"Elena, what are you doing here?", Christian asks as he holds me close.
"I just wanted to talk with Ana", she answers calmly. God, why can't she just leave us alone?
"Elena, I have no interest in talking to you right now." Or ever.
"Ana, he's not the man for you", she blurts out. What?
"Elena, you don't know what's right for me", Christian interjects.
"Need I remind you of the kind of relationship we had?", she hisses.
"That's in the past, Elena. Ana is my future." Future!
"Ana, please let me talk to you. It's urgent", Elena begs but before either of us can respond, Christian's cell starts ringing and he clenches his jaw when he sees the caller ID. Who is it?
"Take it. I'll just see Elena out", I say as gently as I can and when Christian opens his mouth to speak, I hold up my hand, stopping him before he can.
"I'll be in my office", he growls and with one final glare at Elena, stalks off, leaving us alone. Taking a deep breath, I turn to Elena, my inner bitch in full swing.
"Elena, I don't know what's going on in that twisted mind of yours, but nothing you say can change the way I feel about Christian. I love him and he loves me, and I would appreciate you backing off from our relationship when frankly, it's none of your goddamn business what we do or don't do."
"Ana...", she starts and I hold up my hand.
"I'm not done. Christian has already told me everything I want to know and I haven't kept any secrets from him. I love him, Elena, and nothing you say can make me change my mind."
"And what about his needs?", Elena asks suddenly. Needs?
"I already know he has needs, but it's not what he wants anymore."
"And did he tell you why he has them?"
"Why should he?"
"Ana, he's not the man you think he is. If you only knew why he was a Dominant, you wouldn't..."
"I already know he's a Dominant and it's because a bitch like you decided to take advantage of a fifteen-year-old boy", I interject and Elena's mouth pops open when I do.
"Do you really think he cares about you at all?", she yells. "Once you see the darkness, you'll never find the light."
"Elena, I know him a lot better than you do and at least I didn't teach him how to fuck the way you did. How the hell could you know him at all?", I shout and before I know it, she immediately slaps me across my cheek and before I can react, I hear rapid footsteps behind me and instantly know it's Christian before he shoves Elena away and takes me in his arms.
"Get the fuck out, Elena!", he snarls, surprising me. "You're no longer welcome here."
"Christian, if you don't tell her your secret, then I'll make sure she finds out."
"It's not your place to say, Elena, and leave her the hell alone", he yells and after one more look at me, Elena quickly turns on her heel and storms out of the room, leaving me and Christian alone.
"Are you okay?", he asks once she's gone.
"I'm fine. It didn't hurt", I say as I gently rub my cheek. It's a little tender but she didn't slap me that hard.
"I'm so sorry", Christian remarks quietly and before I know it, he gently kisses my cheek and holds me close against his chest, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing tight.
"Has she ever been like this with your...um, submissives?", I inquire tentatively.
"Never and she's never hit them, either. I don't know what's got into her. I'm sorry that she hit you."
"It wouldn't be the first", I whisper and Christian immediately tenses when I do. Shit, I went too far.
"Christian, it's okay", I say softly as I caress his face. "I asked for it after all."
"I should've never done that", he whispers and my heart lurches in my throat. Oh, Fifty...
"Would I be here if you hadn't?", I smile and he smiles shyly in return; my favorite smile in the world.
"I'll never see her again. You have my word", he says suddenly and it takes a moment for me to process what he's talking about.
"But your business..."
"She can find someone else to help her. There's no excuse for what she did."
"But...", I start before hearing my own phone going off and after excusing myself, I check to see who it is; it's Liz.
"I'll be right back", I tell Christian and after a deep breath, I enter his bedroom before taking the call.
"Hi, Liz", I answer.
"Ana, could you come down to SIP for a minute? I need to talk to you about your job." Oh no...
"Is it serious?" Are they firing me?
"Just come down, please. I'll talk to you then", she replies before hanging up.
"Everything okay?", Christian asks, making me jump.
"I have to go to SIP." His expression tells me all I need to know.
"You want me to take you?"
"Thank you but, I'd like to take myself. I have Wanda to assist me", I smile sweetly and he grins in response.
"Okay. Text me when you're done", he says before entering the room and planting a tender kiss on my lips.
"I will. Laters, baby", I quip and before he can respond, I head for the great room and grab my keys before heading for the elevator.
I find a parking spot near the entrance and after saying a quick prayer, lock Wanda and quickly head inside. Does Liz know about Jack? Am I being replaced? Shit, where would I work?
You could work for Christian, my subconscious remarks but I ignore her, remembering what happened the last time Christian was my boss.
"Technically I'll be your boss's boss's boss", Christian's words ring in my ear and I giggle at the thought. The elevator dings, announcing my arrival, and I step out and take a good look around SIP, in case I never see it again.
"Ana", Hannah exclaims as I approach her desk.
"Hi, Hannah. Where's Liz?"
"In her office. Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine. I'll see you later, okay?", I say, hoping it's the truth. Hannah smiles as I walk to Liz's office and after a moment, I knock tentatively and once she calls out, I quickly enter the room.
"Hi, Liz", I reply when I close the door.
"Ana. Please come in and take a seat", she responds and I do as I'm told.
"I don't know if you heard but Jack resigned from SIP." That's a nice way of putting it. "Apparently his flight was cancelled so he couldn't come back home."
"I know. Christian, um, Mr. Grey told me about it." Will I ever get used to him owning the company?
"Well, in that case, could you please fill in for him in the meeting this afternoon?"
"At the senior editor's meeting?" Is that the emergency?
"You'll have to. You're the only one who knows Jack's entire slate."
"I know, I just...", I stutter. I've been in meetings before but never had to fill in for anyone. Could I do this?
"I know it sounds like a bit much, but it would really be a big help", Liz responds kindly, waiting for my reply.
"Um..." Shit, what do I say to that?
"You're right, it's too much", she says as she starts stacking some papers on her desk.
"No, I can do it", I retort, causing her to look at me.
"Really?" She sounds surprised.
"It's fine, I can do it."
"Well, good", she remarks before picking up the papers and handing them over to me.
"Call me when you're done", she states before getting up to hold open the door for me. Holy cow, I'm actually doing this. I'm filling in for Jack.
"And that's why I think we should pull back on the release date", Willis, one of the executives offers in the meeting.
"Willis, Jack said he's promising", Polly, another executive, chimes in.
"I don't care. Boyce Fox has been dropping slightly and I really don't think our readers need a novel from some online hits." Holy cow, they're talking about Boyce Fox.
"I think he could work", I mutter under my breath and look up to see everyone staring at me. Oh no...
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"Ana, do you think we have a shot at Boyce Fox?", Jerry enquires in my direction.
"Um, I think so. I mean, he's gotten more hits over the last few months and I really think he could help the company out."
"And what about our established authors?", Willis asks, arching his brow.
"We could still keep them but I think Fox has the potential that our readers are looking for."
"What do you mean?", Kelly, a CEO, asks.
"Well, it's like what Mr. Roach said when he stated that political thrillers aren't on everyone's agenda. From what I've read, we mostly come across romances and horror novels, which obviously can grow old pretty fast."
"But they're what the readers want", Willis interjects, challenging me.
"If a single artist wrote the same thing with every new release, then what could be so interesting about what they have to offer?", I inquire and a few of the board member murmur in agreement. "If we want to be a thriving company that pushes the boundaries, then maybe we should take risks and allow our readers to decide what they want and if they reject it, we go back to the drawing board. Like I said, Boyce has gotten a lot of attention over the past few months and his fans are clamoring for more, so if we listen to them and give the public what they wanted, then I think this company has a real chance of surviving. It would definitely make us different from our competitors."
"Could online hits translate to print sales?", Kelly asks me.
"They could. Boyce' audience is an eighteen to twenty-four demographic and those are exactly the readers that we should be chasing. It's risky but I think he can be worth it. If we want those numbers, we have to listen to the public, not to ourselves." As I finish, everyone starts whispering and talking quietly amongst each other and Willis still feels a little reluctant to agree. Finally, Jerry gets the attention of the room and we all look at him, waiting for him to speak.
"Ana, I think you have a point and maybe, we should take a look at Boyce", he says to me before turning his attention to Willis. Willis sighs and after a moment, nods his head in agreement and everyone joins in. Wow, that was quick.
"Ana, since you're so certain about Boyce Fox for our company, why don't you run the campaign and help get him on his feet", Jerry says, taking me by surprise.
"Mr. Roach, that's not..."
"It's Jerry and I think you can handle it", he smiles kindly before continuing. "Come see me in my office and we'll talk about it then", he states before excusing everyone and we file out of the room.
I'm about to enter Jerry's office when I hear something behind me and turn around to see Willis approaching me.
"Ana", he greets and I nod in response.
"I'm sorry for being out of line in there but I really do think that you're the one with potential." Oh, what am I supposed to say to that?
"Um, thank you", I stutter and for the first time since our meeting, I actually see him smile.
"Keep up the good work. You had a great idea", he says but before I can answer, he turns on his heel and walks back to his desk. Potential? Me? I don't have potential. Before I can ponder it any further, I enter Jerry's office to talk about the campaign.
Half an hour later, I exit from Jerry's office and he closes the door behind me as I head back to my desk.
"Ana, what're you doing now that Jack Hyde's away?", he asks suddenly when I approach my desk.
"Um, I wasn't exactly sure yet." Or if I still had a job.
"Well, how'd you like to fill in for Jack temporarily? Just until we find a new position for you." What?
"Um..."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Be sure to clean out your desk and move in when you have the time", he says and walks away before I make my response. They're giving me Jack's job? But I'm not qualified for this.
I glance at Jack's office and after setting down my laptop, I check the door and sure enough, it's unlocked. I turn the handle and enter, remembering the last time I was in here, when I told him about New York. They seriously want me to move in here? I was only Jack's assistant that he tried to seduce when we were back in New York. Did he ever get home? Does Christian know if he did?
Just then, my phone vibrates and I see that I have a new text from Christian.
Do you still have a job?
I hold my breath and give my response.
Kinda? They gave me Jack's job temporarily.
After a few moments, he replies back.
Congratulations, Miss Steele. We should celebrate.
I would much rather celebrate in the Red Room.
Smiling, I type up my response.
Is that an offer, Mr. Grey?
Absolutely, Miss Steele. We could go on a date. ;)
Blushing, I remember the last time we went on a date. It was when we were discussing the contract and after giving me a sweetener, we went to a restaurant and had some fun in a private room. Yeah, that was fun. Grinning like a fool, I send him my reply.
Sounds good, Mr. Grey. Hopefully we can have some more privacy. ;)
After a moment, he replies.
Miss Steele, I look forward to it.
Oh my. How does he do that with seven little words? Checking my equilibrium, I head out of Jack's—my—office and start setting up. As I do, a sudden thoughts invades my mind. Did Christian have anything to do with this?