One month into her new job, and Lizzy was getting along with everyone but the boss. Darcy had tried for friendship, and when that failed, for civility. She spoke to him only when required, so he in turn did the same.
The two had accompanied Charlie and Jane on a few more dinners, until the blonde duo had enough of their thinly veiled hostility towards each other. In a way, this brought Jane and Charlie closer.
Darcy was torn. He desperately wanted to know what he had done to offend her, and fix it. Charlie was like a brother to him, not to mention that she wasn't that hard to look at. She was a beautiful girl, inside and out. She was kind to everyone else, and even brought Elena coffees in the morning. She was an excellent worker, who went above and beyond everything given to her. He admired her work ethic, yet despised her being at the same time. He wanted to be cruel and hard, just because she had judged him so quickly.
He was leaving late one night and found her still at her desk, pouring over a thick file.
"Ms. Bennett?" He asked, stopping at her desk. She nodded and mumbled something incoherent. It was almost 10 in the evening, no time for a young woman, let alone a student who had classes, to be going home.
"Ms. Bennett, it is nearly 10 in the evening. I must insist that you either take that file home with you or leave it for tomorrow. I'm locking up now" He tried again. She blinked up at him, adjusting to something other then the small text.
"Of course" She closed the file and stuffed it into her large bag. She gathered her laptop and purse, before grabbing her coat and leaving without another word.
Two days later Charlie came sulking into his office. He had missed a crucial part in one of his investment portfolios. An employee had been embezzling money through a fake property that Darcy Inc. apparently owned. It was a giant scam. Thankfully, only 10% of the money had left the firm as of that date. Charlie explained that Lizzie found the glitch and reported it to Charlie.
Darcy realized that that must have been the important file she had been looking through for the last two days. In good faith, or what he hoped she would perceive as good faith, he had taken her, and Charlie and Jane out to dinner. This time he was careful to chose a place he didn't own. When he arrived ten minutes late, the three of them were laughing over something Lizzy was trying to explain. When he sat down however, she ceased her laughter and quickly told the rest of the story.
In Lizzy's opinion, William Darcy was an excellent businessman. He seemed a perfect professional, but had a soft side for his employees and the general well being of his office environment. He was tough when he had to be, but genuinely cared for his employees and the company. He doted on his sister to Elena and Charlie, and treated Elena like family.
Lizzy had been late to work on morning. She arrived to see Mr. Darcy sitting on Elena's desk, while she flipped through a few photos. She caught glimpses of what seemed to be a young blonde in a formal dress.
"Oh, Will!" Mrs. Reynolds had cried, clutching at a particular shot, "She looks so old! I wish I could have made it"
"She has another in the spring, and would love for you to see her beforehand" Mr. Darcy replied. "She says she might even have a date for that one, but I warned her that I had to approve" His remark was proved to be in part a jest as he laughed when he said it.
"William Darcy, I will not have you scaring off young suitors for Gigi" The older woman gently smacked his hand. "But you have a meeting in two minutes Mister. You had better get going. Thank you so much for the photos" She squeezed his hand then shooed him from her desk. Lizzy stayed hidden in the shadow before announcing her presence to Elena, who had pulled out a purple album and was adding the photos to it.
"Good morning Elena," Lizzy smiled.
"Oh, good morning dear," She said absently, still staring at the photo.
"Is that your granddaughter?" Lizzy asked. Elena smiled and shook her head.
"Not by blood anyway" She replied. "But I like to think of her as one regardless." She held up the photo for Lizzy to see it better. The girl was around 15, maybe 16. She had blonde hair that was curled and knotted to the side of her head. She had large blue eyes, and a shy smile. Her cheeks were a shade lighter then the pink of her dress.
"It was for a cotillion," She explained.
"She looks beautiful" Lizzy replied. Elena smiled proudly at the young girl.
"She's had such a hard life. I'm glad she has Will. They adore each other, here" Elena flipped through the book, resting on a picture of Will and the same blushing blonde.
"His sister?" Lizzy asked, noting the similarities in their bone structure and blue eyes.
"Younger by nearly 10 years. Will's taken care of her all his life" Elena told her. She flipped to a photo in the front of the album. It showed a preteen boy holding a chubby blonde baby on a couch, a large picture book open in front of them. "That was taken when Gigi was about 2 years old. Will would be around 13." Elena flipped to another picture in the middle. Will was older in this one, 18 or 19. He had on a black suit. Gigi was wearing a grey dress. She held his hand in her lef hand, and a pink rose in the right. It was taken from behind.
"That's a lovely picture" Lizzy commented. It looked to be professionally done. The set of the sun, the outfits, everything was perfect. Elena smiled sadly, and shook her head.
"That was taken by the press after Mr. Darcy's funeral. Gigi was only 6, Will had just turned 18."
"Oh-" Whatever Lizzy was about to say was cut off as the phone rang, forcing Elena to answer. She passed the book to her with a smile, urging her to look through them.
Picture after picture, Lizzy was assaulted with the smiling face of Will Darcy. This seemed to be a baby book for Georgiana, but Will appeared in 9/10 of the pictures. She flipped through the young girls baptism, communion, kindergarten graduation, etc. Each one had Will smiling with the girl, or at the girl. Her favorite was taken at an airport. She could see a sign for terminal C on a background wall. The first picture was a half bent Will Darcy, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, and a blur of pink running towards him. The next picture, or frame Lizzy imagined, showed the two embraced. The third was blurrier then the other two as Will seemed to be twirling his sister around. The last frame was of Elena, Will and Georgiana, obviously taken by someone else. It seemed recent. Will was in the middle, an arm draped around Elena's shoulders, and the other wrapped closely around his sister.
"Georgiana attended a boarding school in England for three years while I focused on getting the business going here. That was taken two years ago" Will Darcy had come out of nowhere. "I need a copy of the Warden Inc. acquisition, can you bring it to me in the conference room? Mr. Dwyer, from the board, is getting antsy"
"Of course" Lizzy answered. Will smiled. She noticed he was looking down at the picture and not at her. She gently placed the book on Elena's desk and scurried off to get his file.
That night Lizzy Bennett's dreams were filled with Mr. Darcy's kind hearted smile.