A/N: I'd like to thank my friends on facebook, the private messages and the twitter messages checking in with me, laughing with me and keeping me sane during a real life bump in the road. Late Nights and A Different Way were put on the back burner for a while, but things are looking up. This chapter finished first, so it's the first to get a new update. A Different Way is still in the works, about half way done.

Thank you for your reviews. I love reading them. They truly are appreciated.

I own nothing. Here's a little something to get the party started again.


The Interview

Christian, Phoebe and I are sitting at the dining room table. Christian is sitting at the head of the table and Phoebe and I are on either side of him. I like to stay close when we eat together. Yelling across a table is not my idea of a pleasant way to have a conversation.

"Phoebe, what's wrong? Gail made your favorite meal and you've hardly touched it"

"Ugh Mom…I have this horrible assignment for my Journalism class. I just don't know how to go about it."

"What's the assignment? Maybe we can help" I glance over at Christian who is pretending he's listening to our conversation, while in reality; he's so far away from us, he might as well be on Mars. He's really reading emails off his blackberry resting on his thigh. Does he think no one would notice?

"I'm supposed to interview someone in the business world. I have no idea what to ask. I don't know anything about business"

"Business?" This peaks Christian's curiosity. Welcome back to Earth Mr. Grey.

"Yes, Dad. I'm supposed to interview someone in the business world. I need five questions ready by tomorrow. I have no idea what to ask"

Christian's lips curl up into a mischievous grin. He slyly glances in my direction.

"Why don't you ask your mother? She was a journalist for a day, should have been nominated for a Pulitzer, with such thought provoking questions, a true journalistic genius. She asked quite the probing questions, if memory serves me." He looks at me and smirks. Fucking bastard.

"Mom, what did you ask?" Phoebe asks.

"Oh, Phoebe, I'm sure we've told you this story before." I know that Christian and I would never be here if it weren't for the fact that I interviewed him for the WSU paper, but still, it was humiliating.

"You told me you interviewed Dad for your college paper and that's how you met. You never told me what you asked."

"Oh, just the usual kinds of questions." I say, knowing where he's heading with this and I'm not biting.

Christian raises his eyebrow and smirks.

"I see that smirk Dad. There's more to this story. I want the deets."

"First off, your mother made quite the memorable entrance into my office" Christian grins.

"How so?" Phoebe cocks her head to the side, looking toward me.

"I tripped over my feet and fell flat on my face, ok?" I say, exasperated. I look over at a clearly amused Christian; I can tell he's biting the inside of his mouth, trying to suppress a laugh. Smart move if he ever wants to have sex with me again.

"Your mother and gravity were in a constant battle back then" he snickers. "But she won the war" he quickly recovers. Smart ass.

"Between falling on the floor and trying to set up a recorder I had no idea how to operate I was so flustered. And the more flustered I got, the more embarrassed I was. Your Dad looked like he was desperately trying to hide a smile."

"I was." Christian grins.

"It was mortifying"

"So Mom, what did you ask him?" Phoebe asks.

"I think my first question was something like…to what do you owe your success?"

"I thought it was a terribly unoriginal question" Christian adds.

"Well, you sounded so arrogant when you answered my question. After he babbled on with his answer, I told him that maybe he was just lucky. He came off sounding like such a control freak."

"Really? Arrogant? Control Freak? Not my Father." Phoebe jokes. Christian glares at her. She doesn't even flinch. That's my girl.

"Then I asked him what he did to chill out" I say.

"Yes, she was throwing out some real compelling questions." Christian sarcastically mumbles as he rolls his eyes.

"I asked him why he agreed to the interview after he told me that he was a very private person."

"Why did you Dad?"

"Because your Aunt Kate was a pain in the ass"

"Christian!" I scowl at him. He scowls back.

"Because your Aunt Kate was very persistent and I admired her tenacity" He corrects his answer.

"I asked him about his philosophy and he recited some mumbo jumbo Carnegie principles. He sounded like the ultimate consumer….which of course, I later learned he is."

"I try my best to support the economy in any way I can." He utters.

"Yes, dear. You keep telling yourself that" I pat his shoulder.

"Dad, you do like to buy all the newest gadgets." Phoebe agrees with me.

"Then your Dad made me feel like an errant child when I asked him about his family and it wasn't in the form of a question"

"Jeez Dad, did you think you were hosting Jeopardy?"

"I agreed to an interview where questions would be asked and I would answer them. Your mother corrected her error and asked a proper question."

"Yes, I did. I didn't want to rumple Mr. Grey's feathers. That was about the whole interview" I smile at Christian.

"Ah, Ana. I think you're leaving out your most investigative thought provoking question"

"No, I think I've covered everything." I scowl….don't go there, Grey.

"Phoebe, your mother is downplaying her hard hitting journalistic abilities. Tell her what else you asked me" he smirks.

I purse my lips and scowl at him. He's loves throwing that question back in my face.

"First of all, that wasn't my question…it was your Aunt Kate's question. Your father has a very convenient memory. I was just the messenger"

"Well, what was it Mom?"

"Are you gay?" I grin.

"Oh my God, Mom. You asked Dad if he was gay? No freaking way." Her eyes open wide as she places her hand over her gaping mouth.

"She most certainly did" Christian nods, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"In my defense, I was mortified as soon as it came out of my mouth" I protest.

"Dad, what did you say?"

"I told her I was not."

And knowing Christian, he quickly had visions of caning the shit out of me on the whipping bench the second those words left my mouth.

"Why would Aunt Kate think you were gay?"

"Because she's a fucking..."

"Christian" I cut him off before he could finish his thought. "Phoebe, there were no photographs of your Dad with any dates in the papers. People speculated, that's all."

"Dad, you never dated anyone before Mom? You were twenty seven, for crying out loud"

Well, this ought to be interesting…watching Christian skate around this topic. Ha, payback for trying to embarrass me. I look over at Christian with a devilish grin and raise my brow. Karma's a bitch.

He rubs his index finger under his bottom lip, clearly searching for the right thing to say to his daughter. He looks cool and collected on the outside, but I know he's squirming. This may be the first time I have a tiny piece of delight in his colorful pre-Ana past.

"There may have been a young lady or two that I saw before I met your mother, but in all honesty, your mother was the first and only girl I ever properly dated or wanted to date. I was completely smitten with her from the moment I laid my eyes on her. The more she spoke during the interview, the more captivated I became. She's the only girl I introduced to my family, the only girl I took to social events and the only girl I spent one-hundred thousand dollars to dance with. She was, and will always be, the only girl for me."

"Wha…What? You spent a hundred grand for a dance with Mom?"

"At the Coping Together Gala auction, before we were married" I clarify.

"Best money I ever spent." He looks lovingly at me and reaches for my hand, holding it as his thumb gently strokes the top of my hand.

"You know, for as nauseating as the two of you can be, I have to admit, you're pretty sweet together"

Smooth Grey, smooth. I have to hand it to Christian, he managed to skirt around Phoebe's question enough to satisfy her and he's going to get one hell of a lay tonight for that answer.

"Once your Dad realized that I was asking someone else's questions, he turned the interview around and began asking me questions about what I was doing after graduation. He even offered to show me around GEH."

"I didn't want your Mom to leave. I was looking for excuses to keep her around."

"Did you take him up on it?" Phoebe asks.

"No, I was desperate to get out of there" I answer, shaking my head.

"Why?"

"He intimidated me. I felt so out of place there. I found him fascinating and egotistical at the same time. I just wanted to get out of there and forget the whole interview ever happened."

"I wanted to spend every second I could with her. I was enchanted by her. I walked her to the elevator and once the doors closed, I knew I had to see her again"

"Ah yes, that's when you stalked her. You told me about that Dad"

"Yes, he had quite the stalking skills. " I laugh and hold his hand tightly.

"It all seemed to work out" He deadpans.

"Yes, I'd say so." I lift his hand to my lips and softly kiss it.

"So Phoebe, did any of this help you with your assignment?" Christian asks.

"Not at all. I think I'll call Jennifer and see what questions she came up with. Thanks for the story. It was…entertaining."

Phoebe stands up from the table and heads toward her bedroom.

"Going down memory lane was fun, wasn't it?" I ask.

"There are a few more memories with you I'd like to relive"

"Oh? Care to elaborate?"

"I'd like that hundred thousand dollar dance again" He stands and grabs the remote to the stereo. Frank Sinatra plays through the speakers. He extends his hand out to me.

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Grey?"

"You may" I put my hand in his and stand. He holds me close, twirls me and we're off.


Reviews are appreciated

Thank you to E.L. James for the memories from book one.