"Mr. Grey," Gail knocks at my door. I look up from my book and stare at her. "Your brother and sister are here, sir."

"Thank you Gail." I respond. I set down my book and remove myself from the office chair. Week 2 of no CEO Christian has been hell. I have absolutely nothing to do with my time. I woke up this morning, went through my regular workout routine with Taylor, ate breakfast, went to see Flynn at 11, got home around 1, and had time to kill before my late lunch with my siblings. My father thought we needed to spend some time together since I've been ignoring them for months.

So henceforth, they were invited to my penthouse. I walk out of my study and into the great room where Elliot is already tasting Gail's food. Mia was on her phone till I approached and she skipped over to hug me with an enthusiastic "Christian!". I return her sentimental gesture and kiss her cheek for good measure.

"Hi Mia." I smile down at my baby sister. It was good to see her. Elliot licks his fingers and walks over to embrace me.

"Hey baby bro. It's been awhile." He pulls away and I nod.

"Yeah it sure has. Come on, let's enjoy Gail's feast." I motion towards the small dining table that I rarely use. We all sit down as Gail serves us. After she was sure we were satisfied, she left the kitchen and we were left alone.

"So you made a great front cover Christian," Elliot speaks and I shrug it off. "Dad also told us about your little predicament at work."

"Yeah well it's whatever."

Elliot lets out a chuckle. "Sure, what did Jackson recommend you do to save face?"

"I sent a letter of apology to the security guy and sent the club a big fat check."

"Money always solve the problem huh?"

"Not necessarily but it's a nice incentive."

"Okay enough talk about that, Christian, how's therapy?" Mia asks and I shrug again.

"It's okay I guess. Did you guys know that Dad went to therapy after mom's passing?" I look up at my siblings and both shook their head. "Yeah well Flynn said he did. Why didn't he tell us?"

"Maybe he just didn't want us to worry." Mia speaks, stuffing some salad into her mouth. I nod, my father is a proud man and probably never wanted his kids to know anything that would deem him as weak.

"How are you guys dealing with that by the way?" I ask and they both look at me warily.

"I guess I'm okay. I mean I miss her more and more each day but I know she's in a better place." Mia responds and I nod to agree with her.

"Somedays I'm good but sometimes it's hard to accept that she's gone. We owe all our lives to her and to know that she's gone is unbelievable. Like Mia said, I miss her more every day. I know she would want us to move and be happy but it's hard."

"Yeah well at least you both deal with it better than me," I mutter and take a sip of my water. It's all I can drink now a days.

"When do you start AA?" Elliot asks and I set down my glass.

"Tonight at 7."

Silence falls among us and it's not uncomfortable. We eat the rest of our meal in quiet. When we finish, Gail returns to collect the dishes and we all move into the living room. Mia is standing by my piano, running her fingers across the black and white keys.

"Mom always loved it when you played," she whispers and I don't know how to respond. I haven't played since before she passed away. I learned the piano for her and now that she's no longer here, I can't bring myself to play it anymore.

"Hey why don't we go visit her?" Elliot suggests from his spot by the window.

"That's a great idea. Christian?" Mia asks for my answer. I don't know if I can handle seeing her headstone again so soon but I guess if I'm going to do it, I could do it with my brother and sister.

"Sure." I gather my leather jacket from the couch and we all head out. We climb into Elliot's truck and he pulls into traffic.

We all walk up the hill, towards her final resting place. Mia's arm is looped through mine as we walk quietly. I can still see all the people dressed in black and hear all the crying of those who knew and loved my mother. The pain from the day we buried her come rushing back to me. I try to hide it the best I can. Moments like this requires a good hard liquor.

We stop in front of her headstone. Mia's hand grips mine tighter as tears roll down her face. "We miss you, mom," Elliot bends down to lay down a single red rose.

Elliot drops me off after spending some time with mom. I return to Escala and wait for another 2 hours till my AA meeting. I'm emotionally drained and I can't handle anymore thoughts about my mother. I lay down on the couch after pulling off my leather jacket.

I close my eyes and Ana pops into my mind. I still haven't received a call or text to confirm dinner. She had called me the day after I paid her a visit at the hospital. I thought it be better to work off her schedule since she's so busy and I have all the time in the world.

I pull out my phone and search for her name. I click on it before I start typing out a message.

Christian Grey

Slowly waiting in fear that you have forgotten all about our date.

I hit send and set my phone on my chest. Nearly 10 minutes go by before I get a response.

Anastasia Steele

Sorry, I've been booked at the hospital all weekend. How about tomorrow night? I'm free then.

I beam at her message. A smile creeps on my face as I text back a response.

Christian Grey

Sounds great :) I'll pick you up at 7.

Anastasia Steele

Okay, gtg, patient just threw up all over himself. I'll text you my address later.

For once, I have something to look forward to. I can't wait.

Seven o'clock rolls around and I'm sitting in a circle, surrounded by people who all have the same issue as me.

"Hello everyone, welcome to Alcoholics' Anonymous. I'm Luke Sawyer, the head of this program. But for tonight and the rest of the time that we meet, I am just a friend who is willing to help you all through this hard time." The young, tall, blonde, and well-built man greets us. His hair is cropped short like Taylor's and I get the sense that he's been through a lot in his short life. "Since tonight is our first meeting, we'll just go around the circle and introduce ourselves. I'll start us off. I've spent 10 years in the army as a trained sniper, born here in Seattle, and I've been sober for almost 3 years. It's been a tough journey but I know we can all help each other reach the end."

He looks off to his right and the man sitting next to him starts talking. I don't pay much attention to the other people who take their sweet time introducing themselves. When it comes time for me, I lean forward and start to talk. "Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises, born in Detroit." I introduce myself, sweet and simple. They don't need to know my whole life story.

The girl next to me starts. After two of the most gruesome hours I ever sat through, we were able to leave. Some people stuck around and drank coffee while getting to know one another but I wasn't one of them. I was in a dire need of leaving the place.

"Mr. Grey," I hear my name and turn around. Luke Sawyer, the program leader, walks up to me.

"Yes Mr. Sawyer?"

"Please call me Luke."

"Okay."

"I just wanted to personally welcome you to the program Mr. Grey."

"Glad to be here."

"It's nice to have a man of your stature join us. It's a reminder to everyone that no matter how successful you are; we all are still the same people with the same issues."

"Yeah."

"Not much of a talker?" he asks, amused.

"Just had a long day. I would like to get home."

"Of course, I hope to be seeing you around." I shake his hand and nod. Taylor is waiting for me outside as usual and I climb into the back of the Audi sedan. I click my seatbelt into place and lean my head back.

"How was your first AA meeting last night?" Flynn asks me.

"Do you like have a copy of my schedule or something?"

"You're avoiding my question."

"It was fine."

"Did you talk about your issues?"

"No I didn't. If I did, I wouldn't have anything to talk to you about." I comment sarcastically and he smiles at me.

"How's your hand?"

"Better."

"Good, glad to hear."

"Don't try to act like you care for my well-being."

"But I do Christian. It's what you pay me for." He jokes and I'm taken by surprise of his joke. In the past week that I've been to see him, he's never joked around with me. A smirk graces my face. "Anyways let's talk about a new topic today. Do you want to pick or shall I?"

For some odd reason, tonight's date with Ana pops into my head. No I can't share that with him. I haven't share it with anyone. He doesn't need to know about my love life. I give him the go ahead to pick and he nods. He looks through his notepad, yes he has a whole notepad dedicated to me.

"How's your love life?" he asks and I try not to laugh at the irony.

"No existence."

"Really? A man like you doesn't have a girlfriend?"

"No, a man like me doesn't have time for girlfriends."

"So you don't indulge in one night stands?"

"I used to."

"Used to?"

"Yes."

"Why did you stop?"

"Well my mother gave me a lot of crap for it. So I gave it up. I was getting tired of it anyways."

"So you do a lot for your mother?"

"I do anything for her. She saved my life."

He nods and writes something down. I know that he knows I'm not ready to speak about what happen to her and I'm thankful for that.

"I had lunch with my brother and sister yesterday. We went and paid my mother a visit."

"That's good," he replies looking back up at me. "How was it?"

"Difficult." I reply honestly. He doesn't say anything and I've come to learn that that's his cue for me to elaborate. "I haven't been there since her funeral. Seeing that headstone just made it all a little more real for me. I guess a part of me doesn't want to believe that she's gone even though it's been months."

"That's understandable."

"Yeah well it was just hard to stare at that spot where she's buried."

"How did your siblings take it?"

"We were all an emotional mess but I think it was a lot easier to take in since we were together."

"That's good, you guys need each other in these moments of vulnerability."

I make it home by 1 in the afternoon. I walk into the kitchen where Gail is sitting at the breakfast bar, writing down her grocery list.

"What are we having tonight Gail?"

"How about smoke salmon with a side of roasted vegetables? I thought it would be a good idea to keep it simple."

"Sounds good, desert?"

"A dark chocolate cake."

"Everything sounds divine."

"Great, I just need to make a quick stop at the grocery store and I'll be back to prep everything."

"Awesome, thanks Gail."

Around five, I can smell the deliciousness wafting from the kitchen into my room. I had just gotten out of the shower, freshly shaved, and made my way into the closet. I look at all my clothes. What do I wear to a first date? I have been out of the dating game for so long, not that I dated that much anyways.

I settle for a gray button up and my favorite black suit. I omit the tie and go in search of my custom CG cufflinks. I slip on a pair of black dress shoes.

I make it back to the great room and the smell of the kitchen is mouthwatering. "I'm heading out Gail, be back soon."

"Alright." I grab my keys for the R8 and take the elevator down. I input Ana's address into my phone GPS and I drive off towards her place.

She lives in a loft on the upside of town. I knock on her door and I hear a distant 'coming' from behind it. I wait till the door opens and Ana is dressed in a blue top with some dark skinny jeans.

"You clean up well Dr. Steele." I compliment her and she blushes.

"Oh this old thing, I just threw it on," she jokes and I give her a tooth grinning smile.

"Ana, you forgot your phone!" I hear another girl call out from inside and when she rounds the corner, I'm shocked to see who it is. Katherine Kavanagh.

"Miss Kavanagh, I didn't know you knew Dr. Steele?" I ask and Ana looks surprised that we knew each other.

"Well hello Mr. Grey. I didn't know you knew Dr. Steele. All she said was that her date tonight was hot!" She greets me and I try to contain my smirk.

"We should get going," Ana urges and I agree.

"Nice to see you Miss Kavanagh."

"You too Mr. Grey. Enjoy your night, you two!" Ana grabs her black jacket and we depart from her loft. We make it downstairs and I open her door before she can step into my car.

"So how do you know Kate?" she asks I pull out into the street.

"She works for my father as an assistant, I've met her a few times when I made a visit. Not to mention her family's reputation is astounding. Her father also likes to invite me to their fancy events. How do you know her?"

"We met in college. We were roommates and one night she came in, drunk out of her mind, and I willingly helped her get better. Ever since then we've been friends."

"Small world huh?"

"Yeah no kidding. So where are we going?"

"I figure we stay in."

"Oh, so we're going back to your place?"

"Yeah I hope you don't mind. My housekeeper is making a hell of a meal."

"No I don't mind. If her cooking is as good as her baking, I'm a hundred percent in."

I chuckle and I make quick work to get back to Escala. I pull into my underground garage and park the R8 in its spot. I help Ana out of the car and she looks around.

"Wow, who owns those cars?" she asks and I close the door to the R8.

"I do." I smirk and point towards the elevator. She steps in and we are comfortably quiet on the ride up. Once the steel doors open into my penthouse, I walk in and she follows shortly. Her face lights up at the scene. I knew she was instantly attracted to the large ceiling to floor windows that showed her the bright lights of Seattle.

"It's breathtaking," she says without taking her eyes away from the skyline.

"You have no idea." I mutter and turn to walk into the kitchen.

"Gail," I call out and she turns around from the stove.

"Almost done Mr. Grey." She responds and her direction flickers over to Ana as she walks into the kitchen.

"Gail, I like you to meet Dr. Anastasia Steele." Ana reaches over and extends her hand. Gail accepts it with a smile. "Ana meet the mastermind behind the amazing cookies and tonight's dinner, Mrs. Gail Jones."

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Jones. Big fan of your cooking," Ana speaks and Gail shakes her head.

"Oh honey, please call me Gail. And I'm glad you enjoyed my food." They let go of each other's hands and Gail leans down to the small fridge where my wine collection used to be. She pulls out two bottles.

"While I was at the store, I picked up these two bottles for you to try. They're a great replacement for wine."

I reached for the bottles and brought them closer for inspection. 12NtM was what it was called. It's a sparkling beverage with all natural flavors.

"Thanks Gail, we'll be in the great room." I grab two wine glasses and the bottle of the Blanc. Ana walks over with me and I offer her a seat on the couch. She takes it and I set down the bottle and the glasses before sitting next to her. I pop open the bottle and pour some into each glass.

I hand one over to Ana and she thanks me. We both bring our drinks to our lips and we each take a sip. It's surprisingly refreshing.

"Wow, it's pretty delicious." Ana comments and I nod in agreement.

"So Ana, how did you decide that you wanted to become a doctor?" I ask, sitting back and throwing my arm over the back of the couch.

"Well believe it or not, I didn't grow up wanting to be a doctor. I grew up loving books and when I reached college, I had my mind set on becoming an author; a professional writer. But one day while I was in class, I received a call that my father had received a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. I left immediately and got there as soon as I could. My mother was in hysterics and she was so worried. We sat in that living room for who knows how long. It felt like forever until the doctor came out to see us. He told us that my father was barely breathing when he arrived at the hospital but he did everything he could and he got my father to breath normally. I was so relieved and happy that I hugged the doctor a little too tight. From that moment on, I watched all the doctors and the nurses move about in the hospital. Those people deal with life and death every day and they somehow still pull it together to attend to others. It amazed me and motivated me to want to help people in any way I can. I knew then that this was my life choice. So I changed my major and after eleven grueling years of school, I made it."

"Wow that's quite a story." She laughs and nods before taking another sip of her drink.

"What's your story?"

"Mine isn't nearly as interesting as yours."

"Oh I highly doubt that. I mean come on, you're the Christian Grey. There's a new story about you every morning I turn on the news."

"Well most of those are untrue."

"I'm pretty sure they are. So come on, tell me what made you want to rule the world."

I down the rest of my drink before turning my body to face hers.

"I never liked the idea of working for another person. I wanted to work for myself and I had this envision of owning my own company. So I dropped out of Harvard."

"Hold the front door, you dropped out of one of the most amazing schools in the whole country?"

I chuckle and nod. "I sure did. School just wasn't working out for me."

"Wow."

"Anyways, I dropped out and convinced my parents to lend me 100,000 to start up my own company. I bought a building, hired a couple of people, and started outbidding other companies. I liquidated my first acquisition for double what I paid for it. Eventually things started working out for me and soon enough, I became a millionaire. My company took off and I made more money than I knew what to do with. My father was a well invested partner and thought that the job was stressing me out too much. I agreed so we took my company public and that made me a billionaire. A board of directors was hired to help lift off some of the responsibilities. Of course, I still run things and I am still the sole owner of GEH but my board can out vote me if the entire board agrees."

"Wow, that's a lot of responsibility."

"Yeah well that's my life and lately I have been really irresponsible."

"Oh right, the bar fight."

"Yeah. That's not who I really am. That was a drunken mistake and I will never do that again."

"You don't have to explain Christian."

"Mr. Grey, dinner is ready." Gail interrupts us and I nod.

"Come on," I get up and extend my hand to Ana. She places hers in mine and I grasp it tightly. I pull her towards the kitchen.

"If you thought those cookies were good, wait till you taste her smoked salmon." I smile over to her and she giggles in anticipation.