A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and enjoying the previous update. As promised, here is the next one that I hope you equally enjoy. :) Happy reading to all!
Regina placed her sunglasses on, still feeling the aftermath of alcohol she had consumed the previous night as she made her way toward her car.
"Regina!"
The brunette stopped, sighing to herself in annoyance. "If you struck me with a lighting bolt, I'd be so thankful right now." She spoke to God, glancing upward before turning to face Graham, her eyes falling on the single rose he held in his hand.
"Happy birthday." He smiled, handing her the rose.
"Oh," Regina forced a smile.
"Hey," Emma raised a single brow, looking over a grinning Graham. "Who's this clown?" She motioned at him with her thumb.
"Graham," Regina murmured.
"Yes?" Graham's eyes lit up. He loved the sound of his name coming out her lips.
While Emma continuously glared at the clueless man, Regina quickly shook her head, accepting the man's flower while eyeing Emma.
"Thank you for the lovely flower." She smiled seductively at him. "I really must be going now."
"Uh, Regina…" Graham removed his cap, running a single hand through his hair. "Uh… I- I was hoping, you know, uh…"
"Oh, Lord," Emma rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips.
"If maybe, you would like to, uh… Get that coffee later?"
"You've gotta be shitting me." Emma shook her head.
Regina's eyes moved from Emma to Graham, thankful that he could not see them beyond her sunglasses. "Um… I actually have dinner plans." She watched the man deflate before her. "I'm sorry."
"Dinner plans?" Emma's brow raised.
"Oh," Graham rubbed the back of his neck. "Of- of course you do." He smiled. "Maybe some other time?"
"Maybe," Regina nodded, turning to her car and getting in.
Emma glared at the man, then at Regina. "Oh… Thank you for the lovely flower." She mocked the brunette, rushing over to the car.
"Bye, Graham," the brunette waved at him as she drove off.
"Bye." He waved back, heading inside his booth again.
"So…" Emma looked over to Regina, who was hoping to have a peaceful drive to work. "This Graham guy…"
"He's nothing." Regina quickly responded, keeping her eyes on the road.
"Really? Hm," Emma reached over for the rose, "Well he doesn't seem to think so." She brought the rose close to her nose, taking a sniff.
Regina rolled her eyes.
"You wanna know what I think?"
"No."
"I think that this Graham guy is sweet on you." The blonde waved the rose before Regina's face, a grin stretching across her lips.
Regina rolled down her window, reached for the rose, snatching it from Emma's hand and threw it out.
Emma blinked at the quick action before settling in her seat again. There was a while of silence before she decided to speak again.
"Okay, birthday flowers are out of the question," she murmured. "Guess I'll just have to think of something else to gift you with. You know- something you couldn't throw out a car window."
"Oh, I know!" Regina perked up, smiling sarcastically at Emma. "Why don't you do that thing you did years ago? You know, when I was nine and you disappeared?"
"Come on, Gina-" Emma held up her hands as she earned a glare from the brunette. "Regina! Regina. I'm sorry. How many times are you going to make me apologize for something I had no control over?"
"Try thirty years." Regina muttered under her breath.
"Thirty-?" The blonde's brows hit her hairline. "Thirty years?" Her jaw hit her lap, her eyes stared at the road ahead of them while Regina remained silent. "Shit." She breathed out. "Wait… So that would make you…?"
Regina bit the inside of her cheek. "Forty," she muttered uncomfortably, given that Emma still looked as good as she remembered her to be. She would never stop being twenty-seven.
"Forty," Emma murmured, her brows hitting her hairline again. Her head cocked to one side, a tiny smirk forming at the corner of her lip as she noticed the three undone buttons of the brunette's shirt.
"What?" Regina stared at her, covering up her chest with one hand.
"Nothing," Emma chuckled. "I was just looking…"
"Well, stop it. You aren't allowed to look."
"Okay, I'm sorry." Emma looked back up at the road before turning back to have one last look. "Can I just say one more thing?"
Regina rolled her eyes, releasing a heavy sigh. "No, but you're going to anyway."
"Well, if you don't want to hear how hot I think you are," Emma shrugged, staring back up at the road. "Because you are."
Regina shook her head, praying to God that Emma would just disappear.
"Where are we?" Asked Emma, following Regina into her work building, her eyes exploring how tall the building was from the outside.
Regina kept walking toward the building, leaving her sunglasses on and deciding that if maybe, she ignored Emma, she would go away.
"Regina?" Emma followed the brunette through the double glass doors, her eyes falling on Belle who rushed right over.
"Good morning, Ms. Mills," Belle greeted her, following the brunette toward the elevator.
"Morning, Belle," Regina nodded, pressing the button to call the elevator.
Emma observed the younger brunette. "You're her boss?" She asked the brunette, impressed.
Regina sighed, rubbing at her temple that was throbbing just by the sound of Emma's voice. "Any calls?" Her question went to Belle.
"Yes," Belle went through her notes, stepping inside the elevator before Emma. "Uh, your mother called, just to wish you a happy birthday- oh, happy birthday, Ms. Mills!" She smiled.
"Thank you." Regina removed her sunglasses.
"Mommy dearest is alive and kicking?" Emma smiled, her gaze on Regina. "Hey, how is dear old Cora?" She leaned into Regina, grunting as the brunette's elbow met her stomach.
Belle turned to the brunette, noticing her flinch but didn't ask questions as she just looked back down at her notes. "Mrs. Mills said she's been trying to reach you on your cell but you weren't picking up. She's worried."
"Yes," Regina sighed, remembering this morning's incident with her cell. "I will call her, thank you."
"Also, Mrs. Belfrey called, she wanted to go over some ideas with you on her new home."
"Call her back for me and patch her through." Said Regina, walking out of the elevator.
"Yes, ma'am." Belle wrote down a little note for herself, following the brunette.
"And Belle?"
"Yes?"
"Be a dear and bring me a strong coffee, please." Regina smiled.
"Of course," Belle scattered away, unaware that Emma's gaze followed her.
"She's cute," Emma entered the brunette's office, having a look around while the brunette began to prepare everything for a day's work. "Wow. You really grew up, huh?" She smiled, eyeing the brunette who continued to ignore her.
Regina stood near her drafting desk that was stationed near the biggest and only window in her office, beginning her work on some last minute measurements.
Emma leaned over to have a look outside the window, taking in how high up they were from the concrete. The cars looked like ants, scattering by and the city of New York looked absolutely stunning from this height.
"This is so high up," Emma turned her attention to the brunette. "Hey, how many stories is this?"
Regina's pencil scratched against her design, the bright light of her desk illuminating her sketch for one of Victoria Belfrey's homes.
Emma leaned behind the brunette's shoulder, glancing over at her drawing. "You drew this?" She asked her, going ignored. "You always did draw really cute pictures as a kid," the memory made her smile.
Regina's office phone rang, causing her to whirl around in her chair and stand to answer it, brushing right by Emma.
Emma gawked, "Oh… I see what's going on here. You're giving me the silent treatment." She moved closer to Regina. "But you know you can't ignore me forever."
The brunette cleared her throat before answering her phone, a smile spread across her lips. "Victoria, always lovely to hear your voice." She elbowed Emma once again right in the gut as she felt the blonde wanting to listen in on their conversation.
"Always lovely to hear yours, Regina. I tried reaching you on your cell this morning… You know I hate to interrupt while you are at the office."
"Yes, well," Regina's eyes moved over to Emma who reached over for her pad of sticky notes and a pen. "I had a little problem with my phone this morning, I'll need to go out and get a replacement today. I do… Apologize," her brow furrowed.
Emma held up the pad that read: I'm Sorry on it.
Regina reached over, ripping the note right off, only to read the following: I'm REALLY Sorry.
"It's quite alright, these things happen…"
Regina ripped the paper off, crumbling up into a ball and throwing a glare right at Emma.
"I just had a few ideas on my next home and I wanted to run them by you. That is, if you have time?"
Accept my apology? Was the next thing Regina read. "No!" She shouted.
"Oh… Well, alright, we can always talk-"
"No!" Regina blurted out, quickly shaking her head and eyeing the others outside of her office that were looking her way, clearing having heard her scream. "I'm sorry- I meant, yes, o- of course I have time." She forced a smile, glaring back at Emma who held up a new page of the sticky pad with a sad face drawn on it.
The brunette yanked the pad away from her hands and tossed it across the office.
"Excellent! Well, I was thinking of adding a pond right near the edge of the yard. What would you think?"
"I-" Regina chuckled, "I think you are really going for the new oriental look."
A laugh was heard escaping from the phone. "Yes, well… It's the new look! I just love oriental for a new home. Especially here."
"Yes, well, you can add anything you like, I could design it for you."
"Wonderful, darling! That's why I love you!"
Emma's eyes followed Belle as she came into the brunette's office, smiling and placing down her coffee.
"We'll talk soon. I'd love to invite you to dinner to see your wonderful designs on my other homes, and once this new home is done I will be hosting a party and you're invited!"
Regina nodded in appreciation toward Belle, turning her attention away from Emma, who followed Belle until she reached the door to the office. "I appreciate the invitation. You can count on me being there. It'd be an honor." She smiled.
"Ta-ta!"
The brunette sighed, hanging up the call, her eyes on Emma, "If you could please stop eyeing Belle." She hissed at her.
"Oh, so now you're talking to me?" Emma's brow lifted, standing before the annoyed brunette as she took a sip of her coffee. A smile spread across the blonde's lips.
"What?" Regina noticed Emma's gaze glued to her.
"I just think it's cute how after all these years, you still get jealous over me eyeing someone else that isn't you." She grinned.
The brunette scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, Emma."
"Are you saying I'm not your girlfriend anymore?" Asked Emma, leaning against the brunette's desk, her brow arched.
Regina's eyes locked on Emma's green ones, having forgotten how incredibly beautiful her eyes were.
"Ms. Mills," Belle popped her head through the office door. "Your son is on line one."
Regina quickly answered her office phone, her eyes on Emma as she was once again watching Belle.
Emma turned to a glaring brunette, she placed her hands in front of her in truce. "I'm behaving."
"Hi, Henry," she smiled, keeping her eyes on Emma who silently looked around her office. "How is your trip?"
"Great! We are having such a blast, mom!"
Emma shuffled through the pages of a book on architecture, leaning against the wall while she glanced through various pictures.
"That's wonderful, dear. And how are… Your father and Marian?"
"They're great! Dad is taking us out to dinner tonight. I'm only sad I can't be with you on your birthday."
Emma's eyes looked up at the brunette from behind the book.
"We'll see each other this weekend, and I promise this time we will go to that arcade you love so much." Regina was startled to see Emma right before her as she turned on her heels. She pushed her off, but the blonde only leaned further into the phone to hear their conversation.
"Really? Is that a promise?"
"That's a promise." She smiled, glaring at Emma who remained too close to her. "Listen, Henry, I have to get going, but I love you."
"I love you, too, mom. Bye!"
"Bye." Regina pushed Emma away, "Will you- do you have to stand so close?"
"I'm sorry, it's just… Well, you smell so good." The blonde smiled.
Regina rolled her eyes, walking up to her drafting desk and continuing to work.
"No, but seriously, Regina- you're a mom." Emma dragged a chair near the brunette, watching her concentrated features. "I think that's great. I can see how much you love Henry, you know."
"He's the only good thing that came out of my failed marriage," Regina murmured, her hand sketching away on her design.
"Yeah, about that… Why marry? I mean, why Robin?" She squinted her face, not seeing the appeal at all. "On top of that you banged the security guard-"
"Graham was a mistake." Regina urged to explain, focusing her sight on her work instead of Emma.
"And Robin?" Emma asked.
Regina's gaze looked into Emma's green eyes, her pencil no longer moving.
A knock disturbed their moment, followed by Belle who peeked in. "Ms. Mills, sorry but Mr. Booth wanted to know if your dinner was still a yes for tonight."
"Oh, August!" Regina nodded, "Yes, Belle. Tell him I will be there at seven. Thank you."
Emma's brow raised as she kept her gaze on Regina.
"What?" Asked the brunette.
"Who's this August?" She asked.
"He's- wait a minute," Regina straightened in her chair. "Why do I have to give you any sort of explanation regarding my life?"
"Well, excuse me, but I am your first girlfriend here. Or should I say was." Emma crossed her arms over her chest, practically offended that Regina forgot it all.
The brunette chuckled, "You are not my girlfriend, Emma."
"Oh, I'm not your girlfriend anymore?" She asked. "Why don't you ask your nine year old self, who swore we would marry as soon as she reached adulthood?"
Regina's lips parted in surprise. Was Emma jealous? "Wait a minute," she leaned in. "Don't tell me you're actually jealous?"
"Pfft," Emma stood up from her chair, pacing a few steps around the office.
"Wait," Regina turned in her chair. "If you're jealous over a business dinner… Does that mean you… Took this whole girlfriend thing seriously between us?"
There was a pause where Emma tucked her hands inside her pockets.
"Business dinner?" She asked.
Regina nodded, "Yes, Emma. It's strictly business."
A tiny smile wanted to tug at the corner of the blonde's lips. "And the other thing?"
"I was nine," Regina chuckled.
"Right." Emma nodded, putting on her best smile. "Besides, what kinda relationship could we ever have, huh? It's crazy."
"Yeah."
And somewhere inside her heart, Regina felt an ache. A tiny ache she hadn't felt in a very long time.
Meanwhile, two co-workers that worked on the same floor as Regina observed through her window as the brunette seemed to be talking to someone… Or something? Whoever or whatever it was, it wasn't there.
"Has she… Always talked to herself?" A woman asked.
"Maybe it's a new form of gathering ideas?" The man asked back, both staring at her with a puzzled look.