stace1971: Yeah, that would have been awkward! Just know whatever those two did is nothing compared to those two other freaks will do when they do get together!
Hettyblue and LylyNg: I am really sorry if last chapter was disturbing but it had to be, Sorry! And Hettyblue, You cracked me up with the coiled cobra thing, I had to put 'cobra' in this chapter!
Here is the meeting we have been waiting for, hope it is not disappointing!
APOV:
At 8:50 AM, I am getting out of the taxi as I reach Grey House. It is the second day on a row for me to be here but I still find it…intimidating. Yes, it is still cold and too formal for my taste but also intimidating as hell. I wonder if the building reflects Mr. Grey's persona. Is he cold? I remember the way his eyes burnt into me two days ago and a shiver run through my spin. Nope, not cold, anything but cold indeed. Dominating, of course, you don't have to talk to him to know that this man makes sure to be in total control of everything he comes in contact with. I chase away the confusing but exciting haze of trying to figure out Christian Grey. I don't need to figure him out, at least not today. Today is all about knocking him off his feet. And I am dressed to kill. My hair is pulled in a high ponytail. My pressed blue skirt high wait reaching my knees and giving me a perfect hourglass figure, complete with a creamy blouse that maybe a little see through so I made sure to wear a good bra of the same color and finally my killer nude high heels and bag. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to use my body to impress my boss. I just feel much more confident when dressed good and sexy. It has a magic effect on me to be in a good shape. At the end I am a professional, I am not some sluty secretary trying to sex her boss.
I let out a nervous sigh when the receptionist tells me that I am to go to the security room to receive my badge, ID and some other work codes. Fuck, I came 10 minutes early because I didn't wanna be late! Being late makes you lose points even before you walk in.
Thirty minutes later, I am finally in the elevator and on my way up. Shit, I am fifteen minutes late! They have such a complicated security system here. Makes Mr. Grey a little too paranoid in my opinion.
"Ana, where the hell have you been?" Is Rose's hello for me in my first day at work. Well, that is just dandy! She doesn't look mad, though. She looks kinda anxious.
"I am really sorry but it is your security system fault, I was held up there for thirty minutes" I say while following her through the maze that is this company. Man, how am I gonna find my way through this place?
"Fine. But just so you know. Grey isn't in a good mood today. I don't know who pissed him off but it doesn't sound good" That is a good sign! It takes everything in me to keep walking and not run back in other direction. Rose looks super tense as well, gone the relaxed and friendly woman from yesterday. It is the Grey effect! I am beginning to re-think my opinion of him, he sounds like the kind of boss who likes his employees to fear him. I never liked this kind of boss.
We reach the same waiting area I was in yesterday. I glance at the blond who greeted me yesterday. She is in no better state than Rose. What is this man doing to them?
"Ana, wait here please" She points me to a seat and I spot a man sitting there in the same place I was yesterday. I study him, he looks nervous, too nervous, I mean biting-on-his-nails kind of nervous. He doesn't look much older than me.
"Hey" I mutter while taking a seat on the other end of the couch he is sitting on.
"Huh?" His head snaps up at me and he looks startled. For some reason I want to assure him. Even though I am not any better myself. But that is what I do, I busy myself with people's troubles to forget my own, not healthy, don't try it.
"Are you here for the internship, too?"
"Ah…Yes" He stumbles a little then he looks down in embarrassment. gotta say, the boy is kinda cute.
"Me too" I give him a reassuring smile which he seems to accept. He beams at me for a second.
"You are Anastasia Steele?" Alright, how does he know me? Maybe Rose told him.
"Just call me Ana"
"Adam Parker" He extends his hand and put on a charming smile. He seems to have gained some of his nerves now, which I am glad for.
"Nice to meet you" I shake his hand lightly.
"Likewise" He grins completely relaxed now and I couldn't be prouder of myself. "So…How do you think he is like?" I give him a questioning stare. "Grey" He says it like it is so obvious. "How do you think he is like?" Beautiful, sexy, powerful….
"Intimidating, I guess. I mean you gotta be if you can cause this kind of tension" I try hard to hide the fact that I met Grey before. I don't want Adam to think I have kind of advantage over him.
"Well, that sounds just peachy" He chuckles and I found myself chuckling with him. He is a lied-back nice dude, the kind of dude I would be friends with. Heck, maybe this internship wouldn't be so bad after all. Our light mood is shifted when another blonde comes out of a wooden door and she looks like she is about to cry.
"Olivia?" Blonde on the desk addresses the new blonde with caution. Her kindness seems to trigger the tears of 'Olivia' who breaks into a fit of sobs. The blonde rashes to pull Olivia into a hug.
"Shush…it is alright. It is not the first time, is it? Mr. Grey isn't a softie and you know that well" Olivia sobs begins to vanish as the kind blonde keeps on smoothing her. So not only is he making his employee nervous and tense because he is in a foul mood, he actually made that sweet girl cry?! He sounds like an asshole to me honestly.
"This…is…" Olivia hiccups. "This is the third coffee I make for him this morning and he still tells me it is tastes like shit. He always liked my coffee. I don't know what I am doing wrong, Andrea!" Coffee? Fucking Coffee? He made her cry because he didn't like the taste of the fucking coffee. This man is a fucking asshole alright!
"Andrea" A yell comes from the intercom on Andrea's desk causing all of us to jump in place. Even Adam made a little jump of his own. "Tell Ms. Lavon that if she doesn't quit the waterworks immediately she better quits her job before she gets fired. And send Mr. Parker in. Let's see if he has some tears to shed as well" Grey parks through the intercom. Man, I feel like I am gonna be sick. Monster boss alarm! Monster boss, run for your life! I hold my ground anyway because Ana Steele is no quitter. He would fire her because he doesn't like her coffee?! What a douche! Olivia whips her face quickly and breathes deeply to stop the tears. She looks terrified! Andrea glances nervously at Adam who now looks like he wants to run as well.
"Mr. Parker?" He seems frozen in place so I take his hand.
"Hey. It is gonna be okay. Bullies feed on fear but they are just cowards" I tell him the phase Ray used to tell me when I was being bullied in fourth grade. Adam chuckles at me and I feel some of my anxiety leave my body as he does.
"Here goes everything" He mutters before he stands up and walks to the wooden door looking like a man walking into the chamber of torture.
It is official, Grey is an asshole.
Don't you dare run now, Steele!
Instead, I ask where to find the nearest ladies room and pray to god I don't get lost. After a small but effective self-pip talk. I am a little calmer and ready to face the beast when I go back to the purgatory…AKA the waiting area. I see Rose talking to Andrea and she turns to me once I walk in.
"Ana. Thank god you are here. I thought you left or something" She looks relieved.
"No, I didn't leave" Although I wanted to. "Just went to the bathroom. Is Adam done yet?" Is it my turn to cry?
"Yes, I sent him with Olivia to show him his desk" I stare at her expectantly. "Grey is off somewhere. Probably wanted a little breather" Yeah because he is the one being bullied and not the other way around. "Will you wait for him in his office, please?" Having no other choice, I nod and let Olivia lead me to the gates of hell. What is inside of course is anything but hell.
If I thought Grey House is cold and intimidating, it has got nothing on the den of the Great Grey itself. Intimidating doesn't seem an enough word to describe the wide space before me, probably twice the size of my apartment. Why would just one person need so much space? Well, let me tell you. If Grey was here, probably sitting behind his big-ass desk, it would take me at least fifteen feet to reach within hearing and talking distance for him, Which gives him more than enough time to study every little detail about me even before I open my big mouth but most of all my anxiety would have been doubled with every step I take while he fixes me with this knowing stare of him. Smart of him, of course, but he is still a bully. And man, do I just hate bullies. I decide that my little crash on Christian Grey is over before it even begins.
Taking a seat beside his desk, I feel my anxiety building up again. If his highness is going to be late, I am going to need a distraction. I pull my phone out of my bag and dig back in the book I started two days ago. God bless whoever invented e-books. A chapter and a half later, the phone on the desk rings cutting the silence, startling me and causing me to jump in my seat and my phone to drop of my hand to a place unknown. I roll my eyes. This day just keeps getting better and better.
CVOP:
To say the day turned much worse than I expected is an understatement. I woke up in a good mood, nervous like a school-boy yeah, but still a better mood than I can ever remember being in. My mind was racing with excitement and confusion. The day took a turn in hell when I stepped out of the elevator in the garage to find no one but Elena Lincoln leaning on my car and obviously waiting for me. I made Taylor deal with her, AKA remove her away from my fucking face, without having to talk to her. But I did hear every word she said.
We need to talk, Christian. It is just a misunderstanding! Yeah!
You can't shut me out like this. We are a team. Always have, always will.
You will come back to me when you realize how foolish and childish your behavior has been.
I look forward to us making up.
That was the last I heard before I packed myself into my car fighting the need to throw up my whole breakfast. I then realized I was so caught up in my drama to think about the fact that she is still out there. God, how long have she been fucking up kids? This has to stop but how.
I have been pacing and squeezing my mind for a way to put that beast behind bars. I know from previous experience that no one of her current or recent victims will talk. Hell, they probably don't realize that they are victims! The only lead we got is if we have a clear proof of her criminal activities, which won't be easy because I am sure she is being careful but I made Welch put two men on her anyway.
Even if I decided to throw my reputation in the garbage can and come publicly clean with my history with her, I still can't put her in jail. I did my research on that and it turned out I can only report her three years after I turned eighteen. And since I have turned eighteen ten years ago, I can't do a damn thing. I am madder at myself than anything. If I wasn't so stupid, so blind, so brainwashed! If I have seen her true colors earlier, how many kids would have been spared? How many kids have gotten caught in her claws all because of my stupidity and my silence?!
I yell at Olivia to bring me another cup of coffee because that one tastes like crap. Or maybe everything tastes bitter today. She looks like she is going to cry before she practically run out of my office. Fresh meat! So fast to cry. I make it my hobby to toughen those easy preys up. If they don't learn to be tougher, they aren't going to last long in this wicked world.
"Andrea, Tell Ms. Lavon that if she doesn't quit the waterworks immediately she better quits her job before she gets fired" This is the third time she breaks into tears in a two months period of work. I don't work with wusses. "And send Mr. Parker in. Let's see if he has some tears to shed as well" Since the great Ms. Steele haven't arrived yet. Yes, I am mad at her too. I feel ridiculous and ashamed by how many times I asked Andrea or Rose if Ms. Steele is here yet. My palm twitches and I feel like bending her over and spanking the living shit out of her sweet ass for being late. Now, where did that come from?
My meeting with Mr. Parker does nothing to calm my temper. The boy clearly needs some sharpening up. He was shaking in his boots even before I opened my mouth. After pushing and squeezing him a little I let him go. He is a good potential, yes, but first, he still needs so much work to be fit into the business world, second, I don't see myself working with someone who can't stand up for himself. Rose was the perfect person to work with. But I guess we will see what Ms. Steele got up her sleeves.
"Is Ms. Steele here yet?" I ask Andrea in the intercom.
"uhmm…She was here" Shit, did she leave? Did I scare her? No, please tell me she didn't leave. "She asked were the ladies room where and said she will be back in a minute" I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I let my head drop back and close my eyes. I need every bit of control for this meeting. If I go nuclear on her, she may run away. If I go crazy on her and bend her over my desk for a spank and a fuck, she will knee me in the nuts and then she will run away. I see myself screwed either way. I do something I never thought I will. I get up and open the upper drawer of the wooden chest beside my desk. I pull a cigar from the ones I keep for If my dad or another smoker businessman comes to my office. I don't smoke, I personally believe it is a nasty habit but…well, desperate times and all that crap.
I storm out of my office and notice that Ms. Steele is still nowhere in sight. Even after I come back from my smoke she is not here. I walk straight back to my office before Andrea can stop me. I think I hear her saying something but I am not in the mood. I hear voices when I enter my office, coming from behind my desk. What the hell… I walk around my desk in caution to find nothing but one fantastic ass in a blue skirt. What… I watch stunned as the owner of that ass crawl from under my desk and it is no one but the infamous Ms. Anastasia Steele. She freezes when she sees me, sitting on her heels. Fuck me! She is in the perfect submissive stance! My dick twitches. She finally looks up at me slowly her big blue eyes comes in view and I am like a cobra under its master's spell. I can't look away from her. She does look away, thank god for that.
"Ms. Steele" I say finally finding my voice and extending my hand to help her up. I don't know if I can control myself if she stays one more second in this position. She doesn't take my hand. Instead, she uses the desk to support herself to her feet. Making a point already, Little Miss Independent! The sudden move brings her closer to me, so close I can smell her. She smells like wild roses and orchids. I have the sudden desire to burry nose in her hair and…what…
"I dropped my cell, can't find it" She screws up her nose in what looks like disgust and she takes a step back from me. Do I stink or something? I remember the cigar I just had…oh, yeah about that…I suddenly feel the need to explain myself to her. To tell her that I don't smoke and today was an exception. Get a grip, Grey. Since when do you have to explain your actions to people?! I don't like the effect this girl is having on me, not one bit.
"Oh, have you tried to, you know, pick up that phone and dial it? You will hear or feel the vibration for sure" I am being a snarky bastard and I know it. But my previous frustration combined with my frustration by the weird feelings she seems to provoke in me, caused me to somehow develop a new defense mechanism built mainly on sarcasm and being dick. I do my best to turn it off as I watch her pick up the phone and dial her number. She sounds kinda of pissed and it looks good on her I must say. A minute later the shocking beat of the infamous song SexyBack by some singer named Justin something I think. My eyes widen at the daring song as the guy sings about shackles and whips. How convenient! I see her checks turn a lovely shade of pink and I wonder about all the spots I can turn pink of her delectable skin. Focus, Grey! I feel the vibration of the phone near my feet and look down to see it just beside me. She quickly realizes the situation she just put herself in and slams the phone down making her cell go silent again. I bend down to pick up the phone and I can hear her heels hitting the floor as she races to me. "First rule about being a professional, Ms. Steele. Make sure your phone is silent or turned off" I turns the phone into silence mood before I look up at her. She looks truly pissed right now, I mean like red-face-daggers-flying-of-her-blue-eyes kind of pissed. In short, she looks magnificent!
"A, it is even more unprofessional to go through people's private things without permission. I consider that a great invasion of privacy which I can't tolerant" She snitches the phone from my hand. Boy, she is fast. I jump back on my feet not liking the disadvantage of being the one on his knees this time. Or maybe I do…just a little…Grey! "B, the meeting didn't start yet" She spits out.
"The meeting started the moment I walked into the room, Ms. Steele" I reply placing my hand on my pocket looking cool and collected like I prefer to be. I can practically hear her screaming telepathically at me 'arrogant son of a bitch'. Oh, baby you have seen nothing.
"Unannounced and may I say fashionably late as well, Mr. Grey" She shoots back. A tough cookie she is, isn't she? Oh, how I would love to test your limits, Ms. Steele. She has a smart mouth on her that I would like to fuck but right now I just need to put her in her place.
"Last time checked that is my own office. Hell, it is my own damn company I can arrive whenever and wherever I well damn please. Seriously, Ms. Steele. Do you have any experience in work field or did you charm Rose into choosing a fresh college kid over more qualified people?" I am being an asshole and I know it but she does look like a fresh college kid. She can't be older than twenty-two. "Whoever let you in my office anyway?" I step closer to her, mainly to intimidate her a little. She is a good half foot shorter than me, even in her high heels. She doesn't seem that affected by this though. She looks insulted and I realize that I did just insult her. Sounds fair. She keeps staring up at me, her blue eyes stormy and fascinating. I don't back down from her gaze. Our little stare contest is interrupted by Rose.
"Easy on the poor girl, Grey" What is it with people entering my office without permission today? "I let her in and told her to wait for you" Anastasia gives her what looks like a reassuring 'thanks but I got this' smile. Well, show me what you have got, Ms. Steele.
"Yes, Mr. grey I happened to have experience as I was working a month ago as the PA of the CEO of SIP, Mr. James. You may have heard of him. It is all in my CV which of course being the professional you are, you must have read it before meeting me" Fuck, I was so busy fantasizing about her last night and forgot to read her actual CV. This isn't me! Since when is my head not the game like this?
"It's a golden recommendation, Grey" Roses pops up giving me another copy of Ms. Steele's CV and I resist the need to tell her to shut up. I open the file trying to look as bored as I can.
"Interesting" I play it off. "Also I am more interested on why you would leave such a decent position for a risky internship" If James liked her, he wouldn't let her go. He doesn't believe in the 'Fresh blood' theory some CEO believes in.
"I quit because I got promoted" I am sure she reads the shock on our faces because she sighs. "Can we sit down or is this some sort of stain test?" Oh, the smart mouth. What I would like to do that smart mouth. The three of us take seats. So apparently, Rose is staying. I don't know if she feels the need to protect Ms. Steele from me or the other way around. Anastasia starts explaining how she doesn't want to keep working in publishing even though her other major beside business is English Literature. I keep my face impassive, running my fingers over my lips, studying her closer. Even though I am amazed by her intelligence, my eyes keeps drafting to her chest. Her creamy blouse I almost a see-though. Fuck, I can see her bra from where I am sitting! If she was mine, she wouldn't have been able to sit for a week for wearing something like this! But she is not yours, remember? I shake off my not so appropriate thoughts about my new intern and keep listening to her talking about her plans for her future. I am impressed and a little..awed by her but I don't show any of it. Although there is something nagging me in her whole plan to climb the dangerous cliff of the business world.
"So my understanding is that you don't plan on staying here for long?" She gives me the 'What are you playing at?' eye narrowing, I just smirk at her.
"Yes" Is her straight answer. That is what I thought.
"That is quiet disappointing, Ms. Steele. Commitment is a very important thing in GEH" I can't have her growing into something bigger and more brilliant just to lose her in the end like what happened with Rose.
"Well, I didn't say I am leaving after a month or something, did i?" She smiles but it is not a nice smile. It is a 'are you being stupid or what?' smile and I feel my palm twitching. Beautiful brilliant smart-ass! "My understanding is that IF I was offered the job after the monthy internship, it will be a time limited contract for a period agreed upon from both parties, or do you expect your employees to work for you till 'death do you apart'?" She makes air quotes motions. Sassy little thing she is. "I must say if that is the case, it is quite unrealistic" Calm the fuck down, Grey. Don't let her win this! Wait a second, when did this become a competition?! She is no match to me, she is just a fucking intern, Dammit!
"I admire and understand your ambition. But don't you think you are a little too young for that?"
"On the country, Mr. grey. I am twenty-four. I have been in the business for more than three years. It is all written in my VC with official documents" Boy, this woman is good. She recognizes my error immediately and doesn't hesitate to use it to twist my arm. "I'd like you to know that I have done my homework" Her tone suggests a 'unlike you' even without saying the exact words and I feel my recently gained control slipping again. "You are twenty-eight yourself. You started GEH at the young age of twenty-one after dropping off Harvard" Fuck, Yes people know that about me but no one has ever dared to rub in my face that I am a drop off from Harvard. Oh, Ms. Steele, you are either very stupid or very brave, probably both. She doesn't stop at that."And yet you managed to achieve such an impressive success at a young age. You don't think I may have at least half your luck?" Oh, baby. I don't do 'luck'.
"I don't need luck, Ms. Steele" My voice is cold and distant. "Only losers wait for luck to knock on their door. I take what I want. I work hard to get it if needed" Is it a flash of respect I see in her eyes or am I seeing things?
"Well, I will have you know that I intend to put as much of hard work in my career" Her smile is genuine this time. She is so painfully beautiful. It almost hurt to be a few feet away from her and not being able to touch her. This is getting out of hand. I need to get over my little crash on her. She is brilliant, which is another attractive trait I have never bothered to appreciate in women, at least not in that way, not the sexy-brains way. Aside from that, she could be the perfect replacement for Rose, mainly because she doesn't seem to put up with my shit. I can find a sub anywhere who can meet my needs but I can't find a replacement for Rose's position that easily. So if I have to choose, I will certainly choose the later, Even though it will put my self-control in test.
"We will see about that" I stand up buttoning my jacket. "I am done here. That took much of my time than it requires. The internship of both is confirmed, Rose. Also I am not so sure now that a mouth will be enough to get them ready, if ever" I throw some bullshit before I turn to leave. That Parker kid may need sharpening up but Ms. Steele needs to stop testing my temper. She must learn that it can't end well for her.
"Whoever pissed in his cookies jar?" I almost fucking stumble when I hear her whisper followed by Rose's chuckle. She thinks I didn't hear her but I did.
I hope you are fast learner, Ms. Steele. There is so much I can take before I bend you over this desk and fuck you until you can't see straight.
Keep dreaming, buddy!
Long chapter, huh? I just couldn't cut their meeting before it is over. How was it? I am shaking in my boots more than Adam did!
So Christian decided to end his crash, let's see how long this is going to last for him, huh?
Reviews are love ;)
