It's been about a week since he spent the night with Ana and she hasn't texted or called him. It's Christmas Eve and he knows he's being an asshole to his staff by making them work late but he doesn't care. He can't believe he opened up to Ana and she just drops him like that night meant nothing. He's definitely not feeling merry and generous. Maybe Elena was right?
The following day he is having Christmas dinner with his family when Mia asks him about Ana. "Christian, how's it going with Ana?" She's leaning in towards her older brother excited to hear about his relationship with Ana. She saw sparks between them right away and has never seen Christian like that. He doesn't date and that worries her. Her big brother is a good guy but he works too hard and takes himself too seriously. He's almost 30 and still hasn't met anyone. Mia worries about him.
"Well, it's not." Christian frowns. He was hoping to avoid discussing this today and thought maybe everything would distract Mia. But he should have known better.
Mia crinkles her eyebrows - Christian's vague answer is not going to satisfy his sister. "What do you mean? I thought you guys got along well?"
"I thought so, too. But I guess she wasn't feeling it." He pauses to see her frown, so before she has a chance to say anything else, he heads her off. "Look, I don't want to talk about this. Let's just pretend this never happened, OK?"
"OK. I'm sorry big bro. It's her loss." Mia frowns and wonders what happened between them. Ana seems truly nice and there is no denying there was chemistry between the two of them.
Ana and Kate are relaxing in their living room wearing their coziest pajamas and drinking cheap wine. It's the weekend after New Year's, and they decided to stay home, relax, and have a girls' night in.
"You should let me set you up with Blake. He's really nice and fun, and has a job. Jeff has known him for years and said he's a great guy." Kate tries to persuade Ana. Since it became painfully obvious to Ana that Christian wasn't going to contact her, Kate has been trying to get her out on a date with someone else to get her mind off of Christian.
"I don't know, Kate. I just thought Christian was different, you know? If he wanted a one-night stand, I wish he would have been upfront with me instead of making me look like an idiot."
"Would you have slept with him if he told you he only wanted a one night stand?" Kate asks Ana.
"Well, no… but I feel so stupid. When he didn't contact me, I called him and left voicemails and texted him. He completely ignored me."
"It could have been worse; he could have said, 'new phone. Who dis?'" Kate tells Ana with a straight face.
Ana laughs and throws a pillow at her best friend. "Jerk!" Both Ana and Kate start laughing so hard they have to set their wine glasses down, so nothing gets spilled.
A few weeks later, Christian is driving through the city. Without realizing it, he's stopped at the traffic light in front of the bookstore where Ana works. Distractedly he wonders if she's working and how she is doing. Then, almost as if the universe was teasing him, he sees Ana and Nolan walk out of the bookstore. She's laughing and her hair sparkles in the sunlight. Christian almost forgot how beautiful she is. Nolan and Ana look like they are playing with each other when he picks Ana up so she yells out in surprise before they both start to laugh. When he puts her down, she smacks his upper arm, presumably for picking her up. Nolan then grabs Ana's hand and picks her up swinging her around. Ana throws her head back laughing. She looks so young and carefree.
Christian watches Ana and Nolan wondering what he is lacking that she didn't want to talk to him any longer. Before he has a chance to delve into the thought further, the light turns green and the car behind him impatiently honks his horn. "Yeah, yeah, asshole. I see it." Christian murmurs in response. He pulls away from the intersection and heads back to Escala with the picture of Ana laughing and carrying on still floating around in his mind.
The following day, Christian is in his office reviewing the latest financials for a new acquisition when his cell phone rings. He's surprised to see it's Elena - she usually only calls to schedule their monthly dinner, but that is already scheduled for later in the month.
"Grey." Christian answers tersely. Even though he knows it's Elena, he answers his phone the same way each time.
"Christian, darling, that is no way to greet me." Elena chides him gently.
"I apologize, Elena. So, what's going on?" flashbacks of Elena caning him flash through his mind. Regardless of how long it's been, whenever Elena is displeased with him, he tenses waiting for a punishment.
"I wondered if you have time for dinner sometime this week. I have someone I think you should meet."
"I don't know, Elena. I'm not looking for a new submissive right now."
"Christian, don't be ridiculous. You need an outlet, and it's already been too long since your contract with Diana ended."
Christian sighs in frustration, he doesn't want to meet this potential sub, but his obedience to Elena is ingrained in him. "OK, I'll meet you but I'm not guaranteeing anything."
He can hear her smile on the other end of the phone. "Very good, darling. So, I'll see you tomorrow evening at the usual place and time?"
"That's fine. See you tomorrow." He hangs up the phone and rubs his temples with his hand. He's got enough going on with work; he doesn't need Elena's interference.
The following night, at 2 minutes to 8, Christian arrives at the restaurant and heads to the table in the corner - the usual table he sits at when he has dinner with Elena.
Elena stands when he approaches the table. "Christian, right on time. How are you?"
"Hello, Elena. I'm fine." Christian says impassively. He takes his seat once Elena sits down. There is an attractive woman with brown hair sitting at the table with them; her eyes are cast down. Christian can only assume this is the submissive Elena wants him to meet.
"Christian, I'd like to introduce you to Angela. She's been in the scene for almost five years now and comes highly recommended by her previous Dominants."
"Good evening, Angela. Please to make your acquaintance." Christian tells her politely. She looks to Elena without saying a word.
"You may speak freely, Angela."
Angela looks at Elena with a tight smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Lincoln." Christian rolls his eyes at the apparent charade going on right in front of him.
Christian figures he might as well play along because the sooner he asks questions, the sooner this will be over and he can go back to Escala and get some work done.
"So, Angela…" she looks up at Christian for a moment forgetting her place and drinks in his looks. The others said he was good looking, but she didn't think he would be this good looking. Christian notices her looking at him and her eyes get huge. Christian frowns, "... tell me about yourself."
"Well, I was born and grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and graduated from Smith College with a degree in Political Science."
"So, what brought you to the west coast?"
"Um, my girlfriend got a job in Seattle, and I moved here with her."
"Girlfriend? You mean a girl who is a friend, a roommate?"
"That's how we started, but it evolved into a romantic relationship."
"I see. So what happened to that relationship?"
"I met a man for whom I developed feelings, and I broke things off with her."
"Were you in a long relationship with that man?"
"Yes, he was my first Dominant."
"And for how long were you his submissive?"
"three years."
"Why did it end?"
"He found someone else and ended our contract."
"Have you had any relationships after that?"
"Yes, two."
"Were they D/s relationships?"
"Yes."
"Did things end amicably with those relationships?"
"Oh, yes. They both came to the end of the contract, and we were ready to move on."
Christian looks at his watch - this has gone on long enough. Usually by now in these interviews, he has an inkling of whether he likes her or not. On paper, she seems fine. She has excellent references from her previous Doms, and her limits align with his. But something is holding him back, and he isn't sure what it is. But if there is one thing he's learned, it is to trust his gut instinct.
"Well, it was very nice to meet you, but I have to leave. Elena has your contact information, so I can get it from her. I'll get in touch with you tomorrow. Good night." Christian doesn't want to end things right now, and he is planning on taking the night to see if his gut instincts seem right. And, he needs to have Welch look into her background, too.
He turns and leaves before either of the women have a chance to say anything else. Quickly he gets into his car and takes out his cell phone. "Welch, it's Grey. I need you to run a background on someone, and I need the results ASAP."