Chapter 36 – We Can Work It Out

My intentions were pure. However, the moment the five of us enter the room, I am very sick to my stomach. Holy shit Steele – what in the fuck were you thinking? That's just it. I wasn't thinking. At all.

Jeremy is one of my bosses, so I didn't initially see anything wrong with simply inviting him and his friends over to the party for a quick drink. I thought that it would have been rude not to extend the invite since I did mention my party to Jeremy and Liza earlier that day during mindless chatter at work. I didn't mention where the party would be, which is why I was thrown off when Jeremy called my name as Kate and I exited the restroom.

But as Jeremy and his two friends along with Kate and I walked into the party suite, it instantly hits me that my entire circumstances are less than typical. I am engaged to an extremely jealous, insanely rich and powerful man who was my previous boss. My jealous fiancé and former boss does not care for my current boss in the slightest. Yep, I fucked this one up big time. But there's no turning back – I must lie in the bed that I just made. I also need to find a way to smooth things over ahead of time with Christian, which is why I must find him immediately.

"Ana, are you okay?" I hear Kate whispering next to me. However, I'm preoccupied in my quest to locate Christian. I must find him first before he finds me. Shit – where is he?
"I'm fine," I say discretely to her – lying, of course. I am going out of my mind right now.

"Jeremy, you and the guys can head over to the bar if you'd like. Help yourself to the food as well," I say, trying to separate from the three men while I try to find Christian.
"This is a cool set up here, Ana. And what a turnout. You were obviously very popular over at GEH," Jeremy grins. I give him a fabricated smile. I'm nervous as hell and I don't want Christian to catch us talking before I can reach him first.

"Thanks, Ana," Jeremy beams. He motions his two friends over and they head to the nearest bar.

"Holy shit, Ana," Kate gapes at me.
"What?" I frown.
"Um – that's your new boss?" she says with her mouth and eyes as round as saucers.
"Yes. Why?" I ask.
"Girl, he is fucking hot! Does Grey know about him?" Kate whispers. And the mere mention of his name has me rescanning the room. Where is Christian?!

"Yes," I murmur. Do I dare tell Kate that Jeremy was follow-up speed dater #1?
"Something tells me that you are a little…preoccupied," Kate smirks. I sigh. Well, I am not doing a very good job with concealing my anxiety. It's because I really fucked up this time.

"Christian doesn't like Jeremy," I fess up to her. And those very words coming out of my mouth makes me even more nauseous. Oh, Christian – please don't be mad.

"Ana, Christian doesn't like anyone. He feels threatened by any man that even comes near you. That's his problem, not yours. You need to stop freaking out," Kate snaps. Yep, I need to just go ahead and tell her exactly why Christian doesn't like Jeremy.

"I first met Jeremy at speed dating before Christian and I got together," I spit out. Kate gapes at me like I just grew two horns.
"Holy shit," she gasps.
"Exactly. That's why I need to find Christian and run interference before he goes ape shit," I sigh. Our conversation suddenly comes to a halt when Lacy and KB joins us.

"Ana – isn't that the guy from…" KB whispers, motioning over to Jeremy at the bar.

"Yep, it's him," I reply, interrupting her. KB was the one who drug me to speed dating in the first place, so she had a chance to chat five minutes alone with him as well.

Suddenly, Kate walks away leaving me with Lacy and Katie. I need to find Christian. I scan the room. To my dismay, Jeremy and friends rejoin me with drinks in hand. Fuck.

"This is really nice, Ana. Thanks again for letting us crash," Jeremy beams at me.
"Sure," I say awkwardly. Suddenly, I catch Jeremy looking at KB with a squint. He must recognize her.

"Jeremy, these are my good friends and former colleagues – Lacy and Katie. Ladies, this is my new boss Jeremy and his friends um…Mitch and Doug?" I say, hoping that I'm correct. Jeremy's two friends smile and nod, and I know that I got it right.

Looking over at Lacy, I can tell that she finds it awkward that my boss from my current job is here at a party that my boss from my previous job is putting on. Well…it's obviously a little more complicated than that. Lacy is well aware how moody her boss, my fiancé can be. I'm sure Lacy is also going to want the lowdown later. Let's just hope that I live to tell her.

"We won't stay long. We'll need to claim a seat at the bar before they're all taken," Jeremy tells me. Thank God. I nod in understanding.
"You guys watching the hockey game?" KB asks.
"Yes. Me and Mitch here are huge Blackhawk fans," Jeremy tells her.

"So am I. In fact, my dad was born in Chicago," KB says. Jeremy gives her a kind grin and nods. I idly wonder if he remembers the five minutes that he and Katie shared together three months ago. Somehow I doubt it. I don't think her and Jeremy even made it past that night. Unfortunately, Jeremy and I did. However, Christian made certain that it didn't go any further. My goodness, where in the hell is Christian?

"You follow hockey too, Ana?" Jeremy asks. I laugh.
"Well…no. I don't really follow sports in general. But my dad makes certain to keep me abreast on how the Mariners and the Sounders are doing," I giggle mindlessly. Jeremy and the others all have the grace to laugh with me.

And in that moment, I feel an ominous chill down my spine. It's an eerie feeling. Then I smell that oh so familiar scent. Oh no, it's Christian. Before I can turn to look, I feel him wrapping an arm around my waist. I'm deathly afraid to look at him, but I turn up to see him anyhow. The expression on his face is…well…it's not one of amusement, I can say that much. Christian doesn't take his eyes off of Jeremy. Yep, he's mad.

"Hey, Christian – look who I bumped into out in the hall. It's my new boss and his two friends," I say with an exaggerated grin. It's a complete waste a facial muscles, because Christian doesn't reciprocate. And right now, Jeremy is starting to look like that same guy who ran away from Christian at the coffee shop. This is extremely awkward. Oh Grey, why are you so intimidating? I resolve to just keep talking.

"Where were you? I was trying to find you to let you know that Jeremy was here," I say, turning in his grasp to get a better look at him. After a few beats, Christian finally breaks his glare from Jeremy and looks down. He narrows his eyes at me, but I manage to just keep smiling at him anyhow. Holy shit, he is pissed!

And in a move that I am more than certain surprised everyone in our present company, me included, Christian lowers his head down and kisses me soundly and loudly on the lips. Um, okay. So is Grey marking his territory? Yep, I feel peed on.

"I was just over there bowling a round with Marco, Ros, and Taylor. Then Kate told me that you wanted to introduce me to someone," Christian says with an arched brow. Katherine Kavanagh – oh how I adore thee. Kate may have just saved my ass by warning Christian before he discovered me in the company of Jeremy and two other random dudes.

"Look, Mr. Grey – I'm so sorry to intrude in your event. We just bumped into Ana in the hall and she was kind enough to invite us in. We were just on our way over to watch the hockey game at the bar," Jeremy says – and he looks like he'd rather be any place on earth than here right now. Before I can reassure Jeremy and friends that they were not in the wrong, and before Christian can glare a hole through Jeremy's skull, Elliot steps in.

"Hey, are you guys about to watch the Blackhawks and the Islanders? I wanted to see that game," Elliot pipes.
"Yes, we are. You can join me and my friends at the bar if you'd like," Jeremy says kindly to him.
"Sweet!" Elliot grins.

"Meet Elliot Grey, Christian's brother," I awkwardly introduce my future brother-in-law to my three party crashers. They all shake hands and individually introduce themselves to Elliot.

Christian is less than amused. Grey, please – they're all about to leave, thanks to Elliot. All's well that ends well, right? Soon, everyone disperses, leaving Christian and I standing there alone. I grin up shyly at my fiancé. Or is it that I'm grinning up guiltily at him? He glowers at me. Crap.

"Hey you two! There you are! Lets bowl!" Mia squeals, bouncing up and down.

….

"Ana, that wasn't a very smart thing to do," Christian scolds as soon as we exit the elevator into the penthouse. He pretty much just called me 'stupid'. And I instantly wonder how much worse things could have been had Kate not been thinking on her toes. She pretty much saved my ass. Well, at least Grey is still talking to me.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just thought that with Jeremy being my current boss and all, inviting him and his friends in for a quick drink was the proper thing to do. I didn't mean any harm by it," I say sincerely as the two of us head past the great room and towards the kitchen.

As soon as we step foot in the kitchen, Sparky scurries in to greet us. I happily pick him up and nuzzle his soft, furry crown. I glance over at Sparky's nearby food and water dishes and it looks like Mrs. Jones took excellent care of the pooch before taking off for the weekend.

Christian grabs two wine glasses and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon out of the wine fridge. Once reaching the counter, he places the glasses down and pops the cork. I lean against the counter and gaze at him. He then takes his eyes off the bottle and narrows them at me. Oh boy. I place Sparky back down on solid ground and the dog heads directly over to his water dish.

"Hi and bye would have sufficed. You were not obligated to invite him to a party that your former colleagues at GEH put on for you," he frowns.
"I understand that – but I figured that we had plenty of food that would simply go to waste anyway," I counter. Christian pours wine into the two glasses.

"You know that I would never allow food to go to waste. The leftovers were immediately delivered to the local homeless shelter," he says, affronted. Okay, so my future husband is very staunch when it comes to not wasting food.

"Christian, I just didn't see any harm in inviting Jeremy and his two friends. It wasn't until I started thinking about you going thermonuclear that I begin to have second thoughts about inviting them in the first place," I say. Christian picks up both glasses of wine and hands one to me.

"Fortunate for you Miss Steele, I love you a great deal and I am willing to overlook your severe lapse in judgment," he says before slowly (and sexily) taking his lips to his wine glass. I scowl at him. Really, Grey?

"My life would be so much easier if you could simply understand that Jeremy is my boss and that nothing has or ever will happen between us," I air out. He puts his glass down on the counter, but his hand remains around the stem. He stares at me as if I am failing to understand something so elementary.

"Ana, you've known from the very start that I am an extremely jealous man. I've told you this time and time again. You knew that I did not want you to even leave GEH in the first place, much less work for the likes of Jeremy Clark. And against my better judgment, I've tried so hard to fall back and let you have it your way while I just…take it on the chin. All the while, I've been completely against you working for him. Each day, I have to remind myself that you won't be working for him for very long. Then, you suddenly parade him in my face this evening."

Holy shit. My heart drops.

I have no words. This is probably the most open and honest that Christian has ever been with me. And in spite of me believing that he is being way too over reactive with the situation, I can't help but feel anything but compassion for this man.

I place my glass down and I close the gap between us, cupping his face. I gaze into his conflicted gray eyes.

"Christian – I am so sorry. I did not take your feelings into account. I promise, it will never happen again," I say clearly, not wavering. His eyes gleam back at me with compassion.

"Ana, I want you to come back to GEH," he says, locking his unshakable grays into my apologetic blues. Are you fucking kidding me! Is he going to guilt trip me now for saying 'no'? My hands fall from his face and to my sides and I sigh an exasperated sigh.

"Christian…"

"I just thought that since I was in such a truth-telling mood, that I would tell you what's exactly on my heart. Ana – you were at the top of your game by my side. You made me a better CEO. My management team fully agrees with that," he says. My eyes drop down to the floor. Don't you dare do this, Grey.

"Look, I understand that it has always been your dream to work in publishing. I get that. But you have to realize that ECP will never truly appreciate your caliber of talent. John Fisher will never allow you the opportunity to be the shining star that you are. If you want to work in publishing, you have the chance to take a small, unknown company like SIP and make it soar. Where could you take ECP even if you had the authority? They are already the number one publishing house in Seattle," Christian submits to me.

Damn, he just doesn't get it. I…I don't know what else to tell him. Except…

"Christian – I've only been working at ECP for a week now. Tell me, where was I in just one week at GEH? I'll tell you. I was knee deep in a project, trying to find my way around a very intimidating organization. I need to do the very same at ECP. I need to figure things out all on my own. If I eventually reach a dead end, I'll know at that time if I need to take my talents elsewhere. But for now, I have to prove to myself that I can do this."

Christian closes his eyes as if he's conflicted with my rebuttal.

"Christian, you can't pave the road for me anymore in my career. I need to experience all of the bumps and bruises in order to grow stronger. I'm just twenty-two years old and I need to learn how to fall and pick myself back up," I plead with every fiber of my being.

"I know, I know," he sighs deeply. But he is still warring within himself.
"And I told you that if I ever face any danger, that you will be the first person that I call. I still mean that," I reassure him. He opens his eyes and caresses my chin.

"I know, baby," he says softly. I reach over for my glass of wine on the counter.
"Thank you for my party today. It was lovely seeing everyone. I'll be sure to type up a 'thank you' for Andrea to share with all the attendees on Monday," I beam. Christian cracks a slight smile, and I know that we have entered into more upbeat territory. Christian reclaims his wine glass as well.

"To your success in the world of publishing. And to us. April 7th can't get here soon enough," he says, lifting up his glass. A slight laugh pushes through my nostrils and we both clink glasses.

"To us," I echo him. After we take a drink out of our glasses, I step on my tiptoes and wrap my free arm around his neck. I pucker my lips in hopes of him kissing me back, but he just looks down at me with one brow raised.

"What are you doing, Miss Steele?" Christian smirks. He's amused.
"I'm trying to kiss you," I say, feigning a pout. He teases me by lowering his head closer to me, but he doesn't kiss me.
"Oh, are you?" he murmurs against my lips. I nod, not taking my eyes off of his.

"Just a kiss?" he purrs. Oh my.
"To start," I murmur in return.
"What if I don't want to kiss," he teases me. I roll my eyes at him.

"You had no problem kissing me in front of everyone else tonight," I remind him. Suddenly, he stands up straight and my arm falls away from his neck. Shit! Why in the world did I say that?

"I wonder how Elliot made out with his new best friends tonight," Christian frowns. Oh yeah, Elliot went to the bar with Jeremy and friends. I didn't see any of them after Christian and I left the party. Just as we were leaving, Kate said that she was on her way to join them at the bar and would let me know what happened afterwards. I am slightly tempted to call her to see if anything came out about Christian and I as they all watched the hockey game.

"I'm sure they enjoyed the game over some drinks. You should call Elliot and find out," I urge. Christian narrows his eyes at me. I sigh.

"You know, I think you should have more boy time with Elliot," I say.
"Boy time?" he smirks.
"Yes Christian, boy time. Male bonding. I think it's good for the soul," I say sweetly. He places his glass down on the counter, and the look in his eyes is now heated. Whoa!

"But I much rather bond with you, Miss Steele," he purrs, closing the gap between us once again. He wraps his arms around the small of my back and pulls me into him. Geez!

"And you know exactly how I like to bond with you," he whispers. Holy cow.
"Well, I'm not so sure if I can recall. I might need a reminder," I say, playing naive.

….

In bed, I am kissing Christian's neck all the way down to his bare chest. I can hear him groaning ever so slightly. I think back to months ago when he didn't want me touching him at all. Today, he's allowing me free rein over his body. It's…liberating.

"Mine," I murmur against his bare skin.
"Yours," he answers back. And I feel like I'm on top of the world.

I lay a trail of kisses down the center of his chest to his stomach. After lingering at his navel, I delightfully make my way down to his happy trail. His body bows as I continue onward. I face his erection and I grin like a Cheshire cat. I've found the lost city of Atlantis. I kiss the tip of his erection, and he moans. Yes – it's so soft…and so hard. It's like satin covering steel. And instinctively I want him in my mouth.

However, I decide to take another approach. I kiss the tip of his erection once more before leading a trail of kisses back up his body again, taking the journey past his happy trail, all the way back up his stomach and to his chest. After kissing him all over his neck for a few beats, I join our lips together. As we kiss, I position myself below and grab ahold of his erection underneath me. Slowly, I lower myself down, placing him inside of me. Oh, the feel of him. I groan.

"Ah…baby," he moans against my lips. And slowly, I begin to move.

….

Saturday afternoon, Christian and I meet Grace and Mia at the printer's to nail down our save the date postcards. When José was in town for our engagement party over a week ago, we managed to squeeze in an engagement photo shoot with him. Christian wasn't too keen on the idea. He thought that the entire concept of engagement photos was cheesy. And even though it was quite chilly out, we ended up with some very stunning photos. Even Christian was pleased with the outcome. He and I eventually narrowed the photos down to three.

"Oh my goodness," Grace gasps as I show her the photos on my iPad. My future mother-in-law is on the brink of tears. Christian shakes his head at his overly emotional mother.

"José did a fantastic job!" Mia raves. I nod at her in agreement as I swipe over to the next two photos.
"That, he did," Christian grins in agreement. Wow, Christian and José have sure come a long way. Will Christian and my boss Jeremy eventually arrive at the same fate?

"So, which one out of the three?" I ask both Grace and Mia.
"The first one," Grace says, barely able to speak. Mia echoes her mother's choice. It's the one where Christian has his arms around me and the two of us are gazing into each other's eyes with the Space Needle as our backdrop. I still don't know how José managed to land the perfect shot, but he aced it.

The woman who works at the printer's huddles up with us behind the iPad and she sighs in appreciation. "Yes, this is so beautiful," she says in a thick Eastern European accent.

"Now, to pick a type font for your postcards," she says. As the woman retrieves a large binder nearby, I hear my phone ringing in my purse. I hand the iPad over to Mia and I retrieve my phone.

Looking at the screen, I see that it's Katie – my friend from Christian's HR department. Hmm, I wonder what she wants. Excusing myself, I walk a good distance away as the others browse the binder along with the printer. I quickly catch Christian looking over at me, and I give him a warm grin before taking the call.

"Hey, KB," I say.
"Ana – did I catch you at a bad time?"
"I'm just at the printer's arranging our save the dates. What's up?"

"Well, I wanted to give you a head's up. I thought I should warn you that I'm going out on a date with your boss tonight," Katie says scandalously through clinched teeth. My eyes bulge and my jaw drops at the news.

"You're going out with Jeremy?" I whisper in complete shock.
"Yep. I ended up joining the guys at the bar last night to watch the hockey game. Jeremy and me started talking and completely hit it off. I wouldn't have ever known that we had so much in common. Ironically, we didn't connect at all during speed dating months back," she giggles. I laugh.

"So, he asked you out before you left the bar?" I ask.
"Well first, we exchanged numbers. Then he called me like forty minutes later. We talked on the phone for hours. Before we hung up, he asked to take me out on a date!" she gushes.

"Oh my gosh, Katie, that's – that's great! You have to call me tomorrow and tell me how everything went," I implore her. Yes, this is wonderful! Katie is an awesome girl and Jeremy is a great guy. I hope that the night goes well for them and they continue to enjoy hanging out together.

Who knows…Katie might find her knight in shining armor in Jeremy like I found mine in Christian. I bask in KB's news. Let's just hope that Jeremy isn't as um…complicated as my fiancé. Not everyone has the patience to endure such a man.

"Absolutely! I really like him, Ana. I hope that tonight goes well," she sighs.
"Oh, I'm sure that it will. So, do you know where he's taking you?" I ask.
"He's taking me to Canlis," she says excitedly. Holy shit – Jeremy's not fucking around! You don't usually take first dates to Canlis. It's way too expensive. Olive Garden, maybe.

"Well then," I laugh.

"I know, right?" she says with glee. Awe, I just adore KB and she deserves nothing but the best. Suddenly, I look up and I see Christian narrowing his eyes at me. Oh shit. He then motions me to come over.

"Well, I'm being summoned. Don't forget – call me tomorrow with an update," I implore her.
"I will! Later, Ana," she says.
"Laters, KB," I say shortly before hanging up.

I resolve to keep the news of KB and Jeremy dating to myself. It's absolutely none of Christian's business who his employees are going out with.

….

Monday afternoon, I meet up with Kate for lunch at a sandwich shop.

"Since you're here, I'll give you this now as opposed to mailing it," I grin at her, handing her a save the date. She turns over the postcard and it practically takes her breath away.

"Oh my goodness, Ana. This is beautiful," she gasps. I glow at her praise.
"You two look really in love here. Did José shoot this?" she asks. I nod proudly.
"My gosh! Well, if I ever get engaged, I know exactly who's doing my shoot," she giggles. My smile fades.

"Have you and Elliot talked about marriage?" I ask. She sighs.
"Well, I know that he loves me – but no, we haven't really discussed it," she says cheerlessly. Oh no. And I idly wonder if Kate wants Elliot to propose to her. However, I don't ask.

"Anyway – speaking of Elliot, you know that I joined him, your boss and his two friends at the bar after your party to watch that lame ass hockey game," she frowns. I laugh at her.
"Well, your friend Katie from GEH was there too. Holy shit – I think her and your boss McHottie were putting the moves on each other!" she says with a scandalous gape. I giggle at her.

"Well, you know that KB was the one who drug me to speed dating with her that one time. She met Jeremy there too, but they didn't choose one another that night. I guess they found out that they had some things in common at the bar on Friday," I say with a pleased smile. Kate grins with an open mouth.

"So, what happened?" Kate prompts.
"Jeremy took her out on Saturday. Then he took her out on Sunday," I beam.
"Holy crap!" Kate chuckles. I nod proudly.
"Yep – they are quite digging one another," I say.

"Did your boss say anything today about her?" Kate asks. I nod.

"Yep, he told me that he is hanging out with my good friend and that he thought I should know. I thought that was sweet of him," I grin.
"Does Grey know?" Kate asks.

"Nope. It's none of his business," I say with a tight mouth. Kate gives me a perplexed look.
"Don't you think that you should tell him since he's so hell bent against you working for the guy?" Kate reasons.
"KB works for Christian's company. If KB wants Christian to know who she is dating, then she will tell him," I say simply. Kate shrugs her shoulders before nodding in agreement. Kate then pulls the save the date back in view and gazes at it once more.

"I'm shocked that Grey relented on pushing the wedding date back," Kate murmurs.

"He's come a long way," I beam at her.
"And that bullshit he pulled with buying SIP behind your back – I still can't get over that. I can't believe you never told me he did that," Kate rolls her eyes at me.
"And that's why I didn't tell you," I giggle at her.

"Oh – thanks for covering my ass on Friday, by the way. I owe you big time. I'm sure it was tough for you to speak to Christian and tell him that I was looking for him," I grin.

"Hey, we're best buds now. Seriously, I thought I would at least try to be cordial with your future husband. I still can't stand his ass, but I guess I can learn how to coexist with the bastard," she sighs. Oh, Kate. And I know that Christian feels exactly the same about her. Although, he did think enough to include Kate at my party.

One of these days, I hope to get these two really talking to one another. Christian and Kate both mean the world to me, so it hurts that they can't stand the sight of each other.

….

Tuesday evening, Christian and I embark on week one of twelve with Dr. Flynn.

"So, first thing's first. Are you sure you two want to get married?" Dr. Flynn poses the question right out of the gate.

"Yes," Christian and I say in unison – steadfast and unwavering. We turn to look at each other and beam lovingly.

"Well then," Flynn chuckles, looking down in his notebook.

"Next, what does commitment in marriage mean to you? Let me start with you, Christian." I'm thrilled not to be the first to get picked on, just like in school.

"Um – taking time out for each other?" Christian says, unsure of his answer.
"What specifically, Christian? Would you say that it means to not get overly inundated with GEH business when you are at home with your wife?" Flynn submits.

Oh snap, Flynn! I try to stifle a telling grin. Dr. Flynn knows very well that my fiancé is a true workaholic in every sense of the word – twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year.

"Yes," Christian says, grinning guiltily.
"Very well. What say you, Ana? What does commitment in marriage mean to you?"

"To always be open and honest with each other, no matter what," I say in a shy voice.
"So would you say that your fiancé makes a good effort in this area?" Flynn poses the question.
"Yes, I would," I beam over at Christian. He winks lovingly at me.

"Alright – that's good to hear," Flynn smiles. So far, so good – right? Christian and I got this premarital counseling thing licked!

"So Ana, what initially attracted you to Christian?"

Hmm – okay. So, should I give Flynn the honest-to-goodness answer? Hell, why not.

"Well, he's insanely hot and he smells very good," I giggle. Christian grins and rolls his eyes at me, while Flynn lets out a hearty laugh.

"Well Ana, that's a truly honest answer if I ever heard one. Christian, what say you? What first attracted you to Ana?" Flynn poses the same question to Grey. Christian smirks.

"That gorgeous face and that nice round bottom of hers," he says with a pucker at the end. Holy shit! I flush. How embarrassing.

"So, physical attraction. I think that is very important. It's the hook that brings two people together. So, what's keeping you together? Christian – tell me what you love about Ana beyond the physical," Dr. Flynn asks.

"She is thoughtful and extremely intelligent. She's one of the brightest minds that I know," Christian says without hesitation. Oh my. My heart leaps at his words.

"She's also very nurturing. And she's a fantastic cook," Christian grins proudly at me. Awe, isn't my fiancé sweet?

"Ana – I'll ask you the same question. What do you love about Christian beyond the physical?" Flynn says after turning to me.

"Christian is a wonderful leader. He truly inspires others to be better," I say. I turn from Flynn to glance over at Christian and he looks humbled. Doesn't he already know this? But something tells me that no one has ever told him this before, myself included.

"He's also a strong protector. And what I love most about him is that he loves harder than anyone I have ever known. No one loves like he does," I conclude.

And as I say the words, I lock eyes with my man. Yes, Christian – you are the lover of my soul. And I love you the very same. Christian caresses my hand, not taking his eyes off of mine.

"Well then. This is um – quite deep," the doctor says, clearing his throat. And the look on Dr. Flynn's face is that of one who is intruding on an intimate moment.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the two of you belong together. My job is to make sure that you are ready to walk down that aisle together. So, what does it mean to commit spending the rest of your lives together? Vows. Have you two discussed your wedding vows yet?"

Holy shit. Christian stops rubbing my hand and the two of us each take in a deep breath.

"So I take it you have," Flynn grins with amusement. The never-ending argument now comes to surface.

"Ana and I have a slight disagreement. Going traditionally with the vows from the Church of England, the man vows to love, cherish, and worship his wife; where as the woman vows to love, cherish, and obey her husband," Christian explains. I roll my eyes at the last part of Christian's sentence. Bullshit – this is 2011 in America, not medieval England!

"Christian, I am quite familiar with those vows," the British doctor grins. I smile at the irony.

"However, The Church has made those particular vows optional, hence they are not a requirement. You know that?" Flynn tosses at Grey. Humph! I told Fifty the same thing, but nooooo – he wants me to promise to obey him. Nope! Not doing it.

"John, although my fiancée has all of these wonderful qualities, she is severely stubborn," Christian prefaces. What?! I gape at him. Flynn narrows his eyes in amusement.

"I just feel that this is a very important element in our marriage. Anastasia needs to listen to me and take heed to my direction. I only want to keep her safe. That's why 'obey' should be in the vows," Christian sums up.

Grey's out of his damn mind if he thinks I will relent. I am holding fast to my stance. 'Obey' has no place in a marriage – period. I am going to be his wife, not his slave.

"Christian, you know that many may find your stance to be a quite sexist," Flynn breaks the news to Mr. Shades.

"John, you know I've never been one to care what anyone else thinks. I only care about Ana's safety. How can I vow to protect her if she doesn't let me?" Christian poses the question back to Flynn. Geez – I swear that this man is so irrational.

"And you don't think she wants you to protect her?" Flynn tosses back at him.

"Well, not in the way that I need to. She doesn't always agree with my approach to certain things," Christian shrugs. Sheesh, I wonder why! Hiring security guards to follow me around, snooping in my emails, tracking my vehicles, buying companies that hire me…should I go on?

"Christian, the key to marriage is communication and compromise. That's a sharp contrast to 'obey' – which requires one to exert his or her sovereign will over someone else. Would you rather marry a robot, Christian?" Dr. Flynn says.

Yes, Flynn! You tell him!

"No," Christian says petulantly. Awe what a brat you are, Grey.

"So, can we agree that forcing Ana to obey is an unreasonable request and that the two of you will always discuss each situation as it arises? So if you foresee Ana getting herself into any immanent danger, you will talk it through with her?" Flynn implores Grey.

"Fine," Grey concedes, rolling his eyes. And he is still not convinced that his quest to get me to 'obey' him is fucking ridiculous.

"Don't worry Christian, I don't expect you to completely change your point of view right away. But hopefully during the course of these twelve weeks together, you and Ana will learn each other's love language, so to speak. You will gain a better understanding on how to communicate with one another. As you will see during our discussions, exerting your will over Ana without talking things through with her will only push her away. And that's not what any of us want," Flynn says in warning.

And the look on Christian's face appears as if he is taking Flynn's warning into serious account. Christian's countenance visibly falls. I reach over and touch his hand. I need Christian to be fully committed to these twelve weeks. It's our only guarantee for a successful marriage.

"At this time, I would like to open up the floor to discuss any incidents of disagreement that may have occurred since the three of us last met – besides the wedding vows, of course. Perhaps it's a disagreement that was soon resolved. Or maybe it's one that is still open and festering. This can be a good opportunity to dissect the situation and possibly reach a resolution together," Flynn prompts, glancing at both Christian and I. What else are we fighting over, besides the vows? I can't think of anything right now.

"Well, Anastasia did something last Friday that I thought was…um – what's another word for stupid?" Christian says, deeply pondering.

I gape at him. I can't believe him! I thought this was settled? Is he still mad about Jeremy?

"Ana, do you know what Christian is referring to?" Flynn pings me. Fuck. This can't be real. I mean, really? Really, Grey?

"GEH had a belated farewell party for me Friday night. On the way back from the restroom, I ran into one of my current bosses along with his two friends. They were on their way to the bar in the same building. I generously offered him and his friends to come into the party for a few drinks before they headed over to the bar. I didn't think much of it at the time," I say with a shrug of the shoulders.

Honestly, I didn't think much of it. In hindsight, I would have never done what I did. However, if that never happened, Jeremy and Katie wouldn't have finally connected. See – all's well that ends well.

"Ana, this boss wouldn't happen to be the very same gentleman you met while speed dating, would it?" Flynn turns to me. Oh, crud. I give Flynn a bashful smirk and shrug my hands and shoulders. I can see Grey frowning at me from my periphery. Flynn closes his eyes.

Oh man, is that a chastising look from Dr. Flynn? I'm used to Flynn doing that to Christian, not me! I sink in my chair feeling ashamed. Dr. Flynn turns to Christian.

"Christian, can you tell Ana how that made you feel when she brought that gentleman into the party that your company put on in her honor?" Flynn prompts Grey. Holy hell! And I immediately want to disappear into thin air. This is no longer fun.

Reluctantly, I turn to Christian and his eyes are on Flynn.
"Tell her," the doctor gently prompts his longtime patient. My heart sinks further down into my stomach as Christian reluctantly turns and faces me. He swallows as if he is trying to find the courage to speak what's exactly on his heart. He's done well thus far. Why should this be any different for him? Maybe it's because we're in the presence of Dr. Flynn.

"When you brought…him…"
"Tell her who, Christian, so that she is well aware," Flynn interrupts. Geez – this is so fucking awkward!

"When you brought…Jeremy Clark into the party, it felt like you had no regard for me whatsoever," Christian starts. Oh no. I look down at my knotted fingers in shame. And suddenly, I feel like I am being publically ridiculed. It's a real shitty feeling. Is this what therapy is all about? This is not therapeutic at all. It's humiliating.

"Ana – do you hear what Christian is saying to you?" Flynn prompts me. As I continue to look downward, a tear escapes one of my eyes. However, I refuse to give any attention to it by wiping it away.

"Yes," I mumble.
"So, how do you feel after hearing what Christian had to say?" the doctor asks in a gentle voice.

"Misunderstood. Attacked."

It's the only thing I can say. Fuck it. I go ahead and wipe the solitary tear away. Suck it up, buttercup! I try and give myself a pep talk Stand your ground, Steele! You didn't set out to hurt Christian – you were just being considerate of others – that's all.

I look up at Flynn with a renewed strength.

"I didn't see it as an issue being that Christian also invited my best friend, his brother, and his sister to the very same company function. I just wanted my new boss to meet the good people of GEH and see where I came from," I say quietly.

"And granted, that was a very noble thing to do. However, do you understand that you met this gentleman at a very volatile time in Christian's life; a time when Christian was trying his hardest to get a good grasp concerning his feelings for you? And seeing you in that gentleman's presence brought back some very painful feelings for Christian?"

What in the fuck is Dr. Flynn talking about! I gape at him. I…don't…get what he's…

"You're not understanding me – are you, Ana?" Flynn says soberly.
I shake my head at him in response. Suddenly, Christian takes my hand. I slowly turn to look at him.

"Ana – when I first saw you with Clark at that coffee shop months back, my whole world ended right then and there. I thought that I absolutely blew any chance for us to be together. Finding out that you were going to work for him, and then seeing him at the party on Friday brought all those feelings back for me," Christian says in a deep confessional.

Oh no! I cup my hand over his with my free hand I gaze at him lovingly. This time, I am unable to stop the stream of tears from falling down my face. With his free hand, Christian begins to intercept my tears. I feel like such a fucking idiot. And I just want to hold him tightly in my arms. I had no idea. None. I feel foolish. So foolish.

"Now do you understand, Ana?" Flynn gently asks me.
"Yes," I choke through the tears.

"Christian, I am truly sorry for disregarding your feelings. I swear, I will never do anything like that ever again." I give a similar apology to the one that I gave on Friday night. However this time, I absolutely mean it from the very bottom of my heart.

I never want the love of my life to feel that lost ever again. I want him assured that my love for him and him alone is here to stay.

….

Sometime after lunch on Wednesday afternoon, I enter a conference room not too far from my desk. Donovan and Jeremy are already present. Oh? And I idly wonder if the two planned it this way in order to discuss my progress before I entered the room. I try to toss the thought aside since it does nothing but make me even more nervous.

"Ana," Donovan greets me kindly. I beam and greet both men as I take my seat directly across from them.

We then launch into a full discussion about the revised editing process that I worked on, and the two guys have nothing but praise for my efforts. I smile feeling relieved at the news. Phew!

Donovan reminds me to make certain that I absorb any remaining knowledge that I can from Liza since Friday is her very last day of work. After that's said, I recall my burning request.

"This might be a little too early to bring up, but I wanted to mention that I am getting married in April. Would it be an issue if I took three of my four weeks of allotted vacation at that time for my honeymoon?" I ask the two men.

"Absolutely, Ana. Liza will be back in full swing, so she'll be able to cover you without any problems," Jeremy says. Donovan echoes Jeremy's sentiments.
"Thank you," I grin at the two of them.

"So, did you have any other questions for us?" Donovan asks me.

"Just one thing. I was wondering if ECP had some type of – charitable activities committee? If so, I would very much like be plugged into those efforts," I inform the two of them. Jeremy awkwardly bites down, exposing his bottom teeth, while Donovan's mouth forms a straight line.

"Unfortunately Ana, ECP doesn't really participate in a lot of chartable efforts. ECP as a whole believes that we should remain neutral, and supporting specific charities may lead our readership to think that we might lean a certain way politically. We simply leave those stances to the individual authors," Donovan says.

What! That's completely asinine! I frown at the news. I don't understand this logic one bit. ECP is in the heart of the community, and therefore we should be contributing to the community as such. I mean – GEH contributes to the community in a major way.

It's at that very moment that I feel a pang in the center of my being.

A/N: In the next chapter, Ana finds out the reason why Christian got rid of the playroom. Also, Ana discovers why Christian was being such a dick to her during the pregnancy scare, haha. In addition, I hope to be able to squeeze in Ana's own fear of failure in that chapter. The main goal after these twelve weeks is to form a bond that cannot easily be broken. That's the journey you and I will take with Ana and Christian in this story. :)

I'm on vacation starting right now! I hope to kick out four or more chapters in these next eight days. It's all reliant upon your feedback, so please review chapter 36! I'm only as excited as you are, hence you'll have to let me know what you think concerning where this tale is currently headed. Thanks everyone! – ST2