Chapter 4.
Cpov
I end the call with Ana, and as I wait for her to arrive, I think about what I did. She was on a date, and I manipulated things, forcing her to end it and come to me. If Flynn heard about this, I could only imagine what he would say, but I am just looking out for her. That Seahawk is bound to be a douche. She's too good for him. She's too good for anyone. I just want what's best for her, or me, I haven't figured that one out yet. I am a selfish man, but I think maybe I have went to far with this one. Great, now I feel like shit. Taylor has just informed me that Ana is on her way up, so I leave my office and make my way towards the foyer. I arrive just as the elevator doors open, revealing... Ana? Fuck, she looks amazing. I know I saw her from my car but that was at a distance, this close up, she looks... breathtaking. Pull yourself together, Grey. She heads towards me, and I don't know why, but this feels right; her coming home to me. What the fuck is wrong with me?! I need a sub or something. Yes, that's what this is. I am sex starved.
"Christian." I don't like the tone of her voice, clearly expressing that she's pissed, and that anger is directed at me.
"Anastasia."
"Let's just get this over, okay? Bring the takeout and wine into your office while I change out of this."
"I will, and I think you look good like that."
"Seriously, Christian," She growls annoyed. "Don't fuck with me right now."
"What's the problem, Anastasia, is everything okay?" I tease her, knowing full well why she's upset.
"Well, let's see, I was on a date and wasn't there 15 mins before you call with an emergency, so yeah, I'm not very pleased right now."
"I'm sorry, Ana, I was not aware that you were busy." I lie.
She walks off in a huff and heads toward her bedroom. She has her own room and keeps essentials here, since we usually pull all nighters, so she doesn't have to drive home when she's exhausted. I grin as I casually stroll back inside my office, with my hands deep in my pockets, and whistling.
I'm sitting behind my desk, waiting for Ana to return, when I hear the door open. Knowing it's Ana, I look up, and feel my breath leave my body. She's wearing the tightest yoga pants and top I have ever seen. This is going to be a long ass night, the longest we've ever endured.
"Let's eat first, shall we?" She suggests, sitting across from me. "Are you hungry? I haven't ate yet."
"Famished." My tone is husky. Fuck! I clear my throat and begin to spread out our food.
"Whatever, Christian," She ignores the innuendo, brushing it off as nothing. "I hope you ordered me those egg rolls you know I love."
I smirk, passing her the egg rolls. I know everything about her; all her likes, her dislikes. Beat that, Seahawk. Seriously, Grey? You're that kind of guy now.
"So am I right to presume your date was with the Seahawk?" I ask even though I know.
"Yes, it was. Well I don't know if you can call it a date, we never made it to drinks before you called, throwing the monkey wrench in."
"You know I'm sorry. And it is an emergency, I don't have my schedule. Please don't be mad at me." I pout, knowing she can't resist me when I do.
"Christian." She giggles my name.
"I knew you couldn't stay mad at me." I grin.
"Seriously, Christian, you need to get yourself laid soon."
"Are you offering, Anastasia?" I ask rather too seductively. Shit!
"What?" She questions. Think, Grey. Think.
"You know, I thought you where offering to find me perfection." I shrug it off. "So I can get laid."
"Play match maker for you? Not a chance. Your standards are impossible."
That's because no woman can peak my interest like you, baby. Baby?! What the fuck? Let's get that wine open, I need something to take the edge off. I don't know what's wrong with me. We finally get to work, and while we are both inputting data, Elliot drops by unannounced. Everyone knows I hate that shit. "Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. The love birds all comfy and cozy with takeout and wine." Elliot strolls to the table grabbing an egg roll for himself.
He enjoys busting my balls over Ana. I don't know why he wastes his time, she's not mine, or is she? Do I want her to be? What the fuck is going on?! If I didn't know any better, I would say I was feeling something for Ana. She's my friend, that's what I feel. Yes, that's what this is.
"Hmmm, I wonder what else in on the menu for tonight." He wiggles his brows playfully.
"Elliot, stop being an ass." I growl. "What are you doing here?"
"I went by Ana's apartment, but she wasn't there. The only place she could be is with you, so I had to come over when I discovered my future wife was here. I didn't like the idea of her being alone with another man. Just because you're my brother, doesn't mean this is acceptable." He waves his egg roll between Ana and I. Elliot laughs when Ana giggles at his immaturity.
"Oh, Elliot sweetie, you know there's nothing going on here."
I roll my eyes when she plays along with him, encouraging their future material status.
"Well, I wanted to see for myself." He takes a bite of the egg roll now.
"Yeah, sure. Why don't you cut the crap and tell me what you want?"
"Well, wifey," He continues. "I was wondering if I could use your Seahawk tickets for this weekend? I have a hot date and she's a big fan."
"Oh hubby, you wound me coming to me about some bitch." Ana giggles. "Sure, El, you can have them. I wont get a chance to use them anyway since the game is Sunday, the day after the Coping Together gala, and I plan on having a major hangover."
Satisfied that he got what he came here for, Elliot kisses Ana's cheek and says he will see us later. I love Elliot, he's my big brother, but if he continues to pull these stunts with Ana, I might not be able to control my fist.
"Anastasia, why do you enable Elliot? He's such an ass."
"Well, Christian," She says as she cleans up our mess. "I enable you on a daily basis, and you are an even bigger ass."
She sways her hips a little too much as she walks out of my office and towards the kitchen. If that was any other woman, a punishment would be in order, but with Ana, I find her amusing. By the time we finish with the data entries, it's still pretty early and I don't want Ana to go, so I suggest we head to the cinema room to watch a movie. She agrees so we get comfortable on the large sofa and watch some dumbass rom-com film that Ana picked. It's about two best friends after the same girl. I feel something underneath me start to wriggle away, so I pull it back with my arm and snuggle against it, but it moves again. What the fuck is happening? I open my eyes to see the biggest blue eyes underneath me. Oh shit, I am on top of Ana! What the hell happened? Fuck! What have I done?!
"Christian, we must have fell asleep." She tells me.
"Shit, Ana, I'm sorry. I must have rolled over or something."
"It's okay, I just really have to pee." She wiggles again. "Will you please get off of me so I can move?"
I hope she doesn't see the huge bulge in my pants when I get up. Who the fuck am I kidding, she was underneath me, she felt it!We both head off to our separate rooms to get ready for work. When I step inside the shower, my erection is so painfully hard. I haven't masturbated since I was a teenager, but this cold shower isn't working. I reach down and fist my cock, stroking it slow at first, but then I pick up speed thinking of a petite brunette with blue eyes.
"Ana!" I whisper when I cum. Fuck! I blink hard and shake my head as I pant. Did I really just moan her name? It's fine. It's just an overreaction to sleeping with her and not having a nightmare Wait. What? I didn't have a nightmare? I need Flynn. After I finish the rest of my shower, uneventfully I might add, I dress and head to the kitchen. Ana is talking to Gail when I approach them. She's leaning on the counter so her ass is directly in my line of sight. The view is amazing. Her skirt is hugging her ass and hips just right, and damn, those legs seem to go on forever. Before I know it, I feel myself harden.
Grey! What the fuck?! Stop this, stop it now! Stop thinking of Ana this way!
I haven't had sex since the scandal broke. I just need a sub, that's what this is. I've never found my own, but it shouldn't be that hard.
Once I'm seated, Gail plates our breakfast. Ana and I make small talk about business while we eat. After we're finished, I let Taylor know where ready to leave for Grey House. The silence in the car is killing me. I can't tell what Ana is thinking, and I know I can't tell her my dirty thoughts. We ride the elevator up to the 20th floor, and when it arrives, we walk off 's a huge flower arrangement waiting on Ana's desk when we arrive. If this is Elliot's idea of a joke, he's dead. I watch as Ana dreamily grins, pulling the card from the bouquet, and as she does this, I catch a glimpse of the sender. It's from the of saying anything, I just storm off to my office and slam my door.
Apov
I should have been upset with Christian for ruining my date, but the truth is, I wasn't feeling it. I wasn't very comfortable with Cooper and I didn't feel that spark. The only man I have ever really felt comfortable around is Christian Grey. But Kate convinced me to give Cooper a chance. He is an attractive, sweet guy, but I didn't feel anything with him even though our date only lasted all of five minutes. Considering I was at Escala for something work related, we had a good night. I even forced Christian to watch a rom-com, knowing he doesn't watch much television, especially 'chick flicks', but pay back is a bitch.
When I woke, seeing Christian on top of me, at first I didn't know what to think. I know we didn't drink that much, and since our clothes were still on, I know we didn't do anything we would regret later. Although, I did feel his erection digging into my thigh. I started to feel hot and tingly, and I didn't know why I felt that way, but I tried to get out from under him. When his grey eyes popped open, I felt my breath taken away. I had to get him off of me before I did or said anything stupid.
As if feeling Christian's erection wasn't embarrassing enough, while I was in the shower all I could think about was Christian. I knew he was naked in his shower, and all I wanted to do was join him. I know, I know, I'm such an awful friend, but the truth is, I secretly have a crush on my best guy friend.
I kept quiet all through breakfast and the drive to work, I know he wont be happy if he knew. When I saw the huge bouquet of flowers waiting on my desk for me, I smiled, secretly wishing they were from Christian. I need to shake this off. I know he'd never want to be with me that way, or want the kind of relationship I do, and it will only lead to heartache. I can't lose Christian, he's my best friend, so I suffer in silence.
Today I have to try and get Christian to pick a model, because our deadline is fast approaching, but he's so picky. He has his ideal version of what the perfect woman should look like and none of the models are meeting his expectations. I wish it wasn't awkward, seeing him look at these girls, trying to find the perfect one.
I gather all the files I have for the new models that Christian hasn't seen yet, as well as a few that he has, and head to his office.
"Christian, we seriously need to pick a model." I tell him as I walk in. "The shoot is booked for Friday, and Gwen can't reschedule, so we need this nailed down."
"Let me see the photos again." He tells me in a bored voice. "I'll see if there's a good one this time around."
Christian reaches his hand out across his desk, and I hand him the profiles as I sit across from him. He's looking at each profile, along with their attached photo, in turn, then setting them aside when he passes on them. Instead of looking with him, I look down and play with my hands.
"Are you seeing anything you might like?" I ask then bite my lip, almost dreading that he has.
"I think I am, Anastasia." He responds in a husky tone.
My eyes fly to his. He's looking at me with a file in his hand.I swallow hard, bracing myself, before I ask,
"So who are we going with?"
He blinks confused for a moment then looks down at the file in his hand. He hands it to me, and when I see the attractive blonde, my heart falls. She looks like a playboy centerfold. Every man's wet dream. So this is Christian's idea of perfection? I never pegged him for blondes, then again, being a brunette, I may be bias. I nod and walk out to my desk, so I can call her agent right away, since we need to book her for Friday's photo shoot. I give the details, and confirm the location of the photo shoot as well as discuss compensation. After I get off the phone with her agent, I send the agent, the model, and Christian a confirmation email, then I put the model's profile in my desk drawer to file it. When I open the drawer, I see the things I created on my spare time, and think they will be perfect for the photo shoot. I'll have to run it by Christian first. I grab the items then walk in Christian's office, but he's busy with work and on the phone. I'm about to leave and come back later, but he ends his call.
"What can I do for you?" He asks.
"Christian, I have an idea..." I hesitantly begin.
"What's your idea?"
"Well, I was thinking... Instead of doing the photo shoot with a boring screen, or in a studio, why not do it in the apartment underneath yours at Escala? It's empty and the views are amazing, it would make a beautiful backdrop. We could have people set up a different type of sex room, you know what I mean, I cant remember what you call it. But we can have each room be a different theme."
I can tell he is thinking about it. He has the cutest thinking face I have ever seen.
"That is a great idea, Ana. I love it." He smiles that signature panty dampening smile at me. "Do you have all the lingerie picked out for the shoot?"
"I do, and I hope you don't mind, but when I researched BDSM," I feel my cheeks flush just thinking about what I saw. "I read that most dominants like their submissives to be bound and blindfolded. I created some things in my spare time that I thought would look good. You know, for the purpose of the shoot."
"This is why I love having you around, Ana, you always create magic. May I see them?"
"Yes," I happily hand him the restraints and the blindfold I created with lace and silk.
"I like the idea of using lace and ribbon for the romantic scene. Makes it more soft and intimate, don't you think?"
"I guess." My face must be bright red by now. This is the part I don't like about my job; talking about sex scenes.
"Come here." He stands from his desk, walking around it.
I stand in front of him wondering what he wants.
"Let me try these on you so I can get a visual of what they will look like."
Without waiting for me to respond, he grabs my hand and starts to restrain my wrists together. He pulls my hair out of the elastic, causing it to cascade down my back, then he applies the blindfold.
I'm standing in front of Christian with my hands bound together, and since I'm wearing a blindfold, I can't see what he's doing. The next thing I hear is a click. Did he just take my picture?!
"I took a photo," He confirms. "That way I can get a better visual of how it will look on camera."
Christian unties me and I take of the blindfold. I reach for his phone to see the photo and groan when I see how crazy I look. Good thing we'll have a professional model for the shoot. Though, I must admit, I do look different, almost sexy. And why am I biting my lip? I didn't even realize I was.
"I'm going to work from home for the rest of the day." He tells me before he quickly gathers his belongings.
I stay so I can go over all the lingerie we plan to use for the photo shoot. After I've done that, I work on the new designs so I can see if the collection is ready for Christian's final approval before Friday. We want to use a few new pieces from our line that haven't been seen before.
This is going to be an interesting photo shoot.