Chapter 26
It was a week until the Christmas party and Ana was still stumped on what to get Christian.
What do you get the man that has everything?
If she couldn't think of anything worthwhile then she'd just buy him a nice tie or a new mug, but she really didn't want to do that so in her spare time she was constantly researching and on the lookout for gift ideas.
Andrea was happy with whoever she had picked, and she's been keeping Ana up to date on her gift hunting. Ana didn't mind, hoping she'd get some inspiration for Christian.
Ana and Kate had finally decorated the apartment and it looked magical; not as magical as GEH but it was the cosy, cute type of magical. Putting everything up was probably the best part, they listened to Christmas music and had impromptu dancing sessions. And they were wine drunk which made it all the more fun.
Today, Ana was alone at GEH.
Andrea, Christian and a couple of the execs including Ros were all across town at a meeting. It was the project that Ana still had no clue about. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't even come across a misplaced file or piece of paper about it so she was still completely in the dark.
Andrea was really engrossed with it though, so Ana didn't find herself wanting to know about it.
It had been an uneventful day and coupled with being alone, she wanted nothing more than to go home and relax. It had also started snowing lightly, not enough to stick but you could see the snowflakes through the windows. She loved snow, but she would much rather enjoy it from the warmth of her apartment since she really wasn't a fan of the cold. 5 o clock couldn't come soon enough.
Jose had come up earlier to spend a late lunch with her. It was the first time he'd been up here since Christian chased him out that one time. Needless to say, he was still paranoid that Christian was going to jump out and reprimand him even though the two of them were now on friendly terms.
In a turn of events that no one saw coming, except maybe they did, Jose had asked Mia on a date about a month or so after the birthday picnic.
He had confided in Ana in the beginning that he thought he wasn't extravagant enough for Mia. Mia lived a life of exuberance and she came off as very flamboyant at times and he was worried that his simplicity and mundane life wasn't going to be interesting to her.
Ana had told him not to be judgemental and not to judge a book by its cover, but she knew where he was coming from. She had thought the same thing at the start, hadn't she?
She told him that Mia was so much more than what she appeared to be. She wasn't superficial in the slightest and had a heart of gold. She told him to get to know her better and to stop thinking so lowly of himself.
A week later, Ana had invited him for drinks after work one night and she didn't tell him that Mia would be there, so he got a pretty big surprise, but he composed himself well. Ana thought it might give them a chance to get to know one another better.
Halfway through the night, Jose still hadn't approached Mia nor really spoken to her unless she asked him a direct question. It was obvious Mia was curious about him but she didn't go overboard and spoke to him like she did with the others, including him in various conversations.
Mia had gone up to the bar to get another round and Ana nudged Jose and whispered for him to go talk to her. The whole night had been a testament to show that Mia was simple and easy-going. She was literally in a whole in the wall bar and was eating peanuts and potato chips.
Jose had nodded and after squaring his shoulders he left the table. They didn't see him nor Mia for over forty minutes until Ana had gone up to see what the hold up with their drinks was and saw them chatting away at the end of the bar.
They had been on several dates since then and both of them were happy, so it was going pretty well.
Ana spent the lunch break questioning him about Mia and the dates that they had been on and what he was planning on getting her for Christmas. Ana hoped that he asked Mia to be his date to the company Christmas party next week.
Observing the way Jose's eyes lit up and the small smile on his face when he talked about Mia, Ana couldn't help but wish she had someone who looked at her like that.
The holiday season always made her want someone to share it all with.
There was still an hour before 5 and she had done everything that she needed to do, emails had been answered, meetings scheduled, files completed and filed away.
She was pretty sure Christian wouldn't mind if she went home early since there was nothing else that needed doing, but she couldn't bring herself to leave early without him knowing. It felt wrong. She also had no clue when the others would be back or if they'd even be back or go straight home from the meeting.
Ana decided to do some housekeeping. She started with tidying up the break room and the copy room. Then she busied herself with straightening all the garlands and decorations, untangling lights and righting any crooked ornaments. She decided to check Christian's office while she was at it.
He'd actually kept the décor in good condition and not much had gone astray. She wound some fairy lights back around the garland that had come undone but other than that, there wasn't anything else to fix.
She looked around the room before getting an idea. She turned the lights to his office off so only fairy lights glowed and came to stand by the window looking out.
Being this high up made her feel like she was in the clouds, she'd never get tired of the view. The lightly falling snow was clearly visible from here and she was up against the window watching the snowflakes float.
She'd never experienced anything like this, and she didn't think she would ever again.
Crossing her arms, she pulled her cardigan tighter around her as if she was experiencing the cold from outside.
She stood there for an unknown amount of time, only with her thoughts and the view.
So wrapped up in them, she didn't hear the ding of the elevator, nor the quiet thump of footsteps approaching.
Christian pushed open the door to his office wider and was about to turn the lights on when he saw a figure standing by the windows.
"Ana?"
Ana startled and whipped around.
"Christian, hi!" She said in a high voice as her heart rate went back to normal.
"Are you alright?" He asked worried, as he stepped closer to her.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you guys back. I must have been so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn't hear you," she said.
"It's just me. I sent everyone else home and came by to pick up some files," he said popping his briefcase on the desk as he came to stand by her. "Why are you still here? I would have thought you'd gone home by now."
"I wasn't sure if I should or not. It felt wrong without yours or Andrea's permission," she shrugged. "I was just enjoying the view, I hope you don't mind," she said sheepishly, gesturing to the windows.
"No, of course I don't mind," he shook his head as he turned to look out.
"It looks good tonight doesn't it?" She asked quietly.
He hummed as he glanced at her through the corner of his eyes. He could barely see her face due to the limited light, but he could see her eyes clear as day. The lights from outside were almost reflected in them and he couldn't look away.
"Got any exciting plans for this weekend?" She asked.
He was broken out of his little reverie. "I need to find a couple more presents but other than that, nothing. To be honest, I've found it really hard to find presents for people this year and I'm not sure why. My mind just doesn't feel like it's in it. I've kind of been in a rut this year," he mused. "I don't think I've ever felt less 'christmassy'."
"Presents don't have to be grand, just think what the other person would treasure or what they like and do something meaningful with that," she said lightly. "As long as some thought and effort goes into it, who cares what the actual present is? You just want to know that the other person cares for you and that they've spent time and put thought into your gift."
"Really?" He asked in disbelief.
She flashed him a look. Did he really not realise that? "Yes definitely. Every year without fail, I get socks from my dad because I complain about cold feet all the time and he gets me thin ones for me to sleep in because he knows I hate feeling restricted by fabric in my sleep. Granted he is my dad, but it's still a little thing that no one else would really think about so it means a lot," she said. "It's nice to feel noticed and like you matter sometimes," she shrugged casually, looking away.
He nodded as the thought that over. "I understand that. Thanks Ana," he smiled in gratitude.
They stood in silence, mulling over their own thoughts for a while. Ana was trying to think of inconspicuous ways to ask him what he'd like.
An idea suddenly struck her.
"You know what would help you get into a 'christmassy' mood?"
"What?"
"Do you trust me?" He nodded. "Then come with me," she said excitedly.
He raised a brow. "Where exactly?"
"You'll find out when we get there," she said cryptically.
"Okay." He agreed. He would go anywhere she asked.
Ana grinned triumphantly. "Let me get ready and we can go alright?" She said as she made her way to the door. "Oh and tell Taylor he can have the night off. I'm driving."
"What if we need security?" He called.
"I hardly think you're going to need protecting at this place," she called over her shoulder.
Christian looked back out the window, wondering about the rapid turn of events.
Christian was sat in the passenger seat of her car and Ana wanted to laugh.
Here he was in his 3000-dollar suit, sitting in the passenger seat of a Honda civic, being driven around by Ana. The thought was so bizarre but here it was in the flesh.
He was being a trooper though and wasn't moaning about being in the dark.
They made small talk in the car as they drove a little out of the city and eventually arriving at a large park. Quickly finding a parking space, Ana turned to look at him.
"Ready?"
He nodded mutely, anxious to see what was out there that had her so giddy.
As they walked to the entrance gates, they could hear loud Christmas music playing and the sounds of people laughing and talking.
Christian spied the sign.
"Welcome to Seattle's Christmas market," he read out. "You bought me to a Christmas market?" He asked, laughing.
A grin threatened to take over her lips. "Where else would I take you?"
"I should have known," he grinned as they went up to the ticket booth.
Ana got out her wallet to pay, when Christian stopped her. "Ana, let me pay."
She moved her hands away from his. "No, it's alright. Besides I bought you here," she said, quickly paying the cashier before he could reply.
At his disgruntled sigh, she flashed him a smile.
The place was decked out in lights; they were everywhere. Christian smirked to himself when he thought about the electricity bill.
"What are you smirking about?"
"The electricity bill," he said.
Ana rolled her eyes. "Come on, don't you feel more 'christmassy' already?" She unthinkingly, linked her arm through his as they walked.
He looked at their arms in surprise and didn't reply. Ana looked away from the lights to glance at him, following his eyes down to their arms.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't even realise. I'm violating your space," she mumbled quickly as she retracted her arm, embarrassed.
"Don't. I like it," he said quietly as he urged her to put her arm back through his. She did so timidly. "You provide me with warmth," he joked.
Ana released a breath and smiled as she felt the awkwardness melt away.
They walked arm in arm, as the snow fell lightly around them. The weather hadn't put anyone off, the place was jam packed.
The trees that lined the area were also covered in lights and it looked so festive. They spied a Ferris wheel somewhere in the distance and a large Christmas tree. There were so many cute stalls selling so many things from soap bars, to handmade jewellery, to wine and cheese.
They just walked for a while, observing everything.
"These are my favourite things," Ana said.
"I can't remember the last time I came to one," he replied.
"Don't you feel it in the air?" He gave her a confused look. "The magic of Christmas."
"I feel happier?"
"Listen to all those sounds. It's pure happiness. There's such a diverse range of people here, families, couples, teenagers, people from so many different backgrounds and lives but they're all here for one thing. To feel 'christmassy'. Everyone comes here to feel joy. You can practically feel it in the air. It's impossible for it not to uplift your mood," she said passionately.
"I think I could be more 'christmassy'," he admitted.
"The night's only just started Christian," she reassured him.
They stopped by a stall when something had caught Ana's eye. She looked around while Christian chatted with the owner. She ended up buying some dark chocolate bourbon fudge that she knew her dad would love. Christian had scrunched his nose up when she told him.
"Oooh! Let's get some hot cocoa!" She exclaimed, dragging him over to the stall.
They stood in front of the large chalk board with all the flavours on.
"They all sound so good," Ana mused. "I think I'm gonna go for the gingerbread one. Have you picked yet?" she turned to him.
"I'm going to get the peppermint one I think, I'm not one to push the boat out too much when it comes to hot cocoa," he said.
They got their drinks which came with the lids open so they could see the garnishing on top. Christian's had crushed peppermint on top and Ana's had gingerbread pieces and a little gingerbread man placed on top of the cream.
They kept their eyes on one another as they took their first sips. Ana had wrapped her hands completely around her cup, wanting it to warm her hands.
Christian thought she'd never looked better with snowflakes in her hair, blowing slightly in the wind, her nose bright red from the cold and her eyes hadn't stopped glowing since they arrived.
"You've got some cream on your face," he told her, smirking.
She wiped blindly at her face, and he nodded when she got it. Her lips were now bright red as well which must have been from the heat of the cocoa.
She took another sip. "My god, this is so good," she said happily. "Yours?"
"Pretty good as well," he said smiling at her. As they stood there sipping, he never once took his eyes off her and Ana began to take notice. She met his eyes every so often, smiling but looked away when she felt like it got too intense.
In the end, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Why are you looking at me like that? do I have more cream on my face?" She asked worried, patting her face again.
He shook his head. "No. You look cute," he grinned.
Her eyes flew up to his. "Cute?" She asked in disbelief, unsure she'd heard him right.
"Yeah, cute. You're like a little kid here, you're so happy and you look like Rudolph with your red nose," he chuckled.
"Oh, shut up," she mumbled but a smile graced her lips. He chuckled.
They resumed their walking and stopped by various stalls if one of them saw something interesting, although it was mostly Ana that stopped them.
They arrived at a farm-like area where there were animals and the worker asked if they wanted to feed the horse that was nearby them.
Christian automatically looked at Ana, assuming she was going to give it a go.
Ana simply nudged him forward. "You're up buddy," she said.
He turned wide eyes to her. "I can't do it, why don't you?"
"Go on, it'll up the 'christmassy'," she said cheekily.
Christian sighed and approached the pen slowly, watching the horse. The worker handed him a piece of carrot and showed him how to place it on his hand to offer it to the horse. The horse, who was now watching Christian.
Ana slyly took her phone out to take some pictures. This was a sight to behold.
Christian edged forward warily, the carrot in his palm and once he was close enough, the horse leaned forward to take it into his mouth, licking Christian's palm as he went. Christian grimaced slightly; it was a weird sensation.
Ana cheered from behind him, which made his lips involuntarily twitch. The horse huffed once it stopped chewing and Christian took a couple of steps back. The worker had asked him if he wanted to pet him to which he had denied quickly and washed his hands.
"Are you scared of horses?" Ana laughed.
"No," he said in mock-offence.
"Right," she said knowingly.
Christian grabbed her hand. "Come on smart-ass."
Ana looked down at their hands as he pulled her along, liking the feeling. It made her feel warm inside.
They spent a while, playing a few games and getting unnecessarily competitive and they ate some doughnuts and shared some Christmas cake.
They decided to take a ride on the Ferris wheel just for the sake of it.
Once they reached the top, they gazed out onto the aerial view of the entire area. It was so bright.
"So, do you feel 'christmassy' now?"
"Definitely more than I did," he said.
"Mission accomplished," Ana smiled proudly.
"How do you get into the Christmas spirit? You've done all this for me but what about for yourself?" He was curious. She was always doing things for others.
She shrugged lightly as she gazed down at the people and stalls. "I'm not sure. As soon as I see the lights and the trees, I feel happy. It puts me in a festive mood. It's an indication of a time when it feels like everyone just gets together and enjoys themselves. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, there's still so much fun to be had during the month of December, like this," she gestured below them.
"It's never really been difficult for me to get into the spirit," she said. "I'm always up for anything which makes it easier. I've never said no to going to pick out a tree or buying decorations, even growing up. The music helps too, and I start listening to that in November," she laughed. "There's just so much to look forward to."
They browsed through some stalls and Ana helped him pick out a handmade necklace for Mia and his mom.
"Do you think they'll like them?" He asked.
"They're going to love them Christian. You personally picked them out and trust me every girl likes getting jewellery from someone. It's a fail-safe," she reassured him before going off and looking around herself.
Christian watched her as she touched the things that caught her eye and took a closer look at. She didn't end up buying anything for herself, but Christian bought her a necklace with an 'A' on it that she had been eyeing. That could be part of her secret santa.
They were speaking with the lady at the cheese stall and laughing as she told them about her children's aversion to cheese. The woman seemed completely charmed by Christian and she couldn't blame her. Ana herself was fascinated by his ease in striking up a conversation with anyone about anything and having enough knowledge on random topics to carry on a conversation. He was fully of so many tricks.
Christian was tapped on the shoulder. "Excuse me," said an accented voice. They both turned to see who it was.
An older gentleman was standing there in a wool hat. "Hello," Christian said.
"I work at this stall," the man gestured towards the stall beside the cheese one, "I draw pictures and sell them. I couldn't help but notice what a lovely couple you were, so I drew you," he presented them with a white canvas that he had drew both of them on.
Ana and Christian's eyes widened as they looked at the drawing. It was incredibly detailed. There was no colour on it, but it was obvious that it was Ana and Christian standing beside each other, arms linked, smiling and laughing. He must have drawn it while they'd been standing at the cheese stall which couldn't have been more than 10 minutes.
Ana let out a slight gasp. "This is beautiful," Ana praised. "You have an incredible gift." The man bowed his head slightly in embarrassment. "We haven't been stood here very long, how long did this take you?"
"Give or take 10 minutes. It's easy when you have such good inspiration," the man said.
They walked over to the man's stall to see more of his artwork.
"Wow," Ana whispered. There were various canvases, some more intricate than the rest, some with colour, some without but they had a certain charm to them that it was clear they had been produced by the same artist.
"How much for the canvas?" Christian asked.
"Oh no. I give to you for free. I did it because I wanted to," he said earnestly.
He wrapped it up and gave the bag to Anastasia who engaged him in conversation about some of his pieces.
While he was otherwise occupied, Christian leaned over and put 500 dollars on the table placing a jar of pencils on top, so they didn't blow away, beside his little till.
They spoke with him for a while, finding out that he used to be an artist from Italy but now he sold little drawings and portraits for cheap at various markets that he managed to get a spot at. They thanked him over and over for the drawing.
"It's okay please. You are a beautiful couple. The way he looks at you, is the way I look at my wife," the man said to Ana. "That is pure. And she looks at you like you hung the moon."
Ana and Christian glanced at each other. Christian stared at her intently and Ana blushed slightly from being outed. Ana flashed an embarrassed smile at Christian and thanked the man again, neither of them correcting him.
As they walked away, Christian glanced back at the stall and saw the man find the money. The man was shocked and frozen for a few seconds before he looked up and caught Christian's eye.
He held the money to his chest as a show of gratitude and mouthed thank you. Christian nodded at him with a smile.
"That was the most wholesome thing, I can't believe he drew us," Ana mumbled. "I feel like I'm in a fairy-tale," she said.
"Your life is a fairy-tale Ana, you make sure of that," he said.
They stopped at a decorations stall where Ana bought some cute monogrammed stockings one with an 'A' and one with 'K' for herself and Kate. they didn't have any from previous years since during college they always went home for an extended amount of time during the holidays and so never really decorated their rooms properly so Ana thought the stockings were a great addition and could be used for years.
Christian waited as Ana paid for her purchases.
"I think we should get someone to take a picture of us," he said as she walked to him.
Her eyes flew up in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah," he said quietly. "This has been one of the best evenings I've had, and I don't want to forget it."
They asked a worker at a nearby stall to take a picture of them.
All of a sudden, Ana felt awkward and her heart started to race. Thinking about what the man had told her at the canvas stall, she wondered if it was really true. She had caught him staring at her a couple of times, but she didn't let her convince herself that it was in a romantic way.
He wrapped an arm around her waist tightly, bringing her as close as possible. They smiled at the camera and Ana unconsciously leaned her head lightly on his shoulder and without thinking, he leaned forward looking down at her, entranced with the scent of her hair.
Ana felt his nose brush her hair and looked up at him. His eyes were already on her and he simply smiled at her.
They thanked the worker for his help and decided to call it a night. As they made their way out, there were so many unspoken words and questions between them; both too afraid to voice anything so they said nothing.
"Wow, look at that," Christian mumbled as he looked up at the sky on their way out.
Ana looked up to see so many stars shining brightly and completely visible. "Wow."
"It's the one thing I don't like about living in the city, so much light pollution that you can't see the stars," he said.
"Might have something to do with the constant rain clouds too," Ana remarked with a smirk.
Christian grinned, shaking his head.
On their way back, they sat in comfortable silence, both completely absorbed in their own thoughts.
Christian showed her how to get to his apartment complex and she parked in front of the building.
"Thank you for tonight Ana, so much," he began sincerely. "I wish I could articulate my thoughts properly and really tell you how much it all means to me."
"Anything to show you the magic of the season," she smiled.
"I think I've seen the magic of the season and a whole lot more," he said, eyes soft.
"I'm glad," she said quietly.
His eyes drifted down to her lips unconsciously. He leaned forward over the small space and pecked her on the corner of her mouth.
Pulling back, he grinned at her cutely. "I've had the most amazing time tonight and I'm finding myself wishing that Christmas would last forever so we could do that more often," he said lightly.
Ana was still in a slight daze, the corner of her mouth tingling. Did he realise that he all but kissed her on the mouth or was he aiming for her cheek and it had been a happy accident?
She didn't reply to him, the thoughts in her head a jumbled mess.
"Bye Ana, sweet dreams," he smiled before getting out. He waved at her before he went through the doors.
"Night Christian," she had mumbled as he left.
She sat there for a couple more minutes absorbing everything that had just happened. She was in emotional overload.
He had all but kissed her and said that he wanted to spend more nights like tonight with her. Truth be told, the fact that the night felt like a date did cross her mind a few times, but she told herself that it was just two friends hanging out.
Could it be that he felt something for her? Could this really be a possibility?
Was this really happening?
She needed to get home and compose her thoughts properly.
The entire ride she was smiling to herself.
The day of the Christmas party was filled with lots of last-minute finishing touches. It was also the last day before GEH closed for the holidays, so everyone was trying to get things squared away.
Ana had managed to find Christian a present and she hadn't been able to pick just one, so she had three. She had gone slightly over budget, but she wasn't too bothered about that and hoped it wasn't a problem.
Things between them hadn't really changed much in the last week since the Christmas fair. They didn't talk about what happened at the end and simply resumed their friendly banter.
She was hyper aware of every movement he made and every glance he threw at her trying to see if he could really have feelings for her. Internally she was hoping he did and now she found herself trying to catch any sign of confirmation.
While her feelings for him were there, she was never going to make the first move. He was her boss, and she would practically be throwing herself at him. And what if he didn't actually like her in that way at all and she was reading the signals wrong and she looked like a fool? She'd never be able to face him.
There were so many doubts running rampant in her head. She was sure he said he'd never get involved with one of his staff, he didn't even want to do secret santa for fear of it so would he really have feelings for her?
She was starting to overthink every interaction and at night she thought about previous interactions. She wanted to confide in someone and get an outsider's perspective, but she didn't want to air this out. She was a pretty private person and she feared that she was just going to embarrass herself.
The party was this evening and Kate was coming too so they would be arriving together. It was going to be held in the large function room downstairs that Ana didn't even know existed. Mia had been down there all-day setting things up. She was ruling things with an iron fist.
Andrea and her were about to go downstairs to place their secret santa presents under the tree.
"Where are you guys headed to?" Christian asked as he saw them leaving for the elevator.
Ana lifted her bag. "We're going to go drop these off," she said.
"Oh, I'll come down with you now before I forget," he went back into his office and came out with a small gift bag.
"He's participating in secret santa this year?!" Andrea whisper-yelled in shock.
Ana pretended to be surprised too. "I guess so," she mumbled.
"I wonder who got him. That must have been some shock to the system when they pulled his name out."
Ana chuckled nervously as they boarded the elevator.
"You've got quite a few gifts there Anastasia," Christian observed peeking into her bag.
Luckily, they were all wrapped so he couldn't see what they were. "No peeking," she chastised, "and I couldn't pick one, so I got three."
"That is going to be one lucky recipient," he said.
"I'm surprised you're doing it this year Mr Grey," Ana said.
"I didn't want to. Mia slipped my name into the box and by the time she told me, my name had already been given out, so I had no choice," he explained.
Ana laughed at Mia's antics.
They deposited the gifts under the tree and Christian went to go get an update on things while the other two returned to work, both exited for the party later on.
Ana and Kate took a cab later that night to GEH, as they were planning on getting drunk.
Ana, with the help of Mia and Kate, was wearing a black shimmery velvet mini skirt with a red long sleeve v neck top and heels on her feet and Kate wore a green satin jumpsuit.
After signing in, they walked hand in hand into the room where the party was being held. There was already a bunch of people here. There were lights strung along the entirety of the ceiling and there was tinsel and garlands everywhere.
Tables were scattered around and in the middle was a dancefloor in front of the stage where a band was playing. The large tree in the corner had a mountain of presents underneath and Ana couldn't wait to see Christian's reaction to her gifts.
"Now this is bougie," Kate said, impressed as she looked around.
"Would you expect anything less?"
"Come on, let's find Elliot and Mia," she dragged Ana into the crowds of people.
There was an open bar at the other end of the room and after getting themselves a drink, they mingled for a bit. Since the whole debacle of the ball, a lot more people knew who she was so she made friendly conversation with them.
Kate found Elliot and they went off, leaving Ana speaking with her co-workers.
The Christmas music was ringing in her ears and she felt warm from the alcohol. She kept trying to see if Christian was here yet but so far she hadn't caught any sight of him.
"Ana!"
Ana turned to see who it was. Andrea bounded up to her and wrapped her up in a huge bear hug.
"Hey!" Ana laughed, hugging her back. Andrea was acting like she hadn't seen Ana 4 hours ago.
Andrea pulled back and examined Ana. "I can't believe I've never seen you dolled up. You look great!"
"And you do too. I love your dress," Ana exclaimed. She was wearing a silver dress that sparkled as it caught the lights.
"This is my husband, Rick. Rick, this is Ana," she introduced her to the tall blonde man standing beside her.
"I've heard so much about you Ana. it so great to finally meet you," he flashed a blinding white smile at her as he shook her hand
"Likewise, Rick," she smiled.
They chatted away until it was announced that the food was about to be served.
She was supposed to be sat on a table with Andrea, Rick, Kate, Elliot, Mia and Jose but the last two were nowhere to be found and didn't arrive until they had started eating.
"Hi everyone! It's so good to see you all!" Mia greeted them cheerily, smiling brightly. "Sorry we're late, Christian needed some help," she explained.
Ana unconsciously sat straighter in her seat and tried to slyly glance around.
She spied him at a table across the room, sitting with Ros and a bunch of the higher ups.
He was sat next to slender brunette woman and was conversing with her and Ana's stomach plummeted. Was that his date?
With her mind preoccupied, she was quiet during dinner and drank her wine so take her mind off him. Looks like she was wrong about everything.
Stupid of her to get her hopes up. So naïve. It was her own fault.
After the meal, tables were cleared, and the dance floor was opened up. The drinks and laughter were freely flowing, and Ana was finding hard to get herself out of this funk. She just wanted to go home and throw herself a pity party.
Kate and Andrea noticed the change in her and asked her what was wrong. She denied that anything was wrong and tried to fake her mood. It must not have been very convincing though because they just looked at her worriedly.
She couldn't even get hammered; she was surrounded by her colleagues that she'd have to face after the party, so she wasn't going to make a fool of herself in front of them.
She hated this. She wanted to enjoy this night. She went to the bathroom to freshen up and Kate followed her.
"Ana, seriously tell me what's up," Kate urged her. "You just went completely silent during dinner, and you were fine before so what happened?"
Ana studied Kate's face, contemplating whether she should tell her or not.
She walked over to lock the door to the bathroom and leaned against it.
"I like Christian," she stated. Kate raised a single brow. "As more than a friend," she clarified.
A slow grin appeared on Kate's face before she squealed. "Oh my god, finally! And it only took you 7 months!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Ana asked, caught off guard.
"I'm going to give it to you straight Ana. Everyone knows that there is something between you two for months and I mean months! We've all seen it and we've been waiting for the two of you to come to your senses and see that you are completely infatuated with one another!" Kate said passionately, arms flying.
Ana could only say, "huh?"
"You two have feelings for each other that you are both oblivious to. The way he stares at you Ana, it's like you're the most fascinating thing to exist and he always has this content little smirk on his face when you're around. And you! Why has it taken you so long to realise your feelings for him? Your face lights up when you talk about him and I've never seen you so comfortable around someone like you are around him. You're one of the most observant people I know so I don't know how you missed all the signs.
"It's like there's this invisible string connecting you two whenever you're in the vicinity of one another. It's scary but in a good way. You're both kindred spirits but it's like you're the only one who gets him to show that side to him," she said looking at Ana with soft eyes.
"Are you serious?" Ana asked in disbelief.
"The most serious I've ever been," Kate stated. "The man can't keep his eyes off you Ana, he's aware of your every move. When you're together, it's like it's the most natural thing in the world."
"I can't believe, I didn't see it," she mumbled, heart racing. "I've been suppressing my feelings for him for so long. I just never thought in a million years he'd like me and so I pushed my feelings away because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. Not to mention, he's my boss so why on earth would I catch his attention?"
"Ana, you walk into a room and you light it up so it's hard to not be completely captured by your light."
"But Kate, he bought a date tonight."
"Did he? Who?" Kate exclaimed. "Mia nor Elliot told me he's bringing a date so are you sure?"
"I saw him during dinner, sat with a brunette and they were chatting away."
"Are you sure that's his date Ana and not a co-worker? Because from what I was seeing, he kept glancing towards our table, or to be more specific, he kept glancing at you. You were too busy sulking to notice."
Ana buried her face in her hands. This was too much. "I don't know!"
Kate wrapped her up in a hug. "Don't stress yourself out over him Ana. Just enjoy the party tonight and you can deal with this another time. I've waited so long for you guys to get together, so what's one more night?" She laughed.
"What am I gonna do? I'm scared to ask him because what if you're wrong? He's still my boss."
"We'll worry about it later, let's go dance," Kate smiled.
After composing themselves, Kate dragged her to the dance floor. Sweet Caroline was playing and everyone in the room was singing along and it was hard not to join in and be filled with complete and utter joy.
Soon enough, it was secret santa time and Mia was handing out the presents. As she did that, she heard that Christian was handing out the Christmas bonuses and her stomach fluttered knowing she'd be face to face with him soon.
Walking through the crowd, she saw Christian opening his gift and she stopped to watch. She wanted to see his reaction to her presents.
He opened up one of the larger ones first. Ana had bought him two prints; one watercolour painting of Aspen knowing that was one of his favourite places to go. The other one was a custom star map print of the night he started GEH. She knows that night was the most important night in his life.
She watched him as a shocked smile lit up his face as he ran his hands over the prints. It's like he wasn't expecting presents like these. A smile involuntarily appeared on her own lips.
He reached back in the bag for the last smaller present which had the note stuck on it.
She had written, 'Surprise, it's me! Merry Christmas Christian. I hope you like your gifts; I know how much these things mean to you. I hope I've done well enough to convince you to participate in future secret Santa's and show you the magic of the whole thing. It's pretty great; I know you understand that now ;) Love Ana x'
She had re-written that card more times than she could count, overthinking what to say.
She watched his mouth move before he opened up the last present. It was one of the snow globes she saw him eyeing up at the Christmas markets the other day and she had managed to obtain a family photo from Mia and had put it inside the globe.
Christian's head snapped up and he looked around before meeting Ana's eyes. He was in complete disbelief. He seemed to be speechless, all he could do was stare at her, unmoving.
Ana gave him a small knowing smile before pushing herself off the barrier that she was leaning on and walking over to Mia to get her gift.
All around her people were ripping open paper and letting out surprised, happy exclamations.
She was one of the last to get her gift so she stayed by Mia as she opened what she thought was a familiar looking bag.
Mia, always so curious, was watching her.
She opened up the larger one and was pleasantly surprised to see it was a calendar. Kate had now joined them too.
"A calendar? Wow," she said, flicking through. She was astonished however when she found a picture on every page.
January had a picture of when she was young, playing in the snow with her dad. February was a picture of her and her friends in college during one valentine's day when all the singles had gone on a pub crawl and were all wearing corny 'single' t-shirts and were drinking pink drinks. Ana had to laugh at that one. Who had done this?
The months were filled with various pictures of her and her family and friends. Some were cute and momentous, and others were jokey, unserious pictures. Mia awed.
July was a picture of her and Kate lying on the grass laughing at something.
August was a picture from New York, and it was the one with all of them standing on the ferry. Suddenly, she had a feeling she knew who it was.
September was filled with various pictures from her birthday this year, the biggest one being when Elliot had smeared frosting on her mouth.
All three girls laughed at that one. Ana was starting to get teary eyed. This was such a special gift.
"Oh my god, I can't believe it," she said shutting it and holding it to her chest.
"There's more," Mia pointed out.
Ana opened a tiny little satin bag and found a gold necklace with an A on it that was made up of different coloured gems. "Wait.." she smiled. She had definitely seen this before.
The last thing in the bag was a box of her favourite chocolates. Rummaging around for a note, she found it at the bottom.
'Merry Christmas Ana. I'm very thankful that you're my first ever secret santa recipient and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. There is one more thing I have for you, so if you wouldn't mind meeting me in my office once you've opened this, I can give it to you. Christian x'
Ana had to wipe at her eyes. Why was she getting so emotional? "I had him, and he had me," she wondered out loud. "What kind of sorcery is that?"
"This is one of the best things I've ever gotten. How did he get these pictures?"
"Well, he asked me to help him. I went through some photo albums and found some pictures and sent them to him and he picked which ones he wanted to include," Kate explained.
"That makes a lot more sense. He says there's one more thing and to meet him in his office."
Mia nudged her shoulder. "So, go on what are you waiting for, get up there Steele!"
"Go get him tiger," Kate whispered encouragingly.
Ana headed up slowly. Her pulse was racing the entire way up. Her emotions were all over the place today and it felt like she had been put through the ringer.
The lights were off on their floor, with the exception of the Christmas lights and it was eerily quiet. Her ears were ringing from the loud music, not used to the silence.
She timidly approached Christian's ajar door and knocked. "It's me," she announced.
"Come in," he said.
She walked in and found him stood by his desk with his hands in his pockets. The gift bag was on the couch.
"Hey," she smiled at him. This was the first time they'd spoken at the party.
"Hey Ana," he smiled at her boyishly. "I can't believe we had each other for secret santa. I'm amazed," he ran a hand through his hair.
"I know, what a coincidence right?"
"Thank you for my presents. They're amazing and I was speechless for so long, I still don't know what to say," he said, staring at her intently.
She shrugged lightly. "It's okay. I wanted to get you presents that were meaningful and not just something like a tie that we both know you'll never wear," she chuckled.
"I don't think I've ever gotten such meaningful presents," he admitted.
"Me either! Christian, that calendar made me cry," she said.
He chuckled lightly. "I knew you'd like it. I wanted it to be light-hearted but sentimental because I know how much you love things like that."
"Thank you," she said gently, hoping to convey the extent of her gratitude in those two words.
He stared at her for a moment longer before smiling and looking down. "I have one more thing for you." He held a bunch of papers out to her.
She looked at him confused. Work? She read the papers in her hands and wasn't sure if she was looking at the right thing.
"What is this? A job application? Am I being fired?" She questioned.
"No, nothing like that. Read it properly," he urged her.
She spent a good five minutes going through all the papers. She looked up at him in absolute and utter shock.
"Christian, what…" she trailed off, glancing at the papers again. "Is this real?"
"100 percent real," he assured her quietly. He was watching every emotion that passed her face.
"Hoffman Publishing, privately owned by Grey Enterprise Holdings," Ana read out. She looked up at him. "You own Hoffman? Please tell me what's going on."
He encouraged her to sit down on the couch and he sat across from her. "A couple months ago, you told me Hoffman wasn't doing too well and I decided to look into the situation. You were right, they were completely underwater, and I decided to buy the company." Ana's mouth dropped open. "I've been looking to expand into publishing for a while," he explained.
"After negotiations with the owners, I bought it. By the time I signed the papers, the company had been shut down and a lot of the staff had obviously left and gotten jobs elsewhere. I managed to keep it all under wraps and confidential, everyone involved signed NDA's so it's not public knowledge that we own Hoffman. I managed to get into contact with Hannah who luckily hadn't moved on yet and we met informally for coffee and she gave me the run down. I wasn't about to ask the management team who were quite obviously incompetent, and I wanted a real perspective. I know you both speak about Hoffman, but I asked her not to tell you anything.
"I wanted the place to be independently run. I have no clue about publishing, so I wanted to appoint someone with years of experience to run it. I ended up asking Jerry Roach, Hannah's boss, and he accepted. We've kept Hannah and a couple of others as well, but Hannah's been re-appointed and will work in the graphic design department. Renovations have been going on and the details have been finalised in the last couple of days. We obviously need a lot more staff so that's where you come in."
"You're giving me a job at your publishing company?"
"Not necessarily giving you it. Jerry is in charge of the hiring process and while I was going to give him your resume and recommend you, I didn't have to. Hannah beat me to it. She couldn't stop gushing about you and Jerry was sold, he trusts Hannah, so I obviously had your resume on hand and have it to him and he wants you to interview."
Silence. "Are you joking?" This couldn't be real.
He smiled. "No Ana, none of this is a joke. You aren't being considered for an editor obviously because of your lack of experience, but as an editor's assistant. You'll have to make your way up through the ladder yourself."
"I…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. She couldn't get to grips with the emotions coursing through her. She was elated, she was excited, she was nervous, she was sad. There was just so much.
"Your interview is in the new year, so you have time to decide," he said.
"But won't people talk? I mean this is your company and you've basically just given me a job. Isn't that some sort of… wrong?" She asked worried.
He shook his head. "I'm not giving you the job Ana. You'll get it if Jerry is impressed with you at the interview although I am going to write you a glowing recommendation. And if you do get the job, it's not a big position and it wouldn't be anything you haven't earned," he explained logically. "Besides, people won't know that I own it."
Ana mulled it over, glancing out the windows. She looked back at him. "I can't believe this Christian. Thank you so much." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, hugging him.
"You're welcome Ana," he said quietly, into her ear.
They stayed like that for a minute. No words were spoken.
"I'm kind of bummed though," Ana mumbled.
"What for?"
"If I get the job, I'm going to be leaving this place."
"I'm sure you'll still keep in touch."
"I love this place. It's my second home. I love everyone here. It's bittersweet. I want to have my dream job but I'm not ready to say goodbye to this place."
"You won't need to say goodbye, your welcome here anytime."
She reluctantly pulled herself out of the embrace and went to stand by the windows, unable to think clearly in such close proximity to him. She was battling with the decision of whether she should tell him how she felt.
He watched her for a few seconds, from his spot on the couch, making a quick decision.
"Ana, I need to tell you something," he said.
She turned to face him. He sounded serious. What more could there be?
He seemed to be struggling to find the words. "I…" he sighed, looking defeated. He got up and walked to where she was stood.
"Ana… I like you," he began, "and I have for a long time. You crashed into my life and have changed everything for the better. I wasn't looking for anything when I met you but then as I got to know you… things just happened and… that was it. I found myself slowly wanting to spend more time with you. It was simple and it was easy. I wasn't looking for anything but then I realised I have something," he said intensely, staring deeply into her eyes. It was like he was trying to peer into her soul.
Ana was frozen but her heart felt like it was going to burst, her pulse was racing. That was the best thing anyone has ever said to her. "I felt like it was the right moment to tell you. I needed you to know." He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it.
"That… is.." Ana breathed out. He furrowed his brows. "I like you too Christian," she admitted. "I've tried to deny them because I thought it was never going to happen. I only fully came to terms with it the night we went to the Christmas markets."
They chuckled as they faced each other.
"I've never done this before Ana," he said, "I don't know what I'm doing."
"Me neither," she said. "But what if I don't get the job and I stay at GEH? Can we still… you know?" She gestured between them, unsure what this actually was.
"I'm very confident that you're going to get the job but in the rare chance that you don't, I don't care what other people think. I want to be with you, and I don't care what the world thinks," he said passionately.
Ana felt like her heart was going to burst. "I want to be with you too," she admitted quietly.
"Good. We can go from there," he smiled.
Ana smiled in return before she remembered something. "But wait, what about your date?"
"What date?"
"Didn't you bring a date tonight?"
"No. I came alone. The only person I would have liked to bring is you," he said sweetly.
"Stop being such a sap," she rolled her eyes but the smile on her face said otherwise. Internally, she was relieved that her assumptions were wrong. All that worrying for nothing.
He broke out into a grin and they were both just stood there, grinning at each other.
A ping from Christian's phone broke them out of their reverie. "We should probably head back down. Mia's wondering what's going on. And I need to give my speech."
They walked side by side, stealing glances at each other.
"Are we saying anything about this?" Ana asked.
"Do you want to?"
"Well apparently everyone already knows, and they've been waiting for us to come to the realisation."
They decided to wait before saying anything to anyone. They walked back into the party and as soon as they stepped through the threshold, Mia shouted at them.
"Stop right there!"
Ana and Christian froze where they were, completely alarmed. They looked to Mia, wondering what the hell was wrong.
Mia simply pointed up, "mistletoe," she stated.
They looked up to see there was indeed mistletoe hanging in the doorway.
"Mia everyone comes through this door and you put mistletoe up there?" Christian asked wryly.
Mia simply shrugged. "Why not? Makes it more exciting. Now come on!"
Christian turned to Ana. He was secretly glad that he had an excuse to kiss her. "I'm just going to go for the corner of your mouth okay?" He said quietly. A few people were staring at them, not a whole lot but he didn't want to do something like that in front of a crowd.
Ana whispered 'okay.'
He leaned down and pecked her on the side of her mouth. Ana's body started tingling at their proximity and she knew the heat was radiating off her face.
The others cheered as he kissed her and Elliot whistled, drawing more attention to them. As Christian straightened, he threw Elliot a disgruntled look and placed his hand on the small of Ana's back as they went further into the room.
Mia was then onto them asking what the other present from Christian was.
They explained to the rest of them, about Ana's new potential job and they all cheered for her and decided to do a shot to celebrate. Even Christian joined in.
Later on, he made his yearly speech and every eye in the room was on him, unable to look away. His presence just commanded the attention.
As Ana watched him, she couldn't believe what had happened. She was still processing it all. It was definitely going to take her a few days.
She was bewildered that Christian Grey wanted… her.
Looking away from the stage, she caught Kate's eye who flashed her a knowing look as she smirked. Ana felt her face flush but hoped it was noticeable under this lighting. Ana smiled at her innocently and looked back to the stage.
She was startled to see that his eyes were already on her and now her cheeks were definitely red. She lifted one side of her mouth up at him and his lips twitched as he spoke.
As the night went on, they drank, and they danced. Christian stayed with their group for the rest of the night.
By the end, they had all danced with each other. It didn't look too weird that Ana was dancing with Christian after he had danced with the rest of them, so they enjoyed it without the added scrutiny.
Christian wasn't drunk and hadn't drank much at all, besides one shot and a glass of wine earlier so he was able to drive. Taylor was obviously at the party and Christian wasn't going to ask him to drive him home when he had the night off.
Christian offered to drive Ana home as the other couples would be taking a cab and she'd be alone. He wanted to make sure she got home safely.
After having a slightly weird emotional farewell to Andrea who was pretty drunk, Ana hopped in Christian's car. She admired the interior. This was the first time he was driving her and not Taylor.
"Boys and their toys," she muttered as he sped down the highway.
Christian chuckled. "Not impressed?"
"I can appreciate a nice car when I see one, but do you need to show off with driving way above the speed limit?" Ana grumbled.
"No but what's the point in having a fancy car if you don't drive it like how you're meant to? These cars aren't supposed to be driven slowly."
"Fine, fine. I've just never seen the point in sports cars. I've always thought that boys get them to compensate for something else," she snickered. She was tipsy.
Christian rolled his eyes. "I assure you; I'm not compensating for anything Ana."
Ana nodded dramatically, either not hearing him or not being convinced.
He walked her up to her door and handed her, her secret santa presents that he'd carried from the car.
Her eyes went to his mouth and it was obvious what she wanted.
"I want to kiss you Ana, I really do. But I want our first kiss to be perfect. And not when you're drunk," he said gently.
She nodded, understanding. "Things don't always have to be perfect you know," she mumbled.
"I know," he said softly, "but I want this to be."
"You really are a sap," she grinned.
He smirked back at her. "Merry Christmas Ana." He pecked her on the cheek.
She leaned her head against the doorway watching him with soft eyes. "Merry Christmas Christian," she smiled.
He took a step back. "I'll see you in a bit," he said. He was actually unsure when he'd see her again. GEH was off for two weeks and he knew she was going home for Christmas.
"Night," she called after him.
After closing the door, she slumped against it as her hands went to her face. She squealed into them loudly, never having felt anything like this before.
last of the rapid uploads for christmas. hope you enjoyed them and thank you for all your support.
happy holidays everyone!
