Perfume
Emily tore her eyes from her monitor to glare at Andy. Andy, for her part, looked completely confused, holding the phone away from her ear to prevent early hearing loss.
Their eyes met. Emily quizzed Andrea with merely a look. Andy meekly nodded affirmation, and Emily's eyebrows shot up, followed by her eyebrows furrowing.
After a moment, Roy's baritone voice stopped its thundering and Andy breathed a sigh of relief. The quiet was lovely.
And short-lived.
"An-drea? Andrea. I will need the Dior today. In my office. When I arrive. Cancel my lunch with Raymond. Have Annaleese send over no more than 3 new drivers to interview during my lunch instead. I'm going to need a double this morning, An-drea. Extra hot, as always. That's all." Click.
Andy stared at the phone for a moment before putting it back on the base and bolting for the door. She was down a flight of stairs and in Nigel's office in seconds. This was not a time for elevators.
"Which," she gasped for breath between words, grasping the edge of the table for support, "Dior would Miranda be wanting? Wanting NOW?"
Nigel sighed, brushed some imaginary lint from his sweater front, and without looking at her, replied, "The ecru…down aisle 3. There's a champagne blouse that goes with it just over there," he pointed with a charcoal pencil in the direction of a rack by the door.
Andrea snapped up both, along with picking up a pair of Jimmy Choos in Miranda's size as she slipped out.
After she was gone, Nigel sat up, pulled a handkerchief from the corner of the desk, and polished his glasses. He stared at the door, wrinkling his nose briefly. Dipping his head, he went back to work.
Andy smiled briefly as Miranda walked by, throwing her coat and purse on her desk. Miranda was almost in her office before suddenly turning on her heel and skating to a stop in front of Andy.
"An-drea?" The smirk previously on Miranda's face was gone, and her eyes glinted with rage. A chill settled around them, and it wasn't related to the autumn weather.
"Er, the Dior and accessories are in your office en suite. And the coffee is on your desk?" Andy looked hopeful.
"An-drea. Scrub off any last remnant of that horrid woman's pretentious men's cologne. Now." Miranda turned and whisked into her office, leaving Andy staring after her, open-mouthed.
"Emily? Come in here. And tell Andrea that her ability to impersonate a guppy is not critical to succeeding as an assistant."
Emily snorted, sailing into Miranda's office past a blushing Andy.
A little later, all became clear. Andy was in Miranda's office later that afternoon, taking notes...
"Tell Anneleese that sending the woman, Ms Bowers, was not amusing. And a young man? A waste of her time. I expect Ted to be ready to start work at 5."
Andy glanced at her watch, verifying that it was already 2pm, "As in this evening?"
Miranda arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips, "No. Tomorrow morning. I thought I would skip home tonight."
"Five pm. No problem. Oh, and Anneleese asked why it is that Roy was being let go…" Andy held her breath.
"He knows how I feel about Jacqueline. And yet he felt just because the cologne was produced under the James Holt banner, I would not care that Jacqueline was in charge of the project. Even when I told him yesterday to discontinue wearing it, he felt no particular need to clean all traces of it from the vehicle. I mean ALL. I practically wretched this morning. In front of the girls. It took every effort to hold my tongue until we had safely deposited the girls at school. And, well...that's all."
Miranda waved dismissively.
Emily filled in a few more gaps, from Roy as he later dropped off a few things, to include the car keys. It turns out that he had gotten a small bottle of the new Holt-Follet men's fragrance for from a female friend for Valentine's Day. Miranda had gotten whiff of it the previous morning and told him to get rid of it. When its scent was very definitely still evident in the car this morning, she summarily dismissed him. And, since Roy had driven Andy to deliver the Book last night, she must have gotten a little on her coat—enough to irritate Miranda's sensitive nose when she passed by her desk this morning.
When Andy delivered the Book later that evening, by way of Ted, the new driver, she made sure to place a copy of a press release prominently atop the Book's cover.
Miranda raised an eyebrow as Andy placed both on her lap. The headline sang a veritable aria to her—Jacqueline had left Holt International this same week, on "amicable" terms, to pursue "other interests." Both Jacqueline and James adamantly denied that her departure was related to the dismal sales of the new men's cologne.
Miranda grasped Andy's wrist as she was turning to go, sniffed it, and planted a gentle kiss on the tender skin.
"Vanilla and lavender. Much more appropriate, Andrea," she murmured. "A soothing scent combination to end the day on." She sighed, pleasantly, her breath warming Andrea's skin and causing her to tingle.
"Indeed. That's all."