Written at the Request of Ann, the third part of the Steele Cold Facts Series

First, let's get the niceties out of the way: I do not own these characters, I just write them because I love them

Steele Cold Facts Series
Steele Cold Facts (Pt 1 of 3)
A Holt New Reality (Pt 2 of 3)
Steeling the Deal (Pt 3 of 3)

CHAPTER 1

"Mildred? Mildred, are you alright? Mildred!? Red lights are now an inconvenience, Fred," she directed the chauffer.

"Yes, Miss Holt," he acknowledged then put more pressure on the gas.

"Mildred, I'll be right there. I'm going to call an ambul—" On the other end of the line, Mildred scrambled to pick up the phone that hand clattered to the ground when 'The Boss' walked through the Agency doors with Chalmers.

It wasn't Chalmers that had her staring agog at the tall, dark-haired Irishman, grinning at her as he easily picked up the phone and handed it to her. Her eyes never left him, as she caught the last of what Laura was saying on the other side of the line.

"Miss Holt—" Mildred squeaked, then cleared her throat and tried again. "Miss Hol—" Laura immediately cut her off.

"Mildred!" she drew out the other woman's name in alarm. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Awwww, nothing's wrong, honey," she replied much more smoothly having gathered herself after what she'd seen. "A spider crawled across the desk scaring the life out of me, that's all," Mildred lied smoothly, to placate the other woman.

"Are you sure?" Laura was not assuaged. "Is there someone there with you? I think I just better—"

"Really, all's fine, I prom—" Remington plucked the phone from Mildred and held it to his ear.

"Ahhhh, Miss Holt—" he greeted exuberantly.

"Mr. Steele? Well, thank God, I'd almost convinced myself Mildred was being held at gunpoint and being forced to tell me all is fine."

"She's fine. Caught her doing her nails is all," he didn't even attempt to create a good lie, in the mood to tease Laura a bit.

"Doing her-" Laura began with disbelief. Mildred wasn't a 'do your nails in the middle of the day' kind of woman. He was up to something, but what? "Mildred said a spider crawled against her desk…" As well he'd heard, but he couldn't resist.

"Spider? Oh yes," he pretended to recall. "Vile little thing. Crawled right up her nail polish bottle. Never fear, however, Daniel scooped it right up and set it free." Laura's jaw dropped open. He was blatantly lying, his voice much too boisterous.

"We're on the eleventh floor, Mr. Steele. The eleventh floor," she repeated. "Exactly where did he… set the spider free?!" The question was dripping with sarcasm. There was no spider and all three knew it. What were Mildred and Remington up to? He was quick to reply.

"In the elevator. Daniel figured it would provide some amusement for the passengers." He wagged his brows at Daniel. "Come to think of it, you may wish to take the stairs when you get in," he pretended to ponder.

"Take the-?" she began, aghast. "Are you seriously suggesting I hike up eleven flights of stairs when I'm pregnant?!" If he was there in the room with her, she would have brained hm. "I'm coming in."

"Laura.. wait… wait…" he quickly appealed. "I give you my word, I was just having a bit of fun with you. Mildred was startled when I walked through the door with Daniel. She forgot, for a brief moment, he's friend not foe… at least for the moment. Now, to what do I owe the honor?"

"I was just giving Mildred some background checks for the case. I want to go over them tonight." He saw his hoped plans for the evening withering a bit.

"I'll make you a deal…" he began.

"A deal," she repeated, skeptically.

"A deal," he confirmed. "If you'll free the remainder of your afternoon to rest a bit and get ready for this evening, I'll not only bring the reports home, but will go over them with you…"

"I don't know…" she answered hesitantly.

"You didn't let me finish," he admonished, then continued, "…And this weekend, I'll allow you to sink, unbothered, into the drudgery of work." That was quite a sacrifice for him, as he normally saw weekends as time for his old movies, a bit of relaxing, a little dancing and tinkering around in his kitchen on and off throughout the day. He'd turned into quite the shocking homebody… and it pleased her immensely.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, tentatively. You had to be careful with her scheming Mr. Steele.

"Daniel would like us to accompany him to dinner and the opera." She perked up a bit. They didn't attend the opera often as Remington far preferred the artistry of ballet, not that she was complaining: She could never get enough of ballet. A night at the opera, she mused, then remembered who the host would be.

"What's the catch?" she asked, warily.

"No catch, I assure you. Things are a bit hot in Europe at the moment, so while Daniel's here he intends to trod the straight and narrow so as to not bring unwanted attention on himself." Laura rolled her eyes. Daniel would never change.

"Then, I'd enjoy that." His eyes lit with a warmth that could only be caused by Laura.

"Then, I'll be there at seven to pick you up." Disconnecting the line, she leaned forwards towards the window between her and Fred.

"Change of plans, Fred. To Barney's and take your time. I have all afternoon."

Smiling, she looked out the window, already envisioning the dress she wanted for the evening…