Jane felt restless.

Vegas had been a trip filled with contrasting emotions.

The stress of chasing Lydia was only dulled by the thrill of meeting Bing, and now that they were home and many days had passed, Jane felt the loss of him as if they’d been lovers for years, and not acquaintances for days.

“What ails you, dearest Jane?” Eliza asked from her spot behind the desk in TBG’s conference room. “I wasn’t expecting you in today.”

Jane hovered in the doorway, her gaze assessing Eliza from the angle of her hand holding her pen, to the straightness of her back against the chair. Her eldest sister was back where she belonged as head of TBG, while Jane had never felt farther away from the life she’d previously been living.

Before she’d met Bing.

Lydia’s marriage not only changed her life, but Jane’s too.

She’d hoped that Bing would have got in touch by now, that he would’ve found a way to see her, to see if this spark that burned brightly between them could become a flame, but she hadn’t heard from the middle Austen brother since the day he left her in the arrivals lounge. Jane touched her lips in memory of their last kiss. It was soft, sweet and filled with promise—or so she’d thought.

“I..” she hesitated, her eyes flicking over the large room before landing back on her sister. “I’m not sure. I guess I feel a little adrift.”

Eliza stood, placed her pen on the papers she’d been working on before Jane arrived, and walked towards her sister. The closer she got to Jane the more evident her smile became.

“Do you have a contact number?”

Jane’s brow furrowed in confusion. “For what?”

“For Bing. I assume he’s the reason for your feelings of aimlessness.”

Jane couldn’t help her blush if she tried. Her damned cheeks always betrayed her emotions.

“I didn’t ask him for his number. He kissed me and I—”

“Floated away on a cloud of bliss?”

Jane’s blush deepened. “No, well… I guess a little, but I assumed he’d find me.”

Eliza looked at her sister and forced herself to remember that despite Jane being in her late twenties, she’d had very few relationships, and not for lack of suitors. Jane was classically beautiful, and men admired her for her looks and equally her sweet nature, but Jane wasn’t a woman who partook in random dalliances. She needed her heart to want a man more than her libido, and men often saw that as a challenge, only revealing their true selves when they’d taken advantage of Jane’s pure heart. This had made Jane guarded, and she hadn’t let anyone close for quite some time—until Bing Austen.

“So, you made it obvious that you wanted to see him again?” Eliza questioned.

“I didn’t think I needed to,” Jane sighed. “The things he said, how he was with me… the way I was with him, I hoped he could tell this was more for me without needing those words.”

“Men aren’t very good at hints,” Eliza said ruefully and watched as Jane’s face fell further. “They’re simple creatures who do better with statements. They say we are complicated when what they really mean is we are far too sophisticated for their lesser minds to comprehend.”

Eliza smirked, hoping her words would entice a smile from her sister or at the very least an admonishment, but Jane remained silent.

“Call him,” Eliza stated boldly. “Call him up and tell him he’s about to throw away the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“I couldn’t—”

“Yes,” Eliza stopped her and took one of Jane’s hands that she’d begun to twist together anxiously. “Yes, you can.”

Jane took a deep breath to steady her nerves and replied, “I’ll think about it.”

Eliza gave her another small smile knowing damned well that Jane would do no such thing, but that was okay because what Jane didn’t know was that Eliza had already reached out to the eldest Austen

brother with a proposal of her own.

* * *

To: [email protected]AustensBookStores.com

From: [email protected]TBG.com

Subject: The Bennet Group Acquisition Proposal

Mr Austen,

I would like to arrange a meeting with you to discuss the possibility of The Bennet Group acquiring Austen’s for a fair price, in a deal to suit both parties.

In vain, I have struggled with this decision, but feel it a necessary concession due to our family’s recent union. We are both aware of the divide between our families and our companies, and I take no great pleasure in the nature of our union, but it cannot be denied. Therefore, a mutually beneficial deal would be conducive to bridging both our societal gap—by offering your family a way to raise their social standing and clear their debts—and our personal differences.

My assistant awaits your call of acceptance. I would much prefer this deal to be a private affair and handled quickly.

Kindest regards

Eliza Bennet

Darcy read and reread the email dozens of times, and on each occasion, his temper boiled until his anger bubbled over.

“The cheek of the woman! How bloody dare she deem that doing business with me is a concession? I have not, nor will I ever request her help with anything, least of all Austen’s.”

Darcy pushed up from his desk and paced the floor on the opposite side of the room to where Bing looked at him with growing concern.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh and a touch judgemental?” Bing asked honestly. “Miss Bennet’s offer is more than we’d ever get from anyone else.”

“It is not her offer that has aggrieved me. It’s the manner in which she presented it,” Darcy gritted out through his teeth. “She talks like we’re beneath her, and not worthy of her acquaintance let alone her company’s aid.”

“I don’t think she—”

“Don’t, Bing,” Darcy stopped his pacing and stared his brother dead in the eyes. “Don’t justify her ego, arrogance and conceit. Eliza is not your Jane.”

At that, Bing closed his mouth and said no more.

“Have you heard from Wick?” Darcy asked after a minute of uncomfortable silence.

“No, not directly. He sent a text to father from an unknown number but didn’t say when or if he was coming home. You know how terribly wronged mother feels at being deprived of the pomp and ceremony of a big wedding.”

“Like father could afford to pay for one even if they hadn’t eloped,” Darcy added in disdain. Not for his father but for his youngest brother and new bride.

“True, but mother won’t hear any of that.”

“Well, with Wick gone I think it’s time to make a decision. The company can’t go on the way it is, and I gave him six months to come up with something, but seeing as he’s not here, I think we need to set up a meeting and get everyone in agreement to sell.”

Bing’s eyes widened. “To TBG? But I thought you said—”

“I wouldn’t sell my used toothbrush to TBG. No, we’ll find another buyer. It’s time for us to move forward and this is the only way.”

“So are you going to reply to Eliza’s email?” Bing asked, adding quickly, “Because if you are, I’d really appreciate you asking for Jane’s contact details. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner, but I can hardly show up at TBG with a bunch of flowers and hope that she’s there. I’ll look like a stalker.”

Darcy barked out a laugh and shook his head in amusement.

“Thanks but no thanks, Eliza. You can shove your condescending offer where the sun doesn’t shine. Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind sending me your sister’s number so my brother can court her, that’d be great.”

“You don’t have to word it quite that way,” Bing said, his lips quirking up slightly.

“Oh, and how would you have me wording it?” Darcy questioned, eyebrows raised.

“How about not bothering to reply at all?”

Bing and Darcy both swivelled their heads to the doorway where Wick stood in a brand-new Tom Ford suit, looking every inch a man of wealth and power. He had one hand in his trouser pocket and was leaning against the door frame as if he’d been enjoying the show for quite some time.

“Look what the cat dragged in. How kind of you to join us, Mr Bennet,” Darcy mocked. “Did your owner let you off her leash for a few hours?”

Wick grinned wolfishly.

“My owner? It’s funny you should say that.”

Wick pushed off from the door frame and called over his shoulder, “My love. The senior partners are ready to do business with us. Why don’t you come and let me formally introduce you?”

Wick stepped away to the side to make room for Lydia Bennet—now Austen— to sashay her way into Darcy’s office. Dressed to kill in a form-fitting red dress, matching red lips and the ubiquitous red-soled, patent leather shoes, Lydia looked like the ultimate femme fatale.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” she purred. “My husband tells me, now that I’m part owner of this little family business, that you may be looking to divest yourselves of your share.”

She sauntered towards Darcy’s desk and proceeded to make herself comfortable in his chair. Those red soles flashed at him like a rag to a bull when she propped her feet up on his desk and relaxed back into his seat.

Her eyes flickered to the open screen of his laptop, and her face broke into a maleficent smile.

“Well, well, well. It seems I’m not the only Bennet sister making offers today.”

Lydia flicked her intense blue eyes—made even more startling by their kohl-lined lids—from the screen filled with her sister’s email to Darcy.

“So are you going to go with Eliza’s, what did she call it?” Her eyes moved back to the screen. “Ah, yes, ‘necessary concession.’”

She brought her eyes back to his, and Darcy had to admit to himself that Wick had married a truly beautiful woman, but the gleam in her eyes also told him she was more than a handful.

“Or would you like to hear a far less condescending offer from someone who is more than happy to be in your acquaintance? One that will be mutually beneficial to all parties.”

Darcy looked from Lydia to Wick and then Bing, taking in each of their faces, and wondering how the hell he’d suddenly become the Bennet sister’s bitch.

“How about,” he began, walking towards Lydia who remained lounged in his seat. “You get your shoes off my desk.” He swatted her feet off the surface, knocking some papers and a few pens to the floor in the process. “And stop trying to play me like you played my little brother.”

Lydia let out a squawk as her feet hit the floor with a thud, and carried by the momentum, she slipped down awkwardly in the chair. Scrambling to right herself, she glared fireballs at Darcy, and he waited to spontaneously combust at the ire in her stare.

“I wouldn’t play games with me if I were you,” Lydia smirked, the blue of her eyes turning steely. “Unless, of course, you wish to be left with only Eliza’s offer on the table.”

Darcy took a self-assured step forward, and Lydia sat even straighter, her spine rigid and her eyes flinty.

“As my brother’s wife, I will allow you more leeway than others, but do not mistake me for my brother. I am not easily manipulated or enticed.”

Lydia’s face hardened. Her pretty features pinching into something unattractive.

“And it would serve you well to know that I am not my sister. As you already know—” she flicked a smug glance over at Wick who had been happy to let his new wife do all the talking “—I go after what I want, and I get it. My husband has promised me a business, and that’s exactly what I’ll get. So, choose, brother dearest. Do you wish to do a deal with me today, or would you rather grovel to Eliza?”