,First published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop, 2011
Copyright © E L James, 2011
The right of E L James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under th
Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part mayb
reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or b
any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of th
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, even
or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Writer’s Coffee Shop
(Australia) PO Box 2013 Hornsby Westfield NSW 1635
(USA) PO Box 2116 Waxahachie TX 75168
Paperback ISBN-978-1-61213-028-6
,E-book ISBN-978-1-61213-029-3
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the US Congress Library.
Cover image by: © Papuga2006 | Dreamstime.com
Cover design by: Jennifer McGuire
www.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/ejames
E L James is a TV executive, wife, and mother of two, based in West London. Since early childhood
she dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold
focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with he
first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.
E L James is currently working on the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey and a new romantic thriller wit
a supernatural twist.
I am indebted to the following people for their help and support: To my husband Niall – thank you fo
tolerating my obsession, being a domestic god and doing the first edit.
To my boss Lisa – thank you for putting up with me over the last year or so while I indulged in th
, madness.
To CCL – I’ll never tell but thank you.
To the original bunker babes – thank you for your friendship and constant support.
To SR – thank you for all the helpful advice from the start and for going first.
To Sue – thanks for sorting me out.
To Amanda and all at TWCS – thank you for taking a punt.
I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror. Damn my hair – it just won’t behave, and dam
Katherine Kavanagh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal. I should be studying for my fin
exams, which are next week, yet here I am trying to brush my hair into submission. I must not slee
with it wet. I must not sleep with it wet. Reciting this mantra several times, I attempt, once more,
bring it under control with the brush. I roll my eyes in exasperation and gaze at the pale, brown-haire
girl with blue eyes too big for her face staring back at me, and give up. My only option is to restra
my wayward hair in a ponytail and hope that I look semi presentable.
Kate is my roommate, and she has chosen today of all days to succumb to the flu.
Therefore, she cannot attend the interview she’d arranged to do, with some mega-industri-alist tycoo
I’ve never heard of, for the student newspaper. So I have been volunteered. I have final exams to cram
for, one essay to finish, and I’m supposed to be working this afternoon, but no – today I have to driv
a hundred and sixty-five miles to downtown Seattle in order to meet the enigmatic CEO of Gre
Enterprises Holdings Inc. As an exceptional entrepreneur and major benefactor of our University, h
time is extraordinarily precious
– much more precious than mine – but he has granted Kate an interview. A real coup, she tells me
Damn her extra-curricular activities.
Kate is huddled on the couch in the living room.
Copyright © E L James, 2011
The right of E L James to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under th
Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part mayb
reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or b
any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of th
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, even
or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Writer’s Coffee Shop
(Australia) PO Box 2013 Hornsby Westfield NSW 1635
(USA) PO Box 2116 Waxahachie TX 75168
Paperback ISBN-978-1-61213-028-6
,E-book ISBN-978-1-61213-029-3
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the US Congress Library.
Cover image by: © Papuga2006 | Dreamstime.com
Cover design by: Jennifer McGuire
www.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/ejames
E L James is a TV executive, wife, and mother of two, based in West London. Since early childhood
she dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold
focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with he
first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.
E L James is currently working on the sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey and a new romantic thriller wit
a supernatural twist.
I am indebted to the following people for their help and support: To my husband Niall – thank you fo
tolerating my obsession, being a domestic god and doing the first edit.
To my boss Lisa – thank you for putting up with me over the last year or so while I indulged in th
, madness.
To CCL – I’ll never tell but thank you.
To the original bunker babes – thank you for your friendship and constant support.
To SR – thank you for all the helpful advice from the start and for going first.
To Sue – thanks for sorting me out.
To Amanda and all at TWCS – thank you for taking a punt.
I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror. Damn my hair – it just won’t behave, and dam
Katherine Kavanagh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal. I should be studying for my fin
exams, which are next week, yet here I am trying to brush my hair into submission. I must not slee
with it wet. I must not sleep with it wet. Reciting this mantra several times, I attempt, once more,
bring it under control with the brush. I roll my eyes in exasperation and gaze at the pale, brown-haire
girl with blue eyes too big for her face staring back at me, and give up. My only option is to restra
my wayward hair in a ponytail and hope that I look semi presentable.
Kate is my roommate, and she has chosen today of all days to succumb to the flu.
Therefore, she cannot attend the interview she’d arranged to do, with some mega-industri-alist tycoo
I’ve never heard of, for the student newspaper. So I have been volunteered. I have final exams to cram
for, one essay to finish, and I’m supposed to be working this afternoon, but no – today I have to driv
a hundred and sixty-five miles to downtown Seattle in order to meet the enigmatic CEO of Gre
Enterprises Holdings Inc. As an exceptional entrepreneur and major benefactor of our University, h
time is extraordinarily precious
– much more precious than mine – but he has granted Kate an interview. A real coup, she tells me
Damn her extra-curricular activities.
Kate is huddled on the couch in the living room.
