Three years ago

William had only been the CEO of Pemberley for a year and he had proved to be the deserving heir of his family.

William was doing his MBA at Stanford while directing Pemberley. His first months have been hard but he made it through with Catherine's help until he felt ready to make his own decisions. He brought new and fresh ideas to the table and the board supported him.

Besides he had Fitz. Fitz had spent a year abroad and then had returned to San Francisco to work at the informatics department at Pemberley.

Just at the beginning of that year, he had received a visit George, who had cut all communication since getting his money. The visit was short and had ended in tension between the two of them. All that was left of their friendship were the memories.

That May, William travelled to Connecticut to surprise Gigi at the end of her semester. She had told him that she wanted to stay there and take some classes. After that, William was meant to join Catherine in Los Angeles, where she had discovered a small but promising media company and wanted to his nephew to invest in it.

But he had not anticipated the consequences of his visit.

It was the second time in that year that George had reappeared in William's life. However, this time, instead of leaving quietly, George had managed to break Georgiana and William was left to pick the pieces.

William and Georgiana had just starting to feel all right after their tragedy, and now everything was shattered.

It took him a while to reconstruct his relationship with Gigi and before she was on her feet again, but he stayed with her every step of the way. Fitz had helped too, since he always thought of himself as Gigi's big brother.

William was certain that his sister would never be the same, but he still had to learn what a strong woman she had become.

William had not heard or thought of Lizzie Bennet in years; and was astonished when Bing happened to be the one to say her name.

Bing had met Jane Bennet at a party and was quite fascinated by her. Every time they talked on the phone, Bing would spend a lot of time speaking about Jane to the point that William felt he knew her as well as his boyfriend. He was glad for Bing because he was happy, had found love and had also reestablished his relationship with his parents.

It was through Bing than he found out that Lizzie was studying at NYU a Master's program and had a video blog. He did not need to be compelled to watch them.

She had not changed; she was still funny and determined, and as beautiful as he remembered. His feelings were long gone, but still felt curious to see her again.

And then Bing's invitation had arrived. William wanted to be present at the gala and be a witness of his friend's success, but one of the board members had insisted on a meeting and William was forced to cancel his travel plans.

When he was finally able to go to New York, he discovered that Lizzie was not there. She was interviewing at the company his aunt had invested without him, Collins & Collins. He had been anxious during the flight by the prospect of seeing her but was feeling a little relieved by her sudden absence.

He liked Jane, a lot, and ascertained everything that Bing had said about her. She was sweet, smart, compassionated and really talented at her job. William knew that she was not with Bing because of his money but because she loved him. Jane looked at Bing in the same way Andrea used to look at him.

William felt an ache in his chest when he thought of his only girlfriend. He missed having someone like her, but he did not want to lose his attention from Georgiana, after what she had been through because of George. Besides, he was working or studying all the time.

Before returning to San Francisco, Bing asked William what he thought of his relationship with Jane.

"She is perfect, she really loves you", was William's answer.

Bing thanked him because those words gave him the courage to ask Jane to move in with him.

A year ago

Time passed.

Gigi was advancing in her Art degree at Yale. Fitz had reencountered an old flame, Brandon, and they were together again. Bing's organization was thriving and was thinking on getting more serious with Jane.

Everything was working well in Pemberley, and yet William felt that everyone was moving on but him.

Gigi, who had slowly become her old self, asked him about girls and told him to start dating again. She was strong and happy and did not need her brother to continuously worry about her. It was time he thought about himself and his heart.

William tried several times, without success. It was still strange to him the fact that women were attracted to him because of his personality. (He did not want to admit that his looks helped too.)

Some women seemed genuine and then turned plastic when they learned about his company and money. And on a few occasions, he found himself waking up next to someone from nightmares about his parents. Who would have nightmares like that after sex?

It was clear then to William that it was going to be hard to find someone who loved him for who he was and gave him some sort peace of mind.

Present time

William was on a meeting with Elaine Harris, the director of media production, when she announced that she was pregnant. He congratulated her and listened to her suggestion of hiring someone to be the direct link between her and Pemberley during her maternity leave. She also suggested looking for someone young with good knowledge about web and social media. William agreed with her, and asked to write a job profile so they could post the notice.

He was not directly involved in the hiring process because he was busy, but also because he trusted that Elaine would make the right decision regarding the post.

It was until after the interviews that he had learnt that Elizabeth Bennet had applied and was pleased to know that she was in the top list of candidates. After a couple of days, Elaine met with him to tell him that she had decided on someone.

His father always said that the heart of a company were the employees. What was why William made the habit of welcoming any new employees in their first day. And that day, he was not going to make an exception.

He saw her walking along Ann Reynolds, a little distracted by the sight of the city through the windows. She looked nice (lovely) in a white blouse and a dark blue pencil skirt.

When she saw him, she opened her mouth but closed it really quick. He could notice her sudden blush, and felt flattered.

He was feeling a little nervous too by the meeting, but got in CEO mode, and said as casual as possible: "Lizzie Bennet, nice to see you again."