Hi guys! We are here again, sorry for the delay but here you have the second chapter. We are so grateful for all the reviews and followers, thank you so much! Things are going to be more interesting, keep reading :D
Chapter 2. A Special Negotiation
Both women left the car, stood in front of the bar, and walked inside in silence. They took a seat at the table furthest away from the others. Of course the quality of the bar was far less than those that Regina was accustomed to.
"This is the second seedy place I've been to today," Regina said as she looked around. She doubted that she would be recognized in a place such as this, so she removed her sunglasses. She called over a waiter and asked for a tea, the blonde preferred coffee.
"Pardon me, but I believe you haven't yet tell me your name," the blonde felt a little uncomfortable, and she didn't really understand the situation, "I'm Emma."
"I don't believe that our names have importance," she said, sighing slightly. "Regina Mills," she said, without further information.
Emma studied the face of the other woman. She didn't like how she was treating her since she had approached her. In other circumstances there would be many more protestations and it would not be tolerated because she had no right to address her that way, but not today. She wasn't up to it; she had a terrible headache and only wanted to return to her house as soon as possible. At 28 years old, she had been a stripper since she left school and, though it wasn't her dream job, she made good money and that was all that mattered now. The waiter arrived with what Regina had asked for and this made Emma return from her thoughts
"Okay, lets get straight to the point-what is it that you want?" She lifted her coffee to her mouth and wished that the caffeine would alleviate the ache.
"You see..." the brunette was somewhat nervous, which was difficult for her because she was trying to convey to Emma an image of confidence and strength. "I know that my husband goes to your establishment often and I would like you to inform me of his movement," she said and then paused before continuing, "Obviously I would pay you a good amount." She took a photo of Max out of her purse and showed it to Emma; she didn't want there to be any confusion. The blonde raised her eyebrows and laughed a little.
"Well, what I can tell you is whether or not he's going out with a woman from there. Again, I don't want problems of any kind." She relaxed a little on the back of the chair while she crossed her arms, and Regina stirred her tea just looking at the other woman before she spoke.
"He put me in a tight spot, having to speak of this, but I suppose that someone like you will hear worse things" She took a breath to arm herself with courage and took a sip "A woman should know how to please her husband...because if you can't you've lost him," she gently cleared her throat, "My husband is looking outside the house for what I'm not giving him, and I want you to find out what he wants and give me that information".
Emma's eyes opened wide, she was very surprised at the request of the other woman. "I don't know what you are referring to exactly... I'm a stripper not a prostitute. I am not going to sleep with your husband," the blonde responded without hesitation; she was not going to give his type access to her bed.
That information was surprising to the brunette because she had been almost certain that that woman was a prostitute. "Well, this changes my plans a little bit but...you could get closer to him and get information from him, right? Regina took out a check from her purse and showed it to her: "I can compensate you very well."
The blonde stared at her and opened her mouth ready to tell the snooty woman that she didn't know anything about her life, but then she remembered her mother, suffering from Alzheimer's, who was the reason Emma had been working as a stripper for some time. Her mother didn't have long to live and almost all of her money went to the nursing home where she was cared for. It had just been a few weeks since the doctor spoke of a new treatment that could improve her quality of life and maybe even lengthen her life by a few years. That was something that she couldn't afford with her wages, but maybe if she accepted this offer she would have the opportunity to do it.
"I can try" she said finally, because if she had thought more about it she would have decided against it. Regina smiled triumphantly. Something in her had said that the money would work with the blonde; she believed that this type of women always looked for the same.
"Perfect, my husband is in the habit of going twice a week to your...place of work. I want you to get closer to him but without him ever suspecting anything." Emma nodded.
"So you want me to find out who he's sleeping with? Look...the men that come to these places don't ever change." The brunette rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I want you to find that out, and get closer to him, and relay it to me." She was ashamed to even be speaking of it all: "I want to know what goes through his head, he is a very quiet man." Regina knew that if she could not maintain the interest of her husband and he grew tired of her, she would lose everything she had acquired up until now.
The other woman looked at her while raising her eyebrows. "Doesn't it seem unlikely that a man like him would tell those kinds of things to me?
"You of all people should know the things that a man is capable of saying when he is drunk and has two good tits in front of him." She finished her tea with a sip.
It didn't seem like a difficult task-get the money, and not cause problems to anyone-so Emma didn't think on it more. "Well, I'll try. I can't promise anything and now I'm sorry but I have to go to my house, I'm dead," she said, getting up from the table.
"That's okay, give me your phone number and I'll call you so that we can finalize the details." She took out her cell to put in the number and then extended her hand. "I wish I could say that it's a pleasure doing business with you, but given the situation..."Emma shook Regina's hand and then she put her hand in one of her pockets, and shrugged her shoulders.
"This isn't one of my favorite negotiations either. Do you need a ride to your car?"
The brunette nodded and both women left. They didn't say a word to each other during the drive, and a short time later they were in front of The Rabbit Hole again.
"Okay, needless to say, I expect total confidentiality" she looked threateningly at the blonde to make it clear to her.
"Don't you worry, there isn't going to be a problem with that, Regina." Emma waited for her to get in the car and drive home.
When Regina arrived at her house she went directly to her stepson Henry's room. The boy was in a tranquil sleep, and she didn't want to wake him, so she limited herself to tucking him in and just watching him sleep for a few minutes. She cared a lot for him, and she felt as if he were her son. She had known him for four years when his biological mother died. In addition to her social position, it hurt her even more that if she had to separate with her husband she would lose the little guy, since she had no legal right to him. She had asked Max many times, but the man always put it off, saying it wasn't important.
When she went to her room the bed was empty, as she had supposed it would be. Her husband was in that dump every night, or worse yet sleeping with some woman there. She had no choice but to sleep alone.
In the morning she could hardly open her eyes. Her husband was next to her and he reeked of alcohol, which came as no surprise to Regina. She was sure that the man had gotten home very late, because she had to try very hard to get him up. Today was very important, as he had to give a press conference. Regina accompanied him and both of them put on big smiles as expected. In front of the cameras they seemed like an exemplar couple; perfect.
For her part, as soon as she got home, Emma took a painkiller and got into bed. The chat with Regina had lasted much longer than she had hoped and it was late.
She slept only a couple of hours, because that morning she was visiting the nursing home where her mother stayed. She took a quick shower and got into her car. On the way over, she bought candied fruit slices, her mother's favorites, but when she arrived things didn't go well: she didn't remember her, she threw the sweets on the floor and they landed across the room. Emma was devastated; the woman that she had once called her mother had turned into a stranger that didn't remember her and so hated her. The doctors said that this was typical of her condition and also that she was having strong headaches that grew more intense each time. They again advised that the treatment was the best for her at this point, to at least improve her quality of life a little.
Some days later, on Friday, it was a workday for Emma and a day when surely Max would go to the night club.
In the afternoon, while her husband was working at the office, Regina decided to call Emma. "Hello Emma, it's Regina Mills, can you talk now?" her tone was serious, as always.
The blonde was leaving the nursing home, after giving the doctors the OK to begin treatment since she had part of the money and would get the rest in the coming days. "Hello Regina, tell me what you need."
"My husband is going to the fleapit where you work tonight, and I hope that you will begin to get close to him and get information. Then we will have to meet for you to report to me your findings" the brunette was taking the issue to heart.
Emma continued to talk while she got into her car, "Well, we can meet at my house on Saturday afternoon or night, before I go to work, simple."
Regina thought on the idea, she didn't really want to have to get together at the other woman's house, sure it would be the worst, but it was the safest place after all..."Okay. It will be after tea with my book club."
The blond, upon hearing the other woman's last words, couldn't help but laugh, but she put a hand to her mouth to try to muffle the sound. Those stupid meetings were obviously due to the women of power having nothing to do.
"Do you find something funny?" the brunette heard the stripper's laugh and didn't understand what was funny, she took her tasks very seriously.
"No, not at all. I'll send you my address in a text message so we can talk about what I get out of your husband."
When Emma returned to her house she laid down to sleep until show time. She grabbed her usual stuff and then went to the club. Her number was first, and so afterward she decided to take a turn around the floor until she saw Regina's husband. She had no doubt that it was him, she memorized his photo. She and a coworker approached the table where he sat with other men and began to chat. It turned out not to be very difficult to get information, he was beyond a few drinks. The blonde said things about her life which weren't even true, but it was part of the game to gain his trust. Then she asked about his life and what brought him to a place such as that.
The man could barely stand, but the few words that he said left the blonde with a bitter taste. First he told her he was a person with great power-that was true-and that power could get her many benefits if she would sleep with him. That was obvious, and not a surprise to Emma, but she didn't like to think of what she was going to have to tell Regina. Finally, when she asked him about his wife, Max complained that she wasn't "servicing him" like he deserved and some other stupid crap. It was clear, this man wasn't worth a dime.
That night Regina had trouble sleeping. She felt pathetic for staying at home on a Friday night while her husband was at a club having fun.
The following day, after tossing and turning all night, she decided to get up pretty early. Gardening relaxed her very much, and so she put all of her attention toward her plants that morning. Afterward, she went for a walk with Henry, she had intended for her husband to accompany them but he was still lying in bed and didn't want to get up.
At the agreed upon time, Regina arrived at Emma's house. It was in a very poor neighborhood, and so she parked her car somewhat hidden so as not to call attention to it. She pressed the bell and waited for the door to open. To her surprise, the other woman answered the door in a bathrobe, and she realized the blonde had just gotten out of the shower.
"Oh, hello, I thought you would come much later...come in." Emma moved aside.
The brunette, a little shocked to see her in the bathrobe, entered and looked around. Despite the area, her house was very clean, neat and nicely decorated.
"Your apartment is nice" she took off her coat and put it on a chair with her purse.
"Thanks. Sorry for my appearance, I just came out of the shower" she settled into one armchair, and Regina did the same on the other. "I've spoken with him..."
The other woman held her gaze, she was somewhat nervous, "Well? Tell me everything."
Emma cleared her throat and began to speak. "Okay, first he told me that he was a man of power-he didn't include details of his work, of course. Then he told me that if I slept with him I could have many things...and I asked him if he was married and he told me yes but..." she paused.
Regina bowed her head a little when she hear that Max had proposed sex, as she had imagined, but knowing that it was certain wasn't the same. She took a small breath, "But...?"
The blond looked her in the eyes, "But his wife wasn't taking care of him like he deserved," there was silence behind the words.
"Well, that's nothing new" she said looking away with a little sigh.
Emma wondered whether to continue, but the other woman had asked in all sincerity so she said, "Then he left with one of my coworkers and I didn't see him again."
Upon listening to those words Regina was hurt, she didn't understand why, she should be used to it, but she they gave her a terrible urge to cry. She took a deep breath-she didn't want to spill her tears in front of anyone. "Okay, anything else?"
"No, nothing else," she shook her head looking at what had happened to the other woman and despite the scorn that she had given her since they had met, she felt bad for her, "Do you want something to drink?"
"A tea, please," uttered the other woman, but when she saw the other woman stand up she changed her mind, "Actually, do you have anything stronger?"
Emma nodded, smiling slightly, "Yes, let me see what I've got." She walked to the kitchen, grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whiskey and returned to serve her a glass.
"Thanks." Regina took a sip and made a face because it was pretty strong. "God..." she coughed a little and looked at the blond who had returned to sitting in front of her, "I want...to ask you something else." She took another drink because she didn't seem to be able to say it without drinking, "Can you teach me how to give my husband what he needs?"
The other woman was in the middle of a sip when she heard those words and she almost choked. She looked at her in surprise, "Excuse me?! How would I do that?"
"Well, your job consists of making men happy, fulfilling their fantasies, right? I want to know how to do that." Regina appeared calm, but her nerves were killing her inside.
"If I were a prostitute I suppose that would be my job, but I already told you, I'm not and never have been. But if you want I could try to help you..." She didn't know why, but Emma thought that she could do something for the brunette.
"Okay then, help me with what you can. I don't want to act like a whore, though, I believe that you can be sensual and sexual and also be elegant." She put her glass on the table, she shouldn't drink any more.
"Of course you can," she looked at the other woman, "When do you want to do it?"
"Weekday afternoons are impossible because of my son, but I could do some mornings when I don't have political commitments," she still could not believe what she was talking about doing, "Do you have your mornings free?"
Emma finished her glass, "Not all, but some. I usually have Saturdays free."
"Good. I'm usually available then," she rose, thus ending the conversation. "We can talk about the money once we've completed the deal."
"Relax... I have no problem with that, whatever you decide will be fine," she stood as well.
Regina raised an eyebrow looking at the other woman, she was quite surprised that she didn't insist on discussing the money and that she agreed to give her classes. "I wish I didn't have to do this but... one has to fight for their marriage," she picked up her purse and jacket.
"Of course, if you really love your husband, I guess it's okay..." Emma walked the brunette to the door and opened it. Regina was still thinking about it, and she doubted that she had any love for Max, and doubted she ever would in the future, but it was her duty to be with him.
She turned to leave but stopped short, "One more thing," she looked down and then looked up at her again, "Did you notice at any point...that he has feelings for me?"
"He was drunk...the only thing he told me was what you already know. He wanted to sleep with someone, clearly he wasn't going to say that he is in love with you." Emma spoke trying not to say something that was going to hurt the other woman.
"Right, of course, we will see each other in a week." Regina adjusted her bag on her shoulder.
"Perfect, call me before you come, so I will be... you know, ready."
The brunette nodded, "Okay, goodbye," she left and went to her car.
While she drove she thought about her life, about everything that she had done to obtain a good position, and if she lost her husband it would all be for naught. She should do this, have the classes with Emma, however ridiculous she felt. It was her duty to keep Max and Henry, and to not disappoint her family.