Santana
She hadn't seen Quinn in almost two weeks. No, that wasn't right. Santana stared out her huge office window as she went over the past several days. After that disastrous visit to the fabric store, she'd seen Quinn a few times. They'd exchanged nothing more than one-word greetings. What they hadn't done since their argument was have a meaningful conversation.
And Santana might have kept up the distance between them until her cousin's wedding, but she had important news to discuss with Quinn. Avoiding her for a moment longer was going to drive Santana insane. She pulled out her cell phone and sent a message. It was almost lunchtime. Hopefully, Quinn could spare an hour to talk at a nearby coffee shop.
Santana's phone buzzed seconds after sending the message. She glanced at the text. Quinn replied she could meet her in twenty minutes.
After letting her assistant know she'd be going out for lunch, Santana got into her Mercedes and drove away from Lopez Investment Group headquarters.
She got to The Brew with minutes to spare. The place was more upscale than the chain coffee shops, so it wasn't nearly as full at this hour as it could have been. As she waited for Quinn to arrive, she placed an order and grabbed a seat at a corner table.
Right as she finished checking her e-mails on her laptop, Quinn appeared.
"Hi." Quinn didn't meet Santana's gaze. Her hands held the strap of her handbag in a tight grip. Obviously, this was the last thing she wanted to do.
"Hey. Please sit." Santana motioned to the drinks and food on the table. "I took the liberty of ordering for you. I hope that's okay."
"That's fine. Thank you." As Quinn took her seat, her shapely bare leg brushed against Santana's.
Santana's heart skipped a beat when she felt the heat of Quinn's skin. Skin she knew had to be soft as silk just from sight alone. She forced her gaze from Quinn's leg to the woman's face. Focussing on Quinn's captivating eyes, Santana tried to suppress her reaction to her. Too late. The sudden contact after days of barely seeing Quinn aroused her. It made Santana shift in her seat as she clenched her thighs together.
After weeks of only catching glimpses of Quinn, seeing her up close again was a heart-stopping experience.
"You're probably wondering what I wanted to talk about," Santana said as she closed her laptop.
Quinn nodded. "Yes."
Santana shoved the laptop into its bag and pulled a stack of forms from the bag's outside pocket. "I wanted to talk about your loan application."
"You do?" Quinn stared at her in confusion. "I thought the bank rejected my loan request."
"It did. But I wanted to see if I could still get you a loan. Or someone to invest in your business." After their argument, Santana had gone over Quinn's application again. Mostly because she missed her, and looking through Quinn's application gave Santana something constructive to do. It was either go over Quinn's form or brood over not being able to talk to her. Now Santana had a good reason to talk to her again.
"Why?"
"Your business plan is solid and I know people with money." Santana paused. "I'm not guaranteeing anything yet, so this is just very preliminary stuff. What I'd like to do is start asking around. Make contact with people looking to invest in a new business."
"No." Quinn took a deep breath, her shoulders tensing. "I mean, why are you helping me?"
"I've explained this to you already," Santana said, fighting to keep the exasperation out of her voice. "I know what it's like to struggle and I want to help."
"You don't want to help me. You think you do, but you don't."
Santana narrowed her eyes, studying Quinn's face to see if she could understand. Understand why Quinn had pulled away from her so suddenly. Quinn had been so warm. So easy to talk to. Now there was such a chill in the air around her, Santana wondered if Quinn even wanted to be around her.
"I do want to help you."
Quinn shook her head sadly. "Just throw me out of your house. That's what you want to do anyway."
"I don't want to throw you out," Santana said firmly. "Where is this coming from?"
Quinn's eyes lowered as she avoided Santana's gaze. "I was awful to you. That day in the fabric store."
"You weren't," Santana reassured. Granted, nobody had talked to her the way Quinn had in a long time. But Santana had probably pushed too hard. Ten years wasn't long enough for some of Russell Fabray's victims. So many people were still struggling with financial ruin through no fault of their own. "I shouldn't have brought up the subject. Sometimes, in my effort to get something, I push too hard. I wanted to help, and I focused on what I thought you needed instead of what was actually best for you. I'm sorry."
"You're not throwing me out?" Quinn looked like she was holding her breath, her fingers curling around her coffee cup.
"No. Of course not. Is that why you thought I texted you to meet up?"
"Yes. I thought you were going to ask me to pack my bags. I wouldn't blame you if you did." Quinn inhaled sharply. "The things I said were uncalled for."
"Quinn, I'm glad you stood up to me," Santana explained. "That's how I know I can trust you. You don't tell me what you think I want to hear, and that's something I admire."
"Trust…" Quinn's voice trailed off as she lifted her gaze to meet Santana's. "You trust me?"
As crazy as it was, Santana did. She trusted very few people in her life, and the person she trusted most was herself. But she saw in Quinn the same honesty and tenacity that she had. Quinn had stood up to her when Santana brought up the Fabrays. Even when she stood to risk losing a paycheck and a roof over her head. Quinn had integrity and the more Santana saw of her, the more she wanted to help.
Help, a voice in Santana's head scoffed. She couldn't lie to herself. This wasn't some charity run. She wanted to help Quinn because it gave her a reason to see her. An excuse to talk to her. The desire was dangerous. Santana knew this, and yet she wanted to keep testing. Keep pushing to see how far they'd end up.
She'd always displayed a calculated ruthlessness in business, but her desire for Quinn was more intense than that. So much of what Santana did in her presence was purely instinct. Nothing about the way Quinn intoxicated her was calculated or controlled.
"I do," Santana finally said. "Though, I suspect you don't trust me just yet."
"It's not personal," Quinn said softly.
"I get that. This town hasn't been the same since Russell Fabray's crimes were uncovered. It's hard to trust after that level of fraud." Santana spread her hands out on the table. If she had any hope of doing right by Quinn, she needed to gain her trust.
Quinn took a sip of her coffee. "I'm grateful for your help, but what about your father? He sounds like the kind of man who wouldn't want you helping me. And I don't you getting in trouble with him for me."
"Quinn, what does my father have to do with any of this?"
"Well, you invited me to the wedding to please him," Quinn replied. "If you're trying to project a certain image, do you really think getting into business with me would help?"
"You're already going to pretend to be my girlfriend," Santana reminded her. "I don't see how having a professional relationship is going to be a problem."
"So we're still on for the wedding. I wondered if you'd want to go through with that after the way I acted."
Leaning back in her chair, Santana said, "That's definitely still on. A deal is a deal. And since we're on the topic of deals, are you willing to let me help you get your store financed?"
"What kind of people will you be talking to?" Quinn asked.
She was on guard. Not that Santana blamed her. "Mostly investor types. Especially businesswomen. I figured having some other women invested in your business would be helpful."
"Your mother is a pretty good businesswoman, isn't she?"
"Pretty good is an understatement. My mother might be a handful, but the bank can't run without her. Don't tell her I said that, though. She'd never let me hear the end of it."
Quinn laughed, the breathy sound like a bolt of electricity to Santana's heart. Damn, it felt good to hear her laugh. To see her upbeat after their argument. Getting Quinn to laugh was a reward Santana would never tire of.
"Your secret is safe with me." Amusement flashed in her beautiful eyes as she took another sip of her coffee. "Okay. You can talk to investors, but before you do… could I get a list of the people you're going to?"
"Absolutely," Santana said. "I won't talk to anyone about financing your store without getting your approval first. So, are we friends again?"
"Friends." Quinn's lips curved up into a smile and Santana chuckled. A spot of coffee smeared with her lipgloss on the corner of her delectable mouth. "What's so funny?"
"You've got something…" Santana reached out her hand to drag her thumb across Quinn's soft lips.
Santana almost pulled her hand back as Quinn stiffened, but the tension disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Quinn visibly relaxed and her eyes locked on Santana's.
For a moment, everything in the coffee shop vanished. The whir of the machines drowned out. All the patrons faded away. Nothing existed except for Quinn. A pink blush grew on Quinn's cheeks as she lowered her eyes. And then she leaned back into Santana's hand as if relishing her touch.
As quickly as she could, Santana brushed the lipgloss away and pulled her hand back. "There. All gone."
When Quinn lifted her gaze, her beauty nearly knocked Santana sideways. Her golden hair was perfect, without a strand out of place, and yet the rest of her looked like she had just been in the throes of passion. Her eyes were glassy, almost hazy, with what looked like desire. The rosiness in her cheeks. Her lips slightly parted. She had the most arresting glow about her.
Quinn tilted her head, scrutinizing Santana as she did. "There's got to be a way I can repay you for helping me."
In her low, husky tone the offer sounded more like an illicit invitation than anything else. But Santana would never accept that kind of payment, even if that was what Quinn was offering. As much as she ached for her, Santana knew they weren't on equal footing. "No payment necessary." A thought suddenly struck Santana. "Well, maybe you can help me with something."
"What is it?"
"You seem to know a little about the way the upper class works. And you understand Italian culture. That's the kind of stuff my father wants me to get up to speed on." Even though Santana loathed the idea of transforming into some entitled blue blood, but if she had to learn something, why not from a beautiful woman?
Plus, Quinn seemed to be much more connected to the upper class than she let on.
Quinn looked surprised. "You want me to teach you how to be rich?"
Santana paused to take a sip of her iced coffee. "Yes. I don't want to take up much of your time since you're making our clothes for the wedding. If you've got an hour to spare in the future, I'm ready to learn."
A mischievous grin appeared on Quinn's face. She rubbed her hands together. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."
The glint in her eye was unsettling Santana. "Quinn, I asked you to teach me not torment me."
Quinn didn't reply. She just laughed wickedly before taking a sip of her coffee.
Santana shook her head and groaned inwardly. She hoped like hell she didn't end up regretting this.
A/N: Surprise! This is my present to you all ;) I ended up taking an unexpected hiatus and I blame FF dot net for it lol. The stats page is still down, so if you're still around and following this story, please let me know. Merry Snixxmas to my fav people on the internet, btw don't forget to donate to the Snixxmas drive if you can. Wishing all you Quinntana stans a happy and safe holiday :)
