"Gold" Regina hissed.
It was six in the morning when her phone rang. She wasn't even up yet, but she knew who it was. Gold had the skill to call at the most annoying times.
Sleepily she pressed the green button and putted the phone at her ear.
"Mills!" her boss screamed.
"What is it, sir?"
"I wanted to check up on your job."
"At this hour. With all due respect but it is 6 A.M.!"
"Yes. And you should be working. This job is important, Mills, and if you fai-"
"I have got it handled, sir. I'm on my way to meet him today."
"Don't fail."
"I won't!"
"Good."
"Bye, sir." and she hung up before her boss could say anything else.
sighing, she stood up and made herself some tea. She didn't like coffee in mornings. She didn't love it at all, but she drank it to stay awake. Just like last night.
"Elizabeth Mary Warner. Hello sir, my name is Elizabeth Mary Warner." she shook her head. This wasn't the proper introduction.
She always practiced before she went to meet her target. She liked role-playing and she didn't want to miss any detail in her character. Even their introduction, handshake and body language. Everything needed to be perfect.
"Hello, I'm Elizabeth Warner. Nice to meet you." No. Too normal. "Eyo, Robbie! It's Elizabeth. Give me the five!" she laughed and shook her head. This was definitely a 'no'. "Hello. You're Mr. Locksley, right? I'm Ms. Elizabeth... Warner. It's a pleasure meet you... sir?" That was it. Formal and exactly what Regina thought a shy person' d say.
"Ms. Elizabeth Warner." Regina muttered. Something wasn't right. "Mrs. Elizabeth Warner."
Regina knew Mrs. was better. Locksley was known for flirting and he wouldn't flirt with a married woman, would he? although Regina knew she could resist falling, she wasn't in the mood for flirting.
"Hello. You're Mr. Locksley, right? I'm Mrs. Elizabeth... Warner. It's a pleasure to meet you... sir?" That was it! That sounded right.
So Regina headed content to her walk in closet.
On the wooden shelves, all sorts of clothes, accessories and shoes stood. Even 5 mannequins with wigs and all dressed up. There was a mirror in the left corner with make-up on the shelf under it.
Regina picked out a black pencil skirt, a white blouse and a creme blazer. For shoes she went for classic heels. Then she came by the wigs.
Usually, she didn't wear them. But this job was different. Normally, the target was a loner, or not under security. But Locksley had to have security and there were a lot of people who came for the business meetings. They could recognize her and she couldn't have that. The last time that happened, it didn't went well.
So she picked out a long red wig and green lenses.
Half an hour later, she was done with her clothes and make-up. She looked soft, innocent and kind. Regina was exactly the opposite. But now, she was Elizabeth. Regina needed to remind herself that every minute. She couldn't walk confident through the office door. No, she needed to lower her head and shoulders, play with the fabric of her skirt and hold tight onto her folder with drawings and pictures of her paintings in it.
She putted her butterfly knife in her purse and giggled.
Regina was ready to kill.
"Is there a possibility for a meeting with Mr. Locksley?" Regina asked to the receptionist.
"Of course, ma'am. He's free in ten minutes. You can wait here. His assistant will get you when it's time." The receptionist mumbled bored.
Regina couldn't blame her. A job as a receptionist wasn't her dream job either. It looked dull and... well... annoying to do everyday the exact same thing. Her job wasn't anything like that.
"T--Thank you so, so much. Have a great day!" Regina muttered fast and hurried to a blue plastic chair in the corner of the room.
There she went over her cover one more time and repeated her introduction sentence over and over again.
She was so in her own bubble, that she hadn't realized that a man sat on the chair next to her.
"What are you doing?" Regina snapped out of her thoughts and looked surprised over to the man at her left.
"N--Nothing... that concerns you." she giggled nervous.
"Okay..." The man doubted, but he didn't ask more. "I'm Graham."
Regina ignored the man, but he didn't stop talking about his stupid life and begging her to tell him her name.
"I'm Elizabeth, okay?" she snapped annoyed.
"Finally. Give me your phone."
Regina raised an eyebrow.
"Please?"
"No."
"Then I'll just give you my number?"
"Who says I want it?"
"I can see it in your eyes."
"Sure." Regina laughed and watched how he wrote his number on a small piece of paper.
"Here." He gave her the paper and she putted it in her purse.
"I'll call you this afternoon." She lied. Or she hoped she did. Something in her craved to be loved by another man than Daniel. But a small voice told her that Daniel was her one and only true love. It told her to remember Daniel and their dead son all the time she was around a man.
"I'm hoping for it."
Before Regina could reply, a woman tapped her on her shoulder.
"You're Elizabeth, right?" The brunette asked.
"Y--yes, why?"
"I'm Mr. Locksley's assistant. The name is Mary. He's ready for you."
Regina nodded and stood up. Without looking over to Graham she followed the woman to a black and white room. With a glass desk, a gigantic closet and full of photos of a hooded man.
Mary nodded before leaving Regina and Robin in his office.
"Goodmorning, Ms.-"
"Mrs., sir."
"I'm sorry. Mrs. Warner. You wanted to talk to me about?"
"An idea of mine. A business idea, of course."
Regina took place on the white leather chair opposite of her target. Her prey.
Like they claimed on the website, he was hooded. His body was muscular, what wasn't very difficult to see in the tight suit. And oh, how she wondered how that looked with his face. She was certain it was beautiful.
Daniel. Think of Daniel. And your job. You cannot fall.
"Mrs. Warner? Are you alright?"
"O--of course. Why?"
"Nevermind."
There was a silence. Regina didn't like the awkward silence between them. She could kill him right here and now, but she didn't want to. She wanted to hear his voice.
Daniel! Henry! Think of them! Not this hooded prey.
"Can I ask you some questions." Robin asked
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
"Well... What do you want to se-" He stopped mid sentence. "Why aren't you wearing your ring?"
"Excuse me?" Regina thought she mistaked what he just said. She wanted it to be. Because she did forget the ring. How stupid could she be?
"You aren't wearing your ring."
Shit.
"I- uh... My-"
"You work for the papers. You wanted to know how I looked." He accused.
"Oh no, Locksley. You're mistaken. I don't work for the press. They are almost as bad as the police!" Regina defended.
"Who are you?"
For some odd reason that even Regina couldn't explain, she grabbed a pen and a notepad and wrote her address and the name her apartment was registered under. She shoved it to Robin and just looked at him when he took it.
"Emily Silverlock?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Fake name." she explained.
"And Elizabeth is...?"
"Fake."
He nodded.
"Tonight. 8 P.M.. If you don't wear your mask, I won't wear mine."
"I wear a hood. Not a mask."
Regina ignored him. "No pictures, no lies, no press, no police."
Robin nodded. "I'll be there."
After hearing that, Regina left.
