Oh my. Christian Grey approaches the lectern and surveys the crowd. His confidence is apparent just as Kate's was before him. He is tall with unruly copper-colored hair and dressed impeccably in a fine gray suit, white shirt and gray tie. Damn, he is attractive and he doesn't look much older than I am. There are giggles coming from two girls sitting next to the young brunette; clearly she is not the only one that noticed the beauty of Christian Grey. Anastasia leans forward unknowingly, her body craving to be close to the mysterious man on stage, his voice drawing her along with the rest of the audience in.

"I'm profoundly grateful and touched by the great compliment accorded to me by the authorities of WSU today. It offers me a rare opportunity to talk about the impressive work of the environmental science department here on the university. Our aim is to develop viable and ecologically sustainable methods of farming for third world countries; our ultimate goal is to help eradicate hunger and poverty across the globe. Over a billion people, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, live in abject poverty. Agricultural dysfunction is rife within these parts of the world, and the result is ecological and social destruction. I have known what it's like to be profoundly hungry. This is a very personal journey for me…"

Anastasia tore her attention away from the mesmerizing speech. She did not feel comfortable hearing such despairing words coming from what she had assumed was a powerful man. How was he able to command attention from his audience but at the same time show so much weakness? Elena would not approve of such a man, she would tell Anastasia that the man standing before her was nothing but a victim and he would continue to stay a victim because of his own circumstances. The older woman would point out that he is weak and weakness is something that one cannot tolerate in their life. Elena had made sure early on that Anastasia realized that her past had not made her a victim, her past was something that served a purpose and that purpose was to teach her that she could overcome any circumstance. Thanks to her Aunt, the young girl realized that even though Stephen Morton had caused her pain, he had also given her strength. In fact it was Elena that pointed out to the young girl that she should be somewhat grateful to the bastard that had hurt her because thanks to him, Anastasia now knew that she could withstand anything. She was taught that she was indestructible, nothing could touch her.

The sound of roaring applause brings Anastasia's eyes back to the stage. Christian Grey is smiling as he turns to take his seat. Another one of the chancellor's rise, and so begins the long, tedious process of collecting degrees. There are more than four hundred to be given out and it takes just over an hour before Anastasia's name is called. The brunette carefully makes her way up to the stage but just as she steps up on the last step her heel catches and she begins to stumble. Thankfully a set of skilled hands grab her, pulling her back before she is able to reach the ground.

"Are you okay?" Shit-shit, fuckity shit! That voice, she knew that voice. Anastasia is released by her rescuer as soon as she is standing on her own two feet. She can hear the sound of laughter coming from somewhere behind her. Just kill me now! Could my life be any more embarrassing? I tried to tell Elena that I couldn't wear these damn heels without falling, but NO-a young lady is to always wear damn-fucking heels! "Miss?"

"Um, yes sir. Thank you for catching me." Anastasia did not dare look up, knowing exactly who it was that was speaking to her.

"You are most welcome. Now, shall we move on?" When the young woman did not answer, the man cleared his throat. "Miss Steele, I presume."

Anastasia swallowed. "Yes, sir. I am Anastasia Steele." She slowly turned her head up to look into the gray eyes of Christian Grey. Holy cow, he is gorgeous! Get a grip, Anastasia, but damn if he is not pretty to look at. And those gray eyes, they are so, so intense.

Christian gazes down at her. There is something he is hiding behind that beautiful face but Anastasia has no idea what it could be. He reaches for her hand but she hesitates. There is something about this man, something that makes her uneasy. It's as if she knows that the minute she touches him, her whole world will go up in flames. You have literally lost your mind! The absurdity of her thoughts causes Anastasia to giggle as she places her small hand into his. "Congratulations, Miss. Steele." Christian squeezes her hand gently and Anastasia feels a surge of warmth travel up her arm. Well, that was something.

"Thank you, Mr. Grey." Anastasia quickly turns away from the strikingly handsome man before anymore words can be passed between them. She somehow manages to make it back to her seat in one peace. She takes her seat and quietly waits for the rest of the student body to receive their degrees, refusing to allow her mind to think about the intriguing man on the stage. The ceremony takes another hour to conclude. Finally, the chancellor leads the faculty, Kate and Christian Grey off the stage to yet more rousing applause. As Anastasia stands and waits for her row to disperse, she hears Kate calling out to her. She turns to see the beautiful blonde walking from behind the stage toward her.

"Ana, you didn't tell me that you know Christian Grey?"

Anastasia's face fell. "I don't know him."

Kate looks at her carefully. Does she really think that I am lying to her? "Well, he sent me out here to find you."

"Why?"

"I suppose he wants to speak to you."

Anastasia sighs. Turning away from her friend, she glances around the room once more for Elena. You've been ditched.

"Ana?"

Anastasia turns back around, finally facing the fact that Elena had not attended her graduation. "Kate, your speech was fantastic."

"It really was, wasn't it?" Kate beams. "Now, no more stalling, are you coming? He's very insistent, you know." Her friend rolls her eyes, making Anastasia grin.

"Nope, like I said I don't know him besides, I'm about to be heading out."

The blonde frowned. "Heading out, but why? There's refreshments in the back and I would very much like you to meet my family. Speaking of family, where's Aunt El? I've literally been dying to meet her."

Anastasia could hear the sarcasm in her friend's voice when she mentioned her Aunt. Kate had never been one to beat around the bush about anything and it was not different when it came to her dislike of Anastasia's Aunt. The blonde never shied away from telling the other girl exactly what she thought. Kate truly believed that Aunt El was hiding something big and that was why she never allowed Anastasia to introduce her to any of her friends. Anastasia knew better of course, she knew her Aunt was just protective and that if she was indeed hiding something it was because Elena had good reasons. "Kate, please don't start, not today."

"I don't know what on earth you are talking about?"

Yeah, okay. You can play dumb all you want but we both know what you were referring to. "Fine, have it your way, but I really do need to go. I can meet your family another time." Anastasia paused, clearly seeing that she had hurt her friend's feelings. "Hey, we're both moving to Seattle in a couple of weeks. Soon, we can spend as much time as we want together." Kate was moving to an apartment with her brother, Ethan in the Pike Market District, not very far from where Anastasia was moving to her apartment at Escala. She could still remember how surprised the other girl had been when she found out that Anastasia was moving into an apartment is Escala. According to Kate, you apparently had to be a real somebody to secure an apartment in that particular building.

Kate's face brightened at her friends words. "Okay, but you have to promise that Aunt El won't keep you from me once we're in Seattle. That means, sleepovers, dinner dates, shopping, clubbing and whatever else I want to kidnap you for. Deal?"

"Deal, and Kate, I promise Aunt El didn't mean to keep me from you, she just wanted me to focus on my studies." Elena never meant to keep her from her friendship with Kate at least not intentionally. Right?

The blonde looked far from convinced. "If you say so, now come her you." Kate pulled the other girl in for a hug before releasing her and stepping away. "Promise to call me the moment you're settled in Seattle."

"You know I will." Anastasia grinned.

Kate slowly started making her way back toward the stage. "Wish me luck with Grey. I doubt he will take me showing up without you well."

"Good luck, but I'm sure he will be just fine." The young brunette giggled, waving bye to her friend. Anastasia was beginning to get excited about all the possibilities that moving to Seattle held. She would hopefully find an amazing job at a Publishing House and maybe the move would bring her and Kate closer together. Now that she has graduated from college, Elena would have no reason to tell her that it is not wise to hang around Kate. Right?! Kate is Kathryn Kavanagh, an heir to Kavanagh media. Her father owns a multi-million dollar company, what reason could Elena possibly come up with now for not wanting the two of them hanging out? If anything the older woman should support the girl's friendship after all, Kate's family was exactly the type of people that Elena was always telling her that she needed to be around.

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Anastasia had been standing outside for over fifteen minutes. She was in the exact spot where Isaac had parked them earlier; even the black Audi SUV was still parked in its place. FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! Anastasia wanted to scream and stomp her feet at the ridiculousness off her situation but she wouldn't dare behave in such a manner. This is your fault, you should have known that Elena would get an emergency call and have to leave. Not having a ride wasn't even the worst part, here she was stranded at the college with no money and no way to call for anyone to come and pick up. Anastasia left her cellphone and purse behind at her apartment because her dear Aunt told her that there was no use for those things at a graduation. The young girl had agreed with the other woman at the time but now she was kicking herself for being so foolish. Ugh, as if this day couldn't get any worse. Anastasia walked over to the sleek black SUV, leaning her back against it. Tilting her head up, she closed her eyes begging for a miracle to happen.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

There it is again, that damn voice. Anastasia's eyes fly open to find Christian Grey along with another man standing directly in front of her. "What, you're following me now?" How rude, Anastasia. Elena would be appalled with your behavior. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. The young girl was never rude but right now, she was hot and tired and she wanted nothing more than to get out of these damn heels!

The two men glanced at one another smiling. Christian Grey actually seemed rather amused by her outburst. "I can assure you, that I am not following you, Miss. Steele."

Whatever, asshole. "Then may I ask; what you're doing here?"

Christian shook his head. He was still grinning from ear to ear. "This car that you are so casually leaning against happens to be my car, Miss. Steele."

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Here is another chapter. I hope you are all enjoying this story.

Please try and review after reading and if you have any questions, please feel free to message me.

Happy reading

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