Hey guys, here is another update. Sorry it took so long. My girlfriend has been here in the states with me for a month and she heads back to Brazil on Thursday. So, I haven't been writing. I will try and have another update for you all soon.
Reviews are welcomed and encouraged.
"Here you go dear," Marcus said as he handed Regina a fresh cup of coffee.
Her tired eyes scanned their choices for the fall line. They had been up all night deciding on what outfits should appear and which ones should be placed in a later issue. A few choices though, were ripped apart by Regina and currently resided in the nearby trashcan.
"I am exhausted," Regina sighed as she took a swig of her coffee.
Marcus nodded his agreement as he took a seat next to the brunette, "As am I. As a matter of fact, as is your entire team."
"At least we have made a decision," Regina added.
Marcus nodded again, "Now we just have to plan the magazine spread and ready everything for the show next month."
Regina groaned as she stood from her seat.
"You should try and catch a little shut eye, tonight will be long as well," Marcus suggested as he looked to his boss.
Regina merely grunted in response.
"I wonder if Miss Swan tried to see you last night," He said suddenly, causing Regina to whip around and stare at him with sparkling tired eyes.
"This is torture," Regina replied with a slight groan, "What if she did? I wasn't there. What if she doesn't try again?"
"Relax honey. I am sure she will try again. However, if she does try, you aren't going to be home."
"I might actually be going slightly insane Marcus."
"Aren't we all," Marcus replied with a tired smile, "Don't worry. If she does and you aren't there, no big, you will just have to keep trying until you finally get her."
Regina sighed before nodding at Marcus' point. She turned on her heels and exited the room, walking down the hallway towards her office. Most of her team was currently taking quick naps to regain some energy before they dove back into everything in a few hours.
She thought of the blonde as she walked, imagining what she looked like exactly. This door tag game they were playing was becoming infuriating. Regina wanted to meet the woman, and soon, or else she felt like she might explode. Her mind wandered to the blonde she saw in the café yesterday, wondering if that may have been Miss Swan.
Perhaps she would have found out if she wasn't so cowardly and stayed. Regina sighed as she slid down into her chair. Her eyes fluttered shut as her mind continued to think of this Miss Swan, eventually lulling her to sleep.
Emma tried Regina again, and again. Three nights she had knocked on the brunette's door, only to be met with silence once more. Finally, Emma decided she would need to leave something for the brunette to find so she would know she had tried to see her.
Emma was not particularly gifted at cooking, or even baking for that matter. However, she did know how to make really good chocolate chip cookies, and prepare the best hot chocolate on the planet.
She smiled to herself as she placed the cookies in the basket Regina had left with the muffins, having only lasted three days before Emma devoured them all. She also made a little additional room for a thermos of hot chocolate, a bottle of whipped cream, and some cinnamon. She left a note with the thermos, giving instructions of what to do with the whipped cream and cinnamon.
She decided to leave the basket outside of Regina's door in the morning before heading to work, that way the brunette would see it first thing. Emma knew the brunette was home this morning, since she heard her singing in the shower, and decided that leaving the goodies right now was ideal.
Emma grinned as she readied her gift, quickly writing another note of her own before exiting her apartment and walking the two steps to Regina's. She sat the basket down in front of the door and smirked as she turned on her heels and headed off to work.
Meanwhile, Regina had just finished putting the finishing touches on her makeup before grabbing her purse and blazer. She hadn't returned home until 2 am, too exhausted to even remove her shoes before falling onto her bed and into a deep sleep, for only four hours. She was up and showering by six and ready to head to work by seven.
Regina opened the door to her apartment, stopping where she stood as her eyes landed on the goody basket. She glanced up and down the hallway, her breath catching in her throat as she saw a flash of blonde hair disappear around the corner of the hallway.
Regina stepped over the basket, bee-lining down the hallway after the blonde. Regina rounded the corner, her breath slightly ragged and her heart sinking to her stomach. The blonde had already disappeared.
"Shit," Regina swore under her breath as she walked back to her apartment. She grabbed the basket and inspected its contents.
A grin split across her face as she eyed the chocolate chip cookies and the thermos, with specific instructions of how to apply the whipped cream and cinnamon to the drink. She turned around once more and headed back down the hallway, basket in tow as she headed off to work.
The apartment was only two blocks from her building, allowing her to make it there in a few short minutes. Once inside the building she headed to her office, grabbing a mug from her desk and emptying some of the contents from the thermos into the mug. She applied the whipped cream and cinnamon, as instructed, and took a swig.
Regina hummed in approval as her taste buds exploded. Her eyes landed on the cookies and she quickly took a bite as she sat and opened her laptop.
"Goooood morning," Marcus greeted as he entered Regina's office. He stopped short of her desk, his eyebrow arching in question as he stared at the whipped drink and cookies. "Bit of a sweet tooth this morning?"
"Miss Swan left them," Regina replied with a smirk.
"Ahhh tasting her sugary goodness I see," Marcus teased. A light blush covered Regina's cheeks as she took another sip of the hot chocolate. "So she left you… chocolate chip cookies, your favorite. A thermos of hot chocolate, a bottle of whipped cream… kinky, and some cinnamon. Oh, and specific instructions of what to do with them. Very kinky. Also, a note."
Regina's eyebrows rose, "A note?"
"Well yes, didn't you see it?" Marcus asked as he handed the paper to Regina.
Regina,
I stopped by your place the past couple nights but you weren't home. So, I decided to make you some baked goodies. I hope you like them.
Emma
"Emma," Regina said aloud, sounding the name out on her tongue.
"Pretty name," Marcus commented with a smirk as he watched his bosses face.
"Indeed."
"You realize you have to see her tonight right?" Marcus said seriously as he stole a cookie.
"I can't. We have to meet with the designers again today."
"Well then, tomorrow night for sure," Marcus amended.
"Yes," Regina replied, a small smile on her face, "I will try and see her tomorrow night."
"Why are you in such a good mood? You're smiling like an idiot," Neal commented as he took a seat next to Emma outside the café.
Emma merely grinned and shook her head.
"Shit, you finally saw her last night."
"Unfortunately no. I missed her again. But, I did bake some of my chocolate chip cookies," Emma explained before setting a small container of cookies on the table in front of Neal, "You're welcome by the way. I also made her hot chocolate and put a bottle of whipped cream and some cinnamon in the basket."
"Did you leave instructions?" Neal asked with a smirk as he took a bite of his cookie.
"As a matter of fact, I did. I also left a note saying that I had tried to see her and blah blah and left my name."
"Very nice. So now I guess it's her turn to see you?" Neal asked as he sipped his coffee.
"Yes. Hopefully she will try tonight."
Neal sat his coffee down and his eyes narrowed, "You might wanna hold that idea."
Emma's eyebrows creased in confusion as she turned to see where Neal was staring.
"Fuck. That's our guy," Emma groaned as she and Neal left their coffees unattended and fast walked to where the guy was heading.
"I don't know why these guys skip out on their court dates."
"Me either. It's like they think we won't catch them," Emma replied as she and Neal increased their pace.
The guy turned his head and caught sight of them before sprinting off down the street.
"Shit!" Emma growled as she and Neal started to run after him. Neal disappeared down a side alley as Emma stayed in pursuit, pushing through pedestrians to keep an eye on the guy.
She rounded a corner and landed on her ass.
Emma groaned as she got up from the sidewalk, her eyes frantically searching for the perp.
"I am so sorry," Emma apologized before catching sight of the guy and taking off after him again.
"The nerve of people!" Regina seethed as Marcus helped her up from the ground.
"That was the hot blonde from the coffee shop," Marcus commented as Regina stood.
Her eyes widened as she searched the area, catching the flash of blonde hair as she ran after a man.
"Perhaps she is a cop," Marcus mentioned as he retrieved Regina's purse from the ground, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Regina said softly, "I just thought there was something very familiar about her."
"Besides the fact that she is the woman from the café?" Marcus asked, slightly concerned that Regina may have hit her head.
"No, just-" Regina trailed off, "Never mind, we should go and get that coffee."
Her assistant nodded his agreement, but Regina continued to glance behind, hoping to catch a sighting of the blonde.
The son of a bitch Emma was chasing down managed to give her a bloody nose. She had tackled him shortly after crashing into a woman. Emma had jumped on him and pinned him to the ground, getting momentarily distracted when she heard Neal call her name. The guy took a chance and punched her in the face, making her nose swell slightly and bloodying the sidewalk.
They took him in and he was spending the night in a holding cell until his rescheduled hearing the following morning. Emma wondered if Regina had tried to stop by her apartment at all tonight.
She thought about the brunette as she readied herself for bed, glancing at the clock and sighing when the red letters showed 2:00 am. Emma groaned as she flopped on the bed, burying her face in her pillow as she gave a loud yawn.
Before she knew it, her alarm was blaring. Emma sighed as she hit the button to silence the contraption and groggily moved out of her warm bed. She shuffled into the bathroom, turning the hot water on before stepping into the shower and beginning to clean herself.
She paused mid scrub when she realized she didn't hear Regina's singing come from the other side of the wall. Emma frowned and sighed as she thought that perhaps the brunette had gotten up earlier today and already showered, or she hadn't come home last night.
The thought made Emma's blood run cold. What if something had happened to Regina?
"She's probably fine Swan, geez," Emma muttered to herself as she moved to shampooing her hair.
Her mind continued to focus on Regina as she showered, wondering if maybe the brunette had a date and that's why she wasn't home.
Emma felt a surge of jealousy course through her at the thought.
"Oh my god Emma! You're getting jealous over something that may or may not have happened. Which, is stupid considering she isn't dating you."
Emma growled as she moved on to conditioning her hair. Disappointment settled in her stomach as she finished her shower with no sound of the brunette's voice.
She quickly dressed and dried her hair before grabbing her keys and heading out the door. Her mind still wandering to Regina and wondering where the brunette was and if everything was okay.
Emma lifted her hand and suddenly realized she forgot her mug of coffee.
"Son of a bitch!" Emma seethed, smacking her hand against her head as she headed down another street to the café she frequented.
She made it to the café quickly, hopping in line behind a few people and semi-patiently waiting for her turn.
"Ugh," She heard someone groan from behind her. She glanced behind and felt her heart flutter pleasantly in her chest.
It was the brunette from the other day.
"Not a morning person?" Emma asked with a smirk as she took in the brunette's semi-frazzled appearance.
The woman looked startled at first, a light pink blush coating her cheeks as her chocolate brown eyes met Emma's.
"Actually, I am a morning person. Last night was just a very late one," Regina said with a small smile.
"Same. Well, when I have some caffeine in me anyways," Emma replied as she moved up to place her order.
She rattled off her and Neal's usual orders and stepped to the side to allow Regina to approach the counter.
"So, mind if I ask why the late night?" Emma asked curiously, her eyes searching Regina's and memorizing the speckles.
"Work," Regina replied breathlessly, "I have a very important deadline approaching and need to get everything ready as soon as possible. It has been taking most of my evenings from me."
"I understand. Work always seems to get in the way," Emma agreed. She was about to ask what the brunette's name was when her phone rang, Neal's name flashing across the screen. "Shit."
Regina's eyebrows rose as Emma answered her phone irritably.
"What? Again?!" Emma yelled, startling the brunette. Emma rubbed her temple as she looked to the brunette apologetically, "Yeah I will be right there."
"Work?"
"Unfortunately," Emma sighed as she picked up her and Neal's coffees, "I hope your work stuff goes well."
"You too," Regina replied. Emma held her gaze for a few moments before she looked away and exited the coffee shop, leaving a slightly frazzled Regina behind.
Regina turned and watched the blonde go, memorizing her backside as she walked down the street and disappeared from sight. Something about her was so familiar, but Regina couldn't place it. She thought about what Marcus had said, that the hot blonde and Emma were one in the same.
She shook her head of the thought and willed her frantically beating heart to calm down.
"Ma'am?"
Regina whipped her head up to look at the barista.
"Your coffee," The girl said with a knowing smirk as Regina took the warm liquid.
Regina merely hummed in response before turning and exiting the shop, still in a daze.
A/N: Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter