Evelyn

So this unedited update is from Evelyn's POV. You all seemed to like last weekend's updates from Elias and Jasmine's POV, so I thought I might try this.

Sarah, xx

~*~*~

"What do you mean, change your flight?" I stared at the man in front of me, watching as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

Daniel was no longer the same boy I'd known when he was an awkward pre-teen, but at this very moment, I hardly recognised him at all. He'd changed so much in these past few months, not that that was a bad thing. In fact, it was surprisingly refreshing to see him smile. He hasn't smiled like that in over ten years.

"Your flight is already booked for Thursday," I remind him, looking down at the leather diary that was currently opened on this upcoming week. Marked on Thursday was DANIEL NEW YORK. Frowning, I allow my gaze to travel up to Daniel, noticing him pacing the carpet of his office. "Any particular reason you want to reschedule your flight?"

Ever since I came to be employed at Daniel's law firm as his personal assistant, I've been in charge of his schedule and I know it inside out. This week was a relatively quiet compared to usual; I'd cleared almost his entire week to accommodate the fact that Daniel would be attending Sophie's sister's wedding, plus Monday was a Bank Holiday, so there was room for scope regarding changing his flight. Although, I was still a little lost as to why he'd want to leave earlier than planned, I knew it had something to do with that spiky brunette that had Daniel transfixed.

Sophie Delaney, or Clément as Daniel always referred to her as, is a hurricane of a woman. The way that she tore through Daniel's life and threw everything into a spin, Sophie has been the biggest game-changer. I've never been a fan of any of Daniel's previous girlfriends, but Arabella was the worst. Anyone with half a brain could see that she was in the relationship solely for the social status of being the Earl of Castleton's girlfriend. She would bandy that title around whenever she introduced Daniel to anyone, and the way she would flat out refuse to call him 'Daniel' was simply disrespectful. I had half a mind to claw out her eyes whenever I heard her sickly sweet voice call him 'Henry.'

Of course, we had all tried to get Daniel to see that Arabella wasn't the one for him, but in those early days, he was too infatuated with her to care. She could play the doe eyed, in-love role to perfection and Daniel would never question her motives. For years, he got sucked in deeper and deeper until it was too late.

I can still recall the day that Daniel stood awkwardly at my desk, hand scratching the back of his neck, as he shifted from foot to foot. I looked up at him, amused that he looked this nervous. He hadn't looked this anxious since he was fifteen and I found a stack of top shelf magazines in his bedroom. Granted, those magazines were Elias' which he'd left after the last holiday they'd come home for, but it was still funny seeing Daniel try to explain away the items.

Last October, however, seeing him agitated put me on edge. Daniel looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulder, almost as if he hadn't slept in days. From the dark circles under his eyes, I guessed he hadn't. I stared at him, giving him that look he was more than familiar with, until he relented and spoke the words that he had to force off his tongue.

"I'm going to ask Arabella to be my wife," he'd said.

That day, Daniel dragged me to countless jewellery stores in London, trying to find the right ring. Trudging from one shop to another, using my ring finger as a stand-in, Daniel cast his eye over every diamond band that he could find. Too small, not big enough, not showy enough. Arabella had high standards and no ring was big enough or expensive enough for her. I'd suggested that Daniel get his family's heirloom, the one all brides marrying into the Courtenay family received on their engagement, but he said that the only way he was going to get that ring was by prying it out of his formidable grandmother's cold, dead hands.

Thankfully, the engagement never materialised. Although I'm not condoning Samuel's actions, him carrying on with Arabella behind Daniel's back was the only way Daniel would ever finally see sense and break off his relationship with that social climber.

The aftermath of the break up wasn't all that pleasant to witness. At first, having found out about the betrayal, Daniel walked around as if he was present in body but not in mind. He was preoccupied by something and was constantly on the phone, talking to God knows who. Then came the actual break up. For weeks, the secret phone calls continued and Daniel's mood began to pick up. He would smile more, laugh more, and he'd started this strange habit of whistling tunes to himself.

Now, for someone that was tone deaf, Daniel whistling was simply annoying for anyone that was around him. That said, it was a sign that he was moving on from Arabella and that would never be a bad thing. Daniel confided in me sometime later that the calls were all made to a woman named Sophie and that she was the reason behind his sudden happiness. Needless to say, at first, I was sceptical of the woman and her motives. Was she just like Arabella, only interested in Daniel for his title?

"She's a Delaney," Daniel explained when I questioned Sophie's motives. The name was familiar, but it took a moment until I realised what he'd meant by 'a Delaney.' The family was one of the wealthiest in Britain and Ireland and had a lot of influence. Their worth was in some respect more influential than Daniel's title. In this day and age, being a Earl and a Duke was inconsequential compared to how far money could take you. "She wouldn't care about my birth right."

True enough, Sophie Clément- Delaney- whichever- was not in the slightest bit interested in Daniel's title. As I got to know Sophie better, even going so far as to meet her one-to-one for the article she was penning about Daniel, the more I liked her. She was different to Arabella, Francesca and what's-her-name. Sophie was confident, independent and stable; She didn't need a man to complete her. Although I often got a sense that Sophie was slightly lost at times, I knew that her intentions with Daniel were honest. She was, in a sense, a perfect fit for Daniel. Unlike any other girl that either of my wards brought home, I never felt the urge to threaten Sophie. She made Daniel happier than I'd seen him in forever, and for that, I'd always be grateful to her.

"Actually," Daniel says, still pacing the carpet of his office until it was almost threadbare. He'd been acting weird all week and I'd learnt to ignore his tendencies to be a little short tempered and unpredictable, but today I was at the end of my tether. "There's a very good reason that I need to change my flight."

I quirk an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really?"

"I need to see Sophie," he declares, his voice matter-of-fact. Finally, he stops walking the width of the room and slumps down in his office chair. "I haven't seen her in weeks and I cannot wait until Thursday to see her again. Do you know how mental I am going not being able to see her? Because I am. I'm going fucking mental!"

I stare him down, scowling at him for swearing in front of me. I knew both Daniel and Samuel swore like no tomorrow at times, but I hated it when they did it in front of me. I had raised them better than that. "Daniel Courtenay!" I admonished him. He was kind enough to send me an apologetic smile and shrank back into his chair slightly. Letting it drop, I looked back down at the diary opened on my lap and stared at the pages. "Any particular day you want to fly out?"

"Tomorrow."

I blinked at him. "Tomorrow?" Daniel nods his confirmation. I barked out a short laugh, shaking my head. "Not a chance. The earliest you can fly is after eleven am on Tuesday."

Daniel's face scrunched up into his familiar thinking face. His forehead creases, lips pursing and left hand going to cover his mouth, hiding his lips that are pulled downwards at the corners. His foot, though I can't see it, taps against the floor as he processes the information and determining a course of action. "Are there any flights at that time?"

"Why, Daniel, let me just telepathically check with all the airlines," I mutter. Taking out the iPad that was hidden under the diary, I pulled up the British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines websites. Scanning the pages, I nod. "Virgin Atlantic at twelve-thirty, and British Airways or American Airlines at ten past one. Virgin gets in at twenty-five past three, the other two at ten to four. Which would you prefer?"

"Virgin," Daniel chooses in an instant. "I want to get there as early as possible... Wait! Biggin Hill. That's where Sophie flies from when she's on the family jet. What's the chances of getting a flight chartered?"

I frown. "Do you know how much that'll cost? Plus," I pause for emphasis. "You don't have a private jet. I'll book the Virgin flight for you."

With that, I make a note of the flight times Daniel has chosen and quickly stand up, waiting to be dismissed by my boss. That moment never comes, though, as Daniel's phone rings. From the stupid grin that stretches across, it didn't take a genius to work out who was calling him.

"Are you going to tell her that you're changing your flight time?" I ask, earning myself a blank stare in response. "Fine, don't tell her, but just for you to know, this could definitely backfire on you."

"It won't," Daniel says, sounding so sure of himself. I shake my head at him and dismiss myself from his office, but not before I hear him say, "Hey, Soph."

Closing the door behind me, I make my way back to my desk and quickly set about booking Daniel's ticket for Tuesday. Once I had that done, I started to type out some paper work that needed to be in order before Daniel's next meeting, but halfway through, I got distracted.

Picking up the phone on my desk, I quickly dialled the number that was scribbled on the post it that was on my desk. It rang three times before I heard the greeting, "This is Jasmine Gough speaking, how may I help?"

~*~*~

A/N

What did you think?

Is Daniel right to surprise Sophie by getting to NYC two days early?

How will Sophie react?

Sarah, xx