Again and again, the fact that Anastasia dares to talk back is a source of amazement to him - she is the first woman not to have suspended herself naked from the ceiling upon meeting him. She is a “sassy wench” who makes him laugh - a member of the opposite sex has never done this before (“I make women cry – it’s what I do," we learn at one point). When she emails to tell him the whole dominant/submissive thing isn’t for her, his immediate response is to shove a load of condoms in his pocket and go straight round to her house. He is furious when she kicks him out for suggesting she might want to discuss his sexual peccadilloes with one of his former "submissives". In his own words, he really is a “gray-eyed prick”.