Chapter 5

The seminars that Miranda had hand chosen and picked for Andrea seemed too drawn on forever. Andrea knew she should be paying closer attention, but her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour and she couldn't bring herself to slow it down. She tried, desperately, to pull information that would help her writing from each of the key note speakers, but their rhetoric whizzed over her head and was lost into the crowd seated behind her.

By noon she was finished for the day. She decided to hit the lunch that the convention was providing, perhaps grab some food and then head back to her room to disappear and write for several hours before she would need to get ready for the big event. Miranda's award reception. And Andrea was going to look amazing. Thanks to aforementioned Miranda.

As Andrea made her way into the ballroom turned lunchroom, she noticed a familiar face seated all by herself with newspapers and magazines spread out around her. Andrea grabbed some food and then made her way to the table where a certain silver-haired beauty sat.

"Working on your award day?"

"How do you expect me to keep up if I don't work?" Miranda blandly stated as she flipped the page of the magazine in front of her.

"Mind if I join you?" Andrea remembered to ask, though she was already seated a seat away from Miranda.

Miranda just shrugged and focused harder on her magazine article.

Andrea nodded her head. "You're sitting alone, I presume, because you're working on a day that it is unnecessary to work." She observed, only getting the courage to say such a thing because Miranda wasn't looking at her.

"Are you going to sit here and talk, because if you'd like to do that, then you can go sit over there…see at Emily's table?" Miranda, once again without looking, pointed towards a table full of Runway people that Andrea had missed.

But Andrea didn't want to join them. She wanted to stay with Miranda, for some reason, but she also didn't want to overstep her boundary. Miranda was clearly working. Or was she? Her eyes seemed focused on the page. But Andrea's keen eyes alerted her to the fact that the page that Miranda was so thoroughly examining was an advertisement for fruit bars, and the other a blank page with a single designer name on it.

"Why do you treat me like I don't exist?" Andrea whispered.

Miranda just raised an eyebrow.

"Just talk to me, about anything. Tell me about your girls, your divorce, just say something. I don't work for you anymore; you can at least treat me like another human being." Andrea found herself saying before she could stop herself.

Andrea looked at Miranda in horror and astonishment, as her words began to sink in. She hadn't meant to say such brash things, but Miranda's lack of interest in her and silence made her crazy.

Miranda shrugged and glanced up, "you want me to talk?"

Andrea nodded her head obediently.

"You want me to tell you about my personal life?"

"Well…"

"Fine. If you really want to know…" Miranda took off her glasses and looked at Andrea, her steal blue eyes burning in to Andrea's soft browns. She looked away before continuing, seemingly afraid to look Andrea in the eyes for her following rant, "the twins cry at night because they know how much this divorce has affected them. Stephen is trying to take me for all I'm worth, claiming I'm a horrible influence on the girls, a bad parent…bad mother, and what am I supposed to do about that? I am horrible." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"No, no you're not." Andrea reached out and covered one of Miranda's hands with her.

"Don't." Miranda uncomfortably removed her hand from Andrea's, touching her hair, her shoulder, her eyes looking anywhere but at Andrea who sat shell shocked beside her. "I have to go." Miranda began collecting all of her magazines together, shoving them in to her huge tote.

"Miranda, don't go…" Andrea tried to stop her. She wanted to talk about this. Miranda clearly needed comfort, but she was pushing Andrea away. "Miranda, wait." But Andrea couldn't make a scene, not with her ex-boss, and so she sat down before she started yelling. Catching a glimpse of her watch she realized she was late to a seminar. Shit. Miranda would have to wait, she had to go…

The seminar went on forever and Andrea was lost to thoughts of Miranda and her very private outburst that she knew only she could and would ever be witness to. It was as if the striking, older woman wanted to share, but couldn't quite bring herself to. Andrea knew what she had to do. But as soon as the seminar was over she knew she wouldn't have time. Not before the award ceremony that evening anyway. And so she found food and then returned to her hotel room. The fabulous Holt dress was waiting for her in the closet with a note attached.

Andrea-

Bridget will be in to help you get dressed.

I expect to see you arrive on time at 7:00 PM sharp.

A table will be waiting for you.

-Miranda

How thoughtful of her. At least this time her note had been on stationary and she had actually signed her name. The familiar handwriting seemed a comfort to Andrea and she knew then that the lovely silver-haired woman was not mad at her.

Miranda looked absolutely fabulous that evening. She entered the room and her presence was acknowledged. Everyone appeared to look at her as she made her way through the room and sat down at the table that had been designated for her.

Andrea watched her from a table away. She watched as Miranda mindlessly chatted with her tablemates. Her eyes gave away her lack of interest in the unimportant conversations, but no one seemed to notice. Except Andrea.

Emily sat dutifully beside Miranda, typing away on her new, sleek palm pilot. She seemed so blissfully unaware of the powerful woman who sat beside her at that moment. And Andrea envied her, because she was so close, to Her.

The award ceremony commenced. Miranda's award fell at the end and Andrea watched with awe as she graciously received her honor. She was so eloquent in both her speech and poise. She smiled the most amazing, almost real smile Andrea had ever seen. She seemed rather pleased with the award and herself, but Andrea could sense something underneath it all. She knew that Miranda was neither happy nor excited to receive such an honor. She knew it was probably a ploy to keep her in her job, and Andrea also knew that Miranda was not at all happy in her life at the moment.

It seemed a hollow victory.

As the night went on, Andrea kept her focus on Miranda. She watched her circulate, gaining compliments and congratulations as she went.

But when Miranda seemingly disappeared from the room, Andrea knew she had left. And so had Emily, and Bridget.

Andrea felt suddenly alone. She was left in a room full of people she did not know.

So she resolved to call it a night as well, head up the stairs and fall asleep in her big, comfortable bed.

But something seemed to pull her towards Miranda's room. It was several stories up from her own. She had not intended on going, but when she stepped on to the elevator she accidentally hit the button for the top floor. Miranda's floor.

"Oh shit." She cursed under her breath and before she could hit the correct button, she decided she would just go. Perhaps Miranda did want to talk to her. Maybe they could continue their conversation from earlier…maybe…

But no. Miranda wouldn't want Andrea around. Not at this moment…but it was too late to change her mind. The elevator doors dinged open to reveal the top floor. Andrea moved towards the suite door, raising one hand to knock. But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

And as she stood there, one hand hovering over the door, the other dangling at her side, she heard voices, coming dangerously near. She quickly backed away, running to a plant that was across the hall, trying to hide herself behind it.

"Get out! Get out!" She could hear Miranda's soft voice, that even when she was yelling barely sounded like she was yelling. It only reflected her icy tone and that was enough to make anyone scared. The door opened and out popped Bridget; she raced away, tears in her eyes. She didn't even wait for the elevator. She opened the door to the stairs and fled down them. Andrea frowned and then realized that now was maybe not a good time to interrupt Miranda.

But the door had not closed yet. Miranda was probably on the other side. And no matter how angry she was, or wasn't, Andrea still wanted to see her. Some strange force seemingly pulled her towards the door, and she stopped it before it completely shut.

"Miranda?" Her voice was soft, barely even audible.

There was no response. Only empty silence hung in the air.

"Miranda?" She tried again, her voice weak. This was pathetic.

But she stepped inside. Miranda had to be close by…

"Miranda?" She tried again. Now she was just invading her space and if she were to catch her, Andrea was afraid she might rip her head off…but something propelled her forward, deeper in to the room.

And it was then that she spotted the bottom of a beautiful Dior gown. The balcony doors were wide open and the bottom of Miranda's dress was clearly visible. She was sitting on the balcony, still fully dressed up to the nines.

"Miranda?" Andrea exhaled, finding herself at the double doors, looking out across the large lake across from the hotel. Millennium Park lingered under them and people were still out, playing in the fountains.

When Andrea finally dared to look at Miranda, she found the older woman daintily smoking a cigarette, her posture perfect as she stared out across the same massive spans of water.

"Are you all right?" Andrea found herself asking, afraid to go any closer to the stolid woman.

"Why are you here?" Miranda inquired, a cloud of smoke escaped from between her red tainted lips and Andrea couldn't breathe.

"I just..the door…was…and I…"

"Sit down." Miranda instructed. And Andrea sat. She sat on the bench across the balcony from Miranda. She studied the woman, noticing that her expression was completely blank. "I just fired that poor, helpless girl. She was getting on my nerves, couldn't do anything I told her."

"She was very helpful to me this evening when she came to help me get dressed."

Miranda just nodded. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the cool wall behind her. She looked absolutely gorgeous and Andrea had to hold herself back. But from doing what? What did she want to do to this woman?

"Where are your girls this wee…?"

Miranda shook her head. Bad topic.

"Do you want me to sit here silently?"

Miranda shrugged, and inhaled once again, this time exhaling out her mouth and into her nose, the sexiest French inhale Andrea had ever witnessed in her life.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"I didn't know you liked to break in to your former employers rooms."

Andrea felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She sat back, looking away from Miranda.

"Come here." Miranda instructed, once again without opening her eyes.

Andrea frowned, not sure what the woman was exactly asking her to do. But her legs took her across the balcony, her body allowed her to sit beside the beautiful woman, and for some reason she knew what Miranda wanted. She could sense it.

She was timid at first, and to her surprise Miranda was even more so. She didn't ask, didn't beg, she just allowed Andrea to press a quick kiss to her cheek, her jaw bone, her neck, her ear…Andrea hovered on her ear…her bare shoulder, arm, collarbone. Miranda didn't open her eyes until Andrea had made her way back to her chin, and then their lips collided. Andrea's lingered on Miranda's lower lip and it was at that moment that Miranda's eyelids fluttered open. Their eyes met and Andrea, for the first time, saw the need and want that burned in Miranda's crystal blues.

TBC...