A/N: Wow I'm blown away by the effort you all put into your reviews. This means so much to me, so thank you for being so amazing. Truly amazing!

Earlier that day

Things didn't make Christian nervous. He could make even the most accomplished businessmen shake in their thousand dollar shoes with just one look. He could spend an hour in the ring with Claude Bastille. He could make a woman orgasm in less than three minutes. He didn't get nervous.

He tried to convince himself that his sweating palms and increased heart rate weren't because he was nervous. These foreign bodily changes were some reaction to being out of control, being without a submissive for so long. He would go on his date with Anastasia tonight, and he would be one step closer to being in control again.

Impulse was never something that got him in trouble. When he dropped out of Harvard and started his own company, that wasn't impulse; it was a calculated risk that allowed him ultimate control over his life. However, it was impulse that seemed to rule his mind when he thought of Anastasia. Impulse that made his heart beat wildly whenever he thought of her. Impulse that made him send her flowers, and impulse that made him show up at her office yesterday. Because of his impulse, he was going on a date with her tonight, and he had never been so happy to be impulsive.

All of these impulsive, uncontrollable actions seemed to be triggered by her, the girl that was haunting him. The way that she yelled at him in New York, all fire, confidence, and attitude. He liked that she stood up to him; it fueled his burning desire to have her screaming his name with equal fervor and pleasure.

How did other men stay away from her when he, Christian Grey the king of control, couldn't control himself around her? The thought made him angry as he stormed passed Andrea and Olivia in the lobby of his floor. He needed the solitude and isolation of his office to relax himself as soon as possible. If he was going to get any work done today he would have to ignore the fact that men probably threw themselves at Anastasia on a daily basis. He remembered that blonde man touching her outside of her office and suddenly nothing seemed more important than making her his. That would definitely keep men at bay.

He remembered how frustrated she seemed yesterday. He had come off too strong, he had made her uncomfortable. Blurting out anything he thought without a filter, just to make her realize how much he had to offer. Usually his face and his money spoke for themselves and women flocked to him. But this time? When he actually wanted a woman to throw herself at him? He resorted to begging her. Christian Grey does not beg. Idiot. He couldn't stop thinking about the flush that emerged over her breasts, how she squirmed under his intense scrutiny. He liked the control he had over her, yet she was so uncontrollable. He knew he had gotten under her skin, and he wanted to be there to stay.

"Excuse me Mr. Grey, but there's a woman in conference room A saying she has an appointment with you? I didn't see anything on your calendar." Andrea peaked her head into Christian's office after knocking. She knew he was in one of his moods so she kept her voice as steady and quiet as possible.

"What's her name?" he barked.

"I don't know, she didn't give it. She's a brunette, tall, professionally dressed."

Christian ran his finger across his bottom lip. Was Anastasia here? Did she change her mind about going on their date separately? Why did she do that in the first place? Did she not feel safe with him? The thought that she didn't feel safe with him bothered Christian more than he'd like to admit. Her safety lately had become one of his top worries.

"I'll check it out. Thanks Andrea." Christian stood up and quickly buttoned his suit jacket. The closer he got to the conference room, the more he questioned why Ana was here. Was something wrong? Did she want to cancel their date? Is this her letting him down easy? Jesus fucking Christ, get ahold of yourself Grey. Stop acting like a fool.

Once he opened the door to the conference room, all his idiotic worries flew out the window and were swiftly replaced with annoyance. The woman sitting at the conference room table was not Anastasia. She kept her eyes trained down to the floor respectfully. Suddenly he knew what was happening. Anger flooded through his body as he shut the door before anyone could hear their conversation.

"Look at me." Christian's whole demeanor changed and was replaced by his dominating persona. The persona that he saved for his playroom on weekends and occasionally for the boardroom on weekdays.

"Elena Lincoln sent you," he stated blandly. It wasn't a question. He knew Elena was going to do something like this, but he didn't think she was so stupid.

The woman certainly was his type. Her body toned, her hair glossy, and her eyes bright. The perfect submissive. But her cheeks didn't flush the prettiest shade of pink when he looked at her. Her bright eyes weren't filled with passion. Her mouth wasn't the most seductive shade of red. She didn't instantly set his blood on fire. She wasn't Anastasia.

"Yes she did, sir. She was quite adamant that I meet you as soon as possible. She seems to be worried about you."

Christian shut his eyes in annoyance and clenched his fists. Elena Lincoln was overstepping her bounds once again. He had a list of strong words he wished to say to her, but those would have to wait. He couldn't believe she would be so reckless. Quickly, he sent a message off to Taylor to take care of this. He needed her to sign an NDA and leave. Immediately.

"My head of security will be here in a minute. He will give you a nondisclosure agreement for you to sign and you can be on your way. Please tell Elena Lincoln to mind her own business. I'm sorry you wasted your time here."

He stormed out of the conference room in a flurry and locked himself in his office. Elena was going to get a piece of his mind.

"Andrea, please take Elena Lincoln off the proscribed list of visitors. In the future, only people with an approved appointment may be allowed past the front desk."

Present time

"There was a minor personal emergency in the office. Someone from my past is giving me trouble, but nothing I can't handle either."

Christian had felt on edge from the incident in his office earlier this morning, but his world seemed to calm once Ana sat down. He felt more at peace than he had in a while.

"We probably look so tense to our waiter," Ana giggled as she rolled out her shoulders. Christian couldn't help but watch every one of her movements. "Let's just forget about whatever happened today and focus on something different."

Christian looked at Ana in disbelief, he had expected her to pry into his life and try to figure out what happened that had him so tense.

As if by coincidence, the waiter came out of the kitchen and brought out a plate of oysters.

"I thought you said you only ordered wine before I got here?" Ana asked in confusion.

"I forgot I ordered us an appetizer too, hope you don't mind. Usually I prefer oysters with champagne, but that seemed a little presumptuous for lunch."

"And ordering an assumed aphrodisiac isn't presumptuous, Mr. Grey?" Ana winked jokingly as she fearlessly reached for an oyster and a slice of lemon.

Christian couldn't take his eyes off Ana as she reached for the food. She pinched the lemon between her thumb and pointer finger and gracefully squeezed its juices over her oyster. He watched as she brought the shell up to her nose and inhaled softly, taking in the scent of the ocean and the tang of citrus. Their eyes met as she brought the oyster to her lips, tasting the juices before taking the meat of the oyster into her mouth. Christian sharply inhaled as he studied her reactions. He saw her jaw gently chewed on the oyster before swallowing. He had never been more turned on in his life.

"Delicious," she said, with a lick of her lips.

Christian coughed, trying to calm himself down before replying. "You've had oysters before?"

"Oh yeah, my dad loves seafood. He used to take me on all his fishing trips when I was younger since there was no one else to look after me. We would go out to dinner with his buddies and they would order the weirdest food for me to try." Ana paused, and laughed at the memory. "They would take bets to see what I would eat and what I wouldn't. Suffice to say I've tried a lot of things."

Christian listened to her recount her childhood as he lifted an oyster up to his mouth. Her eyes never left his face. The fact that she was preoccupied with his movements made him happy. Soon baby, you won't be able to think of anything else but me.

"Adventurous, are you?" Christian asked, nonchalantly. I hope you're ready to try a lot of new things with me Anastasia.

"I try to be. Nothing too crazy, but I try to get the most out of life. Rock climbing, scuba diving, camping, that sort of thing. Ray, my dad, loves those sorts of things so I guess I was brought up to love adventure." Ana cocked her head humbly. "What about you? You like doing anything crazy?"

"Oh I can think of a few things," he murmured salaciously as their lunch was served. Her face turned red as she gave him a disapproving look that made him smile in pleasure. "I love to fly. I have my own helicopter that I don't get to take out nearly as much as I would like. Maybe I could take you sometime."

"You're quite confident you'll get a second date Christian," Ana said conspiratorially after taking a thoughtful bite out of her sandwich.

"I'm quite confident in a lot of things, Ana."

As they ate, they slipped into blissfully easy conversation. Ana had been worried that the date would be a disaster but even after their food was cleared, they were nowhere near done talking. He seemed genuinely interested in every aspect of her life, and made her feel at complete ease.

The conversation began to lull long after their plates had been taken away by the waiter. Christian couldn't help but notice that the squirrelly waiter kept eyeing Ana every time he came to the table. She's with me loser, get lost.

"Christian, why are you glaring at the waiter?" Ana's curious voice cut through his angry thoughts. Damn, was I really that obvious?

"He's been leering at you all afternoon. It's rude."

"I seem to remember you doing the same thing when we first met."

"And you glared at me, so it's only fair," he said jokingly. Stop smiling Grey you're an idiot. What is she doing to me? I'm laughing and joking, this doesn't happen to me. "Fine, but if he slips you his number like I expect that he's planning, I can't promise I'll be this nice."

Ana laughed heartily as she leaned on the table to get close to Christian. "Don't be ridiculous he's not going to do that."

"You underestimate your control over men, Anastasia. I suspect he's planning a September wedding already."

"Oh! Well in that case— " Ana laughed as she made a show to get up and go toward the waiter, but Christian grabbed her hand before she could get to her feet. Even though Christian knew Ana was joking, his stomach started to turn as he though of her going to another man.

"You're going to be the death of me Anastasia, don't even joke about that." Her face was alight with mischief. She liked pulling his strings and seeing his CEO facade disappear. Behind that cold mask of achievement, Ana knew there was an insecure man. He tried to hide it as best as he could, but she could sense he was holding a huge part of himself back, that he wasn't being truly himself with her.

"You're not at all what I expected, Christian."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I expected you to be colder, less fun, less relatable. But I enjoyed myself today." Ana's warm smile and kind words made Christian's mouth go dry. She liked him?

"I think a lot of people would disagree with you."

"Then I'd venture to say that those people don't know you that well." Suddenly their conversation got much heavier than Christian expected it to. He wasn't quite ready to dive into all the emotional stuff right now. He was just barely coming to terms with the fact that he was on a date.

"Look, Ana, I have to warn you. I don't typically do the girlfriend thing. So this is completely new to me. Going on dates. Opening up. That sort of thing."

Ana paused, not saying anything for a second to gather her thoughts. Her stomach sank; she knew he wasn't emotionally available but hearing him say it out loud just confirmed her fears. Was she ready to open herself up to just get hurt again? Was it worth it?

"What do you mean you don't 'do the girlfriend thing'?" Her voice was strained, less at ease as it was an hour ago.

Christian cleared his throat, not knowing how much to tell her. They had only met a few times, and he knew he couldn't unload all his problems on her now. He didn't even know if he'd want to unload his problems on anyone ever. It was ridiculous enough to have to talk to Flynn about them.

"I've just never had a relationship before. The women I've been with in the past weren't very interested in conversation, if you know what I mean. You're different."

"Look Christian, I'm going to be honest with you. I just broke up with my cheating boyfriend a week ago, so I'm not likely to trust you very quickly. But I'd like to try. But that's only if you're going to put in the effort. If you're not then I don't think we should see each other again."

"No! No. I'm willing to put in the effort. I'm just warning you that you'll have to be patient. I'm trying. I like you Ana, and I want to see you again." He grasped her hand as if to convey his honesty. After spending the afternoon with her, he realized that this could be easier than he was making it out to be in his head. He didn't know, it was all so confusing. The only thing that wasn't confusing and was as clear as day was his attraction to Ana. He knew in his bones that he needed to see her again.

"Okay then! But Christian, I can sense you're holding back from me. All I'm asking for is honesty. It's all I want. So if you can do that, then I'd definitely like to take a ride in your helicopter sometime if you're still offering."

His face split into a grin, "Of course it's still on the table. How about this weekend?"

"It's a date." A second date.

The smarmy waiter interrupted their moment and Christian's smile fell from his face. Fucker.

"I'll leave your check here, pay it whenever you're ready." Even his voice annoyed Christian. His blood was icy as he watched the waiter's eyes scan Ana's perfect legs again. His fists tightened as he tried to reign in his emotions. She just agreed to a second date, don't scare her off with your jealousy. Jealousy? That's a new emotion. Surely it's not jealousy? I just don't like people thinking about taking what's mine. That's it. She's mine.

Before Christian could reach over the table and grab the black booklet with the check, Ana had already slipped her credit card to the waiter.

"Anast— " Christian began to berate her for paying, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Christian. You have a lot of money. It kind of freaks me out, if I'm being honest with you. I'm sure you're used to getting everything you want with a wave of that black card you've got there. But you're not going to get me just because you have money. You already sent me a gorgeous flower arrangement, wine, and you paid for one of my sessions. I'm sure you see your money as power, but I need you to realize that just because you have money, you don't have power over me."

Christian couldn't take his eyes off of Ana as she spoke to him, albeit harshly. She was magnificent, regardless of how twitchy his palms got because of her. Nobody had ever yelled at him for trying to pay for something, instead they usually expected him to.

"Thank you, Ana. For the lunch and your honesty. Can I walk you to your car?" Before Ana could stand up, Christian was already up, pulling her chair out for her. They walked in comfortable silence to Ana's car that was parked around the corner. What he saw made his heart stop.

"Please don't tell that's your car?" He referenced a classic, black Mustang. It was beautiful and it was well taken care of, but it was clearly an antique. Christian assumed Ray had an influence in her owning this car.

"Isn't she beautiful? Ray helped me pick it out, he loves cars."

"Is it safe to drive?"

Ana scoffed as she ran her hand across the hood. Christian suddenly had the distinct image of him fucking her against that hood imprinted into his mind.

"Of course it's safe. I paid good money to have her completely refurbished while keeping the original design integrity. Just how she's meant to be!"

Christian rolled his eyes, great another thing I have to worry about. Before he could say anything else, Ana once again surprised him by kissing him chastely on the lips before turning and opening the driver's door.

"Bye, Christian. See you Sunday."

Ana drove off towards her apartment, and when she looked in her rear view mirror, Christian was standing exactly where she left him, fingers touching his lips right where she had kissed him.

A/N: I know Ana seems like she's going along with Christian really easily (I mean this is going to be a HEA fanfic, so obviously they're going to get together eventually) but she will be a challenge for him. Especially when he comes clean with his BDSM fixations and Elena, etc! But before all that happens, they need to have some sort of foundation relationship. Let me know what you think so far, and if there's anything you think's missing in my story!