Emma's heart sank at the sight of the tailored suit wearing shark in heels as she sauntered over towards the storefront, pushing her aviator sunglasses onto the top of her head. She was still as flawless as the first time they'd met. Her hair was longer, framing her face in a way that made her seem much more pleasant than she was. Her stomach was sick as Emma watched a slow smile crossing her rival's face as she approached. Regina's smile broadened as she approached, her heart practically singing as took note of the change in Emma's color. She held out her right hand, a radiant smile nearly blinding Emma.

"Miss Swan, what a pleasure." She nearly crushed Emma's hand with her vice-like grip. She turned toward David and Mary Margaret, hand outstretched. "You must be The Nolans."

Mary Margaret's eyes practically bugged out of her skull as they exchanged handshakes and she took in the sight of the woman who seemingly struck fear in the hearts of everyone she met. "Well, he hasn't asked me yet but it rolls off the tongue nicely doesn't it?" she joked, nudging David with her shoulder.

"Quite." Regina replied, returning her attention towards a flustered Emma who silently prayed the ground would swallow her whole. She could feel Regina's chocolate brown eyes rake the length of her body. "Rupert said I would enjoy the challenge." she mused.

"Well, it's definitely a fixer upper but I'm pretty confident we can get it up and running in no time." David replied with a chuckle. "My guys are really good at what they do."

"Has it passed inspection?" asked Regina, approaching the grimey window and peering inside. "I don't see the seal of approval from the city."

"Ah, well, I did the inspection this morning. I'm just waiting for the paperwork to clear."

"A contractor and a city inspector. I'm impressed Mr. Nolan."

"Please, call me David." He blushed, earning another nudge from Mary Margaret. "It passes inspection, probably one of the most structurally sound buildings I've been through which is pretty remarkable considering how old the place is."

"Well David, is it possible to take a look around and see what we're working with?"

"Sure thing." He turned towards his pick up, fishing out two banged up black hard hats and holding them out to Emma and Regina. Regina eyed the scraped up hardware, a faded Nolan Contractors logo on the front in white surrounded by various stickers for sports teams she had no interest in. "Charming." She nodded, tucking her sunglasses into the collar of her button down and putting it on.

Emma took hers and put it on without much complaint. She almost threw up at David handed Mary Margaret hers.

They wore matching immaculate white hardhats.

"Shall we?"

"The thing I think works really well is the fact that all of this is original exposed brick and simplicity of the space. Did a little research and at one time it was a restaurant of some kind so there's still a lot of space in the back for a full kitchen with prep area and freezers although we may have to get a little creative with where things go, depending on what you ladies have in mind." said David, his hands tucked into the pockets of his Carhartt vest.

"Oh." Regina turned, brows knit in concern. "I assumed Rupert provided you with all the design details…"

"He did. He said, 'make sure it doesn't embarrass me opening night.'" David replied with a mock English accent. "So I guess the whole thing is yours."

Emma stopped examining the brick wall to her left, eyes wide mirroring Regina's concern. "Wait wait, I thought the only thing I was taking charge of the kitchen when it was done…Gold never mentioned having to play Bob the Builder."

"That's why I'm here." David offered with a smile. "And Mary Margaret. She's a brilliant designer."

Regina's mouth puckered, her cheeks sucked in with distaste. Rubbing her palms together she turned on her heel and stared at Emma, her head cocked to the side in question. "Gold hired you to run the kitchen?"

"Well, yeah…Why? What did you think I was here for?"

"I assumed it was to bring over some of your famous donuts while I handled his affairs here."

"He hired you to run this?" Emma asked, waving her right hand around the empty space in disbelief. "The whole thing?"

"Yes dear. What did you think? He'd entrust you with something of this magnitude?" Regina replied cooly.

David and Mary Margaret exchanged worried looks. "Uh, hey, why don't we just walk the space and then we can figure out the particulars at the truck…"

"What, you don't think I could do it?" Emma growled, her shoulders squared, completely ignoring David.

"There's a difference between bossing around wait staff, frosting a cake and running a successful business Ms. Swan."

Mary Margaret's cheeks pinked. She leaned into David, whispering into his shoulder. "This is going well."

"Really." David deadpanned.

Regina's eyes narrowed. "David, Mary Margaret, let's walk around. I want to get a feel for my restaurant." She flashed him a brilliant smile before turning her back towards Emma and strutting towards the back of the space. Emma clenched and unclenched her jaw, hands balled into fists as she turned on her heel to follow the troupe.

"The exposed beams really give it a great rustic kind of feel. I think it lends itself to an old, enchanted place, don't you?" Mary Margaret's lit up as they returned to the main portion of the space. "It feels like magic can happen in here."

"All the power outlets and everything can be updated, gas will be easy to pump in here so we would really only have to figure out what it is we're doing with this place. I've got a guy who can take care of all that quickly."

Emma eyed the beams, her hands jammed into her back pockets. "It could be a really classy dive bar."

"Excuse me?" Regina barked as she ascended the rear staircase, dusting off her hands. "Did I hear correctly? A dive bar?"

"Yeah." Emma nodded towards the ceiling. "Maybe we flip it into a lodge, cabin in the woods kind of classy Middle Earth Lord of The Rings kind of bar. Big wood hand carved tables…sconces, mood lighting." She rotated slowly on her heel, looking around the space. "It's already got that lower basement we can turn into additional seating."

"Like a Viking tavern?" David asked, looking around with a smile on his face. "Yeah, with a big fireplace right over there," he pointed across from where they stood. "Small barback here, proper dining further back…" he nodded with approval. "Nice call Swan."

Regina's cheeks pinked. "Absolutely not. That doesn't land with the vision that Mr. Gold has for this space…We're talking about Vikings and dive bars when the money funding this is elegance and class. That basement is a perfect storage cellar for wines and goods, not people."

"It could serve both actually." David replied with a shrug.

"Regina?" Emma said, folding her arms across her chest. "He said it's our vision, whatever we want it to be as long as we don't embarrass him."

"I'm thinking he'd be embarrassed by what was just discussed, nevermind actually doing it." Regina scoffed.

"It's not like we have to be married to an idea just yet but…" Mary Margaret offered.

"I've got the floor plans in the truck so, when we're done inspecting everything, we can take a look at the space, maybe come up with ideas." David added, suddenly aware that the claws were coming back out again.

"Yes. Let's look at the plans, we'll see what really works." Regina replied haughtily, turning towards the door and heading outside into the brilliant late spring sunshine.

"For what it's worth, I think it's a pretty awesome idea." David said, saddling next to Emma. "I really think we can sway her on it."

"Are you kidding? Do you see the way she is? She always gets her way." Emma shrugged.

"Eh, you'd be surprised. Mary Margaret can be quite convincing when she thinks something is just too good to let go of."

"Thanks David."

"Sure thing." He held the door open for Emma before turning and locking it. He brought down the storm shutters and locked up the site. "Well ladies. I don't know about you, but I'm really excited to get started on this."

"I appreciate the enthusiasm David but we haven't exactly decided on the overall approach." Regina replied holding out her hard hat and finger combing her shoulder length brown hair. She slipped her aviators back on. "I'd appreciate it if you'd start with clearing out whatever else needs to be cleared out and we'll meet next week to discuss particulars."

Three different sets of eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Oh. Well. Uh. We're cleared actually. Like I said, I'm just waiting for the paperwork from the city and we'll get started on everything."

Regina's lip curled. "So the space as it is, is the space as it will be?"

"Well, yeah. See, we could start covering up the beams and everything but…to be honest, sticking something glossy around a place like this with all the history this neighborhood has…" his face scrunched up before he spoke, "it's stupid. I think that we can start working on bringing in the kitchenware and start building out from there. Atleast until we've figured out the approach for the space. I've got a great guy who can set up a warehouse meeting with all the stuff needed for the kitchen, refrigeration…"

Regina let out a slow sigh. "I see. Well David, I appreciate the work you're doing. I'm going to head uptown to see Mr. Gold and discuss everything." She stuck out her right hand again, shaking Mary Margaret and David's hand with a violent politeness. "Miss Swan. A pleasure, as always." She turned, car keys jingling in her left hand.

"Of course she drives an old Mercedes." Emma muttered as the car started, Regina backed out and merged into the flow of traffic. "Bitch mobile."

David chuckled. "She's…something." He patted down his pockets and pulled out a battered business card. "My office number and on the back is my cell, give me a call and let's talk. Maybe the three of us can come up with something that'll sway Gold enough to override Regina."

Emma took it and smiled. The Nolan logo was a sword flanked by two wings. "Thanks you guys."

"Anytime."