a/n: Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter!

They'd never gone this long without some form of communication...emails occasionally while he'd been away at school for the last few years, but most of the time they spoke on the phone. Ana couldn't shake the feeling that though it had been perfect, she'd made a huge mistake in asking Christian to sleep with her.

She'd asked too much of him. And now she'd lost him.

She knew she shouldn't bother him…but she was leaving for freshmen orientation tomorrow. It had been five days since he'd woken her up to say goodbye. She had to talk to him…needed to see him before she left. To apologize for pressuring him to take her virginity if nothing else! She had to make things right.

Before she could think twice, Ana interrupted her pacing to grab the cordless off the end table and quickly dialed his home number.

"Hello?" his mother answered after three rings.

"Uh…hi, Mrs. Grey," Ana said hesitantly. Crap! She should've planned better…or at least thought of something to say. "Is...Christian there?"

"Oh, Ana. He didn't tell you?" she asked in surprise. "He got the internship he applied for in New York City. He left…it must be five days ago now."

"Oh," Ana said, feigning absent-mindedness. "That's right. I guess I thought he said he was leaving next week." His mother's announcement stung…he hadn't mentioned anything about the internship to her. Had he known he was going to leave before he'd come to her that night?

"No," Mrs. Grey informed her. "I'm surprised you haven't talked him. He can barely make it through dinner without texting you," she said in amusement.

Ana laughed. "Yes, well…I…I have to go, Mrs. Grey. Thank you."

She hit the button that disconnected the call and slumped down onto the couch. He'd done it…he'd left without saying goodbye to her.

Ana took a deep breath, forbid the tears from falling, and stood. She still had to pack for school.

Ana hurried around her bedroom getting ready for the nights events. Her company had landed a huge account, earning her a raise as well as a promotion.

Kate—always up for a night of partying—had insisted they celebrate. Ana hadn't wanted to rain on her friend's parade, so she'd gone along with her.

After a last look in the mirror—her jeans were a smidge too tight, but that meant she'd fit in better—she headed into the living room and stopped in her tracks when her eyes fell on the television.

It's been seven days since the scandal that rocked Grey Enterprises Holdings, Incorporated, and everyone wants to know…where has Christian Grey gone? Following a disastrous press release, he's all but disappeared.

Ana winced as the monitor switched to a shot of Christian's face. Unable to help herself, she sat down on the couch, mesmerized. Even on screen he took her breath away.

We would just like to restate our support for Mr. Prescott, and assure him that Grey Enterprises Holdings, Incorporated will stand beside him, whatever his needs may be.

With a curse, Ana sprung up from the couch and turned the television off. "What in the hell kind of PR is that?" she muttered, as she'd done every time she'd seen the clip for the past week.

She grabbed her keys off the end table and slammed the door with more force than was necessary as she left her apartment. If it had been her public relations firm that had been representing Christian's company, this never would have happened. He wouldn't have had to lay so low, and he certainly wouldn't be taking the beating the media was currently bestowing upon him!

She hated knowing there was nothing she could do to help him, so she decided she'd do the one thing she could do. Her first shot of tequila would be for him.

"To Ana," Kate said exuberantly as she held up another shot glass. Was this her fifth, or her sixth shot? Ana wondered. She couldn't quite remember through the cloudy haze in her head, so she just clinked and drank. Maybe she shouldn't have been supplementing with the beer.

"To me!" she chimed in before tipping her head back, allowing the clear liquid to slide down her throat. She knew tomorrow morning was going to be a bitch. She never drank this much—but she'd been at her job for two years now, and this was the first promotion she'd received. She deserved this!

"Mmm," she said, her eyes closed as she lowered her head. She swiped the back of her hand across her mouth to wipe away any tequila that hadn't quite made the journey down the back of her throat. Her eyelids slid open—barely, she'd had way too much to drink—and Ana's jaw nearly dropped. She squinted to clear her view. Standing across the club, his piercing gaze glued to her, stood Christian Grey.

"No," she breathed, closing her eyes and giving her head a solid shake. By the time she opened them again, he'd vanished. I really have had too much to drink! Now she was seeing him. Ana groaned. She hated it when she started seeing him. Now she was going to spend the entire night dreaming about him—probably the entire next week!

"Kate," she said breathlessly. "I think—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Ana found herself sprinting for the bathroom.

All the tea in the world hadn't been able to cure Ana's hangover; it had spilled over into Monday. Her first day in her new position, and her stomach was still churning. It was a good thing they already knew her here. If this was her first day at a new job, there was a good chance it would be her last.

"Ana?"

"Hmmm?" she asked, barely looking up from her desk.

"I asked if you had the documents I asked for," her boss, Mr. Bolling repeated.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," Ana said as she jumped to her feet. "Yes, they're all here," she said undoubtedly as she handed him the folder she'd requested from HR. She hoped they were all there! She hadn't cracked the file to check. She winced as she thought about what might happen if any of the documents were missing.

"Excellent. This is a very important client, Ana. Discretion is a must. Shall we?"

"You want me to attend the meeting? But I thought—"

"You're my Executive Assistant now, Ana. You will be attending all of my meetings," he informed her.

"Of course," she said, grabbing her pen and legal pad and following him into the office.

If she hadn't been so out of sorts, she'd have spent the entire weekend wondering who the new client was. Suddenly being hung-over didn't seem like a bad thing.

She followed Mr. Bolling into his office and came to a complete stop. "Chris," she breathed, as her heart began to race.

He arched a brow and gave her a single nod. "Anastasia," he returned.

She felt her cheeks heat as she remembered that the last time she'd seen him…she'd seen all of him. Her head tilted helplessly to the side as she studied him, and a thought struck her…

The surprise was one sided; he wasn't all shocked to see her.