She stopped by the office on her way to work once, dropping off donuts for Charlie and the rest of the marketing team; she stopped by after hours so they could go out to dinner after work. He saw her at a business dinner to which spouses and significant others were invited and a corporate “picnic” in the conference room.
He’d been busy, granted, so maybe he just hadn’t noticed before, but it still seemed strange that she stopped by AirVA so often to see Charlie. He was concerned enough to be pleased when Charlie invited him to dinner, as he’d get the chance to see them together outside of work and determine what kind of woman Jane really was. Did she truly love Charlie, or was he simply a “good catch”? Richard was coming too, so Will would have a second pair of eyes.
“Jane’s sister will be there, too,” Charlie said. “She’s couch-surfing with Jane now.”
Will rolled his eyes. Just great, both Gardiner sisters. “Well, that’s rich. She can’t afford a place of her own so you guys can have some privacy?”
Charlie shrugged. “Jane doesn’t mind. She adores her sister. Lizzy lost her job and her apartment last month, so . . .”
“Her job and her apartment? At the same time? That sounds like she hadn’t been watching her money if she didn’t have any buffer.”
“Look, Will, don’t bug her about it at dinner, okay? Jane and I aren’t married yet, so whether her sister lives with her or not isn’t up to me.”
Will agreed, but he couldn’t help but feel concerned for Charlie and Jane. Jane, from what he’d seen of her, was very sweet, but she was also a bit of a pushover who saw only the best in everyone. She’d never see her beloved sister as a sponger even if she was. And Charlie . . . Charlie was not unlike Jane in seeing the world through rose-colored lenses and was as generous as the day was long.
Would the sister live with them when they were married? That would be a difficult way to start a marriage. And with marriage such a risky business these days, Will hoped that her presence wouldn’t cause problems down the road.
Will’s mind, in fact, was so much on the presence of Jane’s sister, that he was taken aback to discover the additional presence of Charlie’s sister the moment he walked through the door with Richard.
“Caroline!” he exclaimed when she looped her arm through his. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”
“Oh, I heard that Charlie was having this little party, and I just couldn’t resist! Jane’s cooking is simply divine, and of course Charlie assures me I’m always welcome.”
Will raised his eyebrows at Charlie. Charlie rolled his eyes and made a cutting motion across his throat.
Richard was the first to respond. “Well, I’m so glad you could make it, Caro. Will here had just been saying how long it’s been since he saw you!”
Will closed his eyes. Would breaking Richard’s arm hamper his ability as COO? No, his typing was atrocious, anyway. He’d just hire him a secretary.
Richard wasn’t done. “He’s just been so very busy now that he’s taken on the CEO position. Haven’t you, Will?”
Caroline’s entire face lit up. “Oh, yes, Will, tell me how that is going? It must be so challenging, to be the head of a company as large as yours! Oodles of responsibility, I’m sure!”
“It’s, uh―”
“But I suppose your father must compensate you well. That helps, of course. And it will be your company one day, won’t it?”
He looked desperately around the room, but Richard and Charlie were enjoying themselves far too much at his expense.
Just then, his new favorite person in the apartment poked her head into the room. “Oh, Will, hello! Would you like some veggies?” Jane held out a carrot stick with ranch dip on it.
Will gratefully accepted the excuse to escape from Caroline and headed for the kitchen . . . only to stop short when he saw Jane’s sister sitting on a stool, helping to chop yellow squash.
“Oh, Will,” Jane said cheerfully, “I don’t know if you’ve met my sister. This is Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth looked up, gave him a brief wave, and went back to her work.
“I brought a bottle of wine,” Will said, feeling awkward as he handed it to Jane.
“That’s so sweet of you! Thanks, Will.” She put it in the fridge to cool, then walked out of the kitchen.
Now Will was alone in the kitchen with Elizabeth. He picked up a carrot stick from the veggie tray for something to do, dipping it in the ranch and then popping it into his mouth. The crunch felt uncomfortably loud in the quiet room.
Elizabeth stood up quickly and scooped the squash she’d been slicing into a cast iron pan, then put it on the stove and added butter.
“Uh . . . so I heard you lost your job,” Will said, and then immediately felt like hitting himself on the head. Not subtle.
Elizabeth kept her back to him, flipping the squash on the stove. “Yeah.”
“So what did you do?” He was compounding his error, he knew, but Charlie would never think to interrogate her and make sure she wasn’t going to live off him forever. Not that Will was interrogating her, of course. Just checking her story out. Charlie had said not to bug her about it at dinner . . . but technically they weren’t eating dinner yet.
“I managed a bookstore for my father,” she said curtly, opening a cabinet and rummaging through it.
“Your father fired you?” he asked, stunned.
She took a spice down from the cabinet and added it liberally to the squash. “No. He lost the store.”
“Ah.” Will paused. “I’m sorry.” Then how― “And your apartment?”
Jane walked in and headed for the stove. She hip-butted Elizabeth out of the way so she could turn on the light and check whatever was cooking inside. Elizabeth hip-butted her back.
Elizabeth turned off the burner and brought the pan to the counter, placing it on a trivet. She glanced at him briefly as she got out a serving plate for the veggies. “I lived in the store’s building. He had to give up the lease on the building, so that meant I lost my housing, too.”
Will was surprised. He wasn’t sure exactly what he expected, but she didn’t sound like the leech he thought she was. Was there a possibility she really would get a new job and move out soon?
“Something smells great in here!” Charlie walked into the kitchen with Richard right behind him.
Caroline wrinkled her nose, looking down at the lovely seared squash slices that Elizabeth was arranging. “Did you put butter on that? You may not care about your figure, Liz, but I do!”
“I can see that,” Elizabeth said calmly.
Will hid a smile.
Elizabeth cocked her head at him. "I have to ask, Will, do you happen to have a brother who looks like you? Or a cousin, maybe?"
"No brothers, just my sister Ana. Richard's my cousin, but he looks nothing like me."
She frowned. "Ah. Okay."
He wondered why she asked, but before he could say anything, dinner was ready and there was a flurry of activity to get it on the table.
Soon everyone was seated around the table enjoying Jane’s meal. Will somehow found himself seated next to Caroline and almost across from Elizabeth.
“So I heard you lost your job!” Caroline said brightly to Elizabeth.
“I just love how this is everybody’s first topic of conversation.” Elizabeth took a bite without looking up.
“Oh, but we all just feel sooo very sorry for you! It’s just terrible to be fired, you know. I mean, I never have been, but I totally sympathize anyway.”
“What do you do again, Caroline?” Elizabeth glanced up at Jane, then back to Caroline.
Caroline smiled sweetly at her. “I’m Charlie’s social secretary! I make sure he has time for the important things.” At that, she frowned at Jane, then turned back to Elizabeth. “It’s a very important role, you know. I have sooo much influence over Charlie’s commitments, and whether he keeps them or not.” She gave a meaningful look at Jane, then raised her eyebrows to Elizabeth.
&nb
sp; “Do you?” Elizabeth turned back to her meal.
Charlie broke in. “Whether I keep them or not? What are you painting me as, Caroline, some sort of flake? Of course I keep my commitments!”
Caroline turned her scowl to Charlie. “We’ll see,” was all she said.
Charlie rolled his eyes and took a bite of salmon.
“Are you looking for a new position?” Will asked Elizabeth.
She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m planning to couch-surf with Jane forever. Of course I’m looking.”
“What kind of job are you looking for?”
She shrugged. “I’ve actually been trying to find a job in the publishing industry. I’ve always loved books, and I’ve done a lot of writing and editing, so I thought it might be a good fit. Right now, though, I’ll pretty much take anything. I’ve got an interview at a fast food place tomorrow and one with a sit-down restaurant on Thursday.”
Caroline laughed. “Fast food? What are we, in high school? Surely even you can do better than that.”
“I plan to. But while I’m looking for something better, a paycheck is better than none.”
“Yes, well, I can’t imagine coming home smelling like grease every day.” Caroline shuddered.
“I worked in fast food for a couple of years,” Richard said. “Waiting was better, though—you earn more with tips.”
Elizabeth made a face. “If only any of those places were hiring. Hardly anybody seems to be. I don’t have a car, so I need to stick with places within walking distance or near bus routes. And it’s not like we live in a big enough city to have convenient bus routes everywhere.”
Conversation was general for a few minutes, and Will fell silent as he listened to Charlie’s cheerful conversation about the upcoming weekend, Jane’s good-natured assent to his plans, and Richard’s teasing remarks to Elizabeth about the foolishness of lovebirds.
“I suppose you’d never take a girl walking on the beach?” she asked Richard after he told a story about a friend who almost got himself engaged accidentally on vacation.
“Not a chance. It creates expectations.”
“What, that you’ll give her a ride home afterwards? Surely girls don’t expect to marry you after one romantic walk.”
“Ah,” said Richard, “there’s the key. Romantic walk. They expect romance.”
“And you provide...?”
“Well, not intellectual stimulation, that’s for sure,” Charlie cut in.
“Nobody expects to discuss the next great American novel on a walk at the beach, anyway.” She smiled at Richard.
“Well, nobody seems to like to talk about soccer, either,” Richard said with a huff.
Elizabeth laughed. “Maybe you need to date a soccer player.”
He brightened. “That’s a good idea! Hey, Elizabeth, ever played soccer?”
Jane quickly jumped in. “Oh, yes, Lizzy―”
“Has never touched a ball,” Elizabeth said with a warning look at Jane.
Charlie choked on his water. “I think you just got shot down, Richard.”
Richard sighed. “There goes my walk on the beach.”
Will smiled at the exchange, but he was glad that Elizabeth didn’t seem interested in Richard. He was a great guy, and he’d rather not see him taken advantage of. It was one thing for Elizabeth to sponge off her sister, but another for her to date his cousin.
When Will got to the office the next day, though, he found that he’d been perhaps a bit too hasty in thinking Richard was safe.
“Hey, Will,” Richard said, walking into Will’s office and dropping onto a chair across from Will’s desk. Will’s secretary, Susan, waved unapologetically from the door, then closed the door on the way to her desk.
“So, Jane’s sister . . . do you know if she’s single?”
Oh crap. “Elizabeth?”
Richard grinned and put his feet up on Will’s desk. Will eyed his feet and then glared at Richard, but Richard just kept grinning.
“That’s the one. I mean, I know Jane has other sisters, I just haven’t met them yet. But yeah, Elizabeth. She’s pretty, and funny, and smart. I thought, you know, maybe she’d go out with me.”
“She sure didn’t want to go walking on the beach with you,” Will pointed out.
“I just haven’t had time to show her all of my wit and charm. She’ll be falling into my lap soon enough.”
Will rolled his eyes. “Riiight.” Then he got serious. “But, Richard, you should be careful.”
“How’s that?” Richard frowned and took his feet off Will’s desk. Will suppressed the urge to wipe off the dirt he’d left behind.
“Because she’s flat broke, unemployed, and living with her sister. You’re now the COO of a Fortune 500 corporation.”
“You think she’d date me just because I have money?” Richard’s very look was skeptical.
“I’m just saying it’s worth being careful. You never know what some people will do for money.”
“Point taken. I’ll wait a bit longer, get to know her more first. Charlie’s always got all sorts of stuff planned. And maybe now that you’re starting to get a handle on the business, you can come, too, and give me an opinion on what she thinks of me.” A handle on the business. Right. Of course, he might go insane from the stress if he didn’t take a breather on occasion. Maybe he should come.
“If I can.”
Escape
April 2016
Richard was right: Charlie was a hard worker who put in a solid forty-hour work week, if not more, but when he was done work, it was time for fun. He planned sports outings, movies, dinners, and even dancing.
Will managed to avoid a dinner party but could not get out of volleyball.
“Please, Will!” Charlie said over the phone. “You’re tall, and you know how to hit a volleyball! If we lose to the girls again, it’s going to be humiliating.”
He wondered if both Gardiner sisters were coming, or if it was just Jane. “You always lose to the girls, Charlie. You’re the worst volleyball player I’ve ever seen. Why do you even―”
“Because it’s fun! You don’t have to be good at something for it to be fun!”
“And you can be good at something without it being fun,” Will growled. But he knew he’d give in eventually. Charlie was too good at wheedling.
Charlie was also good at waiting when he knew it would get him what he wanted.
Will sighed. “Jane is going to have to learn she’ll never get her way with you. People think you’re easygoing but you’re like a bulldog when you want something.”
“See you Saturday at two!” was Charlie’s only response.
“Been thinking about what you said a couple of weeks ago about Elizabeth,” Richard said. “About being careful.”
“And?”
Richard shrugged. They were approaching the grassy field where Charlie had the net set up. Will could see Charlie and Jane, along with Elizabeth and the redhead. “I get where you’re coming from. But maybe you’re the one who needs to remember where you came from.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you were once homeless, too, you know.” And with that gut punch, Richard jogged ahead. Will rolled his eyes. Because being homeless at twelve and being homeless as a capable adult were exactly the same thing. His mother . . . he shook the thought off. It was time to play volleyball.
“Elizabeth!” Richard called. “Glad you could make it.”
Will winced. He’d forgotten that Richard had attended the dinner that he’d bowed out of. Richard and Elizabeth appeared closer than ever. She even gave him a hug when he approached her.
Richard was right. Will had thought of it as being cautious and protecting his friend. But was it really? Or was he so certain his first impression was right that he was holding on to his snap judgment without reason?
“Okay, guys against girls!” called Charlie.
Elizabeth laughed. “Charlie, really? Why don’t you give yourself a break and split the team
s up differently for once?”
“No, no, we’ve got a ringer this time!” Charlie slapped Will on the back a bit harder than Will would have liked.
“Thanks for joining us, Will,” Jane said. She smiled at him sweetly. “I hope you’re better than Charlie.”
“That’s a low bar.” Will made a face at Charlie.
“Hey, I resent that!” Charlie started to walk over to where a few more people had gathered. When Will didn’t follow, Charlie backtracked, grabbed Will’s arm, and dragged him along. The only one he recognized was the redhead who had been talking with Elizabeth at the engagement party.
“Will, this is Charlotte, her sister Maria, and their friends Tim and Vijay. We’re still waiting on my sisters and Michael.”
It didn’t surprise Will that Charlie’s sisters and Lisa’s husband would be late. They always were, although Will suspected that if Caroline had known he was coming, she might have made it on time. The numbers were fairly well-balanced without them, though, so they decided to play a game to 11 while they waited.
“Going, going, gone!” Elizabeth called as Charlie’s serve went spectacularly out of bounds, forcing Maria to have to run a good way after it. “I think you forgot what sport we’re playing, Charlie!”
“Wait, it isn’t baseball?” he called back good-naturedly. “There goes my batting average.”
Clearly, despite his avowed love for the game, Charlie had not practiced since the last time they had played. Or, worse, perhaps he had practiced, and this was the result.
On the very next play, Jane targeted Charlie with her serve. With an athletic swing, he sent the ball high and out of bounds. “Oops!” he said with a grin and a shrug.
Such was the result almost every time the ball came close to Charlie. He had great energy and almost always got to the ball in time, but he had no control. Only about half the time did he even manage to keep the ball in play; the rest of the time, he either sent it out of bounds or put it out of his teammates’ reach.
By the time they had played to 11, the girls winning 11-9, Charlie was getting glares from most of the men.
A Good Name: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 12
