A/N: I really need to express just how important my friend, Sanjana, is to this story. She spends hours with me going over ideas and directions for this story. SanjanaSandeep232 really deserves a shout out for everything she does to keep me writing!

I want to thank all of you for your incredible reviews on my last chapter. I am so glad you all loved that chapter so much. I hope the story continues to meet your expectations, although, it's going to be hard to beat the intensity of last chapter. This one is a little shorter, but it needed to be written before I hopped forward to the weekend activities with the Grey/Steele/Kavanagh clan.

We're on our way to SIP with Taylor and Sawyer. Anastasia has been a nervous wreck all morning; so much so that she allowed me to choose her outfit and dress her, but I think the act put everything into perspective and calmed both of us. It reminded both of us that I was in control and that we would both be fine. The closer we get to SIP, the tighter Anastasia clings to my hand.

I want to kill the fucker who has affected her so deeply. She's terrified of the situation and a part of me wants to tell her to stay in the vehicle until we get him out of the building, but the other half of me knows that having her so far away will make me feel out of control. Taylor has already spoken to the security at SIP and I will have Anastasia stowed away in another room while Taylor, Sawyer, and I have a talk with the Hyde fucker. Anastasia will stay in the other room with SIP security until we have removed him from the building and secure it.

Taylor pulls around the back of SIP, so that we are not seen, and parks close to the building. He and Sawyer jump out and Sawyer opens Anastasia's side of the door. Taylor opens the opposite side for me, but I slide out after Anastasia, who won't let go of my hand. I stop her on the way in and rub her arms up and down.

"You are safe, Anastasia. None of us are going to let anything happen to you. No one is going to blame you for him leaving. No one is going to even know what happened between you and him, okay?" I know her reputation is important to her and I don't want her to be miserable at work. If anyone ever says one thing to her about Hyde, I'll fire them.

She nods.

"Good. Now, you're going to sit in Elizabeth's office with security while I speak with Hyde."

Her eyes widen, but stays quiet and nods again.

I make eye contact with Sawyer and give a nod, indicating that I am ready to head in. I put my arm around Anastasia and we follow our security in and straight to Elizabeth's office. A few people stare on our way through, no doubt wondering what the fuck is going on, but they'll find out soon enough.

When we enter Elizabeth's office, two men in uniform are standing, waiting for us. One is a middle-aged, fat, bald man with dark beady eyes and the other is a tall, dirty blonde fucker with sludgy green eyes. He's probably in his thirties and he's a good looking fucker. Just fucking great.

Anastasia says her hello to them both and the young fucker, gives her a smile that makes me cringe. She's mine.

"Anastasia? Why don't you introduce us?" I try to ask nicely, but it comes out more like a growl.

She smiles at me. "Sure! Mr. Grey, this is Maurice Avery and Jesse Ward. Reese...Jess...this is Mr. Grey."

So she's on first name basis with the fucker.

I stand up straight, immediately going into dom stance and shake his hand. He stands tall and confident, shaking my hand as firmly as I shake his and it pisses me off. I need a reason to fire this cocky asshole.

I shake the other's hand quickly and turn back to Anastasia, holding her chin between my index finger and thumb. "Stay here." I lean down and peck her lips. "We won't be long."

She smiles and nods. "Yes, sir."

I kiss her lips once more and release her chin. I look at her for another second and know I won't be able to concentrate with Hyde while she's in here with this Ward fucker.

I straighten up and clear my throat. "Change of plans. Avery, you'll stay here with Miss Steele. Ward, you'll stand guard outside the door, so that there are eyes on the hall."

Ward nods. "Yes, sir."

He follows us out and shuts the door behind him, crossing his arms so that his body is covering the door. Fuck. I want to hate the fucker...have a reason to fire him...but he takes orders well. I'll have to keep trying.

When we make our way down the hall, I see that Hyde's door is shut. Taylor opens the door without knocking and I follow, Sawyer trailing behind. I hear the door shut and Sawyer stands in front of it, taking an 'at ease' military stance. Taylor is blocking my view of the desk and as he side steps to allow me visual, the fucker speaks.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Hyde jumps up when he sees me and starts to move around his desk. Taylor puts an arm between him and me to stop him.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" He spats.

"Stay where you are." Taylor warns.

"Why are you here?" He's looking at me.

"I'm here to fire you, Hyde." I tell him. Come at me. I want a reason to hit the fucker. My rage is through the roof for this dickbeater. Taylor spoke with me this morning, reminding me to keep my cool. I am the owner and this is Anastasia's workplace. I need to stay in control for her. If I ever see him outside of SIP...

Hyde actually laughs. "You can't fire me, Grey. You don't own the company, asshole."

I smirk. "Oh, but I do."

His eyes widen and then he scowls. "What?" He barks. The sound makes me cringe, filling me with anger. I want to hit him.

"Pack your things." I tell him.

"Fuck you!"

I cock an eyebrow and Taylor speaks. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Jack. Just pack your things and go quietly."

Hyde starts to laugh again and shakes his head. "Is this because of your cocktease of a girlfriend, Grey?"

My hands clench into fists and I suppress a growl.

"You really should keep her on a tighter leash. She has a tendency to leave a trail of purple dicks wherever she goes."

"You fucker." I growl and take a step forward, but Taylor puts his arm out again, keeping us apart.

The cock sucking son of a bitch has amusement written all over his face. "She came in here every morning, flipping her hair, batting her eyelashes, and biting that lip of hers. She'd lean over my shoulder to read, shoving those tits in my face and always smelling so good."

"Shut. Up." I'll kill him. I'll break every bone in his body one bone at a time.

"You know how she smells, Grey...so good it makes you salivate...I should have just taken her over my desk while I had the chance."

"You son of a bitch." My whole body is shaking; I've lost control.

"What's wrong baby bird?"

My body jerks at the name. What. The. Fuck. "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

I shake my head. My stomach has turned sour. "You're fired. You are no longer allowed on the premises. Pack up your things and go."

He smirks. "You've got more control than I gave you credit for, Grey."

I let out a laugh. "Looking to cash in on my temper, Hyde? This is business; let's keep it professional." I force myself to turn and head towards the door and turn before leaving. "I'll let my men have you."

I shut the door behind me and hear a crack. I smile and make my way back to my Anastasia, a little spring in my step.

Ward is still at the door when I make my way down the hall.

"Let us know when he's been escorted out." I tell him and he gives me a nod and opens the door to allow me entry.

Anastasia hops up from her seat as soon as the door opens and hurries over to me. Her intoxicating scent washes over me, fueling the anger inside of me for the Hyde fucker. I'll ruin him.

I pull her to me and kiss her hard on the lips. She's rigid at first, but it doesn't take her long to mold against me and her hands find my hair, pulling lightly as my tongue makes entry into her mouth. She hums and welcomes my intrusion.

When I pull away, we're both panting and her lips are red and swollen.

"Wow." She breathes.

I smirk. "Indeed, Miss Steele." Remember how good I am, baby.

"Is he gone?" She asks, leaning against me.

I hold her tight against me and shake my head. "I left him to Sawyer and Taylor. He'll be gone soon. They'll make sure of it."

"Did you hit him?" She asks, her gazing dropping to my right knuckles.

"No, baby. I kept it professional." I wanted to tear his dick off and shove it down his throat...but I decide to keep that bit to myself.

She nods and chews the inside of her lip. I know she wants to ask questions, but I won't give her details. I know that what he said would upset her.

As I continue to look at her, I see her chin lower and her eyes begin to swim with tears.

"Hey..." My tone is soft and I lift her chin, using my index finger. "Tell me."

She sniffles and diverts her eyes. "What if he does go after your family? It'll be all my fault, Christian."

I cup her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. "Everyone is going to be fine. I will keep everyone safe."

She nods uncertainly and chews her lip.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course, sir."

"Then stop worrying. It's my responsibility, alright?" She nods and a few tears escape. I wipe them away with my thumbs. "I'll take care of it."

A small smile appears on her face. "Okay, Christian."

"There's my girl." My thumb traces her smile.

The door to the office opens and Ward sticks his head in. "All clear, sir."

I nod and turn my attention back to Anastasia. "Are you alright now? We've got a meeting to attend."

"Yes, Mr. Grey. I am fine."

We leave the office and I go in search of Ros so she can brief me on the meeting beforehand. I leave Ana to head to her desk, which needs to be moved, but I hear Elizabeth call for her.

"Ana! Can I see you in my office?" I look over my shoulder and see Anastasia following Elizabeth into her office.

Fuck. Hopefully, she knows better than to question Anastasia about what went on with Hyde.

XxXxXx

I find Ros in the large conference room and she already has binders placed around the large table with extra ones sitting in front of her. She hears me enter and looks up, just as I pick up a binder to look through it.

Holy shit. HR policies, job descriptions, pay grades, requests for drug screenings...it's all in here. This is why I pay her a fortune. Two fucking days and she's ready to take on a company.

"C...you better be kissing my ass for this. We paid our HR team overtime all weekend to get these done. It was my anniversary weekend, too, by the way. Worked all fucking weekend and slept on the damn couch for it."

I chuckle. "I'll send you and Gwen to Rome for a week."

Her eyes light up. "That might get me moved back to the bedroom..."

"Just let Andrea know when and she'll take care of it. Just charge everything to the room." I might regret this. I snort and shake my head at the thought.

Ros hands me an outline of what the meeting will entail and I look over it quickly, memorizing it, before handing it back to her.

Employees start to trickle in at ten minutes 'til and Ros and I stand in the front, allowing everyone ample room to take their seats. People keep making their way in, but Anastasia and Elizabeth have yet to emerge from her office. Through the glass wall of the conference room, my eyes lock on the office door at the end of the hall. It's still closed and I'm getting impatient. I can feel all the employees staring, at it's only making my irritation grow.

I check my watch and see that there's still two minutes before the meeting starts and if the Senior Editor of the damn company doesn't make it on time, I might have to make a few changes. Another minute passes, and Elizabeth's door finally opens. Anastasia heads out first and she is beaming. I let out a sigh of relief. I keep my eyes on the women as they talk and laugh together.

It doesn't take long before Anastasia feels my gaze and her eyes lock on mine before she blushes and her gaze falls to the floor. Bashful Anastasia.

I've got to admit that I haven't seen shy Ana in a few days. My dick twitches, but I quickly switch gears, going over the bullet points for the meeting in my head, so that my dick doesn't make it's presence known.

I keep my eyes on Anastasia until she takes a seat, right next to that Ward fucker. My fists clench as Elizabeth takes the last seat next to her and Ros clears her throat to get everyone's attention. It brings me back to the present and reminds me that this is business. I force myself to relax my rigid muscles, but I refuse to look away from Anastasia.

As Ros introduces who we are and why we are there, Anastasia keeps her eyes on her binder, a slight pink tinge to her cheeks. My stare obviously has an effect on her and it's satisfying. I'm looking forward to being her boss's, boss's, boss. Her chin lifts a little and her eyes meet mine and she smiles bashfully up at me. I give her a soft smirk back, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself.

"Now, if you all will open your binders..." Ros's voice cuts through our little bubble and Anastasia's head ducks back down, her hair falling in her face, as she opens her binder. I watch her tuck her hair behind her ears with delicate fingers and it reminds me of just how exquisite she really is. And all mine.

The Ward fucker leans in to say something to her and she turns her head to look at him and laughs silently, nodding. What the fuck did he say to her?

I keep an eye on her the rest of the meeting, but the dickbeater doesn't speak to her again.

It's another hour before Ros announces that the meeting is over.

"Take some time to go over your new contracts today and have them signed and turned in to HR by tomorrow evening. If none of you have any questions, you may return to your work area."

Everyone stands to leave, including Anastasia.

"Miss Steele! May I have a word?" I call out.

She turns and smiles at me, nodding. "Yes, Mr. Grey. Would you like to come to my office?"

Her office? I'm confused. "Sure." It comes out more like a question, but I follow her out and down the hall. I follow her into Hyde's old office and she shuts the door behind me. She moves to sit behind Hyde's old desk and part of me wants to tell her to Lysol it before she's contaminated, but I keep quiet.

"Have a seat, sir."

She waves her hand at the chair in front of his desk and I give her a curious look. This is all so strange.

I take a seat and she grins, sitting back and looking around the room. "So, what do you think of my new office, Mr. Grey?"

My eyes pop out of my head. "What?"

She giggles. "My new office. That's what Miss Morgan wanted to speak to me about. She's noticed my hard work and says since I know what projects Jack was working on and have already been doing so much of the work, she's promoting me to Commissioning Editor...temporarily of course. I get a trial of ninety days and if I do well, I'll get to keep the job." She's practically jumping in her seat. "I never thought I'd get this opportunity so young. Sixty grand at twenty-two? Don't mind if I do." She giggles. "It's not a Christian Grey accomplishment or anything, but it means something to me." She shrugs.

I frown. I don't like that she's comparing. "Baby, don't talk like that. This is incredible news. We'll have to celebrate."

She blushes and shakes her head. "We don't have to."

I stand and make my way to her side of the desk, perching on the edge of it. "Don't disregard your achievement, Ana. If you keep discrediting your promotion, I'll have no choice but to punish you."

She bites her lip. "I am pretty excited, sir."

I smile. "I know, baby. Your feet haven't stopped dancing since you've left Elizabeth's office."

She squeals and jumps up, unable to contain her excitement anymore, and throws her arms around my neck. I chuckle and hold her to me while she dances around in my arms.

"I know I can do this, Christian." She pulls away to look at me. "Jack was an ass, but I really did learn a lot while I was in this office. I got to hear him interact with our writers and hear how he sealed our contracts with them...I'm sure I can do what he did...maybe even better."

Hearing her speak so confidently about herself is making me hard. I love confident Ana. "I'm sure you'll be great, baby. I'm happy to have you on my payroll."

Her eyes widen, biting that bottom lip, and she slowly pulls away. "Right. I guess that isn't the most professional way to act in front of a boss, is it?" She looks down to smooth her clothes.

She's embarrassed.

She tries to take a step back, but I grab her, keeping her between my legs. "No, Anastasia. You are my girl, first and foremost. You report to Elizabeth. When we are alone...even at work, I want you to act just as you would at home. No need for embarrassment, no need for formalities. Tell me you understand." I lift her chin, my eyes locking hers.

"I understand, sir." She says quietly, but I notice the haze in her eyes and the the way her eyelids hood. She's aroused.

"Are you my good girl, Anastasia?"

She bites her lip and nods.

"Good. Take off your panties." I stand and she takes a step back, looking surprised.

"My...my panties, sir?" She asks as I make my way to the door to lock it.

"Yes, Miss Steele. I didn't stutter. Off. Now." I turn and give her a hard look and she moans out loud.

I watch as she shimmies her skirt up until it's bunched at her waist and her lacy, pink underwear get pulled down her creamy, white legs before being discarded on the floor.

I make my way over to her, slipping off my dark gray suit jacket, throwing it on the chair, and start on my belt, not taking my eyes off of hers. By the time my erection is free, she's panting and I know it's going to be quick.

I grab her and carry her over to her old desk in the corner. Until the other one is sanitized, I won't have her on it. I don't want anything left over from him touching her skin.

I place her on her old desk, pushing the front of her shoulder lightly so she'll lay back. I take both of her ankles and lift them to my shoulders, her sexy little heels resting beside my ears.

I line myself up and see that she's biting her lip. "Quiet." I remind her.

I slam into her and both of her hands fly to her mouth as she tries to remain quiet. I reach up and hold the base of her neck to keep her in place and she moans out.

"Hush."

Her fingers leave her mouth and find the hand that's on her throat, caressing. "Oh, sir...please, tighter." She begs, putting a little pressure against my fingers to indicate what she means and I smile and grip the sides of her throat tighter, leaving the front open so it doesn't affect her airway.

"Yes, like that...sir...I'm going to come..." She whispers, her eyes rolling back into her head. I tighten my grip on her neck and she explodes. Halfway through, I release my grip and she is a shuddering mess on the table. Seeing her come undone, is the beginning of mine and I force her hips still as I come, making sure it keeps both of us from getting messy.

"Stay."

I grab onto my dick as I pull out of her and hold onto it while I make my way to my jacket to retrieve a handkerchief. I clean and fix myself, shoving my shirt back into my pants and I fasten them, before heading back over to Anastasia.

She's still panting when I return and I smile down at her. "I'm going to clean you up, baby. Open up. Let me see what's mine."

Her legs open and she places her heels on the desk so that her knees are bent. I listen to her take deep breaths as I wipe her and I grin.

"That good?"

She giggles, causing more of my seed to leak out and I get a half-boner at the sight. I fold the handkerchief and continue wiping.

"So good, Christian. I've always wanted you to do that." I see her toes curl at the thought.

I finish and roll the handkerchief up, shoving it in my pocket. I offer her a hand and pull her into the sitting position.

"Why haven't you told me?"

She shrugs. "I just figured if you liked it, you'd do it. I didn't want to force anything."

"I haven't done it, baby, because I didn't want to scare you." I search her face and then smooth her hair. "If there's something you like, you can tell me."

She's quiet for a few moments, thinking. "I like chokers, too, sir."

My gaze drops down to her face and she's smiling at me.

"Chokers?" I've never bought a choker for any of my submissives.

She nods. "I like them better than collars, because I can wear it always and no one else knows the significance of it. I don't have to take it off around my friends or family."

Fuck. Chokers. "We'll see."

I want Anastasia to know she's mine, but I don't want her to lose her identity. There's a reason why I never put my subs in collars or chokers...well a few. Elena forced me to wear a collar and I hated it. It made me feel like an animal...less human. Another reason is because I only wanted my subs to feel completely under my power on the weekends. On the weekdays, they were still forced to live by the contract, but I wanted them to feel free enough to be themselves. Having something worn tightly against your neck is a constant reminder that someone else owns you... often, it forces the person to be submissive, even when the person representing the choker isn't around. I know that if that is what Anastasia wants and if that is what that Nev fucker did to her, then I'll do the same. I don't want him to have one damn thing that I don't have with her. If it'll bring us closer as a couple, I'm all for it. I'll pick it out myself. It's something so personal and intimate and I know it'll be important to Anastasia that I'm the one who chooses. Hell, it's important to me to be the one who chooses.

I pull her up to standing position and start to pull down her skirt.

"Sir? What about my panties?"

I grin. "They're mine, now."

She stares at me, but I ignore it and continue to fix her skirt. I want to make sure it's pulled down enough so there's no chance of it riding up for Ward or anyone else to see. Ward.

"Anastasia...tell me about Jesse Ward." I lock eyes with her, giving her a cold look, showing my disapproval.

She grins. "He's just a friend, Christian. A work friend."

"A work friend, huh? How is it that you've never mentioned him before?" I don't appreciate her keeping male friends from me.

She shrugs and fluffs her hair, trying to make herself look decent. "He wasn't worth mentioning. We aren't that great of friends."

I clench my jaw. How the fuck do I get rid of this fucker?

"What did he say to you?"

She grins. "He said that I looked a bit flushed...wanted to make sure I was all right." She giggles. "All I told him was that I was fine. I definitely wasn't going to give the reason."

I cock an eyebrow. "And that reason?"

She bites her lip. "That the owner of the company was making me hot and bothered."

I chuckle and pull her towards me, wrapping my arms around her "That's right, baby."

She cocks her head to the side as she looks at me. "Seriously, Christian. It's not worth getting upset over. Jesse and I...we haven't even exchanged numbers. I've got you and he's got some girl that he's completely obsessed with...Alex or Ava or something of the sort.." She shakes her head, trying to remember. "Anyway, we're too obsessed with you two. You don't seem to care about Reese's friendship with me." She teases, grinning.

"You know why, Anastasia."

She giggles. "He might be beautiful, Christian" I snarl at the comment, "but, you...you're an Adonis. No one could compare to you." She leans up and kisses my adam's apple, continuing towards my face, peppering kisses to my chin, my jaw, and finally my mouth.

She hums. "Nothing compares to you." She says again, nipping at my bottom lip.

I don't want to admit it, but she's placated me for now. "Fine."

She grins and takes a couple steps back. "Now...I've got work to do, Mr. Grey. If you don't mind..." Her eyes land on the office door, silently asking me to leave.

"Excuse me?" I grab her wrist and yank her toward me, causing her to giggle. Once I have her in my arms, I spank her once. "I'll leave when I'm good and ready, Miss Steele."

She hums and runs her hands down the front of my shirt. "You aren't ready to leave, yet, sir?"

I crack a smile. "So insatiable..."

She smiles up at me through her lashes. "I can't help it. You make me wet, sir."

I growl and push her back against the desk. Maybe one more round won't hurt.

"You've earned your panties back, Miss Steele. Open those legs."