A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
C POV
"Hello." How can one five letter word get me so fucking turned on? Maybe it's because the word is coming from the mouth of Ana Steele, the woman with whom I'm currently in a trial dating run. We've texted and talked on the phone some the last few days, but work has kept us from going out.
"Hi. It's me.", I say, tapping my pen on my desk. "I know you're at work and busy, but I wanted to call and see if you're free tonight. I'd like for us to have our first official date."
"I'd like to have our first official date too.", she sighs. "But I've got a work dinner with Samual Donovan." I grit my teeth at the name.
"Samual Donovan?", I ask, hoping I might have misunderstood. I first met Samual Donovan a few years ago when I was looking to buy an SUV. He immediately came across as arrogant, but my view of him changed even more almost halfway through the meeting when his assistant came into his office and asked a question. The second she left he made comment about about her breasts. Pointing to a woman browsing at cars, he said he wanted to check under her hood. The line was cheesy as hell, but it further strengthened my opinion that he was a degrading, class A jerk.
"Yes. I'm working on the advertising for his car dealerships. I told you about that, didn't I?"
"You told me you were working on an ad campaign for a series of car dealerships, but you didn't tell me who owned them. Ana, I'm not sure you having dinner with him is the best idea."
"Um...I'm pretty sure it's the best idea if I want to work on the advertising for him. Hold on." I hear noises on her end of the phone. "I'm in the restroom so I can have this conversation in private. I also don't want anyone to hear me in case I raise my voice. I've told you that I'm in control of my life."
"I'm not trying to take away that control. Samual Donovan is an asshole who I don't trust.", I snap.
"Funny because I thought you were an asshole in the beginning.", she murmurs. "Do you think he's going to try and put the moves on me?"
"Yes. That's exactly what I think. I've seen how the guy operates."
"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself. Even though you said you don't trust him, you need to trust me. Without trust, this thing with us isn't going to work. I've got to get back to my desk."
"Ok.", I say before hearing her hang up. I'm going to be on edge until I know her dinner went without a hitch, but I need to try my best to stay calm. I don't want things with her to end before they really have a chance to even begin.
A POV
"What time is Elliot picking you up?", I ask Kate who's sorting through her closet for something to wear on her first date with Elliot.
"Seven." She spins around and holds up a midnight blue dress. "How about this for tonight?"
"I like it. It's going to be chilly so make sure you take a sweater or jacket." She goes back to searching for a few minutes before turning back to me.
"You're always looking out for me.", she smiles. "What time is your dinner with Donovan?"
"Six thirty. I can't believe Christian had the nerve to tell me I shouldn't go. Do you see me telling him how to do his work?"
"No, but I don't think Christian would tell you that about Donovan just for the hell of it."
"I've got to gather my graphics and boards.", I say. I start leaving Kate's room but stop in my tracks. "Don't worry about me. I'll be ok."
"Good evening.", the hostess smiles when I arrive at Six Seven Restaurant which is located in the Edgewater Hotel.
"Hello. I'm supposed to be meeting someone here, Samual Donovan.", I say. Before she replies, I see Samual Donovan walking towards me. "There he is." His blonde hair is slicked back, and he's wearing a black button up shirt along with black dress pants.
"Ms. Steele, hello. I've arranged for us to have a private dining room. I thought it would be better for us to discuss work. Follow me." He smiles and nods for me to follow him. We walk through the restaurant and to the private dining room. In the middle is a table with two glasses and a bottle of wine. "I went ahead and had a bottle of wine set up for us. Have a seat."
"Thank you." I sit down in the chair at the opposite end of the table. Reaching into my bag for my materials, I feel his eyes on me. "I went through several concepts before deciding on one that I think you're going to love." I lay out a graphic which shows a car going down the road in the daylight. I switch to a similiar graphic, only this one has the car under the glow of the moonlight. A third graphic has the first two photos blended together. Underneath the photo is the tagline Let's Go for a Ride.
"Impressive.", Donovan nods. He picks up the wine bottle as the hostess brings us menus. "Wine?"
"Actually, I'd like to start off with some water."
"I'll get you a glass.", the hostess tells me. She walks over to the other side of the room where a beverage station is set up. Moments later, she returns with a glass of water. "Here you go. I'll give you some time to look over the menus." She pads out of the room, leaving me alone with Donovan.
"Mr. Donovan, if there's anything about these graphics I can change, let me know."
"Please call me Samual or Sam. As for what's in front of me, I like exactly what I see." I look over my water glass and notice his eyes are on me instead of the graphics. Christian's warning echoes in my head. I avoid further eye contact by scanning the menu.
"They certainly have a variety of dishes.", I say.
"That they do. Ana...Is it ok to call you Ana?" I nod. "Excellent. Ana, I've got a room here. We can have our dinner in there. It'll be more private.", he whispers.
"Wasn't that the point of us having a private dining room?", I scoff. He reaches for my hand which I quickly jerk back. "What are you doing?"
"Do I really need to spell it out? You and I have an undeniable spark. I've felt it since the day we first met. Don't act like you don't feel it."
"The only thing I'm feeling is nausea. This is supposed to be a work dinner, not a date."
"We can have it be both. We can talk about work and then move on to other things."
"You said you've felt a spark since we first met. Is that spark the reason you wanted me to do your advertising?", I ask even though the answer is evident with the smirk on his face. I start shoving my things into my bag.
"Ana, don't act like you don't feel it.", he grins. I get out of my chair.
"I thought I got it because I'm good at my job.", I mutter.
"You are good at your job, but your allure is also part of the reason. Imagine how good things can be with us. You can handle all the advertsing for my business while I handle all your needs."
"No thank you. I'm not interested in you."
"Too bad.", he laughs as he also stands. "I guess I'll have to tell your boss you were uncooperative, thus making me take my money elsewhere. You might even lose your job."
"I'll explain how you made a pass at me.", I fire back.
"But will he believe you?"
"Mr. Nelson knows me and know I'm not the type of person who makes up lies." I toss my bag over my shoulder and start stomping towards the door until I feel myself being pulled back. "Let go of me.", I snarl. When he doesn't, the back of my hand collides with the side of his face.
"Bitch!", he yells. I get to the door just as the hostess is on her on way back in. She looks at me curiously and then at Donovan who's mumbling curse words.
"We won't be having dinner.", I inform her.
A light rain has start falling by the time I get to my car. I get inside and turn the heat on to warm up. I take deep breaths to calm my nerves enough to drive home. I pull my phone from my pocket and press play on the recording I made inside the restaurant. Little does Donovan know, I was able to press record and capture most of our conversation. He thinks he has the upper hand, but he's got another thing coming. I consider calling Christian who I can already hear saying "I told you so." I scroll to his name and dial the number. It rings several times before going to voicemail.
"Hey. I just left my meeting with Donovan, and it didn't go as planned. You were right about him.", I sigh. "Well, that's all I wanted to say. Bye." I put my phone down and start my car. All I want to do now is go home and go to bed."
"Ana, open the door.", I hear Christian saying from the hallway outside my apartment. I put down my yogurt cup and pad to the door. Upon opening the door, I see Christian with a pissed off look. I step aside and wave him inside. "I've been calling you."
"I turned my phone off.", I murmur, getting an even more pissed off look in return. "I just wanted some silence for a while." His face softens. "I'm guessing you got my message."
"Oh yeah. I got home and sat down for a while before having dinner. Staying up late and getting up early caught up with me, and I ended up falling asleep. I got your message when I woke up. I'm sorry I didn't answer when you called."
"You don't have to apologize." He sways uncomfortably in the middle of the living room. "Have a seat." He sits down in the recliner while I sit down in the arm chair.
"I debated whether I should come here or go hunt down that fucker.", Christian growls.
"I'm glad you're here.", I say, making him smile. "I mean I wouldn't want you to get arrested or anything."
"And you wanted to see me." The wink he gives me causes a flutter in my stomach. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"I thought it was simply going to be a work dinner, yet he started acting otherwise almost immediately. I thought I was given the job because he had seen and liked my previous work my boss showed him. He said that was part of the reason, and the rest was because of my allure. He also claimed we had a spark. I felt nothing for the guy. Maybe it would be better if I let you listen to the rest." I grab my phone from the coffee table and press play on the recording. Christian listens in silence. His jaw tightens as he puts a death grip on the arm of the recliner. When the recording ends, he jumps from his seat and starts towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to knock some fucking sense into that bastard.", he replies. I move between him and the door and place my hand on his shoulder.
"Don't. He's not worth it. I'm going to my boss's office first thing in the morning, and I'm going to let him listen to this. Donovan thinks he's going to ruin my life, but he has another thing coming. For tonight though, I just want to forget about what took place. You said you fell asleep after sitting down before dinner. Have you still not eaten?"
"Nope. I listened to your voicemail and came right over."
"I also haven't had dinner.", I say. "Douche Donovan started his sleaveball antics before I ordered. Do you like pizza?"
"I love pizza.", he grins.
"I can't eat another bite.", I moan after finishing off my third slice of pizza. We're seated in the floor of the living room, using the coffee table to hold our pizza and drinks.
"I believe I have room for one more slice.", Christian says. He grabs another slice of the pepperoni pizza. "Gail, my housekeeper, makes delicious pizzas. She often makes mini ones and freezes them for me."
"There's the answer to my question of if you cook."
"I can cook, just not a lot. If you were to ask for chicken noodle soup, I could make it from scratch. My dad got the flu when I was about twelve, and I remember feeling so bad for him. He wasn't able to join the rest of the family for dinner, and we couldn't hang out with him. I came home from school one day and found my mom in the kitchen where she was preparing to make him chicken noodle soup. I asked if I could help her, and she agreed. I mentally wrote down the recipe."
"That's sweet.", I say. "I'm learning all kinds of new things about you." He starts to appear worried. "Relax. It's a good thing." I slide my hand across the coffee table and lace my fingers with his. I'm briefly shocked at myself for the move, but it feels good. "I'm glad you agreed to stay for pizza."
"That makes two of us. Since we're enjoying a meal and having a nice conversation, would you consider this our first date?"
"I'm going to consider this a pre-date. Sitting here with you is nice, but I want our first official date to have a better beginning."
"Agreed."