Chapter 2: The Proposal

Regina leaned back in her desk chair, looking at the headshots spread out over her desk as she cursed her thoughtless comment. She knew she couldn't hide it from her parents and so had told them everything, though she left out the part about how Leopold's gaze had made her uncomfortable. Zelena had defended her actions, confirming that he had very traditional views on family and that Victoria Belfrey was a credible threat. Though Daddy was a bit uncomfortable about lying, Mother agreed it was for the best while they tried to buy Blanchard Electronics. She offered to reach out to an agency for some models and wannabe actors who could be a suitable pretend fiancé for Regina on short notice.

It was amazing how many men were willing to play a role in this charade.

She picked up the headshot of Percy le Gros, studying him. He looked like he could play a distinguished businessman, which she figured would be their cover story—two successful executives who turned business into pleasure. He was handsome and she believed he had All-American good looks, though she couldn't tell his eye color or hair color as his headshot was in black and white. Still, she believed she could act attracted to him. It was only for a few weeks, not a lifetime commitment after all.

A sharp knock on her door interrupted her thoughts and she sighed, setting down the headshot. "Come in," she called out.

The door opened and her assistant Tink stuck her head in. "I'm sorry to bother you but Mr. Gold has stopped by to see you."

Regina tried not to groan but a little slipped out. Her assistant looked hesitant. "Do you want me to tell him you're on a conference call or something?"

"No, no," she said, sighing. "Might as well see what he wants. Send him in."

Tink nodded, turning around and stepping away. Within seconds, Gold entered the room, leaning on his cane. He glanced behind her. "And don't forget my coffee. A dash of cream and two sugars. I'll know if you don't follow that exactly."

"Do I need to remind you that you retired from working here, which also means you retired from barking orders at assistants? Especially mine?" Regina crossed her arms as she glared at the man who had been her mentor since she was a young woman.

Edgar Gold chuckled as he approached the chair. He wore a gray three-piece suit with a mauve shirt and tie. She noticed that he had finally cut his hair, which had always been on the long side, and let its natural gray color come through rather than the dyed brown he used to have. It made him look distinguished, though she imagined the other look had been because he didn't want to be mistaken for Gideon's grandfather rather than his father. She was glad he had given up caring about that.

"I see your sass is still intact," he said, easing himself down into a nearby chair. He then smiled at her. "It's good to see you, Regina."

Her smirk softened into a smile and she relaxed in her chair. "It's good to see you as well. Are you enjoying retirement? Belle and Gideon keeping you on your toes?"

"Pretty much," he chuckled. "Gideon more than his mother. Wish I could keep up but you know this leg of mine gives me an issue."

Gold rubbed his right leg, growing wistful as he considered the injury he had gotten in some war or something. He was never forthcoming about it, though Regina knew he had served briefly in the British army. No one ever pushed, though, and so they just had to guess what had happened to him. She personally believed he had been some sort of spy and had been injured during a mission that had gone wrong, which had led to his retirement from that life and driven him to the cutthroat world of business for his thrills.

She felt her lips twitch. "Don't sell yourself short, Gold. I've seen you chase him around at company picnics-you also have always been able to keep up with Henry and Margot."

It had been a surprise the first time she had seen him give chase to toddler Henry, pretending to be a monster who was going to take the boy's cookies if he caught him. She had seen a different side to her mentor and she enjoyed it, loving how he became a second grandfather to her son. With no father in his life, she wanted to make sure Henry had all the male influences possible.

"Well, that certainly was an ego boost," Gold replied before growing serious. "I'm afraid I didn't come here to have a nice catch up chat. I had lunch with your mother yesterday."

Her smile faltered as she grew more serious, straightening up in her seat. "She told you how our earnings for the year aren't where we need them to be."

"She didn't have to," he replied. "I still watch the news and read the papers, Regina. I know what's going on and I think you are wise to try to get Blanchard Electronics now that Leopold wants to sell."

Tink opened the door, carefully carrying a hot cup of coffee for Gold. She moved as quickly as she could without spilling it on her gray dress and green sweater. Handing it to him, she glanced over a Regina. She nodded at the younger blonde woman and watched as Tink left the room.

Once she was gone, Regina turned back to Gold. "But…?"

He frowned. "There is no but."

She raised an eyebrow, knowing it was coming and wondering what his game was. "Really? Because you're using the same tone you did whenever you were about to impart advice or give me some information to help me."

"Ahh, that's because I am here to do that, dearie," he replied, grinning as he leaned back in his chair. "Your mother told me about your...predicament."

Regina closed her eyes, wishing she could disappear through the floor. "Of course she did."

"I'm impressed. If I had to guess who would create a fake fiancé for a business deal, I would've picked Zelena over you. But I'm glad you're doing what you have to do," he said, sounding proud of her.

She opened her eyes, scowling at him. "I'm not proud that I lied and I'm just hoping this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. Which is why I'm trying to find the perfect fake fiancé."

He nodded, looking over the mess of headshots on her desk. Gold reached over and picked up Percy's. "Is this the lucky winner?"

"He seems to be," she admitted before regretting it. She needed to at least sound confident or Gold would start to pick everything apart, especially since she couldn't shake the feeling that he came there for a specific reason he had yet to reveal.

Gold frowned, shaking his head. "He's not the one."

Surprise and annoyance filled Regina. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a say in this."

"My family's financial security is also on the line," he reminded her with a sharp look. "I think that gives me something of a say."

"Fine," she huffed. "And why isn't Percy le Gros the one?"

Gold set the picture down. "He looks too young, for starters. I can't imagine you rocking the cradle."

"Are you calling me old?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in warning.

"Of course not," he assured her. "I'm saying he looks like he should still be playing college students, not established businessmen."

She winced as she looked at Percy again, knowing he had a point. Still, she asked: "Maybe if I asked him to grow a beard?"

"He'd just look like a hipster college student," Gold replied in deadpan.

Regina sighed as she threw the headshot to the side. She motioned to the other ones. "Then who would you recommend?"

He stood, walking to her side of the desk. She rolled away to give him some space as he looked over the different headshots. Regina crossed her arms, tapping her foot in midair as she waited for him to find someone he felt would be her perfect fiancé. The sooner he did it, the sooner she could tear into it and then show him out.

"Most of these men, including Percy le Gros, look more like who your mother would pick out for you," he said. "And we both know you two have very different ideas when it comes to romantic partners."

She frowned, knowing he was right. After all, Gold had witnessed quite a few fights between her and Mother over romantic partners since she started dating in her teens. Most of them had ended up being about Daniel, who Mother had reluctantly accepted when it became clear that Regina truly loved him and he truly loved her.

Mother, though, had been the one to go to Regina to the hospital to identify Daniel's body after the incident. She had held Regina has she had cried over her fiancé's body and supported her through the grief process. They had their differences but when it came down to it, Mother always supported her.

"This one," Gold said, interrupting her morose thoughts. "He's more your type."

She blinked and realized Gold was holding a headshot in his hand. Regina frowned, reaching out for it. On it was a man who appeared close in age to her, judging by the laugh lines she saw around his eyes even though he was not smiling in the photograph. Scruff covered his cheeks and chin, giving him a bit more of a rugged look than the clean-cut models most of the agencies had sent over. An intensity in his eyes remained undimmed in the photograph and it gave her a good chill.

"I don't remember seeing this one," she mused. She flipped it over and was confused not to see the contact information for an agency printed there. Instead, there was just a post-it note with handwritten information.

Robin Locksley

555-2323

"Was this really on my desk?" she asked Gold.

He held her gaze as he leaned on his cane. "You think I snuck it in there?"

"Yes," she replied, flipping it back over. There was something about the man in the photograph that intrigued her. "Who is he?"

"A good friend of Belle's. He poses for her from time to time. She's tried to get him into modeling but he's resisted it," Gold said.

She raised her eyebrow. "And why is he interested in being my fake fiancé?"

Gold dropped her gaze and annoyance flared up inside her, though this time it was on behalf of this Robin Locksley. She scowled at him. "Alright, so he doesn't know you're doing this. So why would you think he'd be interested in this?"

"He needs the money," Gold replied bluntly. "He's a widower with a young son. He works at the local grocery store and he's not earning as much as he should, though that is another issue. The money would go a long way to helping him and his son."

Regina leaned back in her chair as she studied Robin's picture again. While Gold had been a good CFO and a good mentor to her over the years, he still was a shrewd man who also was good at promoting his own agenda. She wondered now if he was being truthful about Robin's background or if he had crafted one that would speak to her. A single father struggling to provide for his son was right up her alley, especially one who suffered a similar loss as her.

"I want you to look me in the eyes," she said, looking back up at Gold. He met her gaze and she continued: "I want you to promise me that that was not a lie."

"It was not a lie," he told her, never blinking.

She sighed, rolling her chair over to her desk again as he stood next to her. Regina picked up Percy's photograph, comparing it to Robin's. Not there really was much of a comparison. Gold was right—Robin looked like someone she would pick for herself. Percy did still look too young and her goal was not to create any more gossip than she already was going to do by appearing with a fiancé no one else knew existed. She was not going to be labelled a cougar for the holiday season.

"Can you arrange a meeting between Mr. Locksley and myself?" she asked Gold.

A triumphant gleam came to his eyes and he grinned. "I believe I can. I'll give you a call once I have all the information."

"Thank you," she replied, standing. She motioned to the door. "Now if you excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."

He chuckled, starting to limp toward the door. "I understand, dearie. And if I do say so myself, I think this is going to be an interesting holiday season."

"We both can agree on that one." Regina paused before softening her stance a bit. While she still didn't think he had done this out of the goodness of his heart, it still had helped her. "And Gold? Thank you."

Once he left, Regina returned to her desk. She gathered up the headshots except for Robin's and Percy's, feeling it was best to have a backup plan just in case Gold was wrong about what Robin would be willing to do for money. Regina then picked up the phone and called her assistant's extension.

"Tink, can you get Jasmine on the phone? I need her help to draw up a legal agreement," she said, still staring at Robin's picture and trying to ignore something she long thought dead fluttered inside her.

Roland sat in his booster seat, yammering on about everything he was going to do with Gideon at their sleepover. Robin, though, wasn't really paying attention—he just kept nodding and making noises that made it sound like he was listening. His mind was on the person Belle said she wanted to introduce him to. All he knew was that it had something to do with business and his stomach clenched as he worried she was going to introduce him to that agent in hopes of getting him to go into modeling. Belle wasn't usually the type to ambush him but she was also a very determined woman who pursued whatever she set her mind to. She didn't get to be one of the best photographers just on pure luck.

Turning onto their block, he practiced his polite but firm declination of whatever offer Belle's guest was going to make him. He had no time to pursue flights of fancy. Robin was the sole provider for Roland and they had enough to live comfortably. All he wanted to do was feed his son, clothe him, send him to school and treat him every so often. His job at the grocery store ensured that better than some modeling jobs.

He pulled into the French-Gold driveway, turning off the car. Forcing a smile to his face, Robin turned to Roland. "You ready for a fun night with Mr. Gold, Aunt Belle and Gideon?"

"Yeah!" he cheered.

"Then let me get you out and we'll head in." Robin climbed out of the car. He unbuckled his son and helped Roland out of the car before grabbing the boy's overnight bag. Roland took his hand as they headed to the front door.

Belle greeted them with a big smile. She crouched down to be eye level with Roland. "You and Gideon are going to have so much fun tonight but first I need to talk to your dad for a bit. Gideon's up in his room. Why don't you head up there?"

"Okay, Aunt Belle," Roland said, giving her a hug before heading upstairs.

Robin set his son's bag as Belle closed the door. He took a deep breath. "So, who is this person you want me to meet?"

"She's in the kitchen," Belle said, heading toward the room.

His mind went blank when she said that the person he was meeting was a woman. It had been a few years since he lost Marian and he had been grateful that none of his friends had pushed him to try dating again. Had Belle decided it had been long enough? What if the "business" Belle had mentioned was really a "set up"?

Robin entered the kitchen and became more convinced he was walking into a blind date scenario. A beautiful woman sat at Belle's table, sipping a cup of coffee. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face and pinned into a side bun located just under her ear. She wore a bright red dress with a peep hole collar and her makeup was still perfect though he knew she had just come from working a full day at some high-powered executive job. Her brown eyes reminded him of the good whiskey he had stored in a cabinet, waiting for a rainy day or a reason to celebrate, and the kitchen lights made her olive skin stand out.

She set the cup on its plate as she stood up, smiling at him as she held out her hand. "You must be Robin."

"Yes," he said, taking her hand. "And you are…?"

"Oh! This is Regina Mills," Belle said, realizing she needed to make the introductions.

Well, he certainly had been right about her coming from some high-powered executive job. Even if he hadn't recognized her by sight, he certainly recognized her name—everyone in Storybrooke knew the Mills' family, the owners of Fantastical Finds, and Regina was the current CEO.

And he knew Belle's husband had been the CFO for decades. He had often asked her not to pull any strings to get him a job there but he wondered if she had decided to push again for whatever reason—if Regina was here for business. If she was here for a romantic connection, well, he knew she was way out of his league and he wondered what Belle had been thinking in that case.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, hoping his hand wasn't as sweaty as he feared it was. Even if he doubted anything would come of this meeting, he still wanted to make a good impression.

She shook his hand before pulling it back. He took it as a good sign that she didn't try to wipe it on her dress. Instead, she used it to motion to one of the chairs. "Why don't you have a seat?"

He nodded, taking a seat as Belle held up her kettle. "Do you want some tea?"

"I'll just take some water," he told her. "Thank you."

Regina sat down, clasping her hands together. "I don't want to take up much of your time, so I will be quick. I have a business proposal for you."

She pulled out one of the headshots Belle had had printed up and he resisted the urge to groan. "I am not a model," he told her.

"Good," she replied, setting the picture down. "I'm not looking for a model. I'm looking for a fiancé."

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows going up as he tried to figure out what turn their conversation just took.

She paused before grimacing. "Sorry. That came out wrong. Let me explain. You know my company, right?"

"Everyone knows Fantastical Finds," he replied.

"Okay," she replied, trying to tuck some hair behind her ear. "Well, I hate to say that we aren't doing as well as we have in the past and we are looking to not only boost our profits again but secure our company's future. To do that, we're trying to buy Blanchard Electronics."

"Sounds like a good business move," he said, still trying to figure out how a fake fiancé fit into this.

"Yes, but Leopold Blanchard values family-oriented companies and wants to sell his to one."

"You are one," he replied. Everyone knew that. Her parents founded the company and now she ran it with her sister, who he believed had married someone in the company as well.

"Yes," she said, "but he...he had a problem with the fact I'm a single mother."

Robin raised an eyebrow, deciding that Leopold Blanchard was an old-fashioned jerk. "That sounds like a him problem. Family has many different definitions and all of them are valid."

She gave him a small smile, which he counted as a victory...though he wasn't sure what battle he was fighting or when he started fight it. "I agree."

"Okay," he said, deciding to take a risk. He leaned forward. "I apologize but I still fail to see why you need a fake fiancé."

Regina nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm just going to come out with it. My mouth worked faster than my brain and now Leopold believes I have a fiancé, which I don't. He's going to be at all the holiday events and expects to meet my fiancé, especially at my company's holiday party. So I need someone to help me save face and play my fiancé until after the deal is complete."

"And you chose me?" he asked, surprised. "Why?"

She picked up his headshot. "You look the best for the part."

"I'm not an actor."

"I'm not looking for an actor," she replied, almost parroting what she had said earlier. "I just want someone who can remember a fabricated backstory, will smile and pose for a few pictures. Think you can handle that?"

He leaned forward, responding with a question of his own. "Why would I want to?"

She smiled, clearly in her element now that they were negotiating a deal. "You will, of course, be compensated for your time and effort. I have had my legal team draw something up."

Regina pulled out a stack of papers from her bag and slid it across the table. He picked it up, flipping through it. From what he could tell, it was a bunch of legalese that probably released her from liability if anything happened during their charade and kept him from suing or blackmailing her. His eyes then fell upon the amount she would pay him to be her fiancé for the holidays and he felt his smirk fall away.

Ten thousand dollars. She was going to pay him $10,000 for what amounted to a few weeks' worth of work—and there was the possibility that she would pay him a bonus once the deal was completed.

He could do a lot with $10,000. After paying off some bills and ensuring Roland got some very nice things for Christmas, he could also pay for the Disney trip he wanted to take Roland on before the boy got too old to believe in the magic and still have money to put away for a rainy day. It certainly would be a big help.

"Is it too little?" Regina asked, looking nervous. "I'm not entirely sure what the going rate for fake fiancés is these days."

Robin tried not to chuckle at her comment, wanting to remain serious. He set the agreement down, clasping his hands over it. "I'm sure you understand that I need to have someone look over it before I accept."

"Of course," she replied. "Do you have any other questions?"

He did. "You mentioned that you are a single mother and I'm sure you know I'm a single father…so what about our children?"

"I would love to keep them out of this but I don't think that will be possible given the events Leopold is going to expect to see us," she said, sighing. "But I think I can keep him from asking them any questions. After all, they're children and shouldn't have to be interrogated."

Robin leaned back, once again studying her. She did seem uncomfortable with the idea of pulling her child into her charade and probably with the idea of doing the same with his son. Yet, she had a point—Leopold already knew about her child and Robin wasn't going to hide Roland while playing her pretend fiancé. It wouldn't be fair to his son nor would it ensure a happy holiday for the boy either.

He nodded. "If I decide to do this—which I haven't yet—I'll figure out something to tell my boy."

"Thank you," she said before biting her lip. "I'd hate to rush you but I got word before I left the office today—the first event Leopold expects to see us at is the annual lighting of the holiday lights on Main Street on Tuesday night."

Every town had their own holiday traditions. New York lit the tree in Rockefeller Center while the shops that lined Storybrooke's Main Street decorated and turned on their lights on the same night every year. The entire town turned out to watch and then mingle on the street, which was closed to traffic. Granny's Diner as well as the local bakery served hot chocolate, cookies and other treats while retail stores put out their wares for people to shop. Robin hadn't gone since Marian died but now that Roland was old enough to appreciate all the traditions of Christmas, he had planned on going.

Now, it appeared they were going with Regina and her child. If he took her offer, that was. He still had some time to decide, though not as much as he probably would've liked. "So you need an answer…?"

"Preferably by the end of the weekend so I know if I need to go with my backup plan," she replied.

He nodded, gathering up the contract she had given him. "Well, I'll get this looked at and call you as soon as possible. Is your contact information in here?"

"It is," she said. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Thank you for considering this. I know it's probably not how you wanted to spend your holidays and I promise to try to make sure I don't take you away from your son during this time. And I know I'm now pulling you into my mess. So, really, thank you."

Robin softened a bit, feeling sympathetic toward her. She was trying to make the best of a bad situation in order to save her business. And though he hardly knew her, he believed it wasn't just to save her own lavish lifestyle. Regina Mills was an intelligent and capable professional. He had no doubt that she would land on her feet were her company to go belly up. The same was probably true of her sister, who she ran the company with. He believed she was concerned about the employees who would lose their jobs and not be able to land on their feet, wanting this to work for their sakes.

Or maybe he was just hoping she wasn't just another corporate raider who cared only about the bottom line and how it filled her profits. There was just something in her eyes…an earnestness he didn't think could be easily faked.

"You're welcome, Regina," he replied softly. "I really hope I can help."

"Me too," she answered just as softly. "Me too."