Thanks for all the love and support you've all given me for this story! I never expected to reach over 100 followers on this story alone ~~

Christian's POV

I had to cut the zoo trip short and made Sawyer drive Ana home while Taylor took me and Teddy back to Escala. 48 hours was not like and I didn't have any time to waste. I forwarded Elena's email to Welch so that he could report once I get back and had the security team sit in the car back to my apartment to see if they saw anything suspicious. Not that they did of course. They were too busy watching my child and rightly so. But me being me I still gave them a good ass kicking anyway for not doing proper surveillance.

I was back at Escala in record speed and I clutched Teddy's hand tightly as a stormed into the apartment. Surprisingly Gail was standing at the door, assumedly to greet me but I ignored her in my hunt for Welch.

"Welch? What's the In-oh," I stopped in my tracks when I realised that I had not only located Welch, but Elena as well. She was standing there looking immaculate as ever with a Hollywood smile practically glued to her face.

"Why hello there Christian. I see you've been doing your homework since you got my email. Or rather, you've had your goons do your homework for you by the looks of it." The fact she was this pleased with herself made me worried. She's used blackmail before on previous subs, usually when they were trying to evade their contract. In any case, she was always successful in getting whatever she wanted. Come to think of it, what did she want from me? But before I get to the bottom of this, I have higher priorities which I need to take care of.

"Gail take Teddy to his room and take care of him," I said through gritted teeth. Normally he was clingy like his mother, but today I think he understood not to make a fuss. "Would you like to come into my office, Elena?" I asked with the fallacy she usually exerts, causing her to smile.

As she followed me to the office, my thoughts were racing at 100 miles per hour. She was one of the few people I allowed to call me by my first name, and she usually took advantage of this privilege. Perhaps she was only doing this to scare me.

"So Elena. In brief, why the hell are you here and what the fuck are you blackmailing me for?" I was trying my best to keep calm, but the anger mixed with fear seeped through my voice.

"Very inquisitive today aren't we. Well the main reason I'm blackmailing you is to have a bargaining chip."

"A bargaining chip? What do you need that for? We are very good business partners. You don't need to blackmail me so that I'll help you."

"You see, that's not what I heard. Last time I was here, you told me to stay away from your private life or you'll stop being my business partner." I knew that's what it was about! But something told me that there was something else to it.

"I won't deny saying that Elena. But what do you need me for anyway? I haven't given you financial aid in years, and you've been able to manage your assets well by yourself." She began to laugh and this made me feel uneasy.

"That wasn't the only kind of business I was talking about." She emphasised her point by reaching out to touch me and I immediately retreated.

"Enough Elena! How many times do I have to tell you that we are acquaintances and nothing more. Besides, you haven't barked up this tree in some time now. What got you started again?"

"When the sub before Issac terminated his contract, rather messily I might add, I felt I wanted to do something different for a change. So I went out and personally scouted out a man who was new to the BDSM scene, and was interested in being a Dom but didn't quite know how to go about it. I trained him up and he was a very quick learner. The contract only lasted for the trial period. He wasn't a patch on you though Christian." Ugh I absolutely hate it when she brings up stuff like that. As if I'd go crawling back to her.

"That still doesn't fully explain everything Elena. If you just wanted me to continue being your business partner you could have that without the blackmail."

"Well recently, me and this Dom I trained up crossed paths. We got to talking and we realised that it was in our mutual interest to help each other out in order to satisfy our respective personal agendas." It seems that Elena enjoyed being ambiguous just to toy with me. She hasn't changed at all.

"So I assume you're not going to tell me about this mystery Dom you've trained then?" I asked dryly. She smirked which gave me the answer I needed.

"That wouldn't be fun would it Mr Grey? Well you've got about 47 hours now to either stay business partner's with me and allow me to do whatever I see fit without complaint, such as allow me to stop by whenever I please without having to give notice. Otherwise those pictures of you and your sweet little Ana, who is totally wrong for you by the way, will find your way to first your wife, and then Seattle's high society magazines and newspapers. Take your pick." With that, Elena just walked out without even saying goodbye, leaving me in my office with not a clue in hell as to what to do. I mean sure she gave her terms but it seemed wrong. To me, it seemed like she was just the scapegoat and someone else was pulling the strings.

Ana's POV

Everything happened so fast and now I'm just here with Kate, trying my best to act like I'm fine. I suggested that we put on one of her favourite rom coms so that she's distracted and won't notice if I'm looking upset or worried. Kate raised her eyebrow but decided not to press me further, which I was thankful for. Even though I put my phone on full volume in case I got a call or a text, I still turned the screen on once every five minutes. It's funny how your whole world can come crashing down in such a short span of time. It was only an hour or so ago when Teddy called me 'Mommy Ana' and I had that amazing kiss with Christian. And now I'm sitting at home curled up in an armchair, too scared to eat, drink, or do anything remotely productive. Maybe his sudden departure had something to do with the kiss… oh fuck that was it wasn't it. That stupid kiss is what has caused all of this. Now he probably feels guilty as hell and gone back to his wife, and to be fair I can't blame him. He initiated the kiss not you remember I thought to myself. But that didn't matter. I shouldn't have let him do it. There are boundaries, and I crossed them.

Soon the end of the film came, and there was still no reply from Christian. At least I'll see him on Monday at work so that'll be the latest time that we can talk.

"I'll make dinner for us Kate," I told her as I got up from the chair and went to the kitchen. She turned around from the sofa with a big smile.

"That's so nice of you Ana! Are you sure you're okay? You're being very helpful today." I knew Kate would start being suspicious eventually. I'm just glad that she wasn't using her patented Kavanaugh interrogation technique on me yet.

"Yeah I feel like doing some cooking today. It would do me good." She raised her eyebrow at me but left it there and started watching videos on her laptop with her headphones in. Happy to have some quiet, I began to grab the vegetables and other ingredients out of the fridge and began to cook. However, I didn't even seem to enjoy it like I usually did. It just seemed like I was acting like a robot, following the instructions instead of putting my heart and soul into my cooking but I couldn't do anything to stop it. Suddenly it hit me. My feelings for Christian weren't cordial, or even platonic. I love him as much as I love Teddy. I want to be a part of both of their lives, and right now it's killing me to be apart from them. But what could I do?

Just as the stir fry started to cook, my phone buzzed off and I instantly ran over to grab it, nearly knocking over the pan in the process. My smile instantly turned into a frown as I realised that the text was not from Christian, but instead a withheld number. I opened the knowledge and nearly dropped my phone in the sink.

Seems like the crap you told me about not wanting to have romantic relations with your boss was all a lie, you filthy slut.

Now I know something else too. Jack Hyde is somehow related in this whole debacle. I have to go and talk to Christian. He's hiding something from me I just know it. Maybe he thinks it's for my own good but he's wrong. From now on, I want his problems to be my problems.

Christian's POV

My staff and I have been racking our brains for hours as to what would be the appropriate action. The CCTV footage at the zoo which Welch managed to get a hold of was inconclusive, and even though Welch had tapped into Elena's hard drive, it wouldn't make a difference. Elena wasn't stupid enough to only have digital copies. And then there's Ana, sweet beautiful Ana who didn't deserve to be caught up in all this mess.

"Mr Grey, I don't mean to speak out of turn," Taylor started, in his neutral voice which was often infuriating but it was an admirable quality. "But forget about what those pictures would do to your social status. How would you feel if it was only Leila who saw the images?" I was too busy worrying about trying to find a way out that I hadn't even thought about other eventualities. How bad would it be if Leila found out? I mean she would leave me obviously. Isn't that exactly what you want? my subconscious asked rhetorically and it was right. I don't want Leila. I want Ana. So what if my image suffers? It's not like I ever gave a fuck about all that high society crap. Elena does. I married Leila because I was convinced she was the best I can do. Now that Ana has walked her way into my life I can't go back. If Leila walks out of my life, it makes room for Ana to come in. She can show me what it means to live, and she can be the mother that Teddy wants and deserves. Besides, since when did others rule my life? I call the shots. I'm the master of my own universe.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts I didn't even notice that someone was knocking profusely at the door and that Taylor had gone to answer it. Only when I heard a sweet, delicate voice that could only come from one person did I look up to see her bursting through the doors to my office.

"Christian! Please tell me what the hell is going on?" Even though she seemed to be half angry and half worried, she still looked absolutely perfect to me.

"What makes you think that there's anything going on?" Well done Grey. You've officially won the title of worst liar in the world.

"Christian don't lie to me. You've got your whole crew here in your office, you left in such a rush and you look like you're under a lot of stress. So I'll ask you again, what is going on?" I have to give the woman credit where it's due. For someone who looks meek, submissive almost, she is very observant and knows how to get what she wants.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I'm being blackmailed Ana." I show her the pictures, but her reactions were very curious. Instead of looking surprised, it seemed as if the pictures were like the final piece of the puzzle to her.

"And I know who's blackmailing you." The security team, Sawyer included, immediately perked up at these words. I myself found her claim intriguing. How could she know? "It's my old boss at SIP, Jack Hyde." Now I feel like such an idiot. His involvement seemed so obvious and I could tell that Welch thought so too because he looked like he wanted to hit his head against the wall for being so stupid.

"That would certainly make sense of a lot of things, Sir," Taylor commented, to break the silence. "His motive is clear, from what Miss Steele has told me about this Hyde." My hunch was right. Jack wanted to blackmail Ana, but he didn't have the means to carry it out successfully. Elena would've been more than happy to help him out for her own personal gain of having me do whatever she pleases. She still sees me as her sub and hers alone. This is a game to her, but a vendetta to him. Come to think of it, he did seem the type to be a Dom as well.

"You better fill me in, Christian. Those pictures have me in them too. I want to be a part of this." I obliged and began to tell everything I knew. Just then, Welch hit his hand hard on the table in triumph and we all looked at him.

"Guys, I think I found something."