Sorry for the delay guys...anyways, here is chapter 6 and once again thanx to my awesome betas, mab35 and ladyamadaun

Chapter 6

Lizzy stood in front of the full length mirror in her room, with her head tilted to the side as she screwed on the back of her earring. The task, which would normally take about 15 seconds, was slowed by her trembling hands.

"Crap!" she exclaimed as fumbling she dropped the earring. Kneeling down she quickly picked it up, muttering to herself something about butterfingers.

"Relax, you'll be fine" Jane reassured in a soothing voice from a chair beside the mirror, dressed in her robe and slippers with her hair tied back in a messy bun. Her long elegant fingers were wrapped around a mug of steaming hot coffee.

"How can I relax? It's my first day and I have to present my ideas to the board in a couple of hours! And my father won't even be there!" Michael had left for yet another business trip earlier that morning.

"Yes but this is your company. They can't fire you. If anything, you could be their boss if you chose" Jane still found it confusing that Elizabeth chose to start at the bottom of the proverbial food chain.

"WelI, I WANT to work my way up. I want to earn my way to the top...and then when the times comes that I have to take over my dad's position, I'll know that I'm worthy of it." Lizzy smoothed down the front of her top and buttoned her suit jacket. "Open or closed?" she turned towards her friend. Jane pursed her lips and thought for a minute before answering confidently,

"Closed. More professional." She paused for a minute. "Are you ready for your presentation?"

"I worked on it all weekend." Lizzy sighed. "If I'm not ready now, I'll never be ." She nodded at her reflection before turning to Jane. She reached out and plucked the mug out of a protesting Jane's hands and took a hearty sip before grimacing,

"Yech! Needs way more cream and sugar. This stuff is gross." Lizzy thrust the drink back at Jane who laughed and stuck out her tongue. She reached for her handbag, checking to make sure that her wallet and keys were inside.

"I've gotta get going. Are you going to be okay?" She asked Jane as she grabbed her portfolio from her dresser and made her way to the door.

"Yes yes don't worry about me. I have a meeting with my agent today and then I'll come straight to your office to pick you up for lunch"

"Sounds good" Lizzy glanced around the room to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything before reaching for the doorknob. "Wish me luck!"

"You don't need it, you're amazing" Jane replied confidently. Lizzy turned to grin at her one more time before she walked out of the room and made her way out of the house and towards her car.

Darcy was in a bad mood. He sat in his office, shuffling papers irritably trying to get everything together for the meeting. There was yet another new marketing executive and he was in no mood to humor another fresh faced, idealistic graduate. The phone on his desk buzzed.

"Yes Sarah?"

"Mr. Darcy, the meeting will be starting in 10 minutes." The voice was crisp and professional.

"Thank you" Darcy stood up quickly, reached for a folder and walked out of his office. "If Anna calls, patch her through" He called over his shoulder to his secretary. She raised her eyebrow but remained silent. It wasn't like him to accept phone calls during meetings, even if it was his sister.

Darcy walked briskly to the conference room, his usual stern expression in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his cousin approaching him and slowed down.

"Hey man" Richard caught up to him quickly, "So you free for lunch after this?" Darcy scoffed. "You really think this meeting is going to last that long?" Richard raised his eyebrows at him.

"Come on" Darcy continued. "It's going to be another kid with unrealistic ambitions and we're going to spend about 10 minutes shooting down his amateur ideas and then we'll call it a day. But yeah, I'm up for lunch later" Richard laughed.

"I dunno man, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised" he said mysteriously. Darcy turned to look suspiciously at his cousin.

"Why? What do you know?"

Richard just shrugged, "Me nothing…why?" He quickened his step before calling out, "Well look who's here!"

Darcy looked up and almost froze in shock. There stood Lizzy having an earnest conversation with his uncle and Charlie. She had straightened her hair and pulled it back in a ponytail and she wore a pencil skirt with a jacket and high heels. She was the epitome of professionalism and yet she looked more beautiful than the last time he had seen her. He swallowed hard and followed his cousin.

"Well well well…if it isn't Little Lizzy Bennet" Richard smirked at her. Lizzy looked up at the pair who had just joined them. After regarding Darcy coolly she turned to Richard and sighed. But before she could say anything Sean spoke up.

"Now Richard, no need to draw attention to your old age. No one who sees her now would call her Little Lizzy anymore." He winked at her and walked into the conference room. Richard shook his head.

"I see you've won over my old man already. Nicely done squirt."

Lizzy glared at him. "Richard, I swear to God, if you call me that at work, you will be sorry." She threatened before turning and walking into the conference room. Richard and Charlie chuckled. Neither of them noticed Darcy's confusion.

"Hold on, what is she doing here?" Darcy broke in. Charlie looked at him incredulously.

"Didn't Richard tell you? Lizzy's the new marketing exec. She's running this meeting."

Darcy's eyes widened in surprise as he followed the others into the room and took his usual seat. Lizzy stood at the head of the table, her hands clasped in front of her, waiting patiently for everyone to take their seats. In front of her was a stack of folders. Once everyone was seated she passed out the folders and began her presentation. Darcy flipped through the papers in front of him, not really seeing the words in front of him. He was too distracted to focus on anything at the moment. Lizzy was working here? Was she even qualified or was the entire department going to be doing overtime trying to clean up her mess? What was she talking about now? Oh great, rebranding! Like that would be easy! He stopped paying attention on what she was saying and just sat gazing at her, noticing the way she moved her hands as she spoke, the expressions on her face. He felt his cousin nudge him and realized that Lizzy had finished speaking and all he remembered from her presentation was rebranding! He looked around and noticed that all eyes were on him. He flipped through the papers in front of him and without thinking, blurted out.

"You seem very optimistic Ms. Bennet. However I feel the results you are aiming for are a bit unrealistic. And rebranding can be very tricky and expensive and if not done right, epic failures. The point is to make money, not lose it." Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Charlie raise his eyebrows and realized how condescending he was being. What was wrong with him? Why did this mean side always come out when it came to Lizzy?-Darcy thought to himself

Lizzy looked at him with wide eyes before continuing,

"It may seem unrealistic to you Mr. Darcy but I have worked on projects that have produced even better results than these, in fact I considered myself to be a little on the cautious side in this case. Rebranding is tricky but not impossible with well established companies such as this one."

"With all due respect Ms. Bennet, this is not some school assignment, this is the real world." Richard let out a small cough before his father interrupted what seemed to be the beginning of an ugly spat.

"Okay you two, let's let others weigh in on this." There was silence as everyone slowly perused the papers in front of them, re-checking the numbers. All that could be heard was the shuffling of papers. Sean raised his head and broke the silence. "Personally Elizabeth, I'm impressed. IF you can make this happen, it could mean even bigger things for the company. You've got my vote." Lizzy smiled at him.

"I agree with Sean, just don't rush into anything, and take your time. What did Michael say about this?" Steven Miller, another member asked.

"He's reserving his observations until after you all have given yours," Lizzy answered. A few others joined in with their approving comments. Darcy sat silently, not making eye contact with Lizzy.

"Okay so once we get Michael's okay on this, we can put it to test," Charlie spoke up. Slowly everyone got up and walked out of the room. Darcy didn't move. Lizzy gathered her things and stalked out of the room and still he sat frozen.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Richard swiveled his char around to face Darcy and spoke up once the room had been emptied. Darcy looked at him, pretending to be confused.

"What?"

"What do you mean what? Will, that was an awesome presentation. Lizzy did an amazing job and you ripped into her for no reason." Darcy shrugged, trying to maintain a nonchalant appearance.

"She needs to learn. Just because she's the boss's daughter doesn't mean everything is going to come easy for her."

"So...what, you were trying to prepare her for the assholes of the world?" Darcy gave him a look, "Because I gotta say, you did a good job of that man. You really pissed her off." Richard pushed his chair back and stood up. Darcy copied his actions.

"Was she really mad?" he asked quietly. Richard just looked at him.

"What do you think man? I mean, I'd understand if you had a point but you totally attacked her for no reason. You didn't even follow the presentation…and don't say you did, I was watching you." They walked down the hall towards their offices.

"Should I apologize?" Darcy asked. Richard shook his head, "Nah, better let her cool off a bit first. Plus, we have to meet Charlie for lunch now. See? It took longer than you'd assumed."

"But where do I find her after lunch?" Darcy asked nervously.

"Her office is up here loser" He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.

"It is?" the surprise was evident in Darcy's voice

Richard shook his head, "Man, where have you been? Michael insisted that she have an office up here with the rest of us. Lizzy wanted a cubicle with all the other new hires but he wouldn't hear of it. He's grooming her to take over. She wanted to start at the bottom. Something about working her way to the top."

Darcy couldn't help but be impressed by all this. He glanced at his cousin and could see from his expression that Richard was impressed as well. He had a look of pride on his face, as though, he was happy about the way Lizzy had grown up, despite being far away from their influence.

"Wow" he said quietly.

"Yeah...I guess she's not the average spoiled socialite after all eh?" The elevator door opened and they walked out to see Charlie standing with Jane…and Lizzy.

"There you are!" he turned to them and smiled.

Lizzy stormed out of the conference and made her way to her office. She hadn't had time to go there before and so she had no idea where it was and had to ask someone for directions. She followed the instructions and found herself in the executive corridor. 'leave it to dad to give me an office with the rest of senior management!', Lizzy thought to herself. She found the door that had her name on the plaque. A young woman, not much older than Lizzy, sat at a desk just outside the door. She stood when Lizzy approached .

"Good morning Ms. Bennet!"

"Umm good morning…I'm sorry, who are you?" The woman smiled indulgently at her.

"I'm Susan Fields, your secretary" Lizzy looked at her, perplexed.

"I'm sorry but there must be a mistake, I didn't hire a secretary. I don't even need one." She walked over to her office door.

"Mr. Bennet told me you might say that. He instructed me to tell you to get used to it." Lizzy snapped her head around.

"Wait, my father hired you?" Susan nodded, still smiling. Lizzy sighed.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll be in here if you need me" She turned the knob and walked in to her office. She shut the door before turning to take in her surroundings. It was a beautiful room with ceiling to floor windows taking up the entire wall behind an expensive looking mahogany desk and leather chair. A laptop was open on the desk and her nameplate gleamed in the sunlight, next to a telephone. There was a bookshelf over in the corner full of books and a small table with 4 chairs. Beside the door was a small sofa. Lizzy dropped her bag onto the sofa before walking over to her desk and laughed out loud. Her father had placed a few photos on her desk. There were candid shots of herself with her father (which she would never have chosen to put on her desk, way too embarrassing!), shots with Jane and one of her mother cradling a baby Lizzy close to her chest and smiling at the camera. It was her favorite one. She turned to look out the window. The view showed central park and was beautiful. Lizzy felt a tug at her heartstrings. Her father had gone all out for her. It almost made up for the fact that he had missed her first day. She sighed again and sat down at her desk. Her anger came back to her. How could Will be such a jerk? He talked to her like she was a child, and tried to undermine her intelligence. She was furious with him and was resolved to show him what she was made of. She was a Bennet! She opened her top drawer and put her filed her portfolio away before turning on her laptop. Looking around, she noticed another door in the corner. Curious, she got up and walked over to open it, revealing a washroom. She walked in and turned on the faucet. Quickly she splashed her face with some cold water, hoping it would help dissipate some of her ire. She looked in the mirror. Water was dripping from her face. She grabbed a towel and quickly patted it dry. She walked back to her desk but before she could sit down, the intercom on her phone buzzed.

"Excuse me Ms. Bennet, but there is a Ms. Lafontaine here to see you"

"Oh yes, please send her in" Lizzy closed the laptop just as Jane walked in looking glamorous as usual even in something as casual as skinny jeans and an off the shoulder sweater.

"Wow! This is nice!" She looked around the room in awe. Lizzy smiled

"Courtesy of dad. As usual…ready to go?" She grabbed her bag. Jane nodded.

"Oh I forgot to tell you. I hope you don't mind but I ran into Charlie on my way up and I invited him to lunch with us. Please say it's ok!" She pleaded. Lizzy grinned.

"Would it make a difference if I said it wasn't ok? Jane's smile faded slowly making Lizzy laugh out loud,

"I'm kidding! Of course I don't mind…Let's go, I'm starving!" She rushed out of the office, followed closely by Jane. She paused at Susan's desk.

"I'm going out for lunch, I'll be back in an hour. Would you like me to bring you something?" Susan smiled at her,

"No thank you, Ms. Bennet, I'm all set. Would it be okay if I took my break as well?"

"Of course, I'm not expecting any calls." She waved her hand before walking with Jane to the elevator. She stepped in and pressed the button.

"Oh, by the way, how was your meeting?" Jane asked enthusiastically, "Did you wow them?" Lizzy turned to glare at her.

"Will Darcy was such a jerk to me! He spoke to me like I was 12 years old. I hate him!"

"Why what did he say?" Jane asked in surprise. Lizzy shook her head,

"Forget about it, I'll tell you at home, I don't want to get into it right now. However, everyone else loved my ideas" Jane clapped her hands together.

"That's wonderful! I knew you could do it!" the doors pinged open and they walked out. Charlie was already waiting and he grinned when he saw them.

"Hi Elizabeth! I hope you don't mind me crashing your lunch." Lizzy grinned back at him,

"Not at all Charlie and my friends get to call me Lizzy"

"So shall we go?" Jane asked Charlie. He shook his head.

"Sorry, I'm still waiting for a couple of friends. They'll be joining us too." He paused, "That's okay right?" Lizzy bit her tongue to stop herself from stating the obvious; it's a little to late to ask if it's okay!But she didn't want to embarrass Charles. Before she could ask him who was tagging along, Charlie turned to the elevator,

"There you are!" Lizzy turned to follow his line of vision and saw Richard and Darcy walking towards them. They both looked surprised to see her.

"Lizzy! What are you doing here?" Richard asked good-naturedly. Charles spoke up before she could answer him,

"I ran into Jane and she invited us to lunch with them. Now let's go, I'm hungry" Darcy glanced surreptitiously at Lizzy but her face was blank and she refused to look at him. It was obvious she was still angry.

Oh boy, this is going to be fun, he thought to himself. For some reason Darcy had the feeling that this was going to be a very long lunch.