A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! Here's the next chapter for you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 11: The Visitor

Sunday

Christian got tied up with GEH stuff for all of Sunday, forcing him to stay inside his makeshift office at the rental home all day. Over a hundred emails had piled up in his inbox over the weekend, and it took him the entire morning just to sort through them all before he had to teleconference Ros and a few other execs on an update for their new Japanese shipyard. It was all tedious and mind-numbing work, but there was one thing that helped get him through this arduous day.

Christian was busy writing up an email to Ros when his cell phone buzzed with an incoming text message. He grinned to himself as he turned his attention to his phone, knowing it was Ana - the two of them had been texting back and forth since Saturday, and Christian doubted he had ever felt happier to be texting a girl.

The two of them had kissed yesterday, and although Christian wasn't able to spend any time with her today, just the thought of her made him feel as if his entire world had stopped in its tracks. He couldn't deny that he had become completely enraptured by Ana Steele, and he would be content to spend every waking minute with her, whether it was kissing her in the rain or just having a conversation with her via text. Unfortunately, the latter was the only method they were able to have today since he was so swamped with work.

A: Hey, how's work going?

C: Boring :( I'd rather spend the day with you and Ted again

A: I think Ted would agree - he's been pouting all day. I think he misses you lol

C: Tell him I miss him too… and his mother of course ;)

A: Such a sweet talker Mr. Grey ;)

Christian smiled at their little text exchange. It had been like this all day - sweet, innocent texts that were mildly flirtatious, but didn't cross that line into "relationship" intimacy. Honestly, Christian didn't know where he and Ana stood with one another, or if she even wanted a relationship with him, but the fact that she was texting him like this and wasn't completely scared off yet was a good sign.

Christian didn't yet know what he wanted with Ana, but he knew he didn't want a BDSM relationship with her. While he seriously doubted she would be okay with being bound and whipped like a submissive, at the same time Christian knew that being a submissive just wasn't in her nature. That was one of the reasons why he liked her so much - she was incredibly strong and intelligent and independent, and yet her heart was so open and loving toward the people she cared about. She was so beautiful inside and out, and Christian knew he would never, ever want to stop her from being herself.

And if the way into her heart was to take things slow, then that's what he'll do. He was excited to try something with a woman he'd never done before.

Just as he was contemplating what to text to Ana next, his phone began to ring with an incoming call - it was Elliot, and Christian quickly answered:

"Hello?"

"Hey bro - how're things in the mountain town?" Elliot asked jokingly.

"Pretty good, actually," Christian said, smiling slightly. "You back from Chicago yet?"

"Flight just got in, so I'm going to be heading home right now," Elliot said, and Christian could hear the faint sounds of SeaTac Airport in the background. "It's been a really tiring trip, so I actually think I'm going to take the day off on Monday to rest up a little bit. I can head down to Easton on Tuesday to meet up with you at the construction site if you want."

"Sure," Christian agreed. "I know how exhausting long business trips can be - take all the time you need to rest up."

There was a brief pause on the other line. "Jeez dude, is the mountain air doing something to your brain? When have you ever been this nice to me?"

Christian smiled, knowing the true reason for his good mood. "You're complaining about me being nice?"

"No, I'll take a nice Christian. It's just weird to hear, that's all."

"Maybe it is the mountain air - I've been having a pretty good time here in Easton, and the people here are really nice. A few of the guys here in town actually invited me to have a beer with them at the local bar. I think you'd like some of them."

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?"

Christian laughed. "I'm still here, I promise. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Sure - you can give me an update on the construction and fill me in on whatever's making you so damn happy."

"Will do. Bye Elliot."

"Bye Christian."

Christian hung up the phone, still smiling to himself as he went back to texting Ana, his work sitting forgotten on his computer.

Monday morning

Christian and Taylor arrived at the jobsite around nine o'clock Monday morning, and Andy and the rest of the crew were already starting work for the day. Christian immediately began scanning the area before seeing Ana standing about fifty yards away looking over some blueprints with another construction worker. She wore her usual skinny jeans and simple gray t-shirt, her chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Christian's heart hammered as he walked over to them.

"…The crane should be brought over to the west end," Ana was saying to the construction worker, pointing to the far end of the jobsite. "You'll have easier access to install the roof."

"But coming in from the north end might be better to block the sun since that angle won't impair vision," the guy argued back.

"In case you haven't noticed, the mountains over there are pretty tall," Ana said, an amused smile on her face as she pointed to the Cascade Mountains to the east. "Trust me, the sun isn't going to be bothering us until at least eleven-thirty."

The construction worker laughed. "I suppose you're right."

The guy soon walked away with his blueprints, and Christian finally made his presence known.

"Doing all the managing without me, huh Ana?"

Ana turned and saw Christian standing there. She smiled at him, and Christian was pleased to see a cute blush coat her cheeks. "Guilty."

"Remind me again never to leave you here by yourself at the construction site," Christian teased.

"Excuse me, Mr. Grey, but you're not the one who has experience working with tools and tooling equipment," Ana countered, crossing her arms and smirking at him. "Just because you own a fancy business in the city doesn't mean you know everything."

"Oh, and knowing what a hammer can do is the same as managing a crew of construction workers?" Christian asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Ana let out an incredulous scoff.

"You're pretty snarky this morning, Mr. Grey," she shot back at him. "Rough weekend?"

"Actually, no - on Saturday I got to kiss a beautiful young woman who I've been thinking about since the day I met her. Sunday was pretty dull by comparison."

Ana blushed once again, though she smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," Christian smiled, taking a step closer to her. He desperately wanted to touch her in some way, but knew that there were too many people around them. "I think I'd like to kiss her again sometime soon, actually."

Ana smiled up at him. "I think she'd like that."

The way she was looking at him right now, Christian knew he could just lean forward and kiss her right here in the middle of the jobsite. He might have too, but before he could act upon it, the sound of a car accelerating down the highway nearby interrupted the moment.

Christian and Ana both turned toward the sound, and they saw a lone car speeding down the road toward them. From his distance, Christian couldn't really make out what kind of car it was, but as it drove closer, it began to slow down, and Christian suddenly recognized it:

A red Audi A3.

Oh no… Christian immediately paled when he realized who was driving the car. How the hell did she find this place? He and Ana watched it slow to a stop on the side of the road near his SUV, and the driver opened the door before stepping out.

Leila looked more dressed down than Christian had ever seen her, wearing a pair of white skinny jeans, a blazer, and her auburn hair in relaxed curls around her shoulders. Her face was makeup-free as she gazed around the area, her eyes soon landing on Christian, and she smiled. It was a wide happy smile, hopeful almost, as if they were lovers reuniting after months apart.

Christian felt sick to his stomach when he saw her, and on instinct he turned to Ana, who was gazing curiously at Leila. "Ana, I'm so sorry about this," he said earnestly

"About what?" she asked him, a frown on her face.

Christian didn't answer her as he turned and walked swiftly toward Leila, determined to get her to leave before she caused any problems.

"Leila, what the hell are you doing here?" Christian asked, his jaw tense as he glared at her. "You need to go."

"I came to see you," Leila said, still gazing up at him with that wide, loving smile on her face. "I finally figured it out… you don't have to run away from me anymore, Sir. Everything will be alright. We can be together!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Christian hissed, grasping her arm and preparing to drag her back to her car.

"What you said to me back at Escala," Leila said insistently, smiling as if she had solved all the problems in the world. "You said that we couldn't continue our arrangement anymore, but I understand now - you were just trying to protect yourself. You only said that because you couldn't admit to yourself that you've developed feelings for me!"

Christian stared at her incredulously. He was sure everyone around them could hear what she was saying, and he had no idea what to do. "What?" he hissed incredulously. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're saying I have feelings for you?"

"You don't have to hide from me anymore, Sir," Leila insisted, her expression full of love as she gazed into his eyes. Christian felt like he was about to throw up. "For a long time I sensed that you were becoming bored with the lifestyle, but I never understood why. Now I know… you didn't want to admit to yourself that you wanted more out of our relationship, and you let me go because you didn't think I felt the same way. But I do - I do feel the same way, Sir! We don't have to hide anymore!"

Leila was still smiling at him, and Christian could only stare at her dumbly - she seriously thought him rejecting her was a declaration of love? This girl was certifiably insane. "Leila, you are completely wrong about this. Let me make myself perfectly clear - I do not want a relationship with you. I ended our arrangement because I didn't want to be with you anymore, and I still don't. I told you that there was somebody else, and that was the truth."

Finally Leila's smile began to falter, looking almost confused. "But… but that doesn't make sense. You were here at this construction site the whole time you were gone, weren't you? How could there be somebody else?"

Christian heard a sound from behind him, and he turned to see Ana walking away toward where her red pickup truck was parked. He felt his heart sink down to his stomach, and without thinking he hurried after her.

"Ana!"

Ana didn't turn around, and Christian ran ahead of her so he blocked her path. "Ana, please. I can explain…"

"You don't have to explain to me, Christian," Ana said in a flat voice, stepping around him to continue on toward her truck. "It's your own life - you can do whatever you want with it."

"Please, Ana she's… we're not together…" he stumbled over his words, trying and failing to make sense of this situation.

"Well, it looks like she didn't get the memo," Ana muttered angrily, finally reaching her truck. Before she could grab the door handle, however, Christian grasped her arm, stopping her.

"Ana, please don't go," he said quietly, pleading with her. "I don't know what Leila's doing here, but just let me get rid of her and then we can talk. Okay? Please?"

Ana looked at him, her expression still unreadable, before she let out a small sigh. "Alright, Christian. Go get rid of her, do whatever you need to do, but I just can't be here right now. We can talk later, but I have to go - I'm sorry."

Before Christian could stop her, she tugged her arm out of his grasp and opened her car door. Christian watched as she got into the driver's seat, started the engine, and drive away toward her house.

Ana

Ana pulled into her driveway, noticing her father and Ted watching TV together through the living room window. Not wanting to go inside just yet, she got out of the truck and walked around the house toward the backyard, where Lake Easton glimmered in the summer sun. She walked right up to the fence near the edge of the lake and gazed out toward the water.

It was stupid at how upset she felt about that girl showing up. Christian's ex, or whoever she was, clearly wasn't over him yet and hoped to rekindle whatever they had together… it made Ana feel sick to her stomach. She couldn't help but notice how pretty Leila was - she was definitely the type of girl Ana could see Christian dating back in Seattle. Maybe that was what made Ana feel so insecure about herself, being reminded that she was just some small town girl with a four-year-old son and not having any dating experience since high school.

Though she and Christian had kissed on Saturday, neither of them had really defined their relationship yet. They weren't dating, but neither of them could deny there was something between them… was all that going to go away now? What was it that she and Christian had together? Ana stood leaning against the fence for a while, staring out into the water while lost in her thoughts…

"I know it was you."

Ana quickly turned around, shocked to see the Leila girl standing in the middle of her backyard. There was smudged mascara underneath her eyes, and no trace of that loving smile she was giving Christian earlier. Instead, her expression was filled with hatred as she glared at Ana.

"What the hell are you doing here? Get off my property!" Ana snapped angrily.

"I loved him, you know," Leila insisted, ignoring her. "I thought he and I were perfect for each other, but then one day out of the blue he tells me he has feelings for someone else and he can't be with me anymore. Can you believe that? What kind of person does that?!"

Her voice had risen in anger, and Ana took a step toward her, preparing to physically remove Leila if she had to. "Get off my property Leila. I mean it."

"Look at you," Leila gestured to Ana, a distasteful expression on her face as she gave her a once over. "I bet you're not even in the lifestyle, are you?"

Ana blinked, confused for a second. "The lifestyle?"

"Yeah. BDSM," Leila explained. "I was Mr. Grey's submissive. He and I had a contract where we would have sessions on the weekend, but apparently he was getting some on the side from you the entire time. Asshole."

Ana felt as if she were going to throw up. "He… contracted you for sex?"

Leila's eyes filled with vitriol. "Yeah, he did. And before me there was another girl, and before her another, and another. There have been dozens of us… but I thought I was actually different to him. I guess we were both fooled."

Leila swiped at her eye, rubbing away her smudged makeup, before turning to leave. "If you see Mr. Grey, tell him I never want to see his stupid fucking face ever again."

With that she stalked away, and Ana could only stare after her.

A/N: Oh boy… next chapter, Christian and Ana have a talk and some decisions are made.

If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review and tell me what you think!