"Mr. Grey, I assume that Elena has spoken to you about the increased fee?"
I give the man a nod. Since Anastasia has never been touched, he is requesting more money. He's basically selling her virginity to the highest bidder.
"Elena states that you want one-million for her. I think that's a little steep, even with her virginity intact." I will not give this asshole that much money. He doesn't deserve it.
"Well, I've been offered 500 for her from another man who already has two others."
"Then I'll pay 550, but I get TPE for six months." Not a penny more. By the time the six months are up, she'll be long gone.
"How many woman have you encountered that are so submissive and untouched? None. She's one of a kind. Surely she's worth more."
She's priceless...with or without her virginity. It's hard to imagine that I use to pay for submissives like they were cattle for the slaughterhouse. The thought makes me cringe. I am so glad I got my head out of my ass and saw what the hell I was doing.
"If you think you can find a man willing to pay more, than go ahead." I state, trying to psyche the man out.
He tries to stare me down, but I won't back down. After a few seconds, he sighs and shakes his head.
"Fine. Transfer the money into this bank account." He hands me a small piece of paper with an account number from a bank in the Cayman Islands. Of course the asshole is hiding money. At least this information will help us in bringing the whole ring down.
I hand the piece of paper to Taylor and he sits behind my desk, getting to work. We stand quietly while he works and a minute later, Frank's cell goes off. He checks it and nods.
He grabs her by the hair and swings her around, yanking on her hair so that she looks up at him.
"You listen here, little girl. You be good and don't cause Mr. Grey any grief. If I find out that you've caused him any problems, you'll have to answer to me. Nod if you understand."
I'm shocked for a second, but quickly recover. Blowing my cover wouldn't be a good idea right now.
"Get your hands off of my submissive." I growl out the warning.
He looks up at me, but releases hold of her hair. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You've been paid. She's mine."
"She's all yours." He grabs her by the arms and shoves her towards me. She stumbles on the way, but still manages to keep her head down, and I catch her by the tops of her arms before she hits the floor. Her skin is soft and my fingers tingle from the skin-to-skin contact. It confuses me. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Once she regains her footing, I release her arms and, as quickly as the tingle started, it fades.
I see Taylor scowling at the back of the bastard's head.
"Taylor, see him out."
Taylor escorts Frank out of my office, closing the door behind him. When I turn back to Anastasia, I see her cowering, her head bowed, and body shaking. The poor thing is scared to death.
"Anastasia, there's nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help you, okay?"
She nods, but her head stays bowed.
"Anastasia...can you look at me?"
She hesitates, but only for a second, before slowly raising her face to meet mine. When her eyes land on me, they widen and I find myself doing the same.
"Holy fuck." I whisper under my breath. Her face is too thin, her eyes seem too large for her face, but she's still the most beautiful thing I've ever set eyes on.
Her eyes grow sad and she bites her lip as she quickly bows her head once more.
"Anastasia is sorry, sir. Anastasia knows she's hard to look at."
My chest clenches at her soft, sweet voice...but a part of me is angry. Angry at the bastard who convinced her of this; angry at her for believing it.
"Anastasia. Look. At. Me."
Her head shoots up again quickly with my harsh tone.
"You are beautiful, Anastasia. Do not allow anyone to tell you different."
She nods and her eyes fill with tears before she looks down again. I know she must be embarrassed and confused by all this, and I know I best take things slow. I'll slowly break all the negativity that has been ingrained in her and build her up to be strong and confident.
"Anastasia, before we leave the office, I have a form I need you to sign. Have a seat."
I watch her move slowly and sit in the seat across from my desk before I make my way to my own seat. I pick up the NDA and turn it, placing it in front of her.
"This states that anything that happens while we are together, you are not allowed to speak about to anyone else except my family and the therapist I hand pick for you."
She keeps her head down, staring at the paper, as her eyebrows knit together in confusion for a second. When she nods her understanding, I place a pen in front of her.
She immediately picks it up and slowly begins to write her name, in print. She's concentrating with all she has and I even see the tip of her tongue slip out of her mouth as she does so.
"Anastasia, aren't you going to read it?"
Her hand stops moving on the page and her head bows even more. "Anastasia doesn't know how, sir."
I sit back in my chair, blown away. She's illiterate?
"Anastasia won't tell anyone anything, sir. She knows to stay quiet." Her hand begins moving again and I lean in, watching her closely. Her writing looks more like a first grader's than a twenty-two year old woman's.
"No one ever taught you to read and write, Anastasia?"
She shakes her head and lays the pen down on the sheet of paper. "Anastasia found a piece of paper with her name on it at home. Anastasia used that paper to practice."
"Did you ever go to school?"
Again, she shakes her head. "Daddy said Anastasia didn't deserve to learn. Daddy said Anastasia was too stupid."
This girl knows nothing, but abuse. Suddenly, I'm worried that I'm not experienced enough to deal with this. I could end up screwing her up more than she already is. I can't imagine throwing her in a psych ward either. They'll just shove pills down her throat and treat her like all the other patients. She's a special case and I'm sure the employees there don't know much about these types of relationships. I definitely need to speak to my mother about this. Until then, I'll try to make her as comfortable as possible.
"Well, we'll make sure you learn while you're here. You are not too stupid, Anastasia."
Her head is dipped, but I can see her mouth form an 'O'. "Thank you, sir."
"You may call me Christian if you'd like."
Her eyebrows knit together and she fiddles with her fingers in her lap.
"Would you feel more comfortable with calling me 'sir' for now?"
Slowly, she nods.
"Alright, Anastasia. One step at a time."