Girl On Fire

by AliciaMo

Following the death of her most beloved sister, Elizabeth moves to the Big Apple to try to break into the Music Industry. Mr. Darcy, of Darcy Records, initially thinks she has little talent, too much weight and is too old to make it in his world. It doesn't take long, though, for his opinion to undergo a dramatic change. M chapters start in Chapter 8.

10. Chapter 7 Part 2

I made it on Wednesday as planned :)

This Girl Is On Fire

Chapter 7 Part 2 - Mess You Up

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up."
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

*)*)*

"Damn, Will." Paul gave him a look full of remorse. "I'm so sorry, man. I'm sorry for interrupting you and Lizzy - "

The withering look he sent Paul's way made the other man stop talking. Darcy had no illusion that he looked exactly like he felt about his friend's ill timed arrival. However, he briskly ordered his sound manager to meet him back in the studio the following afternoon. It was important for the song order to be determined for the final CD and which songs should be released to the public to generate interest. Then, he made his way to his office.

Maggie greeted him as usual when he exited the elevator, but he waved off his messages. He couldn't concentrate on work right now. In the privacy of his office, he dropped into his chair, his heart still hammered rapidly in his chest. God, he was acting like a teenage boy with a crush. But, he could not ignore his reaction to their near kiss. She'd almost kissed him - there was no way he could have misunderstood her intentions. And, if that kiss had happened, he shut his eyes, struggling mightily with the progression of his mind. Images of them together kissing made way to other more pleasurable things.

Damn, he leaned back in his chair, he hadn't been this worked up since the night at Stan's.

That night, she had flirted openly with him too. There was no mistaking the fire in her eyes when she fed him and asked him if he wanted more. Of course, he wanted more. He wanted so much more of her. In fact, he'd never wanted any woman in his life the way he had wanted Elizabeth that night. He blamed the fact he knew her so well and he found her so interesting for the unusual fascination he had for her. He was frustrated. So very frustrated. If only his employees would quite interrupting them, they could finally get to where things between them began to get interesting. He, at least, managed to keep his irritation in check with Paul. The night at Stan's was a different story. By the time he returned to the table from telling off his incompetent property manager, she had grown cold feet and rejected him again.

So, yes, he'd lost his temper. With a woman. Another first.

His mother would be rolling over in her grave. Darcys did not yell at anyone in public. They did not interrupt a roomful of diners shouting out a woman's name. And, they damn well didn't chase women out into the street. He had done all those things. It was a testament to how crazy she drove him. He was lucky the no members of the paparazzi were around to document his odd behavior. It would have made front page news. No, he wanted to keep things about him and Elizabeth private. To himself.

Oh, Elizabeth had revved his engines before with her touching and kissing, but never as obviously as she had that night. He stood and paced in front of his windows. She had to know he'd be angry at being toyed with so expertly. She had to suspect the depth of his disappointment. Yes, he had been out of line reacting as he had. In hindsight, he should have just pretended to agree with her, taken her back to the car, raised the divider and then proceeded to seduce an agreement from her in the backseat. His desire for her had not banked, but grown with the successive days.

It was frustrating. Elizabeth had been right in her assessment of things. If a woman did not like his agenda, he'd simply move on to a more accommodating one. What stumped him was the fact he couldn't bring himself to move on from her. Even after she had embarrassed him at Stan's, his admiration of her had remained, if anything, had blossomed in pace with his desire for her. In the past, he had indeed called all of the shots. He dictated the beginning, the tempo, and the end of the brief relationships he'd had with women. It had always suited him just fine. Walking out on him, she'd made it clear to him that she wasn't interested in a similar arrangement.

It wasn't as if she was the only woman in the world. He had other options. Lots of options, he reminded himself smugly, as he had lain in his bed that night. So does she! The thought came out of nowhere, cooling his ardor and he had spent most of the night tossing in his bed, knowing sleep would not come. There was Kyle. Max. Peter. The man by the lobster tanks. Hell, even that damn waiter, Tyler. Was she entertaining one of them in her bed tonight? The idea once it took root grew with each passing hour until there could be no other remedy but to drive over to her place and see for himself. There was no way he could go out of town to Atlanta. No way he could leave her without knowing.

Finding Elizabeth alone did not bring the relief he anticipated. A vivid picture of her dressed in that sexy slip of a thing she considered a proper nightgown had been imprinted on his heated mind. The silk had clung to her figure suggestively, one of the straps had slipped off her shoulder. Jesus! He was only a man. Seeing her like that, all sleepy and hair mused, did nothing but aggravate his desire for her. At his request, she had slipped on a fluffy robe. It had not helped at all because it lent her an air of innocence that he found equally arousing. Just when he thought he could not be effected more, she had emerged from the bathroom in a new dress and that wild hair swaying down her back. He was glad he was sitting down. The sight of her would have knocked him off his feet. She looked and smelled amazingly fresh from the shower.

When she joined him on the futon nudging him, every muscle in his body tensed, ready to pounce. It was as if she didn't have the sense to know she was placing herself in such danger. Telling him she was a good listener. Oh, he just bet she was good at a great many things. And, those that she was not good at, he could teach her. The only thing that prevented him from acting was the thought she had brought Max here. Had loved the musician on the small futon - the thought of being with her where other men had been made him sick.

He had to get out of her apartment before he could not control himself. It only angered him more when she attended to the many locks on her door. What if he had been a stalker? No one could have protected her from him. Her resistance to moving made little sense. There was absolutely no security. What was going to happen when her record was released? Any nut job in the city could break into her apartment, lay in wait for her. Any fanatic could be watching her from the fire escape. Laying in wait in the poorly lit stairwell. Didn't she understand what a desirable target she was? A man could lose his control with her so easily. She'd be a dream victim. Just the thought of someone hurting or getting close enough to hurt her made him certifiable. It was imperative that her living situation change. Immediately. She had to move somewhere he could ensure her safety.

And what did she do with his demand? Flaunted her independence. There on the staircase, he realized everything with sterling clarity. He had told her the honest truth. He wanted to be with her. Only her.

What did she do with his revelation? She had smiled, taken his heartfelt admission and acted like it hadn't mattered at all. She just wanted to get to work on her song.

They had argued that entire morning, but avoided the one topic he wanted to discuss. Why had she changed her mind at the restaurant? Nothing satisfied him as he sat in the booth listening her to sing for only him. Finally, she defied him again. Refusing to sing another note. Not intimidated in the slightest by him, she made it quite clear his presence was not welcome when she announced she was going to the gym.

The next morning, she did not answer when he called her. That did not necessarily surprise him. When Elizabeth was angry with him, she did that sometimes. What surprised him was when he went to her building to pick her up, she wasn't there. That was new. He had started to panic. Had something happened to her? Was she hurt? She arrived at the studio looking as if she hadn't slept a wink. Max glued to her side. There was no mistaking the fact that she'd spent the night with the musician. It was quite clear to everyone that the two were lovers. Each day he was forced to watch them - tortured by every glance, laugh, touch the two shared. He could not hide the truth from himself. He was jealous. He hated Max. With a passion.

Surprisingly, Elizabeth did not avoid him. She continued to take his calls. He continued to pick her up at her apartment in the morning, drop her off in the evening. He continued to have lunch with her, join her at her workouts and he continued to monopolize whatever time he could wrangle from Max. She was as enchanting and as unguarded as ever. So much so, Darcy sometimes found himself forgetting about the bass player and found himself believing she enjoyed his company.

Today, he'd been blindsided. First, by the surge of emotion of hearing her breathe life into Stronger, then by the realization of what finishing the album actually meant. It was over. Darcy was losing her all over again. Not to Max this time, but to the world. She'd work on promotion with Gloria then she'd be on the road touring. There wouldn't be any more time with her in the booth - no more excuses to be alone in the car with her, no need to join her for workouts, no more lunches in his office or at the bistro. The sense of loss was profound. It drowned him, came in waves. It was over. They were over.

Then as if Elizabeth knew he needed her, she found him. Confounding him, she rejected his every suggestion to be alone together. Why seek him out if she didn't want to spend time with him? How could he be any clearer about what he wanted? He offered her every temptation, offered her the world and she turned him down flat. Instead of accepting his offer, she demanded he give her time and space. He wanted to give her neither. She was slipping away from him and he didn't know how to stop it from happening. She was making him desperate, insane with longing. Demanding he give her time and space, but then taking him in her arms. The hot and cold messages were confusing him.

Did she want him or didn't she? Because if she did, she was going to have to drop Max. He had no intention of sharing her with any man. He understood what she wanted. For the first time in his life, he was willing to toss his rules aside for a woman. He was willing to do things her way if they could only be together.

His telephone buzzed and he fought the urge to smash it against the far wall of his office. He had meetings for the rest of the day and the benefit that Esme had lassoed him into attending that evening. He had to get focused. He had a company to run. Employees who depended on him for their livelihood. None of that mattered, his heart had hammered. He only wanted her.

*)*)*

"I don't know what came over me, Char." The silence that followed her admission was punctuated by the pop, pop, pop of the bag of popcorn in the microwave. "I just wanted to make him feel better."

"By kissing him?"

Elizabeth shut her eyes. She knew how it sounded, but it was the truth. He had seemed so alone. "Believe me, I've never felt more stupid or grateful than I did when Paul came into that room." She retrieved her unbuttered treat from the oven and carefully poured it into a bowl.

"I'm sure Will is quite used to women throwing themselves at him. He knows how to deal with unwanted advances."

"That's probably the understatement of the year."

"You're missing my point, Lizzy." Charlotte persisted. "I mean . . . did he try to stop you?" She rolled her eyes. No matter what Charlotte was implying, Darcy had not looked like a man looking forward to her kiss. She told her friend as much. "Well, what did he say after Paul left?"

"Please. I didn't stick around to find out. Like any sane woman, I bolted when I had my chance." Elizabeth grabbed a handful of kernels. "Will's not exactly the 'let the girl down easy' type of guy. He's fairly blunt about what he wants and what he doesn't. I've already been on the receiving end of enough of those conversations with him to last a lifetime. Believe me. I didn't need a repeat lesson with what was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life."

"But, that's my point, Lizzy. If Will hadn't wanted you to kiss him, he would have stopped you. But, he didn't. When you made your move on him -"

"I wasn't making a move on him. It's not like I was trying to throw myself at him. It wasn't like that at all." Elizabeth regretted even telling her friend about the attempted kiss. "Like I said, I just wanted to comfort him."

Her friend snorted into the phone.

"He's my friend, Char. That's all." Elizabeth looked heavenward for inspiration. "Believe me Will looks like he's about to have a tooth extracted every time I touch him."

"You've touched him before? Tell me more."

The shock in Charlotte's voice made Elizabeth clarify. "Nothing sexual. I've just hugged him and kissed his cheek a few times. Stuff like that. In gratitude."

"In gratitude, huh? Lizzy, sweetie, are you sure you aren't interested in him in the slightest bit romantically?"

"No, of course not! I've told you repeatedly I'm not. I was just emotional finishing the album. I didn't expect to be so invested in the process. I didn't expect to feel so close to Will after we finished the last song of the album. That's all it was."

"Lizzy, you are really friendly. Sometimes guys do get the wrong impression, but you've never been the forward one in any relationship with a guy. You might hug a man, but you've never tried to initiate the first kiss. Not even with Peter, remember? You were so nervous on those first few dates and all anxious for him to kiss you."

Charlotte was right. She had always waited for a guy to make the first move. It seemed more romantic that way. "No, I haven't. But, I'm not interested in Will. Not like that. Believe me, I know I am not in that league. He is not shy about what he wants from his relationships. If you could call what he has with women relationships. He wants one thing from the women he associates with and from what I've witnessed he gets it fairly easy. Then, it's on to the next conquest." She proceeded to tell Charlotte about the conversation at Stan's and his philosophy about women. Stunned silence came from the end of the phone in Ohio. "Char, I told you he's messed up in a fundamental way."

"It sounds as if he has the emotional IQ of a teenage boy." Elizabeth had an epiphany. His mother died when he was at thirteen and he'd had to watch his devastated father carry on without her. It made so much sense now. He'd barricaded his heart so he wouldn't be left by another woman. He did the leaving. She was suddenly and deeply sad for him.

"Today was just emotional. Finishing the album. I was so invested in the process. He was such a big part of it. Ya know? It almost feels like we were saying goodbye. I didn't expect to feel that way. Like things between us were ending."

"Maybe he was feeling that way too?" She almost hung up exasperated with her friend's inability to believe what she was saying.

"Right? Will's done this a hundred times. Why would this time be any different for him?"

"As much as you deny it, Lizzy, it sounds like you care about him a good deal."

"I'm not denying I care for Will. I do care. A lot." She had no qualms whatsoever about admitting it either. "It's natural for me to have feelings for him. He's done so much for me, and we've spent so much time together. It would be impossible not to care for him. He's made me—" Better was not an adequate adjective. Darcy had done so much for her than produce her album. "He's given me back my self-worth."

"Oh, friend," Charlotte whispered into the phone. A long silence followed. "I think you are in serious denial, Lizzy."

"No, I told you—"

"I know what you are telling me and I believe you believe it too. But, Lizzy, every time we talk about Will Darcy, there's something to your voice. It's really quite noticeable over the phone. You get all husky, breathless sounding."

Elizabeth laughed. "Oh, be serious, Char!"

"I am being serious. I seriously believe you have fallen in love with the man. However, as a good friend, I will allow you your delusions." Charlotte changed the subject asking, "So, did you have fun at the party your fellas threw?"

"Yeah, it was all right." It bothered her that neither Max nor Darcy put in an appearance.

When Char's fiancé began to complain about ignoring him, her friend quickly ended the call.

Elizabeth turned on her laptop to watch one of her favorite movies, "You've Got Mail" on Netflix. Drifting in and out of sleep, she was woken by a loud knock at her door. She stopped the movie, noting it was almost over. Tom Hanks was walking to meet Meg Ryan to reveal himself. She must have slept longer than she thought.

Checking the peep hole, she was surprised to see Max standing in the hallway. Slipping on a robe to cover her pajamas, she opened the door to admit her friend not wanting to thwart this obvious olive branch. Their friendship had been strained since the night she had gone to dinner with Darcy at Stan's.

"I needed to see you tonight. I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm sure I won't be very good company, but you're welcome to come in for awhile. I can make you some coffee."

He opened his coat, unwound his scarf and peeled off his gloves while she started the coffee maker. He lingered in the kitchenette area of her apartment watching her silently attend to the preparation of the beverage. "We're supposed to get snow tonight."

She hadn't checked the weather since she planned on staying in her apartment and sleeping the entire day away. She was not looking forward to her first New York winter. She'd arrived during the tail end of the mild winter they had the year before and had not exactly looked forward to the accumulation that the rest of the city took as normal.

"I think I'll survive on my meager rations of coffee and chocolate." Elizabeth turned to find Max staring at her. The sound of the coffee maker dripping was the only noise in the kitchen for several moments. "We missed you at The Hole tonight."

"I didn't feel particularly like celebrating. I had a visit from an old friend and we had a lot to discuss."

"Old friend?" She knew he was close to his mama but very little else about his life before New York. Max rarely shared information about himself. "Did they have good news for you?"

"No. No, he didn't." His voice was pinched and he cleared his throat. "There's no other way to say this so I'll just get to the point. I came here to tell you I can't go on tour with you and the band."

"That's crazy talk, Max." She poured his coffee into a mug with New York stenciled in different sizes and colors. She added sugar and creamer to it before handing it over to him. "Why wouldn't you go on tour with us?"

He put the mug down on the table untouched. "Lizzy, have you ever done something you regretted?"

"Of course. I don't know any adult who doesn't have a few regrets."

Her cell phone rang and looking down, she saw it was Darcy. That was strange. He never called her at night. Certainly not this late. It was well after two in the morning, which made Max's visit also unusual. "It's Will, isn't it?"

She nodded and her cell rang again. She shrugged apologetically. "I know him. He won't stop calling until I answer. Let me take this and we'll finish going through all the reasons you think you can't go on tour." To the phone, she said, "This is really not a good time, Will. Can I call you back in the morning?"

"Why isn't this a good time?" Elizabeth almost swore at Darcy's question.

"Tell him I'm here," her guest interjected loudly.

"Is that Max?" She didn't want to play twenty questions with Darcy tonight. To her silence, he questioned, "I see. You can't be having a bass lesson this late."

"Not exactly." Glaring at Max, she let Darcy know. "Max just came by because he needed to talk."

"Talk at this time of night? I can just imagine what topic is being discussed." Darcy laughed softly, but there was absolutely no warmth in it. "I heard somewhere that confession is good for the soul. Then, again, I'm not sure I have one anymore." His words were slightly slurred. He sounded drunk.

She stared at the phone in her hand, "Are you drinking, Will?"

"In fact, I am. Quite copious amounts." She heard the tinkle of piano keys in the background. "The snow clouds are moving into the city. They are gray. They reminded me of your eyes, Elizabeth."

Snow clouds reminded him of her eyes? She didn't know what to say especially with Max nearby. Then, the phone went dead in her hand. Perplexed by such an odd call, she put her phone back on its charger and decided to take care of Max's crisis first. Then, when she woke up fully, she'd call Darcy back. Maybe he had drunk dialed her?

"Tell me why can't you tour?" He stood with his back to her absorbed in looking at the pictures of her family on the wall. She was frustrated with Max. "You know that one of our stops is going to be in the south. You could leave tickets for your mom. She'd be real proud of you to see that you've made it."

"If she knew what I've done, she wouldn't be proud of me."

She moved forward stepping in front of him. "What is it? What do you think you've done so horrible that forgiveness cannot be given?"

"I want to tell you. I do." His hands settled on her shoulders. "I thought I had the courage to tell you tonight but I can't. You'll hate me when I do, and I can't bear the thought of it."

"Why would I hate you?"

Max seemed different tonight. Like a stranger. "No matter what happens, promise me that you will remember that we were good friends once."

"What did you do, Max? That I won't forgive?" She was becoming frightened by his behavior.

"I betrayed the one I love the most in the world?" He hugged her. "I betrayed you, sweetheart."

Shocked at his hug and his tone, Elizabeth tried pulling back from him, but his embrace did not loosen.

"I know you don't feel like I do about you." His voice became a creepy husky whisper. It reminded her strongly of Peter. Peter when he couldn't be reasoned with. "Once, we might have been something. If things were different—" His arms constricted around her painfully, binding her against him. "If you'd never have met him —"

"Max, you're hurting me." She tried to squirm but her shoulders were being held firm. There was no way to get leverage.

"Just one night. One night I want that bastard to be as miserable as I am—" His lips brushed her neck. The touch revolted her. His breath was hot against her ear. "Did you tell Will all about the good doctor? All about what he did to you?"

Elizabeth stopped resisting but the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Max's behavior had taken her back to a very bad place. "He doesn't need to know anything about my love life. It's none of his business. It's none of yours either. "

" You don't have to tell me what Peter did to you. I can just imagine what lengths a man like that might go to keep his beautiful songbird caged. You see, I already know all about the Peters and the Wills of the world. I can fill in the blanks all by myself." Max licked her ear. Her stomach rolled. "Some men always get what they want. Whenever they want it. It makes me sick that women like you just fall at their feet willing to give it to them. Didn't you learn your lesson the first time with your fiancé? Or, are women like you just so pathetic?"

She took a deep breath and said calmly, "Max, I need you to let me go right now or I'm going to scream."

"Scream? Did you scream in pleasure when he took you, Lizzy? When Darcy took you the first time? I bet you came for him before he finished too."

"You're disgusting!" She pushed hard against him, but he was much stronger than her.

"You didn't always think so." Another dry kiss landed on her neck.

"I do now." She said forcefully, freeing one arm. She smacked him hard across the face.

Max released her. The power of her strike was prominent in the reddening of his left cheek. He sneered as he placed a hand where hers had been. "You're nothing but a little, teasing bitch."

Stumbling away from him, moving to the kitchen, Elizabeth went for the knife block on her stove. She was shaking like a leaf in a wind storm, but held the butcher knife up and high. She was not going to be a victim ever again. She needed to get him out of the apartment. "You need to leave Max. Either on your own or on a gurney."

He didn't look in her direction as he grabbed his winter gear and exited her apartment.

*(*

Rushing to secure her door behind him, Elizabeth wished mightily for a few extra locks, then went for her phone. She dialed Darcy's number with trembling hands, but he did not answer. Scared and feeling extremely unsecure, she had almost talked herself into catching a cab and dropping in unannounced at his apartment building. She talked herself out of it almost as quickly.

Darcy already disliked Max. If he heard about tonight, he would make sure that she toured with a different band. That would not be fair to Tara, Doty or Ricky. She couldn't call Charlotte, her parents or the fellas either. Charlotte knew too much about Peter, her parents would worry and the fellas would fire Max. Settling back on her futon and drawing her legs up to her chin, she laid awake too scared to sleep and jumping every time she heard a strange noise.

At six-thirty, her phone lit up. It didn't even have a chance to ring once.

"Elizabeth?" Darcy sounded a little surprised and much more like his normal self. "I thought I'd get your voicemail. I didn't expect you to be able to answer this morning."

Relieved, she teased back, "I didn't expect you to be able to call after last night." Silence filled the phone line. She peeled a piece of paint from her window pane. "Will, I—"

"I just called to tell you that were right." His voice was cold as he cut her off. "You deserve time to yourself."

"That's great, Will, but - " After last night's strange call and her even stranger visit, she found she wanted to see Darcy. Very much. She decided to share what happened with Max. He'd know what to do about it. He wouldn't punish the entire band for one member. "Maybe we could grab lunch today? Or coffee, if your schedule is too busy? I really need your opinion about something."

"I'm sorry, but I can't today." Funny, he really didn't sound as if he were. "I'm on my way to the airport right now. I'm leaving town in about an hour."

She chewed her fingernail. "Oh, that was sudden. Hey, maybe I could join you like you suggested. I really could use some time out of the city. Are you headed to Atlanta?"

"No, I'm not going to Atlanta. As a matter of fact, I'm headed for Cabo. And, I'm taking a good friend with me. Someone who I know will enjoy their time with me."

Elizabeth wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what 'taking a good friend to Cabo' meant. She sure as heck didn't want to intrude and be a third wheel with him and his bimbo of the week. Good for him, she thought, ignoring the strange firmness in the middle of her chest.

Somehow, she forced herself to sound lighthearted. "I hope you enjoy yourself."

"I intend to fully enjoy myself quite often." She detected the icy edge in his voice. "Unless there is something else you want to discuss, I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

"I can't think of anything." She was not encouraged to tell him about Max. Maybe Max's visit wouldn't seem as odd in the full light of the day. She didn't want to disrupt Darcy's plans now that he was going to take vacation with his friend. What concerned her was that he'd been many things on his calls to her, but he'd never been this abrupt. "I won't keep you. Bye, Will."

Then without another word, he hung up.

For the following three days, Elizabeth continued to communicate with Will as usual by phone. There was a distance in their stilted conversations that she realized hadn't been there before, and she couldn't seem to find a subject that would bridge it. Darcy was extremely vague about his travel, when he planned to return to the city, who he was with and each time she asked outright he avoided telling her which only made her feel more foolish for asking.

Max was another conundrum. What had he meant by saying he betrayed her? The day after his visit to her apartment, he called off sick at The Hole. The next day he showed up and acted as if nothing had occurred between them. Seeing the side of him he showed at her apartment, she was no longer comfortable with him. She'd learned well enough to trust her intuition when it came to not feeling completely safe with a man. She'd rather over-react than ignore the warning bells that went off whenever the bass player was now present. She made it a point to never be alone anywhere with him.