Chapter 3

"I think I am going to pee in my non-existent pants."

"Please don't. We haven't even paid for the dress."

"I am freaking out here!" I say as I am shaking my hands frantically. I am looking at myself in the full-length mirror wearing a fancy dress that floods at my feet. You will not be able to walk in this. "I don't know what I'm more worried about, the business dinner or the Coping-Together Event?"

"If I were you," Kate taps her chin, thinking about her answer, "Both," she responds, jokingly.

"Not funny Kate."

We are at a boutique, trying on different formal dresses for the Coping-Together Gala. Kate is in a strapless red gown that rivals Jessica Rabbit's dress. I am wearing a thick strap navy blue dress that supposed to fit me, but I have to stand on a stool to make it work.

I need to find something to wear for an upcoming business dinner as well. I'm having dinner with the retired owners of a west coast diner franchise. Christian and I are meeting with them because they will be helpful with the future of AMC. I'm worried about the meeting, specifically the fact that these owners never expanded to the east coast. I don't know what their reason, but I want to expand AMC across North America. I don't see a reason to limit the company unless it cheapens the brand or is too difficult to open at a certain location. Maybe Christian disagrees with me; he did set up the meeting.

"Well, in all honesty, the Coping-Together gala. You are only freaked out about the business dinner because you REALLY have nothing to wear. Ever. We need a complete wardrobe overhaul."

"I know, I know. I'm going to buy a proper wardrobe."

"Don't worry about the business outfit. I already got something for that. Let's focus on the dresses." We continue to look at different dresses we picked out, while still wearing our failed ones. Kate was invited by Elliot to go. So we both are worried about this event, especially since it is organized by Dr. Grace Trevelyan Grey, the adoptive mother of Elliot and Christian.

Dr. Grey is a prestigious pediatrician and founder of the Coping-Together charity. She adopted Elliot and 'rescued' Christian, as he describes. She was the attending physician, who treated four-year-old Christian after his biological mother died of an overdose. She adopted him, even though people shockingly thought he was un-adoptable. She is Wonder Woman. We got to impress her.

"So Ana," Kate begins, as we look through a dress rack. "How are you?"

"Fine."

"How is life?"

"Good. You would know. You are around for most of it."

"Good." She replies, looking at dresses, but not really searching.

"Do you remember Jose Rodriguez?" Oh no. I know what this about.

"I think so. He went to college with you, right?"

"Yep, yep… , he is a photographer now, based in Portland, but moved here. He has an art showing next Saturday at the Henry Art Gallery. Elliot and I are going to check it out. Maybe you can come."

"On a date?"

"I didn't mention dinner or anything." She looks away, adjusting the dress she is wearing. "He did mention eating somewhere afterward." Oh no! Kate is trying to set me up.

"You're setting me up?"

"No, not necessarily. Elliot and I will be there. A group outing." I ponder her offer. I have no personal life right now. I work most of the time, but I love my work. "And, if you say you have to work, I know you're lying. I know your schedule, you don't have anything Friday night." She's right, but I am not going down easy.

"I will go on this 'outing'-"

"Great! Elliot and I will pick you up and we will-"

"IF, you admit you love Elliot."

"Ana-"

"I'm serious. You need to either accept your feelings or stop leading him on." After several business meetings and dates, Elliot said 'I love you' to Kate a month ago. I'm not surprised. Christian wasn't surprised. Their connection is amazing. But, Kate's response was 'No you don't'. He hasn't said it since.

"Ana, you don't get it. My parents taught me how shitty relationships are. I don't want to go through that." She starts taking off her dress, in frustration.

"You have a valid point. My mother taught me to love men for their money." Her frustrated look softens. Kate might of grew up wealthy, but our lives are similar. "I am not saying marry him. I am saying, love him or let him be loved by someone else. Don't you think Elliot deserves that? Don't you deserve that?" I don't know what has come over me. Kate and Elliot are a great couple. I wish I could have half of what they have.

"I know. He does…I do."

"Don't let your parent's relationship ruin yours."

"I won't." Suddenly, something catches her eye. She rushes over, even though her dress is beginning to fall off. She is a determined woman. She comes back with an amazing dress at hand. "This is it. This is your dress."

"But what if-"

"We will get it fitted. This is your dress." I take the dress and look at it carefully, seeing how truly beautiful it is.

"It's perfect," I tell Kate. "How do you know what's right for me?"

"It helps when someone sheds light on it," looking at me with appreciation. We hug, knowing we will always be there for each other.

~oOo~

"What are you wearing?" I ask. This is supposed to be a casual business dinner. The owners are diner people. They probably never dressed up in their life. But here is Christian, wearing a three-piece black suit with a baby blue tie.

"What?" He asks confused.

"I mean, you're overdressed. Look at where we are?" We decided to eat at Mr. Scott and Sarah Garner's diner in Seattle. They retired a few years back, but they have great people managing all their diners, which are still running today.

"I didn't know we were going somewhere so…informal," he says, as a group of teenagers heads into the diner. "I can have my security get a change of clothes." He reaches for his phone, but I stop him.

"No need. I can help make you look a little more casual, like me." Kate helped me pick out a long sleeve black blouse and blue jeans. I have my hair down in waves and simple makeup with a pop of red lipstick. I am wearing black ankle boots to complete the outfit. It is professional, casual with a bit of sexy, as Kate said.

"I don't think I could look like you, Anastasia." He says, looking me up and down slowly. I don't feel uncomfortable by his gaze. He can look at us like that anytime you want.

"Take off your coat, vest, and tie."

"Are you asking me to undress Anastasia?" Uh yes!

"Only partially. Trust me, you will look more casual." He does what I said and walks off to the car, giving his clothes to his security guard, Taylor. He comes back but still looks stiff. "Can you unbutton your top two buttons as well?" He looks shocked but does it anyway.

"Better?" He asks, arms out, putting himself on display.

"Much better." Five more buttons and an untuck would be perfect. "Let's go." We walk into the diner at the hostess table. We already have a table reserved, even though the diner doesn't take reservations.

The diner is a classic setup, with bright colors all around, a long serving table with stools, and booths along the opposite wall. Even the waitresses are in retro blue pants outfits, with matching white hats and aprons. The jukebox in the back is playing Motown music. Young teenagers are at several tables hanging out, eating their burgers, fries and drinking milkshakes. It looks like a restaurant from the movie Greece.

We head to the booth in the corner. I sit on one side of the booth, and Christian sits at the other end. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting down," scooting further in.

"We have to sit next to each other." I move to sit next to him. "What are we going to do, ask a married couple of 30 years to sit apart?"

"No, I guess not." I realize we maybe we're too close. I casually move a little further over. I am at least not touching him, but Christian is a grown man and I'm about to fall out of the booth. He put his arm around me, well technically behind. Around! I look at my menu, trying to distract myself. "We should go over talking points."

"Okay." I place my menu down and turn towards him, desperately trying to not touch him, but our knees hit, and I'm starting to feel warm. I try to focus. "I want to talk to them about how they expanded their company, and why they didn't expand in the east coast."

"I think they didn't expand because managing a business in the east coast is expensive."

"I honestly think it was done for a silly reason."

"Explain," Christian asked, furrowing his eyebrows, confused by my comment.

"I think they didn't want to expand because they don't like to travel, they hate snow, they don't like the Yankees, something silly like that."

"Why would someone not want to make their company hugely successful because of something as frivolous as sports teams?"

"You know who the Yankees are?"

"Anastasia," he warns.

"Just kidding." I smile. "To answer your question, people get personal when it comes to business."

"I think keeping a company, like AMC, in the west coast allows for quality control, exclusivity, not have to worry about competition. A company stays cool when it is not everywhere." I'm surprised he's considering AMC's cool factor. I didn't think that was in his vocabulary, but he makes an excellent point.

"You're right. That makes a lot of sense." I turn away looking back at the menu. He has a smug look on his face as he turns to his menu thinking he won. Thankfully he no longer has his arm behind me. Definitely around. I need to focus. "I don't think that's the reason."

"We'll see."

"Want to make a bet?" He looks at me curiously.

"What kind of bet?" He asks.

"Well, betting money would be ridiculous, so let. me. think." I lean back and ponder the possibilities. It has to be something good. "If I win, and their answer is ridiculous, I want you to take me out on your helicopter" The moment I found out he can fly a helicopter, I knew I wanted to go on it. I have never been, and I think it would be awesome.

"I would of done that anyway, but I'll accept that bet." He places his arm around me again. I only become a little sweaty this time. "What do I get if I win?"

"What do you want?"

"Hmmm." He looks up toward the ceiling, thinking hard. I might not want to have given him this opportunity. He finally looks at me, "I want you to make me lunch every day for two weeks." Oh, he is good. "In those jeans shorts you like to wear on the weekends, black tank top, hair braided, minimal make up." Oh, he is really good.

"Deal." We shake on it. Just as we are shaking hands, Mr. and Mrs. Garner comes in.

"You must be Ana and Christian Grey?" Mrs. Garner ask. We both nod our heads, getting out of the booth to greet them. "We are Scott and Sarah Garner." In front of us is an older couple, who seem to be in their 60s or 70s, very comfortably dressed. She is wearing brown slacks and a floral long sleeve blouse. He looks like he came from golfing. We politely greet them.

"It is nice to meet you." I say in response

"Nice to meet you." We sit down to begin our dinner. We look at our menus, but Scott Garner takes them away.

"Don't worry about them. We will be having the classic cheese burgers, crisp cut fries, and Neapolitan milkshakes." Scott says. My mouth waters with the sound of that.

"Sounds delicious to me." I respond. I look at Christian, and he looks uncertain. He probably hasn't eaten a meal like that since he was a teenager.

"I haven't had a good burger in a long time." Christian responds.

"Well, Sarah has created the perfect burger. You will not be disappointed Mr. Grey."

"I can't wait." He smiles in response. He looks at me with a questioning look. He turns back to Scott, making a decision. "You can call me Christian by the way." Seems like Christian is loosening up.

"You can call me Ana too."

"Well, you can call us Scott and Sarah." Sarah request. They seem to be a cute couple, very in sync with each other. A waitress come in setting our food down with our milkshakes. It all looks so delicious. "Let's eat."

~oOo~

(Burb) "Excuse me."

"Nice one Christian." Scott compliments Christian on his manly burp.

We have been talking for a hour now about the food business. Scott and Sarah have been very helpful. I even take notes in my little notebook I had in my purse. We haven't asked them about why they didn't expand in the east coast yet, but I think Christian is going to soon. It is hard to bring up something that could be considered a bad business decision, but Christian thinks they had the correct intentions.

"When Ana and I we were looking into your company, we wondered why you never expanded to the east coast? You seem to have the opportunity, but never went for it." He asks.

"Good question. We did have many opportunities to expand in cities like New York or Washington DC." Sarah responds. "But looking at it further, it was something we didn't want to bother doing. People from the east coast are so uptight and unfriendly. Why even work with such unruly people." I look at Christian, giving a 'I told you so' look. He looks back at me perturbed, but I can tell he's trying to hold in his laughter.

"Bunch of republicans in the east coast. I don't like republicans." Scott adds. Who knew they could be so….ignorant.

"Is that the only reason?" Christian asks, a little shocked. They look perplexed by his question.

"What other reason would there be?" Sarah asks. I snort at that comment, trying to hold in my laughter now. I take a sip of water to calm down.

"Thank you."

"No problem dear. We like helping a young couple like you two starting their own business." Now it is our turn to look confused. They must think we are together. I dare you to go along with it. What, I couldn't. Double dog dare you. Hard to turn that down. Enough! Triple dog dare you!

"Thank you, Sarah, but Christian and I are not together. Christian runs a billion dollar company. He invested in my company." Chicken.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. We thought you both were together." She giggles. We all chuckle at the misunderstanding, except for Scott.

"That is how Sara and I met," Scott remarks. "I had my own business at the time, and Sarah asked me to help her start a diner. I wasn't sure about it at first because she never ran a business in her life, but she was an amazing chef and was determined. I saw something in her that I liked, probably loved." At this point, Christian and Scott are staring at each other, like they are having a private conversation. "It was the best business decision of my life." Scott smiles.

So does Christian.

~oOo~

"Ana, can you please come over here? Now." I arrived at the art gallery, with Christian Grey. I might have accidentally invited him after our meeting at the diner.

"I assume you can hang out with this guy for a few minutes," I jokingly tell Christian, pointing to Elliot.

"This loser, I think so." He says smiling, looking at his brother.

"You really should stop talking negatively about yourself bro." Elliot jokes.

"Just, don't do anything embarrassing." Kate request.

Christian looks terrific tonight with blue jeans and long sleeve black shirt. I'm wearing an outfit I recently bought; a black tank top and a long black skirt with a dark red floral pattern. Shockingly Kate didn't help me purchase the outfit, but I don't think that is why she wants to talk to me. She drags me by my arm to the ladies bathroom. Definitely not here to talk about my new outfit.

"What are you doing?" She's angry.

"What do you mean? Do you not like my outfit?" I respond innocently.

"Ana! Don't!" She is really angry. Better stop screwing around. "Why is Mr. Grey here?"

"He is really into art. I thought he would like to come."

"But-"

"Plus, this is not a date. Soooo..."

"Ana!"

"And, we're friends. I thought it would be fun."

"But he's our boss!"

"No, I'm your boss, and don't forget it," I tell her, pointing my finger at her.

"Ana, seriously, I just...," she fails to finish her sentence. What is she getting at? She's really worried.

"What?" I put my hand on her shoulder so she will look at me. "What's wrong?" She looks at me unsure of what to say. I rarely have seen Kate speechless. Now she's freaking me out!

"I don't want you to get hurt," she finally blurts out. Oh! She thinks you like Christian, which is true by the way.

"We're only friends Kate."

"Uh huh." It's obvious she doesn't believe me, but I don't care. Christian and I are friends. It will never go any further than that. Don't break my heart.

"Are we done?" feeling uncomfortable, wanting to end this conversation.

"We are," She turns away to open the bathroom door, but stops to say, "For now." We finally walk out. "By the way, you look hot!"

"Thanks," I say shyly. I don't get complimented for being 'hot'. "You look good as always." She is wearing skinny jeans, knee high boots and a loose fitting dark blue tank top blouse. She also has on several bracelets, looking like a rock star.

We return to the guys, who look like they are having a good time joking around. It is rare to see Christian so…comfortable. Comfortably hot. When he sees me, he smiles and I can't help but smile back. Kate takes Elliot's arm, glaring at Christian, as they walk away. I guess they are going to leave us alone.

"You want to walk around?" I ask Christian.

"Sure." We walk around the gallery to look at Jose's photos. He has many landscape photos of the Seattle skyline. They are really incredible, especially the night shots.

"Do you see any you like?" I ask Christian.

"No. I like paintings more than photographs."

"Really? Like what?" He explains the different paintings he owns and the artist he likes. Many of them are local. He is really into art and taught me a few things. He is hot and cultured. Swoon! I am going to pass out now. "It sounds like I should tour your house?" I joke.

"I wouldn't mind that."

"Ana!" Kate calls for my attention, and I turn to her, where she stands next to Elliot and Jose. "Ana, I don't think you have met Jose. Ana, this is Jose. Jose, this is Ana." I shake his hand, feeling a bit awkward. Christian looks annoyed, and Kate looks amused. Elliot is trying not to laugh. I hope she is not trying to challenge Christian.

"Ana, it is nice to finally meet you." He responds, looking at me up and down in appreciation. Christian turns away, pretending to look at a photo when really he's angry.

"Nice meeting you. I also want you to meet Christian Grey. He is my business investor, and…friend."

"Christian." Jose acknowledges, nodding towards him. Christian nods back. "So, Ana, what do you think of my work?"

"It's incredible. I like the nighttime landscapes of Downtown Seattle the most."

"Maybe I can take you out sometime to show you some locations."

"She will get a better view when I take her out on my helicopter," Christian responds.

"What!?" Kate asks shocked.

"I lost a bet, so I owe Ana a helicopter ride." He explains, winking at me. I knew he was going to take me out, but I didn't know it would be at night. How exciting.

"You got beat by a girl?" Elliot asks.

"Hey! I won fair and square. Christian might be great in business, but I can read people…kind of." I say, trying to defend my win.

"You got beat by a girl!" Elliot says laughing. Kate pinches his chest, most likely his nipple considering his painful reaction.

"You never beat me at anything." Christian defends.

"Don't lie bro. I got you in a game of monopoly that one time in college." I laugh at Elliot's one win. I can't imagine them playing a board game, but monopoly seems appropriate.

"You lost in monopoly? That seems like something you would be great at." I say to Christian.

"I only lost because he got me drunk." He says, pointing to his brother. "And I'm pretty sure he stole from me."

"I only got you drunk because you wouldn't play monopoly," Elliot answers back.

"What are you like drunk?" I ask Christian.

"Oh, Ana Banana. He's amazing." Elliot explains. He puts his empty glass of beer on a side table, obviously needing his hands free. Christian shakes his head. "He gets a bit crazy. He dances around, shaking his hips, rocking out like a madman." He describes, swaying his hips seductively, showing us his dance.

"No, I don't." Christian barks.

"Yeah, you do bro. He also gets really sappy." Christian shakes his head at his crazy brother, rubbing his face. "'I love you Lelliot. I really love you, bro. Don't ever forget that man.'" Elliot speaks in an exaggerated tone, grabbing Christian's shoulder, imitating a drunk Christian. "Best time to ask for money." Kate and I are laughing at Elliot's explanation.

"You two are brothers?" Jose abruptly asks. We stop laughing abruptly.

"Look at us?" Elliot wraps his arm around Christian. "Of course. Don't you see the resemblance?"Elliot gives a big cheesy smile. Christian looks at Jose, daring him to say something.

"You two look nothing alike." Jose declares.

"Jose, they are adopted," Kate explains, trying to calm the situation.

"Huh. That's good you consider each other 'brothers' even though you're not."

"Well that's what we are." Christian fiercely responds.

"They're really cute brothers," I add. More like sexy, gorgeous, hot brothers. I thought you passed out. I did, but I woke up to an annoying voice. Who is this Jose anyways?

"We're cute brothers?" Elliot asks Christian.

"I guess so," Christian responds but looks at me the whole time.

"Did you think they were brothers when you first met them?" Jose asks me. I don't want him to bring me into this, but I respond honestly.

"Well, I actually thought they were...superheroes." Elliot, Kate, and Christian laugh at my comment.

"Superman and Thor, right?" Kate asks.

"Yep." I agree with Kate. "But, when I got to know them, I did see them as brothers."

"Thank you Ana Banana," Elliot says.

"But you didn't think of them as brothers originally?" Jose keeps persisting.

"Why does it matter?" I ask.

"I don't want to look like the asshole, even though they are obviously not related," Jose explains.

"Too late." Kate mumbles.

"Forget it," Jose says, sounding annoyed now. "Ana, I got this photo I think you would like. You want to check it out?" He asks, trying to get me alone. Hello no.

"No thanks. But thank you for the offer." I politely say.

"Actually we are going out for drinks," Elliot says, now looking at his watch. "And, I think it would be a good time to go. You ready Kate?"

"Yep, let's go." Kate seems to be over the art gallery. I'm surprised, considering this was her idea.

"You coming, bro?" Elliot asks.

"Would you like to go Ana?" Christian asks me. I can't really remember the last time I went out for drinks. I'm pretty sure never. There might be one time with Kate. Yes, there were many times you rejected her. I guess I'm not very outgoing. But tonight, I will be.

"I would love to." I say to Christian.

"I can't go. I have to hang out around here for another hour." Jose replies. I don't think he was invited.

"That's too bad," Kate says, with fake sincerity. "Let's go. Thanks for the invite, Jose. I hope it goes well." We are all walking out of the gallery, and the moment we are outside, "What an asshole."

"Kate." I chastise.

"No Ana, he is definitely an asshole." Elliot agrees, heading to his sports car.

"Yes, but we should at least say it a few feet away from the gallery," I tell them, giggling.

"Well, I couldn't help it. He was so fucking rude." Kate gets in the car with Elliot. She rolls down the window. "Where to?" Kate asks.

"The Mile High Club," Christian responds.

"I heard that place is amazing," Kate says.

"Get in bro!" Elliot yells to Christian.

"Hell no. We'll meet you there." Christian yells back. Elliot and Kate drive away, as Christian and I walk to his car, driven by Taylor.

"I'm sorry about that," I tell Christian.

"Don't apologize for someone else's behavior." We get in the back seat, ready to leave when suddenly Christian leans over and says, "But I like that you think I'm Superman." I smile, happy he got my reference. Definitely sexy Superman.

This was going to be a fun night.

~oOo~

A few weeks later from Christain and I's night out is the review of our second AMC in Seattle that opened up a couple of months ago. We are expanding so fast, but I love seeing the growth. AMC Seattle 2, which is located in West Seattle, has been running well, but there's concerns at how long the service takes at night. I heard meals are served during trailers, which is fine, but cutting it too close to movie time. That is one thing I am going to look into.

For the review, I'm wearing black jeans with flats and a red button up shirt with white polka dots. I have my work bag and iPad for my review. I don't like to wear something too professional, if I have to help with anything during my review.

Christian is joining me for a review for the first time. He wanted to see how our brand new AMC was running. Christian has never been on a review before. I either go, secret shoppers give us a report or contractors have reviewed our new franchises. I wonder what got him so interested. Or who, really. But luckily my inner voice helped, despite wanting to quiet her. Of course! He wants to see what you are like on reviews. See you do your job. Be with you. And don't try to quiet me ever! It all made sense. No shit Sherlock. Remember, I'm your fucking Watson. I help you figure this shit out. I decided to get rid of my worries and plan a fun night for us.

"Looking good Mr. Grey." Christian is in a semi-casual outfit of dark jeans, a dark green polo, and a thin black jacket.

"I want to prove to you that I can be casual Ms. Steele." He explains.

"I'm glad to know you can dress yourself."

"You have quite the sense of humor Ms. Steele."

"I can't help it." I rearrange my bag, and hand him over a notebook. "This is for you, if you have any questions or concerns. I don't like to address the problems to people right away, unless it is absolutely important."

"Got it."

"You can obviously ask whatever you want." I quickly say, remembering he is the big boss, but I kind of regret it. I don't want the employees to get nervous with Christian being around. Nervousness results in needless mistakes. "It probably will be best to let me take the lead. I done this several times and know what to do to get the best results."

"Whatever you say." I head into the theater, until I hear, "Boss." I turn around looking at him, but he seems to find the situation entertaining.

"You got that right." I turn back into the AMC ready for the review.

We walk into the lobby, pass the lines, to the ticketing booth to ask for the manager. She knows I'm coming to the theater, but she doesn't know when.

As we wait, I look around the lobby. The area looks clean and comfortable. We have the latest movie posters up decorating the walls, as well as classic movie posters, like Jaws, a staple in all AMCs. While there are a lot of people this evening, it seems like they are having a good time. People are relaxing in the lounge seats, enjoying a drink. This AMC actually has a bar outside the theaters, which has been working out well. It is a great place to hang out when people want to see a double feature or to hang out.

When the manager walks out to the booth, it is obvious she is shocked, but not by the review, by seeing Christian Grey. The hot billionaire. Take it all in. It's glorious. "Hello, (gulp) Mr. Grey….My name is Alice... Alice Quintana." She introduce herself by offering her hand. I can't help but roll my eyes, considering she hasn't noticed me. He shakes her hand and nods, but remains silent. She can't help but check him out. Ok, he's hot, but she can be professional. Although, I can't talk, I'm barely listening right now.

"Hello, Ms. Quintana," breaking her eye fucking of Christian. "My name is Ana Steele, the owner of AMC." Trying not to be snarky, but I can't help it. "We are here for your review."

"Oh! Of course. I'm sorry Ms. Steele. Let's go to my office." Now that I have her attention, she seems nervous. I kind of feel bad, but I'm not going to change now.

We walk into her office, and sit down. That is when I lay out the review. I tell her everything we are going to do tonight, which is check the finances, look over the filing system, check a meal service, and review a movie showing. While nervous, Alice seems ready to go. Christian observes the whole time. We begin our review.

With the organization of the theater, she gets an A. She was able to retrieve documents quickly. Christian even seems impressed. For such a popular theater, she has everything organized to my satisfaction.

Alice was originally an office manager at a large law firm, but quit her job because she had very little time to spend with her family. Thus, she wanted a change of career. When she interviewed, I was unsure of her, only because she had no food experience, but she proved herself. Managing an AMC, the schedule can be flexible, working 40 hours a week, but at different times of the week, since we are open every day. The job seems to fit her.

We move on to a meal service. "I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not hearing the best comments about the meal service times here." I tell her.

"I understand Ms. Steel, and I apologize for the service. The chef and I take full responsibility."

"What's the problem?" Christian asks. I informed him of the details earlier, so I'm unsure why he asked.

"Our meal service times have been slower than they should be, sometimes serving people during the movie." I didn't know the mealtimes were taking that long.

"Why's that?" Christian asks as we reach the kitchen door.

"Our chef, Chef Carlos, just came out of culinary school, which I know you push for Ms. Steele." I nod my head in agreement. I would like to hire experienced chefs, but a lot of times they have their own restaurants already or get paid more somewhere else. So I push for hiring upcoming, young chefs. People who have the energy and excitement to cook and don't have bad habits. "He makes great food. We get great compliments about it."

"What's his problem?" Christian asks, cutting her explanation.

"He would spend too much time on the food. He focused on presentation, adding garnishes and fruits and vegetables cut into pretty designs. It looked amazing, but is a waste of time. People wanted their food, not fine dining."

I have yet to have this problem with a chef, but I could understand his want to make everything beautiful. It is trained into chefs to present your food in an appetizing way. People's eyes are one of the senses that judge the food before they taste it. But considering the food is served in dim lighting, they are already getting better food and drinks then plain popcorn and soda. Having great presentation is not necessary.

"What did you do about him?" Christian's questions. He seems to be evaluating Alice management skills, then wanting to know what actually happened. I have to remember to do that.

"I had a meeting with him about the problem before the theater opened one day. I discussed the problem and had him correct it immediately. I also remind him 5 minutes before meals needed to go out during our night time services. He felt rushed when I did this, but it got him to go faster. He probably found my reminders annoying, so he decided to get a timer." I love that she took charge.

"I like you were persistent, Ms. Quintana." I say to her.

"Thank you Ms. Steele."

We go into the kitchen and it is bustling. Chef Carlos is calling out orders, while frying burgers on the grill. His sous chefs are preparing the side dishes. I nod my head towards Chef Carlos, and he nods back, acknowledging me. Christian looks at me confused at our interaction. It is pretty much known among the AMC chefs, unless you are being directly asked a question or it is dangerous to continue cooking, you do not stop cooking. Making the best meals for our customers is the most important activity.

Alice goes over the meal service and explains what they are working on. They are making several dishes for a 6:30 pm movie, allowing call the meals will go out at the same time. She is explaining to me everything that is happening, like I never been to an AMC before, which is what I want. I want to see she knows every aspect of the company.

They are organized and a lot quicker then I thought, considering the complaints. The waiter and waitresses would place the list of orders on the service rack. Chef Carlos looked it over and call out multiple orders. The sous chefs at their different stations would do the side orders, while Chef Carlos cooks the main course. When the plates are starting to come together, Chef Carlos would do the final touches, cleaning the plates and checking quality. Then, he would call out for the wait staff and they would line up to get their meals to be served to theater guest.

I suddenly order a Caprese Panini, no tomato, extra cheese with a side Caesar salad. They take my order, and I time them. After five minutes, I received my order. I tried the meal, and it was perfect. I offer Christian a bite, and he takes it, taking a big piece of the sandwich while I am still holding it. He moans in appreciation. I finish my review of the meal service, examining the cleanliness of the kitchen, walk-in refrigerator, and freezer.

Alice gives us the tour of the building, and responds to all our questions. She is handling the review really well. We head to her office to do an exit interview. I think she did a good job. I only offered a few suggestion on managing staff. I noticed that the projectionist has worked overtime a few days during the summer. That shouldn't be happening, so I helped her figure out a better schedule. The review is almost done, and I give her a good grade overall.

Time for the movie.

"You ready?" I ask Christian.

"Let's go." We walk to our reserved seats, right in the middle of the theater, the best seats in the place. We are seeing Boyhood first. The movie was filmed over 10 years, actually seeing the boy grow up on screen. Afterwards, we are watching Whiplash, which is getting tons of buzz. The lead character is into jazz drumming, which could interest Christian, since he likes playing the piano. We will have to see.

"What do you think?" I ask Christian as we place our dinner order. I'm not too hungry after the sandwich and salad, so I order dessert. Pecan pie squares with a scoop of pumpkin ice cream, my favorite. Christian orders spicy chicken wings, side vinaigrette salad, corn on the cob and chips and guacamole. I didn't realize how hungry he was.

"I thought the review went well. I agree with your recommendations. Ms. Quintana is a good manager. I may hire her."

"Don't you dare take my good employees." I say chuckling, but somewhat serious. No way I would want to replace her.

We get our food, and begin eating as the movie trivia and news is playing in the background. Christian is chowing down, moaning and complimenting the food. I had many business dinners with Christian, but never seen him scarf something down so quickly. I would like to see him scarf something else down. That's just gross. It takes one to know one. What? I don't know, I can't think straight around him.

"That was fantastic." Christian is finishing the chips and guacamole, obviously enjoying his meal. He has been licking his fingers the whole time. I would like him to lick my- Enough!

"I'm glad you enjoy your food. I figured out that guacamole recipe in college. It is not your typical recipe."

"What makes it different?"

"Can't tell ya, I would have to kill ya." It is the jalapeno juice that makes it awesome, but Christian is going to have to earn that secret.

"You would have to catch me first." He says, winking at me.

"All I would have to do is keep feeding you, considering the way you eat."

"If you fed me like this," he says pointing to his empty plate, "I would die happily." The screen goes black, and the lights start to dim, warning us the movie is about to start.

"Just watch the movie mister." And so he does, getting comfortable, elevating the foot rest. This is the best review I have ever been on. I would like him to review my…um…uh...I don't know. Just watch the movie.

~oOo~

"Are you ok?" We are walking out of the theater, back to Christian's car. Sawyer, another member of Christian's security team, opens the door for me, and Christian walks around to get in on his side. He seems somber.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looks lost though. "I don't know." Sawyer starts to drive off to my home. Christian is looking out the window, deep in thought.

"I didn't realize those movies would be intense. I mean Whiplash was kind of funny, but I didn't know his jazz instructor was so…abusive." He turns towards me.

"He was a fucking cocksucker!" He's angry, but it's not towards me.

"Yeah, a real… asshole." He returns looking out the window. "But it was cool how Andrew turned it around and stuck it to me. His final number was magical."

"Seemed liked the instructor's abuse worked," he says somberly.

"I don't think so." He turns to me shocked that I disagree with him. I continue, "When his instructor was at his most abusive, Andrew had a meltdown. He couldn't play anymore. When the instructor screwed him over again, he was ready to quit. But I think it was Andrew who decided he was not going to let his instructor tear him down. That is why he played the shit out of those drums in the end. He let go, and was himself. It was awesome." Christian nods, in understanding. "I think Andrew always had that in him, he just needed to let it out, not having someone tell him what was best for him."

"Yeah."

"And then Boyhood-"

"Fuck, Boyhood… It was incredible." He sighs.

"Yeah, it was cool to see that boy grow up, even though he had a hard life."

"Yeah, he came out of it a normal kid. That was good to see." He looks out the window again.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have picked such intense movies. This is my fault."

"No, don't apologize, you didn't know. I didn't know..."

"That movies can be so emotional?"

"Yeah."

"It's tough. Sometimes movies can be triggers. I watched this one movie, Precious. It was a big trigger for me. She was sexually abused when she was a kid, and it was really hard to watch. Sometimes it felt like I couldn't breathe."

"Explain?" He asks, giving me his full attention. Should I tell him? Yes! You're friends after all. I only told my dad, kind of, Carla, my mother, kind of, and Kate. Every time, it was difficult to say for different reasons, but as I look at Christian, my friend, I feel this connection with him. I can't help but want to tell him my story.

"I was raped by one of my mother's boyfriends when I was 15." I blurt out.

"Ana, I-"

"But I didn't know it." Oh, sweet little girl. It is the worst part about this whole thing. He unbuckles his seatbelt and scoots next to me. He wraps his arm around me and I lean against his side.

"I don't understand."

"My mother was desperate for money. She dated some real losers to help pay the bills. One of them was Stephen Morton. He worked at a company fixing computers. He would talk about how amazing of an IT guy he was, and how his boss didn't appreciate him. Every time he would come home, he would kiss my head and say how glad he was to be with his princess. He seemed so happy to be home when I was around. He would give me the attention I desperately wanted."

"Ana, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." He lifts my chin, showing how sincere he is. His beautiful eyes push me to continue.

"I want to." I lean my head back into his chest. "Stephen would take care of me, make sure I was fed. All he ever asked of me was to keep him company. At first, it was watching television. As my mother worked nights at a bar, he became more...brazen. He would ask me to sit in his lap, ask for hugs. I was 15 at the time, and felt uncomfortable. I eventually told him I don't want to hang out with him anymore. He was understanding, telling me I should hang out with my friends."

"Let me guess, he didn't stop."

"I thought he would, but one night he made me dinner, and I felt tired afterwards. I woke up the next morning, naked, in so much pain in my lower region. I thought it was because I was becoming a woman, since it was that time, but that was not the case."

"He drugged and raped you."

"Yes."

"How many times?"

"Only a couple of times."

"Only?... So he betrayed your trust multiple times."

"Yes."

"I'm going to kill him." And he means it.

"He's in jail; I don't want you to join him." He let's out a long sigh, but nods his head.

"How did he get in jail?"

"I told my mother what I thought was happening, but she thought I was making up stories for attention. I thought maybe it wasn't so bad, but I kept waking up in pain. She came home early one night and saw him on top of me, while I was sleeping. Apparently, she stopped him. She told me we advise a plan to get him back. She threatened she would turn him in for rape. It took him awhile to accept the threat, but once he did, he paid her off to not say anything. They broke up, and then she turned him in for molestation." She promised Stephen not to turn him in for rape, but never for molestation. A very devious plan created by my mother.

"It was my word against his, with very little evidence but my mother helped to get him convicted. She can be very convincing. In the meantime, I was afraid to eat and sleep becoming really sick." I was anorexic and had anxiety. I'm surprised I didn't die. "Sometimes I think my mother never really believed me, she just found an opportunity to get money, since I was so 'convincing'."

"That is one hell of a mother."

"I know. He was found guilty for molesting a child, but I never felt right that he wasn't convicted for rape." He is going to get out soon. I will be nowhere near him, but I'm afraid he will do something to another child. "My dad found out what happened and took me away from my mother permanently. I never told him the full story, afraid of what he would of done."

"I'm sorry Ana."

"As you know, there are bad people in this world Christian."

"I know." He releases a breath he seemed to be holding. A breath I was probably holding as well.

"When I was living with my dad, all we did was watch movies. We watch stuff that made me escape the world I was in for a few hours. It even help me in therapy because I talked about movies with my therapist to relate to the stuff that happened to me. That is why I love movies." I love movies that allow me to fantasize for a couple of hours, while still allowing me to reflect on my own life. Those are the best movies; those are my favorite movies.

"Thank you for trusting me," Christian says. I nod, unsure how to respond. I trust Christian. I also find him to be a good friend. It seemed right.

It's silent, as we continue our drive home. We were in some traffic, but I didn't care. "They were great movies. I really had a great time tonight."

"Even though we both cried, it was a great time," I giggle.

He looks at me in all seriousness, "I didn't cry Anastasia."

"Yes you did, you cried during Boyhood, after his mother talked to him when he graduated high school." I know that for sure because I was crying at her amazing words to her son. I turned towards him to ask for a handkerchief, but saw him wiping tears away from his eyes.

"No I didn't, and you have no proof." He says, giving me that smirk I love. Love? I meant like. Uh huh.

"You know, it's okay to cry." I tease. "I won't tell anyone that the big bad billionaire cried."

"You better not, or I will sue you, especially if you tell Elliot," he jokes.

"My lips are sealed." I pretend to zip my lips shut.

"Good." He then leans in and kisses me.

Holly shit! Our lips mold perfectly. I decide to wrap my arms around his neck, as he wraps his around my lower back. We are fully making out, with my hand going through his hair, and his going down my back to my waist, massaging my hip. I moan at the gesture. I pull back, gasping for air. I open my eyes looking at him in awe.

Christian kissed me. I have never been kissed liked that. He looks at me, still resting his hand on my hip, but I do not protest. No, you won't. "Ana, we're here." I turn to see we are in front of my condo. I turn back to him to say something, but he stops me by placing his thumb over my lips. "Remember, your lips are sealed." He then caresses my lips with his thumb, I can't help but close my eyes and kiss his thumb. He removes his thumb, and kisses me again.

"Goodnight Ana." I nod my head, still silent. I notice Sawyer is outside my door, ready to let me out. He opens my door, and I stagger out. I'm walking to my condo in a haze. I don't know what to think right now. I don't want to look back, afraid I'm going to wake up from a dream. I don't even realize Christian is calling me. He stops me by grabbing my hand. I turn to him, still looking shocked.

"That was unprofessional. I didn't mean to put you on that spot with my actions. I should of-" I shut him up by kissing him. I wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him down for a deeper kiss. This kiss is a little more sloppy and aggressive, but I'm trying to show him that I want this. I pull back, licking my lips. He's the one that looks baffled. I on the other hand feel great. I turn to walk into my condo. I look back at him and wink. I wave to him goodnight. He smiles and waves back. I walk into my building feeling absolutely giddy.

I kissed Christian Grey, my business partner, my friend. What the hell am I going to do?

(Mumble Voice) Remember,… can't help... lips…sealed.