Chpt. 49 APOV:
Christian and I lay low over the weekend, deciding to stay in Escala rather than going out since we still have no leads on Elena. Taylor has provided daily updates to us however for the most part those updates have consisted of "there is no update" or "we still have not located Elena." If Elena is not the one behind the paint attack on the SUV, I don't know who else it could be. Christian and I meet with Sawyer and Taylor Sunday night to review the plans for our upcoming week especially with me starting work on Monday. Christian reminded me several times that I do not need to work especially now that we are married but I reminded him just as many times that I refuse to sit by and live off of the money he earned. Once again he tried to convince me to work at Grey Publishing and he finally gave up when I told him I would consider it after I have some experience on my resume. I can only imagine the reaction if I were to start working at Grey Publishing; it's not like I would be able to hide the fact that I'm married to the owner of the company. I think everyone would just assume that I only got the job because I was married to Christian and then they would feel like they had to treat me differently all because of who my husband was.
"You look beautiful Ana," Christian greets me as I come down from our bedroom the next morning.
"Thank you," I blush.
I'm wearing a casual but dressy business outfit for my first day at the hospital; courtesy of the clothes that Christian had arranged to be delivered last week. A pair of black slightly fitted pants with a pale blue button down shirt with a dress jacket and a pair of black heels completes the outfit. I know the dress code is professional so I'm hoping that this meets the expectation of professional. It took me at least an hour this morning to try to find something to wear; not because I didn't have enough clothes but because I found something wrong with each outfit I tried on. My engagement ring and wedding band are a necklace under my shirt; I had worn them to the interview because I didn't expect anyone to link me to Christian at that time but as I start my new job I'm not sure who I will meet or if they will have seen pictures of me and Christian together. I'm looking forward to being able to wear the rings after the gala this weekend and not having to hide the fact that we are married.
"Are you ready to leave Mrs. Grey?" Sawyer asks as we finish breakfast.
"Yes, I'm going to brush my teeth but should be ready in about five minutes," I answer.
"Good luck today; I know you're going to do great," Christian kisses me goodbye before we leave.
"I'll see you tonight," I say.
"Call or text me if you need anything. Remember Sawyer will be at the hospital with you the entire time if you need something," Christian replies.
"I know, don't worry everything will be fine," I assure him.
Sawyer and I drive to the hospital, I meet briefly with human resources to obtain my I.D. badge and sign off on various policies and procedures. After the meeting, Sawyer escorts me to the section of the building where the publication department is located. Sawyer maintains a watchful eye on everything that is going on around us yet is careful to not stand out like a sore thumb while walking with me. I don't want my new coworkers to know that I have a body guard; I can't even imagine the questions that will raise. Thankfully Sawyer and Taylor managed to receive permission from the hospital to essentially take over an office that wasn't being used directly across from the publication department. There is a large window in the office that looks into the hallway allowing Sawyer to have a constant view of my department. He has assured me this is the only exit/entrance into the department and that he has pictures of all staff who work in that department. The door is kept locked at all times and can only be opened with an ID badge that is set to this area. I am relieved to know that at least while I am working there is no chance that Elena will be able to get to me.
"Good Morning Ms. Steele," Mary greets me as I enter the area.
"Mary, please call me Ana. It's nice to see you again," I shake her hand; I omit the fact that technically my name is no longer Steele. It's an adjustment; even Christian's security staff has been caught calling me Ms. Steele on occasion. Legally, I have filed all the required paperwork to change my name, we are only waiting on my new social security card to arrive which will probably take another week or so. Without the new card, my name at work will remain Steele as human resources requires the new social security card as proof that my name has legally been changed.
"This is the desk that you will be working at," Mary leads me to a small desk in the corner of the office. "Everything you need you should find in the drawers but if something is missing don't hesitate to ask. The computer log in information is right here, you have access to our network drive which has all of our current and past publications on it. We ask that anything you are working on is saved to the network drive as opposed to the hard drive on the computer itself this way if we need to access a file you were working on when you aren't here we will have access to it."
"Of course, that makes sense," I agree.
"Here is a stack of most recent print publications that the hospital has put out this year. I would like you to spend some time today reviewing these as well as the online publications we have, which I have already sent you an email about. I realize this sounds pretty boring for your first day but I think it's important for you to get a feel of what we put out and the quality expectations we have for these articles," she explains.
"I can assure you that it won't be boring for me! I love to read, no matter what the topic," I assure her.
"You can take a fifteen minute break at any point during the day; if you are going to leave the hospital I ask that you let me know. As long as you remain in the hospital feel free to take your break whenever you need. We ask that any personal calls, text messaging and emails be done on your break and not during work hours. If for any reason you are going to be late or cannot come in, please notify me either via voice mail or email before you are scheduled to be here. I have a big issue with anyone calling out sick an hour after they were supposed to start work," she warns.
"Of course, I understand," I say.
"If you need anything my office is just around that corner, be sure to keep your badge on you at all times," she replies before walking away.
I make myself comfortable at my new desk, logging onto the computer and taking a few minutes to learn the email system the hospital uses. I spend a few hours alternating between reading the various print pieces that Mary gave me with the online pieces she emailed me. After about two hours I decide to take a break, as soon as I step out of the office Sawyer meets me outside his new security office.
"Where to Ana?" Sawyer asks.
"I think I just want to run to the cafeteria and get a bottle of water," I decide.
"I can grab it for you, there's no need for you to go," he points out.
"It's fine Sawyer," I laugh as we walk towards the elevator.
I can't see the day that I will ever be comfortable asking Sawyer to get something for me if I have the time to do it myself. I feel bad as it is that he has to sit across from my department all day and essentially watch the door but I know right now that is what is needed to keep me safe from Elena and whoever she might be working with right now. After paying for my water bottle, Sawyer escorts me back to the publication department and unlike yesterday I don't feel like I'm being watched constantly. The last hour passes by pretty slowly, I finish reviewing all the publications that Mary had given me and I went to ask her if there was anything else she would like me to concentrate on but her door was shut so I didn't want to disturb her. I meet several of my coworkers, all who seem very nice and tell me how thankful they are for the extra help as they have been pretty overwhelmed in the last couple of months. I'm surprised to learn that the entire publication staff is all female, the one editor jokes that the last man who was hired couldn't handle all the estrogen and quit. After she leaves an assistant editor explains that he was supervisor of the department before he took a job with a publication house which is when Mary was promoted to her new position. Everyone seems very nice and offer their assistance should I have any questions. At noon I send Mary an email letting her know I was leaving for the day and would be back tomorrow as her door was still shut.
"Ana, Mrs. Grey would like to know if you would like to join her for lunch?" Sawyer asks as I meet him in the hallway.
"Grace? Sure, I would love to," I reply surprised.
"I will escort you to her office and will then pick up the lunch she ordered for you both," he explains as we walk through the hospital.
"I guess she figured I wouldn't say no," I laugh.
"Well, I did let her know you didn't have anything scheduled to my knowledge for the rest of the day. If I overstepped-" Sawyer explains.
"It's fine Sawyer," I giggle. "You didn't overstep."
"Ana! It's wonderful to see you again," Grace hugs me as I walk into her office.
"Thank you for inviting me to lunch Grace," I say as we sit down.
"I will be back in a few moments with lunch," Sawyer says.
"I will be here," I assure him.
"How are things? How are you settling in to married life? How was your first day?" Grace asks.
"Christian and I are settling in pretty well…the security staff are still getting used to my new name though," I laugh. "I enjoyed my first day of work, I was just reading through current publications but it felt really nice to be working again and not be stuck inside the apartment all day."
"Have you and Christian thought about a honeymoon? I know the wedding was sort of last minute so I wasn't sure if you had anything planned yet…" Grace asks.
"We haven't discussed a honeymoon yet. I just started working so I think we would need to put it off a few months at least that way I wouldn't feel bad about taking time," I explain.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Grey…and uh…Mrs. Grey," Sawyer says walking in causing both me and Grace to laugh. "Here's your lunch."
"Thank you Sawyer," Grace says.
"I will be right outside if either of you need anything," Sawyer quickly leaves the room, red faced from embarrassment over his blunder I think.
"How are the plans coming for the Gala?" I ask.
Grace and I spend the next hour talking about the Gala, what it entails and the previous fundraisers she has held at her house. I am shocked to learn how much money is expected to be raised from this gala alone; who knew a fundraising event could bring in a couple million dollars? Grace goes into specific details about the gala so I know exactly what to expect when we arrive, which I think was her motive for having lunch. I was thankful for her thorough description of the gala, I really wasn't sure what to expect having never been to one of these before.
"Thank you for inviting me to lunch Grace, I really appreciate it," I say, getting ready to leave.
"Anytime you want to have lunch dear you just let me know," Grace hugs me goodbye. "I wanted to let you know how much Carrick and I both appreciate what you did at the wedding. I know what he said was hurtful to you and he had no right to say those awful things, but I couldn't imagine him missing his son's wedding. He never would have forgiven himself if he had."
"I know he was just trying to protect Christian," I assure her. "I know how it looked, I was purposely being vague about my past which I realize now made me look suspicious. I would have done anything to have my father at my wedding; there was no way I was going to stand by and let Christian's father miss it even if we were upset with him."
"You are truly a blessing Ana," she kisses me on the cheek before we step out to meet Sawyer.
"I'll see you Saturday at the gala Grace. If you need any help with anything I'm available every afternoon," I offer.
"Thank you dear, I will let you know if anything comes up but Mia seems to have everything under control right now," she says.
The next few days fly by quickly, I am slowly being given projects at work to edit however it's clear they are testing my ability by giving me articles with multiple errors in it. I don't mind it and I get it, they don't know my ability so giving me small mistakes to find is their way of judging my editing capabilities. Although the articles can be quite boring and full of medical terminology, I'm enjoying the editing aspect of the job. Getting out of the apartment for a couple hours each days has been wonderful; as much as I love the apartment it has been great to get out and actually feel like I'm doing something each day. Christian had Taylor turn the downstairs bedroom back into a spare guest room as neither of us have stepped foot in the room in quite some time. For the most part I'm able to get around without a problem, I just have to avoid standing for long periods of time as I find my leg gets sore if I stand too long.
"Mr. Grey, Mrs. Grey, can I have a word?" Taylor interrupts our dinner later in the week.
"Of course Taylor, please sit down," I answer quickly.
"Do you have news Taylor?" Christian asks.
"Possibly," Taylor explains. "Welsh has been looking into Elena's financial situation in more depth given that she has been on the run for some time now we have been assuming someone is assisting her."
"And?" Christian asks impatiently.
"We have reason to believe her ex-husband is providing her with financial support," Taylor announces.
"Her ex-husband? Really?" Christian asks surprised. "The divorce ended so bitterly, she nearly took him for every dime he had."
"Welsh found several cash transactions in his bank accounts which wouldn't raise a flag except for the fact that the cash transactions didn't start until after Elena's accounts were frozen," Taylor explains.
"Interesting…what do we know about Richard? What has he been doing?" Christian asks.
"He retained his lumber business in the divorce, but lost his house and the majority of his savings account to Elena. He also continued to pay her a rather large sum in spousal support every month. His business has been doing fairly well from what Welsh can tell although we suspect he has been skimming more money from the business than he is reporting as his earnings to the IRS. Welsh is having the accounting department look over the numbers but he doesn't believe it adds up. He never remarried, doesn't appear to be dating anyone and owns a small condo just outside the city," Taylor explains.
"Is there any proof that he has had contact with Elena?" I ask.
"Not that we can tell," Taylor answers. "We have pulled his phone records and Welsh is working to identify all the numbers including what appears to be several calls from a disposable cell phone. Our money is on that phone belonging to Elena but we won't be able to prove that just yet. We have him under surveillance right now so if he meets with Elena at any point we will know immediately."
"Thank you Taylor," Christian dismisses him.
"Did you know her ex-husband?" I ask.
"Yes," Christian sighs. "They were still married when Elena and I…."
"Really?" I ask surprised.
"Elena said he wasn't into the BDSM scene but that he didn't mind if she engaged in activities with other men," Christian says his eyes full of shame. "When she initially…approached me….I asked about Richard since I knew they were still married. She repeatedly told me not to worry about him because he didn't mind what she did in her playroom. He walked in on us one day when he was supposed to be out of town on business…"
"What happened?" I ask.
"He threw me out of the house; literally threw me on her front lawn in only my boxers. I ran home as fast as I could, climbing into my room through a window so no one would see me. Thankfully my parents weren't home or I would have been caught. I ended our…arrangement….the next day. Obviously I had known she was married but to actually have her husband catch us just put it all into perspective for me. Elena caught him with another woman a couple of years later and kicked him out of their house. She threatened to ruin his business unless she gave him everything she wanted in the divorce," Christian explains.
"Why would he help her now? Do you think he knows what she did?" I ask, desperately trying not to focus on the picture of Elena and Christian together.
"I don't know," Christian sighs. "I can only think that she has something on him that she might be threatening to expose. I don't think he has a vendetta against me; they stayed married for a couple of years after he caught us…together and I know Elena had other guys in her playroom during that time."
"What are you going to do now?" I ask.
"I'm sending Welsh an email asking him to tip off a contact we have at the IRS after my accountants get done looking at the numbers. If they support Welsh's belief that Richard is skimming the books then we're going to highly suggest to the IRS that they audit his business and his personal tax returns. Hopefully that will be enough to scare him so he stops providing Elena with money if that is in fact what he is doing," Christian explains.
"Do you think he could be behind the paint incident?" I ask.
"I suppose it's possible, though the image on the footage didn't look like Richard. I haven't seen him in a number of years but he was always pretty overweight and he was a very tall man. The image on the footage didn't look his height and did not appear overweight," Christian answers.
"I just hope all of this comes to an end soon," I sigh.
"Me too baby," Christian agrees. "I'm so sorry that my past has disrupted our lives once again."
"Christian, this is not your fault," I say firmly. "I've told you time and time again that I do not blame you for what happened. This is all because of that psycho bitch who has some unhealthy obsession with you. This is not happening because of something you did."
"But if I had never gotten involved with her-" Christian points out.
"Maybe things would have been different but maybe they wouldn't have. You don't know where your life would be right now if you and Elena didn't have your….thing when you were younger. You can't focus on what might have happened or how things could have been different. We need to focus on us right now; I know that you are doing nothing to cause or encourage this weird obsession Elena has with you," I say confidently.
"I suppose you're right," he reluctantly agrees.
"Come to bed with me," I suggest.
"I don't know….I have work to do; I don't know that I can sleep, my mind is racing. I think I want to look into Richard's business further and see what contacts we might have who know about the day to day operations of his business-" Christian rambles.
"I didn't say anything about sleeping," I take him by the hand and lead him upstairs.
"Ana…." He sighs.
"Christian, right now I just want to forget all the craziness that is Elena and whoever she is involved with. Can you help me with that? Even if it's just for a little while?" I slowly unbutton his shirt.
"You're killing me, you know that right?" he asks as he takes off my shirt.
"You don't seem to be complaining too much," I move myself against him, slowly grinding against his now hard erection.
"I could never say no to you," his hands grasp my ass tightly, pulling me against him firmly just as his mouth finds mine.
Within seconds we are lying next to each other on bed completely void of any clothes. Christian sucks hard on my nipple, as I hold in his head firm against me. His fingers expertly play with my clit, quickly bringing me right to the edge as I desperately moan with need. Just as I'm about to find my release, Christian pulls away from my breasts and no matter how hard I tug on his hair he doesn't return to them. Instead he slowly makes his way to my sex, kissing every inch of my skin along the way keeping just on edge.
"Christian…." I pant just as he finally reaches my sex.
"You taste so sweet, I will never get enough of you," Christian runs his tongue right through my folds, from my core to my clit.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" I moan as he sucks gently on my clit while his fingers explore my sex.
Christian moves his hands so they now hold my hips firm against the bed as I realize I was practically grinding myself against his face. With him holding my hips, I can barely move; I have no choice but to lay here and just feel everything. My fingers grasp at his hair, desperately trying to pull him closer to me. He chuckles before moving from my clit so he can explore my sex with his tongue much like his fingers were doing only moments ago. His mouth is everywhere, he tugs on my folds with teeth before gently sucking on them. His tongue darts between my folds, circling my opening before barely entering it only to quickly pull out.
"Christian…please…I'm so close," I beg as desperation takes over.
"I've got you baby," he assures me.
"CHRISTIAN!" I scream as he thrusts his tongue in and out my sex while he pinches my clit which sends me over the edge. My back arches off of the bed, my hands are pulling at his hair so hard that I'm sure it's hurting him but right now all I can think about is what his mouth is doing to me. His mouth is all over my sex, his tongue in and out me; I hear him moan in satisfaction as he takes all my juices in. His fingers quickly replace his tongue, allowing him to slowly kiss his way up to me. His mouth quickly finds mine, his tongue thrusts into my mouth and I immediately taste myself on his lips. I'm strangely aroused at this and when I don't pull away I feel Christian smile against me just before he thrusts into me.
"You feel so good," he moans as he thrusts deeper into me.
"I love you Christian," I pull his face up so he can see me, I want him to see how much I love him. I need him to believe that I don't blame him for everything that is going on right now. Christian doesn't respond but I can tell by the tears in his eyes that he knows; he wraps his arms around my shoulders holding me close to him as he slowly moves in and out of me.
"I will always protect you, I will do anything to keep you safe," he vows.
"I know you will Christian, I trust you baby," I assure him.
"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you," he says while moving slowly within me.
"I ask myself the same thing every day Christian. I can't imagine my life without you," I reply.
Christian continues to move slowly in and out of me, and I quickly find myself right on the edge again. I can tell my Christian's breathing which has increased that he is also on the edge. His hand finds its way between us, gently pinching my nipple causing me to moan in desperation and need.
"I…..Oh God….." I scream out as the need becomes too much.
"Come Ana….Come with me baby," Christian says as the thrusts hard and deep into me.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I moan loudly as the orgasm finally hits.
"ANA!" Christian finds his release only moments later.
"Wow…." I sigh as I run my hands up and down Christian's back. His head is resting on my shoulder, our connection still intact, my legs wrapped around his as we both try to get our breathing to return to normal.
"Thank you," he whispers.
"For?" I ask surprised.
"Everything….for being you….for not letting me sulk in my office tonight," he answers.