A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging for so long without an update. I could give you a long list of excuses but I won't. I am just glad that I am back in a place where writing can be a priority again. Until next time, which won't be so long again.

Chapter 25

I immediately leave Christian's side and take my usual seat in the security office while Christian stops to have a word with Taylor. I can't help but hope that seeing Barney looking mighty proud of himself means we will be getting some answers and that we will finally be able to put this nasty ordeal behind us.

A few minutes later, Christian takes a seat in the unoccupied chair beside me and grabs hold of my hand. Turning to look at him, he gives me a little smirk and winks at me. No doubt he has gotten a quick preview of what this meeting is about and whatever it is, it should be some good news. Finally.

Barney clears his throat in an effort to get everyone's attention. The side conversations slowly come to a halt and Barney dramatically holds up my necklace. "Thank you, Ana. Without this little baby here, we never would have been able to crack this mystery." He tells me directly before looking at everyone else. "So, it took some doing but I was able to figure out that the camera was wirelessly sending video feed to another computer in a remote location. With some prying, I was able to figure out it was sending the footage directly to Elena's desktop computer at Esclava. Thankfully, the police hadn't yet confiscated it and I was able to get my hands on the actual computer and it still had all the files taken through the years. Now I can't promise you that she didn't save the files onto a flash drive and that they don't exist somewhere else as well, but this is the jackpot none the less." He states proudly pointing at the desktop sitting on the desk. "I will assume you want this to be released to the police at some point, so I haven't corrupted any documents, nor have I hacked into the camera to have the feed sent elsewhere. This is a legal seize since you own the salons and thus any of the equipment to run them are also considered yours." He directs at Christian.

Christian nods his head in understanding. "Continue, please."

Barney connects the desktop to the screen and dims the lights. He pulls up one file and it seems to be someone cooking dinner in their kitchen. "There are hours of footage just like this. The wearer seems to have no idea they are being recorded and often the footage starts and stops around the kitchen. That got me to thinking, what is often in the kitchen that would set off this camera. It would have to be common and unassuming." Barney pauses for dramatic effect and I roll my eyes. He should consider taking up theatre. He seems to be in his element. He types into the laptop and brings up a camera that is currently not feeding into the system. The screen goes gray with "no signal" in the corner. He walks across the room and retrieves a simple refrigerator magnet. He holds it up for everyone to see before swiping it over my necklace. Sure enough, the camera comes to life showing us the screen in the security room. "And that is the reason that security never picked this up. It didn't take anything other than the run of the mill magnet to turn on and that isn't what the sweeper is looking for. It registered as normal background noise if you will. So, I had my guys go back to your playroom with a simple paperclip and the necklace to locate the turn on spot and sure enough, in the door jam, painted to look like it belonged there was this magnet. There was hours and hours of footage taken from the playroom of the necklace in a pocket or hanging on a rail by the mirror. I found a few emails from Elena…" Barney stops and eyes me. "I am sorry Ana. If this is too much, tell me." He pleads before addressing Christian. "telling them that you get bored if they are too compliant and have mentioned that you were considering cancelling their contracts. She suggested they spice things up a bit by defying you by keeping on all their jewelry."

Christian cradles his head in his hands. "That manipulative bitch!" he shouts, and I jump a little bit. I don't blame him a bit for being angry. He squeezes my hand and looks at Taylor. "Get someone to come dismantle the playroom as soon as possible."

"No, don't do that." I interject suddenly, my mouth moving before my mind fully processed what my mouth was saying, surprising even myself.

"Anastasia?" Christian turns to me, looking me deeply in my eyes before returning to back to Taylor. "Go ahead and bid it out and let me know the cost. It seems Ana and I need to talk before it is actually dismantled."

I can feel the heat all over my body as the embarrassment of my interruption fully hits me. I know we haven't discussed it beyond he doesn't want to participate in the lifestyle anymore and truly, I know I don't want to go back to how our relationship was before I moved away but I did enjoy a lot of what we did, and I wouldn't mind bringing some of that back into our sex life. Not that I wanted all the people in this room to know that. I hear the discussion going on around me, but I am locked in thought and not participating. If I miss something important, Christian will fill me in later. Right now, I need to figure out exactly what it is that I am wanting and why I don't want the playroom to be removed.

I think back to when we spent time in the playroom. Sometimes it was terrifying, not knowing what he was going to do but most of the time I experienced nothing by pleasure. Am I not enjoying vanilla? No, I quickly tell myself. Vanilla has been supremely satisfying. I love vanilla. But is it wrong to sometimes enjoy other flavors also? I know that right now, Christian is coming to terms with what has been done to him as a young teenager as well how it extended into his adulthood but once he does, won't he miss the feeling off sometimes dominating during sex? Enjoying kink isn't something you just turn off. At least, I don't think it is and if I am being authentic to myself, I enjoy sometimes being spanked, blindfolded, and fucked thoroughly. Loving one another would probably take it to another level and the trust I have in him has only intensified.

On the other hand, his playroom has been his place of reprieve and it no longer holds the feeling of a safe sanctuary for him. Besides, do I really want to keep the room where he has been with all those other women with the video to prove it? No, I can't say that I do. I admit is has lost the appeal to me when I think of it in those terms. So maybe it does need to go. Christian is right when he says we need to have a discussion and hash these feelings out, for both of us. We need to be on the same page. I just don't want him to regret making a rash decision later.

I feel Christian's arm wrap around my shoulder and a light kiss on my cheek bringing me back to the here and now. "Are you ready for lunch? Gail just texted me that she made club sandwiches and they are ready." He asks me gently.

"Yes, I could eat something. I am famished." I admit.

Christian stands up. "Thank you for your excellent work. I would like for you to meet with the detectives with our lawyers to give them this latest information. I will arrange a meeting with Public Relations later today and get that ball rolling. I feel better releasing a statement now that we know what happened. Given this information Taylor, see if we can get Elena's bail revoked. That bitch belongs in jail, not roaming the streets waiting on trial." He grits his teeth, obviously holding back his anger. "And if you want to meet with the others to tell them what we discovered and then send them home that would be good. I don't need to meet with any of them again. Just remind them of their NDA's." he adds.

I feel tension release that I didn't know I was holding onto. Hearing him say he isn't going to meet with the other women is music to my ears. Hand in hand we go in search of lunch.

Gail places two plates filled with sandwiches and chips in front of us and bids a good afternoon. She tells us she is going shopping, so she won't be around. I wouldn't be surprised if Taylor texted her to get out of dodge as we are likely going to have a conversation that she doesn't want to be privy to. Then I remember that I would ask if Kate could come up for dinner tonight.

"Hold on a second, Gail." I tell her. She turns around and waits expectantly. I turn my attention back to Christian. "Is it okay if Kate comes up for dinner tonight?"

"You would like Kate to come to dinner?" he repeats my question back at me.

"Yes please. I have missed her, and I would love to show her around a bit." I tell him honestly.

"Gail, cook enough to feed a crowd. Perhaps for six. It might not be that many, but I would rather have more than enough than not enough. Will that be too much trouble?" He asks her.

"No sir, I would be delighted to." She confirms and leaves us in peace.

"Six?" I ask him. "Who else do you have in mind."

"I thought my brother might like to come to dinner and then I am going to see if PR can come meet with us after lunch so if Judith is still here, I should probably offer her a meal and then Ros will probably want a say in any statement we make on behalf of GEH, so I thought I would include her." He lists off pulling out his phone and typing quickly.

I pick at one of my sandwiches as I try to decide whether to bring up my outburst earlier.

"Eat Ana. We will talk about the playroom later tonight. It's okay. Right now, we need to focus on PR. I think we need to do an interview and we need to decide together what we are open to disclosing and what we aren't. I was also thinking that I want it to be an exclusive. I don't want everyone thinking that once I talk, I am open to talking with everyone. I want to say it once and have it been in the past. I was thinking the perfect person to do it would be Kate."

That got my attention. Kate would be thrilled. She is about to go work for her father as a budding journalist and this could be her big break. I don't think her father sees her as a serious journalist but that has been her dream as long as I have known her. She liked the advertising slant fine but it wasn't her dream. She just knew it would pay her bills since her father wanted her to work on her own before taking her back under his wing. I can imagine his delight if she shows up her first day with the exclusive rights to the story of Christian Grey and his first public statement post scandal.

"I think you are right, Christian. I am sure Kate would love to do it if we ask her." I admit. "What made you think of her?"

"Well, she is your best friend so whatever she writes will minimize the damage to you for one. And you are my priority here. The damage to me has already been done." He tells me softly, taking my hand and kissing my palm.

"Is it okay if I call her now?" I request fully aware it is considered rude to make a call during a meal.

He nods as his mouth is full of Gail's club sandwich. He puts one finger up in the air at me telling me he needs to tell me something. I fish my phone out of my pocket as he finishes chewing. "Ask her if she can be here in an hour. I'd like for her to sit in on the PR meeting. I am going to call my dad and Elliot and see if they can come too."

I raise my eyebrow at him. I don't know why he is so hell bent on Elliot coming but it isn't like I mind a bit. It is just curious.

Answering my unanswered question, "I just miss my brother," Christian states simply.

I dial Kate and she answers on the second ring. "Steele, what's up?"

"A couple things actually." I tell her honestly, taking a deep breath. First, Christian and I would like to invite you to dinner."

I cringe a little as she shrieks. "Yes! I am dying to meet the mogul! What should I bring?" I smile at her excitement.

"Your laptop and your recorder." I answer and I take advantage of her stunned silence. "Do you think you could come up in about an hour?" I ask, not wanting to tell her about the possibility of an interview since nothing is locked in stone quite yet.

"I meant wine or dessert Ana. Why would I need my laptop and recorder?" I hear her putting the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. "Steele, is this personal or is this business?" she asks.

I laugh, "It is definitely personal and there might be some business." I offer.

"I will be there. Wait, how do I get up there? What should I wear?" She asks.

Now that is a good question. How do I get her up here? I don't think Christian would want me giving her the code, not yet anyhow. I get Christian's attention from the conversation he is having. "How does Kate get up here?" I ask him.

He looks conflicted for a minute. "I'll send security down when she is ready. Just have her call up when she wants them." I nod at him. I am pretty sure he was about to tell me to give her the code but had second thoughts. I can't say I blame him, he hasn't met her yet but that is encouraging that one day he probably won't mind giving her access.

I return my attention back to my phone call. "We will send security down to bring you up as soon as you call saying you are ready. We are dressed casually dress comfortably." I tell her looking at what I am wearing. I have no intention on changing today.

"Got it. I will be ready in exactly an hour. Just go ahead and send security down then. That Sullivan guy is pretty hot, send him." She tells me, hinting not so subtly.

We conclude our conversation about the same time Christian finishes talking to his brother. "She will be here in an hour." I inform him.

"My brother will be here around 4:00. Judith will be here in about half an hour give or take. She is coming from Grey House so traffic depending. Ros has a meeting with a company asking us to take them over so she will come when that finishes." He updates me on his conversations.

Sounds like a penthouse full and a busy afternoon. Hopefully we can get the business out of the way and enjoy a relaxing evening. "What are you thinking about as far as the PR statement?" I ask. I need to be prepared for whatever he has planned so far. I don't want to be surprised and not look like we are in agreement. Whatever it is, I prefer to hash it now in private.

"I was thinking that I want to come clean and go ahead and make our relationship public." He tells me simply, shrugging his shoulders.

I slump in my seat. "I am fine with making our relationship public. I am not fine coming clean about being one of your submissives. My parents are going to read whatever is put out and we will be fighting an uphill battle as far as receiving their blessings. I really don't want to compound that." I say forcefully, my eyes wide open.

Christian shakes his head at me. "I meant come clean about my abuse Ana. Our sex life is none of their business. I was going to leave it as we met before as friends. That the public outing brought us together and then we kindled into a relationship. That is pretty much true. I thought of you as a friend when we spent time together before and now you are my girlfriend and my lover." He answers back.

I immediately relax. The mental picture I created of my shocked parents reading about my sordid sex life before leaving my mind. It is a gray area but I can live with that.

Taylor enters the room to announce that Judith and Carrick have arrived so I pick up our lunch plates and bring them into the kitchen. I take the time to rinse them off and place them in the dishwasher as Christian takes charge of meeting them and setting up the meeting. I can still hear them so I believe they are staying in the living room and when I come out of the kitchen I am not surprised to see everyone sitting comfortably on the couches. Normally Gail would offer some refreshment so I go ahead and pull out a pitcher of fruit infused water and some glasses and place them on a tray and bring them with me.

I settle on the couch next to Christian and he takes my hand like he usually does. I see Carrick trying to suppress a grin but I know he is pleased to see his son acting normally with a woman. Judith on the other hand is busy pulling things out of her briefcase while Christian waits patiently. Once she is ready, Christian starts the meeting.

"As I said, thank you for being agreeable to meet on such short notice. I will let you know that we will be having a young, fresh reporter coming in about a half hour and she will also sit for the remainder of the meeting. I expect this to run late so Dad, I understand if you need to cut out at some point and Judith, if you need to make any arrangements, feel free to do that now." He directs and I marvel at how well he morphs from boyfriend to business man.

"A reporter?" Judith replies while simultaneously typing on her phone.

Christian squares his shoulders as he prepares for pushback. "Yes, I would like to get this over with as soon as possible and also as painlessly as possible for Ana so I have asked her to call her friend Kate Kavanaugh over so we can give her the exclusive. I feel that I need to come as clean as possible so that the impact will be as short as possible and we can all get on with our lives and go back to doing what we do." He answers her.

Judith looks at him incredulously. "Kate Kavanaugh, any relationship to Eamon Kavanaugh?"

"Yes, she is his daughter." I answer proudly. I like Eamon, he has been nothing but nice to me and I count him as another father figure in my life.

The look on Judith's face says she doesn't have the same warm fuzzy feelings about him that I do but I don't care. She sighs. "Okay. Why Kate Kavanaugh? I haven't heard of her before. And while we are at it, why now Mr. Grey? I have been fighting at the bit to have you do this for weeks now."

"Well, for starters, I finally know how private footage was gathered, how it got released and I am hopping mad about it but at the same time, I believe it will help nail Elena Lincolns coffin in trial. But Kate is Ana's best friend so I know that she is going to be respectful to her which is very important to me. In addition, if Ana trusts her then so do I."

Christian looks down at me and smiles and I snuggle into him a little further. My feelings of love for this man beside me threaten to overtake my whole being.

Carrick speaks up, "Son, you have new information? Can you fill me in?" he asks. I listen as Christian fills in both his father and Judith on the cameras and how they worked and where the footage went. I watch Carrick as he takes it all in and saying the man was pissed off would be an understatement. All the sudden Carrick freezes.

"What's the matter Dad?" Christian asks when he notices it too.

"Elena gave your mother a necklace for her birthday a few years ago. You remember the one, it had all your birthstones on it and a silver box with all of your initials on it. You don't think that had a camera in it too, do you? She wore it all the time for about a year and then I got her necklace for Christmas and she stopped wearing it. Did Barney find any footage of us on that computer?"

Holy crap. From his description, it kind of fits and I wouldn't put it past her to spy on her best friend. Christian seems to be thinking the same thing because he is already on his phone and barking questions at Barney. "Have you found footage from anyone else in any of the files? Particularly of my parents?" He asks. I can hear Barney speaking but I can't make out what he is saying. After a minute Christian asks him to look and see what he can find out.

"Barney said there are so many files that he hasn't looked at them all yet. He is going to run a scan with facial recognition to see if he can find anything and will let me know in an hour or so. Sooner if the scan finds something on the quick side." Christian assures his father. "He is still in the security room with Taylor and the team."

"Thank you son." Carrick says genuinely though still rattled. "First off, as a lawyer, I am going to tell you that since Elena hasn't been convicted you will have to tread lightly on any accusations you make towards her. Should she get off scott free she could sue you for libel. That said, you can talk in the general sense. Tell the story but not name her. If the media figures it out, and likely they will when her case goes to trial, that won't be on you." He advises.

"Noted." Christian agrees with him.

"From GEH standpoint, it would be better for the company if we separate Christian Grey the person from Mr. Grey the CEO." Judith states and I look at her as if she has two heads. They are the same person lady, I think sarcastically.

Taylor escorts Ros in. "What did I miss?"

"Mr. Grey has a reporter in mind and would like to do an exclusive. A tell all if you will." Judith answers her.

Everyone just looks at Judith with their mouths ajar. Even I know it is her job to protect GEH the company and not Christian Grey the man but it is clear she is not all that happy about the idea. She is probably thinking ahead to all the work that will be rolling her way when she is finished with this.

Ros is amused. "So a sordid tell all. Fascinating. Who is the lucky reporter?" she directs at Christian.

Before he can answer, Kate walks in and Christian and Carrick both stand to meet her. "You must be Kate. It is a pleasure to meet you." He says graciously. "I am Christian and this is my father Carrick." He introduces her. "This is Judith, my PR director and my right hand woman at work, Rosalyn. Of course you already know Ana."

Kate comes in and a seat in the chair closest to me. I am sure she is nervous as hell but she is coming across as a poised and confident woman. All the training through the years of dealing with powerful people have come in handy for her even though she confessed that she didn't always like it when we had a girls night over wine one night shortly after we moved to New Orleans.

Christian immediately gets to the point. "Kate, I know you and I have just met but I know that you and Ana have been as close as sisters over the years. For this reason, I am looking to go ahead a release a public statement about what has happened and why as I finally understand myself how those pictures were released. I know that you will be careful in considering what to say in regards to Ana and that is what is of upmost importance to me. I would really like to minimize the impact to her. She is the love of my life and when she hurts, I hurt. I would like to offer you the exclusive rights to the interview." He states.

Kate looks stunned. "Mr. Grey, I would love that." She says politely despite probably wanting to jump up and down and scream in excitement. "Before sending anything in, I would ask that you read it and sign off on it first." She asks.

"Well, that is a given." Judith interjects.

Christian turns to her. "That is uncalled for Judith. She might be young but I have seen her work in the University newspaper and it was top of the line. I have no doubts in Ms. Kavanaugh's capability and her professionalism. Kate, thank you. I would appreciate getting a first read." He answers.

Judith tucks her tail in between her legs and the meeting drones on and on. The smells coming from the kitchen as Gail works on dinner are enticing. I listen as they discuss what can be said, what can't. The parameters of the interview and having photographs done. I am relieved when Elliot comes in, obviously straight from the job site. "Well hello my people. I heard something about dinner." He booms.