Fifty Shades of Greek Read online

  Fifty Shades of Greek

  Amaya Black

  Copyright © 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this ebook publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Acknowledgements go to God, first and foremost. This time I just want to thank everyone whose going to pick this up and be enthralled in this tale. I hope you enjoy it because it took a while to finish. Xoxo AB

  Chapter 1

  I can still remember the chill in the air walking home from the club where I worked at just a few short blocks from my apartment. I can remember how tired I was as I climbed the steps to the fifth floor, completely ready to fall into the deepest slumber possible. I also remember turning the key and never getting inside because my cell phone picked that moment to go off.

  Glancing down, I saw an unfamiliar New York number. It’s crazy how many times you can get a random number and choose not to answer, but just this one time at 5:30 a.m., I chose to answer the call.

  “Hello?” my voice was skeptical, sure they had the wrong number.

  “Yes, I’m calling for an Allanah Haughton” the female voice on the other end replied.

  They had my attention, it sounded way to official for them not to. “This is she.”

  “Ms. Haughton, I’m calling because your sister, Dana. She’s been in a terrible car accident. She was brought to Mercy General Hospital…”

  I can’t recall the rest of the conversation. I don’t recall re-locking the apartment. I only remember jumping into the taxi cab that I had hailed down. The entire ride there was a blur. Everything leading up to the moment I held Alexander Kiriakis in my arms was a blur. Me, falling in love with an infant became a blur.

  Dana Haughton, my big sister, who I hadn’t spoken to in a year and a half had given birth after being in a car accident and slipping into a coma. She’d listed me as her emergency contact, which was funny in itself because the girl had never had a crisis she couldn’t talk her way out of. I was mad at her for being pregnant and not telling me. I was mad at her for thinking I wouldn’t show up for him, no matter what was going on with us. Hell, I couldn’t even remember why we weren’t talking.

  Standing at Dana’s bedside holding her son, I cursed at her. How could she be so damn selfish? How could she not tell me about this small wonder?

  We’d grown up with a mother in and out of jail, addicted to drugs. We’d had to kind of fend for ourselves. There wasn’t a lot of family around so we had to rely on us. I knew instantly that this tiny child would be mine for as long as he could be. The moment he opened his eyes, looked at me and yawned, I knew I was truly and for the first time, deeply in love. Nothing could drag me away from him, not even wild horses.

  I signed paper work that brought by the social worker to take Alex home immediately. I kissed Dana’s head and whispered that I’d return as soon as we were settled and I promised to look after the treasure she’d just given both of us. My sister never stirred from her slumber, and I wondered all the way home if she was even aware of what was going on.

  Days Later…..

  “Alex, I think you’re gonna like this crib, kiddo.”

  I turned him around to see the brand-new crib that I had gotten him. The people had just finished assembling it because there was no way in hell I’d be able to put something like that together. Sometimes, it was just better to pay a little extra for things. He gave an uninterested yawn and I tucked him back into the crook of my neck. The dryer went off in the next room signaling that his new linens were done.

  I had to admit it was a weird new life I had. We’d only been together about a month and already my life was different. I didn’t sleep as much, that’s for sure but I’d always been a night owl. However, Alex was actually a pretty quiet baby. He preferred to sleep as much as possible, but when he was awake, he was alert.

  Work was being pretty accommodating with me, which was crazy because I worked at Steam, one of the most popular night clubs in the area as a bartender. Unfortunately, tonight I had to go in because we’d just been bought out. I didn’t even know if I was going to have a job much longer at Steam. No one could tell the employees anything about the new owners only that they were showing up sometime soon. I suppose I should’ve been more worried but something about Alex made me not worry as much. For some reason, he quieted most of my fears, and I guess it should’ve been the opposite because he was an infant.

  A knock on the door let me know that Cindy had arrived. She was Alex’s babysitter and had come highly referred through a couple of other moms at the club. She was trustworthy; and she was great with Alex. She put up with the millions of text messages I snuck in through my crazy ass shifts. Between pouring drinks and getting hit on by half way decent drunk frat boys, the only concern I had was Alex. I wanted to know every time this child burped.

  I opened the door for Cindy and she immediately reached for him. I think she was more in love with him than I was. “Alex, you’ve gotten bigger since last night.” I could smell the hand sanitizer as I handed him over to her and smiled. Cindy was simply awesome. “You, ma’am, are gonna be late if you don’t leave in five minutes.”

  I glanced at my cell phone laying by the door. “Ugh, I don’t want to work tonight. I want stay home with this one.”

  “Then I’d be out of a job for the night,” Cindy smiled. “I see his crib came.”

  “Yeah the people just finished setting it up,” I picked up my bag and grabbed my cell phone. “His crib set is in the dryer, it just finished washing. You guys have fun I guess.”

  I gave Alex a quick kiss on the forehead. I hated leaving him and he was blissfully unaware of how much it pained me. Grabbing a look in the mirror, I realized despite sleep deprivation I still looked the part of the sexy bartender. I smiled, already counting down until I could come home to his kisses.

  “We’ll see you later Auntie Lana” Cindy waved Alex’s hand to me as I closed the door to the apartment.

  Hindsight is pretty interesting, but you don’t think about it until later. I guess that’s where the name comes from. When I arrived at Steam, I was shocked by the sight that greeted me. There was a line wrapped around the block but Tony, the bouncer wasn’t letting anyone in. I glanced at my phone, it was nine, so it was still pretty early, but people were definitely getting impatient with whatever was going on. I headed around to the back entrance and saw a few other bartenders ahead of me. I followed them out into the middle of the club and saw the entire staff. That could only mean one thing: new management was on the scene. Instantly, I was alert.

  Ronnie the head manager of Steam walked up onto the stage where a band played sometimes and began talking. A hush fell over everyone as he started talking. “As you all know, Steam was recently bought out by a new investor.” A few groans could be heard through the crowd but Ronnie continued on. “I want you guys to feel secure in the fact that no one is losing their job here. This was simply a business move but the new investor loves how everything is being run here. Simply put, the situation just works. I’m now gonna turn this over to Cassandra Petrakas, the liaison for the investor.”

  A woman I hadn’t noticed before came onto the stage. I don’t know how I’d missed her, she was easily one of the tallest women I’d seen in a while. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun and she wore a grey power suit with a white button up shirt. She surveyed the crowd, and instantly I knew what she thought of all of us. We were beneath her, but she would never say it out loud. Immediately,
I disliked her but had the feeling I’d be seeing a lot of her for some reason.

  “My name is Cassandra Petrakas, as your manager just said. But please, feel free to call me Cassie as we will be seeing a lot of each other.” I think I winced as soon as she said that. “Steam is a wonderful operation, and it’s successful which is one of the reason it was bought along with a ten other night clubs along the eastern sea board from Boston to Miami.” She paused before she spoke again, surveying her audience, asserting that air of arrogance all over the room. Her gaze landed on me for some reason and I didn’t understand. The next time she spoke I understood exactly why.

  “My boss, Darien Kiriakis is very wealthy and successful in the night club scene as well as other ventures…

  I couldn’t breathe after she said that. I turned to a co-worker and told them to fill me in on what I was going to miss. Nothing could be more important than what she’d so pointedly said to me anyway. She had purposely planned her words, crafted her attack. I climbed the stairs that led out to the rooftop. It was decorated for some birthday party that was being held tonight, but my mind couldn’t have been further from Steam than it was at that moment.

  Peering over the edge, my breathing returned to normal, and I watched the restless crowd below. My thoughts were on Alex and I had to know how he was as I pulled my cellphone from my pocket.

  Furiously, I texted Cindy. My gut had a weird feeling and I couldn’t shake it. How is Alex?

  I could see her replying and waited. He’s fine.

  Letting out a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding, I texted her back. Good. I just wanted to check on him. I had a weird feeling.

  I don’t want to freak you out…

  Seeing those words made me super anxious and I wasn’t really the anxious type. I was kind of the opposite. I’d been told I acted stony and cold by a few of the men who’d had the pleasure to date me.

  Officially freaked, Cindy. What is it?

  A man came by right after you left. He asked about you and Alex. He wanted to see the baby, Allanah. I’m so sorry, I should’ve never opened the door. I thought it was the pizza guy.

  And did he see the baby?

  Before I could even read Cindy’s next message I felt a presence behind me, right as the wind swept up blowing my hair all around me. I turned to meet whoever had snuck up on me and came face to face with the sexiest man I’d ever met. His dark hair glinted under the party lights and I noticed it was slicked back in a Don Draper type fashion and his blue eyes had a glow about them. Instantly before the words left his mouth, I knew I’d seen those same eyes on a relative of his.

  I didn’t like the way his eyes followed me. Stalked me, almost. This man reminded me of a predator. The type of predator who saw something he liked and then he swooped in and took possession and ownership of it. That was exactly what this man was, a thousand dollar suit wearing predator.

  “Allanah Haughton, I’m Darien Kiriakis the new owner of Steam. I think we have a mutual acquaintance.” He stuck out his hand like I was going to shake it. I was weary of his next words. “I’m Alexander’s uncle.”

  I’m pretty sure I’d never hyperventilated or passed out before. I did both, right in front of a stranger. My head got lightheaded and then it just went dark, but I did feel a pair of arms catch me before I fell. My last thoughts though, before things got crazy: I can’t lose Alex.

  Chapter 2

  The idea of never looking a gift horse in the mouth was playing over and over and over in my mind as I slid into the seat of the town car that had been sent to my apartment building. I couldn’t decide whether or not to dress simply or to over dress. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress this ass hole who was forcing himself into my life, into Alex’s life. So I did the only thing I could think of.

  I dressed to kill.

  Was it a defense mechanism to dress in black leather knee high boots while wearing a clingy black chiffon dress that hugged every curve my mother had gave me? Probably. Did I care? No. Darian Kiriakis was trying to take from me and he was going to learn a lesson about trying to stick his hand in my cookie jar. I didn’t like to share and Alex wasn’t up for grabs anyway.

  When the car came to a halt, I heard the driver get out quickly to open my door. I inspected my surrounding upon exiting the car and saw that I was in front of a ritzy restaurant that I couldn’t afford on a good tip night. Rolling my eyes, I headed inside. I stopped by the hostess stand and she pointed me down the aisle to the best seat in the house of course. My heels dug their way into the soft red carpet as I made my way back. I even managed to turn a few heads. It’d been a while since I’d been out anywhere this nice and part of me wondered if that was the reason he’d picked this place. Was he trying to play on my insecurities? He was a corporate raider type, and he was thinking of me like a company. By wining and dining me, in an atmosphere that I wasn’t use to, he was going to try and find my weakness. Or maybe I was losing my mind and he just really wanted a hundred dollar steak for dinner.

  As I finally reached, the table I noticed the strawberry blond sitting with him. He hadn’t said anything about anyone joining us. As if reading my mind, he spoke. “Allanah, you remember Cassie Petrakas, my cousin.”

  Cassie gave me a once over before speaking. Her eyes seemed rather steely but I ignored it. “Allanah, nice to actually meet you.”

  “Like wise,” I murmured.

  “Cassie won’t be joining us this evening, she has other engagements,” Darian spoke again and Cassie stood up.

  “You two have a lovely evening.” I got the feeling she didn’t really mean what she said but I shrugged it off and watched her leave before taking my seat across from Darian.

  “You do that a lot?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “Speak for other people?”

  He shrugged and took a sip of wine that was on the table. I noticed bread sticks as well. “Cassie had other things to do. I wasn’t really speaking for her.”

  I could feel my eyebrows quirking. “You’re a bit of a control freak. I can tell.”

  The rim of the glass brushed his lips but he didn’t drink, instead sitting it back down on the table. “I like order, yes.”

  I smirked. “That’s interesting that you would say that. But since you did, this is the perfect time to launch into talking about Alex.” His eyebrows raised. I’d caught him off guard and I got the feeling that didn’t happen often. “Alex is an infant.”

  “I’m aware of that, Allanah.” You know I really couldn’t stand the way he said my name. He said it like he’d seen me naked a thousand times and had made love to me. What freaked me out was that I could tell he wouldn’t mind seeing me that way.

  “Good, Darian,” I smiled tightly. “Infants don’t know a damn thing about order. They don’t care about your sleep. They don’t care about what you want. It’s their show. It’s Alex’s show.”

  He took a breath, realizing he was in for a debate. “Again, I understand that.”

  “So if you understand, why in the hell are you trying to take him from me?”

  This time he smirked. God, it was the sexiest damn look I’d ever seen on a man. Not to mention he was the best looking man I’d seen in a long time. I still hated the way those blue eyes were undressing me, which they’d been doing since the moment I met him almost a week ago on the roof top of Steam.

  “I can provide a better life for Alex, than you can. It’s plain and simple. It comes down to what I can give him.”

  “So you mean a nanny?”

  “Yes, a nanny. His trust fund. An Ivy League education. Alex will only have the best of everything. He is my brother’s son, and I demand that.”

  “You know what I didn’t hear you mention, asshole,” I leaned forward, keeping my voice low because I knew my voice would carry. “I didn’t hear the words love.”

  He leaned forward, smiling. “Name calling is childish. I’m not so sure I need a childish woman raising my nephew and all she’s
bringing to the table is love.”

  “I can tell with all your fancy education and nannies you turned out so well,” I took a breath. “You are not taking Alex without a fight. I will take you to court. You can’t just take him from me.” Sweet Jesus, the sound of desperation was entering my voice and I was trying desperately to not let that happen.

  “Allanah,” his voice was undressing me again. I hated it. “You don’t have the money to take me to court and win. It’s plain. And it is simple. When it comes down to it, the deck is stacked in my favor.”

  I could literally feel Alex slipping through my fingers like beach sand. My heart was in my throat and I wanted to cry, but there was no way in hell I was going to give this idiot an opportunity to see me loose my cool. He’d already seen me faint on a rooftop like I was some antebellum southern belle with her corset laced up way to tight. I took a deep breath. “I’ll find a way.”

  I was getting a cramp in my neck from how tense I was becoming and he spoke again. “I have an idea, Allanah.”

  Once again, I didn’t like the way his eyes roamed over my body. This man knew how to undress a woman with just words. “This should be interesting.”

  “You don’t have the finances to take care of Alexander, not the way I can. Your loft is nice, but I can give him an island to grow up on. Your mother died along time ago from a drug overdose and your sister was an escort and is currently in a coma, and who knows when she’s going to wake up. You haven’t had any luck tracking down your father, despite your many attempts.”

  “You had me vetted?” The sadness of possible losing my nephew was quickly being replaced by anger. I was going to take his steak knife and stab him with it. “How dare you, come into my life, into Alex’s life and dig for things you have no business digging into.”

  His face softened a bit and I realized we were getting a few looks. “Allanah, hear me out.”