off with their heads!

It wasn’t often that Hook found himself in the park. Or anywhere other than his docks, the main city area, and the jazz lounge. But he had been passing by when he happened to look over and see Genevieve in the park - another sight that he thought seemed odd, but one that he wasn’t going to question. Making his way over toward her, he rose an eyebrow at the threat. “Oh will it now?” he questions, though he doesn’t have a doubt in his mind that she genuinely means what she’s said. “And what exactly is it you want me to say then?”

Genevieve paused and looked up at him. Seeing James was a lot better than seeing most other people, so she kept her mallet facing the ground. “Oh, you could say just about anything darling. But I don’t recommend getting in my way. I’ve already hit a few teenagers. I don’t want to hurt you.” At least right now she didn’t. “You could join me if you wish to.”

“is this about mason? look. he’s just my co-worker he can do what he wants. if he is satisfied with a boring, nice, mundane life that is none of my business. as long as he shows up for work without her i’m fine.” @masonofhearts

“That’s just your frustration talking,” Mason corrects, moving around the table that separated them to stand besides her. Placing a hand on her shoulder for a moment, giving it a gentle but hopefully reassuring squeeze before removing it to point at one of the designs. “This one is the strongest. Maybe you focus on it and adjust some of the others to fit along with it? No need to completely scrap them, they’re all beautiful, but if you don’t like them we can work on adjustments to perfect them.”

She hated to admit this even to herself, but his hand on her shoulder helped her simmer down instantly. He was right again about which outfit was the best out of the other options and she didn’t vocalize that, but she did put the other designs away. “They are all garbage. I can’t have garbage taint what is good and what is superb.” Genevieve took another long look at the design before sighing. “I’m over this for tonight. I need to blow off some steam.”

Genevieve normally wasn’t this indecisive with her looks and what she was going to send out, but this was a big deal. She was trying to get her designs in stores outside of the island; she was trying to open new stores in different lands. But her portfolio had to be perfect, which was why she asked Mason to help her decide on the final looks. His words were sweet as usual, but Genevieve only felt frustration. “They are all mediocre. I don’t appreciate you lying to me. I can’t go with my gut when my gut says they are all terrible and I should burn the store down.”

“He already knows I think he does amazing work and I find it interesting that he has chosen to go out with one of the few women I would have considered a friend.”

“It felt wrong not to go,” he admits with a sheepish smile. He’d felt a little awkward at the picnic, being there by himself with just Spade as company, but Mason knew it was important to show his support to his friends - even if they didn’t notice that he’d done it, it meant something to him. His eyes followed her hand when it moved away the place on his chair, but he still made no move to get up. “And I’m sure you do too. Shouldn’t you still be out at the party? What are you doing here?” His questions weren’t harsh or demanding, but instead filled with genuine curiosity. 

Gen sighed. “The party grew boring pretty fast,” she said even though it wasn’t true. In reality she had grown tired of being around people who didn’t matter to her and needed to be somewhere where she mattered. “Doesn’t really matter why I am not there because I’m not. Just that I’m here.....like you are.”

Hearing Gen say the paperwork could wait was a bit of a relief. There was way more of it left to do than he had thought, and honestly the only reason Mason had been so determined to finish it was so that none of the other employees would get blamed if everything was turned in exactly on time. Logically he knew things would turn out fine if they were a day late, their standings with the shipment companies were excellent and he was sure they’d understand, but he hadn’t wanted one of the interns to get blamed for his mistake. He shouldn’t have taken the morning off earlier for the picnic when so much was still needed to get done. “Alright,” he agreed, though he made no move to get up from his chair quite yet, instead smiling up at her. “Do I really strike you for a rave type of guy? Besides - I went to the picnic.”

Gen did laugh a little at that. He didn’t strike her as the rave type of guy at all. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of surprising her. He was a bit unpredictable every so often. “Of course you went to the picnic.” She had gone herself with Lucifer. But she hadn’t seen Mason for once, which was almost weird. She hadn’t realized she was still holding onto his chair and suddenly removed her hand as if she was the sole reason he hadn’t moved from his spot. “I don’t want to keep you here,” she said softly, which felt foreign on her tongue. “I’m sure you have better things to do than work.”

Hearing Genevieve’s voice, a flush immediately rushes up his neck into his cheeks. Mason is thankful that the lights are still off as he sets the scissors down and quickly calms himself. Of course it was Gen - who else would be coming in this late in the night, and with their own key nonetheless. Actually, once he gave it a bit more thought, he was pretty sure they were the only two with keys in the first place as far as he knew. “Oh, uhm, hey,” he calls back, smiling sheepishly once the overhead lights come on - filling the room much better than his little desk lamp had. “I was just finishing up some order sheets. I forgot to bring them home yesterday and figured it’d be easier to just complete it here than trek everything all the way back.”

Of course he was working. He was always doing more than he needed for her. And it drove her crazy because she liked it a lot. But what was she going to do with that? Feel and get him killed? She couldn’t even risk it. Mason was not disposable to her, which was probably the nicest thing she has ever thought about a person. “They can be finished tomorrow. People can wait.” She made her way over to his desk and placed a hand on his chair. “Business hasn’t been that crazy, I’m not worried.” She hadn’t even dropped her summer collection yet, so she figured they could have a few slow days. “Why aren’t you at that party?”

Lucifer enjoyed Gen’s company. She had a spicy personality and put him in his place. He liked that in a woman. He liked a fight. Plus, she was loaded and he could schmooze her into getting what he wanted. It was a win-win situation. “Well, it is hot. I just don’t do shorts. Maybe I should reconsider though,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Lose your temper then. It’s fucking hot when you do.” Flattery was the way to get what he wanted. He hoped at least. 

Gen rolled her eyes, her temper simmering only a little bit. “You have nice legs. Use them,” was all she huffed out before returning her attention to her phone. His words almost made her smirk, but she wouldn’t let him have that. “First time I’ve ever heard that one. What do you want now?”

Gen had never really hid her sexuality. She liked men, sure, but women? They were far more enchanting. Her first girlfriend was when she was in high school and unfortunately she hadn’t had more than a few hook-ups since. Her break-up was messy enough for her to keep things quick and as she got further into the family business, it really was for the best. She was going to pride because it meant something to her even though she didn’t want to admit that and to further hide her feelings she brought a man of all things with her. Lucifer was a nice little distraction but he was needy. She had the money to fuel his expensive tastes and she appreciated that he cared about how he looked, but some days she really wanted to just slap the shit out of him. Today was starting to become one of those days. “Will you stop with the complaining? I don’t care that you find it too hot I’m not leaving. And if I hear one more whine I might lose my temper."

“I’m debating letting younger designers work for me....I don’t really like kids or young adults, but I guess it’s good to broaden my horizons or something.” Truth be told she hadn’t been spreading her attention evenly and she knew she needed some help around the store. She had Mason but....he had distractions. And she had her staff for the casino but....she needed more. She acknowledged that. “How is it working with children? How do you not lose your temper on them?”