Chapter 8
Determined to be prepared for battle, Beth spent some extra time getting dressed and even putting on makeup that morning. She picked out her light blue, V-neck chemise dress with a navy blazer and navy pumps - trying to keep her clothing light incase she had any hot flashes again. She kept telling herself that she wasn't trying to impress Mr. Intolerable with her appearance, that she was a professional woman and had a job to do; unfortunately, the small voice of reality inside her head reminded her otherwise.
Jane and Beth rode quietly to the Longbourne firm together, one overwhelmed with anticipation, the other with anxiety. Jane informed her that Charles and Mr. Darcy were due in to the firm around eleven this morning and they would do a brief tour, since Mr. Darcy hadn't been present for the one yesterday, introduce them to some of the key employees, and then take them to lunch. Beth nodded, trying to reassure herself that she could do this.
When they arrived, Jane went up to their father's office to go over a contract for a client of theirs and take care of some other minor business before their guests arrived. The firm was three floors - the reception as well as interns and junior associates were stationed on the first floor, Jane and the senior associates on the second, and her father and Bill Collins on the third floor along with some conference rooms. While there was an elevator, it wasn't very conveniently located, so most people just used the large, decorative staircase that went up to the center of each floor. Since Jane was upstairs working with their dad, Beth took over her office, setting her purse and briefcase down behind the desk, pulling out her laptop and opening her email to check in with her assistants and begin some client work. Before she knew it Jane was standing in the doorway with a big smile on her face.
"I was just buzzed that Charles and Mr. Darcy are here," Jane said, excitedly.
Beth tried to put on a brave face and followed her out of the office. As they walked down the stairs to the reception, Beth managed to get a glimpse of Mr. Darcy first. He was facing away from them, attired in an impeccably cut navy suit. Even without seeing his face, he seemed like a statue - poised and rigid, probably determined to glare intruders into submission. By complete contrast, Charles had his elbow resting on the reception counter and was cheerfully chatting with Claire, the receptionist. He noticed the girls first, his face lighting up on seeing Jane.
"Good morning, Misses Bennetts!" he exclaimed jovially as he began to walk to greet them with a large bouquet of yellow tulips in his hand, "These, my lovely Jane, are for you for graciously agreeing to put up with me for a second day in a row." Charles handed a blushing Jane the flowers. She closed her eyes and took a moment to smell them, pleasure spreading across her face as she quietly thanked him.
At his words, Beth held her breath as Mr. Darcy reservedly turned to face them, hoping her uneasiness didn't show. When he saw her, his reserve visibly faltered as his mouth parted ever so slightly; as soon as his eyes met her, there was a distinct flash of desire which was immediately suppressed by his mask of composure. With a grim line on his mouth, he followed Bingley toward them and murmured a low, "Good morning."
"Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you so much for coming," Beth smiled and replied very cordially, trying to ignore the heat that had begun to suffuse throughout her body. Deliberately not making eye contact with Mr. Intolerable she continued, "if you'd like to follow us, we can drop Jane's flowers in her office and then continue on with the tour."
The group made their way back to the second floor and into Jane's office.
"These are so beautiful, Charles. Thank you so much. I know I have a vase right back he—" Jane spoke as she made her way around her desk, not realizing that Beth's laptop bag was on the floor. Her heel got caught in the strap and she half fell onto her desk chair, dropping the flower onto the floor.
"Jane! Are you ok?" Charles exclaimed as he rushed behind the desk to help her.
"I'm so sorry Jane, I left my bag there. It's my fault." Beth went over and began to pick up the flowers from the floor as Charles lifted Jane up to sit on her chair.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just hope I didn't crush the beautiful flowers." Jane tried to reassure them as she stood back up and grabbed the vase behind her desk for Beth to set the tulips in.
"They are good as new," Beth said as she arranged the blooms.
"Oh good." The relief visible on her face. "Now before I fall again, lets get on with the —- ow!" Jane attempted to stand and take steps toward the office door, but found that she was unable to put any weight on that ankle without it giving out.
"I must have twisted it. I'm so sorry for the trouble everyone," she apologized profusely as she allowed Bingley, who had caught her again as she stumbled, to guide her back to down into chair.
"Jane, I'm going to go get you some ice to put on that. You shouldn't walk on it until the doctor takes a look. We can reschedule the tour for another day," Beth suggested.
"Oh no, Beth, I don't want to set us behind. Why don't you take them without me? I'll call dad down to take a look and call the doctor."
"I have a better idea," said Charles. "Beth, I'll get some ice and stay here with your sister this way you can take Darcy here for the tour. I saw mostly everything yesterday anyway so I won't be missing much."
Just when she thought her day could not possible be any more trying, now she was going to have to spend the entire afternoon alone with Mr. Intolerable.
"Are you sure, Jane? I can stay with you if you want. It's really not a big deal to reschedule," she tried to persuade her sister, sending her pleading 'don't do this to me' looks.
Unfortunately, Jane was too preoccupied with Charles' attention to her ankle that she didn't pick up on Beth's distress. "No, it's really ok, Beth. Charles will stay with me, you can take Mr. Darcy. I'd hate for this to set back this process." Jane hated to let anyone down, especially their father on something so important as this contract; at this moment, Beth's aversion to Mr. Darcy was the last thing that would have crossed her mind.
"Alright, if you say so," she replied, turning around to face her nemesis. "Mr. Darcy, if you wouldn't mind, I would be very happy to give you a brief tour of our firm," she said almost too politely, with a fake smile on her face. Lord, help me.
At her statement, his eyebrows raised slightly as a challenge to her statement that she was pleased to be stuck with him. After she confronted him the other night, he was beginning to see that there was no end to her gumption and determination. Many women would have pretended not to hear such unflattering terms, let alone rub them in his face and then happily agree to endure his presence only a few days later; he was impressed. "That would be very convenient, Miss Bennett. Thank you." Turning briefly to Jane and Charles he said, "I hope your ankle feels better."
Convenient? What the hell does that mean? This man made her brain work overtime. Determined not to be defeated, she focused on her goals: giving him a tour of the firm and discreetly extracting information about his social schedule and relationship status for Mrs. DeBourgh. Too bad he didn't just have a Facebook that she could just check. What she definitely did not want to happen was to end up in a discussion about their confrontation the other night.
"Wonderful. Now, Mr. Intol—, I mean Mr. Darcy, if you'll follow me we can start on third floor and work our way downstairs," Beth began as she led him up the central staircase to the top floor, ignoring his puzzled look at her almost slip of the tongue.
"On this floor is my father's office as well as Bill Collins and some consult rooms. I don't think my father is due back until lunch and Bill is out on vacation until the end of the month."
"Is he aware that your father is selling the firm? What is his relationship with your family?" Mr. Darcy bluntly asked.
"I'm not sure that my father has told him yet. His family and mine have been close for many years and I think my father promoted him to partner partly because of it. Not that he isn't an excellent lawyer, but he's not very good at managing or directing, so the firm would suffer severely if he were to be placed in charge. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that, and I think he has somewhat expected to be the 'heir' of the firm for some time." Beth was probably giving him too much information but she didn't want there to be an opportunity for him to bring up what had happened at the Gala.
"What about your sister?"
"Which one?" Beth countered, unsure why she felt the need to provoke him.
His brows drew together in confusion for a moment. "You have more than one?" His genuine interest expressed in the question seemed to surprise even himself because he shook his head and rephrased, "I meant what about Jane?"
"I have four sisters, including Jane. What are you wondering about her?" She smiled at him, reveling in his discomposure.
"Doesn't she want to become a lawyer to take over the firm?"
Beth chuckled at that question. She briefly showed him her father's office and the adjacent conference rooms before answering, "No, definitely not. Jane loves her job and is very smart, but she's too nice. She wouldn't make a good lawyer and she knows that."
"You are not so complacent though. You've managed to climb quite high at Gardiner," Darcy observed as a statement of fact and Beth wondered where he was getting his information about her and more importantly, why he was acquiring information on her. She quickly wrote it off as his thorough investigation into her family and their firm.
Using this personal comment as an opportunity to tackle her other task, she tried to nonchalantly ask some questions about his personal life.
"So how long are you in the city for?"
"I'm not sure. At least until this business is finished."
"Oh. Are you planning on attending any summer events while you're in the city?"
Darcy stared at her for a moment and she wondered if she had gone too far before he answered, "Well, aside from your firm's charity I haven't committed to anything."
"Well the Ball is always a nice event. You're welcome to bring a date - if you can find someone tolerable."
Why did she say that. She didn't want to talk about the other night.
Please, please, please don't make this awkward.
He looked at her with an almost pained expression but without addressing her comment said, "Thank you, Miss Bennett however, I'm perfectly content without company."
Incredible. Her immediate relief was short-lived as she was overcome with the strange desire to cry. The man couldn't even acknowledge or apologize for what he had said; and why she was so hurt by that fact bothered her. She hadn't meant to bring up that unfortunate situation but deep down she was childishly hoping that this incredibly powerful man would admit his fault, and ask for her forgiveness. She couldn't understand why she wanted that, but she did.
As they walked down the hall, she told him facts about the firm's history and her family's role in it's continued growth. She elaborated on their current expansions, whom they had hired, which larger clients they were retained by, and her father's future goals for the firm. There wasn't too much to see though on this floor and it seemed that no one was around to provide Beth with some shelter from her imposing companion who seemed barely able to carry a conversation. She picked up her pace and directed them back toward the main staircase to head back down to the second floor.
"We'll continue back down to the second floor where aside from Jane's office, you'll see that our five senior associates are located on this floor as well as their assistants and paralegals," she began. As they approached the ornate stair, she half-turned around and said, "I'm not sure who is in today but I'm happy to introduce you to anyone you want to speak with or ask any questions. Unfortunately, I'm not as knowledgable as Jane."
He was staring at her as she spoke - and not in the polite, I'm-listening-to-you kind of way. First, his eyes were focus on her lips and as she finished her sentence they settled on her eyes with an expression she could only describe as hunger.
"I have a feeling you are much more knowledgable than your sister," was his extremely quiet reply.
Beth wasn't quite sure what she just heard, if she had actually heard something, or if her brain had just imagined sounds coming from his mouth. So shocked was she by this loaded compliment that she stumbled over her own feet and started to fall down the stairs. The next instant, she was upright and hauled against Mr. Intolerable's very hard chest and boy was he hot; not just in the looks department, she could actually feel the heat of his skin radiating underneath her palms.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, or at least that's what it felt like to Beth. One minute she was falling, the next she was being held up against her sworn enemy and the worst part was she wasn't sure which incident was making her heart beat faster. As she stared into his chest, trying to catch her breath, she felt her hands acting with a mind of their own; Her fingers slowly curling into his shirt, the silky soft texture of what must have been very expensive a sharp contrast to the solid muscle of the man underneath it. Her heart still beating out of her chest, she finally dragged her gaze up to his, unsure of what she would find.
Her eyes met fire. His lips were parted and panting and his eyes were a blazing blend of desperation and desire. She bit her lip and his nostrils flared. She could barely breathed, afraid to move a muscle because he looked like he was on the brink of losing control - which up until this moment she had thought an impossibility.
Not breaking eye contact, her brain started to acknowledge her other senses. He had this subtle, earthy smell to him with a little bit of masculine spice, probably from his aftershave. She had felt the heat and hardness of his chest immediately, but now it sunk in that this man definitely took time to keep himself physically fit; she realized that she was not only just crushed up against him, but her feet weren't actually touching the floor, which meant he was holding her up - his arms locked around her back. Everything about him was hard and unyielding, from his strained expression, to his chest, to his arms and further south.
Her eyes widened and jerked back up to meet his which now smokey with lust knowing she had realized the extent of his desire. Her teeth released her lower lip as she sucked in a breath, suddenly desperate for air.
That breath was the straw that broke the camel's back; his exhaled "Fuck" was the last thing she heard before his head swooped down and her mouth was engulfed by the inferno of desire raging inside of him. It seemed that William Darcy had two modalities: unflinchingly reserved and completely unchecked. His kiss was unstoppable conflagration where if she didn't kiss him back, she felt she would completely disintegrate. She hadn't made time for too many kisses in the past few years but she knew that she'd never been kissed like this before; she was pretty sure that most of Manhattan hadn't been kissed like this before. Her body was on fire with a hunger that she had managed to suppress for a long time; her skin tingling and aching. Unable to keep still, her hands started to move up to his shoulders, trying to pull him closer, kiss him deeper. Her rapid breaths brought her closer against his chest.
Just when she was sure he was going to end up taking her on the door of her father's office, the flame was extinguished. It was the coldness, the loss of the heat from his body, that she registered first. Her breath coming in large gulps, it took a moment for her thoughts to collect as she realized that she was standing on her own again with Mr. Darcy a foot or two away from her. As a look of confusion started to appear on her face, she heard what he must have a few seconds earlier, a conversation that was getting louder as the participants made their way up the staircase.
Beth could just imagine what she looked like, red and flushed with swollen lips; her dress crinkled in the front from being smashed up again him and in the back from his attempt to pull it up. She quickly smoothed down her dress and blazer as best as she could and wiped her lips; thankfully, she hadn't put any lipstick on this morning. A quick self-evaluation in the glass wall she was standing next to deemed her presentable, which gave her a moment to glance at Mr. Darcy before the conversation participants on the stairs reached them. While she was just barely able to put herself back together in time, Mr. Intolerable on the other hand hadn't missed a beat. His stoic mask was back in place and he was looking at her like he expected her to continue on with the tour with no mention or recollection of what happened.
Before she could confront him, the voices approaching on the stairs turned out to be George and her father. Her father was completely oblivious to her state of agitation, rather focused on impressing his guests. George on the other hand, who was a little more astute, looked at her and then over at Darcy with a questioning expression; he was quickly distracted in conversation though as her father brought up Jane. She was with the doctor now who was wrapping her ankle, determining it was just a mild sprain and that within a few days she would be fine. Her father informed her that he would finish up the tour for the two gentlemen, if she wanted to wait for her sister and they would all meet for lunch. Grateful for reprieve to settle the hurricane of emotions washing over mind, Beth smiled and nodded, without making eye contact with Mr. Darcy, and headed back down towards Jane's office.
