Hi everyone! I'm so sorry it has been so long. RL has been so busy and overwhelming and, to be honest, when I've had extra time, I've taken it to read all of the other awesome Chelsie fanfic out there. But, I'm back, and I hope to update more quickly, especially since I will be off work next week. A huge shout out to csota, ChelsieSouloftheAbbey, who gave me a nudge in one of her messages. Knowing she reads my stuff, among many others of you, is extremely flattering and propels me forward. I hope you like where I am taking these two. A short A/N at the end just to explain something.
"Well, you seem awfully cheerful this morning," Anna commented as she walked into Elsie's office, finding her boss smiling as she seemed to be staring at her computer screen. Elsie had come in with a huge smile on her face. She feigned that it was excitement over Anna's ring, but Anna was way more perceptive than that. She knew Elsie was extremely happy for her, but there was a certain twinkle in Elsie's eyes that told Anna there was more to it.
"Sorry, what?" Elsie asked as she looked up at Anna, who was handing her a mug of coffee. At that moment, she happened to be thinking about her morning with Charles, waking up in his arms, getting ready for work alongside him, enjoying his presence much more than she ever thought she would enjoy anyone sharing her space. "Oh, you are a darling," she said, smiling at Anna. "Thank you," she said as she took a sip of the steaming liquid.
"So, spill it," Anna said, sitting in one of the leather chairs in front of Elsie's desk, planting herself there until she got out of Elsie what it was that was making her so cheery.
"Spill what?" Elsie asked, feigning ignorance, reaching out to grab a folder from the side of the desk and handing it to Anna. "Here. This folder has all of the invoices for the launch party. I also shared a folder with you via email that includes all of the emails from the vendors, if you wouldn't mind organizing them by category so that I can move on to the airport accounts to make sure we are on track for the advertising billboards to go up."
Anna reached over and took the folder, but she was not going to back down. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me, Elsie Hughes." Anna sat with her arms crossed across her chest and a stern look on her face. Elsie stared at her for a moment, considering whether or not she wanted to share the details of her weekend. She enjoyed having Charles to herself, as if he was her own special little secret. However, she knew it couldn't last forever, so she decided to let Anna in on a little of it.
"Fine," she said. "Close the door, please." Anna raised her eyebrows, in a bit of a shock, but stood up and complied. After she had sat back down, Elsie took her glasses off and bit the end of one of the arms, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to tell Anna. "I had dinner with Mr. Carson," she said simply.
Anna looked at her and replied right away. "I know that. You told me that Saturday morning when I called you."
Elsie shook her head. "No, I had dinner with him on Saturday, actually," she said, pursing her lips and smirking a bit.
Anna couldn't help the giant smile that instantly was on her face. "Ha!" she said. "I told you a little lovin' goes a long way! You are positively glowing, Elsie!" Anna was so excited that maybe, just maybe, Elsie was allowing herself to open up to someone.
Elsie rolled her eyes a little. "Honestly, Anna, you're absolutely incorrigible. You know that, right?"
"I certainly do, and I'll never change when it comes down to you. I really am happy for you. So, it was a good time then?" She asked, not wanting to pry for too many details. She knew Elsie would give them to her in time, when she saw fit.
"It was," Elsie said simply. "Now, shall we get down to business?" She asked, ready to dive into work, if she could possibly take her mind off of Charles Carson.
Dive into work she did, and she found that it was long after lunch that she had thought about Charles and wanted to say hello to him. She knew he was locked up in meetings all morning, but after glancing at the clock, she thought that now may be a good time. She picked up her phone and dialed his extension.
After a few rings, the shrill voice of his secretary answered. "Crawley Enterprises, Mr. Carson's office, Candace speaking. How may I help you?" Elsie's stomach turned at the sound of the woman's voice on the other end. There was something about her, well, more than one thing, actually, that bothered Elsie to no end. She cleared her voice and then spoke up.
"Hello, Candace," she said, feigning kindness. "This is Elsie Hughes. May I please speak with Mr. Carson?" she asked nicely.
Without even a millisecond passing, Candace answered immediately. "Mr. Carson is unavailable right now," she said bluntly.
After waiting a moment, to see if Candace offered to take a message, which she didn't, Elsie replied. "Okay. Can you please leave a message that I called?" she asked.
"Sure," Candace replied, and immediately hung up. Elsie was flabbergasted. She couldn't believe that this woman had the gall to treat a top executive at the company with no respect at all. She was going to have to have a word with Charles when he called her back.
Unfortunately, he didn't. Elsie worked until almost six that evening, and she never heard back from Charles. She looked up when Anna came in to let her know that John had come down from his office and they were leaving.
"Any messages for me before you go?" She asked Anna hopefully. Anna shook her head.
"Nope," she said. "Everything is all squared away and we're all set for the conference room in the morning at nine for the conference call."
"Okay, thanks," Elsie replied. "Have a good night, love," she said as Anna walked out.
Hmmmmm, Elsie thought. She started to gather her things and decided she would pop her head in to Charles' office on her way out. When she got to his corridor, she noticed that his secretary wasn't at her desk and his office door was closed. She knocked on the door and stood waiting, but when she got no reply, she walked back to the elevators. She pulled her mobile out of her pocket to make sure it was on and that she hadn't missed any calls. When she realized there were no messages or calls, she got a bit of a sinking feeling in her stomach. Why hadn't Charles called her back? Why hadn't he contacted her at all today? Elsie was extremely conflicted. On one hand, she was upset because she hadn't heard from him, and she wanted to. She had looked forward to it, actually. On the other hand, she was upset with herself for being upset. She had never cared about any of this stuff before, and the fact that it bothered her was frustrating. As she was having that thought, the elevator made a dinging sound and the doors opened up.
When she got to work the next morning, Elsie was extremely irritable. Anna could sense it right away when Elsie walked in, mumbled a "morning," threw her jacket in the corner and walked straight into her office.
Oh boy, Anna thought, today is not going to be a good day…
Anna kept her distance, only breaching the threshold of doom once to bring Elsie her coffee. She knew that if she pried, Elsie would be even more irritated. When Elsie was ready, she would share what it was that was going on.
When 8:55 rolled around, Elsie swiftly came out of her office, said "Ready?" to Anna, and headed to the conference room, Anna rushing after her in her wake.
When they entered the room, Robert was already at the head of the table, After good mornings were exchanged, Elsie and Anna sat to the left of Robert, both facing the door. As they were organizing their materials, the elusive Charles Carson made his way into the room, his secretary following him. "Good morning, everyone," Charles said in his booming voice, a smile on his face as he looked briefly at Robert and then at Elsie, making eye contact with her and smiling even bigger. Elsie scrunched her forehead up in confusion and looked down at her notes immediately, the corners of her mouth facing downward in a frown. How could he come in so cheery when he didn't even so much as call her yesterday? Elsie wondered.
Just as the thought entered her mind, Phyllis Baxter, Robert's secretary, came in, wielding a tray of breakfast treats for everyone, placing it on the sideboard, and sitting down. After she shared pleasantries with Phyllis, Elsie glanced over to Charles, realizing he was staring at her with a questioning gaze. Why was he sending her mixed signals? No call or contact yesterday and then he tries to smile and act like everything is okay today? She didn't get it. And she didn't have time to, because Robert was promptly starting the meeting.
Once Elsie and Anna presented all of the details and information regarding the launch party at the end of the week, Robert was overly enthusiastic about the even and the launch of his new acquisition. He couldn't wait to share it with the world as a Crawley Enterprises product. "I told you she was brilliant, didn't I?" Robert said as he looked over at Charles.
Charles looked directly into Elsie's eyes, smiling and simply said, "She is." There was a sharp "hmpf" that came from next to Charles, Candace Carroll clearly not disguising her dislike of Elsie.
Elsie's face became red and she looked away. It frustrated her that Charles was being so sweet and endearing today when he hadn't so much as called her yesterday. "Well," she said, "I couldn't have done any of it without Anna, so she should get half the credit." Elsie turned towards Anna and said, "thank you, for all your hard work on this." Anna simply smiled and nodded her head. Elsie looked back at Robert and said, "Let's just hope that what we have on paper and up on the screen turns out the way we have it planned in reality."
Under her breath across the table, just audible enough, Candace was heard saying, "Yes, let's hope indeed," with a sarcastic smile on her face.
Just as Charles was about to reply, Robert cut in. "I'm sure it will be even better," Robert said excitedly, standing up and handing his materials over to Phyllis. "I think that's it for today. Elsie, let me know if there is anything you need as far as set up goes over the next few days. I'm very excited to have Beryl doing the catering, by the way. Some of her concoctions paired with our variety of wines…mmmmm...perfection!" Robert said, putting his index finger and thumb to his lips and kissing them. The rest of the group laughed as he did so. "Now, Charles, a moment, please before lunch?" Robert asked. Charles looked over to Elsie and reluctantly nodded, turning and exiting the room with Robert.
Elsie and Anna quickly left the conference room and made their way to Elsie's office, where Elsie's mood automatically turned sour yet again. Anna followed her into her office and said, "So, are you going to tell me, or do I have to beat it out of you?" she asked, giving up on letting it come out naturally. "We just received great praise from Robert, and you're miserable. What's up?" she asked.
Elsie sat down at her desk in huff, putting her head in her hands. After a deep breath, she looked up and motioned her hand towards the door, encouraging Anna to close it. Once she did and sat down, she waited for Elsie to begin.
"I just don't get it!" she said, looking up to the ceiling.
"Get what?" Anna asked, confused.
"Charles," Elsie said. "I don't get him. We had a wonderful weekend together and then I don't hear from him at all yesterday. Not a phone call. No text. No nothing. And then today, he comes in acting like everything is rainbows and sunshine. I don't get it," she said with a huff, frustrated beyond belief.
Anna had an immediate reply. "But he clearly adores you. Everyone in that room could see the way he was looking at you, with complete admiration. It was almost palpable," Anna explained. "I had to keep averting my eyes so that I could focus. It's written all over his face, Elsie."
Elsie thought about it for a minute. Anna was right, of course, but that is what frustrated her. There had to be some reason or explanation. If she saw through her anger and frustration, she could see the sweet smile on Charles' face and the way he looked at her.
Just as she was thinking it, Anna said, "Go down and talk to him, Elsie. I'm sure he's got a reasonable explanation." She reached out and placed her hand over Elsie's, squeezing lightly. "Want me to call over and see if he is available?" she asked.
"No, no, that's okay," Elsie replied. "I'll do it. Thanks, love, for always talking sense into me," Elsie said with a smile.
"That's what I'm here for," Anna replied. "Oh, and to take over for you one day," she said, laughing as she opened the door and walked out.
After Elsie took a deep breath, she lifted the phone off the base and dialed Charles' office number. She was greeted, if that's what she could call it, by the overly succulent voice of his secretary. "Crawley Enterprises, Mr. Carson's office, how may I help you?" Candace asked.
"Hello Candace," Elsie began in as nice a voice that she could muster. "This is Ms. Hughes. May I please speak with Mr. Carson?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Elsie," Candace replied, clearly showing a lack of respect for the marketing director. "Mr. Carson is unavailable right now," she said, not offering to take a message.
"Right," Elsie replied. "Would you please tell him I called and ask him to get back to me as soon as possible?" she asked.
"Mmm-hmm," Candace replied, hanging the phone up in Elsie's ear. Elsie took her receiver from her ear and looked at it for a moment, shaking her head. Something wasn't right. It just didn't make sense. She was going to figure it out. She decided to go to the lady's to freshen up, and then she was going to pay Charles Carson a personal visit.
Walking down the corridor, Elsie felt pretty good about herself. Despite her restless night of tossing and turning, she felt refreshed after combing through her hair and re-applying her lipstick. She was ready to get to the bottom of this and find out what exactly was going on with Charles. She pushed her shoulders back, stood up straight and turned the corner to his office area. As she walked towards the location, she noticed that Candace Carroll was not sitting at her desk. Beyond her area, to the right, Elsie noticed that Charles' office door was open, so she decided to walk over to see if he was inside and, hopefully, not too busy to see her.
As she approached the door, she heard the murmuring of voices and slowly peeked her head in, looking over to the left where Charles' desk was located. However, she couldn't really see Charles. All she could see was the back of Candace Carroll leaning over a sitting Charles, looking as if she was kissing him. Elsie turned white immediately and her stomach flipped. In an instant, her hand went up to her mouth and she made a shrieking sound before turning on her heels and walking as quickly as she could down the corridor and back to her office. She was so upset with what she just saw she didn't hear her name being called after her, her emotions flooding all of her senses, almost blocking her hearing and creating tears in her eyes.
She tried hard to mask what she was feeling and made as if she was in a rush to get back to her office so as not to draw attention from any passersby in the corridor. She was relieved to see that Anna was probably still at lunch so she didn't have to explain to her what just happened and what she saw. She didn't want Anna to see how hurt she was. She needed to preserve her tough, outside exterior, and wearing her emotions on her sleeve would not allow her to do so. She walked through her office door and slammed it behind her, and then she crashed down on the settee by the window, her hands covering her face.
Breathe. She needed to breathe. There were a million things running through her mind, however the image of Candace Carroll leaning over Charles would not stop appearing there. She got a horrible taste in her mouth just thinking about the woman's name in her head. That bitch! She knew she didn't like her, but now she downright despised her. And Charles! What the hell? How could he have let that happen? And then the memories of yesterday, his lack of communication...the penny dropped and she realized he must not want to be with her anymore. He must have truly realized how beautiful Candace Carroll really is. Youth definitely had its advantages. How could she have been so stupid to open herself up to him in such a short time, only to be discarded so quickly?
As she was contemplating what to do, whether she should dive back into work or take the afternoon off to get away from it all, there was a soft knock on the door. For a moment, she thought about ignoring it and pretending she wasn't there, but that wasn't Elsie. She never backed down from anything, and she wasn't going to start today. She needed to see this through, and face the world head on. She stood, wiped at her eyes, pulled her skirt down and made sure her blouse was in place and she took a deep breath, walking towards the door and opening it slightly.
On the other side stood a very worried looking Charles Carson, the trepidation clear in his eyes. "Elsie," he began, but she simply put her hand up to stop him.
"It's okay, Charles," she began. "I understand. Really, I do. We don't have to make this any more awkward than we have to, so let's just leave it at that and move on," she said with finality, feigning a quick smirk before looking down at her feet. She couldn't look into his deep, dreamy eyes, else she'd be transformed to another place that would pain her to think about right now.
Charles looked dumbfounded, not really understanding what she was alluding to. "Elsie, I…" he tried again, but Elsie wasn't having it. She didn't want to lose her cool because she knew she had to work with this man in the future for a while, so she attempted one more time to assuage him.
"Listen, Charles…" God how he loved the way she said his name, the concentration on the r creating butterflies in his stomach. He was brought back to her right away when she raised her voice. "As I said, I get it. No need to comb through the details so we have to re-live anything. You go your way, I'll go mine, and I'll see you for the work things we must collaborate on. Have a good day, Charles," she said as she closed the door softly and turned around, trying desperately to stifle the sob that was making its way up her throat.
As she took a few steps towards her desk, her door flung open and the booming voice that always sent shivers down her spine called out, "Are you mad, woman?" Elsie did a complete turn around quickly, trying desperately to compose herself so as not to let her true emotions be apparent.
"Mad?" she questioned him. "Why exactly would I be mad?" she asked, almost irritatingly.
Charles took a deep breath before continuing, placing his hands on his hips. "Do you really think that I am going to make it that easy for you to punt me out of your life?" he asked. "I don't think so!" he almost yelled. "After what we've shared and then it's no communication?" he said, emphatically.
"Excuse me," Elsie cut in, "but you haven't called me or texted me or anything for the last two days, and then I just walked into your office to see your secretary leaning over you, doing who knows what? I'd rather not have your new girlfriend shoved in my face, thank you very much. Next time I need to communicate with you, I'll do it through Anna or email."
Charles just shook his head. "Mad," he said quietly, considering what to say next. "You really are mad, aren't you?" he asked, looking up at Elsie. She had to look away for fear of being drawn into those eyes. Elsie was exasperated. She couldn't believe he was calling her mad when one day he was basically professing his love to her and the next she didn't hear a peep from him. She needed to tell him just that.
She began with a huff. "Mr. Carson," she began, seeing how her use of his last name hurt him as he winced. "I hardly think I am the mad one when you are the one who is telling me one day how much you want me in your life, how you want to be with me, and then the next day I don't hear a word from you, and the next day I walk into your office to see Miss Priss sprawled all across you. And I'm the mad one?" she said, pointing her finger to her own chest. "I hardly think so. I don't do drama, Mr. Carson, and I don't play games. Your mixed messages are a little too much for me," Elsie said, turning away from him to catch her breath.
Charles shook his head, trying to understand what he was hearing. "Wait a minute," he said, waiting for Elsie to look at him again. When she did, he continued, his arms flailing. "You leave a message for me saying that you were overwhelmed with work and didn't want to be bothered yesterday and that if you had a minute you'd call me, and I'm the one who isn't communicating?" he asked, trying to figure out what the hell this woman was talking about.
Elsie's eyebrows raised as she considered what he just said. "I did no such thing," Elsie said angrily. "In fact," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "I called you a few times and every time I did, your secretary said you were busy and couldn't talk. I left messages asking you to call me back, which you never did," she said, boring her gaze into those eyes that she loved so much. Dark, deep, warm, inviting. She had to shake her head to stop herself from being lost in them.
Charles had to think for a minute. He waited all day to hear from Elsie and had to resign himself at the end of the night to the fact that she must have been too busy and he was going to have to go without hearing her melodious voice for a day. It was torture for him, but he didn't want to seem overbearing or annoying, so he followed her wishes and held back from contacting her, although it took everything in him to do so. All of a sudden, he had a moment of clarity and figured it out. Candace Carroll. Candace fucking Carroll was sabotaging his one true opportunity for happiness and being with the one he loved. Which he did. He knew he did. The pain he felt in his chest when he thought about her and not being able to be with her was too much. He wanted to be with her all the time.
He started to laugh, making Elsie look at him with scrutiny and fury. How could he be laughing at a time like this? She was completely offended. "Oh, I see," she said, shaking her head. "This is all a joke to you. Well, it wasn't a joke to me, not until now when I realize I've been played…" but Elsie couldn't finish. Charles' hands were on her cheeks and his lips were upon hers in no time. Elsie wanted to push him away immediately, but there was something electric between them every time their lips met, and it took her a moment to get her senses back. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away, gasping. "No," she said. "I will not let you woo me with your charms again, Mr. Carson." She stepped further away from him, trying to get her bearings back. He still had that fucking smile on his face! It was infuriating.
"Elsie," he said, laughing again. "We've got this all wrong. All wrong." She looked up at him then, her brow furrowing.
"How so?" she asked. "Did I not just see you kissing your secretary in your office?"
"No, you didn't," he replied. "What you saw was my secretary trying to kiss me, and me attempting to push her away just as you walked in."
"Likely story," Elsie said sarcastically.
"Elsie, hear me out," he said. "At least give me that." She squared herself to him and crossed her arms over her chest, standing and waiting for what he could possibly say to get him out of this, because as far as she was concerned, regardless of their pull and electricity, there wasn't anything that could dig him out of this hole.
"First of all," he began, "I think we are both being played." He waited a moment to let that sink in. Elsie's left eyebrow rose and she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, giving Charles a jolt below the belt. God, that did things to him. But he needed to stay focused if he ever wanted to be able to do things with Elsie again. "I do believe that my secretary, my annoying, frustrating, horrible, terrible secretary is trying to sabotage this for us," he said sincerely. "God, she drives me crazy!" he paused for a moment and then asked, "Did you get the flowers I sent yesterday?"
Flowers? No, she didn't get any flowers. She shook her head. "Hmmm...I thought not," he continued. "You say you called my office yesterday? A few times?" Elsie nodded. "I didn't get any messages, aside from one saying that you were busy and not to be bothered and you'd contact me if you could. Did you say that when you called?" he asked. Again, Elsie shook her head, gnawing more aggressively on her lip as she contemplated what Charles was saying. "So, you didn't get my flowers, in which I gave Ms. Carroll the card that I hand wrote myself, telling you how I missed you already and couldn't wait to see you again, and asked her to take it to the florist's, by the way, which she clearly didn't do. I didn't get your messages that you left with Ms. Carroll, and I was told basically to keep my distance because you were busy all day, by Ms. Carroll." He paused for a moment to let it all sink in. When he knew she got it, he relaxed a little. "So," he said, "doesn't it make sense now that neither of us is crazy and she's the mad one?" he asked.
Elsie nodded for a moment, but then said, "That still doesn't explain you kissing her today when I walked into your office," she said pointedly.
"I didn't kiss her," he said. "I'm betting from your angle you couldn't see that, but she did try to kiss me. She feigned a piece of lint on my lapel and reached down to brush it off, which I told her there was no need, and she tried to kiss me. I promise you, Elsie, that I turned my head and she only grazed my cheek," he explained, walking closer to her. She allowed him to. She didn't move at all as he stopped right in front of her. He gently placed his hands below her shoulders on her arms and said, "Elsie Hughes, as far as I'm concerned, there is no other woman in this world for me." He made sure he was looking into her beautiful, clear blue eyes when he said this. "You are everything to me. I've never felt with anyone the way I feel about you. I want to be with you all the time and when I'm not, I'm counting the seconds until I can be with you again. Yesterday was torture. I would have never stayed away from you, but I thought that is what you wanted, and it hurt, but I thought I was following your wishes." He paused for a moment, making sure that Elsie was understanding the depths of his feelings. "I know it seems way too soon to say it, but I can't help how I feel. I love you Elsie. I know I do. I know that's what this is. I love you and would never play games with you. Not after all we have shared and all we have talked about," he said, trying to glean her feelings by looking in her eyes. She knew he was being sincere. For a brief second she felt so stupid for reacting the way she did. She brushed it off, however, because he just told her he loved her. And, truth be told, she loved him, too.
Elsie unhooked her arms from across her chest and placed her hands on Charles' chest, leaning up on her tiptoes and placing her lips gently upon Charles'. After a sweet, soft kiss, she looked into his eyes and said, "I love you too, Charlie." She smiled softly and Charles gathered her into his arms and kissed her again, this time the kiss becoming one that was desperate, both of them pouring their emotions into it, grabbing on to each other, and never wanting to let go.
Until they had to, when they heard an "Eh-em" at the door. The both stopped quickly, turning to see Robert Crawley standing in the doorway, red in the face.
"Sorry to, um, interrupt," Robert stammered, scratching the back of his neck. He then looked up at his friends with a questioning look on his face. "What, exactly, did I interrupt, anyway?" He asked.
"Um…" Elsie began.
"Well…" Charles said at the same time. They both looked at each other and laughed, then looked back at Robert who seemed extremely uncomfortable. "Sorry," Charles ventured, beginning again. "It seems," he began, "that you have extremely good taste in a marketing director," he said, looking over at Elsie and smiling, then taking her hand. "And I'm not able to stay away from her, really," Charles said, looking back at Robert, who seemed non-plussed. He shook his head a bit and then laughed lightly.
Elsie and Charles looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Well…?" Charles asked, waiting for a response from Robert.
"What is it with my top executives fraternizing at work?" He asked, shaking his head. "I mean, really, first John Bates and now the two of you."
Elsie spoke up immediately. "I can assure you, Robert, nothing happened at work," she said honestly.
"No, no, I wouldn't imagine it would, knowing you and your work ethic. I simply meant my top people finding their soul mates at work. Looks like I'm a matchmaker and I didn't even know it," Robert said with a giddy smile on his face.
Charles hesitated a moment before saying, "So this is okay, then?"
Robert shook his head before replying. "Of course it's okay. I'm quite chuffed actually. There's no better lady in the world than Elsie, besides my Cora, of course. To be honest, Cora's been telling me for a long time that I should introduce you two. Guess she was right, after all, huh?" He said.
Elsie and Charles both took breaths of relief. "No funny business at work, however," Robert said, pointing at them.
"Of course not," they both said simultaneously.
"I really am quite pleased, to be honest. You are both dear, dear friends, and you deserve to be happy. Cora will be over the moon when I tell her. We'll all have to go out to dinner soon," Robert said. "Now, Charles, about our discussion earlier. That's why I'm here. Your secretary told me you came this way and we need to discuss one of the blends we have on the vineyard list. Can you meet me in your office in five minutes?"
However, before Charles could respond, Elsie cut in. "Robert, before you go, we need to do something about the very Ms. Carroll," she said, looking at him sternly.
"What's that?" Robert asked, completely clueless.
"Fire her," Elsie said simply.
Robert raised his eyebrows, not understanding why Elsie would say such a thing. "Why?" He asked.
"Because it's either her or me. You saw how she was in the conference room today, and she's mucked a whole bunch of things up," she explained. "She definitely isn't Crawley Enterprises material," Elsie said with conviction.
Robert looked over at Charles and asked him, "Why didn't you say anything?"
Charles shrugged his shoulders. "I'm new. Didn't want you to think that I had a hard time working with people," he explained.
"That's preposterous!" Robert said. "I've known you since we were at uni, for God's sake. I trust you with my life. With my daughter's life! You're her Godfather, after all!"
"I know, I know," Charles replied. "Stupid, in hindsight, really. But she does have to go, Robert. She's simply awful," he said.
Robert nodded his head. "Done," he said. "I'll go and take care of that now while you, um, finish up with Elsie," he said, glancing over to her. "Meet you there in, say, ten minutes?" He asked.
"Done," Charles said, nodding his head, watching Robert walk out. He turned back to Elsie and smiled softly at her. "So?" He asked.
"So?" She replied, hitching her eyebrow up and biting her lip again. He walked over to her and reached up, pulling her lip gently from her teeth, leaning down to kiss it.
"You love me," Charles said, smiling down at her. Her face turned pink but she would not look away. She simply nodded her head in affirmation. He leaned down to kiss her again softly. "Can we promise each other something?" She stared into his eyes for a moment before nodding her head. "Honesty. Always," he said. "Let's always be honest with each other. If I'm too much, too overbearing, if you need space, please, just be honest and tell me. I don't want to mess this up, Elsie," he said.
"Me either," she replied, smiling. "And please, let's get you a better secretary, hm? One who won't misconstrue messages," She asked, giggling. He laughed along with her and nodded his head in agreement.
"I better go meet with Robert. Can I see you later?" He asked.
"You better," she replied. He leaned down to give her a final kiss, enjoying the sweet taste her lips offered. He put his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace, she doing the same and hugging him tightly to her. They stood there for a few moments, enjoying the warmth each other offered, before Charles kissed her on her forehead and walked towards the door.
Just as he was about to walk out, he turned to her with his eyebrow quirked up and said, "Oh, by the way, Charlie, huh?" He questioned, drawing attention to the endearment she used earlier, for the first time.
She smiled brightly and replied, "That one's mine," she said, pointing to herself "Only mine!" Charles nodded and burst out laughing as he walked away. He loved her spitfire nature. He simply, just, well, loved her.
A/N: I know what you're thinking, and I get it. How can they fall in love so quickly? Firstly, they made us wait so long in the actual series, that I'm all for the quicker the better in regards to Chelsie. However, it can happen in RL, and I have some pretty close people around me who it happened to, and they've been married for nearly fifty years. #relationshipgoals if ever there were some, honestly. So, yes, I'm a romantic, and yes, I believe in love at first sight/meet. Call me soft, crazy, hopeless, whatever. And when it comes to Chelsie, they're just meant to be together, so there.