This story is the result of a challenge between Onesimus and Batwings79. A recent story over at LJ (CE Enterprises by bsg_aussiegirl) written for their recent Battleships challenge, prompted Batwings79 to say that the only thing missing from that story was a smartphone going off with the theme from Downtown Abbey as the ringtone. This resulted in a discussion of what songs Elsie & Charles would have as their ringtones for each other. And WHAM! The plot bunnies started mating with dust bunnies and the Ringtone Challenge was born!
Criteria for the Challenge:
1)Story can be set in any time period from 1890 - present
2)Must use at least 3 phrases/sentences from at least 2 of the songs mentioned in the PM exchange - one of which must be from the other person's list
3)Must include a 'scene of seduction' with M-ness a must since it is so much fun to read and write
4)No chapter or word restrictions (although we seem to have settled on 3 chapters needed to setup the seduction scene and close the story).
Charles' back was turned when she entered his office. Speaking to her over his shoulder, he said, "Good morning, Elsie. I knew you'd be by early. Anna put the information for the financial statement on that USB drive on my desk. There are some papers there too. I've organized them alphabetically and by month in reverse order. I hope that's sufficient."
"It certainly is," she answered approvingly, "if all my clients were as organized as you, I could cut my hours down significantly."
As he turned toward her with a smile, he asked, "Could I interest you in a cup of coffee or will you have your usual tea? Why are you staring?"
"Charles," she asked in surprise, "what is that you're wearing?"
"I believe that it is known as a suit," he answered stiffly.
"Not that," she said irritably, "I meant your shirt. What color is that exactly?"
His cheeks tinted faintly as he cleared his throat, "The man at the shop called it periwinkle. Why are you laughing? You're the one who told me I should wear different colors, and he said he thought it looked good on me."
"Periwinkle?" she asked through chortles, "What shop was this?"
"Barrows' Big and Tall," he answered removing his jacket and unbuttoning his waistcoat, "That does it. I knew this was silly. White shirts have sufficed for thirty years," he pulled his braces off his shoulders and tugged at his tie, "I've an extra one here for emergencies. Serves me right for listening to your fashion advice," he finished looking at her sternly.
"Emergencies? What sort of emergencies require a new shirt?" she asked incredulously.
"Usually lunch and a messy sandwich. I keep an extra tie as well," he said seriously, "One must be prepared for any eventuality."
She rolled her eyes at him, "When I said other colors I was thinking of a nice royal blue or maybe even red. Periwinkle is not a color that would ever suit a man like you. Did he convince you to buy any other colors?"
He paused at the second button of his shirt, "Turn around." When she lifted her eyebrows, he raised his own more impressive brows and repeated himself a little sterner, "Turn around."
Once she was facing the wall, he finished unbuttoning his shirt and answered so softly that she couldn't hear.
Turning her head she caught a nice glimpse of chest which caused her cheeks to tint faintly, "What was that? I didn't hear you."
"Turn around!" he growled, "Pink."
"Pink! Charles, you really must let me go shopping with you next time or at least take Anna. I doubt she'd steer you wrong since you do you pay her salary."
He grunted as he buttoned his new white shirt, "I don't think so. I'll just stick with white, goes with everything, and it's a classic."
"Like you," she agreed over her shoulder and caught another glimpse as he tucked his shirt into his trousers. Was that tartan that she saw?
Finished, he said, "You can turn back now."
She turned around to see that he was pulling his braces into place and had his tie draped around his neck. He began to knot his tie, "So, do you believe you can have those financial statements to me by the end of the week?"
"Certainly, I'll start on them this morning and ring you this afternoon if I need any other information."
"You'd best e-mail. I'll be out of the office. Patmore's is catering a big do for Carlisle Media Group on the fourteenth. I've got to meet with her today to work out the wines and spirits for the bar." Looking over at her carefully, he said, "I've even been invited to attend. I wondered if you might want to go with me."
"On Valentine's Day?"
He nodded with a small grimace, "It's a publicity event for some new romantic film, I believe. I know how you feel about all that romantic nonsense, as you put it, but I thought it might be a good chance for you to meet some new clients, netwalk. Is my tie straight?"
She laughed and crossed to him to straighten his tie, "Network, Charles, it's called networking. That sounds like a good deal for you. I've heard they have tons of money and spare no expense. As your accountant and Mrs. Patmore's, I'm very pleased," she continued quietly, "I would be happy to accompany you. But if you're going to be out of the office, how will you get my e-mail?"
He was distracted for a moment by his view down her blouse and the scent of her hair. Clearing his throat, he stepped away to pick up a rectangular object from his desk, "Old reliable finally died. The fellow at the shop laughed when Anna tried to get it repaired. She bought this contraption for me. She's put my schedule on it and set it up for e-mails."
Elsie looked at it admiringly, "This is the 4S. Your secretary takes good care of you. She certainly got you top of the line. Does this mean I can text you now?"
He shook his head as he fastened his cufflinks, "I prefer e-mails, with them there's no noise."
"Charles," she admonished," you should keep this in your trousers' pocket so you can feel the vibration when it's in silent mode. Then you could turn off the ringer."
He blushed and rubbed the top of his ear, "No; I'd really rather not."
At her uplifted eyebrows his blush deepened, but he continued, "The vibrate function is rather vigorous."
Elsie looked down so that he couldn't see her smile and tried to change the subject, "Have you set up different ringtones for some of the people who call you frequently yet?"
"I don't really care for any of the ones on the phone, and I don't fancy buying them individually, seems like a waste of money to me," he said as he buttoned his waistcoat.
"You can make them from your own collection in ITunes. You do have some songs in ITunes, don't you?"
"Of course I do, I'm not completely helpless! But the online manual didn't say anything about making ringtones," he said a little confused.
"You read the whole manual?"
"I believe in being very thorough and doing things correctly. You know that."
She nodded, that certainly described him perfectly, "It's very easy really. All you have to do is create an AAC version and…" she trailed off at his blank look and laughed, "I'll help you if you like, but now I need to get upstairs to work. You're not my only client, you know."
"I know," he smiled, "but I am your first client, very handy having my accountant just upstairs."
"Just as handy as having my wine merchant as my downstairs neighbor, I suppose," she said eyes drawn to his smile briefly.
"Tonight?"
"Beg pardon?" she asked.
"Would you like to come over to my flat tonight to make ringtones? I could make pasta with that special sauce that you like, and of course, I always promise a good wine."
Her eyes darted toward the floor and she took a half-step back, "Actually, I wanted to ask if you could help me find a wine for this evening. I have an old friend visiting from out of town."
"Ahh," he said stepping back himself and picking up his jacket, "Of course, I'd be happy to be of assistance," leading her toward the door to the show room, "What does she like?"
"He," she corrected, "and I doubt he's very picky. Whatever you think would be best."
"You won't be going out to dinner?" he paused to ask as he pulled his cuffs down.
"No," she replied carefully, "I thought we could have some privacy to catch up with each other."
"He's from Edinburgh?"
She smiled, "We worked together before I decided to strike out on my own here in York."
"Well, I for one am very glad you chose to cross the border five years ago," he said meeting her eyes very seriously for a long moment.
After asking a few questions about the meal she had planned, he helped her choose her wine, waving away her payment, "Consider it a perk of being my accountant. Will he be staying long? That is, I was wondering when you'd be free to help with my phone."
"I'm not really sure," she answered looking down quickly again.
"Perhaps it would be best if we just planned on breakfast," he suggested, "Then I wouldn't impose on any of your evenings. Omelets are my other specialty, but unfortunately no wine."
She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before answering, "Yes; that would work for me. 8 o'clock?"
"Let's say 7:30 or maybe even 7 o'clock. We'd not want to be late for work," he said smiling, "It's a bit cool outside. Why don't you take the back stairs instead of going out and up the front?"
She nodded at his thoughtfulness with a small smile, "I'll see you tomorrow at 7 o'clock then."
Once she'd gone to her office, he smiled grimly, congratulating himself. He must not be staying with her or she wouldn't have agreed to breakfast, and it would take her a quarter of an hour to get from her flat to his, and surely at least a half hour or maybe more to get ready. At least he could be sure that her 'friend' wouldn't be having a late morning with his accountant.
He turned to his secretary, "Make sure I don't have any early appointments tomorrow, Anna."
"Of course sir," she smiled, "Ms. Hughes is dining with someone else tonight sir? I had always thought that you make a lovely couple."
He looked at her sternly, "Mind your own business. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it. Besides I'm too set in my ways for someone like her."
"Well, sir, it seems to me that she seems willing to put up with some of those ways, and I've seen a few of those ways change since she came here."
"Get back to work young lady before I decide I need a new secretary," he said gruffly but with a half smile on his face.
ECH
Charles glanced grimly at his large grandfather clock. He could hear the ticking but would have sworn that the hands had not moved since he last glanced at it what felt like ten minutes ago, but the hands told him that it had been just one. It was now 8:33 pm, and his thoughts were with his accountant. He wondered if she was having a good time and sincerely hoped that she was not. Whoever this 'old friend' was, Charles hated him vigorously. He entertained himself for a few moments with some of the disasters that could befall her friend. Maybe he would choke on a bit of bread or have an allergic reaction and swell up like a balloon. Better still, maybe he would do something incredibly stupid like tweak Elsie about her frugality. She hated it when people stereotyped her as being cheap just because she was Scottish. If he was very fortunate, maybe her 'old friend' would belch in the middle of the meal. Surely that would put Elsie off.
Standing in disgust at himself for his thoughts, he carried his plate and silverware to the kitchen sink. He scraped the last bits of his meal into the disposal and flipped the switch. Then he carefully washed his plate and the pans, before stacking them neatly in the cupboard. Finishing quickly, he decided that he might as well do the prep work for their breakfast tomorrow to save himself a bit of time. He could slice the vegetables at least. He had decided on toast, omelets, and grilled tomatoes. Pulling out the tomato, he sliced it first before placing it in a plastic container in the fridge. Then he brushed off the mushrooms while he thought about the meal. He knew Elsie liked mushrooms but would she want the peppers he'd bought in her omelet? Grinning suddenly, he wiped his hands on the towel. He'd just have to ask her.
Finding his phone, he scrolled through to the H's quickly and pressed the number with some satisfaction.
ECH
Elsie glanced toward her foyer in irritation at the sound of the harsh rock and roll beat. She rose from the settee and crossed quickly to answer her phone. Joe watched her curiously and nonchalantly listened to her side of the conversation.
"Hello Charles"
"Yes; I knew it was you. There's this wonderful invention called 'caller ID'. Most phones have it."
"You called to ask me that?"
"Well, I think I'd rather just have the mushrooms and maybe a little cheese, if you don't mind. I'm not too keen on peppers that early."
She stepped into her kitchen to finish the conversation, "You know that I prefer tea, but honestly, I'll take my caffeine any way that I can get it."
Laughing, she said, "Well, I wouldn't go quite that far."
"The best way to prepare would be to pick out a few of your favorite songs. Ones that remind you of some of the people you know, and that you won't mind hearing frequently."
"I really need to get back to my guest. We still have some catching up to do."
"Yes; 7 o'clock. I'll be there."
Returning to sit beside Joe on the settee, Elsie apologized, "I'm sorry. I've promised to do a favor for a friend, and he had a few questions."
"No apologies are necessary," Joe reassured her, "Wild Thing?"
She blushed slightly, "Yes; it amuses me a little to be the stuffy accountant and have that as my ringtone."
He smiled at her and said softly, "Wild thing, you make my heart sing. You make everything groovy. Wild thing, I think I love you, but I want to know for sure.—That brings back some memories."
Playing with the pattern on the settee, she said, "Yes; for me too."
"Elsie, I—"
Her phone rang again, and it definitely rang, no music this time. He looked at her in surprised confusion when she rose to answer the phone.
"Hello Anna."
"Yes; it was periwinkle," she laughed, "Under no circumstances should you allow him to shop alone again. I'll call you back another time, though. I have a guest, and we've already been interrupted once."
When she returned to the sitting area, Joe had moved to the armchair. "Is 'Wild Thing' your ringtone for just one person?"
She nodded.
"The person who shouldn't be allowed to shop on his own?" he asked.
She nodded again.
"And the person you're meeting at 7 o'clock tomorrow?"
Looking at him sadly, she nodded one last time.
Joe rose, "Well, I suppose that's my answer then. It was nice catching up with you, Elsie dear, but it seems my chance has passed."
"Joe," she began quietly, "you'll always be very special to me, but…"
"But I don't make your heart sing," he finished for her.
"No, no, you don't," she smiled at him in relief for his understanding, "In many ways, I wish that you did."
"I wish that I did too, Elsie dear," he smiled sadly and walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.
Reviews are always welcome. I must say that this is the first time I have ever even conceived of a 'modern AU' and/or songfic so I'm a bit nervous.