Chapter Seven

The next morning, Dawn had to see to the roses. They were starting to wilt and die and she needed to get rid of them soon. The smell of decay was not as nice as freshly bloomed roses and she didn't want to smell like that. She had woken up early, from more nightmares about Sin but this time it was more of him killing a man with his bare hands. He was out of control and she didn't want anything to do with with him. She recalled his words about having everything she ever wanted, and hoped he was referring to her freedom. He was too unpredictable for her taste and she would soon be able to sever all contact with him.

Clearing out the roses, caused her to be late and miss out on breakfast. She had barely had a chance to get dressed neatly, and clasped her gold bracelet just as she rushed out the door to get the coffee. When lunch arrived, she was very hungry and decided to go out for lunch. Little did she know, that she should've ordered in that day.

Gold arrived at the office, moments after Dawn had left. Her Majesty had called upon him promptly, after she had seen the bracelet on Dawn. Gold strode confidently through the lobby and up to her office. He got many admiring glances, whilst some wondered why he was here after so long.

Gold entered her Majesty's office without knocking. If she had chased him down to have a meeting, he didn't see why he should let her know about her arrival, after all, she should be expecting him. Just as he thought, she didn't even bat an eyelash at his entrance.

"You called, Aziza?" he said. He already had an idea as to why he had been called here but he might as well annoy her. He didn't bother sitting down, instead went straight for her panoramic view, she had in his office.

"No one calls me that, Goldie," she replied. She swung her chair around to face the same view as him. She didn't bother replying to the unsaid question because he already knew.

"That's only because you decided one day you were a Queen and everyone should treat you as such, A but we both know which name Hunter prefers to moan," She threw a red apple at him, from the fruit bowl she had on her table. He caught it, with ease, used to her behaviour.

"So Goldie, why her?" She decided to ask, because she knew he would just beat around the bush and in the end she would be left with no answers. She was hoping to catch them interacting with each other but Dawn had decided to go out for lunch just as he arrived. She was sure he wasn't going to stick around for long so she would have to see them together another time.

He took a bite of the apple, chewing slowly purposely to piss her off.

"I would've thought Hunter would've kept you preoccupied after hours, but apparently he's not doing a good enough job," he dodged, purposely. He wondered which desk belonged to Dawn outside this office. He hadn't seen her when she arrived, so she must be busy.

"Answer. The. Question." she said testily. He was getting under her skin on purpose. That's the problem with knowing people for so long. Gold had helped her out, in the past, and ever since then, he's been somewhat a friend, when he wasn't weaseling valuables out of unsuspecting victims.

"Well, all I can say is; why not?" He took another bite of his apple. He wasn't going to say anything to her until he had played all his cards, then he could confirm his status with Dawn. For now it was better to keep everything behind a smoke screen.

"If that's all you're going to say, then you can leave. I have better things to do."

"But you summoned me, Your Majesty." He acted wounded by her words, but they bother knew he was anything but that. He finished the apple and threw is away in the dustbin. Which desk belonged to Dawn? Maybe he could leave a message.

"And now I'm dismissing you," she sighed, "Oh, and Dawn's desk is the one to the right. She's not here right now." She knew exactly what he had been looking for when his eyes kept flickering to the door. She wanted to see what was going to happen, so she nudged him in the right direction. It was evident that keeping him her until the hour was up was pointless and would lead to her wanting to toss him off the roof.

"Thank you, Mia Regina, I will let Hunter know how helpful you were today." He winked and shut the door quickly, in case she decided to throw something else at him. He knew, from experience, that she had perfect aim. He went to Dawn's desk and found everything neatly kept. He pulled out and Ace card from his pocket and wrote a quick note. He left the card on the corner of her monitor and left the office with a smile on his face. Today was a good day.

Dawn returned from lunch and found an Ace card against the screen. She settled down in her seat, and checked the card. There was only one person who had sent her a message on such a card before, and that was Gold. She turned it around and found a short message; 'Dinner?' with his number sprawled underneath.

Dawn smiled at the idea and knew she would instantly accept the invite, which she did. She finished her work quickly and for the first time, she was eager to leave the office for a good reason. When she arrived home, she found that all the roses had been removed from her house. The was a lone rose in a slim vase waiting for her, with a new installment. The sight of the black card dimmed her mood. She had no other antiques to sell but she needed to find something to sell because she didn't want to end up in Sin's hands.

Gold had told her to dress comfortably for tonight and Dawn settled on a simple polka dot summer dress. It was a warm night, but she took a shawl, just in case it got chiller later into the evening. She left her hair loose and put on some light makeup. She was ready early and spent the rest of the time pacing up and down her room, barefoot, trying to think of a way to get more money. The rose was a constant reminder of the last amount of debt.

Her phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. She quickly pulled on her wedges and rushed out the door to meet Gold. She didn't even bother double checking if her doors were closed properly, it wasn't like she could keep Sin's men out and it was not like they were going to let her place get robbed unless they were the robbers. Gold was leaning against the car waiting for her. He was dressed more casual than usual. His usual suits had been replaced with a jeans and a shirt. The shirt had been rolled up to the elbow and a few buttons were left undone. Dawn was glad she hadn't gone for one of the few fancy dresses she had.

"You look beautiful, like always," Gold greeted. They hugged lightly, before Gold opened the passenger door for her.

Dawn decided to interrogate Gold, whilst he drove. She was excited, but wanted to know what they were going to do tonight.

"So, where a we having dinner tonight?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he replied. It really wasn't, but he had wanted to test her reaction. Would she easily back down or would she badger him until they arrived?

"Are we really going to do that cliche? I've had enough surprises for a lifetime, so just tell me," she demanded. Well she wasn't really lying, because Sin had surprised her far too often than not and Dawn didn't have a good connotation with surprised anymore. Her last surprise landed her watching a man getting murdered with Sin's bare hands, she shivered at that thought.

"A picnic," Gold said. He had seen something flash in her eyes and decided that surprises weren't a good thing for her.

"Okay," she replied. She looked outside at the dark night and wondered where they could go for a picnic. She imagined her local park would be full of drug deals and drunk teens at this time so it was definitely somewhere else. Hopefully he wasn't going to take her to some remote area and murder her. It's not like she had anything valuable on her anyway.

Eventually, Gold parked outside the local botanical gardens. She had been here a few times before, during the day, when she helped with photo shoots. There were days when Her Majesty demanded natural plants, instead of artificial ones, if the weather was good and the gardens matched the photo shoot theme.

Dawn stepped out the car, before Gold could open the door. She frowned at the place but said nothing. Gold pulled a basket and blanket out the boot of his car. He offered his empty arm to her, which Dawn took, and then lead then into the gardens.

Dawn's eyes lit up at the sight. A section of the gardens had been decorated with fairy lights, making the place look magical. She found that there were a few other couples dotted around in corners, meaning this wasn't as remote as she thought. Dawn relaxed at the sight.

"How did you find this?" she asked him as they looked for the perfect spot to sit.

"Google. They have a date date every month and tonight happens to be day. It's free but not advertised as much because they don't want it to get too crowded," he explained. He failed to mention, that even though it was free, they relied heavily on donations to keep it running every month and thanks to him, it would be happening every month for the next year.

They decided to pick a spot not too close to the plants, or under a tree. They chose the middle, whilst most couples took dark corners, so no one could see what they were up it. Gold laid the blanket on the floor. Dawn sat down on the edge of the blanket, folding her legs, whilst Gold unpacked the basket. Lastly, he pulled out two bottles.

"Tonight we have the choice of either a white or red grapetiser," he told her, holding up the two bottles for her to pick. She noticed that there wasn't any other drinks aside from water. He remembered that she didn't drink. Dawn warmed up at his thoughtfulness. She picked a random bottle to drink and they started to eat from the delicious range of food he had bought. The starters consisted of hummus and pita bread and little savoury pies with either chicken or steak. The main was sandwiches with numerous amount of fillings, from tuna and sweetcorn to nutella. He had brought a lot that they couldn't finish them all. The conversation flowed easily from childhood mishaps to summer jobs. Not once, did they have an awkward moment.

For desert, he pulled out a cute fondue set. He put broken chocolate into the bowl and lit the candle underneath, with a lighter. He pulled out containers of cut fruit, marshmallows and chunks of brownies. He handed her a fork, that matched the set, with a smile.

"I'm full, I have no idea how we are going to finish this all," Dawn said gesturing to the desert, with her fork.

"We can just take it slowly, there's no rush and the box said the candle can last a whole day," he joked. Dawn laughed, well it looks like they had all night to have desert.

"Well, in that case, I say we take a little rest from eating," she said.

"Well, what do you propose, bellissimo?" He leaned towards her, with a wicked smile. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Dawn cleared her throat.

"We can just lie down for a while and you can tell me what the nickname means," she suggested innocently. It hadn't been the first time he had called her that this and she never had a chance to google from previous occasions.

"I didn't bring any pillows so come here, I'll be your pillow." He held his arms open, inviting her to come closer. Dawn was hesitant but decided to take his offer. She had taken her shoes off, earlier this evening. She laid her head against his chest, he pulled her closer, shifting until they both found a comfortable position. The both stared at the starlit sky in a comfortable silence for a while.

"It means beautiful," he broke the silence, "Tell me your dream date."

"Can I pick tonight? I never really thought of it. Tell me one of your dreams." Gold smiled at her answer. It seemed the started a round of questions.

"A family, a child. You know the whole American dream with a picket white fence and 2.5 children. Tell me your favourite thing about yourself."

"My eyes, they're also my favourite colour, but not many people know. Tell me something most people don't know."

"I'm wearing contacts. Tell me one of your problems."

"You must look sexy in glasses," Dawn replied. She was quiet after that, thinking about whether she should tell him.

"I have a large debt that needs to be paid by next week," she told him partly. She didn't want to bring the fact that she was dealing with Sin, because she was sure, Gold had heard of him. He might want nothing to do with her, if he found out.

"I know, they first time I met you, you were very dismissive of my offer to buy your ring. Can I help you?" This time he knew he was starting to play a dangerous game. He still had a few cards left, and if he played the right, he would have Dawn forever, but he had to be careful not to scare her off.

"I have nothing else to sell, so I'm not sure," she replied. Gold didn't reply straight away, so Dawn just laid in his arms. listening to the sound of his heartbeat, counting.

"I could make you a different deal," he paused, thinking of a way to carefully word his reply, "You know one of my dreams and I would like to take this relationship further."

"How do you know I won't just use you for the money and just leave?"

"Well, we could just come to an agreement of a certain amount of dates and see if we are still compatible, plus if you were after my money, you would've demanded dinner at a fancy restaurant or cancelled as soon as I mentioned comfortable clothes," he spoke from experience. Gold found it hard to usually attract the right type of women, and he wasn't exactly a saint so it usually scared away the good ones.

"Oh, I see. Deal," she replied quickly. Anything was better than being with Sin and she actually liked Gold so she didn't mind going on a few more dates. She was happy to explore this relationship. The problem would be, she would be stuck if things didn't turn out right.

"You can walk away at any time you don't feel like it's working, just give me a chance," he said. Dawn felt a little more relieved, it felt like she wouldn't be stuck if things went sour. Dawn lifted her head, "Let's have some dessert."

The change in subjected had easily been changed. The rest of the night, the deal had not been mentioned and they enjoyed each other's company. Gold had not changed his behaviour and Dawn soon relaxed again. At the end of the evening, they exchanged details about the deal.

The next day, the money arrived, and so did Sin.