fifty-shades-of-grey

“Big?”“Big.”“It’s big,” he agrees, and his eyes glow with amusement. I take another sip of wine.“Do you play?” I point my chin at the piano.“Yes.”“Well?”“Yes.”“Of course you do. Is there anything you can’t do well?”“Yes… a few things.” He takes a sip of his wine. He doesn’t take his eyes off me. I feelthem following me as I turn and glance around this vast room. Room is the wrong word.It’s not a room – it’s a mission statement.“Do you want to sit?”I nod, and he takes my hand and leads me to the large off-white couch. As I sit, I’mstruck by the fact that I feel like Tess Durbeyfield looking at the new house that belongs tothe notorious Alec D’Urberville. The thought makes me smile.“What’s so amusing?” He sits down beside me, turning to face me. He rests his headon his right hand, his elbow propped on the back of the couch.“Why did you give me Tess of the D’Urbervilles specifically?” I ask. Christian staresat me for a moment. I think he’s surprised by my question.“Well, you said you liked Thomas Hardy.”“Is that the only reason?” Even I can hear the disappointment in my voice. His mouthpresses into a hard line.“It seemed appropriate. I could hold you to some impossibly high ideal like AngelClare or debase you completely like Alec D’Urberville,” he murmurs, and his gray eyesflash dark and dangerous.“If there are only two choices, I’ll take the debasement.” I whisper, gazing at him. Mysubconscious is staring at me in awe. He gasps.“Anastasia, stop biting your lip, please. It’s very distracting. You don’t know whatyou’re saying.”“That’s why I’m here.”He frowns.“Yes. Would you excuse me a moment?” He disappears through a wide doorway onthe far side of the room. He’s gone for a couple of minutes and returns with a document.“This is a non-disclosure agreement.” He shrugs and has the grace to look a little embarrassed.“My lawyer insists on it.” He hands it to me. I’m completely bemused. “Ifyou’re going for option two, debasement, you’ll need to sign this.”“And if I don’t want to sign anything?”“Then it’s Angel Clare high ideals, well, for most of the book anyway.”“What does this agreement mean?”“It means you cannot disclose anything about us. Anything, to anyone.”I stare at him in disbelief. Holy shit. It’s bad, really bad, and now I’m very curious toknow.“Okay. I’ll sign.”He hands me a pen.