Wicked Wears Prada

Chapter 1 || Pistachio Bagels on Orchard Street

The sun had risen early at six fifty in the morning on the first Tuesday in August.

Though Zelena Thropp was already awake since she wanted to get to her new job as Cora Hart's second assistant at Catwalk Magazine on time. She rummaged through her tiny closet for a fedora that would match her outfit that contained at least three different shades of green.

As her pet monkey, Kelly, jumped on her bed, Zelena noticed that her alarm clock, that was neatly placed on her bedside table, read seven fifteen. Her eyes widen as she realized that she only had fifteen minutes to get her usual breakfast from the bakery down the street and to work on time.

She fixed her black fedora upon her head and waved her hands in front of herself to disappear into a cloud of dark green smoke. Whilst reappearing in front of the Orchard Street Bakery, Zelena's nerves were calmed by the smell of freshly baked pistachio bagels.

She ran in quickly to place an order for her usual, then moments later, she exited swiftly with a bagel and coffee in her hands only to disappear once more. The red head rematerialized in the lobby of Catwalk Magazine with cream cheese smeared across her lip.

As she tried to wipe it off, a tall brunette strutted towards her in black Jimmy Choo pumps. "You must be Zelena Thropp." The brunette awkwardly smiled in disgust. "And you're Regina Mills. Ms. Hart's first assistant, right?" Zelena smiled eagerly.

"Yes. I've been tied to her hip for the past three years. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." Regina responded. The two women walked down the hall to the outside of Cora Hart's office to continue their conversation.

"I wouldn't imagine it." Zelena exclaimed. "But isn't that why you're here? To replace me?" The red headed witch looked around with a confused look on her face. "You must be mistaken me for someone else. I'm just here to learn more about fashion and to make friends in the big city." Regina glanced at Zelena from head to heel and replied with a fake smile, "There's definitely a lot you can learn here."

Zelena didn't recognize her new coworker's annoyed tone in her voice, so she flashed a small smile in response. Both women turned around to an older looking man barging into the assistant's lobby. "Rumple, what's the matter? Did you lose your gold-studded cuff links again?" Regina chuckled.

Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes at the poor excuse for a joke and explained, "I just wanted to inform you that she's arrived two hours early and on her way up." "Are you kidding me? Nobody told me! Her driver didn't text me! How was I supposed to know this?" The brunette exclaimed with extreme agitation.

"Dearie, I just told you." The older gentleman said as exited the assistant's lobby and he walked down the hall to his studio. "I wasn't prepared for her to get here until nine o'clock. Nothing is ready!" Regina whispered to herself as her hands were about to create miniature fireballs.

Seconds later, she calmed down when she realized that she would make the situation even worse if she started a fire. She flipped back her ebony hair, straighten her black pencil skirt and shouted down the hallway for everyone on the floor to get ready for the editor in chief's early arrival.

Zelena glanced around in shock since she had never seen that many people run so fast in stilettos in her entire life. Regina's head jolted to the two giant glass doors of the assistant's lobby as she heard Cora's blood red pumps clack against the tile floor down the hall.

As Cora Hart grew closer, Regina began to prop the heavy glass doors open for her boss. The clacking stopped as her blood red pumps touched the carpet of the assistant's lobby. "Good morning, Cora. I have your usual morning cappuccino hot and ready." Regina exclaimed as she made the coffee from Zelena's hands appear behind her back to give to her boss.

Zelena stared at her hands to see that her morning coffee kick was missing. She never realized that witches and wizards used their magic for maniacal deeds, she was in new territory now. "Who's the red head?" The editor in chief questioned as she plopped her ruby studded designer coat on Zelena's new desk and walked into her office.

The brunette always made sure to follow with at least 3 feet of distance between her and Cora. "She's the second assistant you requested from Human Resources." Regina answered with a less than confident tone. "If that's so, then why is she standing around like a coat rack? You are going to train her, aren't you? She could use a lot of work." The editor in chief explained while glancing at Zelena, who stood behind Regina, taking in the whole experience.

"Right away, Cora. Will there be anything else at the moment?" The brunette said quickly. "Yes. I wanted to remind you that the both of you will be evaluated at the end of the month, to see which of you is capable of being my first personal assistant for Fashion Week next month." Cora elaborated as she sipped the hot cappuccino.

Regina nodded as she pushed Zelena back into the assistant's lobby. "That's your desk, this is my desk. You go for coffee runs and get lunch orders and I get to go to Fashion Week next month with Cora. Understand?" The brunette stated with pride. "You know, it's only my first day, but I think she said that we're both in the running for that position. If I'm not mistaken." Zelena replied with a touch of sass. "That's only a formality. So don't get in my way and we won't have any problems. But if you do, you have no idea what I'm capable of."