A/N: Welcome, new reader endoreovende( ). Now, I can't answer all of those questions right now, it'll ruin the tale, luv! And about Will and Alisa/Liz: most of my readers are asking to have Will and Liz together, but I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see.
Terradaina: I'm glad that you liked my action scene, but I'm sorry you can't stand Alisa. heh heh. I can't kill her off, darlin, that would be too easy! Don't worry, I think you'll get to like her—for awhile at least ;) And, no, Terradaina, YOU rock.
Chapter Seven: The Ass Grabber
Will and Liz sat down on his sofa together and she shed her coat. Will sat still across from her on the other end clasping and unclasping his hands. Finally he jumped up.
"Ice cream! Do you want some? I've got plenty in the freezer and there's strawberry, chocolate and vanilla!" He stood there waiting nervously for an answer.
"Ice cream...ice cream sounds good. Strawberry, please," she agreed and he left quickly to the kitchen. Ice cream? Ice cream?! My God, man, you couldn't think of anything better to say? I am such and idiot! he thought as he began to scoop out some of the frozen treat. When he returned to the living room, there she sat, waiting. For the ice cream. For William. "Thanks," she said and they began to eat in silence, this being his second bowl. "So, William, I came to thank you," Elizabeth finally said in between a bite. For the second time that day, Will's eating utensil was brought down halfway from his mouth.
"For what?" he asked in surprise. And why is she suddenly calling me William?
"Well, for saving my father's life, of course! If it hadn't been for you, he probably wouldn't be safe at home where he is right now." She was finished with her ice cream so she set the bowl down on the coffee table and Will did the same with his.
"You don't have to thank me, Elizabeth. Especially since I was the one who brought those men to his office in the first place."
"But it was an accident Will. And for goodness sake, they had you at gunpoint! You could've been shot, even killed!" She had become heated with these words, her face getting flushed and her voice an octave higher, hands motioning passionately. Then there was silence; Will didn't know what to say. "But you still fought for my father's life," she added in a near whisper. She's so beautiful. Her hair was in waves that she had tried to pull back into a ponytail, but deep honey locks were falling in random pieces around her face. Her features had softened from the warmth of his apartment and the words she had just shared, and Will thought that he liked how she was looking at him. She broke the gaze, though and clearing her throat, she pointed at a picture on his wall.
"What's that picture of?" The picture included a brick house, large but not intimidating; it was surrounded by a ton of snow and a man stood outside in the drive holding a big shovel and smiling.
"Oh, that's our house in Manhattan. And that's my stepdad. He's a cool guy, been takin' care of me for the longest it seems." Liz stood up and walked over to the "picture wall".
"And that must be your mother," she concluded, looking at a woman sitting on a park bench holding a baby boy in her arms.
"Yes," he said and got up to look at it with her. Seeing his mother and his home made him feel homesick, but he couldn't really think about that; his life was picking up speed.
"She's beautiful." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her intently examining the picture. "You've got her eyes. And her lips, too, I think." It was then that Will turned to face her completely, and both realized what she had just said. She's been looking at my lips as much as I've been looking at her's...
Oh, my. Did I say that outloud?
"Uh, well, I guess I'd better get going. I've been here long enough," she said with a small smile. He grabbed her arm, a little more urgently than he meant to. He really intended on spinning her back around and grabbing her mouth in a kiss, but he knew he couldn't do that. To cover up his actions, he asked her the first question that popped into his head.
"Wait! Where'd you go? You know, at Jack's that night. We came back downstairs and you were gone," he said. So, either he hasn't spoken to Jack...or Anamaria, or Jack just didn't tell him what happened. Elizabeth decided to go with the first thought and her lips twitched in a bit of amusement at the memory of that night.
"Well, I decided that it wasn't...urgent to talk to Jack at the moment. You two were taking too long. I was tired," she said and she started to put on her coat. For some reason, Will didn't want her to leave. As he racked his brain for anything, anything to keep her from leaving, she made her way to the door and he had no choice but to follow her. "Well, I guess that I'll see you later, Will." There was silence. "And thank you, again." With this last sentence, she leaned forward and brushed a simple, gentle, quick kiss upon his cheek. It was enough to make Will have to grit his teeth to keep from grabbing her and pulling her close to him, though. And she knew that. And he knew that she knew, because she didn't back away from him until a loud knock sounded at the door. Well, damnit, can't I kiss someone tonight??! Will thought in agitation as he unlocked and practically ripped the door open. He felt as though he could cuss out whomever was standing there, whether it was his neighbor or the queen of England, but seeing Jack made him forget that thought.
"Ah, am I interruptin' somethin'?" he asked with a wickedly mischievous grin.
"No, Jack. I just thought that I should have a chat with Will after the events of today. I was just leaving, though," Liz said and she stepped outside. "Goodbye, you two."
"Goodbye...Liz," Will said quietly and she smiled fully at him for the first time ever. He couldn't help but grin like a fool; she turned around and almost skipped down the stairs before disappearing out of sight.
"Aha, so there is somethin' between you two," Jackie said as he strolled inside and began making himself at home. Going into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and began to scan its contents. "Hm. No rum. That's pretty disappointing, Will, for someone who calls himself a Pirate," he said shaking his head in shame. Will had been about to retort Jack's earlier comment regarding him and Liz, but he quickly forgot at the mention of the crew.
"So, I assume that you're here to talk about me joining the crew," he prodded at the man who was now nosing through his pantry.
"Uh, yes. Of course. I heard about what happened tuh'day at your lil' job that you have, Turner. Mighty fine job you did protecting ol' Weatherby." He paused to have a laugh. "Weatherby. Ha! Who names their kid Weatherby?!" He was obviously distracted, so Will put him back on track.
"Yes, I helped protect him from the gunman. It was my job, seeing as how I was there and I was able to help. But what's that got to do with the Pirates?"
"Well, William," Jack began, as he took a box of Cheezits that he found in the pantry over to the couch and began to get comfortable. Oh, man, I wish he'd just get on with it, Will thought as he followed him and sat, waiting for the captain to stop crunching. He didn't stop crunching; instead he found it perfectly satisfying to talk while he was crunching, resulting in a mess that Will would have to vacuum later.
"I have a sneaking suspicion that those two men were from Barbossa's (with saying this name he decided to spit on the floor, making Will crinkle up his nose) crew, which means that I need ya more than ever, mate."
"Barbossa? Who's that?" Will asked, completely forgetting about the mess and now completely engrossed in the tale that was about to unfold. At least, he thought it was going to unfold.
"He is a man who I refuse to call captain. But he has a crew of his own now. And his crew's trouble to us, so it's high time we get ya started on learnin' how to be a Pirate for real, lad."
"Ok, but you still didn't tell me how you know him. Why's he trouble? And how come he's not a part of your crew?"
"Ey, mate, ya don't ask yer captain personal questions like that. Now, tomorrow I want you to come to the Lady and bring yer courage and strength. And some rum. Yes, definitely some rum, lad," he said as he tossed the now empty snack box at Will and stood up to leave.
"The Lady?" Will inquired.
"Me house. Me lagoon. Lady," Jack said in a tired tone of voice.
"Oh. Right," said Will. Well, I guess if you can name a ship, you can name other pieces of property, too. Without another word, Jack Sparrow walked out the door and out of sight, leaving Will alone to finally get the long awaited sleep he deserved.
The next day at work was chaotic to say the least. Extra security measures were being set up and if people weren't at their desks, they were at some urgent meeting to discuss the recent events; if they were at their desks or in their offices, they were working themselves to death in an effort to try and make up for yesterday's lost time. Will was one of those people in his office, working himself to death.
"Hey, Maggie," he called to a woman presently rushing past. She slowed down to face him.
"Oh, hey, Will. What is it?"
"Can you go ahead and make some copies of these outlines while you're in the copy room? I'm really being killed by these new files...I could really use your help," he said, locking his gaze with her before she decided to brush off his request. She was about to say no, he could tell, but how could any woman resist those big brown eyes? "Please?" he asked, and his endearing tone sealed the deal.
"Sure, Will, no problem," she said, taking the papers in a slightly inhibited manner, since she obviously couldn't tear her gaze from his eyes.
"Thanks, Maggie, 15 of each will do," he said and flashed her a brilliant smile as she nodded. When she smiled and then walked away, he turned back to his desk and sighed deeply. Where would I be without women around? he thought as he loosened his tie, closed his eyes, and rested his head in his hands.
"Hey, champ, wake up! No time to dawdle, there's work to do!" A deep voice boomed behind him, making him jump in shock. Norrington was standing there, very amused at Will's reaction.
"Oh, well I wasn't sleep, I was just-"
"No time to explain, Mr. Swann wants to see us in his office. Now," he said and he began to walk briskly toward the elevator. Will hurried along after him, straightening his tie on the way. The moment they stepped inside, Will became distracted. He was automatically reminded of the day before, riding in the elevator with a man up to Swann's room...he closed his eyes and leaned up against the wall of the elevator, trying to push the memory out of his mind by thinking about what was in store for him at Lady that night. What does that man have planned for me? Who all will be there? I do hope that I have enough courage and strength, because I couldn't bear failing. Especially now that my work is involved...and Elizabeth. Her father...
"Let's go, William," said Norrington and Will put on his game face as they showed the guards their I.D.s and made their way to Swann's office.
When yet another guard let them inside, they were greeted by the company president.
"Hello, gentlemen. Take a seat," he said. They each muttered a hello and obeyed, sitting across from each other at the large wooden conference desk. "Now, you're probably wondering why I called you both in here. I want to start by saying thank you, Mr. Turner for your help yesterday. You were very brave and if it weren't for you...well, let's just say I might not be sitting here right now." Will decided not to mention the fact that he led the men to his office in the first place; instead he mentioned that there were 'no thanks needed, sir' and sat up a bit straighter in his chair.
"Right, well, Mr. Norrington I have an issue to discuss here. You are Executive Supervisor of the Media Sales department..."
"Yes, sir."
"Therefore you are in charge of making sure that our clients' sales are prospering due to our unique methods."
"Yes, sir."
"And now Will Turner shall be your partner in a new campaign from our biggest client of the year...because I am promoting him to the position of Assistant Executive Supervisor of the Media Sales department!" Will's eyes went wide and he looked at Norrington to see what he thought of this. He looked completely fine with the arrangement.
"Sir, thank you! I'll be honored," he said and reached across to shake the president's hand.
"Tomorrow morning there will be a mandatory meeting with the Creative Publications executives in order to discuss ideas, etc., understood?"
"Yes, sir," they said in unison. Just then a voice came over the pager.
"President Swann, you have a call on line two," the woman from the front desk said.
"I'm a bit busy..."
"Mr. Swann, it's a Mr. Hector Assobrab and he says that it's urgent." At this, Will and Norrington raised an eyebrow at each other and began to quietly snicker. Ass...brab...sounds like ass and grab! Norrington thought. And Jack was making fun of Swann's name...Weatherby and Ass Grab...this is too much! Will thought. Swann sighed.
"Please tell him to leave his number and I'll call him back in a bit," he said and she agreed to pass on the message. "Yes, the meeting is tomorrow morning, so I expect both of you not to disappoint." Both men nodded understanding and began to leave. "Oh, and James," he said. Norrington faced him.
"Yes, sir?"
"I suppose you'll be stopping by sometime soon to pick up Elizabeth?" Will was almost out of the office, but at this tidbit he perked up his ears and decided to do a little eavesdropping outside of the door.
"Yes, sir, of course. I would very much like to take Elizabeth out again, if that's alright with you. And her, of course."
"Oh, don't worry about Elizabeth, she thinks you're a very good man!"
"I think very highly of her, too, I assure you." At this, Will decided that he'd heard enough and he began to gloomily make his way back to his office. Will didn't understand what was going on: he had saved the president's life, gotten promoted the very next day, had pretty women interested in him wherever he went...but for some reason that he could not explain, his whole day seemed to be ruined; the only thing left to look forward to was the Lady.
A/N: You guys, I love hearing your thoughts on the tale and your questions and opinions—they help me write. So, now everyone, I think you know the deal: if you review, there's a new chapter I'll reveal......mateys! ARRRRR!