Thank you all for the great comments. I'm hoping this story will run about 15-20 chapters. I didn't think there would be this much interest in this story, but I had it in my head and just had to get it out.
Part 3
Miranda awoke the next morning well before the alarm was even set to go off. Groaning, she rubbed a hand over her face and sighed with the knowledge that after today, if everything went well, she could fly home. She could leave behind Nigel and Serena to oversee Andrea's exclusive photo shoot with her elite Runway team. She wasn't even needed to be on the set today, hell she wasn't even supposed to be here at all, but since Andy requested it she had no other choice. Although she could have said no, if she were completely honest with herself, she knew why she wanted to be here, and it had nothing to do with Runway.
Glancing at the empty space next her, her chest tightened with a melancholy of loneliness. It had been well over three years since she had anyone hold her, or love her, and even then, Stephen rarely held her or showed her any kind of affection, even when they were married. Miranda told herself that she never needed any of it, but not long after Andrea started working for her, she began to fantasize about the brunette doing just that more often than she would ever dare to admit. She also longed to hold the younger woman and run her fingers over that flawless body and perfect skin. Andrea Sachs was a beautiful woman, and it was no wonder that some Hollywood producer snatched her up.
Swinging her legs over the bed, Miranda stretched her weary body. She had to find a way to get over this woman and to move on. Besides, she wasn't into women, and she knew Andy sure has hell wasn't. Even if she were, the brunette wouldn't be interested in a woman that was old enough to be her mother. Plus even if, and that was a big huge if, it would kill Andrea's career, and maybe even her own. Although she wasn't entirely sure about that, that is what she was going to tell herself.
The morning sun vanished, turning into noonday heat that sizzled across the desolate sagebrush land. Miranda still hadn't heard a word from her former assistant; she didn't think she would, so why did her heart ache with that very want? She kept herself busy with work, and efficiently took care of what she needed to do while she was away from the office. Now she was getting anxiety from the free time she had on her hands.
"Why don't you go relax by the pool and have a bit to eat?" Nigel suggested, as he noticed Miranda begin to pace around the hotel suite.
"This is not a vacation!" she reamed.
"No, but we have everything ready, and we are not due on the set until after five." He examined his watch, even though he didn't need to. "So that means we have at least four hours to kill." He watched her actually contemplate the idea. "Or, we could head into this small podunk town and see if we can find some vintage shops; you never know what treasures we could find."
Miranda actually exhaled a long breath in defeat. "Fine," she relented. "Emily," she snapped. "Inform our driver that we want to head into town."
Emily swallowed her grin. Even if they were in the middle of nowhere, she longed to get outside. "Right away," she said, and quickly made the call.
…
The group from Runway looked so out of place as they walked down the street to gander at some of the small shops in town, and everyone who passed stared at them. Miranda wore a Lela Rose light blue sundress, which wasn't as out of place as the rest of them, but her Christian Louboutin heels and dark Dior sunglasses still made her stand out.
Nigel patted the sweat at his brow with his silk handkerchief, and wished to god he dared to wear the shorts he brought with him. "Shit, it's hot," he cursed, as they walked inside a well air-conditioned little shop on Main.
The sales clerk eyed them curiously as they casually roamed around the store. Serena quickly picked out a homemade Aztec handbag, and then carefully checked the tag as her eyes went wide in surprise. "That's 75 dollars," the woman that worked there heard her loud rant.
"I know that it seems like a lot, but a lot of time went into making that. In fact, all of the bags and pottery, and even some of the quilts here are all handmade," she explained with a smile.
Serena quickly shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Ahh, good price," she quickly amended, knowing that this was a steal, because in New York it would cost five times that much.
Miranda lifted a vague brow toward some of the southwest jewelry in the case. She actually liked a lot of them , and they gave her a lot of ideas. She turned toward her art director. "Nigel," she spoke sharply, getting his attention as he had his head down looking at a few western jackets. He raised his head, and knew without another word that he was supposed to come right over. In five swift steps he was at her side, staring down at the same jewelry.
"Hmmmm," he hummed, his brow furrowed as he took in each piece.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I like it, and I think it would work great with those dresses."
"Good, I'm glad I thought of it. Now buy the entire shelf," she instructed, and slowly twirled away like it was no big deal. "That's all," she added, and kept browsing through the store.
The woman heard the last bit of what Miranda said and blinked in bewilderment. "Well," Nigel began sternly. "You heard her, she wants them all." He pointed over the entire top case.
The stunned woman's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"
"Don't make me repeat myself," he chided. "Get it done, because I'm pretty sure she'll be wanting to leave real soon."
"Yes, right." The sales clerk leapt into action.
Soon it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready, and the SUV was now not only packed with them, but with all of the things that they bought, including a few pieces of art.
Miranda swayed across the parking lot, Emily following close behind. "Tell everyone they have one hour to be ready. I want to get this thing over with. Confirm my flight, so I can head straight to the airport when we're done. Then make sure to confirm my 9 am tomorrow with Patrick, then confirm with Simone, and then be sure my meeting with Michael Kors and that model is still on for 1:30."
Emily scribbled it down as a drop of sweat fell from her brow and landed on the notepad. "Right," she breathed.
It was now 5 minutes after 5 and they all received their access passes before walking toward the huge tents and the sea of trailers for the huge extravagant set. The stage's second assistant guided to them where they now had to sit and wait. "I swear, if this doesn't increase our circulation, I'm going to blacklist all of them," Miranda puffed crossly.
"Hey, stay calm….I bet she'll be here in any minute." Nigel was the only who dared to open his mouth.
Miranda growled. "Oh you know exactly how much I just love to wait. Did I mention that she kept me waiting over twenty minutes last night before she finally decided to show up?"
"Oh, really?" He had to hide his smirk at little ol' Six making Miranda wait like that.
"I don't say things I don't mean," she heaved.
Just then a loud commotion came clambering in through the small flap of the open tent. Miranda turned her head just in time before Andy took off her cowgirl hat and shook her hair. She was still in her set costume, a totally badass version of a gunslinger mixed pioneer woman. The ring of brass pinged every time Andy took a step and it made Miranda peer down at her. She sported boots and spurs, and then suddenly she felt a hot flush fill her cheeks and neck as an erotic vision clouded her thoughts. Get a grip!
"Hi guys," Andy greeted them happily, quickly hugging Nigel and Serena. She went to hug Emily, but the Brit just shook her head at her.
Her eyes finally landed upon the fashion editor. "Miranda," she husked softly, giving her that exact smile that seemed to set the older woman on fire.
"Andrea" she said curtly, keeping everything in check.
"So," Andy clasped her hands together. "Do you guys want a tour?"
Nigel and Serena beamed. "Of course."
"No!" Miranda voiced. "Let's get this done….I still have a flight to catch later."
"Okay," Andy drawled, toward the editor, but then turned back to the art director. "I can show Nigel, Serena and Emily to the producer and then they can take a few pics for the spread. Then I'll be back so we can finish the interview."
"I was promised photos of you during some scenes, was I not?" Miranda's eyes gleamed. "Action shots, as I recall."
"Did I promise that?" Andy asked. She knew she had agreed to some behind the scene photos, but not actual film shots.
"I believe it's the least you could do after making me fly all the way out here and then making me wait on you," Miranda smirked.
Andy hesitated, thinking it over for a moment. She knew she'd have to get permission, but she didn't have a problem with it. "Okay, fine….I have a scene in an hour, give or take, so if you want photos I'm going to have to clear it with the director and the producer."
"Then go!" Miranda barked, excitement clearly evident in her tone.
"Don't know how long it will take," Andy informed, picking up on the thrill in Miranda's voice, and holding off her smile from it. "So then, what about the interview?"
"Just hurry," Miranda voiced, her tone now raspy with annoyance.
"Be back as soon as I can." Andy now smiled, and then looped her arm in with Nigel's as she began to lead them to where the other actors were. "I'm so glad to see you guys." It was the last thing Miranda heard from her ex-assistant's mouth before they disappeared.
Miranda was once again checking and rechecking her watch. She couldn't believe she was sitting in this awful tent, where the a/c seemed to be nonexistent. She groaned as she watched a few people scurry around like they had to get ready for an upcoming scene. It reminded her of when she would arrive at Elias-Clark, and her employees did the same thing. She grinned to herself as she tried to relax in the one of the most uncomfortable chairs in the world.
"Hopefully after today we will be done with those hot, dusty shoots." A man relayed to another as they grabbed a few cold beverages. "Then all that's left is the shoot with her costar back in Hollywood."
"Yeah, I am little worried about that scene," the older guy stated as he rubbed his head.
"Why is that?" The other man looked baffled.
"Because it will be the first time that our dear star has to do a bedroom scene of this caliber, and this intimate. Very intimate."
Suddenly it made Miranda feel sick, and she wished to God she had never heard them talking. It had never occurred to her that Andrea would be doing an intimate love scene. A lot of movies had them, and it was just acting, so why was the thought of it making her so damn uncomfortable?
Then the thought occurred to her that Andy probably had a boyfriend, or many boyfriends. So why did it matter, especially to her of all people, if Andrea Sachs was going to be half naked and simulating sex on the big screen for all the world to see. Miranda stared down at her suddenly shaky hands, clenching and re-clenching them into tight fists to help fight off the uncharacteristic anxiety that seemed to overtake her. Watching them shake she knew exactly why that was…..but she wasn't going to admit it, not even to herself. "Miranda?" she blinked in startled surprise and looked up, falling further and further into those beautiful brown eyes. In that moment, her heart felt like it was breaking apart knowing she would never be able to express to this beautiful woman how she really felt. "You okay?"
Blinking again, she inhaled a deep breath. "Of course; why wouldn't I be?" she managed sharply.
"You just seemed a million miles away. In fact, you didn't answer me until I was right next to you," Andy responded softly, and the look of concern in her eyes, made Miranda's broken heart catch.
Miranda secretly clenched her jaw at the way her body was betraying her. "Are you implying that I am hard of hearing?" she deflected harshly.
Andy sighed loudly so Miranda could hear her. "Yeah, that's it. Geez Miranda, you need to realize I am not here to hurt you. Stop being so defensive."
"I am not being defensive. If you weren't so damn wrapped up in yourself and didn't insist on making everything about you…YOU would see that!"
"So my looking out for you is making it all about me? Fuck, Miranda do you ever just stop and hear yourself?"
Miranda's nostrils flared as she narrowed in on the younger woman. "Excuse me, how is you making me fly across this god damn country to this miserable excuse of a town…how is that you looking out for me, exactly?"
Andy threw her hands up in the air. "Well, you didn't have to. I could have invited Anna here, and I am pretty sure she wouldn't give me as much crass as you have. In fact, no one is forcing you to stay. Shit, you can leave anytime you want," she hissed, with a glare that Miranda knew she had never seen before, and it made her swallow.
Miranda forcefully got to her feet so she could stand toe to toe with her former assistant. "Is that a threat?"
Andy snorted and rolled her eyes. "Really? Come on Miranda, I am giving you my first and only interview, not to mention exclusive on set scene shoots, all of which will boost your sales dramatically. You need to think about how you are treating me right now. You think just because I was your assistant that can treat me like crap. Well, trust me, you can't. If I was anyone else, say like Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon, I would have walked out on you already."
Miranda slowed her heaving chest and knew Andrea was right. She needed to stop holding this grudge against this woman. After all, it had been over three years since she ran out on her in Paris. Now Andy was a beautiful actress, well she was always beautiful, but she was also a very sought after actress now, hell a bona fide star, and she needed to treat her just like she would anyone else. The truth of the matter was, Miranda knew why she was treating Andy differently; it had nothing to do with Paris and it scared her to death, so being ruthless was all she had to fall back on.
So, for the first time in about twenty years, Miranda's face caved and took on a mournful expression. "You're right, and I'm sorry," she breathed, and watched Andrea's face take on a myriad of expressions, some of which were clearly of total shock. "May we start again?" She took another breath. "I'm just, well you know me.…and maybe it's the heat." That was about as best of an excuse or an apology Andy was going to get.
A rush of air filtered through Andy's nose before she suddenly felt a smile bow her lips as she dipped her head toward her so only the editor could hear her. "You are some piece of work, I'll give you that. And I am going to agree with this so-called starting over, only so I also can get this over with. By the way, I know you don't ever apologize to anyone, Miranda; we both know that you are not in anyway, whatsoever, sorry."
It pained Miranda to hear that Andy didn't believe her. She actually was truly apologetic, but what else did she expect? "So, shall we begin?" she asked, somehow managing an even tone.
"Yup, but not with the interview. For one, now I am not in the mood, and two, the director is ready for the photos that he is willing to allow exclusively for Runway. Serena and Nigel are all set up, and well, since the centerfold spread is about me, I suppose I need to be there for it as well," Andrea smirked in satisfaction once she clearly read Miranda's annoyed expression.
Clearing her throat, Miranda offered Andy a soft smile. "Shall I expect you after?"
"Of course." Andrea hid her knowing smile and started to walk away, but then hesitated and slowly turned back. "You know, you don't have to wait here. Come along and join us, Miranda. Then you can get a firsthand look at what I've been doing lately." She held a hand out for the older woman to take and watched as Miranda looked at her and then down at the hand as if sizing her up, with an unreadable expression on her face. Was this woman uncomfortable touching everyone, or was it just her? Just then, Andy noticed a flush break out on Miranda's face and neck, and it made her pause and second-guess herself. Although she could not be certain exactly what Miranda Priestly was feeling in that moment, she didn't have time to think about it right now, as Andy heard the editor's loud tsk and then, in typical Miranda fashion, brushed by her without taking her still outstretched hand. "Oh, if I must."