Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews everyone! I'm really glad that you're enjoying my story. I'm gonna do a bit of Christian in this chapter as well . I hope ya'll enjoy! :-)

Please let me know what you think! :-) Sorry for any typos or mistakes. Please review as all reviews are seen and appreciated! Again I do not own the characters.

*********************

CPOV

I'm still having a hard time dealing with seeing the pictures of Ana in New York with Cross. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into. I've seen the man in action. When he wants something he will stop at nothing to get it. He'll hunt down whatever it is he wants/whomever it is he wants until there's so much damage done that he gets the outcome he wants. I don't want to see Ana in that predicament. He's sneaky about how he does things though. Protects himself. Protects his business. He makes sure that anything underhanded that happens to what he goes after could never be traced back to him directly.

I'm pacing my office at Grey House, running my hands through my hair constantly. If I keep this up I'm going to end up bald but right now I couldn't care less. Shaking my head, trying to rid myself of the mental picture in my head of Ana curled protectively under Cross' arm in that photo.

I talked with Elliot on Monday afternoon regarding the girls' trip to New York. He said that Kate took her because she hadn't been herself since he and Kate got back from Barbados. He said that Ana wouldn't talk to him about it. Said that it wasn't any of his business and that Kate's only explanation was that she needed to distract Ana from me. What the fuck? Really? Maybe she does love me...maybe she is hurting as much as I am from not being together? But no. She sure seems to have gotten over her so-called 'love' for me. She's out with another man just a few short weeks later? Why was she in New York in the first place? How did she meet him? Why was she with him? Are they fucking? Shit? Are they fucking? Now I have that fucking mental picture in my head too! SHIT!

There's a knock at my door. "WHAT!" Yeah, I'm barking at the staff. Whatever. They should be used to it by now, I've done it enough since I came back after she left.

Andrea opens my door. Usually she is pretty good with my mood swings and temper. But today she looks nervous, even a little timid as she enters and announces that my next appointment is here and sets a file on my desk. "Here's the file you asked for Mr. Grey."

My only response to her is a curt nod of the head as I turn back to the window and stare vacantly out at the Seattle skyline.

"Have a seat Welch." As he enters my office. I turn and head back to my desk. Seeing the file Andrea placed there. I open it and review the first two or three pages.

"What did you find out?"

"We still haven't found out who the other investor is that is looking into the buyout of SIP and
looking into the employees of SIP I have found that Ms. Steele works directly with a Mr. Jack Hyde..."

"Fucking hell Welch. I need to know who I'm up against in purchasing SIP. And as for Jack Hyde, I know that shit already. I have his personnel file right here." I pick up the file in front of me and drop it back on my desk for emphasis. "What else besides what's in this did you find out?"

"We're still digging. There were some red flags in his earlier employment but as he left each company nothing was ever documented. He's been at SIP for five years now as you're well aware. None of his assistant editors have stayed with the company and none have stayed in publishing here in Seattle, anyway.

"We've found out he's was a foster kid. There were some juvenile records that we are still trying to get access to. I should have that information by the end of the week. Exceptionally bright. Won a full ride scholarship to Yale where he completed his bachelor's and then he started working at a publishing firm in New York. He has since worked at four publishing firms other than SIP."

"When this buy out happens. I do not want him at SIP. Not working with Miss Steele. Is there anything we can use to terminate him?" I've already reviewed his contract. We have to have cause to end his employment and by the looks of it there isn't anything yet that would allow me to do that. But I don't want him working with Ana. She's young, beautiful and extremely naive. None of his assistants have been retained - that's a red flag itself but the fact that none of them are even working in Seattle?

"Not right now. He'll have to have to make a large mistake for that to happen and if he's doing anything that he shouldn't he's covering his tracks well enough."

"FUCK! There's something. Find it. Talk to the previous assistants find out what kind of boss he is/was. He will not stay employed with SIP once it is under the GEH umbrella. Do I make myself clear!" Tension is radiating through me. I have to make sure Anastasia is safe and I can't do that while she is working with Hyde.

"Very."

I stand and head to the door. Opening it, "Get it done quickly Welch." In the same breath, "Andrea, get Taylor in here." I slam the door and head back to my spot at the window again.

Knocking on the door Taylor opens it. He's the only one with balls enough not to wait for me to tell him to enter. He knows that nothing here is hidden from him. Now at Escala, I smirk to myself, he only ever did that once. I think he learned his lesson after walking in on me balls deep in my sub at that time. "We have to head over to SIP in ten minutes. Make sure I have everything that we will need for this. All the files on the board members and the executive management should be enough along with financials. I won't lose this deal."

"Yes sir."

"I haven't heard from the new covert today. Any news on Anastasia?"

"I spoke with Sawyer earlier sir. She entered SIP at 8:30 am and hasn't left the building since. I've instructed him that he is to send everything to me, so as not to disturb you, unless it is an emergency sir."

"Why the fuck would you do that?" I snap at him. I do believe that I am the one paying the man's salary and I am the one that is demanding the information.

"As I said sir, unless it is an emergency or something he cannot stop from happening without announcing his presence to Miss Steele, then usual day to day things would be disruptive to your schedule." I know he's right but I'm pissed.

"That is not your concern Taylor. I want all his reports sent to me via email or text message. No questions."

"Yes sir. I will forward them to you."

"Good. I'll meet you down in the car in five minutes."

I have to get to this meeting with Roach and the executive board at SIP. Fucking formalities. I know and they know that I will end up with this small shit hole of a publishing firm but they seem to really want to put me through my paces to secure it as they can't understand why I would want to bother with their measly little firm as it is outside the scope of GEH's other holdings. Well that's none of their concern. They don't need to know that I have to make sure that the one person that I can't stop thinking about works there and I have to keep her safe and being that we aren't together anymore this is how I can do that.

_

What a long fucking boring ass meeting. Roach kept going over the same shit over and over with those idiot board members looking on shaking or nodding their heads at him as he did. FUCK. I can't believe I just sat through four fucking hours of financials that showed just how quickly this place is going to go up in flames and they seemed fucking proud of what they are doing! Seriously? There is not one person here running this company that knows what they are doing or if they do they aren't fucking doing it.

Its five o'clock and I'm leaving the building. As I get to the lobby doors I see Ana, her beautiful hair flowing down her back, her ass looks amazing in black skinny jeans and her legs go on forever in those heels. Fuck she's gorgeous and I can't even see her face! She's talking to Taylor. Then I see Gideon Cross getting out of a Bentley parked behind my SUV. He walks up to Ana and puts his hand possessively on her lower back. She looks up and smiles at him and on tip toes reaches to kiss his cheek! What the fuck?! I'm heading out the doors now; heading right for them. I will get her to talk to me even if its for a few minutes.

I see her turn and notice me coming. I can see every muscle in her body freeze with tension. Cross says something in her ear. She's whispering something back and his arm snakes around her pulling her into that damn protective stance that I saw in the pictures of them in New York. Protect her from me? Why would he think that she would need protection from me? I would never do anything to physically harm her ever...never again as I flash to the incident in my playroom momentarily.

I put on my mask of indifference, "Mr. Cross. Anastasia." Cross greets me back but Ana hasn't said two words. Thinking I could get her to say something I ask her how she's been. She doesn't say anything for a moment but then it's like she pleads with him. "Gideon? Please." What the hell! Cross makes nice but then turns and leads her back to his car when she slides in and they drive off.

I can't fucking believe that just happened. I can't believe that he's here in Seattle and she's with him... AGAIN. I have to stop this. I have to protect her. Turning back and climbing into the SUV I grab my blackberry. I make a call to Claude, I need to beat the hell out of something or someone, so I make sure he's available for a training session. He confirms he will meet me at Escala at six thirty.

Realizing that Cross is here, tomorrow is Thursday and SIP's meeting with the other interested party, I make another call. "Welch. Gideon Cross is in town. See what you can find out about Cross Industries being interested in SIP before the buyer meeting tomorrow. I want to know if its him or not."

"Yes sir. On it."

Knowing I'll have an answer tonight I hang up. Exhaling. I can't believe this shit is happening. Is that why Cross is interested at Ana? Is there some way he found out about she and I? To stop me from buying a failing publishing house? FUCK! I need to hit something!