Chapter four: Investigating begins
"Please don't.. no.."
He kept coming, pity written all over his face.
"You've been a very bad girl haven't you?"
"No, I wasn't! You aren't supposed to be here-"
She tried to back away. Make herself small and unimposing.
"Aren't I though? We're in love Eliza. Why would you run from me?"
"No!"
Running did no good, he soon caught up and yanked her back to him.
"You're making me unhappy. And if I'm not happy, well…"
"Let go of me!"
"We're all done with the game now Eliza, you hid and I found you."
She struggled, kicking and scratching but her efforts were for naught.
"I'll always find you."
"Let go!"
"Always."
"Let me go!"
ALWAYS.
Elise bolted up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat and breathing hard. The flat was quiet, her sister having gone to bed hours earlier and Elise was relieved to find she hadn't woken Jayne with her nightmare. She'd already ruined her sister's evening, she didn't need to screw up her sleep cycle too.
Bad dreams always came after her panic attacks but this one had been especially terrible. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and it took some effort to breathe steady again. Standing shakily she went to the kitchen and put the kettle on, she wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon. And if things hadn't been bad enough, her boss had gotten a front row seat to her little melt down. Lovely. All she could do was to go to work and pretend like nothing had happened and pray Mr. Darcy would do the same
"Anything?"
"You only just texted me cousin, give me a break!"
Shemar sighed impatiently at the video chat.
"When it concerns the company-"
"Yeah I know, I know. Best foot forward, A+ work in all endeavors. But what's so special about this girl? Not like you to go past the usual Pemberley in depth background checks."
"Rich I recognize-"
"I mean you got the references here, past jobs, qualifications, what else do you need?"
"Richie-"
His cousin's voice suddenly took on a sly tone.
"You're a closet pervert aren't you? You wanna find out the color of her lingerie-"
"Don't be crude! Wait… she wears linge-? never mind! Just-"
"Whoa."
"What? Something interesting?"
"I'd say. Hold on, I'm sending it to you now."
Already at his desk, Shemar opened the email Richard sent him and frowned.
"What am I looking at? I already have these records."
"Exactly."
"I don't understand."
Richard huffed at him.
"That's it. I recognize this is only a preliminary search but past these records I can't find anything for her. Nothing past three years, no recordings or photos or messages. It's like Elise Bennett dropped onto the earth and decided to work at Pemberley."
"That's not possible."
"Unless she's from outer space. Hey that'd be cool, having an alien for a secretary-"
"Focus Richard."
His cousin smiled but grew serious once more. Over the chat Darcy could see Rich leaning forward, hands folding.
"Listen. If there's no information on this girl then there's gotta be a reason. How do we know she isn't working for one of our competitors?"
"She doesn't have the stomach for it Rich, when I was out with her earlier-"
"Wait. You were what?"
"Charlie's got a thing for her sister, he asked me to double up."
"So.. are we looking into her for-"
"The company Richard. My concern is only for this company."
"Yeah okay. I believe you." But his smirk said otherwise. Shemar glared back.
"I cannot approach her with only questions. You'll have to keep looking for me."
"I can do that. But you might wanna keep a close eye on her."
"I'm her boss, how much closer can I get?"
"Just.. play up to her. Bingley wants you to come along, go for it. Make friends."
"Again, I'm her boss. That would be-"
"If she's spying for the enemy then you won't be much longer."
"I'll… think about it."
"Hello?"
"Miss Bennett? I need to speak with you in my office please."
"Yes sir."
Elise hung up and smoothed her shirt nervously. It looked like there was no forgetting their "date." Not to mention Jayne had been upset enough to tell her of Darcy's comments. First of all, to say Jayne was a gold-digger was ridiculous, there was no one kinder or more genuine. And an "act"? He thought her panic attack was an "act"? Thinking about it made Elise start to fume all over again. She tried to push it from her mind though and made her way to her Boss's office.
He was standing in front of the floor to ceiling windows, looking out at the busy city below and the ocean in the distance. He turned and the sunlight caught the whisky golden tone in his eyes. With his broad shoulders and lanky build she might have considered him handsome, had he not been such a horrible person.
"Please, have a seat." He gestured to the couch beside a bookcase and she sat down gingerly while he settled himself across from her.
"About the other evening-"
"Sir, I don't think we need to discuss it. I know the situation was an uncomfortable one-"
"That would be an understatement. However I just wanted to check if you were alright."
She blinked in surprise.
"Um.. I'm fine Mr. Darcy. Thank you."
"Good. Is there anything you want to share or talk about? I'm a good listener."
He smiled, face open and void of any judgements. She was instantly wary.
"No, I'm okay."
"You're sure?" His tone was too eager. Too.. curious.
"Yeah. Thank you though."
"Of course." He looked crestfallen but quickly straightened up. " If that was the case, we'll consider the matter closed. In the meantime, I've a few things to go over with you as we'll be preparing for a charity gala. I'd like you in charge of the event planning."
Again, he had surprised her.
"Mr. Darcy I- I would love to but I've only just begun working he-"
"Here at Pemberley inc. we employ only the best. If you're going to be my secretary I need to see what you can do. I need to know you can handle publicity, responsibility and our company's renowned image."
She closed her mouth which had fallen open and nodded.
"I won't let you down Mr. Darcy."
"See that you don't Miss Bennett. I'll be watching very closely."