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Title: FSOG: From Heartbreak to Happiness?

Summary: Ana and Christian both suffered heartbreak from their last relationship with other people. Christian from his first attempt at one and Ana after getting cheated on. Once they meet, it's obvious there is a spark. But the question is, can they conquer their fears of getting hurt again?

Chapter 19

***Grey Enterprises***

(Ana felt like she was going to have a panic attack. No matter how much she tried not to, she couldn't stop thinking about her confrontation with Jose. Ana knew Kate felt the same way. Ana hated, HATED feeling this way! She didn't want to give Jose power over her. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. She was beating herself up over it. Did she enjoy giving Jose leverage over her on the topic of the murder? No)

(She still didn't know how Jose got the pictures. Did someone work at the police station who knew Jose? Ana was trying to figure that out. Did Jose hire a detective or private investigator to get the pictures? Jose didn't have any money as she knew he struggled to keep his art studio afloat. That didn't make him very happy to do that. She wouldn't be surprised if that was a major part in blackmailing her. However, it wasn't her fault that he was low on cash. She felt bad for him, yes, but not enough to want to help him out)

(She knew she needed to focus on work. She was going to be in trouble if she didn't. Her three employees were expecting her to be on top of her game. She was expecting HERSELF to be on top of her game. Goddammnit! She was worried it'd get back to Christian that she wasn't doing her job. She shook her head in her office chair and tried again to focus. Unfortunately, she kept getting sidetracked)

***knock-knock***

(Ana tells the person to come in. Desiree, Easton, and Hannah come into Ana's office and take their seats across from their boss)

Hannah: "Hello, Miss Steele."

Easton: "We thought we'd come give you a few updates on James Patterson since Sandra Brown continues to shine."

Ana: "And what are your findings?"

(While Desiree updates Ana on James Patterson, Ana's mind can't help but wander to yesterday when her and Kate met with Jose. As she experiences the flashback, her facial expressions show that she was on the verge of tears. All 3 employees take notice of this and look at each other with concern)

Desiree: "M-Miss Steele? A-Are you okay?"

(Ana comes back to reality and quickly shakes her head and offers a smile to her workers)

Ana: "I'm glad that the findings of James Patterson are doing well. Keep up the good work."

(Ana's three employees look at each other in confusion. Was Ana feeling okay? They separately spoke)

Hannah: "Miss Steele? Are you sure you're okay?"

Desiree: "You-You don't seem like yourself."

Ana: (puzzled) "What do you mean?"

(Hannah, Desiree, and Easton take turns looking at each other questionably. They knew something was wrong with their boss)

Easton: "Uh…um…Miss Steele? D-Did you not hear us right regarding James Patterson?"

Ana: (politely chuckles) "What do you mean, Easton? Of course, I heard you on your findings."

Hannah: (nervously clears her throat) "We didn't say that Mr. Patterson was doing well. We-We actually said he's doing even worse than last week."

Desiree: "And you made it sound like he's doing fine."

(Ana stares at her three employees wide-eyed and her mouth slightly open. Shit, she thought to herself. Shit, Shit, Shit! What the hell is wrong with her?! She clears her throat and politely smiles)

Ana: "My apologies to you three. I admit my thoughts are not with me today. I know I should be thinking about work stuff. Please excuse me for a few minutes so I can splash some water on my face. When I come back, I'll be good and ready to hear all the findings and we'll decide what to do."

(Ana gets up from her desk chair and offers a smile before leaving her office. She walks fast to the ladies' room. She turns on the facet, cupping her hands below the stream to collect water before splashing the cold liquid on her face. She does this several times before wiping her face with paper towels. Afterwards, she looks in the mirror and sighs)

Ana: "Get it together, Steele. You can't look like this when you face your employees."

(She briefly slaps the counter and yells before turning around)

Ana: "I'm probably going to get fired for my error. And I'll have no one to blame but myself. Whatever is going on outside of work….the Jose situation…I need to focus. I better get back to my employees before they send a search party."

(Ana makes sure she's together before leaving the bathroom. She knew she needed to face the world again. She leaves the bathroom and goes back to her office. She is caught off-guard when her employees are not there, but Courtney is)

Ana: "H-Hi, Courtney. Is everything okay?"

Courtney: "Mr. Grey wants to see you. He thought he would have heard from you by now regarding the latest news on the authors. He came here a bit ago and when you weren't here but your employees were, he spoke to them. They told him what happened….including your error. I was to wait until you came back and send you to this office."

(Ana sighs softly as she briefly closes her eyes. Fuck, she thought to herself. Christian knows. Now, she's dead in the water. Ana sighs deeply before speaking)

Ana: "No problem, Courtney."

(Ana follows Courtney to Christian's office. Courtney knocks and then opens the door to let Ana in)

Courtney: "Miss Steele to see you, Mr. Grey."

Christian: (nods) "Thank you, Courtney. Miss Steele, please, have a seat."

(She was dreading this conversation. Great, here comes the firing. She sits down in the chair across from him and rests her hands on her lap)

Christian: "Is everything okay, Miss Steele? You don't seem like yourself today."

Ana: (chuckles dryly) "I take it you heard about my little error earlier? Yeah, not my finest moment."

(Christian sighs softly and tilts his head)

Christian: "Talk to me, Ana. Please. It's not like you to mess up at work. Granted, it wasn't a huge error. But, when I asked your three employees, they voiced their concerns. They said James Patterson wasn't doing well and suggested we drop him. You responded that he was doing great. It's like your thoughts aren't with you and you admitted as much."

(She felt horrible. She looked at her boss and spoke apologetically)

Ana: "I'm so sorry, Mr. Grey. Please know I'll do better. It-It really isn't like me to mess up. No matter how small the error was."

(Ana couldn't help it. As much as she tried to fight it, the tears kept coming. She wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her black silk shirt. She sniffles and knew it was unprofessional to break down crying in front of your boss. In her opinion, it made her look weak)

(Even though she tried to control herself, Christian knew that something was wrong…seriously wrong. She has never broken down at work or let her feelings get the better of her. The last time he saw her in distress was the first day he met her. He hated seeing her like that. He knew he shouldn't feel so remorseful for her as she worked for him. He simply couldn't help it. Seeing her in pain caused him pain. As much as he was trying to fight it, he knew it wouldn't last long. It absolutely broke his heart to see the woman he was trying not to fall for in so much pain. Damn it! He knew it was a bad idea to get close. He tried to fight it everyday with little success. He knew it was only a matter of time before he caved in to his desires)

(He realized something was terribly wrong by the way Ana was acting. He knew he needed to get to the bottom of it. Whether that was personally a bad idea or not he didn't fucking care. The woman he adored was in horrible pain)

(He takes the phone off the receiver and presses a button before speaking)

Christian: "Courtney, yes, it's Mr. Grey. Something has come up. Please hold all my calls and appointments until further notice. Thank you."

(He hangs up the phone and looks at Ana, who looks angered. He didn't understand why she'd be mad on him wanting to talk about it. He has a confused face as he speaks)

Christian: "I-I'm sorry, Anastasia. Are you mad at me for wanting to talk to you about your troubles? I hope I didn't offend you in any way. I'm just trying to help."

Ana: (shakes her head) "Don't you get it, Mr. Grey? It's not your problem. I can handle it. I'll figure it out. I always do."

(Her attitude catches him off-guard. She has never spoken to him like this before. Granted, it's for personal reasons, but still. He knew he needed to be respectful of her feelings. It just ate at him she was in a dark place. He sighs deeply as he spoke)

Christian: "You're right. It is your business. I hope you know that I was only trying to help. It just disturbs me that you're in distress. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. Even though I'm your boss, I'd like to think that we're friends, too."

(Ana mumbles under her breath)

Ana: (mumbles) "If only we were more than friends."

(Christian sighs deeply as he couldn't help but think to himself)

Christian: (to himself) "As much as I want to be more than friends with you, Ana…unfortunately, it's out of the question."

(Christian wanted to respect her boundaries. He wanted to respect the fact that she was his employee and he was her boss. He wanted to respect the fact that they can never be together even though it was impossible. Christ, for all he knew, she didn't even feel the same way for him as he did for her. He knew he needed to put those thoughts to the side, but he was fucking up in that department)

(Against his better judgment, he continues to press the issue. He kept going back to the topic. Should he have? No, but all he cared about in that moment was helping the woman he had come to love. Yes! The woman he loved! He couldn't believe he said it out loud. It may have only been in his thoughts, but he finally admitted it. He said the words. It was a completely bad time to say it, too. Holy shit, he was fifty shades of fucked up)

(He shook his head in frustration. Damn it! Why in the hell did he have to do this to himself? Nothing could ever become of the confession he made to himself in his head. He never thought he'd feel for another woman the way he did for Elena. He would always care for Elena, but he honestly didn't think he loved her anymore. His feelings for Ana were too strong. Stronger than what he felt for Elena. He guessed that it was a good thing as he had wanted to not feel love for his ex for a long time. Did he finally get his wish? God, he hoped so)

(Christian came back to reality and faced the woman of his affection. Christ, he needed to stop thinking like that! He was going to be in trouble. He clears his throat and went to go sit in the chair that was next to her. He repositions the chair so he's facing her. He sits down and leans forward, looking directly in her eyes)

Christian: "Are you in trouble, Ana? Are you in legal trouble?"

Ana: (weird look) "What makes you say that?"

Christian: "I have asked you that before, but you dodged the question. I have never seen you in distress before. It concerns me. If you're in trouble, I'd like to help." (sighs deeply) "I probably don't have a right to ask you, Anastasia, but I'm concerned."

(Ana scoffs in response. She didn't want him involved in her mess. She shakes her head and rests her hands to her sides)

Ana: "Why does it matter to your what's going on in my life, Mr. Grey? You're my boss."

Christian: (sighs) "I know I shouldn't care, but I…"

Ana: (frustratedly) "Then why?! Why do you care so much, Christian?!"

(She quickly gets up from the chair in exasperation. In the heat of the moment, he moans loudly as he raises his voice. He couldn't take it anymore)

Christian: "Don't you know how I feel?!"

***Supper Break***

(Kate decided to get an expresso at The Java Café. She was desperately craving one. After paying the cashier, she takes a drink. Her mind kept going back to the confrontation with Jose. When she doesn't watch where she's going, she bumps into someone)

Kate: "Oh!"

(She spills her drink all over the person in front of them)

Kate: "I'm so sorry!"

(She looks at the person, a male, and immediately looks apologetic. She attempts to help him clean up the mess)

Kate: "Here, let me help you."

Man: (chuckles) "It's okay. Really. No harm done."

Kate: "Are-Are you sure? I feel really bad. I wasn't watching where I was going." (chuckles nervously) "Obviously."

Man: (laughs) "Tell you what." (jokingly) "If you really want to apologize, you can buy me a coffee and we can laugh at our little encounter on how you got me all wet."

(Kate can't resist the laugh from escaping her mouth. In the end, they both start laughing)

Kate: "Thank you. I needed a good laugh."

Man: "Are you okay? Ha-ha."

Kate: (nods & smiles) "Yes. Thanks for being so understanding."

Man: "No problem. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Elliot."

Kate: "I'm Kate."

(They shake hands and then say their goodbyes. After leaving separately, they can't help but think of their first encounter)

***The Park***

(Jose and his accomplice meet up. They face each other as they speak)

Male Accomplice: "I wonder if Ana will ask Christian for the money?"

Jose: (shakes his head) "I doubt it."

Male Accomplice: (nods) "You're right."

Jose: (tilts his head) "I think it's time that we take the necessary steps for you to reveal yourself. Not completely, of course. But, so we can get our money from the bitches."

Male Accomplice: (nods) "I agree." (chuckles evilly) "How we do it and when it happens, the girls won't know what hit them."

Jose: (smirks) "No, they won't." (clears his throat) "Okay, here's how we'll reveal it…"

Chapter 19 Done

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