A/N: This one is going out with a massive shout out to Callie-G over on FFNet for providing the prompt.
Summary: Years after the events in Paris, Miranda finds one of her darling Bobbsey's remained in touch with the assistant that got away, Andréa (Call me Andy) Sachs. What will happen when the editor comes face to face with her past? Will she still see a lot of herself in the brunette?
Disclaimer: As always, I am just fooling around with these characters. I do not make any money them because Lauren Weisberger and 20th Century Fox own them.
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Miranda was frustrated. After having woke tangled up with her ex-assistant just five days before, she had been unable to get the younger woman out of her head. Yet, since their return from Cincinnati, she had not been able to wrangle a single bit of free time with her Andréa.
It wasn't just that she was excessively busy, Andréa was too. With Isabel's unexpected return to the city, Andréa had needed to rearrange her own week to suit.
Yet there had been three occasions that week where she had found Isabel sat in the entertainment room with Caroline and Cassidy playing Xbox, and three times she had extended a dinner invitation that the young girl accepted but Andréa had not, citing work deadlines.
She was beginning to feel perhaps the brunette was having second thoughts about them.
Her cell pinged and she looked down at the message.
A.S: Coffee?
It was the second time that week that such an offer had been made, but she was uncertain what it meant. She hadn't felt the need to seek clarification from the younger woman in case she simply wanted to meet to advise her face to face that their time together had been a mistake.
The first message sent on Monday, had to be met with an instant refusal due to her presence in the middle of a heated budget meeting with the board, but right now, her afternoon was clear.
Miranda tapped a response on her cell quickly.
M.P: When and where?
She waited for a response, getting more and more frustrated as the minutes rolled by.
Miranda heard the elevator ping its arrival but it was Emily's strident tone that broke her focus from her cell. "Oh, no, no, no, no! You cannot be here! Get out, before she sees you! She's been in a hell of a mood all week and..."
"Hey, Em. It's great to see you again." Andréa's warm voice had her smiling. Trust the brave young woman to re-enter the dragon's lair in such a way. "As you can surely see, I come in peace."
The slight teasing tone had Miranda curious. Stealthily moving her chair, she caught sight of the stunning brunette, holding a tray of coffee in one hand and Ethan's hand in the other and smirked.
"Mommy, can I see M'wanda now?" Ethan tugged her hand, clearly impatient.
Unable to resist, Miranda called to her. "Andréa, get in here. I wish to see if your ability to get my coffee order correct is what it once was." She caught Emily's gasp of disbelief and her smile widened. She looked down at the proofs on her desk, schooling her features and pretending to be busy.
She understood the Runway rumour mill would now be running non-stop and she couldn't wait to see how this one was twisted.
Glancing up, she saw Andréa hesitating in the doorway and offered a small, genuine smile. "Close the door and come sit."
Ethan didn't need to be told twice, he pulled himself out of Andréa's grasp and charged towards her.
Miranda stood and moving around her glass desk, bent low to scoop the little boy into her arms, showering him with kisses as he squealed happily.
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Andy couldn't take her eyes off the swell of Miranda's breasts encased in the fitted jade green Versace blouse she was wearing. She knew Miranda had realised where her eyes lingered and blushed.
Miranda stepped closer and brushed past her, taking one of the coffees from the tray she was holding in shaking hands before sitting down on the large comfortable couch with Ethan on her lap. The editor sipped the drink and her eyes widened.
Andy could see the surprise in the editor's eyes and only just stopped herself from preening.
"Absolute perfection." Miranda husked, unable to stop her sigh of pleasure. She patted the seat beside her and Andy shook herself out of her stupor and moved as gracefully as possible towards her.
She felt Miranda's eyes roaming over her, taking in the skinny fit, black jeans, Chelsea boot, and leather jacket. Andy secretly hoped her outfit would be deemed acceptable by the Queen of fashion. She put her coffee down and shrugged the jacket off, placing it on the arm of the couch.
She looked up nervously and noticed Miranda's eyes expressing her pleasure at her blue plaid Rag and Bone shirt. She knew it was fashionable without being over the top and quite suitable for her spur of the moment visit.
Miranda's focus moved from her when Ethan scooted off her lap and clambered up on to the chair behind her desk. "Look, Mommy, look M'wanda. I'm a big boss man now."
Miranda's smile widened at the little boy giggling in her chair. Before Andy could tell him to behave Miranda moved swiftly to a closet and pulled out some coloured pencils and colouring books. Ethan was thrilled and knelt up to hug the editor. Andy was amazed to see her set her work to one side before placing a kiss on Ethan's head and stepping back to her side.
They sat in silence and Andy felt herself growing nervous and tugged at her fingers as her anxiety rose.
When Miranda realised, she leant forward to place her coffee down on the glass table and put her hand on top of hers, stalling the movement. "What is it, darling?" She asked softly.
"I just realised; we're probably interrupting your day and..." Andy swallowed hard. "...I just couldn't wait any longer to see you." She admitted. "...and Ethan has been asking after you all week."
"I must admit, I have become exceedingly frustrated by your absence, Andréa. Now that we have reconnected, I have found myself hoping to see you and exceedingly disappointed when I cannot." The editor caught her eyes. "I may have taken it out on the newest second assistant who sits at your old desk." She admitted with a rueful grin. "I've had her completing all manner of impossible tasks leaving Emily to man the desks."
Andy couldn't stop her own smile and leaning forward, took her own coffee and sipped the hot liquid, her eyes falling closed as the coffee worked its magic to soothe her. She was tired, but Miranda's presence beside her was a balm on her battered soul.
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Miranda could see Andréa looked tired and was concerned. Before she could query it, she caught the brunette's soft words.
"So, what's the next big thing in the fashion world?" Andréa asked with a small smile.
"Mm, scraps." Miranda murmured; her eyes focused on the brunette as she relaxed further.
Andréa's eyes blazed open. "Like upcycling?" She queried, suddenly excited.
"Yes." Miranda's smile widened. "There are many who are interested in making fashion more sustainable. Did you know, the average American throws out almost seventy pounds of textiles every year? Ethical fashion in the US is small right now, but I have hopes to see it grow and upcycling is one of the answers, plus it could help textile manufacturers save money and increase productivity."
Miranda realised what she missed the most about the brunette in their time apart was the light of excitement in her eyes when something caught her interest but she was stunned when Andréa bent and rummaged in her reporter bag, handing Miranda a sheath of papers.
She read the words quickly, stunned by the research done and information provided about the very subject she had just waxed poetic on. "This is exceptional," Miranda stated. She glanced at the brunette. "Are you giving me this to publish?"
"No, I wouldn't ever just expect that. I just thought you may wish to read it." Andréa looked away. "I spent every free moment of the past few days writing it for Allure, after being told they were taking new submissions. Let's just say, they weren't overly interested in the subject matter. I met with the editor this morning and she claimed it was nothing but a fad that wouldn't stick. Her advice was to write subjects I am knowledgeable about because it is clear to her fashion isn't one of them."
"She said what?" Miranda was furious with Allure's editor, Michelle, who clearly had no idea what on Earth she was harping on about. "Did you tell her you used to work for me?"
Miranda was astounded when she shook her head. "That knowledge became fairly widely known in the industry after I won those awards. She pointed out, I'm the one who couldn't hack a year as Miranda Priestly's assistant."
Miranda frowned. She simply couldn't believe the younger woman had been dismissed in such a way. Andréa's article was concise, it could be read as a human-interest article as it focused on a movement created by Estonian fashion designer, Reet Aus, for an up-made certification process. It was exactly what she had been looking for and she wanted it for the next issue.
She fired a text to Nigel and sat back, placing her hand back on top of Andréa's, entwining their fingers. "I want to publish this article, Andréa, but I have a few concerns, which we will discuss..." A quiet knock on her door interrupted her. "...right now. Enter." She barked the last word and Nigel entered the room hesitantly. "Ah, there you are, Nigel." She smirked at the flustered bald man; whose eyes had widened at the sight of her sat so close to the brunette. She gestured airily to the armchair and pushed the article towards him as he sat gaping at their joined hands.
"Hello, Uncle Wiggle." Ethan piped up.
Nigel jumped up and spinning around saw Andréa's beautiful boy in her chair. He grinned at the little man. "Hello, sunshine. I have work to do now but will you draw me a new picture for my fridge door?"
"Okay." Ethan offered a happy smile and bent his head to his task, his tongue poking out as he concentrated on choosing the right colours.
"Uncle Wiggle?" Miranda grinned as Nigel picked up the sheath of papers from the table and ignored her question.
Nigel adjusted his glasses started to read, his eyebrows shot up and he gazed at Andréa. "Was this for Allure?" Andréa nodded and he bent to continue his reading. Miranda watched intently as Nigel's eyes skipped over the words quickly. When he was finished, Nigel sat back, stunned by the wealth of information. "It will need cutting drastically..."
"No," Miranda stated firmly. "We shall make the necessary adjustments to ensure the article remains as it is. It barely needs touching."
"Keeping it as is would mean potentially decreasing ad space in favour of increasing the content across four pages," Nigel stated. "Totally doable of course, but it will piss Irv off."
"Mm, quite. This is why I need your help." Miranda sipped her coffee. "As you may be able to see, there have been some changes. Andréa and I reconnected last weekend and..."
"So that's why you were in Ohio? Emily did wonder." Nigel interrupted, with a smirk at them both. "And you, young lady, have been dodging my calls all week." He wagged his finger at Andréa playfully.
She felt Andréa stiffen beside her and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Miranda helped get me to Cinci quickly. I had to fetch Izzy after my mom threw her out of the house after she mentioned she was developing feelings towards one of her friends." Andréa told him. "I haven't been avoiding you intentionally, Nige. I've just had a lot of things to handle. My Izzy's mental and emotional health, E.J's propensity to climb up anything in the hunt for cookies, plus his new demands for a pony-sized dog. And work's been an absolute bitch." She admitted.
Miranda found herself curious to know more. As if sensing it, Andréa continued to speak quietly.
"Nige, do you remember when we spoke the other week, of how it is getting harder to give the Mirror what they need." Nigel nodded. "Well, I've been thinking, although Greg's been fantastic, I need to be home more for the kids, especially with E.J heading off to pre-k next year." She shook her head. "Which is why I've wanted to try my hand at freelancing. If I can prove myself, I can build up my reputation and earn enough to actually quit and spend more time with my family. It's that or I go to work for the ABC."
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Andy could see Miranda was stunned by her words. Over the last three years, she had been offered opportunities outside of the Mirror, including a position at Vanity Fair, which would have paid significantly more, but she had rejected the offers.
"Why are you wanting to freelance, darling? Why not go to Vanity Fair or The Times?" Miranda asked, curiosity colouring her tone.
It was Andy's turn to be surprised. She hadn't been aware the offers were public knowledge, then again, Miranda wasn't just anybody.
"The hours I work now are long enough, I would have to give any publication the same or possibly more. ABC wants me for Good Morning America, but it means a change in the direction of my career and mega early mornings. Freelancing will give me the creative freedom I seek, to pick and choose what I write about, and more control over my schedule." She stated. "I just can't give up full time paid employment when I can't find the time to actually do what I need to and build my reputation or when people like Michelle Lee make me feel like I'm a total fucking incompetent after spending far too much time on an article rather than sleeping, simply in the hope, she would accept it." She looked away unwilling to watch Miranda's reaction as she bristled beside her.
Instead, Andy glanced at Nigel and saw his soft smile again as he looked at them both. She caught his eyes. "When word gets out about my relationship with Miranda, what will happen, Nige?"
Miranda answered her query gently. "I believe there may be rumours of nepotism, darling. Nigel, I need everyone to think you made the decision about this article."
"Miranda, nepotism is the last thing you can be accused of. The article speaks for itself, it shows our Six's talent, a talent that has had her winning numerous industry awards, a fact you seem to have momentarily forgotten. You'd be foolish not to want to nurture that talent, or use it in Runway." Nigel reminded her. "As the place, she began her career."
"Mm, as always you make a valid point, my friend." Miranda relaxed. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
Nigel laughed and slapped his hands on his thighs before standing. He looked at Andy and smirked. Stepping towards Miranda's desk he nabbed one of her post-it notes and wrote on it.
Folding it once, he handed it to her. "This is a rough indication of what you will be paid for your submission. I'll have the paperwork drawn up and emailed out to you, but I'll need an e-copy sent to me by 4 pm so we can make the necessary adjustments to include it in the book and so we know the exact word count for payment." Nigel nodded towards the little boy. "Can I take E.J for a little while? It feels like it's been ages since I last saw him."
Andy smiled up at him and nodded. She watched as he caught Ethan's attention and asked if he wanted to see where his Mommy used to work.
Ethan whooped his agreement and jumped into Nigel's arms. He sashayed from the room as if strutting down at catwalk closing the door softly behind them cutting off Ethan's boisterous giggles.
"And that is why he is called Uncle Wiggle." Andy laughed as Miranda snorted in disbelief.
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Miranda watched closely as Andréa unfolded the paper and gasped at the figure. She had a slight inkling why the younger woman was shocked and yet surely Andréa must realise why they had a list of writers just waiting for a chance to be published in Runway.
The magazine paid rather well for their freelance articles at up to a dollar per word depending on the amount of work the writer had to put into the project.
Andréa's four thousand plus words and the flawless detail of her research would equate to quite a tidy sum in her bank upon publication following month.
Miranda's lips twitched as Andréa spun to face her. "You have got to be shitting me? This is more than a month's pay." She almost squealed, bouncing where she sat.
Miranda couldn't suppress her small chuckle at the woman's antics. It was so carefree, almost reminiscent of Cassidy or Isabel. She slid slightly closer to Andréa and brushed a curl out of her face. Unable to stop herself, she caught Andréa's lips with her own, offering a slight, tentative caress, before pulling away. "This is no joke, darling. And if that equates to more than your monthly salary, you are clearly not paid what you're worth." She reassured softly. "Now, to celebrate, will you all join the twins and me for dinner this evening?" She asked hesitantly.
"Yes, Miranda. What time would you like us?" Andréa's smile was bright.
"Would now be good for you?" Miranda asked. "I thought we could finish the coffee, you can hook up to the network here and send Nigel your article, and then we can grab the little man and go home."
"That sounds wonderful, but first, there's something I forgot to do..." Andréa pulled her closer again and gave her a gentle kiss. "...hello, beautiful."
"Mm, hello, my darling." Miranda hummed before pulling back. "Stay with me this weekend." She blurted before biting her lip nervously.
"Are you sure?" Andréa asked. Miranda nodded her head quickly. "That would be wonderful, although I have to be up early to take Izzy to camp."
"We can discuss logistics over dinner, my darling." Miranda smiled. "The twins will be heading to their grandmothers for a week tomorrow, before heading to Europe with their father."
"Will you be okay on your own?" Andréa's concern surprised her.
"I'm sure I shall be fine," Miranda smirked. "I may find myself seeking out your company and insisting on dinner multiple times a week." She stated softly, delighted by the growing pleasure in her Andréa's eyes.
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Andy was confused when Miranda gave Roy instructions to go straight to the townhouse. She had expected to stop off at her apartment for things for Ethan and herself as well as Izzy's bags for camp.
Miranda led her up the circular staircase, holding Ethan carefully and they entered the third floor where the twins spent the majority of their time. They found the twins lounging top to tail on one of the wide sofas of their games room reading while Izzy sat on a windows seat sketching. It was a peaceful moment between the three teenagers that left Andy smiling.
Caroline looked up from her book and smiled at her mom softly. "Hey, mom. You're early. Lauren and Cara only just left."
Miranda nodded and smirked. She set a sleeping Ethan down on a two-seater sofa and arranged pillows around him. "Is everything prepared?" She asked.
Cassidy chuckled. "Yeah, to your exact instructions." She caught sight of Andy and her smile widened. "Hey, Andy."
"Hi Cassi, hello Caro." Andy was curious about Miranda's words but shrugged them off. Stepping closer to Izzy, she looked down and saw a sketch of herself and Miranda. She brushed a curl from her face. "Hi, Fizz bomb. You had a good day?"
Izzy continued to sketch, barely registering the fact Andy had spoken to her.
"She's been immersed in her drawing for the last two hours." Andy looked at the redhead who had stepped beside her.
"She gets like that often." Andy smiled down at the blonde before stepping away to face Caroline. "She'll greet me properly when she's done. How's your week been, Caro? Any more shit off those friends of yours?"
"I've not really seen them," Caroline admitted. "I've been busy helping mom and Cara."
She turned and saw Miranda had settled on the sofa and was snuggled up with Cassidy. The teenage girl's head rested on the editor's shoulders as she continued to read from a recognisable manuscript. She shook her own head and grinned.
Cassidy looked up at her and her smile was wide. "I have the proper book too, but this holds more good memories." She explained.
Andy nodded her understanding and as she made to sit herself down, Miranda stood and stepped towards Isabel. She glanced at the sketch and smiled. "That is wonderful, Isabel."
Isabel looked up and grinned as she finalised the sketch, pulling it free from her sketchpad, she handed it to the editor. "Thanks, Miranda. I drew it for you." She blushed furiously. "Momma has hundreds of them tucked away."
"Isabel, no..." Miranda turned towards Andy at her hiss of embarrassment and the smirk on her face broadened.
"Good to know," Miranda muttered softly, turning back towards the teenager. "I have just the frame for it to sit in. I shall cherish it, Isabel and one day, when you are a famous artist, I will be the envy of all."
Andy smiled at the editor's words, knowing that Isabel would take them to heart and continue to work towards her dreams, just as she was doing.
Miranda inspired hope and Andy's greatest hope was to build a future by the amazing woman's side.
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