Christian Grey sat in his office and didn't know if he was to be happy or upset. SIP was done, they had lost too many potential authors to make up for the losses they already had been making. With Boyce Fox leaving and no bestsellers in sight, there was nothing more they could do to last them over until they found new potential authors that were promising.

He had just talked to Roach and told him that this was it for SIP. He wouldn't sink more money into a company that had already been on the brink of bankruptcy for the last three years. Still, he had hoped Ana wouldn't be able to cause enough harm to actually ruin SIP. Not because of the company. He knew all employees would find a new job with GEH or he would make sure they found something else in publishing.

No, he was upset, because he had wanted this weekend with Ana. He had been looking forward to it because he had hoped to get her to open up to him, but now there would be no weekend with her.

Still, since she had won, he had asked her to have lunch with him and when she walked into his office he couldn't help but smile. Gone was casual Ana and instead, she was dressed in a blue shift dress with a black blazer and high heels, her hair pulled back into an artful chignon and her make up on point.

„So, did I win?" She asked smiling as she sat down facing him.

„Yes, are you going to tell me what your prize is now?"

„After lunch, I'm hungry." She said so he led her into the meeting room where their lunch was waiting for them.

„I heard Cross is in town. Are there an issue with Cross Publishing, after all, he was just recently in town for the opening and Coping Together." Christian asked and Ana smiled.

„No, he is here for personal reasons."

„Your birthday isn't for another month, Ana... so what kind of personal business does he have to attend to here in Seattle." Christian asked and noticed that Ana shifted a bit in her seat, clearly uncomfortable.

„He is here to see Mia." She finally said and he closed his eyes. Cross was a man whore and he didn't even try to cover his tracks, so this was not something he wanted to hear.

„Has he fucked her?"

„I don't know, we are friends but we usually don't discuss his affairs... but if it any help, he clearly didn't do anything with her while he was here last time. He was staying at my place and I would have noticed if he had someone with him or stayed away overnight. They are going to have dinner tonight that much I know... and it's not something he usually does."

„What is that supposed to mean?"

„You are not going to like this, but Gideon doesn't wine and dine his women... he has what I would call a fuck pad."

„What the hell, Ana?!"

„It's a hotel room where he takes the women he engages with, he is very particular about the people he allows into his private spaces, it's just family and few close friends." Ana explained hoping Christian wouldn't lose his cool.

„Is he staying at your place again?"

„Yes, he is. He will stay until Saturday. Mia wants to show him some more of Seattle."

„God damn it... I'm really trying here, Ana... but so help me if he hurts my little sister I'm going to kick his ass."

„I know." She simply said.

„And you are not trying to stop me from doing so?" Christian asked surprised.

„No, this is your baby sister we are talking about. I told Gideon to stay away from her if he doesn't have feelings for her and I warned him that you are not going to sit by and watch him use Mia. I can't expect you to sit by and watch, I just know that Gideon wouldn't hurt her on purpose after I have asked him not to do it... if it still happens because he can't help himself I won't be happy to see you get into a fight with him, but I can see your point."

„Well that's something... tell me what you want as a prize for your win." He asked to distract himself.

„You know that salad is delicious, do you know where Andrea ordered it?" She asked instead and he shrugged.

„I have no idea, Ana."

„Ok, so what are your plans for the weekend?"

„Nothing." He said annoyed, he had kept the weekend cleared in his schedule in the hopes to spend it with her, but now he would probably work on some deals that still had time left to distract himself.

Once they had finished lunch Ana got up and smiled at him. „It's getting late, I need to head back to CP." She said and grabbed her purse. „Thank you for lunch, Christian, it was delicious."

„Wait, aren't you going to tell me what you want for winning the bet?"

„Oh, of course, I would like to have Mrs. Jones phone number." She said surprising him.

„Wait, what?"

„I would like the phone number of your housekeeper." She said with a smirk.

„Why?"

„Oh you know good domestical staff is hard to find and with my workload, I could really need some help." She said trying to keep a straight face as he looked about ready to spank her while he scribbled the phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to her.

„Thank you, we should do lunch more often, I really enjoyed that salad." She said no longer able not to giggle at the less than pleased expression on his face.

„I'll make sure to tell Andrea to contact your assistant to schedule it in." He said and tried to look angry when really he was hurt. He had hoped for her prize to be anything that would include them spending more time together and instead all she had wanted was to steal his housekeeper.

Even three days later, when he got up on Saturday morning he was still angry with himself over being hurt that much by Ana's choice of a prize. He had talked to Mrs. Jones, but so far Ana hadn't contacted her. If she did, he knew Mrs. Jones wouldn't leave, she was just too loyal to do that, so basically Ana had won nothing.

In need of a coffee to wake him fully up, he walked out of his bedroom and the smell of coffee, pancakes, eggs and bacon filled his nostrils, which surprised him because Gail and Taylor had the day off to spend time with his daughter. He walked further into his apartment and when he reached the kitchen he stopped dead in his tracks.

„Good morning, Sir... your breakfast will be ready in two minutes, do you want a coffee or orange juice?" Ana asked him clearly amused by the look of utter surprise and disbelieve on his face.

„Ana... what... how?" He asked and sat down when she placed both a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee for him on the breakfast bar.

„Did you really think I asked for Mrs. Jones number to hire her?" She asked still smiling.

„I'm not quite sure anymore." He admitted.

„Well, I didn't but how else would I have been able to get in here this morning without you knowing and of course, I needed someone to pack for you." She said and now he was completely confused.

„Pack?"

„Well, I wouldn't mind to see you run around naked all day... but it might not be so pleasant for you while we are hiking."

„I'm so confused." he muttered in his still half asleep state and Ana took pity on him.

„I liked your idea of spending a weekend together as a prize for the bet. So, in an hour from now, we will drive to Boeing Field where one of Gideon's jets is waiting for us to fly us to Montana where we are going to stay until Sunday evening. I've talked to your parents and they have recommended a very good hiking trail and told me about a lake near there property which is perfect for picnics and swimming." She explained and he was shocked, she really wanted to spend more time with him.

„You can totally say no..."

„No, I'm in." He replied quickly.

„Great, let's have breakfast, you'll have time for a quick shower once we have eaten. Oh and before we had lunch on Wednesday I have spoken to Andrea, she made sure that you won't be bothered with work this weekend. Since I'm obsessed with work too I have decided that as soon as we are in Montana we will not use our phones, if you can live with that for a weekend."

„I'm sure I can manage... so have you been planning this all along?" He wanted to know while he took a sip of coffee and watched her put their breakfast onto plates before she sat down next to him.

„I was thinking about it... I just didn't know if I would really go through with it." She confessed.

„Why?"

„Because I don't want to give you hope when I don't know if there is any... I have already hurt you so much... and you deserve so much better than that." She confessed and he looked at her.

„You know you can tell me everything, Ana. No matter what it was that made you run, I promise to understand and that I will be there for you." He said trying not to tell her that he most likely knew what had happened.

„It's not that easy... please, let's not ruin this weekend by dwelling on the past."

„Ok." He said even though it pained him that she still didn't seem to find enough trust in him to tell him what had happened.

A little under four hours later they arrived at his parent's vacation home unpacked and changed before they went to the small town where the house was located to buy some groceries and then decided because the weather was very nice to have a picnic at the lake and make swim there after the picnic.

In the kitchen of the house, he watched Ana make some dips, slice veggies and prepare other foods for their picnic.

„Do you still enjoy to cook?" He asked watching her.

„Yes, it helps me to unwind in the evening, though I have changed to granola with yogurt in the morning because I like to sleep a little longer and not cook breakfast." She confessed.

„Around what time do you have to leave for the office in the morning?"

„I like to be there early, so I usually leave around seven fifty to have a head start of the day."

„Well, I usually have breakfast at 7:30 so feel free to join me if you want something other than granola." Christian offered not even hiding the fact that he would offer anything to spend more time with her.

„I will keep that mind though a full breakfast also means that I won't be able to justify the huge vanilla latte and cream cheese bagel my assistant gets me for a second breakfast." She confessed.

„I won't tell anyone if you won't tell anyone about the secret stash of Reese's peanut butter cups I keep both in my study at home and my office." He said with a wink and she giggled.

„Your secret is safe with me, Grey."

Gideon Cross was sitting behind the desk of his home office waiting for Angus to call him, while also staring at the pictures of Mia Grey the google search on his laptop had provided him with. She was beautiful, maybe even too beautiful for her own good, clearly a little bit too spoilt and naive for his liking but for the life of him he could not stop thinking about her.

He knew that hooking up with her wasn't in the realm of possibilities because Ana had asked him not to and it felt like disrespecting her and their friendship if he went through with it anyway.

So, he had not followed his instincts and fucked her in the first room that had a door he could lock at her parents event even though she had made it perfectly clear that she would be a willing participant and he didn't react to her messages asking him if he wanted to meet with her while he was still in Seattle. Back in New York, however, he had found himself not able to find anyone to peak his interest at all, which was why he had returned to Seattle and asked her out for dinner, which was not how he usually operated.

He had to say, Mia was a bit overwhelming with her constant happy chatter which with any other woman would have annoyed the fuck out of him but for some reason with her, it was charming. Hell, he could have sat there and listened to her every word for days and it wouldn't have bored or annoyed him.

When he had to leave Seattle last night he still wasn't sure what to make of it. Actually, he was a little pissed at Mia for not making things harder for him. She was too obviously interested in him and in getting laid by him, which was something he had never minded before but with her it was driving him insane, even worse, he was pretty sure she didn't even notice how obvious she was, which was probably why her track record with men was less than stellar.

The background check he had on her clearly showed that she had dated a number of idiots who all dumped her within a few weeks... which probably all came down to her coming across as the kind of girl that was good for a fun time and not any kind of serious relationship. And hell, he wanted to change that... she had to realize that the way she acted was not attracting the kind of guy she was hoping to find.

He knew for a fact that he wasn't that guy and would probably end up with Ana mad at him and Mia's brothers wanting to punch his lights out but he just couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about her.

Finally, the ringing of his phone distracted him from all thoughts of Mia Grey as he answered it.

„Angus?"

„Sir, we have it." He said and Gideon sat up straight.

„Are you sure?" He asked needing confirmation.

„Yes, 100 percent positive, Mr. Cross." Angus answered and it was the tone of his voice that was laced with a mix of disgust and pained anguish because he too felt very protective of Ana that made it clear to Gideon that they finally had found it.

„Good. Don't destroy it yet... it is up to Ana to decide what to do with it."

„Sir, there is more."

„What do you mean more?"

„More of the same... not just Ana, but at least twenty five to thirty more."

„Fuck..."

„Just get it here, Angus, we'll deal with it." He said ended the call and got himself a brandy before he thought about what to do. Ana was still in Montana with Grey until the evening and he didn't want to tell her on the phone, but he also couldn't leave. Maybe her being with Grey was the best thing for her... after all now she could finally tell him the truth and was free to try and pick up the pieces with Grey, so after emptying the tumbler with his brandy and took his phone and dialed Ana to let her know that her nightmare was finally over...

Next up, Ana shares her story with Christian...