Special thanks to Sara for beta reading my story. Please review !
Chapter 1
The climate of excitement and agitation provoked by the arrival of three managers from the bank's headquarters was a subject of wonder to Elisabeth Bennet. Surveying the employees gathered in the biggest meeting room to welcome the newcomers, she let her thoughts stray. At this time of the day, they would all usually be sitting quietly at their desks. Some would relax by spending time on the phone with their friends, some would gossip about their managers, others would browse the Internet. But this morning, they had all left their desks to greet the newcomers, after having thoroughly tidied up their desk in case of an unlikely but feared managers' inspection.
The assembly was made up of employees of the Swiss branch of Darcy Private Bank in Geneva, a private bank based in Dublin, Ireland. They had been informed a few months ago that the management of the company had made the crucial decision to move the bank headquarters to Geneva, the international centre of private banking. Indeed, for the last few years, the business of the Swiss branch had taken such a great importance that the relocation of the head office appeared logical to everybody.
The employees had been notified that the process of relocation would start with visit from William Darcy, the CEO of the company; Charles Bingley, the Financial Controller; and his sister Caroline, the IT manager. They would come to assess what had to be done and to prepare a schedule of due dates, as well as to become familiar with the city and to get to know the employees.
Since the news of their coming had spread, Elisabeth had heard a lot of gossip about the three Irish. William Darcy was acknowledged as a very talented manager who not only succeeded in taking over the Darcy Private Bank after his father's death, but also greatly expanded the company. Indeed, he made of his father's already prosperous bank a blooming company whose activities were no longer limited to Ireland, but internationally extended with branches in the biggest cities of the world. He was portrayed as a proud, arrogant, reserved man, and according to the women who saw him, he was a handsome thirty-something, tall and athletic with a pale Irish skin and dark hair, and - this detail was always stressed on - still single.
People had much less information about the two others. Charles Bingley was known as a very easygoing man whose character was a complete contrast to his capricious and moody sister Caroline.
Contrary to nearly all the staff standing beside her in the meeting room, Elisabeth was waiting for their arrival without much excitement. She didn't feel very much involved in the company, since she was only working there part-time, giving help wherever it was needed - in turn answering the phone and welcoming people at the reception, assisting her sister Jane, the manager of the HR department, or simply taking photocopies and dealing with archiving. She had been working there for three years now and though it wasn't a very rewarding job, she enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that most of the employees had become friends of hers over the years. In sum, it was for her a good way to earn some money while pursuing her studies in French literature. In fact, she was much more worried about the upcoming final exam for her master's degree in French literature than about William Darcy and the Bingleys' coming.
Still, all the gossiping had made Elisabeth a little bit curious to see what they were like, in truth. When she saw them enter the room and make their way to the podium, she smirked. The likeness of the portraits had been good: there was an impression of pride and coolness about William Darcy - whether it was due to his look or the way he was looking at the people, she couldn't tell. Beside him stood Charles and Caroline Bingley. One could immediately recognise they were siblings: both were tall and slim, blond, with fair and freckled faces. However, whereas Charles was simply smiling, his sister Caroline was affecting an expression of disdainful indifference.
The silence that fell upon their arrival was broken by Mr. Marceau, the director of the Geneva branch, who warmly greeted the newcomers and started a welcoming speech. William Darcy didn't seem very much touched by these kind gestures and kept his inscrutable attitude throughout the speech. When Mr. Marceau stopped talking, William Darcy took the floor for a few minutes to explain in broad outline the schedule of the bank headquarters' relocation and the changes that would be made. His voice, though not showing any emotion, was clear and low, while his decided and precise tone inspired the audience's respect. When he finished speaking, the assembly applauded and the conversations restarted in a lively tone to comment on what was said.
Elisabeth sighed and turned to her sister Jane. "I understood in spite of his terrible accent, that he is extremely happy to be here; he really looks forward to meeting us all and to discovering the fair city of Geneva - I can tell that by looking at his happy face!"
"Lizzy, don't pass such a hasty judgement on him! He may not smile much, but he is surely a very competent and efficient manager. That's what matters, after all."
"And about Caroline Bingley - am I allowed to have a hasty but valid opinion?"
Jane smiled. "You'd rather look at Charles Bingley… He seems very nice and friendly."
"Ok, that will do - one nice person out of three. It's not much, is it?"
They both silently observed the newcomers, who Mr. Marceau personally introduced to each manager. Every time they met somebody new, Mr. Marceau made a little speech, Darcy slightly bowed, followed by Caroline Bingley. Charles Bingley smiled and said a few kind words before moving to the next person.
After a few minutes it was the Bennet sisters' turn to be introduced: "Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, Miss Bingley, let me introduce Jane Bennet and her sister Elisabeth."
While they were shaking hands, Mr. Marceau went on. "Jane Bennet has been our very efficient HR manager for… 5 years now, is it right Miss Bennet?" She nodded. "So Mr. Bingley, because you'll mainly work with Miss Bennet, we took care of installing your office right beside her own. That will make things easier for you two."
Charles Bingley grinned broadly. The prospect of working in a new place, since it meant working with such a charming colleague as Jane, suddenly didn't bother him that much any more. "Miss Elisabeth Bennet has been working here for 3 years now," Mr. Marceau went on, "and her desk is in the same office as Jane's. She helps do several different administrative tasks at many departments. She works part-time here, so you will only see her only in the mornings. Elisabeth Bennet will assist you, Mr. Darcy, in organising your office and settling you in here." Darcy bowed without adding further comment.
As Bingley quickly engaged in a conversation with Jane, and Mr. Marceau with Caroline Bingley, Darcy and Elisabeth looked at each other. In this kind of situation, Elisabeth, with her open and easy-going nature, would usually start a small chat, just to avoid an awkward silence, but Darcy's cool look of indifference prevented her of saying anything. So they remained silent for what seemed to Elisabeth endless seconds. He eventually said something, but it proved to be completely incomprehensible to Elisabeth. She blushed, trying to mentally repeat the syllables he had just pronounced but it soon appeared she hadn't the slightest clue of what he said. As she didn't answer, he frowned and repeated what seemed to be exactly the same sentence, which didn't help her at all. She started panicking and finally said: "I am afraid my English is not perfect yet. Would you mind saying that more slowly?"
He looked at her coldly and said: "And yet I had been told that all the employees working here had at least basic knowledge of English."
She first flushed, affected by the scornful tone of his voice, but immediately after she felt that she couldn't let him despise her just because she had trouble deciphering his Irish accent. Did he really think she didn't know one word of English? Did he really think she listened to the director's speech, to his own speech, and then to Mr. Marceau introducing them without understanding anything? She looked at him right in the eyes. "I am afraid you got wrong information, Mr. Darcy," she said in a sarcastic tone.
He looked at her with a surprised air but said no more. Keen to end this disagreeable talk, she turned towards her sister and Charles Bingley to join their conversation. Soon afterwards, the newcomers followed Mr. Marceau to the next group of people. No sooner had the sisters been alone than Elisabeth told Jane what had just happened between Darcy and her.
"Who the hell does he think he is?" she said at the end of her story.
"Tone it down, will you? Why do you always have to be so quick-tempered?" Jane said, anxious that they were being listened to.
Elisabeth sighed. Her sister was right, as always. Though very annoyed by Darcy and his hurtful comment, she wasn't the type of girl to stay cross for long, so she was soon in better mood and asked Jane what she thought of Bingley.
"I'd say he seems really nice and laid back… I don't think we'll have any problem working together."
Elisabeth laughed. "If he grins at you every day the way he did today, you'll have trouble concentrating."
"Stop, Lizzy, he is only my new manager!" She paused and laughed. "Which doesn't mean I don't find him good-looking."
They laughed and went on with a lively conversation which other girls soon joined, all gossiping about each one of the newcomers. At lunchtime, Elisabeth's work day was over, so she cheerfully said goodbye to all around. As she was walking out of the room, her gaze suddenly stopped on William Darcy. She held his eyes for a moment, wondering what she was doing wrong to deserve such a cold gaze.
"Good bye Mr. Darcy. See you tomorrow," she said coldly when she walked past him. He answered her greeting with a simple nod and turned his head away.
