Elizabeth Bennet…

I heard the footsteps before I even saw Charlotte's petite figure enter into the room I now dominated—working tirelessly on a stack of paperwork from Darcy's Italian company that still needed translating. I hadn't been able to figure out why nobody had even tried tackling it before. There were plenty of people at Imperial other than myself that could speak Italian. But then again, that was before Charlotte had informed me that 'he' had sent all of those who were proficient in Italian to his office in Rome. Unfortunately, there were still communication problems. Point being, a handful of people who could speak Italian didn't help Imperial out when the other firm had a secretary that couldn't speak English. And since the boss wasn't on location…well, you've heard that saying 'when the cat's way, the mice will play,' right? Let's just say, the mice were more than playing, they were partying. And that's what made me wonder why the hell he had even opened a branch in Italy and why there was such a problem there. The Italians were fun-loving people and as far as I could tell, Darcy was not a fun-loving man. He was too straight-laced with a screw screwed in too tight somewhere. Where was a screwdriver when you needed one, right? I had finally gotten the courage to ask one of the other employees about the Italian venture and discovered that it had something to do with his aunt, Lady Catherine DeBourgh, who had her main residence in Italy and who had talked him into acquiescing to the deal. Talk about family pressure. And then I take one look at my own family and I can't help but shut my mouth. Lords knows, I had spent half the morning trying to tell my mother that I didn't care how rich Mr. Bingley was, I was not asking him out and would she please quit calling me at work.

"Ms. Bennet?" Charlotte asked quietly as she tapped on the door I had left cracked open slightly to let out some of the stuffiness that dominated this small space. I just blew a wisp of hair out of my face and looked at the opening.

"It's Lizzie, just Lizzie." I remarked as Charlotte's head finally popped through, her expression grim and full of irritation. Hmmm…boss man must be upset.

"Mr. Darcy wants to see you ASAP." Charlotte informed me before shrugging her shoulders and turning to walk back down the hall. I could tell that Darcy had upset her and from the stomps that had emanated from the floor above my head, I was beginning to think the ogre himself wasn't far from blowing his top as well—if he hadn't already.

"On my way!" I called after her before pushing the paperwork off of my lap and following quickly after. Was needing to be seen ASAP a good thing or bad? I found myself humming 'Onward desperate soldier' to the tune of the old classic 'Onward Christian Soldier' as I walked.

The conversation near the corporate end of the building grew louder as I grew nearer and I started whistling. There was no way that I was going to let myself be rattled by the man's raised, English voice. Nope, nothing doing in that department. I even managed a small smile as I slipped through his office door, narrowing my eyes as I noticed Charles Bingley leaning against the wall while Darcy kept spouting off rude comments into his phone. Boy, talk about a bad morning, right? I'm assuming that Charles had arrived here to have lunch with Darcy. Those plans looked canceled. Darcy looked up.

"Where the hell have you been?" He muttered as I raised a haughty brow before looking over my shoulder out the door towards the foyer. Was it me or did I see Charlotte and a few other employees duck out of the way so as not to be seen when I turned. What a laugh! So this was entertainment at Imperial. I turned back to Darcy before shrugging.

"Get rid of the dress code so that I can spring my high heel shoes and make the hallways a little shorter, and I'll see what I can't do about making sure I'm here when you 'snap' the next time." I remarked in irritation as Charles sucked in his cheeks and Darcy glared. It took everything in my being not to flinch as he shoved off the comment before holding out the phone.

"Do your job, Ms. Bennet. Talk to these people and find me someone in that department that speaks English." He ordered as I stared at the phone a moment quietly. Oookay...

"I don't have all day." Darcy reiterated as I shook myself out of my reverie before stepping forward and taking the head set out of his hand before placing it against my ear.

"Buon pomeriggio! Il mio nome è Elizabeth Bennet. Chiedo scusa abbondantemente per tutta l'irritazione causata dalle barriere di comunicazione o da qualunque osservazioni rude formulate dal mio impiegato del collega. È ci chiunque che possa parlare a quello parli inglese da tutta la probabilità? (Good afternoon! My name is Elizabeth Bennet. I apologize profusely for any irritation caused by the communication barriers or by any rude comments made by my fellow employee. Is there anyone I can speak to that speaks English by any chance?)" I asked slowly and as pleasantly as possible, listening as the obviously flustered person on the other end sighed in relief. I even glared at Darcy for good measure as I realized he was the cause for the distress. I felt slightly appeased by the fact he had no idea I had called him an employee.

"ci sono nessun altro nell'ufficio con me, mancanza. Tutto altrimenti è non disponibile. (There is no one else in the office with me, miss. Everyone else is unavailable.)" The secretary there replied breathlessly as I grimaced at the phone. Now, who could I elect to tell Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy that? Oh yeah, there was only myself. Oh boy! He was already getting antsy.

"Are you having communication problems, Ms. Bennet? I want someone on the phone now!" He remarked as I threw him a look that could freeze water before covering the mouthpiece with my hand after asking the woman on the other end to hold on.

"If you had been more proficient and less temperamental then maybe someone would…." I began as Darcy advanced on me suddenly, stopping only inches away from my face. I took in a deep breath. The man was too male for his own damn good. He was also too rich.

"Are you calling me less than proficient, Ms Bennet?" He asked in a low tone as I met his gaze evenly.

"Are you calling me incompetent, Mr. Darcy?" I asked in return as a gasp from the outer room made Charles snicker. Neither Darcy and I were the least bit fazed. Truth be told, I'm not sure either one of us heard it. Instead, the man nearly growled as he pointed at the phone.

"Incompetent? I suppose we shall see, shan't we?" He asked before leaning against his desk and touching the hand that now held the phone pointedly. It wasn't a sexual movement. No, it was more to prove a point that anything, but electric tingles moved up my arm so fast that I almost dropped the friggin' phone. What the hell? I detested the man for God's sake. He stopped moving too.

"What did she say, Ms. Bennet?" He asked slowly, his tone lower than the normal timbre, and I had to focus all of my attention to keep from shivering. I sighed.

"She's says that she is the only one available in the office. There is no one else there, Mr. Darcy." I replied steadily as he stared at me a moment with incredulity. I couldn't fault him. I was surprised by that fact as well. Who wouldn't be? His other companies ran more than efficiently. He was seething, but he stayed composed—the only sign of his discomfiture being the slight tightening of his jaw.

"Ask them who authorized this, Ms. Bennet." He said quietly and with such deadly force that I felt incredibly sorry for the idiot who had made the mistake. I took my hand off the mouth piece, speaking quickly in Italian before pausing to listen to the woman's reply. I covered the phone again.

"She says the man's name is Mr. Wickham." I remarked nonchalantly, shrugging off the name until I saw the reaction it caused in the room. Whispers started up in the hallway, Mr. Darcy grew as still as a statue, and Mr. Bingley almost choked. I was just confused.

"Is there a problem?" I asked timidly as Mr. Darcy slowly placed his hand over mine, removed the phone from my hand, and hung it up with decided derision before looking over at me quietly.

"Pack your bags, Ms. Bennet. I need you in Italy. I think it's time I stepped in and took some matters into my own hands." Darcy replied as Bingley clapped his hands suddenly from behind us.

"I think I could use a change of scenery myself. Hmmm…might even take Caroline along since our other sister is vacationing in Italy. What say you, chap?" Bingley asked merrily as I just looked at him in astonishment. Oh no! Me in Italy with Mr. Darcy and the Bingley elite. Someone save me now! And then someone made it worse.

"I hear they are short a design consultant in that department. You wouldn't need one handy, would you?" Jane asked suddenly from behind the door, the same door I was now convinced was hiding the entire office. Never a dull moment, I tell you. Jane peeked her head around the corner and Bingley grinned.

"One more for the Darcy troop…." Bingley remarked in agreement with Jane as Darcy's jaw grew even tighter before nodding stiffly. I don't think he even knew how to argue the point. Or maybe he was still rolling the 'Wickham' name around in his head and didn't realize what he was agreeing to. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened there.

"How long will we be gone?" I asked quietly as Darcy looked over at me with hard, cold eyes. His gaze actually seemed to soften slightly at the sight of me or maybe my imagination was just working overtime.

"A week." He replied.