CHAPTER 6 - The first day of the rest of her life - Part 2
When Ana enters her bedroom, she immediately notices a brand new laptop and an Iphone on the desk. Gail had warned her that it would be delivered later today; apparently, Mr Grey only wants the best technology for his employees, and it is even truer when said employees are in charge of his children, Ana assumes. She has never had such modern pieces of equipment so she is excited to try it. She is definitely not a geek but she appreciates high tech objects.
But first, all Ana wants is to finally settle in her new room and cozy up a little before dinner. She then starts unpacking her bags and placing all of her clothes in the closet. Once it is done, she opens the box with her beloved objects and places them on her new desk or the bedside table. She then grabs the Iphone, the file containing all the lists and instructions that Gail gave her and takes it with her as she does what she had been willing to do ever since she entered this room: lie down comfortably on the window seat. And this feels even better than she thought.
For the first time in a long time, Ana feels like she belongs exactly where she is. She knows that this is only temporary, the time for Gail to fix things and for the virus problem to be resolved, but it is as if all of the planets were aligned for her to live an amazingly rich experience. First, the children, Phoebe and Teddy Grey, are such sweet and smart children, that Ana is glad to accompany them in their lives even just for a short period of time.
When she decided to join an agency, she did not have one actual job description in mind, but in the end, she finds herself in the perfect environment for her to express herself and continue learning at the same time. This position corresponds exactly to the extent of what her training and her past experiences have prepared her for. And not only will she gain tremendous experience from this as well, but if she manages to be on par with what is expected from her, she will be able to exhibit the best of references on her resume.
Concerning living conditions, it definitely feels like she hit the jackpot; up to yesterday, she thought that she would be stuck in a six-bed dormitory in some lousy youth hostel with people she didn't know for the whole duration of the lock down. So her current situation is some very welcome upgrade to say the least.
And the paycheck that Mr Grey offers will definitely help her as soon as this is all over; Ana feels almost ashamed to think about this financial aspect, but in her position, it is not negligible unfortunately.
And last but not least, there is also the added bonus of being able to live under the same roof as the captivating Christian Grey. Ana cannot help sighing as she thinks about her new boss.
Gail had not said much about Mr Grey's private life other than he was an excellent father despite being both quite young and extremely busy. And Ana did witness how the children enjoyed being with their father. And it definitely looks mutual. From what Ana understands, the children's mother is no longer in the picture but Gail has been quite evasive on the topic. And Ana did not ask.
After a few more minutes of just relaxing and enjoying the wonderful view, Ana feels that she definitely needs to do something or shae will fall asleep. She then decides to have a look at her new phone; it is bit different from the cheap phones she usually owns and it takes some minutes to understand how it does work but she eventually does, at least for the basics. When she is confident she knows enough, she starts entering the list of phone numbers that Gail gave her; it contains the important phone numbers related to the children: Gail's, school, Mr Grey, his family. Reluctantly, Ana then moves from her cozy seat to the desk, in order to set up a few things on the computer.
When she is satisfied with all the set ups, Ana goes back downstairs as it is almost dinner time. She is ready to take full charge now. As she reaches the main room on her way to the kitchen, she notices that the three Greys are around Mr Grey's computer, obviously talking to someone. The children are talking animatedly and Ana can hear lots of laughter on the other side of the screen. Mr Grey notices Ana, nodding towards her with a smile. Ana smiles back but unwilling to intrude, she moves directly towards the kitchen.
This room is every cook's dream place. Gail said that Mr Grey had let her design it herself and she was very proud of it, and she definitely could: it is perfect, with everything in the right place. Ana knows that she will really enjoy making good use of this kitchen.
For tonight's dinner, Ana chooses to prepare some macaroni and cheese, as Gail had told her that it was the three Greys' favorite dish, and Ana figures that tonight is the perfect night for comfort food. With some yoghourts for dessert. Half way through preparation, the children and Mr Grey join her in the kitchen. Phoebe helps Ana with the CPO's batch, while Mr Grey and Teddy set the kitchen table for the four of them. The children explain that they were on Skype first with their grandparents, who live just around the corner, and then with their uncle Elliot who lives downtown. Teddy tells Ana about their uncle Elliot's antics and Ana can't help smiling.
After dinner, Mr Grey excuses himself to go and work in his office, followed by Sawyer. Prescott and Ryan also reappear as Ana and the children are loading the dishwasher and cleaning up a bit, asking if Ana needs help with the children. Ana thanks them but says she will be okay for tonight; the CPOs say goodnight to the children and to Ana, and leave for their cottages.
Ana asks what the children want to do before going to bed; both want to watch a movie. After changing into their sleeping attire and then going through the list of Disney movies available on both Netflix and the Disney channel, they finally agree on Ratatouille because Ana has never seen it, so Phoebe and Teddy are happy to share it with her. They both tell Ana that this is their father's favorite, as well as their uncle Elliot's. Their aunt Mia does not like it though, because as a chef, she is disgusted by the idea of rats in a French restaurant's kitchen.
The movie is very entertaining and Ana really enjoys it. It is also really nice to share it with Teddy and Phoebe for their very first evening together. Teddy insisted to sit next to Ana, with Phoebe sitting by herself on the second couch on their right. As the movie was running, Teddy moved closer and closer to Ana, and now, as the movie is about to end, a fast asleep Teddy is lying on his right side with his head on Ana's lap. He looks so cute; Ana can't help but gently caress his cheek, realizing what a long and eventful day it had been for the little boy. Ana looks in Phoebe's direction. The little girl is also lying down now, but from where she is, Ana can see that she is awake. When the end titles appear onscreen, Phoebe stretches then turns around to smile at Ana, asking her if she liked it.
But before Ana can even answer, Mr Grey enters the room; Phoebe is the first one noticing his presence as she turns towards the entrance and smiles widely at him. "Daddy, you missed Ratatouille!"
Mr Grey looks tense and extremely tired at first, but he quickly relaxes when he catches his daughter's eye "I know darling, and I am sorry that I missed it, but I had a few things to deal with at work." He is now standing by the couch where Phoebe is, holding and caressing his daughter's hand.
Mr Grey then looks in Ana's direction; his smile is so charming and he looks so handsome in his suit with the tie partly undone, Ana can't help thinking. "Miss Steele, let me help you." He tells her, noticing that she is unable to move because of Teddy. Just then, Teddy shifts a little , turning towards Ana and placing his arms around her waist.
"He looks quite comfy there, but we'll need to take him to his room." Mr Grey adds, still smiling. He then tells his daughter "Phoebe, it's time for you to go upstairs and get ready for bed; Miss Steele and I will be in your room in 10 minutes." Phoebe obeys and walks towards the stairs.
Her father then walks around the couch, taking his tie off in one swift motion, and discarding it on the backrest. He then bends down to pick up his sleeping son. Ana lifts her arms to give him better access. He stops, trying to figure out of the best way to proceed then starts placing his hands delicately under his sleeping son. In this position, Mr Grey has no other choice than to graze Ana's thighs with the back of his hands, which sends chills throughout Ana's body. Mr Grey apologizes silently with a shy smile and Ana smiles back with equal shyness. Unaware of the sudden rise of temperature in the room, Teddy stirs a little but does not wake up as he is lifted up in the air and then cuddled against his father's chest.
"Now, let's get him to bed" Mr Grey says very quietly, like a whisper. Ana grabs Mr Grey's discarded tie and follows the duo upstairs, to Teddy's room. Mr Grey puts Teddy down in his bed as Ana holds the sheets and then puts it back over him. Then Ana caresses his little red cheek and puts his hair back in place before walking towards the door. She cannot resist watching as Mr Grey sweetly kisses his little boy on the cheek as he tucks him with tenderness. Ana then goes to the laundry room to put the tie in a basket before going to Phoebe's room where Mr Grey is standing by his daughter's bed. The little girl is sat on her bed, her teeth obviously brushed, with a book in her hands. "Ana, can you read this with me, please?" she asks Ana all the while silently pleading with her father. Mr Grey checks his watch "It is already quite late young lady. And it has been a very long day for all of us, Miss Steele must be tired."
Ana gets inside the room and takes the book from Phoebe's hands; she is pleasantly surprised to see that this is actually the second tome of Harry Potter, "The chamber of secrets".
"So you did finish "The philosopher's stone"? What did you think?" Ana asks.
"I loved it, I wish my school were like Harry's. I am excited to start reading this one now." She says with a charming pout.
Ana smiles. "Well, what about reading the first chapter tonight, and then we can all go to sleep, it was indeed a very tiring day." Ana says, looking towards Mr Grey to make sure that this is okay with him. When his smile confirms his agreement, Ana sits down on the bed next to Phoebe. Surprisingly, Mr Grey silently sits down as well, in the rocking chair, seemingly ready to listen to the story, which makes Ana a bit self-conscious at first. But then, as she is reading the first few lines out loud, all nervousness is forgotten.
Author's note: the rest of the evening will be told through Christian's point of view