Capitulo 8


"So, Ms. Mills is only marrying Robin to keep her job?" Belle asked out loud. Emma continued to listen to the banter around her, interested in taking in all about her favorite new subject matter.

"I don't know about that," Ashley intoned. "They have been together for two years."

"Right," Ruby said. "One night with him, two nights with this girl, three nights with this other girl, she is so far left of center I don't know how she can even see straight."

"Are you telling me Regina doesn't love Robin?" Granny asked.

Ruby looked at her grandmother. "You are not that blind, Granny. Of course, she loves him… but she likes the kitty more."

Emma was listening, seeing how broken her boss's closet door actually was, like a sliding door off its rail.

"That marriage won't last anyway. I see her and my boss, Mr. Hatter, sneaking around with all these gorgeous women," Mulan rolled her eyes. "Believe me, if the right woman shows up, Ms. Mills will leave that man so fast his head will spin."

"I don't know, Mulan, they sleep with the most beautiful women in the city," Ruby added, "Yet she sticks to this guy."

"Yeah, but none of those women have any substance… what if she meets the one," Mulan stated. "And you'll see… she will not marry him."

Emma looked at Mulan and smiled. It would be a dream if Regina would set eyes on her and see her. She listened to the women around her and just wished it into her being.


Having had enough of the bickering, Regina set off to do her presentations, outlining all the plans she had to move the company forward.

"Your idea is way too simplistic," Zelena stated after Regina finished her pitch. "If you do it this way, you will saturate the market with our product, diminish the quality of returns, and make clients go to a production house with more exclusivity. Yes, we would be able to produce things at a lower cost, which in turn would have us overworked, underpaid, and our reputation completely tanked. I just can't stand for it."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Zelena, calm down. You are being melodramatic," she said, taking a deep breath and looking around the table. "Look…"

Just as Regina was about to make her point, Kathryn flounced in, ready to disrupt the proceedings. "HIIII," she said, practically floating to her seat.

"Kathryn, you're late," Cora stated. "You are interrupting the process."

"Guess what I did!" Kathryn said giddily.

"Don't tell me you went to a surgeon and asked him to chop off your legs and replace them with silicone parts?" Zelena stated sarcastically.

"Of course not, Zee!" Kathryn stated. "I got my ears done! Now I don't have these hideous ears like Daddy, see?" Kathryn said, coming closer to her brother.

"Wonderful, Kathryn," Henry piped up. "Let's have a seat."

"Yeah, sure!" Kathryn said, practically bouncing to her seat.

"Lilly, send the caterers in; we are all finally here," Henry said.

Lily nodded and headed out of the door. "Of course."

Kathryn looked over to Mal and smiled. "I just got back from Brazil. Do you like how I ended up?"

"Kathryn dear," Maleficent stated, "You look divine. Give me the name of your surgeon; one day I might need a little lift."

"Don't encourage her," Regina muttered.

To the other side of Kathryn, Zelena slammed the proposal shut. "What is your problem, how?" Regina stated exasperated.

"Your proposal is weak. If you used last year's numbers, the projections are all wrong, isn't that right, Ms. Deville?" Zelena asked.

"Uh..." Cruella stated, looking up at the redhead. "Y-yes, ma'am."

Kathryn was fiddling with the teacup in front of her and interrupted Zelena's rant. "Oh, guess what else, Mal..." Kathryn started gossiping, and Zelena lost all of her composure then. She was angry at the situation, angry at Regina, and angry at the completely unprofessional atmosphere she was enduring.

"Kathryn, please!" Cora growled at the girl she had come to regard as family.

"Sorry, Cora," Kathryn stated and sat back in her chair, having been scolded like a child.

"As I was saying," Zelena said, rolling her eyes at the bubbly blonde and turning her eyes to the antagonist before her. "Since you insist on having Regina lead this company, this company is going to fall to ruins. I need these numbers to be run again, and I want a new projection created."

"That sounds like a reasonable request," Regina intoned. "Then maybe you would let me run my company in peace."

"So, what you are saying is you will let me look at your business plan?"

"You will have it in two days," Regina answered.

"Well, alright. Interested parties will reconvene in two days," Cora stated. "Regina's proposal was clear. Her goal is to bring in thirty million dollars in business and ensure that the company is bringing in net profits of at least 4 million dollars in residuals..."

"Per year," Regina clarified.

"Per year," Cora intoned. "And she must comply."


Still, at lunch, the ladies discussed the proposal, shocked at the amount of money Regina had promised to raise in residuals alone. They turned to Emma and asked her, "Have they ever done that before?" Mulan asked.

"I don't think so," Emma replied thoughtfully. "From what I saw last year, they only gained 2 million dollars in residuals. I read that in Forbes..." She paused, and her eyes widened. "They have to figure out how to double these residuals. That is super hard to come by."

"I don't think it's going to happen," Ashley stated. "No way, not in a short while."

"What happens if she doesn't?" Emma asked the group.


"If Regina does not comply with her plan, the company goes to Zelena," Cora explained. "But if she does comply, Regina is ratified and will have full control of High Concepts."

Regina smiled at her mother. She knew she was going to do this no matter what it cost her.

"The problem is, if she fails, what would I inherit? A whole bunch of nothing because that proposal will take us to ruin."

"You will see in two days, we will get together and get a good look at the proposal, and we will make it work," Regina stated.

"I hope so, Regina," Zelena stated and wrapped an arm around her stepfather. "Because you are not only messing with your money but mine and my family's."

"They are my family too, and I will do my best to go right by them," Regina stated angrily. "Believe me, if this company incurs any sort of debt, I will back it up with my shares of the company."

There were gasps heard around the room. "Ed huh? Escaped from Kathryn's lips. "What do you mean? I thought you were going to be president, Zee. I voted for you."

"Oh dear one, your brother sided with Regina," Zelena stated. "Promise of someday maybe getting into her pants."

"That's horrible... doesn't he know she's gay?" Kathryn said out loud what no one would admit around Robin ever.

"Kathryn..." Regina stated.

"What? Regina, please, your closet's been wide open for years," Kathryn stated. Regina shook her head, convinced Kathryn was still high on her Ambien.

"That's enough," Cora stated, slamming her hands on the table. "As we will continue. Let it be known we are handing over the reins of High Concepts to Regina Mills, with profitable accounts, minimum debts, and high credit ratings. We hope you can keep it that way."

"Oh, God... I hope he takes it in his hands," Zelena stated sarcastically.

"You know what, sis?" Regina spat at Zelena. "Maybe you and God should take over now. We wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two anyway since you are both perfect."

Cora groaned, seriously tired of the issue, glad to be retiring and ready to be rid of the drama. She sighed, "Your turn, Regina."

Regina signed with a flare, and Zelena stood up from her chair, marching angrily out of the conference room.

Jefferson sidled over to his friend with a smile. "It's official." Regina grimaced and sulked in her seat. "Come on, we should be celebrating."

"I won't be able to celebrate with Zelena breathing down my neck. She's going to be on top of me every step of the way," Regina sighed. "How could the projections be bad?"

"Sorry to tell you this, but I think she's right," Jefferson stated.

"What?"

"I was looking through the numbers, and the goal that we set was a little too high. Not to say it's impossible, but... we overpromised," Jefferson explained, making Regina reflect on what to do next. "We are going to have to revise and redo the business plan."


The secretaries all returned from lunch in higher spirits. They had managed to lift Emma's spirits after Robin and Lily stole her work. "I swear, Ms. Mills better do as she promised because if that other sister shows up, I'm out of here," Bell stated.

"Yeah, I only met her once, but my chances of getting along with her are as big as the gap between my eyebrows," Emma murmured.

"So none at all, huh?" Ruby stated, and the gaggle of women laughed at the joke.

Emma smirked, glad they got her humor. She turned to go into the elevator and, in her distraction, slammed into Zelena once more.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Never touch me," Zelena said and marched out of the building. "Not only is she an extra body, she's a fucking menace."

Emma watched the gorgeous woman walk away, and the other women parted to give her space. Zelena had a way of striking fear into all of them.


The rest of the council finally disbanded. They were discussing retirement plans and wedding plans, and everyone was in high spirits. But Regina was not happy.

Just outside the conference room, Emma overheard Cora and Henry congratulating Lily on the report that she had made. Emma knew that Lily was going to take credit. When the couple left, she marched up to the counterfeit beauty and stated, "So, they liked the report you created, huh?"

Lily had the decency to look sheepish. "Yeah, they thought I created the report, isn't that silly? I didn't get a chance to correct them."

"You didn't get a chance, or you didn't want to?" Emma said, her eyes narrowed.

"What can I say, Emma, I didn't get the chance," Lily insisted. "Either way, the meeting is over, so the next time I will clarify everything, okay?"

"So you can go over to Ms. Mills and let her know where you got it now, right?" Emma said, stepping closer.

"Uh..." Lily stalled, fidgeting with her long brown hair. "Why don't we wait till the next meeting?"

"I don't think waiting is necessary," Emma insisted, just as Robin walked out of the conference room.

"Uh..." Lily started, "But you have to wait, dear..."

"What's happening here?" Robin interrupted.

"This young lady is angry that they congratulated me for the reports that were presented at the meeting," Lily said to her friend. "And she is demanding that I tell the world that she was the one that created it."

Robin quirked a brow. "You really are a combative little girl."

Emma stepped back nervously. "I'm not combative," she stammered this time. This man made her nervous. "I worked really hard on that report."

"Did you create those reports? Or wasn't it just a compilation of the reports we created in our departments?" Robin asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"So you agree that Lily could have also done that," Robin interrupted. "What did you think was going to happen? Did you want a little extra pay? Did you want an award or what?"

Lily giggled.

Subdued, Emma dropped her eyes. "I just wanted Ms. Mills to see the quality of work that I could do."

"She doesn't already know?" He asked. "Did she ask you for this?"

"No, but-"

"Is this the only time you plan on going above and beyond?" He berated.

"No, Mr. Locksley, but I am an economist, and I could help her move her plans forward."

"I think we need to look at this as teamwork. And there's no 'I' in team, Emma," Robin stated. "Don't you agree?"

"Fine… I won't say a word," Emma stated.

"I like your ambition, Emma, but I want to let you know something," he said. "This company is a family company. Executives in this company do not come from the street. That is how it is, and that is how it shall remain. So get your little delusions in check. You are a secretary. Stay in your lane."

Just as Robin's mini-rant was over, Regina's parents returned to the lobby. "Has Regina not left the conference room?" Cora asked. As soon as that was out of her mouth, Regina appeared.

"Hi Mother, Daddy…" Regina said and looked around, feeling the tension in the room. "What's going on?"

"May I speak to you in the office?" Cora asked. Regina nodded.

"Of course," Regina said and turned to Emma. "Stay out here, I got the phones, okay?"

Emma nodded and stepped back. She bit her tongue, unwilling to show how fed up she was with her boss's fiancée.


"Do you know, I have run this company alongside your father for 35 years…" Cora stated, sitting behind Regina's desk.

Regina nodded, sitting in a visitor's chair in her own office. "Yeah… it's quite a legacy."

"But you know I never lost a minute of sleep," Cora said. "Do you know why? Because I have always kept everything 100% above board. Oh, and there have been so many temptations. There are many choices that you can make that will make you lose sleep. Regina, my advice to you is to make sure you have a clear conscience, so at the end of the day, you know that you did everything in the right way. Because that first dirty deal will bring you to another, then another, and you will have a snowball rolling down a hill that you will not be able to stop until it all turns tragic. And you will drag so many people down with you."

"Mother, why are you telling me this? I'm not planning on doing any dirty dealings. I never have, and I never will," Regina stated.

"These things are never planned. But the opportunities present themselves as quick solutions. And they are hard to reject because they come when you most need it," Cora finished.

Regina hugged her mother, and the two of them walked out of the office.


Regina had put together a big retirement party. The entire company was present. Regina made a speech of gratitude. Emma snuck away to a quieter corner. She could see the writing on the wall. She had eliminated her usefulness by encoding Regina's little black book. Now the ugly girl must go because, as Zelena had said, she was just an extra body.

She called her mother's phone, and Henry picked up. Emma smiled. "Hi, baby boy," she whispered. "What are you doing?"

"I playing wif Killian," his little voice answered.

"Awesome, you have the best Uncle Killian," Emma said with a smile.

"Yah!" He said.

"Hey, Hen,... Where is Grandma?" Emma asked. "Can you give Gran the phone?"

"Okay!" He said, and she could hear the thud of his little feet running across the wooden floor.

"Hey!" Mary Margaret said in greeting.

"Hi Mom," Emma stated.

"What's that music?" Emma looked around at the celebration and smiled.

"It's Mr. and Mrs. Mills' retirement party. Ms. Mills had this whole send-off prepared."

"Oh, that's lovely!" Her mother cooed.

"Yeah… as lovely as the party is today, it has been a terrible day for me," Emma said.

"Did they fire you?"

"No," Emma said with a sigh. "But I think I will resign before they do."

"What? Quit, Why?"

"Shhh, Mom… Please don't let Dad hear you."

"He is not here; he's at work," her mother said. "What do you mean you're quitting? We took on this car note depending on your help."

"Yeah, Mom, I know, but this place has me all twisted up. No one likes me one bit." Emma sighed. She felt like a whiny brat. But it's the truth.

"Even Ms. Mills?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma couldn't help smiling at the thought of her very own boss. "No… she's… She's cool. But her boyfriend, her sister… with another employee that has conspired against me with Robin." Emma paused, trying not to cry. "At this point, I don't really know where I stand with Ms. Mills. She said she needed to talk to me after. I'm afraid that what's going on is affecting what I am doing here."

"You can't quit right now. But you don't know what she wants to talk to you about; hang in there. Didn't you just make this huge report for the thing today?"

"They took credit from me."

"Who?"

"Mom, it's a long story. I'll tell you when I get home," Emma said, allowing some tears to fall.

"Okay, hon," Mary said. "Please, don't quit yet. Not yet; hang in there. That was all you could find, and you have Henry to think about."

"Okay, Mom… I'll see you tonight," Emma said and hung up and headed back to the party. The speeches were still going, talking about the future in the company.


Jefferson pulled Regina aside a little later. "What did Cora want to talk to you about?"

Regina sighed. "She's scared shitless that I have taken the reins."

"Why?"

"She talked to me about dirty dealings and sleeping at night." Regina continued.

"Ah, what?" Jefferson asked.

"She had never done a dirty deal in thirty-five years. And she wants to keep it that way."

"Well then, let's take a good look at your numbers and make sure we progress. Though I have to tell you that the goal of doubling the residuals is not an easy feat."

Regina groaned and walked away from her friend to say goodbye to her parents. Finally, Cora and Henry walked out of the company. As they waved, Jeffy said. "Do you really think you can do this?"

"I can't let Zelena win by any means."

"I guess we'll see." Jeffy shrugged and took a drink.


On her way back to her office, Regina asked Lily to meet her in five minutes. Emma was at her desk picking up her little things, so sure she wasn't needed anymore. She heard Regina's voice and clenched her fists at the way her body reacted to the sound. She sat down as she listened to Regina rave about her hard work.

"Y'know, Lily stunned me with that proposal. It was very well done," Regina stated. Emma moved closer to the door.

"No, for sure!" Jeffy said. "I tell you if Lily is that smart…"

"You marry her!" Regina guessed jokingly.

"Never!" Jefferson said. "You can't marry a smart woman; you're too much. A man can't have peace in his life with something like that."

Emma rolled her eyes and thought that maybe to get away from the backstabbing and sexism, she needed to quit.

"In all seriousness, that work impressed me," Regina got serious again. "I would have sworn that work was Emma's, not hers."

"If she does that kind of work, we don't need Emma anymore," Jefferson stated.

"Are you kidding me? I don't need Lily in my business; I'm not letting Emma go," Regina stated.

"Yeah, but you can't keep her just because she can cover for you," Jefferson stated. "You heard Zelena, you have one too many secretaries, and the way things are going, we need to save every cent."

"I know, I know," Regina stated.

Emma's heart sank. She sat in her seat, she didn't even get a chance to enjoy her job. "I'm ready," came Lily's voice, and Emma stopped to look at the door.

"Hi, Lily, come in," Regina said, then shouted, "Emma, come out here, please."

Emma stepped out, her head held high, and she stood near the desk. "Yes, ma'am."

"Please sit." Emma sat apart and waited to see what this was all about. "I need to create a business plan; I am going to need to pull all the related documents and my proposal." Emma looked at Regina through her lashes, then over at Lily's blank expression. The other two people in the room had their eyes trained on Lily. Emma leaned back in her chair, folded her arms, and watched her colleague unravel.

"Th- the originals are in her office," Lily said, looking at Emma, who couldn't help but smirk.

"In Emma's office?" Regina questioned, pointing at the mousy woman. "But why? Didn't you work with those reports? Why does Emma have them?"

"Um, well," the counterfeit beauty stammered. "I put them back there because they are more secure in her office. Also, she's in charge of the files."

Regina's brow furrowed. "Oh, sure, sure…" Regina said, deciding to trust her gut, knowing that Lily had not created that report.

"I'll get them right away," Emma said and tried not to laugh as she picked up the mountain of paperwork she had fought through to get that report.

Jefferson turned to Lily with a smirk. "I think you and I need to celebrate, Lils."

"Celebrate what?" Lily asked.

"That report was beautiful; you are about to get much more responsibility," he flirted. "Not to mention you are one hell of a woman."

Regina watched the two for a moment and said. "Would the two of you like for Emma and me to leave?"

"Here are all the reports," Emma said as she walked out of her office with the stack.

Regina nodded, "Thank you… Thank you." She placed the reports down in front of her. "Jefferson and I have to produce a very detailed business plan so that we can discuss it with Zelena and show the banks so that we can get some credit." She patted the bundle in front of her. "This is the proposal that I made. This proposal won me my presidency, so I have to deliver on them. We need to convert this into a business plan," she looked at the two women. "Which of you can do it?"

Emma smirked and sat back, waiting for Lily to say something, anything. "Convert it… how?"

Regina furrowed her brows. "What do you mean how? Was I not speaking English? Change my proposal into a business plan."

Lily looked clueless. "Oh yeah… business plan, I get it."

Regina smiled sarcastically. "So, we need the financial balances overlaid within and a projection of costs, including all the numbers from the other departments,"

Lily smiled. "Oh! Fine. I think Emma can do it."

Emma leaned back in shock. "Me?"

"Yeah," Lily said.

"No, it's better that you do it. Like that previous report. Certainly, it would be good for it to stay with you, right?"

"Whatever. I don't care," Regina said and gave the documents to Lily. "Lily, you have a new opportunity to show off for me. When will you have it ready?"

Lily looked down at the stack. "Well, give me a week."

"No, no. I'm not pressuring you. If you want, I'll give you a month." Regina said sarcastic eye-roll on full display.

"Oh! Yeah! A month!" Lily repeated excitedly.

"The day after tomorrow, at the latest," Regina growled at the ditz. "I need to review and confidently verify the financial earnings figures that Zelena says don't add up… You have all the information. All you have to do is process it. What's the problem?"

Regina asked the clueless girl.

"Days, eh? Now you only have 47 hours." Regina stated, and Lily left the room. She rolled her eyes and turned to her best friend. "Let's go review everything to find where that supposed error is."

Emma excused herself and went back to her office. Jefferson looked at her, then back to his work. He watched her leave and shook his head. "She seems like she doesn't care about keeping her job, huh? She should realize that at any moment she could be fired. If Lilly does the business plan well, I believe Emma will be excess, don't you?"

Regina furrowed her brow, "Yes. You know what? Emma is being very odd."

Jefferson snorted. "No, she's been odd since birth."

Regina rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Emma! EMMA!"

Emma came out of the back immediately. She stood way too close to Regina, so she jumped back. "Emma, why do you always get so close? Please give me some room."

Embarrassed, Emma stepped back and around the desk. "Sorry, Ms. Mills."

"It's fine," Regina stated. "I have something to ask you, and please be truthful. Did Lilly create the report we presented to the committee? Or did you do it?"

Emma smirked and just stood back. "If Lilly gives you a good business plan, then that will confirm that she also created the committee report, right?" Emma folded her arms in front of her. "Then you have nothing to worry about." Regina smiled knowingly.