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
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*Information:*
Ana and her friends = 24 years old
Christian = 28 years old
Mia = 22 years old
Elliot = 30 years old
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Previously:
She entered the room to find a man was standing with his back facing the door. She observed that he was tall, dressed in a fine gray suit, white shirt, with unruly dark copper colored hair. By then Kate had also entered the room. The sound of the door closing caused the man to turn around. Ana couldn't stop the surprised gasp that left her.
"YOU?!" Christian and Ana exclaimed at the same time.
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Chapter -3:
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"How is this happening?" Ana asked no one in particular.
"Two days in a row?! Are you stalking me?" Christian accused.
"I've more important things to do than stalking creeps," Ana scoffed.
The sound of someone clearing their throat stopped both Ana and Christian. Surprised, they turned to look at the other person in the room. They had forgotten that they weren't alone. "Hi. I'm Kate Kavanagh. How do you two know each other?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrow.
"He's the one who ruined my $500 Louboutins," Ana said.
At the same time, Christian said, "She ruined my $2000 suit."
"Um…" Kate hesitated. She didn't know how to handle this unique situation.
"Why are you here, anyway?" Christian asked, frowning.
"I'm Anastasia Steele from 'The Steele House' book store and library. Kate and I are here for a meeting with Mr. Grey," Ana replied taking a deep breath, calmer than before. "We'd like it if you would inform your boss of our arrival," she added.
"What boss?! I'm Christian Grey, the founder and CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings, Inc." he introduced, standing straighter.
"That still doesn't change the fact that you're a jerk and a creep," Ana stated casually.
Kate panicked. "Ana!" she hissed.
"I'm not a creep, okay?" Christian protested.
"You…" Ana started saying something when they were interrupted.
"STOP! BOTH OF YOU!" Kate yelled sternly. "You're both adults and professionals. How could either of you behave like this?" she scolded. "Keep aside what happened in the past and let's start over," she suggested, or more like commanded.
Taking a deep breath to calm his irritation, Christian offered his hand. "Hello. I'm Christian Grey," he said.
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Grey. I'm Kate Kavanagh, The Steele House's lawyer."
"Please take a seat," Christian said before turning to the other female in the room. He found her giving him suspicious looks. He raised his eyebrow at her.
"Anastasia Steele," Ana muttered, taking his hand, "and I wasn't stalking you," she added.
"Neither was I. It's pure coincidence that we met three times in the last two days," he said, gesturing towards an empty seat.
The meeting went well, but both Ana and Christian were wary of each other the whole time. Kate noticed how they kept glancing at each other with distrustful looks, and sighed. She could feel a headache coming.
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"Why the hell did you react like that? You never act like that. You always say that even if expensive, it's nothing but a pair of shoes. So why are you angry at that guy over a pair of shoes?" Kate asked bluntly as the door of the elevator closed behind them.
Ana was silent for a few moments before she looked at her friend. "You're right. I… I never act like this, but something about that man irritates me on a molecular level. I just can't stop being snarky and argumentative whenever he's near," she said, confused.
Kate chuckled. "You're so weird," she stated. "I think it would be better to bring Caleb for future meetings, instead of you," she added.
"If we want to continue doing business with him, it would be a good idea for me to avoid him. He makes me want to punch him, with that sour, arrogant look on his face," Ana huffed, shaking her head.
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Christian shook his head in disbelief as he stared out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office. He couldn't understand what was happening. 'Why am I coming face to face with that girl again and again? Is it really nothing but a series of strange coincidences?' he wondered to himself. A knock on the door snapped him out of his troubled thoughts. "Come in," he called out.
"Mr. Grey, your next appointment is here," Andrea informed.
"Send him in," he said with a sigh, "and bring me a cup of coffee," he added.
"Yes, sir," Andrea said before leaving.
Barney, head of GEH's IT department, entered the room. "Good morning, sir," he greeted as he came to stand in front of Christian's desk.
"Barney, I need you to do a background check on 'The Steele House' bookstore/library and its owner, Ms. Anastasia Steele," Christian ordered.
"Alright, sir."
Barney turned and started heading out when Christian spoke again, not looking up as he continued to type on his laptop. "Barney, I want Ms. Steele's file first. It would be great if you could get it in the next few hours." After lunch, Barney returned with Ana's file. Christian waited until he was alone before opening the file.
Name: ANASTASIA ROSE STEELE
DOB: April 12, 1995, Seattle, WA
Address: 6612 XY Street, Apartment 2,
6Th floor, Steele Tower,Seattle, WA
Mobile No: 360-777-4352
Social Security No: 987-65-4320
Bank: ZXY Bank, Seattle, WA:
Acct. No.: 309361
Balance: $406,895.35
Occupation: Co-owner of Steele Tower,
The Steele House (Library/bookstore),
Siren's call (restaurant), and
Addiction (Shoe retail shop).
Prior Education: Undergraduate
South Seattle College
Business Major
GPA: 4.0
Montesano Jr. Sr. High School
SAT Score: 2150
Past Employment: Clayton's Hardware Store,
Seattle, WA (part-time)
Random Steak house,
Seattle, WA (part-time)
McDonalds,
98 Street. Seattle, WA (part-time)
ZAIRA Clothing retail shop,
Seattle, WA (part-time)
Father: Raymond Frank Steele,
DOB: Sept. 1, 1969,
Mother: Carla May Adams,
DOB: July 18, 1971
m. Raymond Frank Steele, June 6, 1992, divorced January 6, 1995
Political Affiliations: None Found
Religious Affiliations: None Found
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Relationship Status: Single
Everything was normal about the file, but Christian couldn't move his eyes from Ana's birth of date. He could never forget that date. 'What a bizarre coincidence that this girl was born the same day he had lost both of his parents!' Flashes of blood came to his mind, causing him to blink rapidly and shake his head. His heart started beating faster. He didn't want to relive that day. He closed the file angrily and started taking deep breaths to calm down. Irrationally, his anger was focused on Ana.
"Did she have to have that date of birth? UGH!" he growled under his breath. The logical part of his brain knew that it wasn't Ana's fault that she was born that day. Running his fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes tightly. "Damn it!" he whispered. It had been a decade since he had last lost his calm like this.
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Three days later.
"Mom, you won't believe it! This store has an amazing and unique shoe collection. I was totally mesmerized when we went there for Cassie's birthday," Mia squealed excitedly.
Grace and Grace's friend, Elizabeth Timber, were having their weekly brunch with their daughters. Mia and Jessica had been friends since pre-school. Grace and Elizabeth bonded when they used to take the girls to their pre-school. Since then, Grace and Elizabeth would take the girls for a weekly brunch and sometimes for shopping. Sipping on their coffee, Grace and Elizabeth exchanged an amused look. They knew Mia and Jessica were obsessed with shoes. It doesn't matter that their closets were overflowing with shoes, but they still bought new pairs every time they went shopping.
"Yes, mom. I almost kissed the manager of the store when he said a new collection by their resident designer would be on the shelves soon," Jessica added, equally excited. Elizabeth laughed at her daughter's excitement.
"Why don't we take you girls to that store? I want to see what's so special about it," Grace said, placing her cup down.
"Let's go then," Mia offered, almost vibrating in excitement.
"Mia, honey, at least let us finish our food," Elizabeth said laughing.
Mia's face fell a little. She was hungry but she wanted to go shopping too. It was hard to decide what to do. "We won't be able to concentrate properly if we're hungry," Jessica said before she started digging into her food. Agreeing with her best friend's logic, Mia started doing the same.
After finishing their brunch, Mia and Jessica took their mothers to Steele Tower. Large sign boards announced what the first 4 floors of the building presented. "Mom, the shoe store is on the 4th floor of this building," Mia informed, pointing at the signboard for 'Addiction'.
"Do the other floors have similar stores too?" Elizabeth inquired curiously.
"The 1st and 2nd floor is a library from what I heard, and the 3rd floor is a restaurant," Jessica replied.
"That's interesting," Grace commented looking up.
"Let's go!" Mia urged grinning widely. Smiling at her enthusiasm, the ladies headed inside.
Alyssa was at the workshop that day, so Ana was at the retail store. Jose and Bill were busy with other customers when the Grey and Timber women entered the store. Giving them a friendly smile, Ana greeted them. "Welcome to Addiction, ladies. I'm Ana Steele, the co-owner of this store."
"Hey, Ana!" Mia waved, "This is my friend, Jessica. We came here for a birthday party two weeks ago. We loved the collection and were informed that a new collection was to arrive soon."
"You're absolutely correct. Every season our designer, Alyssa, brings out new collections of stylish and comfort shoes. All these shoes are handcrafted so that our customers can be comfortable all day while looking gorgeous," Ana stated proudly. "Why don't you look around and see what you like? Call me when you're done," she added smiling.
Smiling at Ana, the ladies went around the shop to look for the styles they liked. When they had selected a few designs, they waved at Ana to come over. "Why don't you ladies take a seat and one by one give me your choices? I'll bring your sizes after I'm done measuring your feet," Ana offered.
"Sounds good, dear," Grace said with a smile.
After the ladies took their seats, Ana approached them with a smile on her face. "Who wants to go first?" she asked.
"The young ones will go first," Elizabeth answered.
"We always buy the same shoes in our sizes so that we can match," Jessica offered brightly.
"Okay then. First question; what are going to use these shoes for?"
"Casual use and formal parties?" Mia stated looking at Jessica for her agreement.
"And walking a lot. We want to look amazing and feel comfortable at the same time," Jessica added with a decisive nod.
"Of course. If your feet are happy, you'll be happy," Ana said with a smile. "Now, why don't I get your sizes so that you can try some shoes on," she said after measuring both girls' feet.
Ana came back with eight boxes and placed four boxes on each of the girl's side. "I brought the shoes you selected and along with one pair that's similar to the first one and two pairs I think you'll like. Here," she opened the boxes and placed all four designs side by side. "All of our shoes have Polyurethane sole. That's why no matter which occasion you use these shoes for, you'll be comfortable. That means your ankles, knees or back won't hurt. I believe 'happy feet mean happy people'," she said.
"Oh my god!" both girls squealed. "All of them look so amazing!" they said at the same time, before looking at each other and bursting into giggles. Their mothers shook their heads in amusement.
"Why don't you try them on?" Ana offered and started helping Mia and Jessica getting the shoes on one by one.
"They are really flexible and comfortable to walk in. I didn't know you could feel like that wearing a pair of heels," Mia said in awe as she looked down at her feet.
"I agree," Jessica said with a wide smile on her face.
One by one Ana showed all four of them their desired shoes along with extras. At the end, Mia and Jessica ended up with five pairs each while Grace chose three pairs and Elizabeth picked two pairs. "Let go. I'll walk you to the register," Ana offered taking the boxes.
"Thank you so much. You've been really kind to us," Grace said with warmly.
"It was a pleasure," Ana replied modestly.
"You said you were the co-owner of this store?" Elizabeth inquired curiously.
"Actually, my mom and I own this building. Until I can buy her portion, I'm the co-owner instead of the owner," Ana replied with a shrug.
"You mean the library, restaurant and this store, you own all of them?" Grace asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"That's amazing, dear. How old are you?" Grace asked.
"I'm 24 years old. My friends and I run all of the businesses in this building. It's home," Ana informed proudly.
"Your parents must be really proud of you," Elizabeth said with a huge smile. "It isn't common to meet young people already established in their careers. At your age, most would just be starting their careers. Learn something from her," she said to Mia and Jessica.
"Do you really own this whole building?" Jessica asked. At Ana's nod, she asked, a little confused, "Then why are you working as a salesperson? Can't you just hire people to do this job?"
"I love my business… all three of them. They are like my children. Some mothers like to let other people raise their babies, while some mothers like to raise them themselves. I'm the second kind," Ana said as she handed them their shopping bags.
"That's so cool. Hey, do you take people in for part time jobs?" Mia inquired.
"Yes, of course. The students that work part time here get 60% discount on any of the school books they might need and 30% discount on other books. Others, who are not students, get 40% discount on any books they want. On top of that, they can snack on as many cupcakes as they want from the break room. My baker friend, Chloe, makes fresh cupcakes everyday for the restaurant and all the break rooms in this building," Ana informed.
"Our summer break is coming up. Do you think we can apply for part time jobs here?" Mia asked hopefully.
"Of course. Come and look for Caleb at the library floor when you need a job. He'll help you out," Ana replied kindly.
"Thank you so much," Mia said, grinning.
"Dear, we'd like to visit the library. It'd been a while since I read a good book. Can you accompany us there?" Grace requested.
"Of course. Let me just notify my… friends..." Ana trailed off, looking towards the other side of the store.
Grace and the others followed her gaze only to find two boys; one was choking another. The one who was choking the other young man was wearing a yellow suit, a white t-shirt, and a pair of red converse. The young man who was getting choked was wearing skin-tight leather pants, see-through black t-shirt that showed off numerous tattoos on his lean body, and knee high black boots with tons of chains on it. Panicked, Grace and Elizabeth turned to Ana, only to find a blank look on her face.
Ana stared at the fighting pair and gave then a serious you-can't-read-my-emotions look. "Jose, please restrain yourself from choking Bill. You still need him to manage the store. I'm going down for a while."
Instantly, both boys stopped fighting and gave Ana an innocent smile. "We'll take care of it," Jose said. He was the one who was wearing the yellow suit.
Shaking her head at her friends, Ana lead the four of them towards the second floor. "Will they be alright?" Elizabeth asked, frowning.
"They will be fine. They like to mess with each other," Ana said, smirking.
"My boys used to do that all the time… they still do sometimes. As soon as they would see me, they would start acting like nothing happened," Grace said laughing in amusement.
Smiling, Ana opened the entrance door. "This is the second floor of our library/ book store. You can read here, borrow books for a fixed period of time, or buy the books you want. You can also order and pre-order books from our website and we'll deliver them to your house," she informed.
"Wow," that was the only word Grace and Elizabeth could utter. They both loved a good book. The rows and rows of books with a few couches in between made them gasp in delight. Mia and Jessica exchanged amused looks at their mothers' reaction. They spent the next two hours going through each of the bookshelves. At the end, they both had dozens of book in their hands. Mia and Jessica enjoyed spending time with Ana. They found her friendly and kind. Chloe also joined the girls when she came to deliver that day's cupcakes.
"Ana, dear, this is an amazingly magical place," Grace gushed excitedly as she approached the table where the girls were.
"Thank you. I love to read and feel the pleasant weight of books in my hands. I shared it with my mom and she suggested this place. This place is her brain child and my dream world," Ana stated, looking around with a smile.
"My younger son is somewhat like you," Grace said, "He wanted to open a business of his own. So, he dropped out of college and started his business. Within a year, he started making huge profits."
"Wow. That's amazing."
"Anyways, if you don't mind, I actually wanted to read a writer's latest book but I was informed that it's not here yet," Grace said hesitantly.
"Don't worry. Why don't you leave your name and address with me? I'll personally deliver the book at your house as soon as it arrives," Ana assured.
"Really?! That would be really sweet. I'm a doctor so I might not always be at home, but I'll leave your name with my door man and housekeeper. You can leave the package with them,"
"Alright."
Grace ordered a few more books that were either sold out or not available at the moment. Ana promised her to deliver those books as soon as they arrived. Pleased and satisfied, the ladies left.
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A few days passed. The Steele House finally got their monthly book shipment. Ana gathered the books Grace had ordered before packing them nicely. "You know we have delivery guys who can deliver that package to the customer," Caleb stated pointed at the package in Ana's hand.
"I know we do, Caleb, but I liked this customer a lot when she had come here. I kind of promised that I'd personally deliver the package," Ana informed with a sheepish shrug.
"You're always adding to your favorite customer's list. One day, you'll end up with all of our customers on that list," he said smirking, "then you'll have to personally deliver to ALL of them."
"Whatever," she poked her tongue out at him before heading out.
"Take your car!" she heard Caleb yelling.
"As you say, my friend. I'll definitely take my bicycle," Ana replied with a rebellious smile.
Placing the parcel in the front basket of her bright red bicycle, Ana headed out. She was wearing a white cotton sleeveless knee length dress with a brown side bag and cheetah printed high block heeled pumps. Singing under her breath, she started peddling. She had the Google map on in her phone which was placed on top of the parcel in the basket of the bike. Every so often, she would stop and look at it. She was only a few miles away from the address Grace had given when she looked at the map without stopping her bike, not noticing the car coming right towards her. The sound of a car screeching to a sudden stop caused her to look up and gasp in horror. She wasn't able to stop her bike in time and it bumped right into the black Mercedes. The bike crashed sideways, causing Ana to fall and hit her head on a rock at the side of the road. Instantly, she blacked out.
"Damn it! Wake up! Can you hear me? Hello?" she heard someone saying.
Moaning a little, she grabbed her head. "Ouch! That jerk-face totally jinxed me," she muttered under her breath. The sound of a man chuckling finally made her open her eyes. A handsome older man was kneeling before her prone form. He was blonde with some grey hair at the edge of his hairline, a strong jaw, and deep blue eyes.
"Hey there," he greeted helping her sit up.
"Hey? Was that… your car I just bumped into?" Ana asked hesitantly.
"Unfortunately," the man muttered running his fingers through his hair.
"I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't looking. I should've stopped my bike to look at the map, instead of…" Ana trailed off, ashamed.
"What?!" the man looked surprised. Usually when people see nice cars, they try to put the blame on the car's owner to get money.
"Give me your insurance details. I'll pay for all the damages I caused," Ana said, wincing as she tried to get up. The man stood up with a bewildered look on his face. Ana noticed absentmindedly that he was quite tall. With a startled gasp, she fell again.
"Are you okay? How did you fall?" the man asked, kneeling down again.
"I think I hurt my ankle," Ana said with a grimace.
The man sighed. "It wasn't just your fault this accident happened. It was my fault too. Let me take you to the hospital, please," the man insisted.
"It's okay. I can go after I'm done delivering that package," Ana said waving her hand as she tried to get up on her feet and fell… again.
"Yeah… nope. That's not happening. We're going to the hospital," the man insisted.
"I can't. I promised this customer that I'll deliver her package personally the very day I get these books," Ana said gesturing towards the package lying before her bike's basket.
The man stared at her in disbelief. "What is the address you need to deliver that package?" he asked.
"Uh… Mister, you seem like a good person, but… you see… I don't know you and I don't feel comfortable giving you someone's address," Ana said apologetically.
The man laughed. "Hi, I'm Carrick Grey. I'm a lawyer," he said introducing himself as he pulled out a business card.
Taking the card from him, Ana read it. "Grey… something about this surname seems… familiar," she said tilting her head. "Okay, I'll give you the address… only if you promise me that you won't hurt the family even if you're a criminal," she said sternly. Laughing, the man helped her to his car. "My bike is foldable. You can put it in the trunk," Ana told Carrick.
"Sure. So, what's your name?" Carrick asked after handing her the packages.
"I'm Ana Steele. I own the Steele Tower and co-own all the businesses there," Ana replied before wincing. She had a bad habit of oversharing personal details with strangers. Her dad and uncle had always scolded her for that.
"The Steele Tower?! Wow. I've heard great things about it from both my wife and daughter. Hmm… now that I think about it… I think I heard my younger son say something about it the other day too," he said thoughtfully getting in the car. "So, what's the address?" he asked.
"Here," Ana handed him the paper with the address on it. Seeing the address, Carrick barked out a laugh. "Why are you laughing?" Ana asked, a little offended.
"Nothing. I just know this address really well," he said mysteriously before he started driving.
"How do you know this address?" Ana asked, narrowing her eyes.
"You'll see," Carrick said with a smirk.
"I really should start listening to my dad and uncle," Ana said with a defeated sigh. She was already in a stranger's car and she didn't think she could stop him if he wanted to hurt her.
"What do they say?" Carrick asked, curious.
"Not to share personal details to strangers… and don't get in any stranger's car," Ana muttered, blushing.
"I keep saying that to my daughter too," he said with a laugh.
Soon, the car drew into the driveway of a colonial-style mansion. It was breathtaking, even down to the roses around the door… picture-book perfect.
Carrick pulled up outside the impressive front door. "We're here," he announced.
"Wow… it's a beautiful home," Ana commented.
"It's home," Carrick said modestly. Ana gave him a puzzled look. "Looks like people are home. Let's go in," he said stepping out.
"How about we just knock on the door … instead of going in without permission?" Ana suggested. She didn't understand why this man thought it was okay to get inside someone's house without permission.
"Don't be a coward, Ana. It'll be fun watching their reaction. Come on!" he urged opening her door.
"B-but…"
"Come on, coward," Carrick laughed helping her walk inside the house.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Ana moaned in distress as they walked through the beautiful entrance of the house.
Carrick led her to the living room and called out, "GRACE!? MIA?!"
Ana gasped in surprise. "Whoa! You KNOW them?! So that's why you walked in like this," she said, relieved. Carrick just gave her an amused smile.
"Didn't you just head out a few minutes ago?" Ana heard a familiar voice say. A moment later, Grace entered the room. "Why did you…" she started to ask when she noticed Ana, "Ana, dear! What happened?" she rushed to Ana and started examining her.
"Her bike crashed into my car," Carrick explained.
"I was coming here to deliver those books your ordered. I don't know this area too well, so I was using Google maps on my phone. I was looking at it when Mr. Grey's car came along. It was my fault," Ana said, ashamed. Suddenly a realization hit her. "Wait a minute! Mr… Grey… Grace Grey…OH!"
"FINALLY!" Carrick said laughing.
"What's going on? MIA! HONEY, CAN YOU GET THE FIRST AID BOX PLEASE?!" Grace called out as she ushered Ana to the nearest couch.
"OKAY, MOM," answered Mia from another room. A few seconds later, she came to the living room. "Hey, Ana!" she greeted with a wide smile. "Wait… What happened to you?" she asked taking a seat beside Ana.
Carrick started explaining the event as Grace started cleaning up Ana's wounds. "But the funniest thing about this whole thing is… she didn't even know who I am," Carrick started snickering as Ana blushed in embarrassment.
"How was I supposed to know?" Ana moaned.
"She totally flipped out when we walked in. She thought I was a criminal determined to hurt you," he had tears in his eyes from laughing too much.
"Darling! You're embarrassing the poor girl!" Grace scolded mildly.
By the time Ana parted with the Greys, she was friends with all of them. Mia was happy to have another friend. Grace was happy to meet such a cheerful and mature girl, and she invited Ana to their weekly mother-daughter brunch. Carrick was really pleased to meet an honest girl. His years of experience as a lawyer told him that Ana was a good girl and he loved that she seemed to bring out his fun side.
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The next day even though Ana was late as usual, she was in a cheerful mood. Her sprained ankle and mild concussion didn't stop her from coming downstairs to their daily meeting. Stumbling out of the elevator, Ana snickered to herself. "Wow! I seem to stumble when I've a sprained ankle and also when I DON'T have a sprained ankle." She glanced at her foot where she had wrapped the crepe bandage as the doctor had ordered.
"ANA! Why are you down here today?" Carla scolded as she and Bill got up to help her to her seat.
"What do you mean why am I here? I'm here for the meeting," Ana replied with a confused smile.
"The doctor told you to rest your feet. Take a few days off and rest with your feet up, honey," Carla ordered worriedly.
"I agree with Carla, Ana. You shouldn't be putting pressure on your feet just yet," Liam said from the side while the others nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Ana. Let me help you upstairs," Kate offered.
Ana narrowed her eyes and stared at her friends. All of them seemed oddly determined to send her upstairs to her loft. "Is there a reason you want me to go back to my loft?" she asked suspiciously.
"Yes. You sprained your foot," Carla replied, deadpan.
"But, mom, it's so boring upstairs," Ana whined.
"Why don't you have a movie marathon? Or take a few of the new historical romance books? You love them, right?" Caleb suggested with a kind smile.
"I like the book idea. Gather them for me. I can read them in one of the corner table here. I promise I'll keep my feet up," Ana suggested with a giddy smile, but her smiled dimmed a bit when she noticed the uneasy look everyone around her exchanged.
Before she could demand an answer, Carla suggested, "Hey, I just remembered. Baby girl, why don't you go to meet your uncle today? I was supposed to go, but I guess you can visit him in my place."
"Not that I won't love to visit Uncle Jake, but I sprained my ankle as you reminded me earlier. Won't it be strenuous for my feet? I can go a few days later when my feet won't hurt anymore," Ana said with a slight frown.
"Hey, Ana? Why don't we have our special film marathons today?" Alyssa suggested with a wink.
"Other than my feet, is there ANY other reason why ALL of you want me to go away from here?" Ana asked folding her hands over her chest.
"The new owner of Grey Publishing, formerly SIP, is coming here today to check out the place as their newly released books would soon be arriving in our shop," Caleb explained with a sigh.
"Kate told us about your mutual hatred for each other. So, we thought it would be a good idea to keep you two away from each other," Bill added bluntly.
"So, I'm being sent away to accommodate that… ASSHOLE!" Ana exploded in disbelief.
"Basically… yes. That's what's happening," Bill replied with sage nod while Tom glared at his younger twin.
Shooting an annoyed look at Bill, Kate explained, "Look, Ana. They are now our clients. We've got to keep our personal issues away from business matters. Caleb, Liam, Carla, and I will be here to handle this. You don't need to be here."
"We really don't want you to have another argument with him today, and the best way to avoid it would be if you go back upstairs and rest," Liam added.
Glancing at everyone's faces, Ana huffed angrily. "Fine. I'm going back," she wanted to storm off, but it wasn't possible with the pain in her feet. So, she stumbled away from the library to the elevator. Changing into a white lace crop top and matching shorts, Ana settled on the couch with her laptop. "This has never happened before. My own mother and best friends wanted me gone. All of this only to please that asshole. He's the one responsible," Ana spat angrily. Suddenly, an idea came to her. Grinning, Ana opened the desired website and started typing as an evil smile graced her face. Pressing the send button, Ana folded her hands over as chest and smirked. "You forced me to get out of my place. NOW… you have to get out of yours!"
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A/N: Can you guess what Ana could have done to get Christian out of his place? Let me know your guesses in the review and also your thoughts on this chapter.