THE ORIGINAL NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRANSLATION. IF YOU WANT TO READ IT IN SPANISH LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE SAME PSEUDONYM AND BY NAME "EL SECRETO"
In case you're wondering if Christian is in the novel, is there, just won´t expected.
Forty-five minutes later I was knocking on Ryan's door.
—Go ahead. —he replied in a tiresome tone of voice.
I walked into his office with a folded nylon on my arm and two paper bags in my hand. Ryan stared at me intrigued by squinting.
—You can come with me. —I asked him while he was still looking at me, squinting. —There's something I haven't shown you about the company. — I said smiling at him.
He stood up and followed me.
—Can you grab the coffee cup? — I asked him as he took it from my desk and then we continued walking towards the elevator.
We passed in front of Kate who stared at us wondering what it was all about.
—I'm intrigued by everything you hold in your hands. —he said to me as he pointed to the nylon bag in my hand, carefully folded so it wouldn't wrinkle.
—You'll see. —I told him as we got to the elevator.
He pressed the call button and as soon as the doors opened we came in. With my free hand I took a key out of my jeans pocket and put it in the panel by turning it. The doors closed and the elevator began to rise until the doors opened again. We went out into a hallway with double doors. Right next to it was a panel with a touch screen. I put my hand on it and after it lit up in green the doors opened into a room.
—Can you put your hand here? —I told him after entering a code on the touch screen.
Ryan wasn't talking, he was just looking impressed. He put his hand on and the screen lit up a few seconds later, first in red and then in green.
—That's it.
—Where are we? — he asked as we entered the room.
—This is the break room. No one knows it exists, Grace ordered it to be built in secret, it's not even in the plans.
—Why did you bring me here? — he asked intrigued.
—Take it. —I said, holding out the nylon bag and one of the paper bags and taking the coffee cup out of his hand. —There's a bathroom for you to take a shower, shave and change your clothes. The bed's over there so you can rest for a while. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. Here. — I said, holding out a key. —This is yours. You can come whenever you want or need to. I've already set up the screen for your fingerprints. Don't come back until you're rested and more presentable. I'll put your breakfast on the table. — I said as I put the coffee cup and paper bag on the table where there were some muffins and a bottle of juice.
He didn't say anything. I just turned around and walked out of there, back to my office. Kate boarded me when I left for the reception.
—What happened to him today?
—He had a family problem, he wasn't feeling well. I sent him to rest. — I said smiling at her.
—I didn't know you were the boss now. —she said to me, raising an eyebrow.
—I convinced him.
—Yeah. How was the sex with the boss?
—Kate! —I scolded her. —Not here. I'll talk to you later.
—Okay. But you're gonna have to give me all the details...
I left her talking to herself as I walked into my office. I didn't feel like talking about it right now, much less remembering it. But I knew she wouldn't forget. I took my phone and texted Ryan.
From: Anastasia Steele
To: Ryan Chasting
Date: Monday, 2/11/2015 8:22 AM
Subject: Family matter.
You just rest, and come back when you're decent. Anybody who asks, you had a family problem.
I'm sorry if I worried you.
Anastasia Steele Personal Assistant to Ryan Chasting.
Ryan answered me quickly.
From: Ryan Chasting
To: Anastasia Steele
Date: Monday, 2/11/2015 8:25 AM
Subject: Personal Assistant.
Now I understand Grace's insistence that keep you. Thanks for the clothes and breakfast. Everything was delicious. I'm gonna take your advice and get some rest. I'll see you later.
Ryan Chasting, CEO of TecFall.
His mail made me smile for a moment.
The morning passed quickly. I didn't even remember Ryan wasn't here. At noon the door of my office opened. He looked better than he did in the morning, and the suit I had chosen for him highlighted his blue eyes. He had his hair done as usual, although I had to accept that I liked it better when he had messy hair. That's what it reminded me of.
What was our relationship like now?
Did we have a relationship?
Now that we'd slept together twice, there'd be a chance we'd have something.
—What are you thinking about? —his question took me by surprise and made me come down from my cloud and react.
On you. I was thinking about you.
—Nothing. How was your break?
—Well, I really needed it. I'll be in my office. —he said as he walked over there.
Since it was noon I went to get Kate for lunch. It was near there so I didn't think it was necessary for Sawyer to go with us. We headed towards the cafeteria where we always went and as soon as I started eating Kate started her interrogation.
—Will you tell me what happened? —she asked as I took a bite out of my burger.
—Where? — I said playing dumb.
—Come on Ana, you know I like to listen to everything that happens to you, and now much more since it involves the new boss.
—We just slept together, that's all.
I couldn't tell her what Ryan had told me. I figured it wasn't a secret, but I didn't want to worry Kate. I had enough on my plate with a bodyguard to watch for my safety.
—Last night on the phone you told me you already slept with him. When was that?
—Remember the stranger I slept with at the Drake's party two years ago.
—Yeah, the one you lost your virginity to.
—Exactly. Well, it turns out it was him.
—What! And how did you know?
—He had a distinctive mark that I recognized at the time. —I didn't want to tell her he had a tattoo all over her back and half his chest.
My phone rang at that moment but when I went to see who it was it went off. I forgot to give him a charge.
— And how he took the fact that he'd slept with you twice.
Well, if we discount the security he gave me for what had happened to his fiancée, the truth was that he had taken it pretty well.
—Pretty good. — I told her as I ate my hamburger.
—So. Are you together?
We are? I had no idea, that was something I'd have to talk to him about. I didn't even know if he was attracted to me or had feelings for me. Well, if he wasn't attracted to me, he wouldn't have slept with me, or if he was. Maybe for him it was just uncompromising sex with the first person he met.
—Ana. —Kate called me back to reality. —You'll answer my question.
—I don't know. —I answered her honestly. —I don't know where we are.
—And Christian?
That was yet another question. I had sent him an e-mail yesterday but he hasn't answered me yet. I didn't know what had happened to him.
—He's busy. —I lied.
—Have you two met?
—No, not yet. — I replied as I thought about it.
The truth was, if I had a relationship with Ryan, I wouldn't think about Christian. Although I was very interested in a relationship with Christian too. With Ryan it was physical and sexual attraction, not to mention that I was in love with him. With Christian, I felt like we knew each other, and we had a lot in common, but I didn't feel even remotely like I did when I was next to Ryan.
I had to make my feelings clear. I had to clear things up with Ryan about whether or not we had a relationship. And then I'd call Christian. I didn't want to give him expectations in a relationship that I didn't know if we were going to have or not.
—Well, if you don't finish your burger, you better take it back. —she said as she looked at the time.
The truth was that I had lost my appetite. I left my burger halfway through lunch and we went back to the office. Kate was telling me about her trip to New York with Elliot, but I wasn't paying much attention to her.
Do you ever have a feeling you're being watched? Well, I felt that way as we walked to the office. I didn't want to say anything to Kate, that would only worry her and then I would have to give her a lot of explanations. I looked in all directions, but I only saw people who were walking like us at that time.
—Wait, Kate, I gotta pick up something in the car. — I told her when we were passing by this one.
I had left my mother's house early and picked him up at the apartment.
I took the alarm off and opened the doors. I took the cell phone charger, locked the door and set the alarm. We continued walking to the office but I continued with the same feeling that I was being watched. When we got to the door I turned back one more time but I couldn't see anyone.
—What's wrong with you? — Kate already asked me in the elevator.
—What do you mean.
—Ever since we left the cafeteria, you've been nervous, looking in every direction.
—I had the feeling that someone was watching us, you weren't.
—I think sleeping with the boss has made you paranoid. — I didn't say anything because we were alone in the elevator.
—Maybe. —that was the only thing I answered as we both laughed and the elevator doors opened.
Then I met an angry Ryan, really angry Ryan standing right outside the elevator and I stopped smiling right away. What had happened?
—To my office, now. —he shouted in a demanding tone as he hurriedly walked and I followed him.
Had I gotten myself into trouble? I followed him into his office without saying anything. And I locked the door after I came in.
—Why did you turn off the phone? —he said facing me.
He looked like a caged animal.
—I didn't turn it off, my battery died. —I answered him honestly.
—What happened to the bodyguard? —you could tell he was upset by the tone of his voice.
—What about him?
—What part of you can't get out without protection is that you didn't understand. —he said to me as he held me by the arms and shook me up so that I would react.
—You told me it was to bring me back and forth, I didn't think it was for when I went out to lunch. —I said, letting go of the grip of his arms that were beginning to hurt me. —Besides, nothing happened. —but as I said that, I remembered the feeling of being watched.
—What happened? —he asked me authoritatively as he examined my face.
—Nothing. —I said as I bowed my thoughtful head.
Maybe it was nothing, I wasn't going to worry him with anything silly.
—Anastasia, what happened? —he asked me once more, raising my head to look at him.
—I just had the feeling that we were being watched while we were having lunch and on the way here.
—I knew it. —he said as he separated from me and walked to the windows where he stopped with his back to me, staring into the distance. —Looks like you'll need more protection than I expected.
—What do you mean by that?
—That you needed a full-time bodyguard. —he said still turning his back on me.
—Are you kidding me? —I said laughing.
—Do you really think I'm joking? — he said, turning as he stared at me very seriously and I stopped laughing.
—No. But you can't expect Sawyer to be around me full time.
—It's necessary, Anastasia. —I don't want anything to happen to you. —he said in a low voice.
I didn't understand the concern he had for me.
—Why are you so concerned about my safety? — I asked him intrigued.
—I don't want something happen to you because of my mistake.
He felt guilty about sleeping with me.
—Please. —he asked me almost imploringly. —Stop arguing, or I will have to take other measures that I don't want to have to resort to.
The way he was looking at me at the time, I don't think I'd like to know what the other measures would be.
—All right. —I couldn't refuse. Not when he asked me to do it that way, much less when my life, as he said, was at stake.
I left his office and tried to concentrate on work. But it was impossible for me. I kept thinking about everything that was going on.
I looked for my phone. Nothing. Not a text or a call from Christian. I decided I was going to face it. I dialed his number and waited. One...two...three tones. The phone kept ringing and nothing, he didn't answer, when I was about to hang up he answered.
—Hello Ana. —he sounded agitated on the phone.
—Hi. Why didn't you answer my message or call me back? —I demanded of him.
He was the one who had been behind me, and after a week of conversations and e-mails, I had really deluded myself of a relationship with him.
—Excuse me, Ana, I've been busy. My phone was unloaded and my computer is broken. — it didn't really sound very convincing, but I believed him.
—When can we meet? —I asked him hopefully.
—At the moment I can't Ana, I have personal problems and I have to leave for London, I don't know when I will return.
—Oh, sorry, I had no idea.
—I think it's best to leave this here, Ana. I don't want you to get your hopes up about a relationship that won't be possible at the moment. Believe me, it hurts me so much to have to tell you this, you don't know how much I wish we could meet in person. But it couldn't have been. If I ever get back from London, I'll call you to find us.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
—I've got to go, I've got a plane to catch. Take care, Ana. See you sometime. —that was the last thing he said to me before he hung up.
What had just happened? We hadn't even met. I was so looking forward to meeting him.
But it was better that way, at least he had spoken to me clearly and had been honest with me. It was better to end it all now and not continue to feed hope in a relationship that was not going to happen. And here I was thinking of forgetting Ryan with Christian. I shook my head as I cleared my mind. I had to forget about both of them now.