Chapter Text
November 2014
“Domino, call Charlotte Lu at Collins & Collins.”
Lizzie bounced in her chair and drummed the edge of her desk with her fingers, waiting for the chat window to pop up on the computer screen. Charlotte took her time answering. Judging from her careful smile, she had a pretty good idea where this was headed. “Hey, Lizzie.”
“Dibs!” Lizzie exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “I am so calling dibs.”
Charlotte held up her hands in a calming gesture. “Okay, slow down. Deep breath. Aaaand what are you talking about.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, you brilliant thing, you. Interactive online courses, revolutionizing adult education, emphasis on women and minority communities – it’s perfect. I’m featuring you on ‘Game Changers,’ you have to let me, please please please.”
“I thought so.” She sighed and pressed her fingers against a stress headache over her left eye. “I’m very flattered, Lizzie, but ‘revolutionizing’ is a pretty ambitious word, first of all, and second of all, we’re partnering with Pemberley Digital. The courses will use a Domino platform. You’d be promoting your competition.”
“Hey, that’s fine. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for a good cause. William owes me like a million foot rubs, obviously, but come on, it’ll be awesome!” Lizzie outlined an imaginary banner with her hands. “Lizzie and Charlotte, the Bestie Reunion Tour! The viewers will love it.”
Charlotte smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm, but the worry line in her forehead did not go away. “It’s not even finalized yet. This project won’t go anywhere if we don’t get the funding for it.”
“You’ll totally get the funding,” Lizzie said, and started flipping through her daily planner. “This project is going to be hugely successful, anyone can see that. How’s next week looking for you?”
“Oh boy,” said Charlotte.
She managed to rein Lizzie in, but not before she admitted she was tempted by the idea. Even with Pemberley’s involvement, the online community courses were a risky move for Collins & Collins, and she was having a hard time convincing people that the famously unpredictable Domino app would be useful in a classroom setting.
Lizzie’s web series about community leaders could help Charlotte put a good spin on the situation. Lizzie had a talent for seeking out creative projects that helped people on a grassroots level, and doing interviews on location allowed her to weave a colorful story about life in the Bay Area. Businesses and organizations were approaching her in increasing numbers, seeing the videos as a way to build up their street cred with her young, web-savvy audience.
Eventually Charlotte agreed to let Lizzie do preliminary interviews with herself and members of the production team. “We’re having a project meeting in two weeks. I may as well book you in for that, too. Darcy’s going to be there and we all know what his answer’s going to be.”
Lizzie grinned. “He’s my biggest fan, what can I say. Relax, Charlotte. This is going to be so much fun.”
“Yeah, not so fast. Catherine will also be there. You guys are going to have to mend some bridges.”
“Oh.” Lizzie’s face fell. “Crap.”
The day of her visit to Hunsford, Lizzie's schedule was packed from beginning to end. She had Max, her videographer, film an intro clip while she was driving down the Bayshore Freeway, wearing sunglasses against the hazy autumn sunrise and drinking tea from a travel mug.
“So if you’re not all caught up on what happened during my last visit two years ago – in which case I kind of question your commitment to this relationship, viewers – Charlotte and I made up after having a huge fight, and then I met Catherine de Bourgh, and then William told me he loved me for the first time and I had a huge fight with him, and then Caroline showed up and I had a huge fight with her.” She raised her mug in triumph. “And now we’re all working together! Yay! I’d say I’m hoping for a little less drama this time around, but I’ve basically given up on saying that ever again.”
The Collins & Collins offices were as clean and organized as Lizzie remembered, though she was proud to notice the atmosphere felt a lot more creative and genuine under her best friend’s management. Charlotte took her on a quick tour of the new production facilities and introduced her to the project team before sitting down for their interview in the same room they had used before.
“Okay, you know the drill,” said Lizzie. “I figured we’d start with a quick recap of your history at C&C, talk a bit about the teachers who inspired the project and how it will help them, touch on your compulsive need to lecture people, all that kind of thing.”
Charlotte made a face at her. “I’m making it easier for other people to lecture people. That’s totally different.”
“Sure it is. Hold that thought.” Lizzie jumped up from her seat and peered over Max’s shoulder to check the frame. Charlotte grinned into the camera. “Well, this is a switch.”
Lizzie laughed. “Who knew, right?”
Next was the unavoidable video interview with Ricky Collins from his offices in Winnipeg. He gave her 27 minutes of footage. Lizzie guessed she could use about 45 seconds of it.
“How delightful, Miss Bennet!” he said, gesticulating like mad. (He wore a wedding ring now. Lizzie still had her doubts.) “Your fledgling enterprise can only benefit greatly from an alliance with such an illustrious and well-respected digital media company as Collins & Collins – as I am sure was your intent from the beginning. Exceedingly shrewd, as always!”
“Yes,” she deadpanned. “Oh how I have dreamed of this moment.”
The alliance was looking less shrewd by the minute as the dreaded meeting with Catherine approached. Lizzie huddled with Charlotte and Darcy in one of the meticulously-designed breakout rooms to plot a strategy for getting on the woman’s good side.
“Okay, I’m good, everything’s fine,” she muttered, tugging at her suit jacket. “Catherine just hates my guts, no biggie.”
Darcy smiled the grim smile of someone who had been dealing with Catherine all morning. “She will be civil. I have made myself quite clear on that point.”
“Think of it this way,” said Charlotte. “You’re promoting two of her investments against your own professional interests. She can’t be in that bad a mood.”
“Well, that’s super comforting.” Lizzie breathed deeply and squared her shoulders. “I can handle this. I’m a professional. William, honey, if you keep looking at me like that I’m going to start giggling in the middle of the meeting.”
He coughed. “Sorry.”
The meeting could best be described as “not a disaster.” Catherine did not glare too witheringly, Annie-kins the dog did not pee on anything, nothing was called off and no-one got fired. The only real problem was the funding for the project, which Catherine was not prepared to cover in full.
Instead, she wanted Collins & Collins to apply for a prestigious educational grant awarded every year by the state of California. If they succeeded, Catherine would make up the difference. If not, they were almost certainly screwed. “I will not be associated with anything second-rate,” she declared. “Either this project is recognized as the future of online education or it does not go forward.”
Lizzie, Charlotte and Darcy exchanged glances across the table. The grant application was due in less than a month. That meant a demo had to be ready weeks earlier than Charlotte and Darcy had planned, and Lizzie would need to turn her production schedule upside down.
As they filed out of the meeting room, Charlotte leaned close to Lizzie and murmured, “Having fun yet?”