Just to clear up- Stasi is Ana, ive just given her another abbreviation from the name Anastasia as my 'ana' is very different from the original. Stasi was in a disguise of being Stella when she first met Christian in the club, hence her being blonde and having brown eyes as she wanted a break of being herself/not recognised by anyone

SPOV

Anastasia woke up with a desperate need to pee and gave in listening to her body, opening her eyes to darkness. Something was different, this was not her bedroom at her dad's house and knowing she was still new to the state of Washington she had not made any steady friends yet, a red flag jumping to her mind. Clearly, she was in the aftermath of an eventful night, only just she wished she could remember it. This was not her first time waking up with a stranger, nor did she think this be her last she thought. Turning her head, she looked to her left and heard the rising breaths of a handsome copper-haired man. She frowned, wanting to know how she exactly knew this man. Studying him further memories started to haze back to her and looked down at her body which appeared to be naked. Lifting the cover, he too was in the same state. Curiosity beating the best of her she carefully lowered the duvet to his package and inwardly whistled, even flaccid this man was truly gifted. Her head turned again to the window, the night still in play and searched for a clock that read 2:43am. Remembering what had woken her up in the first place she carefully slipped out of bed, causing the mystery man to roll over and starfish, spreading all over.

Making an educated guess, Stasi pushed opened and peaked through the closest door from the bed, barefoot padding into a bathroom looking up to her own reflection. Her eye makeup was still intact, thanks to Sean but her lipstick was smudged and smeared. Sighing she darted to the toilet, relieving herself and grabbed the white robe that hung on the hook next to the shower. She then returned to the mirror and turned on the faucet, cold water running and washed her hands and then scrubbed at her swollen lips. Her fingers lingered and traced over them and then rubbed at her chin, the faint memory of stubble brushing against her skin. Turning her neck, she felt some soreness and opened her eyes wide and travelled south to see several purplish splotches decorated on her shoulder, neck, and a smaller loner on the top of her left breast. So, he's a breast man Stasi's subconscious concluded as she inspected her boobs, as she rubbed over her boobs and winced as she found them tender. Rubbing her eyes, she took a long hard look at herself and thought of herself as thoroughly fucked. She clocked her head at the blonde hair and had a light bulb moment. STELLA! She clearly had fun not that Stasi acted any different her appearance the only thing being changed and of course her name.

Sometimes it was better this way, to keep things detached and purely a one-time thing. Complicating situations with feelings and intimacy was something Anastasia was not fond of, not wanting to be dependent of a man's company being her sole reason of happiness. Men, as she saw it could simply be replaced by a block of rubber, thousands of toys available to bring her the satisfaction some men based their egos on themselves for providing a female an orgasm. She wanted to be fulfilled for Stasi and the one thing she had learnt from her estranged mother was that selfishness was sometimes best. Carla had put herself first, admitting that she just could not be amother to her. She was unreliable and inconsistent to her words, never meeting her promises and from that she learnt that everything in life was temporary and to make the most of a situation when you could. This was an example of this. Could she stay and get back into bed with the gorgeous man, yes. But she could also get dressed, leave, call a cab, and forget about this night. She already had to live with the hickeys on her upper body, memory enough of the whiskey drinking man. It was bad enough she could not remember the name of said man she had slept with, the awkward morning conversation something she wanted to live without. She saw it as protecting her future self, cutting the stem of before it grows to something more. So, to start her departure she removed her contacts that has started to irritate her, returning her eyes to startling sapphire. Blinking and shaking her head to focus she began a hunt for her dress, the only clothing she had come with. Tiptoeing back into the bedroom she strained her eyes she brushed over a small rectangular object. Bending down and releasing it was her phone, she instantly turned down the brightness and ignored her recent inbox of notifications and turned on the torch. She travelled roughly ten feet and saw a flicker of blue and hooked it with her toe, bringing it to her. Soundlessly placing her phone to her phone on the floor she slipped into her dress and padded towards the door, it already being opened and gently pulled it towards her, closing it creating a barrier. Before the door fully closed, she stole one last look and automatically she breathed 'Christian'.

Stasi forced herself to turn around and stood before her was a magnificent apartment that screamed money. As she walked through, small dim lights switched one and revealed her scattered blue Louboutin's. Grabbing them in one hand she marched towards the elevator and stepped in, pressing the ground floor. Turning to her phone, she called an uber which would be arriving in approximately three minutes. She just wanted her bed, to be in safe territory and hope to remove her memories of Christian, trying to get rid of the small pang of guilt she felt, that she did not leave him anything not even note. But then she remembered, he knew her as Stella not Stasi. Maybe he wouldn't take offence and move on, treating it as a mindless fuck that both of them enjoyed. He would remember a blonde and she naturally was not. Feeling as stella had her fun, she unclipped her wig as she waited at the curb , shaking her head and letting her wavy brunette curls free , her bangs falling down on her face. Her phone buzzed and she heard a honk and jumped in the back, smiling at her driver. Not in the mood for a conversation she simply nodded when the man behind the wheel gestured to the radio and leaned against the cool window, sleeping for the twenty-minute journey out of the city.

When she woke, she was five minutes away from her final destination, the houses less frequent and growing in size. She had replied to Kate's text that she was on her way home, but her lack of response told her that she was asleep. It was pushing four am and she knew from her teenage years that she could climb the tree next to her bedroom window. Thanking the driver and giving him a tip electronically, she wished him a good night for the rest of the day and shut the door without a backwards glance. Walking up the driveway and punching in the code she slipped in behind that gate and sighed in relief, happy to be somewhere that felt like home. Living in a gated community gave Stasi reassurance that danger was far away, the only possible person about most likely being a nosy neighbour spying for her weekly brunch with the rest of her middle-aged mother friends. Even though she was without her key she still tried the front door and cheered silently when the handle turned. Sean must of not bothered, which was ok as with the gate and all the security cameras it made breaking in an unlikely task.

Disposing her shoes and wig in the foyer she headed straight to her room. She placed her phone on silent and put it on charge, resting it on her bedside table. She jumped into bed, still in her dress and curled up in a ball and peeped through to her full wall window that overlooked Lake Washington. From a distance she saw muted lights and her mind was once again flooded with the memories of the copper-haired man she abandoned in the city. Turning over she exhaled and emptied her mind, her eyes drowsy and sleep catching up with her for the second time this night.

11 hours later…

Stasi woke up to the sound of Kate screaming Sean's name , something to do with tripping over his shoes ,to which she groaned into het pillow and turned over, forcing herself back to sleep but it was no use. With her blinds not drawn, the midday sun was in full effect and reflected into her room making her squint. Accepting defeat, she found a random pair of sunglasses and shuffled out of bed, not bothering to look at herself in the mirror because she knew she felt like shit. She was deliciously sore yet at this time in the afternoon she did not enjoy this feeling with her hangover taking over. She needed some Advil and she needed it fast.

Anastasia was grateful her bedroom was only on the second floor and before she knew it, she was walking through the kitchen to see Kate sitting at the breakfast bar sipping coffee and Sean pouring pancake batter on top of the stove. The smell was heavenly but her priorities were still key for reliving herself from her migraine

'well good morning baby girl' Sean drawled while he mixed some more batter together, 'it looks like someone got lucky yesterday. Or should I say this morning 'he snickered

Her response was simple as she raised her middle finger to her friend and muffled 'Katie can you get me some advill' as she sat down next to her. Kate simply nodded and came back with two white pills and some orange juice.

'coffee?' she offered to which she grunted and she took as a yes. 'Shit Stass you look like you've been attacked. Your neck is half purple'

Stasi didn't respond after she had downed the pills in one go and gulped her orange juice in one shot. She then got up, made a coffee and collected two pancakes from the stove and only then did she reply

'Please, I got home at four am. And before you even ask, I went home with the guy with the copper hair- six feet something, amazing grey eyes. The stamina that man had was unbelievable, we were at it all night in basically every position ' she spoke through a mouthful of pancake. Kates eyes were dilated, soaking up every detail and Sean encouraged her with sound effects of 'damm' and 'wow' as she gave a blow by blow of her evening

'well you went and got yourself a marathon man' Kate sighed. 'I'm jealous , I've only had one and he moved away for a year abroad remember him, Jonny Greene'

'what the guy with the long black hair' Sean inquired and was confirmed when Kate giggled into her coffee cup. 'so did you get his number' he demanded , his attention back to Anastasia. She shook her head and gave him a 'what do you mean look'

'you know I don't to relationships Seanny. Why bother. Was it a good fuck, hell yeah and did I want it to stop-'she shrugged her shoulders and reached out for her coffee cup 'maybe not but its best to leave it in the past and move on with our lives'

'oh Stass- I've seen the way you've been moving so he must if been big. With a capital B. And the hickeys on your neck screams that your hook up last night had some sort of potential. And your eyes are dilated as fuck like you're in a induced high euryopia. Steele, have I taught you nothing'

'I could have stayed the night, I know that. I could of even left my number. And remember he knew me as Stella, not me so it just made sense to cut it off and leave.'

Sean could see Stasi was getting worked up and rushed to her engulfing her into a hug

'honey, your nothing like your mother'. She gave a sad smile and then faked laughed to change the heavy atmosphere and suggested

'want a day by the pool. Just chilling. It's a Thursday so nothing major happening tonight and I'm going to book us a spa day tomorrow before the party '

'you still down for that- I've been talking to Elliot for a few days, it'll be good to see him'

'Katie baby, if you wanted to you could see him any day' he remarked, playfully slapping a kitchen towel on her ass

'of course, why not, I say I have even more reason to let loose. Besides, it'll be good to meet some new people in the area if we're going to be here until at least next year. If things don't work out, we can always go back to CA – ooh and don't forget Ray and Halle are in town for a late lunch in the city' Stasi answered

'oh, it'll be good to see Ray… and yes to the spa. I'm going to get my swim trunks and I want you ladies in the garden by the pool in twenty, no excuses. The least I could get is some Vitamin D' Sean declared and that is what the three best friends did for the remainder of the day, no mention of the events of last night invading their thoughts, visions of a copper-hair man temporarily deleted.

CPOV

Meanwhile in Escala

Christian stirred, nuzzling his head further into his pillow. For the first time in over twelve years, he had slept for eight consecutive which explained why his phone was buzzing in a frenzy. Frowning he reached out for it and cursed as he saw the time read 10:22. He had a 9am meeting and Ros was going to pissed. Right on cue her name froze his screen and as soon as he answered, her voice boomed before he could start with his signature Grey

'Where the fuck have you been boss, I can't sign off on this Chinese deal without you and the Japan merger needs reviewing asap for the conference call at six for tonight' she huffed

Christian rose out bed and circled his room for a pair of boxers, trying to get down his morning erection. There was a feminine scent, a lingering state of flowers and fresh air on his sheets. The blonde, with the red tattoos. Was she here still? He ran out, but stopped making sure he was covered up, not wanting to shock Gail first thing in the morning. Now decent he stormed to the living room, searching for this mystery women – he vaguely remembered the colour blue. Failing to find her he called Mrs Jones asking

'Gail, have you seen a woman here this morning'

'good morning Mr Grey, I'm sorry I have not- I've been here since six am'

Baffled, Christian tugged at his hair and asked Gail to get Taylor for him in fifteen minutes and to make him a coffee to go. Turning his attention back to Ros he returned to his room and started to get dressed.

'get off my back Ros, I'm coming in before lunch. Get Benjamin and his team in conference room one for the prep at four, leave whatever needs to be signed at my desk- ill be there within the hour' and with that he hung up and speed dialled his assistant Andrea commanded for a breakfast croissant sandwich from Starbucks and for another coffee to be on his desk for his arrival.

Dressed and ready in one of his hundred suits, he left the master suite and stopped a few feet in front of Taylor. He shook his head, trying to make sense of what he actually wanted when Taylor began

'Sir'

'check the security cameras- a woman a blonde, STELLA-'he exclaimed, another piece of the puzzle of last night coming back to him. Her name was Stella, and she was blonde with two red tattoos on her chest and back. His mouth waters as he had vague memories of licking her chest tattoo. Taylor coughed, breaking him out of his mental thoughts. 'I need to know if we have footage of a woman leaving here before 6am- blonde, around five foot eight I want to say- wearing a blue dress and some heels. I want you to run her face through recognition, get Welch on it and I want her number. Get it done for the end of the business day, I will be at Grey house until roughly eleven if I have Japan to deal with. I'm leaving in 10 and I'm taking my car' he fired off as she paced his couch, crouching down at his scattered shoes he left early in the morning. Gulping down his coffee and slamming it down on the table, he shoved his phone into his pocket and started his journey to his office, putting his investigation on Stella on pause.

He was there within ten minutes; the late morning traffic being scarce cutting his normal commute by half. He stormed through his lobby causing his staff to part like the red sea, his fierce CEO face taking place. A single glare from Christian Grey had the common man sweaty bullets and if you worked for him, it was high chance you were going to be fired

I reached my desk, leaning back in my chair, trying to somewhat process what my morning was. I woke up alone when I knew I had some of the best sex I had ever had last night and I was left with nothing, not even a cheesy note saying 'sorry to leave but thanks for the night' or some sort of goodbye. Why was I so bothered? I had an appointment with Flynn scheduled for Saturday afternoon anyways to discuss the continuous cycle that was Elena Lincoln and how she used me for her own good. Stella had made me feel this way, used. Where was the common decency to say goodbye- maybe for her it was a quick fuck, but we had a connection. I felt something. The way we moved together; it just felt right and now I had no way to reach out and take control, she making the decision for the both of us that it was done? Did I want to find her – maybe, when I knew she had this character to just leave and run. Was I ready for my first vanilla relationship that was not controlled with rules and regulations and only permitted for the weekend? Was intimacy ever going to be on the cards for me.

I could be described as a playboy in a sense, ruthless and in no way of innocence, so why was I so hung up on a night of fun. My college friends would laugh at me- Elena had tried to isolate me but when she subbed for me the rules went out the door and I gained the minimal sort of contact I could bear. If I were drunk enough, I could stand being touched and with them it was a guarantee that I would be hammered but as I focused on my business and life getting in the way we had drifted, some moving to different sides of the country and different parts of the world.

My start in life had still screwed me up -no that was a understatement it tortured me. I still suffered from nightmares of the pimp pushing his cigarettes into my chest and my mother too high on whatever drug she could get her hands ignoring my pleas. I got nothing to relieve the pain, no comfort assuring me that I was safe or loved – as I spent my teenage years drowning myself in liquor knowing I was not. It took me years to accept some sort of love from Grace Grey my saviour, but her hard work had been tarnished by Elena, my minor naïve self falling for her trap. For that I hated myself, knowing that I had neglected the women who gave me love and safety, pushing her so far that I had not allowed her or anyone else to hold me since I was fifteen. I saw the pain in her eyes whenever she reached out to hug me and remembered herself stopping and for that I distanced myself from my family, throwing myself into my work making myself the billionaire I am today.

But now as I sit at the desk, twenty-five floors high in the steel skyscraper that is my building, frustrated over a fling who I would most likely never see again. My thoughts were broken by the voice of my assistant coming through from the speakers that Ros was delayed by half an hour and that Taylor had conformed with Welch and asked for a meeting whenever it suited me. I answered back telling her to send them in- maybe closure of this mystery girl would let me move on with my day and focus on my work. I mentally reminded myself to text El for that party he said was happening out in Hunts Point, not too far from Seattle. Just as I had hit send, Taylor entered my office with Welch, my security and he started

'Mr Grey, I've reviewed your security footage and it shows a blonde women leaving your Escala penthouse at roughly four am . Her face was not very visible, but I checked the elevator and lobby feed and from there I was able to get a clearer imagine. Unfortunately, we have not found a match yet and have run the various possibilities of all Stella's who are in the Seattle area and have come up with some results. However, you say this woman had a red tattoo and no women fits this description - it is most likely that she had used a fake ID '

I simply nodded at this, and breathed out

'inform me if any matches arise. You can go' I dismissed and watched the two men leave.

Maybe it was best she remained unknown – it was clearly what she wanted. How did I feel- I had no clue and would be leaving it to Flynn to figure out. I needed to be back on my A-game for the Japanese with this deal creating three thousand jobs and an additional twenty-three million to him, most of which would be going to Ros' end of quarter bonus for holding most of the weight of this merger. I was still young nearly pushing twenty six in a couple of months, the table for love not seeming so urgent before and the memory of Stella slowly fading away.

Next chapter the party …. Will Christian and Stasi properly meet this time round