Another week, another update!

Recap: Ana thought that she was going on a girl's night with Kate but Kate had other plans. Kate lured Ana in with a girl's night but secretly set up her and Christian on a secret blind date. Ana and Christian were both really shocked and surprised to see one another at the restaurant but the night was a success. Christian admitted that he had been thinking about asking Ana out on a date for a while but he had talked himself out of it. Ana also admitted that she had feelings for Christian but she had been denying them to herself and everyone else. When Ana and Christian got to her apartment they shared a kiss before Christian left.

As always, thank you to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed so far! You all mean the world to me and I really cannot thank you enough.

Disclaimer: Fifty Shades of Grey and its original characters do not belong to me


Stalked: Chapter 5: Incident 3 (Thursday June 2nd 2016)

Ana
I think I have just found my next bestselling author! Her name is Lola Brennan and she is a crime writer. She is a very talented writer but what sticks out to me the most is that she has clearly done her research on her subject matter; she knows what she is talking about and she has a clear story she is following.

Her book is called 'Tess Ward: Lovers Lane Killer' and is about a homicide detective, Tess Ward, who is the only female detective in her precinct and the only detective without a partner. Tess is a strong female character who doesn't need anyone to help her solve crimes; she is strong enough and capable enough to bring down killers on her own.

I spoke to Lola on the phone earlier today and she is going to come to the office in a couple of days to speak with me. I asked her about her plans after this book is published and she said that she has already written half of the sequel and would love to have about 4-5 books in the Tess Ward series. I was impressed. Lola seems like a very passionate writer but also a passionate reader, she clearly knows what her goals are and is definitely aiming for them, I applaud her for that. I am really interested to see where she wants to take Tess Ward and what sort of sequels she has lined up.

I have a really good feeling about Lola and I am very willing to take the risk on her, there is just something about Lola that I really like as an author as well, I think she will fit in very nicely here at SIP. I need to try and make some kind of amends at SIP too, after the Heather Locke incident; I don't think I had been fully forgiven for her moving to a different publisher. Lola is going to be my redemption, I'm sure of it.

I sipped my glass of wine as I made some notes for the meeting with Lola when my intercom buzzed, breaking my concentration. That's weird, I wasn't expecting anyone, I wonder who could be coming by at 7pm.

"Hello"

"Ms Anastasia Steele?" A man questioned.

"This is she" I replied.

"I have a delivery here for you"

What? A delivery for me, that doesn't make sense, I'm not expecting a delivery. In fact I don't remember ordering anything.

"Come up"

I buzzed the delivery guy in and opened my front door, I waited patiently as I waited for the delivery man, and I wasn't waiting long. I heard him coming up the stairs and peeked my head around the door and saw a young guy, only about 19, holding a large bouquet of White lilies. I didn't order any flowers.

"Hi Ms Steele" He greeted kindly and handed me the flowers.

"Thank you very much" I replied and handed him a $10 tip for the delivery, I always tip delivery guys, they are usually college students after extra money. I know what it's like to be a broke student!

"Thank you!" He gave me a wide smile and a kind nod before leaving.

I closed the door and went into the kitchen, setting the flowers down on the side and looked for a note. This time there was a small envelope, I eagerly opened the envelope and pulled out a small white card, there was nothing but a big red 'X' on it. I studied the card more and realised that the 'X' was lipstick, a specific shade of red lipstick. I recognised the shade of red; it was the same shade of lipstick that I own.

What the hell is going on?

The back of the envelope the card came in had the name of the company the flowers came from but I doubt someone would be there this late to answer the phone. I'll call them in the morning and find out who sent the flowers.

I have to admit that I am starting to get a little bit freaked out now, this is the second bouquet of flowers I have received without a name and of course there was the incident with my tyres as well. I know I played it off but this is just becoming really weird and scary. I really have no idea who could be sending me these flowers, I don't know if the flowers and tyre incidents are related but it seems like a bit much for a coincidence.

Do I need to be worried? Or am I taking this out of proportion? I just don't know what to think. I feel like I'm being dramatic but there is just so much happening and it's weird, surely if you buy a woman two bouquets of her favourite flowers, you would want to speak to that woman or see if she liked the flowers. I have no idea who sent me the flowers, when I received the first bouquet of flowers I asked everyone I knew if they had sent them, everyone denied it. I can't see anyone lying about it but it has to be someone that knows me because not many people know that White lilies are my favourite.

Christian! It was only a few days ago that we went on our secret surprise date. He knows how much I love White lilies, he brought them for me for my birthday last year, and maybe they're from Christian. It is something that he would do...

I grabbed my phone and dialled Christian's number, he answered on the third ring.

"Good evening Anastasia" He greeted.

"Hi Christian"

"What do I owe this pleasure?" He asked.

"I wanted to ask you something actually; did you send me some flowers?" I questioned "White lilies to be exact" I added.

"No I haven't I'm sorry to say"

"I just had a delivery of a large bouquet of white lilies and once again, there is no name on the card, I was wondering if maybe you had sent them... I can't think of anyone who might have sent me them" I told him.

"Maybe it was the same person who sent the first bouquet. You said they were from one of the writers as a thank you" He pointed out.

"I lied" I confessed.

"What?"

"I never found out who the first bouquet were from, I lied because I didn't want it to seem like it was something it wasn't but now I've got the second bouquet and I don't know who they're from... then there was the thing with my tyre, I guess I'm just getting a little freaked out" I explained.

"Do you want me to come over?" He questioned.

"No" I replied "I appreciate the offer but I think I might just be taking this out of proportion a little" I added.

"Give me twenty minutes and I'll be there"

"Christian-"

"No, I'm coming over. There is something going on and I don't want you being scared, I'm coming over and we'll try and figure this out" He told me.

"Ok" I agreed.

"I'll see you soon"


Christian
I am very concerned about what is going on with Ana right now. She has got two bouquets of flowers from a mystery person and her car tyres have been slashed, deliberately. It seems to me that someone is targeting her but why? I want to make sure that Ana is safe so I have asked Taylor to look into whoever is buying the flowers and see if we can track whoever it is that way.

When I spoke to her on the phone, I could hear in her voice how worried she was, I know she tried to play it off and make me think she was jumping to conclusions but I think there is something to be worried about. Whoever this person is sent the flowers to her apartment so they know where she lives, I don't want her to be alone right now and I want to make sure that she feels safe. One thing that makes me feel better is that if someone is giving her flowers, they must care about her and if that's the case then they don't want to hurt her. on the other hand; stabbing tyres is not exactly something a kind person does, does this mean they want to harm Ana? I can't take that chance.

Taylor pulled up to Ana's apartment building and I saw her looking out of her window, she looked scared. I got out of the car before Taylor could open the door for me and I rushed to the entrance, Ana had already buzzed the door so I could get in and I rushed up the stairs to her apartment on the first floor. She had the door open and was waiting in the doorway for me.

"Hi" She said and walked into her apartment, I followed behind her with Taylor and we went into the kitchen "The envelope has the name of the florists they came from" She stated and handed Taylor the small envelope that came with the flowers.

I noticed the card on the kitchen side and picked it up, it was just a big red 'X' that looked like it was made from lipstick or something.

"It's the same make and shade that I wear"

That is weird and definitely not a coincidence.

"Do you have any idea who might be doing this? An ex boyfriend or someone from work? Maybe someone who you turned down?" I questioned.

"I've done nothing but think about whom this might be and I have no idea. I don't know anyone who is this messed up, I thought it might have been one of the writers from work but my gut is telling that's not right" She explained.

"We'll get to the bottom of this Miss Steele" Taylor interjected and gave her a comforting and reassuring smile "I'll go and do some digging. If you need me, just give me a call and I'll be here" Taylor told me and I nodded.

Taylor left with the card and envelope to do some investigating.

Ana poured us both a glass of wine, and then I followed her into the living room. She sat down on the sofa and I sat down next to her. We were both still for a moment but then I wrapped my arm around Ana and she leant into me, resting her head on my shoulder, I placed a small kiss on the top of her head and rubbed my hand up and down her arm in a comforting way.

"We'll get to the bottom of this" I stated.

"What if I'm being over dramatic?" She asked.

"You're not, it's a scary situation to be in" I told her.

Ana stood up from the chair and started pacing in front of me; she finished her glass of wine in one gulp and slammed the glass down on the table, in surprised it didn't break from the force. She ran her hands through her hair and went to look out the window of her apartment; she was clearly trying to hold herself together but was struggling. She didn't have to hide her emotions and fear from me, it's why I'm here after all, to be there for her and comfort her. she wrapped her arms around herself and took a few deep breaths. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be ok but it looked like she just needed a moment to herself.

"Do you think the flowers and the car tyre were done by the same person?" She asked me, without turning away from the window.

"It's a definite possibility" I answered "I think it would be silly to ignore it, Taylor said that it was only your car that was damaged and it was a deliberate thing to do" I added.

"What does this person want?"

"I don't know" I confessed. I put my own glass down and got up from the chair, going over to Ana, I wrapped my arms around her, she rested her head on my shoulder and took a shaky breath "You don't have to be strong for me" I told her.

I felt a sudden wetness on my shoulder so I hugged Ana tighter and she wrapped her arms around my waist. The two of us just stood there embracing one another, she cried and I comforted her best that I could.

"I'm scared"

"I know but I'm not going to let anything happen to you" I promised.

Ana pulled away and wiped her eyes; she gave me a small smile that I returned.

"Thank you for coming" She said and kissed my cheek.

"I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what time of day, you can always rely on me"


Let's leave this here for now...Now I have some news that might be upsetting to some... I am going to be moving home in a few days and I need to get everything set up so I'm going on a 3 week break.

I will be back on July 7th, hopefully all settled in and ready to post.

Keep safe everyone and I will see you all very soon.

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