Hi guys. This is the first chapter of my new Fanfiction! It is set around a month since Ana saved Mia from Jack, everything in terms of the character and plot until this point are the same as the original books with the exception of Ana's pregnancy. In my version she isn't pregnant, which I needed to be the case for the plot that I have in mind. Nothing dramatic happens in this chapter but I wanted it to be a nice gentle ease into a bigger story and I want to establish a good pace for the plot and not make it too rushed! Let me know what you think and if you would like me to continue the story. I am also looking for a beta writer to proof and just generally offer ideas etc! If anyone is willing to help with that let me know JI apologise for any mistakes in advance.
In terms of updating I am not the quickest of writers and I do have a full time job, so I won't be the fastest of updaters I'm afraid! But I also want to make sure the chapters are a healthy length as there is nothing more annoying in my opinion than tiny chapters. If for any reason I am not going to update the story any more I will let you guys know that, so unless I have stated I am no longer writing you can just assume I am taking a while to write.
Please leave a review of your comments. I hope you enjoy!
It's been four weeks since the incident with Hyde and it feels good to get back to normality. What's normal when you are married to Christian Grey? When Christian finally let me return to work it was like I had never been away from SIP, I mentally groan as I think of the stack of manuscripts sat on my desk awaiting my editorial eye. Now that security has finally been reduced I don't have an entourage sat in reception, I feel like a normal working woman. My colleagues have noticeably relaxed around me too. How did I not notice how uptight they were before? The effect of Jack's rampage had spread further than I thought.
It's six thirty, and although the sun is brightly scattering around the bedroom through the blind, it is yet to wake Christian from his sleep. I lay looking at his perfect features. How did I get this lucky? I've never seen him as relaxed as he has been the past few days; now that Hyde is behind us, he's softened.
"How long are you going to watch me?"
A smile spreads across my face. He's awake.
"Good morning Mr Grey."
His eyes bolt open and he pulls me on to his chest.
"We have a morning tradition to uphold Mrs Grey" he smoulders.
And then I'm lost in him with my body completely at his mercy.
Ms Jones has left me a bowl of granola on the breakfast bar, I am dressed a tight fitted cobalt blue dress that stops at the knee and has a price tag worth more than my entire old wardrobe put together. I can hear Christian still in the shower, but conscious of the mounting pile of paper on my desk, I scribble a quick note for him, take a few quick bites of my granola and head to the elevator.
To my disappointment, the pile on my desk has not miraculously disappeared, so I have spent the majority of the morning working through them one at a time. The next time I look up from my paper it is almost one in the afternoon and I haven't even checked my work email or my blackberry. I quickly scan through my work emails, nothing interesting in there, and then turn my attention to the device in my hand. There is a message from Kate asking to meet up for drinks and three messages from Christian.
I have become fond of traditions, particularly the one we upheld this morning.
I missed you at breakfast – you left particularly early?
Your Husband x
I forgot how dull business can be…daydreaming of you.
I hope your day is going well.
Bored CEO x
You have been very quiet, are you ok?
You know I worry…
Anxious Partner x
I mentally roll my eyes at his last comment, only Christian would start to panic after not speaking with his wife for several hours. I hit the reply button.
Christian.
I am fine – work is keeping me busy!
I think I am also fond of traditions, I'm sure I read something about massaging your wife after a long day as being a tradition too? ;)
Your hard-working wife x
As if on cue my neck cracks as I reach over to grab my lunch, sitting at a desk all day really does awful things to your back. I swallow two painkillers to try and subside the throb increasing in my temples; apparently a cracked skull can cause persistent headaches for some time, well that's what I am assuming is the cause. The tablets tend to keep the pain under control; it's avoiding Christian's attention that is the difficult part. He'll only worry unnecessarily. As if on cue a message from Christian buzzes through on my Blackberry.
You're alive!
I am not sure I'm familiar with this tradition? But I am only too happy to oblige.
Anything for you.
Doting Husband x
I'm grinning like an idiot. Will it always be like this? I certainly hope so.
There's a knock at my door and Hannah peeps her head through the small crack in the door.
"Sorry to bother you Ana, you've got a last minute meeting request for tomorrow. A' Mr Frederick' wants to meet you about the manuscripts you sent him?"
Shit. I'd forgotten about sending them; it was before the incident. Mathew Frederick is a very influential man. He oversees a lot of promotions, advertisements, film commissions, when you think about any successful book or film adaptation in the business; it is likely that he is behind it. It was a long shot sending them to him, he has a reputation for being ruthless and very difficult to impress.
"Yes. Accept it please Hannah"
"It will mean cancelling your meeting with Sarah, is that ok?"
"Yes, send my apologies and rearrange please. Thanks Hannah"
She leaves quietly.
I push the rest of the documents aside and begin prepping for tomorrow's meeting. If his reputation is correct I need to make sure I am absolutely prepared for any difficult questions. I ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach of regret. You'll be fine Ana, he's just a man.
Christian's ring tone jolts me out of my bubble.
"Hi"
"Ana where are you?" I can hear the concern in his voice.
"I'm at work, where else would I be?"
"Ana, it's almost eight"
I glance at my watch. Shit, is it really that late?
"Oh. I hadn't realised the time, I've been busy" I flush.
"Baby, you shouldn't be doing too much. You haven't been back at work for very long"
"Christian.." He knows I am going to challenge him.
"I know, I know. You're 'okay', but I worry. You've done enough today, come home"
"Yes Sir" I smile.
"Don't leave me waiting" He's playful Christian again.
"I wouldn't dare"
And with that I end the call and collect my things. My desk is a mess of presentation drafts and notes but I think I am finally ready for tomorrow.
The smell of spaghetti Bolognese invades my nostrils as I step out of the elevator at Escala; it smells divine. Ms Jones can really cook, and on days like today when my head hurts, my eyes are strained from reading and my back is aching, I thank the gods that I don't have to prepare my own food.
"There you are" Christian makes his way towards me. I feel my whole body relax just at the sight of him. God he is beautiful. "I've missed you Mrs Grey" He snakes his arms around me in an embrace and I willingly melt into his arms.
"I've missed you too. Dinner smells amazing" I murmur into the crook of his neck.
He leads me by the hand to the breakfast bar where our meals have been placed on the surface accompanied by a large glass of wine each. Ms Jones has already disappeared; leaving us alone. We both tuck in without saying another word, hunger outweighing politeness. I'm on my last few mouthfuls when Christian breaks the long silence.
"What were you doing so late at work?"
I chew the spaghetti in my mouth slowly, grateful for the extra few seconds to prepare my answer.
"I had a lot of things to get through and I've been putting some notes together for a meeting tomorrow. You know just the usual." I shrug keeping my eyes down.
"It must be some meeting to have you working until eight?" Damn it. He's probing.
"It's more of a preliminary meeting if you like, I'm curious to see where it goes" eHe
"You are being very evasive Ana" He narrows his eyes.
"Let's not talk about work" I slide off my stool and slide onto his knee, cupping his cheek with my hand.
His cheek is cleanly shaven and soft against my palm as I stroke him gently with my thumb. He gazes intently into my eyes and our breathing becomes in sync. My hairs stand on end as he runs his fingers up my arms.
"God you are beautiful Anastasia" He scoops me into his arms and heads for the bedroom, "I believe I owe my wife a massage"
I am up, showered and dressed in my finest silk blouse, pencil skirt and Louboutin's and it isn't even 7.30 yet. I'm sat at the breakfast bar checking my work emails on my blackberry and half-heartedly eating my granola when Christian joins me still in his pyjama bottoms.
"You look lovely Anastasia" I blush immediately as he smirks in response. "I hope your mystery meeting is with a female, I'm not sure any man would be able to focus with you looking like that" he arches his eyebrow.
"Flattery will get you everywhere with me Mr Grey, although you've been everywhere already" I wink.
"It must be good if I keep returning" He sweeps my hair over my shoulder and plants a soft kiss on my cheek.
"You're a business man Mr Grey, you must realise the value of capturing a repeat customer"
"That I do Mrs Grey. God you are sexy when you talk business" He kisses my cheek once more sending shivers everywhere.
"As much as I like where this is going, I have a meeting to get to and it's a bit of a drive" He pulls away from my cheek to look at my expression.
"It's not at your office?" His brows crease.
"No. It's not at SIP Christian. I'm a big girl, Sawyer has access to my diary so he knows where I'm going" I'm one step ahead of him, I've let security know and now he knows he has nothing to fall back on.
"You still aren't going to tell me who you are seeing?" I shake my head. "At least let me know you get back safe. I'll worry."
"I'll do one better; I'll pop in and see you around lunch time on my way home. If you aren't busy?" His posture relaxes by my proposition.
"I don't usually eat dessert with my lunch, but for you I can make an exception" I blush again.
"I don't think that's an appropriate thing to do in my boss' boss' boss' office" I smirk.
Mr Frederick's building is grand and old fashioned, a complete contrast to Christian's sleek and modern offices. I perch awkwardly in my skirt on the Chelsea couch opposite a Barbie receptionist as she types unnecessarily loudly on her computer keyboard. He phone rings jolting her out of her typing stride and she answers it swiftly.
Her eyes meet mine as she puts the phone down. "Mr Frederick will see you now"
I head towards the wooden door clutching my leather folder just as a tall bearded man opens it from the other side.
"Anastasia" His voice is deep and husky. His hand reaches out and we exchange a polite handshake.
After our initial greetings and the offer of a drink we sit down and get straight to business.
"I'm a hard man to impress Anastasia, but this" he throws the pack of manuscripts that I sent him on the table in front of us "has caught my attention" He takes a breath and strokes the bottom of his beard as he contemplates his next words. "You've got a good eye and that gets me interested, I understand coming here today may be intimidating" Oh if he had only met my husband. "But I like you, there is something about you. I don't like many people Anastasia"
"I'm glad you liked what I sent, there are a few very talented undiscovered authors that I think we could tap into"
He inhales. "I agree, the authors here seem to have some talent. But one of the manuscripts in particular has caught my attention the most. It's been a very long time since a piece of literature has engaged me like that; it's got me excited again"
"Perfect, I've got my notes on all of the authors and titles. Shall we start with that one? Was it Bryce?" I open my notebook and title my page.
"This one didn't seem to disclose the author" he reaches to the bottom of the pile and pulls out a battered manuscript.
My face blanches. That wasn't supposed to be in the pack. How did it get in there? It must have been at the bottom of the pile when I handed them to Hannah to post for me. He flicks through the pages in concentration as I take a deep breath; he's holding my own manuscript.
"I believe the author of that one wants to remain anonymous" I regain my composure.
"If my work was as captivating and intelligent as this, I'd be shouting it from the roof tops. I'd suggest pushing them to publish under their real name; it'll help with PR too if we get that far"
"The author seemed very insistent on remaining anonymous. I think we may have to go with an alias on this one" Do I want my private work publishing, even under an alias? This book was something I worked on in my down time during my studies; it isn't something I had ever planned on people reading.
We spend hours discussing ideas, talking about literature and he shares his ideas about turning the book into a play. Conversation becomes very natural between us as we talk through character developments, our favourite titles and inspiration for adaptations. I glance at my watch and realise I must be going if I'm going to make it to see Christian for lunch.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, you have some great ideas" he says as we come to the door of his office. "Drive safe now Miss Steele"
"Oh, it is actually Mrs Grey now" I blush. "I've not had chance to change my business card" I explain.
I see him thinking as he tries to remember where he has heard the name before, "I'll be in touch Mrs Grey"
It is raining by the time I reach Christian's building so I hurry to hand my keys to the valet who looks at me questionably.
"Mrs Grey" I inform him. His eyes widen in realisation.
"Ah yes, my apologies Mrs Grey" His cheeks burn as he scurries off to park my car. There are definite perks to being the CEOs wife and exclusive parking is one of them.
Christian's still on a call when I reach his floor so I decide to wait on one of the comfy couches outside, blonde women scurry about doing their day to day business and one or two occasionally glance over to me. I think they are trying to look busy, they don't want the boss' wife seeing them slacking. A few minutes pass before a maintenance guy appears opposite me and starts to work on the water cooler. He glances over at me a few times and I smile politely.
"Do you have a meeting with Mr Grey?" he inquires.
"Yes" I reply, I guess it's sort of a meeting.
"Have you met Mr Grey before? I should warn you, he isn't the warmest of characters" He drops the tool he was holding and bends to retrieve it. Did he seriously just try and flex?
"I've always found him very accommodating" I smirk.
"You know, my break is in half an hour maybe we could grab a dri-"
"There you are" Christian's voice cuts him off as he strides over to me "why are you out here?" I stand up from the couch and he leans down, kissing me more passionately than he usually would in this situation. He's staking his claim. Of course he is.
"I was early" I breathe, still recovering from the kiss.
His gaze switches to the water cooler guy who has paled considerably.
"Is there something wrong with the machine?" he asks sternly.
"No. I'm just finishing up" he avoids Christian's eyes and quickly gets back to work.
"Marking you territory?" I raise an eyebrow as we enter his office.
"The audacity of some men and right outside my own office!" he shakes his head as I giggle.
"Poor guy, he was sweating" I sink down onto the spot I always pick in his roomy office. The corner of Christian's mouth twitches in amusement. There's a tray of food on his desk that we both begin to pick at.
"I just had a very interesting phone call from a Mr Frederick. I believe you know him?" he looks at me to gauge my reaction.
"Yes, considering I spent the majority of the morning with him. Why is he calling you? I didn't realise you two knew each other?"
"I don't know him well. He's one of the few men that have ever pushed back on any business from me." So Christian's charms don't affect everyone? "He was very complimentary of you" he nods.
"Oh?" I blush.
"In fact, he says you've done something that the majority of people he meets fail to do." He takes a bite of his wrap.
"And what's that?"
"You talked some sense" I take another bite of my wrap and shrug. "He's also agreed to meet with me about a proposal I did a while back, so for that I have to thank you Mrs Grey" he's smiling with pride "I'll make sure you are adequately rewarded later" I squeeze my legs together in anticipation. Note to self, be home on time tonight.
"I'll take commission next time" I wink.
"You have 50%" he raises an eyebrow.
"I don't need 50%. I don't need 1%. You know that."
"You have 100% of me" he is less serious now. "So where's the 'best book he's read in years'? I want to see what's got his interest"
"It's under lock and key Mr Grey. No previews, not even for you" I can't let Christian read my work can I? Will he know it's my writing?
"So that's how you are going to play" the corner of his mouth twitches. "I will win"
We talk about Christian's morning, about his new ideas and creations. He's so animated when he talks about this side of his work. My phone buzzes and interrupts my thoughts. Kate's reminding me about drinks tonight.
"Oh shoot, I forgot I'm meeting Kate for drinks later" Christian frowns immediately. "Relax Mr Grumpy, it's just a catch up with my best friend. I could do with letting my hair down" I haven't been out with Kate since I was released from hospital and I am looking forward to some cocktails and gossip.
Christian pinches the bridge of his nose; struggling with his control.
"You are to keep your phone on you at all times. And stay with Kate, I don't want you wandering off on your own"
"Yes Sir" I smile.
