Chapter one
Elizabeth Bennet was running late for work again. "Shit" she said, as she jumped out of bed and rain into the kitchen to get her much needed cant-think-without-it morning coffee. Sitting at the breakfast table enjoying the morning sun streaming through the large windows was Jane who was reading the newspaper. Jane was the sweetest, most beautiful, generous person Elizabeth knew, and was her best friend. She was also her sister.
Lizzie loved their apartment. Well it was actually Jane's apartment, but after Lizzie returned from her years of travel, Jane had insisted she moved in with her, and the now shared the beautiful apartment, right in the centre of New York. Lizzie always saw the apartment just like she saw her sister, light, elegant and classic. The apartment had high studded ceiling, with cream walls and hard wooded floors. A hint of light blue floated throughout the apartment, through the curtains and pillows give the beautiful effect. Large expansive windows filled the open spaced kitchen, dining lounge area, and gave an impressive view of the city at night. Effortlessly beautiful, Lizzie always thought, just like Jane
"Lizzie, I got your breakfast ready for you, it's here on the table", Jane said with a smile. "Coffee too", she adding after noting the distressed look on her sisters face. Jane had always been the organised one out of them, always calm and collected, which made the two sisters a perfect match, as Lizzy was far from organised. Sitting on the table was a French toast, with blueberries and Lizzie's 'Moring coffee cup' which was a extra large cup.
"You seem more rushed than usual this morning" Jane said as she turned the page of the news paper
"igs mundag dane" Lizzie said as she took a mouthful of French toast.
"Sorry didn't quite catch that" Jane said giggling.
Taking a gulp of coffee Lizzie followed with "sorry, its Monday Jane, I have a weekly meetings on Monday morning remember?"
"That's right I forgot, your weekly hounding" Jane laughed to herself thinking of previous Monday nights listening to Lizzie replay them for her. "With your inability to every be on time, I sometimes wonder whether we should swap jobs"
Lizzie laughed "it's a good idea, only I don't know how to sew" she said with a smile
Jane was a brilliant fashion designer with her own label that was just about to "hit the big time". This meant she was able to work, whatever hour she liked, which also meant she could sleep in much to her sisters dislike, not that she ever did sleep in. Jane had always been the one to get up at 6.00am to do yoga and then make a healthy smoothie of some sort, whereas Lizzie was more the type to wake up a little before 12 and walk round in her pyjamas all day. This was somewhat of a problem when you had 8.00am meeting.
Fortunately for Lizzie, it was worth it as she loved her job, and although she missed her sleep, she wouldn't swap with her sister ever. Lizzie was a writer/photographer, (mostly writer more of a hobby photographer though it did come in handy) for a magazine where apart from the early mornings she was able to go almost anywhere and write about anything. She loved her job, she loved her boss, she loved her office, she loved her work related card, and she loved the people she worked with, apart from…
"Will I'm a self-righteous ass who can't fit though doorways cause my heads so big Darcy" Lizzie said to herself as she thought about the meeting ahead of her.
"You're not still hating on him are you?" Jane asked as she got up the rise her dishes.
"Hating on him!" Lizzie spat. "He'sthe one hating on me, not the other way round, Oh yes" she said standing "he's hating on every single little thing I do" pounding the coffee cup down on the kitchen in rhythm with every word.
"Please don't break my cup, sweetie" Jane said with a little smile as she carefully removed the coffee cup from Lizzie's hand. "And he's your editor Liz; you have to be nice, at least"
"He may be my editor, but he's not my boss, thank god" she added as she started walking back down the hall to her room. "Fortunately Edward seems to love me, so Darcy can suck it!" she yelled from her room. Jane followed her to her room holding her coffee in one hand and her phone in the other. "Lizzie come on, he can't be that bad" as she leaned on the door frame of Lizzie's walk in wardrobe as Lizzie tried to decide what to wear. "You don't know, Jane you haven't meet him though you will, tonight in fact, don't forget, you're my date" she said turning to Jane.
"Date?" Jane asked "what for?"
"please don't tell me you forgot, I have that work party tonight remember, I told you about it weeks ago, remember I lured your with free champagne and food, and prime people watching real-estate, think of all the rich people". People watching was one of the girls favourite hobbies.
"Oh yeah, it's even on my calendar" Jane said as she scold through her phone "and of course I will get to me the notorious Mr Darcy" she said happily
"nice of you to remember" Lizzie replied sarcastically "don't get to excited though" Lizzie said dryly turning back to her clothing "You'll no doubt want to kill yourself after you meet him and all his gloriousness" she said "not to worry, I have many well thought out suicide methods, all very effective" she said laughing at the shocked look on Jane's face "just joking Janie, sort of" she added under her breath. "Anyway, thank god there's an open bar"
"Lizzie! It's a Monday you can't get drunk!" she said outraged "Charlotte said he wasn't that bad, at least not as bad as you make him sound"
"That's was he wants you to think" Lizzie said in a childlike way, turning round again, holding up two blouses "which one?"
"The cream one, cause the blue ones mine" Jane said snatch the blouse out of her sister's hand, sounding half annoyed, half amused.
Lizzie shrugged unapologetically and continued "the guy is straight out rude! To everyone, apart from Edward of course, Ed loves him, lord knows how he managed that" she said as she walked into the bathroom to get ready.
"Well perhaps you should trust Edwards Judgement" Jane as she sat down on one of Lizzie's seats. Lizzie stuck her head out from behind the door wearing her favourite high waisted cranberry shorts and a white bra, with her tooth brush in her mouth and a astonished look on her face "Well" Jane continued "he likes you so much" she said pointedly "he must be a good judge of character" she said with a smile, "and you might want to put your top on before you go into the office today". Lizzie made a face and returned to the sink to spit.
When she walked out of the bathroom she was dressed, wearing a cream silk blouse that Jane had pointed out. " I do care what Edward thinks" Lizzie said walking back into the wardrobe to find her favourite pair of black, ruffled Giuseppe Zanotti ankle boots, " Darcy's a prick" she said finally as if to end the debate. Lizzie thought herself to be a good judge of character, and Will Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet's first meeting had set her opinion of Darcy firm in her mind.
Lizzie was running late, again. It was her first day at the magazine so she had spent way too much time trying to decide what to wear, so of course she was late. Running into the building and waiting impatiently in the elevator, stepping out straight in a very tall, dark and handsome Mr Darcy, who had been carrying him much need second cup of coffee, which went flying, straight into Lizzie, and a only few drops landing on Mr Darcy's very expensive looking pants ( or so Lizzie tells the story). "Great! Just Great, thanks for that" looking up at Lizzie angrily, "thanks, now I have to go home and change, and get these dry-cleaned!" Lizzie of was shocked she could think of anything to say. Lizzie standing there drench in this man's coffee, had expected him to apologise.
"You know what, that's fine, don't say anything, I'm sure you don't know how much this is going to cost to get cleaned!" he said angrily, looking down at his pants, "I thought all the interns knew how to ride elevators". After the last comment Lizzie was pissed, and bough herself up to her fullest height, and give him her thoughts.
"One this is not my fault, it's your coffee, two don't you dear start talking to me about dry-cleaning bills Buddy" pointing a threatening finger at him "it's not like your, um I don't know, covered in your no doubt chai trim latte, weaker then Betty White lifting a plane, Coffee" Lizzie taking a step closer to the man, who was considerably taller than her by a head which made her dislike the man even more as it meant she had to look at to talk to the man "three I'm not a intern, you asshole, I'm a writer for this magazine and who the hell are you to judge me?"
The man, now very red in the face opened his mouth to respond, but not before a voice from behind then, belonging to the editor and chief of the magazine Edward Harrison said "Ah Lizzie, I see you've met your editor, Mr William Darcy, Darcy this is Elizabeth Bennet, your new columnist". Both stood still completely shock, staring at Edward, who simply chuckled, turned around and walk down the hall, stopping only to say "oh and we have a meeting in five, I suggest you stop yelling at each other by then" continued down the hall, saying over his shoulder "makes it rather hard to hear me you don't stop talking is ,and you both know how much I love the sound of my own voice" he said with another chuckle before walking into his office and closing the door. Both Will and Lizzie stared at the closed door before remembering that each other was there. "Well" Darcy said dryly sticking out his hand which Lizzie slowly shook "welcome to the team"; he then turned and walked down the hall into him office, slamming the door behind him.
That was how Lizzie's first day started at the magazine, she then had to somehow find her office, clean herself up, and get to the staff meeting, where she had three arguments with Darcy, before she came to the conclusion that Will Darcy was the world's biggest ass hole.