A/N: I apologize for all mistakes in this chapter, I only did light editing. You probably noticed that the penthouse is different from the books it's smaller and doesn't take up the entire floor. The elevator is in the hallway outside the apartment and security is located in the lobby and it's for the entire building.
Chapter fifteen
"Mr. Grey is not here," Ana said while looking through the peephole. The blonde woman shifted, looking around her furtively as though she didn't want to draw attention to herself.
"Open the door," the woman mouthed the words voicelessly, cupping her hands to her mouth in a secretive manner. Her behavior certainly raised a red flag.
Ana hesitated, remembering her grandmother's tales about opening the door to strangers.
"I'm sorry. He's not here, but I can take a message."
Through the peephole, the blonde woman's face grew grotesque, Ana was not sure how much of it was real or an optical illusion.
"Open the door, I need to talk to you face to face!" The woman muttered in a hissing whisper.
At once, Ana retreated from the door, she needed to trust her instincts and ignore the persistent knocking. To distract herself, she immediately got busy with a duster, determined to dust every nook and cranny around the apartment.
I need to tell Christian! Yes! He told me to text message him, remember?
Oh, no! She thought as she turned the phone screen on. It had all looked so easy when Christian had shown her how to text. The problem was, the screen no longer looked like what she remembered. Looking at the icons on the bottom of the screen was confusing. Some of them she could readily identify: a camera, a phone, and the Gmail icon which Christian had mentioned. But the circle with six dots and the colorful circle one were mystifying. Maybe she ought to try that one and see what happens. When she did just that, the words: GOOGLE appeared big on the screen. Underneath it, the words ' search or type web address' appeared. Ay, Dios ( Oh, God!) She let out a sigh of exasperation, she wanted to send a text message not surf the internet!
When she tapped inside the search bar, a cursor appeared , and the keyboard popped up. Okay. She spent a few precious minutes typing, and deleting letters, and experimenting. Well, look at that. Typing the words: How to type text messages, she got several related suggestions.
How to type text message on apple watch.
How to type text messages on a computer.
How to type text messages faster.
None of these was what she was looking for.
She was now stuck. She didn't know how to get out of that screen and return to the previous screen. Ugh! This was so incredibly frustrating! If she could only call Christian and ask him what to do. But no. Somehow she had to navigate her way back to the screen that had the phone icon, and then tap on it in order to make a call! This stupid smartphone was so useless!
Wait! Luckily there was a real phone around here! At once, Ana retrieved the landline telephone that sat on the side table next to the couch. At least here was something she could do. Dial Christian's number. She let out a sigh of relief. This phone seemed to her more like a real phone than the handheld device she'd been using.
…...
"Ana? What is it?"
"Christian! There's someone at the door. She won't go away. She keeps on knocking."
"What? Who is this?"
"She slipped a note under the door. It says her name is Elena Lincoln."
"Ana, whatever you do, don't open the door. Okay? Promise me?" His tone sounded urgent. "That woman is not a friend. She's persona non-grata."
"Yes, yes, I promise."
"Sit tight. I'm calling security to escort her out of the building. I'm going to hang up and call them. I will call you back right after I talk to them. Okay?"
"Okay. But...what does she want?"
"She's someone from my past who's nursing a grudge against me...you know what that means, nursing a grudge?"
Ana exhaled. "Yes I know. But what did you do to her?"
"It's a long story. Can't go into it right now. You're going to have to trust me here, that woman is up to no good."
…...
After speaking with the security manager over the phone, Christian called Ana back to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.
His next call was to Mia. Okay, this was probably not the best of ideas but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Hi, little sis. Where are you right now?"
"I'm driving, if I don't make any more stops, I can be in Seattle in another four hours." There was a pause. "Hey, have you thought about my proposal? I'm not asking for free money, Just give me a chance. I can clean your house, run errands for you. PLEASE!"
"There is something you can do for me temporarily, but if you mess this up, I will not give you another chance."
Mia's voice rose in excitement. "What are you thinking of?"
"You're probably the last person I should ask, but I need you," he exhaled deeply before going on to tell her about his traveling to Cuba, his marriage to Anastasia, and their current predicament with Elena.
"Christian! I can't believe you married her and didn't even tell us!" Mia's voice thundered.
Christian decided to ignore her tone. "Can you get past that now? I need you to be Ana's companion for a short while, can you do that?"
"Of course!"
"Can you head over there as soon as possible? I won't be home until later this evening." He asked, wishing for the tenth time he'd invested in a CCTV security system instead of having to depend on the security guard stationed at the entrance of his building. "Also, can you take her out shopping and get her whatever she needs? I'll pay-pal you some money right now."
Later in the afternoon
By the time Mia arrived at Escala, Ana had been waiting for her with lunch and freshly squeezed lemonade. Minutes prior to her arrival, Christian had called her to give her the heads up. Security was to let her in the building once she'd shown them her ID.
Ana shook Mia's hand and smiled, " nice to meet you, Mia."
"Nice to meet you too," Mia answered, her bubbly personality and carefree shining through. She was dressed in black and wore three-inch-high wedge heels. Her makeup was heavy on mascara and blue eye shadow.
Ana opened the door wider for her.
The two women looked at one another.
"So you're the girl who got my brother to tie the knot," Mia said, her expression hard to read.
Ana didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't know exactly what Christian had said about their relationship.
"I guess that's me," she replied with a smile.
"I was just using that as an icebreaker," she chuckled.
After that, they talked for close to two hours, smoothly changing topics, barely staying long enough in one single subject. Ana learned that Mia had just turned twenty-one and that right out of high school, she'd decided to take a couple of years to find herself. During that time, she had traveled extensively, her last stop had been her parents' home in Italy. They'd had a 'disagreement' of some sort and Mia had decided to return to the States.
Mia was curious about Cuba and had asked Ana all sorts of questions, genuinely interested in what life was like in that part of the world.
"You know your English is nearly perfect," Mia cocked her head, thinking. She could still detect a slight Spanish accent. "My brother says I should take you out shopping. So grab your purse and let's hit the road."
Ana retreated to the bedroom and returned a few minutes later wearing one of her new outfits and her small leather handbag.
"Wow. That's a really tiny bag," Mia said, cringing a little, doing her best not to let it show. "How do you fit everything in there?"
"I don't. I just carry what's absolutely necessary."
"We'll have to get you a new purse! Maybe one for me too. One can never have too many purses," she chuckled. "This is going to be fun!
Ana loved the idea of going to the mall, she could certainly use a new purse. She hoped to find something nice at a reasonable price. Back Cuba, she had saved one thousand pesos for emergencies which she had traded at the currency exchange at the airport for a grand total of 60 dollars. She didn't know how much a new purse would cost, but she hoped she wouldn't need to spend more than a third of that amount.
"What are you looking for?"
"My hairpin..." Ana looked around the side table, around the couch and in between the cushions. "I thought I left it on the table."
Mia shrugged one shoulder. "Just go get another one."
"I don't have another one like it. This is a special hairpin." Ana sighed, feeling discouraged. This was the same hairpin that Christian had given her the day they first met.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Tell you what, at the mall there's a store, we'll get you a few hairpins and other accessories," Mia said in a chirpy tone. "Let's go."
….
At the mall
"This woman... Elena. Who is she?"
Mia hesitated. "My brother didn't tell you?"
No. As a matter of fact, he's told me very little about himself. Ana shook her head. It was maddening how he shut down every time she tried to get him to open up. She sighed deeply. No, this was not something she would be sharing with Mia.
"He and Elena were business partners years ago. Christian discovered some illegal stuff and called the authorities. She did two years in jail and now is out on probation," Mia shook her head in bewilderment. "As far as I know, there is a restraining order in place forbidding her to have further contact with Christian."
Right then, they were walking by Nordstrom Rack, and Mia made a beeline for the women's clothing section. Ana followed closely behind.
"I don't understand," Ana shrugged her shoulders in defeat. She was having a hard time following her words. Mia had spoken too fast, so fast that it almost sounded like a foreign language. For the first time, Ana considered what it would have been like had she arrived from Cuba speaking little or no English. If that were her situation, she would probably have crawled under a rock in despair at this point.
"I'm sorry," Mia said half-distractedly while checking out a clearance rack of designer clothing. "I just realized you're not familiar with our justice system. "Okay, let me see how I can explain. Hmm...Elena was found guilty by a judge who sentenced her to two years in jail and another two years on probation. That means that even though she's now free, she must still report to an officer of the court who makes sure she doesn't repeat her past crimes or fulfill the terms of her release.
While Mia talked, Ana scanned her surroundings. She'd never been in a store this big. She discreetly studied the other women near her. They seemed too self-absorbed looking at the merchandise to make eye contact or acknowledge her existence unless she stood in their way, in which case they mumbled an impersonal 'excuse me,' without so much than a glance in her direction. Everyone seemed distracted and in a rush to move from one clothing rack to the next as though they were participating in a timed race or marathon of some sort.
"Did you say restraining order?"
"Yeah. A restraining order is a court mandate, a condition to her release she's not to have further contact with Christian."
"But...she was looking for him?"
"I know, it's unbelievably idiotic on her part. But clearly, the woman has been blinded by revenge to her own detriment," she chuckled. "All Christian has to do is report her to her parole officer. He even knows the guy assigned to her since he works with law enforcement."
Ana shook her head. Was this Elena woman for real? How stupid could she possibly be? She even left a handwritten note incriminating herself. It was as if this woman WANTED Christian to know she'd been to his apartment.
Mia threw in four tops and two pairs of pants in the stores' shopping basket. "Ana, do you see anything you like?"
Once again, Ana was faced with way too many choices. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was no way she could possibly choose something out of the million cute things available even if she wanted to. Besides, looking at the price tags, she had already decided that anything here was way more than she wanted to spend. "That's okay. I don't need any clothes right now. I could use a new purse, though."
Mia raised a brow. "Are you for real? Christian said to get you anything you wanted," she looked at Ana curiously. "He told me a little bit about your father...about your little predicament and also that he's made of money?" The last part was more of a statement than a question.
Ana didn't like the sound of that. First of all, there was a clear difference between wanting something and needing something. She clearly didn't need any new clothes at the moment. And as to her father being made of money, she really didn't give a damn. She would rather have his love than his money. Thank goodness he hadn't tried giving her money or she would have thrown it back in his face.
"My father's money is his, not mine."
"Maybe I should clarify something for you," Mia murmured, taking Ana by the arm and guiding her over to the women's handbag section of the store. "My brother lives comfortably but is not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. Do you know what I mean?"
"No. What is exactly your point, Mia?" Ana asked, scanning the assortment of purses on display, feeling overwhelmed once again.
Instead of answering, Mia picked up a random handbag, then another and then another. At last, she chose one and then moved over to the next display and choose yet another handbag while Ana watched her with a question mark on her face.
"What do you think? Isn't this gorgeous?" She asked, holding up a studded Michael Kors leather shoulder bag. Ana nodded. Mia lifted the other purse in her hand so Ana could take a closer look. "This is one is really cute. Don't you think? It's a Calvin Klein. Which one do you think costs more?" When Ana didn't immediately answer, she added: "Which one do you like more?"
Ana shook her head. Both purses were gorgeous. At last, she pointed at the Michael Kors handbag.
Mia was initially disappointed at Ana's choice, but she quickly recovered. "Okay. The Michael Kors is $400, and the Calvin Klein is $1700."
WOW! Ana's jaw dropped. This had to be some kind of joke!
"Okay, so now, are you with me, Ana? If we were to think of these two purses as visual representations of what people can afford, the Michael Kors would represent Christian and the Calvin Klein would be your dad," Mia illustrated, putting each bag on display as though she was making a powerpoint presentation. "Do you see what I mean now? If I say my brother gave me money to get you something nice, you might as well get the Michael Kors. Every woman needs at least one top-of-the-line purse in her closet.
Ana's gaze dropped to check out Mia's handbag. It was black, sachet style and also a Michael Kors. Without saying another word, she started perusing the other displays and comparing price tags. She emerged triumphant a few minutes later with a Steve Madden crossbody bag bargain-priced at $22.50 and a retail price of $68.00.
"Hmm...not bad, not bad," Mia alternated between nodding and shaking her head. "Is this what you really want?"
"Yes," Ana replied, sliding the Steve Madden purse into the Nordstrom shopping basket.
Smiling, Mia took Ana's arm and guided her toward the registers. While scanning their purchases, the cashier complimented Ana, telling her the Steve Madden purse was a terrific bargain. Mia was quick to pay with her card before Ana had the chance to pull out her paper money.
"Thank you."
"I told you my brother is paying Hey, are you having fun yet?" She giggled as they strolled outside the store, walked around and made a beeline for the makeup section of Ulta Beauty. There she spent quite a bit of time trying out different shades of Tarte foundation. "These are called testers because you take a sample and compare it against the color of your skin," she said dabbing different shades on the inside of Ana's wrist. "Okay, hmm...let me see...now hold your hand up to your face like this."
Ana followed Mia's instructions, curious. Back home, she'd worn lipstick regularly but applied foundation on special occasions. As a result, she'd had the same foundation bottle for years.
"I think this is your shade," she said, holding a bottle marked Ivory. "Tarte is the best out there, you won't be sorry." She then went back to peruse the testers.
"Ladies? May I help you with anything?" A sales associate approached them, smiling. "If you're unsure about a shade, I can do your make up and show you," she said, pointing to her makeup station consisting of a swivel chair in front of a large lighted mirror.
"No, thank you," Mia answered in a sharp tone, going back to the testers.
Ana simply smiled at the makeup artist. "This is my first time here."
"Oh. Perfect. I can show you some options. Do you usually buy Tarte?"
Ana shook her head no. She was about to add something else when she caught sight of Mia slipping one of the testers into her purse. She forced herself to glance back at the sales lady who seemed to be oblivious to what had just happened. "No...I don't normally wear foundation," she replied distractedly.
"You are so pretty, I bet I can find a pretty shade for you. You're welcome to try it out, no obligation."
Ana hesitated, not sure what to expect from this makeup session. She'd never had a professional do her makeup before. "No, thank you," she shrugged. "Maybe another time."
"Well, let me know if you change your mind," the older woman said before walking away.
"What do you think you' re doing?"
"Wh—at?"
"I saw you."
Mia another word, Mia made a beeline for the exit with Ana following closely behind carrying their Nordstrom's shopping bags.
"Are you going to answer me?" Ana demanded. "Look. I don't know you well, and you're Christian's sister, and I respect you for that...but what you did there was wrong."
Mia made a face. "Are you always this...blunt?"
"In Cuba, stores don't have testers...they're too afraid of losing out because of people like you taking advantage."
"Look...you're making a mistake," Mia exhaled loudly. "It's not that big of a deal. I didn't take the full product. This is only a tester. Half the product is already gone."
"But you took it from the store and now other people won't get a chance to try it."
"So? This is a multi-million dollar franchise. They have thousands of testers for people to try out. That's the whole point of testers. There is no harm here."
Ana shook her head, unconvinced. "This is wrong. You have to put it back!" She stated resolutely.
Mia stared at Ana as though she'd had grown two heads. "Are you freaking kidding me?"
A/N:
EVERYONE:
I've blocked private messaging and notifications from this site. I don't FF notifications on my phone, I have two curious kids at home. I'm usually logged in to this site and read reviews that way instead. Since no longer reply directly to reviews, I will reply here to questions or anything that needs clarification.