A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 2: Office Space

"No, Max," Ana insisted, crossing her arms while glaring firmly at her boss. If there was ever a time to put her foot down on an issue, this was it. "You saw the way Christian was speaking to me – he's a total asshole! There's no way in hell I can work in the same space as him."

"I'm sorry the two of you got off on the wrong foot, Ana, but there's really nothing I can do," Max said. "And if it makes you feel better, the arrangement's only temporary. Another office space is going to open up soon and Christian will move there."

Ana gazed at him skeptically. "Really? When's a new office space opening up?" She couldn't quite foresee a time when a new office would open up for Christian to take anytime soon. But, then again, she had been away from this place for two months.

"Ted's retiring at the end of the year," Max explained, referring to one of their project leads. "So once his office is vacant, Christian will take it. Problem solved."

Ana's shoulders dropped in disbelief. "The end of the year? That's seven months from now! How do you expect me to work alongside Christian for that long?"

"I don't know, Ana," Max said exasperatedly, starting to sound impatient as he checked his watch. "You're both adults – you'll figure it out. The fact that he's taking on half of your clients would actually make it useful for the two of you to be working in close proximity to each other."

Ana glowered to herself, reluctantly realizing he was probably right. She knew it was a bad idea to keep pushing him on this issue when he and Kavanaugh Media had been kind enough to keep her on the payroll during her leave, but that didn't exactly make her feel better. It really seemed like there was no way out of this.

"Can I at least pick which clients I want to keep?" she asked, a bit petulantly. At least this way she could keep her favorite clients while leaving the difficult ones for Christian to deal with. Which was a small concession she could have, at least.

"Of course," Max nodded, giving her an amused smile. "Thank you for being so understanding, Ana."

"I'm nothing if not a team player." Ana said, grimacing sardonically back.

Just as she said that, Christian appeared at the other end of the hallway Ana and Max were standing in. He spotted them and made his way over, and Ana felt dread settle in the pit of her stomach as he approached.

"Max, the guys from Truman Corps are here," Christian said as he approached, ignoring Ana completely. "Did you want me to grab the marketing plan before we meet with them?"

"No, I'll grab it. My office is on the way over," Max said, checking his watch again. "I'll meet you down there."

"Sounds good."

Max then walked away, leaving Ana and Christian standing alone together in the middle of the corridor.

"Miss Steele," Christian finally acknowledged her, and Ana glanced over at him. He almost looked amused at seeing her here as he gave her a brief onceover. "Still hanging around, I see."

Ana scowled at him. He really was a huge asshole. "Just letting Max know I'm coming back to work on Monday," she said in a clipped voice. "Apparently, you and I are sharing my office for the foreseeable future."

"Are we?" he asked, sounding mildly interested in that bit of news. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. I am taking most of your clients, after all."

"You're taking half of my clients," Ana corrected him, trying to keep her anger reined in as she crossed her arms. "And I get to choose the ones I want to keep, so you should probably be nicer to me so I don't leave you with all the worst ones."

Christian simply laughed, infuriating Ana even further. "I doubt I had much of a chance with you anyway," he said with amusement, and Ana was sure he was mocking her. "You seem to have your mind made up about me already, Ms. Steele. But either way, I've been handling all your clients for weeks now, so I doubt your least favorite ones will pose much of a challenge for me."

"We'll see about that," Ana smirked sardonically at him.

"I should really get going. Max and I have a meeting right now," Christian said, checking his watch and glancing down the hallway. "Some of us actually have to work today, y'know."

"You poor thing," Ana sniped back.

Christian didn't say anything, but merely winked and grinned at her before turning and walking away. Ana spun on her heel and stalked in the other direction, her heart pounding as she seethed.

~/~

"…the most obnoxious, unprofessional piece of shit I've ever met!"

It was hours later, and Ana and Jose were having dinner together at her apartment. What was supposed to be their romantic 'welcome home' dinner date together ended up being Ana angrily ranting and pacing the length of her living room with a glass of wine clutched in her hand while Jose simply sat on the couch, leaning back while listening to her rant.

"I'm sure he can't be that bad, babe," Jose said comfortingly for the third or fourth time tonight, picking up his own glass of wine and taking a sip.

"Yes, he is," Ana insisted, stopping in her tracks. "You didn't talk to him, Jose. That man was unbelievably rude from the moment I met him! I don't know what the hell Max was thinking, hiring a guy like him, but I certainly can't believe it's because of his social skills…"

"So what do you want to do then?" Jose asked, raising his eyebrows. "Quit?"

Ana let out an exasperated groan, tilting her head back as she closed her eyes. The thought of quitting had crossed her mind, but she nixed that idea almost immediately. "No, I can't quit Kavanaugh Media. Not after how great they've been letting me take a leave of absence to take care of my mom. I doubt I'd be able to find another company that would do that for their employees. And also, I'd miss working with Jessica and Nadia."

"Well, there you go," Jose said encouragingly. "it sounds like you have a lot of good reasons to stay. I'm sure all those pros will outweigh one shitty coworker, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Ana sighed, moving to sit beside him on the couch. "I've just never had to deal with a coworker like him before."

"That's because everybody loves you, babe," Jose grinned, sliding his arm around her. "You get along with everyone."

"That's sweet of you to say," Ana smiled at him, and she leaned over to kiss him on the lips. "I do try to get along with everyone, but clearly this Christian guy is gonna be a challenge."

"Well, if he gives you any more problems, I can come by and beat him up for you," Jose joked, and Ana couldn't help but laugh. Not only because Christian was at least four inches taller than Jose, but Jose was one of the most chill, laid-back people she'd ever met and would never fight anyone in a million years.

"You've never fought a day in your life, Jose Rodriguez," Ana giggled.

"I could if I wanted to," Jose defended himself, pretending to flex a bicep. They both laughed.

The two of them continued to chat for the next few minutes, finishing their wine as a new episode of The Office came on the TV. Ana took their wine glasses and empty dinner plates into the kitchen, her mind still on Christian and wondering how she was supposed to work with him once Monday rolled around. Historically, she had always gotten along with her coworkers, but she knew that that was going to be a challenge when it came to Christian Grey.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it, " Ana said, walking from the kitchen toward the front door. She opened it, and standing on the threshold was a pretty red-haired girl Ana knew, holding a Tupperware container while grinning.

Both women squealed excitedly before embracing. "Joanie!" Ana exclaimed happily, squeezing the younger girl tightly. "It's so good to see you again! How are you? How are your parents?"

"I'm good, and Mom and Dad are good," Joanie smiled, finally pulling away to smile up at Ana. She glanced over at Jose. "Hi Jose!"

"Hi Joanie," Jose grinned from the couch.

"I can't believe you didn't come by to tell us that you're back," Joanie said insistently to Ana. "Some neighbor you are."

"I know, I'm the worst," Ana groaned exaggeratedly, stepping aside to let Joanie in. "I'm sorry I got a bit sidetracked. My flight just got in this morning, and I had to swing by my office today."

"Yeah, I could hear you complaining about your mean new coworker," Joanie said, smirking at her. "Your ranting really carried through the walls."

Ana blushed as Jose laughed. "Sorry about that. I've had a couple glasses of wine and I got a little heated."

"That's okay. Hopefully these cookies will make you feel better," Joanie said, holding up the container of chocolate chip cookies in her hands. Ana giggled before accepting the cookies from her.

"Thank you, Joanie. I'm sure these'll do the trick."

Joanie Bryan and her parents, Luis and Barb Bryan, had befriended Ana the day she moved to this apartment complex three years ago. Since then, the four of them had enjoyed many lovely dinners and get-togethers, and Ana considered them an extension of her own family. The Bryans, as well as her work friends and Jose, were definitely who she missed the most when she was away in Georgia.

Ana, Joanie, and Jose chatted with each other for about an hour, catching each other up on their lives while munching on the delicious chocolate chip cookies Joanie brought. Ana knew Joanie wanted to go to culinary school after she graduated from high school next semester, and Ana was so happy that she was following her dreams.

Joanie now showed Ana some pictures on her phone of her with her new boyfriend, a blonde boy in her class named Carson. "...and here we are last week when he took me to see Hamilton," she grinned, showing a selfie of them standing in front of the famous Broadway sign. "Its was so much fun."

"Aw that does sound like fun," Ana said sincerely, smiling at the cute picture. "I'm so happy for you, Joanie."

"Thanks. Things are going really well with him," Joanie said, blushing and smiling down at the picture on her phone.

"I can't remember the last time Jose and I went out to a Broadway show," Ana said wistfully, glancing over at her own boyfriend. He had migrated back over to the couch to watch TV while Ana and Joanie continued to chat in the kitchen.

"Hm? What's that babe?" Jose asked, engrossed with whatever was on TV. Joanie and Ana both laughed.

"I should probably head back home soon," Joanie said, realizing how late it had gotten. "Sorry for staying so long, I just wanted to drop off the cookies for you."

"What are you talking about? I love that you came over tonight," Ana insisted, reaching over to hug Joanie again, and she hugged her back. "Don't be a stranger, okay? Come over whenever you want and we can catch up. Bring your parents too, and all of us will have dinner together."

"Definitely." Joanie beamed.

The two women said goodbye one last time before Joanie left, and Ana couldn't help but smile to herself as the door closed behind her.

"That was so sweet of her to come by tonight and bring cookies," Ana said, walking over to the counter and putting the lid back on the container.

"Yeah, Joanie's great," Jose said from the couch. "Hey babe, mind if I play Rocket League on the TV here? My buddy Leo is online right now."

Ana couldn't help but feel a little deflated that their romantic dinner date was pretty much unsalvageable at this point. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Thanks babe."

Ana didn't say anything as she went to the sink to start on the dirty dishes, thinking about romantic dates to Broadway shows.

A/N: So what do you all think so far? :) Review and let me know your thoughts!

Next chapter, Ana has her first day back at the office.