Jane Rizzoli put on her favorite watch and glanced at the reflection in the mirror. She was dressed in her pilots' uniform which consisted of a navy-blue suit, a white shirt and a navy-blue tie with red stripes. She picked a little piece of dust of her shoulder and checked her make-up before grabbing the keys and pilots of the counter next to the door.
It was a sunny spring day in Boston which made her decide to roll the roof of her convertible down as she steered her BMW out of the garage of her apartment complex. She noticed how it was far too hot for late April and was glad to have not put on her jacket for the ride.
Her mind was on the upcoming interview with the famous talk master with one of the biggest networks in the states while driving through the heavy Saturday afternoon traffic. People were enjoying the surprisingly nice weather to leave their homes after a long and harsh winter. And Jane kind of envied them, thinking that she too would rather go out and have a coffee or maybe ice cream in one of the cafés by the river instead of driving to the television studio.
It hadn't exactly surprised her to get the invitation. Being only 27 years old she had already managed a nice career in a still male dominated field. Having finished the academy in light speed she had quickly established a name among her colleagues. It hadn't taken her long to become captain and suddenly she had found a report about herself featured in the airlines board magazines and advertisements.
The network KMC was dedicating one entire week to women with special careers, inviting Jane but also other famous and successful women like Dr. Maura Isles who would be on the same transmission as Jane.
The brunette had no idea who Dr. Isles was, and she didn't really care to be honest. To her this was just another pr appointment her boss had forced her to go to. After spending most of the week in the cockpit and in the far east she was craving for a few days off at home.
Her job was nice, and she loved it. But she was always happy for some days in her hometown. Frankie, her brother, had organized tickets for the baseball game of her favorite team and she couldn't wait for Sunday to roll around and the relaxing afternoon with her brothers. There was nothing better than a good game of the Sox, the typical junk food which usually consisted of hot dogs and beer.
This perspective made her feel better about the interview with the slimy talk master. Hence, she was smiling when she got off the car at the parking lot at the studio. A blue Prius drove up behind her and steered into the parking lot next to her BMW. Jane grabbed her jacket from the back seat and rolled the top down before watching a petite blonde woman getting out of the car.
As the blonde rounded the blue car Jane noticed the elegant appearance – all designer cloths no doubt – the perfect make-up and hair. And she noticed the heels on which the blonde was walking around. Ouch! She thought in awe that the woman walked on them like Jane only could in her favorite sneakers.
"Hi, you must be Jane Rizzoli." The other woman held out her hand with a friendly smile. Warm hazel eyes were underlining the smile and Jane took the offered hand automatically. "Hey. Yes. That's correct." She honestly had no clue who this woman was but assumed that it was the famous Dr. Isles. Not wanting to shame herself though she was reluctant to ask. The woman gave her a strange look and she cringed inwardly.
Forget it Rizzoli, she thought, you are never going to see this person again. She also thought that this person was a bit snobby when she thought that everybody had to recognize her.
"Nice to meet you Dr. Isles and Ms. Rizzoli." A voice interrupted them. When Jane turned, she found that it belonged to a tall, dark haired woman who introduced herself as Jean, the producer's assistant.
After some more handshakes they got a tour through the studio and were led to the make-up room. "What's wrong with my make-up?" Jane asked the guy who huffed when seeing her. She didn't like that. No, she didn't like that at all to be honest. It wasn't the first time she cursed her boss, trying to stay calm by thinking of the game with her brothers and watched the blonde who was sitting three stools down through the mirror.
Dr. Isles was obviously used to this kind of thing and chatted lightly with her make-up artist. Jane somehow found it hard to take her eyes of this woman which fascinated her for some mysterious reason. Well of course she was beautiful but there was something else. When she remembered how Dr. Isles had been offended for her not knowing her name, she huffed though and refocused on her own reflection.
"I'm just going to do a little make-over for a better appearance in the camera lights." The guy explained feeling her uneasiness. "We should be done quickly. You have such a beautiful face." He smiled in a very flirtatious way which Jane preferred to ignore.
"Thank you." She muttered, grabbing for one of the magazines on the counter in front of her. The choice had fallen on the latest Vogue. The other magazines were other famous fashion magazines and Jane held back an eye roll. Boring she thought, hoping that they would be done soon.
The short appearance of the show host made her look up briefly and she replied his slimy smile and shook his hand before he turned to Dr. Isles who was a very polite person and who kept chatting with him for a few minutes.
When agreeing to do the interview, Jane had insisted on getting the questions beforehand to prepare herself. A few nights ago, she had been sitting in her hotel room in Bangkok chuckling about some. "I can't seriously reply to that." She had said to her best friend and co-pilot Peter who had equally found some of the questions silly.
"I envy you though, Jane. You get to meet Dr. Isles. My wife is a huge fan of hers. She has read all of her books and seen all of her shows. Sometimes she makes me watch them with her." After explaining that the woman was nice to watch though Jane didn't understand the complaining.
But she did understand that he was right. Maura Isles was a beautiful woman. One could sense money in the background, yet she was driving a simple Prius when she could have doubtlessly afford a Lexus or a Mercedes. Jane decided that she was indeed a mystery.
She recalled Peter telling her that Dr. Isles had graduated at the age of 18 and that she had worked herself up to the position of the chief ME of Massachusetts. Next to being a ME she had written countless books about true crime and gotten her own TV show. According to her friend she was approximately the same age as Jane.
Doubtlessly they were both perfect candidates for the topic of career women. Dr. Isles probably more so than Jane. Being done, the guy offered her to spend the remaining 30 minutes till the recording started at the small pond next to the make-up trailer. Jane, happy to have survived this step, lifted from her chair and left the trailer on the lookout for coffee.
She could live with a lot, but not without coffee. Glad to find some coffee place she ordered herself a cappuccino and wandered off to the suggested pond. Finding a nice bench, she sat down and took the phone out of her pocket to search for Dr. Isles on google.
The first thing which sprung to her eyes were the private information. Dr. Isles was married as she found out. No kids were mentioned though. Jane read about the awards which took a huge part of the Wikipedia page. After reading from top to bottom she closed the internet and wrote a message to Peter who had asked about how the real Dr. Isles was.
Snobby she wrote and laughed at his emoji of a smiling yellow face with a sweat pearl running down its face.
R&I
Dr. Isles chose the bench on the opposite site of the pilot. She found that the brunette was very unsympathetic and snobby if she was honest. Maura wasn't necessarily expecting everybody to know who she was, but she was of the opinion that it was polite to at least do some research beforehand.
Not that she had needed research on Jane Rizzoli. The woman had first crossed her path in form a picture in an on-board magazine when she had flown with the airline to Paris. Since then, Maura had been following the pilot's career with interest. The first and youngest captain of a 747. She thought that this woman could be proud of herself. Especially for excelling in such a male dominated field.
Never would she have expected Jane Rizzoli to carry her nose so high in the air. The greeting at the parking lot had been awkward to say the least. And Maura had noticed how she hadn't talked to any of the employees of the television company. Now she was sitting on the bench and typing away on her phone.
Her high opinion of the woman had faltered remarkably since meeting her in person. She was still curious about her interview though. When her phone rang, she picked up reluctantly and without stopping her secret glances at the brunette.
"This is Dr. Isles speaking." She said in a serious tone and cringed inwardly when hearing her husbands voice. "Where are you?" Garett Fairfield asked, and Maura cringed. "I told you that I had this interview today. Speaking of which, I don't have much time as it will start soon."
She could hear that he was in a bad mood and felt a pair of chocolate brown eyes studying her with interest at the same time. Maura who unfortunately suffered from social awkwardness blushed and felt highly uncomfortable when she listened to his rambling about her cooking dinner and never being at home.
"I prepared a plate for you. It's in the fridge Garett. You just have to take it out and put it into the microwave." She listened to his wining about being neglected by his wife and didn't know what to say. She was glad though when Jane Rizzoli got off the bench and moved towards the main building to give her some privacy.
R&I
Jane walked slowly towards the main building thinking of Dr. Isles unhappy face and conversation with what she assumed was her husband. She felt sorry for the doc on one side. But on the other hand, didn't understand why the blonde didn't tell him to grow up. Why was she with this man in the first place? Of course, this was none of her business, but if she were with such a successful partner or a partner in general, she would treat this person differently. But what did she know about relationships anyways? She was more the one-night-stand type. Getting attached to someone wasn't appealing to her and her work.
She threw the empty Styrofoam cup into a bin by the door and walked into the building, following the signs until she met Jean. The young woman was busy with a chart and glanced at her when she appeared. "Am I too early?" Jane asked and the woman checked another chart and said no. "The audience is ready; we are just waiting for the host to be ready." She stated and jane could tell by her tone, that this was an annoying topic to the crew or at least to her.
She gave her an understanding smile and glanced to the door she would have to walk through. The audience was chatting excitedly, and Jane tried to figure out whether it was for her or for Dr. Isles. She smiled, feeling a rush of adrenaline through her body. She tugged at her tie to make sure that it was in place and waited patiently until the host was finally there and announced her.
Jane walked in, smiling at the crowd which was applauding enthusiastically and crossed her legs after sitting down. The host gave her a glance before starting the interview which went according to the questions planned. The brunette smiled a lot and was friendly, always aware that she was representing the company she was working for and answered every question with sovereignty.
When her interview was done, she left the scene and bumped into the doc who seemed to be nervous which surprised Jane seen as to how she had her own show and so. Maybe it was her husbands' fault who surely did nothing for the blonde's self-confidence. Still feeling a bit sorry, she gave her a reassuring smile and watched her go off into the room.
Jane noticed that Dr. Isles seemed to be a bit lost when she got asked some personal questions but when it came to forensic science she was in her element. The blonde knew everything about her profession and talked easily about her work. It was almost too much as Jane noticed when the audience began looking bored and the host brutally cut her off.
The brunette silently walked away before the interview was over and said goodbye to the staff before leaving the building.