CHAPTER 1

Christian Grey walked into the BDSM club and started looking around. He got rid of his last sub two weeks ago. He thought, 'Things have been getting stale for me with the lifestyle. It's been like going through the motions. I go from one sub to the next every month to a couple of months. The one before, the last one, the stupid bitch, she knew that was a hard limit to sneak into my shower and knew it was forbidden to even enter my bedroom. I whipped her ass and fucked her on the carpet sending her on her way. I had to get rid of the last one for trying to steal from me. I didn't even let this one take all her shit I gave her when she left. It went to charity. I knew she was acting funny and I started watching her when she didn't think I was. I caught her behind my fucking desk and she said she wasn't doing anything but looking for a piece of paper and pen. Taylor had her on CCTV trying to crack my safe. Then I found out she was planting the bugs after interrogating her, for no other than fucking Elena.'

'Taylor went over the whole penthouse including the playroom and the employee apartment with a bug detector. There were 9 mics and 13 cameras. Elena got cut off on that Monday by me calling in the bank loans. Barney and Welch hacked her computer system and deleted everything on me and the new footage in my playroom and all audio files. I had Taylor send a team into her house and removed everything referring to me in every safe or lock box from basement to attic. They wiped her out of videos and thumb drives. She has nothing on me anymore. Oh she called, threatened and bitched, but without a leg to stand on I ignored it. I told her if she hadn't sent the sub in to plant mics and cameras I wouldn't have done a thing to her. I set a full audit on her ASAP on Tuesday. I had already pulled my financial backing, so I told her to stand on her own with three salons. I said the money train is over and gone. Next, I would sell her stocks of 60% to anyone for a dollar if she fucks with me again. Needless to say, she raised hell until I slammed the phone down on her. I'm convinced that Elena was sending me subpar submissives on purpose by filling their heads with bullshit beforehand. She was also trying to pressure me more and more to have sex with her and I am just sick and tired of it all. That made it very obvious.'

He looked around and took in the club view to see if anything interested him. Eventually, he walked over to the bar where Martin was bartending. Martin says, "What will you have, Grey?"

He said, "Whiskey neat." Christian slammed down his first one. Martin filled it again. He starts walking around watching the rooms with scenes going on.

The lighting seems dimmer than the last time he was there. He watched a scene for a while and had to go take a piss towards the back. Christian heads to the men's john and relieves himself.

As he is coming out, he hears a commotion in one of the back rooms. Curiosity gets the better of him and he hears….

A male said, "Come on bitch, you want to get background information. I'll give it to you first hand. Now strip or I'll make you!"

A female said, "Fuck off asshole, didn't think you were such a prick until you got me alone in a room. You morphed into a real bastard. Let's talk in privacy, my ass."

The male said, "That's Dom bitch, now strip! I'll make your little book report fascinating."

The female said, "Come make me and I'll break your dick off and hand it to you." The supposed Dom starts laughing.

The male said, "You're just such a little school girl. You ain't shit! Dick tease." There was punching, groans, smacking and furniture moving around and then silence.

Christian opened the door and watched a small petite girl with long dark hair finish hog tying the Dom in the middle of the floor with a rope in one of the private rooms. She glared up at him and his breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were the bluest eyes he had ever seen in his life on a perfectly beautiful face. He thought, 'She is exquisite. A lovely and petite beauty.' Her bottom lip was bloody and she had a swollen eye.

She said snarky, "5.3 seconds is not my personal best time but it will do for now. You want a chance at the rodeo title next? This douchebag said he would help me with my thesis, but thought I was an easy mark. Fucking safe, sane and consensual my ass!" The Dom was groaning on the floor.

He said chuckling, "I guess you taught him instead, this time around. I'll report him to management. They don't need people who don't stick to the rules here. It makes them a liability and threatens the safety of the club." She blotted her lip with the back of her hand and gave the Dom on the floor a swift kick getting another groan.

She said grinning, "He's one nut short too now after he punched me, so he may need a hospital soon." He just shook his head grinning at the tiny little dynamo. Christian thought, 'Damn she would make one hell of a dominatrix. She sure as hell couldn't be a submissive but looks the part as far as I'm concerned.'

He looked down the hall and saw one of the bouncers walk by. He got his attention and told him what just happened. The bouncer said he would take the Dom off property and drop him in a hospital parking lot. Christian thought, 'Like I said not to draw attention to the club. The Dumbass.'

He asked the girl, "What did you need to know?" She was walking with him towards the front and through the club. Every Dom in the place was zeroed in on her. She was dressed all in black with tight jeans, tight long sleeve shirt with designer spiked heel boots and a long lined leather trench coat over her arm with a notebook.

One of the Doms came up boldly and said, "Wasn't this one in the back with Dom Carl a few minutes ago?"

Before Christian could answer, she said with authority like a Dom, "Yeah, and he got his ass handed back to him for thinking I'm a sub. I just wanted to talk about the lifestyle, not be accosted into it." The Dom put his hands up and backed away. She sat in a booth in the corner of the room and Christian scooted in with her. The waitress dressed as a sub brought them each a drink.

Christian asked, "What is your name?"

She said, "Anastasia."

He said surprised, "Wow, beautiful name. What are you doing here? I'm Christian."

Ana said, "Christian, I just honestly wanted to ask questions about the lifestyle for my thesis on one of my class finals for my second master's degree elective called Human Sexuality. I wanted to talk to actual participants rather than to glean information off the Internet. Perhaps, you can tell me what I need to know." He thought, 'Beauty and brains. I like it. I know this lovely girl is too good for the likes of me, but I'll help her with her class.'

Christian said, "Sure no problem. Ask away." She put her notebook on the table and took out her pen and started interviewing him. Ana asked relevant questions, nothing if not pertinent. He was entertained as she had the prettiest smile and giggle. Her upper lip was puffy and naturally pouty. He hated that her bottom lip was split a bit and her eye was swelling up. Christian thought, 'God, I wanted to kiss her. She is so adorable in every way.'

After she finished interviewing him, she said, "Thank you, very much for your time, Christian. You have been very helpful to me. I need to go now and get home." She gets up and puts her coat on. He really didn't want her to go out of the club alone, so he got up too.

He asked, "Anastasia, let me walk you out and make sure you're safe."

Ana grinned and said cheekily, "My hero. Thanks." She made him smile at her. They walked out up the stairs into the cold and went to where she parked her car. It was a ratty old VW beetle.

Christian said firmly to her, "You have got to be kidding me. That thing is a dangerous death trap. You can't be driving that thing around?"

She laughed and said, "I am for another two weeks then I can start driving my real car and buy my new backup car after school in two weeks at the end of the fall semester. I have to keep up pretenses until then. I don't want people to know I have any money. I didn't want to be like the ex-roommates I had in my two years. They made it hard to concentrate and study with their late night amorous and criminal activities I found out. I have my own cheap apartment now because I couldn't stand living around them anymore. It's tough to do two master's at once with a minor bachelor's degree too. This is the only class I haven't finished my paper on. Once it's written and submitted I can finish my finals on the last of my other classes to complete the degrees." He was proud of her completing two masters at once with a bachelor's together. He thought that it must be damn near impossible to accomplish and takes up all your time, concentration and focus.

Christian asked curiously as Ana sat in her car, "What are your degrees in?"

Ana said, "Business Analytics and Risk Assessment with a minor in Business Administration." She sat down in her car. He thought, 'Holy Crap! This woman is amazing and should work for me.'

He offered, handing her his card, "If you're interested in an internship or job after you graduate, give me a call. My company is perfect for your educational background. My personal number is on there. I would be interested in new smart talent working for me. I'm Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings." Christian thought, 'What the hell. I have never done this without an NDA first.'

She was surprised and said, "Anastasia Steele, I'm up for summa cum laude at WSU. I'm not going to graduation commencements in June when they have it. Friday after next, at the end of the semester, I will have my finals exams completed ahead of schedule. I can call you after I get my grades and have them plugged into my laptop copy of my updated resume. They will mail me my diplomas."

He asked curiously, "Why aren't you going to your commencements in June?"

Ana said honestly, "I don't have anyone to go watch. It's ok though because I'm proud of me and the people that are gone that mattered are too." He thought, 'She must be alone.'

Christian said sincerely, "Good luck on your exams and your paper. I really would like you to call me after, ok?" He shook her hand and a bolt of electricity shot up his arm. It must have happened to her too, because her eyes got big looking at him. She said she would, got in her car and drove away. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

Christian called Welch and told him to get a complete background check on Anastasia Steele, student WSU, VW beetle license plate number ARS910. He hung up with him and had Taylor drive him home as he rubbed his hand and arm still tingling.

As Ana drove away, her arm is still tingling. She thought, 'My God, he was the handsomest man I have ever seen. He wants me to call him. He gave me, practically, a job offer. Christian Grey's eyes were the most amazing gray color. It almost sounds so cliche, BUT DAMN! He is going to be unforgettable. My body was screaming to kiss him and then to be touched by him. His mouth and lips were, Wow!' Then her doubt hits hard…

Ana thought, 'He was just being nice. He never would want a girl like me besides he's a Dom. I'm a number crunching bookworm geek. He's way out of my league. I am not even in his sexual lifestyle for God's sake, or sub material. I'm only me, a little twenty three year old, nothing special but never a submissive. I just need to forget having any kind of relationship with a man like him. I need to concentrate on getting these finals completed and my thesis in. I'll call him then and apply at GEH. I'll probably get stuck in an accounting intern job anyway. Bet that floor is far away from him.'

When she got home, she logged on to her laptop and brought up Christian Grey and Grey Enterprise Holdings. She thought, 'Holy crap! It's him alright. Twenty seven year old billionaire. Yeah, he was just being nice. Move on Ana. He can date anyone he wants and that isn't you.'

—--

After a week of putting her nose to the grindstone, it pays off. She had already tested on some exams ahead of time but had a lot left to do. Ana did it with two 4.0's and a 4.2 GPA. She was happy and thoroughly exhausted. It had been a long seven and a half years. She moved into her Seattle fancy apartment already waiting for her in The Emerald on Stewart St. She had the movers come in the day before, clean out her apartment on Monday and hired cleaners to come in. They turned the key over to the landlord when done. It went like clockwork. Ana had got a 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 1,988 Square Feet and 2 Parking Spaces.

She traded in her old beetle the next day on a Monday to get a 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT in the color Deep Water Blue Pearl paid for in cash though she haggled the price to not get ripped off. She thought it was a hot car.

—--

It was dark, raining, flashes, thundering and coming down hard in sheets. A black Audi Q7 SUV is driving down the I-5. Christian is in the backseat caught up in his own thoughts reflecting back over everything that's been going on with work for the last two days, 'I took this drive from Seattle to Portland and back instead of flying, because it's raining. I hate flying when it's like this. Besides, I need down time because it's been one hell of a week. In the middle of negotiating that acquisition yesterday, I still can't believe the bastard filed chapter eleven behind my back to save his company. I would have had him still run the company. I could have bailed him out. Sure, I would have owned it, but he could have kept his job running it, just differently and better. Now, if this doesn't work, he'll lose it if he doesn't listen to the trustee and pay off his creditors through the government the way they tell him too. The next thing to happen, was that steel manufacturing plant manager high on his own power trip, in Portland today, deciding to start pushing quotas up on employees making it dangerous. I fired his ass and went down two levels to find an honest worker to promote from within. I hope this will solve the issues. I just needed to detox on the drive home after blowing up all over that guy for being a slave driver.'

He was lost in his thoughts and realized suddenly that he saw something off on the right side of the road. He shouted, "Taylor pull over!" He did.