She’s a worthy opponent now.
And she keeps my ass in line.
And I keep hers—
Don’t think about that now!
He raises his fists. “Ready, old man?”
What? I’m ten years his junior.
“Old. I’ll give you old, Bastille.” I lunge at him.
Feeling refreshed and ready for the day, I take my seat at my desk and fire up the iMac. Ana is waiting at the top of my inbox.
From: Anastasia Steele
Subject: Soaring, In and Out of the Red Room.
Date: July 18 2011 09:32
To: Christian Grey
My dearest Mr. Grey
It’s hard to know which I prefer: sailing, soaring or the Red Room of Pain Pleasure. Thank you for yet another unforgettable weekend.
I love flying high in every way with you.
I am, as ever, in awe of your talents…all of them. ;)
Your soon-to-be wife xxxx
My grin in response to Ana’s e-mail is out of control. But I don’t care. I look up when Andrea places a cup of coffee on my desk, and she looks a little disconcerted.
“Thanks, Andrea.”
“Shall I ask Ros to come up?” Andrea asks, recovering her composure.
“Please do.” I clear my throat, wondering what’s bothering my PA. I type a quick response to Ana.
From: Christian Grey
Subject: Physical Pursuits
Date: July 18 2011 09:58
To: Anastasia Steele
My darling Anastasia
I love soaring with you.
I love playing with you.
I love doing you.
I love you.
Always.
Christian Grey
CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.
PS: Which talent in particular? Inquiring minds need to know.
Ros knocks and enters my office. “Good morning, Christian,” she chimes as I press send. She’s unusually cheerful. Standing, I wave her to the table.
“Good morning.”
“Why the frown?” she asks as she sits down.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so upbeat.”
Her smile could rival the Great Sphinx at Giza. “God is good.”
I raise my eyebrows. This is very un-Ros-like behavior. Taking a seat opposite her, I wait patiently for an explanation. She shuffles her papers and hands me the agenda for our meeting. It’s obvious she’s not going to elucidate, and I don’t wish to pry. I glance down at the first item. “The Taiwan shipyard?”
“They’re offering a full disclosure of their P&L, their assets and liabilities. They want to partner with a U.S. company. They’d like to pitch.”
“They sound eager.”
“They do,” Ros confirms.
“I think we should take them up on the offer and conduct our due diligence. Then we can take it from there. Agreed?”
“I think so. We have nothing to lose at this stage.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“I’ll put the paperwork in place.” Ros scribbles down a note and moves to the next item on the agenda.
There’s an e-mail from Ana waiting for me when I’ve concluded my meeting with Ros.
From: Anastasia Steele
Subject: Your Physical Pursuits
Date: July 18 2011 10:01
To: Christian Grey
Why, Mr. Grey…so rude and so modest! I think you can guess—your sexpertise knows no bounds.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing the house again this evening.
I am in a meeting that concludes at 5 p.m. I’ll see you then?
Ax
I pick up my phone and dial her direct line.
“Ana Steele,” she answers in her crisp, executive voice.
“Ana Steele, Christian Grey.”
“Ah, my talented fiancé. How are you?”
“Very well, thank you. Taylor and I will be there at five.”
“Great. Now, I need to get back to daydreaming…I mean work. I don’t want my boss’s boss’s boss to catch me shirking my responsibilities.”
“What do you think he’d do if he did?”
She gasps and the sound sends a thrill through my body. “Something unspeakable,” she whispers.
“That could be arranged.”
“Your twitchy palm?”
“As you know, it’s perpetually twitchy. And not been used to its full potential of late.”
“Stop. You’re making me moist.”
What!
“Moist.” I clear my throat. “Miss Steele. That word should only be reserved for cakes. I like you wet.”
“I like that you like me wet.” Her voice is almost inaudible.
I shift in my chair. “Five p.m.,” I whisper.
“How can you make three syllables sound so alluring?”
“It’s a curse.”
“It’s a gift.” Her voice is husky.
Damn, but she has an answer for everything. “See you at five, Ana. Laters, baby.” I’m on top of the world. She giggles in that delightful way she does, and it takes all my willpower to hang up.
I bound out of my chair feeling effervescent. Flirting with Ana is always a joy. And so is discussing the latest prototype of the GEH solar tablet with Fred and Barney. I head out of my office, wondering if I should have studied engineering at school.
As I’m eating my lunch, my phone flashes with Elliot’s goofy face.
“Bro?”
“Hey, dude, we still on for later today?”
“Yes. Ana and I are looking forward to it.”
“Cool.” He pauses.
“What is it?” I ask. “Gia? She’ll be there, too.”
He scoffs. “Like that would ever be a problem. I’m talking bachelor party, hotshot. Saturday.”
“Elliot—”
“Don’t be an uptight asshole,” he interrupts. “It’s happening. Even if I have to kidnap you.”
“Fuck—”
“No ifs or buts, bro. I’ve got the construction crew on standby with duct tape and a cargo van. Suck it up.”