I hope you guys like the new chapter
Anastasia's POV:
Christian has been wonderful with helping me get ready for my new business.
From: Anastasia Steele
Subject: Last days
Date: January 24, 2014
To: Christian Grey
I am giving them my two weeks' notice today. I'm sad that I'm leaving. I love this company, but am looking forward to new things.
Anastasia Steele, Editor
Grey Publishing.
I hit send and wait for his reply. I am going over a manuscript when I get a response.
From: Christian Grey
Subject: What do you mean?
Date: January 24, 2014
To: Anastasia Steele
It is going to be YOUR company. You aren't leaving them. I know it's a big change, but you were meant to be more than an editor. I have total faith in you.
Christian Grey
CEO, Grey Enterprise Holdings Inc.
I smile and check the time and there are five minutes until me meeting with Elizabeth. I head to her office and wait outside nervously. Each minute feels like an eternity. There was a time I didn't even think I'd get to be an assistant editor and now I am editor and am going to leave to run the company. Elizabeth smiles brightly as she opens the door.
"Come in, Anastasia." She has never gotten into the habit of calling me Ana. I step in and take a seat across from Elizabeth.
"Why did you want to speak with me today?"
"I am sadly here to give you my two weeks' notice. I love it here, but I am looking into a new line of work."
"It's a shame you have to go."
"I know. I won't be far though." I don't want to give too much away because Christian hasn't told anyone yet.
"That's good. I wish you the best Anastasia."
"Thank you." With that I get up and head back to my office and send an e-mail to Christian.
From: Anastasia Steele
Subject: Two weeks
Date: January 24, 2014
To: Christian Grey
It's official. I just talked to Elizabeth Morgan. February 7th is my last day.
Anastasia Steel, Editor
Grey Publishing
I go grab some lunch at bury myself in manuscripts. Starting Monday, I am going to have to have other editors take over some of my clients. I can't start anything new I just have to get everything prepared. Not only am I abandoning my job, I am abandoning those authors. Charlie calls my office and says there is a man names James Nelson here to see me. I tell her to let him up and wait. I look through all my notes and appointments trying to figure out who he is, but nothing. I have an almost perfect memory so I would remember the name. I start to freak out. Calm down. He must be an author. I settle down and my door opens. I instantly know who it is. He isn't James Nelson he's Stephen Morton. I stand up and yell for Sawyer.
"How the fuck did you get past security." I shout and Sawyer runs in. "Sawyer, care to explain this to me?"
"Anastasia, I don't know how he got it, but I am more than happy to throw his ass out." Stephen looks at Sawyer in defeat.
"I'm not here to hurt you. I want to apologize." That is the last thing I expected from him. I glare at him but there is something in his eyes.
"Sawyer, let him go." They both look at me in surprise.
"I have my orders."
"I don't give a fuck, Luke! You can stay here, but I want to hear what he has to say." He lets go and I gesture to one of the chairs at my desk at Stephen for him to sit on. I walk around the table and fix my skirt before I sit down. Goosebumps cover my skin as I stare at the man who made my life a living hell.
"We don't have long, security has most likely called my fiancé who is going to come barging in here in about ten minutes at most." I glare at Luke who is standing in the corner keeping his eyes on Stephen.
"I understand, Anastasia. Is it alright if I call you that?"
"Well it is my name." I spit back.
"I know nothing I say can change the things I did, but I want you to know I am truly sorry. I am an alcoholic and it's not an excuse. I almost killed you and to this day I still have nightmares about what happened. The guilt I have for what I did to you consumes me. I am doing am on the ninth step of Alcoholics Anonymous: 'Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.' I have made you last on the people I have done wrong to because not looking after you is my biggest regret. Not only did I not take care of you, I put you in harm's way." I single tear falls down my face.
"Stephen, I think what you're doing is truly great. What made you do this?"
"My daughter, Sofia Anastasia Morton—she looks just like you. Her mother killed herself after she was born and I'm all she has. I swore to myself and god that I will take care of her no matter what." He pulls out his wallet and shows me the pictures of her. He's right, she does look a lot like me. She's about four and has big blue eyes and dark brown hair. Among the pictures I see something shocking and it's a picture of me. I pull out the picture and there is something written on the back.
My biggest regret. Look at this and remember what you are capable of when you drink. You have no chance at forgiveness with her, but remember Sofia. She needs you.
Always in my heart.
My hand flies over my mouth and I begin to sob. This has made me realize that even this man cares about me.
"Stephen, I want to thank you. I came to terms with what happened years ago, but an apology always helps. Your daughter is beautiful, but if you hurt a hair on her head I will come after you. You are a completely different person. You changed for the better." I put the picture back in his wallet and hand it back to him. "Let be this a lesson that it is never too late to change and make amends." I mean what I am saying. I forgive him. This is the closure I needed to move on with my life. He looks up at me with a beautiful smile. Since I've known him I have never seen him smile and it is a beautiful sight to see.
"Thank you, Anastasia."
"I don't know who should be thanking who." I rip a piece of paper out of my notebook and write.
Remember your worst days sober are better than your best days in relapse.
Call or E-mail me if you ever need help.
You have a little girl now and she thinks you can walk on water, don't fail her.
Anastasia Rose Steele.
I hand it back over to him and watch as a single tear falls down his cheek as he reads it. "It's a beautiful quote."
"I know, it helps me. I'm not an alcoholic, but I have self harm issues." I admit.
"I know, I read your book Anastasia. You are destined for greatness. I saw it in you even you were young." I look at him and smile. We both jump when the door flies open and Christian runs through the door.
"Morton, you have five seconds to get out of here." He shouts and I glare at him.
"Christian, no." He looks at me horrified.
"What? Why?"
"He's not here to hurt me he's here to make amends. I am a grown woman, Christian, and you can't control me every second of the day. Step outside my office and wait for me to finish with Stephen." He glares at me and I glare back. I can feel the anger radiating off of him. Too fucking bad for him. This is my life and I can do what I wish. He gives in and leaves closing the door behind him. I have no doubt he's standing with his ear pressed to the door.
"I am sorry about that. He's extremely protective."
"Well after everything that's happened over the last little bit, I don't blame him."
"I know."
"Congratulations by the way. It's hard not to keep track of you when you are plastered on every newspaper and magazine in the country." He says jokingly.
"I know it can be very frustrating."
"I could only imagine. I have to go back to my hotel and pack up, but thank you for seeing me." He stands up and I grab a business card and hand it to him.
"If you ever need my help." He extends his hand for me to shake I walk around my desk and pull him into a hug and I can hear his muffled cries.
"I forgive you." I say before opening the door to see a fuming Christian. "I hope you have a safe flight."
"Thank you Anastasia. For everything." He waves goodbye and I don't say anything to Christian until he is safely in the elevator.
"Christian, my office now." He walks in like he owns the place and I sit at my desk.
"I would like to know what the fuck just happened" He cries and I stare.
"I will not talk to you until you calm down Christian." Sawyer slips outside and Christian paces, swearing, and running his hands through his unruly copper hair. Once he is calmer, he takes a seat and lets out a deep sigh.
"What was this about, Anastasia." He says calmly.
"He is a recovering alcoholic and he came here to make amends with me. Christian, you can't always assume the worst in people. He has a daughter and she changed his life around. He coming here was much needed closure for the both of us. I don't think anyone is truly bad, but people are capable of doing bad things. You can't just barge into my office and try and control me, Christian."
"I was worried, Anastasia, sue me. After what he did to you. Ugh. How could you even let him talk to you? He doesn't deserve redemption."
"You don't think people deserve second chances."
"I do, but not him."
"Christian, he is no exception."
"I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Christian, I am a big girl I can take care of myself for fuck's sake." Now I'm angry. I am not a weak person and I am not unable to take care of myself.
"You're mad." He looks up at me looking like a lost puppy.
"Yes I am, Christian. You need to understand where I am coming from. I am not a broken girl. I am a strong woman who can look after herself. I refuse to let someone control my life and I refuse to live in fear."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
"You need to trust me, Christian."
"I trust you. I don't trust anyone else."
"I think you should talk to Flynn about that."
"Noted." He says with a smirk. We're back.
"I love you, but I need to get to work."
"Same. I left in the middle of a meeting." I look at him in shock. Oh fifty you're batshit.
He walks around to my side of the desk and kisses me hard. I can feel all his fears and worries about me melt away in out kiss.
"I'll see you tonight." He says before leaving and I blow him a kiss. That was an interesting turn of events. It's hard to concentrate on work when I have someone coming into my office to find out if I am okay. At the end of the day Christian meets me outside and greets me with a kiss, but something is wrong I can feel it.
"Christian, what's wrong?"
"I got a letter when I returned to my office."
"What did it say?"
"That if I didn't stay away from you, I'd get hurt."
"Was it Jack or Elena?" I ask horrified. Who would threaten Christian?
"No, but we suspect it was a woman."
"What? Why?"
"The hand writing is far too neat to be a man's and the way it's written."
"Ahh I see. Do you have any idea who it could be?"
"None."
"Well your fear about me might have gone away, but I sure as hell am worried about you."
"I know, Anastasia, but no one is going to take me away from you."
"Why would someone want to hurt you?"
"A lot of people probably want to hurt me, but this person wants you, which means neither of us is particularly safe." Oh shit. My panic rises and I have difficulty breathing. Not again. After what happened with Elena I can't do this again. Christian tries to calm me down, but every attempt is useless. I can't live without Christian. He might be fifty shades of crazy, but I love all his shades. My head gets fuzzy and everything starts to spin. The last thing I hear before everything goes black is "Call my mother."
When I come to Christian, he's pacing and Grace is trying to calm him down. "Fifty, stop it." I say just above a whisper. What the fuck happened? Christian and Grace rush to my side and start asking me questions.
"Maybe the doctor should ask me the questions." Christian seems relieved that I have some of my personality back.
"How are you feeling dear?"
"Tired."
"That's understandable. You had a panic attack and passed out."
"I remember."
"Can you tell me what was going on before this happened?" Christian must have left the letter out of his explanation.
"Christian got a threatening letter." She glares at him and he glares at me. I stick my tongue out and his eyes turn to a dark grey.
"Christian, why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you."
"Well, I'm your mother, Christian. You need to tell me these things. Also, don't look at Ana that way, she did the right thing. Have you called the cops?"
"No I haven't, Taylor and Welch are on it."
"That's not good enough when it comes to your safety."
"Mom, I'll be fine I promise."
"It's better to be safe than sorry." It's rather amusing watching their interactions.
"I know, mother, and I'm sorry." I clear my throat to get his attention. What about me?
"I'm sorry as well, Anastasia."
"Thank you." I say with a smile, which causes them both to laugh. Grace advises I stay in bed tonight. No problem. It'll be fun to have Christian do everything for me. I smile at the thought. He walks Grace to the door and comes back upstairs.
"Is there anything you need or want?"
"Some wine would be fantastic." Nothing like a glass of wine to help you relax.
"Coming right up." he runs out the door and runs back in a second later. "Anything to eat?"
"Hmm . . . Banana bread and some of the pistachio ice cream."
"Alright be right up." Oh this is definitely going to be fun. I grab my laptop from the side table and decide I'm going to get some work done. I am typing away on my computer when Christian comes back in.
"What are you doing?"
"Work"
"I don't think so." I frown.
"Why not?"
"Because you need to rest. How about we watch a movie instead do you have any on your computer?"
"That sounds great. What are you in the mood for?"
"I'm easy."
"Well look through the movies and see which one you'd like best." I turn the screen around and I'm pretty sure he reads all the descriptions and some reviews because I have finished my ice cream by the time her picks a movie.
"Is Shawshank Redemption any good?" I just stare.
"Christian, is it one of the top rated movies. Have you seriously never seen it?"
"I don't watch a lot of movies."
"We're watching this then. It's just over two hours, but we can eat dinner in bed and cuddle."
"Sounds good to me." I put my Mac in between us and press play. I have seen this move countless times, but it never gets old. Christian seems to be enjoying it because when I tell him I'm hungry he doesn't want to get our dinner.
"Christian, I'm going to pause it just get the plates and bring them up."
"No don't" He continues watching and there's a knock on the door. "Come in." Christian shouts and Gail walks in holding our plates. I glare at Christian and he doesn't seem to notice. He is actually a child sometimes. I thank Gail and tell her not to worry about grabbing the plates because Christian will bring them down. Dinner is great and sitting in bed with Christian is way more relaxing then I thought. I keep looking up at him because he is so captivated by the movie it's almost serene. Christian is so surprised when he escapes it's kind of hilarious. When the movie is over I close my laptop and place it on the night stand.
"I guessed you liked the movie?"
"That obvious?"
"Yes."
"We should watch movies more often that was great."
"Well it was nice seeing you so relaxed, Christian." I admit. "How about you take the plates downstairs while I run us a bath?"
"Sounds great, but I don't want to take a bath you can though" I pass him my plate before walking into the bathroom. I must admit I am a little disappointed. I adjust the water to a perfect temperature before I light some of the candles. As soon as I put some of my body wash into the tub, the scent of lavender mixes with the jasmine. I put my hair into a messy bun and get undressed before slipping into the water. This is wonderful. I let the hot water wash away my worries. Since Christian isn't joining me I decide to put on some music. I go to a classical playlist Christian has made and press play. The first song is the familiar tones of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. A few more songs pass as I lie there and a familiar song fills the room. I think back to where I know this song and it hits me like a ton of bricks. It's the song Christian played in the playroom. I wait until the song is over before carefully stepping out of the tub and wrapping myself up in a towel. Once I am basically dry, I blow out the candles and shut off the music. I open the door and see Christian sitting on the bed with candles all around him.
"What is all of this?"
"I'm going to give you a massage." Ok this is officially the best day ever.
"Where do you want me?" He pats the bed and stands up giving me space to lie down. I drop my towel to the floor and lie face down on the bed. Christian covers my legs with a blanket and grabs a bottle of oil. He places some in his hands before rubbing them together to warm it up. He places his hands on my lower back moving them upwards to my shoulders and back down. He does that to more times before getting to work on my shoulders. His fingers massaging me make me think of Christian playing the piano. I get slightly aroused when he massages my butt and thighs, but honestly I'm too tired to care. Today wasn't physically exhausting, but it was emotionally exhausting. I feel Christian kiss the top of my head before I fall into a much needed deep sleep.
I hope you liked the chapter.