Fifty Shades Of Love, Sex And Tears

Chapter 27 - Beer Drunk

Christian POV
"Ros go home to your wife, I'll finish up here." I sighed after we took a break from our teleconference with the shipyard, where we were trying to ascertain how much damage had been caused. "What about your girlfriend?" She countered, "She knows I'll be back late, now go."

Truth was, I knew Charlotte wasn't happy and I knew that when she asked to see me it would be important, but I had to sort this out and this couldn't wait. Charlotte could, sadly.

Ever since the night she taught me how to cook a stir fry, it had become easier for Charlotte to take second place in my life. Why? I'm not sure, John says it's because 'I've yet to succeed.' I say it's because I've failed by asking her to marry me and now, I can't face her. "You need to get use to things not always going your way Christian especially when it comes to Charlotte." Flynn said particularly if I was going to marry her eventually – though now I wasn't so sure.

Ros reluctantly left me alone in my office as I continued to deal with the consequences of a natural disaster which thankfully didn't kill anyone.

"How many docks were damaged?" I asked down the phone as Taylor entered carrying food, "4 need full repairs, 2 need minor repairs," the shipyard manager replied. Taylor sat down opposite me handing me a box of food and a beer. I mouthed a thank you and continued to work out a plan of how to protect what could be salvaged.

"Thank you for staying, Taylor." I exclaimed as I got in the elevator with him around midnight after my meeting finished. "It's my job, sir" Taylor smoothly replied. "Yes but it's late and Gail will be waiting for you." He smiled as we walked towards the car and headed home.

I got out of the car after Taylor parked, maybe Charlotte will be awake, I wondered to myself. However, when did enter my penthouse, it was pitch black so headed straight to my bedroom hoping she would be waiting for me.

"Char," I whispered as I walked over to my side of the bed turning on the light. As the gentle glow filled the room, I saw her asleep, almost comatose wearing sweats. Her hair was a mess, and she was spread out over half of the bed, lightly snoring. Why was she in sweats? Charlotte never slept in sweats, or anything except my tops and shirts. I was too tired worry about the answer, I needed to sleep.

As I climbed into bed next to Charlotte, I hoped she would as normal roll towards me, but she didn't move, just lay on her side, back to me.

I woke up later than usual so didn't have time for a run. Charlotte hadn't moved much in the night just onto her stomach, so I left her sleeping while I showered and got dressed for work. Planning to start early so I could be home when Charlotte came home allowing us to spend some time together.

I grabbed a jacket and tie and walked out of my bedroom to get some breakfast. When I entered the great room, I heard glasses clattering together. "Mrs. Jones," she turned around quickly before replying, "Mr. Grey, breakfast?" I nodded and sat down in front of my morning paper. However as Gail handed me my plate, she could barely meet my gaze.

"Is everything alright Mrs. Jones?" I asked as I began eating my omelette. "Yes," she replied quickly before disappearing into the pantry and returning a few minutes later carrying a crate of beer.

Something was up, I knew it and I am never wrong.

"Gail, why does the fridge need restocking?" I asked more sternly than before, "No reason, Miss. Twell just had a couple of beers with dinner." She still wouldn't meet my gaze. "On a Wednesday?" I was more confused now, she calmly nodded. "How many did she have?" I asked trying to figure out what had happened. "Seven maybe I'm not too sure," her voice was quiet.

"So how many drinks did she have again?" I asked again needing clarification, "I found 7 bottles this morning, there might be more in the trash." Mrs. Jones calmly replied causing me to sigh and mutter. "It's the middle of the week, I thought we'd gotten over this." It wasn't even like they were a low percentage either.