Page 2 of First Impressions
“From Boston? Wouldn’t it be nice if Bingley & Associates wanted to buy our firm? Did you meet with these people yet? Did they come down from Boston?”
Mr. Bennet sighed. “Please, Irene. If you would let me finish the thought, you would hear me say that it is actually Bingley who is interested in our firm. New York is going to be his son, Charles’, domain, and they are looking to purchase a respectably-sized firm that they can grow as they become more familiar with the territory.”
With this statement, Mrs. Bennet was beside herself with excitement. In the law world, Bingley & Associates was one of the most well-known firms on the East Coast who hired only Harvard graduates. Charles Bingley, the son, had made a name for himself right out of school defending some very high profile athletes and politicians against fictitious claims. Beth knew, however, that this wasn’t the main reason for her mother’s excitement; Charles was also very well-known for being one of the most eligible, elite bachelors in the country.
As a publicist, it was part of her job to monitor the tabloids, so she knew it was a big story a few months ago that the show,the Bachelor, had tried to recruit Charles for their next season, but that he had graciously refused, claiming he wanted to focus on some big changes in his law career. While he hadn’t elaborated on what the ‘big changes’ were, herfather’s information shed some light on what he was alluding to.
“Well, what did he say?! Did you meet him? What do you think of him? Is he single? Would he be interested in Jane? Did Jane meet him?” Mrs. Bennet prattled on, again, not bothering to wait for an answer.
“I just met with Bingley this morning. He came with a close friend of his from Harvard – an investment banker, who is going to evaluate the details on his end and make sure that we are as good a company as we say. Overall, I was very impressed with Charles and I believe he will take the firm in the right direction. He was very amiable, much more so than his friend that he brought along. He tried to be very open about what they are looking to do and what his goals are. He was adamant that I knew everyone would be taken care of, that everyone at the firm would maintain their current status – a very generous concession to be included in the contract. He wanted to go into specifics but his advisor wouldn’t let him offer up too much information until they learn a little bit more about the firm. If all goes well, I would like to make the announcement to everyone at the Charity Ball next month.”
“I think Jane should meet him. When are you seeing him again? We should have him over for dinner. Or what about inviting him to the firm’s Summer Charity Ball? Oh! Is he going to be at the New York Bar Association Gala tomorrow night? That would be perfect! He must meet Jane immediately,” insisted Mrs. Bennet.
“Mom, you need to stop forcing every eligible bachelor on Jane. She’s —” Beth was cut off as Jane gently elbowed her.
“Don’t worry about it Beth. It’s fine. You know she won’t stop, no matter what you say.” Jane tried to placate her.
By this point, the three youngest siblings had all tuned out of the conversation and migrated into the kitchen for a snack. With theserious family matterfinally addressed, Beth decided it was time for her and Jane to head home before their mother’s matchmaking plans spiraled out of control - for Jane’s sake.
Mr. Bennet reassured his wife that he was seeing Charles again in the next day or two when he stopped by topick up some paperwork and would invite him for dinner and to the firm’s Charity Ball next month. Only moderately appeased, but still fueled by her excitement over the business and personal prospects of such a relationship, Mrs. Bennet let her oldest daughters leave for the night without too much fuss.
“How can you stand it when all mom wants to do it set you up with some random person? You’re only thirty-one. You have a great career and tons of time to find someone. It’s not like it’s the 19th century anymore; women have careers and lives and goals that extend beyond marriage.” Beth couldn’t resist broaching the subject one more time as they got out of the Uber that brought them home.
“It’s just how she is, Beth. For her, marriage is the most important part of her life and that’s how she sees the world. I try not to blame her. I know it’s frustrating, but I’m not like you; I want a husband and a family. I’m ok on my own, but I want to meet people and try to find my soulmate. It just hasn’t worked out for me so far and, as crazy as she is, I don’t mind when she tries to set me up with someone because it’s one more opportunity to fulfill that portion of my life,” Jane tried to explain to a disbelieving Beth. She always defended their mother, no matter how hard she pushed or how deficient she made either of them feel for still being single.
“I know. She’s just so pushy about it. I don’t even want to think about what’s going to happen when you do find someone and all of her energy is focused on me.”
Jane laughed. “You will be ok. Just think, maybe by that time you’ll have found someone too!”
“Yeah, right. I have no time, Jane, to even think about that. Everything is going so well at work…I didn’t even get a chance to tell you, Phil was just approached by Mrs. DeBourgh this week, of the DeBourgh Diamonds, because she needs a new publicist and I think he’s going to put me on their account. It’s going to be huge for my portfolio if everything works out.”
“Oh my gosh, congratulations, B! That’s going to be awesome for you.” Jane gave her sister a quick hug.
“So, if we land DeBourgh, there’s no way I can focus on dating anytime soon; this account would be too important tomy future. Not to mention, I just can’t seem to come across a man who truly appreciates a woman with ambition and intelligence and who wants to not just support that but, more importantly, push me to be better. Especially all the men mom tries to set me up with - they are all too rich to want a wife who enjoys working for her success.”
As they got ready for bed, Jane tried to reassure her that in New York City, there is at least one male who will appreciate her personality. Beth knew though that it was pointless to insist any further; Jane had an unwavering tendency to believe the best in everyone and every situation and Beth simultaneously loved her and hated her for it. Not that Beth didn’t want to get married and have a family, she was just too proud of her accomplishments to diminish them in order to secure a husband. For Jane’s sake though, she went to bed hoping that their mom was right this time and that there would be a partnership with Bingley in more ways than one.
Chapter Two
A call,a voicemail, and a text message the following morning informed the sisters that Charles Bingley would be at the Bar Association Gala that evening. Even though Jane and Beth weren’t lawyers, Mr. Bennet invited them to the gala every year as his personal guests. Now that she was older, Beth had a feeling their mother had a little something to do with their yearly invitation; there was always a high concentration of single, wealthy lawyers attending that Irene made sure didn’t go unnoticed.
All other intentions aside, the Gala was a good party. Jane fit in a little more amongst that crowd since she worked in the law field, but Beth enjoyed it nonetheless since some of the attendees were Gardiner clients or represented Gardiner clients and she used the opportunity to foster valuable professional connections. Also, one of her best friends, Char Lucas, was an associate at her own father’s law firm and always attended. With Beth’s crazy work schedule, she hadn’t seen Char in a few months and was looking forward to reconnecting.
She was grateful, for her father’s sake, that the Gala was tonight because she was sure that her mother had not stopped her barrage of questions and suppositions about Mr. Bingley when they left the other evening. Not to mention that no matter how many details her father knew, it would be an unsatisfactory amount to quench her mother’s thirst for information; tonight, Irene would meet him for herself and put all of her inquiries to rest.
With the potential DeBourgh account acquisition, Beth had been super crazy at work this past week trying to get ahead on her other projects so that she would have time to dedicate to learning about her new client. She was glad to finally have the weekend off for the Gala, to relax and let loose for a little bit.
As she walked to pick up her morning Starbucks, she realized that she had completely forgotten to get a dress for tonight. When she got to the coffee shop, she sat down with her iced ristretto vanilla latte at one of the tables and began browsing the Rent the Runway app for a last-minute wardrobe rental. Since she needed the dress delivered today, her choices were limited. Thankfully, they had a Nicole Miller dress available in her size. She never liked blending in with the crowd so she chose a form-fitting, crimson, silk chemise gown; she’d rented something similar from that designer before, so she was confident that it would fit well.
Beth liked the Starbucks on Chambers Street because it never got too crowded at this time of the morning. She could sit and sip her coffee, read a book, or just people watch for a few minutes before heading out. Since she usually didn’t head into her office until nine-thirty on weekdays, she would get here after the morning commute rush when the majority of the customers were non-working moms, purchasing their fuel to get through the day.
She couldn’t imagine doing that - being at home with kids all day and not working. She could barely relax at home by herself without feeling the need to do something productive. Jane always joked that she should have taken a course in college on relaxation so that maybe she would practice it more. In contrast, she had double-majored in Public Relations & Corporate Communication and Journalism, and minored in English at NYU; she couldn’t help that she threw herself completely into whatever goal she was pursuing. In her opinion, it was that focused dedication that made her so successful at whatever she did.
Today, since it was the weekend, there was a mélange of customers moseying in and out of the café. Most of them were younger couples grabbing a morning drink before, she imagined, spending the day together enjoying the city. That was the one thing she regretted about her life so far, not that she would ever admit it, especially to her mother; she’d put off dating and trying to find a boyfriend all through college and graduate school, and once she’d gotten her job, she’d gone out with a couple of guys but they either weren’t as ambitious asshe was, or they were successful and expected her not to be as ambitious as she was. If she had looked for a boyfriend earlier, maybe someone who had been in similar programs to hers, she might have found someone who was equally passionate about his goals as he was about challenging her to pursue hers. Now, she felt like she had missed the boat; her requirements too specific and her time too sparse for Mr. Perfect to find his way into her life.
Beth felt her phone buzz, drawing her from her thoughts.
- Hey, can you bring me back a chai tea latte?Jane had messaged her.
