Thank you all for your daily comments. They really make writing fun for me. Here is the next chapter to this story that I hope you will all fully enjoy. :) Happy reading!
Emma was spread out in one of the chairs in the brunette's office. Her legs hanging off one of the arms of the chair while her head dangled off the other. All while Regina continued to work on her design.
A light knock on the glass doors made the blonde sit up right, her eyes on Gold as he entered.
"This is my boss, please, behave," Regina quickly muttered under her breath for Emma to hear, smiling over at Gold.
Emma stood up, looking over at the man with her brow furrowed. She recognized him, but the question was from where?
"This is your boss?" She motioned to a clueless Gold, her head tilting. "Why does he look familiar?"
"I heard about what happened on Saturday. Kathryn was quite hysterical." He smiled.
"Nothing that I couldn't handle," Regina chuckled. "Kathryn likes to be a little overly dramatic sometimes, you know that."
"Of course," Gold held up his hand.
Regina's eyes followed Emma, who was circling the man, looking him over.
"This is bugging me! Where have I seen him before?" The blonde looked over at Regina, who had to remain professional.
"I trust you a hundred percent." Gold smiled. "And I know that you will have everything up and running again with this new home for Victoria. No question."
"Thank you," Regina smiled. "I know that with Marco and Son Lumber the process with be sped up. More than it was with this other lumber company I hired. It was my mistake, and I apologize."
"You did nothing wrong," Gold shook his head. "It's not like you knew they would do such a bad job. Anyway," he reached for the brunette's hands.
Emma stood near them, watching the man closely as he held onto Regina's hands.
"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," he smiled. "And remind you of my dinner invitation."
"I'm still thinking about it." Said Regina.
"Also, I wanted to take a moment and say I will be visiting your father's grave today, if that's alright."
Regina blinked, "Of course it is."
"If you need to retire early today, be my guest. I will understand."
"No," she shook her head. "I want to finish up here before I can do that." The brunette reached over for her cup of coffee once Gold released her hands, taking a quick sip.
"Well, do give my best to your mother." He nodded.
"That's it!" Emma grinned, remembering the mention of the man. "Gold! He used to be your father's college buddy, the one your mom would always say had a stick up his ass!
Regina couldn't help but spit out her coffee, her eyes growing wide and looking over at Emma before realizing she had sprayed Gold's suit jacket and part of his pants.
Gold stepped back, his eyes wide and looking down at his ruined suit, before growing concerned for Regina as she began to uncontrollably cough.
That was the only thing Regina could think to do at that moment. She coughed as loud and exaggeratingly as she could, her hand covering her mouth.
"Regina," Gold gently patted the brunette on the back. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern.
She nodded, coughing a little more for effect, praying to God she wouldn't get fired for this. Her eyes glanced over to the mess she made on Gold's suit.
"Here," Gold quickly reached for a mini bottle of water, from her desk, handing it over to her for her to take a sip. Regina always liked to keep some water nearby at work, thankfully.
Regina took the water, quickly taking a drink until she finished it all, Gold and Emma both staring wide-eyed.
"Better?" The man asked and Regina nodded, already feeling a headache coming on.
"Oh," Regina placed a hand on her chest, "I'm so sorry. Coffee went down the wrong pipe." Her eyes quickly glared at Emma as she cleared her throat.
"Oh, I hate that." Gold's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry it was me you were talking to," he smirked at his own joke.
The brunette's cheeks flushed crimson red, her hands hovering over the man's ruined suit. "I am… so sorry."
Gold's hand hovered over the brunette's shoulder, "It's quite alright."
"No," Regina groaned, shaking her head. "I am so sorry. I ruined your suit. I just- I-"
"It's totally fine. Believe me," Robert placed his hand on the woman's shoulder, a chuckle escaping him. "My mother-in-law bought me this ugly thing," he looked down at his ruined suit. "If anything you did me a favor. I hate it." He whispered over to her playfully.
Regina chuckled nervously, her cheeks still a shade of pink.
A knock made Gold, Regina, and Emma turn to the sight of Belle, who stepped right in.
"Ms. Mi- oh," she blinked in awe. "Mr. Gold, what happened?"
"Oh," the man grinned, "I'm all thumbs today. Nothing to worry about."
Regina cleared her throat, her eyes on Belle. "What is it, Belle?"
"Kathryn is on the phone for you, ma'am."
"Well," Gold looked over at Regina, "I won't take more of your time, I'll just… Change into a new suit."
"I am so, so sorry, Robert. I insist, send me your cleaning bill. I will cover it."
Robert shook his head, "Nonsense. Getting splattered by coffee doesn't do a man bad once in a while," he chuckled at his own joke, patting the brunette's arm lightly. "Let's work hard."
With Gold and Belle gone, Regina squeezed the bottle of water until her knuckles turned white, her eyes glaring right at Emma.
"You know, now that you're an adult, you sure are a tad scary." Emma backed up a few steps, an apologetic smile stretching across her lips.
Regina glared. She glared so hard, Emma could swear the woman wasn't blinking.
"I'll just…" Emma motioned toward the door, "Yeah." She walked out of the brunette's office and decided to look around for the day.
By the end of the day, Regina drove home with the biggest headache of all. Especially since Emma still decided to hang around, though she was thankful she left her alone enough to concentrate on work rather than worry about her ruining anymore of Gold's suits. Her cheeks turned red every time she thought about that.
"I'm sorry about ruining your boss's suit," Emma smiled, peeking into the brunette's bedroom as she was dressed in an all black tight dress that made her legs stand right out.
Regina looked over at Emma through her mirror while she set down her lipstick. "If you're really sorry, you would make it up to me by disappearing all through this dinner meeting."
Emma's head tilted, her eyes taking in just how great Regina looked in that dress. "If this is how you go to all your dinner meetings…"
Regina glared over her shoulder at the blonde.
"I'll behave," Emma stood up right, smirking. She lifted up her hand while placing another on her heart. "Scouts honor."
"Why is it that I don't trust that?" Regina grabbed her newly purchased cellphone, placed it in her purse and began to walk out of her room.
Emma followed right behind. "Hey," her brows knitted. "That hurts, Gi- Regina, Regina." She repeated after another glare tossed her way. "You can trust me. You certainly used to when you were a kid."
"Yeah, well, I was naive then." Regina turned right to Emma, her hand on the doorknob. "I also thought you would stick around forever." She smiled sarcastically and walked out.
"You're never gonna let that go, are you?" Emma murmured, chuckling to herself as she headed out the door to catch up to Regina. "So is this how you're going to spend your birthday? By having a dinner meeting with some clown?"
"I don't celebrate my birthday anymore." Regina admitted, walking down the hallway and toward the elevator. She had gained a strange look from one of the neighbor's on her floor, having heard her say something to someone that wasn't there, but she just kept on walking.
"And why not? You used to when you were a kid," Emma stepped into the elevator.
"Yeah, well, I stopped being one." Regina said plainly.
Emma's eyes followed the blueprints Regina had hanging by her shoulder in a blueprint tube, followed by a flat portfolio that resembled a briefcase.
"What do you have there?" She asked the brunette curiously.
Regina sighed, "A couple of my designs on some homes I've been working on."
"Is that what your life is all about? Constant work?"
"It pays the bills to make a living, Emma."
"Sure, but if you don't stop to look around you once in a while, I know you can miss a lot." Emma shrugged.
Regina blinked, her head cocked to one side. "Where did you hear that?" What were the odds she was using the same words her mother did?
Once again, Emma shrugged, "It just came to me."
Regina's eyes narrowed, but she let the conversation go once the elevator doors opened, and she hurried over to her car.
"Regina."
Emma rolled her eyes as they landed on a grinning Graham. "This guy again?"
"Be nice," the brunette murmured under her breath, smiling over at the man. "Graham." She nodded.
"Wow, you look…" Graham breathed out, his eyes raking over the woman's dress, ending right at her cleavage. "Fantastic."
"Yeah-" Emma moved behind the man, standing awfully close. "Those aren't her eyes, Mr. Smitten."
"Thank you, Graham." Regina's eyes followed Emma, but her words were directed at Graham. "I hate to run out on you again, but I really must get going."
"You have a big date tonight, huh?" He asked with a frown.
"It's not a date." Said Emma.
"It's not a date." Regina repeated to him, shaking her head."
"It's not?" His eyes couldn't have lit up more to the wonderful news.
"I have dinner scheduled with a very important client. Someone I'm hoping to do business with." She glanced down at her watch, "Which I don't want to be late for, so-"
"Please!" Graham hurried over to the woman's car, pulling the door open for her. "Allow me."
"Thank you," Regina smiled, mounting her car.
Emma stood by just watching, her arms crossed.
"Bye, Graham," the brunette waved once she started up her vehicle.
"Bye." He waved back, watching her drive off before going inside his booth and taking a seat in the only chair.
Emma appeared right behind Graham, who continued to read his hunting magazine. What could Regina have possibly seen in him to want to sleep with him? She didn't get it. Sure, he was a good looking guy, obviously built. But, so what? She had muscles, too. Regina and her went way back, and she swore to always be there for her and keep her safe. Well, she was back and she would do exactly that, even if that meant keeping clowns like Graham here away from her.
Graham reached over for his bottle of water, took a drink and set it back against the table before flipping to a new page of the magazine.
A tiny smirk spread across the blonde's lips as she extended her arm over, the tip of her finger pinned against the mouth of the opened bottle.
"Terribly sorry about this Grahammy-boy, but Regina's spoken for." She tipped the bottle, watching it spill all over Graham's lap before walking out of the booth.
"What the hell?!" The man shouted from inside the booth, staring quizzically at the bottle by his feet, spilling and creating a puddle of water beneath his feet. "Shit." He murmured.
Emma's smirk grew as she walked out of the garage before disappearing entirely.
Maggianio's Little Italy restaurant had a quaint look to it. There was a bar area with a couple of booths for couples enjoying a more intimate dinner. The walls were made entirely of brick, which gave the place a more homey feel to it as well as its music and waiters. There were pictures of Italy in black and white hanging on each wall. On the other side of the restaurant, there was a section with smaller tables, each placed with their own individual distance, covered in red and white checkered tablecloths. The light was dim as single candles were placed right in the middle of the tables to give the ambient a more romantic feel.
There was a small patio with a couple of outdoor tables, but August felt like waiting in one of the ones from inside for this meeting. He was overly excited about this. Not only about their business deal, but of seeing Regina again. He knew she didn't remember, since they only had met briefly as kids, but he remembered her well.
Regina didn't know where Emma had gone after she drove off, and frankly if the blonde had decided to leave, it was better for her. Maybe this meeting could go smoothly without her around.
The brunette was shown to her table, where a grinning August stood from his seat to greet her.
"Regina, it's wonderful to see you," he placed a kiss right on her cheek, pulling out a chair for her to have a seat.
"Thank you." Regina sat, her eyes on August who moved back to his seat. "I'm sorry I'm a little late. Traffic was murder."
"Don't even worry about it," he grinned. "Drink?" He asked.
"Please." Regina sat down her blueprints against another chair.
"The usual, please," August informed the waitress, who went on her way.
"This is a great place." Regina acknowledged. "I've driven by it so many times but never actually stepped inside."
"It's my father's favorite restaurant." August beamed. "Says it makes him feel like back at home."
"How is Marco?" Asked the brunette. "I trust he is feeling better?"
"Oh, fine. He was delighted when I gave him the news of your call and this dinner I would be having with you. I belive he said, 'my boy… you blow this deal and you're out of the will.' He grinned, putting on his best Italian accent that his father had.
Regina chuckled, "On the contrary, I should be careful not to blow this deal with you. Gold was quite proud that I was able to finally get a spot with Marco and Son Lumber."
"He'll have your job if you blow it?" August asked.
"I'm pretty certain, yes."
He released a laugh, both their attentions turning to the waitress as she came back with his usual bottle of wine.
"Please, no," August reached for the bottle of wine from the waitress's hands, "Allow me." He took the bottle opener from her hands and opened it, pouring a glass for Regina first and then for him.
"What will you be having this evening?" The waitress asked, pulling out her pad and pen from her apron pocket.
"I'll have the fresh grilled asparagus. Well done on the steak, please." Regina handed her menu to the waitress.
"And for you, sir?" She turned to August.
"I will go with…" August looked through the menu.
"Remember to get something extra for me." Regina jumped at the sudden sight of Emma, sitting right by a clueless August. "This spaghetti with meatballs sounds good."
Regina cleared her throat, "Go away," she mumbled under her breath.
"What?" August asked, looking up from his menu, while the waitress stared at her.
The brunette cleared her throat a bit more, shaking her head. "Excuse me, I just… I have a tickle in my throat." She took a quick sip of her wine, her eyes glaring at Emma.
"I think I'll go with the spaghetti with meatballs tonight," he handed over his menu with a grin. "Extra sauce, please."
"Ohhh," Emma grinned, turning to Regina. "I like him. Tell him to order one for me, too."
"I shall bring your order in just a moment."
"Gina, please, I'm starving!" Emma whispered, sitting by the brunette this time.
Regina cleared her throat, her hand raised to gain the waitress attention. "May I have the same, please?"
"Certainly! Shall I cancel your previous order, then?" The waitress asked.
"No."
August and the waitress gawked.
"So, that's the steak with asparagus, and potatoes…" The girl looked down at her written order before looking up at the brunette. "And an order of spaghetti with meatballs, extra sauce?" She couldn't believe someone so fit would eat that much.
Regina's eyes moved to August's, who still gawked at her. "Yes."
Emma grinned, leaning into Regina, "and garlic bread." She whispered.
"And garlic bread." Regina murmured, seeing August's eyebrows hit his hairline.
"I'll be back with your order." The waitress gawked before walking away.
"You're really going to eat all that?" Asked August.
"I… Skipped lunch today," Regina grinned, her cheeks a shade of pink.
He chuckled, "Well- hey, by all means. I appreciate a woman who can order a real meal."
Regina's eyes looked over at Emma who was enjoying a bread stick before taking a sip of her wine.