New Fic: The Kid Stays in the Picture, Part II
The Kid Stays in the Picture
Part II.
NIGEL & EMILY.
Annabelle was at her typical twelve-minute lunch when Nigel came and flopped down into her empty chair. "Kill me now," he pleaded. "I swear, Em, I'm at the end of my rope."
Emily grimaced. "If you quit, I really will kill you. You can't leave me alone here. The place will fall apart. How in the hell we're going to get the April issue together on time is beyond me." They could speak freely since Miranda was out to lunch, and they had at least 45 more minutes of peace. Unless disaster struck, of course, which was possible at all times these days.
"I don't see any way out. Does she seem to be getting worse instead of better?"
"She does. I need a day off. Do you know she's had me in here the past three weekends?"
"Oh please. She called me at 3:30am last night to kvetch about Demarchelier's work with Giselle yesterday. As though an hour of her complaining in the afternoon wasn't enough already." He snorted. "Do you think Harper’s Bazaar is hiring?"
"How did we get into this mess?" Emily asked unhappily.
"I'll tell you," Nigel said, looking around. "Andy Sachs."
Emily's eyes widened. "You think so too?"
Nigel sat up straighter. "You're kidding."
"Not a bit," Emily said, suddenly breathless. She got up and scurried to the other desk. "Are you certain Andy's the one who got her knickers in a twist?"
Nigel lifted an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have put it that way, but it's appropriate enough."
"I knew it," Emily hissed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but could we convince her to come back?"
Nigel looked to the heavens and shook his head. "Not a chance. Miranda's number one on her shit list."
"Because of what happened in Paris? Does she not realize that if anyone deserves to be self-righteous about what happened with James it's you?"
"That's not it."
"Do tell."
"Apparently Miranda refused to give her any sort of reference for her new job. I stepped in, but Andy almost didn't get the Mirror gig because of it."
Emily frowned. "When did The Mirror request a reference? Did it come through HR?"
"Nope," Nigel said quietly. "Apparently Andy's editor called direct and Miranda refused to speak to him. Said she didn't know anyone by that name. The guy thought Andy had fudged her resume till I talked to him." He stared at Emily. "Wait a second. Wouldn't that have gone through you?"
"It would have," Emily said. "If it did, I didn’t take the call." They both looked down at Annabelle's phone curiously. "Oh no."
"Annabelle never met Andy, did she?"
"Andy hasn't set foot in the building once since Paris. I asked Jason downstairs to keep a look out just in case. He would have called the minute she came around." Emily peered at Nigel. "Are you sure?"
"Straight from the horse's mouth. Andy said she didn't expect much, but even a bad review would have been better than what happened. The weird part is that I don't think Miranda has it out for Andy at all. No blacklists, no public shaming, nothing."
Emily crossed her fingers, and admitted what she thought was really up. "I don't think this is going to go away. Miranda's in love with her."
Nigel put his head in his hands. "Fuck. What the hell do we do?"
Emily checked her watch. They had five minutes before Annabelle was scheduled to return. "Listen, Miranda's daughters grabbed me two nights ago and begged me to help. They're the ones who helped convince me Andy's the problem."
"The twins? You're kidding."
"I wouldn't. Not about this."
"Jesus. It's worse than I thought if those two vipers are trying to do a good deed."
Emily nodded. "Are you free tomorrow at lunch?"
"I'll make myself free."
"Good. I'm going to find out if Annabelle knows anything about this."
"Text me when you find out, okay?"
"Right."
---
THE TEXTS.
3:14p
Emily.
AB won't own up but looks guilty.
3:16p
Nigel.
Keep digging. AB not that sharp. You can crack her.
3:21p
Emily.
Got it! She didn't know who editor was talking about-assumed Andy was a guy. Didn't know A's last name and Andy/Andrea thing confused her (UR right about not that sharp). When no 1 asked, she kept it to hrself.
3:22p
Nigel.
Good detecting. Having drinks with A tonight. More later.
10:17p
Nigel.
A didn't buy it. Convinced Miranda tried to keep her from getting job. Still pissed. Also drunk so not the best timing.
10:19p
Emily.
Silly fool!
10:19p
Nigel.
Who, me?
10:19p
Emily.
Oh, stop.
10:20p
Nigel.
Anyway, think A's hiding something. Considering more extreme measures.
11:48p
Emily.
Got an idea. In the office at 7:45, Miranda in 8:15. Come by.
7:47a
Emily.
Abort, abort! M in early.
9:17a
Nigel.
At least give me a hint.
9:20a
Emily.
Twins helped. Imagine Xmas party-A&M locked in room. Alone. Have to work it out then.
9:22a
Nigel.
Will never work. Convincing A to show up impossible. And locked door? Sounds like bad movie plot.
9:32a
Emily.
Ye of little faith. Lie to Andy about event. Twins on board. Details to follow.
9:37a
Nigel.
UR taking the fall if this goes wrong.
9:39a
Emily.
If this goes wrong, we’re both dead so won't matter anyway.
---
THE TEAM.
Ten days later, everything was set. Emily had reserved an enormous, over-priced suite at the St. Regis. Emily's brother in London had used a webcam to demonstrate how to jam a lock a few nights before. Emily had gone straight to the St. Regis the next day to test it out, and was surprised and relieved at how easy it was.
The twins had completed their own assignment: scout out the mail for holiday party invites as they arrived at the townhouse. Luck was with them when an engraved Ravitz Hanukah invitation appeared shortly after their task was set in motion. Cassidy put her Photoshop skills to work, and two hours later they had a gorgeous replica of the note with an entirely new date and location printed. Miranda merely glanced at it and placed it in her bag for Emily to RSVP to the next day.
Emily did not, in fact, RSVP, since they'd shifted the date by three nights. She prayed that Miranda would not run into Irv before Friday.
Meanwhile, Nigel asked Andy to come as his date to James Holt's holiday gathering, and she agreed once Nigel swore up and down that Miranda wouldn't be there. Nigel really had to lay it on thick, saying it would be mildly humiliating to attend since he'd been passed over for Jacqueline. Andy fell for it hook, line and sinker.
Now they just had to arrange the timing, and make sure that nothing went wrong. Because if Miranda got wind of their plan, Nigel and Emily would both be fired. As well as tarred, feathered and run out of Manhattan on a rail.
Emily had a panic attack not 24 hours before it was set to begin. She cornered Nigel in the men's room Friday morning, checking every stall before nearly bursting into tears. "What if Andy really does hate Miranda, and not just because of the job reference? Or what if she doesn't care about her at all? Oh my god, what've we done?"
Nigel did his best to soothe her. "Listen, from everything Andy's said, she has feelings for Miranda. Right now, they're angry feelings. But Andy's a reasonable person, and once she figures out what's going on, she'll come around. Whether anything else comes of it, we'll just have to wait and see."
"Oh, lord," Emily moaned. "I'm going to be sick."
"Buck up, Em. Get back to the desk. We have to hold it together one more day, and no matter how it shakes out, things will be different come Monday."
"Do you get to collect unemployment if your boss fires you for locking her in a hotel room?"
Nigel rolled his eyes and left.
The plan was this: Nigel would deliver Andy to the St. Regis just before 7. The room would be empty of guests, but with hors d'oeurves and drinks all over the place it would look as though a party were about to begin. There would be a knock on the inner set of doors, which would be Emily delivering Miranda. Nigel would answer, push Miranda inside, and jam the lock. They'd wait a while inside the suite to make sure any shouts couldn't be heard from the hallway, and if all was well, Nigel would hang out in the bar for an hour or two and Emily would head to the Priestly townhouse to stay with the girls.
All in all, it was a ridiculous plan. But it was the only one they had, and it was happening come hell or high water.
---
Part III.