Fifty Shades of Sacrifice

Chapter 13

Author's Note: I guess with this story, I officially nominate Ana and Christian for having the worst week ever LOL! There's still more drama before they find their happy ending, but it's coming.

Ana walked into SIP with a newfound buoyancy in her step. She knew she and Christian still had a mountain of issues to surmount, but she felt like they had made a small dent and that something fundamental had shifted in their relationship — for the better.

"Hi Ana," Hannah said merrily. "I love that grey sweater dress. Where'd you get it?"

"Thanks. I think it came from Saks. Honestly, Christian is in charge of the clothes department. I don't even know where half the stuff in our closet comes from. I have no patience for shopping."

Oh crap, that came out weird. Now it sounds like my husband has a clothes fetish. Do I mention that he got me a personal shopper? No, that screams prima donna. Stick to strange, not snotty.

"Derek picks out most of my clothes too. I'm actually color-blind so before he came along, I used to wear orange tops with green pants and assumed I looked snazzy," Hannah chortled.

Thank God, Hannah's weird too.

"In that case we should send the boys out to the store while we enjoy a day of drinking," Ana replied, sharing a laugh with the quirky coworker who was really growing on her. "Actually, you and Derek should come by for dinner some time. Christian and I rarely double date."

"Wow, ummm, sure," Hannah said, somewhat awestruck — and daunted — by the prospect of having dinner with a billionaire.

"Don't worry — just something casual," Ana added to appease her fears.

"We'd love to. Derek has to go to San Francisco at the end of the month so if you guys are free next week that would be great."

It was Ana's turn to be hesitant. Will Christian be available? He rarely is on such short notice. Oh hell, he claims to be turning over a new leaf. Maybe this will be a good test case.

"Sure that should work. Let me just check Christian's schedule and I'll let you know about a day."

"Cool."

Ana clicked into her Blackberry to access Christian's daily schedule, which was linked to her calendar. She was dismayed to see a large chunk of time blocked off in red to denote a pending two-week trip to Asia. But she was devastated when she saw Stacie's name accompanying the trip details.

You've got to be kidding me! She's like a fucking parasite leeching off my husband. And you're a fucking moron for not taking Christian up on his offer to fire her bony ass.

Ana took a deep breath, reprimanding herself for the mean girl pettiness that Stacie inspired in her.

Take a chill pill. He's not going to cheat. And if he does, then he's not the man you thought you married. He works with her. So he's going to invariably spend time with her. Only problem is that I'd like him to spend time with me, too. He's wigging out about me being gone for two days while he's jetting off to Asia for two solid weeks. I hate constantly being put in this position. Do I make him feel bad for going and pressure him to cancel a trip on which thousands of jobs — and people's livelihoods — may hinge? This deal could be a windfall of up to half a billion dollars. Is staying home with me worth that cost? Sure, some things are more important than money — but 500 million freaking dollars?!?! That's a bucket-load of money.

Ana tried in vain to concentrate on the manuscript in front of her, rereading the same line about 17 times, but the Asia trip loomed large in her mind.