A/N: I try to make my stories to be stand-alone enough, so that even if one is a sequel, or prequel story, they can still fit into one another, and be enjoyed by the reader. However, I apologize in advance, but this story may (or, may not) be absolutely incomprehensible to anyone who has not read the story it is a sequel to.

So, (and I'm not trying to talk down to the readers here, swear, just trying to make sure nothing is confused) basically, what you need to know is:

1. This is a story about Steff, from the movie Pretty in Pink.

2. This story exists in its own specific universe, which I don't think contradicts the movie's universe at all, but may not gel with novelizations, or other people's takes on it (however, I think very few of us disagree with the fact that the Blane character is the least interesting love interest that Andie could have possibly had), which of course I respect, whatever they may be. But this is my take on it, and don't worry (spoilers) this is not a Steff/Andie story in any way.

3. Which brings me of course to #3, this story is a sort of hybrid of Secretary, and Pretty in Pink, though it very much takes place in the Pretty in Pink universe, and Elizabeth, the protagonist of the story, is a "counterpart", as I call it, of Maggie Gyllenhaal, not the actress in real life of course, but a composite of many different characters she has played, Lee in some ways, but in other ways, especially personality and temperament, she is quite different than Lee.

4. And, of course, other, incidental, and some integral details, people in his life, etc. and of the later life of Steff, or Stefan, as he is mostly known as, in this story, are based on other movies and TV shows that James Spader was in. Also, his last name is Grey in this (see #3), because as far as I'm concerned we're not told what Steff's name is in the movie, so it can be anything you want it to be. Also, again, even though he has quite a few character details of other JS characters, I do think that I've managed to keep Steff's personality that was in the original movie intact, and that it coalesces with the way that I view that he would be in later life.

Other things? I don't really know where the idea of Elizabeth being a Stephen King fangirl came from, but I think it just spun out from the fact that I was most familiar with the movie Dreamcatcher, and saw the movie Secretary, and found it amusing that his name was the same as the alien villain, Mr. Gray, and it sort of just spun out from, there, a bunch of these references seem to fit into this story. I guess maybe the thing that it most fits with is why Elizabeth is so drawn to the idea of Andie and Cynthia (two of Stefan's ex-girlfriends in this story).

Anyway, enjoy, and happy reading!

A short time after the evening that Elizabeth had gone to her friend's wedding without Stefan, Elizabeth and Stefan themselves got married. It was a courthouse wedding, and Stephen, who was Elizabeth's father and Stefan's law partner, was their witness.

They had been together for nearly three years, when Elizabeth discovered that she was pregnant, with twin girls, it had turned out. The first was Amy Elizabeth Grey, named after Elizabeth's coworker and friend, Amy, and herself, and the second was Frances Joan Grey, whom Elizabeth had named after Frances Goldsmith, a major character in Elizabeth's favorite book, The Stand, written by her favorite writer, Stephen King. Frances' middle name came from Elizabeth's mother, who was named Joan.

When the twins were not even a year old, Elizabeth had again discovered that she was pregnant, this time it had turned out to be a boy, who Elizabeth named Stefan, who upon getting a little older, was known as Little Stefan, by the rest of the family.

Amy and Frances were lovely little girls, dark haired, and blue eyed, like Elizabeth, and Little Stefan was, naturally, a golden-haired little boy, with blue eyes, and light eyelashes, and unfortunately, was deathly allergic to a number of things, including nuts, tomatoes, shellfish, and perfume, as was Stefan. Elizabeth never wanted to admit such things to herself, as no parent does, but she had a soft spot for Little Stefan, in particular, since he looked so much like his father.

Elizabeth had always been somewhat of a loner, in high school, she had had very few friends or associates, preferring to devote her time to books, and how to get Toby, her future boyfriend, who for years had been the object of a painful, semi-obsessive, and mostly unrequited love, to notice her. She'd always had friends that she saw, people around her, in her adult life, but, she had never truly had a close friend that she'd made a meaningful connection with. Except for Stefan.

But Stefan was more of a loner than Elizabeth could ever hope to be. In high school, as he'd told her, he'd been very popular, and a social leader, but he'd been masking a painful shyness, and insecurity, which had its root in his mother being a cold, aloof woman who had rarely, if ever, shown him any affection, who was married to a strict and harsh man, who had had a special dislike for Stefan. Stefan, as a result of this, had been extremely reckless in his youth, doing everything in his power to anger his stepfather, which mostly consisted of throwing wild parties that wrecked his parents' house, smoking constantly, since, he'd told her, the age of eleven, being perpetually drunk, obstreperous, and most of all, having sex with a lot of different women, many of them, as he'd told her later, older, sometimes married women.

All of this had gone out all throughout high school, and college, but, as he'd told her, he'd made a great effort to change, he had stopped drinking, and, as he saw things, the root of his problems was that he was a liar. He had lied to many people, women, a great deal of the time, most of all his high school girlfriend, Bennie, who, as he told it, had had to put up with a great deal from him. So, Stefan had resolved never to lie again, excluding in his chosen profession, he was nothing if not pragmatic, however, he never lied in his personal dealings with people. Which was could be quite disconcerting, since even the most casual a question that was asked of him was sure to result in a direct, and often blunt, answer.

Stefan was known by his colleagues as a brilliant, as well as ruthless, when called for, attorney, however, he worked in private practice as long as she'd known him, being a solo practitioner until he had entered into partnership with Elizabeth's father, Stephen, which was how she had met him. Her father was a recovering alcoholic, who had had his driver's license suspended after a DUI, resulting in her having to drive him to work every day.

So it was that Stefan, in Elizabeth's observation, who worked in private practice, and had few to no friends, outside of work, was indeed a very closed off man, as his secretary, Tricia, had told her one day in confidence. That she had "never seen a more closed off" man, were her exact words. Later, Elizabeth had found out, from Stefan, that he and Tricia had dated, and had even slept together, for a period of time, but, according to him, Tricia was a very stern and driven individual, and they were far too much alike, so he had ended it. Tricia, Stefan had said, was hard around the edges, and Stefan had been searching, for a long time, for someone soft, and kind.

"By that you mean young, I guess." Elizabeth had said one day, shortly after they got married.

"No." Stefan said.

"You think I'm soft of heart?" Elizabeth said.

"I do." Stefan said.

"After all the sarcastic remarks I've made?" Elizabeth said. "After all the times I've put you in your place? Especially when you needed it."

"Of course." Stefan said. "At heart, you're…soft. Sweet. I dare even say…subservient." He smiled at her.

"I knew that was what you were getting at." said Elizabeth.

"Well, aren't you?" said Stefan.

"In your dreams."
"Of course you are." Said Stefan. "The sarcasm, the insulting remarks, the insolence…"
"Insolence?"

"All just a cover." Stefan said. "For what you really want to do."

"And what would that be?"
"Submit completely to my will, of course." Said Stefan.

Elizabeth shook her head. "You couldn't be more wrong, Stefan." She looked at him. "Maybe you're trying to confess to what you want to do. It's okay. You need a female authority figure to keep you from being that person you so loathe."

So Stefan, being a closed-off man, saw very few people. His mother had died when he was in his twenties, and he and his stepfather had not spoken in two decades. Stefan had been raised an only child, and had almost no living relatives that she knew of. There were always stories he told, of people he knew, in law school, in college or high school, at firms where he'd worked before entering into private practice, and, primarily, of girlfriends or lovers he'd had, but, all these people seemed to have faded away with time, invariably for one reason or another. Stefan, it seemed to her, was a man of very hard luck in many ways.