It's a longer one guys! Hope you guys enjoy :)
DISCLAIMER: The original characters of Fifty Shades of Grey are owned by E.L. James. The content, added characters and storyline of this story are owned by me. No copyright infringement is intended.
Rated M for adult language.
Chapter 11
Ana's POV
His voice penetrates me like a knife making my ears bleed. I can't believe this shit, I seriously can not believe this. Note to self; kill Kate for not informing me that her new lover is the brother of my enemy! She didn't know he was an enemy. Regardless, being a Grey is practically being royalty, she should have told me.
"Mr Grey, I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, but then I'd be lying" I say to him without making eye contact, making my distaste of his presence obvious.
"Ah, and we wouldn't want anybody thinking you're a liar now would we?" he asks me in bitter sarcasm. I shoot him an icy glare. For fuck sake's Grey, build a bridge and get over it...Or jump off it.
"Uhhh, care to explain how you two know each other? I mean I know you know each other seeing as you both do the same... whatever it is you do, but I didn't know you guys knew each other personally, when did you meet? Did you do business together?" Kate babbles with a confused expression on her face, although I am thankful for her diverting this tense situation to her and her questions. I really don't want to lose control in front of all these people and cause a scene.
"Unfortunately, yes. We met on my last visit to Seattle." I tell Kate while I continue to glare at Grey, my eyes never leaving his. We stay like this for another moment before Elliot clears his throat, indicating that this is awkward, although I don't feel awkward, I feel fury bubbling inside of me. Fury over the fact that I have to be in the presence of this asshole.
"I need a drink." and I excuse myself from this little reunion before Grey can make a sarcastic comment. I walk over to the bar and order my drink. "I'll have a scotch, neat" I say, the bartender giving me a nod and pouring me a glass. I take a sip, welcoming the burning sensation it leaves as it goes down my throat. I feel his burning gaze on my back, I turn around and sure enough, Grey is stalking his way towards me. I down the glass and order another.
"I'll have what she's having" Grey tells the bartender. I roll my eyes. "I didn't take you for a hard liquor type." He says to me. His body is turned towards me, but I make no attempt to return his gaze. I just stand there, facing the bar and nursing my drink.
"You know, it's extremely rude to ignore people." Grey tells me sternly, making the annoyance he's feeling obvious. I snort and look him straight in the eye, "I'm not ignoring people, I'm ignoring you and for it being rude? I really couldn't give a rat's ass." and I turn and walk away, leaving him in anger.
I mingle with a few people and talk about the business, I know they just want to know why I've never shown an interest in these events and why all of a sudden I've had a change of heart but I don't need to explain myself to anyone, let alone nosey people who only care about the latest gossip on America's elites. I've also gotten many compliments tonight on my dress and looks, something I'm not all too familiar with.
Grey hasn't intruded on me for the past half hour and for that I'm extremely grateful. Although, I did feel him watching me from afar. I don't know what he's playing at but I seriously just want to lay all this shit to rest.
I continue making my rounds. People after people just keep coming up to me, some interested in my business, some interested in my personal life and some that are interested in my non-existent love life.
I finally make my way back to Kate, "Oh Ana, I met Elliot's parents and they're wonderful!" Kate exclaims, "Come, I'll introduce you." and she grabs my hand, practically dragging me through the crowd, real classy Kate, until we stop in front of this beautiful middle aged woman, her hair, long, perfectly sandy with not a strand out of place, her greens eyes sparkle as she gives us a warm smile, showing off her perfect white teeth. She is dressed in a gorgeous long white gown. Everything about this woman just screams elegance. I'd definitely mistake this woman for an angel.
"Grace, I'd like you to meet my best friend, Anastasia Steele. Ana, this is Elliot's mother, Dr. Grace Trevelyan Grey." Kate introduces us both.
I offer my hand, "Dr Gr-" and she cuts me off before I start,
"Oh sweetie please, call me Grace" she says giving me a warm smile as she shakes my hand.
This woman seems so... motherly, how the hell would you know what motherly seems like? I inwardly shake the negative thoughts in my head and return the gesture back to Grace.
"Grace, please, call me Ana" I tell her. "This gala is absolutely exquisite, you're quite the planner." I say as I glance around the tent, it truly is amazing.
"Oh thank you dear, I'm so happy you were able to attend. Kate tells me you don't usually attend events." Thanks Kate.
"Yes, unfortunately work keeps me rather busy so I just send checks." I tell her.
She laughs, "You know, you sound exactly like my son, Christian", I notice her eyes lit up at the mention of Grey, she practically wears the love she has for her children. I can't help but feel a tad jealous. To have a mother like this, Grey's one lucky ass.
Kate adds her two cents in "Ana actually met Christian whilst on her last trip here a couple of weeks ago, isn't that right Ana?" Kate looks at me all smiley. That's it, she can walk back to New York.
Grace turns to me, obviously interested in this story, "Is that right? How wonderful. How did you two meet?"
Well Grace, your son had been sniffing around my company, trying to steal it from me and when I came to Seattle to handle this he just so happened to be staying at the same hotel as me, why would he be staying at a hotel when he lives in Seattle you ask? Good question, I have no idea, but he did manage to kick me out of my suite so he could have it causing me to downgrade. Oh and then he was practically stalking me in the restaurant later that evening, let's not forget the man handling he used on me when I tried to leave his creeper ass, which caused my security to threaten to man handle him. Theres a lot more to this story but just the task of rethinking it is causing the hate I feel towards your son to bubble up and I'm scared that If I continue the hate will bubble to much, causing my eye balls to explode and that wouldn't be very pleasant to witness.
"Oh just business" I tell her, giving her a sweet smile and taking a much needed sip of my drink. She smiles and nods.
Kate decides to look for Elliot while Grace and I continue to chat about the gala, her work, my work, Seattle, New York and her children. "My youngest, Mia, should be around here somewhere. Ah, there she is, she's coming this way with Elliot and Kate" Grace says while looking in their direction. I turn and see Elliot, Kate and a beautiful tall, curvaceous raven haired woman, she can't be a year older than Kate and I.
As she approaches, her smile gets bigger, "Oh you must be Ana! Kate's told me so much about you. Oh my God, you're so pretty! And that dress is absolutely gorgeous! Oh I'm Mia by the way!" She says fast and full of energy while practically jumping on me, giving me a hug. Elliot pulls her off of me.
"Damn it Mia, what did I tell you, she doesn't like being touched! If Kate can't hug her and I can't hug her, then you definitely can't hug her." Elliot sternly whispers rather loudly to Mia.
"Geez Elliot calm your balls!" Mia fires back while rolling her eyes.
I can't help the giggle that escapes my lips.
"Mia Grey! Language!" Grace scolds, obviously embarrassed.
"He started it Mom!" Mia defends.
"Well, I'm finishing it." says a stern, authoritative voice coming from behind me. We all turn to look at who I'm assuming is Carrick, the father.
He has that old time handsome look going on, a full head of blonde hair with some grays and stern yet warm blue eyes. He's tall and quite lean, very fit for someone of his age. He and Grace make the perfect couple. You really wouldn't think Grey is a part of this loving, warm and funny family.
Carrick walks over to Grace and kisses her temple while putting his arm around her waist.
"Carrick darling, this is Anas-" Carrick finishes Grace's sentence off,
"Anastasia Steele. Yes, I know of your business. You have quite the reputation my dear." He says sincerely. Smiling at me, he extends his hand "Carrick Grey" he says.
"Mr Grey, It's a pleasure to meet you." I shake his hand.
"The pleasure is mine, Anastasia and please call me Carrick. Mr Grey is my father." He says while looking lovingly at Grace.
They really make me miss Ray all the more.
I continue chatting with Carrick, turns out his firm took lead in the law handling's of a company I did a hostile take over on a year or so ago. I thought this would make things awkward and hostile but it only made him compliment me on my success. If he only knew what had happened between his son and you. Speaking of his son, I haven't had the pain of his presence all evening.
Dinner is announced and we all make our way to our assigned dinner tables. I notice that I'm assigned to the Grey table and oh looky here, my assigned seat happens to be next to the devil's assigned seat. I groan. Lucky for me, Grey isn't here yet, hopefully he left.
We all, minus Grey, take our seats. Grace turns to Carrick, "Darling have you seen Christian anywhere?" She asks while looking around for her lost son.
"I saw him speaking to Elena earlier. Don't worry dear, he'll be here." Carrick reassures his wife.
I take my phone out of my clutch from under the table and go through my messages and emails. I promised Kate no work tonight so I have to be discrete. Besides, Kate is too engrossed in whatever Elliot is talking about to notice.
I feel a shift in the air and I roll my eyes, I don't need to look to know who is now beside me.
"Wouldn't hurt you to spend some time with your family bro." Elliot says to Christian.
"Fuck off Lelliot." Christian snaps back at Elliot.
"Enough you two." Carrick admonishes and they both quiet down.
Everyone goes back to the dinner banter while I continue to work on my phone.
"Do you always work?" Grey says to me while looking over my shoulder and down at my phone. Geez, invasion of personal space much?
"Yes I do" I reply flatly while still looking at my phone.
I can still feel his eyes on me and it's starting to make me feel uncomfortable. I put my phone down and sigh, I turn my body towards him, now facing him, I glare straight into his eyes, speaking low to make sure no one but Grey hears me,
"I would appreciate it if for the remainder of the night, we both just ignore each other. I have no desire to converse with you, just like you have no desire to converse with me. So let's just tolerate each others presence until we can finally leave and live happily ever after in our own cities where we won't have to deal with each others faces popping up out of the blue."
I nod at him and turn back to the table but quickly turn back,
"Oh and I know about that little stunt you pulled with my company you prick, pull that shit again and I'll feed your nuts to my Rottweiler named peaches." I say deadly and silently to him.
Grey stares at me, brows furrowed "Do you even have a Rottweiler?" he asks.
"Pull the shit you pulled again and find out" I threaten. Truth is, I don't. I'm actually pretty fucking petrified of dogs.
"What are you two whispering about over there?" Mia asks with her eyebrow quirked and a little smile playing on her face.
"None of your business Mia." Christian says coldly while turning back to face the rest of the table.
"So Christian, Ana, are we going to see you two doing business together in the near future?" Carrick asks, I inwardly snort, yeah right. I'd rather chew on shards of broken glass than work with Grey.
"I don't work with amateurs father, you know that." Christian says nonchalantly. I hear small, shocked gasps coming from the rest of the table.
"Christian! you apologise to Ana! I can't believe you just said that, I raised you better than that!" Grace scolds Grey.
"It's quite alright Grace. I don't like to work with arrogant, egotistic, bratty, self absorbed pricks like Christian anyway." I say nonchalantly myself while looking at my nails.
"Ana!" Kate scolds in surprise.
Everyone else on the table has fallen silent, their jaws hanging wide open in shock, while Grey just glares at me. I can practically see the flames in his eyes, feel the heat of anger that's radiating off of him. His jaw is clenching and he seems to be having an internal battle with himself as he continues to stare at me.
The tension is so thick you can just about cut it with a knife. Elliot decides to break the silence first, "I don't know about anyone else, but I want to know what the hell happened while Ana was in Seattle last!" Elliot says while looking between Grey and I.
"Nothing happened." Grey says, "Except for the realisation that Miss Steele here, is a manipulative, conniving, hag that doesn't seem to know her place." Oh hell no.
I abruptly stand up from my chair, nearly knocking it over in the process and tower over Grey who is still sitting.
"Doesn't know her place? Doesn't know her place?!" I bellow, causing a few heads to turn our way. Fuck embarrassment, I'm not letting this grade A asshole belittle me again! Oh and on top of that, try to put me in my place!
Grey slowly rises, now towering over me. It's as if something has snapped inside of him. His eyes have darkened, his angry glare piercing right through me, brows furrowed so hard he looks like a wolf, his nostrils flaring. He looks like evil itself, but he doesn't intimidate me, it only adds fuel to my fire of rage.
I notice Carrick and Elliot from the corner of my eye stand, clearly concerned about what's going to happen but before they can do anything Price is immediately by my side.
He sees the look in Grey's eyes and moves in front of me, shielding me from Grey.
"Back away Mr Grey." Price growls.
Grey's eyes go from Prices to mine, "If it isn't your knight in shining armor coming to save the day." Grey snarls.
He takes a step closer to Price but before he can do anything, Elliot, Carrick and Grey's security Taylor have come to put a stop to what's about to go down.
"Christian, I don't know what the fuck's gotten into you but you seriously need to chill" Elliot says to Grey but he just continues to glare at me.
"Sir, you don't want to attract a larger audience" Taylor says, in hopes of calming Grey down.
I take a look around and notice that we do indeed have ourselves a little audience.
"Christian, I don't know what's gotten into you tonight, but enough is enough" comes from Grace who is by my side and what looks like is protecting me also from her son. Seriously how bad is this fucker?
Grey's face softens at the words that left Graces mouth. He snaps out of whatever trance he was in and looks around the audience we've attracted.
"I need some fresh air" he mumbles to himself, looking a little lost and confused, and rushes out of the tent.
Grace as well as everyone that had been watching lets out a breath of relief.
"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Grace apologises with sincerity and a sad look on her face. I can tell she wants to give me a hug but restrains herself from doing so.
I place my hand on Grace's arm, "You have nothing to apologise for Grace." I tell her, giving her a reassuring smile.
"I haven't seen this side of him in so long, even so, that was in his teen years." Grace says as she shakes her head in disbelief. Hmm, so this behaviour isn't new. I have an urge to pry and gather more intel on Grey but I just can't abuse Grace's trust like that, I may not have known her for long, but she's a good person.
"You don't have to explain anything Grace." I tell her. "I should be apologising to you actually, for causing a scene and behaving the way I did. I'm truly sorry if I ruined the night for you and your guests" except for Grey.
"Oh sweetie no! if anyone should be apologising it should be Christian! He spat those hurtful words first. I have to say, no one has ever stood up to him before. It was quite a shock to everyone."
"Yes, well I don't appreciate being trampled on." You've had enough of that already.
"Of course dear. Come, let's not let unfortunate events spoil the evening." And we head back to the table. Before I take my seat, Price gently pulls me aside.
"Price, everything is fine now." I tell him, but he still looks as if he has something to say.
"Ma'am I've been infor-" Price gets cut off by a frantic Kate.
"Ana, what the hell happened between you and Christian?!" She asks, clearly not caring who is in hearing distance.
"Kate, I'm speaking with Price at the mome-",
"Oh no! You promised no work! Whatever it is, it can wait" Kate scolds. I sigh. I just want this night to end.
"Price, we'll discuss this later" I tell him and before he can protest, Kate drags me back to the table where Mia awaits.
I take my seat and they both come and sit next to me, one on each side. Trapping me more like it.
"Okay now spill." Kate starts. I groan,
"Kate, please. Can't we just enjoy the rest of the night and talk about this later. I hardly think this is the place to be discussing-"
"Oh no honey, don't give me that 'I hardly think this is the place to be discussing such matters' speech. I want details." Kate says impatiently.
I roll my eyes and turn to Mia, who is just as anxious to hear the story.
"Look, we're just business rivals okay? We both wanted the same thing, I got it, end of story." I tell them. But really. Mia doesn't seem to buy it,
"I don't know Ana, I've never seen my brother act like that, especially over some business deal. It's as if you cheated on him with Elliot or something."
"Yeah Ana, there's definitely something else going on here. What aren't you telling us?" Kate asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Nothing. There's seriously nothing else to tell." I tell them, rather convincingly if I say so, but I can tell they don't buy it.
We're interrupted by a familiar voice. "Miss Steele, what a pleasant surprise." Mrs Lincoln purrs as she greets me.
"Mrs Lincoln, it's a pleasure to see you again." I lie.
"The pleasure is all mine dear and please call me Elena." She say's rather seductively.
Oh honey, I don't roll that way. Or any way.
Elena notices Kate and Mia and greets them also.
"So Anastasia, are you participating in the annual dance auction this evening?" Elena asks, and when the hell did I say it was okay to call me Anastasia? Before I can reply, Mia pipes in, "Of course she is!" Of course I am? What the hell are they talking about?
"Well then, I'm looking forward to seeing which lucky man will be buying your dance." Elena purrs, "Miss Steele, ladies." she says and walks away.
Wait, what? Buying my dance?
"Mia what the hell did she mean by which man will be buying my dance? I'm not selling any dances!"
"Oh Ana, It will be fun! Don't worry about it. It's just a bunch of women, Kate and myself included, who's first dance is auctioned off to the highest bidder." Mia says, trying to reassure me but there's nothing reassuring about it.
"Absolutely not. I won't be participating." I argue. How the hell am I supposed to handle dancing with some stranger?
"Oh come on Ana, It's for a good cause!" Mia begs.
"Yeah come on Ana, It'll be fine. It's not like you'll have to grind on him or anything. It's just a simple first dance." Kate says.
As God is my witness, I'll find a way to make Kate pay me back. I've put up with a lot of shit tonight on her behalf and I should be compensated damn it!
"Fine" I mutter.
"YAY!" Both girls squeal.
"Well I hope you're ready cause the auction is starting now." Mia tells me.
"Wait, what?" I protest.
A man on stage announces the annual dance auction and asks for all participants to join the stage. Mia grabs my hand and strides towards the stage.
There are about 15 women participating, all dressed immaculately and looking gorgeous. I can tell they're all excited and giddy about the auction. I would buy every one of their dances if it meant I get to sit this out.
The first woman gets auctioned off for $7000. After a few more women get auctioned off It's Kate's turn. I glance at the crowd of men who are gathered in front of the stage like a flock of ducks fighting for a piece of bread. I take a look at Kate and see she's loving it. I notice her staring directly at Elliot who in return is smiling smugly at her. I know Kate would want Elliot to place a high bid and as I look around at the other ducks, I mean men, who are eyeing Kate, I can tell he's going to have to bid high.
The auctioneer babbles some shit about Kate to the crowd and the bidding starts.
"$8000!" Elliot bids. I take a look at Kate and she's beaming, I can't help but smile, she looks so happy and carefree. I love seeing her like this.
"$9000!" Another man calls out, I notice Elliot snap his head towards him and shoot him an icy glare, I quietly laugh, this is fascinating.
"$10,000!" Elliot calls out.
"$11,000!" The man bids, obviously not caring for his safety.
"$12,000!" A man in the back calls out. I see Elliot's fist clench, Ooh he's a jealous one.
"$20,000!" Elliot practically screams, I'm trying so hard to contain my laughter, he looks like a blonde bear.
"Sold!" The auctioneer yells and the crowd applauds. Kate steps down and Elliot embraces her in his arms.
Mia is next to be auctioned off. A few men auction for the Grey princess and she's sold for $22,000. Watching this auction is quite entertaining, I can see why they made this annual, and it really is a great way to make money.
"Next up we have the Miss Anastasia Steele!" The auctioneer booms into the microphone. Oh my God, what If no one bids for me? How fucking embarrassing! Didn't you say you didn't want to dance with anyone? I did, but still, I am still a woman for crying out loud and I do have self esteem.
"Miss Steele speaks five different languages" actually only two.
"Enjoys horse riding" Ha! yeah right, I've never been in my life and don't plan to.
"And loves to sky dive on her free time!" Yeah fucking right! cause I have a death wish! "Who want's to start the bidding?" the auctioneer calls out. Oh God here we go, the moment of truth.
"$10,000!" A man from the front calls out. Okay, not bad. I take a look at the bidder, he's a tall fellow and the way his tux clings to his body I can tell he works out, he has short, neat brown hair and from what I can see, green eyes. He's quite the looker. I notice the corners of his lips twitch and he gives me a shy smile. If I were any other girl I'd be swooning at this man's feet... but I'm not any other girl and things like good looks and a killer body doesn't persuade me.
"$15,000!" Another man calls out, I take a look at this one, he's not as handsome as the first man and he has this creepy 'I camp outside your bedroom window with my binoculars in your tree' look happening. I'm not a shallow person necessarily but I'd much rather dance with the first bidder, this guy gives me the creeps. Beggars can't be choosers Steele! Hey If I had my choice, I wouldn't dance with anyone.
"$20,000!" number one counters, his eyes never leaving mine. Oh dear.
"$25,000!" number two calls out. Oh God, this isn't as fun as it appeared.
"$30,000!" someone calls out, I can't really see his face that clearly.
"$40,000!" number one calls, I can tell he's getting a little frustrated, and so am I.
"$45,000!" number two counters. Oh God please stop.
"$50,000!" number three yells. He moves closer to the stage and I can now see him clearly. This one has the bad boy look going for him, tall and stocky with messy black hair, a 5'o clock shadow and dangerous dark eyes.
"$60,000!" goes number one.
"$70,000!" calls number three, who is now standing right next to number one. I take a look at the rest of the crowd and see their eager faces, no doubt excited.
Number one and number two continue to go at it while number three sits this one out. Thank God.
"$110,000!" number one yells. Just as I think it's over and number one has won,
"$300,000" a stern yet smooth voice calls out from the back of the crowd. The room gasps and all turn to the voice at the back of the room. I see the bidder and immediately I feel the bile come up my throat, there's no way in HELL I'm dancing with that fucker!
"SOLD!" The auctioneer yells happily and the crowd, who is still in shock, applauds. No, no, no, no ,no, HELL NO!
I storm off the stage and march pass Kate who tries to stop me, "Ana!" she calls, I shoot her the glare and she retreats back to Elliot's side, she knows to back off immediately. I walk past everyone else and out the tent.
The cold night air is refreshing. I take a moment to bask in the peace and calm down, I look up at Seattle's night sky and close my eyes and inhale the air. I make my way to the ladies restroom, It's empty thank God.
I turn on the tap and let the water run. I take a look at my reflection in the mirror, my hair and makeup is still flawless. I rub some water on my neck in an attempt to cool myself down.
After a few moments I straighten up, compose myself and head out of the restroom.
As I walk out someone grabs my elbow and pulls me to the side where we're out of sight.
I pull my arm out of the grip it's in, "get your fucking hands off of me!" I bellow at this person who has the nerve to put their hands on me.
I look at the fucker and why am I surprised?
"What the fuck do you want Grey? If you're here for your dance you're wasting your time. I'd rather dance barefoot on lava than dance with you!" I spit. It didn't take long to get under his skin, he's already running his hands through his hair gripping it.
"That mouth of yours is going to get you into a lot of trouble one day Steele"
"Are you threatening me Grey?" I say low and deadly. He takes a step closer to me,
"Trust me, you'll know when I threaten you." He says, his eyes dark and his face impassive .
"You better get the fuck out of my face Grey." I snarl. I can tell he's fighting his temper, his jaw is clenching and he's breathing rapidly.
I roll my eyes and begin to walk back to the tent.
"I'm still getting my dance." He calls out. I groan.
I enter the tent and head to the bar. If I'm going to have to suffer while dancing with Grey, I'd rather suffer tipsy. The bartender hands me my drink and as I turn around I bump into a hard body, spilling my drink on the person. "I'm so sorry" I say as I turn to get a napkin to wipe the mess. I start cleaning this mans tux and I hear him chuckle. I look up and I'm face to face with number one from the auction. Oh my, he's even more handsome up close.
"It's my fault, really." He reassures me with a dazzling smile that blinds you. It occurs to me that I am still gripping onto this mans expensive tux. I let go and mumble an apology... again. Geez Steele, get your head out of your ass.
He holds out his hand, "Paul Adkins."
"Anastasia Steele" I say holding my hand out for him to shake but instead takes it and brings it to his soft lips, gently kissing it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Anastasia" He says rather shyly.
"The pleasure is mine and please, call me Ana." I reply and his green eyes sparkle.
Paul gets me another drink and we start chatting away. I learn that he's a lawyer and has his own law firm here in Seattle. He used to work for Carrick's law firm, Carrick actually being somewhat of a mentor to him. They both agreed that he excelled all he could under Carrick's wing and thought he should venture out and create his own firm. With the amount of money he was willing to spend on a dance with me, I'd say he's doing rather well for himself.
Paul glares at something behind me. "I guess someone's here to claim their dance." He says as he takes a sip of his drink. I turn around and I'm met with a pair of grey eyes. I inwardly groan.
"Grey." Paul nods.
"Adkins." Grey nods back.
Grey looks between Paul and I, "I hope I wasn't intruding." He says, like he cares.
"Actually you were." I state boldly, earning myself another one of Grey's famous glares and a smirk from Paul.
"Miss Steele, I believe I bought the honour of your first dance." Grey states sarcastically. What crawled up his ass? I'll just get this over with, I don't need to draw anymore unwanted attention to myself by causing yet another scene.
"Yes, I believe you did." I say. I finish off the rest of my drink, I'm going to need it. I turn to Paul, "Paul, it was great to meet you." I say to him, giving him a little smile.
"Likewise Ana." He says, taking my hand once again and giving it a soft kiss. I could have sworn I heard Grey growl. Grey grabs my hand rather tightly and strides toward the dance floor.
Once on the dance floor with the other couples, Grey places his hand on the small of my back and takes my hand in his. I try my best not to stiffen but with the quirk of Grey's brow I can tell he noticed. Don't freak out Steele, It's only a dance. I take a breath and place my hand on Grey's shoulder and this time he stiffens and it's my turn to quirk my brow.
'I've got you under my skin' by Frank Sinatra starts playing and we start moving to the music.
'I've got you under my skin.
I've got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me.'
"You and Paul Adkins seem to be getting along" Grey mutters through gritted teeth. What the hell is with him now? I seriously think he needs to be psychologically assessed, he might have multiple personality disorder.
"Not that it's anything to you but yes, I'd say we're getting along swimmingly." I smile and his eyes darken, he remains silent. His grip on me tightens.
'I said to myself: this affair never will go so well.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well
I've got you under my skin?'
Grey spins me out then brings me back in.
"Well, I wonder what he'd think when he finds out what you really are."
What?
"What shit are you spilling now Grey?" I spit at him and he smiles smugly, remaining coy. Okay... not the reaction I was hoping for.
'Don't you know, you fool, you never can win?
Use your mentality, wake up to reality.'
Grey dips me and whispers, "You think I don't know you Steele? You think your skeletons are safe in the closet you've stuffed them into?" He brings me back up, putting on a front, acting like nothing happened, being all smiley. I don't like where this is going. We continue to sway to the music.
"I don't know what you're talking about Grey and If I were you, I'd tread lightly on where you're going with this bullshit." I say and he laughs, he actually laughs! I'm so close to just punching him in the throat.
"What's so funny?" I grit out.
His laughing subsides, and he answers, "You. You are funny. Prancing around acting all superior when really you're just a manipulative little girl who whores herself out and cries victim to get what she wants."
At this point I'm completely speechless, I'm staring at this man, gaping like a fish. Did he just say what I think he just said? I'm finding it hard to move my body, I'm stuck to the floor. Grey holds me close, bringing his mouth to my ear, to anyone else it would look like we're sharing an intimate moment but this is far from that.
"Anastasia Rose Steele, 19 year old college student at Columbia University. Spent 3 years preying on the rich boys of Columbia, trying to find the right, poor sucker to sink her teeth into and seduce. Come along Benjamin Hartley, son of Samuel and Lucille Hartley, two wealthy and respectable socialites of the Upper east side of Manhattan."
Am I breathing?
"Anastasia, playing the conniving seductress, seduces Ben, making him want her. Anastasia attends a frat party with Ben and leads him up to an empty room. She continues to seduce him until things finally get sexual."
I can't... I can't breathe.
"What Ben didn't know was that this woman had a plan all along, to catch him in her web of lies to extract money from the Hartley's by accusing their son of raping her."
The room's getting smaller...
"But we both know the truth, don't we Anastasia? We both know you used Ben and screamed victim to get a pay off. That's how you work, isn't it Steele? You scream rape and bloody murder to get what you want. What did you do with the money Steele? What did you do with the two million? Is that how you started your company, with dirty money? Figures, dirty money for a dirty whore."
I can't feel my body. My heart is racing, my eyes are searching frantically, for what? I don't know. I can't speak. I can't breathe. I manage to move my feet, I take a step back, bumping into another couple on the dance floor. Grey's sadistic smile is blinding me. I have... I have to move... I have to get out of here... I feel dirty... The room is spinning, everything's a blur.
Grey slowly stalks toward me, smile produced by evil.
Get away from me! I want to scream, but I can't.
"Oh no, did I touch a soft spot?" He asks innocently.
My body's shaking, I'm gasping for air. The last thing I remember is Price carrying me out of there, then everything goes black.
Before anyone comments on how Christian is heartless etc, I'd like to remind you that well yeah, he is. This Christian is ruthless but don't fret, our Ana is a strong one :)