Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing with the exception of any original characters. No copyright infringement intended. Just churning out those plot bunnies, my lovelies.

Hey Everyone!

Well here it is, the start of I'm Yours!

This is the third and final instalment in the Maîtrise trilogy. I never thought we would get this far but thank you so much for the support you have shown me and my stories. It's because of you guys I have continued with it. :)

I really hope you will enjoy this story. I will continue to aim for weekly uploads but I do have a chaotic work schedule at the moment, so there may be delays here and there. If I'm MIA, please be assured that I haven't abandoned this story. I'll always come back when I can.

More coming soon.

Much Love,

Chelsea x

For complete transparency (because I always get asked about this when I start uploading new stories) there will be no cheating and no Ana/Christian deaths in this story. Strictly HEA, folks x

"Are you ready to get back to the daily grind?"

I lazily raised my head and met Luke Sawyer's sea-green gaze in the rear-view mirror. He stared back at me from behind the wheel, his eyes shifting constantly between me and the road ahead.

I snorted a low laugh and shook my head.

"My body might be here, but I'm pretty sure my head and heart are still in Paris," I sighed.

He smiled and nodded, and I wondered for a moment if he wished he was still in Europe too.

Sawyer and Jazmin Grande had escorted me and Christian to France, joining us on our ten-day long vacation to celebrate my 23rd birthday. Taylor and Mrs Jones took their own vacation to Florida with Taylor's daughter, Sophie, partaking in the delights to be had at Disneyworld. I ordered them to take time off, refusing to let them come to Paris. I wasn't going to take no for an answer, regardless of what Christian had to say about the matter. Neither of them would be able to rest if they were busy looking after us all of the time. Taylor, especially, deserved a break. The man was a saint.

My birthday vacation was yet another surprise, courtesy of my always extravagant, always spontaneous fiancé. Collecting me from work one evening, he drove us straight to the airport. He didn't tell me what was happening, not until we got on the tarmac. He had taken care of everything – our bags, passports, travel arrangements, no stone left unturned. All I had to do was buckle up and enjoy the complimentary glass of champagne I was offered.

I had expected some kind of surprise for my birthday, but I didn't anticipate being whisked away to one of the most romantic cities in the world.

Christian had leased a chateau for us to stay in, with a smaller property on the grounds for Jaz and Sawyer to base themselves in. The chateau sat in the middle of vast lavender fields, a sea of purple surrounding us from every angle and sending a waft of calming aromas to the house through the evening breeze. I could almost feel myself there now, standing on the balcony and watching the sunset dropping behind the hills, a glass of rosé in my hand, relaxing after a day spent exploring the city…

It was absolutely perfect.

A part of me was sad to be back home. I could have stayed in Paris for ever.

I glimpsed down at my phone and smiled as I looked over my new wallpaper.

My Christian.

I had snapped the candid photograph of him on our last night in France. He was in the bathroom, getting ready to hop in the shower before dinner. His head was bowed, his fingers working their way through the buttons on his shirt. There was something so intimate and human about the scene that I couldn't help memorialising it to savour in the future. Moments after I had zoomed in on him, he turned his head to me and smirked. It was that devilish smile I had captured in my photo. His dimples pierced his cheeks, a familiar glint in his eyes.

"Do you have an easy day ahead of you?" Sawyer asked, slicing through my thoughts.

"I don't know," I shrugged, lifting my eyes to the front again. "I'll find out what needs doing when I get there. I imagine there's a ton of emails waiting for me."

I settled back in my seat and raked a hand over my tired features, a yawn escaping me. I was still struggling to adjust to being back on normal time, jetlag kicking my butt since we arrived home yesterday morning.

"I don't know how Christian does it," I mumbled. "He never gets jetlag. He recovers so easily."

"He's had years of practice," Jaz observed, twisting her head towards me. "He averaged 350 flights in the last two years alone. The far East and central Europe were his most frequent destinations."

Sawyer tilted his head to the side, in her direction, and frowned.

"How exactly do you know that?" he questioned.

"I did my research," she replied, shrugging. "One of us needs to keep up-to-date on information relating to our employers. You never know when it might come in handy."

I withheld a laugh as I saw Sawyer roll his eyes in the mirror.

Since catching the two of them in a compromising position at my engagement party, I had seen a definite shift in their behaviour. For the better, I might add! They no longer bicker, just share a healthy banter with each other. They had so far managed to keep things professional whilst shadowing me, but I had seen them holding hands at the end of their shifts some nights.

Christian still wasn't impressed about their budding romance. But, to be truthful, he still wasn't completely sold on Sawyer. I had yet to convince him that Sawyer was more than capable of looking after me.

"Maybe he wouldn't hate your guts if you actually bothered to read up about him," Jaz added, chiding her partner.

"So, what, I can try kissing his ass? No thanks. Not gonna waste my time doing that." Sawyer grumbled. He quickly glanced back at me. "Sorry."

"Don't be," I shook my head.

"I just mean, he hates me anyway so there's no point trying to suck up to him."

"He doesn't hate you."

"He doesn't trust me," he eyed me. "I get it, though. After what happened in Maîtrise –"

I raised my hand to silence him.

"Can we park that conversation?" I asked. "I'm done focusing on that part of my past."

"Yeah, of course," he nodded eagerly. "I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"You can talk about it," I clarified. "It doesn't affect me anymore. At least, not like it used to… I'm trying to focus on the here and now these days. I don't want to get caught up in the past when I have such an amazing present and future ahead of me."

Sawyer cracked a grin and nodded again.

"And for what it's worth," I said. "It doesn't matter if Christian hates you or not. You work for me, not him. I like you and I trust you."

"Thank god for that," he snorted as he pulled the car into the SIP parking lot. "That's one huge relief."

I climbed the stairs to my floor and was immediately met by my boss cheerfully grinning at my arrival. Mark Griffin was stood at the top of the staircase, his hands on his hips, wearing a tweed pants and vest combo with a dusty pink shirt open at the collar. He looked suave and sophisticated, more so than usual, his curly black hair tamed into a side-swept style and his stubble neatly trimmed.

"Someone looks fancy," I hummed as I reached him.

"Gotta look my best, seeing as my favourite girl is back in the office!" he beamed, opening out his arms and quickly pulling me in for a hug. He smelled of coffee and chocolate. "God, it's good to have you back."

"Don't tell me you've actually missed me?"

"Are you kidding?" he shrieked. He pushed me away and shook his head. "I just want to know what you bought me. Because I know you must have bought me something from your travels."

I held up the small gift bag I had prepared for him this morning, filling it with the trinkets I had collected from various stores and boutiques.

"Oooh," he purred, snatching it from me and rummaging inside. "A mini Eiffel Tower, cute… Cologne? Yummy! Oh wait… Chocolate? Yes, baby. You did good."

"You specifically asked for chocolate, so it would be disgraceful if that's the one thing I forgot," I giggled.

"I also asked for some nudes of your fiancé, but you wouldn't grant me that wish," he pursed his lips, then winked at me.

"That's for my eyes only," I teased him.

He stuck his tongue out and gestured for me to follow him. Jaz kept a respectable distance before heading straight for my office, while I trailed Mark into his.

"Did you have a good birthday?" he called back to me.

"I did, thank you. Very relaxing. Exactly what I was hoping for."

Walking across the length of the floor, I smiled and greeted my colleagues as I passed their desks. Each of them raised their heads in recognition, but none of them could muster the same degree of warmth I had extended to them.

Smiles didn't reach eyes. There was no chirpy small talk, no acknowledgment of my recent absence. Nothing.

It was odd and unsettling.

I had never seen everyone so serious before. The office was normally a stress-free zone. Yes, we had all experienced our share of pressure, but we dealt with whatever issue was at hand and then got stuck in to help each other through it. Everyone helped their neighbour. We were a solid team. It's why I love SIP.

But now, it was like walking through an examination hall. They were all slumped over their desks, typing frantically on their keyboards, unwilling to be distracted from whatever they were doing. It looked like all systems go.

I shivered as I dropped down into the seat opposite Mark's, pushing the door to a soft close behind me.

"Thank you again for authorising my vacation," I said to him. "I know it's annoying, having to push it through last minute. Christian could have given you a bit more notice."

He had contacted Mark the morning we set off for France, requesting I take ten days' vacation there and then. Apparently, he had only just confirmed our flight and accommodation details.

"Don't worry about it," Mark waved it off with the flick of his hand. "You deserved the break. And we had enough people here to cover anything that cropped up. It's fine."

"I don't like taking liberties though," I shook my head. "I don't want preferential treatment, least of all because of who I'm engaged to."

"That's not the reason I authorised your leave," he revealed, casually. "I did it because you work hard. Don't think I haven't noticed the fact you frequently take work home with you. I notice these things, Ana. You're always on your A-game and as much as I love that about you, I also want you to be well-rested. If that means clearing a last-minute vacation, so be it. It's no skin off my nose, honey."

"Really?" I muttered, feeling a tad overwhelmed under the weight of his compliment.

"Speaking as I find," he smiled. "I know you'll be able to catch up, regardless. You pick things up quickly. Which is essential here, as you know."

I had no qualms about being able to catch up on my work. I didn't want to sound big-headed but I knew how to manage my time and prioritise tasks. I rarely gave into procrastination, having learned the hard way about that during my first year of college.

Procrastination and stress get you nowhere. They're the rocking horses of life.

"I want all the dirty details from your vay-cay," Mark prompted. He kicked his feet up on his desk. "Don't leave me hanging. Was Christian as romantic as ever? Did he have rose petals scattered on the bed? Towels shaped like swans?"

"No rose petals," I chuckled, shaking my head. "And definitely no swans of any sort."

"Did he feed you grapes and cheese and fill you with delicious wines?"

"Yes to the wine and cheese, but I turned down the grapes. I did have more than my fair share of freshly baked bread, though. We had some delivered to the chateau every morning."

"Was it just the two of you every day? Complete privacy?"

"Pretty much," I nodded. "Jaz and Sawyer only came out with us if we headed into the city itself. Otherwise, it was just me and Christian… It was amazing, being together like that. Having no one else to focus on but each other."

"Oh!" he clutched his chest and sighed. "To be young again… and in love in sweet, sweet pah-rhee…"

"You are young –"

"I don't feel it," he huffed. "Thirty-seven is not the new twenty-five, I can tell you that for nothing!"

"Well, you are in love," I countered.

"That is true," he pouted, pointing at me. "Very true. Although, Harry's never taken me to France. The furthest he's taken me is Alaska and that was not romantic, just extremely cold and wet… He needs to take some lessons from Christian."

"I'm sure he's doing fine," I said, sticking up for Mark's long-suffering boyfriend. They made the dream couple. I had met Harry a few times recently and adored his easy-going temperament and nature. "Now, then, is there anything I need to catch up on before I get stuck into my emails and memos?"

Mark was mindlessly checking through the plethora of chocolate bars I had bought him, oohing and ahhing in awe every few seconds. I snapped my fingers to bring his attention back to me.

"Honestly, you are such a child when it comes to chocolate," I laughed.

"We all have our vices," he smirked. "Any news? Erm… The proofs for Ryan and Anita's book came in last week. We're sending them out to reviewers soon, date to be confirmed. You'll need to check the list and make sure it's updated."

"Okay, no problem. Anything else?"

"Oh, there's a meeting at eleven," he nodded. "Conference room 2. Everyone will be there."

"Everyone?" I frowned. "As in, all of the editorial team?"

"As in, everyone in the building," he clarified. My brows shot up my forehead. "The board of directors called me first thing and they want everyone present and accounted for. Everyone from up here, downstairs, even domestics."

"That sounds ominous."

"It's strange," he observed. "Normally they just relay information to senior staff and ask us to pass it down. I've never known them to call everyone together like this."

"Do you have any idea what the meeting could be about?"

"No," he shook his head. "But I'm not stressin' about it. Whatever it is they have to tell us, we'll deal with it later."

I chewed on my lower lip, my knee starting to bob up and down.

"Don't sweat about it," Mark urged me. "What will be, will be. In the meantime, you have emails to tackle and I have all of this delicious chocolate to sample."

I rolled my eyes and stood up, collecting my purse and leaving his office.

I shuffled down the hall, checking over my colleagues once more. The tension ebbing through the air was palpable. I hoped they were fretting over nothing, not only for their sakes but mine. I didn't like my usually upbeat and friendly co-workers to be riddled with fear and worry. Especially now that same feeling was starting to creep into my stomach.

Settling back into my office, Jaz checked on me from her corner of the room. She had already made herself at home, her leather jacket strewn across the back of her chair, her iPad resting on her knee.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"I think so," I hummed, unconvincingly. "I hope so."

"Something I need to know?" she arched her brow, her golden eyes narrowing.

"No, it's work stuff," I shook my head, brushing it off. I forced a smile. "I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just some HR changes."

Jaz nodded back at me and returned her attention to her iPad.

I circled my chair closer to my desk and started up my computer. Waiting for it to load, I picked up my phone and opened my texts. I selected the impressive thread of messages I have with Christian. It was well into the thousands.

I typed out my message:

Hey, I got to work fine, back at my desk now. Jetlag is still a pain in the ass. Hope your morning is going well so far. Love you x

I watched as the text was sent and paused, expecting a quick reply. He usually replied within seconds, if he has his phone on him. Which is pretty much all the time.

I waited and waited and after a minute of nothing, I set my phone down and released a deep sigh.

He has ten-days' worth of business to catch up on too. Checking my emails, I had only 72 unread messages to sift through. God knows how many Christian must have!

He's probably stuck in an impromptu meeting himself.

He had left before me this morning, before I had even woken up. He must have wanted to hit the ground running and get back to the real-world.

"Ana?"

"Yeah?" I lifted my head and looked over to Jaz.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"A tea would be great, thank you," I nodded. "If you find any cookies in the kitchen, I'd appreciate a plate. I think food will help keep me awake."

"If you need a quick power nap, I'll guard the door for you," she promised. "No one will know."

"I'll be fine," I shook my head, smiling. "But thank you for the offer."

"Word from Taylor is that Mr Grey has been known to nap in his office during the middle of the day," she revealed.

I pressed my lips together to hide my knowing smirk.

That's not the only thing Mr Grey has been known to do in his office.