elliot has already made plans to have the room maintained at the right temperature for my piano and there will be plenty of space for all three.”

“I see that I am not the only one who has delayed the finishing of our house”, Ana pips. I have to laugh and she utters my favorite sound: She giggles.

We pay for the pianos, make arrangements for them to be delivered and walk out of the store, with Taylor leading the way. “Everything okay?” I ask my wife who is staring at nothing in particular. “Everything is just fine. I was just giving thanks for your being my husband and the father of our children to be. How blessed we all are”. I pull my loving wife closer to me and ask her quietly, “playroom?” She nods and giggles out, “before we eat or after?”

“““`

After supper, Roz rings me on my blackberry. The hospital called and told her that the injured would be assassin was being taken to their “inside jail holding room” and that he is no longer on the critical list and he is under heavy guard. The police are going to get a statement tomorrow morning. I tell Roz that I can’t wait to hear this one. I thank her and as soon as I hang up my call from Roz, my Blackberry goes off again. “FUCK”, I say louder than I intend to. Ana looks up but doesn’t say anything. I think to myself, does that woman have bricks for brains?” I let Elena’s call go to voice mail. “I know that sooner or later I am going to have to deal with her but not now, not in front of Ana. I would like to go to bed in one piece tonight and that includes me having my balls in their proper place”.

My wife and I head for bed and bid each other good night in the only way we know how.

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All of the characters belong to ELJames. The reference that is made about the toast by Elliot to his “new sister”, is borrowed from eminethe1st.blogspot.com. The piano store and the owner are borrowed from http://fifty-shades-of-grey.me/fifty-shades-after-harvard/ The introduction of the new idea and new characters, if any, belong strickly to me and are subjected to copywrite laws.

Taylor takes a bullet for Christian

To leave a message on all blog posts, click on the pretty pink square to the right of the title. All of these characters belong to ELJames

My cell phone sings out in a chorus of voices “You’ve got mail”. “Now what the fuck?” I blast out, irritated that I’m interrupted….again. I glance to see who’s calling and think,
“shit, it’s the troll bitch” as Ana calls her. What in the hell is she calling for and why am I even entertaining the thought of taking her fucking call as I hit ‘send’ to answer. “Hello, darling. I am surprised that you answered considering your wife damn near broke my jaw bone on Thanksgiving. I still can’t eat a decent meal, but don’t worry, darling, I am not filing charges because I realize that I was wrong. I just didn’t think”….. I interrupt her before she can finish. “Look, Elena. You have got to stay out of my life. What we had when I was younger is. no. more. and you have to understand that. I really thought that I loved you at one point but I was just a kid with raging hormones. You told me that “love is for fools”. Well, since I met Ana, I realize that love is not “for fools”. I finally know what love is and what I felt for you certainly was not love. And it is a good thing that you didn’t file charges because, I am sure that you wouldn’t want “our” story plastered in the papers for everyone to see. But to protect Ana, I wouldn’t give a fucking leap if it was heralded by Gabriel himself. You are like a pit bull. You just won’t let go. What is it that you want, Elena?” There is a brief silence on the phone and finally she says, “I just want you to know that I will always be here for you. Maybe, I was the fool because I know now that I do love you Christian and I always have.” You can’t blame me for that. I can’t turn my feelings off like one would turn off a faucet. Do you really expect me to do that?” Elena, this conversation is over. I love Ana, not you, never have, don’t now and never will. Do you understand that? Leave my wife and me alone. Stay out of our lives. Do you understand that, Elena?” Stay out of our lives.” The phone goes quite and I hear her quietly sobbing. I quickly hang up the phone and call Ana.

She answers on the first ring. “Hi, my husband. You usually text me. Is everything alright?” I catch my breath at the sound of her sweet voice. “Yes, baby. Everything is just fine. I just wanted to let you know how very much I love you and miss you. Now get back to work.” “Christian, what brought this on?” “Nothing, baby, I just needed to tell you that”. Do you love me back?” “Of course I do my bossy, mercurial, sweet 50. Of course I do”. Now I am going to do as you just ordered me to do and that is to “get back to work”. “I love you, the ground you walk on and the air you breathe. See you tonight after work, okay?” I respond with an “I can’t wait” and click off my Blackberry. “That damn Elena. Maybe I will talk to dad about getting a restraining order against her. I really don’t want to do that, though. I know that she loves me and I don’t want to break her like I feel that I did to Leila but I can’t continue to allow her to harass us in this manner. Well, maybe after today’s conversation…… shit, she just doesn’t take no for an answer. Well, let it go, Grey, you have other things to deal with.

I call Mia, then Elliot and let them know what my plan is for a Christmas present for our parents and grandparents. Both of them are elated. Mia, in typical Mia fashion, starts squealing and saying what a wonderful idea it is. Even Elliot seems excited about it. “Great idea, bro”. Let me know when you want to get together. I tell him the same thing that I told Mia. I will give them a call in a few days. Just as I am hanging up, Andrea knocks on my door. I tell her to come in and she gives me the information that I have asked her to obtain for me. I tell her to go ahead and get it ordered but to make sure that it is completed and delivered on Christmas Eve. She says she is on it and exits. I sometimes wonder how I managed to get the staff that I have. Andrea and Roz are both getting huge bonuses because of their loyalty and dedication and for putting up with my “50 shades of fucked upness” I want them to know how much I appreciate them, even though at times, I can be an ogre.

I tell Taylor that I will be ready in about 10 minutes. “Sir”. He starts to head out of my office when Andrea comes running in, almost knocks Taylor on his ass and is totally hysterical, screaming and crying as she is falling to the floor. Taylor and I both try to reach her but Taylor succeeds as he is closest to her, catches her and picks her up and places her on the couch. “What the hell, happened, Andrea?”, I ask. Andrea is just about ready to pass out but manages to breathe into a paper bag that Taylor gets from somewhere, only God knows. The man is incredible. Andrea is finally able to speak and I, by this time, am ready to stroke out myself, knowing that it is something serious. My first thought was that something has happened to Ana. I just about scream at Andrea. Is it Anastasia? The staff and security on my floor, hear the commotion and come running. Is it Anastasia, I yell as I grab her shoulders? She starts shaking her head in the negative and sputters out, “It’s you they are after”. What the fuck is she talking about? Taylor jumps in front of me, almost knocking me on my ass, grabs Andrea up by the shoulders and asks her what she is talking about and who is after the boss? I quickly mull over in my head, “is that what they call me? The boss?” After what seems like an eternity, Andrea starts talking or should I say, rambling about a phone call from some man who said that he is waiting outside for that fucker Grey to come out because he is going to blow his brains from here to hell. Without missing a beat, Taylor orders the security detail to follow him and they are out of the office in a flash. Taylor had brought the SUV up earlier and parked it in my designated parking space.

I try my best to calm Andrea down, to no avail. I tell one of the other staff to get Roz in here ASAP, which they do. Roz comes running in, asking what the hell is going on. I try as best as I can to explain to her what happened. I instruct Roz to get Andrea to the ER for treatment for hysteria and to stay with her until I get there. In the meantime, Taylor returns with a report that the coast seems clear but just to make sure, he is going to take the car back down to the garage so that we can leave from there. I tell him no. I am not going to let some bastard run my life. Taylor insists and so do I and since I am “the boss”, he damn well better follow my instructions. He gives me a look that is a little more than his usual impassive look and I glare back at him…NO, Taylor. Let’s go. It is not up for discussion. Taylor grabs his piece out like he is ready for battle and walks ahead of me as we exit the office and then the building. I tell him to “put your damn gun away, Taylor. It was probably just a prank call”. Taylor keeps walking and I am just not in the mood for a fight with my personal security. I decide to let him do his job.

When we exit the building with the other security detail, they are all looking around in different directions as Taylor hustles me toward the SUV. All of a sudden, shots ring out. One of the security guards, yells, “Taylor, gun pointing at Grey from 2nd story, building on the left at 11 o’clock”. Taylor jumps in front of me, pushing me in the SUV, starts shooting in the afore described position and then suddenly goes down. Taylor has just taken bullets intended for me. He disregarded life and limb to protect me. I jump out of the vehicle and pick Taylor up, lay him in the back seat, shout at the security to take care of the situation….I’m taking Taylor to the hospital. They tell me that they are going to call an ambulance. I tell them “no, I don’t have time for a fucking ambulance’. “Not for Taylor, sir. We think he shot the shooter. He is hanging half out of the window”. I don’t take the time to even check, knowing full well that the security was on top of the situation. As we jet away, one lone paparazzi starts snapping pictures. Where in the hell did his ass come from? I am glad that the windows are tinted. I speed to the hospital that is about 3 miles away from GEH and pull into the area that is reserved for rescue squads. I jump out from the driver’s side, open the back door to the SUV, and lay on the ER bell frantically. An orderly comes running out and quickly accesses the situation, sees all of the blood coming from Taylor’s head and runs to get help.

They rush Taylor into an examining room, while asking me how he got injured. I tell them that he took some bullets intended for me. They ask me to step outside while they examine him to find out the extent of his injuries. A nurse starts an IV while a male nurse cuts off his shirt, jacket and pants, to keep from moving him. “Sir, you are going to have to leave”. “Not on your life, I retort in a voice that sounds like it came up from the bowels of hell. I am not leaving him”. The doctor on duty tells them to let me stay. “If I am not mistaken, you are Dr. Grey’s son, Christian….am I right?” I nod and ask him if my mom is on duty. He tells the orderly to check to see if she is in the building and to have her get down here, if she is, STAT.

I look at Taylor and for a minute, have to fight back tears. Please, God. Let Taylor be okay. Just as I say that to myself, mom runs in and Taylor opens his eyes. Oh thank God. They explain the situation to mom before she has a chance to ask. She walks over to me, puts her arm around my waist and tells me that Taylor is just fine. “Our scalps have veins that are very close to the skin and whenever someone receives a head injury, it bleeds profusely. Taylor was just grazed by one bullet enough to scrape the skin. They don’t even have to shave his head or give him stitches. As you can see, he is just fine. As a matter of fact, it looks as though he must have bumped his head on something hard enough to knock him colder than a frosty morn, but it certainly was not a bullet. I think that he probably knocked his head on the door frame when he was trying to push me in the vehicle.

“Boss”, Taylor says. “Did I nail the fucker”? One of the nurses gasps. Taylor looks and sees everyone standing around, even mom and says, “Sorry”. Did I nail him, sir?” Yes, Taylor. Not only did you “nail” him, but you saved my life”. “Just doing my job, sir”. Oops, wrong thing to say in front of mom. “WHAT?”, mom screams as tears start running down her beautiful face. “I’m fine mom. I will explain later. Now stop crying”, I whisper in her ear. “You are embarrassing me. I am just fine. We will talk later but until then, not a word to anybody, okay? I’m sure that by now, the press has heard something and is trying to find out what happened.” She gives me the Ana Grey eye rolling look. “Oh no, not her too?” I say. She looks at me as if to say, “What in the world are you talking about?” “Nothing”, I say. “Just talking to Christian”. She looks at me with love showing in her eyes and smiles that special smile that I had become so accustomed to as a child. “What?” I ask. She throws her arms around my neck, hugging me tight and whispers in my ear. “When you were just a little boy and you had finally decided to speak, I used to hear you talking to someone or something. I would ask you what you were saying and your words to me in your sweet little voice, were, “Nothing. Just talking to Christian”. It just brought back a flood of memories and reminded me of how much we loved you and still do, my darling. I gently kiss my mother on her forehead. We turn our attention back to Taylor. Taylor motions me to come to the side of the bed. First he asks how Andrea is and then he asks if the would be assassin is dead. I tell him that I am about to go check on Andrea and then I will call and find out the situation at GEH. I want to see about Andrea first though because everyone is going to want to know how the “ice queen” is. Taylor looks at me astonished that I knew what they called her. “Taylor”, I say. “There is almost nothing that goes on in my companies that I don’t know about. I do have to admit that the boss thing threw me. That is one thing I didn’t know about and I have a sneaking suspension that you started that.” Taylor just looks at me, turns his head and tries to hide a smile which in turn makes me smile and cracks mom up. She doesn’t even try to suppress her laughter.

After Taylor is released, he, mom and I make our way to the information desk and find out that Andrea and Roz are still in the treatment room. Andrea has recovered enough to leave; however, Roz tells me that she refuses to leave until she see’s me and “I sure wasn’t going to leave her alone”. Andrea tells them “that he should be here shortly”. The doctor says it is okay for her to stay for another hour or so because he doesn’t want her to go into another panic attack. This last one was pretty severe. Talk about humbling. My staff really does care about me. I had no idea that they felt this way. Andrea’s bonus just doubled. Ana tried to tell me but it was just so hard to accept. Now I know. I brief Roz and Andrea and mom as to what took place at GEH. Roz leaves the examination room quickly. Taylor looks at me; I look back at him and shrug my shoulders. Andrea shoos us out while she gets dressed to leave. I check my Blackberry. 10 calls with messages from the ball crusher. Oh shit. I’d better get back to her. I sure as hell don’t want her calling Ana.

She answers on the first ring and says, “Christian, I want to know what the hell happened at GEH. I heard something on the scanner when I walked into the news room, about there being a shooting at GEH and several people had been taken to the hospital. They didn’t know if there were any fatalities. Are you alright? Wow. Does this mean that Kate is concerned about me too?” Will wonders never cease? I first ascertain that she has not called Ana. She tells me no. With a sigh of relief, I explain to her what happened and promised her the first news release. “As a matter of fact, Kate. Can you meet me at Grey House in about an hour? I will let you give out the press release. My people have been through enough”. “Christian, you would let me do that”? She asks. I come back with “Why not? After all, you are my wife’s best friend.” She agrees and very humbly thanks me. Wow, the bone crusher can be humble. As we prepare to leave, Roz comes hustling up to us to tell us that the only thing that she can tell us is that the shooter is in critical condition. They won’t release any further information. I will send my team of PR people, led by Welch, over later to get what information they can. They will bring back their report directly to Kate and me. No one else.

I get out my blackberry and attempt to call Sawyer when it rings. I look at it, relieved that it is not Ana. I see that it is Elena and quickly click on leave a message which states, “I can’t come to the phone right now”. I click off and call Sawyer, and apprise him of the situation. I ask him if she has left yet. He says to me “Affirmative, Sir.” I can tell by the tone of his voice that she is in the car. I instruct him to take her directly home, no television, and no radio. He is to keep Ana and Gail as isolated as possible. We are on our way home as we speak. Yes sir.”

Look for the rest of the story, next blog post along with another surprise.

Ana’s mom’s #3 husband

All of these characters belong to ELJames
“Ana, where in the world does the time go? The holidays are upon us. By the way, mom and dad always wants everyone to spend Thanksgiving with them. Mom makes a real big deal out of holidays, especially Thanksgiving. They have the entire family over as well as staff and everyone else who she can drag in. She says that if staff breaks bread with us, they bond and feel more like a part of the family rather than servants and everyone gets to know each other, which is always good. That means Gail, Taylor, Sawyer and Ryan will be coming. We will get Welsh to supply security for the penthouse. Okay?”
Anastasia is staring into the blazing fire like she has not heard a word that Christian has said. “Ana, what’s wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost”. Ana looks at Christian with tears streaming down her face. “Oh, Christian”, she sobs as he gathers her in his arms and pulls her onto his lap. “Baby, tell me what is wrong.” Ana quiets her sobbing and tells him that she has something that she wants to share with him. “I’m listening, baby. What is it?”
Ana starts talking. “You have not heard me say too much about mom’s husband #3 but I know that you have wanted to ask me about him.” Christian thinks quietly to himself that if that bastard has done something to hurt Ana, I will fucking find him and fucking kill his ass. “Yes, but I figured that something must have happened that you found painful to talk about and when you got ready, you would talk about it.” Ana remains quiet for a few minutes, trying to control her emotions which she is having a hard time doing.
Gail is working quietly in the kitchen, preparing some of the food to take over to Dr. Grey’s for the Thanksgiving feast next week. She can’t help but overhear the conversation between Christian and Ana. At first, with Ana sobbing, she thought that Christian had said something to upset her. She listens more closely as Ana continues.
“I never did like him,” Ana continues. “He always stared at me like I had two heads. He used to tell me that I was the ugliest thing that he ever saw. He would always ask me how in the world did I ever expect to get a husband looking the way I looked. I would go into my bedroom and just cry until I got sick. I never said anything to mom about it but I did ask her all of the time, why I couldn’t be pretty like her. Being my mother, she always told me that I was prettier than she was and I would even get prettier as I matured into a young woman.
One day, husband #3 came, uninvited, into my bedroom. He said that he decided to fuck me and that would make me look better.” Christian’s body tightened and Gail clasped her hands over her mouth to stave back a gasp. Ana continued. “He started to wrestle with me to get my clothes off but I fought him as hard as I could and bit his hand hard enough to make him let go of me. I ran out of my room before he could catch me, all of the while, he is calling for me to ‘get back here, you little bitch. I’m going to fuck the ugly out of you’. Mom had to run an errand and was just turning the corner as I ran out of the house. She didn’t see the haste, only that I was standing out on the porch as she pulled into the drive-way. ‘Where ya’ going, sweetheart?’ I told her that I had to take my friend’s homework notes to her as she forgot and left them in my room. Mom gave me a nod and told me not to be late for supper. I ran down the steps before she could see my tears.
I knew that I had to get away from that son-of-a-bitch. I called Ray later that evening when mom and #3 went out to a movie. The only thing that I shared with him was that I couldn’t stay with mom’s husband #3 because he was always complaining about me and was always being critical of me. Ray readily agreed to come get me right then. I told him that I had to check with mom and try to make her realize how unhappy that I was. Ray told me to call him as soon as I was ready. Ray figured something had happened but didn’t push the issue.”
“It would be nice to have someone else in the house with me to look after and who I could teach things to” is the way he explained to Christian the reason how Ana came to live with him. “We had always had a bond, but her mom was against Ana leaving her.”
“I convinced mom that I was not happy and to please, please, let me go and live with Ray. He was the only father that I knew and he would take care of me. She finally let me go. Every year, around this time, which is when it happened, I re-live it. I kept all of that crap in me until now, only sharing it with mom and Ray. It all came back to me when you started talking about the Thanksgiving gathering. That’s one reason why Dr. Flynn wants to talk to me about my insecurity issues.
I was always ashamed of the way that I looked and why I thought that I was not pretty. When you kept telling me how pretty I was and what a delicious looking body that I had. I thought you were just trying to be nice to make me feel better about myself. Kate used to tell me the same thing. It is hard to shed that type of self-image when you have been told so many times how ugly that you are.
“Our first Thanksgiving together was, shall I say, challenging. I was just learning how to cook and Ray couldn’t help a bit. All we did was ate carryout and that grew old real quick so I really didn’t have a choice. Ray bought a turkey and some other stuff that I had no idea how to cook. The Monday before Thanksgiving, he came home with a package for me. I opened it and to my surprise, it was a ‘Cookbook for Beginners’. I laughed and asked him why he hadn’t gotten one for himself? He started laughing and said that he would rather fish than eat. We did manage to get through it with the turkey that was drier than dry, lumpy mashed potatoes with gravy that tasted like paste and the green bean casserole with half cooked green beans. Looking back, I realized just how good it was for me to have been there with Ray to keep him from starving to death. That was a Thanksgiving that will never be forgotten,” I chuckled.
“““““`
Contining my account to Christian, and even though I didn’t realize it, to Gail as well. “I turned on the news one day while getting ready for school and there on the screen was, big as life, husband #3’s picture. The news anchor was interviewing some of the neighbors who lived on mom’s street. It seemed as though, there was a serial child molester that had been on the loose for several months but every child he had attempted to rape, was able to claw and get away from him. They finally caught him from DNA samples from under the girls’ fingernails, when the young girl had identified him as the man who had tried to attack her. He was so brazen that he had gone to the park one day to scout out his next would be victim. The young girl happened to be there, saw him, ran from the park like her life depended upon it, screaming at her mom to call the police as she almost tore down the door. She and her mom met the police at the park and they arrested husband #3. By the time the news had finished the story, my body had turned to mush as I dropped to the floor in a dead faint.”
Ray found me on the kitchen floor and called the rescue squad and then called my mom. Mom caught the first thing smoking headed to California. She was booked on an emergency flight and was at the hospital in a matter of hours.
I was examined and it was determined that my system had just had a stressful and shocking episode….other than that, I was just fine. “When the doctor left, mom asked me if I had seen the news. I told her that I had and then started crying uncontrollably. Poor Ray didn’t know what to think. He and mom just looked at each other, dazed. When I finally was able to control myself, the entire story came about what #3 had said and tried to do to me.
“Mom passed out colder than a frosty morn but dear Ray saw what was happening and grabbed her to keep her from falling to the floor. I pulled my ‘need help’ cord and the nurse came rushing in. She called for a cart, and rushed her to the ER. Ray pushed me in a wheelchair following her. When she finally came around, she had a wild look in her eyes and was talking incoherently. They took her straight to the psych ward where she stayed for about a week. After they treated her for a temporary emotional breakdown, she was released. Ray insisted that she come stay with us until she came to grips with what had happened. After about 2 months, she was able to return home.
Ray did some investigating and discovered that #3 had been tried, convicted and sent to the penitentiary for 25 years with no possibility of parole. It seems as though several of the other would be victims came forth with their testimony.”
Christian thought as he held Ana, another fucking asshole of off the streets. Good. I hope the bastard rots there. From what I hear, that they do to child molesters as well as wannabe’s, he better not bend down to pick up the soap in the shower.
Gail finds herself shedding tears as she makes the dough for the pie crusts and cuts up the vegetables for the stuffing. How could that bastard do that to such a sweet child? I probably shouldn’t but I feel like I must share this with Taylor. Christian walks in the kitchen, surprised to see me, sees the tears and asks me gently if I “heard”. All I could do was nod my head in the affirmative. “I am getting Ana a glass of wine….would you like for me to pour you a glass?” I tell him no thanks and he gets 2 glasses out of the cupboard, pours Ana’s wine and fills the other with orange juice and takes two Advil out of the bottle and places them on the counter for me. “Don’t fret, Gail. Ana is going to be just fine. She has all of us to take care of her.” “Thank you, Mr. Grey.” Gail remembers what Taylor said about the boss being so kind to those whom he cares for.
After Christian gets Ana settled down, Taylor hears the boss on the speaker phone giving Welch hell. “I don’t give a fuck if it is a holiday. I pay them enough money to make it worthwhile to secure this place for a few hours.” Welch tells the boss that he would get the only security guard left because all of the rest are securing his other interests. There is just one problem though….he has a family and would it be okay if he brought them with him. “I don’t give a fuck as long as they don’t tear up the place he yells and yes, they can use the pool table and play the video games. They can eat here as well. I will have Gail prepare a meal for them unless his wife wants to prepare it. Call and let Taylor know so that he can inform Gail as to what is going on.”
I swear, Taylor thinks as he hears Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams erupt at the same time. How in the hell does that bastard go from zero to ruthless son-of-a-bitch in .o5 seconds and then right back down again? I heard Ana refer to him as Mr. Mercurial once. I think that he gives new meaning to that word. Really, though, I think that he is upset about something entirely removed from this security issue. I will talk to Gail later and see if she knows anything.
He then calls Andrea and tells her to make the arrangements for the corporate jet and Charlie Tango to be available for use on Wednesday to pick up Anastasia’s family and to return them on Saturday. Both of the aircrafts will need pilots. If there is a problem, solve it and get back to me with the details. Thanks. Click-up goes the phone. Taylor has to chuckle as he says to himself, “rude bastard”.
I inform Sawyer and Ryan to be prepared for pick up at the airport for Ana’s parents on Wednesday. Charlie Tango will set down on Escala, as usual.
Grey goes back into the great room where Ana and Gail are in deep conversation. Gail informs them that lunch will be ready in about 20 minutes and Ana thanks her. “By the way, Christian, the plan for Thanksgiving is just fine. I am really looking forward to it, and thanks for including my family. Another reason why I love you so much”, I say as I plant a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go eat before all of Gail’s food is for naught” as he looks at me with that wantonly look that I have become so familiar with. You know….the one that makes me quiver all the way down south, I say to my subconscious.” Oh, brother, my inner goddess makes a b-line to the bedroom where she has to wait patiently which is going to make her stand in the corner on her head to cool down.

From Gail’s birdseye view

All of these characters belong to ELJames. They are written by me for all of you who cannot get enough of the Grey clan.
The boss and Jason have just returned from the cemetery where Christian has placed a holiday wreath on Ella’s grave with a ribbon across it. It simply read, “Thank You”.
The Grey’s and Jason are ready to go. Mr. Mullins and his family have arrived for the security detail and I am just showing Mrs. Mullins where to find all of the food that I cooked. All she has to do is to warm it up. I yell out to everyone, “Okay, I’m ready. What I am taking over to the Grey’s is all packed and we are ready to leave. Sawyer and Ryan have Ray, Mr. Rodriquez and Jose and they are going to meet us at our destination after a quick run to the airport to pick up Ana’s mom and her husband. Mr. & Mrs. Kavanaugh and Ethan are driving and are expected, according to what Kate relays to Ana via their cell phone conversation, in about 10 minutes. This is the fourth year that I have been over to the Atty & Dr. Grey’s mansion for Thanksgiving. We will repeat it all over again for Christmas. I really enjoy these times. For Anastasia, this is a first and she seems elated. The Grey’s love her as though she is their own. Even though the weather is somewhat cloudy, nippy and a little snow, there is no accumulation expected. I hear Jason tell Christian that the return trip might have to be delayed due to 80% chance of rain on Saturday. There is only a 40% chance on Sunday with temperatures warming up to the 40’s. Christian thanks Jason and says that he will inform everyone later.
Sawyer and Ryan arrive at the same time that we pull up. Elliot has picked up Kate earlier and her mom, dad and Ethan pull up right behind us. Unfortunately, my sister can’t come. She is hosting her children and in-laws this year. That’s okay, though. I see her almost every weekend. After the emotional greetings with everybody, the huge door opens and we are all greeted by Atty & Dr. Grey and of course, the bubbly Miss Mia and the personable and handsome blonde hunk, Mr. Elliot Grey with Kate by his side. Standing right behind them are Mr. & Mrs. Trevelyan. We are ushered into the house where I immediately direct Jason, Sawyer and Ryan where to take the food which is our contribution to this feast. That is the only word that can describe what is on the menu.
Atty. Grey is frying 3 turkeys. Miss Mia has roasted 2 large turkeys, one stuffed with cornbread stuffing which I had Jason take over last night, and the other stuffed with oyster stuffing. There are two casseroles of each kind of stuffing to insure that there is plenty for all. The rest of the menu consists of candied yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, mixed greens, (collards and mustard), corn pudding, macaroni and cheese, wild rice, homemade coleslaw, honey glazed, spiral sliced ham, beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon, roasted red potatoes, wild pheasant, duck under glass, chitterlings, homemade cranberry and orange sauce, and homemade rolls. For dessert, Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, fruit cocktail cake, punchbowl cake, and for those who like it, fruitcake soaked in rum as well as several individual French desserts that Miss Mia also made.
Finally, the signal is given that the food is ready and everyone sits at the huge dining room table, Atty. Grey asks God’s blessings and we all start passing the serving plates and bowls around. No servers at this banquet…everyone serves themselves. The food is not only plentiful, but absolutely delicious.
The conversation is relaxing and funny as Christian and Elliot start relating stories of their earlier years. Of course, Ray has to tell the story about Ana’s attempt at cooking their first Thanksgiving meal together. Lots of funny stories and lots of laughter. I am truly enjoying myself but find that one of the regular cooks or housekeepers for the Sr. Grey’s, keeps watching Jason. I start to feel pangs of jealousy as I wonder if Jason would be interested in her because she is younger than I am. I was afraid this would happen. Jason, I think, senses what I am thinking and I feel hand rubbing my thigh and not paying the least bit of attention to Ms eagle eye who has way too much lipstick on. His look implies that I don’t have a thing to worry about. My jealously and insecurity leaves as quickly as it came. Jason has told me enough times that he only has eyes for me and how much he really loves me.
All of a sudden, Jason stops eating, stills and cocks his head to one side as though he has heard something. He feels much better about the security around the mansion because of the cameras that continually rove around the property. No one can set foot on the property without being detected. I wondered if Atty. Grey forgot to turn them on. He was in the back frying the turkeys and maybe he just forgot. Whatever is going on, Jason is like a watchdog. Ready to jump up at a second’s notice. The doorbell rings and Jason is on his feet before the chimes stop announcing the arrival of a guest.
“I will answer the door”, he says in his no nonsense and nobody make a move, voice. Christian and Elliot look at him and then each other with a hint of a smile. Miss Mia says, “Boy, Taylor sure takes his job seriously”. Elliot says, “MeMe, is there any other way to take a job like Taylor’s?”
Jason comes back into the dining room, bends over and says something very quietly to the boss. Everyone gets quiet as Christian, excuses himself, stating that he would be right back. Christian looks at Jason but avoids looking at Ana. All we can hear of the conversation is the fact that the boss is talking to a female…loud. All of a sudden, Ana jumps up from the table without saying a word, makes a b-line out to where Christian is and then the entire table jumps up and heads to the door where Christian is and Ana is headed. Oh, lordy be! Of all the nerve. It’s that troll bitch Mrs. Robinson, as Ana calls her. We get there in time to hear Ana start yelling at Mrs. Lincoln. She is trying to tell Ana and Christian how sorry she is about what had happened. She felt that she owed the family and especially her dear friend Grace, an apology and she thought this would be a good time to give it since she knew that everyone would be here. We see Ana turn beet red as she grabs Mrs. Lincoln around the throat and pushes her down the steps where Mrs. Lincoln lands on the pavement. Ana then flies into a real rage, straddles her and pins her to the ground and yells at her “You leave my family alone, you troll bitch. Don’t you ever come around them. or my husband. or me. ever. again. This is fair warning: If you so much as speak to any of us, I will mop up Seattle WA with your ass and if I have to walk through hell with gasoline drawers on to get to you, I will gladly do it. Now get your whorish ass off of this property and don’t you ever set foot on it again and leave us the hell alone. She ends it with a punishing blow to her chin. Everyone is standing around in a state of shock with nobody saying anything….not even Christian. Elena’s driver jumps out of the car and runs over to where the ruckus takes place and just that quick, Christian and Jason jump in his path to ensure that he doesn’t try anything with Ana. Ana gets up and walks back into the house like she is not even aware that we are all watching her. Mrs. Lincoln’s driver helps his charge get up and into the limo and they take off like a bat out of hell.
We all go back and take our seats, quietly. After a few minutes, Elliot says to Ana, “Ana, I take it you don’t like Mrs. Lincoln. Taylor, if I were you, I’d be afraid of being replaced as a body guard or whatever they are called in this day and age. Everyone at the table, roared, even Christian. We continue our meal as though nothing has happened. Christian leans over, gives Ana a big hug and tells her that he is proud of her “but please don’t ever get that mad at me”. That sets of another round of laugher. Poor Mia and Kate are just speechless. Mia says, “Can someone tell me what that was all about?” “Nothing, MeMe”, says Elliot. “Slugger Ana Ali just doesn’t like her meal to be interrupted”. Mia gives him a dirty look. Ray pipes in with, “Well, Annie, I guess I taught you well. Fits of laughter again.
Mia leaves the table to refill one of the serving bowls and as she sets it back on the table, the doorbell rings again. Everyone jumps but Mia is already headed to the door. “I’ll get it this time”, she says with a determination that only Miss Mia can show. All of a sudden, Miss Mia lets out a blood curdling scream like she has seen the devil himself…”DAAADDY”. Atty Grey, Jason, Sawyer, Ryan, Christian, and Elliot almost knock each other down trying to get to Mia. The rest of us jumped up as well.
We see the paparazzi trying to grab one of their cameras that Mia had snatched and one of them had a hold of her to keep her from destroying it. Jason makes his move to rescue Mia and bring the paparazzi down, but the attorney bursts through the security like a linebacker rushing to decapitate a quarterback, pushing past Jason and the others, yelling at them, GET OUT OF MY MOTHER FUCKING WAY. I GOT THIS! You could actually see fire in his eyes. I have never seen anything like that before. And I thought Ana was bad. What on earth is going on today? This is not supposed to be happening.
Single handed , the attorney forces the one man to release Mia by head butting him and jamming his fingers in both of his eyes, them grabs the other two, and rams their heads together and they fall to the ground, out cold. His right foot comes up and connects with the final man’s balls and he falls to the ground, yelling and grabbing his family jewels. Mr. Grey Sr., let out a string of cuss words that I had never heard before, even from Jason or Christian. He tells them that if they ever come back uninvited, or put their hands on anyone in his family ever again, he was going to introduce them to the place where his boat is docked and then he would never have to worry about them.
I look at him. This is PROTECTOR CARRICK GREY, in his finest hour. Just about then, three police cruisers come flying around the circle in front of the mansion. After a brief explanation, the officers load the men into the cruiser and confiscate their cameras. The one officer tells Mr. Grey Sr., that he can come downtown in the morning and file charges. The attorney nods, thanks them and turns to us and says, “Now let us go and finish our meal that has been prepared for the nourishment of our bodies. Amen”
The security, Christian, and Elliot, just stand there in a state of shock. Carrick’s sons, proud as peacocks, had never seen their father like that before. Their mother is standing with her arms around Mia which is where she flew after calling the police. Jason said that all of the time that he spent in the service, he had never seen anything like that before. He says that maybe he should hire Mr. Grey to be his, in Elliot’s words, body guard. Everybody started laughing as they head back to the table.
You would think that after all of this, nobody would be hungry. Not so. It seems as though these episodes have just increased their appetites. The rest of the meal is enjoyed uneventfully, recapping the events of the day.
The boss has told everyone what is on the schedule for tomorrow. He has made arrangements for everyone to stay at Escala and then they will all go out for breakfast in the morning. They agree. Later, they will go to see a play in the afternoon and then to the Christmas lighting ceremony later that evening. He asks if everyone is okay with that. “Everyone wants to see Santa come to town”, he states. “I know that I do, he says with a chuckle”.
Everything settled, we women make up the clean-up brigade, and refuse the offers of help. The men retire to the huge family room to watch the Texans play in Detroit until the women have completed the clean up. When everything is cleaned up and put in containers for everyone to take home, we prepare for our annual game of tag football with the women and the men against each other in the mammoth yard. The attorney passes out the self adhering flags which are navy, green and white representing the Seahawks and orange and brown, representing the Cleveland Browns. These are designed so that all a person has to do is to pull them off which represents a tackle. Every year, the “Seahawks” play a different team. It is quite chilly but my heart is warmed as I watch family and friends prepare for battle as the events of this day fade into oblivion. The “family” that plays together, stays together. That is a “for sure” statement as far as this group is concerned.
~ ~ ~ ~
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE AND SAFE TRAVELS!!! SEE YOU NEXT TIME WITH ANOTHER SURPRISE.

Christian, Roz & Taylor take a trip to Cleveland OH

“Taylor”, the boss bellows so half of Washington State can hear him. Sensing the urgency of his beckoning, I quickly give Gail a kiss as I say to her facetiously, “I wonder who in the hell is going before his personal death squad now”. Without even knowing who the object of his wrath might be, I feel sorry for the poor bastard, whoever he is.
“Sir”, I say as it takes me all of 20 seconds to get to his office. He tells me that he just got off of the phone with Roz and she is at the boiling point in her anger. Seems as though the head honcho in charge of his northeast operations has fired all of the employees who got “caught” using the company computers to do the cyber shopping thing on company time. “Doesn’t that stupid bastard know that it’s written in their contract that all employees are allowed to have 2 hours every week for personal use on our computers because of the speed of our servers? Why in the hell does he think there is a room full of high tech equipment just for that purpose?” That is another reason, besides Gail, why I stay with the boss. He is one ‘over the top’ generous bastard. The other reason I stay is that I genuinely care for him and truly feel the need to protect Gail, Ana and him. Although sometimes I wonder if he really needs protecting because of his kick boxing skills and his love of giving out a good ass whipping to whomever he deems is worthy.
The base of this operation is in New York, and covers the Cleveland OH area which is where the firing incident took place and where we are headed. Roz is going with us and is making arraignments for the company jet to take off in an hour.
The boss calms down enough to give his wife a call at work and report to her where he is going and why. I head to the kitchen to inform Gail of what has taken place, but not before I hear him tell Ana that he needs her home “right now.” I start chuckling. I sure as hell know what that is all about. Poor Ana is going to get fucked into the middle of next week, which is always what happens when the boss gets too upset to handle his frustrations. It must be okay with Ana, though. Usually, he has to almost demand that she leave work but this time all he says is, “okay, baby, I will see you in 15 minutes.” I’m wondering how in the hell are we going to take off in an hour. Oh, well. If the boss says “in an hour”, then it is going to be in an hour. Thinking about the boss’ comments to Ana, makes me think of how much I love Gail and that thought is making me horny as a green-eyed toad. I walk up behind Gail, wrap my arms around her and briefly explain what is going on. I don’t have to request anything. She literally drags me into our bedroom, strips me from the waist down and starts doing one of the things that she does best. “Blow job time” It doesn’t take long before we are both sated. I head to the shower with Gail in tow.
About 15 minutes before our scheduled take off, the boss and I are suited in our finest “taking care of business” attire with him in that damn grey tie. I sure in hell would like to know the story behind that fucking tie. Seems to be his favorite one. Oh well, do I really want to know? I think not!
As we step into the elevator to head up to the heliport on top of Escala, I give the boss and myself a once over in the mirror inside of the elevator. Damn, we look good. He doesn’t even have that ‘just fucked’ hair look. The boss is really one handsome son- of –a-bitch and I am not far behind. I love it when we make our appearances. Mouths drop open, stares abound and all work comes to a sudden halt. “Keep focused, Taylor. You are on duty”, I say to myself. Roz meets us as we exit the elevator and together, we climb into Charlie Tango for the trip to SeaTac. The boss is piloting and after all checks are set for lift up and away, we head into the ‘the wild blue yonder’. I’m wondering how much longer it is going to be before the boss will be piloting his jet.
While enroute, Roz makes arrangements for us to be picked up by helicopter from Cleveland Hopkins Airport and lifted to Burke Lakefront Airport and then for a limo to pick us up and take us to our destination which is a building that the boss owns downtown. When we get to Grey House II and make our entrance, it was just as I predicted; mouths drop open, stares abound and all work comes to a sudden halt.
I walk past Grey and Roz, up to the security booth, identify myself, let him know who the boss is and tell the two security detail that we are here to see the plant manager. I then tell him not to bother to tell Mr. Harrison Glenwright that we are here, we know where his office is. The two men looked at each other as if to ask “what in the hell are we supposed to do?” One of the men says that if they don’t let him know that we are on the premises’, “we will get fired”. The boss steps up to the counter and calmly asks, “Who is going to fire you? I am the owner and CEO of this company and you two aren’t the ones who are getting fired. We walk past the receptionist’s desk and past a row of offices, each with assistants busy working, that is until they look up and see Grey. They all come to their door entrances and just stare as we walk by. We reach Glenwright’s office at the end of the hall and Roz opens the door, without knocking, for all of us to file in.
“What the hell”, he stutters out as though he has been caught viewing a porn site on his computer. Realizing that Christian Grey has entered his office, he states, Mr. Grey, what a pleasant surprise. He rises to shake the boss’ hand. Grey’s eyes spit fire as he glares at Glenwright. Ignoring his outreached hand, Grey tells him to sit down, shut the fuck up and “don’t you say another word, you cocky, arrogant, think your better than my employees, mother fucker.”
In the meantime, Roz approaches Glenwright’s secretary and instructs her to call an emergency meeting immediately of all of the supervisors and have them in Glenwright’s office within 10 minutes. She follows with an “I don’t give a damn if they are sitting on the toilet taking a crap, they better finish and be in here in 10 minutes or I will hand them their balls and ovaries on a platter and fire whoever is not in here”.
I see why Roz is so valued by Grey. She knows what to do, when and how to do it. She could almost be a clone of the boss….or a mind reader. While Grey is still lambasting Glenwright, he reaches for his drawer, pulls it open and reaches for something. Immediately, I reach for my gun and pull it out, pointing it at the bastard’s head. I tell him in a no nonsense tone, “Don’t you even think about it, you son-of-a-bitch. The bastard slams his drawer closed and says that he was only preparing to protect himself because he thought he was going to get jumped on. Grey tells him that he has five minutes to clean out his desk and “get the hell off of my property, you sorry ass son-of-a-bitch. Now you are fired and don’t even think about using my company as a reference. Who do you think you are anyway, going over my head? I own this company, you stupid ass bastard. The contract is one that I authored and my employees go by what I say.
Roz, have the secretary call all of the fired employees and tell them that their jobs have been reinstated with full benefits and a $1000.00 bonus for their inconvenience. I holster my piece and stand over Glenwright as though I’m a Dom. By this time, all of the supervisors have come into what used to be Glenwright’s office. Only hearing part of what Grey has thrown at their previous boss, they stand in a state of shock. They all look like they are about to be fired.
After putting them at ease, he explains to them that they are going to have to be retrained and they will learn the contract forward and backward, inside out and will dream of it every night until they have it memorized. They will then be tested on it randomly and if they miss one question, they can look for another job. “Supervisor’s, I am a busy man and that is why I need the best people possible to insure that this type of thing does not happen. The piece of shit that was your boss, is no more. I will not tolerate anyone who thinks they are better than those who are hired to work in my companies. Your co-workers are returning to work immediately and this incident will not be discussed. You will have a new plant manager by next week. This is just what I meant when I said that Grey can go to ruthless bastard in 0.05 seconds and then right back down again. I’ll say one thing; Grey is not to be fucked with when it comes to protecting his interests.
After having Roz stop all work and calling all of the employees into the cafeteria for a meeting, Grey goes around and introduces himself to all of them, and then in a “meeting type” setting, he asks them if any of them have any questions, comments or complaints about anything. He tells them to feel free to speak up. He promised that he wasn’t going to fire anyone, as long as they did what was required of them. Your supervisor’s will call each department head who in turn will contact all of you and go over your rights as far as the contract goes. No one says anything. To tell you the truth, I think they are all mesmorized by the boss’ looks and are scared shitless to say anything.
The boss tells Roz to make arrangements for our return trip as we will be leaving right after having lunch in the building’s cafeteria. He wants to check out the menus before leaving, just to make sure that the employees are getting nutritious meals. He also wants to make sure that there is plenty of food to take home for their family’s suppers so that after working all day, they won’t have to cook. This way, they will be able to spend more time with their families. The boss takes $20.00 a week out of their paychecks to donate to the local homeless shelters. This is for the food they eat here and take home. It’s a wonder he isn’t bankrupt. It just seems the more that he gives, the more that he gets in return. I guess it is called karma. Whatever it’s called, it sure works for him.
As we get settled in the helicopter for our airlift back to Cleveland Hopkins, the boss calls Ana, I call Gail, and Roz calls Gwen, for the purpose of letting them know that we will be home in 3-4 hours. The boss then turns to both Roz and me and says, “It’s been a good day, troupes. It’s been a good day.