Today, Anastasia has her IVF appointment with Dr. Evans. She has made sure to make it later in the day so that she and Christian won't miss much of the workday. As excited as she is to get the ball rolling with the IVF, she's not looking forward to her meeting with Jack Hyde, the author who she is still considering to sign on. She is meeting him after lunch and, as much as she wants to gobble down her sandwich, it just doesn't taste like much. She manages to pick at it and swallow it down, but her mouth is dry and her dread about this meeting makes the pieces of her sandwich taste like plastic. She's met people like him before and she doesn't know if she has the patience to deal with such nonsense today. He thinks he's God's gift to the world and she refuses to stroke his ego. Luckily, she's smart enough to keep the meeting short, with the excuse that she has to leave by 2:00 pm for her appointment.
As 1:30 pm rolls around, the intercom buzzes and her assistant, Hannah, lets her know that Jack Hyde is here.
"Bring him back, Hannah. Thank you."
Anastasia stands to get herself ready to meet him and straightens her outfit, making sure that she looks professional.
The door opens and Hannah escorts Jack Hyde into Anastasia's office. "Ms. Steele, this is Mr. Hyde, your one-thirty appointment." Hannah rarely calls Anastasia by her last name, but she's made a habit of it in front of clients, which Anastasia appreciates. It gives off a more profession vibe.
"Thank you, Hannah. Hello, Mr. Hyde, I'm Anastasia Steele."
He takes her outstretched hand and shakes it, squeezing her hand tighter than need be. He's trying to exude dominance already, but Anastasia refuses to wince at his handshake. Instead, she keeps her face neutral and her eyes on his.
"Ms. Steele." He finally lets go of her hand and when he does, she can feel the blood rushing back into her hand with each beat of her heart. Bastard. What type of man is this?
"Mr. Hyde, would you like to have a seat?" She waves her hand over to the sitting area with the curved couch and armchair by the windows in her office. She will not let him get one over on her. There is no way she's going to sign this contract unless it's exactly how she wants it.
Jack Hyde has a seat on the couch and Anastasia has a seat on it as well, leaving about three feet between them.
"Ms. Steele, Mr. Hyde? Would you like a beverage?"
"Just water for me, Hannah." She looks over at Mr. Hyde, waiting for him to speak.
"Coffee would be great, thanks Hannah." He gives Hannah a wink and her cheeks redden before she turns and scurries out of the office.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Hyde."
He gives her a cold stare for a few moments. "I have a hard time believing that, Ms. Steele. You've been ignoring all of my efforts to reach you."
Anastasia gives him a cold smile. "I've been quite busy, Mr. Hyde. I was out for a couple of weeks and then I had a lot to catch up on. I apologize that this contract wasn't at the top of my priority list."
"Me, too, Anastasia." She inwardly cringes at the use of her first name. "I know what I'm doing. You're missing out on a hell of a lot of revenue each day that you ignore me."
She cocks her head and regards him. "Don't take this the wrong way, Mr. Hyde, but you don't strike me as the type to write a love story about vampires and werewolves." He has untidy dark blonde hair that's pushed out of his face, cold blue eyes, and enough stubble to look like he's forgotten to shave for a few days. Or too lazy. The only thing professional about his appearance is his well made suit he is wearing, but even then, his tie is loose and the button of his collar is undone. This guy is either too ignorant or too cocky to know how to dress and act in a professional setting. Her gut says it's the latter.
He gives her a menacing, fake smile. It's more of a grimace than anything. "What can I say Anastasia? I am a man of many talents."
Anastasia clenches her jaw. "Ms. Steele."
"What?"
"You may call me Ms. Steele."
His eyes narrow. "So sorry, Ms. Steele."
Hannah knocks on the door and enters, bringing their refreshments. When she places Jack Hyde's in front of him, he gives her a wink.
"Thanks, Hannah."
She gives him a bashful smile. "You're welcome, Mr. Hyde."
Anastasia has to force herself not to roll her eyes at the idiot man. "Thank you, Hannah."
"You're welcome, Ms. Steele."
When the door closes, Anastasia sighs and pivots herself so that she is looking directly at him.
"Mr. Hyde, let's just get right to the point. The contract you requested...it's not going to happen."
"Have you read the manuscript?" It's obvious that Jack Hyde is offended.
"Yes, I have and I'll be honest with you. There are already so many books out similar to yours, Mr. Hyde. You're a little too late in the game for us to be able to take such a risk on you. Printing 75,000 copies the first go and shelling out 30% of the revenue to you before we even sell any is unacceptable. I'm not saying that your book won't sell, but your contract isn't logical for us. It looks as if you're just trying to make a quick buck. You're screwing us over."
Jack Hyde stands up. "I'm screwing you over? You're company only wants to print 10,000 of my book at the start and is only offering me 30% of the profits from those after they sell! You're fucking over your clients, Ms. Steele."
She narrows her eyes and stands, keeping her eyes on his. "We're doing no such thing! It's a contract all of our authors sign. The more copies you sell, the more your percentage goes up! The labor and materials for the book are always most expensive during the first print. We have to make some revenue off of this, Mr. Hyde. We will not be signing any contract that you hand us. In fact, after today, I'm not sure I'm willing to sign any contract at all with you. I don't want your name tainting our business."
He leans down, getting in her face, but she refuses to move. "You little bitch." He spats.
XxXxXx
Christian makes his way into SIP, ready to pick Anastasia up for their first doctor's appointment. He's anxious to get the process started for the IVF and relieved that Anastasia is allowing him to be there through each stage of it.
"Hello, Hannah."
Hannah's head moves so fast, Christian wonders if she's given herself whiplash.
"Hello, Mr. Grey!" She jumps out of her seat quickly to greet him and she knocks over her coffee cup, making the liquid go flying across her keyboard, the desk, and the floor. She looks down at her mess and then back up at Christian, blushing profusely. "Oops."
Christian gives her an amused grin. "Looks like it."
He continues past her desk and towards Anastasia's door.
"Ana, are you ready for our doctor's appointme…" His sentence trails off, realizing she's not alone. She's standing awfully close to a tall, blonde male while he looks down at her. His face is too close to hers and the way he's hovering over her doesn't sit well with Christian.
"Christian!" Anastasia's attention leaves Jack Hyde. "Mr. Hyde, this is my friend, Christian Grey. Christian, this is Jack Hyde."
Christian scowls at the man. "Is there a problem here?" He takes a step inside her office.
She shakes her head. "No, Christian. No problem. Just give us a second. We're almost done."
Christian looks from Anastasia to Hyde and back to her, uncertain. Anastasia's cheeks are tinged red with anger and the fucker looks mad as hell. Thank fuck he opened the door when he did. If the asshole would have laid a hand on Anastasia, he'd be broken on the floor by now.
"Christian." Anastasia gets his attention again. "Really. Everything is fine. Just give us another minute."
Christian gives her a curt nod. "I'm leaving the door open."
Anastasia tries to give Christian a smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. He turns and makes his way towards Hannah's desk to lean against it and wait. He doesn't want to get too far in case the fucker tries something.
When Anastasia's attention returns to Jack Hyde's, she sees he's staring at her.
"Doctor's appointment?" His eyes fick down to her stomach and back up to her eyes. "Something your hiding Ms. Steele?"
She rolls her eyes. "It's none of your business, Mr. Hyde. As far as I'm concerned, this meeting is over. I think it'd be best if we went our separate ways. I don't think we're going to agree on a contract. Thank you for stopping by."
He shakes his head. "You don't realize what you're missing, Ms. Steele."
"I understand that you're upset, Mr. Hyde, but I don't see any other solution. Perhaps you should try one of the other publishing houses in Seattle. Now, if you'd excuse me, I really need to leave. I have an appointment to get to." She steps away from him and grabs her cell phone off her desk and her handbag off the hook behind the door.
Anastasia turns around, realizing he hasn't moved.
"Mr. Hyde?" She motions to the door with her hand and he scowls at her and stomps his way to the door.
"This isn't over, Anastasia." He growls, knocking Christian's shoulder with his on his way out. Christian has to take a step back to recover his balance.
"What an asshole." Anastasia mumbles, shutting and locking her office door.
"What did that fucker want?" Christian can feel his anger rising the longer he stands there. Hyde's lucky to still be standing. If they weren't in Anastasia's workplace, his nose would be broken.
"For us to kiss the ground he walks on." Anastasia rolls her eyes and shrugs.
"He isn't contracted under SIP, is he?"
"Oh, god no."
Christian lets out a deep sigh, relieved. "Thank fuck for that." He doesn't want the dickbeater anywhere near Anastasia.
"Hannah, I'm leaving for my doctor's appointment now. I'll be back in the morning. If you need anything, I've got my cell." Anastasia notices that Hannah is cleaning up a spill. "Everything okay?"
Hannah blushes again. Anastasia swears she blushes more often than not. "Everything is fine, Ana. I'll have it cleaned up in a jiffy. Have a good day."
Anastasia gives her a smile. "You, too, Hannah."
The two make their way out and Anastasia snorts when they make it to the door. "At this rate, she's going to break the budget on office supplies with how many keyboards she ends up frying because of you."
Christian grins. "What can I say? When you got it, you got it."
"I hope our child doesn't turn out a cocky asshole like his father."
Christian opens the passenger side door for Anastasia. "Better a cocky asshole than spineless asskisser."
XxXxXx
"Hello, I'm Dr. Evans." Dr. Evans is a friendly looking blonde woman in her fifties with warm green eyes and light smile lines.
"Hello, Dr. Evans. I'm Ana and this is Christian. He's going to be the sperm donor."
The doctor shakes each of their hands. "Wonderful. It's nice to meet both of you. How did your ultrasound go? Did Trish treat you alright? I know these transvaginal ultrasounds can be uncomfortable."
Anastasia smiles at the doctor. "She was lovely. Thank you."
"That's good to hear." Dr. Evans has a seat in her office chair, opposite of Christian and Anastasia. "I want to go over the IVF process with both of you. I'm glad that you brought Christian with you, Ana. Having support is important during this process."
Christian nods. "That's what I'm here for." He reaches over and squeezes Anastasia's hand.
"Now, our first step is for you to take gonadotropin, which is a fertility drug. It'll have to be given in shot form every day and we'll need you to come in every two to three days for ultrasounds while you take it so that we can watch how your follicles form. It'll force your body to release more than one egg, so that we can gather multiple eggs at one time. This stage will last anywhere between eight and fourteen days. You'll also have to take another drug to keep your eggs from releasing too early. That can be taken in pill form, but it can't be taken within two hours of the injection."
"Oh, um, Okay." Anastasia's head is already swimming. It's a lot to take in.
"I know that this can be a confusing time, Ana. Do you have any questions, so far?"
"The fertility drugs… are they going to make me super emotional?"
Dr. Evans smiles. "Yes, unfortunately. It'll be kind of like PMSing, but more intense. You might be weepy one minute, then angry the next. You'll blink and then you'll be happy as a lark."
"Great." Christian is not going to look forward to this.
The doctor laughs. "Of course, some women are more susceptible to its effects than others. You'll just have to wait and see how it works with your body. The more PMS affects you, the more likely you'll feel the effects of these meds."
"Okay." Anastasia gives a nod. This is already such an emotional time for her and now her hormones are only going to heighten her emotional state. Her eyes wander over to Christian and he gives her a smile and squeezes her hand. She really hopes that he has the patience to deal with her through this. Her heightened emotional state might cause friction between them. She doesn't want anything to tear them apart.
"When we see that your follicles are at the right point, we'll give you a trigger shot, that will allow your body to release your eggs and you'll come back three days later for us to retrieve your eggs. We'll have to give you an anesthetic when we do because I'll have to insert a long needle into your vaginal wall so that we can retrieve your eggs. The same day that we retrieve your eggs we'll also be retrieving the sperm donation. Now, Christian, it's important that you don't orgasm for three days prior to the appointment so that we have a greater number of sperm and greater chance of them implanting in the egg."
Christian gives her a nod. "That won't be a problem." Three days really isn't any time at all. He definitely wants to give them the best chance of having a baby.
"Great. We'll take a couple of your eggs and his sperm and they'll sit in the petri dish for three days before we place the fertilized eggs in your uterus. That day, I will want you to relax and take it easy, but after that you'll be able to go back to your normal routine."
Anastasia sighs. "That's a lot of information to take in."
"I know it is, Ana, but we'll take it step-by-step and I have handouts that you can read through."
"How long after implanting the fertilized eggs will we know if we're pregnant or not?" Christian asks, anxious to get to that point.
"Eight to ten days after is when it's best to take a pregnancy test. Any earlier and you might receive a false positive."
Anastasia sits back in her chair and sighs. This is going to be a long process, but it'll be worth it in the end; she's sure of it.
"Now, I'd like to show you how to do your injections. It's important that you do it the correct way so that the medicine is absorbed correctly and it creates the least amount of pain possible."
XxXxXx
Christian relaxes back into the oversized chair in the billiards room, deciding he needs to read something other than contracts and emails for once. It has been such a long time since he's read for pleasure. He has a wall full of books, but for what must be the hundredth time, he chooses his favorite book, Oliver Twist. His copy is worn, the pages torn and some trying to fall out, but he's had it since he first learned to read and he refuses to part with it. His mother has bought him new versions, but they lay untouched on the shelves with the rest of the books.
He gets lost in his book and is a good chunk in, when he's interrupted by a throat clearing. Lowering his book, he sees that it's Anastasia.
"Ana? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" He closes his book and lays it on the side table as he stands.
"I can't do it."
His eyebrows knit together. "Can't do what, love?" Was she changing her mind about the whole IVF process?
Anastasia holds up her injection pen. "I can't give myself a shot. I just spent an hour trying to psych myself up about it, but I can't. I need you to stab me in the ass with this needle."
Christian laughs. "It would be my pleasure."
She gives him a grin. "I figured you'd say that."
"Let's go in the other room, where there's more light."
She eyes him. "You just want to get a better look at my backside."
He gives her a wink. "That's right, love. Now get in the bedroom, drop your bottoms, and bend over."
"Kitchen." She mouths.
"Always full of surprises, Ms. Steele."
She grabs his arm and pushes him into the hallway. "Just get in the damn kitchen!"
Once in the kitchen, she unbuttons her jeans and shimmies them past her bum while Christian watches. She has on a light blue lace thong and she bends over the counter a bit, making his dick stir.
Fuck.
It's been too long since he's seen a woman like this. Get it together,Grey. His best friend is counting on him and she wouldn't appreciate him standing and ogling her when he is supposed to be helping her get through a hard time.
He shakes his head, clearing it, and takes the injection pen and alcohol wipe off the counter.
She looks over her shoulder at him. "Please, be nice."
"I'll try. Are you ready?"
She whimpers. She hates needles. "Yes. I think so."
Christian steps closer to her and chooses a spot on her left asscheek. He tears the alcohol wipe open and places it on her skin, making her jump.
"Relax, Ana." This girl is a mess. He's worried that if she jumps like that when he gives her injection, the needle might break off. He needs to find a way to keep her attention elsewhere.
"I'm sorry, Christian. I'm trying. I'm okay now." She knows she's too jumpy and needs to take this like a woman. She gives herself a mental peptalk, telling herself she can do this. That the baby is worth this.
Suddenly, his hand collides hard with her right cheek. "OUCH! What the hell are you doing?" She looks over her shoulder at him, murder in her eyes.
"It's done."
"What's done?" She asks too loud. Her voice echoes off the empty walls of his apartment. She's pissed.
He takes a step back and shows her the pen.
"You did it?" Anastasia is surprised that she didn't notice.
"Yep." Christian gives her a lopsided grin.
"Did you have to hit me?" She rubs her sore, warm, pink asscheek before pulling her jeans back up.
He watches and laughs. "It distracted you, didn't it? Now, you know that the injections aren't so bad. Think you can do it yourself next time?"
She looks down at the pen in his hand and back up to him.
He gives her a smirk. "How about I drop by your work during lunch tomorrow to give you your next one."
Anastasia gives him a grateful smile and nods.
Wrapping her in a hug, he kisses the top of her head. "You're a hot mess, girl."
She giggles against his chest. "What would I do without you?"
"You'd probably be dead by now." Christian teases. She might be a mess right now, but there were times where he found himself in a similar state and she was there to take care of him. They look out for one another and have learned to navigate through life together by leaning on each other for support. That's what friends are for.
Teaser? Just ask.