*waves nervously* I told you I wasn't finished...

Recap - In the last chapter, Christian infuriated Ana by buying her a publishing company and setting up her executive office right next to his, without consulting her about it first so she's threatened to go and get a job outside of GEH. Newly engaged, Ana is trying to get used to the attention she's getting from her co-workers, and someone is still stalking her.

Chapter 36

Christian had been sullen and pissy with me following my minor tantrum and I wasn't feeling too amenable myself. We had parted on less than gracious terms. The moment I stomped back to my desk I took full advantage of my co-workers lunchtime absence by surfing a few job websites and working on my resume. Totally illegal as per the GEH corporate ICT policy of course, but as the worst that can happen is that I get fired, the point seems moot. I scowl at my screen; This time he will not flatten me on this, I am going to do this my way.

Although that office was lovely. I sigh and sink back into my seat as I allow myself the indulgent day dream of days spent in that gloriously private and serene office, surrounded by books with Christian sitting just a few feet away, willing and able to take care of my every-ahem-need.

I glance at the paltry selection of suitable job openings open to recent graduates I've found so far. I can't imagine any of them will match the freedom and opportunities here at GEH. Let alone the proximity to my man for a quick nooner whenever we feel the urge. The neckline on my dress suddenly feels too tight so I lift it away with my fingers, trying to cool the burning sensation on my face. Who am I kidding? I close the screen down with a click of the mouse and, resting my chin on my hand, try to remember what I was doing before lunch.

"So did you enjoy your er…lunch Ana?" I look up from my desk and Andy is wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at me. Smartass.

I try to snap out of my funk and tilt my head to see his still grinning face appear around the edge of a balloon. Like me, the balloon appears to have lost much of its earlier gusto and is now bobbing forlornly at head height. I kind of know just how it feels.

Wary of igniting the office rumor mill with my pissy mood, I force myself to nod eagerly and then distract him by quizzing him on his lunchtime adventures while he settles back at his desk and logs back into his PC.

"Oh, oh, oh-" Andy's eyes light up with excitement and he bounces in his seat as he scans his PC screen. "The new seating plan has arrived. This I've been dying to see," he continues excitedly. I quietly close the other windows I have open and return to my email screen. There are a couple of emails from colleagues but nothing that looks like it might contain a seating plan. I frown and refresh my screen, looking up to see if anyone else is having a problem. There are whoops of excitement from a desk further down the office and a few raised eyebrows so it looks as though everyone else has already received it. Sawyer briefly meets my eye and he looks kind of…guilty? I see his hand move as he clicks something on his screen and instantaneously, an email pops up in my inbox.

It's not that I'm a suspicious person, but something about his manner strikes me as very odd.

I shake away the sensation and open up the plan. Unsurprisingly, my name doesn't feature anywhere on the nineteenth floor desk plan. The names of the other interns are present. I keep my head down and hope that Andy will be so enamoured with the new and exciting prospect of a cubicle nearer to the staff kitchen and with an enhanced window view, he won't notice a tiny detail like the omission of my name from the nineteenth floor.

Some hope; Of course, it takes him less than five seconds. "Ana sweets, don't see your name anywhere on here. You moving to another department?"

"Something like that," I mutter, grabbing my mug and jumping to my feet. "Drink?" I ask pointing to his mug. His eyes narrow but he silently hands his mug to me and I turn on my heel and head off before he can ask me anything else, snagging Sawyer's mug as I sweep past his desk.

As I steam past rows of cubicles and into the staff kitchen I can't miss the hushed whispers and heads ducking down out of view.

I guess Andy wasn't the only person more interested in the location of the boss's fiancée than their own view of the Seattle skyline. My absence from the wretched seating plan has clearly been noted and speculation is rife. I turn on the faucet and take out my frustration on the already-clean mugs by scrubbing them more vigorously than necessary.

"Congratulations Ana…on your engagement and on becoming a lady of leisure. You've somehow managed to snag the big prize. Well done." I freeze at the sound of Tiffany's sickly sweet voice. I turn around slowly to face her, scanning all the way from her fuck-me heels to her too-tight dress until I reach her smug, bitchy smile. She's getting more confident by the day, blocking the doorway to prevent anyone else from coming to my rescue. I open my mouth to close her down politely then think better of it.

I'm done with polite. This needs to stop. Like now.

"Tiffany," I reply on a weary sigh, my mouth tight. "You know who I am. You know who my fiancé is. Do I really need to say any more?" My voice sounds icy. Holding her gaze, I arch one brow and watch as the color slowly drains from her face.

Hmmm…that feels good.

She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times her eyes wide with shock. I watch her throat move as she swallows silently, but she doesn't speak. She shakes her head before backing slowly out of the kitchen, muttering a something that could be an apology for the interruption.

I snort and shake my head, laughing to myself. Doesn't look like she came in here to make a drink after all I muse as I go through the motions of drink making, still grinning at the absurdity of my life. I have no doubt that our mini-showdown will have been broadcast across my co-workers at the speed of light while I stand here, but it had to be done; I can't hand Tiffany and her cronies that power over me; allowing them to make my life a misery, ambushing me, sure that I won't call them out or make a fuss. Of course, I have to be pragmatic and accept that I can't control gossip that goes on out of my hearing, but she'll think twice before speaking to me like that face to face again. Even if I have had to break my own golden rule and use my connection with Christian to warn her off.

This little incident only serves to highlight the chasm that has opened up between them and me. In the eyes of Tiffany and all of those like her, I will always be riding on Christian's coat-tails, no matter what I achieve without his help. I must turn the situation it to my advantage to keep the Tiffanys of this world at bay and concentrate instead on achieving my own satisfaction and reaching my own goals. If I don't, I will always have people like Tiffany thinking that it's ok to make snide comments to my face, safe in the knowledge I won't do anything about it.

Gah, Christian knows this. That's why he created an office for me away from the braying crowd, but close to him. Actually scratch that, the being close to him and the connecting door has been put there for much less honorable reasons. I pause to think, resting my hip against the counter top. He's said I can build the business up in any way I want to. I'm still pissed at the way he went about it, but I feel a flicker of excitement unfurl in my belly as I consider my new career; finding new authors and helping them grow into great authors; being a part of making great stories available to everyone. It is everything I ever wanted.

Floating on my glorious moment of epiphany, I glide back to my desk with my head held high, defying the eyes following my progress across the office from every cubicle. Grabbing my cell from my bag, I send Christian a quick, groveling message:

Ana: I'm sorry. I love you. I would love to accept my new job. PS Does Grey Publishing have a non-fraternization policy? Because I kind of have the hots for my boss's boss… ;)

My cell beeps seconds later:

Christian: Frequent and intense fraternization with your boss's boss is an absolute requirement. PS I love you too baby and I can't wait to show you just how deeply I appreciate your gratitude ;)

I wriggle in my seat to suppress the sudden surge of heat between my legs at his reply and quickly put my cell into my desk drawer and lock it away, smirking to myself. I am determined to be ready for the presentation this afternoon and sending kinky messages to my fiancé will definitely prove to be a distraction.

An hour later, I'm still floating on my happy cloud as we follow Sam to the conference room to deliver our presentation. Dex is bright-eyed with excitement as he strides along at the side of our boss. "How many people can we expect in the audience today Sam?" he asks.

"Typically around a dozen or so," Sam replies breezily, "Although it depends on how busy people are of course. The general invitation is issued to everyone in my team."

"Will there be any representation from senior management?" Darcy asks innocently, flashing me a warm smile. I balk and immediately try to contort my expression into something non-hostile. I really wish she'd stop doing that, I have no idea how to respond to a friendly Darcy. It's kinda freaky.

Sam turns to look at her, her lips twisted into a wry smile. "Again, senior managers are notified, but it's unusual to see them. They come if they're available, but usually it's just your lowly co-workers I'm afraid Darcy."

I inwardly roll my eyes and try to hide my smirk. Somehow I expect today might just be one of those unusual times.

The hum of quiet conversation gradually becomes a loud buzz as Sam helps to orientate us with the deceptively simple looking hardware that drives the full multi-media display experience. The screen is interactive and takes up the entire length and height of one wall and is enhanced by an equally impressive sound system. I watch carefully to make sure I know what I am doing. I am so intent on listening to Sam, I completely miss how quickly the room is filling up from the double doors at the back. The next time I look up, the room is full.

I gulp. Shit…

Actually, full doesn't begin to describe it; Rammed to the gills is a more apt description. Every seat is taken and there are people squashed shoulder to shoulder in the aisles at each side of the room and leaning against the walls and windows. At one side of the room, a couple of people I recognize from my office but have never previously spoken to are working together to stack chairs and drag them out of the way to create even more standing room for the people still streaming through the doors at the back.

Beside me I catch Sam's low chuckle. "Wow…seems to be lots of interest in your presentation today doesn't there?"

I school my features into an expression of calm and take a moment to look over my notes. I feel horribly exposed. I guess some people are here out of friendly interest but my belly is swirling and churning uncontrollably. I'm terrified that I'll either mess up or throw up if I can't force those fears away.

"Ana, I can cover for you hun, you don't have to do this." I look up to find Darcy leaning over me and completing invading my personal space, her face a picture of rapt concern. She leans even closer and smiles, tilting her head rather like she's examining a cute animal. Gritting my teeth I lean back to put some space between us and shake my head. "Thanks but it's fine Darcy. We're prepared," I reply firmly, my voice sounding more confident than I feel.

The people crowding the door slowly part and with a sinking sense of inevitability I see Christian striding confidently through the dumbstruck audience and into the room. He looks edible.

Great, that's all I need.

He's casually dressed without a jacket, his tie is loosened off and hanging between his muscled pecs. His shirt sleeves are rolled at the cuffs, exposing a tantalizing glimpse of thick, strong, veined forearm.

The same forearm that only last night held my thigh as he…No! Focus Ana, I chastise myself, closing down the memory immediately.

As if by magic, a seat becomes open right at the very front and Christian folds his tall, lithe body into it, mindless of his breathless audience. If anyone was in any doubt up to now as to why he was here, his expression tells them everything they need to know. His gray eyes are fixed intently on me and the corner of his mouth lifts briefly in a lazy smirk accompanied by a sexy wink. Everything south of my belly immediately contracts and I inadvertently lick my lips. His eyes drop to my lips and darken dangerously.

Jesus he looks so hot.

I suppress a smile as I see his legions of admirers standing behind him and safely out of his view, closely observing his every move and openly drooling.

I totally understand why; He's hotter than anyone has any right to be, especially while we supposed to be poised and professional. Gah! I know he's trying to be supportive but this was all I needed. My belly lurches uncontrollably and I blow air slowly through my pursed lips in an effort to fight the rising sensation of nausea. I'm really concerned that my lunch is about to make an imminent and unwelcome reappearance right in front of me.

A quick sideways glance at my fellow interns reassures me a little – they all look at least as nervous as I feel. Dex's knuckles are white as he grips his page of crib notes, his forehead creased into a single vertical line while his eyes scan the page frantically as though it is the most important note he has ever read. Amanda has risen to her tiptoes to peer over Dex's shoulder, one hand fiddling nervously with a lock of her hair. Andy is rolling his shoulders and stamping from foot to foot like a fighter about to enter the ring. Darcy is also fiddling with her hair, her face morphing into a rigid smile that shows me every single tooth in her mouth when she catches my eye. Her eyes are unnaturally bright and unblinking, making her appear more than a little crazy right now – perhaps that's what's with her today; total insanity. Tyler looks sick; his skin is tinged with an unhealthy grayish pallor and his face is damp with pin pricks of sweat. I watch him delve into his pocket and fish out the ragged remains of a tissue before proceeding to use it to absorb the moisture from his forehead and neck. His breath quickens as the tissue disintegrates between his fingers and for a brief moment I fear he is about to cry as he stares in dismay at the soggy mess flaking through his fingers onto the floor.

Shit, it's really not that bad. Inwardly, I shake myself. We're ready, we're prepared, we can do this. I turn to Sam who is waiting patiently for the room to settle. Of all of us, she is the least affected – she actually looks completely unfazed by the sell out crowd.

Her voice is confident and steady as she introduces the presentation, strolling across the front of the room, her natural charisma holding the attention of the audience and introducing our first speaker, Dex.

To my relief, Dex starts confidently and he remains impressive through his segment; at one point I fear for his life when he grabs my wrist and holds it aloft to illustrate a point; fortunately, he drops it immediately following what sounds suspiciously like a low growl rolling from somewhere on the front row.

Amanda, picking up after Dex quickly smoothes over any awkwardness with her effortless charm and delivers her section of the presentation flawlessly. Then Andy's dry wit raises a few chuckles that lightens the atmosphere in the room, making us all feel a little more relaxed.

By the time Darcy's section begins, the audience is eating out of our hands, laughing politely at the lame jokes and joining in whenever they are asked to. I feel my breathing begin to even out and my shoulders drop a little in anticipation of my section coming up next. Perhaps this will be ok after all. Darcy's section includes a short film that, during early rehearsals, had been temperamental and didn't play consistently. I breathe a sigh of relief as, this time, Darcy hits the trigger and the film begins to play...but my relief turns to panic when I realize the film is playing in complete and utter silence.

The whole room stills and waits. Without the audio, the film looks like a bad acid trip. The audience is watching attentively, willing Darcy to fix the sound or even laugh off the technical blip but…no. I can see we've lost her. Darcy has frozen in horror, staring blindly at the laptop as though she hopes the equipment will bow to her will and spontaneously function. The seconds stretch and the volume of fidgeting from the audience increases. I move a little closer and can instantly see the source of the problem – a small light on the display tells me she simply needs to hit the mute key.

It's really that complex.

I pause, waiting for her synapses to trigger a movement in her but nothing happens. She is as still as a statue. I edge a little closer and mutter a prompt out of the side of my mouth but she's too deep into catatonic panic to react. She doesn't even seem to hear me. Smiling at her apologetically, my hand slowly reaches down and hits the key.

The entire room exhales as one with relief as the sound of the audio fills the room. Foolishly, I spare a glimpse in Christian's direction and immediately have to look away. He's looking like a proud father, his smug smile positively radiating with pride. Shit. To make matters worse, I'm not the only one to notice. To my horror I see elbows prodding neighbours and knowing nods intoned in Christian's direction as his appreciative audience take stock of his loving expression. OK, so he looks adorable, but there's really no need for everyone to stare. He's mine.

Darcy finishes quietly, still reeling over her howler and finally it's over to me.

I start confidently, my voice sounds clear yet unnaturally loud to my ears as it projects across the soundless room. To my great irritation I can see that the audience is still more interested in watching Christian's reaction to me than they are in listening to my insights into the application of new technology in communication. This isn't a surprise, but I feel affronted on behalf of my colleagues for all of the work we've put into this presentation. I could be saying anything, nobody is listening.

Nobody except Christian that is. His attention on me is intense and absolute. He is hanging on my every word.

Fighting my rising temper, I continue to speak, projecting my delivery to the back of the room, trying to win over the audience as I'd seen Christian do at Seatons. I don't have his charisma or power…but I do have his attention. Glancing down at my notes to hide my smile, an idea forms in my head. Time to be a little bit naughty. Perhaps it's payback for making me inappropriately horny during his speech at the New York conference or perhaps I just can't resist entertaining the salivating troops.

Slowly, as though absent-mindedly, I raise my fingers to my mouth and stroke the pad of my index finger across my bottom lip. Without even breaking my speech, I lower my lashes before floating my hand away as though it was an unconscious gesture. I sense a distinct shuffle in movement from the front row, but I ignore it.

Turning to face the huge screen, I raise my hand and slowly allow it to settle softly on my décolletage. My fingers splay across my skin before my hand moves down to stroke over the contour of my breast. I allow my hand to linger just for a moment before sweeping my arm away into the air to highlight a conclusion I'm drawing on the distant screen.

This time I cannot resist a peek in Christian's direction.

Oh yes. If this was the time or the place I'd be executing the perfect little dance of triumph right about now.

His gaze has hardened, his eyes dark, glittering and knowing. I recognize that expression; It is a look of promise. I force my gaze away and finish the presentation feeling jubilant…yet horny.

I am going to be in so much trouble later and I cannot wait.

I take a step back as a bright-eyed Sam thanks us all for the presentation and opens the floor to questions. I bite back a groan of frustration as I see far too many hands waving in the air. Beside me, Andy chuckles under his breath. "It's just like they're going for a full body takeover via Mr Grey's ass. Pathetic little creatures," he mutters, blinking innocently. I bite my lip and try not to laugh. Some hands are waving maniacally, accompanied by a little seat bounce as their owners' eyes dart glance between Sam and Christian. They really are determined to get themselves noticed.

First up is a short, bearded guy in the middle row. He stands to ask a three part question about our views on the use of technology, ethics and privacy, his stubby fingers gesticulating wildly as he manages to spin out his moment in the sun by casually mentioning his current, highly successful project.

"Oh nicely done, Sir. I think we all got that," Andy mutters under his breath. "But what I really want to know is when the fuck did GEH begin its gnome employment program?" he adds, his fingers scratching a phantom itch on his nose to shade his mouth. "I missed that memo, that's for sure."

I splutter and try to disguise it as a cough, earning myself a sharp look from Christian. I don't think he's missed a thing.

For once, Tyler, our techie expert is paying attention and launches into a detailed response, extolling the virtues and capabilities of gps and place marketing. I smile inwardly as I notice Christian studying him closely, probably trying to pick up a few stalking tips.

For a moment Tyler's the most animated I've ever seen him, but then he catches my eye, glances at Christian's intense expression and seems to lose his momentum, stumbling and stuttering to a close. Poor guy, so nervous. Is he ever going to get used to being around Christian?

"Lightweight," Andy mumbles to the floor.

Geez, I hope Andy's not intending to provide a running commentary on everything this afternoon, he's really pushing his luck. I glare at him but he just flashes me a cheeky wink and continues his snarky commentary unabashed. A couple of questions even come my way. I answer them as well as I can, trying to ignore the minute attention on me. A few, long minutes later we all breathe a sigh of relief as Sam brings the session to a close.

As the enthusiastic applause dies down and room begins to empty, Christian rises to his feet and moves to the front. He stands as close as he can without touching and looks down at me through hooded eyes, shaded by his dark lashes.

"An excellent presentation, I'm inspired and so fucking proud," he mutters quietly, dipping his head to nuzzle my neck. His hand curls over my hip and pulls me fractionally closer so that I can feel the heat of his breath on my ear. He lowers his voice to a soft whisper: "but my palm is twitching after that little display Miss Steele."

My face flames in embarrassment. I try to put a little distance between us for propriety's sake but Christian is smirking at me, his eyes still glittering with lust and amusement, his hand firmly splayed over my hip, pinning me to his side. He congratulates my fellow interns on the quality of the presentation, thanks Sam and then finally cups my face in his hands to kiss me swiftly before sweeping out of the room and back to whatever multi-million dollar deal he interrupted to come watch my presentation.

A little under an hour later, I'm fighting nervous tension again as sit in the on a large sectional couch in the Human Resources floor of GEH. I'm here to present my account of what happened that day in Portland with Greg Kadens. The bully Christian spectacularly fired and sent flying across the room on his ass. I have no doubt that part of the Christian and Ana show will be brought up at some point. That's going to be awkward. Darcy, Dex and Amanda have already been in and supplied their account of what happened along with a few other members of the New Acquisitions Team. It looks as though I'm to be last in; the encore perhaps.

My appointment is scheduled for five minutes from now. Hopefully, after that, it will be all over.

For once though, I'm on my own and enjoying the solitude. The waiting area I'm in is blessedly detached from the main open plan office area so at least I'm spared the stares and the whispers for a few precious minutes. There had been some sort of glitch on the alarm at Escala earlier that had distracted Sawyer and Taylor and taken them into an intense looking security guy huddle, so when the time for my meeting with HR drew near, I slipped away into the elevator alone, offering Sawyer the universal signal for 'I'm going down to HR in the elevator, I'll be back in twenty minutes" via the waving around of my hands and vigorous head bobbing.

I hope he got most of what I was trying to communicate anyway.

I've been waylaid once already by a wide-eyed payroll employee who asked me to sign a form confirming my change of address. Her cheeks heated as she breathlessly explained that Mr Grey's Personal Assistant had contacted her before eight o'clock this morning and had been most insistent that my home address and FI details be updated immediately to reflect my 'new living arrangements'. I was planning to tell her that I would action the change myself later, but she was gazing at me with such an expression of awe, I decided the simplest thing would be to fill out the damned form and be done with it, if only to save her from suffering a complete breakdown.

One thing to come out of that conversation though was the knowledge that we have a joint checking account. Something else my fiancé has omitted to mention. Feels as though it's going to be a long list of grievances I'll be raising with him later. I'll have to come up with some ways to make listening to me worth his while.

My blood slowly heats as my mind drifts to thinking of the methods Mr Sexpert would employ to capture my attention. Hmmmm…tempting. I reach for my cell to send a teasing text and curse when I remember I've left my cell in my drawer, upstairs. Damn. I hope I'll still be in the mood to send a teasing text once I'm through giving evidence.

I'm yanked rudely from my daydream by a high-pitched siren blasting through my ears. I sit up abruptly looking around for the source of the sound. Crap, sounds like the fire alarm. A fire drill is just what I don't need right now. I cast my mind back to the interminable presentation on safety I endured on our very first day trying to remember where I'm supposed to assemble as I rise to my feet and look around for the nearest fire exit. At least I'm only on the fourth floor, descending the stairs from the twentieth floor in five inch heels would have been really brutal.

The fire escape stairwell is already buzzing with the constant shrill of the fire alarm competing with the high pitched clip of stiletto heels over the limestone steps. I glance up the staircase behind me, but the impossibility of pushing through the designer jackets to find Sawyer doesn't seem sensible. I smile wanly to myself as I grab the hand rail and begin to move downstairs with everyone else – poor Sawyer will be going frantic, the only time he lets me out of his sight and this happens. Christian isn't exactly the most understanding of employers.

Blinking in the bright day light, we spill out onto the sidewalk and are immediately herded in the direction of the assembly point by a couple of guys in fluorescent 'fire warden' tabards, possibly the most utilitarian outfit I've seen in the GEH building since I began working here. Hmmm, so ordinary people do exist here. It's kind of a relief.

The crowd thickens as we move further along the sidewalk making it increasingly difficult to scan the faces around me. I carry on looking, hoping to see someone, anyone from the security team, but as the minutes pass, I realize I'm surrounded by strangers. A sensation of anxiety settles heavily in my belly. Something feels off.

A few moments later and I'm not the only one feeling fearful. The ear bleeding sound of fire truck sirens silences the good natured chatter of the people around me. We all watch in horrified silence as three large fire appliances accelerate past us screaming towards the front of the building.

Shit, what if this isn't a drill. Christian may still be up there. The air around me suddenly feels too thin and I gasp as I look up to the huge white monolith that is Grey House behind me, my eyes scanning for any signs of smoke.

I jump as I feel a hand curl around my arm. "Ana!" I hear the relief in Tyler's voice as I turn to see him. His face is shimmering with a coating of sweat, his eyes bugging at me wildly. "Thank fuck, Mr Grey is going wild because nobody knows where you are. He sent us all to look for you. You've got to get out of here."

I grab Tyler's arms, holding him in place. "You've seen Christian?" I demand urgently. "Is he okay?" Tyler nods once and frowns, pulling me away from the crowd towards the kerb where an SUV with blackened windows is just pulling up. Tyler quickens his pace towards the SUV, glancing back towards the building anxiously as he pulls my stunned body along behind him. "Yeah, yeah, he's fine, he's out the front of the building going ape because you're not with your security guy. This is your car, your guy's in there," he adds, pulling the car door open and shoving me across the seat with surprising force.

"Hey, wait a…" I begin, scrambling onto my feet, but Tyler slams the door before I can reach it and I fall back onto the seat as the car screeches away from the kerb.

What the…?

There is a male in the driving seat, but he doesn't turn to greet me. There's a faint smell of body odour and food lingering in the car. The car is moving fast, dangerously fast. Nothing about this situation feels right. I raise my head slowly to the driver's mirror to confirm my fears. The eyes that meet mine aren't Sawyer's; they belong to Greg Kadens.

A/N - I'm so sorry it has taken me months and months to update this story. I got so stuck and wrote and rewrote parts of it over and over again. Thanks so much for bearing with me and especially for all of the reviews and PMs I've had this year. Even now, months after I last updated, I still get a few pms every week reminding me about this story. If it wasn't for that, I'd have deleted this long ago. Special thanks to LinFan for sending me a whole list of plot lines that helped me out of the hole I was in. This chapter would still be idling on my PC if it wasn't for her.

I hope you like it anyway, thanks everyone xx