Chapter 23

CPOV

Ana comes out from under my desk and her face is beet red. "Oh, my God. I can't believe we got busted by your brother. How embarrassing!"

She is absolutely adorable, even when she is mortified. "Well, a couple of minutes later and he would have really gotten a show," I smirk at her. I lean down and give her a sweet kiss and fix her hair. She is gathering her purse to head back to SIP.

"I guess we've been outed now, huh?" She asks me.

"Not necessarily, Elliot can keep a secret when it's important enough." He has known about my lifestyle for a couple of years now and has never mentioned a word to anyone. "I'll talk to him tonight. How's that?"

"OK. But you know once Kate and Mia find out our little private bubble will be burst."

"Oh, I am fully aware of how Mia can be. At least now I can touch you in public." I raise my eyebrow at her. That will be really nice. We can go on dates and I can hold her hand. I suppose Ana is the first girl I ever dated. She's the first girl who I would actually want to be seen in public with. I never thought I would be having these thoughts before.

"Well, I better get back to work. Mary has a meeting with a new author." Ana walks towards the door.

"Tonight? I'll call you." I ask, with a little too much pleading in my voice. She smiles at me and nods. "Here, I'll walk you out." I place my hand on the small of her back leading her out of my office and towards the elevator. Once the doors open, I give her a kiss on the cheek. I whisper in her ear, "Laters, baby." I step back and the doors close. When I turn to walk back to my office I catch Andrea and Olivia gawking at me. Their mouths are hanging open and they both appear to have been struck dumb. I nonchalantly walk past the desk but give them a look to let them know this is something that is not to be discussed with anyone at any time. When you are my Personal Assistant, it comes with the territory that you do not speak about what you may witness in addition to signing a rather considerable NDA.

I walk back to my office and call my brother. "Hey, bro. Finished with your lunch date already?" Immediately, I regret making this call.

"Listen, about that. Can I trust you'll keep this to yourself?"

"Of course, you know I'll keep it on the LD. So, you and Ana, you are a thing?"

"Yes, I guess. We haven't really defined what we are." I am uncomfortable talking about this but I feel as if I should be honest with Elliot if I am expecting him to keep a secret from everyone.

"You seem happy. You know, I was suspicious Saturday. So, I did see you grab Ana's ass in the kitchen then?" Shit. I didn't realize he saw that.

"Yeah, you did. I thought I was quick enough."

"And you were in Ana's room which is why your bedroom was empty?"

"Jesus Christ, Elliot. Are you having my every move tracked?" How does he know all this?

"No. But you were acting out of character. You were actually smiling and at one point, I think you may have laughed. But really, how long has this been going on between the two of you?"

"Since the weekend of your wedding. Anything else you need to know?"

"So, did you two bang yet?"

"Fuck, Elliot! Have some couth, will you?" Who even says bang anymore?

"I take that as a yes. Seriously, she isn't one of your submissives, is she? Kate would chop your balls off."

"No, she's not a submissive. Ana is… different." I don't know how I would describe her but I don't want to delve into that with my brother, that's for sure.

"Do you still have a … submissive?" I get where he is going with this.

"No. Ana is the only woman I am in a relationship with."

"I think you should double date with Kate and me. Kate would be elated. And, when she finds out you swiped Ana's V-card..."

"Elliot, must you be so vulgar?"

"Fine, what about played hide the bishop, buzzed the brillo, dipped your wick, churned her butter, threaded the needle, fed the kitty, introduced Charley, roasted the broomstick, or showed her your O face?"

"OK. This conversation is over." I can hear Elliot laughing hysterically on the other end.

"Alright, think about that double date."

"Bye Elliot." I hang up. Maybe it was a mistake to trust my brother with this. He acts more like a 13-year-old boy than a 30-year-old married man.

I've been thinking about what Elliot said in regard to a double date and I think it may be a good idea. I made reservations for four at Circadia on Saturday night. I'm wearing black jeans, a gray button-up shirt, and a black jacket.

I get to Ana's building and make my way up to her apartment. When she opens the door, I am taken aback. She is striking. She's wearing a black Talbot Runhof 3/4-sleeve ruched satin dress which emphasizes her gorgeous body. Her black Badgley Mischka Rouge heels make her legs look a mile long. "Anastasia, you are lovely." She looks down and blushes.

"Thank you, it's Kate's. You look good too." Her blue eyes sparkle when she gives me a bashful smile.

I stare into her eyes as I pick up her hand and kiss it. "Shall we go?" She nods.

I open the passenger door allowing Ana to get in the car. Then I walk around the car and get into my side. It's only about a 5-minute drive so we are there in no time. We park my car with the valet and are led to the table. Kate and Elliot have not yet arrived so it's just us. While we wait I order us a bottle of the 2014 Edmond Vatan Clos la Néore Sancerre and water.

Finally, Elliot and Kate arrive. Ana pops up and gives Kate a hug. "Oh, my God! Ana, that dress was made for you. You should keep it!"

"Kate, I love your dress. It's totally you!" Ana holds Kate at arm's length to get a good look at her. Kate is wearing a short, one-shoulder zebra mixed print dress.

"Thank you! It's Marc Jacobs. Isn't it fun? I love the shoes with it too." They both look down at Kate's feet. "They are Giuseppe Zanotti Cam Zaffiro." Eventually, they join Elliot and me in the booth.

While we wait for our food, the inquisition we were expecting begins with Kate in the lead. "So, when did you guys first get together?" Kate raises her eyebrow as she asks.

I squeeze Ana's hand. Ana tucks some hair behind her ear. "We just got to talking after your reception and realized we have a lot in common." Her cheeks grow pink. At that moment, the waiter brings our food and I can see Ana relax with relief.

Luckily, as we eat our meal, the conversation moves from our relationship to Kate and Elliot's honeymoon. I can tell Ana dislikes having the focus on her, especially about our relationship. After a while, Kate and Ana share a chocolate tart before we end our double date.

"Well, you kids. We should get going. You two behave yourselves." Elliot teases us. Kate and Ana hug goodbye and we head out the restaurant to get our cars.

We step out the doors and there are paparazzi snapping pictures of us as we wait for the valet. I pull Ana close to me to somewhat protect her. None of us say a word to the paps but they still take a ton of pictures. After what seems like forever, the valet pulls up in my R8. I open the passenger door and make sure Ana gets in safely. I get in the car and the paps take even more pictures as we pull away.

"What was that about?" Ana asks me.

"It must be a slow news night that they are interested in what the Grey brothers are currently doing," I tell her. I've been in the tabloids only a couple of times but they usually just ignore me. The business journals are the only ones who seem to care.