CHRISTIAN

"Mr. Grey, I have the contracts that the lawyers just sent up for Greener Horizons, Inc. Would you like me to have them couriered over to their office?" Andrea's voice announced over the speaker at his desk.

Green Horizons, Inc. Scott Kennedy's company. Good. He'd been awaiting the papers to be drafted for a few days now. He was anxious to get everything signed and start incorporating the new technologies into his other businesses. Common procedure would be to have the papers couriered over just as Andrea suggested. But in a split second decision, Christian responded, "No, thank you Andrea. I'd like to pop into GHI myself this afternoon. I'll deliver the contracts personally then."

"Yes, sir," she said. "Your only free period this afternoon is at lunchtime."

"I will go then," he said, probably surprising her. Christian rarely did things like this, let alone during his lunch period. He never skipped meals. He had plenty of working lunches, but they always involved meeting at a restaurant or catering in. He never ran to other companies during his meal time. For a moment, he wondered why he was even doing it. He had wanted to check out GHI, but there was no reason he couldn't do it another time. Deciding on a whim to do a pop in was out of character for him.

You know why you're doing it, a little voice told him in the back of his mind. Four syllables. An-a-sta-sia.

Okay, yes. He hadn't really been able to keep the little brunette off of his mind. He did want to see if that pull he'd felt toward her before Kennedy snapped at her was a onetime thing or not. There was just something about her, something he couldn't dismiss even after she'd left his office.

Regardless, business came first right now, and he did want these contracts signed asap, and he did want to see what kind of building and equipment GHI was working with, see what morale was like now that the employees likely knew they were being bought out, so if he got to see Kennedy's pretty little PA as an added bonus, so what?

Christian exited the Audi, buttoning back up his suit jacket and nodded at Taylor as he held open the door. The two made their way into the moderately sized office building, Christian's face already scrutinizing the façade. A receptionist with overly fluttery eyelashes directed him to the fourth floor where GHI was located. He thanked her with a curt nod, taking in the dated wallpaper and carpets that dressed the entire building. Everything was outdated.

The elevator pinged as they reached their floor, the doors opening to reveal a small plaque across from them indicating the floor did belong to GHI. Christian entered the main doorway, approaching yet another receptionist with fluttery eyes and blushing cheeks.

"I'm here to see Scott Kennedy."

"One moment, sir," came her breathy reply as she picked up her phone and hit an extension button. "Ana, there's a man here looking for Mr. Kennedy." There was a pause, then her cheek flushed brighter. "I don't know. Hold on," she said, her eyes darting to Christian's in embarrassment. "What is your name, sir?"

"Christian Grey," he said, slightly agitated. He might fire Andrea on the spot if she ever called him to say 'a man' was looking for him instead of getting a name.

"Mr. Christian Grey," the receptionist repeated back into the phone. Another long pause, this time with the receptionist eyes clouding over with panic for a moment, then regret before she disconnected the call. "Mr. Grey, I'm afraid Mr. Kennedy is out to lunch at the moment. Your arrival was unexpected by his personal assistant. If you'd like to wait, she said he should be returning shortly. I can offer you a seat in our employee lounge if you'd like."

"Are you aware of who I am, Miss…." Christian led, since she hadn't introduced herself and had no name tag adorning her desk.

"Kites. Stacy Kites, sir," she said quickly. "And yes sir, Mr. Kennedy's PA just informed me that you are the CEO for GEH, the company that is buying out GHI."

"That is correct, Miss Kites," Christian said with a nod. "I would like to wait for Mr. Kennedy. I would like to hand deliver these contracts to him. However, while I wait, I'd like to have a look around. Would that be alright with you?"

"Yes…" she stammered. "Yes, of course, Mr. Grey. I can give you a tour," she said, standing quickly, smoothing herself out from her hair down to her skirt in one long motion.

"Thank you for the offer, Miss Kites, but I think I can manage. We wouldn't want to leave the reception desk unmanned, would we?"

"No, sir," she muttered, a mixture of chastisement and disappointment in her tone.

"Taylor, why don't you check out the security here," Christian suggested. "I am going to mingle with some of the employees."

"Sir," Taylor acknowledged, wandering off own the hallway to inspect the floor.

Christian walked confidently throughout the halls, nodding at random employees that he happened to cross paths with. Most looked at him with recognition, some stopping to introduce themselves while cloaked in awe at the sheer power he exuded. He didn't stop to speak with anyone for more than a quick handshake, however, because there was only one employee he was interested in finding at the moment.

And just like that, there she was. At the end of the hall, sitting behind a medium sized oak desk with neatly stacked and labeled piles of papers, sat Anastasia Steele, chewing on the end of a pen as she stared at her computer screen, briefly writing something down, then looking back at the screen again.

Straightening his posture just a tad bit more, he approached her with his usual graceful ease.

"Miss Steele," his deep voice broke through her thoughts, pulling her from her work until those big doe eyes were staring up at him in question. Realization washed over her in a second and she too straightened her posture.

"Mr. Grey," she said. "I'm sorry. Stacy was supposed to show you to the employee lounge until Mr. Kennedy returns from lunch. I can direct you over there. Would you like some coffee?" she spoke quickly but confidently, standing and motioning back the way he came to direct him to the aforementioned location.

"No thank you, Miss Steele. I would actually like to wait here, if you don't mind." He needed to spend some time near her to see if he could figure her out. Normally he was so good at reading people, it was a big reason he did so well in the business world. But when it came to her, she gave away nothing. She was very self-contained. He needed to find a way to breech that so he could get inside her mind and see what made her tick, so he could get to know her. He needed to figure out what it was about her that made her so damn appealing to him even when he hardly knew her. She was beautiful, sure, but he could sense so much more to her than that. And he was dying to get to know her.

She hesitated, standing at the side of her desk as she'd already started to walk away to direct him to the lounge. She froze, but recovered quickly, her professional face again dominating her inner struggle. "As you wish, Mr. Grey. You can have a seat in Mr. Kennedy's office while you wait."

"I'm fine here," he said, taking a seat in one of the old chairs set up against the wall across from her desk. She seemed to be mulling over something, before she let out a breath and nodded, taking her seat again. He noticed immediately that she was avoiding eye contact, and her voice seemed detached. He was getting none of the warmth from when they'd first set eyes on each other. He had hoped to regain that feeling if he could get to her without Kennedy around, since he had reacted so badly to them the last time. But she seemed to be operating as she had the moment Kennedy had snapped at her in his office.

He sat silently for a few minutes, eyeing her while attempting to appear as though he wasn't. He even pulled out his blackberry so he could pretend to be busy himself. He watched her go back to work, alternating between typing on her obviously ancient desktop computer and writing notes on a pad of paper with a cheap pen. He watched her face turn frustrated as she clicked heavily and rapidly on the mouse, a small aggravated sigh leaving her lips. Didn't she have an iPad to do her work? A laptop even? How could she work efficiently with such old equipment?

"Something the matter?" he asked, amused at her frustration. She was admittedly rather… cute when she was angry. Cute? Did he just think the word cute? Christ.

She sent him a tight smile. "My computer just froze," she muttered, snapping the power button quickly in order to force a restart. "It does it all the time."

"How frustrating," he commented benignly. She sagged back in her chair, seemingly letting her guard down for a moment before she caught his eyes, then caught herself and sat upright once more. "Can I ask you some questions, Miss Steele? From an employee perspective?"

"Of course, Mr. Grey," she said, her eye flickering to his with a small, forced smile.

"Morale is very important to me, as a CEO. Can you tell me, honestly, how in the morale here? Do the employees enjoy their jobs? Do they respond well to Kennedy, and vice versa? Is there any upset about GEH acquiring the company?"

Ana's face settled back to its prior unreadable expression. Then, she met Christian's eyes head on. "Morale is important to Mr. Kennedy as well, Mr. Grey, and I can assure you that employees love working for him. Most of these people are like a family. So many of the people here are the original hires, who have worked tirelessly from day one, all trying to grow the company together. So when word got out that Mr. Kennedy was selling, I'd be lying if I said they weren't all nervous. It wasn't just about their jobs, either. This is tech that all of these people care about on a personal level, and they didn't want to see it squandered. But after some assurance from Mr. Kennedy himself, along with some of the employees digging into GEH's background, they are confident that you want this company because you believe in what we do here, that you want to make it flourish further. GEH also has a reputation of being a wonderful company to work for. So, as long as you truly do mean to keep on these employees as you have said, they aren't worried anymore. In fact, I believe most are excited at the opportunity of growth. They're actually quite thankful your company has given GHI this opportunity."

"Well I am glad to hear that, Miss Steele," he said, truly pleased by her words. "And Kennedy, the staff is pleased working under him? They know they will continue to work under me pretty much by name only, that he will continue to run the office as he seems fit? I know my reputation precedes me. I know the kind of emotions my name often evokes among my staff."

"Mr. Kennedy is a great boss and a great man. We are all grateful to have worked and to continue to work for him. And yes, your name and reputation precede you, but not in any negative sense. I'm not sure to what you were alluding with that, but the staff here is taken by you. We know you are firm, but so is Mr. Kennedy. It's kind of a requisite for the successful CEO. All the staff here sees is a dedicated man who is helping to grow the field they've chosen to dedicate their lives to, a man who is also notably philanthropic based off the generous donations he makes to the underprivileged worldwide. Trust when I say the staff here is quite enamored with you. We are eager to work hard under you as well," she said, though he noticed her cheeks blaze brightly the moment the sentence ended.

Her blush just did something for him. She just did it for him. The air was suddenly charged again, practically snapping around them with its intensity. There was a palpable heat between them. He watched her pull her bottom lip into her mouth and bite down as her eyes shifted away from his and hit her desk. Fuck—what was she thinking about? And why did she look away? He hated when she looked away from him. All he wanted was to stare into her beautiful eyes and attempt to gain access to her mind.

"Miss Steele, I must be honest. The reason I asked about Kennedy and morale is because our last meeting left me a little confused. I felt like things were quite tense between you and I, and you and Mr. Kennedy after our introduction, and it left me worried about how he interacts with his employees. You seemed quite nervous and this concerns me. It is important to me that all of my employees are treated with respect. So I would just like to clarify one last time, are you sure you've had no issues working for him?" Christian asked. He watched her shift uncomfortably for a moment before she responded, her eyes still trained on her desk.

"I apologize if my demeanor left you confused. It was actually… you who left me nervous. As said, your name looms large in our offices, and your reputation is larger than life. You were like a godsend to the people who work for the company because of what you represented for the future of the tech. Your name had been on so many lips over the past months, I'm afraid I found myself intimidated by you, sir. But I apologize for letting my personal nerves take control over my professional bearing. It's a grave error that I will assure you won't happen again."

"I intimidate you?" he asked, his eyebrows high in true surprise. Then his face turned contrite. "I apologize. I had no idea." Her eyes found his briefly, seemingly surprised at his surprise. There was something in them, something he couldn't decipher. Guilt? Shit, why was he having such a hard time reading this woman? Could she really have been intimidated by him? He had been so convinced it was Kennedy who made her uncomfortable. He hadn't even considered that it was him. He tried to recall exactly the way the details played out that day. He thought they'd shared a… spark. But maybe not? Maybe she'd been uncomfortable by his attention and maybe Kennedy has been indignant for her, not to her. No, that didn't sound right. He was sure… but… maybe?

"It was nothing you did," she was quick to explain away him being at fault. "You were very kind. It's just, jitters I guess. I've only ever worked for Mr. Kennedy. Having a new boss, especially the Christian Grey, it's nerve-wracking. I hope I didn't offend you."

That sounded pretty genuine, but he still had an inkling she wasn't telling him the truth. He gave a reassuring smile. "If an offense come out of the truth, better it is that the offense come than that the truth be concealed," Christian said offhandedly. It was a quote he'd read somewhere years ago and it had always stuck with him. He'd rather be told a harsh truth than be lied to. Christian Grey loathed being lied to.

So quietly he almost missed it, he heard Ana whisper something that sounded like 'test'.

"Excuse me?" Christian asked, unsure if he was meant to hear it at all.

She cleared her throat her eyes meeting his. "Tess. That was a quote from Tess of the d'Urbrvilles by Thomas Hardy."

Christian couldn't help but smile. "Is it? I've been saying that quote for forever, but I had forgotten where I'd first heard it. Impressive, Miss Steele."

She blushed again, shrugging it off like it was no big deal. "Not really. I just love literature," she said dismissively.

"Yes, well my sister if your age and the only books I think she's read in the last five years are ones about adolescent vampires," Christian said with mock irritation at his baby sister. He had high expectations for Mia, but she just wasn't driven like he'd been, or even like his brother Elliot had been when it came to a career path. But he had such a soft spot for her, and in the end it didn't matter much.

A giggle escaped Ana's lips, and Christian was sure the heavens had opened up and angels were playing that sound from the most finely crafted instruments in the universe. God, it was his new favorite sound. It was official, this wasn't some fluke at their first meeting. There was definitely something about her that he wanted to get to know better. He just needed to figure out if she felt the same thing he was feeling.

"I always wanted to do something with books. Editing, publishing… something like that," Ana said softly, her eyes unfocused, letting Christian know she was speaking from the heart, her guard down for the moment. He wanted to talk full advantage.

"So what led you to working here instead of going to college to study for that career path?"

And just like that, the shutters were down. Gone was her soft smile, her at-ease expression. Back was the passive look and empty eyes. Damn it.

He had no time to dwell on it as his attention was then pulled to the sound of shoes approaching on the cheap linoleum flooring. He looked up to see Scott Kennedy strutting toward the office. Christian then watched Ana's eyes widen in a panic, and in an instant she was typing furiously on her computer.

"Mr. Grey," Scott said, as he closed the distance between them, his tone conveying benign surprise, but Christian was sure he saw a fleeting look of biting ferocity in his eyes scanned from Christian to Ana, pinning her under his intense gaze for a moment before gliding back to Christian where a pleasant smile set on his face. "I apologize, I wasn't aware we had a meeting today or I would have never left the building. Obviously my PA—" he started, but Christian cut him off.

"No apology necessary. It wasn't Ana's fault. It was an unscheduled stop and I do apologize for the drop in. I just got the contracts back from the lawyers and decided to drop them off myself so I could have a chance to take a look at the building personally."

"Well, we are lucky to host you for your visit then. Has Ana been accommodating for you during your wait, Mr. Grey?" he asked, the snide way he said her name forcing Christian to realize his mistake that he'd referred to her in such a personal manner.

"Yes, of course, very," he replied, not wanting to give Kennedy any reason to think Ana had done anything wrong.

"Yes, I'm sure she was," came, what Christian interpreted as a slightly condescending reply. Christian was thoroughly confused now. Was he reading Kennedy all wrong? Normally he prided himself on his ability to see people, to really read them, but with Kennedy he wasn't sure. He tried to detect hints of his true emotions in his eyes, but Kennedy was obviously very guarded. He put out there what he wanted people to see, and he was obviously very good at controlling himself. He was the first person ever that Christian just wasn't sure how to read. Between the pair of them, Kennedy and Ana had his head spinning. What was it about these two that had him losing his keen eye? Was this just the boss/assistant dynamic these two shared? Surely if it really bothered Ana she would quit. Maybe she was just used to it, like Andrea. Shit, Christian knew he could be sharp and tetchy with his own PA. But he didn't think he'd ever been anything like this with her, had he?

"Please join me in my office, Mr. Grey."

He was only in there a few minutes, all of which Kennedy spent as the jovial, personable man Christian had come to know. He was funny and witty, thanking Christian with genuine appreciativeness for making the stop in at GHI. He promised to have his lawyer review the final draft and get the signed copy back to GEH before end of business day tomorrow. With a firm hand shake and a sincere statement expressing excitement about the merger, Christian stood to take his leave. Scott rounded his desk to follow.

"Don't let me further disrupt your day, Scott. I can see myself out," Christian dismissed.

"No, I insist," Kennedy said, his tone noticeably cooler than the moment prior as he walked Christian to the doorway where he halted, looming large, eyeing Ana the moment she came into his view.

Deciding not to risk further exacerbating the situation between them, Christian decided it was best to forgo a goodbye to the brunette in order to avoid causing her any more trouble at work. So he exited the main doorway without so much as a glance back at the pair.

As he retraced his steps back down the hallway, he found Taylor waiting for him at the end.

"This place is a security nightmare, Mr. Grey. They are working on way too powerful of stuff for it to be shoved in this little building. I could install a camera system, but the floor plan has so many odd angles I would have to have dozens of camera's installed. Not to mention it's outdated. Nothing is up to the standards you set for GEH. Barney would have to confirm, but even I know they need a whole overhaul of their electronics systems."

"I noticed," Christian agreed. "I'll call Elliot to see about redoing the building and Barney about refitting their operating systems. Or maybe I'll just move them to Grey House. We have room on the twelfth floor, don't we?"

"I believe so, sir. I'll make a note to have the building manager check to make sure it's enough space and reevaluate the lease they have here."

Christian just nodded. It truthfully did make good business sense to just move the company to GEH as long as they could provide the appropriate amount of space. It would cut down on time and costs that would be required to bring this place up to standard. And they'd be able to work more closely with other sects of GEH that were going to utilizing their technology. And yet, those weren't the thoughts that were in Christian's head when he thought about moving GHI to GEH.

His mind was focused on how he would be much more likely to run into Ana if they worked under the same roof. It would give him ample time and opportunity to keep trying to chip away at the shield she had up. He'd gotten her to open up a little when they'd discussed Tess. He could do it again.

But then again, he needed to find a way to talk to her when there was no risk of Kennedy popping up. That seemed to shut her down each time he was getting a glimpse past her self-containing walls. He needed to just talk to her a little, spend a little time with her and see if he could figure out what it was that had him so intrigued by her. And, truthfully, he wanted to push her to be equally intrigued by him. He needed to woo her to get her to open up, then maybe he would feel more comfortable asking her to actually go out with him. Because as he saw it now, if he asked, she'd turn him down flat before the words could even finish leaving his mouth. It had been awhile since he'd 'courted' a woman, really tried with one. Normally with smile and a nod he had who he wanted in his bed. But, as divinely attractive as she was, he was interested in actually getting to know her. And the opportunity he had to meet a woman who did that to him was so rare, that he wasn't giving up that fight. Come hell or high water, he was going to find a way into the good graces of Miss Anastasia Steele.

A/N : Before anyone asks, I'm almost done with the next chapter of Guilty Conscious. But I'm a few chapters ahead on this story, so I wanted to post another here.