Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and kind words. I'm so glad your enjoying the story. And thanks to my wonderful beta, Debra Anne :D

Chapter 24

Elle quickly finished her makeup and grabbed her purse when she heard a buzz from the gate. The taxi she ordered must have arrived. When she had moved into Will's house, he gave her a set of keys to his cars. However, she couldn't help but feel nervous at the thought of driving such expensive vehicles. She didn't know the area very well, and she knew how L.A. traffic could be. She didn't want to risk wrecking or scratching one of them, and her car was still in Santa Barbara.

As she walked downstairs, she saw the maid was already at the front door. She was surprised to see a large bouquet of roses in her hands when she turned around.

"Oh, these just arrived for you," she said as Elle noticed the card with her name written on it.

She pulled the small card from its envelope and read the message.

From Your Loving Husband,

Will

She felt like snorting, but restrained herself. When she was the curious look on the maid's face, she said they were from Will.

"Awww, how sweet," Sara said with a dreamy expression on her face.

Elle tried not to roll her eyes. Yeah, how sweet. Her loving husband was trying to buy her forgiveness, the punk. Did he honestly think he could buy her gifts every time they got in an argument and he would automatically be forgiven?

She was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard a honk and realized her taxi had arrived.

"Where would you like me to put them?" Sara asked.

"Oh, just put them right there," Elle said as she motioned to a nearby table. "I'll be back in a while," she continued as she walked out the door.

The commute to Charlie's office wasn't bad. She had never been there before, and was admiring the architecture when an assistant let her know Charlie was ready to see her.

He greeted her with a smile and a warm hug when she walked into his office. When they finished their greetings, she sat in a chair that was in front of his desk.

"So, have you recovered from last night?" he asked in jest.

"Just barely," Elle said with a nervous laugh. If he only knew. But there was no way she was going to tell him what happened after dinner. Or what Will had done. No, if anyone was going to tell Charlie, it was going to be Will. She decided to change the subject, "Doesn't human resources usually handle these matters?"

"When you decide what job you want, then you'll meet with the HR Director," Charlie informed her.

"Decide?" Elle inquired.

"Yeah. I've looked over the positions we have available, and I think these three are best suited for you," he said as he handed her the job descriptions.

Elle was surprised when she saw the starting pay for each job. "This can't be right! It's practically double what I got paid at the law firm," she exclaimed.

"Well, your previous job didn't require a degree, so the pay was considerably less. This is the standard starting rate of pay we would offer to anyone with your degree and qualifications," Charlie clarified.

"Wow. How long do I have to decide?" she asked, as she reviewed the documents.

"Until next Friday. But if you decide today, you can start as early as Monday," Charlie informed her.

"Can you tell me a little more about these jobs?" she asked.

"Sure. They all require a lot of reading," he said with a wink. "Most of the time you'll work independently. And the amount of writing you'll do depends on which position you take. These jobs are thirty hours a week, and a good portion of it can be done from home if need be. So there shouldn't be any conflict with your school schedule, or when you go out of town," Charlie replied.

Elle narrowed her eyes, "Have you been talking to Will? This sure sounds like preferential treatment. Most bosses don't let their employees take unscheduled vacations," she accused, knowing he was referring to Will's business trips.

Charlie put his hands up in surrender and laughed, "It's self-serving, really. If you take a job where you're chained to a desk every day, you won't be able to go with Will to Pemberley during the summer. Knowing him, he would then choose to stay here with you, and that would completely destroy my summer vacation plans. Do you know how hard it is to schedule a trip to Pemberley without Caroline finding out? It's a covert operation! It'd be easier getting Britney Spears in and out of a Starbucks or a gas station without a camera going off," he exclaimed.

"I can imagine," Elle said with a nod.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my sister. I really do. But even I can't stomach the way she parades herself in front of Will. Or how she has to interrupt every conversation to get his attention. Even I need a break once in a while, and Pemberley is our haven," Charlie finished.

"Okay," Elle said with a sigh. Charlie was such a great guy, she found it impossible to be mad at him.

"So, have you decided which schools to apply to?" he asked.

Elle nodded, "I guess the obvious choices are UCLA and USC, though I haven't really researched any of the other schools in the area."

Charlie nodded, "So you'll apply in the fall, and they'll probably let you know sometime during the winter. You'll make your decision in early spring, and start the following fall, right?"

"Yeah, I think so. Well, that is if I'm able to decide on what to study by this fall," she replied.

"It doesn't matter. By the time you register for classes, whether it is next year or the year after, you'll have been with the company for over a year. Therefore you'll have met the requirements for the company to cover your tuition costs," he explained. "Here's a list of the graduate programs we will cover. If you enroll in a program that is not on the list, but you feel is beneficial to your advancement in the company, you can fill out a form and HR will consider it. If not, we'll pay for half."

"I don't think the tuition will be a problem," Elle said, referring to the considerable increase in her salary.

"I know. I'm sure Will would be eager to pay for it all," Charlie remarked.

"Will? No, I meant I'll be able to afford school on my own now," she replied.

Charlie laughed, "I wonder how Darce will take it."

"Take what? That I can pay my own way?" she asked with a frown.

"It's just ironic that you would want to pay for it on your own, considering all the money Darcy Media Group gives to scholarship programs each year. I'm sure Darce will find it strange that he's paying for strangers to further their educations, but his wife doesn't want him to pay for hers," he answered.

"Well it's my education, so I should find a way to pay for it on my own," she reasoned.

"Yeah, but he loves you. It's only logical that he'd want to help, considering all the resources he has at his disposal. What good is all this money, if we can't help the people we love?" he asked with a shrug.

Elle didn't have an answer for that. Isn't that what all families do? Share what they have with the people they loved.

"Darce is a good guy. Let him help you. It'll give him a reason to smile, not that you haven't given him a reason already," he continued.

"You really admire him, don't you?" Elle asked in wonder.

"Yeah, I do. How many guys could have done what he did? His father dies, and instead of grieving, he's forced to step in and take over the company, and become guardian to his little sister. I don't think I could've done what he did. I saw how he'd rush home every night so he could be home with Georgie. She was a kid who'd lost both her parents, and Will knew he had to be there for her. He didn't want her to be raised by maids or a nanny. How many twenty-something year old guys are willing to do that?" Charlie asked.

"Not many," Elle guessed.

"And it's not like he didn't have a choice. His Aunt Catherine and Chris' parents both offered to let Georgie live with them. Darce refused. He didn't want Georgie to think he was pawning her off on someone else. He saw it as his responsibility, and has done everything he can to make sure she's had the best life possible. He's done all this on top of running a multibillion dollar conglomerate," Charlie said in awe.

"You make him sound like a super hero. Is there anything he can't do?" she asked.

"Well it's not like there wasn't a price to pay. I can't remember the last time I saw him truly happy. Well, that is until you came along. I mean, Georgie's not stupid. She saw the toll this was taking on him. I think that's why she insisted on going abroad this year. She touted all the benefits it would be to her education, but honestly, I think she just wanted to give him a break. Give him a chance to enjoy life again, and maybe, find love in the process. I mean, when she left, she practically ordered me to find him a nice girl. Who knew I would do such a good job at it! I was so preoccupied with the fact that I'd found the girl of my dreams, I hadn't noticed Darce had found his too," Charlie finished.

"So he didn't date?" Elle prodded. She found it hard to believe with girls like Caroline throwing themselves at him constantly. Then again, it was obvious he found Caroline annoying, and only put up with her for Charlie's sake.

"When he wasn't at work, he was with Georgie. And he always seemed to find something wrong with the few women he did meet," Charlie replied.

Elle restrained herself from snorting before commenting, "I can imagine," remembering what Will had said about her before they had been introduced. She could just imagine what he would have said about other women.

"In his defense, Will's not blind. He sees how young women from privileged families behave out in public. How they party every night, get addicted to drugs and are forced to go to rehab or are sent to jail. He doesn't want Georgie to turn out that way, and he doesn't want her to think it's okay to hang around those kinds of people. He knows he has to set the example by not associating himself with those kinds of people either," he explained.

"He's really overprotective with the people he loves," she stated. Especially his best friend, she thought to herself as she replayed their argument in her head. Maybe she'd been too hard on him. Maybe he did only have the best intentions.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Now, how about I show you around, introduce you to some people and then we go out to lunch?" he asked as he stood up.

"Sure," she said as she followed suit.

It had been a long but productive day when Elle arrived back home. After stepping inside, she instantly froze and took in the sight before her.

"Sara . . . Sara!" she called out.

The maid came rushing from the kitchen with Figaro fast at her heels, eager to greet his mistress.

"What is going on here?" Elle asked as she motioned to the dozen or so bouquets in the foyer.

"They're all for you," Sara replied as Figaro rubbed against Elle's leg and cried, desperate to get her attention.

Elle gasped, "Why? Has somebody died or something?" she asked in horror, finding no other reason to account for so many flowers.

"No, I don't think so. I haven't read any of the cards, but they've all been delivered by the same place," Sara explained.

"It must be a mistake," Elle declared. "The delivery guy just came by and dropped all these off at once?"

"No, you were here for the first delivery. Then, an hour later, he brought two bouquets. And an hour after that he brought three and so on," Sara elaborated.

Elle remembered the roses and the card, "You mean Will did all this?" she asked.

Sara shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I would assume so. Those two bouquets of roses were the first to arrive after you left," she said as she pointed to a couple of vases. One contained white roses and the other pink.

Elle walked over and opened the card.

Did you not like the color?

Elle could only assume he meant the color of the roses, because the first dozen he had sent were red.

She quickly grabbed the card from a fourth bouquet that was next to the three dozen roses.

I've always thought of you as a sunflower type of girl.

The bouquet was a mixture of wild flowers with four sunflowers in the center. She turned and opened the next card.

Irises are probably more your style.

A smile had made its way onto her face as she opened the next envelope.

Everybody loves tulips.

She let out a muffled laugh. He'd obviously forgotten she was going to be out today, and had expected her to respond. After receiving no answer, he appeared to be getting desperate. The next note confirmed her suspicions.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Why don't you give me a call?

You know you want to.

She laughed openly after reading that. When her laughter died down it was replaced with a disgruntled, obnoxious cry from Figaro for having been ignored. She finally bent down and acknowledged the cat by scratching him behind his ears.

"What would you like me to do with them?" Sara asked.

"Uh, why don't you take some upstairs to my room and I'll figure out where to put the rest," Elle instructed.

Sara grabbed a vase and made her way towards the stairs as Elle collapsed onto a nearby chair. She let out a sigh as she contemplated what to do next. Something inside was telling her she should be mad that he did this. She couldn't let him think he could buy his way out of anything!

Then again, it was kind of . . . sweet . . . and pathetic . . . and funny. The infuriating man made it impossible for her to stay mad at him, which only made her mad at herself for crumbling so easily. After all, he was a billionaire. What would he have done if he didn't have money to waste?

She heard a buzz from the gate and groaned. He wasn't going to stop until she called him, the jerk. Now it was up to her to make the next move. As Sara came rushing by to get the door, Elle came up with an idea.

"Sara, do you have the direct line for Will's assistant?" she asked hopefully.

Moments later, she was dialing the number.

"Darcy Media Group, this is Dan speaking. How can I help you?"

"Hi Dan. This is Elizabeth Bennet," she replied.

"Mrs. Darcy? Great! He's been waiting for your call. I'll just put you through to his line if you give me a second," he responded.

"No, no, no, no," she said quickly. "I don't want to bother him. I was just wondering if you were responsible for all the beautiful flowers that have been arriving at the house, and if you could please stop sending them now?"

"Oh, uh, sure. No problem. Are you sure you don't want to talk to him? He's been eager to hear from you," he said truthfully.

"No, I'll talk to him when he gets home. Thanks for your help, Dan," Elle said as she hung up the phone.

A couple of hours later, Elle was sitting in their bedroom, reading when Will came in. He had already removed his jacket and tie, and had unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt. His sleeves were rolled up and he looked tired. He tossed his jacket and tie on the bed, not sure of what to say. Elle finally decided to break the silence.

"Do you plan to buy me a greenhouse the next time you screw up?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the book.

Will thought it over for a second before he replied, "Well, if that's what it takes, then yes." He paused for a moment before asking, "Are you still mad?"

Elle closed the book and pushed it to the side, "No, I'm not mad. I don't like what you did, but I don't have a right to be mad. If you want to earn anyone's forgiveness, it should be Charlie's, not mine."

Will nodded and walked towards her. She removed her feet from the ottoman and he sat down to face her.

"I know. I've been thinking about it all day, and I've decided to tell him. I don't know how, but I'm still going to," he said as he rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his fingers together.

Elle leaned forward and put her hands around his as she gave him a peck on the lips. She knew how hard it was going to be for him to tell Charlie what he'd done.

Will, however, wasn't going to be satisfied with a little peck. He pulled his left hand from under hers and brought it up to her neck to pull her back to him. She willingly followed his lead and parted her lips. He put both his hands on her waist and pulled her up into his lap as she ran her fingers through his hair, never breaking the kiss. They continued for a while, until Elle rested her forehead against his and slightly pulled away.

"I've got to ask, what's with the poem you wrote about the farm animals?" she asked with a knitted brow.

Will groaned. Stupid, stupid, Adam! He knew he shouldn't have trusted him to write the last couple of cards, while he rushed off to the meeting!

"In all honesty, someone else wrote that," he admitted, hoping she wouldn't get mad.

"Good," she said, the relief evident on her face. "It's kind of disturbing to think you would equate love with livestock."

"Um, hmm," he mumbled as he pulled her neck forward to bring her lips back to his. Their kiss became more passionate, and he slowly caressed her body until his hands found the hem of her shirt. His fingers slipped underneath, and he started drawing circles on her skin around her lower back.

It had been days since they'd made love, thanks to her monthly visitor, as she called it. His fingers gripped the hem of her shirt, and he slowly started to lift it when her hands closed over his. She pulled her lips away as she rested her forehead against his own, then looked him straight in the eye.

"We need to talk."

I held on to this chapter for a couple of weeks because three really sad things happened around the time I wrote it. I believe my mood affected my writing, because the chapter felt kind of somber to me. I decided I should wait to post it until I could think of something to add that would make people smile :D

I hope I succeeded.

Oh, and thanks for suggesting that Elle send the flowers to other people. I thought that was funny, but as you see, she wasn't home when most of the flowers arrived. Your suggestion reminded me of my friend in high school who, after receiving flowers from her boyfriend after a big fight, told him she was waiting to put them on his grave.

Oh, yeah. That went over pretty well. I swear, I never had to watch stuff like Dawson's Creek because my high school was so much more entertaining.

Let me know if you liked it ;D