Chapter nine

"Ana, If you're really that uncomfortable with the idea of meeting at a restaurant, we can just meet here," Christian said somewhat reluctantly.

"A restaurant is just so cold and impersonal," she replied. Just like emails. Also, a restaurant would be more appropriate if they were celebrating something.

Christian went back to his phone and started typing something. "Okay, fine, I'll ask him to come here instead," he murmured while continuing to type. Ana marveled at how fast his fingers flew across the small screen.

Just when she thought he was finally done with his furious typing, he spent a considerable amount of time seemingly staring at his phone screen. From time to time, she also noticed his right thumb moving in a swiping motion. Ten minutes went by, and he was still absorbed in whatever he was doing.

Ana let out an exasperated sigh, tired of him acting like a tribal god answering in monosyllables and stormed off to the bedroom. How rude of him to ignore her like this. This was only her first day, and she was starting to hate that phone of his already. Fifteen minutes later, however, she had completely forgotten about it, absorbed in the task of unpacking her suitcase. The master closet was huge, bigger than her bathroom back home. It featured a clothing rod that went across all four walls and storage shelving on top. His clothing occupied only one of the four sections; the other three were filled with empty hangers. If she were back in Cuba and she was sharing this closet with her friend Marisol, she imagined, their clothing combined would not even come close to using up all the space that Christian wasn't using.

If Marisol were here in her place, she would have already developed a bad case of Cabin fever. She would have called everyone she knew back in Cuba, ventured out into the streets of Seattle and taken Christian's phone and smashed it to pieces or at the very least found a good place to hide it. This last thought brought a hint of a smile to her face.

"Your father will be here in an hour," Christian said as he walked into the bedroom, startling her. "Didn't mean to scare you." He noted that she was hanging up her clothing and nodded approvingly. He came inside the closet and bridged the distance between them.

"I hope this is okay," she murmured weakly trying not to think about his proximity in this enclosed environment. She failed miserably. Her thoughts derailed to the king-sized bed just a few feet away. How she was going to manage to sleep next to him a second night was beyond her.

"Mi casa es su casa, Mrs. Grey," he said with a wicked grin. The way he called her Mrs. Grey combined with his invasion of her personal space instantly warmed up her cheeks. Ay, Dios (oh, God), was he going to seduce her? Maybe he was toying with her, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was bored. Her reaction, however, for sure seemed to encourage him further as he reached to help her with a hanger, and their fingers brushed again. Unsettled, she jerked back and ended up hitting her head against the rod behind her.

Christian inhaled and wondered what part to play. Hurt and offended? Amused? This last one was harder to pull off but definitely more fun. If she was going to continue acting so skittish around him, he might as well have some fun with it.

" Are you alright?" he whispered. "I hope you don't get a bump," his fingers inched to the back of her head and gently massaged the area while guiding her toward him until his face was inches from hers.

She closed her eyes and started breathing heavily as he moved his lips closer to hers. He smelled like the faint scent of Old Spice, and she was surprised at the intense wave of longing that followed. When at last, he brushed his lips against hers, she caught her breath in an audible sigh, anticipating the same ardent passion of their first kiss.

Instead, he broke the spell by pulling away and looking her straight in the eye. "I got to do a few things before your father gets here."

Ana blinked and stared at that stray lock of hair of his. "Okay."

And with that, Christian exited the room, leaving Ana alone, bewildered and terribly frustrated. All her life, she'd done well avoiding unpredictable, frustrating men like Christian Grey. A man like him should come with a 'do not disturb' sign like those you find at a hotel to warn poor unsuspecting females like her. Especially when that lock of hair keeps falling across his forehead and everything within her itched to brush it back. It had to be America. Something about this country was making her want to do crazy things and feel things she'd never felt before.

…..

An hour later

Clad in the best dress she owned, Ana threw herself in her daddy's arms as soon as he walked through the door. Seeing him, brought back fond memories of when he visited her in Cuba when she was seven years old. Those six months were the happiest of her life. Giddy with excitement, she so much looked forward to him picking her up every morning. He would take her to his hotel, and they would play board games or watch movies and later have lunch in the hotel restaurant. Back then, he filled her mind with stories of when he was growing up and generations past. He awakened her imagination and opened up a new world she'd had no idea existed. Although she was quite young at the time and didn't remember all the details, she never grew tired of listening to his stories. He became her refuge when she needed it the most; Ray's visits meant Ana got to spend less time at home, away from her new step-father, a man she'd grown to fear.

"I'd like to speak with my daughter privately if you don't mind," Ray spoke

curtly as Christian shut the door behind him.

Ana had been too busy embracing her dad to notice how the two men had greeted each other with an almost imperceptible nod. Nevertheless, her father's request made her turn to Christian, her gaze silently asking if he was okay with that. His expression told her he had no objections.

"I'll be in the other room if you need me," he said to Ana before exiting the room.

Wordlessly, Ana invited her father to sit down with her on the couch. She studied his face closely. There were dark circles under his eyes, he must have had a rough night. And his body sank between the cushions right beside her.

"Annie, I gotta say, I'm very sorry for how things went last night."

Hearing him say that made Ana feel a pang of tenderness. Yes, her father still loved her, and all was well with the world.

"I was still quite upset about this...this shotgun marriage of yours," he shook his head and pursed his lips, "this is the last thing I wanted for you."

Ana shook her head, alarmed and mortified. "No, daddy, I'm not pregnant."

"By shotgun, I was talking about the forced part."

"I believe it was for the best. It was quite noble of Christian. I think you owe him an apology, daddy. He took a huge risk by helping me. He could go to jail if it's ever discovered-"

"I still don't understand—-" he interrupted, "If the marriage is fake, why be so adamant against an annulment?" He looked at her intently. "Have you slept with him? Tell me the truth, whatever it is. It's not your fault, sweetheart."

Ana averted her eyes, blushing.

"Is there something else going on between you two?" He pressed.

"No. Nothing has happened between us," she replied, barely meeting his eyes.

"Good," Ray smiled, seemingly satisfied. "About the annulment-"

"I'm...we're not getting an annulment, daddy," Ana said firmly. "Can we talk about something else? When do I get to meet Chloe?"

Chloe was Ana's younger half-sister. Ana had just assumed that her father would have brought her to the airport to meet her and was surprised when he didn't.

Ray hesitated. "I got some news for you. Something happened in the last few days...Sylvia and I got back together."

Ana blinked, not understanding. Sylvia and her father had been divorced for a couple of years now. She still didn't understand. What did his getting back together with Sylvia have anything to do with her meeting Chloe?

Ray exhaled. There was no easy way to say this. "Sylvia has always been against me connecting with you. She has this foolish animosity against your mother," he said apologetically. "She shouldn't. In the end, I married her and not your mother." He concluded, leaving out the part where he'd only married Sylvia on the rebound. He'd just returned from his trip to Cuba, heartbroken that Carla did not wait for him and married someone else. Such details seemed unnecessary to him.

Ana gave her father a blank look. She knew that Carla and Sylvia had been friends in high school and that they had both fallen for her father. And that heir friendship had abruptly ended when Sylvia discovered Carla and Ray were in a relationship. But that had happened such a long time ago, she failed to see how any of this was relevant.

"Are you trying to tell me Sylvia hates me because something that happened eighteen years ago, something that wasn't even my fault?"

"I know it's ridiculous, but- I'm really trying to rebuild my marriage for Chloe's sake."

Ana shook her head, reading between the lines. Was her father trying to tell her she was not be welcomed to live with him since Sylvia did not want her there? The realization was a huge blow to her fragile ego. If her father was not strong enough to stand up to Sylvia, where did that leave her? She turned her face away to hide her tears. So that explained why her father had not come after her that night at the airport. Was he perhaps secretly relieved?

Much to her chagrin, her eyes filled with tears. Putting as much physical distance between her and her father, she stood in a corner and buried her face in her hands and cried. She'd never felt so desolate and unwanted in her entire life. There was this clutching, sinking feeling in her chest, and a furious knot in her stomach.

"Oh, Annie, please don't cry," Ray came to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away and ran off to the master bedroom. On her way there, she bumped into Christian.

"Ana...what's going on?"

Ana sniffed and rushed past him, shutting the door behind her.

Stunned, Christian made his way back to the living room to confront the man responsible.

"Why is Ana crying?" he demanded. "What happened?"

Ray exhaled loudly. "I told her my ex-wife doesn't want her home with us." Seeing the look of confusion Christian's face, he shrugged one shoulder. "We recently got back together," he added as if that was good enough of an explanation.

Christian shook his head in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. You just told Ana your ex-wife doesn't want her in your life? What kind of a father are you?" He spat. He was having a hard time reconciling this new information with the same distraught father who had hired him to bring his daughter to the United States.

"Christian Grey," Ray said with a scowl. "You're judging me. And you," he went on with great disdain, "you're not in a position to make judgments."

Christian gave the other man a cold hard glare. The two men measured each other in silence, with speculative and proving eyes.

"You've got something to say? Say it now!"

"You're damned right I've got something to say!" Ray hissed. "If I had to do it all over again, I would have never hired you. You're the last man on earth I would want anywhere near my daughter." He took a deep breath, struggling to keep his emotions in check. "Does the name Elena Lincoln ring a bell?"