DISCLAIMER: Fifty shades of Grey or its characters do NOT belong to me. I own the plot and more than a few characters though. I would like to remind you that this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is accidental.
Thanks so much to my awesome Beta, Ninkita
***I know you guys have been waiting for my other forbidden story, I'm sorry to disappoint because THIS is NOT that story. I tried and tried but my creative juice was just not flowing for that story. This will also be a forbidden love story but not that kind. Hope you will give this story a fair chance.
IMPORTANT:
I do not sympathize with killers. It's just a story and for the sake of the story, just go with the flow. If it's a trigger, I would recommend not to read. Thank you.
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Chapter -1:
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Carla had to stop walking as the pain increased. She grabbed onto her swollen belly and cried out. Her contractions were coming fast and she was nowhere near a hospital. The street was deserted. Not a single car had passed since she had started walking. She had been on her way to the hospital when her car stopped in the middle of this deserted road. She thought she would be able to walk, but after 20 minutes of walking, she knew she had made a mistake. She should've called 911. She thought she didn't need anyone… that she would be able to do everything alone. Wasn't that the reason she had divorced her husband? She was now calling herself a 'moron'. She knew if Ray was with her, he would've taken care of her. She wouldn't have had to fear that she was going to die and so was her child if they didn't get any help soon. Suddenly, as if answering her prayer, a car started coming through the road. Carla waved one of her hands, hoping it would stop. The car passed by her without stopping. Carla started crying harder as her knees buckled underneath her from intense contractions.
Seeing the pregnant woman fall on her knees in pain, the driver of the car stopped his car and reversed it till the car was in front of her. He got out and before he could ask anything, Carla begged, "Help!" The man stared at her with a puzzled look on his face like he was watching an alien. Carla finally noticed that the man was tall, had black hair, and deep blue eyes. He was wearing a snug black hoodie, with a pair of light blue jeans, black baseball hat, and white tennis shoes. His shoes had blood on them and so did his pants. Carla would've thought about it more but she was in too much pain to do that. "Help, please. Please save my baby," she pleaded.
Without saying a word, the man opened the back door of his car. He picked Carla in his arms easily and placed her inside. "How far apart is your pain?" he asked.
"I'm too far gone. I'm feeling intense pressure down there," Carla gasped out.
"We're too far from a hospital. You'll have to give birth here. I'll help," the man stated emotionlessly.
"B-but…" Carla started to protest but another contraction shot through her. It was worse than the previous ones.
"No time," the man announced before going to the back of the car. He opened the trunk and got out a medical bag, a large plastic sheet, and a few towels. He moved Carla enough to get the plastic sheet under her before settling her on it. He bundled the towels and placed them under her head. Putting on a pair of gloves, he started examining Carla. The baby was crowning. "Your baby is crowning. On the next contraction, push as hard as you can," he ordered.
Carla nodded frantically. As the next contraction arrived in a few seconds, she bore down and pushed hard. "UGH!" she grunted.
"The head is out. Hold on! Don't push yet," the man instructed as he unwrapped the umbilical cord from the baby's neck, "Alright! Push on the next contraction," he ordered as he prepared to catch the baby.
Nodding her head, Carla concentrated on pushing as the next contraction came. "UUUGGGHHH!" she groaned as she felt the body of the tiny human leave her body.
The man caught the baby and immediately started clearing its airways. As soon as the baby was able to properly breathe, it started screaming bloody murder. Carla sobbed in relief. "It's a girl," the man said, wrapping the baby in a towel, "We should go to the hospital now." He placed the baby in Carla's arms. After finishing with her, the man got in the driver's seat and started driving. "What were you doing on that empty road?"
"I was heading for the hospital when my car broke down. I thought I could walk," Carla replied sheepishly. "Thank you for stopping. If it wasn't for you… my little girl and I could have died. You gave life to my daughter. Thank you so much. I'm Carla, by the way." He stayed silent. "Why did you have blood on your shoes when you arrived?" she asked without thinking.
"How's that any of your business?" the man asked.
"Okay. What's your name? I would like to know the man's name who saved my daughter's life."
"Jacob Williams," he replied reluctantly. "Why were you going to the hospital alone? Where's your partner?"
"Um… I recently divorced my husband. I came to Seattle to visit my aunt a few months ago. She's sick."
"Why didn't she come with you?"
"My aunt? She's in the hospital already. The doctors said she doesn't have much time. I was in the hospital too, but I came home last night to get some rest before going back. If I had known I would be in labor, I wouldn't have come," Carla pouted.
"Why did you divorce your husband? Was he a bad man?"
"I… No. He's actually a great man… but I wanted to be independent. I didn't want to depend on a man to live my life. I thought I could do this alone," she replied sheepishly.
Jacob shook his head. "So you divorced your man because you started going through your 'I hate men' phase? What a moron!"
"HEY! That's a very rude thing to say!" Carla protested.
"How far along were you when you divorced him?"
"24 weeks," Carla mumbled, blushing.
"After you're done with your aunt, I suggest you go back to your man and apologize for being an idiot. If he's a normal man, he won't take you back, but if he's a great man like you said, then he will take you back," Jacob stated dryly.
"You are mean," Carla pouted. Jacob rolled his eyes. "What about you though? Other than your name, you didn't actually tell me anything about you," she insisted.
"Unlike you, I don't have a habit of sharing personal information with strangers," Jacob replied with a smirk.
Carla gasped in disbelief, "How awful!"
Jacob snickered. "I finished my residency 4 years ago. Then instead of joining some hospital, I went on my way and decided to do my thing," he answered vaguely.
They arrived at the hospital soon after. Handing Carla and her baby over to the hospital stuff, Jacob sighed in relief. "Jacob?" Carla called out as he turned to walk out. Turning around, he raised his eyebrow at her in question. "Thank you. If you hadn't… You gave me a new life today. I owe you. Thank you," she said earnestly.
"Don't thank me. If you knew the real me, you'd be disgusted with me," Jacob stated matter-of-factly.
"What?!" Carla asked confused.
"Take care, Carla. You're the first person I have ever helped," saying this eerily, Jacob turned and left the hospital.
Carla swallowed her pride and called Ray from the hospital. She knew her daughter needed her father. He arrived the next day, excited to meet their daughter. Carla only had to stay at the hospital for one night before she went to her aunt's house. Ray and Carla talked at length. They weren't ready to get back together, but both wanted to stay close to their daughter. So they decided that they would stay together without the pressure of dating.
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One week passed by. It was around 11 pm and Carla had just finished feeding Ana. Ray offered to tuck Ana back in. Carla handed the baby to him and walked to the living room. She was dead tired, but not sleepy enough to go back to sleep. With an exhausted sigh, she turned the TV on and started channel surfing.
"… this morning took an interesting twist in the Seattle serial murder case. The killings had started 4 years ago. Sixteen couples have been murdered in the last 4 years. Each couple was killed 3 months apart from each other, and had no connection amongst them. A man named Jacob Williams came forward this morning, claiming to be the Seattle serial killer. He confessed to murdering all 16 couples in the last 4 years. He even gave specific locations for each crime scene. The Seattle Police department is currently at a complete loss about this man's intention for confessing all of a sudden. Jacob Williams said in his confession that something happened to him when he was returning from his last kill, and it made him realize his wrongdoings. What was that event that changed this dangerous serial killer's mind is unknown," the reported on the news channel kept on droning.
Carla froze in place as she recognized the man on the news. This was the man that helped her give birth. He was the one who saved her life. 'He was a SERIAL KILLER?!' "What the fuck?!" she gasped as that day's memories came flooding in her mind. There was blood on his shoes and jeans. His vague replies to her questions. "You're the first person I have ever helped," he had said before he left that day. 'Is that what changed him?' Carla wondered as she stared at the TV wide eyed.
"She's asleep," Ray announced entering the room. When he got no response, he finally glanced at Carla who seemed to be frozen. "You okay there?" he asked curiously.
"Ray… that… I know him…" she stuttered pointing at the TV.
Ray focused on the TV and saw the news. "Who do you know? What are you talking about?" he asked frowning. 'Who could she know in a news segment about a serial killer?!' he wondered.
"I… I told you about that man who helped me, right?' Carla grabbed his hands frantically.
"The man who delivered our baby girl?" Ray asked.
"Yeah. Ray, he's... That's him," Carla pointed at the TV just as Jacob's picture was showing there.
"Holy fuck! Are you sure? Maybe… maybe you're mistaking him with someone else?" he said hopefully.
"NO, Ray! I could never forget the man who saved my life! He was kind, considerate, affectionate like an older brother, and really thoughtful. He was the one that convinced me to reconnect with you. How can he be a …" she trailed off, tears streaming down her face. She was having a hard time believing the truth.
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One month later
It took the investigating team a while to gather all the information about the CAD (Carotid artery dissect) serial killer case. They had to re-examine all 16 of the crime scenes a few times to be sure that no stone was left unturned. Finally, it was the first day of trial. The judge, jury, lawyers, audience, and everyone else were ready to start. The police arrived with the offender. The court proceedings started. Without any emotion, Jacob confessed his crime; giving explicit details. The lawyers were arguing amongst themselves when Jacob turned his head and his eyes fell on the last bench of the court room. 'That woman…Carla!' he thought, puzzled. He knew his case was nationwide news and news channels were showing it on repeat. He was sure she would know his truth by now. 'Why is she here? Shouldn't she hate me like everyone else? She should be disgusted that I touched her newborn child! What was she thinking coming here?!' he thought, frowning.
Carla didn't react when she noticed Jacob staring at her. His frown told her that he was neither expecting her nor was he pleased seeing her there. Carla, herself, didn't know why she was here. 'What possessed me to be here?!' she wondered. Ray had protested, but something inside her made her do it. She felt like she owed him this much... to be there when he got his punishment for his deeds.
Finally, the Jury declared him guilty. Since Jacob had pre-planned before ambushing his victims, he was sentenced with 25 years of life in prison without parole for first degree murder. Carla sat and observed silently as the families of Jacob's victims sighed in relief. She noticed no one else had come from Jacob's side. From the gossiping people beside her and the chatting lawyers at the front, she learned that Jacob had been orphaned at an early age and spent his life passing through foster homes. He then went through college and medical school by getting scholarships. At what point he turned into a serial killer though, Carla didn't have a clear idea. Even after having all the information she needed, she couldn't decide what she felt for him; gratefulness, hatred, pity, or maybe something else.
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Two weeks passed since Jacob was imprisoned. He didn't talk to his fellow inmates; just spent hours lost in thought. The guards watched him 24/7. They even talked about him like he wasn't there, but nothing bothered Jacob. Not even when a few of the older inmates tried to bully him. He was sitting in the outside area that day, where the inmates were required to spend a designated amount of time.
"9204837?! You have a visitor," one of the guards announced.
Turning his head, Jacob gave him a confused look. "Visitor?! For me?!" he asked.
"Yeah. Her paper said she's your sister. She's waiting in the family visiting room. Two guards will escort you there, stay throughout the visit, and then return you to your cell," the guard informed sternly.
Jacob nodded his head distractedly before getting up on his feet. He was taken to a room where he was fitted with handcuffs. Two bulky officers escorted him to the family visitor's room. As soon as he entered the room and noticed his visitor, Jacob froze in place. "You?" he asked in disbelief. The guard behind him pushed him further into the room. Stumbling inside, Jacob glared at the guard before taking a seat opposite his visitor. "Why are you here?" he asked sulkily.
Carla sat in front of him and acted like she couldn't hear him. "Here," she said before pushing forward a plastic container.
Giving her a suspicious look, Jacob took the box. After a careful glance at the box, he realized it was a lunch box. Curious, he opened the box and gasped. The box had lasagna, some green beans, and some grapes. The mouth watering smell of homemade food made Jacob realize how hungry he was. He didn't remember when he had last eaten. He had been so out of it for a while that he won't be surprised if he had skipped a meal or two.
"I got you a spork," Carla's voice reminded him that she was there.
"Why are you…" Jacob tried to ask but Carla cut him off, waving the plastic spork in the air.
"I've decided to permanently settle here in Seattle. My aunt died 3 weeks ago. She left her house and a few other properties she had out of town to me. Ray decided he liked the city so he agreed to settle here too. From now on, I'll come to visit you once a month, and I'll bring you food," she informed him rapidly.
Jacob grabbed the spork and shoved a spoonful of food in his mouth while he listened to her talk. "Why?" he asked again after swallowing.
"Ray is a skilled carpenter and likes making custom furniture. He said the wood supply in this city would be amazing. He's really excited to set up his shop here," Carla replied with a grin.
"What? NO! That's not what I asked. Why would you come to visit me once a month? You've a normal life. Why do you want to complicate it with a serial killer?" Jacob asked, frustrated.
"I wouldn't have this normal life if you hadn't helped me that day," Carla stated. "Eat your food and stop wondering why I'm here," she scolded.
Raising his eyebrow at her tone, he continued to eat silently. After he was done eating, Carla packed the box in her bag and with a 'see you soon', she left, leaving a flabbergasted criminal and two curious bodyguards behind her. From then on, Carla came to visit Jacob once a month. She would always bring lunch boxes with her. Even thought he didn't show it, Jacob started looking forward to her visits. She never asked him about his victims or his thoughts on his crimes. She only talked about her ex-husband, Ray and her daughter, Ana. She treated him like a sister would treat her brother. Jacob didn't know how he felt about it. A strange kind of pain rushed through his chest each time he watched her leave. Fleetingly, he wondered if his victims felt the same for someone in their lives before he ended them.
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16 years passed by. Carla never missed a visit. Each month she would arrive with a bright smile on her face and with tons of new stories to tell. So, Jacob was surprised to see his visitor that morning. A teen girl was pacing around the room with a curious look on her face. She had a heart shaped face, long light brown hair, bright blue eyes that sparkled with mischief, and skin so white that one would think she never went outside. If her hair had been black, people could easily mistake her for Snow White. Jacob recognized her, for it was only last month when he had seen her 16th birthday pictures from Carla.
"Ana?" he called walking further inside the room.
With a startled gasp, she turned around and in a blink she was in front of him. "UNCLE JACOB!" she exclaimed excitedly before wrapping her arms around him and squeezing hard.
Jacob froze in place. He wasn't expecting her reaction. 'Did this mother-daughter pair forget that I'm a murderer?! What's with this excitement whenever they see me? Where do they get this desire to hug a killer from?' "Ana? Kid, that's enough of this hugging business. Why are you here? This is not a place for a young woman like you," he said pulling back from his forcefully claimed niece.
"Mom is sick, but she didn't want you to go without seeing someone from the family. So, I offered to come here. I cooked you my famous beef stew and baked fresh bread too," Ana informed excitedly. "Come, come," she grabbed onto his hands and dragged him to the table.
Giving her a look, he sat down. "How's your mom? What happened to her?" he asked as Ana started pulling out containers from her bag.
"Mom started experiencing pain on her right side of her lower abdomen last night. We took her to the ER where the doctor told us that it was Appendicitis, and she needed to have an emergency surgery. She was rushed to surgery after that," Ana shrugged.
"Did everything go alright?" Jacob asked leaning forward. He didn't even know when he had started thinking of Carla as his real sister and her family as his own; though he would never admit it to himself.
"Yeah. The operation was a success. She just needs bed rest for a few days… maybe a week," Ana informed and she pushed the containers at Jacob.
"That's a relief. So… how did you enter here? According to the laws of this facility, anyone under 18 cannot come here alone. They must have an adult with them. So I repeat… how did you come here alone?" Jacob asked sternly as he started eating.
"I didn't come here alone," Ana snickered, "Dad came with me. He… he wasn't interested in meeting you, so he didn't come in. He's outside waiting for me. He also told me to tell you that he has friends from his army days who are now officers in this facility. If you do anything to harm me… or mom, he won't spare you," she recited with a mischievous smirk.
Jacob smirked, satisfied that finally someone was reacting like a normal person. "Tell him that if he wasn't a great father and a great….whatever the hell he is to your mother, he would've suffered. If he wasn't so protective of you both, I don't even know what I would've done to him." He looked up to find the teen smiling at him affectionately like someone would look at a kitten. "Why aren't you more…scared or skeptical? You do know why I'm in jail, right?" he asked.
"Of course, I know. You killed 16 couples in 4 years. Each couple was killed 3 months apart from each other, and had no connection amongst them," Ana stated like she was reading a news report.
Jacob stared at her in disbelief. "You know I'm a serial killer and you still came here looking so… disgustingly thrilled?" he exclaimed.
Ana laughed loudly this time. "When I was little I used to ask my mom who she goes to meet every month. She told me I had an uncle who was a good person that did some… really bad things. I believed her. I found out more about you when I accidentally stumbled on some old news reports ," she said casually.
"You're just as crazy as your mother," Jacob muttered.
"So… how did you kill them?" Ana asked curiously. "Mom didn't know the details and the newspaper just said something about the carotid artery?"
"Let's not talk about that. Tell me about your life. How is school going?" Jacob asked.
"School is boring. The queen bee is a rich girl who tries to bully me with no success. It makes her more angry because no matter what she does nothing fazes me," Ana giggled.
Jacob smirked in amusement. "Why does she not faze you?"
"I go to high school to study; not to waste my time thinking what others might be thinking of me. I want to finish my high school with a good enough result that will get me into a good college… maybe even get me partial scholarship? These are more important things in life. The people in high school won't be in my life after school is over. So why should I waste my time reacting to stupid rich girls' antics?" Ana explained.
"You're really mature for your age," Jacob complimented. The fact that his niece was expecting more from life made him feel proud.
"So… how did you kill them?" Ana asked again, more determined than ever.
"Seriously?!" Jacob groaned in disbelief.
"Please, Uncle Jacob!" Ana whined.
"That's enough. Go home, kid," Jacob said sternly. The guards observing them were having a hard time hiding their snickers. They loved when Carla visited, because that was the only time Jacob got flustered. It seemed her daughter, Ana, had that same talent.
"Come on, uncle! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please," she started chanting.
After hearing the "please, please" for close to 5 minutes straight, Jacob rested his head on the table and started banging it. "I'll tell you. Just… stop with your 'please'. I beg of you," he groaned.
"I'll kill myself if I hear the word 'please' again," both security guards moaned as well.
"I won't say the 'p' word. BUT… you have to tell me how you killed your victims," Ana said smiling in victory.
Jacob raised his head and glared at the stubborn teen. "I stalked my victims until I was familiar with their routine. Then on the night I wanted to kill them, I would break into their homes and carefully cut off their carotid artery… the vein on their neck, while they slept. Only 3 woke up during the process. The others didn't even know when they died. I would then make sure to check on the kids if they had any or call 911 myself after I was out of the house," he stated dryly.
"That… that wasn't really gory. I thought serial killers are always messy killers or something," Ana sighed. "Anyways, I'm happy though. You weren't as vicious as dad thought you would be."
"Great," Jacob rolled his eyes.
"I'm so glad I came," Ana squealed happily, "We should do this again," she added.
"NO!" Jacob and both of the security guards yelled out in panic.
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8 years later
She was humming along the song that was blasting through the speakers. Shaking her shoulders with the music, Ana walked to her closet. With an excited smile on her face she pulled out her new yellow pleated maxi skirt and a white lace cropped top. She dressed fast before doing her makeup for the day. She did a four strand Dutch braid before wrapping it around her head like a headband. She then lightly curled the rest of her hair. "Looking great, Ana," she said to the mirror before heading down from her loft.
She loved her loft apartment. Her living room and kitchen was on the first floor. Her bedroom was in the loft, along with her closet and bathroom. She had hung string lights from her loft to the opposite wall. The walls of the apartment were painted a light cream color. Ana had placed a bright red carpet in the middle of the living room to add to the attraction.
This was Ana's dream place. Other people dreamed big and wanted huge mansions with big cars, but not Ana. She had always loved to read, but she got her masters in business management. Before going to college, Ana and her parents talked about her future plans. Ana wanted to open a place where people can read and eat without leaving the building, and Carla loved the idea of a library/café/restaurant. So, she sold a few of the properties she had inherited from her aunt and bought this building on a busy street for Ana. Carla told her she wanted to be a silent investor until Ana was capable of managing by herself, and then she could buy her out. With the money Ana had saved up for college and with Carla's help, she started renovating this building. Since Ana got a full scholarship in college, she worked part time jobs to support her dreams that were coming true. With Carla and Ray's help, the building was ready in 3 years. During her senior in college, Ana shared her vision with her best friends. Surprisingly, they wanted to be a part of it. Now, at the age of 24, Ana was pleased with where she was and hoped that her life would stay this way.
Humming under her breath, she made herself some fruit salad and a toast. She glanced at the wall clock and hurriedly started eating her breakfast. She choked a few times in her hurry, but she was late. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she started clearing away her plates. "Mom's going to kill me," she whined. "Fuck this! I'm the owner. I shouldn't be sacred of others…. Even if that other person is my mom… ugh! She'll scold me again," Ana whined, stomping her foot before realizing that she was wasting time. "Shit!" She ran upstairs to the loft and grabbed her bag. Swiftly, she ran out of her apartment and towards the elevator. She needed to get to the library half an hour ago.
This building had 6 floors. The first floor and second floor was a huge library/ book store. Ana's two friends, Caleb and Liam were the floor managers there. The third floor was a restaurant. Ana's friend Nicolas was the chef and Tom was the manager there. Chloe, another friend of theirs, was the baker who baked breads for the restaurant and cupcakes for the library. The restaurant had two sections. The first section was for formal, business dinner type people. The interior here had clean lines. The second section doubled as a café during the day and bar + cozy restaurant during the night. The fourth floor was a shoe retail shop managed by Ana's friends Bill and Jose. Alyssa was the main shoe designer and she also had a workshop off site. The fifth floor had four studio apartments where Caleb, Liam, Jose, and Alyssa lived. The sixth and top floor had four loft apartments where Nicolas, Bill, Tom, Chloe, and Ana lived. Two of the loft apartments were bigger than the others and had two lofts in them. Tom and Bill were twins and they shared one of those loft apartments. In the other bigger loft apartment lived Chloe who was a single mother. She shared her apartment with her 2 year old son. Nicolas and Ana lived in the smaller loft apartments that had only one loft. The book store/Library was called 'The Steele house'; the restaurant was called 'Siren's call'; and the shoe retail shop was called 'Addiction'. The whole building was called 'Steele Tower'.
The elevator door opened and Ana ran out, only to stumble right as she reached in the library. All of her friends were already seated there for their daily morning meeting, including her mom. "Really?! You're late… again?! Honey, you live in the same building as your workplace. How are you still late… almost every day!?" Carla exclaimed in disbelief.
"I don't care that you're late. Damn girl! I love your outfit," Jose stated with a grin.
"Thanks. I really loved this maxi skirt," Ana replied twirling her skirt a little. "And I'm sorry, mom. I really try, but for some reason, I never wake up before 7.30 am."
"Our morning meeting starts at 8 am and you arrive at 8.30 am… everyday," Tom said with a smirk on his face. "Even your mom arrives on time, and she lives a few MILES away from here," he added. Ana poked her tongue at him.
"Can we start the meeting now? We need to open soon," Caleb said dryly.
"Yeah… and I want to wash up soon. I just got back from the fish market before this meeting,"Nicolas said crossing his hands over his chest.
Shaking her head, Carla took a seat. Ana also joined and gave her mom an apologetic smile. Carla smirked at her daughter in response. "Let's start with the Shoe retail shop. What's today's plan?" Carla inquired.
"We've a new shipment coming today. Alyssa will check them out first to see if any of them has any faults. The pairs with no faults will be placed on display," Bill informed after looking through his diary.
"The new shoe collection will be on our shelves in a few days as well. I just need to give them a final touch," Alyssa added. "I'll be at the workshop after I'm done checking the shoes here."
"We also have a booking for a birthday party in there. According to the friend who arranged it, the birthday girl is shoe obsessed. I think we'll have a good sale day ahead," Jose added.
"Okay. Next… restaurant?" Carla asked.
"We have more reservations than we have tables for in section 1, while section 2 will be open as a friendly café during the day and an awesome bar after 7pm as usual. The staff should be done preparing for the day by the time I'm out of my shower."
"We have it handled," Tom assured.
"I never doubted you boys," Carla smiled proudly at them. She had offered them the place, and they had made the restaurant hugely popular.
"I made the usual breads for the restaurant and a special kind of cupcake for the library, for the book signings today. The usual kind of cupcakes and pastries will be available at the café," Chloe informed.
"You always make yummy food, sweetie. I want to taste that cupcake before I go. Okay, next is the Library/ book store. What's your day like?" she asked.
"We have two new authors' book signings to handle today. Both of them are on the New York best author list and hate each other. So we have a stressful day ahead if they start something," Caleb stated dryly.
"Wait… what?!" Ana exclaimed, "How did that happen?"
"This IDOT booked them without checking out all the facts," Caleb answered glaring at Liam.
"I said I was sorry. I was on my lunch break when the requests arrived. I was so hungry that I forgot to check. But we booked their book signings on separate floors so that should solve the problem," he said with a hopeful smile. Everyone just stared at him in disbelief.
"Don't worry. We'll just… make sure they don't see each other?" Ana suggested as she tried to find a solution.
"Ana, look around. We've got BOTH of their posters hanging throughout the floors to promote the events," Caleb pointed out.
"We're doomed," Liam moaned.
"NO, we are not. They are both adults. Your duties will be to keep the authors away from each other and make sure they don't cause any trouble for the book store," Ana said sternly. "Anyways, I've a meeting with a new publishing company, SIP at 11 am. Kate will join me before the meeting so that we can go over our proposal one more time," she informed.
"I'm really proud of you, honey. If we get this publishing house too, then we'll have six publishing houses working with us to release their books," Carla grinned excitedly.
"It was a brilliant idea," Caleb added.
"Alright, girls and boys! It seems you have everything under control. Caleb! Liam! I'll be on both library floors to help with other customers. Let's go and see if all of our stuff has arrived or not," Carla closed her diary and got up. Everyone else followed.
"Hey, Cally! What do you guys do for the first half an hour before I arrive? I mean you all always start the meeting after I arrive," Ana asked, puzzled.
"We eat our breakfast because we all know you'll be late," Caleb answered with an amused smile on his face. "How do you ALWAYS become late? I mean… you never come early… even by mistake."
Ana glared at her friend. "Jerk face!" she muttered.
Caleb laughed loudly before wrapping his arm around her. "Come on! We need to check the proposal. It might need some last minute edits."
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"SIP is a smaller publication house than the other ones we have already got on board. So, this one should be easy," Kate stated confidently as she pulled off her ray-bans. She was wearing a navy blue Victoria's Secret pant suit with black satin camisole underneath and black high heels. Her blonde hair was left open with a few curls thrown in them.
"I hope so. Six publication houses under our belt would be good for business," Ana commented running her fingers through her brown hair. It was one of those rare sunny days. The sunlight showed off the copper highlights in her brown hair. Ana had thrown in a black moto leather jacket and black and white bag to finish her look.
"Why are you wearing this outfit, instead of formal clothes? I mean, you're looking cute and all, but… we're going on a business meeting," Kate shook her head in displeasure.
"I wanted to wear this, so I'm wearing this. I'm not changing for ANYONE. If they want to work with us, then good; if not, then they can go to hell for all I care," Ana shrugged dismissively.
Kate smirked at her. "I love your ball busting attitude," she snickered. "Let's go. The CEO and his people must be waiting for us." With a nod, Ana and Kate headed inside.
They were shown into the conference room. Ana and Kate had just settled in when two men and one woman entered the room. "Good morning, ladies. I'm Anthony Billings, CEO of SIP," the older gentleman introduced shaking both Kate and Ana's hands.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Billings. I'm Anastasia Steele, owner of the Steele House, and this is my lawyer, Kate Kavanagh," Ana stated confidently.
"A pleasure," Kate added.
"I'm Elizabeth Morgan, head of finance here at SIP," the female said as she shook Kate and Ana's hands.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Morgan," Ana said offering her a polite smile.
"I'm Jack Hyde, the commissioning editor here at SIP, and I must say… I'm very pleased to meet you, Ms Steele," the younger man said with a flirty smile. He looked to be in his early thirties, had dark blonde hair, tall lean body, and light brown eyes. Some might even consider him handsome.
Ana raised her eyebrow at him in response. "Nice to meet you," she said politely. His overexcited attitude and flirty smile didn't sit well with her. "If you're ready, then shall we start?" she said addressing the others in the room.
Half an hour later, Anthony was impressed by Ana's proposal. The benefits they offered went well with their marketing and selling value with lesser expenses. Elizabeth calculated the numbers and was really pleased by the outcome. Jack…was too busy checking Ana out to do his work. "Ms. Steele, I'm really pleased with your proposal, but we would like to take a few days to think on this matter before we commit. I hope you won't mind," Mr. Billings said politely.
"That's okay, Mr. Billings. Take your time. We'll take your leave then," Ana said as she started gathering her stuff.
"Talk to you soon," Mr. Billings assured.
After Ana and Kate took their leave, Elizabeth asked, "That was a good proposal. We'll make great profits with it. Why didn't you sign the contract?"
"Something is going on with the board of directors currently. I think…. I think the ownership of this publishing house is going to change soon. That's why I wanted to wait before signing this contract," Mr. Billings explained.
"You think we'll find out soon?" Mr. Hyde asked curiously.
"Who knows what they decide?" Mr. Billings shrugged.
.
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One week later
Ana was busy at the first floor of the book store with a few customers when her phone rang. Distractedly, she answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Ms. Steele? It's me, Anthony Billings from SIP."
"Mr. Billings, what a pleasant surprise! How have you been?" Ana chimed happily.
"If I say I've been good… then it would be big fat lie. Ms. Steele, SIP has been sold a few days ago, and I've been removed from the CEO position. We handed over all the prospective propositions to the new management. So, I don't know what will happen to your proposal. They might contact you for more information… or not. I thought the news should come from me," Mr. Billings said apologetically.
"That's… That's awful. I'm sorry to hear that," Ana muttered with a grimace.
"Me too. Anyway, it was nice to talk to you. Bye," and he hung up.
Ana looked at her phone in disbelief. Her phone rang again. Thinking that Mr. Billings might've called to say something else, she answered. "Hello?"
"Can I talk to Ms. Steele of The Steele House, please?"
"This is she."
"This is Andrea Parker speaking from Grey Enterprise Holdings, the new owner of Seattle Independent Publications. I regret to inform that our owner was not impressed with your proposal. So, he has decided not to go ahead with your offer."
"Thank you for letting me know."
"No problem. Have good day," the woman replied, and hung up.
"Um… can you excuse me for a moment?" Ana smiled at her customers before she headed to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she screamed, "SON OF A BITCH!"
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A/N: What are your thoughts on the first chapter on my new story? Let me know in the review.
PS: I don't know how the prison system works, so I made up all the stuff related to it. I also don't know how shoe retailing or restaurant management works… lol
PPS: My Beta informed me and I quote "I don't think they'd allow food tbh. But everything I know about the US prison system is from reading fanfic, so…. I think they make you leave everything outside, and depending on the degree of offence or the level of security of the prison they will let the people meet but not touch/hug except when they enter and exit. I think only later on depending on behavior of the inmate they relax the rules. Other than that the peole can transfer money to the inmate's account in the prison so that they can then use that for buying any extras they want in prison." But if I follow this info, the story won't work. So, just go with the flow.