Hello, chicas and dudes! I'm back! Here's a new story. Tell me what you think! By R-E-V-I-E-W-I-N-G.

The black Ducati Monster slowed down as the rider released her grip on the accelerator in front of the mansion. Her destination, her new…house. She took off her helmet and gave her hair a wave to let it fall into waves of luscious brown locks past her shoulders. She carried small smile as she stared at the mansion sitting majestically in front of her. Puck did a great job finding a comfortable place for her to live. And as she took in the house, she thought, Maybe too comfortable. She took out the remote from her jeans pocket and pressed the button to open the garage door.

She whistled when the entry had revealed two Z4s inside. One silver, one dark blue. What a good way to start off her plan as an entrepreneur and a woman who had plans on a certain corporation in the city. She parked her bike next to the silver Z4 and dismounted it. She hung the helmet on the handle and pulled off her gloves, storing them in the gloves in the gloves compartment of the garage. She combed her fingers through her hair as she checked out the rides Puck prepared for them. Nice, she thought. While she was admiring the cars, her phone rang, disrupting her from her thoughts.

"Rachel Berry," she said curtly, stroking the front of the car.

"Yo, Berry!" Puck's voice rang through the earpiece with a chuckle. "How's the mansion?"

Rachel Berry grinned and looked around. "How in the living hell did you manage to snag one mansion this big and two high maintenance Z4s without using more than what I gave you?" she said in awe.

"Hey, I learned a lot of things from you. Including the ways to twist a negotiation into something totally unreasonable. It's New York, bro. Anything is possible. So ya like it?" Puck asked.

"You're gonna need to move down here too because living in such a huge place by myself is too lonely," Rachel joked.

Puck scoffed from the other end. "That's a total bull," he stated. "Rachel Berry has been going solo for as long as I remember until she rescued me from those bullies six years ago. And from then on, she has a useful right hand man following her around and helping her do all those ridiculous things that I can't even believe I agreed to do."

Rachel laughed and sobered. "Yeah, and that's why right now she's not used to being alone anymore."

"Sure you are," Puck snapped. "But I'll get there when I'm done with the stuff here. I still have to do the digging on the Hudsons. What the fuck is wrong with you anyway?"

"Thanks for doing it. The information I have at hand right now is really more than enough – for now. But I gotta grab any sort of thread or lead to complete this mission. I'm not going down until I have them under my feet," Rachel said coolly, her smile was no longer on her face, replaced by a look of utter distaste.

"I get it. I'll get back to you when I'm done. You take care of yourself, alright?"

"When had I never?"

Quinn sat down at a table in the restaurant. "Good morning, Mrs. Motta!" she greeted loudly and the woman behind the counter grinned at her.

"Morning, Quinnie! You seem awfully bright today," the woman said.

"Santana's out of my hair for once, so I guess, yeah, I should celebrate," Quinn joked. Mrs. Motta laughed. "I want the usual, please."

"Be up in awhile. Sugar's gonna be here soon. You two should chat up while I'm in the kitchen."

"Sure will!" Quinn replied and waited. She looked around to see a couple of customers eating. There won't be a lot of customers at this time of the day. But when it came down to lunchtime, this restaurant was packed. She cleared her throat and took her phone out from her pocket when it vibrated in her pocket.

You still owe me a box of cookies – S. Quinn rolled her eyes and texted a reassurance back to Santana to tell her she'll bake the batch in the evening. And then somebody leaped onto her back, causing her to yelp and slide off her chair, landing on her butt. She grunted in pain and heard someone making the similar noise. She opened her eyes and saw Sugar Motta standing up on feet, also rubbing her back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Quinn exclaimed, ignoring the looks the customers were giving them. She pulled herself back to her feet and sat back on the chair. "You nearly killed me right there!"

Sugar grimaced at her and sat down on the chair next to Quinn. "I was just trying to surprise you and I got myself a bruise on my ass now!"

"You're welcome," Quinn deadpanned.

Sugar gaped at her friend but all Quinn did was smile at her. "You are a terrible friend."

The blonde shrugged indifferently. "And yet you're still sitting here with me."

"Whatever."

By that time, Mrs. Motta had already come out with a tray of porridge with lemon juice from the kitchen. She laid them out on the table in front of Quinn and Quinn clapped in delight. "Enjoy your breakfast, Quinn. I am sure there's gonna be a lot of work today at the shop."

"Yes, there sure is, Mrs. Motta. Santana's working on the flour now," Quinn replied as she fed herself a spoonful of delicious porridge.

"Make sure to reserve some for me!"

"When have I never?" Quinn answered with a laugh and Mrs. Motta walked back to the counter to continue what she was doing just now. Quinn ate the porridge like a hungry wolf and Sugar just watched her with a disgusted look on her face. "What?"

"You eat like an ape."

"That doesn't even make sense," Quinn curtly replied and drank her lemon juice. "By the way, this is really good."

"It's made by my mother. Of course it's good."

Quinn rolled her eyes and fed herself more of that porridge. "So you dating anyone now?"

"Yeah," Sugar said, nodding with a grin. "Actually, he's coming here to bring me to work right now. So I can only spare a few minutes to talk to you. You should feel honored."

"Don't flatter yourself. So tell me about this guy."

Sugar perched her chin atop her hands on the table and stared into the air dreamily. "He's very cute. And he's handsome. He's gorgeous. He's good looking."

"I think all those only mean the same thing. I don't want looks. I want details."

Sugar swatted Quinn on the arm and the dreamy look drifted back into her eyes. "He is a nice man. He's kind. He brings me to dates. He gives me flowers. And he is really good in bed, although he's freakishly tall for a guy. I wonder if he plays basketball in high school."

"He's your boyfriend and you don't know about his high school life?"

"We've only been dating for a month! We're still on the edge! But in progress, that we are." Sugar grinned when she saw a Lamborghini pulling up outside the restaurant. She stood up and quickly kissed Quinn on the cheek. "That's him! I'll see you when we have the chance!"

"Wow, your boyfriend's awfully pricey." And Quinn earned another hit on the arm before Sugar pranced – yes, pranced – out the door to the car. Quinn tried to get a glimpse of the man inside but the darkened windows denied her that satisfaction. She just hoped that lad's worthy of Sugar's love.

Quinn stepped down from the bus and lifted her head to see her family's five-year long bakery standing in front of her. Her lips stretched into a grin without restrain. This bakery was her life, her childhood. It was where she had spent her time in every day after school. It was where she learned to bake. It was where she had learned her independence. This place was where she's supposed to be. And she swore on her own life that she would never change it.

It wasn't exactly her ancestors. It's Santana's, to be exact. Quinn Fabray was just an adopted daughter into the Lopez family. It's just that Quinn had decided to not change her last name. And the Lopez clan had agreed to let her use her last name. Quinn was actually very grateful for them to be willing to adopt her as a daughter when she was just a closed-up rude kid when she's in her young age. She knew there's no way in hell she could repay them fully no matter how she worked hard for them. So she decided to do the best that she could.

She limped into the bakery. Yep, she limped. She had a pair of long-short legs since she was born and people had always make fun of her at the orphan. The doctor had said it was incurable and she had lived with it since child. There's always this girl who defended her at the orphanage every time the kids made fun of her, but Quinn had forgotten what her name was. However, even if she died, Quinn would not forget this girl's existence. If it's not for her, Quinn might not get out of that orphanage.

That girl had abandoned that one chance to get out of the orphanage and gave Quinn the chance to be adopted by the Lopez family. And till now, Quinn had no idea if that girl ever managed to get out at all.

"Okay, seriously, get out of that daydream you're having and help me with that freakin' batch of cookies!" Santana's words snapped her out of her thoughts and Quinn rolled her eyes. This girl here, might be mean on the outside. But Quinn knew they loved each other like they're really sisters. They've got each other's back every time. It's proven in the scar Quinn had on her thigh now. It's been there for so many years.

"I need to check on the stock," Quinn stated.

"What you need to do right now is getting your creeper ass inside the kitchen and get your hands working on the flour to make the damn cookies that only you and dad can make. I don't even know how you make the cookies. It's like you're blessed with magic," Santana whinnied and Quinn laughed.

"We are magical," Quinn joked. "And if I have to make that limited special cookies, I also have to check the quality of the stock, don't I? That's why you're gonna step out of my way now so we can get things rolling." Santana stepped aside but she didn't stop bothering Quinn. "Seriously, Santana, when you weren't talking this morning I thought you're finally getting out of my hair. But apparently, you're back to your old self."

The Latina glared at her but went back to the station. "You best be here in ten, Q. Or I'll cut you."

"I have nothing for you to cut."

Santana burst out laughing at that comment. Quinn smirked and went to the back where they kept the stock. The workers weren't here yet to work things out and give them a helping hand. But Quinn had a pair of sharp eyes, she could easily analyze things without trouble. She leaned down on the pile of flour and pinched a little bit of it in her fingers, testing the texture. Her brows went down the minute the flour drifted back into the huge bag. She pinched another small amount of it and her frown grew deeper when she felt the strangeness of the texture – again.

She cleared her throat and checked the other bags as well. Same. "Santana!" she yelled for her half-sister's name.

"What?"

"Are you using the flour that just came in or the old one?"

"The previous stock isn't finished yet. So I'm using that!" Santana's voice drifted closer and stood behind Quinn. "What's going on?"

To reassure herself one more time, Quinn tested the flour again. "Did you know who ticked off the stock when these came in?"

"Mercedes."

"Shit," Quinn whispered and rubbed her temple. This was not happening. "We can't use this," she stated in finality. "And also, we're closing down today."

"Quinn, what is going on?" Santana demanded from Quinn. "Damn it. Don't keep everything bottled up!"

The blonde groaned and knelt down. She's getting tired standing on her feet for too long. She couldn't hold it. "Test the flour," she said. Santana did and the stillness in the Latina's body was enough to tell Quinn that she knew what's going on already. "We can't use this. And God knows if the other stocks are having problems as well. We have to check them out."

"But I already put those batches in the oven. They're gonna come out in no time. We can't waste it," Santana said, looking at Quinn helplessly. She knew she was the 'blood' member of the Lopez family. But when it came to making decisions, everyone was always looking for Quinn. Every single time. Because Quinn always had the best decision at hand, be it beneficial or disadvantageous. Quinn always had the best of the bakery in mind. And now, Santana knew Quinn was devising a plan.

Quinn tapped her chin with her finger and her lids were shut closed as she attempted to create a perfect plan for them. This was such a disaster. She heaved a sigh. "Those cookies will be the only cookies we're selling today. We are not using anymore of the flour we have now – the undamaged ones. Put Tina at the counter. Apologize to the customers and tell them we are having problems – no specifics – and will redeem as soon as we can. We'll close at one in evening and then for the whole day tomorrow. Then we're gonna check out these bastards and try to salvage this bakery. I'm going to wait for Mercedes." With that, Quinn stood up on her tired her legs and limped back to the baking station – now with more limp than ever.

"Q, sit down," Santana said, pulling a chair for her to sit. "I'm gonna deal with the batches. You…you just stay here and try to do your best in helping this bakery one way or another. We're depending on you."

Quinn only nodded and cursed Mercedes Jones quietly in her mind.

Rachel came in to an awfully quiet and barren bakery. She raised her brows and lifted her hand to see if she came to the right place. Yep, that's right. But…why is there nothing in here?

"Sorry, we're closed." She turned to an Asian girl with golden highlights in her hair. Rachel's brows nearly reached her hairline at the statement. "We uh…we're encountering some problems today so we'll be closed for the rest of the day and also tomorrow. The bakery will be open the day after tomorrow."

The brunette smiled a little at the explanation. Perfect. "Is there a Quinn Fabray here?" she asked, ignoring the fact that the bakery was closed. The Asian nodded. "Can you please be a sweetie and tell her that I'd like to have a word with her?"

"She's kinda busy right now," the girl said reluctantly.

Rachel smiled and nodded. "This will only take a short moment. And I think this talk might benefit in your…problems right now."

Tina narrowed her eyes at Rachel suspiciously. But she nodded anyway and went to the back of the bakery where everybody was busy checking on the stock. "Uh…Quinn?" she called hesitantly and the blonde turned around. "There's somebody out there asking for you." Quinn raised her brow. "She said she wanted to talk to you and it might help us with our problems. I don't know if she knows what kind of problems we're facing now. She claimed herself to be Rachel Berry."

Quinn's eyes narrowed into slits and she cleared her throat. "You guys keep on checking. I'll see what this woman wants." She strode to the front area and saw a woman standing in front of the counter, clearly waiting for her and Quinn stopped in her steps. Her lips parted and she took in the sight of this woman. And all she could think of was Wow. Leather jacket, tight-fitted jeans accompanied by a to-die-for figure and a face that everybody could ask for, Quinn couldn't stop herself from thinking that this woman was really hot.

Rachel was nonetheless rendered speechless as well. Her fingers stopped tapping on the countertop and it's like the air stopped moving around them when the blonde came out. Her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, only the bangs were covering part of her forehead. Rachel couldn't help but notice the unusual form of her legs as her eyes appreciatively roved over the blonde's body. Their eyes clashed with each other and Rachel found herself almost drowning in the pair of hazel nothingness.

"Who are you?" Santana's voice snapped both the brunette and blonde out of their trance and Quinn cleared her throat loudly, combing her bangs to one side and smiled politely at Rachel.

Rachel's brow cocked and she smiled at Santana. "Rachel Berry. I'm looking for Quinn Fabray."

Said woman stepped forward and offered her hand. "I am Quinn Fabray. What can I help you with?"

The shorter woman looked around and back at the beautiful blonde. "I was told that you are encountering some problems?" Quinn nodded. "Through my experience of investing in a variety of businesses – including bakeries – I'll guess that your problem is with the stock. Say, the texture, perhaps?"

Hearing those words, Santana's brows lowered into a frown. What the hell? And Quinn was impressed. But smart as she always was, she chose deflection. "Miss Berry, we are currently very busy right now. Can you tell us what we can do for you so we can do it as quickly as we can?"

"I came here initially to strike a business deal with you. I wanted to buy this bakery from you," Rachel began.

"We're not selling the bakery to anyone," Santana stated firmly, cutting Rachel off.

"Hear me out," Rachel told them, smiling politely even though the glint in her eyes was not to be missed. Quinn got the vibes that this woman was not easy to predict or see through. "I figured you wouldn't be willing to sell it since you won't even sell it to the Hudson Organization for a magnificent amount of money. I understand that you are having problems so I'd like to do a…an investment in this five-year long bakery. In exchange of that, I was fifty percent share of the bakery."

This time, it was Quinn's turn to raise a skeptical brow at Rachel. In spite of her beauty, she knew Rachel was dangerous. Her instincts were often correct. "Tell me why I would want to let you do that."

"When you are having material problems with the flour or eggs or other ingredients, that means you are a bag of dead meat. I will be frank. I have ulterior motives in doing this investment. I want to bring profits into my corporations and I know your bakery will help me with that." Rachel sensed hesitation from Quinn and also a slight wrath from Santana standing behind Quinn. She smiled wider. "Let's say we do it like this. I invest in your bakery and also gain fifty percent share of it, you will get free and high quality ingredients every month. Flour, eggs, sugar, you name it."

"What if we say we need them tomorrow?" Quinn said and Santana closed her mouth with a smirk. That's what she was gonna ask and thanks to Quinn, she's saving her saliva.

"Not a problem."

And this just piqued Quinn's interest.

Rachel knew it. Her smile never left her face as she drew her card from her jacket pocket and handed it to Quinn. "I'll leave you to discussion. Call me or visit me at my office if you have reached a conclusion. I hope to expect good news from you." She turned around and walked to the door confidently but before she left, she swung back around. "It's nice meeting you, Quinn." She winked and left.

Quinn blinked and her eyes slowly went back to their normal size. She looked at the card laid on the countertop and brushed at her bangs. "We need the funds," she said.

"No friggin' way."

"The ingredients are all wrong, Santana! Mercedes didn't check them properly that day because she was drunk off her ass and now we're having stock problems! And we can't afford to buy another load of them until the end of the month! We'll negotiate with Miss Berry."

"No!" Santana exclaimed. "Look, we still have the ones left from last month. We can use those!"

"They can't last a whole month," Quinn said tiredly. "This isn't just about you. This is about the bakery, about the staff, about all of us! We're running out of luck. Once we don't make deliveries by the end of this week to the people, they will start hogging our asses asking for their money back. And you know what? We don't have the money. And if we still want to sell our goods in the store, we won't have enough ingredients for them. Look, the point is, we don't have the money."

"And you think this Rachel Berry chick has it?"

"She clearly has the hots. You can see it just by looking at her."

"I'm not sure if you're seeing her or just seeing her looks," Santana said grimly.

"I'm not interested in her!"

"Can't be too sure about that."

"You know what? This is not the time to talk about this. We're at a crisis now. If we don't get rid of this problem as quick as possible, you're gonna have to get ready to say goodbye to your ancestors' heritage," Quinn snapped and stalked inside.

She rode her bike to Central Park and got down and took down her helmet. She was going to do some stalking of her own while Puck investigated. Rachel slipped on her sunglasses and pulled her hair back into a ponytail to ward off the heat. She slipped out of her jacket and stashed it under the compartment of the seat. Then she made her way to the pond. She pretended to enjoy the view but what she was really doing was listening to the conversation the man standing a few feet next to her was having with his wife.

"I am not cheating on you, Harmony!" Finn Hudson yelled.

"Well then, who's that woman I saw coming out of your car just now?" his wife yelled back at her.

"God, why do you have to be so freaking insane?" Hudson yelled back in frustration. "I brought you here thinking we can have some quiet time together as husband and wife and you decided to accuse me of cheating on you and make a spectacle of ourselves in public!"

"You know what? I'm leaving! You clearly don't have the balls to admit that you're cheating on me! I don't even know why I married you in the first place!" With that, Hudson's wife stalked away in a fit of anger.

The man groaned and kicked at the ground in frustration. He ran his hand through his hair and looked back at the pond, hands on his hips as he tried not to take his anger out on anybody. "Wow, your wife's kind of a bitch." He turned to the voice and saw Rachel standing next to him, smiling to no one.

"Who are you?" he asked, not hiding his appreciation of her beauty. Her lips curled into a fake smile when inside she was scolding a bunch of profanities at him. She felt his eyes traveling down her body and knew she accomplished her mission.

"I overheard your conversation just now. Or argument. And she seems a little too uptight." She looked up. For a man she was going to seduce in the future, she thanked God he was at least good looking. "But are you really cheating on her?"

Hudson laughed and shook his head. "Guess all you want but I'm not telling a stranger about my personal life."

She took off her glasses and faced him fully. Her smile turned into a seductive one and knew she got him on the hook when she noticed his jaw clenching. She ran her fingers down his arm and winked. "Maybe we'll meet someday and you would have divorce her already." She walked away, leaving him alone and she laughed to herself. That was pretty easy. And then her phone rang. She answered it.

"I want to make a negotiation."

Rachel grinned.

Look, I don't want to force you to review but I really really hate it when people list this into their favorites or alerts and never review to give a me a reason why they like this story. I don't want my readers to be one of those annoying hateful people. So please, I am begging you. Press that 'Review' button and write your opinion! And I really wanna know how the reception of this story goes since I'm a little bit unsure of the structure. I really hope you can do as I wish.

- Nicole