Chapter 30

? PoV

He's all over the news now. All the time. I know he hates that. What is this crazy woman doing to him? Getting him to finance the opening of a new restaurant? Selling his penthouse apartment? He loves Escala. But he looks happy. She makes him happy. Why couldn't I do that? What does she have that I don't? It's time to pay Miss Steele a little visit and find out what's going on.

"Steele Designs, Anita speaking. How may I help you?"

"Yes, hello. I'm calling to hopefully make an appointment with Anastasia Steele. I'm a prospective new client."

"Oh excellent, and would this be a new design or a remodel?" the overly friendly receptionist asks.

"Um, remodel," I reply… I'm not looking to remodel anything. I don't even have my own place.

"And is it a business or a residence?" she continues. Jeez, what is with the twenty questions?

"Residence," I answer.

"Great, and your name please?"

"Lucy West," I state, using the pseudonym I created for this very purpose. I even have official documents with that name on them.

"Okay, and when can you come in? Miss Steele had a cancellation this morning at nine am. Otherwise, I'll have to put you out at least three weeks." I check my watch, just after seven. I can make that. No time like the present to get shit done.

Jeez. Apparently she's very popular. "Um, today at nine a.m. will do. Thank you."

"Perfect, please bring along blueprints of your current residence, photos of the space you're planning to remodel and any ideas you've had thus far regarding the redesign." Crap. I don't have any of that.

"Um, yes of course, I'll gather those things now." I hang up the phone and bolt down the stairs to get ready. Well, as ready as I can; I don't have much these days, no thanks to him…

Ana PoV

I stretched my body, groaning at the aches and pains I felt all over the place. Particularly down there. I'd been sore before with Christian, but never like this. He really gave me everything he had to give last night. I'd need at least a day to recover but I doubted Christian would be able to keep his hands off of me for that long. I'd try to satisfy him with fellatio, but that always led to his need to be inside me. I was never down there for more than a few minutes most of the time before he was pulling me off my knees, dragging me up his body and settling himself inside me. I could count on one hand how many times I'd actually made him come with only my mouth. He always wanted more.

Half the time he'd pull me to my feet by my hair or pull out of my mouth and grab my shoulders to toss me on the bed. Rarely, he'd simply beg me to let him be inside me. I never denied him of course, but still it was nice once in a while to feel the power I had with just my mouth.

As I tested all my limbs, I could hear Christian stirring next to me. He reached over and tried to pull me into his embrace. Oh no. Not today, Mister. I wriggled my way out of his arms and kept him at bay.

"No more random days off, Christian," I told him. "Apparently unlike you, I have a company to run. And a restaurant." With that, my cell phone pinged and I turned, leaning over Christian to find out whom texted me. Christian tried to wrap me up again, but I pinned one of his arms down with my own. "Nice try buster, but no. Not gonna happen." I grabbed my phone, unlocking once I saw I had a new message from Anita. She never texted me unless it was something urgent or important, usually just left a voicemail.

Sorry for the late notice, a 9am appointment was scheduled with a new client, Lucy West. - Anita

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. I slid out of bed and scurried into the shower. I even locked the bathroom door as I didn't have time for his sexual antics that morning. The text had come in just before eight, and it was now just after that hour. I had to rush to get to work before nine.

I heard him jiggle the handle a few times. And then the knocking began. "Ana?" he called out. "Why is the door locked?"

"So you don't barge in here and have your way with me. I'm trying to shower." I could feel his crestfallen expression through the door.

"But… why?" he asked as if I'd just told him his favorite cat just died, which would be quite a feat considering he hadn't a cat. No pets for that matter, and neither did I. Hmm, we might need to remedy that, I thought. A puppy. A puppy would be wonderful. Plus, if I were to really turn over the reins of Steele Designs to my siblings and merge with Grey Construction, I would have a lot more time to spend with a puppy.

"Not this morning, Grey," I replied, realizing I hadn't answered his question. "You can have me all you want this evening after we've both worked. But today, I have just enough time to get ready, have a quick breakfast and get to the office for my nine o'clock appointment."

"But you told me your nine a.m. was canceled," he complained.

"Yes, it was, and then Anita filled it. You can see the message on my phone. I'm sorry Christian, but it's not happening this morning." I didn't think he'd actually look at my phone to ensure I was telling the truth. I'd not lied to him yet, and I wasn't about to start. I just hoped he knew that.

"Fine," he relented. I knew I was going to hear it later, but I just didn't have the time for him in the morning.

Once I was showered and dressed, Christian was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't changed yet, so he must have had a later morning than I did. Lucky bastard. As I entered the kitchen, Mrs. Jones had a light breakfast of granola with yogurt and a glass of juice ready for me. She kind of became a staple at my house since Christian moved in. Even though she and Taylor were living at Escala, she managed to be here rather often. It made no sense for her to be paid to clean an already impeccable penthouse all the time, so she inserted herself into my kitchen. At first, I was worried that she and Maria would be at odds, but Mrs. Jones kept to the kitchen and let Maria be the master of the rest of the house.

The granola, yogurt and juice were all in to-go containers, so I could eat on my way to the office. "You're a goddess, Gail. Thank you," I said as I grabbed up the items and dashed out the door, kissing Christian lightly on my way. He'd been at the breakfast bar sulking over a pile of scrambled eggs, still in his pajamas. Yep later morning than me, as I had presumed.

Reynolds was already in the car and waiting for me. Anita likely had called or texted him as well. I downed my granola and yogurt in record time and chugged the juice without spilling even one drop on my suit. I'd chosen a simple dark gray pinstripe pantsuit with a silver camisole underneath. Black suede pumps and a black rose brooch finished my ensemble. Never one for much make up, I simply brushed on some mascara, and left it at that, while twisting my long locks into a tight bun.

I ran into the building, not even waiting for Reynolds to come to a complete stop, hurried to the elevator bank, punched in my private code that sent me right to the top floor without stopping, and strolled into my office, no one the wiser. During the few seconds it took to get to my floor, I caught my breath smoothed down any fly-aways in my hair and checked my face in the mirror. Perfect. Not bad for having less than half an hour to get ready.

Anita followed in after me, apologizing profusely for the late notice. "It's quite alright, Anita. I know you gave me as much notice as possible." Glancing at the clock, I saw I still had five minutes before Ms. West was to arrive. I calmed myself down, ordered a pot of coffee and some pastries to offer my prospective client, and took a deep breath, centering myself, and readying myself for the day ahead.

Right at nine a.m., Anita rang through that Ms. West had arrived. "Please show her in," I told her. Anita opened the door, and in walked a mirror image of myself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I had a twin. Her hair was the same shade as mine, only dull and drab, as if she hadn't seen the sun or a good stylist in some time. Bluish gray eyes that could once have been bright like my own, but the fire was out of them. Something horrible happened to this woman. She was dressed in jeans that looked like they hadn't been washed in a few weeks, and a baggy t-shirt that may or may not have had vomit on it. I couldn't tell for sure as I stopped breathing the moment she walked in, having seen Anita holding her nose as she closed the door.

"It's lovely to finally meet you, Ms. Steele," she said, a smug smirk on her face. I knew immediately that this woman had no interest in a remodel. She was here for me. Or rather, here for Christian. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this frail, broken woman before me was one of Christian's ex-subs.

"Likewise, Ms. West. What can I do for you?" I asked. As I spoke, I sent an instant message to Anita telling her to call Christian and get him here as soon as possible, with security. The woman seemed harmless enough, but I didn't want to take any chances. She wasn't carrying anything, not even a purse, let alone blueprints or other remodel documents that I know Anita would have requested. "Can I offer you a beverage? Coffee, tea, water? Or how about a pastry? Seattle's finest," I offered. She eyed the plate of Danishes and selected a raspberry filled one.

"Master never let me eat such things," she said quietly. Master? Is that what she called him? She nibbled along the edge of the pastry.

"By 'Master,' you mean Christian, don't you?" I guessed.

"I'm not supposed to talk about him," she said, realizing she'd said too much. "He made me sign an NDA." I wonder if she knew she had already broken the NDA simply by telling me she'd signed one. "What makes you different?" she asked.

"I don't know what you mean," I replied, which wasn't entirely true. I knew exactly how I was different. I wasn't submissive.

"Master's world now revolves around you," she stated. "He helped you open your restaurant; he moved out of his beloved penthouse to live with you, he's been seen publicly with you. You're different. Yet you and I look so much alike. He… he lets you touch him."

"Well, I think we both know he has a very specific type," I said with a smirk. She gave a knowing smile in return. I wondered briefly if she knew the true reason why Christian liked petite and pale brunettes. Lucy could be pretty if she cared a little. Something happened to make her stop taking care of herself, and she was in bad need of a shower. "But I'm not his submissive, Lucy. I haven't a submissive bone in my body. He and I are more alike than you might realize."

"You can touch him," she repeated as if she hadn't even heard me. "I saw pictures on the internet of you two at the opening of Mammaw's. Your hand was on his chest. Master never lets us touch him, especially not his chest."

"Christian isn't my Dom, Lucy," I explained. "I'm not his sub. We're together. We're in a relationship. He's my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" she asked, trying out the word as if it were from a foreign language.

"Seems weird doesn't it?" I replied, laughing. She joined in laughter with me and all too soon, her laughter took on almost a maniacal quality. Where in the hell was security? Just when she started to go completely bonkers with laughter, the door opened. "Ah, here he is now."

Christian PoV

I couldn't believe Ana had denied me in the morning. She had never done that before. Granted, we wore each other out the prior day, and with good reason. Was she sore? In pain? If so, she needed to tell me. I would take care of her. Shutting me out and giving me some bull-shit excuse about having a meeting at nine o'clock was only going to make me mad.

I had yet to lose my temper with Ana, she hadn't fully seen how angry I could really get, and I wanted to delay that for as long as possible. Sure, she told me she loved me, and I believed her and loved her with all my heart, but some things are just unforgivable, and my nasty temper could be one of them.

She kissed me lightly goodbye, and though it was just a chaste kiss, I could still feel all the love she had for me. She loved me more than anything, for reasons I would likely never understand. Though I loved her more than my own life, so perhaps she loved me as much. Maybe I was never meant to understand why she felt the way she did. Maybe I just need to trust and believe in that love. Love never dies, they say.

Taylor drove me to the office and briefed me on the goings on from the day before on the way. Ros was upset that I randomly called in sick, but she made do without me. Nothing catastrophic happened, and truthfully, I could have stayed home another day if I really wanted. Not without Ana though. She and I were both addicted to our jobs. Even though we could both retire quite easily right at that moment, neither of us would be of any use without our jobs to go to.

Sure, we'd have each other, and that would be wonderful for a while. Eventually, I'd resent my decision to retire, and she hers. We needed to work, thrived on it. As appealing an idea it is to spend the rest of my life in bed with my Anastasia, it was not a reality that I would truly ever be able to handle.

"Sir," Taylor called out, pulling me from my thoughts. "I have Anita Baum, Ms. Steele's PA on the phone. She's asked that we come to her office stat, with security."

"What? Why?" I waited a moment while he asked her the question.

"She's not sure; she just told me that Ms. Steele sent her an instant message, requesting your presence and that of security. And that Ms. Steele has a new client in her office, by the name of Lucy West."

Lucy West, Lucy West… I ran the name through my head over and over trying to figure out whom in the hell this individual was and why she triggered that response from my angel. Ana was so capable of taking care of herself, as I'd learned first-hand, so why did she need me now and with security?!

Taylor couldn't drive fast enough. While he was driving at least twice the posted speed limit, it wasn't fast enough. Superman couldn't get me there fast enough. I raced out of the car before Taylor stopped it, ran to the elevator, cursing myself that I didn't know Ana's private code. I couldn't be held responsible for the lives of anyone that dared call for the elevator while I was on it.

The elevator did stop once, but only for several security guards to jump on. I could hardly berate them for delaying me, when we all had a common goal. "Mr. Grey," Reynolds greeted, nodding once at me. I nodded back, knowing the need for pleasantries was out the window the moment that Ana called for help.

We rode the rest of the way up in silence. As soon as the door pinged, I was poised and ready to spring through. Once in the waiting area, Anita stood up and walked over to brief us on any updates.

"The client's name is Lucy West," Anita repeated. "I just made the appointment this morning, she seemed adamant about meeting Ana and extremely excited that we had a cancellation today. I advised her, like all our new clients to bring blueprints and any remodeling paperwork she has. She came here with nothing but the clothes on her back. Then, not a minute after she entered the room, Ana messaged me asking for you, Mr. Grey, and for Security." With that we heard the ping of the instant messenger again.

"She says to let only Christian in for now," Anita relayed.

I took a deep breath and headed for the door. Opening it as silently as I could, I paused once it was open, taking in the sight before me.

There was Ana, sitting at her desk, while another woman was sitting in one of the chairs. "Ah, here he is now," she said, smiling brightly at me. The woman turned in her seat, and froze me in my tracks.

"Leila?"

The laughter ceased immediately and Leila took on the contrite submissive expression, focusing on my shoes rather than on my face.

"Ah, so you know each other. I figured as much," Ana said. "Help!" she mouthed, as Leila's face was turned away. I turned back and motioned for the security guards to come in. Taylor and Reynolds took Leila out of Ana's office by the arms and brought her to a conference room where I was going to have more than a few words with her. After having a few with Ana.

"What the hell is going on? You said your client's name was Lucy West."

"That's the name she gave Anita," Ana defended. "I didn't know her name was apparently Leila until you blurted it out just a minute ago. I've worked it out that she's one of your ex-subs. She wants to know why I'm different. When I look 'the same' as her, but get to touch you and be seen with you, and all the things that are part of our relationship. Tell me Christian; is she in love with you?"

"I'd like to say no," I replied. "But she wanted more."

"More what?"

"I ended our contract because she wanted a relationship with me. She wanted what you and I have, or some modicum of that. Before you all I ever wanted from a woman was sex and total control. I got that out of these women. I'd dote upon them gifts and cars and things and in return they would allow me to have my way with them six ways to Sunday in my playroom. They were all contracts. Ana, we've talked about this. You said you understood."

"I did… I mean I do. I just never thought I'd be bombarded by one of them in my own office. Kind of caught me off guard, dearie."

"Sir, you need to come into the conference room," Taylor said, popping the door open. "Ms. Baum, please call an ambulance."

"An ambulance?" I asked.

"She found a letter opener," Taylor explained. "She just slit her wrists."

"Oh my God!" Ana and I said in unison. We both rushed out of her office and across the foyer into the conference room. Sure enough, Leila was slumped in one of the chairs, covered in her own blood and surrounded by a growing puddle of it. Two security guards were trying to hold her veins closed, but she'd done it the right way. Meaning, she'd cut along her artery, rather than across it. She was bleeding out before our very eyes.

Yes, it's another Cliffie. But worry not... the next chapter will be uploaded shortly. Thank you for reading and reviewing!