Hello Lovelies,
Apologies for the slight delay - work has been pretty hectic lately, more so for me as I'm in line for a promotion and so I need to get to grips with new things pretty fast. Still writing and editing as and when I can!
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
More coming soon!
Much Love,
Chelsea x
DoloresDeeHowe – Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. I think it's always hard hearing bad things about yourself, but especially for Ana because she ultimately wants to be liked. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Much Love x
iamdbomangmail – Thank you! Oooh, do you think Christian will buy it? Do you think Ana will let him buy it? I'm not sure… I hope you like this update. Much Love x
SuzB – It's a bit of a pickle! Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. I hope you enjoy this one too! Much Love x
Paula White – Thank you! I feel bad for Ana too. It's not nice when you realise those who were friendly to your face are talking about you behind your back. I hope she'll be able to see past it though! I hope you like this chapter. Much Love x
Raven J – Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I hope you like this chapter. Much Love x
Harmony Red – Thank you! All of that will happen in due course, I promise. I hope you like this chapter. Much Love x
I was finding it impossible to concentrate on my growing to-do list, information refusing to sink in. I had to re-read my last email three times before I fully understood it.
It would be a serious understatement to say I was worried. I could feel my heart rate increasing every time I thought about the future of SIP and what it means for me and my colleagues. Is this the start of the end for SIP?
I was also concerning myself with what I overhead earlier. I had been disheartened at first, upset even, at what Maria had said about me. But now I was pissed off.
It had ignited a fire in me.
Now, more than ever, I knew I had to prove myself.
I need to go all out and show off, something I usually avoid at all costs. I need to prove myself to potential buyers, but also to my peers. To the likes of Maria who question my being here.
For a start, I knew I had to further distance my personal and professional life. I know the truth about how I got my job, but I don't want to give anybody a chance to suggest I'm only here because of who I'm engaged to. No, I need to keep anything connected to my personal life out of the office.
I returned my wayward attention to my emails and began typing out a reply, my fingers dancing manically across my keyboard. My progress was stunted, however, when my desk phone began to chirp, trilling loudly through the room.
Snatching up the receiver and propping it between my ear and shoulder, I accepted the call from the reception desk.
"Hi, Ana, I'm calling to let you know your two o'clock has arrived."
I narrowed my eyes.
"My two o'clock what?"
"Meeting," the receptionist clarified. "I've set them up in room three. Do you want me to bring in a tray of drinks?"
I mumbled a non-distinct reply and ended the call.
I brought up my calendar to check my daily schedule. I wouldn't have booked in any meetings for my first day back. Today was designated for playing catch-up.
I scanned the roster and to my surprise, there it was. Highlighted in yellow and flashing back at me.
14:00 – MEETING – Mr Chrome
"What the hell?" I shook my head. "I don't understand…"
From her corner of the office Jaz sat up straighter, caution washing over her face.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," I muttered.
I stood up from my desk and headed for the door, Jaz following close behind. We descended the stairwell to the first floor and turned a corner, walking slowly down to room three at the end of the hallway. I shot Sawyer a quick glance as we passed him, and I was sure I saw him signal something to Jaz.
My palm rested on the handle, hesitating before twisting it and thrusting the door open.
My heart jumped into my throat. My feet ground into the carpet, my eyes flickering between the two men sat around the table in the middle of the narrow room.
I clenched my jaw.
"Let me guess," I sighed. "Your first name is Mono?"
Christian raised his head and lightly shrugged his shoulders.
I couldn't hide the way my body reacted to being in his presence, despite the annoyance that was oozing through my veins. I could feel the hairs at the back of my neck standing to attention, my mouth and lips turning dry.
So much for keeping anything related to Christian out of the building...
He squinted at Taylor, who was sat opposite, and nodded to the door, gesturing for him to leave. Taylor rose and joined Jaz, closing the door behind them, leaving me and Christian alone.
I crossed my arms around myself.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, shaking my head.
"Hello to you, too," he grunted back. He pooled his hands together in his lap. His expression was straight and firm, revealing nothing.
"You didn't answer my question," I replied, my tone harsher than I had intended it to sound.
Unease was building from deep within the pit of my stomach.
How many people saw him come in?
"What are you doing here?" I repeated.
"Thought I'd drop in," he said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders once more.
"You could have sent a text. You could have replied to the text I sent you this morning."
"I was busy."
I narrowed my eyes. "And you don't think I'm busy now? Why didn't you message and ask to meet during lunch?"
"I had a meeting then," he sighed. He scratched the side of his face. "So I decided to come see you now."
"And instead of checking if I'm free like a normal person would do, you decided to hack into my calendar and force me away from my desk, pretending you're somebody else?" I frowned, cocking my head to the side. "Was it supposed to be funny? Mr Chrome?"
He shrugged again.
It was starting to frustrate me, every time he rolled his shoulders with disinterest.
"Christian, you know my work is off limits," I reminded him, the words hissing through my teeth as I tried to steady my breaths. "You can't come here whenever you want. You can't dictate my diary."
"Is it so bad that I'm here?" he scowled back.
I inhaled a deep breath.
I didn't want to say that the answer was yes. Especially now. Considering earlier events.
"Why are you here?" I asked, gentler this time.
"There's something we need to discuss."
"Can't it wait?"
He shook his head. "No. It's important."
"Fine," I sighed. "What is it?"
"It's about the wedding," he announced. He sat up in his seat, bringing his shoulders back, his chin lifting so he could stare straight at me. "We still haven't set a date. It's time we sorted it out."
My brows shot up into my hairline.
"Seriously?" I snorted. "That's why you're here? That's what is so important? The wedding?"
"It's not important to you?" his frown deepened.
"I didn't mean it like that," I quickly shook my head. "It's just -"
"We can't keep stalling on this," he interrupted. "We should have set a date long before now."
I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation.
We had spoken about the wedding more times than I could remember, and each time he had made it abundantly clear he was eager to set a date. We had tossed around a couple of ideas, but the conversation never got far enough to set anything in stone.
His wandering hands usually put an end to the discussion.
"I'm at work," I reminded him.
"And?"
"We can talk about this later."
"No, we can talk about it now," he grumbled. "I'm here. You're here. How about the start of next month?"
"What!?" I shrieked. "No. Christian… Look, I'm at work. I need to get back to work."
He clenched his jaw and it was his turn to tilt his head.
"Why are you hesitating?" he asked.
"I'm not hesitating," I shook my head.
"You are," he nodded, challenging me. "We have been engaged for over a month and you have no desire to set a date."
"You make it sound like it's been years."
"It feels like it," he huffed.
"It's been five weeks. That's all. I'm sure most couples don't rush into making a decision."
"We're not like most couples. I thought you knew that," he whined. He jumped to his feet and began buttoning his jacket. "I came here in the hope of finally moving this forward, but I can see we're getting nowhere."
"Now isn't the right time to talk about this," I told him. "I'm at work. I have stuff to do. You can't come here and just expect me to drop everything for you."
He twisted his head from me. An unfamiliar bitterness spread across his taut expression.
"If you've changed your mind, just tell me," he muttered. "If you don't want to get married –"
"Did I say that?" I cut him off. "I haven't changed my mind. You know I haven't."
"Do I?" he shrugged. Again. "You don't seem at all interested in making plans, or to even start thinking about it."
"Because it's been five minutes," I shot back. "What's the rush?"
"What's the hold up?"
I growled a noise under my breath and dropped against the wall behind me.
"What is wrong with you today?" I huffed. "First, you leave before I wake up and don't even bother to leave a note. Then you don't reply to my messages, and now you come here acting like a dick. What's the score?"
"You –"
"Did someone piss in your coffee this morning?" I continued.
"This is important," he declared, raising his voice at me. "Our wedding. Our relationship. It's important… or at least it is to me."
"Whoa, hold up a second!" I lifted my hands in protest. "Do not throw this back on me. I have not given you any reason to question my commitment to us. None… All I'm saying is that you can't come here and disrupt my day to discuss something that isn't life or death."
"I can't come to your office but you can come to mine?" he scowled. "I can't come here to discuss something as important as our wedding, but you can come to my building, unannounced, and waltz into my office anytime you want a quickie?"
I jerked my head back, almost whacking it against the wall.
I let my eyes scan his face and body, trying desperately to find the man I love behind the harsh mask he was currently sporting.
"I'm leaving," he said through gritted teeth. "You can get back to your work."
"Christian?"
He swerved around me, yanking the door open and storming out into the hall. I reached across to grab his arm but he moved too fast, my fingers falling down to my side.
I followed him, picking up my pace to close the gap mounting between us. Before I could say anything, he was gone. He slammed the main doors open and pounded onto the street.
"Ana?"
Taylor snapped his head to me, his eyes pinpoint and clouded with concern.
"What's the matter with him?" I shook my head. "He just stormed out. He got angry for no reason."
Taylor stared through the front door but didn't speak. He huffed a deep breath.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He's having a bad day," he replied.
"No shit," I grunted. "He practically ripped my head off."
"What did he want to talk to you about?"
"The wedding… He didn't tell you why he was coming here?"
He shook his head. "He has been holed up in his office all day. He came out and said he was coming here, that's it. I've hardly spoken to him."
He returned his focus to me and I saw an unnerving, twisted look envelope his face.
"Has he been in a bad mood all day?" I checked.
He nodded.
"We went for a run this morning," Taylor explained. He stared me in the eye. An icy sensation trickled down my spine. "He woke me up at 4:30 and said he wanted to run. We were hitting it hard for two hours. He wouldn't slow down. I think I've pulled a fucking hamstring trying to keep up with him."
My stomach dropped, a thump detonating in the centre of my torso.
"He went for a run?" I whispered, my shoulders lurching forward.
I glanced out onto the street.
He hasn't gone for a run in a long time. He hasn't needed to run.
Christian used to run when he was stressed out. When he was struggling. When he was trying to exorcise the dark thoughts that were tormenting him.
And whatever he was trying to avoid this morning, it's still bugging him. He hasn't managed to shift it.
"Go after him," I urged. "Keep an eye on him."
"I always do."
"Stay with him," I corrected myself.
His lips twisted into a snarl. "He'll rip my head off," he grunted. "He's been in a foul mood with everyone. We're walking on egg shells over there. It's like the old days."
That sinking feeling struck again.
"Please?" I begged. "He needs a friend looking out for him."
Taylor nodded, as if understanding what I meant, and gave my elbow a tight squeeze before exiting through the doors. He broke into a jog as he turned right, heading in the direction of Grey House.
I was rooted to the spot for a moment, my body unable to move while my mind raced to conclusions.
Christian was fine last night. Perfectly fine. He wasn't tense. He was relaxed, still riding the high from our trip.
Where has that man gone?
What has caused this sudden shift?
I paused and sank my teeth into my lip.
Elena?
No.
It can't be her. He has been working so hard on dealing with her manipulation and abuse with Flynn. He has come a long way in recent weeks. We talk about her sometimes and although it is still difficult, neither of us clam up anymore.
But if it's not her, then who's behind this?
I finally dragged myself from the doors and made my way upstairs, slinking back into my office without looking at anyone. My head was bowed to the floor, my fingers twitching to pick up my phone.
Closing the door, I rushed to my desk and dialled Christian's number.
It went straight to voicemail.
"It's me," I muttered once his curt message ended. "Christian, what's wrong? I know something's wrong. You're not acting yourself and it's scaring me. What happened just now… Shit. Don't shut me out. We don't do that, remember? Please, talk to me?"
I hung up and dropped my phone onto my desk.
I stood by the window and stared at Grey House in the near distance.
My day was quickly going from bad to worse.
"I fucking hate Mondays."
