Crazy, Beautiful, You

The Meeting

"Regina," Gold called out as flames raged around him, "Regina, please get your kitchen under control!"

"Working on it boss man," Regina laughed as she tossed her cherries jubilee in a dish. It was a busier than normal night at La Pomme Mechant and Regina was working from one station to the next in a frantic attempt to get all of her orders out on time. She had been the head pastry chef there for the last eight years and although she loved every second of what she did, on nights like this Gold could really test her patience. She could handle the flood of the orders, the noise of the busy workers all around her, and even the occasional fire. What she couldn't handle however was Gold screaming at everyone because he could not handle said things. How he ever got into the business of owning a five star restaurant in Seattle Regina would never quite understand.

"Order up!" Regina exclaimed as she tossed a few beautifully decorated plates onto the counter that was eye level with her. She took a deep breath spun around on her heal and quickly began to create her next piece of art when Sidney one of their head waiters stepped into the kitchen and stood right behind her.

"Gina, there is a customer requesting to speak to you." Sidney said startling the woman.

"Sidney! Really?" Regina threw her hands up and some batter flew in the air along with them. "There is no way I can step away right now." As much as she loved taking compliments from patrons who enjoyed her food, tonight was one of those nights that she just could not justify walking away simply for an ego boost.

"Okay, sorry, I will let them know that you are just too busy." Sidney shrugged his shoulders and headed back out to the restaurant.

Regina shook her head. She adored Sidney and they had been friends for quite awhile. They had enjoyed many nights after work consisting of cold drinks and complaining about Gold but sometimes he could be so dense.

Regina continued working on her orders when Sidney slipped back through the kitchen doors and slid a card into her coat pocket. "There was a woman who said that she needs catering for a function at her work place and is requesting your desserts. She would like you to call her tomorrow her number is on the card."

Before Regina could reach into her chef's coat to retrieve the card and tell him no that she was not interested in catering and that she simply did not have the time he was already back in the restaurant. Regina shook her head and continued cooking she didn't have time to stop right now she would deal with this later.

.....

Later that evening Regina was lying in bed sipping on a glass of Pinot Noir and skimming through the latest issue of Bon Appétit when she remembered that she had never looked at the card that Sidney had slipped her. She stood up, glass in hand, and retrieved the card.

Prescott Elementary School

Mrs. Julie Lucas

Principal

Please call 888-555-2626 at your earliest convenience to discuss our fall fundraiser Thank You!

Regina had never done catering before and she knew that she did not have the time to either but a wave of guilt started to come over her at the thought of blowing off an elementary school. Her mother, before she passed away, was an elementary school teacher and was always devoting everything she had to the children there.

Regina sighed and took another sip of her wine. She told herself she would call tomorrow morning before work and find out exactly what this Mrs. Lucas was looking for. If anything she could get her sous chef to help her out. He is always asking for more responsibility. If she needs to take some time off to work on the fundraiser she can let him fly solo a few more nights a week and then maybe it will shut him up for awhile.

....

Beep Beep Beep

"Shiiiiiit!" Regina cried out. Apparently she had a little too much wine last night because she hit the snooze more times than she realized. She jumped out of bed and had just enough time to wash her face, throw back a cup of coffee, and brush her teeth before having to leave for work. As she pulled into the parking lot she remembered she wanted to call Mrs. Lucas about the school fundraiser. Knowing that there just was not enough time for that she made a mental note to look up how far away it was from the restaurant. Maybe, if she was lucky she could swing by on her lunch hour.

As she pulled into work she noticed there were more cars than the normal four. At noon there is always only five cars when she arrives to work as the rest of the staff does not get there until three, an hour before the restaurant opens. Gold's tacky Cadillac that was none other than gold. August, the Head chef's mustang, Robin, her sous chef's truck, Belle's BMW and Leroy, the cleaner's Grand Am. There was also a black Jeep that Regina had never seen before with a striking blonde leaning against it. Regina gathered her belongings and began to head inside trying not to make it obvious that she was staring at the mysterious blonde.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" The blonde said as she started making her way towards Regina.

"Um," Regina felt herself gulp, "Yes, yes I do. Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can! I am looking for Regina Mills." The blonde replied as she looked down at a sticky note in her hand.

Wow she is even more stunning up close. Regina thought to herself as they made eye contact. "Well, you found her. What can I do for you dear?"

"Oh! Hi! My name is Emma. Emma Swan and I am a teacher at Prescott Elementary School. My boss Mrs. Lucas sent me over to talk to you about catering our fundraiser."

Wow. Less than 24 hours and they sent someone out to scout me. Regina thought. These people are serious. "Wow, um okay, well I was going to speak to Mrs. Lucas on my lunch hour today. I didn't have a chance to last night I was incredibly busy. I have never catered anything before so I am not quite sure about this. I really wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Well, Mrs. Lucas isn't really a patient person. She finds something she likes and she doesn't really stop until she gets it." Emma laughed.

"I can respect that." Regina laughed thinking to herself that she is the same way.

"When she didn't hear from you last night she called me first thing this morning and told me that she was putting a sub in my classroom and that I wasn't to come to class until I sealed the deal. And you wouldn't want me to continue to miss work now would you?" Emma smiled at Regina.

Is she flirting with me? Regina thought to herself. Dear Lord I hope so. "Well, no, we wouldn't want that. Okay, I tell ya what...I have to get into work as well...so, you go back and you tell Mrs. Lucas that I will cater."

Emma smiled big.

"On one condition..." Regina continued and Emma began to look worried. "You have to meet me tonight for dinner and discuss the details. I cannot go into this blindsided."

Emma's smile returned. "Deal. Where are we meeting?"

"Well, since it is Thursday I get out early tonight. I prepare the main specials and then I am out at six. Are you okay with coming to my place? You can let me know what you guys are looking for and then I can make you some things to sample. It makes the most sense. I will have  my own kitchen and everything that I would need..." Regina began to ramble on to try to convince Emma, the stranger that she had only known for five minutes, that she wasn't trying to hit on her, although she would love to.

Emma cut her off, "That sounds lovely." She grabbed Regina's phone that was in her left hand and added her number to her contacts. "That's me, text me your address later today and what time would work for you and I will see you later." Emma smiled sweetly and walked back to her car. "It was nice to meet you Regina Mills!" She said over her shoulder.

Regina stood there in awe for a minute. She had never met someone so forward before. Usually people, men and woman alike, are intimated by her. Emma was different. There was something about her that Regina was instantly drawn to. Suddenly she found herself hoping that today would go by very fast.