Somewhere in the mess of her convoluted dreams, the doorbell went and an impatient feminine voice greeted a more masculine one. She rolled over and stared at the time. It was seven AM. The masculine voice retreated, leaving the feminine one to groan and puff like she was moving something heavy.

Thirty minutes later, Charlotte padded out of her room and went to investigate what her flatmate was up to, apparently having been visited by a courier.

She pulled the belt of her dressing gown tight, and was surprised to see Elizabeth in the living room, with empty boxes spread everywhere, and every inch on the floor by her feet, covered by tomes of paper, that were in assorted coloured files. If Elizabeth wasn't already a graduate, it could almost be an exact replica of how Elizabeth used to work on her dissertation through the nights back in University.

Currently, she was scoffing and rolling her eyes, dragging a finger down the page, before flipping it over to read what was on the other side. It looked wordy and comprehensive.

"Can you believe this?" She said eyes fixed, sensing Charlotte had stumbled upon the scene. "I've gone through the terms of employment and it looks like my role is more of a chaperone, than a PA! Seriously. He needs someone on his coattails, handing out business cards and information, because he never carries them around - and the looks of it, never carries pen or paper too! How can he call himself a businessman?"

Elizabeth furiously flipped another page, not allowing Charlotte to speak.

" I'm required to the know the ins and outs of the statistics more than he does, and read through every document that comes to his desk, highlighting out the important bits, so he comes along and takes credit for my work!" Steam nearly appeared from her nostrils. "At this rate, I would know more about the business than he does, yet he will have the higher title!"

She scanned another line, and said in more mollified voice. "Although, the sick pay does sound exceptional and I have first pick of holidays."

A second later - "But I still have the more traditional duties, like photocopying, faxing, fielding calls, running to pick him lunch! Honestly, does he want a slave or a secretary?"

Elizabeth screwed up her eyes, and leaned her head back against the settee like she was gaining a massive migraine. "But how can I turn my back on £24,000 per annum? And with bonus's, that could go up to £27,000!"

Charlotte wrinkled her nose, having seen The Devil wears Prada and speaking for the first time.

"Would you have to be at his beck and call even during the nighttime?"

"It doesn't say," Elizabeth said faintly. "But I imagine if he's a tyrant...then yes."

"Is he a tyrant?" Charlotte sidled through the gap between the coffee table and the black, leather armchair, and sat on the latter, opposite Elizabeth. Having somewhat of a protective nature, she didn't like to see her dear friend get stressed or overworked, something that happened regularly in their household. She always listened patiently, when Elizabeth needed to get something of her chest.

"No." A pucker appeared between her eyebrows. "I wouldn't say tyrannical. He has a lot more self-awareness than I first accredited him for, and he definitely knows how he impacts people, both positively and negatively. It just means that..." she winced, almost like she couldn't believe she was saying the words. "I don't know if I necessarily like him...as of yet."

"Lizzy!" Charlotte said, appalled. "How can you even consider working for someone you don't like?"

"I respect him though," Elizabeth said automatically. "...I think?"

"You sound confused."

"It's because he's a confusing person." Elizabeth dropped her face into her hands. How to explain, how conflicted she felt? She'd felt a connection with Darcy when he'd come to see her at her place of work, and it even changed her perceptions on him to a degree. But she couldn't forget his words about her, that time in the foyer. The callous way he dispensed them, suggested a cruel streak that could resurface at critical times. He played nice to people who sat well with him. Cast away those who had no use...

But still.

There was something about him she found agreeable.

He wasn't a total beast.

Charlotte sucked in her breath, and clucked in the deep recesses of her throat, as she pondered Lizzy. Her friend was subconsciously stroking the words on the page, revealing where her true sentiments lie. Who was this man to her? Was she honestly going to sell herself short, inserting herself under him? Lizzy belonged at the top of the pyramid, not as one of it's supporting blocks. But Lizzy...beautiful Lizzy...she would be the last person to see it. How magnificent she was. How awe-inspiring, gentle and strong...

"Why has he sent you his dossier?" Charlotte asked sharply. "Have you already accepted?"

Elizabeth blinked.

Then she gave a small nod, like she deserved nothing more.

.

.

Humming, feeling pleased for no reason, Darcy strolled into his office mid-morning. He didn't look to see who was sitting behind the secretary's desk, but he did a double-take, when he saw a black figure sitting primly out of the corner of his eye. He wheeled around, jacket slung over one shoulder, and went to greet the newest addition.

"Elizabeth!" He said, in a booming voice, causing several people to look over. "Settling in well, I hope?"

"Yes, thank you," came her response.

"Has David already showed you the ropes?" He asked in some surprise. Since their travel agency hired a thirteen strong team of web designers, as they mostly dealt with the online market, though a very small portion of it - David had been manning the desk for the past fortnight, until the new PA stepped in.

At the mention of his name, David popped his head up from behind Elizabeth's desk, like he'd been scrabbling around on the floor.

"What are you doing down there?" Darcy asked suspiciously.

"Just fiddling around the system unit. I think the hard drive's overheating."

"Oh," Darcy said, stumped. "Didn't we just replace it?"

"Yeah, maybe it's the internal wiring." David dived back under the desk, close to Elizabeth's legs. She scooted out, giving him more room. Darcy once again flicked his eyes over Elizabeth's apparel, noticing she was wearing the same trouser suit combo from her disastrous interview. She looked like a sexually repressed headmistress, who didn't know the meaning of fun.

He leaned over a desk, placing a palm on it for balance, as he worked on his own tie - loosening it.

"Hey," he said, wandering how to approach the topic without causing offense. But he was looking out for her - isn't that what friends did? "We're more lax about clothing, than you think. You don't have to wear a blazer around here. Just a simple white shirt...or any colour shirt...with a skirt...I mean, trousers is fine."

Elizabeth stared up at him impassively, eyes penetrative.

"Thanks for letting me know."

Unusually flushed, Darcy gestured at his neck. "Why don't you loosen up your collar button? We won't think less of you, we promise."

"Yeah." David popped up again. "I mean, since the web designers don't even get to see any of our clientele, we get to turn up in our pajamas!" He was currently wearing a t-shirt, with a picture of Malibu beach on it, and a pair of old jeans.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said pointedly at both of them, wanting the conversation to end.

Darcy nodded, putting the matter out of his mind, and strolled into his office. Two hours later, Charles caught him messing around with the thermostat, as he walked into the stock supply room, wanting to fetch a stapler, since the last one had been taken from his desk. Darcy straightened up agonizingly quickly, like he'd just been caught doing something unscrupulous.

"What are you doing?" Charles asked suspiciously.

"Ahhh...nothing."

"Ahhh, nothing?" He mimicked his friend, narrowing his eyes and stepping closer. "Why are you increasing the temperature of our offices?"

Darcy scratched the back of his head. "I thought it was cold."

"Cold?" Charles repeated. "It's the beginning of autumn, I give you that, but there's a long way to go, before we need the heating. What's the real reason?"

Darcy was beginning to sweat. And not out of nervousness.

"Jesus! Aren't you going to turn it down?"

After a pause, Darcy finally admitted, "I can't. And not out of lack of trying. The damn thing's stuck."

"Stuck?" Charles eyes widened to twice their size. "You broke our freaking thermostat?"

"How was I supposed to know it would break?"

"Right," Charles said grimly, analyzing the situation and coming to the only available conclusion. "We need to evacuate all three floors. We can't have our employees fainting from heatstroke. I'll let everyone on the first two floors know. You take the third."

"Charles!" He tried to rationalize, but the man was determined not to let his workers suffer. He stared grimly at Darcy, like he was trying to read his soul, then disappeared towards the lifts, so he could put his plan to immediate affect. Sobering up, Darcy walked back to his office and glowered at the root of his problem. Finally, she'd taken her blazer off, and was now even using a brochure to waft a welcome breeze against her chest.

"Will!" she said, perking up. "It's hot in here, isn't it?"

Yes. Because I wanted to engineer a situation where you could possibly take your blazer off. You must understand. I'm used to manipulating people into doing what I want, and you hadn't listened to my advice earlier. That annoyed me to no end and it's another shortcoming, I didn't tell you about. Anyways, I only meant to turn it up by a few degrees. How did I flipping know, the knob will come off in my hands? When did they last check that thing? In the 1930's?

"Yes," he said shortly, annoyed with himself. That was last time he would meddle in what Elizabeth Bennet wore. He just didn't need the hassle. "Why don't you follow me out? Everyone's leaving for the day, because of a gas problem. It should be fixed by tomorrow."

"Oh..." She pursed her lips.

"You'll get full pay, of course." He turned towards the door.

"Would you like to get ice-cream?"

"Huh?" He swiveled to face her.

Elizabeth was gathering up her bag, and slung her blazer over one arm. Some of her hair was sticking to the back of her neck, much like how his shirt clung underneath his armpits, and his face was turning red and blotchy.

"Yeah," she said, talking herself into it. "We could all do with an ice-cream. Is Charles interested?"

"Yes, he is." Bingley emerged just at that moment, unsmiling, and invited himself along to the ice-cream trip. His gaze softened as it fell upon Elizabeth, clearly finding a soft spot. Darcy found himself perturbed. This was his secretary. If Bingley wanted an ice-cream of his own, then he should hire his own god-damn personal assistant. But he accepted it with good grace.

"Where are we going?" He grumbled.

She smiled. "To an ice-cream van, of course!"

.

.

The three of them, walked under the sheltering canopies of the park, relishing the coolness they were lapping with their tongue, alongside the slight wind, that was making the trees rustle. Elizabeth walked slightly out front, whilst Charles and Will walked in unison, making small talk.

Which was mainly grunts.

"This is good, isn't it?" Elizabeth suddenly whirled around, facing them.

"Mmm," grunted Charles, licking at a melting drop of ice-cream sliding down the cone.

"Urrggh," said Darcy.

Elizabeth stared at them, and suddenly glanced at her watch.

"Hey," she said impulsively. "Why don't I head back towards the office? Check if there's any new mail, or telephone messages I've missed?"

"Hasn't David set that up, so you get alerts to your smartphone?" Charles frowned.

"Not yet." Elizabeth shrugged.

"I've got the keys. I'll walk you back."

They both looked at Darcy, who was now nibbling at the tip of his cone, trying to get at the chocolate base. He looked up at their attention, and excused himself from their walk back, wanting to head home early and spend some time with his sister and aunt. Georgiana would've finished college early today, and it would be a pleasure to catch up for a few hours.

"I'm sorry, guys." He shook his head. "I don't think you need me to escort you there, Elizabeth. See you both tomorrow."

Charles muttered something under his breath, as Darcy walked away, fair head still visible over a hedge as he turned a corner, and walked alongside it, towards a main road, where he could head towards the tube station.

It sounded suspiciously as like, "That prick doesn't have a care in the world."

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth ventured, appreciating his assistance, and they talked naturally and with ease, all the way, until they reached the office and let themselves in. The workmen were scheduled to arrive at four, so Charles would have to come back in a couple hours anyway, to let them in.

"It won't take long." She darted towards the lifts.

God, this was all new to her. And David wasn't even around, if she pressed the wrong button, or accidentally deleted all the messages. Did she even remember the password to her computer? He'd left a sticky note somewhere, and she'd reasoned leaving it behind, instead of taking it with her...Was it still there? Could she cope with forwarding a few relevant messages to Darcy, if there was any at all?

Of course she could.

Elizabeth repeated this to herself, as she hastily walked towards the blinking answer machine. She pressed play.

"Hi, this is Moira Banks. Is this the head office? I booked a ticket to St. Lucia online yesterday, having never used your service before, and it appears the amount that was taken from my account, is different to the amount I was told to pay on screen. And now none of you are answering the phone? That takes the fucking cake. What kind of jumped up arse-bumming business are you running? You f $%$! Are all of you listening to this, bumming each other? GOD!"

Elizabeth hadn't quite recovered from the shocking message; before the next one started.

This one too, began in dulcet tones, so she couldn't second guess which way it would go. She found herself, quaking in her shoes.

"-Nobody's in? Ah. Well, it's unfortunate I can't reveal the good news directly to you, Mr Bingley, but an opening has come up in our schedule, due to a benefactor dropping out - so yes - tomorrow you can have a stadium in front of the greatest industry experts and sponsors in our country, if you want it."

A small wheeze, the person clearly running out of breath.

"I'm sorry it's short notice, but we expect you to print fifty copies of your presentation, and the actual presentation to be ten minutes long, with a Q&A afterward. Please focus on how your travel agency is different from anyone else's. We'll be meeting at Longbourn Hotel, postcode AL10 8KN, which is near the University of Hertfordshire. Refreshments will be provided. Call us back if you have any more questions or if you can't make it. Bye. Oh, and Mr Bingley? Be sure to remember an opportunity like this won't come by easily again."

Click.

This was only her first day, and Elizabeth felt like she was way in over her head.

.

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A/N: Do you guys want me to continue? :P Barely heard from anyone last time (though StoryPirate, Dt and wonderwoman1970...you rock). Anyway, you know the bit in my summary? When I said "Darcy tries to kiss Elizabeth?"...that's all going down in the next chapter.

Hope you guys are excited as I am.