Chapter 11

Ana got home to find Kate pattering about in the kitchen, still dressed in her work attire.

"Hey. I really wanted some stir fry today, so I hope your hungry." Kate said in greeting. The two of them hadn't seen each other since Saturday morning.

"Sounds great. I'm gonna go get out of these clothes." Ana said gesturing towards her outfit. After changing into more comfortable clothes, she decided to give her room a little clean. Now she was no slob, but things tended to move from here to there during the week whenever she was getting ready. She also realised she forgot to ask Jose to lunch today, so she sent him a text about lunch sometime during the week. She walked out of her room to go see if Kate needed help with dinner, but everything was basically done so she just sat herself down at the breakfast bar.

"Kate, did you know Elliot and Mia were related to Christian Grey?" Ana asked, crossed arms leaning on the countertop. She had wondered if Kate knew this from the get-go and just failed to mention it considering she did interview Grey himself so she must have had to do some research on him.

Kate spun around with a wooden spoon in her hand. "I actually only found out on Saturday. Elliot the buffoon was telling me how he saw you at work and I asked him why the hell he was at GEH and that's when he thought it was the perfect time to mention his brother, Chris, is Christian Grey." Kate rolled her eyes. "I wanted to punch him right then and there." She turned back to the stove.

"But wouldn't you have found that out back when you interviewed Grey?" Ana asked with a furrowed brow.

"Nope. I didn't research much about his family or anything like that. I focused a lot more on the business and social side of him like who he's dating and stuff. I mean it was for the college newspaper, and students would rather read about his girlfriends or lack thereof rather than his past. I only knew he had two siblings, but there wasn't much information about them." Kate shrugged, stirring the contents of the pan.

"Did you not know Elliot's surname?"

"Yeah. I've known him for a month now, of course I know his surname." Kate remarked. "But Grey is a pretty common name. Can't just assume everyone named 'Grey' is a relative of Christian Grey." She said looking back at Ana. "Bad habit in the journalism world; assuming. And they are nothing alike. Who in their right mind would have made that connection?"

Ana nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought too. Mr Grey said they were adopted. Not sure about Mia though."

"I interrogated Elliot after he told me. He said Mia's also adopted. His family never really mention that they're related to Christian Grey, so they don't get overshadowed. Elliot's company's success is the result of his own hard work, he wanted to do it himself. Mia also doesn't mention Christian to people because of social climbers who would probably think of her as an easy target and use her to get to Grey. Apparently, that happened when she was a teenager once or twice." Kate dished up two plates, poured two glasses of water for the both of them and sat down next to Ana. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them tucking in. "And it's not like I tell everyone my brother is Ethan Kavanaugh, you know. Regardless of whether or not he's 'famous'. It's irrelevant. It's the same for them." Kate said.

"I see what you're saying. They're their own people. I would hate having to constantly question people's intentions towards me if they knew my brother was a billionaire." Ana shivered putting herself in Mia's shoes.

"Yeah. I wanted to be mad at him for not telling me, but I understand why he didn't." Kate mumbled. "Although saying that, they still get photographed together as a family at events and stuff, they're not completely hidden away. But they stay lowkey and live pretty normal lives, so the media isn't as interested in them. You'd have to dig a little deeper to find them online. Elliot said Christian doesn't like being in the media either, but it comes with the territory, so he deals with it. Maybe that was why he was a dick to me."

Ana hummed in response. "He is the youngest billionaire in the US and single. Of course, the media are interested in him." She mumbled. She turned to face Kate. "Mr Grey asked me to go to the Coping Together gala with him." She blurted. The fork on the way to Kate's mouth paused and green eyes turned to look at her in shock.

"What? Why is he asking his assistant to be his date? Where are the other women he usually scrounges up for dates to events? Isn't that inappropriate? Is he hitting on you?" Kate rapidly fired questions at Ana.

Ana held a hand up. "Calm down. It's not what you think." At Kate's quirked eyebrow she went on. "About a month ago, I stayed late at work and Grey saw me. I was sat on the floor and he sat with me and helped me finish the work. We talked and I told him about my dreams of working in publishing and how I didn't want to work in business for the rest of my life, but I keep getting rejected from publishing jobs. He told me I should go to GEH events to network and make connections to help me get a job. I didn't think he was being serious until Saturday when he sent me the invitation." Ana explained.

By this point she had Kate's undivided attention. "Really? He offered? I think it's good he wants to help you out but is it really appropriate? Him taking his assistant? What if people think you're sleeping with the boss?" This is why Ana liked to run things by Kate. She was realistic about things, no matter how harsh they were.

"I might be his 'date' but the fact that I work for him won't be a secret. I'll tell everyone I speak to and make it clear that we are nothing more and I'm sure he would do the same. I was apprehensive about going too but Emily told me to just do it and get myself out there because who knows, I might meet someone really important."

Kate thought for a moment. "Okay. As long as you make it clear you are not romantically involved. This would be good for you. It's your time to shine!" Kate exclaimed. She turned back to her food before realising something. "Shit. That means I'm gonna see him on Saturday too. I wonder if he's still pissed."

"I don't think he is. I really think you need to have a 'do-over' with him. He's not who you think he is. You might have started off on the wrong foot but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. He's a good guy and it sometimes feels like you're just speaking to a regular 20-something year old man and not this powerful business mogul. You just need to get to know him and maybe not ask intrusive questions?" Ana said meekly.

Kate smirked. "Sure Steele. I can do that. Elliot said he's just a regular guy too." She sighed. "I guess I need to scrap what I thought of him. He can't be so bad if he's helping you out. Between you and Elliot, he definitely doesn't sound like the rude asshole I thought he was." She mused.

"You said it yourself. He doesn't like the media and you probably appeared that way to him so he was hostile." Ana suggested.

"I do still wonder if he's gay though." She mumbled.

Ana groaned in response. "Kate! I swear to god, if you ask him anything of the sort I will-"

"Okay, okay." She held her hands up in surrender. "I won't. I'll be good. He is Elliot's brother after all. Anyway, so do you know what you're wearing? Does Mia know you're going? She's gonna go crazy."

"No. I've talked to her but haven't mentioned anything about this because I wanted to give Mr Grey an answer first. Unless Elliot or Christian told her that I work for him, then she probably still has no clue." Ana collected their dishes and started to wash up. If one of them cooked, the other always cleaned.

"We can facetime her in a bit. I want to see her reaction at the fact that you're going to the gala and need a dress." Kate grinned.

"Her dream of going shopping with me will finally come true. Speaking of, I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Like not the faintest clue. Do you know what you're wearing?" Ana asked her.

"I have dresses, but I'm going to buy a new one for this occasion since a lot of the Seattle elite will be there and Elliot's parents, so I want to look my best and make a good impression. I wish Elliot told me earlier, so I had more time to prepare." She sipped her water. "Hey, you want to look through Pinterest for some dress inspiration?" She said excitedly. Scrolling through Pinterest was one of Kate's favourite things to do and the girl can sit there for hours just looking at things.

Ana laughed as she dried her hands. "Yes. Let's do it."

They decided to call Mia first and get that out of the way. Mia still lived at her parents' house and was sat outside on the stairs of the porch, dressed very comfortably. This was the most laidback Mia, Ana had seen. She was always dressed so chic with her hair and makeup always done.

As expected, Mia had squealed in glee when she found out Ana was going to the gala as well as Kate. However, after a moment a few seconds of squealing she paused and asked how she got on the guest list since it was a pretty tight affair. Ana explained to her how she worked for Christian and he asked her. After more confused, albeit excited babble from Mia, Ana managed to explain the context to her. All in all, she was very excited, and kept saying how it's going to be one to remember this year with Ana and Kate both going. The conversation then turned to outfits. Mia already had her dress, but she begged the two of them to go shopping with her to find dresses. Mia told them about the dress code and how fancy it was before describing her dress and accessories. After comparing schedules, they settled for going shopping on Wednesday after work.

Kate and Ana spent the evening talking and scrolling through Pinterest and by the end of the night both of them had an idea of the kind of dress they wanted.


"Hey Ana. How's it going?" Jose greeted her as he arrived at the coffee shop where she was sat in the corner with a sandwich and coffee. She opted for coffee instead of tea because she thought it might give her a little more courage for this conversation.

When she was in school and guys had a one-sided crush on her, she usually just managed to avoid them since none of them were close friends or anything, but she basically worked with Jose. It was inevitable that they would see each other all the time and she thought he deserved to know how she felt, and she didn't want to lose him as a friend, but she was pretty nervous to have this conversation. She wasn't even sure how to bring it up. While others had told her Jose liked her, Jose had never actually uttered the words, so she really didn't want to appear presumptuous or arrogant. Emily wasn't working today, thank god. She didn't know if she could do it with other eyes watching her.

She smiled up at him but didn't stand up. "Hi Jose. I'm good, how about you?" She watched him get settled in with his food that he must have bought without her seeing him. They chatted about insignificant things for a while as they ate their food.

During a pause in their conversation, Ana took a huge gulp of her black coffee as liquid encouragement. She was pretty sure it was causing some sort of placebo effect and it wasn't actually helping her at all. She wasn't sure what she was going to say but she just decided to speak and go from there. "Jose. I've been told- "She started but stopped when she realised he started speaking too.

"Look, Ana I- "They both awkwardly chuckled before Ana gestured for him to speak first.

"Ana, I'm not sure if you were aware, but I like you. And I have done for a while. So, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime, get dinner, watch a movie?" He said gazing into her eyes.

Ana looked down and widened her eyes at the floor, screaming internally. She certainly wasn't expecting this, but it saved her from making a fool out of herself. She looked back at him. "Jose, I-I don't see you that way. I like you, of course, but in a friendship way and nothing more. You're the first friend I made at GEH, you're special to me but purely in a platonic way." As she said this, he looked down at the table, having to look away from her eyes. "We can definitely hang out and do all those things, I'd love that. I just needed to tell you because I didn't want to lead you on or give you false hope or anything."

He fiddled with his coffee cup for a moment. "Oh." He said in a quiet voice. "I just thought maybe you shared the same feelings because of the way you talk to me and stuff. I was sure that you were flirting with me at times."

Ana laughed humourlessly. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you." She clarified as he shot her a confused look. "My politeness has been mistaken for flirting in the past so that's why I laughed. But I treat everyone that way Jose. I haven't done anything to intentionally lead you on and I never would. I'm not that type person." Ana shook her head.

"But why? Why do you treat everyone like that then if it gets you into sticky situations?" He asked.

"I'm a firm believer in being the best person you can be. At all times. It's been my motto since I was about 16. What have I got to lose in being kind to people? It makes me feel good and it makes others feel good too. You never know what kind of day someone's having so you should always be kind and understanding. The sticky situations are worth it, at the end of the day. And it's not always reciprocated or appreciated but..." She shrugged, trailing off.

Jose sat back and gazed at her intensely. "Wow, I've never heard that philosophy before from someone but it's probably the most important one. You're a good person Ana. I think that's what attracted me to you in the first place." He sighed deeply. "You're like the dream girl. You're ridiculously intelligent, you're so compassionate and genuine, so easy-going and you bake! Not to mention, you're pretty easy on the eyes." He winked at her to ease the tension.

Ana laughed and her cheeks took on a pink tinge. "Thanks Jose. You're not so bad yourself." She winked back at him. "But you shouldn't worry. There is someone out there who is perfect for you. It's just not me. Any girl would be lucky to be with you." Ana said sincerely.

Jose smiled at her. "Thanks Ana. I guess I'll just wait for my dream girl. I hope she shows soon though, I'm tired of waiting." They both laughed.

"Can we still hang out? Outside of work? I understand if you want a little space from me though." Ana said cautiously.

"Eh." He waved a dismissive hand. "No hard feelings. My pride's a little wounded but I'll get over it. Please don't feel guilty Ana. You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad you were upfront with me." He said.

Ana watched him with narrowed eyes for a moment before releasing a deep breath. "Okay. Just tell me the time and place and I'll be there."

"Done." He grinned. Both of them felt a lot lighter after all that. The tension in her shoulders finally dissipated and she relaxed. "So." He picked up his coffee cup. "Is there someone you have your eye on?" He asked casually, taking a sip.

"Nope. I just don't have the time for boys right now. I'm pretty focused on my career and I want to establish that before I think about anything else. Although if it happens, it happens, but it's not my top priority and I'm not going to go actively seeking a relationship out. I've actually never been in a relationship." She confessed quietly.

"Really? How come?" He asked, slightly shocked. He thought a girl like Ana would have had boys falling at her feet.

"I've always just been kind of focused on my schoolwork and I was never 'boy crazy' in high school and college. My hometown was also pretty small, so I went through school with the same kids and dating them would've been weird. I guess there's just never been anyone I've been interested in enough." She shrugged. She used to be insecure about the fact that she never had a boyfriend all these years, especially when everyone else started to get one but now she's glad she didn't.

"Anyone at work that may have caught your attention?" Jose asked hesitantly.

Ana looked at him questioningly. "Nope. I don't think so. I haven't met that many people anyway but even if I did meet someone at work, I don't think I'd pursue it. It feels wrong to date someone you work with."

Jose just hummed in agreement. He had wondered if there was something going on between her and Mr Grey after seeing them interact. They acted friendly towards each other and not like boss and employee. But then again, that could have just been Ana's normal behaviour.

On the walk back to GEH, they discussed things that they could do together and when they were both free. In the GEH lobby, Jose got called away by someone wanting to speak with him, so Ana headed to the elevators alone. She was the only person on the elevator, so she stood and leaned against the back wall, watching the floor numbers go up. It stopped on the 5th floor and to her surprise Mr Grey got on. His brows rose in surprise when he looked up from his phone.

"Just getting back from lunch?" He asked her as he stepped inside and stood in the middle facing the doors whilst still tapping away on his phone.

"Yep." Was all she said. He seemed preoccupied so she didn't see the point in elaborating. She leaned her head back against the wall and stared at his back. His cologne filled the tiny space and it smelled good.

He looked up after a few moments and sniffed. Narrowed grey eyes turned to look at her questioningly. "You smell like coffee." He said.

Ana was thrown for a moment. "Oh! I had a cup of coffee for lunch. I was getting ready to have a difficult conversation so thought coffee might give me some encouragement." She explained. Of course, if she could smell him, he could probably smell her in this confined space.

"Ah that make sense. I hope your conversation went well and the coffee did its job. I've never seen you drink coffee, so I wondered why you smelt like it." He said nonchalantly.

Ana chuckled. "I remember why I prefer tea every time I drink coffee. The strong smell is another con. I'm gonna have coffee breath for the rest of the day."

"You're the only person I know who doesn't like it." He laughed. "So, are you ready for Saturday?" The elevator doors opened up to the 20th floor and he gestured for her to walk out ahead of him.

"Not yet, but I am going shopping for a dress tomorrow after work with my roommate and Mia. It's her wish come true." They both laughed.

"Good luck with that. She's going to make you shop until you drop, literally. There's no stopping her when it comes to shopping and fashion." He warned jokingly.

They arrived at her desk and parted. "Great. I can't wait. Thank you so much for the heads up." She said sarcastically.

"Have fun." He shouted over his shoulder with a grin on his face as he walked to his office.


As expected, shopping with Mia was a whole ordeal. And even though she had been warned, nothing could have prepared her for it. Mia had wanted her to keep her options open until she had visited all the shops there were and then she could decide. They didn't get home until 10pm but she had found a gown that she was in love with, as well as shoes and a purse. She needed it all since this was her first very fancy event. Kate had found her dress since she had everything else. She was no stranger to these type of events as she'd attended a few of them while growing up.

As soon as they got home, they had crashed. Exhausted after a full day at work and then a further 6 hours of shopping. Ana was going to be avoiding going shopping with Mia for a very, very long time. She was so enthusiastic about it all, it was nice but it completely drained Ana.

The rest of the week flew by and Saturday had finally come. Ana woke up with butterflies in her stomach. She hadn't thought about it before, but she was thinking about what it's going to be like going with Mr Grey. They got along pretty well at work, but this was unchartered territory. She hoped it wasn't going to be too awkward and that she didn't make a fool out of herself.

Elliot was going to arrive around 7, and so was Mr Grey, but they would be going to the gala separately, in different cars. Over breakfast, Kate told Ana about previous gala's she'd been to and what usually happened at them. Emily arrived around 3 to help them get ready.

After nearly four hours, both of them were finally ready. Kate was doing some last-minute things in her room. God knows what, but she always took a ridiculously long time to get ready to go anywhere. Emily was pattering about in the kitchen, presumably looking for a snack. Ana was in her room, staring at herself in the mirror, giving herself a mental pep talk. Through the course of the day, the butterflies in her belly were getting more and more rampant and she just became more anxious.

She gazed at herself with wonder. She was very happy with how she looked, and her gown made her feel elegant and graceful; two things she wouldn't normally describe herself as. At least she wouldn't be worrying about her appearance during the night. She wasn't going to compare her appearance to the other presumably rich and glamorous women there. Her father used to say 'comparison is the thief of all joy' so she would be manifesting that tonight. She was confident in her skin and that was enough.

Ana was wearing an emerald green floor-length gown made from satin with spaghetti straps and a slit in the skirt of the dress which reached her mid-thigh. It was form-fitting at the top and then flared a little from her waist, so it was pretty flowy so you couldn't see the slit if she wasn't moving. She paired it with silver heels and a silver clutch bag. Her jewellery was also silver and like the rest of the outfit she kept it minimal with a bracelet on her right wrist, a thin necklace with a diamond pendant and a pair of small diamond earrings. She'd gotten the necklace and earrings for her birthday one year from her dad and she thought this was the perfect occasion to wear them. Emily had curled her hair which she kept down, framing her face in large waves. Her makeup was kept simple.

Come on Steele. You can do this. Time to get out there.. She took a few deep breaths.

Emily walked into her room just then with a glass in her hand and stopped short at the sight of Ana. She hadn't seen Ana in her dress yet since she had disappeared before she had put the dress on to give her some privacy. Ana saw Emily's reflection in the mirror and turned around to face her. "Holy shit Anastasia. You look like a goddess!" Emily said staring at her in awe. She walked closer to inspect her further. "That dress was made for you. You literally look like the princesses I used to dream about as a kid."

"Thanks, Em. Couldn't have done it without you." Ana smiled at her in gratitude.

"Grey's not gonna know what hit him." Emily grinned at her. Ana lightly rolled her eyes with a small smile. She was pretty sure he had seen plenty of more beautiful women than her in his life and he wasn't even going to bat an eyelid at her.

Kate entered her room putting an earring in. "You ready?" Kate was wearing a red, backless figure-hugging dress and with her dramatic makeup, she looked like a complete bombshell. "Look at you, Steele! We did well Emily."

"Wow Kate. And yes, ready as I'll ever be." Ana answered.

"I'm so excited! It's gonna be a great night. I know it." She grinned.

"God, you two are going to break some hearts tonight." Emily said. The buzzer rang just then, and Emily dashed off shouting "It's time" behind her.

Ana checked herself over in the mirror again taking a few more calming breaths. Kate saw her worrying and grabbed her shoulders, turning her around to face her. "Listen to me Steele. This night is yours and you are going to own it. You might look like an innocent princess, but you are a badass bitch who takes no shit from anyone. You're going to show them what you're made of. I have faith in you." She shook Ana's shoulders, emphasising her words.

Ana nodded vigorously. "You're right. Let's do this." She squared her shoulders. They heard Emily shout for Ana and her heart started thumping in her chest. Ana grabbed her clutch and walked down the hall to the living area while Kate went to grab her purse.

Christian was saying something to Emily when he saw Anastasia appear from behind her and he instantly shut up. His eyes had widened, and he couldn't look away as she walked towards them. He had no words. The English dictionary failed him. She was absolutely stunning. His breath whooshed out of him. Holy fuck.

Emily saw him freeze when he saw something over her shoulder and looked to see Ana walking towards them. She tried to hide her smirk. She knew it.

"Hi Mr Grey." She greeted him with a smile as she reached them.

He said nothing. A subtle cough from Emily broke him out of the trance he was in. This was his assistant. Don't be inappropriate. "Miss Steele, you look positively enchanting tonight." He smiled at her, voice dripping with charm. "And please, it's Christian."

Ana thought her boss was already handsome but in a tux? Now that is a sight to behold. He looked like he belonged on some runway or magazine cover. She realised she was staring at him, so she quickly averted her eyes. There were going to be some jealous women tonight. She blushed at his compliment, but her makeup concealed most of it. "Thank you Mr - Christian. You don't look so bad yourself." She teased him.

Christian's eyes hadn't left Ana since he laid eyes on her. How was he going to get through this night?

Elliot saw Christian standing at the girls' door as he came up the stairs. He was just stood there, staring. "Hey bro, are you okay?" He said as he got closer to him. Elliot patted his shoulder before turning to see what had made his little brother look like that. His eyes widened and his brows hit his hairline when he saw Ana. "Ana! You… are a vision." He exclaimed. He then grinned at her cheekily. "You scrub up pretty well eh?"

"Thanks Elliot. You look pretty handsome tonight. Who knew you had it in you?" She joked as he stepped forward to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Kate appeared then and Elliot gasped dramatically, walking towards her. "My my my. Miss Kavanaugh, you are a vision in red." They kissed each other in greeting. "You look absolutely gorgeous baby." He said with a smile that was only reserved for her. Kate giggled in return. Kate wasn't a giggler but with Elliot? She couldn't contain them. He made her feel giddy. They walked back towards the others. "Christian, meet Kate, the light of my life. Kate, this is my little brother Christian. And yes, I know you know each other, but this is a fresh start okay?"

Christian offered his hand. "Miss Kavanaugh, it's very nice to meet you. You look beautiful." He said, indulging Elliot. "No hard feelings about the past, by the way. I'm over it." He smirked. Kate was beautiful in an obvious way but in his eyes, she didn't hold a candle to Anastasia's simple beauty.

Kate shook his hand. She meekly mouthed a little sorry at him before speaking up. "Nice to meet you Christian. Thank you." She gave him a polite smile.

"So, shall we get going? Mom's going to be pissed if we're late." Elliot remarked. Christian nodded. "We will see you there." Elliot grabbed Kate's hand and led her out the door. They shouted a quick goodbye to Emily as they left for Elliot's car.

Christian offered his arm to Ana. "Shall we Miss Steele?" He asked, grey eyes twinkling.

Ana put her arm through his. "We shall." She smiled. She'd never been this close to him; it was making her feel some type of way. Better get used to it she thought. They were likely to be this close all night. She could smell his aftershave and it was a bewitching scent. Christian looked down at her with soft eyes. What was happening?

They stepped out the door. "Bye Emily and thank you so much for helping me." Ana said. Emily had been stood there off to the side the whole time, not wanting to be in the way of all the glamour.

"No problem Ana. I'll lock up for you. Have a great night. Bye Mr Grey. Oh, and call me!" Emily grinned. They both gave her a wave as they walked down the hall.

Christian could smell Ana's perfume being this close to her and he found that he really liked it. He thought most women's perfume was too strong and overpowering which usually left him with a headache, but just like everything else about Anastasia, her scent was soft and delicate. Her arm was warm in his and it oddly comforted him.

As he helped her down the stairs, he saw the slit in her dress and his eyes widened. She was sin in that dress. He wondered how he was going to get through the night. But he was definitely going to make sure he enjoyed it; spending it with her.

He had the sudden realisation that he was attracted to Anastasia. He swallowed hard and nearly toppled over at his little epiphany. He was in deep trouble.

Upstairs, Emily was jumping around and squealing at what she had just seen. This was some movie type shit. Grey was 100% attracted to Ana and Ana definitely thought he was attractive. The way Grey had looked at her, it made Emily wonder if there were other feelings lingering there apart from attraction. Ana had basically rendered him speechless and he couldn't even look away. She could only hope that a man will look at her like that one day. Ana most likely had no clue.

Together, the two of them looked like a couple from a Disney film. Emily could only hope that something would happen between them at the gala and it would be the start of something new.


A/N

the dress I had in mind for Ana while writing this is the a&n luxe lucia satin dress.