I'm not American so I really have no clue about Seattle or how colleges etc work but I've tried my best to get it. I don't own anything.


Ana's first morning at GEH was going well so far. She had been introduced to all the relevant people in the department and had been shown around all the relevant places. The woman she was working under Natalia Dwight was a force to be reckoned with. Suppose as the head of PR, you would have to be a badass. She'd been taught the basics of all the programmes she would be using and was given the job of writing up some reports.

When she'd arrived this morning, the huge 20-storey building looked ominous. It was all glass and steel from the outside, and on the inside, it was all white and marble. The clicking of her heels as she walked seemed to empower her and made her feel like a boss bitch. She said a mental thanks to Kate for picking her outfit as it actually looked like she fit in here. Although the female workers all seemed to take the meaning of pristine to another level.

For her lunch break she decided to forgo the cafeteria and take a walk around the area and get some fresh air. She stopped by a quaint café to grab a sandwich to go.

The barista complimented her on her dress and Ana was surprised and taken aback by the genuineness coming out of the girl. She proceeded to tell her how her roommate helped her since Ana doesn't know much about fashion. Luckily there was no one in line behind her so her and the barista got to talking and Ana found out that the barista was actually a design student at UDub.

"I've never seen you around here before. The customers we get here are office workers getting away or teenagers looking for 'cool' spots to hang out." The barista said.

"It's actually my first day working at GEH. I just graduated recently. You'll probably be seeing me here more often. Unless I get fired." Ana laughed. "I'm Ana by the way." She smiled.

"I'm Emily. And here's your tea and your sandwich. I've also added a slice of banana bread for you. On the house. I baked it myself, so I hope you'll like it." Emily smiled bashfully.

Ana couldn't express her gratitude to this stranger whom she'd only just met. As she turned around to leave, Emily shouted "Good luck!" Ana gave her a grin as she waved.


Christian was sat in a coffee shop near to the offices, waiting for his brother Elliot to show up. He tried not to meet Elliot at his office too often, one because of Olivia's unwanted attention and two, Elliot tended to cause a commotion every time he walked through the doors. He claimed it was too serious and professional in there.

The coffee shop had a few people milling about but it wasn't too busy as it was nearing the end of the lunch hour. He was sat in the back facing the counter, whilst scrolling through his phone.

He heard the excited chatter of two women at the counter and happened to glance up. The barista was talking to a slender brunette woman and they were both laughing and smiling. When he saw the brunette's face, he thought he recognised her but was unable to place her. There was just something about her though and so he continued to observe. Warmth emitted from her actions and the grin she shot the barista as she was leaving was blinding. There was something very gentle and compassionate about her presence.

Christian didn't think he'd ever seen someone so genuine before, well maybe except his mother, Grace. He wondered where the other people like her in the world were at.

He was puzzled with his almost fascination with her. He'd never noticed random members of the public before. Chances are he'd never see her again though, so he put it to the back of his mind and concentrated on more important things


The next few weeks went by pretty fast for Ana. Work was going really well, and she was learning so much but while she did like it, she couldn't see herself working there for the rest of her life.

She hadn't ventured out of the PR department for the most part apart from the cafeteria, so she hadn't had a chance to familiarise herself with the whole building, but she figured what's the point. She hadn't seen Mr Grey since she's been here but she assumed he only kept to the top floor since he was a very busy man.

She'd met a guy called Jose from the R&D department. He visited her floor often since he needed to get Natalia's approval on quite a few things. They've been out to lunch a few times together but sometimes his attention was stifling.

Ana also frequented the coffee shop where Emily works and they've built up a friendship. They often shared baking recipes with each other. Ana was grateful for Emily; one of her worries was not making friends outside of Kate and work when she came to Seattle and now, she'd made a really good friend almost seamlessly.

Ana was standing in line in the cafeteria at GEH when she noticed a pretty nasty brown stain on the white sweater of the blonde woman standing in front of her. She'd like to assume it was coffee. A few people clearly noticed the stain, but for some reason no one informed her.

Ana thought that if she had a stain on her, she would have liked someone to tell her and save her from the embarrassment especially in an establishment like GEH.

She stepped a bit closer to the woman to try and hide the stain with her body a little and tapped the woman's shoulder.

"Excuse me, I'm not sure if you know but you've got a pretty big stain on the back of your sweater." Ana informed her a bit hesitantly. The woman turned around with wide eyes and looked at Ana.

"What! Oh lord, is it really noticeable?!" The woman gasped, craning her neck to look and clutching the back of her top.

"Uh yeah it's pretty big. It looks like coffee." Ana said.

"Crap crap crap! I have nothing to change into nor a jacket to cover up with!" The woman panicked.

"Hey, I've actually got a blazer that I wore today that you could borrow if you wanted to." Ana offered with a smile.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"No of course not. I bought it just in case it rained. Why don't you meet me in the restroom, and I'll run to my desk and grab it?" Ana asked.

"Yes okay. Thank you so much." The woman and Ana both put the food they had grabbed, back and rushed out the cafeteria.

Ana went down and grabbed her blazer and got to the ladies bathroom just outside the cafeteria. The woman had taken her sweater off and was inspecting the stain whilst muttering under her breath.

"Here you go. I know you're a bit taller than me, but it should still fit." Ana handed her jacket over.

"You are an actual lifesaver. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am. Everyone's been letting me walk around with such a big stain and no one had the decency to tell me." The woman raged. "I must have gotten it earlier this morning. I should have realised when Olivia nearly crashed into my back with that coffee and started acting more iffy than usual. I can't believe she didn't even tell me and just walked away. Or maybe I can believe it. Typical behaviour of her, not caring about anything or anyone but her." She ranted.

"You mean she knowingly let you walk around like that? Wow, she sounds...unpleasant." Ana empathised.

"She couldn't care less about anyone here. She probably thought I'd be fired for being at work in dirty clothes, so she'd be promoted but thankfully I haven't seen Mr Grey today." She had put the blazer on over the tank top she had on underneath and after adjusting herself in the mirror, she turned to Ana with her hand outstretched. "I'm Andrea Parker by the way."

"Anastasia Steele." She shook Andrea's hand. "Wait see Mr Grey?"

"Yes. I'm his PA. And Olivia is the second PA. How about you?" Andrea questioned. Ana felt a bit intimated. This woman worked with the CEO himself.

"I work in the PR department actually. I only just graduated college this year and it's my first job." Ana told her.

Andrea's phone beeped and she muttered 'crap' under her breath. "I'm sorry Ana but Mr Grey needs me. I can have your jacket back -"

"Oh no Andrea, don't worry about it. Keep it as long as you need. And don't worry about dry cleaning it or whatever." Ana said.

"Ana I really can't thank you enough. For everything. You've saved me from the humiliation." Ana was surprised when Andrea gave her a quick hug.

"It's really no problem at all." Ana smiled at her.

"I'll see you around Ana."

"See you." The door shut behind Andrea. Ana looked at her reflection in the mirror with a grin and gave herself two thumbs up. It felt pretty good to help someone. She hadn't been able to have lunch, but nothing could fault her good mood for the rest of the day.


Over the coming weeks, Ana and Andrea had lunch in the cafeteria a few times together and got to know one another. It seemed Andrea didn't actually have that many friends at GEH as most people seemed to be intimidated by her and with her working with Mr Grey, people steered clear of her.

Ana had told her all about her dream to work in publishing and Andrea told Ana all about how she ended up as a PA and how it wasn't originally what she wanted to do in life but she was pretty happy and settled in it. She had been Mr Grey's PA since nearly the beginning, and they had a good working relationship with each other. They talked about Kate, Andrea's husband, Ana's family, just about anything and everything.

One Friday afternoon, Ana was working on writing a statement to be released to the press when Andrea showed up at her desk.

"Hey Ana, can I speak to you really quick?" Andrea asked. She looked suspicious.

"Yeah, of course, just give me a sec to save this document." Ana told her. After saving the document she followed Andrea, who looked impeccable as always, into a nearby meeting room. "What's up?" Ana asked, after Andrea had closed the door.

"So I have a proposition for you. I know it's a bit out of the blue but just hear me out." Andrea warned her.

"O-kay." Ana narrowed her eyes warily.

"So, Olivia has finally been fired. Couldn't have happened soon enough if you ask me. But we need a second PA up on the 20th floor. She was fired yesterday, and Mr Grey has allowed me to find her replacement and he says he trusts my judgement in whoever I pick. I was going to recruit from outside the company, but I figured that would take a lot longer and as soon as someone hears working for Mr Grey, they're all going to jump at the chance to work with him just to get with him you know. I really don't want to deal with a bunch of self-obsessed airheads. And none of them will do any work. Then I realised I know the perfect person I would want to work with me, someone who I know is already hardworking and efficient and doesn't have some ulterior motive. And this person already works at GEH so it would just be a simple department transfer."

"And who would this person be exactly?" Ana asked but she was sure she already knew the answer.

"You." Andrea stated. Ana's eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs. She'd been here 3 months at most and was already being offered a somewhat promotion? Kate's words ran through her mind, 'the connections you could make!'

"Um..uh… are you sure? I mean there are probably more qualified people out there." Ana stuttered. Andrea placed her hands on Ana's shoulders.

"Ana, I'm 100% sure about this. I already trust you. I have faith in you. You and I could be a great team. I did ask Natalia about what she thinks of you and she said she admires your work ethic and has been impressed with your attention to detail. I'll teach you everything you need to know about the job, the ins and outs, you name it. But I just need a good person with me up there." Andrea placed a convincing argument.

Ana thought about the doors that would open for her by working with the CEO. Others will be impressed. It's not like she'd be missing much from the PR department, she hadn't made close friends here. She made her decision.

"Yes okay, I'll do it." Ana said confidently. Andrea nearly squealed with excitement and hugged Ana tightly. It was sort of weird seeing such an elegant woman like Andrea, bouncing in her very high heels.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Ana!" Andrea exclaimed and she couldn't wipe the grin off her mouth. Ana had to laugh at her antiques, her excitement was infectious.


Andrea had sent over the contract for Ana's new position which listed all the benefits, salary, hours etc. Her eyes widened when she saw her new salary. Holy shit.

Kate had whooped with delight when Ana told her about her new position. She was so happy for her. She did have to work with Christian Grey however, but Kate knew Ana could handle herself if needs be. She was no Kate, but she could hold her own.

They went out to celebrate and invited Emily and Jose with them. They all toasted to Ana's new position and Ana was feeling just so content with her life. A few months ago, she had no idea what she was going to do with her life. And now she was in a good place with good people.


Her first day of her new position, she took the elevator to the far left up to the 20th floor. She'd never had a reason to be in this elevator. Her nerves were going crazy and she had butterflies in her stomach. She didn't know why she was nervous. This was Andrea she was working with. She knew Andrea. But shit, she was probably going to meet Mr Grey today. The man held a lot of power.

It felt like her first day again and today she had dressed in grey slacks, and a white v neck blouse. Keeping it simple yet classy. Her hair was also pulled back into a bun to stop her from messing around with it because of nerves.

The elevator doors opened on to the 20th floor and it was all white marble; one whole side of the place was just made from windows and the view was absolutely incredible. There were large paintings adorning the walls here and there, adding a bit of colour to the place. Her heels clacked as she took a few steps forward.

Andrea stepped out from behind a long rectangular white desk with two macs on and greeted her with a pearly white smile. Ana was given a new ID card which would allow her entry into rooms on the 20th floor that her old ID wouldn't have gotten her in. She left her coat and bag on the coat rack just behind their desk and was shown around the floor.

In front of their desk was a little waiting area with white couches and glass tables. "That room with the dark oak door is Mr Grey's office. Never just go in unless you've been summoned and always knock if you're bringing him coffee or papers to sign etc." She pointed to the room at the end of the short hallway.

They walked to a room just off the waiting area. "This is the break room. Help yourself to tea/coffee/water whatever you want. The coffee machine is pretty hard to use but you'll get used to it. You'll be making Grey's coffees, so you'll need to get the hang of it pretty quickly." There was also a refrigerator and cupboards full of mugs/glasses, cutlery and plates.

Andrea showed her the copy room and then they walked down the hall. "So, there are two conference rooms here and its typically where Grey has his meetings. He does prefer conference room one though so if you ever schedule a meeting for him do it in that one if possible." The conference rooms both had glass doors, but one had a full wall of windows. "All along these corridors are the offices of all the executives. A few of them have assistants and they have their own desks. Ros Bailey is COO and that's her office there, but she doesn't have an assistant so if she needs anything, we will usually do that."

As they walked, Andrea introduced her to people here and there, some of which she recognised from seeing them around the halls. Most of the people here were nice and welcomed her with a smile, but there were a few, especially execs who didn't even look at her.

Andrea was very brisk and efficient and Ana got the impression that that's just how Andrea worked and how she did a great job. They circled back to their desk and Andrea helped Ana set up her calendar and sync Grey's schedule on to her phone etc.

"So, are you feeling good about it? I know it's a lot of information to take in but you're a smart woman, you'll get the hang of it in no time at all. And I know a lot of people are terrified of Mr Grey but he's really not that bad." Andrea told her while drinking her coffee.

"It is overwhelming, but in a good way. I'm just scared of messing up I suppose." Ana bit her lip.

"You will mess up but that's part of learning. Come on let me teach you everything I know." Andrea smiled.

For the next two hours, Ana learned the basics of the software programmes she wold be using, she learned all about the phone system and which calls were put through to Mr Grey straightaway. She learned how to schedule meetings and lunches and how to update his calendars.

"Andrea, do you have the Nolan contract ready?" Came a deep voice from the intercom. Ana just about jumped out of her seat.

Andrea pressed the button on the intercom. "Yes sir, I'll bring it right to you." Andrea was almost laughing at Ana. "You'll get used to that." She said to Ana. "Come on, time to meet the boss."

Oh dear god. Ana's heart stuttered. She was very anxious. All these stories she'd heard about the man were contradictory and she didn't know what to believe. She took a deep breath and stood up, smoothing out her blouse. She hoped she didn't make a fool out of herself. First impressions meant everything.

Although she had walked in late to his 'class'. Did that count as a first impression? Not if he didn't remember her and why would he anyway.

The two women walked to his office and Andrea knocked twice before walking in.

Be yourself but be confident. Shoulders back, head straight. Go.