Chapter 8: The Aftermath
Robin drove to Lionheart Foods on autopilot. He had barely slept the night before, his mind replaying the moment Victoria revealed their deception over and over. He had tried to text Regina when he got home and again this morning but he heard nothing from her. Not that he blamed her. Everything was ruined and she was probably in crisis mode. He would give her some time and then try again. Maybe after the holidays.
Of course, she probably wouldn't talk to him every again. After all, they weren't friends. They were just pretending to be in a relationship and there was no need to keep up that ruse. It was probably best to forget about her and move on.
He parked in the employee lot and took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind of Regina and the party. He needed to be focused at work so he could give everyone the service they deserved. There would be plenty of time for worrying and wallowing later.
Robin's heart sank when he walked in to find both Keith and John Lionheart waiting for them. Prince John looked like weasel, with a thin body and face. His brown eyes were perpetually narrowed in suspicion and Robin doubted he had ever seen anything but a sneer on his face.
"We need to talk, Locksley," Keith said smugly. "We heard about what happened last night at the Fantastical Finds' holiday party."
Robin frowned. Storybrooke was a small town but he doubted word had traveled that fast. He wondered if Victoria had then also called his place of his employment to tell them what was going on and it made him even angrier. That woman had no morals or a soul.
"I was helping Regina Mills out with something," he said. "I didn't break any rules."
Prince John's sneer diminished into a smirk, which surprised and annoyed him. "You participated in deceiving a respected business partner. We can't have someone who would do that in our employ. Our customers expect better."
"Like you actually give a damn about our customers," Robin snapped, not caring anymore. The writing was pretty much on the wall. "You hide in your office counting money and finding new ways to cut corners to get more into your pockets."
"Speaking of pocketing money, it seems the donation can has gone missing," Keith said. He stepped aside to reveal the red can that always sat by the lockers was gone. Dread filled Robin and he knew what was happening.
Robin held his head high. "I didn't take it."
"And we're just supposed to trust a thief like you?" Prince John asked. "A leopard can't change its spots."
"Robin hasn't stolen anything," Will said, speaking up and revealing that he had been sitting in a corner. He stormed toward the two, his face red. "Robin donates the most money out of all of us. He's the one who brings the presents and food to the shelter. If they money has gone missing, then someone else has stolen it."
Keith scowled at Will. "This is none of your business, Scarlet. Get out on the floor."
"I'm not going to let you accuse Robin of something he didn't do!" Will protested, his hands balling into fists.
Fearing Will was going to do something stupid, Robin stepped in. "I can handle this, Will. You go out on the floor."
Will was hesitant to leave but he did so, stomping toward the door. He looked back over his shoulder. "This ain't right."
Once he was gone, Robin sighed. "Let's stop the games. I'm guessing I'm fired, right?"
"Yes," Prince John said as Keith handed him two envelopes. "We cleared out your locker and have gotten your final paycheck from finance."
Robin took the envelopes, annoyed. "And my health benefits?"
"To the end of the month, as required," Prince John replied. "I advise you to look on the marketplace or apply for the state's plan."
"And be grateful we're not going to press charges about the money," Keith said.
"The only reason you're not doing that is because there would be an investigation and you both know it would clear me. Probably implicate one of you," he said, backing toward the door. "Thanks for nothing."
He angrily pushed open the door, getting some satisfaction when it bounced off the building's build façade. Robin stormed toward his car, wrenching open the door and sitting inside it.
Once there, the gravity of his situation hit him. He had no job and would be losing his benefits in a couple weeks. It had taken him a long time to find just this job and he worried he wouldn't be able to find anything in Storybrooke after getting fired. Everyone would know about what happened with Leopold Blanchard and probably wouldn't want him then either.
Maybe you can get a job at Fantastical Finds. Regina surely could help you, a little voice told him. He pushed that thought out of his mind, figuring there was no reason for her to associate with him. She probably didn't want him anywhere near her business either after learning the truth about his past.
He turned the car on and pulled out of the spot, deciding to head home so he could start looking for jobs. There were a few towns within reasonable commuting distances to Storybrooke. Maybe he could find something there, provided the word didn't spread. He tried to tell himself his situation wasn't as hopeless as it seemed.
Robin just wished he could believe himself.
Regina sat behind her desk, a file open on her computer but she couldn't focus on it. Instead, she kept replaying the moment Victoria had exposed her lies over and over. She tried to figure out a way she could've prevented it but came up with the same solution over and over—not lying in the first place.
She had been an absolute fool. And now her employees would pay the price.
As would Robin.
She closed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair, berating herself for dragging him into this. He was a good man who just wanted to provide a good life for his son. Regina hoped he didn't suffer too many repercussions over what happened, that everyone would blame her instead. She deserved the blame, after all.
"I can feel the guilt rolling off you." Her mother's voice broke through her thoughts. When Regina opened her eyes, Mother was standing in front of her desk, giving her a sympathetic look.
Regina didn't deserve sympathy. "Of course I feel guilty. This is all my fault. If I hadn't told Leopold that stupid lie just so he would stop looking at me like I wasn't wearing any clothes…"
Her mother's look changed from sympathetic to serious as a hardness came to her eyes. "What? I thought you told him you were engaged because of his feelings about you being a single mother?"
"That was part of it," Zelena said, entering the room. "The other part was that Leopold looked like he was planning on making Regina the second Mrs. Blanchard over selling her the company."
Mother looked between the two of them, her jaw tense. "Did he make either of you uncomfortable?"
"I wouldn't say uncomfortable…" Regina started.
Zelena glared at her. "You invented a fictitious fiancé to get him to back off. Don't be so polite. He's not here."
Regina realized her sister was right and she nodded. "He made me uncomfortable and I didn't feel I could call him on it or else we'd lose the deal. And we really needed this deal."
"So does Leopold," Mother insisted. "It's not just about him retiring. Blanchard Electronics needs to be part of a strong company so it doesn't fold once he leaves. We are the right company to do that. Victoria Belfrey may be some real estate whiz and her husband knows retail but they would both run Blanchard into the ground. We can help it grow."
Everything said was true and she said almost everything to Leopold in their pitch—she hadn't known about Belfrey's bid but she wouldn't have sunk to level of bashing their competitor. Regina wished she had just left it at that and hadn't made everything worse with her deception.
"He's never going to let us buy it now," Regina said miserably, "not after everything that happened."
"Are you giving up?" Mother asked, frowning.
She sighed. "I'm acknowledging my defeat. There's a difference."
"True," Mother acknowledged. "But I think you might be admitting defeat too soon. You need to make one final stand."
Even Zelena frowned. "How? Leopold's not going to even take our calls let alone see us after last night."
"Then go over his head," Mother said. "I happen to know their board is meeting this afternoon. I'm sure they would love to hear from you—not just about how we can help Blanchard Electronics, but also about how Leopold reacted to you and all the hoops he made you jump through. Can you imagine how our board would react if they found out your father and I made potential buyers build snowmen?"
Looking back on the past few weeks, Regina realized it had been absolutely ridiculous what she had done to impress Leopold. He could always argue that they were events around town where everyone was bound to meet up but she had calls and messages to show that he pretty demanded to see them there. She held a lot more power than she thought and she smiled, standing. "I think I have a board meeting to crash."
"You mean we," Zelena said, grinning. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you have all the fun. Let me go get my coat."
Mother stopped her, pulling both into a hug. "I'm so proud of you, no matter what happens."
She released Zelena, who left the room, but held onto Regina a bit longer. Regina felt like she was buzzing from the excitement and hope coursing through her. There was a way to fix what had happened.
"Blanchard Electronics isn't the only thing you should give up on," Mother said, holding out the strip of photos Regina had taken with Robin the night before. They smiled and cuddled for the camera, looking very much in love. It didn't seem to be an act at all.
Regina, though, shook her head. "Robin was just doing it for the money. He probably never wants to see me again."
"I may not have gotten to know Robin that well, but he strikes me as someone who wears his heart on his sleeve," she said. "I don't think he was acting at all. I think he really fell for you, Regina. And I know you feel the same. I can see it in your eyes."
Regina recalled Zelena's comments about how her eyes revealed her true feelings and sighed. "I do feel the same but I don't think you're right about him falling for me."
"Only because you refuse to see it," Mother insisted, hugging her tightly. "I know losing Daniel was hard and I can understand why you've been reluctant to put yourself out there again. But don't let your fear blind you to what's in front of you. Don't let it stop you from what may be a great love and a chance to be happy."
Leaning into her mother's embrace, Regina allowed herself a moment to be vulnerable. "What if I don't deserve him?"
"You do. And if he doesn't realize that…well, then he's not the man I thought he was and a better actor than I thought." Mother pulled away, smiling at her. "You deserve love and happiness, Regina. Go and get it."
Regina smiled, nodding. She wiped some tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Mother."
"Good luck," Mother said, though Regina wasn't sure if she meant with Leopold's board or with Robin.
She left the office as Zelena returned, buttoning her coat. "Are you ready?" she asked.
"Yes," Regina said, setting down the photo strip for now. She smiled at hers and Robin's smiling faces before grabbing her portfolio. Reaching for her coat, she grinned at Zelena. "You drive. We'll get there faster."
With Zelena's penchant for speeding, they made it to Blanchard Electronics in record time. They managed to bluff their way past security and into the elevator. As they approached the floor they wanted, Regina took a deep breath. Recalling what Robin said about confidence, she held her head high and got off the elevator as if she and Zelena belonged there. They walked past the receptionist, ignoring her calls for them to stop, and continued until they found the board room. Zelena opened the door and Regina marched in, smiling brightly.
Leopold and his board were gathered around the table, reviewing some statistics. At first glance, it appeared to be information about Belfrey Enterprises, which seemed perfect. Regina leaned against an empty chair. "I'm Regina Mills, CEO of Fantastical Finds, and this is my sister and COO, Zelena. We're here to talk to you about our bid to buy Blanchard Electronics."
"How dare you show your face here," Leopold said, glaring at her. "After what you did…"
"Is this really about me lying about having a fiancé or the fact that you spent several weeks thinking I wasn't available to you romantically?" Regina countered, deciding to play that card.
The color drained from his face as he stumbled for his answer. "I wasn't interested in you…I never once proposed…"
"You didn't have to say anything. We could see it in your eyes. You know, the ones you had locked on my sister's breasts?" Zelena stepped forward, crossing her arms as she glared down Leopold.
Color returned to his face as he turned red. "Well, if she didn't want me staring at them, she shouldn't have worn the shirt she did. Practically shoved them in my face. Where else was I supposed to look?"
"Her face," one of his board members said as others nodded. Regina turned to find the one who spoke was a blonde woman with piercing blue eyes. She recognized Mal Draco, one of the best lawyers in town, and felt bolstered by the pure contempt on her face as she glared at Leopold.
Regina continued to address the board members: "I admit that lying about having a fiancé was wrong and I apologize for my deception. However, I want to explain why I did it. Not only because of how uncomfortable Leopold's gaze made me feel, but because he made me feel inadequate about my family."
"Oh, come on now," Leopold scoffed. "Everyone here knows how much I value family."
"You seemed quite disappointed to hear my sister was a single mother," Zelena countered.
Regina nodded. "Despite what you said, it does seem you look down on…non-traditional families."
Leopold balled his hands into fist. "A real family is a father, mother and children. Period."
The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees. Mal was the first one to speak. "I'm a single mother myself, Leopold. Are you saying that my daughter and I aren't a real family?"
"And that I don't have a real family with my husband and our children?" another board member, an older man with an Italian accent, asked.
"That's not what I meant," Leopold said, trying to backpedal. "Of course you are all family. I value family."
Regina nodded. "True. In fact, I would say you put in more time and effort getting to know our families…well, at least mine and Victoria's…than getting to know our companies. I mean, dinner is one thing and I did invite you to our company holiday party. But demanding that we attended the lighting ceremony and the snowman building competition was a bit much, don't you think?"
Every board member's head turned to Leopold, who squirmed in his seat. "Demand is such a strong word, don't you think?"
"You made it very clear that you expected to see our families there and purposefully made sure to seek us out," Regina pointed out. "And at all of those, you just talked about our families. Nothing about our companies or our abilities to lead yours. I would think that would be more important than making my family perform like trained monkeys for your approval."
"Now that's a bit much," Leopold replied, standing. "I will not have you stand there and insult me. You still lied. So don't expect me to apologize for not thinking you are fit to run my company."
Mal stood up, frowning. "It sounds like your judgment on this matter may not be the best, Leopold. I would like to hear what Regina and Zelena have to say and I'm sure others would as well."
The older man who had spoken up earlier nodded. "We heard from Victoria Belrey. It's only fair to hear from them as well."
Regina held Leopold's gaze though anger flared up inside her. He probably had brought Victoria there to meet the board so he could close the deal with her. She had thrown a wrench into the works and she felt proud of that.
Overruled, Leopold sank back down in his seat. "Fine. We'll listen to your presentation. Proceed."
"Thank you," Regina said as Zelena pulled out some papers from her bag. As she passed them out, Regina started her pitch with confidence. She knew they were the best for Blanchard Electronics and by the time she was done, the board would know it too.
Sorry not sorry, Victoria.