Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The brunette sat up and stretched her arms above her head, slowing bringing her right hand down to stop the beeping of her alarm. She let out a long yawn as she slung her feet out from the warmth of her duvet, sliding her feet into her grey slippers. She trudged over to her bathroom, she opened the little cupboard and pulled out a big, fluffy, deep purple towel and made her way to the shower. She turned the shower on and hung her towel onto a hook. She slipped out of her black silk pyjamas, she folded them neatly and placed them into her washing basket, before hopping into her shower.
Twenty-five minutes later, she was standing in her walk-in wardrobe, her towel wrapped tightly around her body, her freshly washed and dried raven locks resting flawlessly on her shoulders. She snaked her hand between each item of clothing that had been impeccably hung in her wardrobe, carefully selecting today's outfit. A black pant-suit with a crimson blouse. She swiftly dressed then placed her folded towel in the washing basket tucked away in her bathroom. She glided towards her vanity table and began applying her makeup; plump, deep red lips; long, thick, black lashes; a sharp cat eye to compliment her outfit and a light stroke of highlighter to extenuate her already prominent cheekbones. When she was satisfied with her look, she sprayed her musky perfume onto her neck and wrists. She then gathered her phone and her usual large, black handbag already containing her laptop and some important work documents she had been working on all night, before exiting her room.
She descended her staircase, slowly and gracefully, when she arrived on the ground floor of her house she looked at the old-fashioned grandfather clock situated to the left of her front door. It was only 7 am. She still has nearly an hour until she had to leave for work.
She made her way the kitchen, wondering to herself just why she kept waking up this early. She couldn't remember the last time she hadn't been ready for work with an hour to spare, and she had no idea how to fill the time. grabbed one of her many plain black coffee mugs and placed it under the spout of the machine then she spun her coffee pod holder around, in search of her favourite vanilla latte pod. She never drank any of the other flavours but always kept herself stocked up on the off-chance that she had a guest, her bin had been the only one with the pleasure of consuming the unused pods as they went out of date. She stirred an extra sugar into her coffee and took a seat at her breakfast bar. Her kitchen-dining area had been designed perfectly for dinner parties and serving guests but has been in waiting since Regina bought the house. She slowly sipped her coffee and glanced over at the bowl of fruit sitting there. She pulled out a dark red apple and took a large bite. Although it was only Monday morning, Regina allowed her mind to wander to her weekend. She didn't particularly enjoy her job, she was good at it and it paid the bills, but it kept her from pottering around in her big, silent house alone doing nothing in particular. She recently began to use her weekends trying to pick up a hobby but so far nothing had stuck, and she found herself bored out of mind and lonelier each weekend.
Five minutes later she had finished the apple and disposed of its core. Leaving her with nothing else to do but listen to the silence that ricocheted around her house. There was still over twenty minutes until she had to leave but Regina hated sitting in a house filled with silence, she decided to just drive the long way to work. She hated being the first person there which happened oh so often. She stepped outside her house and was immediately greeted with the warmth of the sun. It was only mid-July and already London was suffering from the first heat-wave of the summer. Luckily today there was a slight breeze that, thankfully, took the edge of the sun's blazing heat. Her eyes then fell to her black Mercedes, and she let out a deep sigh.
It would be absolutely sweltering in there.
Today was a nice day, she would walk. She had done it before, and she knew exactly how long it would take. Just a bit longer than driving the long way. She would make it into work just after she was due in. Perfect.
The whole way she walked with her usual regal posture, raised chin, eyes constantly staring straight ahead and lips slightly pursed. Her long legs moving at a steady and constant pace. Though she did begin to regret walking in her sensible black heels. They were only three inches tall but walking through the busy streets of London is difficult enough without the added discomfort. She was only three blocks away from the office, thankful that she would soon be off her feet for a few hours, when someone charged straight into her left shoulder, knocking the brunette to the side.
"Ow!" Regina cried and clutched her shoulder, for a moment she thought her limb had been completely torn from her body. She swung round to look at the offender, only to be met with a flurry of the offender's long, blonde hair and an empty, over the shoulder "sorry". The brunette slowly exhaled and rolled her eyes as she continued her journey, trying to ignore the intensifying throbbing in her left shoulder.
She hadn't long been in her office when her assistant knocked on the clear glass door and walked in, before being granted permission. "Good morning, Miss Mills." Chirpy words fell from a widely grinning mouth as a steaming latte was placed on the boss' desk.
"Morning, Miss French" The brunette replied as she rolled her shoulder, still trying to rid herself of the pain.
"Is something wrong? Can I do anything to help?" the assistant asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"No, I'm fine. I just had an unpleasant encounter with a, frankly, rude woman this morning. And I can't seem to shake the pain she left in my shoulder." The brunette sighed as she lifted the coffee cup to her lips and took a sip of her latte. Her red lips leaving their mark on the cup.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I still have a rather large stack of documents that need filing and an inbox bursting with unopened emails, so if you don't need anything else…" The young woman asked as she used her head to gesture towards the exit.
"No, I'm fine. Get back to your work." Miss. Mills replied, forcing another smile. The assistant swiftly exited the office and as soon as she was out of sight, Miss. Mills groaned and let a few curse words fall from her usually tame mouth, before logging on to her computer to begin her day's work.