Taking Risks (Prologue)
Title: Taking Risks (Prologue)
Total Chapters: Prologue, 12 Chapters & Epilogue
Authors: duwinter
Fandom: DWP
Pairing: Eventually Miranda/Andy
Rating: PG-13
Dedication: For Calliopedawn. I hope I get to the spirit of what you desired. I certainly had a good time writing to your prompt.
Setting: Slight AU, and set during the time-frame of the events of the movie.
Prompt: Andy got a job at the New York Times instead of Runway. Nate never existed and Andy was actually into fashion. Andy could go freelance or be offered to write for Runway therefore introducing Miranda :)
Summery: See prompt.
Disclaimer: The Devil Wears Prada and it's characters do not belong to me. No profit being made here. I'm just playing with them for a short while and I promise to put them away neatly when I'm through.
Comment: Comments feed the muse and the Muse is always hungry. Remember, a fat muse is a happy and productive muse. Comments and constructive criticism eagerly encouraged.
Very Special Thanks: to my wonderful Beta Jazwriter. I appreciate your stepping up at the last minute and both your patience and valuable assistance. It is because of people with your heart and spirit that I someday might be a better writer.
Very Special Thanks: to Associatedbears, who kindly volunteered to help and then who real life interfered with. You remain both a good friend and a star in my book!
Prologue
February 2008
Andy Sachs could not know that her future was set in motion before she'd ever set foot in New York City. It started with a war of words that began nearly a year before she ever had arrived in town. It had commenced with a verbal volley written in The New York Times fashion column and had escalated from there. The battle raged between The Times' top Style Section reporter, Danielle Gold, and the Devil in Heels herself, Editor-in-Chief of Runway magazine.
March 2009
Following her dream, Andy left her two best friends in the world, Lily and Doug, in Cincinnati to become a journalist in the Big Apple. After saving money she earned throughout college and received as a graduation gift from her parents, Andy believed she would have sufficient funds to support herself until she could find gainful employment in her field. She didn't leave much behind other than her family and her friends, and soon both Lily and Doug would be making the transition to New York to follow their dreams. Thankfully, she didn't leave behind any romantic entanglements. Andy had been in love only once in her life, and her college relationship with her lesbian lover had ended badly a couple of years ago. Since then Andy hadn't really gotten back into the dating scene.
May 2009
Events that shape one's life often start out as random occurrences. Andy had been in New York for nearly two months and, even with contacting all of the seemingly endless number of newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses, nothing had developed as far as job prospects went. Andy's intentions were to become a journalist. However, with the downturn in printed newspapers across the country, most companies were laying-off rather than hiring. Magazines were little better. With no “professional” experience on her resume, apparently being Editor-in-Chief of a university newspaper didn't cut it as far as “experience” went in this town, she rarely got a call-back interview. Quite alone in the city, her savings quickly dwindled with the exorbitant cost of rent. It didn't help that Andy had always loved the world of fashion. Being in New York and having job interviews meant being able to dress properly. Dressing properly in New York City, to her mind, meant buying fashion as presented in the pages of her favorite magazine, Runway. And the stores in New York had such a selection that it took all of Andy's self control not to pauperize herself. Ramden noodle packs were quickly becoming the meal of necessity because they cost next to nothing.
Andy had heard that Elias-Clark was looking for entry-level positions at two of their magazines, and in desperation she decided to go to their headquarters and present her resume. It was a chilly morning, and Andy hadn't yet found the perfect coat she wanted for fall weather within what was now her very limited fashion budget, so she decided to wear her Northwestern University sweatshirt. She'd fold it and hide it in her battered briefcase once she arrived in the lobby of the Elias-Clark building. No one would see anything but the Armani she wore underneath it. The suit was a classic, elegant, dark-charcoal fine-white pinstripe business suit, well-tailored and flattering to her womanly shape. Oh, granted it was last year's line, but if it hadn't been for the generous gift her parents had given her on graduation, she wouldn't have any of the several designer suits hanging in her closet.
On the crowded subway ride, a middle-aged gentleman struck up a conversation, asking if her sweatshirt represented where she had attended college. He turned out to be a fellow Northwestern University grad, and in the nature of conversations about shared experiences, Andy discovered that he too, at one time years ago, had been Editor-in-Chief of the school paper. As she was on her way to what she hoped would be a job interview she had a representative sample of her best work with her. He said he'd like to see her writings and suggested they have a cup of coffee together. Andy, just being polite and not having a set appointment at Elias-Clark, agreed to accompany him. During that fateful cup of java, she discovered that he was now an editor at The New York Times and had an open position in the copy-writing/fact-checking department. He told her he was impressed with her work. To Andy's delight, he hired her on the spot.
August 2009
From there, her career picked up speed like an out-of-control pedestrian in leather-soled shoes on a steep downhill patch of glazed ice. Two months of writing copy for other people's articles and Andy had begun to make a name for herself in the newsroom. She worked hard, had a sense of humor, and could string words together like nobody's business. She made the reporters she wrote for look good. She also had a good head on her shoulders, and through fact-checking she had saved the paper embarrassment and the necessity of printing retractions on more than a few occasions. She impressed her direct superiors, and they slated her for greater responsibility.
On to Chapter 1
Total Chapters: Prologue, 12 Chapters & Epilogue
Authors: duwinter
Fandom: DWP
Pairing: Eventually Miranda/Andy
Rating: PG-13
Dedication: For Calliopedawn. I hope I get to the spirit of what you desired. I certainly had a good time writing to your prompt.
Setting: Slight AU, and set during the time-frame of the events of the movie.
Prompt: Andy got a job at the New York Times instead of Runway. Nate never existed and Andy was actually into fashion. Andy could go freelance or be offered to write for Runway therefore introducing Miranda :)
Summery: See prompt.
Disclaimer: The Devil Wears Prada and it's characters do not belong to me. No profit being made here. I'm just playing with them for a short while and I promise to put them away neatly when I'm through.
Comment: Comments feed the muse and the Muse is always hungry. Remember, a fat muse is a happy and productive muse. Comments and constructive criticism eagerly encouraged.
Very Special Thanks: to my wonderful Beta Jazwriter. I appreciate your stepping up at the last minute and both your patience and valuable assistance. It is because of people with your heart and spirit that I someday might be a better writer.
Very Special Thanks: to Associatedbears, who kindly volunteered to help and then who real life interfered with. You remain both a good friend and a star in my book!
Prologue
February 2008
Andy Sachs could not know that her future was set in motion before she'd ever set foot in New York City. It started with a war of words that began nearly a year before she ever had arrived in town. It had commenced with a verbal volley written in The New York Times fashion column and had escalated from there. The battle raged between The Times' top Style Section reporter, Danielle Gold, and the Devil in Heels herself, Editor-in-Chief of Runway magazine.
March 2009
Following her dream, Andy left her two best friends in the world, Lily and Doug, in Cincinnati to become a journalist in the Big Apple. After saving money she earned throughout college and received as a graduation gift from her parents, Andy believed she would have sufficient funds to support herself until she could find gainful employment in her field. She didn't leave much behind other than her family and her friends, and soon both Lily and Doug would be making the transition to New York to follow their dreams. Thankfully, she didn't leave behind any romantic entanglements. Andy had been in love only once in her life, and her college relationship with her lesbian lover had ended badly a couple of years ago. Since then Andy hadn't really gotten back into the dating scene.
May 2009
Events that shape one's life often start out as random occurrences. Andy had been in New York for nearly two months and, even with contacting all of the seemingly endless number of newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses, nothing had developed as far as job prospects went. Andy's intentions were to become a journalist. However, with the downturn in printed newspapers across the country, most companies were laying-off rather than hiring. Magazines were little better. With no “professional” experience on her resume, apparently being Editor-in-Chief of a university newspaper didn't cut it as far as “experience” went in this town, she rarely got a call-back interview. Quite alone in the city, her savings quickly dwindled with the exorbitant cost of rent. It didn't help that Andy had always loved the world of fashion. Being in New York and having job interviews meant being able to dress properly. Dressing properly in New York City, to her mind, meant buying fashion as presented in the pages of her favorite magazine, Runway. And the stores in New York had such a selection that it took all of Andy's self control not to pauperize herself. Ramden noodle packs were quickly becoming the meal of necessity because they cost next to nothing.
Andy had heard that Elias-Clark was looking for entry-level positions at two of their magazines, and in desperation she decided to go to their headquarters and present her resume. It was a chilly morning, and Andy hadn't yet found the perfect coat she wanted for fall weather within what was now her very limited fashion budget, so she decided to wear her Northwestern University sweatshirt. She'd fold it and hide it in her battered briefcase once she arrived in the lobby of the Elias-Clark building. No one would see anything but the Armani she wore underneath it. The suit was a classic, elegant, dark-charcoal fine-white pinstripe business suit, well-tailored and flattering to her womanly shape. Oh, granted it was last year's line, but if it hadn't been for the generous gift her parents had given her on graduation, she wouldn't have any of the several designer suits hanging in her closet.
On the crowded subway ride, a middle-aged gentleman struck up a conversation, asking if her sweatshirt represented where she had attended college. He turned out to be a fellow Northwestern University grad, and in the nature of conversations about shared experiences, Andy discovered that he too, at one time years ago, had been Editor-in-Chief of the school paper. As she was on her way to what she hoped would be a job interview she had a representative sample of her best work with her. He said he'd like to see her writings and suggested they have a cup of coffee together. Andy, just being polite and not having a set appointment at Elias-Clark, agreed to accompany him. During that fateful cup of java, she discovered that he was now an editor at The New York Times and had an open position in the copy-writing/fact-checking department. He told her he was impressed with her work. To Andy's delight, he hired her on the spot.
August 2009
From there, her career picked up speed like an out-of-control pedestrian in leather-soled shoes on a steep downhill patch of glazed ice. Two months of writing copy for other people's articles and Andy had begun to make a name for herself in the newsroom. She worked hard, had a sense of humor, and could string words together like nobody's business. She made the reporters she wrote for look good. She also had a good head on her shoulders, and through fact-checking she had saved the paper embarrassment and the necessity of printing retractions on more than a few occasions. She impressed her direct superiors, and they slated her for greater responsibility.
On to Chapter 1