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Published:
2022-08-09
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2,286
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1/1
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Company Dinner

Summary:

It's Lizzie's first Pemberly Digital company dinner. It doesn't go as well as anticipated.

Notes:

Wow it's been a fat minute since I've written some LBD but I've started reading Accomplished and it's really good so I got in the mood for it again.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Lizzie Bennet was out of place. 

Every year, Pemberly Digital held a company dinner. Marked in the calendar for the end of the financial year, it was, compared to other companies, a huge event. With a large function room, an open bar, a fancy raffle and a whole lot of speeches and awards, it was highly anticipated amongst the company. Everybody looked forward to the Pemberly Digital dinner.

Lizzie, however, hadn’t been looking forward to it as much as everyone else was, and, instead of the excitement that everyone, even William Darcy himself, had felt, she’d just felt anxious.

While most people who worked at Pemberly were lovely, she knew certain people at Pemberly were judgemental. She knew how they turned their noses up at her, she’d seen it happen. And now, she was walking into some big, fancy function room hand in hand with William Darcy. The CEO. She was the CEO’s date. The CEO who a lot of people knew she once had very unfavourable opinions about. In their eyes, it didn’t matter that they’d worked past all that now, that now, they were happy and in love. Lizzie wasn’t sure they even knew they were together. Sure, she knew logically that their opinions don’t matter, but she couldn't help but feel insecure. She was with William Darcy. It was pretty hard not to be insecure when you were dating someone as important as him.

Lizzie knew she wasn’t very fancy, barely put together on a good day. She just didn’t fit in at this sort of formal event. And no matter how much William assured her that she was fine, that she was perfect, that there was no need to be insecure and that no one expected her to be anything less than herself, and that if they did, it didn’t matter because William knew that there was no one better than Lizzie Bennet, she still felt uncomfortable. And, as she discovered upon walking into the venue, underdressed. She felt underdressed. Her dress, a dress she thought would be nice enough, paled in comparison to the outfits the other attendees were wearing.

“I thought you said this dress was perfect,” Lizzie hissed, stopping William in his tracks just short of the door by squeezing his arm. 

William looked at her in alarm, his hands flying up and finding purchase on her forearms. “It is perfect. I like this dress.”

“I look so undressed. Everyone else is basically wearing ballgowns and I’m in a dress from the mall.”

“Nonsense,” William shook his head, trailing his hands down her wrists to fiddle with the ends of the sleeves. “You look beautiful.”

Lizzie was unconvinced but nodded anyway, accepting the kiss William offered her with a slight smile. He moved his hand back to hers and squeezed comfortingly, leading her into the already bustling room. They found their table and Lizzie placed her bag on her chair before William took her arm in his and led her around the room to say hello.

Being on William’s arm, Lizzie allowed herself to relax. The way William introduced her to the people she hadn’t met while shadowing was almost as if he was showing her off, and, not that Lizzie was one for heaps of attention, but the way he smiled proudly at her and almost bragged about her achievements made her feel like she was glowing. As uncomfortable as she had been, and maybe somewhere in herself still was, it did feel pretty good to be so highly regarded in the eyes of her boyfriend, and as a result, his employees.

They returned to their seats when the person on the microphone, someone Lizzie didn’t know from the planning committee, told them to sit as the food was being served, and ate happily, talking to Gigi and the others at their table as they did.

Throughout dinner, Lizzie began to relax more and more, and by the time she’d finished her pasta and half a glass of wine, was actually quite happy. 

She was recounting her week to Gigi when William slid his arm over the back of her chair, his fingers barely grazing her exposed shoulder. Lizzie paused what she was saying and turned to him with a smile. “Hey,” She giggled.

“Hello,” William said, his voice light and amused. “I was just going to get a drink and talk to the finance department. Would you like anything?”

Lizzie shook her head. “No, thank you.”

William turned to his sister. “Gigi?”

“No, I’m alright. I might go poke around the raffle though, work out what I want,” Gigi said, pushing her chair back and walking over to poke around at the raffle table.

“Okay,” William laughed. “I’ll be right back. You’ll be okay here by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine. Go, get a drink.” Lizzie pushed him out of his seat and waved him in the direction of the bar. He smiled at her and bent down to kiss her cheek before walking away. 

Lizzie sipped her wine slowly and swirled it around in her glass as she looked around the room. She smiled fondly at William as he spoke to his colleagues, admired the minimal but fancy-looking decorations hanging from the walls and considered buying a raffle ticket herself. 

She hadn’t noticed the group of women join her at her table.

“So, you’re Darcy’s girl then?” A middle-aged woman pulled up the chair beside her and pushed William’s disregarded plate out of the way.

“Uhh, yeah.” Lizzie jumped and put down her glass, smoothing her dress under the table. “I’m Lizzie. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hmm,” Another one hummed. “Likewise.”

The uncomfortable feeling Lizzie thought she’d rid herself of came back. She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. They reminded her of all of the bad parts of Caroline and Catherine De Bourg rolled into one, and she wasn’t entirely sure she was prepared for a confrontation with people who were anything like them, especially ones who were married to people who worked with William. She didn’t want to cause any trouble.

“When our husbands told us Darcy was bringing a partner we didn’t expect her to be quite so, simple.”

Lizzie blinked. “Oh.” She shifted in her seat. 

“Not very eloquent either.”

Lizzie’s cheeks burned. She was never, ever lost for words, but in the scrutinising eyes of these women, she was silent. 

“That dress? Where did you get it?”

“I don’t remember,” Lizzie answered. She looked over to William and tried to make eye contact with him, to get him to come over and save her from these people, but he couldn’t see her. 

“It’s not very put together, is it? Not quite formal enough.”

“It’s one of my favourites. I thought it was nice.”

“Well, isn’t that lovely,” The one beside her said, a slight sneer in her voice. “Still, don’t you think you should’ve gone all out? Dressed up a little more? Your dress is quite plain, and this is a very formal event. Aren’t you afraid of embarrassing Darcy? I mean, he does run the place.”

Lizzie felt her heart plummet. Was she afraid of embarrassing William? Of course, she was. She was anxious about coming to the dinner for that very reason, and even on a normal day, she lived in constant fear that someone he worked with would find her videos and ridicule him for it. Just because Gigi was so nice about it doesn’t mean anyone else would be. She knew, compared to the Darcy family, and those at the dinner, that she was plain and simple, but surely he didn’t care about all that. Did he? The mere thought sent panicked chills through her body, and she could feel tears pricking in the back of her eyes.

She needed to get away before they said anything else, or, even worse, before they saw her cry.

“Excuse me for a moment.” She stood hastily, chair struggling against the carpeted floor, and made a beeline for the exit, weaving through the crowd of people to get to the door. She sped down the hall and rounded the corner, and only once she was out of sight did she let herself slide down the wall and let the tears spring forward.

Meanwhile, William was telling the group from finance about the progress Lizzie was making in her company, boasting proudly about the work she had put in and all the strides she was taking in business and marketing. He wasn’t sure whether they were actually interested, they spoke mostly about stocks and bonds, boats and not much else, but he never missed an opportunity to show off his girlfriend. He turned to smile back at her, maybe catch her eye just to see her smile if he was lucky, but when he looked at their table, Lizzie was missing.

William’s brow furrowed. She was there but a minute ago, how could he not notice her leaving? “Excuse me for a moment gentlemen,” He said, turning back to the group. He nodded at them all, took his drink from the bar, and went back to the table. He looked around but couldn’t spot her anywhere, so he put his drink down and began his search. 

“Has anyone seen Lizzie anywhere?” He asked around, filtering his way through the clumps of people in the crowd. No sight of bright red hair anywhere. He was beginning to worry, the longer it went without any sight of her. He didn’t want to assume something was wrong, but he couldn’t shake the anxious feeling from his stomach. 

After fifteen minutes of searching, he changed tactics.

Seeking out his sister in the middle of the dance floor, if he couldn’t find Lizzie, Gigi would be the next best person to ask, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the farthest and best-lit corner of the room, back by the raffle. “Have you seen Lizzie anywhere?” He asked her frantically. “I was at the bar and she was talking to their partners at the table and I turned back and she was gone. I haven’t been able to find her.”

Gigi bit her lip and glanced towards the door that lead to the hall. “I saw her go outside. I thought she went to the bathroom but she didn’t look that great.” Gigi sighed cautiously, her eyes drifting to the table. “The finance wives, you know how they are. Real snobs, you know?”

William muttered a curse under his breath and rubbed his brow. “You think they said something to her?”

“I don’t know, maybe. They aren’t the nicest group of women I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

William cursed again. “Thank you. You’re sure she’s in the hall?”

“I think so.”

William thanked her again and left, sending one last look around the room before walking out into the hallway, following the carpeted floors until he rounded the corner and found her, legs straight out in front of her, sniffling, eyes closed with her head back against the wall.

William knocked on the wall beside where Lizzie was sitting and smiled down at her sadly. “Excuse me, Lizzie.”

Lizzie startled and hastily wiped her cheeks free of the remaining tears. “William. Sorry, I was just…getting some air.”

“See, why do I not believe you?” William asked, sliding down the wall beside her. “Tell me what’s wrong?”

Lizzie sighed. Thank God for waterproof mascara. “Some people really don’t know when to keep their mouths shut.”

William frowned. “Those women you were talking to are nothing but bitter, and they think they’re important because their husbands work with money. Their comments mean nothing,” he insisted, taking her hand in his.

Lizzie hummed uncommittedly and silence fell over them as Lizzie pondered asking what had been running through her mind since she left the function room.

“William?”

“Yes, Lizzie?”

“Am I not good enough for you? Will I ever be good enough for you in the eyes of your peers?”

William’s breath hitched at her question. “Do you really think that? Please tell me that they didn’t make you think that. 

Lizzie was silent for a few moments as she stared down at her hands. “It wasn’t just them, I’ve had my doubts in the past. I try not to, it’s just, hard sometimes. It’s so hard to live up to what everyone wants for you. It’s hard not to be insecure. I’m worried I’m not good enough.”

“There’s no need to be insecure. Lizzie, you are the one I want to be with.” William was baffled at her words, and he looked at her with great concern. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks, you are it for me. You’re my girlfriend, I love you.”

Lizzie smiled. “I love you too.” Hearing his words, the pain in her chest started to ease. “Thank you. I’m sorry, I’m probably being silly. I’m sorry for ruining your night.”

“You could never ruin anything,” William insisted. “If anything, I’m glad this is all out in the air because now I convince you otherwise. Every day.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes fondly. “If you must.”

“I must.” William cupped her chin and pulled her in for a kiss. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Okay.”

William stood and took both her hands in his and pulled her up from the floor, helping her smooth down her hair from where it had bunched when she slid as she readjusted her dress. “You are perfect Lizzie Bennet.”

“You’re pretty perfect yourself.”

And, hand in hand, they walked back into the function room, Lizzie keeping her chin up the entire walk back to their table.

Notes:

Inspired by the fire brigade dinner I had to attend because my dad got some medals :) It was wild.