I want to hold her; I want to beg her to be my wife. But I know it's too soon. I'll have to be patient and let her fall for me organically.

Of course, contracts never hurt anything.

Ok, ok… Get it together, Ana; you can't let your feelings get in the way. No matter how gorgeous Mr. Grey is, or how much you want to stare into his endless, blue eyes, you can't. Be a stonewall; this is a fake relationship only. No touching, no affection; nothing like that. You can't let yourself like Christian Grey…. cause that'll only end in heartbreak for you later on.

Sucking in a deep, stilling breath, I opened Mr. Grey's office door. He was already inside, along with Jason. They both automatically turned at my arrival. I didn't even look at them as I shut the door behind me. God, this was already awkward as hell.

"Good morning, Miss Steele." Ok, great! We're back to formalities again; it'll be easier to keep my emotional distance if he doesn't use my first name. Content with that, I spun around to grin professionally at both men. "Good morning, Mr. Grey; Jason." "Morning," Jason smiled my way. "Did you have a good night?" Mr. Grey then asked me. Oh boy…. "Uh, y-yeah. It was…. alright." Alright, indeed. If he knew where I was, he'd fire me on the spot and have me tossed out of the building. Good thing he'll never find out about any of that.

"We were just discussing moving your desk into my office." Ok, that floored me. I know Mr. Grey said he wanted to keep me close as his um, false bae; but this seemed like much too much. "Taylor, would you please….?" "On it," with one last look at our boss, Jason exited the room. I watched him, wincing my eyes shut when Mr. Grey called me again. "Anastasia?" No! It was so much easier the other way.

I reluctantly peered back to see my boss beckoning me closer to him. I took a few steps- just a few. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a file. Needless to say, I blinked confused as he handed it to me. "It's our relationship contract." "R-relationship contract?" My lips echoed in a sputter. "For our new arrangement." "M-Mr. Grey! I don't think we need a contract for something like this! It is just…. a fake relationship, after all." "Nevertheless, I think it important for us to be on the same page. You are to read it over in the next few days, then we'll discuss it in private." "Sir, I really don't think this is necessary, or appropriate….. I mean… it's not like this is real or anything."

Mr. Grey didn't respond immediately, electing to merely stare at me instead. His face was firm and very stern; once again, I don't think he was used to hearing the word "no" much before. Eventually though, his eyes narrowed onto me. "Are you planning to defy me the whole time, Anastasia?" "Not intentionally, sir. I just don't…. want this to get overcomplicated," my eyes scrolled down thoughtfully. Knowing Daddy and Mr. Bodyguard, Black will be caught any day now, and then this…. will be history. My father will make sure of that.

My fake boyfriend observed me for another quiet, brief moment. "Do you trust me?" What? This question was so out of nowhere that I couldn't help but turn up to meet his piercing gaze. That's when our eyes met…. And I was reminded how perfect his eyes were. "W-What?" "Do you trust me, Anastasia?" "I-I… I guess I do?" I mean he's never given me a reason not to trust him. If anything, it's me he shouldn't trust; I'll be the first to admit that. When I said this however, the lines on his face began to soften.

"Then trust me, I'm doing this for you. I want to know your limits and only do what you are comfortable with." My grip on the file tightened. He's doing this for me…. Why? The image of Mr. Grey tackling that Yellow Scarf to the ground on the night we met flashed through my mind. Why is he always doing stuff for me? "Mr. Grey, can I ask you something?" "Please," he grinned slightly. Well, here goes nothing. "W-why?"

"Huh?" His mouth contorted to one of confusion. "Why…. why are you always so nice to me? Why are always trying to help? I mean, we barely even know each other. And yet, you always… I'm just…. confused," my eyes drifted downwards again. "Why?" Mr. Grey asked himself, also glanced down. Neither of us spoke for a while after that. I did hold my breath however, when he unexpectedly took a step towards me. He was close enough that he could put his hand on the file and move it down a tad. "Anastasia….." I wanted to ask him to answer my question but couldn't find the breath.

"Have dinner with me tonight." "You… didn't answer my question." And I swear I could hear him smile; a genuine, happy smile. That was the first time Mr. Grey had smiled that way around me….. "That's an order, Miss Steele."