I arrive at Seattle Police Department in record time and quickly rush in to find Taylor, who's sitting on a nearby bench, looking apprehensive as I approach.
"Taylor," I breathe and he looks up as if relieved to see me. Is this a common occurrence?, I think idly.
"Good to see you again, Miss Steele...Mrs. Grey," he corrects myself and I smile sweetly in return.
"Miss Steele will be fine. Where is he?" Taylor leads me to the holding cells in the back where Christian sits in one, downing what looks like a couple pills with a second glass of orange juice. Holy shit, he must've really gotten it bad.
"Mr. Grey," I greet, raising a brow at the hungover man trying to recover from a headache and might soon be my husband.
"Anastasia," he replies coldly as if I'm his mother scolding him again. What the hell is his problem?
"Excuse me, I have to take this call," Taylor suddenly announces, awkwardly leaving the room and leaving us on our own.
"So, do you wanna tell me how this happened, or should I just guess?" I respond sardonically and he rolls his eyes in response.
"Anastasia, are you going to stand there and appraise me or actually get me out?" he replies frustrated, as if this was my fault. Dick.
"I'm just asking a simple question, Mr. Grey. No reason to bite my head off."
"Considering how we met, I think I have a right to." Oh, we're going in that direction.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I challenge, forcing him to answer.
"Well, if you had treated me with more grace when I came into the store, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"Oh, so this is my fault?" I nearly shout, trying hard to reel it in. "If you weren't acting like a pompous jerk on steroids, I wouldn't have felt the need to."
"Even when I own the store?" Shit.
"It doesn't matter. You can't just come in as if you're a fucking king." God, why the hell am I talking to this guy?
Because you're about to marry him.
Fuck.
"Now I'm starting to remember why I started to drink," he mumbles but as he takes a seat across from me, the look in his eyes suddenly looks like regret. What?
"I wasn't exactly prepared for this," I whisper. "The last thing I need is another fuck up in my life, especially with something like this."
"You and me both," he murmurs and takes another drink from a bottle of water that I hadn't noticed and downs it in one go. I step around to stand beside him as he grips the bar firmly, almost as a life force, and without thinking, I gently grasp his hand. He quickly pulls it away once I do and I briefly notice a hint of fear in his eyes. Does he not like to be touched? Clearing my throat, I decide distraction is the best policy.
"There really isn't another solution for this?" I sigh and after a few moments, he sets the bottle down and puts his head in his hands, briefly running them through his hair in the process. I'm assuming it's a nervous habit.
"What would you like to do?" he asks suddenly and I furrow my brows, not wondering what he means.
"What do you mean?"
"Is there any way to turn this around for you?"
"How can there be? I'm fucking engaged to you and I don't even know you!"
"And your actions in the store?"
"Learn how to interact and maybe, I'll change my tactic."
"Hmm, you're funny," he says and if he wasn't behind bars, literally, I'd punch his nose until it bled.
"Show me your world then." He raises his brows at me, taking a chance to look confused.
"And what would that entail?" I shrug.
"If I got something to lose."
"You're a challenging woman, Miss Steele."
"You're one to talk, Mr. Grey. So, how 'bout it?" He sighs deeply, carefully considering my proposition, before turning to me and nodding his response.
"Fine, but only if you apply bail."
"If I had your money, maybe I would."
"Ask Taylor. He knows some of the officers here."
"Of course he does. Don't move, I'll be right back," I wink and he glares at me as I go and search for Taylor.
Half an hour later, Christian, Taylor and I finally make our way outside just as Taylor opens the rear door for us and I look perplexed by his gesture.
"Are you coming?" Christian asks, annoyed.
"I have my own car."
"Doesn't matter. If you want to see my world, then get in the fucking car," he demands and slides in gracefully as I try as hard as I can to rein in my temper. God, he's exasperating. And I might have to marry him.
It's your own fault, Ana.
Fuck. I'm never gonna face this down. Locking my car, I reluctantly slide in beside Christian and before I know it, we're pulling away from the sidewalk, following what I hope isn't a pathway into hell.
Almost an hour passes by and we finally pull up outside an elaborate building and my jaw suddenly drops as I take in the sight.
"Just how rich are you?" I inquire.
"Enough to do what I want," he replies passively and quickly climbs out without another word. Asshole.
Taylor comes around and after opening my door for me, I mumble my thanks, momentarily wondering if he deals with this every day. I follow them inside as we make our way to an elevator and after pushing the button for the thirtieth floor—how many floors are there?—we're finally whisked upward to Christian's penthouse; the apartment I might be living in. Gulping involuntarily, the doors eventually open and I follow Christian and Taylor into the foyer, completely taken aback by what looks like a museum. Holy cow.
"Does it exceed your expectations?" Christian asks as he slips off his jacket and hangs it on a nearby chair. Fuck, would I actually get to live here?
"It's alright," I mumble, hoping I sound natural. "Where do you sleep?" He points across the hall to a room which has the door closed and looks desolate at the same time.
"Do you expect me to sleep with you?" I ask boldly and his brows shoot up in surprise, as if he never considered this.
"Certainly not. You have a room upstairs," he says while waving his hand to emphasize his point.
"I would like to see it, please."
"I have work to do. Taylor can show you around," he declares before picking up his phone, which I'm assuming was on silent, before exiting the room. Taylor appears out of nowhere beside me and I roll my eyes before turning to face him.
"Is he always like this?"
"Afraid so, but you'll learn to get used to it. Shall I show you around?" he ask kindly and I suddenly feel guilty for inquiring. I nod shyly in response and he smiles sympathetically before leading me upstairs and taking me down the hall. He pulls out a key and unlocks the door and I furrow my brow as he opens the door. Does somebody usually stay in there?
"Would I have a key to this room, too?"
"Yes, Miss Steele. Mr. Grey is very keen on security."
"Why?"
"Extra baggage, I guess," he smiles and I grin in return. He steps back so I can walk into the room and I take a moment to appreciate the cold but welcoming aura of the room.
"Is this so that he won't touch me? Since we won't be married for very long?"
"Partly but also because he never sleeps with anyone himself" What?
"What?" I press, turning around to face Taylor.
"Like I said, extra baggage. He's very serious about that kind of thing and no woman has ever stayed in his bed overnight."
"Meaning, he has them somewhere else?"
"Mostly, unless he takes them here." Wow, Christian Grey has commitment issues...who would've thought? Rolling my eyes, I ask Taylor another question.
"Would he cheat on me if I said yes?" Honestly, I wouldn't care but I'm still curious, nonetheless.
"Miss Steele, I assure you, Mr. Grey isn't the type."
"So, we're going to be having a short marriage separate from each other and he won't be with anyone else?"
"Precisely, ma'am." Ma'am!
"I guess that's good to know. As if breaking him out of jail wasn't enough."
"Do you expect him to cheat on you?"
"No, not exactly, but I just wanna be prepared in case I come home to someone else. Honestly, I could care less what he does."
"Ana," he says suddenly and steps toward me before taking a deep breath.
"I know what you must be feeling after this, and I don't blame you, but I promise that Mr. Grey isn't so bad once you get to know him."
"How long have you been working for him?"
"Almost six years, ma'am, and he's never given me a problem."
"Really? I find that a little hard to believe."
"Trust me, if he wasn't a good employee, I would've left after the first week." I guess he has a point.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to hound you about all this."
"It's no problem, Miss Steele. I'm used to answering questions."
"Am I allowed to go wherever I wish?"
"Mostly, yes, but you won't have a key to every room in the apartment."
"Why not?"
"Because Mr. Grey enjoys his privacy." Of course he does.
"Could you show me an example?"
"Of course. Right this way," he grins and steps aside so that I can exit first. Okay, I can see why Christian keeps him around. Taylor leads me down the hall and past a door with a dark gray handle and dark wooden color. Absentmindedly, I wonder what's behind it but I'm already downstairs before I have a chance to ask Taylor. As we start heading for Christian's room, we suddenly hear shouting from what sounds like nearby.
"Is that Christian?" I ask out loud.
"Yes and, as you can tell, he's very passionate about his work." I'll bet...
"What does he do?"
"Entrepreneur."
"For?"
"It's private business."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. He just doesn't like to talk about it. He never likes to talk about himself." What? Why? Before I can answer, we suddenly hear someone calling for Taylor and I turn around to see a middle-aged woman standing near the kitchen with her arms open wide. Taylor smiles when he sees her and I raise my brows in response.
"Excuse me, Miss Steele," he declares before heading for the woman and pulling her in for a sweet, romantic embrace. Who is she?
"Miss Steele, I want you to meet Gail," he announces and I shyly start to walk over. Gail?
"Hello," I answer as we shake hands.
"Hello, Miss Steele. I heard about your situation with Mr. Grey." Of course she has and I like her already.
"Yeah, it was kind of sudden to be honest."
"Don't worry, he's not so bad once you get to know him." Just like what Taylor said.
"Is there anything else I should know about him?" I inquire but before she can respond, Christian suddenly comes bursting out of his office and heading in our direction.
"Get ready. We have to go into town." What?
"What for?"
"To meet my business partners and lawyer. If you say yes, this marriage will be officialized." What the hell?! I haven't even agreed to it yet!
"Right now?"
"Now," he shouts, making me jump, and heads back to his office without saying another word. Officialized? Am I going to marry him today?
"Wait, hold on a minute," I call out and after a moment, Christian finally turns around.
"Does that mean that I'm actually gonna marry you?"
"That was the plan."
"But I haven't even said yes yet."
"Listen, if you come with me and meet my lawyer, we can discuss everything then."
"But I'm not ready for this."
"Are you coming or not?" he says, rolling his eyes before continuing down the hall. Holy shit, I'm actually marrying Christian Grey.