Chapter 6
Anna pov
It's been a couple of weeks since Luke and I went back to just being normal friends and I have to admit myself it's a lot better for us, I'm happy for Luke now that he's with someone and he's told me all about her. However I'm not ready for another relationship I mean of course I feel lonely and it would be nice to have the company again but my trust is just too damaged right now, I put on a smile and keep promising Luke that when work calms down and I'm not as busy I'll try meeting people. I haven't had any other encounters with Mr Grey which I'm partly happy partly sad about, I'm happy because I don't know how Luke will react to me wanting to fuck his boss and I'm sad because I do really want him even though a part of me feels Christian is hiding something and it's a dark something.
I sigh heavily as I rack my brains once more trying to figure out what a multimillionaire bachelor could be hiding, who am I kidding it's none of my business I don't need to know the deepest darkest secrets of Christian Grey. I shake my thoughts away and turn to my computer, Okay Anna time to do some work. I type out an email to one of my authors Boyce Fox asking him if he's made a start on his second book yet and if so can he send me a manuscript of what he has so far, his first book was a hit so now his readers want more from him. Since I'm on my emails I go through and email some of our other authors that are working on their next books for updates on their progress too, I start getting responses quickly including one from Boyce.
As I read through the attached manuscripts that they've all sent me someone knocks on my door, I call for them to enter and Hannah pops her head in. I smile at her in greeting and wave her further in, she comes and sits opposite me at the desk and slides a cup of coffee over to me.
"Thank you Hannah what would I do without you" I say and lifting the cup to my lips I take a grateful sip.
"You might not be saying that in a minute the board wants to have to have a meeting in an hour to see what new work our authors have been working on" She says.
"Well it is just as well I emailed them all and asked them to send me manuscripts of what they've done so far" I say.
"That's good the board will be happy to see that" She says.
"Yeah so far from what I've read they've all made a good start and have written a good few chapters including Boyce, if I send them all to print can you go and collect from the printer for me" I ask her and she nods.
She leaves the room so she can watch for the papers printing out, I print each manuscript out and wait patiently for Hannah to come back with them all. A few minutes later she appears and hands them to me, she tells me she's just at her desk if I need anything else then leaves me to prepare for the meeting. I look up at the clock to see I have just enough time to make some notes on each one before I have to show them to the board, I read through each one making any notes I find relevant and correcting any small mistakes to be fixed during the editing process. Thankfully there's very little corrections needed which also helps me even more with the board, I look up at the clock again when I'm finished and see it's time to head up so packing up everything I need I leave my office and after saying goodbye to Hannah I head towards the elevator.
I push the button for the top floor and it carries me up, I get out and head to the meeting room where I see other employees and board members arriving too. I follow everyone inside and we take our seats, I expect the meeting to start but it strangely doesn't and that's when I see there's an extra seat at the table. I wonder who else is coming to the meeting is there a new board member, my question is soon answered when Christian walks in. Jerry greets him then stands up to start the meeting explaining that the company owner Mr Grey is attending to see how everything is going.
We start the meeting by talking about new authors that they've been considering taking on, we discuss which ones would be best and which ones aren't. We finally agree on a small list of Authors that we're going to take on and Jerry gives me their email addresses so we can get their manuscripts, we then move on to the current authors and I show everyone the work they've written so far and my notes on them. They mostly agree with me and add a couple of notes of their own, they discuss some other things about the company and I look up to see Christians heated gaze on mine I bite my lip and squeeze my thighs together.
I look back to Jerry as he concludes the meeting and tells us all to keep up the good work, we all stand and start gathering our things to head back to our offices. As I turn towards the door I'm stopped by someone standing in front of me, I look for the second time into his steel grey eyes and feel myself heat up.
"Miss Steel I was wondering if I could have a meeting with you in your office before I leave to discuss your current authors" He says.
"Yes of course Mr Grey this way" I say.
He follows me down the corridor to the elevator and once inside I hit the button for my floor, an electric current surrounds the two of us and I struggle to keep my mind out of the gutter. He's your boss's boss's boss be professional, the elevator pings as the doors slide open and I lead him down into my office. Closing the door behind us I gesture for him to take a seat at my desk and I take my seat at my computer, for a minute we gaze at each other across the desk in silence then finally he breaks it.
"So Miss Steele I just wanted to let you know personally that I think the authors you're working with show true potential and you're doing really good work" He says.
"Thank you Mr Grey that means a lot to know that the owner of the company is pleased with the work we're doing here" I say.
"Not just the work with the authors but I seen today how you work with others, I like how you know how to stand up for your opinion but also accept others and work to come to an agreement with them" He says.
"Thank you Mr Grey" I say smiling.
"Now Anna I do have a more personal question for you now that we're alone" He says.
"Okay I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability" I say.
"Well Anna there's no way to ask this gently so I'll just throw it out there I want you to be my submissive" He says.
"Your what?" I ask.
"My submissive I want to enter an S&M relationship with you, You would stay at Escala in my guest bedroom every weekend" He says.
"Why are you all of a sudden asking me this" I ask.
"I've wanted to ask you for a long time Ana I'm a good judge of character and I sense that you are troubled you've been hurt badly by someone and you're afraid to let others in but you're also afraid of being alone in a submissive and dominant relationship you wouldn't have to worry about strings being attached but you would also always be able to come to me for care and reassurance" He explains.
The idea of it sounds inviting not having to worry about anything serious but also having someone to care for me as well, I chew my lip and ponder the idea for a minute before meeting his gaze again.
"Thank you for the offer Mr Grey and I hope you understand that for several reasons I cannot give you an answer straight away, first of all this is something that should be thought through not done on a whim. Second of all I still need to respect that you are my best friends boss and I would like to make sure he is comfortable with us being in any type of relationship and also the third reason it is very sudden and I'm a little surprised and blind sided by it I need to take the time to wrap my head around it" I say.
"Of course Anastasia I understand all these reasons and I expected them, I merely wanted to make the proposition today so you could start considering it, here's my email and mobile number so you can keep me informed on your decision after all this isn't really a conversation for an office call" He says.
"That's very true never know who's listening on the other end of a phone" I say.
"Indeed I look forward to hearing from you and bearing in mind that you don't have to rush the decision as there's a lot to discuss like rules and guidelines, I supply my submissive with a contract with all of these for you to read that should be used to help you decide" He says.
"Okay in that case I will talk to Luke first keeping the details to a minimal of course and if he is comfortable with it I will contact you to arrange another private meeting to discuss this contract" I say.
"Sounds like a plan Miss Steele and as a last note I'm afraid by the recommendation of my lawyer due to my high status you will need to sign a non disclosure agreement meaning you can't discuss anything we do together with anyone else of course you can tell them things that a normal couple would do but the S&M parts stay between us" He says.
"Yes of course Mr Grey I wouldn't tell anyone anyway I'm a believer in privacy and although close friends can pass that barrier I still believe sex life is between the couple doing it only" I say.
"Then we're off to a good start I'll leave you to your work and I look forward to hearing from you" He says.
We both stand from our seats and I walk him to the elevator again, this time I don't enter with him and we shake hands in goodbye before he goes inside and pushes the button for the ground floor. I go back to my office and sitting down at my desk draw in a few deep breaths. Did that really just happen did I just discuss the possibility of becoming the sex slave of the man who owns the company I work for and who also employs my best friend, I definitely need to talk to Luke first this isn't something I should just do. I need to make sure he is comfortable but I also need the advice of my best friend, taking my phone from my desk I send him a quick text asking if he will be available to have dinner with me tonight. He texts back saying he will be free but we'll need to stay at Escala in case Mr Grey needs him for anything, I reply telling him that's perfect as I want to talk to him about something private and need advice.
After putting my phone away again I fight to calm my nervous and thoughts, you still have half a day of work to get through so deep breaths and focus. I should worry about tonight when it's nearer the time, I sit up straight and begin reading through the manuscripts more clearly then I send responses to the Authors telling about the meeting and that the board is happy with their work so far. All thoughts of tonight are pushed from my mind as I focus on right now.
