Charlotte Kinga had been at Runway for over ten years. In that time, she liked to think that she had gotten to know Miranda Priestley pretty well-at least, the Miranda who knew everything and everyone there was to know in fashion. Miranda had chosen Charlotte for Features because she knew Charlotte could spot a good writer at fifty paces, and she could maintain an exquisite balance between literary and commercial. Almost as demanding as Miranda herself, Charlotte never accepted a piece that she didn't feel was exactly right, or less than expertly written. A sign in her office read:

PLEASE LEARN THE DIFFERENCE!

Lose = verb. To suffer deprivation of : I would hate to lose my wallet.

Loose = adjective, verb and obsoloete noun. (1.) Not rigidly fastened or securely attached: The bolt on the fence was loose. (2.) To release: I loose my hair when I get home. (3.) Freedom from restraint: Mr. Smith was given a loose by the colonial governor.

Peaked = adjective and verb . (1.) Pointy: The house had a peaked roof. (2.) To rise to a high point: The stock marked peaked at 5132

Peeked = verb. To look furtively: Hoping to see Santa Claus, Billy peeked into the living room.

Piqued = verb. To excite or arouse. The article piqued my interest.

There = adverb. In or at a place. The water fountain is over there.

Their = possessive determinator. Belonging to more than one person. Bob and Doris love their new car.

They're = contraction "They are": They're all outside.

MIX THESE UP AND YOU DESERVE A SEVERE BEATING.

So when the confidential memo arrived, Charlotte had the novel feeling of being completely shocked. Her expertly-plucked eyebrows flew up when she saw the same of the writer Miranda was ordering her to work with.

She knew about Andrea Sachs, of course. Her name was infamous at Runway; to mention it above a faint whisper was to risk a career beheading. Other assistants had flowed in and out of Miranda's employ like water, but only Andrea Sachs had abandoned her at Fashion Week, and Miranda had been nearly impossible to deal with for months after the girl's departure. For the first time in the magazine's history, Miranda lost her legendary cool. She was so irritable and snappy that only Nigel Kipling could be around her for any length of time. Shad called Charlotte in no less than five times before the spring issue ran, always with some sneering remark about Charlotte's lack of originality. It had not taken Charlotte long to figure out that what was angering Miranda wasn't the pieces that she had marked for the magazine, it was that everybody at Runway was suddenly the wrong person.

Now, she faced her long-time boss and colleague across the narrow black desk and said one word: "Why?"

Miranda shrugged indifferently. "Irv wanted younger. Irv wanted edgier. I gave him that, and now he doesn't seem to understand exactly what he asked for. Andrea can convey it in no uncertain terms. Give her the personal with Steele."

"Can she write?" Charlotte did not attempt to hide the doubt in her voice.

Miranda raised an eyebrow without replying. Charlotte recognized the look and leaned forward. "Just tell me you're going to settle down once she's back here."

"First of all, Charlotte, I do not have to explain myself to you. Second, when have you ever known me to send you a mediocre writer?"

Charlotte resisted the urge to flinch. She knew that as much as Miranda hated insubordination, she hated wimps even more. "If it were anything but the Steele interview, you wouldn't hear a peep out of me. But the whole June issue is going to center around it, Irv will read every word and if your girl can't get the job done-"

"-And it's YOUR job to see to it that the job gets done. That's all, Charlotte."

Dismissed, Charlotte retired to her office to make the call

Andy-POV

"Andrea? Welcome. Follow me, please."

Andy stood and followed the Features editor. Charlotte Kinga was a tall strawberry blonde with large blue eyes and a dusting of freckles on her nose, which should have given her features a girlish quality, but her expression was too reserved and watchful for youth. When they reached her office, she gestured Andy into a chair in front of her desk. "Miranda wants you to interview Dorian Steele" she said.

Andy felt her mouth drop open and closed it hastily. "Okay. Do I schedule it myself or...?"

"No. It's already set for the 29th. All you have to do is go and ask the right questions. Have you ever interviewed anyone before?"

"I did in college."

"And how long ago was that?"

"Almost two years."

Charlotte let out a long breath. "Miranda thinks very highly of your writing. It's your job to maintain that good opinion. Is that clear?"

Andy nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Do you have any samples of your work with you?"

Andy handed over her portfolio of college pieces. Charlotte flipped through it and gave a brief nod. "I will read these tonight. Right now we're going to go over what kind of interview Miranda wants from Dorian. I trust you know what kind of work he does?"

"Yeah. He's a new designer who specializes in leather, particularly boots. His work was featured in last month's issue, as well as in Vogue, Elle and Women's Wear Daily."

"If you know all that, then you know that he's raised plenty of eyebrows. Fortunately, he's given us permission to interview him first. We want to cover the basics: his vision as a designer, what inspires him, some personal background. That shouldn't be too hard. The tricky part will be getting him to give you straight answers. He tends to ramble and his attention span is all of five seconds long. Do NOT include anything about his love life, no matter how much he insists on talking about it. Runway isn't interested in that. We want his artistic vision, his aesthetics, and just enough personal info to make him real to our readers, okay?"

"Okay."

"If something happens and you decide you don't want this assignment, please call me as soon as possible." Charlotte looked directly into Andy's eyes and Andy could hear the end of her thought: Don't just run out like you ran out on Miranda in Paris.

"When's the deadline?" Andy asked.

"May 15th. You can submit the article via email attachment. Here…" Charlotte opened a drawer in her desk and took out a black folder. "In here is the username and password for Runway's Features network, our guidelines, and your contract. Please read everything carefully and have it back to me, personally, by tomorrow. From your hand to mine, understand?"

Andy nodded again, trying to tamp down her annoyance. Charlotte seemed to think she was planning to disappear immediately. "No worries. What time are you here?"

"Five. But you don't have to be here that early. Nine or ten will do. That's all."

Andy couldn't help rolling her eyes as she walked out the door. Miranda's stamp truly was everywhere.

Charlotte watched her go, trying to ignore the icy lump of dread in her stomach. She had four backups for the Steele interview piece in case this didn't work out, but she didn't want to even think about what Miranda's reaction would be. She had called Charlotte at home five times in the space of two hours with last-minute instructions about how to handle Andrea's contract. No matter how many times Charlotte tried to gently suggest that Miranda discuss the finer points with Runway's legal department, the editor insisted that she, Charlotte, be on top of every nuance. Miranda had never behaved that way about a mere writer before. This girl plainly meant a lot to her. And as far as Charlotte could tell, Andrea was completely oblivious.

It did not bode well.