"I don't understand why I have to go with you," Ana said begrudgingly as she slipped her arms into her dark blue cardigan. She tied her hair into a high pony tail and let her bangs fall freely.

"Because," Kate replied with a huff, "Jason can't come with me and I need someone to take notes so I can be completely invested in the conversation. Please, Ana, this is the biggest interview of my college career! If this goes well it will be the highlight of my resume."

"Fine, I'll go," Ana said while grabbing her umbrella. "But I'm not saying a word. I'm just there to take notes, that's it!

"Deal!" The two best friends linked arms and walked down the corridor of their apartment building. Ana got the umbrella ready for the two of them seeing as Portland decided to spill rain on them out of nowhere. Ana and Kate ran together under the umbrella to Kate's awaiting car - a BMW which her father paid for. Ana was always envious of Kate. She came from a stable family with good money and was stunningly beautiful with her long blonde hair, dough brown eyes, and voluptuous figure. Ana felt that Kate was everything that she wasn't, and often times felt like Kate's shadow. But today, Ana couldn't be more proud and excited for her, and would support her in any way that she could during her interview with the infamous Christian Grey.

"I'm so nervous," Kate mumbled while they drove down the slick highway.

"What?" Ana replied, shocked. "You never get nervous."

"Yeah, I know! I've just heard that he's super intimidating and barely gives more than one word answers. If I want this to be a defining interview for me I have to figure out a way to get him to open up without being too pushy."

Ana couldn't help but scoff. "Good luck with that."

"Ana I'm serious, I'm freaking out!" Kate said as her hands clutched the wheel. "Also, I heard he's even more handsome in person so I'm afraid I'm going to go completely speechless at the sight of him!"

"Speechless?" Ana replied with a snort, "doubt it."

"Ana!" Kate yelped, slapping Ana's arm playfully.

"Ok, Ok, I'm sorry. I just find it amusing that you're so nervous and don't think you'll do well. You're gonna do great."

—

"Andrea, what time is that interview with the journalism student from WSU?" Christian asked dryly into the intercom, his index finger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose in an effort to suffocate his headache.

"5 minutes, sir," Andrea replied back, "they should be here any minute".

Christian sighed in relief and lean back in his plush chair. Thank God, he thought to himself. He couldn't wait for this day to be over. Christian's neck and shoulders were tense from stress and his chest was tight from anxiety. He was feeling overwhelmed lately with work, which was a foreign emotion for him. Christian sighed again and let him mind wander. I haven't had a sub in 2 months, he thought to himself, No wonder I'm so tense. Christian never went more than 2 weeks without a submissive, but had been feeling extremely uninspired by the girls that Elena was referring to him. They were all the same, and it was getting boring. The sex was repetitive with each one, and he cared less and less about them. His last few submissive weren't even allowed to sleep in his house - that's how uninspired and bored with them he was.

Just then, the ding of his intercom jolted him from his thoughts, Andrea's voice on the other end.

"Mr. Grey, your guest for the interview has arrived."

"Send her in," Christian replied with a grunt.

—

Ana looked around the all white lobby with floor to ceiling windows. She looked around here and suddenly felt very out of place and intimidated in her modest white sundress with navy blue cardigan. Ana subconsciously pulled the cardigan tighter around her body as she continued to look around. Every single employee here was tall, voluptuous, and platinum blonde. Someone clearly has a type, Ana thought to herself as she followed closely behind Kate. When Ana noticed that she was literally the only non blonde woman in the building, she ducked her head and wished that she could sink into the floor. Why am I feeling this way?

"Hi," Kate announced confidently to the receptionist, "My name is Kate Kavanagh, and this is my assistant Anastasia Steele, we are here for the interview with Mr. Grey."

The blonde on the other side of the desk gave a surprisingly warm and humble smile for someone of such stunning beauty. "Yes, of course," the blonde replied to Kate, turning her head slowly and speaking into her headset, "Mr. Grey, your guest for the interview has arrived." There was a short pause before she replied, "go right on in," pointing to two huge doors down the hallway, "he's expecting you".

Ana latched onto Kate's hand as they walked down the hallway. "Kate!" Ana whispered through clenched teeth, "why didn't you tell me I was so underdressed!"

"What? You look fine," Kate replied, not even glancing at Ana. Kate stopped in front of the double doors and took a long inhale through her nostrils. "You got this, Kavanagh," she whispered to herself before pushing open the double doors.

Ana walked in behind her and was almost blinded by the sunlight coming through the large windows directly in front of them. Ana shielded her eyes from the light and allowed them to adjust before they settled on him. Ana's breath caught in her throat and she swore she felt her heart drop down into her stomach. He was beautiful.

—

Christian heard soft voices on the other end of the door of his office, and promptly stood up when they opened. In sauntered a tall blonde who strutted her hips while walking towards him, outstretching her hand for his the whole way over to him. Her smile was bright but forced; her head searched too high. Christian knew she was scared shitless.

"Ms Kavanagh," Christian said blunted when taking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Grey," she stated, her voice strong and stern.

"This shouldn't take long, I brought some…."

Kate's voice slowly trailed off in Christian's ears as his eyes landed on the girl behind her. Christian felt himself shift forward on his feet, but was able to catch and steady himself. He felt a strange tug in his chest while his eyes studied hers. She was a little shorter than the blonde, and seemed to almost be hiding behind her. Her auburn hair framed her face and flowed past her shoulders. Her face was bare other than a slight hint of mascara and a light pink lip gloss on her plump lips. Her hands were crossed in front of her, as if she were shielding her body. Christian felt like the wind had been knocked out of him - she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on.

"Who's this?" Christian said loudly and bluntly, interrupting Kate's ramble. Christian watched as Ana tensed up at his words. He didn't mean it to come out so harsh - he just needed to know urgently who this was.

"Huh? Oh!" Kate said with a nervous laugh, turning back towards Ana. "This is my assistant for the day, Anastasia Steele. She'll be taking notes for me."

"Hi," Ana replied in a whisper. Christian felt his knees buckle at the soft feminine sound that escaped her lips. He held his hand out to her and closed his fingers tightly around hers. He noticed as she blushed and dipped her head down at their contact. She must've felt that spark, too.

"Please, take a seat," he stated as he motioned to the two plush chairs in front of his desk, watching intently as Ana's dress showed a little bit more of her thighs as she sat down. Damnit Grey, leave the poor girl alone.

"So," Kate started "I firstly want to thank you for doing this interview for me. It is such a huge honor for me and I….."

Once again, Christian tuned out Kate's voiced as he watched Ana timidly take out a note book and a pen. His hands grabbed his desk in frustration and desire as he watched her playfully chew on the pen cap and her big blue eyes curiously wandered around the room. My God, he thought, She's adorable and sexy at the same time. How is that possible?

Christian tuned back in to Kate to noticed that she was still talking about herself. "Do you have a question, Ms Kavanagh?"

Ana raised her eye brows at Christian's brashness and eagerly awaited to see how Kate's strong personality would respond to his.

"Um, well yes, I have several," Kate replied with an edge in her voice as she opened her tablet.

Ana listened intently to the conversation, writing down as many details as she could. She felt her blood turn scorching hot every time she would look up at Christian, who would be staring down at her intently. Every time their eyes met, Ana felt like she wanted to shrink away into oblivion. What is happening, she thought to herself. She never felt this way before.

Ana was taken out of her Grey-coma when she heard Kate voice suddenly blurt :

"Are you gay?"

"Kate!" Ana huffed in a forced whisper. She was too terrified to look up at Christian, who had been giving Kate one word answers the whole time and keeping his eyes fixated on her, which she knew was annoying Kate to no end.

"What?" Kate asked, crossing her arms. "I don't mean to offend you, Mr Grey, but you've never been spotted with a woman, even though every female in Seattle would drop their whole lives for you. It's a valid question."

There was a long pause before Christian sighed defeatedly. His body was tensing in anger from the invasive question and normally he would kick her out, but because Ana was present, he was able to slowly count to 10 in his head and keep his composure.

Christian cleared his throat before speaking, causing Ana to look up at him and they locked eyes. Ana tried to look away, but she couldn't. It was like he had a super power and was possessing her mind to keep focused on him.

"No," Christian replied sternly, keeping his eyes locked on Ana, "I'm not gay. At all."

Ana felt a strange sensation deep within her belly at the sound of his deep voice which rattled her insides. She managed to unlock her eyes from his and pushed her bangs away from her face, feeling her skin get sticky and hot. What the hell! she thought.

"What about you," Christian said, nodding his head towards Ana. "Anastasia?"

"Huh? What?" She said frantically, feeling an electric jolt run through her whole body at the sound of her name on his lips. "What about me?" She asked quietly. She felt Kate shift uncomfortably next to her. Kate was used to being the center of attention.

"I would like to know more about you."

"There's really not much to know about me," Ana replied with downcast eyes, shyly tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Christian's body yearned to touch her silly hair and feel her skin. He somehow managed to muster up enough self control to stifle a groan and keep himself soft.

"Are you at WSU as well? Journalism?"

"No, English Lit," she replied with a chuckle. "I'm not very interesting."

"I beg to differ," Christian replied, allowing himself to crack his first smile of the day. "What are you doing after graduation?"

"Well, we - " Kate began to reply, but immediately sank back into her seat when Christian's hand raised in an effort to signal to her that he was not speaking to her.

"Anastasia?" He coaxed gently.

Ana felt her body stiffen again at her name on his lips. "I - I don't know. We were gonna move out here"

"We offer an excellent internship program," Christian stated before she could finish her sentence. Ana laughed sadly and held her head down.

"What is it?" Christian asked softly.

"Well…" Ana started, hesitantly, "I don't think I'd fit in here."

"Why not?" Christian asked, furrowing his eye brows and cocking his head to the side.

"I mean…look at me," Ana replied softly, subconsciously covering her body with her arms. Christian noticed this and fought the urge to rip her arms away from her body; to shower her with affection and tell her how beautiful she is. Christian took a sharp intake a breath upon his thoughts. His usual thoughts upon seeing an attractive woman is to punish her, to make her worship him. But right now he had the consuming urge to be the one doing the worshiping. What the fuck?

"I am looking at you," he replied softly, Ana's body perking up at the gentle tone of his voice.

Suddenly, the office doors opened and Andrea walked in.

"Sir, your next appointment is ready in the conference room."

"I'll be right there," he replied without breaking his concentration from Ana. "Ladies, I hope you received the information you needed for your interview. Ms Kavanagh," Christian said dry while shaking her hand.

"Thanks," Kate replied, just as dryly back.

"Miss Steele." Christian took Ana's hand and couldn't resist the urge to caress the back of her hand with his thumb. Her skin was silky smooth and he wondered if the skin underneath her clothes felt the same.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Grey," Ana stated, quickly taking her hand from his. The electricity of the contact was too much for her to handle, and she was sure that she would faint if she didn't withdraw any sooner.

Christian watched as Anastasia walked away, through his double doors and down the hallway. Christian didn't feel any pain in letting her go - he knew he would see her again, and he knew it would be soon.