Happy Friday lovely readers, chapter 2 is out.xoxo
Hope you enjoy reading this story and I really thank you for all the reviews you left me. It means so much to me and thank you so much for reading this story. Xoxoxo.
I would shout my thanks to my "evil girl" aka my friend Rehnuma Islam for helping me. You are " Rock", babe!!
And thank you, Valarie Mathis and T Traveller for supporting me. You ladies are the best.
I need a beta for this story and would love to work with anyone who can be my beta. Please PM me if you one of you can be my beta. Thank you.
E.L JAMES own the FSOG main characters. I just own the imaginary characters and the plot in this story.
Thank you.
Chapter 2
APOV
I've been sitting at my desk waiting for my new boss, Ms Bailey, for about 30 minutes. Andrea's explanation of the job was detailed and had made me feel at ease. I was so excited to start that I felt like I would start jumping like a small kid who got her favourite candy any moment now. With hard concentration, I managed to rein in my excitement and kept a professional blank face on. 'I am an adultnow, not a teenager.' I scolded myself silently.
Not that I actually enjoyed my teenage years. Since I spent most of my time alone without friends, I didn't get to have normal teenage fun except spend my lovely time with my parents and JJ my lovely Siberian Husky
My dad got me on my nine years birthday as a gift, I love that silly dog so much and miss him when I move to Seattle. I was determined now. I won't allow my ability to keep me from living my life to the fullest.It was a huge part of my life and I've come to terms with my ability. It may seem like that I'm not okay with my ability, but the truth was I loved the positive sides of it. This ability gave me the power to help those you cannot help themselves.
The spirits I have encountered so far, needed my help to fulfil their last wishes so that they could be free from their limbo-like existence. These spirits respected and cared for me in their own way. Some would also warn me to be careful around certain individuals, and some would help me be safe. Some people might find it odd that I felt safer with spirits than people who are alive. 'Am I crazy to feel like that?' I ask myself sometimes, but then another part of me announces loudly that 'No. I should feel proud that I can help them find peace.'
Shaking my head, I decided to focus on the present. I started inspecting around the desk and the items (laptop, iPad, and so on) on it. All the things I would need to work here was already on the table. I was excited to call my parents and tell them all about my first real job. 2 years after our move to Montesano, dad remarried. Lauren Conrad was our next-door neighbour and a widow. She had no children and her husband had died in a car accident.
When we first moved to Montesano, my dad was a little lost on how to take care of a little girl by himself. He was a great father, but he was helpless in the kitchen and dressing her in proper clothes. Instead of dresses and skirts, he would just buy me t-shirts, shorts, or jeans from the same store he bought his own clothes. Though I never complained because I felt comfortable with the outfits and I loved the freedom of movement her outfits offered. It was at that time when I met the first spirit, Mr Conrad.
Flashback
It had been 3 months since we have moved to Montesano. I haven't met any spirits since we moved here. So, I felt like my ability might've calmed down a bit. It had been a beautiful sunny day. Our backyard had lovely. It had a few nice large trees and daddy had installed a swing set for me to play with.
"Daddy, it's a nice day out. Can I go and play on my swing set?" I asked dad nicely. He was busy arranging the boxes of our things.
"Ok, baby girl, but be careful and don't go anywhere without informing me, ok?" Dad said firmly. He still worries about me.
"Okay, daddy. I promise! I'll just play in our backyard and not go anywhere without you. I promise,"
He glanced down at me and smiled. Leaning down, he pulled me in a tight hug. "I love you, my Annie. You are the most important part of my life. I will make sure you are loved and have a good life, baby. I will keep you safe and nothing will ever hurt you anymore," he said with a quivering voice.
"Love you too, daddy. You are my hero, dad. I know no one will hurt me because I have the best daddy to shield me from the bad people,"I replied pulling away from him. My dad smiled and sent me outside to play.
I skip to the swing set, humming under my breath. For the next half an hour, I play with the swings, the slide, and ride my bike around our backyard. I was looking around our backyard to find the birds I could hear chirping away when my eyes fell on our neighbour's backyard. On the corner of that backyard was a man. He was watching her play. He had a soft smile on his face, but his eyes were sad. It took me only a few moments to realize that he was not alive. Getting off of my swing, I walked up closer to him until we were facing each other.
"Hello, Mr. spirit. My dad and I are new in this town. Who are you?" I asked him, giving him a smile.
He returned my smile and replied, "Hello, little missy. I know you are my new neighbour. I was still alive when you move here, but I never got to say 'hello',"
"Oh. That's okay. You can say 'hello' to me now. How did you die? Were you ill?" I asked innocently.
"But now. Why are you go away? I know you are not people anymore. Are you ill and go to heaven?"
"No, I got into an accident and died on impact, little girl. Now, I have to leave my love alone," he said sadly.
"Please, don't be sad. I can't see anyone sad." I started to cry.
"Don't be a sad, sweetie. I am sorry for making you sad with my story. Can I ask, how can you see me? Are you not scared of me?" he asked curiously.
"I can see spirits and you don't seem like a bad person. You are not the only spirit I met. But when I tell others about it, they call me a 'weirdo' and 'crazy'. That's why we moved here. My mom left daddy and me because she's ashamed of me," I say looking down sadly.
"Don't be a sad, little one. Trust me, you will find happiness too. Keep a smile and be brave. Don't give up easily and continue to your life as you wish. You are a special girl. Those people don't know how incredible you are and that's why they say hurtful things to you. Welcome to the Montesano, sweetie," he said kindly.
I give him a huge smile and thank him for his warm welcome. "How silly of me! I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Anastasia Steele. What's your name?" I inquired.
"You can call me, Mr Conrad. You have a beautiful name, Anastasia. Your name is as beautiful as your face." I blush at his compliment.
"Thank you. Anyways, why you are so sad Mr Conrad? You can tell me. I will try to help you if I can," I offered.
"I'm sad because my wife is all alone in our home without anyone besides her to support her. Before I died. I didn't tell her how much I love her. I feel bad leaving her alone in this world like this with no one to protect her," he replied with a sad sigh. I could see how sad he was for his wife.
"I can tell her from your behalf," I offered excitedly. I knew I could help. I just hoped that his wife won't call me 'crazy', get angry or be sadder. But I couldn't bear to see Mr Conrad sad.
"You will help me? Really?!?" He was shocked by my offer.
"Yes, sure. I am ok to help you as long as your wife doesn't call me 'crazy' as the others," I shrugged.
"She is a nice lady, Anastasia. She has a good heart. She won't be rude. Don't worry about it. My wife's name is Lauren Conrad. You can call her 'Ms. Lauren'. She lives in this house," he said pointing at the house whose backyard he was standing on, "If you really want to help me, please tell her that said not to grieve for me too long because I can't go away peacefully when she is sad here. Tell her if I love her and I want her to be happy again. Tell her to start a new life. I will be looking out for her from heaven. I want her smile back to grace her beautiful face. And the last thing, tell her that the day before I got into the accident, I had bought her new earnings which I had put in our special box of memories. Please tell her to find it and it is all I need your help with, Anastasia," he said.
I promise him to tell her tomorrow morning and that I will visit his grave with flowers next time. The next day with my dad's help, we visit Mrs Conrad in her house. At first, my dad didn't want to get involved but I managed to convince him. When we meet Lauren Conrad the first time, I thought she was a really beautiful lady. I started giving her Mr Conrad's massages. I was worried that she will think I'm a 'crazy girl', but that didn't happen. She was grateful that I helped her husband and thanked me for delivering her his last messages.
After that we became close and two years later, they got married. Even though she's my stepmother, she loved me more than my own mother ever did and took care of me like her own daughter. For the first time in a long time, I felt a mother's love and the three of us had a happy life together.
End of Flashback
I was startled out of my thoughts as someone called my name. I looked up to see a woman with red hair. She was giving me a knowing look. She knew she had caught me daydreaming. I blushed deep red because someone caught me daydreaming on my very first day of work. 'Talk about a wrong first impression.' I thought to myself with a grimace.
"Anastasia Steele??" The redhead woman inquired raising her eyebrow.
"Yes, ma'am. Ms Bailey??" I tried guessing. She beamed at me in answer and if I could be wrong but it felt like she was checking me out. I fidget nervously. I wasn't sure how I felt someone giving me an interesting look like this. My mom always said if I have a nice body, but I wasn't confident enough.
"Yes, I'm Ros Bailey. Come on, let's talk in my office, Ms Steele. I want to know more about my new PA before working with her," We walk together inside her office. Her office had beautiful scenery and great surrounding with a little bit of colour gracing her wall and a few family pictures near the bookshelf.
"Please sit down, Ms Steele. Do you want to drink something?" She was really friendly and was not as intimidating as I was expecting.
"Thank you, Ms Bailey, and please just call me 'Ana'. My parents call me 'Anastasia' when I'm in trouble." I giggle a little bit.
"Ok, I'll call you 'Ana', if you call me 'Ros'. Ms Bailey is the name of other staff who does not work with me directly. You are my PA, so I want you to be more comfortable with me." She said with a charming smile. I smile at her in agreement. "Tell me a little bit about you before we start working, Ana. I have seen the resume you sent and what your professors wrote about you. But I want to know you more in person," Her voice was warm and welcoming.
I start feeling more comfortable with her. "My name is Anastasia Steele like you know. I'm an only child, my dad is a carpenter and my stepmother is an ex-nurse. I graduated from WSUV this year and I have worked as a part-timer before as tutor in a tutoring centre. I hang out with my parents whenever I have some free time," I tell her.
"Wait… you hang out with your parents? how about your friends or boyfriend, Ana?" She looked curious about me now.
"I don't have any friend, Ros, and the boyfriend was the last thing I needed when I was in college. I just wanted to focus on my studies and my GPA," I looked down at my lap. I was a little bit embarrassed. She must be thinking that I'm a weird girl who never been able to make friends with other students at the college.
"Please look at me, Ana. You are NOT a loser if that's what you're thinking. You are a really special girl who was more focused on the future than partying your way through the years in college," Ros said sternly. I looked up and saw that she was sincere with her words.
We chat for the next fifteen minutes about my duties as her PA. She also gave me detailed information about my salary and other benefits that I would be receiving while working here.
Ros informed me that I might need to go to the other branches of this company with her as well as other countries to meet with business associates. When I told her that I didn't have a passport, she just told me to relax. She called Andrea and told her to help me make my passport.
The rest of the day passed by without my notice. It was already the end of the office hour. I started tidying my desk and closed off my laptop. For the first day, my workload was heavy, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was already seven o'clock in the evening. Ros had already gone for the day an hour ago. She told me to finish my day early, but since she had gone without a PA for three whole months, there were tons of work to be done. I wanted to get a head start on my new workload. I wasn't able to finish all of them, but I managed to get a large amount of it done. I was tired and was happy that it was time to go home. I stood in front of the elevator waiting for it to come when my eyes fell on the reflection on the elevator. The reflection of that spirit I saw this morning was clear.
It seemed my adventures in this office was about to start. What did this spirit need from me? I'll find the answer sooner than later. What a great ending to my first day of work!
'Welcome to the world of office ghosts, Anastasia!' I think to myself with a sigh.
A/N: Review, please.