As always, your reviews were both hilarious and awesome. You made it clear that Bess and Will needed to be (at least) in the same room in the next chapter, so I hope this meets your requirements :-)
Will and Emma were among the last to guests to enter. There were a few whispers as the usher showed them to their seats near the front of the auditorium. The number of cameras in the room made Will uncomfortable. Fortunately, once they were seated, the audience settled down. They were there to see their loved ones, after all, not a couple of actors.
Will scanned the rows of students on the stage, searching for Bess. Emma nudged him and pointed to the front row. There she was! The pleasure of seeing her again, after six months apart, washed over him. She looked good. Really good. The black gown with purple trim suited her, and even her mortarboard cap didn't look silly. Her hair was drawn back in a loose bun, and she was chatting excitedly to the student next to her. She hadn't seen him or Emma yet.
Will's attention drifted as the speeches started. They were mercifully short. The Dean started calling out names. Will sat up straight. Bess was a B for Bennett, so she should be near the beginning.
When she walked across the stage to receive her degree, he clapped as long and loud as he dared. Emma, next to him, snapped a stream of photos with her camera.
Will lost interest again as the names rolled on, although he did recognise a few students from Bess' trivia team.
At last, they came to the prizes. The Dean approached the microphone. 'The prize for most outstanding student in the Masters of Organisational and Social Psychology programme goes to … Lily Zheng'.
Will recognised the petite girl who stood up and crossed the stage to shake hands with the Dean. It was Bess' Malaysian friend, the one who'd had too much beer at the quiz night and giggled the whole way home in his car.
He swallowed his disappointment that it wasn't Bess and clapped.
'The award for best dissertation goes to … Bess Bennet'.
'What?' shrieked Emma, clutching his arm and almost dropping her camera.
Bess looked shocked. Her friends pushed her up from her seat, and she gave a wry smile, blushing as she crossed the stage. Will clapped so hard his hands hurt.
Emma and Will tried to get to Bess after the ceremony, but she was surrounded by a group of students congratulating her.
Will saw Lily standing off to one side with an older couple, and excused himself to Emma.
'Hi, Lily?'
'Oh my goodness, Mr Darcy … I mean Will. What are you doing here?'
'I came along with Emma Bingley'. Will waved vaguely in her direction. 'She's Bess' old boss'.
'Of course, you're here for Bess'.
Will quickly changed the subject. 'Hey, congratulations on topping the year. What an achievement'.
'Thanks, Will'. Lily leaned in closer. 'My mum is your biggest fan', she whispered. 'Any chance I could introduce you?'
'Of course', said Will graciously.
'Mum, Dad, this is Will Darcy. Will, these are my parents, Denise and CJ Zheng'.
'Mr and Mrs Zheng, it's a pleasure to meet you', he said formally. 'You must be very proud of your daughter'.
Mr Zheng shook Darcy's hand, but Mrs Zheng only stared at him in shock.
'Would you like a photo?' asked Will to break the awkward silence.
'With you?' said Lily.
'Only if you want to', said Will, wondering if he'd overstepped.
'Of course, we'd love to', said Lily. 'It would be my mum's dream come true, but Bess said no photos'.
'What, she knew I was coming?', asked Darcy, confused.
'No, I mean at the trivia night, when you went outside to make a call. She said no photos, no social media mentions, nothing. She said you were doing us a big favour by filling in and we should respect that'.
'Oh, I get it', said Will. Was that why Bess had said she wasn't his friend? To ensure his privacy?
'Anyway, this is a public occasion', he continued. 'Let's grab someone to take a photo'.
Lily pulled a fellow student over, and Will posed in between Lily and her parents. He was about two heads taller than all of them. Lily's mum was still silent. He rested one arm along her shoulders. The poor woman was shaking like a leaf.
'I must go and talk to Bess', he excused himself once the photos were done. As he turned to go, Lily's mum suddenly pulled him into a hug and kissed him on the cheek. He looked over her shoulder at Lily, who was mortified. 'Mum, that's enough', she said, hauling her off. 'Don't maul the poor man'.
'It was a pleasure to meet you', he told her mum, extricating himself as gracefully as he could. 'Are you celebrating tonight?'
'We're not sure, we only landed from KL this morning', she said, finally finding her voice. 'We haven't had time to make any arrangements.
He pulled out a card and scrawled his name on the back, before handing it to her. 'If you'd like to celebrate at a real English club, give them this card and they'll look after you'.
She looked down at the card as though he had handed her a golden ticket. 'Thank you, Mr Darcy,'she breathed.
Minutes later, he finally made it through the crush of people to Bess. Could he get away with a hug? He thought the occasion warranted it.
'Well done, Bess', he said, pulling her into his arms. 'I'm so proud of you. Best dissertation – that's amazing'.
'Will – I didn't even know you were back', she said into the front of his shirt.
Reluctantly, he released her so that he could see her face. She looked surprised, but not displeased. He hoped.
'I only flew in yesterday', he explained. He glanced pointedly at the other students surrounding them, who promptly withdrew, allowing them to continue their conversation in private.
'And you came to my graduation?' she asked, bewildered.
'As you see' he said, spreading his arms wide. Oh shit, was he being too obvious?
'Gordon couldn't make it, and Emma asked me to come instead', he explained. Well, that was half true. Gordon probably could have taken the day off work, but he'd begged Emma to take him instead.
'I see'. Bess' expression cleared, and she smiled. 'Thanks for coming'.
'Your sister couldn't make it?'
'It's a long way to fly with little kids', she explained, 'but you and Emma made it. It's lovely to have a couple of people here for me'. He followed her gaze as she looked around at the other students, surrounded by their families.
'Your mum and dad would have been very proud of you' he said softly. What a stupid thing to say. You didn't even know them, Will.
Tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them away and mustered a smile. 'Thanks Will. Now, take me to Emma'.
'Just a minute, Bess'. He took a deep breath. 'Are you doing anything tonight?'
She nodded. 'A few of us without families are going out for dinner'.
He tried again. 'How about tomorrow night? Or are you booked up in perpetuity?' he joked.
Her face fell. 'Oh Will, I'm sorry. I'm going backpacking with friends for a month. We leave in the morning. We were only waiting around for graduation'.
His face must have fallen, because Bess rushed into further speech. 'Maybe we could catch up when I get back?'
'I'll be filming in France by then', he said curtly, afraid his voice would betray his feelings.
'Oh, okay, never mind…' Bess started, when she was cut off by a jovial man slapping her on the back.
'Ms Bennett, already mixing it with the rich and famous, I see'.
Will frowned as Bess blushed.
'Well, aren't you going to introduce me?' the man continued.
'Yes, of course. Will Darcy, may I present Edward Gardiner, founder of Gardiner Inc and my new employer? Mr Gardiner, this is Will Darcy, celebrated actor and, er…'
Will waited for Bess to characterise their relationship. Would she deny it again?
… family friend', she concluded.
Gardiner seized Will's hand and shook it vigorously.
'Delighted to meet you. I was fortunate enough to see your Hamlet at the Old Vic. Magnificent, simply magnificent'.
'Thank you', said Will shortly. He'd never mastered the art of accepting praise from strangers. He turned to Bess. 'You're going to work for Gardiner Inc?'
'Yes, they've offered me a graduate position. I start in a month'.
'And we were lucky to get her', Mr Gardiner interrupted. 'Best student we've ever had on placement. Did you know', he continued to Will, leaning in confidentially, 'that according to Bess, our mail room man has the most, uh, what was that word again, Bess?'
'It wasn't the one to do with the pond, was it?' asked Will teasingly.
Bess stuck out her tongue at Will. 'No, it was not stagnation'. She turned back to Gardiner. 'The most generativity'.
'That's it!' cried Gardiner. 'I was about to let the man go. Not much call for physical mail, these days. But according to Bess, he looks after all the new hires, settles them in, checks up on anyone who's having a hard time, fixes problems and boosts morale. So I asked her if I should make that part of his duties, but she said no, he wouldn't get so much satisfaction out of the work if he was required to do it. So then I suggested a bonus, but Bess here said if I gave him a pay rise instead, he'd be able to pay for his granddaughter's piano lessons'. Gardiner shook his head. 'Never seen a man so happy to get a raise'.
Will opened his mouth, searching for a comment that would agree with Gardiner without sounding patronising to Bess. He was saved by Gardiner himself, who didn't seem to require much of a response from his audience.
'Excuse me, I must dash. Having lunch with the Chancellor, dontcha know'.
'It was a pleasure to meet you', said Will politely.
'We'll see you in a month, Miss Bennet', Gardiner called over his shoulder as he pushed through the crowd.
'Your project certainly made a big impression on him', Will told Bess. 'I'd say your career is off to a great start'.
Bess shrugged off the praise. 'He's a CEO. Right now, my project is his shiny new toy, but next week, it'll be something else'.
'Still, you've got a graduate position with the company. They're hard to come by'.
'I know', said Bess, eyes glowing. 'I'll be able to support myself now'.
'That's great', said Will, wishing she didn't have to worry so much about money. He had more than anyone needed, but no way of sharing it with her. Not yet. Which reminded him that he had snapped at her earlier. He needed to do better.
'About that coffee, Bess. It might not be for a while, but I'd still love to have one with you'.
'I'd like that too, Will'.