Here we go! This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic. I've been working on this for a few months (so I have more than chapter one written, obviously lol) but it's still definitely being heavily worked on.
Thanks to my lovely Brooke and Shay for looking over this, and for Polly's encouragement to share it! lol Mwah!
Please leave a review and let me know what y'all think! :)
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Chapter One
Ding. Level 22.
Regina Mills watches as the numbers on the elevator go up and up. She smooths out the imaginary wrinkles in her black, high waisted pencil skirt and slides her hand over her dark tresses to make sure there are no frizzy fly aways. Her mother had always told her it is always important to look professional, especially when meeting a client for the first time.
Ding. Level 23.
The doors open, revealing a large waiting area with a tall, black desk and a few metal chairs. It's mostly empty, but Regina assumes that's one of the rooms she'll be redoing while lending her design services to Locksley Advertising.
Regina Mills has always loved designing, and redesigning, different living spaces. For as long as she can remember, she always knew she wanted to become an interior decorator. She went to school, studied hard and eventually landed a low-paying internship at one of the most well-known interior design companies in New York City. After a few years of moving her way up the decorating ladder, Regina had been able to branch out and start her own company – not that she didn't love working for Zelena Westend Designs, but there was always something appealing about being her own boss and running her own company. She was able to get her business off the ground and running within a few short years and had never looked back. Her business is a small one but is quickly becoming very well known within the design world, and Regina couldn't be happier. She's getting phone calls about new clients every day and usually sends her associates out to start the designing process while she just oversees a majority of the work being done. Sometimes, however, she takes on her own projects – projects like the one that brought her to Locksley Advertising today.
Walking out of the elevator, Regina sees a young, auburn haired woman sitting behind the desk.
"Good afternoon," she greets Regina with a warm and welcoming smile.
"Hello. I'm Regina Mills. I have an appointment with a Mr..." she glances down at her planner before looking back up, "Locksley?"
The girl gives her a friendly smile. "Right this way."
The two women begin walking down a long, empty hallway. The walls definitely need some artwork, and maybe a new paint color, to liven it up a little bit. When they reach the end of the hall, the auburn haired woman knocks on the door before entering.
"Mr. Locksley? Your five o'clock is here."
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Belle." The man smiles as he stands from his large, clunky wooden desk, straightening his pinstripe tie.
Hideous desk. Regina thinks to herself. That'll be the first thing to go.
Too distracted by the hideous office décor, Regina almost misses the man's introduction of himself. When she looks up, she finds herself looking into two gorgeous, crystal blue eyes that are searching her brown orbs for any indication that she's heard him introduce himself.
"I'm sorry," Regina replies sheepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling like a teenage girl for being so affected by a pair of blue eyes. "I was looking at your desk. It's very… vintage."
With a smirk, the man replies, "And very ugly. Which is exactly why I've called you in here. I'm Robin Locksley, owner of Locksley Advertising."
"Yes." She states, quickly scanning her eyes over his business suit clad body, praying that he didn't notice her check him out. There's just something about a gorgeous man in a suit that does things to her. "I'm Regina Mills. I run Storybook Décor. I see we have a lot of work to do, Mr. Locksley," she states, looking around at the almost empty office, which matches the practically empty hallway and waiting area that she's already seen, along with the adjoining offices she'd glanced at on her way down the hall.
"Please, call me Robin," The man chuckles with a certain lilt to his voice. "And yes, I was fortunate enough to be able to move my business to a better location at a rather discounted price. But with that discounted price came the outdated look of the entire office floor," he explains, waving his noticeably smooth hands around in the air, indicating the office space, "which is exactly why I decided to hire someone to handle the decorating for me. I've never been the decorating type of guy," he replies in an adorable British accent that Regina finds herself getting lost in, with even more adorable dimples to match.
"Well," Regina begins, clearing her throat and getting down to business, "I've brought some sketches of different décor styles for you to look at. Is there..." She scans the room for a table to lay them out on.
"Ah, yes. You can put them over here," Robin lifts his eyebrows slightly, nodding his head to the left and walking them over to a large, glass conference table.
Giving him a small smile of gratitude, Regina pulls out the first design from her large, black leather work bag.
She always feels like she's hosting the latest HGTV television show whenever she meets with a client, and she secretly loves the thrill of showing off her skill to people. She is quite good at what she does, after all.
"This one is more of a farmhouse chic vibe," she says, placing the design down on the table. The sketches she brought today are just for his office – she'll design the other spaces once he picks which style he wants to go with. The farm house design is full of white and beige coloring, wooden lantern light fixtures and plush, comfy pillows. It doesn't really fit the New York vibe, but she's always willing to offer options to her clients. "I don't really take you as a farmhouse type of person, but it's an option." She grins, leaning over to place the first design on the table and sweeping her dark hair to one side.
"This next one is more of a traditional type décor, while this one is more modern." She lays the two designs side by side. The traditional design is the classic office space – warm wall colors, but with richly colored area rugs and comfortable chairs. It's still a bit too relaxed of a look for a business, but again, she offers choices. The modern look is all sleek, clean lines, hardly any furnishings and a bit cold. Modern designs are her least favorite.
"This last one is what we call transitional. It's a mix between the traditional and a more contemporary feel," she says as she runs her hands over the last design, a soft smile playing on her lips. This one is her favorite. Her design consists of a grayer hue for the paint colors, clean lines but with some warmth to make people feel comfortable. Glass and iron elements to give it a masculine feel along with iron backed chairs with cushioned bottoms for clients to sit on. It leaves room for more personal touches than the modern look, while still looking clean and professional.
"Hmm." Robin sighs as he looks over the designs, running a hand along his stubbled jaw. "They're all very well done, each of them stunning in their own way."
Regina lets a small smile ghost over her lips when she glances up and sees Robin looking at her. "Thank you," she says, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to hide the slight blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Yes, I think I like this one best," he pronounces, pointing at the transitional design. "I feel like this would be the most welcoming. I don't think many of my clients would much care for the farmhouse chic look," he jokes, that damn smirk on his face again.
Just then, the office door swings open.
"Papa!" Turning around, Regina spots an adorable, curly brown haired boy running into the office.
"My boy!" Robin exclaims with a paternal glee. "I thought I told you to wait in the conference room with Tink until I was finished in here?"
"I'm sorry, Robin!" A girl sighs, breathing deeply, her blonde ringlets falling into her face. Regina thinks she must be Robin's girlfriend (he's not married – he's not wearing a wedding ring. She's checked out of habit). "He just got away from me for a second."
"That's alright, Tink."
Regina feels a tug on the bottom of her skirt and looks down to see two big, brown eyes staring up at her.
"Hi! I'm Roland!"
"Hello, I'm Regina. How old are you, Roland?" She smiles at the little boy, taking his outstretched hand and shaking it before bending down to be eye level with the dimpled face cutie.
"I'm five!" he exclaims, holding up five little digits and shoving them closer to her face.
"What a fun age!" She giggles, wrapping her fingers around his and gently lowering them back down to his side. "My son is ten," Regina replies, a smile forming on her lips at the thought of her son, Henry.
"I'm sorry," Robin starts. "This is my son, Roland, and his nanny, Tink. Tink this is..."
"You're Regina Mills!" the blonde practically squeals, her hands instantly coming up to cover her mouth.
The girl's eyes are wide with wonder and with a chuckle coming from both Robin and Regina, Regina puts her hand out to shake Tink's.
"Yes, hello." Not the girlfriend, then. Good.
"The New Yorker named you one of the Top 10 up and coming designers in the city!"
Yes, Regina had seen that article and had gotten quite a few more job offers after the magazine ran.
"Tink here is in college studying interior design." Robin waves his hand in the girl's direction. "She watches Roland for me on the nights I have to work late or on weekends when coming into the office is inevitable." He explains, bending to scoop his son into his arms and place a kiss to his mop of brown curls.
"Oh, that's wonderful," Regina beams, feeling like a minor celebrity (and loving it). "It's always nice to meet someone interested in interior design."
Glancing down at her watch, Regina realizes she needs to leave soon. She cannot be late tonight.
"Well," Regina turns to face Robin again, "Why don't I take some measurements and pictures of your offices and then I'll draw up some designs to go over with you in a few days?"
"Sounds wonderful," he says, placing his son back onto the ground before the child sprints off in the direction of his nanny. "I'm just finishing up some work before I leave for the night. Feel free to go around and do what you need to do."
"Thank you." Regina bites her lips to tamper down the smile that she feels creeping onto her face just by looking at this man.
Taking out her measuring tape from her work bag, Regina begins measuring his office, glancing at her watch one last time and realizing she'll have to be quick.
"Papa! We're gonna be late!" Roland whines, skipping back to his father and pulling at his gray sport coat.
"Yes, my boy, let me finish up here and then we can go see Snow White!"
That gets Regina's attention.
"Snow White?"
"Yeah!" Roland squeals. "My school is putting on a Snow White play tonight and the prettiest girl in school is in it."
"How ironic." Regina smirks at Roland's adoration of the pretty girl. "I'm on my way to a play as well. My son, Henry, is performing in it. What school do you go to?"
"Sherwood Elementary."
"Well, so does Henry, so I guess I'll see you at the play!" Regina scans her eyes up from the boy's to his father's, before turning her attention back to the boy who is bouncing with excitement. "Be sure to look for the most handsome Prince Charming you've ever seen - that'll be my Henry." Regina replies, wondering what it is about the little boy's personality that she finds so instantly endearing.
Turning her attention back to Robin, whom she notices has not taken his eyes off of her since she began talking with his son, she says, "Well, I've just about finished all of my measurements. Why don't I draw up some sketches and I can meet back with you in, say, a week?"
"That sounds great." He smiles, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. Damn that's sexy, Regina thinks. "Just schedule it with Belle out front and I'll see you then, or rather, I suppose I'll see you," he glances at his watch, "in just under an hour at the play." He states, those dimples beaming on his face again.
"Yes, I suppose so," Regina says, attempting to sound as professional as possible while contemplating why she's so giddy over the thought of seeing Robin outside of this office.
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She's gorgeous.
That's all Robin Locksley can think as his five o'clock appointment makes her way out of his office, his eyes scanning down her body for a quick second when she turns her back.
After he introduced himself earlier, he was instantly mesmerized by her beauty. Her olive skin, warm, chocolate eyes and long, black hair had his full attention. She had seemed too distracted by his ugly office furniture to notice him checking her out within the first fifteen seconds on meeting her. Thank God.
Finding out that their sons go to the same school was just pure luck on his part. Roland has been excited for the school's production of Snow White ever since he found out Valerie was going to be in it. She is going to be portraying the Evil Queen but she's not really evil, Papa - she's the nicest girl in the whole school...and she's my friend! is how his kindergartener had explained it to him last weekend. The girl is in fourth grade, but apparently their recess times overlap and he likes to play with her on the playground sometimes.
Knowing Regina was going to be there makes Robin just the smallest bit more excited to suffer through a play that his own son isn't even a part of. But, when Roland had turned those puppy dog eyes up at him a few days ago, begging to go see Valerie in the play, he couldn't refuse.
Watching Regina close the door, Robin is pulled from his thoughts and sits down to finish some last minute paperwork before he and Roland have to leave.
It's with Roland's umpteenth Papa! The play! as he peeks his head in through the office door, that Robin finally stands and straightens the papers on his desk (he can always get them done tomorrow anyway). He takes his son's hand as they make their way out of his office and on their way to see the most breath-taking beauty he's met in quite some time… and Valerie, of course.
Robin can't stop thinking about Regina. She's all he's been thinking about the whole way down from his office to his car that he now drives, feeling the eyes of Tink boring into him.
The blonde has apparently noticed that he's been quiet on the ride over to the school but hasn't said anything. She just keeps sending knowing glances and smirks his way.
"Do you have something to say?" Robins asks Tink. They've become quite good friends over the years, so talking to each other in a less than professional manner has become acceptable.
"No. Nothing." Tink smirks, her head staying perfectly still as her eyes slide over in his direction. "I'm just glad I could convince you to hire Regina Mills to redecorate your offices. They certainly need it. And she's quite beautiful," Tink adds, sending another knowing glance over to Robin with a wink.
Robin just rolls his eyes, grips the steering wheel and drives a little bit faster to the school.
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"Sorry I'm late!" Regina huffs, as she rushes into the auditorium.
Daniel, her ex-boyfriend and father of her son, is standing there in black slacks and a green button up shirt. He looks nice. But then again, Daniel is similar to Regina's mother, Cora, in that he always dresses the part. It is important to both Daniel and Cora to put your best face forward.
He's standing with Emma, Regina's best friend, and Henry at their seats, waiting on her.
She and Emma had met their freshman year of college when they had the same Poli-Sci class, but the girls had clashed at first. They were both stubborn young girls who each thought they knew best and were unwilling to see each other's perspectives. It wasn't until a group project where they ended up being the only ones to do any of the work that they realized how well they actually got along. Regina came to appreciate the blonde's dry humor and take-no-prisoners attitude (ironic, since the woman is now a bail bondswoman). They moved into a small, two-bedroom apartment the following semester and lived together until Regina moved in with Daniel a year and a half later. They'd been inseparable since, and she had even asked Emma to be Henry's godmother when the boy was just a baby, which she happily accepted.
"It's ok, Mom. I'm just glad you made it!" Henry says, fidgeting with his hands and worrying his lip with his teeth. It's a gesture Regina knows all too well as one that he's picked up from her.
Regina can tell he's nervous, so she bends down to be eye level with him and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. He's shaking a little bit and her heart aches for him. Henry has always been a reserved child but finally admitted to her a few months ago that he wanted to try out for the school play. It surprised her at first, but when he told her it was Snow White, she instantly understood. Her son has always loved fairy tales, this one in particular. She can't count the amount of times they've watched the movie and read different versions of the classic tale.
Her stomach immediately knots with nerves for her little prince, but she knows he's going to do a wonderful job. Lord knows they've practiced enough that even she (and Emma, and Daniel) have his lines memorized.
"You're going to do an excellent job, sweetheart," Regina begins straightening his Prince Charming costume on his shoulders. "You've practiced your lines hundreds of times with me, Emma, and your father. You can do it!" Regina encourages, as she brushes his hair to one side of his forehead.
She leans in to give him a peck on his cheek, which makes him blush and look around to see if any other kids saw her do it, before sending him off backstage to finish getting ready.
"He's going to be fine," Daniel says, placing a hand on the small of Regina's back and giving her a small, encouraging smile. They may not be together anymore, despite how hard Daniel has pushed over the last several months, but they have definitely mastered how to co-parent in a way that works for them.
Regina huffs out a little breath and an uneasy smile, half out of nerves for Henry, the other half from not wanting her ex-boyfriend putting his hand on her back. She doesn't want to give them another shot and never will, but Daniel keeps doing little things to try and win her back. He's sent her texts asking about her day or seeing if she wants to go to dinner, just the two of them, and he's even sent her flowers on a few occasions (just because I miss my girl is how he explained it away after she got frustrated with him the last time). She's already made it perfectly clear to him over the past six months that they will never be a couple again. Three breakups will cement that for a girl.
She gives Emma a knowing glance as they take their seats. Emma, being the good friend that she is, sits in between Regina and Daniel. His small huff of annoyance doesn't go unnoticed by either Regina nor her best friend.
As she's taking her seat, Regina spots a certain handsome, sandy blonde, blue-eyed man walking in the doors with his son and nanny in tow. Do you see Valerie, yet?! she hears squealed over the murmuring crowd of people, making Regina chuckle to herself.
Robin catches her eyes, and they both wave a small hello towards each other as the lights dim, alerting everyone that the play is about the begin.
Looking up to the lights, then back to Robin, she nods her head in indication toward the empty seats on her row, noticing they seem to be looking for three empty chairs, before taking her own seat and grabbing Emma's hand to receive a comforting squeeze from her son's godmother.
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When they walk in, Robin spots Regina immediately. She's still wearing that black, high waisted pencil skirt and maroon blouse that she had on at their meeting. He can't help but notice how great her figure looks in that skirt.
He also can't help but notice the brown-haired man standing with Regina, with his hand on the small of her back, a small frown gracing Robin's lips. He hadn't noticed a wedding ring earlier, so perhaps it's her boyfriend. Damn it.
"What is it?" Tink questions, concern coloring her eyes.
"Nothing. Let's find a good seat."
Robin is pleased that the seats Regina showed them are just a few chairs down from her and her guests. He is even more pleased when, who he assumes is Henry (based on the Prince Charming get up he's sporting), gets on stage and gives his speech about true love and waking his precious Snow with true love's hug (this is elementary school, after all). He's entranced by the way Regina mouths his entire speech along with Henry – obviously, they had practiced more than a few times at home – and how she nods her head and gives him a small thumbs up when he finishes.
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When the play ends, Roland runs over to his new friend, Regina.
"Hi, Regina!" Roland shrieks, skidding to a stop right before crashing into her legs and grinning up at her.
"Hi, Roland. How did you like the play?" Regina inquires, smiling down at the adorable little boy and brushing her hand over the curls on his forehead out of motherly instinct.
"It was great! Valerie did such a good job as the Evil Queen. She looked so pretty," he replies, his face beaming with young love.
Regina smirks, glancing up towards the boy's father, who is rolling his eyes in amusement and shaking his head at his son's obvious adoration of the little girl.
Before any other introductions can be made, Henry comes running over to the group of people standing around his mom.
"Hey, champ!" Daniel says, ruffling Henry's hair. "You did great!"
"You did wonderful, sweetheart," Regina says, smiling at her son and straightening the freshly ruffled brown hair. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Yeah, kid," Emma says, smiling at her favorite ten year old and pushing her long, blonde hair behind her back. "You did awesome!"
"Thanks guys!" Henry exclaims. Turning to look at the three strangers standing amongst his family, he asks with a curious, furrowed brow, "Who are you?"
Chuckling at her son's bluntness, that she know he inherited straight from her, she tells him, "Henry, this is Roland. He goes here as well, and this is his father, Robin, and his nanny, Tink," Regina states, making the proper introductions.
"Robin, this is my son Henry." Robin and Henry shake hands. Regina smiles, watching her son's face take on a serious look while shaking this new man's hand as firmly as he possibly can. Now that he's a little older, Henry seems to feel the need to show that he can protect his mother from any and all dangers of this world, including strangers. She's noticed that his protective side has heightened since the two of them moved into their own apartment six months ago. It's his way of proving that he's growing up, she thinks, but her heart flutters a little bit and it brings a warm smile to her face each time her baby boy steps up to protect her. Though that one time he tried to step in front of the roll away grocery cart in the Whole Foods parking lot did nearly give her a heart attack and prompted her to have a talk with him about how he doesn't have to protect her from everything. "Henry's father, Daniel, and my best friend, Emma," she says, pointing at everyone as they're introduced, while Robin shakes the hands of the other adults, smiling politely.
"Robin is my newest client, and it just so happens that his son goes to this school, too."
Once all the introductions are made, Regina turns to Robin.
"Well, I think we're going to head out for some celebratory ice cream. But I'll see you next week?"
"Certainly," Robin replies, smiling towards Regina, making her stomach do a flip. "I'll see you then. It was nice meeting all of you, and congratulations, Henry. You did great."
And with that, the three newcomers turn and leave.
Turning back to her family, Regina asks, "So, who's ready for ice cream?"
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Thanks for reading chapter one. I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and let me know :)