On Saturday, Andy made sure to arrive 15 minutes earlier, since arriving at 13:00 meant she was already late in Miranda's book. After telling the maître about her reservation, she led her towards her table.
Alright, calm down. It's gonna be fine. It was her who let me know she wanted me to ask her out, right? So what's there to worry about? But what if I say the wrong thing or do something I shouldn't? What is it really like to go on a date with Miranda?
She was about to figure it out, since only two minutes after she had been sitting at their table, she looked at the entrance and saw her date walking in her direction. She was wearing a navy blue blazer that matched her skirt, and a white blouse. Oh my God, she's gonna be the end of me.
"Andrea." the older woman greeted her, before taking a seat.
"Hi, Miranda. You look... spectacular" she managed to say, even though she did not find that word to be accurate enough to describe the vision in front of her.
"Thank you. You look quite lovely yourself. That burgundy dress fits you like a glove." she replied tilting her head just a little bit, like she always did when something grabbed her attention in a positive way.
"Wow, thank you, it means a lot coming from you." Yass! I passed the first test! Now I just need to try and not to make a fool out of myself.
As soon as the waiter came to their table to hand them the menu, Miranda made a gesture with her hand to stop him, "That won't be necessary. I already know what I'm ordering. Andrea, you haven't eaten a real steal until you try the one they serve at this fine restaurant. I would recommend the medium-rare. Will that be alright with you?"
Andy actually felt kind of relieved, since she would not have to go through the menu at this place she had never eaten at, it was way too expensive for an assistant's salary. And she liked steak, so it was a win-win, "Yes, Miranda."
"We'd like two medium-rare steaks and a bottle of Pinot Noir, please."
"Perfect." once the waiter left them alone, feeling Miranda's eyes intensely fixated on hers, Andy's nerves came back, so she decided to say something funny to break the ice.
"Do you know if they serve the steak with chips on the side?"
Instead of making Miranda laugh or even smile just a little, she rolled her eyes, "How old are you, ten years old? Honestly, Andrea..." She shook her head.
"It was a joke! I swear, I didn't really mean it. I... I am just super nervous, okay? I mean, I'm here in front of you! Of you, Miranda!" she replied flustered.
"Good to know you have a perfect sight. It's obvious you aren't sitting in front of, oh, I don't know, Nigel."
"No, I know, sorry, I haven't made myself clear, I..."
"The day I interviewed you, you told me you graduated in Journalism. If I had to judge your skills based on this single conversation I wouldn't believe it."
"My skills are alright! Well, when I write. When I speak, it depends on the person I'm talking to. I'm quite eloquent; you can ask Nigel if you don't believe me!"
The waiter came back, filling their glasses with wine, and left the bottle on the table, "your meal will be served shortly."
"Thank you," Miranda said, with a small smile. She was amused with the brunette's sudden change of attitude, defending her skills with conviction.
"Perhaps I will see it myself soon, once you get an article published."
"Well, I would need to get a job at a newspaper or a magazine first."
"I'm sure you will not have a problem with that. I know you're meant to achieve great things. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Andy did not know what to say. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her regarding her career. Her own family had told her she was wasting her time, that she should had become a Lawyer, just like them, that eventually she would come back to Ohio saying they were right, and that she should not have chosen to study Journalism in the first place.
"Thank you. I hope you're right."
"Oh, but I know I am right. I always am." Miranda took a sip of her wine. Andy's mind went blank. She was suddenly staring at the older woman's throat as she swallowed the liquid.
"Funny, your face matches your dress."
"Wha… Oh. I uhm… Fuck. Sorry! Damn it." Andy closed her eyes momentarily. Here we go, not even half an hour has passed by and I'm already messing things up.
"Perhaps you should have ordered the tomato soup; it would match your face as well."
"Was that a joke?"
"Yes, Andrea, I don't lack humor skills just because I always have a no-nonsense attitude. Is that so hard to believe?" she rolled her eyes.
"No, it's just… surprising, that's all."
"Oh, look at the future Journalist, borrowing my quotes because she can't formulate a sentence of her own due to her nerves." she teased her.
"Miranda! I wasn't doing that… not on purpose." now it was Andy's turn to take a sip of her wine. If it was up to her, she would drink the whole cup in one sitting to calm her nerves. She wished she could stop time so no one could see her doing that, and then she would refill her cup so no one knew once she unfroze time again.
Miranda took pity on her and made a gesture to the waiter to come, "Could you please make sure one of the steaks comes with chips on the side? If it's not much trouble, that is."
"Yes, of course." the waiter replied smiled, before disappearing again.
"Why did you do that? You didn't have to. I don't want to seem like a spoiled child."
"I did it because even though I am known to be the Devil, maybe I took it too far, so this is my way to apologize."
"You apologize with potatoes? That's… original." Andy finally smiled for the first time since she arrived at the restaurant.
"Oh, for the love of… well, I guess it's not inaccurate. And by the way, you're not behaving like a spoiled child, but since you're on a date with me, you'll be as spoiled as you wish."
"Oh, wow."
"In all these years I have never, ever been in the presence of someone so prone to blushing like you. It's cute."
Before Andy could summon a single thought, which she was sure she would not be able to do, the waiter came back with both of their meals.
"Enjoy."
"Thank you." they replied in unison.
"Oh my God, it smells wonderfully, and it looks delicious." the brunette said, and took a first bite out of her steak.
"Just like you, darling." Miranda mumbled, but loud enough so her assistant could hear her, making Andy choke for a few seconds, "Are you alright?" she asked innocently, raising an eyebrow. She now more than ever knew her nickname really suited her. She was having so much fun torturing Andy.
"Yes, sorry, I'm… I'm fine." she swallowed the piece of steak and then took a sip of her wine.
"I'm sorry, Andrea, I'll stop with the teasing," Eventually, "I wouldn't want to give Page Six something to talk about."
"Editor-In-Chief kills her assistant during lunch." Andy said, now completely recovered, minus her blush, which still had not gone away.
"The article would start with something along these lines: It is known a million girls would kill to be La Priestly's assistant. Ironically, one of them was killed by the Devil in Prada herself at a local restaurant."
"The Devil is so cruel she did not allow the poor girl to have her beloved chips before murdering her."
"Now, that's cruel. I'm going to behave until you try them." she said, making Andy chuckle, "Go on. Tell me if they're any good."
"Alright." the brunette took a bite of a couple of chips, "Oh my God! These have to be the best chips I've ever had."
"I'm glad."
"Do you want some?"
"No, I… I shouldn't."
"Why not? I promise you won't die for eating like, three of them."
"Maybe it's you the one who's trying to kill me." she joked.
"Death by carbs. Now that would be a great headline." Andy took another bite at her chips and moaned to tease Miranda about what she was missing. Little did she know the way the older woman was looking at her was not because of her food, "Alright, last chance: do you or do you not want to have a bite?" she asked, drinking what was left of her wine.
"Oh, yes, I really do. But not at those chips."
Andy now chocked on her wine. Great, this is just great. At least no one seemed to have noticed.
"Andrea, really, you're so easy to tease." Miranda laughed quietly. Her cheeks even turned into a pinkish tone. Andy had never seen her like this before, she felt privileged at being one of the very few people to witness La Priestly laughing, even if it was at her silly reactions.
"I'm glad I can be a source of amusement for you apart of your assistant. Maybe I deserve a little raise."
"You're priceless. No amount of money is worthy of your companionship."
"You can always pay me with potatoes." Andy joked, since she sensed Miranda was getting intense with that last statement.
"Yes, of course."
The rest of the lunch went well. Miranda was true to her word and behaved (there would be more opportunities to tease the younger woman) and thus, Andy made it out alive.
"I had a lot of fun today. I should head home." she said shyly, about to take off towards the metro station.
"Roy will drive you home. Unless you're trying to get rid of me." she pretended to be offended.
"Oh, okay. Yeah, I would like that. I mean, to get a ride… be driven… home, not… not getting rid of you, of course, why would I… no way." She's driving me crazy, that's for sure.
The older woman seemed content with her reply (no matter how clumsy), "Roy, I needed you to be here five minutes ago. That's all." Miranda finished her call.
Once the car arrived, Miranda asked him to raise the privacy window.
"So, Andrea. You survived a date with me. How was it overall?"
"Well, if we forget about your two attempts at murdering me, I'd say it went pretty well."
"Fair enough. I'm glad I asked you out."
"Actually, that is not completely true." Andy stated, smiling at Miranda's expression of surprise. No one ever dared to contradict her, "You told me to ask you out, and I made the reservations, remember?"
"Yes, but if I hadn't made the first move, then we wouldn't be here in the first place, isn't that right?" she said, raising her head slightly.
"It's a tie then."
"If you say so."
"Still, what matters is that I…" Andy was interrupted by Miranda's lips on hers.
"…is that I kissed you first." the Editor finished cheekily, not bothering hiding her smug smile.
This alone made Andy speechless, and she did not care about winning this argument anymore.
Next Monday, at Runway's office…
"Look who made it out of the underworld unharmed." Nigel said at seeing Andy coming with Miranda's coffee, before placing it on her Boss' desk.
"Ha, ha, so funny." she came back, rolling her eyes at Nigel, and placed her coat on her chair and her purse behind her desk.
"Oh, no, you're getting her mannerisms already. Who knows what will another date do to you?"
"Well, if everything goes well, she'll do what I'm thinking of."
"Too much information."
"I thought you wanted all the details."
"Oh, I don't mind, but I care enough for Emily's sanity."
The redhead had appeared just at that moment, and was looking at her as if she was seeing a ghost.
"Bloody Hell…" she massaged her temple.
"Bloody Hell for you, Holy Hell for her!" Nigel clapped his hands.
"You're so silly," Andy laughed, "But really, it was fantastic. I can't wait for the next date."
"That good, huh? Well, it was about time, honestly."
"You thought this was gonna happen sooner or later?"
"Six, I didn't think it would. I knew it would. I always know everything."
Andy shuddered, "You and Miranda are so similar sometimes it's scary."
"That's what happens when you spend so much time with your bestie. So you better don't become best friends with Emily or you'll go crazy like her." he muttered, before being hit in the head with a small pack of sticky notes, "Ouch! Rude much?" he said, turning towards Emily.
"Then stop being such a wanker and don't talk shit about me behind my back!" she exclaimed while typing on her computer.
"I didn't know I had hired a bunch of preschoolers." Miranda walked in, throwing her bag and coat on her second assistant's desk as usual, revealing today's outfit: a black waistcoat matching her skirt, and a white blouse underneath, "Nigel, this is not Gossip Girl. Emily, don't throw things at the head of the Head of the Art Department. He is one of the very few competent people around here. Andrea, close your mouth. I know you're drooling even with my back turned to you." she ordered before coming into her office.
"How does she do that?" Andy asked open-mouthed.
"Who knows? Maybe after you date her long enough you'll learn her tricks." he winked at her, getting on his way to the Art Department.
Dating her for a long time, that sounds great. She made a mental note that in their next date, it would be her the one who would give Miranda a kiss that would leave the Editor speechless.
The End
N/A: this site doesn't allow to reply to guest users, and someone left a request in a different language, so I don't know what they meant, but I think it meant to add a chapter with smut. Sorry, I don't write that genre and also, once I finish a story, I've made my mind already, so this is the end of the story. Thanks to anyone who's read it and left feedback ❤️