CHAPTER 13

Sunday morning Christian and Ana were making love when they woke up and they had to hurry to take a shower and get dressed. Ana wore a three quarter sleeve, midi length dark teal blue crushed velvet bodycon dress. She wore her nude hold up stockings and her Jimmy Choo Love 85 teal dragonfly velvet pointed toe pumps. She wore her father's daisy diamond pendant and her diamond stud earrings. She left her hair down. She had a smokey eye with light makeup and a deep red lipstick on.

Christian drove himself and Ana to his parents that morning in his R8. She had insisted on making a Carmel Apple Cheesecake. It was her recipe and Gail helped her. Christian grabbed the big cheesecake out of the backseat. Mia came barreling out of the house and stopped short when she saw Ana's arm in a brace and sling.

Mia said, "Oh my God, what happened to you Ana?"

Ana said, "Some asshole at Christian's company almost broke my upper arm the first day I went into GEH when he returned to work."

Mia wrapped her arm around Ana gently and said, "I hope he got fired." She looked at Christian.

Christian said, "That's not all he got. We'll tell everyone together because they don't know either." Christian handed the cheesecake to Mia.

Mia said, "What kind is it?"

Ana said, "Caramel Apple Cheesecake from scratch. I made it."

Mia said, "Oh yum. Elliot is gonna flip. He loves apple pie. I bet he goes nuts on this when he finds out." Christian wrapped his arm around Ana's waist and walked in with her. He started taking off her leather coat and was being very careful with her arm. He kissed her and hung up the coat.

Gretchen the maid came running up and said, "Mr Grey can I help you with that?" She fluttered her eyes at him flirting coyly. Ana rolled her eyes at the obvious display of overzealousness.

Christian said, "Leave me alone, Gretchen. I can do it." She pouted and left the room lingering in the doorway watching him with hungry eyes. Ana just shook her head.

Grace entered the room and looked at Ana and her eyes got big when she saw the brace. Christian said, "We'll explain when all of us are together."

Grace said, "Let's all go to the living room then."

Christian and Ana entered the living room together and his father and brother looked up at them. Christian led her over to sit down, she kissed him on the lips and straightened his tie patting his chest before they did. The room gasped. Ana looked around alarmed at them.

Mia said, "She can touch you?"

Christian said, "Yes, she can, everywhere. It doesn't even hurt for some reason." Grace was so happy.

Christian said, "I have something else to share with you." He got down on one knee and pulled out a blue velvet ring box. The room gasped. He took Ana's hand and kissed it.

He said, "Anastasia, I have loved you the moment you saved me in that helicopter and from every moment since. Save me again and be the love of my life. Anastasia Steele, will you marry me and make me the happiest man on earth?"

Ana looked down at his sweet face and said, "You're the only man I'll ever love for the rest of my life Christian Grey. Of course, I will marry you." He opened the box with a Cartier cushion cut, three and a half carat platinum solitaire natural blue diamond ring surrounded in tiny pavé diamonds and down the sides. Christian was lucky they had a blue diamond to substitute the pavé diamond that was in the setting. It was unique and cost him over half a million dollars.

Ana gasped as he stood up and put it on her left hand in the sling. She was looking at it and he took her in his arms gently and kissed her. Her hand slid to the middle of his back rubbing him in a loving caress.

She said, "I love you, Christian."

He said, "I love you too, my beautiful Anastasia." He caressed her cheek and stepped back facing her.

She smiled looking at it and said, "It's a blue diamond."

Christian said, "It's your favorite color, my love."

She smiled teary eyed and said, "I love it, Christian my love." She caressed his face. He stepped around her and turned to the family.

Grace was so happy she was crying into Carrick, Mia was totally wanting to plan the wedding and Elliot… we'll… Elliot was stoic.

Christian said Roz and he wanted Ana to be their new CFO. He said Ana impressed Roz so much with her evaluations on six potential acquisitions and caught the mistakes in two minutes that the accounting department did.

Carrick asked her where she went to school. She told him she had an Accounting Forensics master's degree. She started telling him about her education.

Carrick asked, "What happened to your arm Ana?" Ana told them what happened. She even told them how she kicked him in the nuts, broke his thumb and punched him in the face. She said she filed charges. Carrick offered her his services when it came time for court. She smiled and told him that was very nice of him to do.

Elliot pulled Christian aside outside on the patio and said, "Christian, are you sure about this girl? She came out of nowhere. She looks like she walked off a photoshoot. Are you funding her? Are you positive she isn't after your money? She lived out in the country in the middle of nowhere, for God's sake. She just shows up at the hospital in rubber boots and jumps into your life? You want her to work with you and now you want to marry her in nine weeks of even knowing her? Seems like she's a billionaire hunter to me and you're falling in her trap. How do you know her motives? I have more experience with women who are status climbers than you do."

Christian got pissed off and said, "First off I know everything about this girl but you haven't been around long enough to even make an assumption. You've been on your trip to the Bahamas for two weeks then took a month in Aspen at my house. How your company makes any money when you aren't running it, I'll never know. You haven't seen her background check or her resume. You don't know that the woman I love has been by my side healing me the whole time you've been galavanting around. You didn't even stop over once in those nine weeks to check on me or you would have seen her there helping me, bathing me, feeding me and dressing me. She is a very wealthy woman who started her business with her father at twelve years old. Twelve! She graduated highschool at fifteen years old. Now, she has a master's degree in Accounting Forensics at twenty one years old with a 4.2 GPA when I first met her. She owns over thirty five properties, maybe more now in Steele Financial, Inc. She is worth over half a billion dollars in cash and assets. She doesn't need my money and I haven't spent a dime until now on that ring. She is the most beautiful, caring and compassionate woman I have ever met. You are a fool to have even uttered those stupid words about the woman who saved my life. It was sheer luck that she wasn't killed in her car when my helicopter snapped the tree above her head. It was sheer luck that she was leaving and I could have died in her field all alone bleeding to death if she hadn't been there. It is sheer luck that she loves me with how fucked up my life has been until she found me. She's a perfectly wonderful woman and is all I ever wanted in my life. She can touch me and it doesn't even hurt. In the beginning, I asked her not to and she didn't even when in that wrecked helicopter. She climbed into it with 37 gallons of fuel under her and I. She knew it but did it to save my life. She knew because she is certified to fly and do all maintenance on small aircraft, like her 2008 Cirrus SR22-G3 Turbo airplane and 2006 Eurocopter EC 120B she keeps on her property in Montesano. She has seven certifications total. So tell me that I know nothing about this woman? She is a complete genius and all mine forever. So don't give me anymore of your shit, Elliot, and never bad mouth her. She deserves better than that in my eyes after knowing her completely. She is all alone in this world and loves me. She has never asked anything from me, but my time, my love and my heart."

Elliot hung his head and said, "You're right, Christian I've been a terrible brother and she deserves better. I was wrong about her and judged her by my past experiences. Can she really do all that stuff?"

Christian said, "And probably more than she has told me about or showed me. She's one helluva cook too. Her food is way better than mom or Gail can make. I love when she makes me something. But, her chocolate butter cookies and ultimate chocolate cake, oh man, they are the total supreme. You think you died and went to heaven. If I ever invite the family for lunch or dinner, you better bring a bib and come running or you're a fool to miss it."

Elliot said with big eyes, "Wow, a woman that can cook like that, I'd marry too. Let's get inside and eat, I heard she brought a cake. I can't wait."

Christian just laughed at him and said, "Your gonna die in it guaranteed."rx.

Christian thought, 'Boy, will he be shocked when he tastes that huge Caramel Apple Cheesecake.' He couldn't wait, himself.

—--

The next few weeks went by, Elena left Christian as the executor of her will. Any money recovered and all her assets left after the IRS has released will transfer to Christian. Thirty one million belonged to him from her embezzlement and he would set whatever is left after liquidating all her property to the victims. There were seven children within the statuette that came forward. He had her body put in a pine box in the local cemetery with a basic headstone. No funeral, no show, no nothing but a name and birth and death date. He figured it was basic human decency to go that far but no further and it was completely hands off.

Ana said, "Christian, you could have put her in a pauper's grave at the jail, but if people need a place to pee or spit they will know they have the right place now." Christian died laughing on the couch next to her.

Jack Hyde was another piece of work. Ana ran him through her software and found out that there were four women and one a teenager at the age of fifteen years old that he was accused of statutory rape and attempted rape and sexual assault over a five year period, three years ago before he came to work at GEH. Good thing the women had it documented through the National Sexual Assault Hotline. Her records from there led her to them.

They had pressed charges and had the paperwork for it, but the local police in New York (statutory rape), Chicago (two sexual assaults), and Atlanta (one attempted rape). They claimed they had never had any records of his hearing in each city. Ana was outraged, because he had it all somehow expunged from his record without even a hearing. He paid off someone to wipe it away and it wasn't the victims. Ana pieced together all the tidbits of information and provided the documents, reports and information to the FBI under her Uncle George. He said he would contact Uncle Carl, a federal judge and show the evidence or the victim reports, the official stamped copies of their filing papers in the county and states they were in. The victim contact information, the supervisors that were on duty and their current contact information and the accused, Jack Hyde's information and deep background check. Jack Hyde came from a wealthy family and his father is royalty and a top barrister in England's Parliament. He clearly had the means and way to bribe the right people.

Ana compiled it all and all the proof of tampering. Ana wrote a letter to Uncle Carl, the federal judge, on the victims behalf requesting all charges be retroactive, reinstated with statutes of limitations be revoked, due to a minor being involved at the time on one case in New York. The minor is now an adult now and all the women never received justice in each state by subversion. Ana provided all four women with full copies of all the thorough information she compiled. She got them in contact with a volunteer team of ex rape victims that are now a group of lawyers and advocates nationwide that run a bureau called WASA (Women Against Sexual Assault) that is now getting national attention and funding to persue this kind of inaction and deception in preventing their civil rights, in this case. They were hungry for a good case with proof and now they have four in three states and one perpetrator. The ball was in their court now.

—--

Ana and Christian sat down one night in late October and talked about everything concerning their relationship.

Christian said, "I'd like you to sign the papers and take the job as soon as possible."

Ana said, "Just wanted to go over them once more. You know, you're paying me a lot more than you would normally."

Christian said, "You're my wife soon. You're worth every penny. Besides, I know you'll give 100% to be sure you earn it." She smiled and kissed him.

She asked, "Won't people say the position was only created to appease your wife?"

He chuckled and said, "They don't know what the hell they are in for, if you my beauty crack the whip and run it like a military well oiled machine. It's probably how you have them maintain your business. Speaking of, I'd like to see it on a visit one day, baby."

She smiled and said, "It's in Salem, Oregon so it's not that far fetched. When do you want to get married, Christian?"

He grinned and said, "Tomorrow is good for me. Are you busy?" She laughed at him.

Ana said, "You know you can't disappoint your little sister and your mother. Think of your sweet little baby sister. She'd be crying because you eloped and all her plans are dashed to the ground."

Christian said conspiratory, "Let's do it now before she invests too deeply." Ana laughed and pushed him over on the bed. He started laughing.

Ana said , "You know, you're not that heartless."

Christian said, "How about, the day after Christmas. Then we can run away together after we get our cool gifts." She smiled and kissed him.

Ana said, "You are my cool gift."

Christian said, "You're my cool gift too, but you tie in the race with your killer top secret ultimate chocolate cake."

Ana said, "I can do things to you that that cake can't do."

Christian said, "Show me?"

Ana said, "Not now. We're talking, you horny rabbit man."

Christian said, "Always when you're around."

Ana said, "I was thinking December 30th because then we can ring in the new year with each other as man and wife."

Christian said, "I like that. Let's do that. Now where?"

Ana said, "Your mother's side yard off the patio. We could do a heated tents thing."

Christian said, "My mother will be over the moon about you asking her for that. You ask her. She will love you forever."

Ana said, "She will anyway. I promised to make her a big strawberry type specialty cake for her birthday. Your brother wants an ultimate but I told him you would get jealous and said he'd have to wait for your birthday to taste it. So he wants an apple ultimate cake with cinnamon. I told him I could do that."

Christian got offended and said, "Wait, you are going to make me share my cake?"

Ana laughed and said, "I'll make you your own. Your family wants to die in chocolate heaven too. You know you get a big piece with everyone and your own at home, that you have to share a piece with me. If you count the pieces of cake with your family, you get a whole cake to yourself?" He liked that idea.

Christian said, "You're brilliant, Anastasia. I just love when you sort it all out and I profit in the end." Ana giggled.

Ana said, "What about colors for the wedding?"

Christian said, "Blue like your eyes, cerulean blue."

Ana said, "Ok, gray like yours and silver."

Ana called Mia and gave her the date and the colors and the idea of blue and white Christmas lights to help with lighting. Mia loved the idea and was a total chatterbox planner. She called Grace next and asked about the idea for the heated tents on the side of the house. Ana said one for the service, one for the reception. Grace got talking about everything and wanted Mia to talk too. She said she and Mia would coordinate everything. Christian was right, it made her day.