Chapter 2
A/N: WOW! Just WOW at all the reviews and favorites and followers! I don't know what to say other than a really big thank you and I am glad you're enjoying my second little story!
I actually finished this chapter on Friday afternoon and hoped to upload it when Fanfiction evidentially went down for a few hours. Then I ended up losing more than half the chapter as for some reason only half saved. Which meant that I had to re-write almost all of it. This was the first chance that I had to do that and I apologize for the delay. It's not as far along as the chapter that I lost but it's late and I'm tired and I didn't want you to have to wait any longer. Anyway, I hope ya'll like this chapter as much as you liked the first!
As always, the characters all belong to E.L. James, I'm just playing around with them for a bit.
APOV
Kate woke me up early this morning. She wanted to go shopping as neither of us had class today and I oddly had the day off from Claytons. I rarely if ever I had a day off from the store when I didn't have class so it was a bit of a reprieve for me not to have anything that I had to do. Though I had planned on sleeping in and then cleaning up the apartment that Kate and I share, she had other plans.
"Steele! Come on! I NEED you with me. You know I will need a second opinion."
Laughing at her whiney pout, "No Kate. You don't need a second opinion. You have an uncannily marvelous sense of style. You just don't want to go shopping alone."
Plopping down next to me on my bed she says, "You're right. I don't. Besides, it's been a long time since you and I have had a girl's day. Please, just come with me? We'll head into Seattle; we can walk Pike Place Market, get to know the area a little. Maybe look around for stuff for the new apartment. I'll call daddy, tell him we want to see the apartment to get an idea of what we might want to do to decorate it. It's near the Market so …"
I begin laughing as she just continues to ramble trying to convince me that we both need to go shopping. In all honesty, Kate wants to see the apartment, as neither of us has actually seen anything more than photos. This way she can see what she wants changed and what she can talk her parents into doing to it before we graduate in May and move in.
She stops and looks at me with wide blue eyes before I address the real issue, "Kate if you want a second opinion on the apartment, fine. I'll be happy to go with you. You could have just said that instead of making it sound like you were going to torture me all day." Still giggling.
Standing with a huff, "Shopping is not torture, Ana. Get dressed; we can stop at Starbucks on the way." Then she sweeps out of the room, I'm assuming to get dressed herself.
Throwing back the blankets and swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I let out I sigh before turning to make my bed. This was something that was just ingrained in me from going up with Ray.
Ray. I smile comes to my face just thinking about the man. The best thing that ever happened to me. The one thing that I can honestly and truly thank my mother for was bringing this man into our lives. Mom can be a bit scattered but marrying Ray when I was just a baby had to be one of the best decisions she ever made. He was my dad. He was there when I fell and skinned a knee, and let's face it that was a lot. He was there when I was sick, sitting in my room watching over me. He was the one that taught me to ride a bicycle and roller skate; though surprisingly he took more falls on the roller states than I did. He was the one that was there when everything went all wrong with husband #3. He protected me the only way he could. Ray fought for custody, and won.
All the big occasions in my life he had been there for. He was my one constant. The one person that I have been able to count on continuously in my life. Ray didn't have any children of his own; I am his daughter though, in every way that matters. Blood, to Ray, doesn't matter. I am his. I am daddy's little girl. The man sacrificed so much to give me everything that he possibly could.
He retired early from the Navy just to take care of me. He went to work as a consultant for the Department of Defense and the FBI. The job gave him the ability and flexibility to be there for me at the drop of a hat; and when he couldn't be, well then there was Uncle Alex. They served together in the military and are as close to brothers as any I have ever met. Dad trusted Uncle Alex with his life, therefore he trusted him with me.
If Ray had to leave town, usually to Quantico, the FBI's training headquarters or to speak in Washington for any reason, he would call Uncle Alex to come and take care of me. Actually, I think that it was Uncle Alex's idea to come to me instead of me going to his house while dad was away. He did that until end of my junior year in high school. He'd just taken on a new job that caused the need for him to move to Seattle and seems to take up a lot more of his time than I am used to. Matter of fact, I haven't seen him in almost a year.
Ray was a Seal and the discipline required to be one never left him. Our home was run like a tight ship; there is a quiet authority about him. He tells you what is expected, once. Then expects you to remember and do what is expected. That's usually harder with young children but all I can remember is ever trying to please him. If I forgot to do something or didn't do something to his satisfaction, I would tell him why; explain it to him. Usually he would nod his head listen to what I had to say and when I was done, just raise an eyebrow at me. Never raising his voice but just gave me what I affectionately now call the "dad eye". Whenever the dad eye rolled around I knew I had better get my act together before I started losing privileges.
Going to the closet to pull out clothes for the day, I set out a pair of boot cut distressed jeans, a soft heather grey jersey close fitting tee and a dark camel IHeart Cardigan Jacket. I'll figure out accessories and shoes after showering.
After showering I am standing in my bathroom in my towel wrap blow drying my hair and hoping to goodness that it will be a good hair day. If not, then up in a ponytail it will go. I've never been really good about hair styles and make-up. Thankfully, I have Kate for that now. She won't let me go out of the house "looking like a hot mess"; her words not mine. Hell, I'd be fine in a tee shirt, jeans and ball cap with sneakers everyday. But since meeting her our freshman year of college, she hasn't let me leave the house in anything that resembles that unless I'm going to work at the hardware store.
Once I get my hair dry, I try styling it down but quickly realize that it is not going to cooperate. With a huff, I open one of the drawers in the vanity searching for a hair tie to pull my long wavy hair into a ponytail. Finally finding one in the back of the drawer I pull unruly hair into a loose ponytail. Putting on a touch of make-up, again never too much, just some mascara and a tinted lip moisturizer before leaving the en suite to get dressed.
I let out a little yelp when I see Kate is standing in my room going through my jewelry trying to find something? I don't know what, she has better stuff than I do.
"Shit Kate you startled me. What are you doing?"
"Oh, just making sure that you picked something nice. I want to get on the road soon, miss some of that horrible commuter traffic." She says as she sets out a pair of oval wooden earrings with a bronze embellishment on them. Continuing, "Besides, I knew you'd call me in to help anyway, so I just thought I would start as soon as I finished getting dressed."
She set out an oxidized copper cuff bracelet next to the earrings and closed the jewelry drawer and turning her attention to my closet. I shake my head at the bracelet. I've rarely worn it. It was a gift from my mother. An apology of sorts for not being able to attend my high school graduation. More like choosing not to attend, but whatever. She made it, during one of those times where she thought designing and making jewelry had piqued her interest. But just as everything else, it didn't hold her interest for long. Picking it up in my hands and running my fingers over the design thinking just how beautiful it really is and that my mother could have made a comfortable living for herself if she had chosen to continue with making or at least designing jewelry. But no, that was not in the cards for Mrs. Carla Lambert Steele Morton Wilkes. She would rather the men in her life take care of her, allowing her to continue to be as flighty and self-centered as a spoilt child. Actually, that's a pretty good way to describe her. Spoilt.
Kate is still in the closet and I hear her rummaging through it. What the hell is she looking for?
"Just looking for a belt. That outfit you pick out needs one." She calls out to me before emerging with a wide brown leather belt with a circle and latch closure in bronze. I smile as she walks over to me and hands me the belt.
Thanking her I start to get dressed but that's when I notice her outfit. She's wearing a pair of corduroys skinny pants, a white jersey long-sleeved tee, gold disk earrings and two scarves. Now I understand its cold, I mean it's almost winter, and we do live in Washington but two scarves? But she's doesn't have shoes on.
Pulling on my jeans I ask her, "Kate, I'll be ready in five minutes. Why don't you go find some shoes so that when I'm done we can leave?"
"Oh, I have boots out in the living room with my jacket. It'll just take me a minute to get them on. But I guess you're right. I'll go but just please don't put on a pair of converse? Please." She pleads with me as I smirk back at her and she exits the room.
Finally putting the jewelry on that Kate picked, I realize that I have a ring that I will go with what I have on. Opening the jewelry drawer again and sliding the top section over, I pull out my grandmother's rose gold brown diamond solitaire. It is one of the few keepsakes that I have of hers and when I need to be close to her, I always wear it. I have to wear it on my middle finger because I have never had it sized for me. I guess that I'm more afraid to do that because the entire band is pavé set with small white diamonds.
Finally done, I grab my bag and slip my feet in a pair of brown flats and go to gather Kate so that we can leave. Reaching the living room, she is just putting on her jacket. It's a brown lambskin leather with hand stitched detailing and simply pulls her entire outfit together.
"Ok, miss rush rush this morning. You ready?"
"Yep let's go!" Grabbing her keys, we head out for a day of torture (shopping).
We made pretty good time to the city. I made us late enough that we missed the commuter traffic but still early enough that the Market was jam-packed full of tourists. But I knew that it would be soon. I figure that we'll have until maybe lunch time, a good two maybe three hours before it's so full you can't walk in here for all the window shoppers.
During our meandering we stumbled upon a little bookstore in the far corner away from almost everything. Walking in to browse the shelves, I see an angel statue. The angel is reading sitting on what looks like a small carpet in the middle of a display of books. The sales clerk told me that the angel protects and looks after the books, having the most prestigious and visible spot in the store. They had a lot of great books and I can definitely see myself spending hours here once we move.
Around 11:30 am Kate calls her dad and tells him that we are in Seattle and would like to see the apartment. Once finding out that neither of us cut class to come up here he told her that if she came now we could all have lunch together. I begged off and told her that I would like to go see my Uncle Alex and that I could make my way over to the apartment afterwards. She looked a little deflated. But understood and told her dad that it would just be the two of them.
"So dad said to come straight to Kavanaugh Media and he would have his driver take you to your uncle. He didn't like the idea of you hoping a cab or making your way to the apartment by yourself. He grumbled out and I quote, 'She doesn't know the city yet. She can use the driver. Safety first.' Then he said he'd see us in twenty and hung up." Shrugging her shoulders.
Rolling my eyes I let out a giggle. Kate's dad has always been a little overprotective where we are concerned. Well more where she is concerned but I got added in by default. Not only am I his baby girl's best friend but we live together therefore by extension that overprotectiveness extends to me too.
"That's fine. Easier too. The driver will know the city and we won't have to find our way around so that we don't get lost looking for Uncle Alex's building."
The drive over is quiet between us. Both Kate and I in our own heads as she drives to her family's company. Kate is the only daughter and youngest of two children of the Kavanaughs. Richard and Elizabeth Kavanaugh have been like an extended family to me from the moment that I met Kate. They openly accepted me with wide arms, including, not only me but Ray too, in an array of things. Ethan was her older brother. He's two, almost three, years older than we are and has been the epitome of a big brother for the last four years. I have to say that I definitely lucked out when Kate and I became friends. Not only did I gain a best friend, something that had been sorely missing in my life since my parent's divorce, but by gaining her friendship, I gained a sister, a brother and another set of parents.
Pulling up to the eleven story white building in downtown Seattle that housed Kavanaugh Media, home of the Seattle Times, Kate parks the car in a reserved spot and we head into the lobby of the building. We were just greeting the receptionist when Mr. Kavanaugh stepped off the elevators. Hugging both Kate and I we stood in the lobby for a few minutes before he asked if he could change my mind and join them for lunch. Shaking my head and politely declining again as we leave the building two black town cars pull up. I recognize the driver of the first car, he's the Kavanaugh's usual driver, I think his name is Lewis. As Kate is getting into the first, Mr. Kavanaugh walks me to the second and introduces me to a man named Morris, he will be my driver for the day. He opened my door for me, gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to have a good time. As he's closing the door I hear him tell Morris, "take her wherever she wants to go."
Once Morris gets in the car he asks, "Where to, Ma'am?"
"Just Ana please. Grey Enterprise Holdings, do you know it?"
I notice his eyes widen a bit, like he's in shock but he quickly nods and starts driving. It took about ten minutes total to get from Kavanaugh Media to Grey Enterprises. Morris pulled up in front of the building and came around to open my door. I let him know that he can park the car because I am not sure how long I'll be. Again I can see that surprise before he hastily covers his expression. I'm not sure what that is about but oh well. I'm too excited to care. I'm going to see the second most important man in my life and it's been too long.
Entering the large glass doors under a sign that says Grey House in gray marble I head to the reception desk where I am met with a beautiful perfectly manicured blonde dressed in what is obviously a designer suit. She looks up at me expectantly waiting for me to tell her why I'm here.
"I'd like to see Alex Welch."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
She rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head minutely. "He's in a meeting. But I'll call and let security know you are here. What's your name?"
"Anastasia Steele."
"Have a seat Miss Steele. I'll let you know when he may be available to you. If he isn't then you'll need to make an appointment."
"I don't think that will be necessary. But thank you."
Again she rolls her eyes at me. Almost like I was putting her out for having to contact him? Strolling over to the taupe leather couches and chairs directly across from the bank of elevators I find a seat and wait.
I don't know how long I have sat here waiting, it hasn't been long, when another meticulously put together blonde suddenly sits down next to me. She dressed in all black, from her top to her shoes. The only color is her platinum blonde razor cut bob, icy blue eyes and blood red nails. I scoot over on the couch a bit. She sat down too close for comfort. Jeesh, ever heard of personal space lady? That's when she starts talking.
"I don't know who you think you are, but he's going to be royally pissed when he sees you waiting in his lobby. You should know better."
Turning to look at the woman, stunned at what she said but confused at the same time. What the …
"I don't know what you mean."
"Don't you? Who sent you? You're not one of mine. They are trained better."
"I'm not a pet to be trained lady. And no one sent me."
"Well then who are you and what do you know about him? Why are you here?"
Before I could answer I suddenly felt this jolt. I don't know where it came from but it caused me to look up. That's when I spotted him. He was absolutely amazing. Copper hair and light eyes. From this distance I can't see if they are green or blue but they definitely are not brown. He's standing in an expensive handmade Italian suit that fits him impeccably; and he's staring at me.
Just then, behind him I see Ray with Uncle Alex. I didn't expect Dad to be here and with a smile I stand and walk quickly toward them.
"Daddy! Uncle Alex!" I say as I rush past the handsome man. First embracing my father then Uncle Alex.
"Hi baby. I hope you haven't been waiting too long." Dad says.
I look over at the receptionist but just shake my head with Uncle Alex says that he got dad to agree to lunch and asked me to join.
"Actually that's why I am here. I was going to ask you if you want to have lunch." I said smiling.
He chuckles at me, "well alright then. Let's go."
Dad wraps his arm around me and as we reach the handsome man again, I notice the cougar is standing with him. Suddenly he stops, "Sir. I'd like you to meet my daughter.
"Ana, this is Mr. Grey."