A/N: This story is heavily inspired by Harvey and Donna's dynamics from "Suits." I stopped watching the show a few seasons in, but I still feel inspired by the lovely chemistry between the leads! There will be four chapters in total.
There are days when the weight of the world cracks his back, when the chip on his shoulder grows so heavy that he's quite sure it's torn any ligaments he has between his torso and his arm - and he'll try to sigh as subtly as possible - and look out through the glass walls of his office.
And there she'll be, eyebrows inquisitive and eyes warm. And her face will eloquently ask how he's doing, and how she can magically make things better.
Then he'll smile reassuringly, because her being there - being always there - is enough to make things better. And she'll pull up against her desk in her perfect body in a perfect dress - and her warm, knowing smile will buoy him until the next storm threatens to rise.
She's special. He's always known that. Everyone knows that. When life steers you towards choppy waters, Lizzie Bennet is the person you want on your side. She gets her way without force. She tells you point blank what you need to hear. In your triumph, she's your anchor. In your stumbles, she's your rail.
She's a chameleon who manages to be the exact color he needs her to be, every damn time.
And it's just too bad that she knew he needed a secretary more than he did a girlfriend.
"On one condition," she'd replied instantly, that time he'd offered her an extremely attractive employment package just to poach her over to his new firm. "Whatever we had, romantically, ends here. I'm not going to start a new job as the girl who sleeps with the boss."
He wanted to argue, even then, that he would just be her boss instead of the boss. He's not exactly senior partner quite yet.
But she had been insistent, and he had needed her too badly not to give in.
So here they are, night after night, each clocking out within an hour of each other no matter who leaves first. She's gorgeous and intelligent; he's successful and, according to public opinion, very suave. He hasn't seen the inside of her apartment since that one magical night before his new job. She, on the other hand, has seen his penthouse flat more times than he can count.
When he's sick, she's there. When he's flying in late, she's there. When he needs to make sure his latest one-night stand doesn't linger, she slips into the role of angry wife with more ease than should be natural.
Sometimes, he reflects on just how lucky he is to have her.
"Meatball pho, spring rolls, with extra lettuce." She appears at his desk, takeout in hand. Her smile is as enchanting as it always is. He doesn't know how she managed to slip out, travel seven blocks to his favorite Vietnamese place, and come back with her spoils so quickly – but he's learned to stop questioning her inhuman powers when they're employed so glaringly in his favor.
"Charged your meal to my card too, I hope."
She waves the supplementary card in her hand with a winning smile. "You don't have to ask twice."
On days like this, when she's the central point of his entire life – when she's the only person to ever really get him, he wishes he could go back in time and undo his agreement to her one annoying condition.
He could say that he'll let it cool off for a year, or a month. He could let her establish her reign over the office first before disclosing anything personal between them.
There have been times, so many times, when he's buried himself in between another nameless woman's thighs, closed his eyes, and thought of her the entire bumpy way.
The sad part is that those women are never Lizzie when he opens his eyes again.
But he's foolishly agreed to her short-sighted proposal, and he can't exactly take back his agreement now without looking like a gigantic jerk.
Who says she'll even want him now – when the last five years have given her the most unflattering glimpses into his mess of a life?
To the outside world, he's William Darcy, god among men – the most talented and winsome lawyer in the country. He has old and new money in his accounts, and good genetics have given him a presence that draws women to him like moth to a flame.
But Lizzie knows better. Lizzie knows he's broken inside ever since his sister's disaster of a marriage and short-lived reality show stardom. Lizzie knows he sees his therapist at least twice a week. Lizzie knows what he likes, what he doesn't, and all the whys behind those two.
And as much as he wishes they could be more than hotshot corporate lawyer and his miracle-working assistant, she hasn't ever mentioned it – so neither can he.