A/N: Holy cow, guys! The response I got for this first chapter has been beyond anything I was expecting! I hope you enjoy this next chapter just as much:)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 2: Scheduling Conflicts
Ana
When Ana walked back to her and Andrea's desk, she noticed Dahlia already sitting there and covering the phones like Andrea had asked her to.
"Hey – how'd meeting the big boss go?" Dahlia asked eagerly once Ana sat down.
"Alright, I suppose," Ana shrugged, glancing over to where Andrea and Grey had walked off. "He barely acknowledged me."
"Oh, that's a good thing," Dahlia said reassuringly. "If Mr. Grey didn't think you were a good fit for the job, he would've kicked you out on the spot."
"What, seriously?" Ana squeaked, staring at Dahlia with wide eyes. Why did no one bother telling her this?
"Yep. It's pretty rare when it happens, but we've all seen him do it before," Dahlia nodded with a grimace. "Mr. Grey puts a lot of faith in first impressions – it can be tough, but he has a good instinct for stuff like that. Don't worry," she added, seeing the horrified expression on Ana's face. "Grey must think you're a decent fit for the job if he didn't fire you. It's a good thing, I promise."
Ana didn't feel very reassured, but wasn't able to say anything as the main desk phone suddenly rang and Dahlia quickly turned to answer it:
"Grey Enterprise Holdings – Christian Grey's office, how may I help you?" Dahlia spoke with a seasoned professionalism Ana didn't think she would ever be able to achieve while working here.
Ana silently turned to face her new computer, trying to look like she belonged here. Not knowing what else to do, she decided to boot up her computer, idly wondering if the IT guys had logged her onto the server yet, and also wondering how long she would likely last at a place where her boss had no qualms about firing his new employees in the blink of an eye. Unsurprisingly, neither thought calmed her down much.
"He's pretty hot, right?"
Ana blinked and glanced over at Dahlia, who was off the phone now and smiling at her. "What?"
"Mr. Grey," Dahlia explained with a giggle. "Our boss you just met. He can be pretty scary sometimes, but he's totally gorgeous - don't you think?"
Ana blushed, shrugging. The truth was she had noticed how good-looking Mr. Grey was, but she was far too uncomfortable to admit it to anyone. "Yeah, I guess."
"Sometimes I wish I could just have Andrea's job," Dahlia sighed wistfully to herself, and Ana only smiled slightly, unsure of what to say to that.
"So who else have you met so far?" Dahlia asked after a moment. "I saw Andrea giving you a bit of a tour earlier."
Ana, happy that they were talking about something besides their boss, smiled and began rattling off the names of the various people she'd met in the office today. Dahlia listened to her, smiling and nodding attentively every so often, and her whole face even lit up when Ana mentioned being introduced to the financial assistant Josh.
"You've met Josh already?" she asked excitedly, and Ana nodded. "Oh my God, he's hilarious! Seriously, he's like the funniest guy in the office – in fact, I could check and see if he's free for lunch today if you want to hang out at around noon?"
"I'd like that," Ana beamed, feeling excited that she had something to look forward to today besides orientation. "As long as it's okay with Andrea."
"As long as what's okay with me?" Andrea suddenly appeared at the desk, thankfully alone now, but her brisk tone did not give Ana much comfort.
"We were just wondering if Ana was going to be free for lunch today," Dahlia said to Andrea, unintimidated. "I know she still has orientation to go through, but if she has a lunch break…"
"We should be done with most of her orientation by noon," Andrea said agreeably. "If you guys want to have lunch together, that's fine – as long as you keep it within Grey House."
"Sure, absolutely," Dahlia said quickly, smiling over at Ana, who grinned brightly back.
"Come, Anastasia," Andrea said, her mask of professionalism still in place, and Ana's smile faded as she looked up at her. "I have one of the smaller conference rooms set up for us – we should get a move on with your orientation if we want to get it done within the next few hours."
"Of course," Ana said, quickly getting to her feet. As she moved back around the desk, she glanced back over at Dahlia. "See you at noon?"
"Yep – we can meet up here at the desk," Dahlia said brightly, waving goodbye to her. "Have fun in training!"
"I will," Ana giggled before turning and following Andrea down the corridor toward the conference room.
~The next day~
Christian
The following morning, Christian walked through the front doors of GEH at around seven o'clock am – this sort of punctuality was not uncommon for him, but today he had a reason for it. There was a deal with a Taiwanese shipping company he and Ros needed to work on today, and if they succeeded in their efforts, it could potentially bring in about two and a half million dollars for the company. Deals in the millions were basically peanuts in comparison to the multibillion-dollar net worth of Grey Enterprise Holdings, but Christian still put a lot of time and effort to them. These sorts of acquisitions were what Christian thrived on in the business world, and he had spent most of his young life dedicated to growing his empire. Nothing would ever deter him from that.
The entire building was empty as Christian made his way up to his office – Taylor would likely come in soon, but until then, Christian enjoyed the solitude. He headed up to the top floor and into his office without seeing anyone around. He liked it that way.
Christian spent the next hour or so sorting through the financials for Wei Li Control Systems, becoming so engrossed in his work that the next time he looked up from his computer, it was past eight-thirty in the morning and he could hear people moving around outside his office doors. Christian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes and feeling his head pound from staring at his computer screen for too long.
Where the hell is Andrea with my coffee?
Christian stopped rubbing his eyes and sighed, finally looking down at his inbox pile and noticing the file folder sitting on top of all his miscellaneous papers and documents. Knowing he needed a small reprieve from the financials he'd been looking over, he reached for the file and opened it, not entirely sure what it contained.
It was just a standard background check. Christian stared at it for a moment before he remembered – Andrea had asked him to look over her new assistant's records and make sure everything checked out. It was pretty much a formality, since Andrea and HR had already checked Anastasia's background out through and through before hiring her, but Christian knew it wasn't a bad idea for him to at least have a basic understanding of the people who worked directly under him.
Her full name was Anastasia Rose Steele, and she was originally from Montesano. She was an only child raised by her stepfather, and had recently graduated from WSU summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA. The girl was undoubtedly impressive in her own right, but what caught Christian's eye were her references. They were pretty standard recommendations – mostly from past employers and college professors – but it was clear she had no connections to anyone important. Most people who wanted to work for him had to have some sort of political connection or get a recommendation from an executive or something – what was Andrea playing at, allowing this nobody from Montesano to come work in his office?
Christian's thoughts were broken by a light knock on his office door, and, as if she knew what he had been reading, Anastasia Steele slowly opened the door and stepped into his office, looking terribly nervous. She hesitantly walked up toward his desk.
"Ms. Steele," Christian greeted her cordially, closing the file and setting it aside. "What can I do for you?"
"Andrea sent me in, Sir," Anastasia said, her quiet voice coming off surprisingly clear. "She wanted to know if you'd like a cup of coffee this morning?"
Finally. "Yes, I would. Dark roast."
"Milk, sir?"
Christian grinned slightly; Andrea must have filled her in on his penchant for switching up his coffee order from time to time. "No, thank you."
Anastasia nodded obediently and turned to head out of his office, obviously going to go fetch his coffee for him. Once she was gone, Christian leaned back in his chair and gazed at his office doors thoughtfully – this Anastasia girl may not have any high-society connections, but perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. Olivia, his old assistant, had only gotten a job here because she was the governor's niece. He knew from day one that she was awful, and it soon became clear that she was much more interested in making googly eyes at him than doing anything else. Christian scowled – literally anything was better than having to deal with that vapid moron every day.
He turned back to his computer and checked his emails for a few minutes before Anastasia came back in to his office with his coffee. He noticed her hand shaking slightly as she set the mug in front of him.
Time for a little test, Ms. Steele.
"Anastasia, I need to put off my twelve-thirty Locke Industries meeting today. Could you reschedule it for tomorrow?" Christian asked. He actually did have to reschedule it for a last-minute lunch meeting that came up today, but he wanted to see if Ms. Steele would take the initiative here.
Anastasia froze, staring at him with her wide, powder blue eyes. She seemed surprised by his request. "Um.. of-of course, sir. I'll let Andrea know to reschedule it for you."
Christian looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't ask Andrea to do it. I asked you to do it."
Anastasia went red, the fear evident on her face. "Sir."
"Are you physically unable to handle a simple rescheduling for me, Ms. Steele?" he continued, his voice cold.
"Yes, sir."
Christian was surprised by her blunt answer, and he glared at her in anger and shock. She didn't know how to access a fucking Google doc? How the fuck did this simpleton manage to get a goddamn office job?
"You don't know how?" Christian asked, his voice practically shaking in suppressed anger. Anastasia's eyes widened, realizing what she had said.
"Oh, no sir! I know how," she explained quickly. "That's not what I meant. I meant that I'm unable to access your schedule because the server is password-protected, and Andrea made it clear to me yesterday that I didn't have the clearance yet to access your schedule."
Christian's anger abated slightly as confusion overtook his thoughts. "Why would Andrea do that? You work under me – you need to know my daily schedule."
"She mentioned that you guys had some issues with a past employee," Anastasia explained. "That's why she was wary of giving me access to it right away."
Olivia. He should have fucking known – that moron barely know how to work her computer, let alone properly access his schedule. He and Andrea had suffered months of misscheduled meetings and forgotten business lunches before they were finally able to let Olivia go without pissing off her uncle. Christian sighed exasperatedly, running a hand tiredly through his hair.
"What about you?" he finally asked, leaning forward and looking Anastasia in the eye. She blinked nervously. "Do you think she was right in restricting you from my schedule?"
Anastasia looked taken aback by his straightforward question; she hesitated a moment, obviously thinking over her words carefully. "While I don't necessarily like the fact that I'm getting restrictions due to the mistakes of some past employee I've never met before, I understand your reasons for it. I want to show everyone here that I'm a team player, and that I can follow through on orders from my superiors without them questioning my performance. I'm sorry that Andrea didn't mention I didn't have clearance on the server, but rest assured I wouldn't have hesitated to reschedule your meeting if I did have access."
Good answer. Christian couldn't help but be a little impressed: not only was this Anastasia girl clearly confident in her abilities, she stood up to him despite how nervous she obviously was. Perhaps there was hope for this nobody from Montesano after all.
Christian looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds before nodding his head toward his office doors. "Go back to your desk. I'll call up IT and have them give you access to my schedule."
"Oh no, sir – you're too busy. I could do that for you…" Anastasia offered quickly, but Christian held up his hand to silence her.
"They need clearance from your superior. Which is me," he explained patiently, and Anastasia blushed, embarrassed. "Go back to your desk – you should have access to my schedule in about five minutes."
"Thank you, sir," Anastasia said gratefully, her cheeks still flushed red. She turned and began to walk toward the doors.
"Ms. Steele?"
Anastasia stopped and turned to look back at him. "Yes, sir?"
Christian gazed at her critically. "I hope you were right about being a team player. It would be quite a novelty, having a competent secretarial assistant working for me for once."
For the first time since they had been introduced, Anastasia smiled at him – it was a sincere grin that accentuated her fine features and made her blue eyes sparkle prettily. She nodded at him. "I'll do my best, sir."
And with that, she turned around and walked out of his office, closing the door gently behind her.
A/N: A little bit of a shorter chapter, I hope you all don't mind. I just wanted to get this out in good time:)
If you liked it, please leave a review!
