All rights to the story of FSoG and characters belong to E.L. James
A White Silk Blouse
April 3rd, 2015
The day started out completely normal. Christian and Anastasia Grey woke up, got ready for work, ate breakfast together, and then Christian gave Ana a lingering kiss as she climbed in the SUV with Sawyer and he left with Taylor. Ana was glad it was Friday and looking forward to spending the weekend on the Grace.
When Christian gave Grey Publishing to Ana the previous year, she struggled as she adjusted to the position of a CEO-something she had never aspired to. One of the first changes she implemented was two- hour weekly meetings with the different department heads. Fiction on Monday, E-books on Wednesday, and Non-fiction on Friday. Since the meetings were held at noon and for two hours, Ana had food catered in. She made these meetings at this time of day since her mornings and late afternoons were full of everyday ins and outs of being a CEO.
Sometimes Ana left these meetings annoyed at her editors who often seemed clueless about what made a best seller. She may not have spent a few years as an editor, but she'd been a damn good one and several not only get published, but a few that became very successful books that had landed Grey Publishing onto national radar. Soon, authors were seeking her company out.
After this Friday's Non-Fiction meeting, Ana became so incensed at a particular editor that she lost her appetite and didn't bother trying to eat, despite feeling Sawyer's disapproving gaze from where he stood by the doorway. She glared at him in a way that said don't fuck with me right now, but watched a sardonic smile on his lips.
Ana was so pissed off that she abruptly ended the meeting after only fifteen minutes. The editors rarely saw this side of Ana and scurried like rats out the door. She was annoyed, irritable, and by now, she was just plain hungry. At 12:15, And pulled out her most pitiful face, and asked Sawyer to call and order her lunch to be delivered, and told him to order himself one as well. .
While waiting, Ana read some boring and mundane emails and read a text that Christian sent at 11:50. She quickly typed back a reply, but he did not immediately reply as he usually does. She assumed he must be in a meeting.
Within twenty minutes, Ana had eaten half of her steak as she watched Sawyer practically swallow his whole.
"You're fucking disgusting,"
"Why, thank you Mrs. Grey."
This was their typical banter whenever the boss or Taylor are not around. Ana had never grown to understand why those two were such sticklers for unfriendly and professional attitudes with the security team.
"And by the way, at least my shirt isn't covered in French salad dressing,"
Looking down at her white silk blouse Ana saw what Sawyer was pointing out in his smart ass way. The entire front of her blouse was the blazing orange color of the salad dressing she must have accidentally squirted on it.
"Well, fuck this! This is one of my favorite blouses too. I hope Gail can get this out, but I bet it will be impossible. Ugh. I guess you will have to drive me over to Escala so I can change into something else. Could this day get any worse?"
Thankfully, Grey Publishing was in close enough proximity to Escala so Ana and Christian kept their closets stocked with clothes, as well as keeping it stocked with food. Christian was so kind that he did not ask Gail to come and clean the penthouse; he hired a separate cleaning company. Ana had wanted to sell it for the past two years, but Christian initially said it was a good property investment and when she brought it up again, he told her the apartment would serve as a good place for clients to stay at along with keeping spare clothes or anything else they may need while they were at work since the apartment was downtown and near both GP and GEH.
"I guess now that it's a good thing Christian insisted on keeping the penthouse for spare clothes. Let me put on my pumps and we'll head over there,"
"Do you want me to tell your PA we're leaving?"
"You can't. She is at lunch. Let's go out the back, I don't want anyone seeing the CEO playing hooky, and it's already 12:40,"
"What the hell do you care for? You're the CEO."
"Come on, this shit is soaking through my shirt and its gross,"
Without a clusterfuck of traffic, the ride to Escala is not very long. They got lucky today and Sawyer made the drive in 15 minutes. Ana's iPhone signaled a text message that she assumed was from Christian since he still had not answered her earlier text, but it was a picture from Kate of an adorable Ava covered in chocolate. It was 12:55 when Sawyer pulled into one of Grey's many designated parking spots.
Still smiling at Ava's picture on her phone, Ana looked up to notice they'd arrived when she heard Sawyer's observation that two spaces over was the SUV Taylor drove Christian to work in that morning. He said it quietly and Ana barely made out what he had said.
Ana's eyes followed the direction that Sawyer was looking toward and asked how he knew it was that particular SUV. He pointed out that all of the security team knew the license plate numbers on each vehicle Grey owned. As one part of Ana's brain wondered why in the hell their security would even need to know such useless shit, the other part of her brain registered how strange it would be for that particular SUV to be at Escala in the middle of the day. Then she snorted and laughed thinking that Taylor probably had to come and get Christian a new shirt too. Maybe he had also squirted salad dressing all over himself.
But out of nowhere and without reason, a feeling fell on Ana, like a soft breeze on a summer day, a feeling she felt guilty for even having. As Sawyer went to open his door, she waved at him to stay put as she dialed Christian's cell phone. It went straight to voicemail, meaning he had turned it off. Ana knew that was way out of the norm.
Sawyer, being completely clueless to Ana's probable paranoid but rapid-fire thoughts, just glanced around the parking garage, becoming uncomfortable by the odd look on Ana's face. Ana felt guilty about what was racing in her mind even as she dialed Christian's office number, he did not pick up so the call rolled over to the PA's desk. Olivia answered in her usual clueless way, and Ana became even more annoyed that she had gotten the idiot Olivia, who is terrified by Ana. How Christian tolerates her is beyond Ana, who glanced at her watch. It was one o'clock.
"Olivia, this is Mrs. Grey. Is Mr. Grey nearby?"
In that horrifically annoying voice of hers, Olivia told Ana that Mr. Grey was not in the office at this time, since he had left for lunch.
"He went out for lunch today? He always has it delivered,"
"He does on Tuesday's and Thursday's, Mrs. Grey. But on the other days of the week he goes out for lunch."
Ana's brain started going through its file of information and she could not find one piece of knowledge concerning this bit of information.
"Well, what time did he leave?"
"Mr. Grey always goes out for lunch at noon,"
Ana sighed deeply and looked at Sawyer who was watching her in the rear view mirror in a what the hell is going on kind of way.
"Did he happen to mention when he'd be back, Olivia?"
"No, because on the days he leaves for lunch we are aware he returns at 2:00,"
Ana is really confused at this point and looks at the SUV two spaces away.
"So, he always leaves at noon and is gone for two hours?"
After a very distinct pause, Olivia confirms this.
"Olivia, what days did you say Mr. Grey took these two hour lunches?"
Sounding extremely unsure of herself, as if she is wondering if she has said something she should not have, Olivia answers her boss' wife.
"Ma'am, his two hour lunches are every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from noon until two o'clock,"
Ana is trying to think of something. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from noon until two. Why is that familiar? Something about that is familiar to me. She starts rubbing her head the way one often does when they have a headache.
Think, Ana, Think.
The penny drops.
Ana's hand involuntarily covers her mouth, thinking of what to say.
"Olivia, do you know how long Mr. Grey has been eating his lunch out?"
"I'm not exactly sure, Mrs. Grey. But it's been awhile now,"
Ana is really trying to not let her thoughts turn into full-blown paranoia and to keep her voice steady and calm. I trust my husband, I trust my husband.
"Does Taylor drive him to lunch?"
Sawyer turns his entire body to face her in the back seat. Even his expression is puzzled and Ana sees it, sees that Sawyer is not even aware of this.
"Yes...yes ma'am,"
Olivia is stuttering now and showing how much Ana intimidates her, which gives Ana the advantage.
"Olivia, is Andrea nearby?"
"No. No, ma'am. She has just left for lunch. Shall I have her call you?" Olivia audibly gulps over the phone.
Due to her sense of confusion and growing paranoia, Ana brings out her stern CEO voice that she has learned from Christian.
"No, I do not want Andrea to call me. And I also do not want you to inform her or Mr. Grey that I have called and that we have had this conversation. Do you understand me, Olivia?"
Olivia either does not know what to say or is too scared to reply.
"Olivia, did you hear me?"
"Yes, Mrs. Grey. I heard you,"
"Repeat what I said back to me, please."
"Umm...you told me not to tell Andrea or Mr. Grey that you called or that we ever had this conversation,"
Sawyer's brow is furrowed and he looks concerned at Ana who is clearly distressed about something and has pulled out the CEO card to scare the shit out of Olivia.
"That's what I said, Olivia. And if I find out that you go against my order and do tell Andrea or my husband about this phone conversation, I will have your ass and your job. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes...Y...Mrs. Grey. I give you my word," Olivia is choking back tears. She is clearly aware she just stepped into a pile of shit.
Ana simply ends the call and with Sawyer still turned to face her, they sit in silence. Once again, she calls her husband's phone, and once again it goes straight to voicemail. Yes, he has turned it off.
Sawyer finally clears his throat.
"What the fuck was that, Ana? What is going on?
Ana's brow is furrowed and the hair on the back of her neck begins to stand up as a strange suspicion crawls up from her intuitions gut. She is staring Sawyer straight in the eyes without really seeing him. Ana was living in her mind at this point, disjointed and bewildered, with a grave sense of dread emitting from her every pore.
Ana looks back at the SUV Taylor had driven out of their drive -way this morning. The one in which she watched her husband get into. Sawyer keeps patiently waiting for Ana to let him in on her odd behavior when he watches as her head moves swiftly to the right of them.
There it is.
The only thing missing is a spotlight shining down on it to illustrate its importance.
Parked right beside them in a space reserved for the Greys.
The explanation for a turned off cell phone and unknown two hour lunches Christian has three days a week.
A brand new cherry red Audi A3.
A submissive special.
Looking back, Ana has zero memory of what happens next.
Sawyer tells Kate he finally turned in the direction where Ana's eyes were glued as her mouth dropped open. He watched her turn as white as a corpse. Sawyer, under threat of being castrated by Katherine Grey, described the scene, explains that he began to repeat her name over and over, until Ana suddenly let out a primal scream that he had never heard. Not even on the battlefield.
Tears flew from her eyes as she began kicking and punching the back of the passenger seat while screaming her husband's name over and over, only to throw in a non -stop stream of the word why. Sawyer tells Kate that he got his cell out to call Taylor for help when Ana began to hyperventilate. But he noted that the minute Ana saw his phone, it appeared she must have comprehended what Sawyer was about to do and could hear him assuring her to calm down and he was going to call Taylor in order to reach Mr. Grey.
Sawyer describes that Ana suddenly stopped keening and shouted at him not to call anyone and ordered him to drop the fucking phone. Confused, but concerned, Sawyer looked at her shrewdly, deciding whether he should listen to Ana or call T. He was extremely protective of Ana Grey, she was like his baby sister, but he also had to follow all orders his job required. But it was obvious that something was very wrong, and it was about Mr. Grey and the red Audi beside them.
Ana continued to stare him down and he recognized pure rage mixed with unbridled hurt in her eyes. Those eyes were not asking him to not follow protocol; they were ordering him to do so. Sawyer knew Ana well enough that if she had an instinct, it was rarely wrong.
That was all it took. Sawyer dropped his phone in his lap and she nodded at him, her eyes never leaving his.
Sawyer then told Kate that in mere seconds, Ana very slowly, with a calm but deadly tone, instructed him to photograph not only the Audi but also its license plate. She also told him to write the plates numbers down as well, in case the picture was not clear. Sawyer did not ask why, it was obvious she wanted the information to find out whom this Audi belonged to.
Quickly following her instructions, he climbed back in the SUV and Ana hoarsely whispered to get them the fuck out of there fast. Sawyer, desperately worried about Ana, watched her slump over in the backseat. Her breathing came out in short gasps and he begged her to let him take her to the hospital. Ana finally found her voice and whispered for him to drive her to Kate's, but only stop if Elliot's truck was not home.
Luckily, it was not.
Having to carry Ana bridal style, Sawyer slowly made his way to Kate and Elliot's front door. Quickly enough to make Sawyer actually jump, Kate threw the front door open screaming in panic. Rushing to Sawyer and Ana, she practically pushes him inside. Slamming the door behind her, with both hands on her hips, Kate begins to rapidly fire questions at Sawyer, much of them he cannot answer. He gently places Ana's limp body on the couch as Kate runs to get her friend a cool washrag for her blood red face and to place on her reddened and swollen eyes. As Kate strokes Ana's hair, she watches tears pouring from her friends eyes. Just seeing Ana in this condition, Kate begins to weep as well. As soon as she starts crying though, Kate quickly stops. Knowing she has to be calm so her friend will be calm.
Kate motions for Sawyer to follow her into the dining room.
"What the fuck, Sawyer? What is wrong with Ana? She looks like she needs medical attention! Have you let Christian know about this and where she is?"
Kate is demanding to be told what led up to her friend being in a complete mental breakdown on her living room sofa.
Luke Sawyer had only entered into the life of Christian Grey once the lovely blue eyed Anastasia Steele moved in with him. Despite Sawyer signing the NDA Grey required, being a new part of Greys security team, he had not ever been around Mr. Grey's previous life. None of the newer guys had ever known about any of that information.
Yes, Sawyer had a long list of women's names that were not allowed anywhere near Grey, and especially not Ana. They were not even able to reach them by telephone. He assumed this was just a list of Grey's ex girlfriends. But suddenly he remembered that list of names on the hell no list as Reynolds called it, had grown a bit longer. Sawyer did not tell Kate about that, but he knew he was going to have to look at it on his iPad. Fuck, he thought to himself. Why hadn't it ever occurred to him that list had new names on it? Even if he always assumed they were exes of Grey's, the fucking list of women's names should not be increasing, the goddamn man is fucking married! Sawyer did not think Ana even knew such a list existed, and right now was not the best time to tell her.
Sure, Sawyer had heard bullshit comments that Grey used to be into BDSM from the CPO's that had been there longer, but Taylor would shut that shit down fast. So, with Sawyer not being absorbed with what he would eventually come to believe as Christian Grey's depravity, he was utterly clueless about what that red Audi set off in Ana Grey's mind.
Once Kate is given the simple account of what had gone down in the garage of Escala, Katherine Grey loses her shit, throwing her hands over her mouth and pacing back and forth.
"What? What? You are lying to me. Please, please, tell me you are lying to me Sawyer. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, Ana,"
"Mrs. Grey, may I ask you what is going on? From your reaction, I can ascertain you know what is going on and what has sent Mrs. Grey over the deep end. As her CPO, I really need to be aware of what is happening to her. It's my job and my duty to keep her safe."
Kate charges at Sawyer, her green eyes ferocious and he was positive she growled at him. With a finger pointed right in his face she is sneering at him.
"The only person Ana needs to be kept safe from is that twisted pervert she married. I am going to tear that motherfucker to pieces bare handed. That sick son of a bitch! FUCK!"
"Mrs. Grey, please calm down. You're not far from your due date and you shouldn't get so upset,"
"Not get upset? Are you shitting me, Sawyer? Do you really not know what's going on here or are you playing dumb for Ana's sake?"
Kate suddenly realized who Sawyer's boss was. He had to know what a sick fuck Christian Grey was and what all this evidence points to. Once again she walks up to him, with an intimidating and grim expression on her face.
"Mrs. Grey, I promise you, assure you and Ana, I have no clue what in the fuck is going on, and would love to be let in on the secret,"
Kate crosses her arms and stares at Sawyer, coolly assessing him. She knows he has always been there for Ana and that they are close. She decides to take a chance and trust him.
"Luke Sawyer, what do you know about BDSM?"
Then Kate begins to teach Sawyer BDSM 101- Christian Grey style.
Ana suddenly jumps up from the sofa and scares the shit out of Kate and Sawyer.
Ana had been listening to Sawyer and Kate talking, well mostly Kate going all journalist on him and Sawyer answering her. Even though she could hear and comprehend their conversation, she was actually turning something over in her mind.
The time.
From out of nowhere Ana demands to know where her cell phone is. Kate looks at Sawyer questionably, so he heads to the SUV to bring in her purse. As they wait, Kate holds Ana, in complete and utter disbelief. She knew exactly what all of this indicated and that Ana did too. Quietly rocking Ana, Kate appeared calm. Kate's rage had yet to come.
Kate knew something was off with Christian Grey they day she met him. It did not take that long to discover her then future brother-in-law, was one sick son of a bitch, but had suddenly given up his "lifestyle" for her best friend. Before Ana married Christian, Kate repeatedly warned her there was no way a person who had only taken part in a BDSM lifestyle for such a long time, would be able to change seemingly overnight.
Kate sat mesmerized as Ana told her all about Christian's past life and what all it included. Huge amounts of money deposited in the bank accounts of women Christian contracted to be his submissive. Not only money but also expensive clothes, and gifts of jewels. He even continued to support many of his "subs" and paid their rent and schooling. He paid for their medical insurance even after their contract ended, and since they were able to keep everything he would gift them, he would continue to pay the car insurance for those infamous cherry red Audi A 3's. Kate told Ana they were nothing but well compensated weekend whores. Just knowing Ana was aware of all this sick shit and still married that fucker made Kate want to skin someone alive. She just was not sure whom.
The fact that Ana broke Christian's NDA and that Kate knew everything about Christian and his past should not have surprised anyone. Ana even let Kate read the contract that Christian had drawn up for the two of them and Kate; a self-proclaimed slut was even shocked. Half of that sex shit was acts Kate never knew existed. Christian would have killed his wife had he been aware that she had told Kate all about him, but Kate and Ana were closer than identical twins; they had no secrets, nor would either woman hurt their family by allowing Christian's secrets to come out. No matter how much Kate actually wanted Ana away from Christian, she never said so, and as years past Kate was able to reign in her attitude towards her brother-in-law. Partly for Elliot, but mainly for her best friend.
The most disgusting part of Christian's "lifestyle" was when Kate saw the files he kept on them all. One drunken night at Escala while Christian was away on business, Ana and Kate went into his office, after begging Sawyer to turn off the CCTV camera in it. Then Ana got into a file cabinet and handed Kate fifteen files with names typed on each tab. They read the women's details aloud and being drunk, laughed hysterically at how many of these women consented to anal fisting. After reading that, Kate screamed loudly about how large Christian's hands were, how was that even possible?
But then, Kate's drunken haze cleared for a minute as she squinted her eyes at the pictures of Christian's playthings, her green eyes looked at Ana sideways. Ana being Ana knew her friend had put a puzzle together: they all looked alike and Ana looked like them. How her best friend rationalized this and still stomached this man was not something Kate would ever understand. Perhaps Christian had changed, but to Kate how could Ana look over the ick factor of the entire situation, or how did she overlook what had happened to her as a child and partake in certain aspects of what Ana referred to as playing?
Sawyer came back in the house carrying Ana's purse, quietly approaching the two distraught women, he cleared his throat softly to make his presence known. It was Kate that took Ana's purse from him and retrieved her phone. Ana's shaking hands took the phone and went to her calls. She studied each of them closely and they were like pitch forks being rammed into her soul. No one said a word as Ana went over the time of Christian's text at 11:50, ten minutes before he had left Grey House according to Olivia.
Still staring at her call log, Ana knew for sure that Christian texted her saying he wanted her to suck him off later that night, ten minutes before walked out of GEH to beat and fuck his well paid whore. What a goddamn fool she was. So from that text at 11:50 to roughly around 1:15 when she turned her head to that awful sight, her marriage ended.
Life as she knew it was over. Although she felt as if she were suffocating, Ana just could not make herself breathe as she looked up into Kate's angry eyes and simply said they pulled into the parking garage of Escala at 12:55 and she saw the Audi roughly around 1:15.
"Kate, it took me twenty minutes to discover my marriage was a joke,"
For what seemed like an eternity, no one uttered a word. But from out of the blue, it seemed as if both these pint- sized women were attacking the hulking man that was Luke Sawyer. The attack was not physical it was with words. Kate's eyes quickly narrowed and demanded to know how long this had been going on, that she no longer trusted that he was ignorant of the situation. What this whore's name? Ana yelled while choking on tears that she could not believe what a fool he had made of her, how close she had gotten to him and thought she could trust him. Sawyer, truly knew nothing, and threw his hands up in the air in defense. He swore he knew nothing, repeating it over and over again.
Despite half screaming herself, whenever Ana or Sawyer raised their voices in the slightest, Kate snarled at them to shut the fuck up, that Ava was still napping. Suddenly, Kate becomes panicked.
"Ana, what the fuck are you going to do? Oh, fuck,"
Ana's eyes widened and she looked at Sawyer.
"What time is it, Sawyer? How long have been here?"
Kate answers for him as though he does not exist.
"It is just past two o'clock,"
Ana lets out a bitter and disgusted laugh.
"Mr. Grey is back at his office now. I wonder if he washed all the cum off his cock."
Ana dropped her face into her hands crying.
"Sawyer, what am I going to do? What if Christian just pops into GP, as he is prone to do? What if he calls my office phone and it rolls to Hannah, who has no clue that I left and then she'll tell him I'm gone and then…."
By now, Ana has worked herself back to near hyperventilating again with Kate and Sawyer both kneeling beside her.
"Steele! Concentrate. It's time to concentrate,"
Kate has Ana's face in her hands and is trying to bring her back from where she lost herself. Ana wipes her tears away with the back of her head and nods at her best friend.
"Did either of you tell anyone at GP that you were going to Escala?"
Ana shakes her head, but it's Sawyer that speaks up.
"No. We just left out the back of the building,"
"Okay, that's a positive thing. If nobody knows that's where you were headed, nobody can tell Christian or Taylor, so they won't know what you discovered."
Even though Kate was trying to figure out whether or not the tornado called Christian Grey was about to descend upon her home, Ana's mind was on what a fool she was. What a fool Christian thought she was. Not just Christian, but fucking Taylor as well. Ana crossed her arms and was looking between Sawyer and Kate. Her blue eyes had dried and although she still looked wild and disheveled, she also looked determined.
"I am heartbroken and distraught, but I am not going to simply walk up to this viper I've been sleeping next to every night and inform him of what I saw. He will use his business like spin on it and turn it all around. No, this is not going to be so easy for Christian. I need hard facts, names, proof,"
Ana looks Sawyer square in the eyes. He was still standing stoically beside Kate, but he wished the floor would swallow him up. He wanted to kill Grey and could not believe that Taylor would betray Ana either. He knew how protective Jason was of Ana Grey. Perhaps, Sawyer thought, Taylor was trying to protect Ana from her own husband? What a fuck up all around.
"Do not lie to me, Luke. What can you discover from that cars license plate number?
Sawyer knew that was a piece of cake and was nothing that required Barney to uncover.
"You're able to find out who the vehicle is registered to and when they registered it. With that information you're able to obtain an address as well as who has insurance on the vehicle,"
Christian Grey's security team consisted of ex Green Berets, ex FBI, ex Seals; pretty much all members of Special Forces. They were not in his employment just to physically protect his family, but also because they were trained to be stealth and how to obtain information in ways that were unobtainable.
At the very same time, Kate and Ana asked him the same question:
"Do you know how to access all that information?"
Their question nearly caused him to laugh, and he would have if they were not so fucking scary. Sawyer knew he could get the information they wanted blind folded.
Sawyer watched Kate's angry eyes meet Ana's and was fully aware these two highly intelligent women were deciding if they could trust him.
"Ana, remember whose payroll he's on,"
But Ana did not reply to her best friend, she kept her eyes fixated on Sawyer and she knew how he felt.
Sawyer's astute eyes took in Ana's demeanor and he read her body language. She trusted him and there was not any debate in his mind as to what he should do. Ana Grey was a beautiful woman, inside and out and Luke Sawyer had grown to respect her greatly and called her a friend. Hell, they spent more time together than Ana and Grey did.
But today Sawyer had watched Ana's life blown to bits. Yes, he was paid very well to protect Ana Grey, but now it appeared his job was to protect her from her own husband. But he also knew there was a list of women's names inside his iPad and he was going to have to not only tell Ana about it, but also show her when the list began getting longer. Would she ever trust him again?
Looking at Kate, he asked if she had a computer that Elliot did not use. Kate shook her head that she did not but went to get her iPad and handed it to him. Sawyer sat down at their dining room table as Ana and Kate remained on the sofa holding hands. The entire house was full of an oppressive silence.
Sawyer began their bidding. All three knowing they would have an answer in a matter of minutes. Once he saw the definitive proof about that red Audi, Sawyer closed his eyes for the slightest moment.
The women had their backs to him and could not see the far away look and anger in his eyes. Suddenly, he wondered the same thing that Kate had-what would they do? He knew where his loyalty was at and would go the way Ana went. But whatever Ana decided to do about this, what would he do around Grey and Taylor? He could not comprehend how he would be able to not kill Grey. How he would interact with Taylor in normal fashion while the respect he had for Taylor disappeared as he looked at the screen of Kate's iPad.
He braced himself and stood up slowly, walking quietly to stand before Ana and Kate. Sawyer's expression was all they both needed.
Kate tore the tablet from his hands and read what he'd found. She gasped, unable to even look at her friend. Ana already knew what Kate had read and with more force than Sawyer and Kate had heard her say since Sawyer carried her into Kate and Elliot's home, she ordered Kate to tell her.
Kate shook her head no while tears poured down her cheeks.
"Who bought the car, Kate?"
"Ana, please…"
"Tell me, who bought and registered the goddamn car?"
"Jason Taylor,"
A slice of Ana's heart is cut away.
"Give me the date that mother fucker registered the car for Christian's whore."
"Oh, Ana..."
"God help me Katherine. When?
"February 4th, 2015,"
Another piece of Ana's heart is sawed away.
"Whose name is listed on the cars insurance policy?"
Ana's voice was barren of emotion, but a single tear was falling from one of her cloudy blue eyes. Sawyer was too furious to watch as Ana's inner core was being killed and had to turn his back on the women, while Kate was copiously weeping, the iPad shaking in her hands.
"Jason Taylor,"
More of Ana's heart was just chopped off.
"And what address is listed on the cars registration and insurance?
Kate took in a huge, gulping breath and closed her eyes. She would not be able to handle the look on Ana's face once she answered her question.
"The address that was given...the address...oh, Ana Banana, I'm so sorry. The address is Christian's address at Escala,"
And now Ana had no more heart to cut out.
Kate grabbed her best friend and sobbed into her neck and although Sawyer turned back toward them, he just stood where he was. They were expecting Ana to faint or become hysterical again. Instead, she surprised them both by laughing bitterly.
"That's exactly how Christian handled the purchasing of all those other little red Audi's. He told me. He told me everything. And it's still how he's handling it."
Kate and Sawyer did not reply because there were not sufficient words they could reply with.
Ana looked at each of their faces, both full of everything except pity and she squared her shoulders. She spoke in a determined and now heartless tone, and Kate and Sawyer knew it was going to be all or nothing.
"It looks like I've got a lot of planning to do."