He watched with a detached sort of satisfaction as the CEO of SMT read over the final contracts. He had nothing to worry about after all everything was as it was discussed. There wasn't a punctuation mark out of place. This had been in the works for months, and he wasn't about to let it fall apart at the last hurdle.

"Well, it's all there." The fat greasy fool said with a smile as he signed his life away with a flourish. Christian returned his smile with a beaming one of his own, so much so the useless financial officer sat next to the fool swooned in appreciation. Come Monday she wouldn't be smiling.

SMT had started out much like his own, a young man with a vision, unfortunately also too small minded to see the bigger picture. Had this fool's thinking being on the same wavelength as his, SMT would be the Time Warner of today instead of another sad story of a CEO who lost his company.

"Mr. Grey, my wife is dying to meet the man that literally saved the roof over our heads. She was wondering if you could come over for dinner tonight?" Just what he was hoping for.

"My flight isn't until much later so yes I accept your invitation." He intoned his smile still in place.

"Excellent."

He wiped the mist of the face of the mirror and stared at his features. He understood why people got tongue-tied in his presence. Why most women simply lost all reason… hell, even some men. None of them interested him, his body, heart, and spirit belonged to someone else someone he had lost exactly a decade ago today. She was the reason he had picked today; she was the reason he was in Savannah today. He always hated this day; he was usually locked away in his home office, as he was unbearable to be around on this date.

Not today though, today for the first time in so long he would get some semblance of revenge and if he was lucky... find her.

He meticulously dressed as if he wasn't used to the act, he looked himself in the mirror and admired the Tom Ford suit the man himself had made for him. It had cost him a pretty penny, but it was worth it. The only thing out of place was the fifty-dollar tie around his neck, not for the reasons most people would think. It was out of place because to him it was far more expensive than his entire wardrobe combined. It held meaning.

It was her gift to him on his eighteenth birthday, he had made it adamantly clear he didn't want anything, but she, as usual, didn't listen and had spent what he knew was her last cent to get him the tie. He'd only ever worn it a hand full of times. Each occasion had been a milestone in his life, the day he graduated from Harvard. The day he struck his first deal, the day he'd hired Roz, his first million, his first billion and now today. This tie was worth more than everything he owned, even GEH because he'd burn it to the ground if that were what it took to get her back. His success was solely driven by the fact that the more headlines he made, the more likely she was to find him, but it never happened. When he graced the cover of Time magazine he had simply done it to get her attention… prayed she would see it wherever she was and come looking for him… but it never happened.

The last time he saw her was the day she was dragged away kicking and screaming for him. He had to be held back from doing something stupid, which he inevitably did. The only thing he had of her was the tie; in his rage, he had destroyed every other memento he had of her including the tens of pictures they had taken over the course of their relationship, from friends to lovers. The pictures told their story, and he had destroyed them. When his fury subsided, he regretted his action with a profound wretchedness that landed him in the hospital.

Finally seven months ago he had gotten the break he needed, he had found where she was dragged off to, but that soon proved to be a dead end. At eighteen after graduating high school, she simply disappeared, no trace of her anywhere. Fortunately for him, the reason for his torment still resided at that address, and she would soon feel his wrath.

The front door opened seconds after he rang the bell, and the frozen features of Carla May Morton met him. Evidently, she recognizes me. "Christian." She whispered in shock.

"Ahh, Mr. Grey just in time," Stephen said completely oblivious to his wife's distress.

"Stephen." He responded as coolly as ever.

"This is my wife, Carla." He introduced proudly.

"Oh, Carla and I go a long way back." He said to her disbelief. For some reason, she had expected him to lie about their association. Deep down she felt if anyone should be ashamed it should be him, but she did not voice it after all he was keeping her in a lifestyle she had become accustomed to.

"Really, how?" He asked again oblivious to the obvious. This kind of attitude was the reason his company had failed. Stephen had been aware of the growing trend towards broadband but refused to invest and make the necessary changes. He theorized his customers would stay with dial up rather than pay double for the mere convenience of speed. He was wrong so wrong in fact he had paid a hefty price. With the advent of sites like YouTube and the unfortunate culture of downloading illegal music and films from sites like LimeWire and iMesh speed had become a requirement. He lost his service users by the boatload. By the time he had thought to join the bandwagon, it was far too late. He had invested money in the necessary hardware even though he no longer had the customers. You'd think the man would have realized that those who stayed did so because they weren't interested in changing. This was pure stupidity and nothing else. He invested in astute people as much as the product or company. Stephen Morton had neither as far as he was concerned, and yet he had invested, and the woman in front of him was the reason why.

Ana hadn't been back to Seattle since Ray died, things had changed so drastically due to his untimely death. Changes that still affected her till today, most people will say she was cold, detached and a colossal bitch. Characteristics she developed when the woman was meant to care for her, love and protect her dragged her from the very people that had become family. She wished she could say Carla did it out of love, but in truth, she did so because she hated her own daughter. For the longest time Ana did not know why or understand why Carla felt the need to destroy every semblance of happiness she had. "Sorry, I'm late," Kate said draining Ana's glass of wine.

"You know, you'd save yourself the apology if you arrived on time." Ana quipped.

"I'm incapable of being on time even when millions are involved, and somehow you expect that for dinner. Anyway, wouldn't have been possible even if I tried… I had the most expert tongue between my legs when you called." She said in a huff.

"Yes, I gathered that. I have sadly become acquainted with your getting laid voice." She teased causing the waiter placing the menus in front of them to blush.

"Strangely wish I could say the same thing for you. In almost eight years and you have never dated. Your sole focus is work… don't get me wrong your dedication has made us rich. But, what is the point of all this money and success if you don't pause every now and again and enjoy it." Kate said sadly.

"You do that enough for the both of us." Ana countered her attention on the menu.

"You could try finding him again," Kate said her eyes anywhere but on Ana.

"I can't put myself through that again," Ana said softly. Kate released the breath she was holding. The last few times she had suggested this Ana damn near bit her head off.

"Who says you have to know about it." She understood Ana's reluctance to try and find the boy she had lost. She watched her heartbreak and become more detached every time the Private Investigator she had hired told her of yet another failure to locate him. "Just tell me his name, and I will do it if I find him you will know about it… if I don't you won't. I might get on it today or I might in a year from now… simply put you will know nothing. We are too busy right now for me to undertake this, but when we get back to London who knows." Kate could see the idea clearly appealed to Ana.

"Christian Trevelyan Grey." Kate simply nodded in response. She didn't know the whole story, but she knew enough to know he was her first love. One she had never forgotten or gotten over. She just hoped he felt the same when she found him. "It's precisely ten years today since I last saw him." She imparts information Kate didn't expect.

"How did you meet?" Was all she could think to ask or say.

MAY 17TH 2000

"This will be your locker when the new academic year starts. I'm sorry your young life has being upended by the sudden death of your father." Headmaster Crow said. Rose heard her mother say something in response but was distracted by the boy standing in the archway furiously scrolling through a textbook. Under the shade, his hair color was almost the same color as hers, but the sections touched by the sun looked copper colored.

Christian looked up from his book when he felt eyes on him. The blue orbs of the young girl staring at him surprised him. She blushed and looked away when she realized he had caught her gawking. He smiled at her innocence and went back to his book.

Rose kept her head down determined not to look up at him as she walked past. She ended up doing so just as she reached him and was rewarded with a dazzling smile. "See you next term." He said making her blush even more.

"Mr. Grey." Headmaster Crow said in greeting.

"This is Rose Lambert, she just moved here from Seattle and as you well know will join our sophomore year in the new academic year."

"Christian here is the quarterback of our football team. The first junior to earn that honor in our school's history."

"Hello, Rose… Mrs. Lambert." He greeted politely. He found something off-putting about Rose's mother but put it down to grief.

"Her name is Anastasia, but she insists on using her middle name. Apparently, Anastasia sounds pretentious." Christian chuckled having already taken a strong liking to Rose aka Anastasia.

Rose on her part was also smarting about the change of surname. Carla was doing some bizarre things due to her grief as she was clearly suffering or so she thought.

"What do you think of San Diego so far?" He asked his smile back in place.

"Warm compared to Seattle." Was Rose's whispered response.

"Really, you can't tell me you like all that rain," Christian said scrunching up his face.

"It's what I know." She said with a shrug.

"We have to get going I have another appointment to keep," Carla said practically dragging her daughter away earning a frown from Christian.

"I saw him on occasion over the summer, but we really only became friends when school started," Ana informed Kate as their food arrived.

"Rose?" Kate questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I hated Anastasia, it was an easy enough change as my middle name is Rose. Everyone who knew me in San Diego and Savannah knew me as Rose. Carla was not happy about it, Ray, on the other hand, found it amusing." She said with a chuckle recalling fond memories of her dad. She had felt so lost when Ray died, then Christian came into the picture. His confidence, constant need to make her laugh and unwavering support of her was just what she needed, and Carla cruelly snatched it away from her. She will never forgive that woman for what she did that day. She had never seen anyone take such pleasure in being cruel, willing to destroy lives for her own ends meet. Two years later I learned why she did what she did and the pain I felt before magnified. She knew someday she would make Carla pay for it.