Freed (Fifty Shades as Told by Christian #3) - E.L. James Page 0,192

to reception. They open, and Taylor stalks through to join me, but beyond him I catch a glimpse of Susannah Shaw sitting on one of the Chesterfields in the waiting area.

What the hell?

Are all my ex-submissives here?

She’s reading a magazine, so she doesn’t see me.

I haven’t got time for this.

I spot Leila through the glass wall of the conference room. Without knocking, I barge in and am met by three surprised pairs of eyes. Ana stares at me in shock, then fury. Leila’s eyes widen, but she drops her gaze to the table, as she should. Prescott stares ahead. My first response is relief that Ana is unharmed, but it’s swiftly swept aside by my anger.

“You,” I address Prescott. “You’re fired. Get out now.” Prescott nods—resigned, I think—and makes her way around the table to leave.

Ana gapes at me. “Christian—” She pushes her chair back, and I know she’s going to stand up and berate me. I hold a finger up in warning.

“Don’t.” I keep my voice low while I struggle to contain my fury. Prescott, her face expressionless, walks past me out of the room. Shutting the door behind her, I turn to confront Leila.

She looks as I remember when she was with me: healthy and well adjusted. It’s a relief to see her looking like her old self, and I’d tell her that, if I wasn’t so fucking angry with her right now. Splaying my fingers onto the cool surface of the polished wood, I lean forward, tension tightening every muscle in my body, and snarl, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Christian!” Ana exclaims, shocked, I think, but I ignore her and concentrate my attention on Miss Leila Williams.

“Well?” I demand.

Leila’s eyes dart to mine, her face slowly draining of color. “I wanted to see you, and you wouldn’t let me,” she whispers.

“So you came here to harass my wife?”

Leila examines the tabletop again.

Well, I’m here now. You got what you wanted.

I’m mad that I’ve been played, but more livid that she’s here with Ana.

“Leila, if you come anywhere near my wife again, I will cut off all support. Doctors, art school, medical insurance—all of it—gone. Do you understand?”

“Christian!” Ana tries to interject. She looks distraught, but right now I don’t give a shit, and I silence her with a look.

“Yes,” Leila says, her voice almost inaudible.

“What’s Susannah doing in reception?”

“She came with me.”

I stand upright and run a hand through my hair.

What am I going to do with her?

“Christian, please,” Ana interjects again. “Leila just wants to say thank you. That’s all.”

Ignoring Ana, I direct a question at Leila. “Did you stay with Susannah while you were sick?”

“Yes.”

“Did she know what you were doing while you were staying with her?”

“No. She was away on vacation.”

I can’t imagine that Susannah would have stood by and let Leila lose her mind. She always struck me as a caring and considerate person.

I sigh. “Why do you need to see me? You know you should send any requests through Flynn. Do you need something?”

Leila traces her finger along the edge of the table and the silence fills the room. Abruptly, she looks up. “I had to know,” she declares, looking directly at me.

“Had to know what?”

“That you’re okay.”

What the fuck? “That I’m okay?” I don’t believe her.

“Yes.” She’s not backing down.

“I’m fine. There, question answered. Now Taylor will run you to Sea-Tac so you can go back to the East Coast. And if you take one step west of the Mississippi, it’s all gone. Understand?”

“Yes. I understand,” Leila says quietly, her expression finally contrite. It goes a long way to calming me.

“Good,” I mutter.

“It might not be convenient for Leila to go back now. She has plans,” Ana intervenes again.

“Anastasia.” My tone is arctic. “This does not concern you.” The stubborn scowl that I know so well forms on her face.

“Leila came to see me, not you,” she snaps.

Leila turns to look at Ana. “I had my instructions, Mrs. Grey. I disobeyed them.” She glances at me, then back to my wife. “This is the Christian Grey I know,” she says, and her tone is almost wistful.

What?

That’s not fair.

We role-played a relationship, for fuck’s sake. And the last time she was in a room with my wife, she had her at gunpoint! I will go to the ends of the earth to keep Anastasia safe. Leila rises, and I want to leap to my own defense, but if that’s how she’d like to rewrite history, then so be it. I