Chapter 9

Family was important to Christian. His work and his family. That's all he needed. So, he always made time for them. Elliot tended to drop by unannounced pretty often, but Christian knew that Elliot always asked Andrea if he had anything important on before he popped by, so he wasn't interrupting anything. Christian's work was important for him and Elliot knew that. The brothers were pretty different, but they still understood each other unlike anybody else.

In Christian's office, the two brothers caught one up one another on their lives, though Christian didn't share nearly as much as Elliot, as they ate the remaining cream puffs. Elliot told him all about Kate and how he thinks she's the one. Now Christian was a bit wary of this. Why? See, while Elliot had never been the playboy type, he definitely liked to keep his options open and as soon as things got serious, he would bounce so it was a shock to hear him say these things about Kate. Christian also realised Elliot's Kate was the same Kate that interviewed him a while back and had asked him if he was gay. It was surreal to him that she was also Anastasia's roommate and the two of them have been almost intertwined for a while in some form.

After the general chit chat, conversation turned to Anastasia. "I can't believe Ana works for you man. What a small world." Elliot said in wonder. He was lying across the white couch in Christian's office with his hands behind his head.

"Small world indeed." Christian mumbled.

"So, what do you think of her? She's a gem, isn't she?" Elliot said with a smile.

"I think… she is the kindest person I've ever met. She's so… good you know? It completely baffles me sometimes. I've never met anyone like her before." He said wistfully gazing out at the Seattle skyline. The sun was beaming for once in Seattle.

Elliot slowly sat up and just stared at the back of Christian's head. After about a minute, Christian turned to look at Elliot when he didn't hear a response. "What? Why are you staring at me?"

Elliot heard the way Chris talked about Ana. And the way he looked at her. Something was going on here. "I've never heard you talk about anyone like that before. You find something you don't like in everyone. Hell, you even said the pope annoyed you when you were 15!" Elliot spluttered.

Christian furrowed his brows. "Of course, I don't find everyone annoying. Most people, sure, but not everyone. Not mom." He said pointedly.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "That's mom you moron. She doesn't count. But what I'm trying to say is you sound like you're in awe of her. It's a girl you're talking about and an employee! This is huge!"

"I am in awe of her El. Things have happened here, some bad but she doesn't let them affect her at all and maybe you'd say that she's oblivious but she's certainly not. She is just so insanely genuine. She has no ulterior motive and always sees the best in people even when they've done her wrong." Christian said.

"Certainly sounds like Ana." Elliot muttered. "Kate's always saying she's far too nice for her own good and sometimes people tend to take advantage of that." He shook his head. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand." He looked at his watch. "We have some time. I know your next appointment is at 3 so tell me everything you think about Ana and why she's so good. Oh, and I want to know anything that's happened between you two."

"You make it sound scandalous. There is nothing going on between me and Anastasia. Of course not, you know me Elliot. I would never cross that boundary." Christian said firmly. Yes, he had odd thoughts about her, but he would never act on them.

"Sure, sure whatever. I'm conducting a social experiment. Now start from the beginning. I want to know everything." He said leaning forward eagerly. Christian sighed in exasperation. He forgot that Elliot was a gossip.

As Christian recalled a few conversations and events that had happened between him and Anastasia and the things he's learned about her thus far, Elliot listened quietly. No words or peeps came from him. Once he'd ended his whole storytelling spiel, Elliot just raised his brows.

"Wow little brother. You like her." Christian made a sound of protest, but Elliot kept going. "Uh, uh, uh. I didn't say in what way." He wagged his finger. "You like her as an employee. Or maybe you like her character, who she is. You like to joke around with her. I don't know. Moral of the story is you like her ok? And I get it. Ana is possibly one of the greatest people I've ever met and she doesn't even know how great she is. You'd be stupid not to like her. You've certainly never taken the time to get to know other employees like that before and joked around with them. I think she'd be a good influence on you and on this place."

"Yeah." Christian mused, rubbing his hand around his mouth thoughtfully. "It's refreshing to be around her, and I forget that she's an employee sometimes. She has this… warmth about her that draws you in I suppose. She doesn't flirt with me, kiss my ass or is intimidated by me like a lot of others in this building. She doesn't treat me like something special. Like I'm a CEO of a huge company. Its pleasant." He nodded to himself.

"Pleasant." Elliot snorted, shaking his head. Elliot knew that there was something lurking beneath the surface with regards to Christian's feelings about Ana, but he didn't know of them himself. He didn't want to call out Christian and just lay it on him because that would just scare him away and he'd avoid Ana like the plague if he realised that he like likes her. Elliot had to tread carefully here. "So, your saying you want to be Ana's friend? You like talking to her, joking around with her? The conversations you have?"

Christian thought for a moment. "I like the feeling I get when I talk to her. I mean I treat Andrea the same, but I've never talked about things other than work with her." He shook his head. "I don't know, but she draws me in, and I know it's not just me. I've seen her interact with others and she has the same effect on them all. Tell me I'm wrong." He said.

"No, you're definitely right about that. The first time I met her, she was a bit timid at first, but she's so charming that it makes you feel like you've known her for years. Mia is completely bewitched by her. She claims they're gonna be best friends." Both of them chuckled.

"That's Mia for you."

"She's going to be so shocked if she ever sees you talking to Ana." Elliot said.

"Why is that shocking? I've talked to other women before." Christian frowned.

Elliot paused for a moment, thinking about how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I know but in a social setting, you always look like you're trying so hard to speak to girls especially those girls that mom sets you up with. You look like it's the last place you want to be. And you always have this indifferent look in your eyes with them. And from what I've seen so far, you are nothing like that when you talk with Ana. You actually look… present." Elliot mused.

Christian didn't know what to make of that. He thought his behaviour was the same with everyone. He sighed and rubbed his hands down his face. "I don't know man. All I know is that I like speaking to Anastasia and I gravitate towards her somehow. She's my employee first though. And I'm helping her achieve her dreams of working in publishing. I definitely don't think I'm treating anyone differently here." He said frowning.

Elliot held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'm not implying anything here. She's a good girl, she might get you to loosen up a little and I'm glad you're helping her out." He smiled.

What Elliot wasn't voicing was that he knew Christian felt something more than as a boss or friend for Ana. The man was oblivious to his own feelings and would probably give off every excuse in the book to deny it, but Elliot knew him pretty well. How she first caught his attention in that coffee shop, when she'd forced him to take her muffin, when she had randomly caught his attention during his meeting when she was lost, when he was watching her in that meeting of the tea fiasco, his anger when he found out someone had grabbed her, his reaction when he saw her and her male friend in the coffee shop, how he stayed with her that one night helping her finish the work, him being weirdly protective over her and last but not least, his reaction to seeing Elliot and Ana hugging. These were all very telling.

Elliot made it his own personal mission to help Christian come to terms with what he feels for Ana and Elliot also needed to find out Ana's feelings towards him, if there were any. But even if there were, he knew Ana would never act on her feelings since Christian's her boss. He had a newfound purpose. Both of them deserved some happiness so Elliot had to get to work.


"You're pretty close with Mr Grey's brother huh?" Andrea asked Ana after a while.

"Don't get any ideas. He's my roommate's boyfriend. I had no idea that he was related to Mr Grey. He didn't know I worked here either, so we never put two and two together." Ana said. She turned to Andrea with worried eyes. "Do you think Mr Grey will think it's inappropriate that I'm friends with his siblings? I mean does that count as fraternisation of some kind? He might not like the fact that his assistant is friends with his family." Ana chewed her lip nervously.

"I'm honestly not sure. This kind of thing has never happened before. Grey's pretty private about his life though. Although if he does have a problem, then Elliot would probably put him in his place. That man can be persuading." Andrea smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like you went searching for his family so you could befriend them to get closer to Mr Grey. It's all just a coincidence."

"Fair enough. I see your point. Elliot wouldn't let him do that. I don't think Mr Grey would do that either. I hope he doesn't think I'm a stalker or something." Ana shuddered.

The elevator dinged announcing the arrival of someone and both women looked up to see Jose smiling as he walked towards them.

"Good afternoon ladies."

Ana smiled at him. "Hey José. What brings you up here?"

Jose stood and rested his arms on the desk in front of Ana. "Andrea called me and told me there's some treats that you made. I couldn't say no to that."

Ana narrowed her eyes suspiciously and turned to Andrea. Andrea just gave her an innocent smile and averted her eyes.

"I'll just go and fetch some for you José." Andrea skirted away quickly. Ana sighed. She knew exactly what Andrea was up to.

"So, Ana, how have you been? Busy around here? I feel like I haven't spoken to you in ages." José asked casually.

Ana was a little miffed at Andrea, but she wasn't going to take it out on Jose. It wasn't his fault. "You know how it always is up here. Work work work. How about you? Miss me down there?" She asked jokingly.

"I really do. And I know I'm not the only one. Natalia wants you back down there too, but she knows your kicking ass and taking names up here." Jose grinned. Ana laughed. She was grateful for everyone she had met so far.

Andrea came back with a few cream puffs. At this point Ana was confused at how there were even any left. She thought Mr Grey and Andrea had polished them all off. "Here Jose. Made with love." Andrea said amused. Ana had just taken a sip of her tea and put her cup down with a resounding thud as a warning to Andrea.

"Oh wow. They look like they belong in a cookbook or something." Jose gushed. He popped one in his mouth while Andrea sat back down and slyly eyed Ana. "Holy shit. These taste so good. Ana you are the best baker I've ever known." Jose said.

Ana shot him a thankful smile. "Thanks Jose." She said.

"I'm so glad you called me up here Andrea. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I missed out on these. Ana, you need to give the recipe to Emily to sell in the shop. People would be coming from all over for these. You need to showcase your talent to the world." Jose was looking at her very intently and it was making her cheeks warm.

"I just made them for a friend. I didn't know they were going to be such a big hit, but I can ask Emily if she wants the recipe. But if they don't sell, I'm blaming you." Ana warned playfully.

Jose held his hands up in surrender. "Don't you worry about that because I will be there, and I'll probably end up buying the whole lot anyway." He winked at her.

"I'll be right there with you Jose. We'll keep you in business Ana. we'll be your die-hard fans. Oh, and Elliot probably too." Andrea added as an afterthought.

"Elliot?" Jose asked whilst chewing.

Andrea opened her mouth to answer but Ana quickly intervened. "Kate's boyfriend." She threw Andrea a pointed glare who snapped her mouth shut. "He actually suggested I make them and it's safe to say he's a big fan."

"Oh. Guy must be living the dream getting to experience your bakes first-hand. I would worship at your feet if you made my favourite desserts. I'd pay big bucks for stuff like this."

"Go on. Name your price." Ana said amusedly.


After a pretty deep catch up, Christian opened the door for Elliot and as the two of them walked down the hallway, they saw a man leaning on Ana and Andrea's desk, looking like the definition of relaxed. He was speaking and in his hand was a cream puff, while Ana and Andrea were laughing at whatever he was saying.

Christian bristled. He recognised the man as Mr Rodriguez, Anastasia's friend from R&D. What was he doing here? And eating the cream puffs no less? He felt some unknown emotions bubbling underneath his skin.

Elliot looked at Christian when he saw him pause in his step from the corner of his eye. Christian however was focused on the man talking with Ana and Andrea. He was watching the scene with narrowed eyes. Christian resumed walking, taking purposeful strides leaving Elliot to catch up.

"Mr Rodriguez!" Christian bellowed. All three of them jumped and looked at him guiltily. "Is there a reason you are up here socialising and not at your desk?" Christian asked. His eyes were shooting daggers at Jose.

"Mr Grey! I was just….um…." Jose stuttered in fear trying to come up with an excuse while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand in case of any remnants of cream were left. Christian just raised his brows in response waiting for an answer. Elliot was looking between the three of them, wondering what they'd done to get this kind of reaction out of Christian.

Christian looked at Ana and Andrea, waiting for someone to give him a response. "Well? Anyone?" He asked impatiently.

"I came to drop- "Jose started before Andrea interrupted him.

"No Mr Grey. I asked Jose up here so he could try some of the cream puffs. He's Ana's friend so I thought he'd appreciate them." Andrea answered.

"I'm aware they are friends Andrea. But it is highly inappropriate for you to ditch all your work Mr Rodriguez, and I know you have a deadline to meet today, just so you can come and have a little afternoon socialising interlude. I would suggest you do this in your own time or after the working day has concluded and not on company time." Christian said firmly. There was a hard edge to his voice, and he was trying not to look at Anastasia.

Elliot watched Christian. Yes, he often scolded his employees, but this was different. It was uncalled for. He was glaring at Mr Rodriguez with contempt and he was bellowing for no reason when the man was stood right in front of him. Christian seemed to be in a fine mood beforehand so Elliot thought he would have just laughed off the fact that the man came for cream puffs and mentioned how the cream puffs were worth ditching your work for. This was a bit of an overreaction.

"He's only been here for 5 min- "Andrea started but was once again interrupted.

"I don't care how long he's been here Mrs Parker. I pay him and both of you for that matter, to work, not to socialise. You've been here long enough to know I do not tolerate any slacking off." Christian was now glaring at Andrea who lowered her eyes, feeling thoroughly chastised.

Jose was inching backwards, desperate to get away. He was glad he came up here, but it definitely wasn't worth getting fired over. Ana on the other hand, was frozen hoping that Grey didn't turn his ire onto her. Christian glanced at Ana and huffed out a breath while running a hand through his hair making it chaotic.

"I suggest you get back to your desk Mr Rodriguez if you value your job. And don't pull this kind stunt again." He warned him quietly.

"Yes, Mr Grey. Sir." Jose shot a look at Ana before turning around and hightailing it out of there without looking back. Elliot and Christian stared after him, Elliot thoughtfully and Christian impassively. They turned to look at Ana and Andrea once the elevator doors had closed.

"I would appreciate if you refrained from inviting other employees up here to fraternize and interrupting the workflow Mrs Parker."

"I'm sorry Mr Grey. It won't happen again. I wasn't thinking." Andrea said looking him in the eyes.

"Hm. Make sure it doesn't." Christian said. Anastasia wasn't even looking at him. "I want the completed file on the Singapore acquisition on my desk in 15 minutes." He said before turning on his feet and going back to his office. He slammed the door shut and papers on Ana and Andrea's rustled.

Both women let out a breath. "Crap. I was so focused on my matchmaking, I forgot about Grey. I very nearly just lost my job." Andrea mumbled with her head in her hands.

Elliot was still stood there, thinking. "I think he overreacted. I'm just gonna check on him." He turned around.

"Elliot, hang on a minute." Ana called out quietly. She got up and gestured for him to walk with her to the break room. She located the plate where she'd put the cream puffs on earlier and found four left.

Elliot saw the plate and remembered Andrea saying that was why Mr Rodriguez was here and wondered how they got here. "Wait a second. You brought your own cream puffs to work? Christian already tasted them before I brought him some?"

"Yeah, he had some for his lunch."

"So, he lied to me so he could have MY cream puffs too? Greedy bastard." Elliot mumbled.

"Here." Ana said handing him the plate with the remaining cream puffs. "Take these to him. As a peace offering almost. It might ease his anger a little. He really liked them so.." Ana trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed.

Elliot looked at Ana. He was wondering if this was Ana's caring nature speaking or because she was worried about Christian. She might have some feelings towards him after all. He took the plate from her with a smile. "Thanks Ana."

Both of them walked away in opposite directions. Elliot was analysing what just happened. He was 100 percent sure of one thing. Christian was jealous. Elliot didn't think Christian had ever experienced jealously in his life, and why would he; the man already had everything, and this caused him to act out. It was obvious that Mr Rodriguez liked Ana and the fact that Andrea was trying to set them up just supported that. Christian was clearly aware of that fact. The situation just showed the true extent of Christian's feelings.

Elliot realised that Christian desperately needed help to come to terms with what he felt about Ana. Otherwise he was going to cause some real damage.

Who better to help him than his favourite brother? Elliot grinned to himself. This was getting good. His little brother was finally growing up and becoming a man.