Charlotte, thank you so much for betareading my story!

Chapter 2

At the end of the day, the three Irish met at the restaurant of their hotel for dinner.

"So Will," Charles inquired, looking around for a waiter, "now that we are finally alone, tell me what you think of our future Swiss colleagues and headquarters?"

"Well, I suppose it will be a big shock to all of them when we are fully settled here. It's not the first time I've come over, but I admit, I never paid much attention to anything other than accounting before. Have you noticed the lax way they treat our business? Or the way they seem to disregard what "hierarchy" is? I hate it when you can't distinguish between the manager and the trainee, when subordinates don't show any respect to the people above them."

"What are you talking about? I didn't see anything of the kind here. I've noticed that the atmosphere is relaxed, but what's wrong with that? Whatever you might say, you must admit that last year's accounting reports from the Geneva branch were excellent and that can only be the result of serious work!"

"I agree with Will completely," Caroline cried, "The majority of them weren't even wearing suits! Wouldn't that be the first thing required when one works in banking?" She paused for a second before asking furtively, "Did you notice her?"

"Who's her?" Charles asked. Elisabeth's image popped in Darcy's head.

"Never mind." Caroline went on, "There was a girl wearing clothes I would have on to go to the beach to wear."

"I think I know who!" Charles exclaimed. "You're talking about one of the Bennet sisters, aren't you? Not the HR manager, the other one?" She nodded. "Caroline, she wasn't wearing beach clothes! She wasn't wearing a suit, but she was neatly dressed, I thought."

She turned to face Darcy, and said, sure of his approval:

"Will, you would never allow that in Dublin, would you?"

"Indeed, I wouldn't, especially when it's someone who is dealing directly with executives."

"I didn't know you were so fussy about dress code, Will. Since when did you pay attention to that kind of detail?" Charles cried.

Darcy shrugged. "Anyway, there will be a lot of work to do here, to make this place really look like a head office." Caroline nodded again.

"I think you are seeing things much worse than what they actually are," Charles said. "I was very pleased with the kind welcome. Again, from what I saw, the atmosphere here is very friendly and relaxed, which I don't think is a bad point!"

Darcy shook his head. He changed the subject, knowing Charles well enough to see that they wouldn't come to an understanding on that point.

Still, at the back of his head, he had a last thought of Elisabeth before going back to work. He would show to everybody what work meant, and especially to her. "We'll see tomorrow if she is able to work for me."

The following day, Elisabeth rushed into Darcy's office. She wanted to check that everything was ready before he arrived. Startled, she stopped dead when she realised that Darcy was there, working at his desk. She dropped one of the many folders she had in her arms, which made him look up. Without a word, he got up out of his seat and picked up the folder to put it on his desk.

"Mr. Darcy, what... what are you doing here?" Elisabeth stammered.

"I'm working, as you can see," he replied coldly.

"Err, I know that, I only meant, what are you doing here so early?" She paused and tried to collect herself. "Sorry, I was just bringing you some folders you may need. Well, I can see that you wonder who I am. My name is Elisabeth Bennet," she explained, worried at his absence of reaction. "I'm in charge of ..."

"...helping me organise my office, I know who you are, thank you," he cut her off rudely.

Elisabeth's cheeks turned red immediately – how she wished she were able to hide her feelings! - and looked down to avoid his intent gaze.

"S-sorry, it just that I didn't expect you to be in so early," Elisabeth mumbled.

"Did you think I was here on holiday?" he asked sarcastically. "There is a lot to be done here. I want this office to be completely organised and ready by the end of my stay. Is that clear?"

"Very clear," she answered with a faint pout.

Her little show of rebellion didn't go unnoticed by Darcy, who kept his eyes on her mouth for a few seconds. He was about to say something but he seemed to think better of it. Walking back to his desk he pointed at the folders still in her hand.

"Put them here," he ordered. Then he started to explain in a few words what he wanted her to do. She felt she'd better remember at once everything he said. Indeed, she wasn't quite sure – to say the least - he was as comprehensive a manager as Mr. Marceau.

The morning went on with him sitting at his desk studying files and her classifying the folders on the shelves. She couldn't stop brooding on what had just happened. "How dare he talk to me this way?" She was angry at herself for having let him treat her like that. She wasn't a shy girl but there was something in Darcy that made her uncomfortable. Maybe it was because it was so difficult to know what was in his mind, or because he had a kind of naturalsuperiority that could only impress people.

"Do not expect me to be your slave, Darcy! You can do that to anybody else you want, but not to me," she silently shouted at him. She promised to herself to answer him back sharp the next time something of the kind would happen.

Yet she felt uneasy all morning, working silently in the same room with him. She was used to chatting with colleagues while working. But this morning, after he had told her what to do, they didn't exchange a single word. She had simply nothing to tell him and – thank God! - he obviously had no interest in chatting with her.

When lunchtime came, she said goodbye to Darcy and left work, fixing her mind on herforthcoming exams and the huge amount of work left. These were her final exams so she really wanted to pass them. After a quick lunch she directly went to the library of her university, where she spent the rest of the day, as she did everyday.

At the end of the day, Charles entered Darcy's office. After he had closed the door behind him, he sat down on the seat in front of Darcy's desk, a big smile on his face.

"Will, how was your day? Sorry I didn't have a single minute to come see you."

"No worries, how did you get on?"

"Well. Very well I'd say!" Charles grinned.

"Really?" Darcy asked suspiciously.

"Will, I think something happened yesterday." Charles said, trying to hide his excitement. "You know, when I met Jane Bennet, the HR manager. Well I had the feeling we... would… get on well."

"Oh no, no, NO, Charles, please don't tell me…"

Charles laughed. "Tell you what? Anyway, have you seen how gorgeous she is? My God, I worked with her for the whole day and I couldn't stop looking at her. Will, have you seen her?"

"Stop! You're her boss! Or did you forget this infinitesimal, completely inconsequential fact?" Darcy asked sarcastically, frowning.

"I know, I know, but what can I do about it?"

"About what?"

"About her being gorgeous!" he laughed, examining Darcy in the eye. "Don't tell me you haven't even spotted her!"

Darcy frowned and kept silent for a while. Then he shook his head and said, "Please, don't. You're not here for that."

"What's wrong with making an effort to integrate with local people? I might ask her to guide me into Geneva nightlife actually," he said jokingly, but it was obvious he was seriously considering this idea.

Darcy smiled, but only because he couldn't believe his ears.

"Please calm down, will you? You've been here for only two days!"

"Yeah, yeah I'll calm down. Will she accept, do you think?" he asked, following what was in his mind.

"What?"

"If I ask her out?"

Darcy rolled his eyes, and Charles went on with more caution: "Well, just to know the city a little bit better! After all we can't spend the whole week we are in Switzerland just working. We should go out and enjoy ourselves, too!"

"Charles, you're her manager… Just trust me on that: don't mix with employees."

"It will only be a 'work outing.' Of course Caroline will be there, too… I could ask Jane Bennet's sister, so you wouldn't be trapped with Caroline for the whole night. Elisabeth is not bad-looking either, is she?"

"No need to ask Elisabeth Bennet or whoever else you want, I am not coming," Darcy muttered. "She's not exactly a top model anyway."

"What? Are you joking? She's nearly as cute as her sister!" Charles cried.

Darcy shook his head. He wouldn't continue on this subject.

"Ok, let's talk business, that's why we are here, I suppose?" Charles sighed.

He took the sheets Darcy held out to him. Both of them knew that a lot of problems had to be solved this week. They came over on Monday and were leaving on Saturday, so they only had four full work days in Switzerland. Still, it took Charles a few minutes to shift his mind from Jane to work. He would ask her out, that was decided.

On the following morning, Elisabeth came in very early again. As she was walking towards Darcy's office she could see the door was open. She stopped at the doorway and looked in. Completely involved in his work, Darcy didn't notice her coming in the room until she said hello, which made him look up and answer her with a simple nod. She asked him if she could keep doing the same job as the previous day. He agreed and that was it: they didn't talk again until Charles came in with Jane and asked them if they wanted to come along for a break. Elisabeth happily accepted and walked out with Jane, whereas Charles had to negotiate with Darcy for a few minutes before getting him out of his work.

When they met again in the little canteen, the two sisters were already in a very lively conversation. Even when the very distant Caroline joined them, the atmosphere remained cheerful. Darcy was standing a little bit behind, observing what was going on. It was obvious that the two sisters were as thick as thieves.

Remembering what Charles had said about Jane yesterday, he could only admit she was very good-looking: she had delicate features framed by long brown hair and a very skinny figure that could make her to be a model. No wonder she was Charles's taste! Darcy could already tell that if she kept smiling like that, she would get whatever she wanted from Charles.

At that moment Jane said to Elisabeth: "Do you have any plans for tonight, Lizzy?"

"No, not yet. How about you?"

"Well, Mr. Bingley and I thought it would be a good idea to go out to take our mind off work. We could have a walk down the old town and have a drink in some bar there. What do you think?"

Elisabeth, though able to see Darcy looking at Charles in an "Are you crazy?" sort of way, still answered happily: "Great idea. What time could we meet at? 8 o'clock in front of the bank? We could walk to the old town from there."

"Cool," Charles cried. "I look forward to checking out the pubs in Geneva… As long as they have Guinness on tap, we'll be sorted!" The sisters laughed. Then Charles turned towards Darcy and Caroline: "Will you join us?"

While Caroline was waiting for Darcy's reaction, the latter said coldly: "Charles, do you realise the amount of work we have left until Saturday? Sorry, I have too much to do to even imagine going out. In any case, I made it a rule not to mix business with..." He paused and said in a scornful tone "anything else, whatever it is."

Elisabeth and Jane looked at Darcy in shock, but Charles didn't seem really surprised by his reaction.

With a resigned look, he didn't insist on the subject. He had known Darcy long enough to know that he wasn't the type of man to change his mind once he made a decision.

Caroline, already looking forward to spending an entire evening with Darcy alone, didn't wait long before making up an excuse: she was too tired and preferred stay at the hotel.

Caroline had been Darcy's tireless suitor for many years now. Her brother Charles had met Darcy at Trinity College in Dublin and they had quickly become best friends; it was at that period that Charles had introduced her to Darcy. She had immediately recognised in him the qualities she was looking for in a man: on top of being handsome and proud, he was ensured to get a very good job at his father's bank after completing his studies, and later inherit his parent's huge fortune. Being from a very rich Dubliner family herself, she couldn't imagine marrying a man who wouldn't have the same social status as her. She was simply too used to her standard of living to think of giving it up for a man she would fall in love with. Darcy was the best choice for her and from the beginning of their acquaintance she had made everything to seek his favour. However, in spite of all her efforts, he never showed any sign of affection for her. Yet nevertheless she had never lost hope.

When Darcy took over Darcy Private Banking, after a difficult period, he understood that to be successful in business, he needed trustworthy executives around him. He first hired his best friend Charles as administrator and a few months later Caroline as IT manager. Indeed, even if he didn't like her clinging to him, he knew she would do a very good job in the bank. For Caroline, to be chosen by Darcy to work in his company and to be in a daily contact with him made her twice as hopeful as ever. She was relentlessly trying to get some attention from him, to his great displeasure and to Charles' embarrassment.

Whereas Charles was visibly disappointed with Darcy's not coming along, Elisabeth was in a much more cheerful mood.

"Ok, there won't be many of us, I'm afraid!" Charles said.

"I'm sure we'll have great fun! We'll show you the best bars in town! That's quite promising, isn't it?" Elisabeth said laughing.

"I can't wait!" Charles answered, looking at Jane's charming smile. It was obvious to everybody that he was falling for her. It was so irritating for Darcy to witness that he left the room, though not before declaring that he had better work, as it wouldn't be done on its own. Seeing him leave, Elisabeth whispered regretfully to Jane: "I'd better go, too, otherwise I might get whipped! See you tonight!"

The morning went by desperately slow to Elisabeth, still stuck in Darcy's office. She left him happily at 12 sharp.