Chapter 10: Staying After Hours

It was Tuesday morning, and Hermione was excited to get started. Work would be the perfect distraction from her suddenly confusing life. She was up before Maggie this morning, so she thought she'd do something special for her. She started on the eggs after making a fresh pot of coffee. She arranged a huge breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon, fresh jam, and coffee by the time Maggie came out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Hermione? What is all this?" Maggie came out in a gorgeous magenta flare dress, with the curls of her hair framing her chest perfectly. It synched around her waist and showed off her seductive curves.

"Woah, you look amazing!" Hermione exclaimed. She had never seen Maggie in such a beautiful dress for a workday.

Maggie's cheeks flushed red as she hid her smile behind her hand. "Thank you, Hermione." Maggie's eyes filled with a childlike innocence as she grabbed a cup from the cabinet. "I have a date tonight."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. Maggie had never mentioned a guy before. "When did this happen?"

Maggie pulled out the chair from the dining table. "Well, the family I delivered to yesterday was a husband and wife, and the wife's brother was visiting from out of town and asked me out to dinner tonight. So, I said yes!" She seemed genuinely excited to talk about this mystery man. Hermione couldn't help but feel selfish for making yesterday completely about her and her horrible love life. "So back to my original question, what's with the big surprise breakfast?"

Hermione poured herself a cup of coffee and sat across from Maggie. "I just wanted to say thank you for everything. You've been more than a friend to me, more like a mother. And I don't think I could have handled yesterday without you." Hermione got up and grabbed two plates for her and Maggie. She put piping hot eggs and bacon on both plates and carried over a tray of toast and jam.

"I'm glad I could be there for you. How are you feeling today? You know, about everything?" Maggie asked.

"No no." Hermione shook her head. "I want to hear about this mystery man!"

Maggie grinned from ear to ear and shyly sipped her coffee. "His name is Charles. He owns a metaphysical shop in Lemmworth. It's a small village about 100 miles from here. He's super tall, handsome, and has super white teeth." They both laughed at Maggie's odd description as they ate their breakfast.

Hermione opened the store that day and started completing a few alteration requests from the day before. She ironed a few pairs of pants and a button-up shirt. She tidied up the shop and polished a few dusty mirrors. The store was busy for a Tuesday and Hermione enjoyed every passing minute. She preferred to keep her mind busy. She helped Maggie with a few walk-in fittings and helped her change a few of the lightbulbs in the track lights.

With an hour till closing, the two of them had a few minutes to sit and relax. Hermione pulled out a step stool and sat down. "So, what time is your date tonight?"

"6:00 PM, and if it's okay with you I'll probably take off a little early before close so I can meet him on time. I should be back by midnight if things go well." She smiled.

Hermione waved Maggie away. "Of course that's fine, you practically gave me the whole day off yesterday."

Maggie went back through the kitchen and into her bedroom to finish getting ready for her date with Charles. Hermione straightened out a few out-of-place step stools and stood behind the front desk. A few minutes later Maggie came out of her room. She had straightened her hair which gave it an incredible new length that went down to her lower back and put on a deep shade of red lipstick. Her eyelashes were considerably longer than a few minutes ago, and she smelt like a pouch of apple slices and cinnamon.

"Holy cow!" Hermione grabbed Maggie's hand and gave her a twirl. "You look amazing! How did you get ready so fast?"

"Magic of course!" Maggie slipped on a grey raincoat and headed for the door. "And you're sure you'll be okay tonight?"

"Go have fun, Maggie." Hermione waved goodbye as Maggie left the store and headed down the street. For once, Hermione was alone at the store. She felt proud to finally feel comfortable running the store on her own.

'If this goes well, maybe I can even give Maggie a few nights off if she continues to see this Charles guy.' She thought, loving the idea of treating Maggie to a vacation. She couldn't think of a more deserving person.

There was another 30 minutes until she would officially close the store. She wiped down a few empty shelves and the front desk. She started to flick her wand to get the vacuum moving around when the bell on the door chimed. A tall, dark figure walked into the store, and Hermione's stomach felt like it had dropped to her knees. There was no way to tell who it was. The coat went down to their ankles with the hood covering every part of its face. The coat was drenched with rain as droplets began to create a small puddle around their shoes.

"Hello?" Her stomach felt like it was doing backflips as a pair of hands in black gloves reached up and pinched the sides of the looming hood. They threw the hood back and tangles of long silver hair tumbled down the coat.

"Lucius?" Her head began to feel light at the sight of him. Still, beneath his eyes were two dark circles. The man looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. "What are you doing here?"

He began to take off his gloves, pulling at each finger and then stuffing them into his coat pocket. "I'm sorry, I know you're not open for very long."

"Please come in, I had no idea the rain had picked up so much. Maggie just left, I hope she stays dry." As she approached Lucius her heart started to flutter. She constantly had to remind herself to not stare at his lips. She took his coat and brought it to the back of the store to be dried. She couldn't help but notice he wore a navy blue suit jacket with a shiny silver and green tie atop a black button-up shirt. He flattened the top of his matching navy blue slacks.

"Maggie?"

"She's my boss. Maggie as in "Maggie's Tailoring"." Hermione started to fumble with her hands. "She owns the store but stepped out early to…meet a friend." She didn't want to tell all of Maggie's business. She could hardly believe Lucius was in front of her, especially after everything that happened between them just a day before. He walked in a bit further and looked around at all the shelves of suits and their matching pants, then over to the half circle of mirrors. She wondered if that half-circle reminded him of what happened yesterday the way it did her.

"May we sit?" He motioned to the two velvet blue armchairs. She glanced through the windows to the outside, wondering if anyone could see the two of them through the sudden torrential rain. The streets were beginning to empty, and she only had a few minutes until the store would close.

"Please, give me just a second." She snatched the key off the front desk and locked the front door. She switched the neon sign to "off" and lowered a few blinds in front of the shop. As she moved around the store, she could feel his stone-colored eyes following her, causing her to feel incredibly self-conscious while completing the same closing tasks she'd done so many times before. She turned back and scooted the chair to face Lucius at an angle. His eyes were locked onto her the entire time as if he had no mercy for how she nervously stumbled in his presence.

"So," he started as he did another look over the store. "How long have you worked here?"

Hermione folded her hands in her lap and focused on the shoulder pads of his jacket. Anything to avoid making eye contact. She followed his eyes around the store and said: "Almost four months now."

"Do you like it?" He leaned forward a bit. She couldn't stand the irrelevant small talk at a time like this.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure you didn't come all the way here to ask me questions about my work." She bit her lip, wondering if she just came off rude or pushy. She was never one to beat around the bush, and she wasn't going to start now.

"Clever girl." He smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"Isn't it obvious?" Now Hermione was leaning forward.

"What if I am just curious about you?" One of his eyebrows raised, the act alone sent Hermione back into her chair, wishing the sudden urge to be in his lap wasn't so strong.

"Lucius, you've never been "curious about me," she quoted him with her fingers in the air. "In fact, up until recently, you've always hated me."

"I'm sorry, Hermione." Inside of his eyes was sorrow as he looked down at his shoes.

"What?" Did she hear him correctly? Then his stoic eyes shot back up, causing her to freeze.

"I'm sorry I was so awful to you. The man I was only cared about power and money and equated a person's worth to those things. But I was wrong. I realize that now, and I'm so sorry you've had the displeasure of knowing me." He stood up from the chair and looked toward the back of the store. "I think my coat must be dry.""Wait," she shot up from the chair, giving into her desire and staring into his beautiful gray eyes that reminded her of a cloudy day in the fall. "Please stay?"