Chapter 13

Ana had literally forgotten that Christian was her boss. She was content and the world was a good place right now. No words were spoken between them, but Christian would occasionally hum along to the music, the sound vibrating through her and giving her a warm feeling.

Ana thought about how she ended up here. She had graduated in May and started at GEH in June. On a whim, Ana had applied to GEH not thinking that she'd actually get the job. That chance meeting with Andrea set her down a whole new path that she never ever could have imagined. Ana thought Christian Grey was going to be a cocky, no shit-taking, dominant figure who didn't give the time or day to anyone 'below him' so to speak. Kate's experience with him also didn't help much and just added to her negative judgments. Ana couldn't have been more wrong about him.

While Christian was very successful and dominant, he also had a heart of gold. He wasn't selfish or cocky at all. He wanted to see his employees succeed and do better and sometimes that way was through teaching them via harsh methods. He loved his family more than anything and certain foods could turn him into a mischievous little boy, and it was very cute. He had helped her with her work on numerous occasions even though that was her job and he mentioned multiple times how proud of her he was. He wasn't superficial or boasted about his wealth at every given opportunity and he valued people who were honest. Ana felt comfortable enough to joke around with him and he was her friend just as much as Elliot and Mia.

He genuinely wanted to help Ana achieve her dreams and he was going to lengths to do it even though he would lose his assistant. His vulnerability when he'd told her about his past pulled on her heartstrings. There was so much more to him and Ana found herself wanting to know everything about him. He was fascinating to her. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was a fine specimen and in the beginning, Ana was hellbent on not letting that affect her work and her turning into a mumbling, fumbling idiot in front of him. But as time went on, his looks and physical characteristics became redundant to her and she saw the man behind it all.

Dare she say she was attracted to him. There were guys in her past that Ana had been attracted to, of course, but this attraction was different. It wasn't attraction at first sight or whatever, no. It was a slow building one, that kind of crept up on her. She didn't realise it at first because she'd always read in her romance novels that when you are attracted to someone your heart races, your palms get clammy and your head gets muddled. This was almost the opposite. Her heart missed a beat every so often that left her breathless when she saw him, or he did something. Often, it would be when he did something completely mundane which baffled her. But she never really experienced the other things.

When she was around Christian, she felt at peace and she felt calm. Ana felt like she could be who she really was, and she didn't need to overthink about her actions or the next thing she was going to say like she so often did.

With him, everything came naturally, and she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. When Ana first started working for him, she probably did try to appear more confident than she was but slowly she just started being herself and she found there were no bad consequences. Ana had grown up thinking she wasn't interesting enough for people to like her and that she was plain and boring. She liked simple things and she'd been told that wasn't the way to make friends and go about in this world. So sometimes, she pretended to like things she didn't like and talk about things she didn't care about just to appear interesting. With Christian however, she did none of that. She didn't put up any fronts.

Christian glanced up and caught Elliot's eye, who gave him a wink and flashed him a cheesy grin. Christian just smiled wryly at him. He saw Mia dancing with a guy he didn't know, and it was pretty obvious she was tipsy. The band started playing Faithfully by Journey which was a bit more upbeat than the last few songs. Christian smiled to himself when he recognised the song and Ana pulled back a little to peer at him curiously.

"What are you smiling at?" She said, lips twitching.

"This is my parents' song. They danced to this at their wedding and at every anniversary since. This is the song Elliot and I first danced to when we were younger. They actually taught us. There's a lot of happy memories with this one." He explained softly.

"That's beautiful. Your parents are so great. You can really feel their love. It's sweet." Ana said, equally as soft.

"Yeah, I'm so thankful for them, but you do not want to see their love, if you catch my drift. Which happened all too often when I was a kid." He cringed.

Ana laughed. "Come on. They're humans."

Christian cringed again and shook his head. "What about your parents, Anastasia? You've only ever mentioned your dad." He asked curiously. He wanted to know more about her. He remembered everything they'd spoken about when they had been sat on the floor at GEH after hours.

Ana was quiet for a moment. "My dad as you know lives in Montesano. My mom actually died when I was 12. She had cancer and it was pretty sudden and quick. They… really loved each other. I've always hoped that one day I would find a love like my parents'. My mom was so full of life and so… eccentric. I don't think my dad has ever really gotten over it. He still hasn't dated anyone since even though I told him he should. That scares me; that one day you could just lose the love of your life just like that. And you can't do anything to stop it." Ana said solemnly.

"I'm sorry for your loss Anastasia. She sounded like an amazing woman." Christian said, his eyes looking down at her.

She gave him a sad smile. "Don't be. It was a long time ago."

They were both quiet for a minute. Both of them had events in their childhoods that probably had a significant impact on their lives, and they felt a connection to one another that neither verbalised. Even though they hadn't experienced the same things, it was comforting to know that this other person had an inkling as to what you went through and they just understood.

"Why do you call me Anastasia?" Ana asked a little out of the blue.

"Is this a trick question? It's your name?" He asked confusedly.

Ana rolled her eyes at him lightly, laughing. "I mean why don't you call me Ana like everyone else. Surely you've heard other people call me it?"

Christian chuckled. "Oh. Well… I started calling you Anastasia because it was middle ground at work. I just thought it was more formal and calling you Ana was a bit too familiar. I like to keep things professional at GEH. It shows other people that me and GEH are serious and we mean business. I don't think people would take me seriously if I didn't run a tight ship. Especially because I'm so young." He confessed.

"I get that. How about we compromise? Call me Anastasia at work, by all means, but outside of it, like now, can you call me Ana? You're the only person that calls me by my full name. And I only get called that whenever I'm in trouble." Christian's eyes crinkled in amusement. It was sort of nice that he called her by her full name and he was the only person to do so but in a normal sentence, Ana thought her name was too much of a mouthful to sound natural.

"Does that make me special? I like being the only person that calls you Anastasia. I want to be special." He teased her. Ana just gave him a look. Christian chuckled. "I can do that. Ana." He tested it out. Her heart skipped a bit at the sound. "Pronunciation is a little difficult. It'll take me a while to get used to it." He said dryly, a smirk gracing his lips. Ana's hand left his shoulder to give him a light punch in the arm, as she laughed. Christian smiled at her in amusement.


Ana left the ballroom to give the restroom a quick visit. She glanced at herself in the mirror and paused. Her eyes were nearly glazed over and they were shining. Happiness was practically leaking from her every pore. She had to admit, this was the most exciting night she had had in a very long time. It was sad that the night was coming to an end all too soon, she thought. She had enjoyed every moment of the night as much as she could.

Ana went into a stall to conduct her business when she heard the door open and there was an influx of ruffling and female voices.

"Doesn't he look yummy tonight? My god, what I would do to get my hands on that." One nasal voice gushed about someone.

"You should totally shoot your shot!" Another chimed in.

"No, you shouldn't. He brought a date tonight." A third voice reasoned.

"So? Who even is she? I heard him introducing her as his assistant." The first voice said snidely. Ana had a feeling this was about her and Christian.

"It doesn't matter who she is. That's not right. If they're not together, then why don't you try next time you see him? I doubt she'll be there and so you won't be stepping on toes or whatever. He'll be yours to catch." The third voice said.

"She's really chummy with his family. I've watched them all night. Why did he bring his assistant of all people? If she's just his assistant, then she why would she mind me? They're not her toes for me to step on. I'm sure she wouldn't care. Have you seen him? I mean who can resist that? I can't wait for another night…" They're voices trailed off as they left the restroom.

Ana left the stall, thinking about what she had just heard. No one had actually made their moves on to Christian tonight. She hadn't seen him talking to any young, pretty women. He'd been talking to middle aged men and women mostly. Of course, he would have admirers. Those women didn't say anything bad about her but what she was miffed about was how one sounded so entitled. It just cemented the fact that Ana could never and would never want to fit into this side of society.

As Ana left the restroom, she saw that Carrick had taken the stage and was in the middle of saying something. She made her way through the crowd and spotted Elliot, Kate and a tipsy Mia. She stood next to Mia, who gave her a lazy grin and threw an arm around Ana's shoulder, leaning on her.

".. thank you all for coming tonight. We are so grateful to you all for opening your hearts as well as your wallets. So far we have managed to raise nearly two million dollars." The crowd clapped and cheered with a few drunken hoots in there. Ana's eyes widened in shock. "We couldn't have done this without all of you and we are so thankful for your generosity. The night isn't over just yet so let's keep at it."

The music resumed and the group of four walked over to the open bar to grab a drink after all that dancing. It was strictly water for Mia though. As they were talking with their drinks in hand, Ana felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see a tall, blonde man standing there who flashed her a pearly white grin when she met his eyes. She looked at him with a confused smile.

"Hi. I was wondering if you would like to dance with me?" He asked her. Ana was taken aback a little.

Why did he want to dance with her? Who was he? She had nothing to lose and he had asked her nicely so it would be rude not to? She questioned herself. "Uh… sure. Yes." She turned and handed her drink to Kate. The man led her away by the hand and she looked back to the others who were just staring at them. Elliot looked like he'd swallowed a fly.

A slowed down version of Jessie's girl was playing. Ana timidly put her hands on him, and he did the same, flashing her a smile that eased her anxiety a little.

No words were spoken for a few seconds while they got accustomed to each other. "I'm Mike Benson by the way. I'm a doctor at Seattle Pres. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I did kind of bombard you there." He smiled at her shyly. His smile was cute.

"It's okay. Nice to meet you Mike. I'm Anastasia Steele, but I go by Ana. I work as Christian's assistant at GEH."

"Grey? I saw you with him actually. I've been wanting to ask you to dance for a while, and I wasn't sure if you were together or not. But I was told that you weren't, so I decided to go for it. And it paid off." He grinned. He hasn't stopped smiling since she set her eyes on him. "You look stunning tonight, Ana."

Ana blushed and looked away from his face. "Thank you." She still wasn't good at taking compliments and she didn't think she would ever be. "You look handsome."

He flashed her another smile. "So how has your night been? Good?" He inquired.

"Yes, it's been so great. It's my first time at one of these so I was nervous, but it's exceeded all my expectations."

"Ah. First timer huh? It can be pretty daunting at first but they're a blast. I did my residency under Dr Grey before I moved to Seattle pres. and she's invited me every year since." He praised.

"Wow. I only met Grace today. I bet working with her was incredible."

"She's an exceptional woman."

Ana didn't know what else to say so she didn't say anything, and they danced in what she thought was awkward silence for a few moments.

"So, what's it like working for Christian Grey? Do you like it?" He asked politely.

"He's an admirable man and he's such an inspiration. I couldn't have asked for a better boss." She smiled at the thought.

"Really?" He mused. "Every time I've met him, he's always so cold and formal. Dr Grey raves about her son but I've never seen the proof of it."

"He doesn't like to get close to people. He is a very private man and his circle is small. People don't need to know anything about him." Ana defended Christian.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to insult him or anything. I was just stating my observations of him." He said in an apologetic tone, but she got the feeling that it was insincere. Ana just hummed in response, not meeting his eyes. Was this song ever going to end? "So, Ana, do you have a boyfriend or a significant other?" He asked casually.

Ana's eyes roamed over Mike's shoulder until she met a pair of familiar grey ones. He had an odd look on his face, and he had been watching them. She looked at him with begging eyes, silently asking him to save her. She probably looked very stupid to anyone watching with her eyes glancing at Mike pointedly and her mouthing words to Christian. Christian's frown turned into a smirk and he gave her a small nod before he disappeared between the people. Ana wondered just what he was doing and why he'd walked in the other direction instead of helping her.

She sighed before answering Mike. "No… I don't. And I'm not looking for anything right now. I've just finished college; I want to focus on building my career."

"Oh. That's okay. Do you want to go see a movie one time? As friends of course." He asked hesitantly.

Shit. Ana thought. She felt absolutely nothing for him. No heart thumping, breath stuttering feelings. He was a nice enough guy, so she let him down slowly. She made an excuse up as she spoke. "Mike… that's nice of you to ask but I- "She was cut off as someone tapped Mike's shoulder.

As Mike turned, Ana caught Christian's intense, yet mischievous eyes and she let out a quiet breath of relief. "Benson." Christian greeted Mike who had a startled expression on his face. "Anastasia promised me a last dance and we need to be leaving soon so I'm cashing in on that right now." He said matter of fact.

Ana dropped Mike's hand and stepped back from him. She flashed him an apologetic smile. "Thank you for the dance Mike." Christian grabbed her hand and started leading her away.

"…sure… no problem…. See you around…Ana." Mike stuttered staring after them, wondering what had just happened.

Christian led her to the corner of the dance floor, and they started swaying at a random pace, disregarding the music. "Thanks Christian." She said.

Christian smirked. "I could spot your anguish from a mile away. Anything for a damsel in distress." He said with a cheeky grin.

"I thought you were going to leave me there when I saw you walking away."

"I had to go and put my drink down before I rescued you. I wasn't going to blow you off." He shook his head.

"My knight in shining armour. Or maybe more my knight in a black tux." Ana said. Christian just flashed her another cheeky grin.


Christian was having a glass of scotch with some business acquaintances, talking about their newest acquisitions and international deals, after his father had made his announcement. Christian was explaining to all of them about his recent hostile takeover and why he had deemed that necessary when his eyes caught a flash of emerald green on the dance floor.

Anastasia was dancing with someone and she was smiling at him. He frowned. His mood had plummeted all of a sudden. He kept speaking to the men but for all he knew he was speaking gibberish. His whole attention was on Anastasia. The men turned to look at what had distracted Christian but there were a lot of people dancing and they couldn't know that he was staring at her.

"Excuse me gentlemen." He abruptly excused himself and he unthinkingly went to stand somewhere where he had a better view of the dancing couple.

Christian recognised the guy as one of his mom's colleagues that he had been introduced to a few years ago. He rattled his brain for the name. Christian was usually very good with putting names to faces. He watched as he said something that caused Ana to blush and look away. Christian stared at them with calculating eyes. His heart was literally in his stomach, watching them. Christian's a smart guy, so he knew without a doubt he was feeling jealous of her dancing with another man when she came with him. But it was pretty irrational of him. He had no claim over her; they weren't together, so she had the right to dance with whomever she wanted. She was only his employee; so, what did it matter that she danced with someone else? Was she enjoying dancing with him? The thought unsettled him even more. Just because he couldn't be with her, doesn't mean he wanted her to stay single forever. He wanted her to be happy and find someone. Still, Christian couldn't deny the emotions that were coursing through his mind right now.

Michael Benson! A light bulb went off in his brain. That's what his name was. They were conversing quietly when all of a sudden Ana frowned the slightest bit and her eyes narrowed. It wouldn't have been obvious to anyone but of course Christian had been focused on her face and he was able to detect the slightest difference in her expression. He wondered just what they were talking about to make her look ticked off. He felt a little delight at the thought that maybe she wasn't liking dancing with him. He watched her eyes look over Benson's shoulder and they met his. Christian assumed she was trying to gesture for his help inconspicuously, but it was anything but. He couldn't help but smirk, both at her and the fact that she didn't want to dance with him, and he gave her a nod to acknowledge her cry of help.

Christian quickly set off towards their table to go and deposit his drink. He was a man on a mission. He heard a whistle and looked to where it came from. Elliot was pumping his fist in the air, mouthing 'go get her' over and over. Kate was next to him and she flashed him a thumbs up and waved her hand as if to tell him to hurry up. He wondered if Elliot had told Kate about his feelings for Ana. Him and his big mouth. If Elliot had told her, Christian knew he would have made sure that Kate wouldn't tell Anastasia. He was all too aware of his brothers privacy needs. Christian chuckled at his own personal cheerleaders and walked to the dance floor determinedly.

Christian managed to hear the tail end of what Anastasia was saying before he tapped Benson's shoulder. Ana caught his eyes and he had to work hard to keep the smirk off his face and Ana looked relieved to see him. Did she doubt him? Christian couldn't tell you what bullshit excuse he gave Benson, but it wasn't long before he was leading Ana away from him. He wanted to pump his fist in the air. He got the girl! Well, he didn't, but it felt like he had.

They swayed and joked around at their own pace for a while. Christian glanced behind Ana at one point and he saw his entire family standing there watching them. He flashed them a disgruntled look over Ana's head, wondering what they were doing. His parents both quickly turned away when they say him looking and Christian could have sworn he saw his mom wipe a tear off her face. Mia had a dopey grin on her face, leaning on a chair. Elliot and Kate were arm in arm, smiling as they watched them and once Elliot made eye contact with Christian, he threw his free arm in the air as if cheering him on. Christian really did worry for them sometimes. They were acting as if him dancing with someone was an alien concept.

All of a sudden Ana turned her head to look at what had grabbed his attention and she saw Elliot throwing his arms about. "Wha.." She began. Elliot quickly put his hand down and just smiled at her innocently and gave her little robotic looking waves. "Is he ok? Has he drank too much?" Ana whispered to Christian. She looked at Kate with furrowed brows who just shrugged and dragged Elliot away.

"Elliot? No. He's never been okay." Christian snorted. They resumed dancing. "He hasn't drank much tonight since he's driving Kate home. That was just Elliot in his natural form. You should be used to his quirks by now Miss Steele." He said playfully.

"Used to? I don't think I'll ever get used to his 'quirks'. He comes out with new ones every day. He's a rare species."

Christian laughed. "That's one way to put it."


They danced and mingled a little more before they both decided to call it a night. They bid their goodbyes to everyone and Ana got a hug off every Grey family member, Grace's hug being the tightest. Grace invited Ana to their Sunday dinners along with Kate and told her that she was always welcome anytime. Those people were some of the warmest people she had ever met, and she was so glad she met each and every single one of them. Christian pretended to grumble and swatted his mom's hand away when she tried to ruffle his hair in an endearing gesture. Ana laughed at his expression. He was such a momma's boy.

Before they left, Ana decided to take a quick detour and do her part for the cause. No child deserved to go through so much pain. Christian's childhood had been in the back of her mind all night, it felt like her heart physically ached for him. So, with Christian in mind, she went to the donation table and wrote a check for 300 dollars. She knew it wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but she hoped maybe it would change a child's life for the better. She wasn't a millionaire like so many of these people were; she earned a modest salary so she donated what she was able to.

Ana headed back to the entrance where she had left Christian while she ran her little errand. As she was walking up, she couldn't spot him, but he soon appeared walking towards her from the opposite direction. Seemed like he went to run a little errand himself. Taylor appeared as they walked out and Ana wondered where he'd been all night.

In the car, they sat in comfortable silence. Ana had a few glasses of wine with dinner and a couple of other drinks here and there, but she wasn't feeling drunk at all which she was glad about. She had definitely loosened up throughout the night and she felt a lot more comfortable as she started to forget about her anxieties and enjoyed herself.

"What was your favourite part about tonight Ana?" Christian asked her. It bought a slight smile to her face every time he called her Ana. It just felt so normal. He untied his bowtie and it was now hanging around his neck.

Ana thought for a moment. "It was all so great. I never knew I'd like dancing so much. I've never danced that much in my life. I guess I have you to thank for that. The food was delectable. The stories that we were told about, including yours, opened my eyes to so many things and I'm so glad for that. I've met some incredible people tonight." She leaned her head back against the headrest while she looked at him. "I can honestly say it was one of the best nights I've had." She smiled at him softly, hoping to show all her thankfulness in it. Christian couldn't help smiling back at her. She looked so relaxed and happy and that made him feel content which was weird because his mood or emotions were never influenced by that of others. "The terrace was also one of my favourite parts. I could have sat there for hours. Oh, and not to mention this. I still don't know who would gift me this." She gestured to the package that contained her auction prize sat on the seat between the two of them.

Christian smiled secretly to himself. "That sounds like a pretty successful night to me."

"Yeah it definitely was." Ana replied.

"So you would go to more events like this?" He asked.

"Of course, If you'll have me."

"I don't know who wouldn't want you there Ana. You're a breath of fresh air at events like those." He said nonchalantly. Ana blushed and looked out the window, mumbling a thanks.

They were silent again for a few more minutes before Christian broke it.

"Hey, thank you for your donation by the way." Christian said quietly. Ana gave him a wide-eyed look. She didn't think anyone had seen her. "After you told me to wait, I sort of watched where you went." Ana nodded. "Your generosity hasn't gone unnoticed. You didn't have to, there were lots of millionaires and whatnot there but from the bottom of my heart, thank you." He said, one hand on his chest.

"I know, but I would have felt guilty if I hadn't. I know I live a privileged life when compared to some people and I'm in a position where I'm able to donate so why wouldn't I? Those children deserve better and I wanted to help them. It probably wasn't much compared to what everyone else was donating though."

Christian shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Donating even a dollar will help a child. That could be one meal. Your money will change a child's life for the better. Trust me on that. It means a lot to me and my family that you did that." What he didn't tell her was that he had went to the table after she'd left and managed to find out how much she had donated, and he had matched it and donated it in her name. So, all together she had donated 600 dollars. Of course, Christian himself had already donated two million dollars, not to mention the 5000 dollars he'd donated for Anastasia's book. His family usually donated before the fundraiser, so they didn't include their donations when announcing the total raised for the night.

"It's no problem at all. Any decent human being would have done it." Ana said brushing it off.

"Maybe." He said unconvincingly. She was unaware of how selfless she was.

They arrived at Ana's apartment and she thanked Taylor before Christian walked her up. The tired was settling in now and she had taken her heels off in the car which she now carried while Christian carried her book. Kate was either going to get home really late with Elliot or she would stay over at his apartment. Either way, Ana wasn't planning on seeing Kate for the rest of the night. She unlocked the door and stepped in, depositing her heels by the door and turning on a hallway lamp for some light.

She turned to look at Christian, who was looking nervous standing outside the door. Ana wanted to smile. The great Christian Grey was nervous.

"Would you like to come in? Have a drink?" Ana offered politely. She didn't know if that was crossing a boundary or not but in the end her kindness won in place of her professionalism. Both of them were feeling oddly shy now.

Christian fiddled with the box in his hands. "Thank you for the offer, but I better not. It's late, you must be really tired and Taylor's waiting for me."

"Oh yeah, of course." Ana stepped forward and Christian handed her the box. She looked up at him shyly. "Thank you so much Christian. I know I keep thanking you and you're probably sick of it but I don't think you understand how much you've done for me. I could never repay you everything." She said sincerely.

"I don't expect you to repay me in any way Ana." He shook his head firmly. "You've made the night enjoyable for me too, so it goes both ways. It wouldn't have been the same without you. Anyway, I best get going." He took a step back and Ana leaned on the door watching him. "You really did look beautiful by the way. People couldn't take their eyes off you." Ana scoffed lightly. "Fine don't believe me but you can ask anyone, and they'd agree."

Ana shook her head at him in amusement. "I'll see you on Monday Christian."

"I'm still expecting those cream puffs just so you know. Scratch what I said before. The only form of repayment I can accept are your cream puffs."

"I haven't forgotten, don't you worry your pretty little head. You'll get your beloved cream puffs." Ana said exasperatedly with a smile on her face.

Christian chuckled. He liked their light-hearted banter. "Goodnight Ana. Sweet dreams." He turned and gave her a wave.

"Night Christian." She called after him softly, watching him walk down the hall with his hands in his pockets. She closed the door with a soft click. Christian glanced back before he descended the stairs, shaking his head with a smile.


...and scene.

p.s I didn't know how to write Carla's character so I went this this scenario. It adds a little more depth to Ana's character too so win win. Please remember this is a VERY SLOW BURNER. I like the journey and they won't be getting together anytime soon, sorry.

Hope you liked the ball!