24.
Dreams. Tricky little bastards. They can give you purpose, strength to move forward. They can be false prophets and hold you back. They can lift you up or tear you down. Ed had it all. Once a young, aspiring artist she dared to dream of many things. Finding her soulmate. Falling in love. Achieving success in her art. And all failed her. Dreams turned into nightmares and she decided it was not worth the heartache. Losing her dreams meant giving up on herself. It brought a different kind of grief. Loneliness. Isolation. Fighting with memories, the constant reminders of a happier life made her bitter, believing that she can't have that again. Yet here she was. Sitting in her office, her mind filled with merry thoughts. And, yes, dreams. Fragile, tentative ones, but dreams nonetheless. Most of those dreams were circling around one particular person. Someone who …
The office door burst open and the object of her thoughts stormed in, with a frown on her face. Emily, clearly in a pissed off mood stopped in the middle of the room and pointed a finger at Ed.
"What have you done?"
A bit startled by the sudden interruption Ed snapped her head up, and her eyes met the amused ones of her PA standing right behind Emily.
"Sorry boss. If you want me to stop her next time, you have to introduce hazard pay."
"It's all right, Martha. I got this."
The PA nodded and retreated to the outer office, leaving the door slightly ajar. Ed stood and walked to Emily deliberately, as she would approach a wild animal.
"Hello, Red. I can't think of anything notable I've done since we parted." she glanced at her watch "Exactly fifty minutes ago." She reached out to take Emily's hand, but she was stopped by a forceful poke on the chest. Ouch. When and why had poking became so fashionable?
"Don't play dumb, Ed." said Emily in a low voice. "I know you opposed their relationship from the beginning. Whatever you managed to pull, it worked. Congrats." She jabbed again, masterfully hitting the same spot as before. "You are pathetic, by the way."
Emily's words and the tone in which she expressed them left no room for safe maneuvers. Not that Ed knew what was considered safe at that moment. Her mind was working hard but she couldn't think of anything. She had no idea where Emily's accusation came from.
"Emily. I swear, I have no idea what you are implying."
"Implying? I'm not implying anything Ed. I am bloody telling you. Miranda is devastated. Andy's gone and with her my scones too."
"Scones? What?"
"My five cheese scones, Ed. She promised me scones. I finally had someone, who understood me and thanks to you and your shady, jiggery-pokery she's gone."
"My Jiggery-pokery?" Ed starred at Emily flabbergasted. What was happening?
"Ed. I can handle many things. A fire breathing Miranda. Miranda the Ultimate Bitch. The Ice Queen. Any form she might take. Except a crying, broken Miranda." She dropped down to the couch and exhaled slowly. "That's the scariest thing I've ever experienced."
Ed sat next to Emily, taking her hand and this time she let her do it.
"I still don't understand, what does this have to do with me?" asked Ed. "And what do you mean Andy's gone?"
"Yesterday, Andy was seen storming out of your office, Ed." answered Emily. "She left a confusing message for Miranda, about needing some time and distance. She closed the café. She's gone."
"Yesterday? I didn't see her yesterday. She called me and canceled our weekly Wednesday dinner though."
"Did she mention why?"
"Not really. She was in a hurry. She said something about spending the rest of the week out of town and I assumed it had something to do with Valentine's Day."
"Valentine's Day?"
"Yeah, I thought she was planning some romantic getaway with Miranda. Guess not. Martha!" she called out to the PA. "Was my sister here yesterday?"
"Yes." The answer came immediately from Martha who magically appeared at the door "Andy arrived right after, your meeting with Miranda had started. She insisted on not disturbing you so I escorted her to the small conference room. I went to fetch her some tea and by the time I got back she was gone."
"You had a meeting yesterday?" Emily was in charge of Miranda's schedule and she knew there wasn't anything planned with Ed on Monday.
"It wasn't a meeting per se. She showed up unexpectedly to inform me of Cordelia's arrest. I thought it was quite nice of her." Ed paused for a second. Nice wasn't exactly how she would have described Miranda at the end of the non-meeting but it wasn't the right time to dwell on that, or God help her, mention it to Emily. "Anyway, I can't see how that had anything to do with Andy's departure." She scratched her head and added hesitantly "Unless..."
Emily narrowed her eyes.
"Unless what? Ed? Ed!"
"The conference room is connected to my office, you can hear every word spoken." Ed looked miserable as she confessed to Emily. "I might have said something…oh shit." It occurred to her then that she couldn't avoid telling Emily the details after all.
Ed's office, one day earlier
"Miranda. Good morning."
Ed emerged from behind her desk and greeted the unexpected visitor, who walked in to her office as if she owned the place. "What urgent matter has made the Queen grace the peasants with her presence?" Ed pulled a chair and offered it to Miranda. "Please, have a seat."
Miranda gracefully settled and pursued her lips.
"Peasants. Oh my. True words or a clumsy display of false modesty?"
"Can't you tell?" Ed chuckled. She didn't sit down and leaned against her desk instead. Folding her arms, she waited for Miranda to announce the reason for her visit. But the editor wasn't in a hurry.
"I assumed that you would picture yourself in the royal court rather than outside the palace walls."
"On the contrary, Miranda." Ed winked playfully" I might surprise you one of these days."
Miranda dismissed the suggestion with a flick of her hand.
"Please don't. I'd prefer to stay blissfully ignorant about your real character and rely on the image I made up. It's rather comforting."
"Your kind words are giving me hope, Miranda. They're suggesting that there is love coming my way."
"If not love, some good news definitely." Miranda pulled out her phone and taped the screen. Handing it to Ed she exclaimed. "They found her. She was arrested last night. She had her bail hearing this morning. Denied, of course."
"That was fast." Ed couldn't lift her eyes from the image in front of her. Cordelia Black in a prison jumpsuit, looking as agonized as ever. The picture must have been taken after her request was denied. She knew that there was no escape this time and the finality of her situation must have hit her hard. Strangely enough, Ed felt nothing but emptiness. Relief will come later, she needed time to process. She worked out a small smile and handed the phone back to Miranda.
"Well." Ed cleared her throat. "She looked…worn out."
Miranda took the phone and with one last glance at the screen she put it in her bag.
"Worn out? Interesting choice of words. She looked every bit the piece of trash that she is. Moreover, orange didn't agree with her but then again it's a tricky color, not many can wear it well."
Relief can present itself in so many forms. For Ed it came in waves of uncontrollable laughter following the editor's deadpan comment. Soon Miranda joined and they laughed away years of sorrow.
"Goodness, I needed that." Ed yanked a Kleenex from the box on her desk and wiped her eyes.
"Two down, one more to go." answered Miranda, lightly dabbing the corner of her eyes, minding the perfectly applied make up.
"Funny you mention that." Ed threw the paper tissue into the garbage bin and motioned to a folder laying on the coffee table. "I have a proposition for you. If you accept, you won't have to deal with Irv's petty games again."
Miranda didn't react at first. She eyed Ed intently as if trying to read her mind. They were getting along just fine. Mostly for Andrea and out of necessity to take down their mutual foes. Did she trust Ed? Hard to tell, she wasn't certain how she felt about her. Yet.
"I know you want to get rid of him." continued Ed. "However, that wouldn't be a punishment for him."
Ed opened the folder and slid it in front of Miranda.
"As you know, Andy signed over her half of the company's ownership."
"I'm aware of it." stated Miranda. Andrea asked her opinion on that matter and despite the fact Martin Entertainment was worth millions, Miranda understood why the young woman didn't want to be part of it anymore. Although she supported Andy's wish, she made a valid recommendation asking Andrea not to give up her rights for nothing. Both Andy and Ed gladly agreed and in exchange for Andy's half, Martin Entertainment set up a ten million dollar foundation. The Smart Girl Foundation was created to help gifted kids and their families from underprivileged backgrounds.
"I have plans, concerning my future." Ed looked Miranda straight in the eyes before she dropped the bomb. "Being the CEO of Martin Entertainment is not one of them. I want you to take my place and lead my company. Think about it. It's the perfect solution. You won't be the editor-in-chief of Runway but you'll still oversee it. You can choose your replacement, who will follow whatever you instruct and Irv can't touch you anymore, because, basically he will work for you. That would be the ultimate punishment for him. A final blow to his ego."
"Sounds marvelous, Edna dear. Exactly what will this cost me?"
"Cost you?"
"Please, don't insult my intelligence."
"You're right." Ed held up her hands in a mock surrender. My offer contains a delicate fine print. A rather personal one."
"And that would be?"
"You must terminate your relationship with my sister."
Miranda remained stoic. Her posture, face expression didn't change. She wasn't surprised at all. Ultimately she was dealing with the Barracuda. Plain and simple as it is.
"What if I refuse to comply?"
"Your contract as Runway's editor-in chief is up for renewal, next month. Accept my offer and you gain a new kingdom. Refuse and you lose everything."
Miranda rested her hand against her chin, tapping one finger on her lips, her thoughts swirling in tornado like madness in her head. Her eyes never left Ed's face, who was waiting in a seemingly relaxed manner for her response. She didn't have to wait long.
"This is an easy decision." Said Miranda lightly "It's never been a secret, that aside from my daughters, Runway is the most important in my life."