“I didn’t enter the raffle,” Lizzie said, already stepping back. “I’m going.”
“Wait—” Will reached, but she was gone.
* * *
From the Desk of William Pemberley
Pemberley HQ — Office, 11:12 p.m.
She said no.
I was so focused on confessing that I never prepared for rejection.
She overheard me that first day. She was misconstruing everything.
George lied, of course.
NDA be damned.
She deserves the truth.
* * *
Saturday morning, Lizzie woke still reeling. Had she been too harsh? No. Clarity was kinder than false hope.
She felt almost proud of herself for rejecting him.Mostwomen would’ve said yes just because he’s rich and gorgeous. I stood by my principles.
She brewed acolada, opened her laptop to prep for the week, and froze.
Subject: PLEASE READ — Sensitive Information
From: [email protected]
Lizzie,
Please don’t delete this. This is not an attempt to change your mind — I respect your decision completely and would prefer to forget the entire thing ever happened. I’m only writing to clear up a few things you believe about me. Some of what follows is under NDA and could cause serious problems if it got out, so I’m trusting you with it.
First, I was unaware you overheard my comments before we met. Had I known, I would have apologized immediately. I’m not always at ease with new people, and I was inexcusably rude.
About George Wick:
It’s true we grew up together in the company. His father and mine were close; George spent years at our house. My father adored him and gave him a coveted marketing role straight out of college. George felt he deserved an executive-level position. He was unhappy from day one.
Complaints started immediately — disruptive, rude, entitled. Carolina pushed to fire him. I refused, out of loyalty to my father’s wishes.
Then, female employees reported harassment — unwanted advances, cornering them. Serious. I was drafting termination papers when the final incident happened.
My sister Georgiana was interning that summer. She was eighteen. George trapped her in the copy room and refused to let her leave without a kiss. He called it “a joke.” I didn’t find it funny. I hit him. Once. Hard.
He could have sued for assault — something he made sure to remind me of often. Georgiana felt guilty, as if it were her fault. It wasn’t. It was his.
Carolina drafted an ironclad NDA. He walked away with a substantial payout and a promise to stay away from my family. I’ve always suspected the money was his endgame. When you saw him here, he was trying to squeeze more. Thankfully, the contract is foolproof. He won’t get another cent out of me, and another demand will lead us to a restraining order as well. But that’s neither here nor there.
I don’t know exactly what he told you, but this is the truth. Charles and Carolina can confirm. Confronting George directly would tip him off that I violated the NDA — he’d exploit it in a heartbeat.
The decisions I’ve made in terms of your work have been made with the company’s interest at heart. I appreciate all that you are doing for us, but don’t presume that because of that, you’re privy to how I handle information. I’ll decide when to make changes and when not to.
As for my arrogance, you’re not wrong. I lack Charles’s ease. It’s a failing I’m working on.
