I escaped back into the sanctuary of Gwen's office. It was bad enough that Christian still didn't seem to trust me, not that I could blame him, but I was more upset that he would know about my past. A past I tried in vain to put behind me and forget. Gwen burst into the office with a very flustered Issac Reynolds behind her.
"Ana!" she called, waving me over to her desk. "We have proof that Ms. Lincoln was embezzling money from the salons. Issac and I found her account!"
I jumped up and glanced at the account numbers. "Three million?"
Issac nodded. "I was aware she was siphoning money. Just not the extent of the damage."
I looked at Gwen who shrugged. "We'll help you deal with the fallout of this. Mr. Grey still speaks very highly of you, so I don't think your job is in danger. He'll probably suspend you, realize he doesn't like working with anyone else and reinstate you."
I bit my lip. Somehow I doubted that he could handle change well. "I'll go and brief Mr. Grey."
Gwen handed me the papers. "I'll start working with Barney to figure out how to remove pictures from Ms. Lincoln's possession."
I strolled into Christian's office and placed the spread sheets on his desk. "Three million over the course of this fiscal year, Mr. Grey."
He glanced up and scanned the sheets. "Shit. Fire Issac."
I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure, sir?"
Christian stood. "Yes, Miss Steele. Please notify HR of my decision. If a high level employee of mine is able to enable someone to blackmail them, they do not deserve to keep their job. I have no idea why I'm explaining this to you. I don't have to explain my decisions to you."
I frowned. "What would you like us to do about Ms. Lincoln?"
"Nothing for now," he said. I shrugged and went to retrieve the spread sheets, pausing when I spotted a map of the West Coast with highlighted routes in and out of both Mexico and Canada.
Christian noticed what caught my attention. "Potential shipping routes."
"For what?" I asked. I knew if he was shipping a high volume of goods, he would use the shipping company under his control and would the sea. His eyes narrowed.
"I fail to see how this is any of your concern, Miss Steele," he said. "Please go and tell Gwen that she can pull the plug on Issac and leave Elena be for the moment."
I frowned at his slip, calling Elena by her first name. There was so much going on, and I was growing more and more intrigued. Wishing I had been able to take a picture of the map, I raced back to my desk and scrawled down the names of towns that intrigued me. Elko, Nevada really intrigued me. It seemed as though they were trying to bypass the Bay Area in California. And they were trying to avoid California as much as possible. I hid the sticky note in my purse for future research.
"What did Christian say?" Gwen asked when I joined her, Barney, and Issac in the conference room.
I sighed. "He wants you to contact HR, Gwen."
She looked down and nodded. Issac looked shocked, but quickly recovered and nodded. "I expected as much."
"Let's go and talk to Mr. Grey. If he doesn't terminate your contract, you could be hired back in the future. God knows it took him long enough to find a good CFO," Gwen said, leaving the room with Issac in tow.
Barney turned to me. "What else did he say?"
"To leave Ms. Lincoln alone," I said.
Barney frowned. "I wonder what his play is here."
"I think it's leverage," I said in response. "They have an interested pattern of interactions and a very interesting business relationship. He wants to have her back under his thumb, so to speak."
Barney nodded. "I completely agree. Now, we can focus on another pressing issue."
I nodded and pulled out my laptop. "What's going on?"
Barney gazed at me evenly, and I willed my heart to stop racing. He was making me incredibly nervous. "We believe that someone is surveilling this company from the inside."
I raised my eyebrows, hoping my expression of surprise was enough. He watched my reaction closely before continuing. "We hired you to work closely with the upper echelons of this company for a reason, Anastasia. I'm sure you can figure out why."
I swallowed thickly and nodded. He nodded slightly. He knew. I didn't know what he knew, but he knew I was in this job to get information. And I was throughly terrified.
I burst out of Grey House, panting and nervous. I wanted to run, to hide, but I would be in danger if I did that. Barney seemed to be the only one who knew and he was giving me a chance to organize myself. Or he was hoping to lull me into a sense of complacency before killing me. My phone chimed and I was panicking more than ever. It was Olivia asking if we were still on for lunch.
Carrying on with my daily routine would be the safest way to go. If Barney was the only one who suspected anything, then I had to pretend everything was normal. If Luke was right, if the Grey family were truly as ruthless as he made them out to be, then I had to tread carefully. No more curious questions, lingering glances. I had to take in everything without anyone knowing.
I took a deep breathe, blasting on a smile as I sat down across from Olivia. She was in good sprits, considering her exam was approaching in the next couple of weeks. I admired her attitude.
"So apparently, your suggestion for suing Seattle is becoming a fully-fledged case. Carrick is going to head up the civil suit," Olivia said, sipping her coffee.
"Wow, I had no idea," I said, surprised. She smiled.
"Everyone thinks you're a rockstar. You basically saved Carrick's ass and his law firm," she said.
I shrugged. "I'm glad everything is working out."
Olivia chuckled. "Well, not everything. Carrick's daughter, Mia, is his new assistant. Unfortunately, she's not organized enough to keep up with the pace of the firm. And her boyfriend is always around, picking her up for lunch. Carrick is really pissed off about that, saying it's a security breach. I don't really know, but there's something really weird going on."
"Mia? Really?" I asked. "What's her boyfriend's name?"
"Logan maybe? It definitely starts with an L," she said, brow furrowing. "He's very shifty and always trying to look at computer screens."
"I could talk to Barney about it," I offered. "Carrick might be too close to this because his daughter is involved."
"You should. From what I've heard, both Barney and Carrick love you, so they won't mind. Plus you're still technically an employee under Carrick, so there's no violation of an NDA," Olivia said. "Shit! I've got to go! Lunch again on Friday?"
"Sure, of course," I said, standing up to leave the cafe after her. I pulled out my phone and called Barney.
"Barney Sullivan," he answered.
"Barney, it's Anastasia. I had a very interesting lunch with Olivia Edwards," I explained. "Can you meet me outside of the office?"
"Of course, send me your location," he said hanging up. I strolled over to the park and sat down on a bench. He approached, his eyes sweeping the area. I saw a slight crease in his suit jacket and knew he was carrying a gun.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, sitting down next to me.
"Mia Grey," I said. "What do you know about her boyfriend?"
Barney sighed. "Now I can see why they picked you. You don't miss anything do you?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
"Luke Sawyer is Mia Grey's boyfriend," he said. "And I know you are familiar with Mr. Sawyer."
I froze. "I am familiar with that name."
"Miss Steele, in your honest opinion, what do you think of Mr. Sawyer?"
I looked at Barney who seemed to be interested in my answer. I decided to tell the truth. "Something isn't right about his investigation. There's too much missing, too much circumstantial evidence and claims with nothing concrete to back them up."
Barney appraised me. "I realize you are working for him. And Mr. Grey is very suspicious of you. Carrick is blinded by your brilliance and intelligence, but Mr. Grey is very close to finding out what you are doing. He noticed that you seemed to know who Grace was without any introduction. However, since you seem smart enough to discern that Luke Sawyer is up to something, I will do my best to help you remain where you are. Now, your own safety is in jeopardy. "
I didn't know how to respond to that. "Barney, what exactly are you proposing?"
"Continue your investigation. I think you've already formulated your own opinions about the Grey family," he said. "However, I would like to understand your motives for working for the FBI."
"My father," I said simply. "Carrick knows more about my father's death and he might lead me to the people responsible."
"Retribution is a powerful motive," he said, standing. "Everything is normal. Continue to do both of your jobs and if you need any help, I will try my best."
"Thank you," I said standing.
"Oh and Anastasia?" Barney called. "I hope you chose the right side at the end of all of this. There are only two people who can protect you in the future."
I paused, unsure what he meant by that. Barney would bend over backwards to protect me because he believed I would join his side. I hated his arrogance, the fact he just assumed I would join him. But now I really wanted to figure out who else would protect me. I collected myself and headed back to Grey House.
Gwen and Ros all but ambushed me as soon as I reached the top floor. "What's going on?"
"Nothing too unusual, but Mia Grey was spotted talking to the press. She spread the news about the shooting at the bar, claiming that someone had a vendetta against her older brother," Ros said. "We need to meet with the head of PR immediately."
They escorted me to another floor, full of screens and people running around madly. It made me happy I wasn't planning on being a journalist. Kate would have loved this.
"Do we have the exact quote she used?" a lady wearing a chic blue dress asked. She was standing at the head of the large table in the conference room, papers and computers scattered around the other employees. She noticed us and straightened. "Gwen, Ros, I didn't know you'd been sent to help us handle this."
There was a certain level of animosity in her voice and I quickly realized she was being pushed out of doing her job. Christian didn't trust many people, even those he employed.
"Claire, I'm sorry you weren't notified. We just got the call from Mr. Grey himself," Gwen said taking a seat. I sat down next to her. "We need your help with this one."
"Oh, so all of a sudden, you need my help," she said, her eyes narrowed. "Who's the intern?"
"My name is Anastasia Steele," I introduced myself. "We have no intention on stepping on any toes. In fact, neither Gwen or myself is particularly talented in getting the press to listen, not like your department. Mr. Grey would rather have all hands on deck for this so to speak."
Ros winked at me and left the conference room. Claire straightened, seemingly pleased with the reassurance and the small compliment. She was arrogant and that worked perfectly. "My name is Claire Logan and I'm the vice president of public relations."
"Ok, so what are you working on so far?" Gwen asked.
"Miss Grey leaked the cause of the shooting to the press and already stocks are tumbling. We are trying to come up with a statement that doesn't refute what she's saying and only accepts it," a sharply dressed man in the caner said.
"Do they have any information about the shooters or the victims?" Gwen asked. "How much room do we have to lie?"
"None what so ever," Claire said. "All of the shooters were killed before the police arrived. We can't exactly paint our CEO as some sort of assassin."
"I need to make a call," I said to Gwen, who nodded. I stepped out of the conference room and called Carrick's cell phone.
"Anastasia, what can I do for you?" he asked.
"A little birdy told me that you are heading up a civil case against the City of Seattle," I said. "I'm sure you are aware of what your daughter said to the press today and I was wondering if I could leak that information."
"By all means. We were going to announce it formally at the end of the week, but do what you must to get this under control," he said hanging up.
I slipped back into the conference room. "How about painting this event as a chance for learning?"
Everyone looked at me. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Carrick Grey is heading up a civil suit against the City of Seattle, claiming there should be ordinances in place to protect people in event of a shooting, similar to that of a fire. What if we leak this information, and say that GEH is working around the clock to prevent this type of violence?" I explained.
Gwen nodded. "And we should mention that this was an isolated incident. It was a disgruntled employee who led the charge and it was the bar's security guards who were able to protect nearly every bystander there, minimizing collateral damage."
Claire nodded and furiously began organizing papers. "That's perfect. I think we've got it from here."
Gwen and I stood up to leave. "It's never boring around here."
I chucked and sat down at my tiny desk. "What's next?"
"We monitor the situation with Mrs. Lincoln and watch the interviews to find a new CFO," Gwen said. She stood and waved me over to the couches. "Why didn't you want us to find out about Bob Adams?"
I swallowed thickly. "I don't like to revisit that year."
Gwen nodded solemnly. "I understand completely, but Christian was thrown for a loop when he found out. We need to know if it will effect your ability to do your job."
I shook my head. "It won't. I think I've proven that I can separate the physical abuse from the past from my currently physical and emotional state."
She nodded. "It's just that there's another employee who still hasn't been able to compartmentalize as effectively and sometimes it shows."
I nodded, wondering why my past was suddenly the most important thing we were focusing on. It made me uncomfortable.
"What else is on the agenda for the day?" I asked.
"Nothing, actually. Tomorrow we'll start the hiring process and then you'll be able to float around all of the departments for the rest of the week, learning more about the culture here," Gwen explained. "You can actually head home now if you would like."
I thanked her and headed straight back to my apartment. I nearly ran Kate over as I pulled into my assigned parking spot next to her red Mercedes. "What the hell, Steele? Why were you driving so fast?"
"I was, uh, drag racing," I said, trying to play off the incident with humor.
"Drag racing in a Prius? What are you doing home early?" she asked. "I'm headed to the mall if you want to come with."
"Let me drop off some stuff upstairs and change out of these heels," I said, taking her up on her offer. "There was nothing else to do today."
She shrugged. "Nice hours, then. I also saw what Mia Grey said to press today."
"I'll fill you in in just a second," I said, heading into the building to drop off my work back and change into some chic flats. Retail therapy was exactly what I needed.
We arrived at the mall in good time, considering it was the beginning of rush hour. Kate was eager to find a birthday gift for her mother, temporarily forgetting what one lose lipped Mia Grey had said.
"Do you think she'd like a new perfume or bag batter?" Kate asked as we floated around Saks stopping every so often to look at something that caught her eye.
"I don't really know Kate. Eleanor loves everything, so I don't think she'll mind," I said, glancing around the store. I felt like I was being watched and it unnerved me. I discreetly slid my hand into my cross body and felt my familiar can of pepper spray.
"I know she likes everything, but I want it to be the right thing that she ends up showing off at one of her luncheons," Kate said sighing, but picking up a gorgeous Bottega Veneta. I nodded in approval and she grinned.
As she was purchasing the bag, I spotted a very familiar Elliot Grey strolling around with Grace. I waved as they spotted me.
"Anastasia," Grace said hugging me. "Such a pleasant surprise! Have the stitches started dissolving yet?"
"Yes they have, Grace," I said. "Hi Elliot."
"Ana! How are you?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.
"I'm doing very well. Your brother is keeping me busy," I said. Elliot coughed and chuckled, causing Grace to roll her eyes.
"We'll being seeing you for brunch on Sunday still, correct?" Grace asked.
"Of course," I said with a smile.
"It was good seeing you, Anastasia," Grace said.
"Laters," Elliot said with a wink as they walked away.
Glancing around I noticed that people were watching our interaction and one lady had even pulled out her phone. I knew that the Grey family were celebrities, but never to this magnitude.
"Grace seemed happy to see you," Kate commented as she approached, a Saks bag on her arm.
"Yeah, I guess. She invited me over for brunch on Sunday," I said.
"Interesting," Kate said, a smirk on her face. "Somehow I don't believe it was her invitation."
I rolled my eyes at Kate, who laughed as we headed back to her car. She continued. "It's all very interesting though, you have to admit! Suddenly the Grey family is interested in you."
"I think it's because I saved one of their lives," I said dryly.
"Yeah, but I think something else is going on. I mean, everyone knows they're dangerous, just no one can actually prove it. They always get away with it, overtime their name is dragged through the mud," Kate said. "My father is working on an exposé."
I bit my lip. It was obvious that the Grey family was dangerous- anyone could see that just by their level of wealth and influence alone. Anyone who had that much power was dangerous. I was starting to get curious, too curious about the illegal side of the Greys' business. And for my own sanity, I needed to find answers soon.
I would like to thank everyone for their kind words of support. You guys are the best audience and I really appreciate everything (including the support for my other story). Within the next three chapters a CPOV should be up! Again, thank you and please let me know if you have questions and comments- I try my hardest to respond to every review!
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