Chapter 51

"This is a disaster! Ms. Andersen has once again put this company in jeopardy!"

"Now Mr. Port, let's not jump to conclusions so soon."

"I can't help but agree, but then I've always been skeptical of Ms. Andersen's promotion."

"We all have in one way or another, Mrs. Lang."

"What will the people think?! Knowing that our CEO continues to run ArenCorp into the ground!"

"We were the ones that put her in power in the first place."

"Were we the ones that managed to piss off the former CEO of Corona International?"

"All the press will see is that Mr. Westerguard is still at large, I doubt they will spin some slanderous campaign against ArenCorp."

"Oh of course they will, Lynch! That's all they've been doing since Ms. Andersen took control."

The board had been endlessly bickering and debating since Elsa entered the room five minutes ago, they hadn't so much as looked in her direction. At least Mr. Arendelle had acknowledged her with an eye roll and a look that said "I don't want to be here either."

Any other time, any other situation, and Elsa would have gladly let them bicker until they asked her for her input. But this wasn't their problem, it was hers.

Maybe it was the hardcore sense of determination she had to track Hans down, or maybe it was the rejuvenating effect of being with Anna for the past two days, but she felt more confident than before.

She wasn't going to rely on the board for help, and as the CEO of ArenCorp she had the executive power to decide any next steps on a problem that was solely hers. Obviously they had to agree on the decision, but she was still the boss. And hearing all this bickering was getting annoying.

Elsa slammed her hands down on the table, immediately silencing the entire room. She glared at the people assembled and cleared her throat loudly, "I have had enough of this nonsense! Mr. Westerguard is my problem, which means I will deal with him personally."

"It has become ArenCorp's problem because it is your problem." Mr. Magnus said condescendingly.

"Well if it is an ArenCorp problem then I should be hearing solutions, right? That's what you're paid to do, isn't it?" She bit back.

No response.

"I do not need help with Mr. Westerguard, if you'd like to be useful then I suggest you do one of two things: Support the APD in any way necessary so they can catch him- although that'd go against your mission to belittle me for everything I do- or you focus on repairing our relationship with Corona International."

She didn't wait for an answer, she simply stood up and patted down her skirt. At the other side of the room, she saw Mr. Arendelle nod at her and flash a small grin.

"This meeting is adjourned. You know your assignment."

"Ms. Andersen, you don't have the authority to-"

"This meeting...is adjourned."

She walked out the door, smirking when it closed behind her.

"So we can't even go out to get brunch or something?" Hannah asked.

Anna shook her head, toying with a cute little piggy bank on her desk. It was empty. "If people see me come out of ArenCorp it'll be all over the news in a second. The last thing Elsa needs right now is another scandal, plus being up here lessens the chance of Hans figuring out where I am."

Hannah spun around in her office chair and leaned back, "Kinda feels like you're under house arrest, don't you think?"

"I haven't been in trouble with the law since I got that speeding ticket two years ago." She put the pig back down. "I see it more as...an impromptu vacation. I mean I wanna help her out more than this but I wouldn't even know where to start. At least not from up here. Also don't you have work to do?"

"Not really." Hannah laughed. "Elsa sent out a memo saying she'd be out of the office today and to forward any emails and stuff to me. My only job today is to screen calls and write down any reminders for her to look through later. Oh, and she also told me to keep you company."

"Oh. Well that's nice...I think?"

Before they could continue their conversation, the phone started to ring. "Looks like I gotta do my job."

Anna stepped back into Elsa's office while Hannah took the call. The silence would help her think some more on what she should do. She paced towards the back of the office where Elsa's desk was. The hunk of wood was bigger than her bed.

It was still crazy to think how far apart they were in their careers. Anna was just a simple baker, and she just so happened to be dating one of the richest people in the world. If someone told her four years ago that this would be her life...well she'd probably listen because they'd just broken up and she needed all the hope she could get.

Unable to help herself, she pulled out Elsa's chair and settled into the leather. It was kind of cold, but she found herself sinking into it. This was Elsa's view every day, seeing things from the back of the desk like this excited Anna a little bit.

It was like she was seeing through Elsa's eyes.

Sitting in this chair, placing her hands on this desk, she could almost feel the weight of Elsa's responsibilities. It's crazy to think how put together she always seemed. Knowing that it was an act and that Elsa could be vulnerable and overwhelmed from time to time due to her responsibilities, Anna couldn't help but wonder if every CEO felt the same.

An idea flashed in her head after that thought, a crazy idea.

She knew from all the articles that Hans didn't have the best relationship with his family, but they would still know him better than anyone else could. She couldn't go on some crazy mission to the Southern Isles, but that didn't mean she couldn't contact his family.

It was time for an investigation, and if she was going to do this then she'd start from the top and work her way down.

Anna was going to talk to his father.

The speed in which she walked out of the office startled Hannah, who had just gotten off the phone. "You look like you're about to do something crazy."

"I need to use your computer." Anna replied, confirming her suspicion.

It was a textbook public appearance for Elsa: show up to a random ArenCorp-owned business, assure them that they're doing an amazing job and that they will still be backed by the company, watch as the people there mob her, sign some autographs (still something she couldn't get used to), and move on to the next business.

She knew, obviously, that most of the questions she'd get asked were about Hans.

"Ms. Andersen, are you at all afraid that Mr. Westerguard is still out there somewhere?"

"If he's out there, then it's only a matter of time until he's caught." She replied after handing back a signed magazine.

"Do you know where he is?"

Someone handed her a dollar bill and she autographed it without question. It wasn't the strangest thing she'd have to sign before. "The investigation of his whereabouts is a job that belongs to Arendelle's and Corona's finest. I will not get in the way of their job."

"Do you think he's coming after you?"

"If he's really after me, then he knows exactly where to find me." Another magazine, the tabloid that was released when Flynn sent out the footage of her and Anna at the festival. She forced herself to not roll her eyes and signed it anyway.

A familiar looking little girl found her way to the front of the circle and held out a cute pink notebook. Elsa knelt down to sign it for her.

"You're gonna be okay right, Ms. Andersen?" The little girl asked innocently.

Elsa beamed and handed back the notebook, "Scarier men than Mr. Westerguard have tried to fight me before, and I've always won. You have nothing to worry about."

The more she repeated that, the more she might believe it.

The little girl smiled and walked away, presumably back to her parents.

Just like every public appearance, the mob kept pushing closer and closer. Thankfully, Marshall stepped in front of her and pushed them back, making a path for her to get back to the car. She never regretted these appearances, but they always tended to get kind of overwhelming.

More camera flashes and more shouted, repetitive questions tried to catch up to her as they retreated back to the car.

It wasn't until Marshall locked the doors and started the car that she could finally let out a sigh of relief. "Never gets old, huh?"

"Maybe for you." He grumbled. Elsa knew Marshall well enough that even if there were some parts of the job irked him, she could always rely on him to protect and assist her.

She took one last look at the crowd to wave at them, but then she spotted something. Someone. A familiar figure with thick sideburns and a deadly scowl.

"Where to next?"

Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She blinked a couple times, but he was still there. Which means Hans…

"Ms. Andersen, we have to get going."

Elsa snapped out of it and turned back to Marshall, "Uh, one of the factories by the docks."

He pulled the car forward as the mob dispersed, not asking for any specifics.

She wanted desperately to go back to ArenCorp, but if Hans was here then she didn't want to lead him back to Anna.

If he was here…

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Westerguard is not taking any calls currently. Or for the rest of the day."

Anna knew that the secretary was lying, the only reason he wasn't taking any more calls was because she'd called him five times in the past three hours. She leaned back in Hannah's chair and groaned.

Turns out her initial flash of brilliance had been dashed in its infancy, Hans' father picked up the first time but was very distant and dismissive when she asked about him. At the third call, he blew up on her as soon as she rang him. He said that he hadn't seen Hans in months and that if he wanted to do things on his own then he would be on his own.

Long story short, her hunch wasn't going to provide any leads.

The elevator bell dinged and Hannah stepped out with two paper bags. "Look you can't just sit here and mope all day. Come on, I got you lunch."

Anna frowned, "I'm not...moping, I just wanna feel useful. How was I supposed to know that his entire family is full of jerks?"

Hannah looked at her confused, "You've...met him before, right? All that assholishness had to come from somewhere." She handed a bag to Anna and sat at the edge of her desk. "Now come on. Less business, more burger eating."

This wasn't right. Elsa was out there being this amazing leader and bravely going out in public, and she was here...getting her calls rejected from the father of her girlfriend's stalker.

She unwrapped her burger and took a bite, the food would keep her from going hungry but it wouldn't help the uneasiness in her stomach.

Part of her even felt guilty for not being able to do anything, like her inability to find a way to help Elsa meant she wasn't pulling her weight in this mission, and that she wasn't pulling her weight in this relationship.

Everything that Elsa said, and everything that they'd done since getting back together, disproved that but...that thought still wouldn't go away.

"Anna!"

She jumped and turned to Hannah, almost dropping her burger on the floor. "Huh?"

"I asked how it felt staying the night up here."

Amazing. Wonderful. Fantastic despite the circumstances. Great in helping to scratch a certain itch that hadn't been scratched in years. Anna wiped her mouth with a napkin to hide the blush on her cheeks. "It's...interesting."

Hannah scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You're such a bad liar."

"Whaf tha suppof to mee?" Anna swallowed her bite and tried that again. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there's something you're not telling me." She said while raising an eyebrow. "What's so 'interesting' about staying the night in Elsa's office?"

That uneasy feeling wasn't going to be fixed in the next few minutes, and the last thing she wanted was to dwell on it anymore. Hannah was amazing at simultaneously helping her figure out what was going on in her mind, and making her forget about her problems.

Right now she just wanted to forget about her problems, and despite the embarrassing turn this conversation was going to take, she was going to continue it.

Anna took a big bite to avoid having to answer right away, but all that won her was a long, intrigued look from the brunette.

"It's...nice, you know?" She replied after finally swallowing the bite. "We haven't been able to be an actual couple ever since this Hans stuff happened, and I'm just really enjoying this time we get to have together."

"I bet that's not the only thing you're enjoying."

Anna almost choked on her drink.

After the longest coughing fit in the world, she asked "Wh-what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, Anna. The two of you are alone at night, she has a bed in her office, you haven't seen each other in weeks, and you've told me before that you haven't felt very...relieved since you guys split up." Anna immediately regretted telling her that. "You're telling me you guys didn't get reacquainted last night?"

Her face was burning, but there was no point in trying to deny anything that Hannah was saying. Curse her tendency to be an open book with everyone.

After finding her voice, and unpursing her lips from the hardcore pout she was sporting, Anna muttered, "...and this morning."

Hannah's eyes widened, "You're kidding!"

"It was before she went to work, I knew I wouldn't see her till the end of the day so I…" Anna groaned and buried her face into her hands. "Why am I telling you this?"

"Wow, you guys finally did it! I was betting it'd take at least another month but who knew a crazy psycho murderer would have helped to bump up the date." Hannah took a victory sip before continuing, "Well how was it? Was it better than you remember?"

Anna pulled her hands away from her face and placed them on her cheeks. "How can you be so comfortable talking about this? It's like you're just asking me about the weather."

Hannah shrugged, "I guess I just don't see it as much of a big deal. You and Elsa are back together now, it was bound to happen eventually. Besides, it's not like you're going to tell me anything I don't know."

"...what do you mean?"

For the first time since she'd known her, Anna saw Hannah at a loss for words. "Um...you mean she didn't tell you?"

Anna sat up and eyed her suspiciously, "Tell me what?"

"..."

"Tell me what?"

A/N: *rubs hands together*

This is gonna be fun.