i own nothing
Chapter 25
On the 1st day of December, Ana walked into GEH expecting to see Christmas decorations up and glowing but imagine her surprise when there was zilch.
On her drive to work, she saw buildings and trees already covered in decorations and she got excited about seeing GEH. It seemed to be business as usual, so she trudged up to the top floor and after putting her things away, she found Andrea in the break room making drinks. They caught up on their respective thanksgivings and as they walked back to their desk, Ana bought up the decorations.
"When do the decorations around here go up? I thought most places would put them up on the first," Ana said.
"They do, they'll probably go up sometime today," Andrea told her.
"What about all the departments? When do they do theirs?"
"That's up to them," Andrea shrugged, "they usually do them when they have time. You seem eager," she observed.
Ana shrugged. "I like decorations."
"You want to decorate our floor this year?" Andrea asked after a beat.
Ana's brows rose. "Yes! Of course."
"Okay, I'm handing over the reins to you. Just don't do anything crazy or have pink decorations everywhere. An assistant did that a couple years ago and Grey really wasn't a fan," Andrea said.
"No pink and no over the top. Got it," Ana nodded.
Andrea told her that she'd have to go down to the basement where all the decorations were stored, and she could pick some things up and Ana's day suddenly got a lot brighter.
Sometime after lunch, Ana had managed to finish all the work that needed to be done and she hoped nothing else important came up so she could focus on decorating. She walked down to the basement where the estates and cleaning teams were located. There was a lot of hustle and bustle going on and people were going back and forth with boxes of décor and lights and the works.
She greeted some people that she knew and picked out some decorations. She struck up a conversation with Dave and she discovered to her delight that he was in charge of holiday decorations. He told her about what they were planning to do this year and told her a bit about the large tree that had gone up in the buildings foyer which is going to be decorated fully. He also helped her put together a box of the things she wanted to take upstairs and the box was overflowing.
After promising that she'd be back for more, she took her overflowing box that she could barely see around and headed back up.
As she got back onto the main floor to get onto the main elevator, she heard her name being called. She turned but she obviously couldn't see.
Before she knew it, the box was taken out of her hands. "You look like you're about to topple over, this box is bigger than you," Christian said as he easily handled it.
"It is not, I was managing just fine," Ana grumbled, but also secretly relieved.
He looked at her sceptically. "Uh huh," he muttered unconvincingly.
"You just saw the opportunity to help a damsel not in distress and you had to take it. Always the hero," she shook her head. He just shot her an exasperated look.
Her eyes caught sight of the very large Christmas tree behind him, that had been put up in the centre of the lobby. "Holy…," she drifted off, speechless. She'd never seen one so big; it was as tall as the ceiling.
He smirked when he saw what had caught her attention. "Wait until you see it decorated. It looks a little sad right now."
They got onto an empty elevator and leaned against the back, side by side. Christian looked inside the box in his arms. "I see you're getting started with the decorating."
"Andrea gave me free reign over our floor, and I finished the work that needed doing so I thought I might as well start," she said.
"Well, I can't wait to see your creations," he smiled, "just remember no jingles."
Ana smiled, "I remember."
"How was your thanksgiving? Did the crazy cousin turn up?"
Ana felt giddy that he actually remembered her random story. "Surprisingly enough, she did. I think the beast has been tamed since the last time I saw her. I mean she was still pulling pranks and she told us some of the happenings in her life but they're not as grand and wacky as they used to be," Ana said. "but it was so great seeing everyone together. They drive me crazy, but I love it." She turned curious eyes onto him. "How about yours?"
"Same old, same old. I did leave early though. Some of my mom's friends were getting a little too comfy with me and it got uncomfortable," he shrugged it off.
"Does your mom know that you felt uncomfortable?" Ana asked, concerned.
"I don't want to bother her and ruin her day so it's easier if I just leave quietly. No one thinks anything of it, I've been leaving early for years because of work," he explained. "But this was one year where I would have liked to stay longer and enjoy the full day with my family but it is what it is, I suppose."
"Christian, that's so…." She shook her head. "You need to tell your mom. I've seen how much she loves you and there's no way she'd ignore how you felt. I'm one hundred percent sure that she would have gotten rid of her friends for you," she said.
The elevator arrived onto their floor. "Maybe next time," he said lightly.
"You shouldn't be driven away from your own family because of some random people," Ana said, "no one should."
Christian smiled at her lightly, touched that she was so concerned for him. He deposited the box on her desk. "Have fun with your decorating Anastasia," he said quietly before walked to his office.
Ana watched after him. His selflessness was one of the things she admired about him but if it was compromising his time with his own family, something needed to be done. Ana knew the only reason this was happening was because it was his own mom; if it had been something like that at work or elsewhere, he would have taken no prisoners and made sure everyone knew what was on his mind.
Ana started off decorating the break room, then the waiting area before tackling their desk and working around Andrea. She'd been back and forth between the basement and the top floor more times than she could count.
On one of her trips, she had asked Dave if Mr Grey does a grand show of turning all the Christmas lights on but supposedly, he doesn't and one of the caretakers just does it.
Ana was slightly bummed but she thought it was a childish thing to be excited about and GEH was such large empire that they couldn't be wasting their time with such frivolous things like decorating and turning lights on.
She was in the conference room now, putting up a small tree in the corner that Dave had so graciously sent up for her. She found an elf hat that looked like it might go on top of the tree but she thought to herself that she'd put that on at the end and for the mean time she popped it onto her head. She really wanted to play some Christmas music; it just didn't feel right without some merry tunes, but she was scared that Christian would be disturbed.
A few minutes later, she couldn't hack the silence anymore so she started playing a song on her phone at a very low volume and popped it in her pocket so she could hear it. She did close the door to the room before though, still worried.
Humming to some Chris Rea as she hung up baubles, she didn't hear the conference room door open, nor did she see the figure standing there watching her amusedly.
"I like the hat."
Ana startled slightly and turned to look. "Christian, Jesus. I didn't hear you," she said breathlessly. He simply smirked in return. Her hand went to the hat on her head. "You like?"
He nodded before heaving himself off the doorframe and walked into the room. He peered into the box of décor and rummaged around in it before he found a bauble with a tie design. "This is on brand."
Ana chuckled. "Where did all these things come from? I've found some weird and wonderful things," she said.
He shrugged. "Just things that have accumulated over the years either by the estates team buying them or others." He hung up the bauble higher up. "It looks like elves threw up around here, you've done a thorough job."
"Do you like it all?" Ana asked.
"Yeah, I do. It's festive but not too festive like Mia would have done. It's…tasteful," he said.
Ana raised a brow. "Tasteful?" She said in disbelief. "Thank you, I'm so flattered," she said sarcastically.
He smirked at her, again. "You've done a good job, little elf," he grinned. Ana lightly rolled her eyes and went back to decorating but her lips were twitching.
"Are you nearly done? It's getting late. I think you've done just about every inch."
"I'm just going to finish up in here and then call it a day. I just need to untangle the lights and put them up."
"I'll help you so you can get out of here quicker."
They worked efficiently putting up what was left and making idle chit chat.
They started bickering when they got the jumbled mess that was the fairy lights out of the box because Christian wanted to do it one way and Ana, another way. Ana's phone was still playing music and the sun was setting outside. The view from the twentieth floor was surreal. All in all, it made for a very holiday-y vibe.
They were stood on either side of the room, stretching out the lights and somehow Ana got tangled in them after Christian was telling her what to do.
"You really thought you helping me was going to make this go faster? I think you need to stick to mergers and acquisitions," Ana said dryly as she tried to get herself free.
"Hey, I haven't done this in years," he remarked as he came around to help her. With careful thinking and movements, they managed to get her free. They had a good laugh while doing that, so it was worth it.
Eventually, the only thing that remained was the elf hat.
"You want to do the honours?" Christian asked her, glancing towards her head.
"I can't reach it so…" Ana said. He turned and grabbed one of the chairs and told her to hop on. "And this is why you are the CEO of your own company. Great mind," Ana remarked.
Christian stabilised the chair with his body as it had wheels and he helped Ana up onto it.
As she placed the hat on top of the tree, Christian cheered. They both took a step back to admire their handiwork. The lights weren't switched on because apparently until the lights on the big tree downstairs were switched on, no other trees could be lit up.
"I think we've done a pretty great job Grey," Ana said proudly.
"Oh, it was all you Steele," he replied. "Come on, let's go home."
They parted ways to go and gather their own stuff. Ana was surprised to see it was 5pm already and the place was practically deserted. After grabbing her things, she made her way to Christian's office.
She walked in without knocking as the door was slightly ajar. She watched him quietly, as he arranged some files and wrote a few things down on a post-it note. "Are you going to decorate in here?"
He glanced up, surprised that he didn't notice her standing there before looking around his office. "I never have," he shrugged. "I don't see the point, no one comes in here apart from me."
"That right there is the point. It's for you, so you can see it and it'll put you in a good mood," Ana reasoned. "I don't mind doing it for you. I can make it 'tasteful' as you say," Ana grinned.
He shot her a look. "Go ahead, just make sure it doesn't get in the way of my actual work, so you know, no tinsel on the table or anything like that," he gestured around his desk.
"No problem. You have a meeting tomorrow afternoon, and I can do it then so I won't disturb you."
"Sounds good. You got everything?" He asked as he ushered her out the door. She double checked as they walked past her desk.
They made their way down, walking towards the staff car park. It was an unspoken thing that Christian was going to walk her to her car. He had done it every single time they left together.
"Tomorrow, Mia should be sending out the secret santa forms. She has a passive aggressive disclaimer at the top of the form, saying she wants them filled out and handed in within 48 hours or you can't participate."
"She really takes it seriously huh?" Ana chuckled.
"Too seriously. We really need to find her a new hobby," he said.
"Let her do this. I would bet it brings even a little joy to peoples' lives," she said lightly. "Some people might now have anyone to give presents to or receive presents from so this might be the only thing they have."
"I've never thought about that," Christian said, slightly stunned. "You're too insightful for your own good."
"And it leads to a lot of overthinking," she said dryly as they arrived at her car and she unlocked it.
He opened her door for her with a flourish. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Christian."
"Bye Ana. Have a good night," he said before shutting her door and watching her drive off.
The next day Ana had filled out the secret santa form as soon as she'd gotten it, not wanting to face the wrath of Mia. She was trying to decorate Christian's office between doing tasks that popped up. He's been in and out of meetings all day so disruption to his work was kept to a minimum.
She was proud of her decorating skills. She'd never had this much responsibility and freedom with decorating for the holidays before, so she really made the most of it. Her own apartment wasn't even done yet, Kate wanted them to do it together and she's been really busy with deadlines lately, so it was put on hold.
The lights were supposed to be turned on today around 4pm and Ana was so excited to see the huge tree lit up. It was going to be magical; she just knew it.
She headed back down to the basement for one last trip. Spotting Dave reading over some paperwork, she headed for him and they got to talking.
Somehow the conversation turned to her being asked if she wanted to switch on the lights.
"I – what-I can-no-," she sputtered in utter shock, "what?"
"Yeah, I'm serious. If you don't, it's going to be me and I know it would mean so much more to you than it would to me. You're love of the holiday season reminds me of my own daughter," he said earnestly.
Ana stood there for a moment before recovering. "I would be honoured Dave, but only if you're sure," she said carefully.
"I'm sure," he said simply with a smile. "You're up at 4pm kid. The main switch is in the lobby and I'll meet you there. There isn't usually a crowd but the people in the lobby usually watch and clap."
Ana couldn't help squealing in glee as Dave chuckled at her. She threw her arms around his neck without thinking. "Thank you so much Dave! You've made my year," she said softly.
He patted her back. "You're welcome Ana," he smiled.
Ana told Andrea the news as soon as she seen her, and Andrea was excited for her.
The hour that she waited before 4 was filled with anticipation, she could barely sit still. Christian's office still wasn't complete, but some other things came up that needed doing.
Andrea, Christian and a few others were in a meeting, so she headed down to the lobby by herself. She had texted Jose that if he was free, he should come to the lobby, but she hadn't heard back. Either way, she wasn't really bothered about people seeing her switching the light on, but she thought it might be nice to share the moment with someone she knew.
Dave told her that they would count down and all she had to do was flick the switch. He had even bought her a headband that had santa hats sticking up from it. They were stood by the tree on a platform slightly raised so she could see everyone bustling around the lobby.
"It's time for the countdown," Dave told her after a few minutes. Ana nodded.
She was focused on the tree, not wanting to miss the moment it lit up and wasn't thinking about anything else.
"…3…2…1..," she flipped the switch and watched it light up and illuminate its entire surroundings.
She marvelled at it in awe and fascination. The small crowd was clapping and cheering away and her eyes were drawn to the rest of the lobby where there seemed to be lights hung up everywhere that she hadn't noticed until she turned them on. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Dave was standing next to her clapping, wearing a proud grin.
The holidays were officially here.
"Woooo Ana!" Came a cheer and Ana bought her eyes to the crowd trying to locate the source. She found herself looking at a cheering Andrea and Ana couldn't help the grin that overtook her face at the fact that she had come.
Her eyes strayed to Andrea's right and she found herself looking into grey eyes.
Christian was standing beside Andrea, watching Ana intently with a smile on his face. He nodded his head at her and his smile got a little bigger as she met his eyes.
Ana grinned back at him happily, over the moon that they had both come. He pretended to whistle with his fingers in his mouth then looked around pointedly. Ana got him; he was trying to say that he would be whistling for her, but all his employees were around him, so he had to behave. Her grin widened.
She spoke with Dave as the small crowds dissipated.
A tap on her shoulder caused her to turn around and there was Christian standing there alone.
"Hey! I can't believe you and Andrea came," she exclaimed happily.
Christian studied her face. Her eyes were shining, the happiness was practically leaking out of her. "Andrea let me know that you were switching them on and I couldn't not stop the meeting and come see your big moment," he said smiling.
"I appreciate that more than you know, so thank you," she replied graciously.
Christian spoke with Dave for a few minutes before he and Ana headed on back upstairs. Ana gave Dave one last hug before leaving.
She felt Christian's hand at the small of her back and internally she went crazy. Small casual gestures like that were one of the things she absolutely loved.
"I can't wait to see what our floor looks like with the lights on," she said in the elevator. Before she'd gone down, she made sure the lights switches up there were turned off so that she could see everything when its done at the same time. She still hadn't finished doing Christian's office.
"It's going to look amazing Ana. You've gone above and beyond," he said. She merely smiled at him in thanks. "How did you end up turning the lights on anyway?"
She told him about her conversations with Dave and how he had asked her, out of the blue.
"You dazzled the poor man with your charming personality," he said matter of fact.
She rolled her eyes lightly. "Lily said I did the same thing to you," she said off-handedly as she exited the elevator.
His brows rose in surprise. "You did more than dazzle me," he mumbled quietly to himself, hoping she didn't hear him.
"Wait. Your meetings in conference room A isn't it?" He nodded. "Can you do me a favour? Will you turn the Christmas lights off so that I can see the room in its fully glory later? I don't want to just walk by and see it, you know, especially after all that effort we went through yesterday untangling those lights," she smirked.
He nodded. "We can see and appreciate it together. How about I text Ros to turn them off, so I don't see them when I walk back in?" He was composing the text as he spoke.
A smile was threatening to take over Ana's face. He wanted to see the lights with her.
It probably didn't mean anything, but it felt like everything.
"I'll see you when the meeting is over then," he said before going back to his meeting.
Ana got busy with finishing his office and completing her work for the day. The meeting went on for another half hour. For a finishing touch for Christian's office, she hung a wreath on the door with a satisfied humph.
The others got out of their meeting and retreated back to their desks. Andrea had some urgent emails to send off so she was sat at the desk hyper focused. But she did commend Ana for the whole lighting thing.
Christian came looking for her a couple minutes later. Andrea flashed her a confused look. "He helped me decorate the conference room yesterday, so we thought we'd see the outcome of our work together," Ana explained.
"Ah," Andrea nodded understandingly but she was smiling.
The sun had all but set now and the anticipation of seeing the lights against the night sky was getting to her.
They decided to start from the elevator and Andrea watched with them. They dimmed the overhead lights and turned the fairy lights on.
The entire corridor, waiting area and the front desk was illuminated by tiny warm white lights and it looked absolutely magical. The small Christmas tree in the corner of the waiting area was lit up and there were just lights lining everything, even the wreaths were lit up. There was garland lining their desk with lights intertwined in it.
"Wow Ana," Andrea said in awe.
"I second that," Christian murmured looking around.
She had decided to keep to the colours of GEH, so most of the décor was shades of white and gold, with the odd bits of green and red thrown in there.
Christian and Ana headed down to the conference room next, opting to leave his office until the end.
He closed the door behind them and turned off the lights to the room.
"Ready?" He asked, with his hand poised on the switch. She nodded.
The entire room was suddenly lit. It looked breath-taking against the backdrop of Seattle's skyline.
She looked around admiring it all, so proud of herself. She gazed up at the tree in admiration.
What she didn't see, was Christian watching her face intently as she looked at the tree. He was suddenly struck with this feeling, so pure, as he watched her face illuminated by the glow of the lights and contorted in an expression of absolute awe and wonder.
She saw Christian looking at her from the corner of her eye, before he looked at the tree.
"I'd say we did a mighty fine job," he said proudly.
"I think so too," Ana agreed quietly. "You did pretty good for someone who's not the biggest fan of Christmas. You're practically an elf," she laughed.
"I don't think so Miss Steele," he quipped. Ana chuckled.
"Okay, last but not least your office," she said.
They entered the dark office and stood side by side. As the lights went on, Ana's eyes flew to his face wanting to see his reaction.
He walked around, inspecting everything and running his hands through the various garlands.
She had kept it quite simple in here. There was no tree but there were garlands scattered around, artfully twisted around various pieces of furniture. But what was most unexpected was the lights lining the floor to ceiling windows. Somehow, she had managed to secure lights between the ceiling and the windows and all around it, even along the floor. From afar, it looked like the Seattle skyline was framed.
"How did you manage to do that?" He pointed at the lights on the windows.
She shrugged casually. "I had to stand on a chair and just not look down. I was on the verge of falling many times, but I survived," she said as if it was nothing.
He looked at her in disbelief. "You should have told someone. I would have been happy to help," he said.
"It's done now," she dismissed.
"I didn't even realise this was a possibility," he said looking at the lights. "You really have outdone yourself Ana," he said softly.
"Is it tastefully decorated?" She asked with a smile.
He chuckled. "Yeah it is," he said.
"I really wanted this place to be transformed in a way where it would uplift your mood. I know you said sometimes you find it hard to get into the spirit, so I really hope this helps you. You can imagine yourself as though you're the main character in a holiday movie or something," she shrugged with a grin, "just as long as it makes you happy in any way, shape or form," she said almost shyly.
He had to smile at her pure intentions. "There's no doubt about it. I have a newfound appreciation for small things like fairy lights making Seattle look like something out of a dream and I have you to thank for that," he said, gazing at her.
She came to stand by him in front of the windows, both of them turning to look outside.
"You want to know something?" He asked her. From the corner of his eye, he saw her turn to look at him curiously. "You've changed the way I see things Ana. Before you, I never stopped to appreciate what I have and notice the little things, I always used to think that life was made up of grand gestures and that was the only way to show appreciation. My life was pretty mundane, and it was the same thing every day but since you appeared, I've learned to see things for more than they actually are.
"I appreciate and notice small gestures that I usually would have taken no notice of. A few months ago I would have scoffed if someone told me they were going to hang up fairy lights in my office but when you asked if you could decorate, I knew that it would be different and something special. You have a knack for finding the small pleasures in life and I am in constant awe of you," he said. He never did look at her face throughout his speech.
Ana was lost for words. "Christian…" she trailed off, unsure of what to even begin to say. "I… I'm glad," she sighed softly, "you have no idea how happy that makes me."
He simply smiled at her in return, peering into her shining eyes.
Ana wanted to say something. She wanted to tell him of her feelings of gratitude and admiration that she had for him but she panicked internally and no words ended up coming out. She wished she had the guts to tell him everything and she hoped that one day she could.
They started talking, still stood by the lit-up windows in the darkened room, stuck in the bubble that they had created.
Between the fleeting glances, twinkling eyes and gentle smiles, it was a wonder that they hadn't figured out the other's feelings for each other. They both did feel infinitely closer though. Maybe it was the confession, maybe it was the darkened room and the atmosphere, who knows.
They were startled and decided to call it a night when Andrea knocked on the door to announce that she was going home.
The only thing on Ana's mind during her journey home was Christian's confession.
He was in awe of her.
She had changed his outlook in life, not matter how small it was.
As he was gazing out the window as he was being driven home, the only image that kept flashing in Christian's mind was Ana's face as she gazed at the lights.
He'd never been so entranced before; it had completely thrown him off.
The magic of the season was only just beginning.
A couple days later, the elevator dinged, and Ana glanced up to see who had arrived.
Mia was bounding towards the desk, with a red box in her hands. She was dressed for the season, in a white sweater with gold flecks on and a tartan wool skirt, finished with a santa hat on her head.
"Ana!" She exclaimed as a greeting.
"Mia, hey," Ana smiled at her.
"Wow, this place looks unbelievable," she said as she looked around. "Christian told me you did it all," she sort of asked.
"Yeah, that was me," Ana said bashfully.
"I love it. it's elegant but festive at the same time. It's much better than I could have ever done it," Mia said. "Christian always complains that I go over the top," she rolled her eyes.
Ana chuckled. "What are you doing here?"
Mia presented the box to her, shaking it happily. "It's secret santa time!"
Ana grinned at the notion, excited to see who she would get.
Although, there was a 90 percent chance she'd get someone she didn't know but that was okay, it's about having a great time.
"Where's Andrea? You two are the last ones to pick," Mia said.
"She's in the conference room," Ana gestured towards the general direction.
"I'm going alphabetically by surname on every floor so I'm afraid you're going to be last," Mia said apologetically, "sadly I can't play favourites," she said dejected.
"I really don't mind Mia, as long as I get someone," Ana said.
"Okay," she turned to go down the hall, "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere" she said before clattering down the hallway.
She came back a couple of minutes later and since there was only one piece of paper left in the box, it wasn't too big of an ordeal.
Ana picked it out and unfolded it.
Christian Grey.
She furrowed her brows in confusion and was about to ask Mia if Christian was really doing it this year, after he had said he never participates but she snapped her mouth shut before anything came out of her mouth.
Asking Mia would just give it away and Ana wasn't too confident that Mia wouldn't spill the beans. She just hoped this was right.
She flashed what she hoped wasn't a confused smile at Mia who was looking at her expectantly and refolded the piece of paper.
"Happy?"
She blew out a breath. "Yep," she said happily to Mia.
"Okay my job here is done. You know that presents are to be opened at the annual party, right? Which is the Friday before you guys finish work for the holidays," Mia explained.
"Yep, I got it," Ana nodded.
"We'll speak more about it closer to the time. We need to go to the bar soon, we haven't been in ages, and we can discuss what we're all going to wear!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to go talk to Christian for a second."
As Mia departed, Ana thought about what on earth she was going to get Christian. Sure, she was pretty close to him but what do you get the man that had everything?
She was absolutely stumped but luckily, she had a few weeks to come up with something. There was also the small questionnaire to help her, but a brief glance at it told her that Mia or someone else had probably filled it in, since the answers were generic and it didn't really help much at all.
She didn't want to stress over it, this wasn't supposed to be stressful, it's supposed to be fun and exciting, but she wanted whatever she got him to be perfect.
"Hi Christian, you got a minute?"
Christian looked up from his laptop to see Mia peering over the door.
"Hey Mia, come in. What are you going here?"
Mia stood behind the couch. Christian flashed her a bewildered look.
"So I did something," she said slowly as Christian sighed deeply, "don't bite my head off but I put your name in for the secret santa," she said quickly, cringing behind the couch as the words came out of her mouth.
"Mia!" He exclaimed.
"I thought it would be a nice something and it would make you more engaged with your employees, so win-win right?" She said meekly.
"Mia, it's not right that an employee buys me a gift that I most certainly don't need nor want," he argued.
"it's more about giving gifts, not receiving them. I mean no one expects anything but a mug, alcohol or socks or something from secret santa. It won't be some grand gift Christian and the only person that thinks that its wrong is you," she replied as she came around to stand in front of him.
He heaved a sigh as he ran a hand over his face. "Has my name already been given out?"
"Yes," she said quickly.
Leaning back in his chair, he put his hand behind his head as he looked at her. "Well then there's not much I can do about that now, can I?"
A smile was threatening to appear on Mia's face; she knew she could bring him around somehow although it had been a lot easier than she initially thought it would be.
"Trust me Christian, it'll be great, and you'll see the beauty of it," she said.
He shot her a disbelieving look.
"Oh, and to keep numbers even, you need to pick a name," she said hesitantly.
"Mia I really don't have time to be picking out lousy gifts for people I barely know personally," he said exasperated.
"Ask Ana or Andrea to get a gift for you or something if you're too busy," Mia offered but she had a hidden agenda here.
"Fine."
"You're the last person so there's only one name left," she popped the box on his desk.
He picked it out and unfolded it gingerly.
Anastasia Steele.
His face turned into one of disbelief. So much for asking Ana to help with his secret santa.
However, this was a good thing. If he could have picked anyone in the office to buy a gift for, it would have been her, purely for the fact that they're closer than he was with anyone else in the building.
He could work with Ana and he found himself not wanting to delegate the task to Andrea either. He wanted it to be from himself.
Without realising, a smirk graced his lips.
"Good I hope?" Mia asked timidly with a small smile.
"As good as its going to get," he replied.
They spoke until the sun had set and Andrea knocked on the door to let them know her and Ana were leaving for the night.
Mia was humming to herself as she drove home later that night.
It was no coincidence that Ana and Christian had gotten each other.
What Ana and Christian were oblivious to and hopefully would stay oblivious to is that Mia had to do a little scheming to ensure that they got each other.
Mia had kept Christian and Ana's slips of paper in her pocket and after Andrea had picked hers, Mia had put Christian's name in the box so that Ana could get it.
She'd done the same with Christian, slipping the paper with Ana's name on inside the box before she had entered his office.
She had to bite her tongue to stop her smile from appearing when she watched Christian see Ana's name.
She was also pretty damn proud of her acting skills. Everyone had such little faith in her but looked what she managed to pull off.
Mia thought those two needed a push. Hopefully at the party, they won't get suspicious and they'd chalk it up to it being a 'miracle' or a happy coincidence.
A little Christmas cupid playing never hurt anyone, right?
p.s dont forget the sun sets early around 4ish because winter.
Thank you all for your feedback! The end is very near :(
also please forgive these rapid inconsistent uploads, i didnt think about the schedule and wanted these up before christmas.
Hope everyone is okay and please stay safe.
