Fanfic Short Stories

Pride & Prejudice: Love Waits for No PowerPoint Presentation

Summary: In a modern AU, Caroline needs a new plan after Darcy announces his engagement. Fortunately Darcy's cousin has been patiently waiting.

Caroline strolled through the landscaped perfection of Pemberley's corporate headquarters. She'd co-founded the company with her brother and his best friend, Darcy. They called it a family business. Darcy wasn't related to them, but he seemed like the perfect partner for both business and marriage. She assumed he'd felt the same way.

He didn't.

This morning he announced his engagement to Elizabeth. A secretary.

Caroline realized she had ceased strolling, her pace more of a strident march. She paused on a bridge overlooking an ornamental pond. How many times had she told Darcy how romantic the bridge was, hoping he'd select this location when he decided to propose?

At least she knew he hadn't proposed to Elizabeth here. That had happened on a weekend trip to his fiancée's hometown.

"Caroline!"

She turned to see Richard. He was Darcy's cousin, and he had been one of their first hires when they opened the company. "I thought you were off today," she said.

He jogged over to join her on the bridge. "I was, but then Darcy called with the news. As soon as I heard I wanted to... That is, when he told me he'd announced it in the all-staff meeting... I mean, when he told me he hadn't given you a heads up first..." He paused, taking a deep breath, "Well, I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"It would have been nice to know before the meeting," Caroline agreed. "But that wouldn't have spared me the looks from the staff. There was a fair amount of surprise, at least, to deflect from the looks of pity that came my way. Most of us thought Elizabeth hated Darcy."

"And you love him."

"I wanted to marry him," Caroline corrected. "Love wasn't part of the equation."

Richard stared at her. "Then why did you want to marry him?"

Wasn't it obvious? Caroline was perplexed.

Fortunately Ricard had worked with Caroline for three years, and he knew what helped her move past perplexed. "Think of it like a PowerPoint presentation. What's the first slide?"

Yes, PowerPoint - Caroline's favorite method of clarifying and conveying her thoughts. "Slide 1: The advantages of being married. Main points include the social, legal, and tax penalties of being single. In short, it's inconvenient and annoying."

Richard nodded. "Slide 2: Why Darcy?"

"We share interests. That's why we're in business together. Working at the same company means he's likely to understand when I need to work late, and we can compensate by spending time together during the workday." She shrugged. "I truly thought he felt the same way. I'm already his work wife, and I believed we were simply putting the other half of the relationship on pause until..." Until what, exactly? How many milestones had the company celebrated without any indication that he finally had the bandwidth for romance?

"He seemed like the obvious choice," Richard said. "But did you actually talk to him about your plan?"

"Perhaps I should have presented a PowerPoint to him, enumerating the benefits."

"He can be oblivious, and you tend to commit to a plan on the assumption that once you've figured it out, it should be clear to everyone else."

"From the reactions this morning, it was indeed clear to everyone else. And Darcy isn't that oblivious. Three years, Richard. Do you really expect me to believe he never realized? After all of the things I said about future plans?"

"He may have been embarrassed, trying to spare your feelings by pretending to be unaware of your intentions."

That did sound very much like something Darcy would do. "I should have asked for your advice."

"I would have told you to consider more candidates. I know of one person in particular who would be happy to apply."

Caroline felt a fluttering in her heart. Darcy had never caused such a sensation. That's what had made him the safe choice - the one who couldn't hurt her. But that hadn't worked out. She needed to try a different approach. "Then why hasn't this applicant put himself forward?"

"Well, I thought you were in love with my cousin. It didn't seem right to express my own feelings." He took her hands. "But those feelings didn't dwindle, even if they were hidden. I'm truly head over heels for you, Caroline."

She blinked up at him, taking in his meaning. "Wait. You love me?"

"I always have."

She blinked again.

"Should I put it into a PowerPoint presentation?"

"It would help, yes."

"Well then, let's find my laptop. We can build this one together."

They meandered back toward the office, discussing what the slides should say in this presentation. As they reached the building entrance, she asked, "Did Darcy tell you the wedding is in two months?"

"No. It doesn't surprise me, though. He's not particularly patient."

"He also said we're all invited to attend. So, in the interest of clearly communicating my plans, I'm asking you to be my date to the wedding."

"Well, that's quite the coincidence. You see, I was going to ask you to be my date to the wedding."

"It's good to be on the same page," Caroline said.

"Or the same slide," Richard countered.

"Even better."

A/N: Written for Flufftober prompt: Wait, you love me?