Chapter 1
Lisa looked out her cab window, amazed at the feeling of enormity in her heart. The buildings just never seemed to stop rising, up and up, into the blurred grey sky. She watched the different people hustling by, daring to be out in this awful drizzle, and she suddenly thought to herself, Will I really fit in here? New York is just so different.. But just as quickly as the thought had come, she had dismissed it. Of course, she would fit in! This was New York, and no other city had such a mix of culture.
Lisa exited her cab on W 32nd St., and walked up to what was supposed to be her new home. It wasn't the best, but it was quite nice, with a respectable-looking exterior and a doorman who said his name was "Bill." She smiled in greeting as he held open her door, and she walked up to the desk to inquire about her landlord, Mr. Hart. A man of about 52 came up to her, smiling, and said, "Hello, young lady. You must be Miss Bennet, because, that's the only new tenant I got comin' in today."
"Yes sir. I'm Elizabeth. Jane didn't-"
"Well, then, where is your sister?"
"Like I said, Jane didn't get-"
"Oh well, I'll meet her later. Come on and I'll get yous guys settled into your place. It's number 58, up on the fifth floor. Its quite big for just two of yous. Are you sure there's just two of yous?" Mr. Hart eyed Elizabeth, expecting her to confess to more people living in the apartment.
Lisa smiled, laughing just a little. "Yessir, there's just the two of us. I coulda bet that ya thought there were more, seeing as we took a 4 bedroom."
"I sure did! But if you say there's only two of yous, then, I'll believe you." He stepped aside to let her into the elevator, pushing a small green button, then floor 5. "If you don't mind, could I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Well, Miss Bennet, where did you get that accent? I can tell you're not from New York. Yous got a. ... a drawl."
"Yessir, I do. I'm from Georgia, Savannah to be exact. Grew up there."
He stepped aside to let her into her apartment, and Lisa's eyes lit up. "I absolutely love it! It's charmin'." Mr. Hart stepped out, shutting the door behind him. Lisa just stood in the center of the room, looking at the beautiful wall of windows in front of her, and taking in the enormous fireplace and bookshelves on the right. To her left was a nice green island bar, separating the kitchen from the living area. She walked to her left, noticing a door to another room with a wall of windows. The dining room, definitely. She continued on, seeing a small bathroom, and a corner bedroom. Jane will pick that one, I swear. On the other side was the master bedroom, which only had two large windows, but had the most beautiful bathroom she had ever seen. Definitely takin' a bath in that tub tonight!
Lisa went back into the living room, and waited for the movers to begin bringing her things up. The view was perfect, they were bedrooms she hadn't even seen yet, and her bathtub was huge. I'm really gonna like it here.
The next morning, Lisa woke up to a horrible buzzing sound. She couldn't identify the noise, and was beginning to get a little pissed when, suddenly, her front door opened to her landlord and an unexpected sight. "Jane, oh my, I thought ya weren't gonna be here til Sunday!"
"I came early. I got my transfer put through much quicker than ya thought I would, huh? The Amazon offices here always need people, since this is where they do the main campaigning and marketing." She hugged Lisa hard, and then stepped back to get a panoramic view of the apartment. She sighed with delight, but then a shadow came over her face, and she hesitantly asked, "Lisa, are you sure we can afford this place? Its almost 2400 a month! I don't know if we can afford-"
"Jane, of course we can afford it! The hospital here is paying me almost a quater of a mil a year! Plus, now we have no cars or gas to worry about. Come on, I even picked out your bedroom!" She drug Jane through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the spacious corner room.
"Oh its lovely! Of course I want this one!"
"I knew ya would! And look sis, its got its own bathroom. There are two other bedrooms, but I figure one can be a study, and one can be a guest room. Then of course, there's the other bathroom. This place is just wonderful!"
"I know Lisa. I think we'll be very happy here in New York."
"I absolutely know we will! Just think, Jane, no momma or daddy around to try and treat us like children! No Kathy, Marie, or Jill to pester us about spendin' the night!"
Jane sat down on her bed, looking around and imaging her new arrangement of the room. She smiled, then sighed, and finally, she said, "I know you are right, sis, but I'm gonna miss daddy. Even if he does treat me like a teenager."
"I know sis. But we'll be fine. We have phones so that we can call them, and we will be so busy with work, that ya won't even have time to think about missing momma and daddy. Or Scott." Her sister opened her mouth to protest, but Lisa cut her off. "I know, you're gonna say that ya don't miss him, but I know ya do. I see it in your eyes. Jane he's not worth it. Scott Wicksdale is just a selfish a** who wants your money, not you Jane. Otherwise why isn't he here?"
"I know Lisa. I just ... I know him, and he is a good person inside. He just must have gotten turned around with his priorities. He is really a good-"
"Liar?" Lisa's eyes lit up.
Jane laughed, and smacked her sister playfully. "No, Lisa. He is a good guy. You'll see soon. He'll come for me, I know it."
The next day was Jane's first day in at Amazon-NY. She knew that it would be much bigger than the Atlanta office, but this building was huge! It never ended. Jane walked in through the front doors, and took the elevators on the left side of the lobby to the 38th floor. She and about 7 others got off here, and she quickly followed the signs marked "Marketing." She came to the marketing offices, and stopped to ask a short brunette, "Where can I find a Mr. Charles Bingley?"
"Right down there. 3rd door on the left." Jane smiled her thanks, and walked on down the hallway to an office whose door was already wide open. She knocked lightly on the door, and her heart fluttered when she saw the man at the window turn at smile at her.
"Hi, I'm Charles Bingley. And you must be?"
"Jane Bennet. I'm the new marketing manager."
"Indeed! Well, Jane, I'm Charles, and I'll be working with you. I'm the advertising manager here." Charles smiled at her, and walked to his desk, motioning for her to sit. Jane smiled as he asked if she would like to see her office. Shaking her head 'yes', she had just one thought as she followed Charles out of the room: Scott just became the furthest thing from my mind.
Chapter 2
Three weeks later
Elizabeth literally dragged herself into her apartment, hoping only for a nice warm bath and a good book before bedtime. It had been a long day that she just wanted to forget. She soaked in the tub for almost an hour before putting on her favorite pink satin pajamas, and lay down on the bed with her well-worn copy of "Granny Dan." She had no sooner gotten comfortable then there was an unignorable knocking at the door.
"Who is it?"
"Its me Charles. I was supposed to meet Jane here when I got off work." Elizabeth unlocked the door and stepped to the side, allowing Charles entrance to the apartment. "Is she home yet? She was going to stop and pick up dinner for the three of us."
"She's not home yet. You two eat and have some fun. I'm beat. I'm gonna get to bed."
"Are you sure Lisa? I mean-"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I just got off a double shift and I have to be up at the hospital at four a.m. for a surgery."
"Ok. Well, I'm just going to wait around here, ok?"
"Sure. See ya tomorrow." Elizabeth walked back to her room and crawled under the covers. This has been too long of a day. The last thing she heard was Jane walk in the door before she drifted off to sleep.
"Jane, I really don't feel like going tonight. I mean, why would I wanna mingle with a room fulla people I don't know and don't know me? You and Charles go have fun."
"Lisa, you have to come! You have got to meet the PR guy that we deal with. He is just your type. C'mon, I'm just asking for three hours out of your night. Dance a little, drink a little, just have fun!"
"I don't know, Jane." Lisa walked over to her closet, pulling out four or five different dresses. "I just don't have anything to wear to this sort of party. I really don't think I should-"
"Hey hey girls! Are we ready to have fun tonight or what?" Charles walked into the room and did a small turn, flashing his best runway smile. Lisa had to admit that Jane had picked a cute guy. "Are we ready to paarrrtttyyy?"
"Lisa doesn't want to go."
"She doesn't want to go?"
"I didn't-"
"But why don't you want to go? C'mon! Its going to be great!"
"I just-"
"Charles, she says she has nothing to wear."
"I really-" Charles walked over to the first dress he saw laying on the bed, picking up and gesturing.
"This looks fine. You're going! No buts." Lisa just shook her head, grabbed the dress, and walked off to get changed.
They arrived at the PR Firm about 7:30, early enough to get a good table. Jane and Charles looked stunning together, and both had huge smiles on her face. They stopped and talked to everyone they passed, saying 'hello' to one person and then 'how are you?' to another. They mingled and laughed, but Lisa felt like the third wheel. I can't believe I let them drag me to this damn thing. I don't know anyone here and they're having just a great time while I'm bored as can be.
"Will! How are you? You remember Jane right?" Lisa looked up to see who they were talking to now, and her eyes met the most gorgeous man she had seen in a long time. She smiled, and gave him her hand. "Will, this is Lisa, Jane's sister. She's a pediatrician for Columbia's new ped-training program."
"Nice to meet you, Mr-?"
"Darcy. I represent Amazon at our firm. I hope you all enjoy yourselves tonight." He flashed a smile and walked over to another party just coming in. Lisa smiled, and followed Jane and Charles to their table. The conversation flowed along with the wine, and Lisa met a nice couple at their table, Mr. and Mrs. Forsythe. The dinner was wonderful, and soon Charles led Jane onto the dance floor.
"They are a beautiful couple, Miss Bennet."
"Indeed they are, Mrs. Forsythe. Its hard to believe they've only been seeing each other for two weeks, huh?" Lisa smiled. "I think we'll be seein' a lot of Charles 'round the house."
"I would not doubt it. Why don't we find you a nice partner, so you can dance as well? I see Mr. Darcy over there by himself. Hold on, I'll be right back." Lisa watched her walk over to the man she had met earlier that night, and had a small twinge at the thought of being able to dance with him. She turned her head, looking at all the couples gliding across the floor.
"Miss Bennet, would you do me the honor?" He extended his hand to her, and she gently lifted herself out of her seat. They moved to the dance floor and her took her in his arms. "So, have you lived in New York long?"
"No sir. Actually we just moved here. I'm gonna be livin' here for at least three years to get the ped program up and runnin', then I might move back home."
"Indeed. And where is that exactly?"
"Savannah. Grew up there." His face suddenly turned from happy and glowing to more of a frown.
"Well. I cannot say I have ever been there. Did they have any decent medical schools there or did you have to move away?"
"There is a good school in Atlanta I attended. Not one of the better known med schools." Lisa's smile disappeared. Is he insulting me?
"Oh. Well, I have just never heard of any reputable schools in Georgia." He was quiet for a few minutes, then asked, "So how did you find out about a job here, then?"
"Columbia called me, actually. I have done some good work in my field, especially in burn therapy for younger children. I thought it would be an adventure a sorts to move to NYC."
"Ah. Well, I know that they are a tough crowd here."
"Indeed, sir."
"Is Savannah big?"
"Not like New York, but its big enough. Not so big that you get lost, but big enough to blend into the crowd." Is this an interrogation?
"Well. I personally could not live anywhere small. I have an estate that I do visit, but most of my time is spent in town. There's so much more to do here."
"Yes, there are a lot of places to visit and see. We spent our first week here playing tourist."
"Really? I hope you have enjoyed our New York."
"I have."
"Have you had any problems adjusting to the difference in culture?"
"Excuse me?"
"You know, I just thought that, since New York is so much bigger, surely they are many diff-"
"Indeed there are, but Savannah is not some road stop in the middle of nowhere." He looked as if she had slapped him across the face. He blinked, opened his mouth, but before he could respond, she bit off with, "I'm sorry if you feel that we are cultural misfits in the south. I promise you that is not the truth."
"I didn't mean to imply-"
"I understand you perfectly." Lisa stalked off towards her table, huffing as she sat down in her seat and crossed her arms. Will stood there, stunned for a minute, before he moved to Charles and a group of other men.
"Charles, that woman is...is... infuriating! how can she believe that her tractor pulls and county fairs and on the same level as New York's seasonal events?"
"What do you mean, Will?"
"She just attacked me for asking if she had adjusted to the New York pace!" Charles just laughed and shook his head.
The nerve of that man, thinking he's better than me. "Jane, I'm going to the ladies room. I'll be back in a minute."
Lisa stalked into the bathroom, nearly slamming the door. I can't believe he said that! She splashed some water onto her face, staring at herself in the mirror. She watched as a tall brunette walked in, opening her purse, and applying a hideous shade of orange lipstick to her lips. Caroline lidded the lipstick with a loud clack, then turned to look at Lisa. "I don't know who you are, but I would recommend you stay away from Will Darcy. He's mine." She flipped her hair and sashayed out of the bathroom in the same manner she came in.
Lizzy continued to stare at herself in the mirror. You can have him, lady. He wasn't that cute, anyway.