Tell Me

Ch 3: Caught!

Edited by me; all remaining mistakes are mine.

My dad looked at us in shock, his eyes wide as he saw just how close Anastasia and I were. "I'm sorry, son, I thought the room was empty," he said, clearing his throat. "Ana, how are you?" She blushed and looked down, embarrassed about being caught, by her boss, my dad,no less.

She stepped back away from me, saying, "I'm doing well, Carrick, thanks for asking. Well, I guess I'd better get back to work. I'll see you later, Christian."

She hurried past my dad, clearly anxious to be out of the awkward situation. At the door, she took another look at me, and left. Once he was sure she was gone, my dad looked at me and shook his head. It was clear he was thinking the worst - that I was using Anastasia.

"You are aware that she has a boyfriend, right? She's seeing Jose Rodriguez, another employee here at Grey Industries."

I nodded. "Dad… it's not what you're thinking. I promise you."

"No? Christian, I understand that you're thirty, a bachelor, and like playing the field. But son, she's not like that. She's young and impressionable. I can't just sit by and watch while you break her heart."

"Dad, you don't get it, do you? She's important. I have strong feelings for her, feelings I've never had for anyone else."

"Not even, Leila?" he asked, searching my eyes for the truth.

"No, not even, Leila," I answered, trying to think of how to explain my feelings to him. "Leila was a nice girl, and we had a great time while we were together. But there is just something different about Anastasia, dad. She makes my heart race, my palms sweat, she's all I can think about. She's special."

My dad looked at me and could see that I was telling the truth. "Just be careful, son. That's all I'm asking. What if it hadn't been me that discovered you two?" I looked down, realizing he was right. I wasn't worried about my reputation, but what it could have done to Anastasia… it made my stomach clench.

"Now, we need to get this meeting started. Go ahead and get your notes, son. Everyone should be here soon."

"Even, Anastasia?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, even Ana. But, Christian, please be on your best professional behavior. Her boyfriend will be attending too."

For a moment I pretended to be hurt, but grinned. "Who, me? Dad, please! Good behavior is my middle name."

He rolled his eyes before turning to complete his preparations for the meeting.

I left the room for just a moment to look for Anastasia. She was at her desk, gathering reports. She must have felt my gaze, because she suddenly looked up and our eyes met. I gave her a wink and watched as she blushed. Such an easy target. Having gotten my Ana fix, I continued on getting my things ready for the meeting.

The boardroom was packed. My father was already there, with Anastasia at his side taking notes. Jose, Ethan, Mia, and Elena, employees from all different departments were also in attendance. This meeting was the worst one every year - slide after slide of sales projections. This was information I kept track of as part of my job; I didn't need an endless meeting to tell me the financial condition of my family's company. God, I'm bored.

I sat back in my chair, clicking my pen and stealing glances at Anastasia. My dad was standing near Jose, so he couldn't see what I was doing. Every so often I'd see Ana glance my way. I'd wink and smirk at her, making her blush. Knowing what we'd been doing in here before we were interrupted made me hard. I was pulled from my daydreams when I heard my father say my name.

"Christian, how is the account with Jack Hyde coming along?"

I leaned forward in my chair and replied, "I've got him eating out of the palm of my hand. I should have the deal signed by the end of the week."

Jose interrupted, annoying the crap out of me. "Wait, are you talking about Jack from Hyde Enterprises?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" I replied, my impatience barely contained.

"I tried to get him to sign with us a year ago, and, well..."

A smart ass comment was on the tip of my tongue, but my dad shot me a warning glare.

I said, "Well, Jose, maybe it just wasn't the right time."

Carrick spoke up, "Now that we were moving ahead to bigger and better things, it was critical that we got that account, Jose. I appreciate you trying last year, but Christian had the experience necessary to land the account. You'll have other chances, Jose. Don't worry. Are there any more questions?" Everyone shook their heads no. "Meeting is adjourned. I will see you all next week."

I saw Jose walk up to Anastasia - I pretended not to listen while I shuffled through some papers.

"Hey, where were you at lunch? I brought your favorite take out, and you weren't at your desk," Jose whined.

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I had to help someone in one of the board rooms. We were working on their laptop and I lost track of time. But thanks for thinking of me."

"Of course. That's what boyfriends are for, sweetie. I'd better get back to my floor, though. I'll see you later." He pulled her face into his for a kiss. I think she only meant to give him a peck, but I saw him as he looked over her shoulder. When he spotted me, I saw him decide to deepen the kiss. It made my blood boil. I was ready to smash his face in, but she pulled away from him quickly. He left the room along with everyone else, leaving her and I alone.

I walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "You know, my tongue would have felt a hell of a lot better. I know what I'm doing, unlike that hack you're dating. You'll see soon enough." Smiling when I heard her breath catch, I fought my instinct to demonstrate, and backed out of the board room. Sometimes it's better to let them think about it, Christian, I reminded myself. She'd be back for more… at least I hoped so.

The day went by quickly. After the meeting I was swamped with work. By seven o'clock I was exhausted. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and drove around town, not sure what to do with myself. Before I knew it, I found myself in front of Anastasia's building. I saw her light was on, so I sat back, thinking of what my next move should be.

My mind was in turmoil - how I was going to do this? I wanted to tell Ana that her boyfriend was a lying, cheating snake. But how, and would she even believe me? She might think I'd made it up to get her to break up with him. I didn't want to come off as a jerk, as I really did have feelings for Anastasia. I didn't relish hurting her.

It had started off as lust at first, I'd admit that. But the more I got to know about her, the more intrigued I became. She was the kind of girl you brought home to mom and dad; a wholesome girl to the outside world, with a little bit of a bad girl hidden deep inside. A trait I intended to discover. Deciding I wasn't doing her any favors by keeping the truth about Jose to myself, I stepped out of my car and set the alarm.

I walked in her building and headed for the stairs to climb to her floor. I was thinking to myself what I should do next. I knocked on her door and stood there, waiting as she opened the door. There she stood, beautiful as ever. You could just feel the energy between us; that spark, that overwhelming feeling of my heart literally beating out of my chest - it was what, love? Whatever it was, I could see it in her eyes too.

A/N: Oh my goodness you guys! You all rock! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, very much for all your alerts. I was going to write you all a Thank you note but there were so many I couldn't keep track! You have no idea what this means to me. This just blows me away! So...I hope you all liked this chapter. Tell Me what you like about this Christian so far. Please.