"Kate will be out in a minute. She's been in the kitchen all day and she's just finishing up getting ready," Elliot said as he led Christian into his living room. Christian just nodded, accepting the beer from his brother's proffered hand and taking a seat on the sofa.
"So. Two weeks. A new record, I think," Christian said. That was the length of this serious relationship Elliot was currently in. Serious for Elliot anyway. If Christian saw a girl with his brother more than once it was worth mentioning. But this had been an actual boyfriend/girlfriend situation now for two weeks.
"I know, right?" Elliot grinned back, clearly not ashamed of his philandering ways. It was a point of pride for him. But Christian never saw the appeal in that. He got why Elliot wasn't into the long term romantic relationship thing. He was crystal clear on that. But the idea of bedding so many easy women had just as little appeal to him. At the end of the day, he wanted to know the woman he was dominating was home, safe, and alone. He wanted to know everything about her, whereas Elliot didn't even need a last name.
And apparently, a two week commitment was enough for Elliot to start dragging the people in his life to meet his newest conquest. Because that's why Christian was here, at Elliot's house, gearing up for what he was sure was to be a miserable night with his immediate family as well as Elliot's girlfriend's family- people he didn't know and didn't want to know. A dinner party. A fucking dinner party to introduce Elliot to her family and vice versa. The new flame's idea, Christian was sure. Elliot would just as soon have invited her to Sunday dinner to do the introductions.
So now Christian was to be subjected to spending the evening with his family, as well as meeting his girlfriend's brother and best friend. Not even her parents, because apparently they were out of town. Just her brother and her best friend. Her allegedly 'hot and single' best friend, Elliot had pointed out. And if she so much as flashed a slutty little smile his way, he was going to say fuck it and call it a night. He had too much shit going on in his life to entertain the idea of spending one unnecessary second being forced into a matchmaker situation.
He'd been the first to arrive, albeit slightly early. He was always the most punctual one in his family. He sat on the couch wishing for an asteroid to hit the roof so he didn't have to be there any longer. The smells coming from the kitchen were questionable at best and doing nothing to assuage his distaste for the situation.
"Hey El, can you grab the wine out of the fridge for me?" he heard a female voice say as she approached them from the hallway leading to Elliot's bedroom. "Oh hi. Mr. Grey- Christian. I didn't know anyone had arrived."
Christian resisted the urge to sigh when he saw who the object of his brother's affection was. Katherine Kavanagh. The girl was not his cup of tea. Definitely not who he envisioned as the woman with whom his brother would want more. She was attractive to the majority of people, he was sure. And smart, he would give her that. But she was opinionated and obstinate and that was everything Elliot wasn't. How had they met, let alone hit it off well enough to decide to tackle an actual relationship? Unless this was just a one-night-stand turned more. Actually, that was much more likely.
Instantly Christian was just glad her parents couldn't make it. If he'd found out he needed to spend the evening with Eamon Kavanagh from Kavanagh media, he would have turned and left right this minute. Thank goodness for small graces, he supposed.
"Miss Kavanagh," he greeted with a polite nod is his head.
"Right. I forgot to tell you Christian. After Kate and I got to talking about our families, and she found out you were my brother, she said she'd interviewed you. I meant to tell you that you'd met her even before I had. Small world huh?"
"Quite," Christian said, his lips flattening to a thin line that was supposed to resemble a smile, but did nothing of the sort.
"Right," Elliot said, rolling his eyes at his brother and choosing instead to lavish his girlfriend with praise about her appearance.
Christian tuned them out, taking a drink from his beer. This was going to be a long fucking night. There was a knock at the door, and Christian felt his aggravation grow at just the idea of other people. Why had he agreed to this? He blew off Elliot's invites to things all the time. Even when it was just supposed to be the two of them. Why had he agreed to this night with strangers and first time family meetings, where conversation was the main event of the night?
"…probably Ethan and Ana," he vaguely heard, his attention snapping at the name. Ana. Anastasia and Katherine were together after the graduation ceremony. Surely she wasn't going to—
"Ana!" Elliot bellowed, his arms wrapping around a slight little body with a flourish of chestnut hair. He put her down, both of them letting out laughs as he stepped aside to let her in. "And you must be Ethan," Elliot said to the man now standing in his doorway holding what appeared to be come kind of baked good. "Kate talks very highly of you. Welcome to my home."
Christian watched them all exchange pleasantries. He recognized Ethan as the boy who was all over Anastasia following the graduation ceremony. So he was Kate's brother. And he could not be Anastasia's boyfriend, since Elliot had said she was single.
Fuck. He couldn't believe she was actually here. The updated version of Anastasia's background check had graced his desk about a week after he'd met her at the cafe. He was sure in its contents was the information that she was living in Seattle now, but he hadn't read it. He hadn't wanted to know. After their discussion in the café, he'd been eager to eliminate her from his mind once again. He wanted to be unaware of her location, of her occupation, of everything, just like he had been before the day she graduated. He now knew that she was okay, and that was all he wanted to know. Not where she was now living. Not where she was now working. If he didn't look at the updated information, he could pretend she'd moved anywhere. To Montesano with her stepfather. Or that she'd made amends and moved to Georgia with her mother. To Paris. To Sydney or Tokyo. Anywhere. He could bury their past once and for all. It was easier if he didn't know. He just wanted her out of his mind once and for all. And she had been. Until this moment.
Now, here she was. Standing in front of him. Now, she was living in the same city as him. Now, her best friend and roommate was dating his brother. 'Seriously' dating his brother. Did she know that he was Elliot's brother? Was she going to be shocked when she looked over and saw him sitting nonchalantly on the couch?
Finally, his brother remembered his manners and allowed the pair to move out of the doorway and into the living room. He took Anastasia's coat, leaving her in a mid-thigh length sweater dress, leggings and knee high boots. She looked casual but put together at the same time. In fact, that dress looked rather high end. Rather expensive. How could Anastasia afford such clothes? He'd had access to her bank accounts. She had next to nothing financially. She smiled at Ethan who slung an arm around her shoulders and headed to the living room. It was then that she made eye contact with him. But instead of his presence being a surprise, she didn't miss a beat, and gave him a small smile. No surprise in her eyes that he was here. No shock at seeing him again.
She knew. She fucking knew he was going to be here. Of course she knew. If Elliot and Kate both knew that he and Elliot were related, what were the chances that Kate hadn't mentioned it to Ana? They were roommates, after all. Best friends. He didn't pretend to know exactly what that kind of relationship entailed, but he knew best friends shared information far more personal than the identity of their boyfriend's brothers. The likelihood that Kate hadn't told her was slim to nil. So of course she fucking knew. He was serious when he said he wanted no contact between them in the future. Getting confirmation that she was okay and then subsequently being able to write her out of his life for good was one of the best things to happen to him in a long time. Hopefully she would heed his wishes from their previous encounter and steer clear.
Shortly following Anastasia's arrivals, his parents showed up with his little sister in tow. Everyone was all smiles, excited to meet the girl Elliot had deemed worthy of introducing to them. His mother was like a pig in shit over this. And every time her eyes fell on him, he could feel the question radiating off of her- When will this happen for you?
After everyone made their introductions, they took their seats around Elliot dining room table, probably the first time the thing had ever been used. At least as a table. If he had to put money on it, he'd bet Elliot had bent a girl or twelve over the table in the past.
Elliot and Katherine took the heads of the table. His parents and Mia sat on one said, and he, Ethan and Anastasia on the other. She was sandwiched between, the two, with Christian seated next to Elliot and Ethan next to his sister. "So Ana," his mother said, catching Anastasia attention. "Where are you from?"
She smiled, setting down the wine glass that was currently in her hand. "My early childhood was in Montesano. In high school I was around Seattle. I went to college in Portland, and now I'm back in Seattle."
"Where are you staying in Seattle?"
"Kate was nice enough to let me remain her roommate in her new place. It was her graduation gift from her dad."
Katherine addressed everyone else. "I love having her there. Ethan's staying there with us while he's in town. I like having people around. The place is too big for just me. Plus, Ana does practically all the cooking and cleaning of the whole place so it's worth keeping her around," she said with a wink and a laugh in Anastasia's direction.
"And Ana is a really good cook," Elliot added. "She quite often makes me breakfast in the morning," he said with a grin. Katherine smacked him playfully, blushing, while Grace shot him an admonishing look. Not that Elliot gave a shit.
"It's one of her many skills," Ethan piped up, sending her a wink. Anastasia looked down and blushed. Christian watched Ethan's eyes roam her for a moment before settling on the gap where her shirt didn't quite meet her skin. He'd been watching her like a hawk since they'd stepped in the door. He was clearing fawning after her, hanging on her every word. He had no class in doing so, either. No discretion whatsoever as he perused her body with his eyes countless times.
"Did you help cook tonight, Ana?" Mia asked.
Ana politely shook her head. "Nope. It was all Kate. I did make the dessert though."
"I can't wait to try your dessert. I'm sure it'll be delicious," Ethan said. Christian couldn't help but roll his eyes internally at that terrible line. Was he the only one picking up on this guy's lame attempt at innuendo? Did women exist who found that type of line appealing? Scratch that. Yes, they did exist. He was sure if he used that line, any line, he could have hundreds, thousands, millions of women offering to be his dessert for the night. Not that he would ever want a woman who was so easy. The looseness of a woman was inversely proportional to her attractiveness, in his eyes. If he ever were to pursue a woman, that is, which he wouldn't.
Christian watched Ana shrug off the comment. She either didn't care about his blatant flirting, or didn't notice it for what it was. She looked up, almost like she felt his eyes on her, and they caught each other's gaze. She tried to hold his, as she had a few times already this evening, but he was quick to divert his attention. The last thing he wanted was interaction with her. No conversation. No looks. If he could get through this dinner and leave without one more word spoken to Anastasia Steele, he would consider the night a grand success regardless of how miserable he was being here.
Luckily, Katherine put a stop to the inane chatter when she came out with the main course, a very large homemade lasagna. It was cut and distributed to everyone at the table. Wine was poured, sides of bread and a medley of vegetables served. And when everyone had a plate in front of them, Elliot raised his glass and toasted 'to food, family and friends' before everyone dug in.
Slowly the excitement at the table died down as everyone sat with their first bites of lasagna in the mouths. Nervous smiles flash back and forth. Hands reached for wine glasses and took long gulps. Throats cleared and napkins were reached for quickly.
Christian felt his own mouthful of food practically begging to be spat out on the table in front of him. What the lasagna lacked in flavor of any spices, it made up for in spades with salt. Lots and lots of salt. It was vile. Quickly he willed it down the back of his throat before joining the rest of the table in reached for his wine glass. Drinking down nearly half of it in one take, he cleared his throat, rubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth roughly.
Shit, he couldn't even get a half-decent meal out of this evening. Katherine obviously had no business in the kitchen. Why would someone who couldn't cook decide to make a large dinner for a room full of people? It was asinine.
"Oh my God," Katherine exclaimed as she took her own forkful of the food into her mouth. "Oh it's so bad. Holy shit."
Everyone at the table sat silently, not wanting to agree with her that the food she'd spend so much time preparing was inedible. "Ana," she whined, "What's wrong with it?"
Anastasia grimaced as she said, "It's a little… salty."
"Well I know that!" Katherine exclaimed. "But why? I followed your recipe exactly!"
Anastasia delicately wiped her mouth with her napkin before standing. "Show me what you did." Ethan stared as Anastasia's ass like it was a bottle of Fiji water in the Sahara. As she stepped away from her chair, his eyes caught Christian's and he winked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Christian just glared at him. Such disrespect of someone as genuine as Anastasia was appalling. He was as red blooded a male as any other guy out there, but there was a time and a place to appreciate the delectable body of an attractive woman, and it wasn't in front of a table full of people who can see you.
But Ethan's leers went unnoticed again by Anastasia as the two girls scurried off into the kitchen to try and see where Katherine had gone wrong, but there was no point. She'd added too much salt. No matter why, it had happened, and as a result the food was ruined. There was nothing that could be done to salvage it. Christian cringed at the thought of it all going in the garbage. What a horrible waste of food.
The two emerged from the kitchen moments later, Katherine with a distressed look on her face. "I didn't know there was a difference between a big T and a little t in a recipe."
"One is teaspoon. One is tablespoon. You were supposed to use the small one, not the big one," Anastasia said gently.
"I'm sorry everyone. I- It's ruined. I messed up and now everyone is hungry and I ruined the food," Katherine said as she plopped unceremoniously back into her seat, grabbing her wine glass and draining the remainder of the liquid quickly.
"It's fine. There's salad and bread. We can all enjoy that," Ana piped up with a smile.
Christian rolled his eyes. "This is a disaster," he mumbled. But not as quietly as he had intended to, apparently, because Katherine's head shot up in his direction. She blushed for a moment, before anger set in her eyes and she darted from the table with a huffed 'Excuse me'. Anastasia was quick to follow her.
Christian looked around to see the rest of the table staring at him disapprovingly, save his brother who was shooting him a death glare. "That was un-fucking-necessary Christian. She worked hard and it was an honest mistake."
"Yeah well this is just ridiculous Elliot. The whole meal was a catastrophe. And as a result, a huge waste of food. I don't know why you bothered to invite me." He didn't care about the look on everyone's faces. He was more than done with this evening and didn't give two shits was the gawking spectators thought of his attitude.
"Because I wanted my family to meet Kate. Because you are a part of my family. Because I wanted you to meet Kate," Elliot said through clenched teeth.
"If I met every piece of ass you had I'd never get any work done," Christian mumbled in reply before taking a swig of his wine.
"Listen, Christian. I know this is new territory for me. And if you don't want to believe me when I say she's is different, then don't. But I will not have you refer to my girlfriend as a piece of ass. I care about her. And if you can't get behind that and be happy for me, then I agree that you should leave now."
Christian felt the rare pang of guilt hit him. If he was the type of man who apologized, this would be the type of moment in which he would do so. But instead, he just watched Elliot turn away from him, plaster on a smile, and address the table.
"So everyone. My Katie is many amazing things, but I think we can all agree, her culinary skills could use some cultivating," he said, tossing a playful wink at everyone. "So I'm thinking we order some take out, maybe pop in a movie, and just get to know one another. That's what this was all about anyway. Just a casual meeting of the family. The night is still young. We can have some drinks and some laughs and just have a good time."
A chorus of contented agreement erupted from the small group left at the table just as Anastasia led Katherine back to the room.
"Seems like we might be seeing more of each other around then anyway, huh?"
He'd closed his eyes when he'd heard the balcony door handle click, then open behind him. He'd been sitting out there for close to an hour now, slipping away without anyone noticing, while everyone else talked and laughed and enjoyed themselves inside. He was lost in his thoughts, but there was a small part of him waiting for that click of the balcony door.
For years, or all of his childhood, really, various members of his family took turns trying to get him to join them for whatever it was they were doing—movie nights, family game nights, bon fires outside. And for all those years, he often turned them down for the seclusion of his bedroom. Then one day, when he was about fourteen and had been turning them down every single time for about a month, no one came. He remembered hearing Elliot and Mia laughing as they played basketball in the pool. His dad was cooking on the grill and his mom was sitting at the table enjoying the whole scene. He'd watched them from behind the curtain of his bedroom window and huffed, knowing sooner or later someone would come knock on his door and ask him to come down and join the family. He waited. And waited. He peeked out his window again and saw everyone sitting around the patio table enjoying hamburgers and iced tea. They all looked so happy. Father, mother, big brother and little sister. They were picture perfect. Without him. He started to feel the swells in his chest- the hope that someone would come to the door. But no one ever did. They just continued to enjoy the evening until it got dark, and they all came inside. After that night, no one pursued him to join the family anymore. They just left him alone. Finally, he'd tried to convince himself at the time. But he still would find himself staring at the back of his closed bedroom door, imaging someone coming and invite him down. Because if they didn't come, that meant they didn't mind that he wasn't there.
That was when his life really started to spiral out of control. He'd always told himself that the Grey family was too good for a fucked up kid like him. Elliot was so carefree and jovial and friendly. Mia was a burst of light and the princess of the family. His mother was a saint of a woman—a doctor for children for Christ's sake. His father, the firm but devoted head of the household. They were perfect. They were, all of them, everything that he wasn't and he never felt like he fit in with them. And that day when no one came to try and coax him from his room? He saw how happy and easy their family time was together. No Christian there to spoil the time with angry yelling and petulant complaining. No glancing looks between his mother and his father, which he always caught no matter how discreet they thought they were. No Elliot and Mia telling him he was no fun, telling him he needed to lighten up, telling him he needed to relax. They all just seemed genuinely happy when he wasn't around. No one seemed to mind that he wasn't a part of it. Maybe they liked that he wasn't there. Maybe they preferred to enjoy their family time without him. Those thoughts fed into the view that he'd always had of himself—that he didn't belong in this family. That they were better off without him. Happier. More cohesive. They could relax and let loose and have fun.
Realizing that he'd just been proved that they were better off without him, Christian vowed from then on to keep his distance as much as possible and let them be a happy family unit without him. But there was a certain level of pain deep in his chest that came with this realization, and that had led him down an even rougher path. The drinking started. He started to really feel his attraction to girls, but he couldn't talk to them because he couldn't bear to be touched. He had no friends. Then the fighting started as a means of looking for interaction with anyone. That led to him getting kicked out of school after school after school, which only caused his parents to become more distressed and become more frustrated with him. This resulted in the idea of him not being worthy of becoming further engrained in his mind, and he withdrew even further. It was a vicious cycle. He was alienated from everyone and everything. He had nothing- felt nothing but anger and resentment for his life and how it negatively affected everyone around him. He was like a parasite, sucking the joy out of everyone he interacted with. On his darkest days he wished he'd just starved to death in that shithole apartment with his whore birth mother.
And that was when he found Elena. Someone who understood him. Who understood how fucked up he was. She knew that he didn't belong with his family. But she showed him a place where he could belong. Where he could fit in and have control and have human contact. Of course, it was all a lie. He knew that now. But at the time it had been a lifeline. It had been acceptance and understanding. And he had been satisfied. For the first time in his life he had been as close to happy as he thought he could ever become.
And now it was a lifetime later. Years of therapy had only gotten him so far. He still did not know how to interact with the only four people in the world who even sort of knew him outside of GEH. His family thought he was better. They thought he was happy, because he had changed from that boy he was when he was fourteen. They hadn't know how, and they hadn't know why, but he had stopped acting out. He'd stopped being the angry, bitter kid that he was, and they didn't question why. He'd made something of himself. He'd become successful. That was more than they'd hope for him, so they cut their losses and ran with the idea that he was at least passable to society.
Flynn had tried to talk him into expanding his relationships with his family. He'd urged him to try to share more personal information, to try and form real, strong bonds with them. But Christian just couldn't. They thought that he was content now. They thought that he had tackled whatever demons he had as a teenager and had cured himself of those things when he was fifteen. How could he open up to them without letting them know that his outward appearance wasn't completely genuine? How could he let them know that the only reason things had changed for him was because of Elena? He couldn't. There was no way. So instead he focused on work. He put his energy into GEH and let him family go on believing that he was content with his life, just introverted. It was easier than letting them know even a fraction of the truth. To spare them that pain was worth every second of loneliness.
But still, days like today, when they were all congregated together and having a good time, he wished he could be a part of them. A piece of him, the little boy in him, wished he could share in their comfort and joy of family togetherness. Not out of a fucking balcony wishing to be wanted. Sitting out here on the patio had brought on the same feelings as waiting for the knock on his bedroom door when he was fourteen. Even Elliot coming to tear him a new asshole for his behavior would at least show that someone was thinking of him. That someone noticed he wasn't there.
But now someone had come. And he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, because this wasn't Elliot. It wasn't his mother, father, or sister. It wasn't any of the people he held a slight hope for being the ones to walk through that patio door. Instead, it was the last fucking person he wanted out here.
Couldn't she take a hint? He'd been ignoring her all night. Purposefully not speaking with her. She seemed smart enough. She couldn't be so dense as to not realize his lack of communication thus far was intentional. Especially coupled with the way they left things last time. He's made it more than clear what his position was on continuing any sort of connection between them.
While he was out here pining for the relationship he would never and could never have with his family, she was interacting with them like she was a long lost Grey. She was all politeness and delicate beauty. She'd won them over as soon as she opened her demure little mouth. She was respectful and friendly, charming and engaging. They loved her. Elliot and she laughed often together, poking light fun back and forth the whole night like true friends do. Mia was desperate get to know her, asking for her number so they could grab lunch and do some shopping. His parents were both clearly taken with the girl, listening intently to her every time she spoke. And Christian hated it. He fucking hated that they were all wrapped around her little finger. She fit in better with his family than he did. And no one here was paying him a fucking ounce of attention the whole goddamn night.
Except for her.
Every time they would accidently make eye contact, she kept trying to hold his gaze and smile. When he did speak, which was only to answer questions asked specifically to him by his family, she listened intently. Hope seemed to flit in her eyes every time they made contact with his, as if she was wishing for him to strike up conversation with her. He didn't want his family to converse with her, let alone to do so himself. He wanted her out of his life, not schmoozing with his family.
He didn't want her attention. He didn't want her breathing the same air as he did. She'd wanted a friendship, she'd said that that day at the cafe. Like fuck was that going to happen. One look into her big blue eyes and he could see she still exuded all that was good and pure and innocent. No way would he risk tainting her with his life again. No way would he let her in, befriend her (if he could even figure out how to do that) just to end up ruining her now. He didn't come all this way to finally find out she hadn't been dirtied by what he'd done to her in her youth, just to cause distress in her life now. And he would. If he maintained any type of contact with her, he would only introduce a negative influence into her life. She would find out about everything he was, and everything he wasn't, and she would surely be appalled. There were no redeeming qualities about who he was as a person. He could donate to all the charities in the world until he was penniless, but he would still be a mockery of a human being. He was heartless and cold. He had nothing to offer her life but eventual anguish. He would cause her perpetual grief until she finally became revolted enough and ran.
Worse than her just finding out what kind of a person he was and running, would be if she found out what kind of a person he was and stayed. He could read people well, and she was a kind and gentle person. If he didn't taint her and send her running for the hills, forever touched by his darkness, it would only be because she stayed out of some sort of misplaced obligation to heal him. But Christian Grey could not be healed. For someone to heal, they would have to have something to heal. A heart. A soul. He had neither. He was lucky to have escaped harming her before. He couldn't make that mistake again.
He needed to make her want to stay away from him. He needed to do something to drive her away. Just because Katherine was dating his brother didn't mean she needed to interact with his whole family. Elliot, sure, she would most likely form some sort of friendship-based relationship with him. Elliot could befriend anyone he met. He was just that type of guy. So he was sure that he and Anastasia would form some type of friendship as long as Katherine and Elliot were together. But his sister? His mother and father? There was no reason they all needed to speak beyond this evening. There was no reason for Anastasia to be anything other than 'that friend of Katherine's everyone met that one time'. And if he could make her uncomfortable enough around him, then maybe he could make her want to decline any further invites to Grey family get-togethers. Just for the sake of avoiding that asshole, Christian Grey. Hopefully she would take the hint that he'd been less than friendly toward her and stay away from here on out.
So he didn't turn to face her, when she came out onto the balcony and spoke to him. He just replied with his back to her while he kept staring out straight ahead to the city in front of him. "I don't see why that would be the case, Anastasia."
He heard the patio door click closed, then felt her presence move closer, but he still did not physically respond to her. He could feel the tension she was radiating though. She was trying to seem calm and confident, but he could feel it was wavering. "I just figured we might run into each other at events like this. I don't know how much you see your brother exactly, but he and Kate are attached at the hip. And Kate and I spend a lot of time together. So I figured sometimes meetings may overlap and we would find ourselves in each other's company again." When he didn't respond after a moment, she said, "I'm just saying a friendship might be on the horizon for us after all."
"I hope what you've described is not the case," he said coldly, taking a slow drink from his glass, the ice clinking as he brought it back to the balcony ledge. "And regardless, a friendship between us will never exist."
"Oh," she said softly. There was another long pause, before she boldly stepped next to him, resting her elbow on the balcony ledge inches away from his glass of bourbon. "I'm still not sure I understand why."
He closed his eyes slowly, his jaw clenched as she tried to reel in the biting anger he was feeling at her unwillingness to just walk away. Why the fuck was she questioning him? Who ever fucking questioned Christian fucking Grey? No one. No one ever did.
"The why is none of your business," he practically growled, "But since you asked..." He turned to her now, looking her up and down, from head to toe slowly. He watched a blush creep up her chest and neck. "I see you like nice things. Those clothes are obviously designer."
"I... They're Kate's," she said, clearly thrown off guard about where he was going with this.
"It must be nice to have her to keep you in the finer things in life. Nice clothes. A nice condo to live in, which I am sure you do so rent free, seeing as you have no money of your own. You've been living off Katherine's family wealth for the last four plus years." He watched the blush darken even further into one of embarrassment.
"Kate's been very generous," she said softly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And what happens when Miss Kavanagh decides she no longer wants to support you? What happens when she's sick of being used by you for your own selfish financial gain and she asks you to move out and you have to take care of yourself? What happens then?"
"I'm job hunting. I have interviews this week. I will make my own way in this world like everyone else, Mr. Grey," she said, her tone more confident.
He let out a biting, mocking laugh. "In publishing? You're interviewing as an assistant, no doubt. Hardly a position worthy of providing you with the financial capabilities to keep you in the lifestyle to which you've become accustomed over the last four years. It'll take you years to get anywhere worth getting in the world of publishing, assuming you have the talent and skills to even qualify you for one of those coveted jobs in the first place. The very best you have to hope for is a medium pay scale with a mediocre lifestyle."
She blinked rapid at him, shock so clear in her eyes he could almost taste it. "Books are my passion. Publishing is more than a paycheck to me. I'm a simple girl, Mr. Grey. I don't need the fancy apartments and clothes to be happy."
"And yet, here you are, taking full advantage of them."
"I'm not taking advantage of anything. If Kate lived in a hole in the wall, I'd live there with her. She's my best friend. Living with her has everything to do with our friendship, not her social status."
"Ah, yes. Her social status. And quite a status it is, no? Heir to the Kavanagh Media fortune. Not that Katherine isn't impressive in her own rite. She was the Valedictorian of her class, so she'd obviously smart, focused, and driven. She was able to procure an interview with me, which I know how hard that is to do, so she has charisma and tenacity. And you must admit, she's strikingly beautiful, no? She's the complete package. And you are, as you said, just a simple girl, right Miss Steele?"
He watched her swallow hard, the look on her face like she had just swallowed something rancid. Something in the pit of his stomach flipped, knowing he'd been responsible for that look. His words were harsh, he knew. But he needed to say something bad enough to make her go away. But as quickly as the look had appeared on her face, it was gone as she corrected her expression back to a tight lipped smile. "Kate is all those things and more. She is amazing."
Oh, Miss Steele. Why was she making this so fucking difficult? "And now she's with my brother. A Grey. An entrepreneur for his own flourishing construction company. Son of a fantastic doctor and prominent lawyer. The Grey's have quite the presence in Seattle. The Kavanagh's obviously have widespread influence as well. Where does Steele fit into our world?"
Instead of being forced to feel even lower than he'd made her feel already, her eyes snapped back to meet his. This time dead on, with no trace of backing down whatsoever. "I may be a simple girl. But I am damn proud to be a Steele. It may not be as prestigious as the name 'Grey' or 'Kavanagh'. But it's a name I wear proudly. It has given me more than anything else in my life. Safety. Comfort. Loyalty. Love. I'd take that over condos or clothes or billions of dollars any day of the week, Mr. Grey. And Kate may be a Kavanagh and Elliot may be a Grey, but they are good people. Really good people. As I think you are. I don't know what all of this is about Mr. Grey. I don't quite understand why you're condescending to me and seemingly trying to hurt me by making me feel inadequate. But I assure you I know my place in this world. Between the two of us, it's you who seems more lost and me."
The shock that rippled through him as her blue eyes bore into his, saying there words that pierced straight through to his soul, was short lived. Quickly he composed himself, shifted his body, wrapping his fingers tightly around the banister, his hands on either side of her body. He loomed over her, his eyes as cold as they'd ever been, staring molten grey down into her.
He saw her body sway back, but there was nowhere for her to go since he had her essentially pinned against the guardrail. "Are you trying to intimidate me?" she asked, the slight quaver in her voice picked up by his well-trained ears.
"Doesn't look like trying so much as succeeding. You should have listened when I said I didn't want to see you again. I wasn't fucking joking. I don't want you in my life. I don't care what happens to you from here. You are the worst memory I have in my entire life. Get it? You are my biggest regret."
"You're acting like that night was my fault. Last time I saw you, you were all 'I'm sorry, I hope I didn't ruin you' and now- who are you and why are you acting like this? This is not the man who saw to me that night, or the man I had coffee with."
"This is me. The real me. Christian Fucking Grey. The Dominant who ripped your virginity from you when you were a doe-eyed sixteen-year-old. That is who I am Miss Steele."
"No it's not," she said softly, all traces of fear gone as she looked at him with- what? Sympathy? He felt a shudder try to work its way up his spine but he refused it. Fuck, the way she was looking at him, like she could see right through him. All his control, all his intimidation, all the techniques he knew were no match for this girl. He felt so exposed in her gaze. Like she could see everything in him that he never wanted anyone to see. It made him feel sick. It made him feel-
"Hey, what's going on out here?"
"Nothing," Anastasia said, turning to Elliot with a smile.
Elliot looked at the two of them, clearly not believing them. But he didn't push. That was Elliot. If it wasn't his business, he didn't pry. So he just nodded instead. "Well my parents are leaving and wanted to say bye to you, Ana. And then we wanted to play beer pong but need a fourth. You in?"
She grinned and nodded, stepping through the door as he held it open for her. And without so much as a glance back in Christian's direction, he followed her back into the house, leaving Christian out on the balcony, alone once again.
No invite to join them as well.