Andrea Sachs sighed heavily as she hit the button in the elevator that would take her up to the floor of Runway magazine, she had not been up there in approximately 15 months and she could not deny that she was nervous about returning to the building, although she was more nervous about the idea of bumping into Miranda Priestly.
The woman was dressed in designer clothing although it was not the latest season as her salary did not quite allow it yet, there was, however, something very different about her compared to the last time that she had walked the halls of the famous magazine. She was pushing a pram. Her six-month-old baby was fast asleep in the pram, the little girl had fallen asleep almost as soon as she had been laid down inside of it and strapped in.
As she got out of the elevator on the correct floor she was met by Emily, "Good Morning Em", Andrea said with her usual bright and cheery smile.
"Good Morning", she returned, "Now, you won't be long, right?".
Andrea chuckled lightly at what the woman had said, "No Em, I won't be long", she confirmed, "The meeting is only supposed to be ten minutes maximum for me to go over the article with the editing team and then I'll be back to collect Myra".
Emily nodded with a sigh, "Right, ten minutes", she repeated as she took the pram and walked over to her desk, she was glad that the child was asleep. They both already knew that Miranda would be in a meeting for the next two hours but Emily had to continue her work, she planned to keep an eye on the sleeping baby whilst she typed up her work, she had been promoted and was now training to be the Editor-in-Chief when Miranda retired, although that was not yet. She continued to remain outside of Miranda's office as she preferred it and also because it made training easier as she could observe and learn much more when she was around Miranda.
The writer smiled softly at the English woman, "Thanks, Em, I owe you one".
"Oh I know you do", she said with a roll of her eyes as she sat down at her desk with the infant beside her in the pram.
Miranda was still in her meeting and had already been in there for half an hour, she hated the meetings but they were compulsory.
Within moments of Emily sitting down, six-month-old Myra woke up, starting to fuss a little in her pram as she never liked to be strapped in for too long.
The red-headed woman rolled her eyes, "Great", she muttered, "You just had to wake up, didn't you?".
Myra stuck her bottom lip out and it began to wobble a little.
Emily knew what was coming next and she rushed to unbuckle the child before extracting her from the pram and placing her in her lap.
The infant gurgled a little, it was then that Emily became glad that the office wall between her and Miranda's office was almost sound-proof.
She leaned over and pulled the blanket from the top of the pram and placed it on the floor along with the three toys that were beneath the pram in a small basket-like compartment. Emily then put the baby on the make-shift playmat with the toys, "There you go Myra, now you're going to have to play nicely until your Mummy comes back, okay?".
Myra didn't respond, she hadn't quite got the grasp of the English language yet but she did on occasion babble some nonsense sounds although for the most part she was a quiet baby just as Andrea had been as an infant, and she rarely ever cried.
Meanwhile, inside Miranda's office, the white-haired woman was getting rather frustrated, half an hour and still there had been no progress in the meeting which was centred around an event that Runway was due to be hosting in a months time. The issue was due to the bankruptcy of the company that had been booked to cater for the event, it had been a company that they used often, however, it turned out the owner's son had been taking funds from the accounts, spending the money from clients before the necessary items had even been purchased. This, of course, was leading them to lawsuits and consequently bankruptcy.
The Editor-in-Chief nodded as the man in front of her spoke about an alternative caterer, and she was leaning back in her seat as she listened to what he was saying, analysing whether or not it would be a good choice as they had to get her permission to go ahead with anything in reference to the event, although they needed her permission in a lot of areas of their jobs of course.
She noticed that the door was ever so slightly open, more than it had been before but before she could speak, it closed again. She shook her head, she would find out what idiot attempted to disturb her soon enough as she knew that Emily would tell her the moment that the meeting was over.
She crossed her legs beneath the desk and bounced her foot slightly until something grabbed hold of it. She froze for a moment, not being able to see what it was because her desk was covered with papers from the meeting. The two men were sat in front of her, facing her with their backs to the door.
"You will hire catering option two and ensure that they do everything that we required the last company to do", Miranda stated, "I expect any other issues to be dealt with immediately". "That's all", she finished, "Close the door on your way out".
The others in the room nodded and stood up, exiting as quickly as possible and closing the door as requested.
Emily glanced up at the two men hurriedly leaving the office and then at the office door which had been closed. She sighed in relief, glad that the door had remained closed.
Behind the now closed door, Miranda very carefully moved her chair back and bent over to look beneath it. She was met with a surprising sight. There was a baby girl beneath her desk wearing a pair of white leggings with a frilly blue top and with a huge, innocent smile on her face. She also had Miranda's shoe in her hands, bouncing it slightly in her hands as she 'played' with it.
Miranda pursed her lips slightly, unsure as to where on earth the child had come from and whose it was. She found, however, that the child's smile was irresistible as she pushed her chair back further and reached out for the little one, "Come here", she said softly.
Myra had no problems with the idea and did not hesitate to crawl straight towards Miranda, still with the shoe in one of her hands.
The woman reached out her arms and picked up the young infant straight away before placing her in her lap, "Now, where did you come from?", she asked with a smile.
The baby simply gurgled and babbled, waving the shoe around quite happily.
Miranda laughed with a shake of her head, "I'm not going to get a real answer, am I?", she jokingly asked the 'too-young' infant.
Myra again babbled, waving the shoe a little more.
Andrea got back to the office and smiled happily in Emily's direction, "Thanks, Em", she said straight away, "I hope she wasn't any trouble".
Emily smiled, "No, actually she was really...", she froze as she looked where she placed the child, "...quiet".
Andy frowned as she rounded the desk, "Em? Where is she?".
"Although I think you may be making more sense than those idiots that were just in here", she stated with a smirk, watching the child wave the shoe around, "You like my shoe then?".
"She was right here, I swear she was Andy", the woman stated, trying to look around on the floor.
Andrea rolled her eyes, "Did you forget that she crawls now?", she asked with a sigh as she too began to look.
"She what?!", Emily exclaimed, "Since when?".
The baby girl watched Miranda tap the shoe when she spoke and she babbled with a grin as she waved it again.
"I like it too", she said with amusement in her voice, "Maybe Emily will know where you've come from?".
"Since two weeks ago", Andrea stated.
"She couldn't have gotten far", Emily attempted to reassure the woman, "Miranda's door has been closed so she must have gone down the corridor".
Neither of the assistants was at their desks as one was running errands and the other was in a smaller meeting on Miranda's behalf to take notes.
Again, all she got from the infant was a few babbles, she appeared to be vocal about the shoe.
Miranda hit the button on the phone that would patch it through to Emily, "Emily", she said before stating, "My office now".
"I'll have to help you look in a moment Andy", Emily stated as she stood up, "Miranda just called me into her office".
Andrea sighed and nodded as she picked up her cell phone to call Nigel, she knew that her daughter could not have gotten far with how strict the security was in the building.
Emily opened up the door and then froze in shock at what she saw.
Miranda was sat at her desk with six-month-old Myra in her lap, the child had the woman's shoe in her hand whilst the Editor-in-Chief was smiling happily and talking quite joyfully to the child which was a strong contrast to the voice that she had just been subjected to on the telephone. "Do you know anything about this?", the woman questioned as she glanced up in Emily's direction.
The English woman stuttered for a moment but then when she recovered from her initial shock at her boss looking so maternal, she called out, "Andy? I've found Myra".
Andrea nearly dropped her cell phone when she heard what the other woman had said to her, "I'll... I'll call you back Nigel", she said into her phone, "Yeah, Emily found her... she was... with Miranda". She put her phone away and made her way to the doorway of the office, taking in the same scene as what Emily was.
Miranda Priestly holding her daughter in her arms made her a feeling of warmth spread through her and she found herself smiling at the woman, the woman she had not spoken to in 15 very long months, although she had seen her a few times from a distance. "Am I to believe that this little one is yours, Andrea?", the woman questioned with a raised eyebrow in Andrea's direction whilst continuing to occupy the child.
The dark-haired woman nodded, "Yes Miranda", she replied, "I am so sorry that she interrupted you, Emily was watching her whilst I had a meeting with Katherine in editing and apparently she forgot that Myra can crawl now".
The Editor-in-Chief nodded, "Well, it was a rather unexpected interruption, although I am finding that the conversation with... Myra is much more enjoyable than the two idiots I had a meeting with".
"She isn't usually that talkative", Andrea highlighted in reference to the child who was babbling away with the shoe in her hand.
"Maybe she didn't have the right motivation?", she suggested, "Maybe she just needed a Prada shoe?".
Andrea found herself laughing at what the woman had said whilst Emily was still stood in shock, "Maybe".
"Emily? Do you now have enough work to be getting on with or are you waiting to be able to lose more crawling infants?".
The red-head quickly scurried back to her desk and got back to her work immediately, well after texting Serena that is.
Myra babbled happily with the shoe, making Miranda smile brightly in her direction, making no attempt to return the young girl to her mother.
"She seems to really like you", Andrea said softly, "I don't think she's ever taken to anyone so well or so quickly".
Miranda smirked, "Don't sound so surprised, not everyone runs away from me", she stated as she child started to take an interest in her necklace.
"I'm sorry", she said quietly.
"For what Andrea?", the older woman questioned.
"For leaving", came the response.
"Yes well, I suppose that was my fault, the comparison I made... well I should have known how offensive that could be to you", she admitted quietly with sorrow in her voice as she concentrated on the babbling infant instead.
Andrea shook her head, "That's not why I left", she stated instantly.
"Then why did you leave Andrea?", Miranda demanded to know, "Why did you leave me during the busiest week of the year and when I needed you the most?", it was the last part that upset her the most, she had actually 'needed' her but not in the way that someone should need their assistant because for her it was more personal as she wanted the woman by her side all of the time.
"I messed up Miranda", the younger woman admitted, "I slept with Christian". She bit her lip and sighed before continuing, "I slept with him and that's how I found out about the plan", she revealed, "I felt like I had betrayed you by sleeping with him, even though I hadn't known about the plan beforehand".
Miranda felt her chest tighten at the idea of her ex-assistant sleeping with that disgusting excuse for a man.
"But what made it worse was that I had fallen in love with you", she said, looking down at her hands, "and that... that made me feel even worse because it felt like I had cheated on you, even though I hadn't". She was playing with her hands in a nervous manner, "I only slept with him because I couldn't be with the one I really wanted, I was upset because you had just turned me away from your suite when all I wanted to do was be there for you so I went and I got drunk", she revealed, "But I got drunk with the wrong person when really I should have just gone back to my hotel room instead".
"So she's Christian's daughter?", she questioned in response.
"No, he will never have anything to do with her", Andrea said with conviction, "I made him sign a custodial agreement stating that he gives up all claim to Myra".
Miranda nodded, "And you're in love with me?".
Andrea nodded, "Yes", she said simply.
"Enough that you named your daughter after me", she commented.
Her ex-assistant nodded, "Yes".
"For how long?", Miranda questioned in response, before clarifying, "For how long have you loved me?".
"I'm not sure", Andrea admitted, "I don't think I can pinpoint an exact time, I think it was gradual... it just sort of snuck up on me because suddenly you were telling me that I had to go to Paris with you and I found myself dreaming of what it would be like to go with you to the most romantic city in the world as... your lover rather than your assistant".
Andrea's eyes were downwards when the response came, "So, what you're telling me is that we could have been together for over a year already and instead you ran away? What you're telling me is that you made that decision for the both of us? Without ever thinking of what it would feel like for me to be left by the woman I love only days after having divorce documents sent to me and after almost losing my job".
The younger woman looked up in shock.
"And that Paris could have been a lot more fun for the both of us", she said with amusement at the look of shock on the other woman's face, "Although admittedly this beautiful little one wouldn't be in existence so I suppose I can't wish that you hadn't slept with that... thing". Miranda held Myra closely against her and kissed the child's cheek, she was very relaxed with the infant in her arms.
"You... you...", Andrea stuttered.
"I love you?", the Editor-in-Chief responded, "Yes, and had you stayed then you could have found that out over a year ago. Instead, you took the coward's option and you ran".
Andrea did not respond verbally as she found that she did not quite have that ability as the shock had taken it away from her in that moment so instead she got up from the chair that she had dropped into only moments previously and she stepped closer to the fashion queen.
The Runway Editor-in-Chief smiled as she held the little one in her arms and observed the woman walking towards her.
Andrea smiled as she bent over and instantly pressed her lips against that of her ex-boss', only pulling back when she was hit on the shoulder with a Prada shoe.
Myra was gurgling and bouncing more with the shoe.
"I don't think she liked me kissing you too much", Andrea joked with an amused smirk.
"Well she's going to have to get used to it because I plan on doing exactly that as often as I can", Miranda stated as she pressed a soft and gentle kiss to the top of the little one's head. She smiled happily and looked up at the woman, "Now, where were we?", she said before she then pulled Andrea back down into another kiss.
A/N
Thank you to all of those who favourited and reviewed my other Devil Wears Prada story 'The Dragon vs. The Dame'. I actually have 41 different story ideas written down for this category although it will take a while to write up each of them and to post them as I am currently finishing off four other stories (2 x Rizzoli and Isles, 2 x NCIS) and studying for a Masters Degree too (so hectic!). I will, however, write these short stories as breaks in between all of that other stuff.
PS you should check out 'If and When' by Kamouraskan if you haven't already because it is brilliant (and I can't wait to read more!) and also 'Securing the Devil' by teenybirdy' too! (If you haven't already that is!)