Chpt. 9: Christian's POV:

"Why don't you meet me downstairs and I will get you a copy of the NDA that we both signed last night before I drive you back to the hotel?" I suggest.

"Sure I'll be down in a few minutes" Ana says closing the door behind her.

I walk down to my office in a complete state of bliss; last night and this morning with Ana was perfect. Even though she tried to top from the bottom this morning, I still believe we are a perfect match. Unlike the other times when I had a scene with a sub at a club, I had absolutely no problems maintaining an erection with Ana. Hell, the moment I saw her at the ball last night I was hard. Being able to touch her, play with her and be inside of her without a barrier just made the night that much more perfect. My mind is racing with all the scenes I want to have with her now that she has agreed to spending every weekend with me. When I designed the playroom upstairs, this was the exact arrangement at I had in mind. I didn't want to have to continue to visit clubs as each time I went the risk of being recognized increased. I had hoped to find someone at the club and have a private arrangement with them with weekends being spent at my place. I even have a spare bedroom not far from the playroom that I planned to use for a sub on the weekends. I'm torn now with Ana though, I loved sleeping with her last night. I have never slept with a woman before; I was always afraid my nightmares would wake her up and then I would have to explain everything to her. But sleeping with Ana last night just felt so natural and for the first time in a long time I didn't have any nightmares.

Reaching my desk, I find the NDA that we both signed last night and quickly make a copy of it for Ana putting it into an envelope. I take the original NDA and review it so I can make a file specifically for Ana. I quickly realize that I know very little about Ana; hell I don't even know her last name! I quickly find her signature at the bottom of the NDA under which her name is printed ANASTASIA STEELE. My heart sinks….this has to be some kind of a fucking joke. This cannot be the same Anastasia Steele who stole Seattle E-Books out from underneath me!

"Taylor!" I call angrily.

"Yes sir?" Taylor asks quickly appearing at my office door.

"I need you to take Ana back to the Heathman Hotel; she should be down shortly" I instruct.

"Yes sir" Taylor says.

"Oh and give her this" I say handing him the envelope after I write her name on it.

I'm beyond furious….I can't even think of what this means. I felt so connected to Ana in Taiwan and was then lost without her for the past year. Finding her last night was like nothing I ever expected; we immediately reconnected and it was as if no time was lost between us. I don't know what the connection is, but I feel so strongly about her. I even told her that she was mine! I pour myself a large glass of bourbon and down it quickly contemplating what I'm going to do now. For a brief moment I consider whether or not this could have been intentional ; could Ana have purposely sought me out? But I quickly remember that there is no way that she could have known who I was when we met in Taiwan. If this wasn't intentional, where do we go from here? We're not exactly business rivals since her focus seems to be purely on the publishing industry and this was a new area that I was trying to venture into. How would we handle it if another company came along that we were both trying to purchase?

"Sir?" Taylor interrupts my thoughts.

"Yes Taylor?" I ask.

"Ms. Steele has arrived back at the Heathman" Taylor answers.

"Very good" I say.

"Are you ready to leave sir?" Taylor asks.

"For what?" I'm confused.

"You have an appointment with Dr. Flynn in fifteen minutes sir" he reminds me.

"Shit! Let me get washed up and we will leave" I rise from my desk to head to my room.

I quickly shower and change into a pair of jeans and a button down shirt before meeting Taylor in the foyer. I have been seeing Dr. Flynn for several years now trying to focus on reducing my nightmares and getting better control on my anger. Since my trip to Taiwan, I have spent many sessions talking about Rose or my difficulties with a sub in a scene at a club. As much as Dr. Flynn doesn't think BDSM is the answer I give him credit for keeping an open mind and not trying to talk me out of trying the lifestyle.

"Good Afternoon Christian" Dr. Flynn says as I walk into his office.

"Flynn" I take a seat across from him.

"Where would you like to start today?" he asks.

"I found Rose" I begin.

"Wait" he interrupts. "The Rose from Taiwan?"

"Yes" I sigh. "Her real name is Ana, we ran into each other at my mother's charity ball last night."

"And?" He prompts.

"We went back to my place last night and hit it off. We picked up almost exactly where we left off in Taiwan; we connected immediately again. Everything was perfect" I answer.

"Was?" he asks.

"We spent the night together-" I begin.

"As in the same bed?" he interrupts.

"Yes" I sigh. "I didn't plan it, but we fell asleep after a scene in the playroom. I slept peacefully; I didn't have a single nightmare. We spent most of the morning together as well and it was just as perfect as it was last night. She even agreed that she would like to spend more time with me; we agreed to see each other on the weekends for some time in my playroom. Then it was time for her to leave…"

"Christian?" Dr. Flynn asks after I pause for several minutes.

"Up until now, I had no idea who she really was; we never exchanged full names just first names after we met at my mother's ball. When she was getting dressed I went to my office to retrieve a copy of the NDA we both signed the night before for her. It was then that I saw her entire name…Anastasia Steele" I explain.

"That's a very pretty name Christian, but I'm not sure I'm following the significance?" he asks.

"She stole Seattle E Books from right underneath me a few months ago" I answer.

"Stole?" he asks.

"I offered them a large sum of money to purchase their company and out of nowhere she comes in and somehow manages to convince them to sell the company to her! I even offered them more money and their response was that it wasn't about the money! Of course it was about the money! Everything is about money!" I yell.

"Take a deep breath Christian" Dr. Flynn instructs. "This isn't the first company you've lost; another one will come along and you will gobble it up like all the others. Tell me what this has to do with Anastasia."

"I don't know what to think now!" I say angrily. "Before I knew who she was, I was so happy that I finally found her again and was looking forward to spending more time with her. We connected with each other so deeply; it's more than just both of us being new to the lifestyle-we both recognize that."

"What does this change for you? Surely over the years you have lost companies to others that you later have workings with…how is this different?" He asks.

"What happens if we both want the same company again in the future? How will that affect our scenes? What if I take my anger out on her?" I ramble.

"Are you angry with her?" He asks gently.

"Of course!" I exclaim. "Well….maybe….not necessarily at her. I'm mostly angry about losing the company."

"Did this purchase mean that much to you?" he asks.

"I suppose not…I mean it was a new industry that I was looking forward to getting involved in but really I know very little about the publishing world. It was going to be a new adventure" I answer honestly.

"Take a deep breath and think for a moment Christian" he instructs. "Do you honestly think you would take your anger out on her right now if she was at your apartment in your playroom?"

"No" I sigh. "I would never want to hurt her in that way. I don't want to beat women; that's not why I'm exploring BDSM. I want to maintain control but I would never want to injure her or anyone else."

"What was her reaction to learning that she ended up winning the company you were both trying to get?" Dr. Flynn asks.

"I don't know….I don't think she knows" I answer.

"You haven't spoken to her?" he asks.

"No, I had Taylor drive her home and I haven't spoken to her since" I say embarrassed.

"Do you think it would be helpful to discuss this with her? Maybe you two can come to a compromise on how your business lives affect your bedroom lives?" He asks.

"I suppose" I sigh. "I'm just not sure they can be separate."

"Christian" he begins. "You aren't business rivals; do you honestly think you're going to be fighting over the same companies in the future? You yourself said getting into the publishing industry was a new venture for you…do you think Anastasia is going to be interested in other industries? What are her business interests? Is it exclusively publishing or is this a starting point?"

"I don't know" I answer honestly. "We haven't talked much….like I said until I looked closer at the NDA I didn't even know her last name."

"I think you know what your next step needs to be" he says.

"Yes" I sigh leaving the office.

Ana's POV:

It's been several days since I left Christian's penthouse and I haven't heard from him. I gave Taylor my business card with the personal cell phone number on back before he pulled away and requested that he give the card to Christian. Once Taylor dropped me off at the Heathman and I returned to my room, I looked at the NDA and finally learned Christian's full name. It's kind of funny that after spending the night with him and being intimate with him several times we never exchanged contact information or even full names. In Taiwan it was different; we both clearly knew it was a one-time thing…well technically a two time thing. Once I saw Christian's name I immediately went to google to see what I could find on him; I had never heard of him before but I figured at the very least I could find a social media page or something that I could learn more about him on. Imagine my surprise when I learned Christian Grey is a multi-billionaire who is Seattle's most eligible bachelor! Seriously, who would have thought? It certainly explains his ability to afford the very large penthouse and to have a complete playroom built especially with all the hand carved pieces.

I am still confused at his sudden change in mood when we left the playroom the other day; I didn't expect him to suddenly drop me so quickly. I've done nothing but replay our last scene together in my head over the last several days trying to determine if I did something that would have caused him to act so differently. He seemed to have enjoyed our last scene together, even if it was a punishment session. He is the one who brought up seeing me again and asking if I would want to spend every weekend with him. I know he was disappointed when I suggested that I return to the hotel to get work done, but certainly a man in his position would understand that sometimes business calls. Now I'm stuck because I'm not sure what to do. I wasn't able to find an email address for him on his company's website; which I suppose makes sense as he wouldn't want hundreds of emails from random people. I found his company's phone number, but I don't know that I feel comfortable just calling his office. What would I say? Hi, this is Ana….the girl who is fucking your boss?

"Hi Ana!" Kate says as I answer the phone.

"Kate, how are you?" I ask.

"I'm good Ana….how are you?" she replies.

"Busy working of course" I answer.

"What are you doing Friday night?" Kate asks.

That's a great question….I haven't heard from Christian in almost two weeks. Last weekend came and went with no contact from him.

"I don't have any plans yet" I answer sighing.

"Want to go to club?" Kate asks.

"I don't know Kate" I reply; clubs are not really my thing.

"Come on Ana" Kate begs. "You've been back here for months now and I've barely seen by BFF. Please Ana?"

"Fine Kate" I agree.

"Great! Dress sexy this club is tons of hot guys!" Kate exclaims happily.

"Will do…should I meet you there?" I ask.

"Nah, I will pick you up" Kate answers.

"Sounds good" I reply.

"What's going on with you and Christian?" Kate asks.

"I have no idea" I sigh. "I have heard from him since the day after the ball. I thought things went really well but he hasn't contacted me."

"It's his loss Ana….we will find you someone else this weekend!" Kate exclaims happily before hanging up.

I'm not going to put my life on hold and wait for Christian to decide if he wants to contact me again. Clearly he has decided that perhaps we are not as good as a match as I originally thought. I can't believe that after finding Christian again, I am back to where I was when I came back from Taiwan. Nothing has changed; just as I find the BDSM helps me I am left with no dom again and my life is beginning to spin out of control again. I have been working closely with Seattle E Books and SIP to insure that their systems can interact together, having our IT department fix some of the bugs that were found. IT continues to find bugs that place the system at Seattle E books at risk so they are recommending that we replace the entire system. I have been working closely with the heads of both companies learning their processes and procedures which has been going well, but people are so stuck in their ways that they often don't like when their practices are being questioned. Maybe going out this weekend with Kate isn't such a bad idea after all; I could definitely use a drink.

The rest of the week drags on with no contact from Christian not that I'm surprised. I leave on time for once on Friday night so I can get ready to go to the club with Kate. After eating a quick dinner I decide to take a long hot bath to relax from the long week. Feeling much more relaxed from the hot bath, I go to the closet and try to find something to wear. Kate said to dress sexy so I think I'm going to wear the short black dress that I wore the first night I met Christian. Although this is not something I typically would wear, tonight I'm ready to say Fuck it to the world.

"Wow Ana you look hot!" Kate exclaims when I meet her in the lobby of the hotel.

"So you do you Kate!" I reply.

Kate is dressed in a short purple cocktail dress with sky high heels that show off her legs. We climb into the waiting cab and are quickly escorted to the club which is only a matter of blocks from the hotel. I honestly I really could have walked here but in heels this would not have been an easy task. Kate gives our name to the bouncer outside the club and we are granted immediate access and shown to the VIP area. Kate explains that her company gave her VIP passes to the club tonight as part of some promotion they had done ages ago. The club is packed which explains the long line outside but Kate quickly finds us a table and orders martinis.

"Hey there beautiful ladies" Elliot interrupts us as Kate is telling me about a new project she has going on at work.

"Elliot! What a nice surprise!" Kate jumps up hugging Elliot.

"Kate, you remember my brother Christian right?" Elliot says just as Christian walks up behind him.

"Yes, hi Christian. Please will you join us?" Kate asks smiling at me.

"If you don't mind" Christian says.

"Of course not, right Ana?" Kate asks.

"That's fine" I sigh, feeling as if I have been set up. "How are you Elliot?"

"I'm great now that I found my girl" Elliot kisses Kate.

"If you will excuse me, I'm going to dance" I leave the table before anyone can respond.

I don't like the idea of being set up by Kate and really would rather not sit with someone who wants nothing to do with me. I go to the bar, downing a shot before heading to the dance floor and start losing myself in the music. The music makes it very easy to lose yourself, especially with everyone dancing around you. Suddenly I feel hands my on hips and someone's chest against my back. I quickly look behind me expecting to find Christian instead I find a tall dark haired good looking man smiling down at me. I close my eyes and continue to get lost in the music at the guy behind me dances with me closely, grinding his pelvis against my ass. His hands don't leave my hips which I'm grateful for; the moment he tries to move them further I will put an end to the dance.

"Excuse me" I hear a familiar voice behind me.

"No, excuse me. I'm dancing here" the man behind me says gripping my hips a little tighter.

"Not with my girl you're not" Christian says pulling the guy off of me.

"Well if she was your girl what was she doing on the dance floor by herself?" the dark haired man yells.

"That's none of your business" Christian says taking my hand in his and pulling me off the dance floor.

"What the hell Christian?" I jerk my hand away.

"What do you think you're doing Anastasia?" Christian asks.

"Dancing…maybe you've heard of it?" I yell. "What's it to you?"

"I don't like you dancing with him" Christian mumbles so I can barely hear it over the loud music.

"Why do you give a shit? You've made it clear you could care less what I do" I head back to the table.

Of course as my luck would have it Kate and Elliot are nowhere to be found. I was hoping they would be at the table so I could avoid talking to Christian further. I take finish my martini in one gulp, grab my purse and head for the door. I will text Kate from a cab, I'm not going to sit here with Christian and try to figure out why he is getting so upset that I'm having a good time tonight.

"Ana wait!" Christian yells as I step out of the club.

"For what? You want to have Taylor drive me home again? Don't bother, I can get my own cab this time Christian" I say angrily.

"Please Ana…." He begs holding my hand tightly.

"Please what?" I reply.

"Please…give me a chance to explain what happened" he begs.

"Fine…explain" I plant my feet firmly on the sidewalk.

"Please, let's not do this here. Let me drive you back to the hotel, we can talk on the way" Christian looks at me with his eyes begging.

"Fine…at least I won't have to wait for a cab" I reluctantly agree.

Christian leads me to his awaiting SUV where Taylor holds the door open so we could climb in. We settle on opposite sides of the seat and sit in silence for a few moments.

"I am so sorry for the way I treated you" Christian says.

"I'm listening" I reply crossing my arms over my chest.

"I didn't know who you were until I made a copy of the NDA for you" Christian states as if that should explain everything.

"So? What does my name have anything to do with why you discarded me like a piece of trash?" I yell as my eyes fill with tears.

"You don't know who I am do you?" Christian asks.

"Only what I read on google, so what?" I answer confused.

"You recently purchased Seattle E Books, right?" He asks.

"Yes, again what does this have to do with anything?" I answer.

"My company was in line to purchase them before you swept in and bought them" he explains.

"And?" I ask.

"I was thrown for a loop when I saw your name. I can't even begin to tell you everything that went through my head. I didn't see how we could make anything work if we were business rivals" he says.

"But we're not Christian" I sigh. "You're in mergers and acquisitions; I'm in publishing. We're not running businesses that compete with one another."

"I know" he runs his hands through his hair. "I realize that now."

"So you couldn't call me or email me in the last two weeks?" I wipe a tear from my cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Ana" He unbuckles his seatbelt and pulls me in for a deep hug.

"Sir, ma'am we are at the Heathman" Taylor interrupts us stopping the car.

"Please give me another chance Ana" Christian begs kissing me deeply.

"Can we talk about it some more? I think there's a lot of things we need to work out still" I pull away.

"Yes, whatever you want. Do you want to talk now?" he answers quickly.

"We can go up to my room and talk I suppose" I sigh stepping out of the car.

Christian quickly says something to Taylor before coming to my side and following me inside. I try not to overthink what is going on as we ride the elevator up to my suite. I don't know if I'm making the right decision but all I know is I lost this man once and I don't want to walk away too quickly again. If there's a chance of making this work, I need to take it.