CPOV
Walking into the restaurant hand in hand, I feel that sense of normalcy; that instead of being a man with insecurities and being needy, I'm a man out on a lunch date with a beautiful woman. With all the excitement about Ana's acceptance letter news, I came so close to kissing her. I told myself I would let her go to make a life of her own at the end of the year, but that's not for another month and a half so I have time to admire this woman from afar. We look over the menu and she points out what she would like just as I see the waitress coming, shoving her top down to expose way to much cleavage. As I order our lunch, I can feel the air of annoyance coming off of Ana. The waitress, whose tits are practically in my face, hasn't even acknowledged her. But my eyes only see Ana. I've begun to notice she'll bite her bottom lip when she's embarrassed or is just shy. I long to taste her lips but I need to keep reminding myself she deserves to be loved by a normal man.
"You said you were a college drop out. Why did you drop out," she soundlessly asks me.
"Dad wanted me to become a lawyer. I went for a year but grew bored, so I quite."
"What college did you attend?"
"Harvard."
"Your parents were probably really upset weren't they?"
"They were. But after I told them my plans of buying and selling companies, they could see my point of view and loaned me the money to start up GEH."
"It's great your parents trusted you and believed in you." She grins up at me but her eyes wander over my shoulder. She averts her eyes and chews on her bottom lip. I glance over my shoulder and see a table of women ogling me. Even if we are seated in the secluded area, they've obviously made Ana feel uncomfortable. I gently place my hand under her chin and raise her head to admire her sapphire eyes again. "Do you like being famous and well known," she lips. I wonder if I should try to get her to speak. But like John said, she will speak when she feels ready.
"Yes and no. If I'm on a time restriction, I get in and out of places rather quickly. But it does annoy me when women openly and embarrassingly flirt with me."
"How many women have you dated?" She looks stunned and breaks eye contact with me. I slowly reach out and take her hand in mine and caress it with my thumb. God her hands are so soft.
"Five." She looks back up at me with her signature blush.
"And it's because of your mission to save the sex slaves is why you stopped dating, right?"
"Yes. I felt it would be hard to explain about a woman living in my apartment who is not involved with me to someone I was dating."
"Do you miss dating?"
"I somewhat miss it. But as long as you're comfortable doing it, when we cuddle, it makes me feel normal and…wanted." She grins, blushes, and bites her lip just as our food arrives. We eat in comfortable silence, stealing glances at each other before we head back to the office.
With the workday gone, Ana and I step into the elevator of Escala to see the new security code keypad Jason had installed today. I told Ana the code and gave her a copy of the key card Jason left me in my car so if she and Gail leave they'll have it. We step out of the elevator and see Jason sitting with two men at the kitchen island. One of them I recognize as Marcus Jones, my kickboxing instructor who I called this afternoon to come over. Both men have been informed into what I do and I've trusted Marcus for years. Now I just need to meet this new bodyguard. I feel Ana's hand squeeze mine but I smile down at her to encourage her. We come into the kitchen and all three men stand.
"Evening Jason."
"Evening Christian. This is Luke Sawyer. He was an Army buddy of mine," he states. The young man has buzz cut red hair and has green eyes and is dressed identically to Jason.
"Very nice to meet you Mr. Grey," he states proudly but I can tell he's a little nervous.
"Very nice to meet you as well Luke and please, call me Christian." I encourage Ana to come closer.
"Ana, this is Luke and he will be your new bodyguard." She looks up at me surprised. "I want you to be safe whenever you need to leave the apartment and Gail, Jason, or I can't be with you. Besides, you can boss him around to get you stuff." She glances from me and looks playfully wickedly at Luke. He audibly gulps before the guys and I laugh.
"It's very nice to meet you Luke. Please call me Ana." Marcus steps over and Ana's confidence shrinks instantly. He has olive skin, dark eyes, and has black curly hair.
"This is Marcus Jones Ana. He's my kickboxing instructor. He also knows self-defense and I thought you would like to learn from him, in the event you need to protect yourself. Although with Luke as your body guard that will never happen." She eyes him a little suspiciously.
"We will start out on building up your muscles and then we'll start learning moves. You can also use Luke as your sparing partner," Marcus comments.
"Do you teach Krav Maga?" Marcus' eyebrows shoot to his hairline.
"I do. How do you know about Krav Maga?"
"My late father was a Marine," she states with pride.
"Then I'd truly be honored to teach you Krav Maga. We can begin tomorrow if you'd like."
"I would." Soon Marcus leaves while Jason and I help Luke move his stuff into the other guest bedroom by Gail and Jason's apartment. We eat a hearty meal of spaghetti with side salads and garlic bread, followed by a bowl of ice cream while getting to know Luke. Ana is slowly regaining her weight. Her cheekbones are almost not visible. After we insist on washing the dishes for Gail, Ana and I cuddle on the new couch in front of the fire in the library. Every book that was destroyed has been replaced. The walls are bright with the new paint. I feel Ana slump against me, fast asleep. It's then Jason pokes his head in from behind the door.
"They're here Christian." I lay Ana down on the couch and cover her with a blanket before shutting the door to the library. In the kitchen stand the three men we identified yesterday on the footage. They're all in handcuffs and with them stands two men from Security for Escala.
"Welcome back gentlemen." The three look confused as the men push them down on their shoulders so they're kneeling on the floor. "So who will be the first to tell me how and why you decided to break in and destroy my apartment?" They all break eye contact with me and stare at the floor.
"How do you know it was us," the first moron smugly asks.
"Do you see that?" I point to the flat circular disk on the ceiling. "That is my own security camera. I have one here, one at the elevator, and two in the garage. Since you all were so brilliant to not wear masks, it was very easy to identify you from recordings Security has of the whole building." They all squirm in their seats. Now it's just a matter of time.
"We're so sorry Mr. Grey," moron number three says. "We were drunk and thought we could get away with trashing the apartment."
"Are you working for someone?"
"No Mr. Grey," the second one comments.
"Then why did you target me?"
"We knew you could replace everything we trashed. You obviously have enough money to go around," the first one mutters.
"How did you get the code to the key pad?"
"We hacked into the camera system and saw what numbers you put in every day," the third guy states.
"Why should I believe any of you three? I could easily turn my footage over to the police and get you kicked out of college. Hell I could get you kicked out this apartment complex faster than you can say Timbuktu. Video doesn't lie." Now they all look terrified.
"Oh God Mr. Grey please don't get us expelled or kicked out," the second begs. I hear a tiny bell chime and my heart plummets in my chest. I turn and see Ana peaking out from beside the library wall. I walk slowly to her and cup her face.
"How much have you heard?"
"All of it."
"What do you think their punishment should be?"
"You'd...let me decide?"
"I think you'll have a much more, constructive way, they will suffer and learn." She looks over my shoulder at the shaking men seated on the ground before she locks eyes with me.
"Have them sign a contract that all of them will pay back what you spent the other day on the repairs. If they do not or refuse to pay you back, you will take the evidence you have to the police and press charges against them. While they repay you, they are to volunteer at least two hours a day at homeless shelters until the repairs are payed off."
"Then the money they give me can just go to a charity." She nods and grins widely. "Brilliant baby!" I kiss her temple before she heads back into the library. I tell the men the plan and they all are eager to agree. Once I print up the contract, they all sign it and are escorted, out of handcuffs, back to their apartments. After all is said and done, I rejoin Ana back on the sofa in the library.
"Thank you so much for taking my safety into consideration Christian."
"You're welcome Ana."
"I would also like to look for a job. I'll gladly take any job from cleaning to bagging groceries."
"Sure thing baby. I'll help you find one." I shouldn't call her baby, but seeing her cheeks heat at the loving word makes my heart flutter. She looks down before leaning up and kissing my forehead and coming back into my arms where we both let out contented sighs.