by Krista Lakes
“I’m going to be famous, Lizzie!” Lydia jumped up and down with delight.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” Wickham cautioned putting a calming hand on her shoulder. “We still have to get approved. But, it is a step in the right direction.”
Lydia grinned at me. “I’m gonna be famous!” At least she didn’t jump up and down this time.
I shook my head and smiled. This was the first time I actually had faith that Lydia had a shot. Wickham was a good fit. He wasn’t filling her up with false dreams and wasn’t just taking her money.
“And what’s your cut if she gets this job?” I asked.
“The traditional ten percent,” he replied. He gave me another disarming smile. “You’re skeptical, and I like it. Seriously, check me out. I’m the real deal. I’d prefer it if we were working together to get your sister where she wants to go.”
“I will,” I said, pocketing his card. So far, I hadn’t gotten any of the skeezy vibes I usually did off of Lydia’s “agents.” He hadn’t asked for money, and he hadn’t promised something he couldn’t deliver. Plus, there was just something about him that was charming. He was certainly getting my mind off of Mr. Darcy, at least.
“Until then, can I interest you lovely ladies in a cup of coffee?” Wickham asked. He pointed to the opposite side road to the park, near the buildings. “There’s a great coffee truck that stops just a couple of blocks over.”
“I never say no to coffee,” I replied. He just earned another point in my book.
“It’s the best coffee this side of the Atlantic,” he promised.
“Do you mean Lou’s Coffee?” Lydia asked. The three of us walked in step along the sidewalk. Luckily, it was a quiet day in the park, so we were able to do so.
“Yes,” Wickham said with a smile. “Do you know it?”
“Know it?” Lydia grinned. “I’m good friends with the owner.”
“You seem to be good friends with all sorts of important people,” Wickham told her. Lydia beamed. He obviously knew how to get on her good side.
“When you have talent, good looks, and an inheritance coming, it’s easy,” she replied with a laugh.
“An inheritance?” I asked her. She ignored me and hurriedly crossed the street, pulling Wickham along with her. I had to jog to keep up.
“So, keep going about the funny casting experience you were telling me about,” Lydia said to Wickham, ignoring me and changing the subject of her supposed inheritance. She obviously didn’t want Wickham to know she didn’t have any money coming her way.
I sighed. I didn’t want to confront her about this right now. I was having a nice time, and I didn’t want to ruin our walk by pointing out my sister’s insane issues. I would just have to talk to her when we got home. As usual.
“Well, it was for a pudding commercial,” Wickham replied. “And they needed people to look like they were experiencing the best pudding of their entire lives.”
“I could do that,” Lydia assured him.
“It came time for my client to show what she could do. The poor actress thought the casting director said ‘old face’ instead of ‘O face’ and I’m sure you can imagine what her audition looked like,” Wickham said.
He squinted his eyes like he had poor vision, covered his teeth with his lips, and did the best impersonation of a blind, toothless old person I had ever seen. It was the exact opposite of what an “o-face” should have looked like.
I couldn’t help but burst out into laughter.
“What did the casting director do?” I asked, covering my mouth as I tried to get control of myself. It didn’t help that Wickham kept making the face as we walked.
“Well, he said it was the most original ‘O-face’ he’d ever seen and hired her on the spot,” Wickham replied, putting his charming smile back on. “I still can’t believe she got the job.”
“And you say your clients are all that famous,” I teased him. “Now, I know that one of those pudding girls is one of yours.”
He chuckled. “You give me too much credit. She did all the hard work. All I did was set up the audition and make sure the contracts were in order. The real work is finding talent like Lydia.”
Lydia fluffed her hair and grinned.
“Do you think they’re going to use the ‘old face’ look in the commercials?” I asked. “It would certainly make it more memorable.”
“I think it would sell more pudding, so yes,” Wickham replied, keeping a straight face. Then he made sure I was looking at him, and he made the “old face” again. I burst out laughing.
“Wickham, you’re hilarious,” I announced, reaching out to touch his arm.
“Elizabeth.”
I looked up to see Mr. Darcy standing directly in front of me. He was dressed in a smart dark suit and acting for all the world like he owned the entire sidewalk. His blue eyes were only on me. My hand fell from Wickham, and my lungs forgot how to breathe for a moment as I had a vivid recall of our dance.
“Oh, hello,” I stammered. My brain no longer seemed to know how to find words. “What are you doing here?”
“I had a meeting,” he replied, his accent thick this morning. He motioned to one of the skyscrapers behind him. “And you?”
“I went for a run and ran into my sister and her new agent,” I explained. I motioned toward Wickham. “Mr. Darcy, I’d like you to meet George Wickham.”
Mr. Darcy’s jaw tightened, and he barely made a nod of acknowledgment. The air temperature dropped ten degrees as the two men made eye contact.
I looked over at Wickham to see if the dislike was mutual, and found him looking sour. His full mouth was pinched and tight. There was some serious dislike and some sort of silent battle going on between the two of them that I didn’t understand.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to,” Mr. Darcy announced. He turned smartly on his heel and walked straight back into the skyscraper behind him. I stared after him, wondering what the heck had just happened.
“Oh, he’s always like that,” Lydia assured Wickham. “Lizzie actually hit him the first time she met him.”
“I knew I liked you for a reason,” Wickham said to me, a smile returning to his face as Mr. Darcy disappeared into the building. “There are many times I wish I would have hit him.”
“I see the coffee truck,” Lydia announced. “I’ll order and get us a discount.”
“Thank you, Lydia,” Wickham said, beaming a handsome smile on her. “I’ll take a number three, please.”
Lydia preened in his attention. “No problem. I’ll get you your usual, Liz.” With one last grin for Wickham, she bounced off to order from the coffee truck.
“So, how do you and Mr. Darcy know one another?” I asked, watching my sister walk up and order.
“Unfortunately,” Wickham replied. He offered me a sad smile. “We were step-siblings.”
“Really?” I was shocked that these two men who clearly hated one another could be as close as siblings.
“My mother married his father when we were boys,” he explained. “We grew up together.”
“How come you don’t have an accent?” I asked, trying not to sound too suspicious.
“My mother was American, and I spent most of my teenage years in America,” he replied, luckily not sounding insulted at all. “I never really picked it up, but I do an amazing accent when drunk.”
“I see,” I said, nodding my head. “I’m guessing that you two aren’t close then?”
“Oh, you noticed that?” He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “When William’s father died, I was left a portion of the business in his will. But, William didn’t like that, so he got his lawyers involved to call the changes invalid, and I never got any of it.”
“Oh my gosh.” I was shocked. “He did that?”
Wickham nodded slowly. “He did indeed.”
I stood there, trying to take in this new information. Wickham should have been a billionaire board member of Oceanic Airlines
, not a struggling talent agent. I had a hard time believing that Mr. Darcy could be so cruel, and yet... he was kind of a jerk.
“It was a long time ago,” Wickham continued. “And I’ve made my peace with it. Luckily, even without the money, I still had friends in famous places. That’s how I was able to become an agent.”
“You’ve made lemonade out of lemons for sure,” I told him. “I’m surprised you didn’t walk right over and slug him.”
Wickham shrugged. “The temptation was there, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything.” He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me with sweet eyes. “But, I don’t want you to worry about me.”
“If you say so,” I told him. “Still, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Wickham replied. “This wasn’t my dream job, but I’m finding myself very good at. I’m discovering that I’m where I’m supposed to be. William will get his karma someday. I know it.”
“I certainly hope so,” I said. I was impressed by how well Wickham was handling this. If anything, it made me glad that he’d found Lydia. He would be good for her. If he could keep his temper around Mr. Darcy, he was already doing better than me.
“Here’s your coffee,” Lydia announced, holding out the cups. “Lou says it’s on the house in celebration of me getting an agent.”
“Remind me to thank Lou,” Wickham replied, gratefully taking his coffee.
I took a nice big sip of mine. Sweet vanilla with just a dash of cinnamon. Despite her flaws, Lydia knew my coffee preferences. She could be a good sister when she wanted to be.
“Now, tell Lizzie more about how you’re going to make me famous,” Lydia said, taking Wickham’s arm as we began walking away from Mr. Darcy’s building.
“I have big plans for you, Lydia,” Wickham replied. “Big plans.”
Chapter 9
“I can’t believe that we get to go to the grand opening of the new hotel!” Lydia exclaimed, dancing around the kitchen in her little black dress.
“Considering that Jane is dating the owner, it’s not that crazy. It’s really sweet of Charles to invite us, though,” I replied. I looked around, trying to find my shoes. “Lydia, did you borrow my black heels?”
“No. They’re in the front closet,” Lydia replied.
“Instead of in my closet where they belong?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. She flashed me a big grin that told me she had totally borrowed them. I sighed.
“It’s just too bad that Wickham couldn’t get the night off,” Lydia said with a sigh. “It would have been so nice to have an agent with me at the party. I can feel it in my bones that I’m going to meet a producer tonight.”
“Remember, tonight is about Charles’ new hotel, not finding a producer. Or an agent, or being discovered,” Jane warned. “I don’t want this night to end up all about you.”
“Fine. You two act like I have no social skills at all,” Lydia said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Is the curling iron still on?”
I nodded, and she went to the bathroom to fix her already perfect hair. I went to the front closet to look for my black heels.
“I still can’t believe what you told me about Wickham and Mr. Darcy,” Jane whispered as I dug through a pile of shoes to find my heels. “It’s probably a good thing that Wickham isn’t coming tonight. It would just be awkward.”
“I agree,” I replied. I held up one shoe in triumph. I just needed to find the second.
“I have a hard time believing all of it, though,” Jane continued. She reached in and pulled out my missing shoe. “There must be some sort of misunderstanding. Mr. Darcy doesn’t seem that bad. And he’s been so good to Charles.”
“Oh, Jane,” I said, taking the shoe from her. “You always believe the best in everyone. I don’t think you’re capable of thinking something bad about someone.”
“And that’s not a bad thing,” Jane reminded me. She chewed on her cheek for a moment. “Did you tell Lydia about it?”
“She saw the whole meeting between the two of them,” I told her. “I think she thinks the same thing about Mr. Darcy that I do.”
Jane frowned. “I don’t know. I’ll ask Charles about it. Every story has two sides, and I want to make sure we know them both. It’s only fair.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” I told her, slipping on my shoes. They matched my sexy little black dress perfectly. “We already know he’s an entitled, elitist ass.”
“Be nice.” Jane gave my shoulder a gentle push. “You’re going to have to see him tonight.”
I sighed. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Mr. Darcy. Now that I knew the truth about him, I felt dirty even thinking about our dance.
“How are you and Charles doing, by the way?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t want to think about Mr. Darcy unless I had to.
Jane’s face melted into a happy smile. Her eyes went distant and wistful, and she let out a contented sigh.
“That good, huh?” I teased, giving her a grin.
She giggled. “I really like him,” she said, looking down at her hands. She bit her lower lip and smiled. “I think he likes me, too.”
“How could he not?” I asked her. “You’re pretty amazing.”
“I just wish we could have more private time together,” she said, still looking at her hands. Her smile faded. “These openings and events are fun, but...” She sighed.
“But the crowds and photographers are too much for you,” I finished, squeezing her shoulder. Jane nodded sadly.
“I really would prefer to just go to a movie. Or cook him dinner here,” she said. “I don’t feel like I belong up there in front of everyone.”
I gave her a big hug. “You’re doing great,” I told her. “And you totally belong up there with him. You’re gorgeous, and you belong.”
She smiled weakly. “Thanks,” she said with a shrug. “We should get going, or we’re going to be late.”
I nodded and grabbed our coats. I made sure Lydia turned off the curling iron (she hadn’t) before we left, and together the three of us headed out of our building and down to a waiting limo. I was almost getting used to riding around in these things. It still felt luxurious to be chauffeured around the city this way, but I no longer felt like a newbie getting in and out of them.
Mr. Darcy and Charles weren’t waiting for us in the limo this time. They were already at the grand opening of Charles’ new hotel. There was a big party to show off the new building, and they were going to meet us there.
The drive was comfortable as we went to the far edge of the city to celebrate and see the new hotel. Lydia chattered happily as we drove, telling us how wonderful Wickham was and all the auditions she was going to go on.
About halfway there, Lydia pulled a flask out of her jacket and grinned. “Pre-game?”
“Yes, please,” Jane said, reaching over and taking a big sip. She sighed as it went down. “I hate being out in public.”
“Did you tell Charles?” Lydia asked. “Given the way he moons over you, he’d probably stop asking you to do this kind of thing.”
“No.” Jane held the flask in her hands and stared at it. She looked up at Lydia. “Because what if he decided not to invite me at all? It is his job, after all. I’d rather deal with the crowds and pictures than not be with him.” She took another sip. “Besides, I think I’m getting better at it.”
“You should just tell him,” Lydia told her.
“Thanks, little sister,” Jane replied, handing back the flask. I wasn’t sure if she meant for the advice or the whiskey.
“Anytime, big sister,” Lydia replied with a smile.
“My turn,” I said, taking a swig. The whiskey burned on the way down with a beautiful warmth. I could feel it seep into my toes. If nothing else, this would make me more pleasant to Mr. Darcy if I couldn’t manage to avoid him.
The limo stopped in front of a beautiful new hotel with a red carpet coming out the front door. Climbing out of the limo and stepping up onto that red carpet, I fel
t like I was important. It only got better as we walked right past everyone waiting to get in.
As soon as we stepped into the lobby, Charles came to greet us. Mr. Darcy was nowhere to be seen. Charles’ smile was solely for Jane as cameras flashed all around us. She kissed his cheek and turned a bright shade of red as a camera flash clearly caught her in the act.
“I’m going to go make some new friends,” Lydia announced. “Bye.”
“Hey, behave yourself!” I called out to her. I didn’t want another repeat of the gala. Or the club.
Please, please, please, let her not cause a scene this time, I prayed silently. I wasn’t holding out much hope.
I found myself standing in the lobby by myself. Jane and Charles were off to the side, talking to another couple. It seemed like everyone in the room was paired off, and I was the lone man out. For a moment, I wished that Wickham had been able to come. He would have kept me company and kept me laughing through the night.
I smiled thinking of Wickham. I’d done some research on him and his talent agency. I’d found that he was a real agent with real clients. None of them were very famous yet, but he was slowly making a name for himself in the industry. I couldn’t find much else on him, but I didn’t find anything negative either. I was just glad he wasn’t a scam.
I glanced around, finding only conversations already in progress. I decided I’d get a drink and then I could wander the new hotel. It was decorated beautifully with a large lobby leading into a comfortable lounge and bar. Everything sparkled.
I paused to notice one of the pieces of art hanging in the lounge on my way to the bar. It was the Gustave Loiseau painting from the fund-raising gala. I smiled to myself, knowing that Charles must have bought it and put it where he was sure Jane would see it. Having it displayed for everyone to see and enjoy would make her very happy.
I turned to walk away from the painting to get a drink and ran smack into Mr. Darcy’s chest. He caught me as I bounced off of him, making sure that I didn’t fall. He wore his trademark dark suit that fit him to perfection. His face was freshly shaven, and he smelled amazing because of course, he did. Memories of our dance and the passionate dreams that followed surged through me despite my best efforts to forget them.