Did Flynn really get through to the Ape?

Will you leave immediately?

Christian

I don't particularly like making welcome speeches but apparently it's part of the CEO gig. My therapy session with Flynn gave me a lot to think about on my drive to the office. Christ, I'm exhausted. The cycle of workout, work, workout, work and then eventually get piss drunk, rinse and repeat can take a toll on you. My body feels a bit sluggish but my mind has some level of clarity and my emotions are resting, for now.

I try to look at the bigger picture as Flynn suggested but a thought nags in the background. Would Ana be, eventually, open to having more children? Is marriage something she wants? I just assumed she would but what if she doesn't? I mean, she's happy that her father's getting married and that he's found love in life. Maybe she does hold a similar belief?

Remember how you never ever wanted to have a girlfriend let alone get married and have children?

Do you even recognize yourself from the man you were just a few weeks ago, Grey?

But the point still remains, what if Ana doesn't want any of this? What if she really meant she doesn't want to be pregnant, ever? Then what?

It's counterproductive to think of that right now. I need to focus on a resolution to what happened last week.

I message Ros and tell her I'm five minutes away from GEH and that I'll meet her on the 10th floor where Grey Publishing now shares a floor with our public relations department.

It's close to 9:30am when I step off the elevator and into the reception area with the Grey Publishing signage on full display. People are milling about, some unpacking a few boxes in their offices, others drinking coffee and working. I scan the space and immediately am able to spot Ana in her office, arranging some items on a wall shelf. Her back is to me and my feet turn to head in her direction when Ros' voice calls after me and I curse under my breath.

I greet her and Roach. We talk for a few minutes before everyone is summoned. I watch carefully for Ana ignoring this new crop of women that's ogling me. It gets old really quickly. I notice Ana walking towards the crowd with two women and she remains in the background, standing behind an inconveniently tall man. What the hell?

I greet the crowd and welcome them then dive straight into what I expect of them. This isn't a place for them to lounge around and just get by as they did before. If they're going to work under the Grey name then they have to deliver or be tossed out. I demand excellence from those who I employ. If they do not walk in through the front doors with the mindset to dominate and win then they're fucking useless to me. I keep my speech professional of course and if they're smart enough they'll understand just how much is at stake.

I'm nearing the end of my spiel when I notice a small figure walking away. It's Anastasia, I've barely been able to get a glimpse of her as I looked at everyone one by one. She picks up speed and quickly disappears behind a wall. The fuck?

When I'm done the crowd claps and I give them a sharp nod in reply but I'm irritated beyond measure that she left. What the fuck is her problem? Ros says a few words as well and then after, everyone scatters going back to their offices and stations. Roach, Ros and I take a quick walk through the space. This takes a few minutes and Anastasia is still nowhere in sight by the time I walk by her office. I see her name frosted on the glass door and I feel a small spark of joy. She's in my building and her name is stamped on here.

Like she's marked me.

Her sinful and dirty words from Thursday morning come back to me when she expressed very explicit desires for her body to be marked. I suppress a groan and try to shake off the feeling as we walk on and soon we're back at reception. I glance back in the general direction of Ana's office and she's still not returned.

Where the fuck did she disappear to? My irritation grows and by the time I've reached my own office, I'm full on fuming. So I do the only thing that makes sense, I take off my jacket and do a few pushups to calm the fuck down while trying to come up with an idea to hold peace talks.

I've been distracted the entire day with how to initiate communication. I could just call back or email her. Maybe I should send flowers? But all those avenues of communication aren't as reliable since the response can be deliberately delayed on the part of the recipient. She could just ignore me just as I ignored her. And I need to force her hand. When lunch time came around, I thought to summon her via security but instantly nixed the idea for fear she come up just to kick me in the balls while first practicing on Smith or Sawyer or if Angry Badger was really in a mood then both.

There's only one way to do this.

Standing up from my chair, I grab my jacket and head on over to get the ball rolling.

When I reach the 10th floor, the receptionist is startled by my presence but I walk past her before she can address me. I'm on a mission.

I know where Ana's office is and even from a considerable distance I can tell she's laughing with a man standing too fucking close to her.

The dress she's wearing hugs her body, it's not indecent but I'm a pervert and make it just so for my mind's pleasure. I've seen her wear it before, it's dark blue and rests just above the knee with short sleeves and a very inviting zipper detail at the back that ends right at her ass but it's covered mostly by her long open hair. It's inviting as fuck and begs to be unzipped but my thoughts are of course interrupted by a movement on her part.

She turns away to get something from a chair nearby and I see how this man's eyes slowly roam her perfect figure before she's back with a few pieces of paper to display on her desk. They stand closer together again and hunch over the table. He is even closer than before.

Fuck this shit!

I make a beeline for her office with determination. I'm a few steps away from the door when I'm addressed by a young woman in a panic.

"Mr. Grey, Miss Steele is in a meet–" she loses her voice when I slowly turn to her and she gulps.

Good. Be afraid. And belatedly, I realize this must be Hannah, Ana's assistant. She talks very highly of her but I am in no mood for pleasantries.

"I own this fucking building and company. I don't need permission to walk in anywhere." I remind her with an arctic glare. "Have I made myself clear, Ms.?"

She gulps again and blinks in agreement, "Ms. I'm-going-to-sit-right-here-and-stay-quiet," she mumbles, turning her body away from me to go back to whatever it was she was doing on her computer.

I rip open her office door and barge the fuck in.

Ana abruptly turns around in response to the commotion and gasps "Chri–Mr. Grey!" Surprised at the intrusion, she recovers quickly, turning to the smarmy, well, decently dressed, piece of shit that was making her laugh. "Ryan Crane, this is Christian Grey, the new owner of SI–actually, Grey Publishing as of this morning. And Mr. Grey, this is Ryan Crane, one of our premier authors."

"Christian Grey, in the flesh," he moves forward with an outstretched hand but I just stare at him to get lost. He gets the message. Good, he's not entirely dumb.

I have to say, I'm impressed that people tend to get the message really quickly today.

It's hard to miss the look of disgust on Ana's face as she rolls her eyes and walks after him with a quick apology, telling her assistant to sit him in one of the available conference rooms and offer another beverage and something to eat perhaps.

When she closes the door, she rounds her desk and locks eyes on me.

"I don't like him." He wants you, he totally checked your ass when you weren't looking. That is un-fucking-acceptable. Or 'unsusceptible' as my best friend would say.

"What else is new?" She replies, unimpressed. "I don't seem to remember seeing a Christian Grey on my list of appointments today."

Ignoring her obvious snark, which I won't lie, I've missed, I take her in properly for the first time today. She's been crying, hell she still looks like she's about to cry. Has she slept? Has she eaten? Her skin looks so fucking pale and there's no color on her cheeks. I feel like shit all of sudden.

"We need to resolve this." I tell her firmly, swallowing the growing emotion inside of me. I feel every cell in my body aching for her all of a sudden with such desperate need. Even this table length distance between us is too much. "Dinner at the Mile High at 7pm."

We can talk over a nice dinner, in a private room that's located in a semi-public space with witnesses on the other side of the door which means she won't kill me.

I catch her subtle eye roll and her gaze shifts to the background as a look of worry crosses her face, I think.

"If I agree, will you leave immediately?"

Well, that was easy. "Yes."

Her body relaxes a fraction, "fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I was working."

But I don't turn to leave immediately as promised. I look over her desk and see a similar succulent plant that Sloane got me for my home office. There's one sunflower stem oddly lying around over some stacked documents. There are some picture frames that aren't facing me and of course, a small sloth figurine hugging a tree that I'm tempted to walk over and touch but instead I choose to remain rooted in place.

"How's Sloane?" I ask softly.

She looks away and her jaw tightens.

"She's fine. Asks about you after every ten minutes. I told her you were away for work."

I swallow and nod, "you called last night, twice.. I was–" preoccupied with sad and drunk rage.

'Thrice, actually." She says, her head snapping back at me.

Three times? My scalp prickles and eyes widen in alarm.

"It went straight to voicemail the third time." She informs me and then grits out,, "I'm sorry, I disturbed you Mr. Grey. But don't worry, I wasn't calling because I was desperate for a fuck."

Her choice of phrase actually makes me wince internally. I guess we've reached the petty phase of this situation between us.

Yet the other reckless side of me would spank her right now if I could. And not that kind she enjoys mostly. But then I remember Flynn's advice from this morning about the course of conflict being determined by the one who responds. And I am going to play it cool as a cucumber which I know I will fail at at some point.

"Was it about, I mean, is Sloane okay? Are you–"

She looks away towards the clock on the wall and scoffs, "you want to know this 17 hours later?"

I open my mouth to speak but she beats me to it.

"Mr. Grey, I have work to do and I'm already very behind."

"7pm," I remind her.

"I heard you the first time," she snaps, gathering some items on her desk and goes on to mumble under her breath, "unlike some people."

A smile tugs at my lips and I turn to walk out. I'm met with a large pairs of eyes on me from various vantage points of the large room that hosts the rest of the employees who aren't at the senior level. They get stuck in the open plan part of the office and are looked over by those who have offices as if they were in a fishbowl.

I wonder how Sloane Jr. is doing?

All eyes cast down simultaneously and the bodies attached to them do their best to appear busy. I have no time to contemplate the useless gossip that is no doubt taking new life in their minds.

The elevator arrives and I step in feeling victorious.

Four more hours till we're back to normal and there is peace in our little jungle.

A/N: Next up, Ana's POV from the night before into the next day with some Sloffee-ness, I promise.