It had been a month since the date. Anna and Elsa had spent some time together but then a big proposal had come in that Elsa had to take care of personally and their time had been cut down.
Anna tried doing little things for Elsa, making sure to order her lunch. Or if she knew the blonde was working late, Anna would drop off coffee and some food for Elsa and her team. She would also go over and feed Olaf and Marshmallow.
Phil and Anna had talked about maybe looking into little projects, ones that wouldn't eat up her life with publicity all the time. As such, he'd found some independent scripts for her to look over. In fact she was sitting at her favorite corner table at her favorite cafe going over a script when she heard muttering, excited whispering and she looked up, her eyes narrowing. She grabbed her phone and sent a quick text message before setting back as the person causing a stir walked over to her.
"Anna! So nice to see you!" Hans Westergaard said, dropping uninvited to the chair, that insincere, smarmy smile on his lips.
"Hans, I wish I could say the same," Anna replied, taking pleasure in the way that smile faltered for just a moment. Did he really think she would be happy to see him?
What a delusional idiot.
She would have asked how he knew where she was but then Anna remembered her posting about her favorite cafe when she got here. Damn it.
It had been part of her plan to work her way back out there, rebuild her 'brand' so to speak. It was definitely inviting unwanted attention already.
Hans being here meant he'd been here already and so Anna closed the scripts and set them in her bag. Once that was done, she sat back in her seat, her face impassive as she stared him down. "What was so important that you came hunting for me, Westergaard?" Anna asked, wanting this over with.
"I want to give you that role you bowed out of back," he said with a smile. "Do you a favor after all this...unpleasantness, after all. Get you back into roles you're suited for."
Anna rolled her eyes as she listened to him. How had she ever found him interesting or attractive? She brought a hand up to cover her smirk as she remembered Elsa's comment about his sideburns.
"Look Hans, I..." she faltered as she saw Elsa stepping into the cafe, pulling off her sunglasses then strode over to Anna's table.
"Anna, darling," Elsa practically purred, short circuiting Anna's thoughts, especially when she followed that up with a kiss to Anna's temple. "I'm sorry I'm late to our lunch. Who's your guest?"
Anna blinked looking up at Elsa for a moment and then she looked over to Hans, who was staring at them surprised. No, flabbergasted. She looked to Elsa as she grabbed a chair, then pulled it close and sat it near Anna, placing her hand on the redhead's knee.
Finally something clicked in Anna's brain - Elsa was acting possessive. Staking a claim in front of Hans.
"Hans Westergaard, this is Elsa Glace. We're...she's..." Anna paused. The two of them had yet to figure this out. Put a title on it. Well, to be fair, Anna knew what Elsa would want. She was waiting for Anna to figure out if she would want the same thing. "This is my girlfriend."
She couldn't miss the way that Elsa's hand tightened on her knee for a brief moment anymore than she could miss Hans' completely flabbergasted look as he looked between the two women.
"Els, why don't you go get your lunch? I know you're often on a tight schedule," she suggested, giving the blonde a little nudge."Can you get me a brownie?"
"Of course, Anna," Elsa said, standing up,moving her hand to caress Anna's shoulder. "Can I get you anything, Hans?"
To anyone who didn't know Elsa, they'd figure she was being perfectly friendly, but Anna could read her body language better than anyone perhaps. Elsa was being that politely cold and icy that told Anna Elsa would spear the man across the table from her if she had half a second to do so.
"A..." Hans twisted in his seat, squinting to read the board. "A green tea," he ordered.
"Of course," Elsa said. "I'll be right back."
Anna watched Elsa go, blinking when she realized Han was talking.
"Excuse me?" she said, clearing her throat.
"I'd never realized you were interested in women, I said," Hans repeated, taking that tone that Anna knew meant he thought she was slower than molasses on a cold day.
Anna took a deep breath. "Elsa is special," she said with a smile. "Look, Hans, I get it you need me back, and I didn't just 'bow out' of that role. I quit because I couldn't stand the thought of working with a lying cheat," she growled.
"Public opinion, darling, is you're the lying cheat," Hans pointed out, a smarmy smile creeping back onto those lips.
"I know what people think. And I've let them think it. I protected you. Stupidly, I protected your family's reputation. I don't want the role. I'm sure you'll find some other floozy to take the role. I mean you've had a month and a half to work on that, right?" Anna said, looking over to see Elsa come back over with her own lunch, a brownie for Anna and Hans' drink. She was impressed with Elsa's balancing act and stood up to help, setting Hans' in front of him, resisting the childish urge to drop his hot tea into his lap.
She watched as Hans took a moment to doctor the tea with way more sugar and too much cream. A good green tea didn't need that at all. Anna resisted the urge to shake her head.
"Look, Anna, I heard through the grapevine that you're looking at some third rate shitty indies, and you're much too good for that, Anna. Don't you agree, Elsa?" Hans asked, looking at the blonde.
Anna looked at Elsa, who somehow managed to look elegant even while eat a deli shop sandwich. She was curious to know what Elsa would say. Anna watched as Elsa carefully sat her sandwich down, then dabbed at her lips, looking as if she was considering the question before fixing Hans with her stare.
"What I think, Mr. Westergaard, is Anna is an extremely talented actress capable of raising the quality of any film she is in, no matter the...quality of script, director, producer, or even the quality of skill from her co-stars," Elsa finally said, a slight smirk touching her lips.
Anna turned her gaze to Hans, almost laughing at the look on his face as he puzzled out if Elsa was insulting him. Instead she took a dainty bite of her brownie. "Thank you, Elsa," she said softly.
It surprised her when Elsa kissed her temple and Anna wondered what was going on in the blonde's mind. She'd make sure to swing by this evening and talk to Elsa without an audience.
"Well," Hans finally stated. "Your loyalty is admirable, Ms. Glace." He then turned his attention back to Anna and smiled as he stood up. "Look, I can see you're adamant, for the moment." That smile turned cold. "Just don't forget who you're dealing with. I'll be in this...town for a while longer. I'm sure you'll be calling me."
Anna waited while he walked away with his tea then looked at Elsa. "I wasn't expecting you to show up," she admitted. "I'm glad you did. But..."
"When I got your text, I had to come. No way I was going to let you deal with Sideburns by yourself. He's even worse in person. Ugh. What...you know what, never mind...I don't want to know." Elsa shuddered dramatically.
Anna chuckled aware of what it was Elsa had been about to ask. "I...am wondering the same thing and I have to say I don't know." She stared at her brownie. "I think I was dazzled someone with his connections and family 'pedigree' would be interested in me." She chuckled. "Oh well."
Elsa opened her mouth to say something but then was interrupted by her phone going off. A text from Belle. "Damn it," she muttered. "I...have to get back to work but I am going to have Belle clear any meetings I have this evening. I doubt any of them are more important than us."
Anna found herself staring into those ice blue eyes and she could see the worry and doubt there. "Let me know what you want, I'll be at your place with food and take care of the furkids for you," Anna said, kissing Elsa's cheek before she was too far away. "Hope the meetings all go well, Els," she said quietly.
Elsa nodded, gathering her trash and tossing it. "Of course. I"ll text you as soon as I know how soon I can get out. Thank you."
Anna looked down at her bag and then stood up, wincing as her thighs and ass protested the movement given how long she had been sitting. No point in just sitting around. She had a surprise for Elsa she wanted to take care of.