Christian had reluctantly gone into the office, Anastasia reassured him that she would be ok; he wasn't convinced but he realised that he had been away for almost a week already and as much as he trusted his staff, he needed to maintain control.
Closing the lid of his laptop Christian stood and paced in front of the floor to ceiling windows that stretched along the back of his office, pausing to observe the small dots below, hundreds of people going about their day, all oblivious to his inner battles.
His mind drifted to Ana, much as it always did whenever she wasn't in front of him.
He could still feel her, taste her, she surrounded him. They hadn't spent the remainder of the previous night together, despite their interaction, both physical and verbal; she had gone cold the more he'd spoken about Mia and soon after made her excuses to have a bath and get an early night… women had always confused the hell out of him.
A light tap on his office door disturbed his trail of thoughts, sighing he acknowledged the intrusion "Come in"
Elena walked in, her platinum blonde hair immaculate as always, long legs exposed the crack of heels against polished wooden floor as she sauntered into the office.
"What can I do for you, Elena?" He perched at the edge of the large glass desk, she stopped just short of him, that same seductive look in her eyes.
"Oh you could do a plethora of thing's for me, Christian…" lowering her hand she trailed a forefinger back and forth over his thigh.
An unfamiliar discomfort came over him and Christian moved out of her reach, securing himself on the large cream, leather chair behind his desk.
Resigning herself to the instant rejection Elena took residence in the chair opposite, pushing a folder towards Christian "here's the list of local Gentlemen's clubs you requested, Christian"
Interest peaking, he flicked through the papers, his eyes scanning over the names "thank you, Elena"
He noticed her obvious intention to stay, exhaling with frustration as he put the folder down again "Is there anything else, Elena?"
"Well I find myself wondering, Christian… wondering why on earth you'd need that list, I fail to believe that you are suddenly hard up of offers! And if you do find yourself going through a…. dry spell… you know I'm more than happy to oblige"
The corner of his mouth twitched, he had pleasant memories of his time with Elena, she had been his first beneficial 'friend' the first to be introduced to his 'play-room' but that was stuck firmly in the past now, 3 Years in the past, and that is where it was going to stay.
"That will be all thank you, Elena…"
Pouting she stood and made to exit the room, making sure to give her hips just the right amount of wiggle as she walked.
"Oh and Elena!" Christian called after her "please cancel my Afternoon meetings, I'll be going home early"
Ana couldn't keep still, she attempted to distract herself between making cupcakes, reading and looking through the variety of outfits that had magically adorned the wardrobe in her room.
Christian Grey had taken permanent residence in her head and she couldn't shake him.
She considered leaving, escaping before he came home… but then quickly realised that not being around him was the last thing in the World she wanted; and besides… she had nowhere to go!
For the first time in her life Ana had the option of freedom, but it was a freedom she didn't want.
She had tried to block the memories of last nights' conversation from her mind, wishing she had never pressed Christian for answers but now it was too late.
Ana suddenly noticed the phone Christian had given her light up.
ONE MESSAGE FROM CHRISTIAN GREY 'put the red velvet dress on, we're going to dinner, I'll meet you in the car'
She felt the threat of rebellion, but the thought of taking certain orders from Christian thrilled her.
"When you said we were going to dinner I didn't quite expect this, Christian…" Ana stared open mouthed at the private rooftop terrace, the lights of a thriving City sparkling all around them.
Topping up her wine glass Christian smiled warmly, the women he'd taken company with hadn't been inexperienced to the luxuries in life, unlike Ana… she enabled him to experience everything through fresh eyes.
"What did you expect?" He fixed an intense stare upon her, noticing her cheeks flush.
"I… I'm not quite sure, I guess you constantly surprise me, Christian" the silence that followed gave a level of discomfort, Ana knew the previous night was hanging over them, a conversation neither she or Christian were prepared to broach.
"I'm sorry about last night, Christian, it was all a little intense" He nodded with understanding, his slender fingers toying with the stem of his glass, the light breeze carrying his scent over her body, causing her senses to come alive.
"I can understand that, Ana… I guess it was a little full throttle, I'd promised myself I wouldn't do it to you… guess my promises mean shit right now!"
There was a brief interruption as a waitress seemingly appeared from thin air and presented them with a bottle of champagne, Ana had never tried champagne before, the bubbles causing her to giggle childishly as they popped against her nose.
Christian smiled fondly "Mia loved champagne, our family always joked that she craved the finer things in life… I'd give anything to spoil her again…"
Ana felt the stab of guilt twist in her stomach once more, her need to change the subject became desperate.
"What happened to your Mother, Christian?" her eyes seeking a reaction from him.
Christian's attention became fixed on her hands, she felt uneasy but continued regardless, hesitating briefly Anna reached out, resting her fingers gently over his knuckles "you can tell me, Christian… I'm not going to run out on you"
She knew he'd be thinking of her cold reaction the previous night.
He finally broke the tension surrounding her question "She devoted her whole life to her Children, Mia was her first and only girl… she doted on her even more than I did. When we lost her, my mother… she… well she couldn't cope.
We all did what we could to support her, I hired the best private detectives, I put pressure on the Police dealing with her case, I tried to keep the case open, Ana… I really did!"
His hand balled into a fist and she could feel the vein throbbing against her fingers "ssshh it's ok, Christian.. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, you don't have to talk about it… really you don't"
Composing himself Christian took a gulp of champagne "no, it's ok – I'm just not used to talking, the feeling… it's… alien to me"
He finally lifted his attention to her, those cool grey eyes holding her in their embrace.
"So the Police just closed the case? They… never… what I mean is, they… didn't…"
"They didn't ever find her, Anastasia… they didn't find her alive or dead. The case was closed, just one amongst hundreds of other 'Missing Persons' cases, they'd exhausted all avenues, any initial suspects were cleared… including the owner of the Club!"
Clearing her throat Ana snatched back her hand, lifting it to her neck in an attempt to cool the sudden flush of heat she felt across her skin.
"Did… you… did you, uh… ever meet him? When you were over there?"
Christian narrowed his eyes with interest "No… I didn't, all I know is that He was a big shot on the club scene, the Police put red tape around the entire investigation… I had Taylor look into it further but whoever he was, he remained deep undercover and difficult to track down"
Ana felt relief wash over her, grateful for the interruption of food as the waiter returned, she chewed thoughtfully on a mouthful of chicken, she now had a decision to make, now that the threat of Christian finding out about Pearce had been put firmly into her hands.