Ana POV
"Seriously Ros what the fuck?! I mean, no offence but I do not play for your team!"
She laughs at my choice of words and usually I would laugh with her but I just want to know what happened last night.
"Oh my God Ana your face is priceless! Don't worry you're not part of my 'gay agenda'", she chuckles at her own joke before continuing," you got drunk last night and called Christian so, him being the control freak that he is, decided to take care of you personally"
I have an overwhelming sense of relief before I realise that my new boss has seen me threaten a former colleague, pass out drunk and undressed me all in one day. Shit. That's me fired for sure.
"Well I guess I should leave then and head back to the office to pack my things"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm sure I haven't made a good impression on Mr Grey and he probably doesn't want such an unpredictable person in his employment so I'll head back home and pack my things"
"Don't be silly Ana! Christian will be back soon he just had a meeting this morning and then sent me as the messenger to tell you that he wants to take you out for lunch and drop you off at King's Cross himself later."
"Oh. Well that's very kind of him"
"Yeah it's a rare occurrence, I've never seen him act like this before…anyway, this is too much food for you to eat by yourself so mind if I join you?"
"Sure, help yourself! I need to shower and change first though"
I head to the bathroom and stand a little longer than I normally would in the shower. I go over the events of the past 48hrs in my head and try to make sense of it all which doesn't prove successful. I'm drying off with one of the fluffy white hotel towels and am about to get changed into my clothes from yesterday when I notice a pile of new clothes next to my own with a note on top.
"Anastasia I hope I chose the correct size and style of clothes for you. I know its difficult but trust Ros and meet me at Grey House at noon. C x"
How sweet can is this man, but he's my boss. I shake my head in an attempt to shake free my feelings and change into the white Converse, grey skinny jeans and black t-shirt with lace on the shoulder and three quarter length sleeves. Perfect fit, another point to Grey. I dry my hair before heading back into the room to find Ros on her second plate of breakfast. I help myself to a slice of toast and some scrambled eggs and we eat in a comfortable silence.
"C'mon then little lady, the boss man says you have to trust me. Leave your stuff, Taylor will sort everything out"
"Erm, okay"
We head out of the Radisson Blu and I'm ready to head to the nearest Underground station but Ros gently pulls me into the black Audi waiting at the bottom of the steps to the hotel.
"Am I supposed to get used to this?" I ask Ros nervously. I'm not comfortable having people work for me when I can easily carry out the task myself.
"Well it makes sense to have the security measures in place, Christian is a very powerful man. You forget about it eventually and everyone in the 'Grey Bubble' becomes like your second family"
"Well I like everyone I've met so far it's too bad my internship ends when I finish uni and I have to go back to York this evening, I don't know when I'll be in town again after this"
"We'll figure something out. Here we are, his highness' kingdom"
We step out of the car and walk arm in arm across the Grey House lobby into the private elevator which goes up to Christian's office. As soon as the doors ping open, I feel his presence before I see him. Like yesterday he is in a light grey suit and white shirt with a dark grey tie.
"Miss Steele you look beautiful. Plan on threatening any of my staff today?"
"I'm not sure, I thought about taking out Taylor just for fun but that might ruin his reputation around here"
Everyone laughs but I see Taylor step back from me a little.
"Well I'll leave you two to enjoy yourselves while I do all the work around here"
"Yeah yeah Ros, just remember who owns this company and signs your paycheques"
She gives him a sarcastic smile and flips the bird before leaving the office with Taylor so it is just me and Christian by ourselves.
"So Anastasia, care to join me for lunch?"
"I'd love to Sir"
He takes my hand and immediately I feel a jolt of electricity surge through me. I wonder if he feels it too. We walk through the reception in front of his office and to a stairwell, I hesitate a little.
"Trust me?"
"Yes"
I follow him up the stairs and out of a double door once we reach the top. I step out and I am met with the most amazing view ever.
"Oh my"
We are on the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in London with a 360 view of the vast city below us. There is a picnic lunch set up for us looking over the river but one of my favourite parts of the view is the man stood in front of me.
"You did all this?"
"Yes, well…I planned it" a look of guilt passes over his face like he is internally punishing himself for something.
"Christian it's perfect" Like you.
Christian POV
I must admit that Miss Steele has brought some colour into my life since I met her yesterday. After she called me from the bar I felt the need to look after her myself rather than send one of my staff to look after her. I brought her back to the hotel room and fell asleep next to her and, amazingly, she kept the nightmares away. I felt bad about leaving her to wake up by herself this morning but I needed to work and plan for today. When I called Ros to ask her how Ana was this morning she explained that Ana thought it was her that had slept with her ha! No baby you're all mine and necrophilia is not my thing. Since she seems so sweet and innocent I decided to try my hand at romance for once. The rooftop is my escape and I've never brought anybody up here. It's my own place so that when it all gets too much in the city I have some place of my own, free of all the stress, all the troubles of my past. I get the same feeling of freedom when I'm with Ana. Forget it Grey. I tried to focus on work but I couldn't wait for noon to roll around so I could see her again. When she stepped out of the elevator with Ros I had to remind myself to breathe because she is beautiful. I was worried when we first got onto the roof and I realised she wasn't following me anymore, she was just staring. I mentally kicked myself for not setting this up myself, which would've been more romantic than making Taylor do it for me. We eat lunch is comfortable silence which I am glad about because I hate forced small talk.
"When does your train leave?"
"4:30, thank you Mr Grey"
"Why do you insist on calling me Mr Grey?"
"I want to keep our relationship professional Sir, with all respect I am your employee and I don't even live in the area so I'm sorry"
"Anastasia I don't usually believe in fate but I'm pretty sure we'll meet again soon so enough with all this depressing talk and lets enjoy lunch"
"Okay Christian"
"So tell me about your family"
"My dad, Ray, was in the army and moved to the states when I started university, he lives in Montesano now. My mum moved to Savannah a few years ago after she met her fourth husband in Vegas and fell head over heels in love"
"What about you? Do you fall head over heels in love very often"
"No, I've never had a boyfriend"
"Really? But Ana, men must throw themselves at you"
"None that I've wanted…until recently"
Recently? I'm going to kill that fucker.
"I see"
We talk for the rest of the afternoon and I laugh so much that my face hurts thanks to the stories she tells me about growing up with her best friend Kate.
"Shit it's 4'o'clock already! We better get to the train station so you don't miss your train"
A look of disappointment flashes across her face but she quickly masks it with a smile before standing up and reaching for my hand so we can walk back to my office to collect her things. She doesn't let go of my hand the whole car ride to the train station and usually the affection would make me feel uncomfortable but I crave her touch. We arrive at the station with a little time to spare so I send Taylor to Starbucks to get her a hot chocolate for the journey home while I wait with her and watch the announcement boards, looking for information on which platform she has to go to.
"Christian I had a great day, thank you"
"Anytime Ana, here I asked Taylor to get you a drink for the way home"
"Thank you"
The train the York is announced and I feel my heart drop to my stomach.
"See you soon"
I pull her into a hug and she reaches up to plant a kiss on my cheek before walking off to the ticket gate to board the train. I stay in the same spot watching her leave until she is out of my sight.
"Taylor, take me home please"
"Yes Sir" What is he smiling for? Must be 'the Ana effect'. Time to put my plan into motion. I find Katherine Kavanagh's number and hope that she picks up.
"Hello?"
"Miss Kavanagh this is Mr Grey. I'm calling about Anastasia…"
Ana POV
I've had the most perfect day and being held in Christian's arms was heaven, even if it was only for a few moments when he hugged me to say goodbye. I drink my hot chocolate on the way home and begin to write some ideas down for a new book, I suddenly feel inspired. I get to the train station and it is dark so I dread the walk home as York is quite a lonely city at night. I am about to cross the road when I am stopped by a man in a suit.
"Miss Steele?"
"Yes?"
"Mr Grey ordered this car for you ma'am, he wanted to ensure that you got home safely"
"Thank you"
I gladly accept and send a text to Christian.
"Thank you for lunch, thank you for the inspiration, thank you for the ride home. A x"
I don't have to wait long before I get a reply.
"You're welcome Anastasia, I enjoyed myself today too. C x"
I listen to 1989 by Taylor Swift on the way home and I am greeted at the door by Kate.
"Hey! How was your trip?"
"Great thanks, I'm so tired though I just want to curl under the blankets and sleep"
"You met the new boss then?"
"Yeah it was the same guy that you're meeting with next week"
"Yeah I…oh really? What a coincidence"
"Yeah…" I frown at her. What are you hiding Kavanagh?
I head to my room and throw my bags on the floor; I just need to sleep. I decide to text Christian to let him know that I got home safely.
"I got home safely. I hope to see you soon but I don't know how soon that will be. A x"
"I have an idea of how soon that will be. Dream sweet dreams Ana. C x"
Wait, what? What does he mean? I switch off my phone and put it on the bedside table. Infuriating man…
Author's Note: Sorry for the few and far between updates but uni is a lot of work and being an English Lit student isn't easy, there are a lot of books to read! What do you think Christian is planning? As always thank you for your support it means so much to me. Please favourite/follow and leave a review or message me if you think you can guess where the story is going or just have any questions, I try to reply to everyone. Enjoy! Becca x