AN: Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming and if Willie seems out of character in this story try to remember she isn't really the same bad ass cut throat bitch we saw during the first couple of seasons. In my honest opinion, her character has beginning to show signs of being a little more caring and soft, but not too much, so hopefully I manage to capture the balance between the two different sides of her, and if I haven't feel free to let me know by review. Forgive me if there are alot of errors but my beta bailed....
The Next day....
Wilhemina sat in her office starring blankly out at the tall buildings that blanketed New York City. Usually she would feel like a powerful empress starring out at the city full of life that she had always fantasized about conquering, but today she felt like she was nothing more then a simpleton of a woman. Over the past few months she had allowed herself to fall in love and became so blinded by her need to have an companion that was equal to herself, that she hadn't notice that she was being played all along. A part of her wanted to believe that Conner truly did love her, but if he did, why did he steal from her company behind her back? Why did he leave without her? She sighed softly. She could still smell him on her skin and it made her heart hurt even more. However, that morning his scent wasn't the only scent she could smell lingering on her skin. She flushed as she remembered the very vivid and erotic incident that had taken place last night. In her efforts to forget about Connor, she had done the unimaginable...
Flashback
She had returned to the office late that night because she hadn't been able to sleep. Reluctantly, she had left her baby with the housekeeper who had worked for her over the years so that she could clear her mind without disrupting the sleep of her child. Conner had left her and not only had robbed the company of a lot of money but also broke her heart in the process. She was amazed that she had managed to survive the day from hell in one piece. Well, physically survive. Her heart hadn't been so lucky, if the shattered pain she felt in her chest wast any indication. Blinking back tears, she held her head up high and struggled to push all thoughts of her former lover to the back of her mind. She was Wilhemina Slater. She had foolishly fallen in love, but now that Conner was gone, she could get back to doing what she loved best. Taking control of Mode. Quietly, she walked through the elevator doors and made a beeline towards her office. The place was dark and empty which suited her just fine.
Suddenly a soft cough made her stop dead in her tracks. She looked around wondering who on Earth could still be here at such an ungodly hour. Her eyes noticed a small light comming from an office down the hall. Daniel's office. While she could care less about Daniel, her curiousity of why he was still in the office got the best of her which had led her to standing in the threshold of his doorway.
Daniel was slouched down in the white couch in the middle of his office, and he looked a mess. His hair was messy as well as the Armani suit he was wearing. His tie was undone and his jacket had been tossed aside. Judging from the expression on his face, she realized Connor's betrayal had affected Daniel Meade more then she realized.
"What the hell are you still doing here, and why are you sitting alone in the dark?" she had asked abruptly.
Daniel looked up at her and smiled wearily.
"I think a better question would be is why is Wilhemina Slater at the office after hours? I figured with a newborn and everything else, the office would be the last place where you would want to be," he mumbled.
She shrugged.
"I figured I could come get an early start on the magazine we have to have out by the end of the week," she lied easily.
Daniel arched an eyebrow skeptically.
"Oh. My guess would have been to get your mind off Conner, but apparently I am wrong," he said casually.
At the mention of Conner, she had tensed up and felt a wave of pain and sorrow wash over her. It was crazy how he hadn't even been gone for a day and she missed him so much. It hurt her to the core of her soul that she would never wake up to his beautiful smile in the mornings, or fall asleep in his arms at night.
"So where's Molly? I figured the two of you would be off somewhere celebrating Conner's departure seeing how the both of you weren't exactly too fond of him," she said curtly, trying not to appear as weak and frail as she felt.
Daniel smile quickly faded and in that moment Wilhemina realized something had happened.
"Molly is dying and she went to spent the rest of the time she has left with her family," he said dully.
The news had taken her by surprise. Molly had been sick? Why haven't Conner ever spoke about this to her? The last question made her lips twist into a bitter smile. How could she be surprised that Conner would keep that a secret? He wasn't exactly forthcoming about his embezzling ways...
"Try not to be so pathetic, Daniel. Molly left for a good reason. She still loves you, but there is an unmoveable obstacle in between you two," she said firmly.
"I could be there for her, Wilhemina. I can help her through it," he whispered brokenly.
Wilhemina's expression softened as she sat beside him.
"Daniel, why is it that men are always so caught up in what it is that they want? Think about her desires. Did you even stop to think that she wants to spare you the pain of having to watch her die?" she asked gently.
Daniel looked at her, obviously not wanting to talk about Molly anymore. A long moment of silence passed between them before Daniel cleared his throat softly.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about Conner and the way he left you. You may deserve alot of bad things, Wilhemina, but you didn't deserve that," he said genuinely.
Wilhemina smiled briefly.
"Well Conner was just a minor distraction. Now that he is officially out of my life I can get back on track of my career," she said with more conviction then she felt.
"Who's being pathetic now? Wilhemina, you just lost the man you loved. You can at least act like it hurts. Or maybe you weren't really in love with him to begin with," he said evenly.
His words were like a cruel slap to the face, and she could feel anger surge through her. She quickly rose from the couch, putting distance in between them.
She made a move to walk out of his office, but stopped suddenly. Turning around, she stared at him coldly with her arms folded across her chest trying to keep her temper in check.
"You don't know a damn thing about how Conner and I felt for each other. You think that you and Molly were the only ones to be in love? You are wrong! Conner and I love each other very much and you are a damn fool to think otherwise," she snapped viciously.
Daniel stared at her contritely, regretting what he had said.
"I'm sorry, Wilhemina. I had no right to say that," he said quietly.
She was turning to leave once more when she felt something burst inside of her. The power of this sudden emotion took her by surprise causing her to double over holding her midsection gasping for air.
"Wilhemina?" Daniel inquired concerned rising from his chair and making his way over to her.
She heard him call her name, but it sounded so distant. She knew what was about to happen and although she was trying hard not to let it happen, she was powerless. The last time she had felt this intense feeling was when she had learned just how deeply her daughter had resented her. The first tear had come crashing down on her cheek followed by several more until she was sobbing uncontrollably.
No one had ever seen her cry. Not even Mark. She had mastered the ability of not showing emotion. She was a woman who usually held things together so that the world could see her as strong and competent. However at the moment, she had become weak. Her body shook beneath the rage and grief that was being released with every tear that she shed. It had finally sunk in that the man that she had loved with every ounce of her being had left and he was never coming back. The more she thought about it, the harder she wept until she could barely stand.
Suddenly she felt a pair of arms wrap around her pulling her into a comforting embrace. Usually Wilhemina hated for anyone she couldn't stand to have any physical contact with her, but at the moment she was grateful for Daniel's arms. They were the only thing keeping her from collapsing. He held her close, almost in a way a person would hold a small child to comfort them.
"He's gone...Conner's gone," she whispered, exhausted from crying.
"I know that it hurts like hell, but you will pull through this. We both will," he whispered holding her tighter.
Moments later, she untangled herself from his arms feeling mortified and humiliated that he had caught her in a very weak and vulnerable moment. She was opening her mouth to defend her breakdown, but the words died on her lips as she noticed the strange way he was starring down at her.
"I don't know why but seeing you cry, and seeing you show real genuine emotion makes you seem so much more human. For the first time I'm not seeing you as someone who is without a soul. I'm seeing a woman who has had her heart broken and I never thought I would say this, but, for the first time I think Daniel Meade and Wilhemina Slater have something in common. How about that?" he chuckled softly.
His words had left her speechless....
Flashback Ends....
Overcome by her moment of weakness, she had kissed him. She had pulled away seconds later, dismayed by her action. Her dismay had turned into shock when he had pulled her back and kissed her hungrily. Closing her eyes, she could still see herself lying on the floor of Daniel Meade's office with him between her legs and his lips crushed against hers, his soft moan in her ears....her cries of delicious pleasure...
The sudden opening of her office door nerarly caused her to jump out of her skin causing her to smash her knee against the corner of her desk. That was definetly going to leave a bruise on her perfectly flawless light brown skin. She groaned in pain as she rubbed her injury while turning her glare on to the person who had dared to enter her office so brazenly without knocking.
"Mark, there has better be a good reason why you are disturbing me," she hissed, her voice filled with venom.
Mark stared at his boss with trepidation. It was apparently Wlhemina was in one of her dark foul mood's and he couldn't blame her. If she had done what Betty had claimed she had did, then Wilhemina may have just sacrificed everything that they had worked for over the years.
He trembled as he walked slowly across the room and placed a small cup of tea on her desk.
"Willie, we have to talk. It really can't wait," Mark said firmly, after he had closed the office door behind him securely.
Wilhemina moaned softly as she began to massage her temples. Her head was beginning to throb dully and she felt a rather nasty headache coming on. She should have known something was up when Mark had come to her with peppermint tea. He usually only prepared that for her when he was about to deliver her news that would enrage her.
"What is it? Is Hedi Klum once again backing out of doing the photoshoot for this months cover?" she asked agitated.
Mark shook his head. Although the blond supermodel had called earlier expressing concerns and protest about the scheduled photo shoot, Mark had dealt with her like a pro.
"No, it's worse," he said reluctantly, "There is this crazy person who is convinced about a certain scandal involving...you."
Wilhemina sighed annoyed. She didn't have time for this. She already had enough on her plate with dealing with the magazine, Daniel, Conner, and her baby. She wasn't in any mood to fight some ridiculous rumor.
"Well don't just stand there, Mark. Tell me who this crazy person is and I will make sure that they will rue the day that they ever let my name come out of their mouth in a negative light," she said, her eyes flashing with vengeance.
Mark gulped loudly.
"W-well, y-you see, W-willie, I can't exactly reveal m-my source," he stammered nervously.
"Spit it out, Mark. You know there is nothing that annoys me more then a stuttering fool," she growled narrowing her cat like green eyes at her assistant evenly.
Mark gulped nervously.
"Betty Suarez claim to have seen you sleep with Daniel Meade," he blurted quickly.
Wilhemina felt her chest tighten. She had been trying desperately all day to forget that she had done the unthinkable and slept with the man she had spent years despising. She should have known better to hope that news of her moment of indiscretion with Daniel wouldn't spread around Mode like a wild fire. A part of her was surprise that Betty had been the one to blab seeing how the tacky dressed assistant wasn't known to gossip.
Mark realized that if wanted to live to see another day, he would drop the subject but something inside of him just couldn't let it go. It was obvious from her silence that she had indeed done the scandalous deed and slept with Daniel.
"Willie, you of all people know that I hold all your secrets near and dear to my heart and would never utter a word. If you slept with Daniel, I need to know so I can...," he trailed off soflty.
Wilhemina sighed and stared at him wearily.
"So that you can what, Mark? Go find that little hyena of a friend you call Amanda and cackle at how I must be losing my mind, or about how soft and powerless I have become?" she asked hotly.
Mark stared at her hurt.
"No, I was going to say so that I can protect you."
Wilhemina's hardened expression softened at his confession. The one person she knew that would always have her back was her little pet, Mark. As much as his antics truly annoyed her, she couldn't deny that she had grown quite fond of him over the years and it always surprised her at far he would be willing to go to prove his loyalty to her.
"I don't need protection, Mark. What I need is to make sure that what happened with Daniel last night, never happens again. As much as I hate to admit this, I had a weak moment. Conner left me and I was feeling..." she trailed off quietly feeling her heart ache intensify at the thought of him.
"Vulnerable?" Mark offered meekly.
Wilhemina snapped out of the sadness that had threatened to consume her and tightened her lips firmly.
"I am a mother now, Mark. I can no longer afford to fall prey to my emotions, and I most certainly cannot afford to make devastating mistakes such as the one I made last ... I loved Conner, but I have to look towards the future. Mode is my child's future and I would be damned if I let him or anyone else screw my son of what is his birthright. Now if you will excuse me, I have a meeting I need to prepare for and before you leave to go to your Yeti seminar, make sure you let little Betty Suarez know that I would appreciate it if she minded her own buisness. She knows that I am the last person that she wants to cross," she warned coldly.
Makr could practically see the frost coming off Wilhemina's breath as she uttered the chilling threat, with an all too familiar type of dark evil in her eyes. He could feel his wheezing intensify which always happened when he was in fear of Wilhemina. His asthma was practically non existent outside of him dealing with the wrath of his boss. He turned to leave, when she barked out his name, causing him to freeze in his steps.
"Yes, Willie?" he managed to say through his shallow breathing, his eyes wide with fear.
He heard the sound of her drawer open and shut softly.
"Here," she said sternly.
He turned around, half expecting to see her wielding some weapon of torture, but what he saw in her hand completely caught him off guard. It was his inhaler.
"Take it. I don't need you falling out when there is tons of work to be done," she said curtly, tossing him the small object which he caught.
He stared at her feeling touched. Although Wilhemina would probably die before she would ever admit it, she cared about him. He knew on some level, she saw him as more then just a pet and assistant.
"Leave, now!" she growled, her eyes flashing dangerously.
As quickly as it had faded, Mark's wheezing had returned.
"Yes, Willie," he gasped before fleeing her office as if the the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.
Exhaling deeply Wilhemina sat in the plush chair behind her desk and began to sip on the green tea that Mark had bought her when he had first came into the office. She was appalled to see that her hands were trembling slightly; a glaring sign that her nerves were bad.
"Damn it!" she cursed frustrated as she set the small silver tea cup back on it's coaster on the desk.
Wilhemina shook her head, feeling flushed. She didn't have the time or the energy to let her emotions spiral out of control. Besides, she had a meeting with the head of each department at the magazine, so pulling herself together, she took a deep breath and rose from her chair. Smoothing down her teal colored pencil skirt that clung tightly to her hips, she grabbed the black folder containing her notes for the meeting and walked out of the office leaving all thoughts of Daniel in the deepest and darkest corners of her mind.