"Emma, I don't smell any coffee brewing," Emma's boss barked by way of greeting as he stormed inside to the cool air conditioning and headed to his office.

"I'm on it, sir," Emma rolled her eyes after he passed and stood up from her desk, smoothing her skirt and heading to the back to make coffee. She was feeling tired, and despite only working at the real estate firm for three months, more and more she realized that this eight to five, Monday through Friday job was not suited to her personality or her fashion sense.

She scooped out the appropriate amount of coffee grounds: a little extra to make sure it was strong and dark enough for her boss's tastes. Mr. Masters was decent enough to work for, though he was stressed to the max most of the time. It was to be expected when dealing with multi-million dollar deals that could fall through all too easily. The coffee pot gurgled and the 'brewing' light came on along with the smell of delicious caffeinated coffee that made Emma's mouth water.

The real estate office was small, but part of a larger company with the main office located in Miami. When Emma moved from Tallahassee to Melbourne, she wanted to find a job that actually provided health insurance. She may have embellished her resume a bit, but she had mastered her Microsoft Office skills quite quickly by learning on the job. Since the office was small, only four agents, she was the go to for everything. She juggled her responsibilities as Operations manager, Brokerage Administrator and Receptionist.

Smiling brightly, she poured a cup of coffee for Mr. Masters and delivered it to his desk. He was on the phone; his tone was that of someone trying to talk another person off a ledge. He looked up and smiled as she sat his coffee down, and Emma heard him say, "Regina, I know it sounds like a lot to invest now, but I promise you'll get tenfold the return once everything is up to code…"

That name stuck out to her and she made a face of disgust as she turned to walk back to her desk. She'd never met Regina Mills, but she had spoken with her on the phone a few times. The woman was insulting and rude, and an incredibly rich new client who had to be treated with all the practice and care that Emma learned in her two hour customer service webinar.

She returned to her desk and started to work on putting together a property portfolio. The company software made it easy and she just had to drop in the numbers and add some pictures to make a nice selling tool. The phone rang and Emma saw it was the boss, "How can I help you, sir?"

"We need to roll out the red carpet, the Dolphin Point multi-family property is closing today. We're going to get the clients in here and make this happen. Please get the paperwork together," Mr. Masters sounded excited and uncharacteristically nervous.

Emma mustered her enthusiasm and readied the folder of legal documents. She knew that if the deal went well and Regina was pleased, she was looking to buy several more properties and then there was the matter of properties she already owned which Mr. Masters would make a mint off of by shuffling them around for that 1030 tax shelter. Emma didn't care that much about her boss's commissions. Her salary was set and it wasn't a lot.

She was there to greet Regina when she entered the small lobby of the office. She took off her sunglasses and looked around until her eyes focused on Emma. She was dressed expensively and her black blazer and long pants looked very professional, but completely inappropriate for the Florida heat. Emma noticed with suspicion that Regina wasn't sweating, not at all.

"Welcome to Perry & Harper, Ms. Mills," Emma stood up and clasped her hands together as she greeted the woman before her.

"I'd like an apple spiced latte: non-fat," Regina answered, raising one disinterested eyebrow in Emma's direction as Mr. Masters ran out of his office to greet and shake her hand.

"Starbucks is down the street, take a left," Emma replied meeting the full gaze of the woman who narrowed her eyes and licked her lips.

"Emma!" Mr. Masters scolded her, looking at Regina he said, "Ms. Swan is joking, she'd be more than happy to fetch you a latte."

"Sure," Emma said as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, listening as her boss led Regina to his office. She ordered the apple spiced latte, but made sure to specify 'full fat, extra whip'. The childish gesture stemmed from her desire to thwart authority no matter if it actually was or if she only perceived it to be.

When she returned to the office, sweating from the mid day sun, she entered to find none other than Regina sitting across from her desk. Her ridiculously large and expensive hand bag rested at her feet and she sat on the basic office chair as if it were a throne. Her legs crossed and fingertips resting together. Her eyes were gleaming.

"Here you go," Emma thrust out the latte to her, and when Regina made no move to take it, Emma just sat it down on the desk in front of her.

Regina looked from the drink and slowly she let her eyes wander back and forth over Emma as she sat back in her chair across from her. Emma looked her over in turn, wondering exactly how old she was. She was usually good at guessing, but Regina had a timeless appeal about her, though she couldn't be a day over thirty. Emma was only twenty-one, but she couldn't imagine gathering the kind of wealth that Regina had at any age.

"Mr. Masters said you'd have my copy of the contract," Regina tilted her head and placed a finger onto the desk, tapping it once in impatience.

Emma swallowed and told herself to get it together. She ran her fingers through her hair before pulling the correct file from neat rack on her desk. She scanned the signed contract and gave Regina a copy.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me?" Regina took the papers and tucked them into her bag, while she looked curiously at the young woman across the desk.

"Aren't you going to drink that latte I went out and bought for you?"

"I'm not in the mood for that anymore," Regina leaned forward in her seat, a frightening and dangerous smile lit up her face. "However, I do wish to celebrate."

"Congratulations, you just spent thirteen million dollars, Ms. Mills," Emma's tone was flippant, but Regina's smile didn't fade. She stood up suddenly, pulling her hand bag up with her. Emma almost flinched when Regina reached forward and smoothed back a wayward blonde curl. It was always a battle between hairspray and the humidity. Regina patted her cheek tenderly and Emma had to stop herself from flinching at the coolness of her fingers.

"Join me for dinner tonight, Ms. Swan. I want you to celebrate with me. My treat," Regina produced a business card and placed it on the desk. She patted Emma's shoulder and smiled once more before turning and walking curtly through the door.