A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
C POV
"Something's happened.", Sawyer murmurs. Elliot is looking on as I feel my legs start to bend beneath me.
"What do you mean? Sawyer, what happened?", I plead.
"We were leaving the student union and a guy came out of no where. I assumed that he was a reporter considering that he was asking Mrs. Grey whether she was enjoying married life and the honeymoon." Fuck. "He was being persistent and kept following us even though Mrs. Grey wasn't answering him. When we got to the parking lot, I thought that he had given up, but he got in his car and started following us a few miles before I finally lost him in traffic."
"Where's Ana now?"
"She's in the backseat, trying to calm down. We should be at GEH in a few minutes."
"Let me talk to her."
"Christian, hi.", Ana stammers. "I'm ok, just a bit shaken up. That guy wouldn't leave us alone. What scared me the most was when he kept following us even after we left the campus."
"It's going to be all right baby. I'm going to find out who that bastard was and make sure nothing like that happens again. I promised you that you would be safe, and I intend to make good on that promise."
"I'll see you soon." When I place my phone down, I want to scream, but it won't do any good. What will make me feel better is finding out who exactly was harassing her. Elliot's on the edge of his seat wondering what's going on. "The press release was going to go out at five announcing the wedding, but somehow, a reporter found out before and began to follow Ana at school.
"What newspaper was the reporter from?", he asks.
"Sawyer didn't say, but I don't give a damn what newspaper he was from. He even got in his car and followed them. That's crossing the fucking line!", I shout, losing control over my voice. "What I'm feeling is probably nothing in comparision to what Ana's feeling at the moment."
"I could tell you to calm down, but that would be useless." Nodding in agreement, my anger subsides at the sight of Ana standing in the doorway. Elliot turns around to see the cause for my sudden mood change. "Hey Ana."
"Hi.", she says. Her face is pale and tear streaked while her voice is cracking.
"Christian told me what happened, and I'm sorry."
"Thanks. I feel a little better now that I'm here." She starts walking towards me, but I meet her halfway and pull her into my arms. I can feel her body fighting off the tears as she grasps tightly on to my shirt sleeve.
"I should be going. Spencer's making meatloaf tonight or at least trying to make meatloaf." Ana remains in my arms, she pulls her body away a slightly as she releases a small giggle. "I love you guys."
"We love you too.", she tells him. After he leaves the room, Sawyer moves from where he was standing and gives me an apologetic look.
"Mr. Grey, I'm sorry for not seeing the reporter before he got to us. I thought that I was doing well in keeping an eye out, but I was wrong."
"It's not your fault. Reporters can be sneaky. Did he say what newspaper he was from?", I ask.
"He didn't. Like Sawyer, I assumed that's what he was judging from the way he was asking questions. How did the news get out before five? I thought you said Colin was making sure everything was locked up tight."
"It was supposed to be. I'm going to get Colin down here and demand answer. Sawyer, you can go now." Even though I'm furious at the situation, I can't hold him to blame for it since he was doing the best that he could do. I pick up the phone and dial Colin's number so I hear what he has to say about this apparent leak.
"Mr. Grey, I was just looking at the clock and noticing that we're only thirty minutes away from the release."
"Oh, well, we must be living in two entirely different worlds since a reporter has already found out about the wedding. So, Colin, explain to me how that happened when you were trusted with the information?"
"I have no idea.", he fumbles through his words. "I swear no one outside the PR office knew. I've made it my mission to make sure nothing got out until we were ready, and that we were the ones in control."
"Guess what? Someone opened their mouth which in turn caused my wife trouble at her school. One thing that I will not tolerate is my wife being hounded to the point that her safety is compromised. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir. I'm going to start digging to see if I can find out what happened. I'm so sorry Mr. Grey. Please give my apologies to your wife as well." I don't even respond to him before I slam the phone down.
"Does he know what could have happened?", she asks.
"He said that he doesn't know, but he's going to find out. I don't fully trust him to handle it so I'm going to have Welch start an investigation." Although I don't want to think about the possibility that Ana's new friend Beth could have played a part in what happened, I can't ignore the coinciding of the campus tour with the reporter's appearance. I tuck her hand in mine and walk us over to the sofa. "Ana, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but do you think Beth might have had something to do with what went down?"
A POV
"I don't know. Anything is possible. We had just said goodbye to each other a few minutes before, but it would be my luck that the first new friend I make at school turns out to be trouble."
"I'm going to get Welch to find out her last name and begin a search into her history."
"What I can't understand is how he knew about Lanai." The entire bombardment of questions was unsettling, but the moment he asked about Lanai is what sticks out like a sore thumb.
"What kinds of things?", Christian asks.
"He asked if we enjoyed Lanai. Christian, didn't Colin plan to only include that we went away on a peaceful and relaxing honeymoon. Was there a last-minute change?"
"Colin would have told me if there had been." My head is spinning in all directions about what's going on. Did Beth play me? How did the reporter know where we went on our honeymoon? Was it even a reporter? "Ana?"
"Huh?", I ask while awakening from my daze.
"I asked if you still want to go to your dad's for dinner? We can call and tell him that we have to postpone because something came up." Part of me wants to go home and crawl into bed, but seeing my dad could help brighten my mood.
"I still want to go." At five minutes till five, there's a small knock at the door.
"Come in.", Christian's says. Colin looks like a mouse trying to avoid a cat as he steps into the room. Christian's burning glare on him isn't helping make things better. "Any word on what happened?"
"Not yet sir."
"Ana said the guy brought up Lanai. Did that get thrown into the statement?"
"No. The statement which is going out in a few minutes makes no mention of where you honeymooned."
"This has to have been some sort of inside job for that to get out. Only a few people knew that bit of info. I'm going to have my guy start an investigation while I suggest you keep looking for possible answers. Colin, your job is hanging by a very thin thread right now, and I can cut it at any time."
"I understand completely sir. Mrs. Grey, I can't tell you how sorry I am for your ordeal today. I've tried what I thought was best to make things as easy as I can for you and Mr. Grey, but sadly, I've failed." He looks down at his watch and then over to Christian who gets up and goes to his computer. It's now five, and the world is being told about our wedding even though someone else was already in on the secret.
"And so it begins.", Christian says. "What Ms. Olson released is word for word what you gave her. Ok, I've seen and heard enough of this for one today. My wife and I are going to leave in a few minutes so we can salvage the rest of the day. If there's any news, call me. Otherwise, I'll be in touch with you first thing in the morning."
When we arrive in the garage, Christian and I get into the Escalade with Taylor while Sawyer follows behind us in his vehicle. Thoughts of the guy following us are still fresh on my mind as we begin traveling. If Sawyer hadn't lost him in traffic, it's possible that he would have continued to follow us until who knows what would have happened. The scenery isn't the same as we normally see on our to Escala.
"Where are we going? I need to get my dad's gifts."
"I texted Gail and asked her to get them from the dresser where I placed them this morning. It was my way of making that you didn't forget them. Reynolds is meeting us at your dad's with it." Of course the man thinks of everything so why should this surprise me?
"How considerate of you."
My dad is waiting for us on the porch when we arrive at his house. I can't get out of the vehicle fast enough so that I can run and hug him. I may be a grown married woman, but I'm still a daddy's girl.
"Annie, sweetheart.", he says while we're hugging. "It's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you too Dad." In the corner of my eye, I see Reynold pull on to the curb and hand the two packages containing my dad's gifts to Taylor who then hands them to Christian. "How are you Christian?"
"I'm good and you?"
"I'm wonderful. How about we go in and have dinner?" Christian places his hand on the small of my back while I follow my dad inside the house. "I made a chicken and rice casserole for dinner."
"You made it?" Even though my dad began to cook more after my mom and Natalie died, his culinary skills have been limited.
"I did.", he proudly answers. "It wasn't very difficult at all. The recipe was on the side of a soup can so I thought that I'd try it."
"I bet it's delicious." Christian hands me the gifts which I pass to my dad. "Here you go. These are for you."
"I wasted my breathe when I said not to bring me anything back, didn't I?" His smiles spreads at the sight of the tiki statue. "Wow, this is wonderful. I have a spot on the shelf over there where I can place it. Thank you Annie and Christian." He then opens the box containing the shirt with Lanai printed on the front. "I love it. Thanks again."
"You're welcome.", Christian says.
Even though I want to try and forget what happened today at least during dinner, it becomes a fruitless attempt. The goosebumps I got are still on my arm as I pick at my dinner.
"Is my food that awful?", my dad asks, noticing the untouched plate in front of me.
"It's not your food.", I mumble. "I had a run in today at school with some sleazy reporter who followed me." A loud jolt echoes through the room as my dad slams his fist down on the table and then casts his eyes on Christian who looks terrified.
"Ray, I don't know who he was, but trust me, he's going to be found and warned in a not so nice way to never bother her again." I begin making tracks in the mashed potatoes with my fork while the two of them talk around me.
"I wish I could get my hands on that son of a...", my dad stops himself. "I wish you would at least eat something. I'm sorry. It's the concerned parent in me talking."
"Don't apologize. You're only looking out for me which is sweet. I'll try and have a snack before I go to bed tonight."
C POV
"Good night.", I tell Ray before I close the bedroom door.
Once dinner was over, the three of us went into the living room and looked at old photos. One minute Ana was talking and the next she had fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder. I took Ray up on his suggestion that we stay the night at his house so I wouldn't have to wake her. I slowly remove Ana's shoes and jeans and then my own.
"Christian.", she murmurs as I get into the bed with her.
"It's ok baby. Go back to sleep." Being the stubborn woman that she is, she opens her eyes instead and scans the room. "We're at your dad's. You were out of it so he thought we should stay here tonight."
"My two guys always taking care of me." She inches closer to me and kisses me briefly.
"Since we're sleeping under your dad's roof, it means you'll have to keep your hands to yourself."
"Oh really?", she giggles. "What about my mouth?"
"I know exactly where you're going with that, and yes, I'm not going to allow you to suck me off either."
"Fine. I'll go back to sleep then." She closes her eyes and makes a fake snore.
"I knew that you snored.", I laugh while feeling her kick me underneath the covers.
"I do not snore. Now, since I must keep my hands and mouth to myself, I bid you a goodnight sir." I begin kissing the sides of her neck while moving my hands over her panties. "What are you doing?"
"I never said I had to keep my mouth and hands to myself.", I grin at her.
Photos from the story are on the pinterest board. Search: sherrybabie/Need-You-Now
