A/N: Hi everyone! Just a short chapter before I go on vacation. I'm still not sure how long this will be. Andy is proving more pig-headed than I expected her to be! :-D Thanks so much for the reviews! Keep em' coming!—Maumauka

Pole Dancing With Integrity, Chapter 3

"You're kidding."

"I assure you, I'm not."

"What's the catch? And don't tell me there isn't one". Despite the girl's sharp words, she was leaning forward, her dark eyes fixed like a bayonet on Miranda's.

"The catch is exclusivity. Runway gets first choice of anything you submit. That means you are going to have to write about fashion, something you have always been completely indifferent to." Miranda let her gaze flick scornfully over the younger woman's outfit: a plain white t-shirt and a pair of no-name jeans.

"Not always. I almost sold my soul for Jimmy Choos, remember?"

Miranda tilted her head, acknowledging the point. "It was nice to know that your fine moral principles didn't render you completely immune to style. However, during your tenure with us, you made no secret of the fact that you thought fashion an occupation for the brainless and shallow. Therefore, the price of getting off the blacklist is to write about it. And write well, as I know you can."

Andrea leaned back and studied Miranda for several minutes without saying anything. Finally she said, "I don't think I believe you."

"About?"

"Any of it. You never cared that I could write while I was working for you."

"That's because I hired an assistant, not a writer."

"Bullshit. You know what I think? I think you're actually experiencing guilt. Congratulations! It's nice to know you're not a robot."

Miranda shook her head. "I can see why you'd doubt me. But I assure you that I'm telling the truth. You did something that is unforgivable in any assistant, and I did what any other high-powered editor would have done in return. But contrary to what you may believe, I have read your writing and I do know that you are intelligent, articulate, and gifted. Much too gifted to spend your life in a strip club."

Andrea opened her mouth but Miranda overrode her. "I almost never give second chances Andrea. Take twenty-four hours to think it over and call me."