CONTROL #1: Unmasking Mr. Darcy [PREVIEW ONLY]

Chapter 4.2 : Meeting the Boss

"Jade, he's coming."

Lizzy and Jade both looked up from the laptop. Jade was sitting behind her desk, the computer in front of her. Lizzy was standing beside her. They had been discussing the circulation numbers for the first quarter the year.

Sharlene looked excited to be giving the news. "He's on his way here now," she continued. "Uhm, do you need me to stay?"

"No need, Sharlene," Jade said, and smiled. "We'll let you know when we're about to start the meeting."

"Oh okay." Sharlene left, but not without giving Lizzy a regretful look.

"Eleven thirty," Lizzy said, looking at her wrist watch. "How much do you want to bet he won't even bother with an excuse for his lateness?"

Jade smiled. "How about we listen to what he has to say first?" she said in her usual good-humor. "At any rate, we've already cleared our schedules for today."

Lizzy was looking through the panels of the glass walls of the office. A tall, confident figure in a finely tailored charcoal grey suit strode in from the front door through the loft that was their workplace. Everyone seemed to have stopped whatever they were doing to get a look at the new owner of the magazine.

She wasn't surprised when Sharlene walked up to speak to him. He smiled and they spoke for a bit, before she pointed to Jade's office. He nodded and made his way towards Lizzy and Jade.

Jade had stood up before he reached the door, giving him a warm smile as he came in. "Mr. Darcy," she said, stepping out from behind her desk. "Welcome to the Fold."

"The walls are glass," Darcy said, shaking her hand. His eyes were riveted on hers.

"Excuse me?"

"Your office." He didn't let go of her hand, but he gestured towards the walls with his left hand. "Everyone can see you."

"That's kind of the point." She looked down at her hand, eyebrows raised.

He released her hand, grinning. "And what happens if you need privacy?"

She cocked her head, amused. "Why would I?"

"I don't know." He grinned, moving closer. His eyes were fixed on her face in naked admiration. "Sometimes you just do." His voice was almost a whisper.

"Mr. Darcy —"

"Call me Asher."

"Asher, this is Lizzy Bennet. She's our Film and Television editor."

"Nice to meet you, Lizzy." He barely gave Lizzy a glance before turning his attention back to Jade.

"Mr. Darcy," Lizzy said politely, although she was entirely sure he had already forgotten she was in the room. Jade always had that effect on men. For all the years Lizzy had known her, Jade was almost always the most beautiful woman in every room she was in.

"Would you mind taking Asher to the conference room?" Jade said.

"Right," Lizzy said.

"Where are you going?" he said, watching Jade head out the door.

"Calling the rest of the editorial team," Jade said. "Make yourself comfortable. We'll start in five minutes."

"Can't wait," he murmured, his eyes lingering on her legs as she walked away.

Lizzy mentally rolled her eyes. "You were supposed to be here at nine," she said, walking past him.

"Excuse me?"

"The meeting was scheduled to start two and a half hours ago." She glanced back to see him following a step behind her. "This magazine must not be very high up your list of priorities."

"If I'd known Ms. Yu would be so fascinating, I would have showed up sooner."

"Jade is brilliant, Mr. Darcy. I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you."

"Call me Asher, please. When a woman calls me Mr. Darcy, usually they're naked and we're doing serious roleplaying."

Lizzy kept her eyes ahead as they walked, resisting the urge to glare at him. Unbelievable. Not only was Darcy clearly not taking their work seriously, he was practically a walking erection. If this was the Fold's new owner, the magazine could be in dire trouble. Unless of course they managed to convince him to stay out of their way and let Jade run things.

She'd brought it up with Jade earlier, but for some reason the latter was convinced Darcy was not going to be as terrible a boss as Lizzy assumed he would be.

He was well-respected in the finance community. His wealth management group had grown in size and esteem, and reporting record profits since he had taken over as chairman of the board.

However, there was hardly anything known about what it was like to work with him. His personal life, on the other hand, was widely known. He was apparently a serial dater who never seemed to be with the same woman for longer than a week.

"More glass," Asher observed. They were inside the conference room which was already set up with the projector and a set of printed materials on the table for each attendee.

"It works for us, " Lizzy said. "I understand the finance industry is quite traditional in most ways. It's different here. We like being open to one another, collaborating, learning from each other."

"I am nothing but open to learning, Liddy," he said, settling down on a chair.

"Lizzy," she corrected him through clenched teeth.

This was going to be a long day.

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Thanks to everyone who liked this chapter! Next update will be a week from now.

If you'd like to read more, chapters 1-7 are on the Radish app. Info here: http://anselacorsino.com/radish