Prologue- Unwrapping Mr. Darcy

Hi, everyone! I’m so excited to share this with you. I hope everyone enjoys a big ball of fluff because even with a super stubborn Elizabeth, we still have Grunt! We can’t leave him out.

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Without further ado, here’s the prologue. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Prologue

Elizabeth startled and groaned. No! Turn that ear-splitting noise off! Without opening her eyes, she reached one arm from the warm cocoon of the covers and began slapping at her bedside table. The beeping had to go! Eventually, she’d hit that stupid alarm clock, then she could sink back into oblivion for a little while longer.

Slap! Her hand landed flat on the end table. Slap! Her palm smacked the side of the bed. She missed! Consciousness was returning more and more with each passing second. She had to turn it off! On the next downswing, her hand struck the corner of something that made a loud crack before it dropped out of reach. After a crash, the annoying noise stopped and she burrowed back inside the cozy pocket of warmth under the blankets.

Her body relaxed and she began to sink into the mattress, losing more and more of her surroundings when another round of loud beeping made her sit up and throw the covers from her. She flinched at the sting of cold air that hit her after being ensconced under the comfortable quilt. “Oh, shut up!”

Bleary eyes scanned the bedroom and ended up on Grunt, her long-haired black cat, sitting on the pillow next to where she slept. “I know this means you get breakfast, but you don’t have to look so pleased with yourself.” After a chirrup, he trotted across the bed, jumped down, and ran from the room.

She inhaled sharply when her feet touched the cold wood floor. It shouldn’t be this cool. It was October in New York, for goodness’ sakes. She needed to check the thermostat. Now that she’d been out of the covers for a minute or so, the room was still colder than she liked.

She rose, stepped forward, and at a sharp stab to the instep of her foot, yanked her leg back and dropped back down to the bed. “Shit!”

She shook her leg, trying to distract from the lingering pain, while she brushed the hair out of her eyes. What the heck was that? When she glared at the floor, shards of plastic and the no longer blinking face of her two-week-old Bluetooth alarm clock stared back at her. She slumped. She needed to stop breaking those.

With a sigh, she unplugged the offending machine and tossed it in the trash can by her bed, then trudged to her dresser and stopped the alarm she’d set the night before on her cell phone. She jumped when the cursed object rang, touched the screen to answer, and put it to her ear. “I’m up!”

“Don’t yell at me.” Jane’s voice wasn’t angry, but it sounded slightly lower than usual. “You’re the one who asked me to call and make sure you were awake, remember?”

“I was drunk.”

Jane laughed. “You were stone cold sober. Now, go put on that new sheath dress we found at Saks this weekend and knock ’em dead.”

“You sound like I’m about to compete for World Heavyweight Champion.” Jane was always Elizabeth’s biggest cheerleader, and she liked to joke that her eldest sister was too good—the perfect sister.

“You better replace that alarm clock before tomorrow. I only agreed to do this for your first day. After that, you’re on your own.”

Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder at the trash can. “How did you know I broke my alarm clock?”

“How many of those have you smashed since we were little? You always refuse to put it across the room when you know you should.”

Elizabeth shuffled into the kitchen and filled the bottom of her stovetop espresso maker with water. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll manage. Today is different, though. You know I don’t want to be late for the appointment with personnel.”

“Oh! Charlie said he’d meet you there at nine. He wants to show you around and introduce you to Darcy.”

Elizabeth’s ears pricked up like Grunt’s when he spotted a bird passing by the apartment window. She finished spooning grounds into the coffee maker and fit it back together. “Have you ever met him?”

“Darcy?”

She put the little pink Bialetti on the burner and turned it on. “No, the Pope.”

“You’re always such a crab in the morning.”

“Well, have you?”

“A few times. Charlie usually goes over to his house to watch football on Sundays.”

She bit her lip. The magazine articles she’d read claimed he was stiff and formal, but was he different in real life? “What’s he like?”

“When we did meet, we didn’t speak much, but he seemed nice enough.” Nice? Jane thought nearly everyone was nice. She even believed Charlie’s bitchy sisters were the sweetest ladies on Earth. Unfortunately, Elizabeth couldn’t always put much stock in her older sister’s judgment of people.

“Okay, I better get ready if I’m going to make it.”

“I love you, Lizzy. You’ll be amazing. I know it.”

She couldn’t help but let one side of her lips turn up. “I’ll do my best.”

“Call me when you get home tonight?”

“Okay, but I need to go. Love you too. Bye.” She pressed “end” and took a small pot and her giant mug out of the cabinet as Grunt jumped on the island.

“No! No milk for you. You don’t drink all of it, and it’s not good for you anyway.” When she took the carton from the fridge and began to pour some in the pot, the black fur ball pressed forward like it belonged to him. “I said no.” She pushed him back. “Don’t give me that pouty, innocent look. You forget that I know you. You’re trouble wrapped up in a cute package. All you need is a bow and no one could say no to you.”

While the milk heated on the stove, she took out a can of cat food and dished it into a small bowl on the counter. “There, maybe that will earn me some forgiveness?”

Grunt chirruped a thank you and dove in while she finished making her latte. When she had her steaming mug prepared, she took it with her to the bathroom to get ready.

After a sizeable sip, she stared with a sigh at the mess of long waves falling around her shoulders. She should’ve combed it after her shower last night. “Ugh! It’s going to frizz the moment I start brushing.” She plugged in her hair straightener and set to work. When her hair lay in smooth layers, she applied a little mascara and lip gloss. She never wore much make-up and today was no different, first day or not. She wasn’t there to impress anyone with her looks.

 

Grunt came casually walking into her room as she took her dress out of the closet. He plopped himself on her pillow and began to partake of his after-meal bath. “I’m not putting this on the bed. You’ll decide it’s an ideal place to settle, and I refuse to wear your fur to work.” Her voice was firm, but he didn’t seem to care and continued to clean his face as thoroughly as possible.

 

She traced the contours of the new dress. Jane swore the conservative midnight blue dress would be perfect. She’d better be right. Elizabeth often wore suits, so this was a bit of a departure from the norm. Once she put it on, she turned to the side, ran her hand down her stomach, and adjusted the tie at her waist.

As she took her last sip of coffee, Elizabeth glanced at her phone for the time. “Crap!” She wasn’t late, but she needed to be walking out the door. Her hair had taken too much time. Once she slipped into her matching pumps, she took one last look in the full-length mirror. “I can do this.”

Enough of that! She had to go! After one last scratch behind Grunt’s ears, she grabbed her purse and briefcase and hurried to the subway. As usual for rush hour, people on their way to work were packed into the train like sardines. Fortunately, the ride wasn’t long.

A half-hour later, she stood in front of the Darcy Holdings building with a brick resting in her stomach. This was not the time to let her nerves take control! She blew out a long breath, breathed one in, and stepped inside.

At the counter, a man dressed in a black blazer looked up from a computer screen, the Darcy Holdings logo emblazoned on the wall behind him. “Good morning.”

She smiled. “Good morning. My name is Elizabeth Bennet. I have an appointment with Cindy Hinkle for eight o’clock.”

“May I see some ID?”

Elizabeth pulled out her driver’s license and set it on the counter.

He clicked around on his keyboard. “Yes, Miss Bennet. I see you’re a new employee, so we should get you set up with your office ID.” He motioned toward a place to the side of the counter. “If you could stand on the taped ‘x’ on the floor, I’ll take a picture. While I get the ID set up, I’ll notify Ms. Hinkle of your arrival.”

She nodded. “Thank you.” After placing her briefcase, purse, and coat on a nearby chair, she stood where he directed and he cued her to smile for the photo.

“If you’ll take a seat, I’ll only be a few minutes.”

Elizabeth sat in one of the chairs but had barely pulled up something to read on her phone when he called her back to the counter and handed her a lanyard. “If you’ll scan into the inner doors, the elevator is to the left. Take it to the second floor, and Ms. Hinkle should be at reception waiting for you.”

She thanked him and checked out her Darcy Holdings identification while she walked to the doors. Scanning in was a cinch and the elevator was exactly where he told her it would be. Two floors passed quickly and when she exited the elevator, a brunette woman approached with a wide grin.

“Welcome to Darcy Holdings, Miss Bennet. I’m Cindy. I see security got you all set up with your ID, so let’s get to the rest of the paperwork so you can get started.” Cindy had a warm, genuine smile that helped relieve some of the weight resting in Elizabeth’s stomach. At least her shoulders relaxed. Her neck had started to ache, she was so tight.

She shook Cindy’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Elizabeth took a moment to hang her new identification around her neck before she accompanied Cindy to the personnel office where the two of them sat down to a stack of documents already laid out on Cindy’s desk. Why did it always feel like you were signing your life away merely to earn a paycheck?

Numerous forms later, she stopped for a moment to stretch her fingers. She shifted her pen down to sign the last of the tax forms. A sound came from behind her, so she turned her head to see who it was.

“Am I too early?” asked Charlie. His head peeked through the slightly open door, a wide grin across his face.

Elizabeth pushed the last bit back to Cindy. “I hope not. I believe I’ve promised the company my first-born child.”

Cindy laughed. “No, we’re done. Miss Lucas had her orientation last week and is already at your office. I can show you, if you like.” Elizabeth had breathed a sigh of relief when personnel had an opening for an assistant at the same time she was hired. Her long-time assistant and friend was able to move jobs with her. She’d have more than just Charlie for a friendly face on her first day.

“No worries,” said Charlie with a smile. “I’ll make sure Miss Bennet finds her way. I believe Miss Lucas has everything ready and waiting for her.”

Cindy picked up the stack of papers and tapped them against her desk. “Sounds like you’re all set. If you have any questions, you know where to find me. I’ll be happy to help.”

Elizabeth grabbed up her belongings and shook Cindy’s hand again. “Thank you.”

After she followed Charlie out of the office, he leaned a hair closer. “How do you really feel?”

She wiped her free hand down her hip while they headed towards the elevators. “I’m nervous.”

He pressed the up button and leaned back against the wall. “It’s understandable why you would be.”

“This isn’t my first job.”

“It’s something new, Lizzy. Every company is going to have differences and similarities. Relax. We won’t snatch up that first born right away. You can’t presume to know everything off the bat and no one expects you to.”

She grinned and lifted her eyebrows as the doors closed behind them. “Maybe not, but I can sure try.”

The sound of his chuckles filled the small space. One thing about Charlie, he was always so cheerful. His friendly personality complemented Jane, who always thought the best of everyone, but tended to be quiet and reserved. They’d only been going out for six months, but Jane had moved into Charlie’s spacious Upper West Side apartment a couple of weeks ago. He was family; he just hadn’t made it official yet.

“We’ll start at your office.” They stepped off the elevator, and he turned to the left. “You can stow your briefcase and purse before I introduce you around.”

When she saw Elizabeth, Charlotte bounced up from her desk and led the way into the office. “Did everything go well at security and personnel? I prepped the documents for Cindy on Friday, so you should’ve been all set.”

“Everything was completed except for the parts of the forms I had to fill out myself. Thanks.” She looked around her new office. It was slightly larger than her last and needed some decoration, but that wouldn’t take long. She tucked her purse under the desk and put her briefcase on her chair. “Mr. Bingley wants to show me around and introduce me to Mr. Darcy. Do you have anything set up for me yet?”

“You have an eleven o’clock with Mr. Hurst. It’s on the schedule on your computer, just click the icon on the desktop. Do you have anything for me to do while you’re gone? I’ve been bored to tears since I arrived this morning.” She glanced at Charlie. “Sorry.”

He shook his head, his strawberry-blond curls shifting with the motion. “No, I understand. Until Miss Bennet has work to do, you have very little to keep busy.”

Elizabeth lifted her briefcase to the desk. “I have some personal belongings you can take out and organize if you want. You know where I usually keep things. You said I should bring a framed photo of Grunt for my desk. There’s one in there. You decide where it should go.” She looked up at Charlie. “Are you ready?”

He waved her to follow. “Let’s go. We’ll start by introducing you to Darcy.” Charlie glanced at his watch. “He should be getting out of a meeting right about now, so it’s probably the best time to catch him.”

They took the elevator up two floors while Elizabeth tried not to shake in her pumps. William Darcy was no little fish in the business world. He was the third generation to inherit Darcy Holdings, each son in the line making it larger than it was before; however, William Darcy hadn’t made the company bigger so much as increased its worth substantially. His business acumen was well-known, and people coveted the opportunity to work for him. He wasn’t difficult to look at either. His handsome face certainly spiced up the cover of a business journal from time to time. Now, she was to meet him. She tugged the sides of her skirt. With her luck, she’d stumble over her words or accidentally spit on his tie.

“You’re very quiet all of a sudden.”

She jumped at Charlie’s voice interrupting the low hum emanating from the offices around them. “I’m fine.”

“We’ve discussed business before, Lizzy. I know you admire Darcy.”

With a hand to his arm, she stopped him from continuing. “From a purely professional standpoint, yes, but forgive me, I’m not like your sister. I don’t stalk him in the society pages or scheme ways to be thrown into his presence.” The last thing she wanted was for Charlie to think of her like she was a little girl with a crush.

“Relax,” he said. “I never meant anything more. I know you’re nothing like Caroline. I love my sister, but I know she tries Darcy’s patience. He can’t stand her.”

When they entered Darcy’s outer office, his assistant looked up from her computer. “He’s not back yet, Mr. Bingley, but he should return any minute.” She smiled and stood. “You must be Miss Bennet. I’m Meghan Reynolds, Mr. Darcy’s assistant.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Elizabeth shook the hand the older lady offered. Most of the executives at her last job had young assistants with legs that went on for days. In contrast, Meghan Reynolds was probably in her mid-fifties with sandy-grey hair and a pair of vintage looking horn-rimmed glasses.

Both of them turned at the sound of steadily louder voices coming from the hall. Elizabeth pulled herself as tall as she could when Darcy emerged followed by a much shorter man, who walked quickly in order to keep up and talked with his hands as well as his voice. “But Mr. Darcy!”

“I said no and I meant it. I don’t like the proposal, and no rework is going to change that fact. Scrap it and move on, Mr. Wickham. I mean it.”

The man stopped in his tracks. “You simply can’t handle that I’m right. You know this is a great project, but you hate it because it didn’t come from you.”

Elizabeth stepped back as Darcy approached and handed several items to his assistant. “Mrs. Reynolds, please call security. Have someone show Mr. Wickham to his office so he can pack up his belongings and be escorted from the building. Then call personnel. They will need to find a qualified candidate to replace him.” Elizabeth’s eyes almost burst from their sockets.

“Yes, sir.” Mrs. Reynolds picked up her phone and dialed several numbers.

“You can’t do that!” Mr. Wickham sputtered as he spoke, spit spraying from his lips. “Your father hired me.”

“It’s done. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Darcy’s tone was stern and resolute.

Mr. Wickham continued to yell, but Darcy ignored him and entered his office with Charlie following close behind. Mr. Wickham started to trail after the two, but Mrs. Reynolds held an arm out in front of him. “May I remind you, Mr. Wickham, that there are security personnel assigned to every floor.”

The man opened his mouth, his face contorted into an ugly sneer, when two burly men in Darcy Holdings coats rounded the corner. They were polite and didn’t force matters, but Mr. Wickham had little choice but to do as they asked.

With the show over, Elizabeth stepped toward the open office door, pausing in the doorway. Charlie stood at Darcy’s side, leaning on a small boardroom table while Darcy sorted papers. “What do you expect me to tell her? She knows you’re in here.”

“I don’t care what you tell her.” He had a deep voice—one that was low and rich, like melted chocolate poured over gooey caramel. It made something inside her flutter. “I’ll meet her eventually. It doesn’t have to be today.”

Charlie exhaled, sounding a lot like a growl. “You always make a point of meeting new employees. Why are you being so stubborn about this one?”

Darcy slapped the papers in his hand on the work surface. “I’m busy, Bingley. If you haven’t noticed, I have a mountain of paperwork on my desk. I can’t be expected to take the time to welcome a new company attorney—especially one who required her sister’s boyfriend to get her the job. You hired her, Bingley. You make her feel welcome.”

What? She gasped and they both looked up, but she backed away from the door. She couldn’t stay—not in his office and certainly not at this job! She walked as fast as she could to the elevator, which thankfully opened as soon as she touched the down button.

Charlotte wasn’t around when Elizabeth returned, so she went into the office and opened her briefcase, which still remained sitting on the desk. She reached up over the computer, pulled down her calendar, and threw it inside.

She certainly wasn’t staying where she wasn’t wanted. Charlie had sworn they needed someone with her skills. Why would he lie? She hadn’t been looking for a new job. She’d been happy where she was, but working for Darcy Holdings was a move up she couldn’t ignore. The company was larger than the law firm, and the position held more room for advancement.

“Don’t you dare put another thing back in that case.”

“I don’t need this, Charlie. I won’t stay where I’m not needed. I’ll go back to Longbourn or I’ll find another job. Fortunately, I have some savings put aside. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

With two strides forward, he closed her briefcase and leaned over her desk. “You’re staying right here at Darcy Holdings, and I’m going to tell you why.”

Two hours later. . .

At the slam of his office door, Darcy’s pen skittered across the paper. He lifted his gaze from his desk to Bingley and glared. “Was that really necessary?”

“Yes, yes it was.” Bingley’s normally cheerful voice was more of a growl and his face was so red, it looked like he’d swallowed a dollop of wasabi, which wasn’t good. It took a lot for Bingley to get that worked up.

“You aren’t still upset about what happened earlier?”

“You’re damned right I’m still upset. I just spent the better part of an hour convincing Lizzy to stay. I  even went with her to her meeting with Hurst to make sure she didn’t change her mind. Why would you be such a colossal ass?”

“If Hurst retires in March, like he’s been telling us for the last five years, we won’t need another corporate attorney for almost five months, but you insisted on hiring and paying for one now.” Bingley made that strange, guttural growling noise under his breath that Darcy only heard every once in a blue moon. Uh oh, he’d really pissed him off this time.

“She finished Harvard Law at the top of her class—”

“So did I—”

“That doesn’t make it something that happens every day! Do you think I decided to hire her on a whim or merely because she’s Jane’s sister? She left a good job at Longbourn, Netherfield, and Haye because I offered her this one.” Bingley pressed his hands against the desk and leaned closer. “She interned for several prominent corporate firms during her undergrad and law school summer vacations. She’s also been recognized as one of the up and coming female attorneys by two of the three major women’s groups in this city, but she’s really just made it into people’s radar in the last couple of years, especially since she made the “Top Women to Watch” list in Business Quarterly Magazine. Heck, for the last six months, Longbourn, Netherfield, and Haye have been arguing over whether to give her a big pay raise, and Haye was pushing for her to be partner. He knew if they didn’t act, they would lose her. She hasn’t even been practicing ten years yet. I’m telling you, it was only a matter of time before someone grabbed her, and I thought it should be us.”

He sat back, threw his pen down, and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Okay! I’m sorry. I was in a foul mood after that meeting and the run-in with Wickham. I know it’s no excuse for what I said, but she could’ve started closer to Hurst’s retirement.”

Bingley plopped into one of the chairs. “Didn’t I say she might be offered another job or a sizeable raise by then?”

Darcy tilted his head. “Who told you that? Her?”

“No, I mentioned her to Hurst. He’s been friends with Grant Haye since they interned together in college. When Hurst found out I knew Lizzy, he even said I should make her an offer before Longbourn made their decision. It took me two months to convince her to come to Darcy Holdings, and you almost sabotaged it all today.”

“Fine! I’ll apologize.”

“You better,” said Bingley, his voice insistent.

Darcy dropped his head back and closed his eyes. That dull throbbing behind them was becoming a distraction. The entire mess was giving him a headache and it wasn’t even one o’clock yet. Was noon too early for a scotch? A double with no ice? He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. He had a meeting this afternoon. Instead, he’d be settling for ibuprofen and water.

 

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