A/N: Hi! I just wanted to say a few things before you continue reading...
First, this is my first attempt at writing a story for the Fifty Shades Trilogy, and also my first attempt at writing again after almost two years, so forgive me if I'm a little too…rusty. This was not edited (I was too excited and anxious to get it posted, haha), so bear with me, please! :)
Second, English is not my native language, so forgive me if it shows!
I hope you enjoy! :)
"No, Kate. I can't let you pay my half of the rent this time. You've helped me too much," Ana says, gazing at Kate in exasperation.
Kate rolls her eyes. "Ana, it's fine," she insists. "I'll pay the rent until you find a job. Didn't you tell me and Ray that you were interested in applying for a position at SIP?"
Ana hesitates. "Well, yes, but –"
"Then it's settled!" Kate exclaims. Ana briefly wonders if the people who live in the apartment next to theirs are able to hear her best friend's loud voice. "I'll pay for the rent until you find a job," Kate finishes with certainty, and though it's probably a lost cause to talk her out of this, Ana at least has to try.
Because seriously – Kate has helped her enough. She doesn't want to depend on her to pay the rent, too.
She attempts to stand her ground. "No," she says stubbornly. "I'll just – I'll find a way to make some money to help with the rent. Kate, please." She knows Kate can afford it, but that doesn't mean that she will easily relent. She doesn't want to be that friend who becomes a burden.
She's been hoping that their move here in Seattle would signify a fresh start; a new beginning, with all the new possibilities.
"How are you going to do that? You're not planning to do something…illegal, are you?" the blonde jokes, but there's skepticism in her voice.
Now it's Ana's turn to roll her eyes. Honestly, Kate is the most impossible person to deal with sometimes. But yes, in regards to her first question, she's not really sure of the answer herself.
They've just managed to finish their move, and while Kate is already guaranteed a job for Kavanagh Media, the company owned by her father, Ana has yet to find one herself. She could have applied for a job there, too, but she isn't really interested in it if she were to be honest with herself.
Ana sighs. "Maybe I should just apply to magazine companies, like Seattle Times or something," she mumbles. Hell, even she sounds unsure of what she's saying.
"Ana, we both know that working for Seattle Times isn't what you want. Besides, I'm not sure you can keep up with that kind of job. You're not very interested in gossips most of the time."
"It isn't all about gossip, Kate."
"Well yeah, but you know what I mean. And you know I only care about the gossip anyway," Kate jokes, giggling slightly. "But seriously, Steele, I'm fine with paying the rent until you find yourself a job. No rush. I'll help you find one if you want." She places both her hands on Ana's shoulders in finality, then engulfs her in a hug. "I only want to look out for you. You're like my stubborn little sister who still needs baby-sitting sometimes," she teases.
"Jeez, thanks, Kate," Ana mutters grumpily, but returns the hug nonetheless. She takes a deep breath, then releases it slowly. "I'm so lucky to have you," she whispers. "You don't know how much this means to me."
"I've got your back, Ana, just like how I know you have mine," Kate replies with a smile, pulling away. "Okay, that's enough drama for now. Let's unpack everything!"
Ana starts her job-hunting the next day. She posts her resume online and then proceeds on seeking for jobs in different publishing companies. Admittedly, she's been hoping for a position in Seattle Independent Publishing in particular, but just in case that doesn't work out, she applies to a couple more publishing houses in the city.
"Oh, Seattle, I hope you'll start feeling like home in no time," she says quietly to herself as she makes her way home. She just really wants things to work out soon.
As she arrives to her and Kate's apartment, she parks Wanda and makes her way inside. After a long day of going out and about the city looking for a job, and familiarizing herself with her new neighborhood, she's just antsy to take a shower, eat, and go to bed.
She opens the door to see Kate all dressed up. "Ana!" Kate exclaims with a smile. "I've been waiting for you. Do I look fine?"
Ana's confused. "You do, but where are you going?"
Kate's smile becomes bigger. "We're going to a bar tonight!"
"We as in who, Kate?" Ana asks, narrowing her eyes, though the answer to her question is obvious.
"You and me, duh," the blonde says. Ana groans in response, but decides not to complain. She knows it would be pointless to talk her best friend out of this. "Oh, and Elliot, too!" Kate adds excitedly.
What? "Who's Elliot, now?" Ana inquires, making her way to the bathroom.
"This guy I met today at a coffee shop. Oh, Ana, he's so hot and dreamy!" And wow, okay, Ana has never seen Kate so . . . smitten over a guy she just met. But she decides not to question it. "His brother's not too bad himself. Not much of a talker, though. You ever heard of Christian Grey?"
"No," Ana says with a roll of her eyes. "I'm gonna take a shower."
"Alright, I'll go find you something hot to wear. Did you have dinner on your way home?"
"Not really, but I'm not hungry!" Ana calls out as she steps into the shower.
She's had a long day already, but she has a feeling that tonight will feel just as long.
"God, Kate, this is way too much!" Ana hisses as she repeatedly pushes down the skirt of her dress to cover more of her thighs. Kate's decided to have her wear a strapless navy blue dress that's a bit tighter and a bit shorter for Ana's taste, and white heels to match. It's not that the outfit in itself feels uncomfortable to wear – it actually makes her feel good about her body for once – it's the stares she's been getting ever since they arrived at the bar that makes her feel uncomfortable.
What if they all think she looks hideous? After all, Ana never saw herself as someone who's attractive.
"Would you stop? I know you feel insecure but suck it all in, Ana. You look hot." Kate's voice carries a tone of finality as she looks around the room for her new friend Elliot.
"Kate!" someone calls out. Ana follows her friend through the people at the bar until they stop in front of a tall blonde.
"Elliot!" Kate says before kissing Elliot straight on the mouth. Ana's not even shocked, not really. Kate looks giddy as she pulls away. "This is my best friend, Anastasia Steele. Ana, this is Elliot," she introduces, and jeez, she sounds so happy.
"Nice to meet you, Anastasia," Elliot says, holding out his hand.
"Ana, please," she replies with a blush, slightly embarrassed by being called her full first name as she takes his hand. "And it's nice to meet you too."
Elliot smiles then puts his arm around Kate. "So, drinks, ladies?"
By the time Friday rolls around and Ana still hasn't heard anything from potential employers, she begins to allow herself to lose the optimism that Kate so desperately instilled in her.
"Maybe a 4.0 GPA isn't so impressive, after all," she murmurs with a laugh that is void of humor. She sighs and takes a long sip of her tea.
José clicks his tongue in disapproval. "Aw, come on, Ana. It's too early for you to lose hope," he tells her. "We both know you're amazing. It's only a matter of time before one of those companies gives you a call. Who knows, maybe all of them will." He raises his eyebrows at her with a smile.
José came from Portland to visit her and Kate, and because Kate has to work, it was only Ana who could take up José on his offer for breakfast. They're in a café called Sweets & Treats just a few blocks from Ana and Kate's apartment. The place is big and slightly packed, but the atmosphere is cozy, and Ana makes a mental note to go here more often. Maybe with a book to read or something.
"Don't be ridiculous, José," she replies with a tight smile. "We both know that's not going to happen."
"Why not? I swear, you don't give yourself enough credit." He shakes his head as he takes a bite in his muffin.
She doesn't know whether to believe that or not. On a normal circumstance, she would have without a second thought, but now that she's aware of José's feelings for her, Ana's starting to second-guess whether his praises are genuine or if they're just given for her to like him.
Which is impossible, really, because José has always been like a brother to Ana.
José sighs heavily. "This is getting depressing. Come on, Steele, finish your tea and show me around your new city."
She decides to find a part-time job for the mean time, and ends up working at Sweets & Treats as a waitress there. It was kind of a split-second moment that she was hired. She spent most of Saturday on the café, rereading her favorite book Pride and Prejudice when one of the workers named Allison came up to her just to make conversation.
Somewhere along their conversation, Allison brought up that the owner of the café, a woman named, Mia Grey, wanted to hire more workers to be able to serve their customers more efficiently, and Ana jumped at the chance. It's better than spending most of her days inside their apartment, and at least it's a source of money to help her get by until she lands a real job.
She talked that same day to the manager of the place, and by some luck, she got a job even with her inexperience.
"You'll basically just help serving our guests their orders, and cleaning some tables here and there. You start on Monday, and you'll have Sundays off," the manager had told her.
And now here she is, her first day of work.
"Ana!" Allison calls. "Do you want to meet everyone else first, or are you ready to start your day?"
Ana shrugs. "There are quite a number of people here already, might as well start working now. I'll just meet everyone later," she says, smiling. Truthfully, she's too shy to introduce herself with her co-workers just yet, so she's trying to find a way to avoid that.
"Okay, great, this order belongs to the woman on table no. 5. Right over there," Allison says, pointing to a table near the corner of the café. Ana takes the tray of order and starts making her way over to the table. "Remember to smile, Ana!"
She plasters an easy beam across her face, greeting the old woman and giving her the plate of pancakes and cup of coffee on the tray. She moves to the table next to the older woman's and starts cleaning it up.
She turns to make her way back to the counter when she hears an unfamiliar voice. "That tray looks heavier than you."
Ana looks up at the source of the voice, surprised when she comes face to face with a man seated at the table in the corner of the café. She couldn't see his face though; he's wearing a baseball cap. "I'm sorry, sir?" She resists the urge to frown at his comment, reminding herself that this man is a customer. She wouldn't want to be fired on her first day of work.
The man stands while he removes the cap he's wearing, and oh my. Ana loses all form of articulation as her eyes meet with a beautiful pair of gray ones. The looks of the man disarms her completely, and she tightens her grip on the tray she's holding to make sure it doesn't fall to the floor.
He smirks at her. "You look flustered, Miss . . . ?" he trails off.
Ana shakes her head, as if to snap herself out of the trance of this man's charm. "Ana," she croaks. "Anastasia Steele."
He grins at her. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Steele," he murmurs, his voice low. "I believe you're new here?" he asks. He must be a regular, if he's aware of who are this café's old workers.
"I am, Mr. . . ." she stops, not knowing the stranger's name.
He looks taken aback for a moment, but then recovers with an amused smirk. Usually such expression would annoy Ana, but this man just manages to make it look so . . . swoon-worthy. It awakens something from Ana's insides.
"Grey," he says, and he's grinning now. "Christian Grey."
Grey? The surname sounds sickeningly familiar, but Ana's too distracted by Christian Grey's good looks to dwell on it immediately.
"Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee after we put that tray away, Miss Steele?" he asks with a chuckle.
That finally snaps Ana out of her stupor. "I'm – I'm sorry, Mr. Grey. I'm not sure Mrs. Thompson, the manager, would approve of me doing that when I should be working. It's, um . . . It's my first day and I don't want to get fired so soon," she mumbles bashfully.
He laughs, now, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Oh, he really is beautiful. What a sight to see. "That's okay. I'm sure if you drop my name, they won't mind," he says seriously after a moment.
What? Okay, who is this man?
He must notice the confused look on Ana's face, because he continues speaking before she even has to ask.
"I don't think Mrs. Thompson would mind if I asked you to sit down for a cup of coffee. After all, I'm her boss's brother," he finally tells her, and he almost sounds reluctant to admit that fact.
"You're the brother of my boss's boss?" Ana asks dumbly.
"Yes," he replies. The amused smile he's wearing seems to be permanent. "Mia Grey?"
Oh, God. She was so captivated by this man's beauty that she failed to remember the name of her own boss. How did she not see that before?
This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I didn't get to finish it right away, so I'm splitting it into chapters instead.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think! :)