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

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9: Moving Forward

~The next day~

Jessica and Nadia were both hugging Ana in their office's break room, clutching onto her so tightly Ana felt like she could hardly breathe.

"Guys – seriously, I'm alright," Ana said, her voice coming out a bit choked as she tried to hug her friends back. It was difficult, though, since they both had her arms pinned to her sides. "You don't need to strangle me."

"We just feel awful," Nadia said sadly, continuing to hold onto her friend in a tight grip. "I wish you would've told us that you broke up with Jose."

"Yeah, we could've come to your apartment with an obscene amount of wine and ice cream," Jessica insisted. She and Nadia finally pulled away from her, and Ana discreetly took a breath. "Seriously, Ana – are you okay?"

"Yes, I am," Ana said sincerely, thankful she could breathe again as she smoothed her hands down the front of her skirt. "I appreciate you guys wanting to be there for me, but you don't need to worry. I just wanted a couple days to myself to process everything."

"So things are officially over between the two of you, then?" Nadia asked, her eyes wide with concern. The three of them moved over to a nearby table to sit down.

"He texted me asking to talk, and so we're going to meet up at Roberto's for dinner tonight," Ana explained. "I plan on breaking up with him there."

"Are you sure it's the right decision?" Jessica asked, sounding concerned. "I mean, if you think it is, we'll fully support you. We just don't want you to rush into anything if you're still unsure."

Ana felt a small lump in her throat, but she nodded. "Thanks Jess, but breaking up with Jose is the right decision. The kids issue is not something I'm willing to budge on… but if I'm being honest, there are a lot of other things too. Breaking up is the right thing to do."

"Well, if you need any moral support, we'll be there for you in a heartbeat," Nadia insisted vehemently, and Ana smiled at her.

"Thanks guys," she said sincerely. "The three of us are definitely doing a girl's night soon."

"Yes!" Jessica said happily, clapping her hands eagerly. "We're all clubbing next weekend, for sure."

The three of them began chatting about what club they wanted to go to when Christian entered the break room.

"Good morning, ladies," he greeted them, walking over to the fridge. "I'm just here to grab my breakfast. Feel free to keep talking about me, though."

Jessica and Nadia giggled while Ana suppressed an eyeroll. "We're thinking of going clubbing," Jessica said to him. "You want to join us for our girls' night out, Christian?"

"Normally I would, but those tiny clubbing dresses never look good on me," Christian said jokingly, and the girls laughed. Even Ana couldn't resist a smile at the ridiculous mental image of Christian in a tight bandage dress.

"So what's the occasion?" he asked, pulling out a greek yogurt from the fridge before going to find a spoon. "Is it someone's birthday?"

"No. We just wanna do something fun together," Jessica said casually, though she bumped Ana's shoulder with her own while giving her a little smile. Ana appreciated Jessica being discreet in front of Christian, though Jessica didn't know that Christian already knew all about her drama with Jose.

Ana thought about how Christian had been surprisingly sweet toward her when he had found her crying in the copy room the other day. His kind yet helpful words had managed to make her feel a tiny bit better about her situation, and a part of her couldn't help but hope that maybe the two of them were on their way to becoming friends. Or, at the very least, polite work acquaintances who didn't snipe at each other every time they spoke.

Probably a pipe dream at this point.

"Sounds like fun," Christian now glanced over at Ana, who met his gaze. He hesitated a moment before clearing his throat, looking away. "Well, I hope you guys have a good time."

"Thanks," Nadia said, and Christian turned to walk out of the break room with his cup of yogurt in hand. Ana watched through the glass wall as Kate Kavanaugh suddenly appeared from an adjacent hallway, smiling happily and her long curly hair bouncing as she practically skipped over to Christian's side. She moved up beside him and hooked her arm through his elbow, leaning against him in a blatantly flirtatious way as they walked along. Ana couldn't see Christian's face, but from what she could see he was smiling back at her in a similar fashion.

Ana felt annoyed, but there was also something else in the pit of her stomach as she watched the two of them. It was a feeling she wasn't quite sure how to identify, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"That Kate girl is a real piece of work," Nadia muttered. She and Jessica had been watching Kate and Christian's little display as well. "She's hardly done any work since she started, and she's been throwing herself at all the men in the office for weeks now. It's ridiculous!"

"I heard her bragging to some people this morning that Christian asked her out for a coffee date tonight after work," Jessica said conspiratorially.

"Really?" Ana asked, her voice sounding odd. She cleared her throat. "I mean, I've noticed them flirting and stuff, but are they even allowed to do that? She's the boss's daughter."

"Oh please, I doubt Mr. Kavanaugh gives two shits about what his daughter gets up to at the company," Nadia stated spitefully. "I was talking to Carly down in Administration the other day, and she said that Kate's actually flunking all of her classes at NYU. Mr. Kavanaugh brought her onto the staff so he could save face in case she drops out."

"That doesn't surprise me," Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "I don't think she even has any clients yet. All she's done so far is grunt work for Max and some of the other managers."

"It's ridiculous…"

Nadia and Jessica continued to gossip about Kate as Ana idly listened. She watched Christian and Kate turn a corner together in the distance and disappear from view.

~/~

After work, Ana went straight back to her apartment to get ready for her dinner with Jose. She honestly wasn't looking forward to it – she didn't know what exactly she was going to say to him, how he would react, or even how she would react. All she knew was that she needed to end things with Jose once and for all, and after tonight she wouldn't need to worry about him again.

Since Roberto's was a nicer restaurant, she changed into a simple red a-line dress, black tights, heels, and with her hair pulled back in an elegant French twist. She kept her makeup the same as what she wore to work, but added some smoky eyeshadow to make it more appropriate for evening. She then grabbed her nice peacoat and clutch purse before making her way downstairs.

She planned on taking an Uber to the restaurant. Once she was in the atrium of her building, she pulled out her phone to open the Uber app, but just as she was about to find it, she got an incoming call.

It was Jose.

Ana stopped in her tracks, staring down at her phone screen. A sudden, bitter feeling in her stomach started spreading up her esophagus, and she clenched her jaw.

He was calling to cancel. She just knew it – deep down in her heart, she always knew he was going to pull this shit.

Why the hell did I even bother?

Feeling anger and resentment burning inside of her chest, Ana finally answered the phone. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" she snapped instead of saying hello.

There was a pause on the other end. "…Ana," Jose finally said, his voice sorrowful.

"You're canceling dinner, aren't you?" Ana demanded.

Jose let out a beleaguered sigh. "I just…" he hedged. "We both know how this dinner was going to end. I don't see the point of hashing through it all again."

"You asked for this dinner, Jose," Ana insisted angrily. "You wanted to talk to me about our relationship! And now you just want to bail? How fickle are you?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Jose said sadly, but that only pissed Ana off even more. "I love you Ana, I always will… but I don't want kids, and you obviously do. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did to the pregnancy test box I found in your bathroom, and I'm sorry about that, but I don't think a single dinner is going to change what's obviously going to happen between the two of us."

Several people had entered the atrium from the elevator, so Ana walked out the front doors to speak to Jose outside, away from prying ears. "And we couldn't have this conversation over dinner? I spent an hour getting ready, and I was literally walking out the door when you called me. But, of course, I should've realized after two years of being with you that you're too much of a chicken to break up with me to my face."

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Ana," Jose sighed. "I'm sorry it had to be like this."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," Ana snapped angrily. "I'm sorry I wasted so much of my time on a spineless piece of shit like you. Do me a favor, Jose, and never contact me again."

Without waiting for Jose's response, she hung up on him. Good fucking riddance.

Anger and frustration still coursed through Ana's body, making her want to cry tears of frustration. But she had already cried enough tears over that asshole, and she didn't see any point in doing it again now.

Ana took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm her pounding heartbeat. She realized after a moment that she had been planning on asking Jose for her apartment key back during dinner tonight – that obviously wasn't going to happen now, and she certainly wasn't about to call him back to ask for it. It was probably safer anyway for her to call a locksmith and change her locks.

Frowning in annoyance, Ana pulled out her phone again and shot a text to her landlord, Mrs. Martin, to ask if she had permission to change her locks. She then went onto Google and began searching for locksmiths near her neighborhood. She couldn't help but notice that all the decent locksmiths around here had lock replacement services upwards of four hundred dollars.

I should send the bill to Jose, she couldn't help but think spitefully.

Shaking her head to herself, Ana turned back toward the front doors of her building, ready to head back upstairs to her apartment since her plans for the evening were called off. Before she could open the door, however, she heard a commotion to her right.

Ana turned to look at what was happening, and she saw – with a huge amount of shock and disbelief – Kate Kavanaugh march out of the cafe next door.

What the hell?

Ana could only stare as she watched Kate stalking her way down the sidewalk toward Ana, though she didn't seem to notice her as she shouted over her shoulder: " – I said I would leave if you mentioned her again! I can't believe how disrespectful you're being right now!"

"Kate!" Christian suddenly appeared at the cafe's doors, following Kate down the sidewalk with an annoyed scowl on his face. Ana suddenly remembered Jessica mentioning that Christian and Kate had a coffee date tonight – it must have been at the cafe next door to her building.

Ana almost couldn't believe this coincidence as she watched Christian and Kate's date spiraling out of control right in front of her.

Looks like my night's not the only one being ruined.

Trying to be discreet, Ana surreptitiously walked closer to Kate and Christian, who were arguing loudly in the middle of the sidewalk. Several pedestrians passed by them, ignoring their little squabble like New Yorkers typically did.

"If you don't want to be on a date with me, just say so!" Kate was yelling at him. "You don't have to keep throwing your relationships with other women in my face!"

"I've already told you multiple times, Kate – Ros was just a coworker. And she's a lesbian," Christian said exasperatedly, and Ana had to bite back a laugh. "Can you stop acting so crazy?"

"Oh, so I'm crazy now?!" Kate snapped.

"Yes, you're crazy!" Christian snapped back, unapologetic.

"You know what? I don't need this," Kate said, throwing her hands up and turning away from him. "I'm done with you, Christian. I'm going home!"

"Go right ahead," Christian said angrily, waving her off. "Find your own way home, 'cause I'm sure as hell not dropping you off."

Kate whipped around to face him again. "Wouldn't you need a car to drop me off?" she said tauntingly.

Christian's eyes widened with horror as Kate reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a set of car keys, lifting them up and dangling them from her thumb and forefinger. Ana's eyes widened too, too shocked and captivated by the scene playing out in front of her to move.

Christian quickly patted down his chest and pants pockets, hoping in vain to find his car keys. "Give those back," he said to her warningly.

Kate smiled sweetly. "Okay," she said, and the next moment she reared her arm back and flung them into the street.

Christian and Ana both watched as the keys flew through the air and landed on the hard pavement with a clatter. A moment later, a yellow taxicab drove by… directly on top of Christian's car keys.

CRUNCH!

The sickening crunch of smashing metal and plastic sounded, causing Ana to flinch in sympathy and horror. Christian could only stand frozen in shock as he stared at the remnants of his car keys in the middle of the road - thrown there by Kate Kavanaugh.

What the hell was even happening?

"Call a cab, asshole," Kate snapped at him before turning around in a whirl of blonde curls and marching away, not even noticing Ana as she stalked past her down the sidewalk.

Ana watched Kate for a moment before turning to look back at Christian, who still looked utterly defeated as he stared at the broken mess of his car keys sitting in the middle of the road. He waited for several cars to pass before he finally stepped onto the street, kneeling down and picking them up in his hands. He carried them back to the sidewalk, the disbelief and anger showing clearly on his face.

Ana finally took this moment to approach him, trying to hide her sympathetic smile. "...Bad date?"

Christian's head snapped up and his eyes met hers. He looked completely shocked to see her standing there. "Ana," he said, giving her red dress and high heels a quick onceover. He swallowed. "What are you... um, I mean, I didn't realize you… saw all of that."

"Yup," Ana grimaced, raising an eyebrow. "You two were quite the spectacle."

Christian groaned, tilting his head back in exasperation. "I don't know what the hell I was thinking, asking out that nutjob. We couldn't even have a normal conversation for five minutes without her getting insanely jealous for no fucking reason!"

Ana smiled, unable to help feeling a sense of joy that this whole Christian-Kate 'flirtation' was likely dead at this point. Thank God. "Yeah, I heard you mention your lesbian friend."

Christian let out a sad chuckle, shaking his head. "Yeah, Ros. I'll be sure to text her later, she's definitely gonna get a laugh out of this one."

Ana looked down at the smashed-up keys in his hands. "So what are you going to do about your car keys?"

"I have a spare set, but they're at my apartment across town," Christian said, frowning in annoyance at the useless broken keys in his hand. "I could take a cab there and then come back with them. Or I could call a tow truck and save myself the extra trip."

"A tow truck might be faster," Ana agreed. "It would take hours to get across town and then come back again."

Christian groaned. "Why the hell did I suggest this coffee shop? This was hands-down the stupidest decision I ever made."

Ana giggled sympathetically. "I might agree with you on that. But if it makes you feel better, my evening kind of got ruined too."

Christian raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a small smile as he glanced over her nice outfit once again. "Really? Would it be mean if I said that I'm glad to hear that?"

Ana rolled her eyes with a smile before nodding her head toward her apartment building. "C'mon. If you're calling a tow truck, you can do it from my apartment. It would be rude to make you stand out here the whole time."

Christian stared at her, his eyes wide as he glanced at the building behind her. "Wait… you live here?"

"Last time I checked," Ana said amusedly. "What, you thought I just happened to be randomly walking by this particular coffee shop?"

"No, I just…" he hesitated before letting out a sigh. He smiled at her. "Nevermind. Thanks, Ana – I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Ana smiled back at him, and the two of them walked together toward the building's front doors. "And by the way, I'm totally telling everyone at work what I saw happen between you and Kate today."

Christian snorted. "I figured as much."

A/N: Ooh, this should be fun ;)

Please review! Next chapter, Ana and Christian have a little chat inside Ana's apartment.