Hi guys, I know I already have one ongoing story but this idea came to me and I just had to write it down. It's a short story with 8 chapters which are all written so you'll get daily updates. I want to point out that this is not a paranormal story, Christian isn't a vampire/ghost/werewolf but just a simple human being. The reason I'm pointing this out because the beginning is kind of similar to one of my favorite FSOG stories which is called Untouched but apart from the stories starting out kind of similar it's not at all the same... so enjoy!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to E. L. James
It's just a job, Ana... don't piss yourself. Ana Steele was standing outside of the old mansion that had a haunted vibe to it trying to convince herself to get inside and start her new job as the interim housekeeper for the owner Christian Grey.
When the agency had offered her the job she had agreed right away because the salary was very good and it was just for two months while the current housekeeper was on her honeymoon. She had tried to look her new boss up and had found only little information about him. His parents were a doctor and lawyer, his brother was an architect and his sister owned a chain of wedding boutiques. He himself was an IT genius and had made in fortune in his chosen field. Still, it seemed like no one had ever seen him. There were no pictures of him, not of him alone or with his family.
Some gossip blogs even went so far as to say Christian Grey didn't exist or that he was disabled like Steven Hawkins which was why he had never been seen. Some even went so far as to call him the phantom. Her favorite story was that he was a werewolf and needed the time between every full moon to recover which was why he couldn't leave his home.
Of course, all of that was nonsense, but now actually looking at his homemade her rethink some of it. It just had such a dark, haunting vibe that she had chills running down her spine. And as if that wasn't enough she suddenly heard a dog howling which sounded like a wolf and she shook her head at herself and finally went to knock at the door.
It took about two minutes and then the door opened, but what she saw was making her take a couple of steps back. She didn't even see the woman who had opened the door because of the two dogs in front of her, they were massive one snow white with light blue eyes and the other black with brown eyes that were almost golden. Both were tall enough to reach her waist and looked almost like wolfs.
„Excuse me, these two can be quite scary but be assured they are both darlings." The woman who had opened the door said.
„Are you Mrs. Taylor?"
„Indeed, that I am and you are Miss Steele?"
„Yes... so are you sure they don't bite?"
„Don't worry dear, they are like little puppies the white one is Angel and the black one is Devil." The woman said and that actually made Ana smile and she stepped closer to meet the dogs who wagged their tails when she petted them before she followed Mrs. Taylor into the kitchen.
„Right... I have a list of your duties here. Your daily routine will be quite structured and follow an exact timeline. Mr. Grey is a person of habit and he doesn't like to stray from his routines. You have already signed the NDA right?"
„Yes, it was given to me by my agency."
„Very well, so, I have to stress out to follow the timeline as given in the list. Mr. Grey does not like the unexpected, once you have prepared his meals and put them out for him to eat you have to leave the kitchen and are not to return for forty-five minutes until he has finished his meal and left the room. During the day you can be in your quarters and follow your plan of chores so you won't come near Mr. Grey."
„Does this mean I won't even see him?" Ana asked confused.
„Yes. Mr. Grey does not like to be around strangers, he will leave notes for you if he requires you to do something for him, but you are not likely to see him while you are here." Mrs. Taylor explained.
„Have you seen him?"
„Yes, I have been working for Mr. Grey for about seven years now and have seen him occasionally. He likes to keep to himself and he doesn't like to talk much. I was working for him for nearly a year before he first approached me directly instead of leaving me a note." She said and Ana got a feeling that she should just leave. Something about this just didn't seem right.
„Does he have friends?"
„He is close to his siblings and parents who come to visit regularly otherwise there is only my husband who is his right-hand man... while we are away Mr. Sawyer, my husband's assistant will be here as well, so if you have any questions you can ask him." Mrs. Taylor said and Ana was sure that even with her only being here for a few minutes she already had a million questions.
„You do realize that all of this seems a bit odd." She finally said and the older woman smiled.
„I'm fully aware of that, but I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Mr. Grey just really likes to have his privacy."
„Ok, is there anything else I need to be aware off?"
„Well let's see, you have to make sure the dogs are fed, let them out in the backyard during the day if you don't feel comfortable walking them. Oh, and on Thursday you will have to make dinner for two as Mr. Grey will have his monthly guest here."
„Is this guest staying overnight?"
„No, they usually leave after they um... have taken care of business," Mrs. Taylor said clearly uncomfortable and it took Ana a second to realize that they were talking about an Escort girl.
„Oh... I see, well I will make sure to cook some extra then." She said blushing.
„Very well, I will show you the staff quarters and your room now."
Ana followed the woman while looking around the house which reminded her of the interior of an old English manor. It was very old fashioned but for some reason, she loved it as it reminded her of the world in which some of her favorite novels took place.
She noticed that the dogs followed her through the halls until they reached the staff quarters.
„This will be your room while you are staying here. You have your own bathroom. There is a staff kitchen, a tv room and home gym which you can use. Mr. Grey has a huge library from which we can borough books. It is on the second floor you can go there after you have cleaned Mr. Grey's bedroom."
„I'll keep that in mind." She said with a smile and made a mental note to go to the library as soon as possible to see what kind of selection her mysterious new boss had.
„Are the dogs yours?"
„No, they belong to Mr. Grey and will spend most of the day with him, they are just here now to see who is here."
„I see. Are there any more pets in the house?"
„Yes, Mr. Grey has a cat which never leaves his side, but don't worry he cleans the litter box himself and feeds the little guy too... so you'll most likely never get to see the cat either and the dogs only when they need to be fed or have to go outside."
„I usually go for a run in the evening, do you think Mr. Grey would mind if I take them with me so they'll get some exercise too?" She asked.
„I'm certain he will be ok with that. I'll ask him, but you will have to give me an exact time to give to him."
„Oh... ok, say 8:30 pm?"
„Very well, I'll ask him and will let you know tomorrow when you come over to bring your belongings."
A little later Ana left the house and got to her car. As she looked up she saw someone at the window looking at her. It seemed to be a tall man, but she wasn't able to make out his face or anything else, so she quickly turned around, got into her car and drove to Kate's place. Kate Kavanagh had been her best friend since kindergarten and she even lived with her family for the last two years of High School after both her parents had passed away leaving her without family.
She had wanted to go to college and the Kavanaghs had offered to pay for her education but Ana didn't want them to pay so much for her. Instead, she had decided to work as a live-in housekeeper. Most rich families paid their housekeeper a lot, just like the family she had been working for, for the last five years, but now they had moved to California to be closer to their grandchildren and so she had needed to find new employment.
Since she didn't need to pay for housing or most other things she could save a lot of money and these two months with Christian Grey would bring her what she needed to be able to enroll in college and pay for her education herself in fall.
She spent the evening with Kate, her brother Ethan of some of their friends before she left early in the morning to bring her belongings to her new room.
When she arrived Mrs. Taylor was already there waiting for her. „Good morning, Miss Steele. I have talked to Mr. Grey and he likes the idea of giving the dogs some more exercise. You can take them with you to your run in the evening but he has asked that you will not let them off their leashes. You have to understand that he is very close to his pets and would be terribly upset if anything was to happen to either of them."
„I'll make sure they won't get lost." She assured Mrs. Taylor after an hour later the Taylor's left for their honeymoon and she had met Mr. Sawyer who was working in a small office by the entrance of the house when he wasn't in the staff quarters.
She looked at her list of duties and saw that it is was time to tidy up Mr. Grey's bedroom. So she went upstairs and opened the bedroom door. The room looked nice enough, but it was lacking a personal note... however, her boss was a man so maybe he just wasn't into nic nacs or other memorabilia.
So, she changed the sheets, opened a window to let some air in and did some dusting before she left the room and went on with her duties. While she was making lunch she also baked some cookies and left them on a plate on the counter for her new boss in case he liked red velvet cookies.
When she returned to the kitchen an hour later she noticed with a smile that the plate with the cookies was gone and that there was a note.
*The cookies have been delicious, please do make some more if you find the time*
She smiled and decided that she would bake some more cookies while she was making dinner. Since the pantry was very well stocked she had everything there to make some other of her favorite cookies as well, which she hoped her boss would like too.
Still, she had a feeling that something about all of this was very weird and she was dying to meet her boss and see the man who until now was a true mystery to her.