Disclaimer: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy, I am just having a bit of fun with the characters, and making no profit.
AN: I know it's been a while, but my muse it back! I hope you all are still reading this! Thank you for all the favorites and follows! xo
Anna snorted and broke into a fit of giggles once again as she passed by the floor length mirror in her small flat. Thank goodness that no one aside from a few people she'd likely never see again in the kink club, Christian, and Taylor had seen her wearing that. She studied her reflection in the mirror, and shook her head. The girl staring back at her donned in a black leather corset and tiny leather skirt was not her. The thought of being submissive, being treated no better than somebody's pet, turned her stomach. Was that the type of girl Christian truly wanted? If it was, she knew that she would never be able to give him that.
Her phone began to buzz, with an incoming text from Kate:
I hope you're totally having sex right now, and not looking at this message…but you better call me later with details! – K
Ana sighed. She couldn't tell Kate anything about Christian's penchant for Kinky fuckery due to the NDA, but she supposed she could leave out the more salacious details, and tell Kate that things hadn't worked out; she would be expecting an update on how the date went after all.
Kate picked up on the first ring, almost breathless with anticipation.
"It's early…why are you calling me this early?" Kate asked, the sound of disappointment apparent in her tone.
"Because I asked him to bring me home, Kate." Ana exhaled in what sounded like an exaggerated sigh, though really, it was because she was winded form trying to shimmy her way out of the tiny leather skirt.
"Why? What happened? Did he do something? Do I need to fly to England and give someone a beat down?" Kate asked anxiously, her voice growing more concerned by the moment.
"No, no…We just…wanted two very different things, I suppose." Ana explained, trying to be as vague as possible.
"He was just looking for sex, you mean." Kate deadpanned.
"Something like that" Ana sighed, though it was mostly from finally extricating herself from the damned corset.
"Ana, I wish I had your discipline; Oh wait, no I don't, because I'd be fucking Christian Grey right now instead of talking to you…" Kate snorted, "I'm kidding. But seriously, your will power is awe-inspiring. Good for you for sticking to your guns…or in this case, your hymen."
"Kate!" Anna snorted, "Believe me, it's not like I wasn't tempted, he's gorgeous; but I just kind of want the fairytale, you know?"
"I know. How could you not when you spend your life immersed in books like Pride and Prejudice? You're looking for your own Mr. Darcy."
"Well, I should go, I have to be at work in the morning; that is if I still have a job at Random House." Ana sighed.
"I'm sure everything will work out; and if your boss, Mister McFeely, tries anything like that again, I want you to go straight to HR, you hear me?"
"Aye, aye, captain, message received. Good night!" Ana said chuckling at Kate's new nickname for her flaming douche of a boss.
She plugged in her phone to charge before slipping into a pair of black leggings and a loose fitting tank top, and suddenly remembered the weird menstrual cup that Madame Yao had given her; how the hell was she supposed to get it out?
She grabbed her phone again, and googled "removing a menstrual cup" and grimaced at the instructions that came up in her search results:
Bear down. Sometimes a menstrual cup will move up the vaginal canal…
Squat. If you still cannot reach the cup, squat on the floor or lift one leg up and rest your foot on the toilet seat or edge of the bath…
What the actual fuck.
Whoever had invented this thing, had clearly not thought this through.
She took a deep breath and headed into the bathroom, making a quick sign of the cross in a desperate plea to anyone who might be listening, for it to come out easily.
Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom sweaty, but triumphant, after having washed her hands at least five times. Tampons were bad enough, but at least they came with an applicator and a string; what the hell had these people been thinking?!
Feeling more like herself with her large overnight maxi with wings, she crawled into bed, and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.
ooOo0oOoo
When she arrived at Random House, her stomach roiled with anxiety not only at the thought of facing Jack, but what if Christian was there? He did just buy the company after all…
Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the glass doors, and made her way up to the seventh floor, where Jack's office was. When she stepped out of the elevator and rounded the corner, she was surprised to find Elizabeth, the HR director shuffling through stacks of paper on Jack's desk, with Jack nowhere in sight.
"Oh, Ana. Thank God. You're familiar with the manuscripts Jack was working on, aren't you?"
Ana made to answer, but Liz just shook her head as if it was a stupid question, and continued, "Of course you are, you were his assistant."
Ana couldn't help notice her use of the term 'were'. Was she fired?
"Um…has something happened?" Ana asked timidly, not sure what was going on.
"Oh…right…you don't know. Jack submitted his resignation early this morning, effective immediately. There is a senior editor's meeting in…" Elizabeth's eyes darted to the clock on the opposite wall, "Ten minutes. Do you think you could fill in? Temporarily, I mean, until we find a suitable replacement?" She asked, giving Ana a hopeful look.
To say that Ana was gob smacked was an understatement. Jack had resigned? He hadn't seemed like he was considering his resignation two days ago…
"Of course, I'd be happy to." Ana answered, nodding at Elizabeth, who sighed with relief.
"Wonderful! The meeting is in conference room A, Thanks again!" she said as she rushed from the office, leaving Ana standing there dumbfounded.
Senior Editor.
At Random House.
Holy fucking shit.
She set down her bag and let out a small squee of excitement, before clearing her throat and looking around nervously to make sure no one witnessed her little happy dance. Even though it was only temporary, the experience would be invaluable, and it would look great on her resume. Glancing quickly at the clock, she remembered that she now had only five minutes, and quickly grabbed a notebook, pen, and her notes on the manuscripts Jack had asked her to read for him, and hurried down the hall to the conference room.
There were a few higher level employees already seated at the table, who shot her questioning looks, clearly wondering what an intern was doing at the senior editor's meeting. She gave them a small nervous smile, and was summoning the courage to introduce herself when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.
"Miss Steele, I understand you'll be filling in for Jack Hyde. Welcome aboard."
Christian.
She gaped at him in surprise for a moment, before remembering that he now owned the company, and could sit in on any meeting he chose.
"I…yes, thank you…Mister Grey." She stammered trying to hide the blush that was creeping up her neck as his gaze swept over her. She felt even more self-conscious when she noticed every single person in the room, save her, sat with a shiny silver Mac book Pro opened in front of them.
She was quiet for most of the meeting, feeling extremely out of her depth, and unable to get the image out of her head of Christian sitting across from her in the kinky sex club, when his voice cut through her thoughts.
"I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, Anastasia."
Fuck. What had they been talking about?
"Oh…um…actually," she began slowly, her eyes glancing quickly at the computer screen of the person sitting immediately to her left, and she saw that the most recent political manuscript she had been tasked to read was pulled up on the screen.
"I think we should go for it. I've done some research, and not only does Boyce Fox have a great manuscript here, he has a large following online. These are exactly the kind of readers we should be targeting." She said excitedly, blushing once again when she was met with blank stares from everyone at the table, save Christian. The corner of his lips were quirked up into a small smile as he nodded in approval.
"But he's never even been on the best seller's list!" One of the older senior editor's barked, "Excuse my saying so, but why should we listen to an intern?" he snapped.
Ana flushed in embarrassment. Maybe she was in over her head.
"Actually, I think Miss Steele has the right of it." Another older gentleman at the table spoke up who had been mulling over her argument, "We've been chasing the 18-25 year demographic for a while now, and I think this is how we're going to get it. It's a risk, sure, but I think it's one worth taking."
She sucked in a breath, and hope flared in her chest as she began to hear murmurs of approval around the table.
"It's settled then. Boyce Fox is in. Congratulations, Miss Steele." Christian said giving her a small smile that she couldn't help but return.
Was this really happening?
A few moments later, the meeting came to a close, as everyone began to file out, and she rose slowly from her seat, trying to keep calm in the face of her excitement. Not only was she an acting Senior Editor at Random House, she just persuaded the other editors to publish a manuscript that she'd suggested. By the time she reached Jack's office, her office, she could barely contain her grin. She was just about to check her messages when she heard the chime of an incoming text.
Congratulations, Anastasia. I'd like to take you to lunch, if you're free – C
As soon as she saw that it was from Christian, she bit back a smile and began to text him back
Thank you, lunch sounds nice. How did you get my number, anyway?
a moment later, another chime sounded
Oh, I have my ways, Miss Steele.
She chuckled, texting him back,
Mia?
Not even a second later, he responded.
Yep.
She snorted at his response and continued typing
I thought as much. Where should I meet you?
Her phone chimed again
Taylor will have the Audi out front at noon.
She bit her lip, her smile beginning to feel like it was taking up permanent residence on her face, when she typed back quickly;
See you then ;p
ooOo0oOoo
Her stomach was a ball of nerves as she headed down to the lobby, and out through the glass doors towards where the shiny black Audi SUV sat parked out front. As she made her way to the car, the man she recognized as Taylor stepped out from the driver's side, and made his way around the car to open the door for her. Christian was already inside, looking utterly perfect in his dark gray suit.
She smirked as she slid into her seat, remembering the last time he had asked her to dine with him as Taylor closed the door behind her.
"There's no dress code for lunch, is there?" she asked teasingly, letting him know that she had found the whole thing rather humorous.
He laughed, "No, Ana, no dress code, and no rubber chickens. Just lunch."
"Sounds perfect." Ana said giving him a genuine smile as the Audi pulled away from the curb.