A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 21: Admiration for her fine eyes

~3 days later~

Christian sat in the back of his Audi SUV as Taylor drove him through the city toward GEH, not looking forward to all the work he had to do this Monday morning. In addition to an internal meeting he needed to have with all his department heads, he was still trying to clinch that plastic molding company with a finalized deal. Going to Chicago to hash out negotiations seemed to help his chances on acquiring this company, so he hoped this final offer he was giving them would be sufficient.

It was a lot of work, but Christian didn't mind. Working this hard helped keep his mind off of Ana, who seemed to consume his thoughts every minute of every day.

Christian sighed before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to banish any and all thoughts about her, but it was impossible. Ana had completely captivated him, and he was helpless to the pull he felt toward her… she was beautiful, smart, witty, and disarming, and her smile alone seemed to send his mind into a tailspin. She was everything he ever wanted in a woman and so much more.

And that's why he felt he should let her go.

Deep down, Christian knew he had to walk away. She had made it clear to him months ago how she really felt about him, and though he had tried his hardest to show her he wasn't as big an asshole as she thought he was, he had no idea if she now saw him in a different light. They had been friendly toward each other the last time she was in Seattle, but Christian knew that he could never be just friends with Ana. He wanted more with her… so much more.

That's why it would be best for the both of them if he just walked away.

Christ, this is hard.

Christian's phone suddenly chimed with an incoming text message, and he saw Elliot's name pop up on his screen:

Elliot: Just started the moving process. It's really happening! :)

Christian: Congrats man!

Elliot: Thanks dude. I'll text you later, I'm heading over to see Kate again.

Christian: Alright, talk to you soon

Christian had finally come clean to Elliot about Kate, telling him that she felt the same way about him and that he, Christian, had been wrong about her intentions. He had also confessed to deleting Ana's Facebook message saying when she and Kate were in town, which definitely upset Elliot. However, in the end, Elliot had decided to forgo his anger and redouble his efforts on getting Kate back. He went down to Portland a few days ago to declare his love for her, and once she agreed to give him another chance, he began the process of moving his construction company down to Portland so he could be closer to her.

That sort of grand romantic gesture was very much an 'Elliot' thing to do, but instead of trying to stop him, Christian wanted to encourage him every step of the way. Christian had never understood it before, but now that he knew what it felt like to be in love with someone, he fully understood that desire to do everything in his power to win her over.

It was a fight worth having.

Taylor finally pulled up to GEH and parked in his usual reserved parking space. Christian got out and headed toward the garage elevator, which would take him up to the lobby where he would then take the elevator up to his office.

Once he reached the top floor, he saw his assistant Andrea sitting at her desk as usual. She looked up at him as he approached. "Good morning, sir," she smiled politely.

"'Morning Andrea. Any messages for me?"

"Just Ros wanting to go over some points before the department head meeting today," Andrea said, passing him a slip of paper. "Also, there's someone waiting for you in your office."

Christian accepted the paper from Andrea, and he raised his eyebrows when she didn't elaborate. "Who's in my office?"

Andrea looked up at him before glancing toward his office doors, clearly a bit uncomfortable. "Um… they asked me not to say, sir."

Christian now frowned, confused as to who would want to see him but remain anonymous. "Do they have security clearance?"

"Yes sir."

In that case, it was probably just Mia trying to mess with him. Christian rolled his eyes as he made his way over to his office doors, though he had a small grin on his face, ready to confront his little sister for bothering him while he was at work.

Ana felt utterly nervous. What am I even doing here?

She currently stood in the middle of Christian's giant office at GEH, staring out of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that made her feel like she was miles above the city. She realized now that she probably should have dressed up a bit more since everyone here at GEH looked so polished and professional; instead, she was wearing skinny jeans and t-shirt with minimal makeup, which was way too casual for this environment. She was already here, though, and was resolved with what she was about to do, so she supposed there was no use worrying about it.

She glanced down at her watch before turning back to gaze out of the huge window, wrapping her arms around herself protectively as she waited.

The door suddenly opened, and Ana turned around: "Mia, what have I told you about -?"

Christian froze mid-sentence, staring at Ana standing in the middle of his office. She blushed before giving him a small smile and a wave.

"Not Mia," she said, dropping her hand. "Just me."

"Ana?" Christian said after a moment, his surprise registered on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the city today and I thought I would come by for a visit," Ana explained as Christian closed the door behind him and walked toward her. "I used the security pass you gave me when I was here a few weeks ago, I hope you don't mind."

She gestured to the lanyard around her neck, and Christian gave her a genuine smile. "No, I don't mind at all. It's really good to see you again."

Ana blushed again. "You too."

There was a brief silence between them, and Christian cleared his throat. "So, um… what brings you to the city today?"

"I'm apartment hunting," Ana said with a grin. "Charlie's helping me out. Seattle Independent Publishing called me up a few days ago and offered me a job, which I accepted."

"Ana, that's amazing," Christian grinned widely. "Congratulations! So you got the internship?"

"No I didn't," Ana shook her head. "They actually offered me a real job at the company, as an associate editor. Apparently they were so impressed by me in my interview they decided to give me a real shot, so I start next week."

"That's incredible, Ana," Christian smiled, gazing into her eyes and causing Ana's heartbeat to skyrocket. "And I can completely believe it. You'll be amazing at that new job, I just know it."

Ana couldn't fight her large smile. "Thank you."

Christian's smile faded after a moment and he cleared his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I would suggest we go out and celebrate today, but if you're going apartment hunting with Charlie, I doubt you have time. Maybe all of us could have a drink or something once you're more settled here?"

"Yeah, definitely," Ana nodded. "It's going to be weird living away from home, especially after what just happened with Leila. But I know that my parents and Kate will take care of her, and she'll come and visit me whenever possible."

Christian blinked, raising his eyebrows. "Leila," he said, as if suddenly remembering her. "So you found her then?"

"Yeah," Ana said, smiling knowingly at him. "And I know the truth, so you don't have to lie to me."

Christian didn't say anything, so Ana continued: "I know that you went to Nevada to convince Jack to leave Leila so you could bring her home to us, and that's actually the reason why I wanted to come here today. I wanted to thank you for what you did for my sister. I understand that you didn't want anyone to know, and I can't even begin to imagine how much money you spent or what you sacrificed doing it, but I just wanted to come by here today to say thank you. On behalf of my whole family - thank you."

Christian continued to gaze at Ana, his expression filled with an emotion that she didn't recognize. "I appreciate you wanting to thank me for what I did, Ana, but you don't have to do it on behalf of your whole family. The truth is, I only did it for you."

Ana's heart rate began to skyrocket, and she couldn't seem to form any words. She could only stare at Christian.

"I suppose I should just be straight with you," he went on. "I hope you know that I still feel the same way about you, Ana, as I did when I asked you out in September. In fact, my feelings have only grown stronger since then. I think you're amazing, beautiful, funny, and smart, and when I'm with you the rest of the world seems to melt away and I can just be myself. A part of me wants to throw caution into the wind and beg you to give me a chance, but I'll settle for just asking you right now if there's even the slightest possibility your feelings for me have changed. If not, I won't bring it up with you again and I'll let you get on with your life…"

Ana hardly heard the last sentence he spoke because she suddenly moved toward him and pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss.

It took a second for Christian to react, but after a moment he began to kiss her back with fervor, sliding his tongue against the seam of her lips. Ana's hands gripped the lapels of his suit jacket as his hands lifted to cup her face, brushing his thumbs against her cheeks in a way that made Ana feel cherished.

Their kiss escalated, with Christian's tongue tangling with Ana's in a sensual dance, causing her heart to pound even faster. He only pulled back slightly to capture her lips again in a deeper kiss, and Ana felt like she was on cloud nine.

He still cared about her, and she hadn't missed out on her chance... Ana doubted she had ever felt happier in her entire life.

With a groan, Christian moved his hands down to her waist, wrapping his arms securely around her before lifting her up so her feet no longer touched the ground, his lips still connected to hers. Ana smiled against him as her arms wrapped around his neck, one hand gripping the back of his head and her fingers tangling in his hair. Being pressed up against him like this caused her to feel his arousal, and her whole body tingled with excitement.

Suddenly, a voice sounded over an intercom system, causing their amazing moment to come to a grinding halt: "Mr. Grey, Ms. Bailey will be over in a couple minutes to review notes for the meeting today."

Christian pulled away from Ana before letting out a sigh, slowly setting her back down on her feet, his forehead pressed against hers. "One second," he whispered to her, kissing her on the forehead before walking over to the door.

Ana thought he was going to walk out of his office, but instead he pressed a button on the speaker to the left of the door: "Andrea, tell Ros to go over notes with Marc. I'm busy at the moment and I don't want to be disturbed."

"Yes sir."

"Christian, I can go. If you have work to do I don't want to be a distraction," Ana said as Christian walked back over to her.

"You are a distraction, but in the best way possible," Christian smiled, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her close. Ana couldn't help but smile. "I have a meeting with some of my employees in an hour, and my CFO just wants to go over some notes beforehand. It's not important though, and I can blow her off for you."

"Have I turned you into a slacker, Mr. Grey?" Ana teased, reaching up to grasp at his suit jacket lapels once again.

"If by a slacker you mean a very happy man, then yes," Christian chuckled, leaning down to brush his lips against Ana's again. "Absolutely you have."

Ana smiled as they kissed again, her heart feeling like it was about to leap out of her chest. After a few moments, Christian pulled away and took Ana's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together before leading her over to his couch near the window.

"Are you staying the night here in Seattle?" he asked as they both sat down on the couch, their hands still linked.

"Yes I am," Ana said, smiling shyly at him.

"In that case, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" Christian smiled back at her, bringing their joint hands up to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

Ana felt like she could melt into a puddle right onto the floor. "I'd love to."

Christian gave her a wide, panty-dropping smile, and Ana couldn't help but smile widely back, excitement and happiness filling her heart.

"So it's been a million years already, huh?" Christian asked humorously, and Ana's smile turned a bit questioning.

"What?"

Christian shook his head, glancing down at their joined hands again. "It's nothing… I'm joking. It's just that the last time I asked you out on a date, you said that you would never go out with me in a million years."

Ana's smile faded into a more somber expression. "Oh."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for even bringing it up."

"It's okay. I think it needed to be brought up at some point," Ana sighed. "I hope you know that I feel awful about everything I said to you on that day, and I hope you'll forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, Ana," Christian insisted. "I'm hardly proud of the things I said to you that day either. When I think back to the way I acted around you when we first met, I can easily see why you thought I was nothing more than an arrogant asshole. I don't blame you in the slightest for rejecting me the way that you did."

"I did think you were arrogant, but only because I didn't want to see the truth," Ana countered. "I was way too prejudiced to actually try to get to know you. I easily believed those stupid lies Jack told me, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for jumping to conclusions about you."

"I could have been nicer too," Christian said. "When I first realized I liked you, I never even tried to pursue you or make you feel special. You deserve to have a guy treat you like a queen, Ana, and that's exactly what I should have done… but I didn't, and I deeply regret my behavior. After you turned me down, I realized how much of an asshole I was being to you, so I began to work on becoming the man that you deserve."

"Is that why you asked Leila not to tell anyone what you did for her?" Ana asked quietly. "Because you didn't want me to think you were just showing off your money and power?"

"Basically," Christian nodded reluctantly. "You'd called me an arrogant asshole, and you weren't wrong, but I wanted to help you with the Leila situation while proving that I wasn't expecting anything in return. Also, part of my motivation of going to Nevada was getting Jack out of our lives once and for all."

"That is a definite plus," Ana gave a weak smile. "But I hope you know I don't think you're an arrogant asshole, Christian. Once I read the email you sent me, everything became a lot clearer, and I realized I had been wrong about you since the beginning."

Christian raised his eyebrows. "I'd wanted to know what you thought about that email, but I was too afraid to ask. When I wrote it I was still angry from our argument, and I must have rewritten it a hundred times before finally sending it to you. I hope it didn't come off as bitter or mean."

"It wasn't, Christian. I'm very glad you sent it to me," Ana insisted, giving him a grateful smile. "I didn't know it at the time, but I really needed to hear things from your perspective so I knew how blinded I'd become. If you hadn't sent that email, I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now."

Christian smiled, the affection in his eyes clear as he raised a hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Ana's ear. "It took us awhile to get to this point, but I'm happy we're finally here. I hope you'll forgive me for my behavior toward you when we first met, and for everything I said to you on that awful day."

"I will forgive you, but only if you'll forgive me for making unfair assumptions about you and falsely accusing you of being a terrible person," Ana said regretfully. Christian simply gazed into her eyes as he continued to smile at her, cupping her face in his hand and brushing his thumb along her cheek.

"It's already forgiven, baby."

~/~

Even though Christian had a meeting soon, he hardly seemed to care as both he and Ana lounged on his couch together for the next forty-five minutes, chatting with each other. Ana had tucked her feet up under her butt while Christian had removed his suit jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his button-down shirt while stretching out his arm along the back of the couch behind Ana's head. Their hands were still joined together, resting on Christian's lap, while Ana had begun idly brushing his fingers with her thumb.

"Oh my God, I almost forgot," Ana said suddenly, a grin popping onto her face. "Elliot and Kate are back together! Did you hear about that?"

"I had spoken to Elliot about Kate a few days ago," Christian nodded, also smiling. "He was obviously upset about what I'd done, but in the end he decided to just focus on getting Kate back. From what I hear they're both very happy together."

"They are, and I'm sure Elliot understands you were only looking out for him," Ana said fairly. "I hear he's moving his business down to Portland for her too."

"He is," Christian confirmed. "And if you weren't already moving here to Seattle, I'd do the same for you."

Ana blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"Really," Christian smiled, the sincerity in his eyes making Ana's heart pound. "I'm very serious about us, Ana. I want something real with you, more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire life. I'm sorry if you feel it's too soon for us to discuss this, but I just want you to know… I'm all in."

Ana felt tears in her eyes as she smiled back at him. "I am too."

Christian smiled like a man who had just won the lottery, and he leaned in to kiss Ana once again. Ana kissed him back, wanting this moment to last forever.

The intercom next to the door suddenly buzzed. "Mr. Grey, your meeting is about to start."

Christian pulled away, lowering his head and closing his eyes in annoyance. "Dammit," he muttered, looking back up at Ana. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"It's okay," Ana smiled, squeezing his hand. "I'm seeing you for our date tonight, right?"

Christian smiled. "That's right. I'll pick you up from Charlie's place at seven, so don't be late."

Ana leaned forward, pecking him on the lips with a sweet smile. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Christian leaned in for another kiss, and it was another minute or so before they could finally extricate themselves from each other and get up off the couch. They then left Christian's office together, still holding hands, and when Ana began to head over to the elevators, Christian pulled her in for one last kiss before finally letting her go.

Ana walked to the elevators, trying to hide her blushing face from Andrea, who she knew was staring at her. The stupid grin refused to leave her face, and it was with total and complete excitement as she anticipated her very first date with the man of her dreams.

Everything finally felt absolutely perfect.

A/N: Yay! Hope you all enjoyed that :)

I always hate to say goodbye :'( Next chapter, I'll be wrapping up this story with an epilogue. Thank you all so much for reading, and if you enjoyed this chapter please leave a review!