Elliot was perfect for Kate, that Anastasia had surmised quickly. He was as boisterous as she was, but also took the time to stare at her lovingly and with reverence when she spoke. What was confusing to her was that Elliot and Christian were brothers, since they were almost complete opposites of one another, both in personality and in looks. Whereas Elliot was loud and rowdy, Christian was quiet and reserved.
"And that's how we met!" Elliot said, finishing an engaging tale of his and Kates meeting. "What about you? How long have you and my Katie girl known each other?"
Anastasia finished chewing the bite of her pizza and thought for a moment, "We were kids. I used to get picked on... all of the time." She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "But Kate always had my back."
"You got picked on?" Christian asked from her left. He leaned forward, curiosity overtaking his features.
"Only because they were jealous of Ana. Her mom was -" Kate said before Ana interrupted.
"Anyways, enough about me. Elliot. What do you do for a living?"
"I recently opened my own architectural engineering firm. We are aiming for a more ecofriendly future, all helped along by my brother here." Elliot clapped Christian on the shoulder, who didn't look as proud of it as his brother did.
"Oh! Wow, that's really amazing. And you're so young!"
"Not as young as this guy here and look at what he's accomplished!" Elliot motioned to Christian once again who slowly shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Ana turned to face Christian and raised an eyebrow, interested. "What do you do exactly, Christian?"
Christian lifted his beer, downed the rest of the hoppy liquid, and then cleared his throat. "My job isn't very interesting. What about you, Anastasia? Have you found work here, in Seattle, yet?"
She narrowed her eyes at him and tugged on her lower lip with her teeth before letting out a sigh. "Yes, and no. I'll be waitressing at some fancy restaurant for a little while, but that's just while I do interviews. I'm an editor, but unfortunately I didn't find much luck with anyone wanting to interview me long distance, so here I am! I waitressed through college, and it made me fairly good money, so..."
"I'm sure you'll find the perfect job soon," he said softly.
Kate grabbed Ana's arm and gave it a small squeeze. "She will." Looking back to Christian, she smiled, "So, Christian, how's Leila doing?"
Christian cleared his throat once again, and his eyes shifted over to Anastasia who tilted her head as if awaiting his answer. "She is... fine." He replied, tightlipped.
"He's ready to take the next step any day, right bro?" Elliot said with a booming laugh, and while Christian knew he was clearly joking, from the look on Anastasia's face, it wasn't as obvious.
As Anastasia loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, her mind raced. The shock of seeing him was still fresh in her mind and she couldn't help the nagging thought that now lingered there as well.
Who was Leila?
"Do you need help?" His voice was silky smooth, and her body betrayed her by shivering at the sound of it.
She turned and there he was, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen with a small smile playing on his lips.
"I think I'm about done." Anastasia said, but then after clearing her throat she asked quickly, "Who's Leila? Actually, no, it doesn't matter who she is. I just wanted to know... were you in a relationship when we met?"
His eyebrows raised and she swore she could hear him mutter, "Damnit Elliot," underneath his breath before saying, "No. I told you, I don't date. And even if I did, I would never cheat on someone. I told you how I feel about that."
A wave a relief flooded over her, but a small jealous feeling still sat in the pit of her stomach.
"Also, Leila is an intern at my... job. She's an assistant, and she's horrible at her job. I obviously need to stop complaining about her in the company of my brother and Kate." Christian came closer and leaned against the countertop, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, where do we go from here?"
As she dried her hands, she raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, our weekend together was supposed to be no strings attached, as you said. But here you are. And here I am. My brother is dating your best friend, and as I understand it, things are beginning to get serious.
"I'm not looking for a relationship right now Christian. After Jack, I don't know that I'll ever date again," She laughed half-jokingly, drying her hands with dish towel.
"Nor am I. I'm here though if you're looking for a friend. Give me your phone."
Anastasia furrowed her brow before pulling her phone from her pocket and handing it to him.
"There. Now you have my number... and I have yours." Christian handed the phone back to her. "Perhaps we can 'hang out' sometime." He made a face, as if he had never 'hung out' with anyone.
She stared at the new contact in her phone, written as C. She smirked a little before raising an eyebrow at him, "How do I know you're not just trying to get in my pants again?"
With his own grin, he quirked an eyebrow and said, "Who says I'm not?"
"So, what did you think of Elliot? Real talk because I trust and value your opinion." Kate said.
Twenty minutes after both of the men had taken their leave, Anastasia and Kate sat on the couch in their pajamas, sharing a package of chocolate chip cookies between them. While Anastasia was never much for sleepovers and girl talk, she found that after years of isolation, this was exactly what she needed to start feeling normal.
"I think he's perfect for you. And he seems like a really nice guy overall."
"Plus, isn't he cute?"
"He's very cute."
Kate hummed appreciatively before breaking a cookie in half and eating one. "Now, onto you." She said. "Christian seemed to get along with you very well, which is strange, because he never really gets along with anyone. Elliot basically had to force him to come over tonight because he rarely sees him."
"Really? That's surprising." Anastasia said before pausing, "I mean, that he just seems like a really nice guy too."
"I saw you both talking in the kitchen for a little while."
"Yeah, he's easy to talk to." Anastasia took the opportunity to shove a cookie in her mouth as she felt Kates confused stare on her, and after a moment of chewing, she finally said, "I need to tell you something. But you have to swear you're not going to mention anything to anyone. Ever."
Kate quickly put her three fingers in the air as a salute, "Scouts honor."
"I've already met Christian. But when I met him, I didn't know his name. The night I found out that Jack was cheating on me, I went to this bar I used to go to all of the time, and I guess he was there for some work thing. Anyway, we talked for hours and the next day, he went to a carnival with me-"
"He went to a carnival? Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?"
"Yes. A carnival. And it was great, and it was fun. He was really sweet... and... we had sex. And agreed to never contact each other again. I didn't even know his name; he didn't know mine. It was all... very... secretive and fun. But now it's not fun, because now it's complicated, because suddenly he's here and giving me his number, and just saying he wants to be friends but-"
"WHOA. Wait. You guys had sex?! And you didn't know his name?"
"I know, I felt so guilty afterwards. Like, Jack cheated one me and then I did the same to him..."
Kate put the cookies down before grabbing her friends hand and holding it tightly. "First off, no. You didn't. Your relationship with Jack was over the minute you saw him having sex with that bitch. You shouldn't feel guilty. I'm not trying to shame you, I'm just in shock! Christian is so... methodical and so cautious. Wow. So, what now?"
After having her hand released, Ana flopped to lean back against the couch. "I'm going to continue on with my life. Start this waitressing job and hoping I can find an editing job soon."
"So, you're not going to call him?"
"Oh, I don't know. I don't want anything complicated right now."
"He's not Jack, Ana."
Anastasia sighed; her eyes fluttering shut. She thought back to how completely and utterly kind Christian had been to her and said, "I know he's not."
"Well, you are surely the envy of almost every woman in this city, if not the entire West coast of the country." Kate said standing up and disappearing into the kitchen.
Ana thought for a moment before following her, "Why is that?"
"I mean... not only has he been voted hottest guy in Seattle or whatever, but he's also loaded."
"Loaded...?"
Kate turned from the refrigerator holding a carton of milk before narrowing her eyes in confusion. "Did he not tell you anything about him? Judging by the look on your face, I guess not. Well, you'll find out soon enough. Christian is a billionaire... he owns Grey Enterprises, don't ask me what they do because I have no idea. But he's entirely self-made. It's honestly really admirable."
Anastasia's mouth had dropped, and she sat in a chair to avoid potentially passing out from the embarrassment of spending a weekend complaining about people with money, to a person with money. She thought to Jack, and how money had made him and his family and finally, after what seemed like an hour, she finally said, "A billionaire?!"
While waitressing had never been a passion of Anastasias, she found that she was always very good at it. The previous restaurants had been more casual, so it was a change to be working at one of the fancier places within Seattle, but she knew the pay would be temporarily worth it.
It had been two weeks since she had settled into Kate's apartment, and Kate was proving to be an easy and uncomplicated roommate to live with. Elliot did occasionally stop by, but mostly she would visit him at his apartment. And since the night she had arrived in town, she hadn't seen Christian.
Christian. As she rolled the silverware in front of her to get ready for the evening rush, her mind wandered toward him. After the revelation from Kate, she had vowed that there was no reason for her to contact Christian, but that didn't stop him from trying to contact her, to no avail. In two weeks, he had texted her three times. The first, was a simple 'hello Anastasia. I wanted to make sure you are settling in okay.' The second was a follow up to the first; 'Let me know if there's anything you need.' And the third had come just two days ago.
'I'd like to see you again.'
Biting on her lower lip, she pondered his statement and one word kept flitting through her mind since the moment she had read it.
Why?
"How's it going A? You look lost in thought," a voice said from behind her, and a hand clapped her on the shoulder.
Jose Rodriguez had been tasked with training Anastasia, and since meeting him she had learned many things about him: He was an aspiring photographer but was working his way through college as a waiter to become an engineer to appease his family, he had an extremely flirtacious personality, and for whatever reason, he had begun calling Anastasia A since meeting her. The irony was not lost on her.
"No, just lost in rolling silverware. I'll be done in a moment."
"That's okay. Listen, Leanne ended up calling out sick tonight, and we just had a pretty important group arrive and is dining in one of the private rooms. My section is slammed, but since this is just one table, I talked to Max, and he says he thinks you're ready to handle them."
She paused, "Alone? I mean, I think I'll be fine."
"Great! They call and order ahead, which is... odd, but that's already handled. I also handled their drink order already, but don't bring those until the food comes out. So just basically bring the food and keep the drinks full. You got this. Plus, they tip heavy."
With a nervous laugh she said, "You had me at heavy tip."
"Alright Ana, you got this." Anastasia smoothed out her apron that was part of the uniform, and double checked for her pens and notepad. After a deep breath, she grabbed the pitcher of water on the tray next to the room and pushed open the doors of the private dining room.
The feeling was only what she could describe as tense, and it took her a moment to realize they were in the middle of a business meeting. A woman sat with a tablet in front of her and as one side of the table spoke, she quickly typed away, glancing up only as they spoke. One side of the table was obviously the aggressor of the meeting.
Good at ignoring the conversation happening around her, she began to move around the table, filling the half empty water glasses to the top. She stayed focused on this until after filling one glass, she looked up and met eyes with none other than Christian Grey.
This meeting is pointless, Christian thought, tapping his fingers on the table while he listened to the man across the table drone on about what he would and wouldn't sell his company for. Just a formality.
Leila sat to his left, tapping away at her tablet as she took notes. He hoped they were done properly, since everything else she'd been doing was in error, but Andrea hadn't been able to attend their dinner.
As he heard the door open, he barely paid attention until he saw her making her way around the table, filling the glasses. Her hair was pulled back, like the other servers in the restaurant, and she was dressed in the same white button up, black pants and apron. She paid them no mind, and simply continued on with her task. For a moment, he wondered where their normal server was, until he thought to himself, what are the chances... again?
He couldn't help but grin at her as she lifted her eyes to meet his and he said softly, "Hello Anastasia."
She stuttered, in surprise, but the continued droning on across the table was enough to let her leave without saying a word. He watched as she left the room, and he quickly grabbed his phone, typing away quickly with one hand.
C: I didn't know you worked here.
Not even thirty seconds passed before his phone buzzed and he glanced down.
A: I didn't know you ate here.
C: Ah, your phone does work. I didn't think it did since you never texted me back.
He watched as the 'typing' bubble continued to appear and disappear.
A: I have to work.
He chuckled before clearing his throat. "I think that's enough business talk for the evening, Larry. I'll have Leila draft our final offer and have it sent to your assistant by Tuesday."
"That sounds fine to me. Now, Christian. Tell me, I've known you for years. When are we finally going to see you with a date?"
The door opened once again, and in walked Anastasia holding a tray with ease, the tray full of salads. He watched as she effortlessly placed them down in front of each person.
Christian finally looked back to the old man across from him and let out a small chuckle, "I don't have much time to date Larry, as you well know. You're on marriage number... four? If I do recall."
The man let out a laugh, stabbing his fork into the lettuce while Anastasia now walked around filling up their glasses with a wine he had chosen before. As she began to walk out, Christian stood quickly, excusing himself and followed her.
"Anastasia," he said, catching her before she disappeared into the main part of the restaurant. "Are you avoiding me?"
"I'm working Christian," she said breathlessly.
"I texted you three times. You never responded. Were you working then? If so, I'm sorry to have bothered you during work hours."
"Christian, listen. We are... very different people. I'm a server, trying to find another job in my field... you're a... billionaire."
"Kate obviously told you."
"You didn't think I'd find out? I've seen your face on the news twice since I've been here, and on the cover of three magazines! Congratulations, hottest forty under forty." Her tone was almost snarky, and it stung.
"It's just a face Anastasia, and it's just money. It doesn't define who I am."
She let out a small laugh, "We're just too different, Christian. I have to get back to work."
"As far as I know, you're currently serving myself and my group, and trust me, they're fine right now. Please. When your shift is over tonight, lets meet. There's a pool hall across the street. Just think about it. Please?"
The dinner service had been seamless, and the tip exorbitant. Jose had been right; they weren't a difficult group.
As Anastasia stood outside of the pool hall, she fidgeted with her fingers. She had changed in the bathroom of the restaurant, into a simple pair of jeans and a gray V-neck. Her hair was pulled down and now hung in waves around her from being up for so long.
She felt nervous, and a million thoughts were running through her head. She suddenly regretted agreeing to meet with him, but also felt the anticipation nagging her.
Jack had been consumed by his wealth; it had changed him. He was calculating toward her, and cold.
Was Christian the same? She wondered, and though she didn't get any of that from him during their weekend together, she wondered how much of it was an act. Guess we'll find out, she thought, as she opened the door to the pool hall and saw him waiting for her already.