New Story
“No way,” Sharon stated as she held her ground and all but glared at her boss, her fingers itching for her service weapon. He was just lucky that it was locked in her desk drawer at the moment. 60 she may be but she was still the best marksman on the force.
“Its a way to build a better relationship with the public. After the whole Brenda issue, the people of LA do not have too much faith in LAPD. Anything we can do to better the relationship and let them see another side of us would be welcoming.” Chief Taylor reasoned as he leaned back in his chair to look up at her. He was glad that that she was unarmed as he saw her fingers twitching but also that she was flanked by Detective Andy Flynn and Detective Amy Sykes. He was sure that they would hold her back should she decide to lunge across the table and stab him with his letter opener.
“Building relationships is all well and good but I am not a model. I am a police Captain and a mother of 3, not to mention I am way too old to be prancing around in front of a camera. And besides that I was head of FID, no one on the force likes me. I am Darth Raydor.” She said the last bit with a bit of a frown marring her face, while Taylor looked stunned. He had heard some of the rumors about Sharon but always believed that she was not the wiser about any of them. Now it seemed that he was wrong.
“I will make a deal with you. If you meet with this woman they are sending over about the shoot and listen to it with an open mind, I will try to find some other women who have made as much of an influence as you have.”
“Fine, I will listen to her. But if she mentions anything about playing into little boys fantasies I am shooting her.” She turned her glare on Andy who had choked on a laugh when she mentioned fantasies and stormed out of the office.
He watched her go and groaned as he searched for his Advil. This started out at what he thought would be a great idea until he actually realized that he was going to have to convince Sharon to do it. He couldn’t threaten her job so he really had no leverage and he just had to keep hoping that she would agree. He didn’t see why she was so hesitant to this.
The Women Who Walk the Blue Line seemed like such a good idea when some girl named Andrea called from Runway. Apparently her boss Miranda had seen a picture of Sharon when she was going through pictures of high ranking officers in the police force across the county and wanted Sharon to be the face of the campaign. The idea, from what he had gathered, was to make these women seem more human and show their softer sides. He was surprised that Sharon had won from women all across the country but when he had actually taken the time to look at her he thought it made more sense. Her curves beckoned and she sashayed around the office in skirts and impossibly high heels that he had no idea how she walked in.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts from his captain’s surprisingly still perky breasts he reached for the phone. Time to call Andrea back and tell him about his problem.
“Miranda Priestly’s office,” a perky voice on the other end of the line answered at practically the first ring. Taylor’s eyebrows raised in surprise. How was it that possible to be that perky?
“Yes I would like to speak to Andrea please. This is Chief Taylor of the LAPD.”
“Hello Chief, this is Andrea. Did you have a chance to speak with Captain Raydor?” Andrea looked in at Miranda’s office and was surprised to see that she was standing at the door. She motioned for the call to be put on speaker.
“Yes I did, and she has some reservations about the whole thing. I have only managed to get her to agree to a meeting with the person in charge of the photoshoot. She feels like she is too old and not well liked enough in the LAPD and to quote her ‘a mother of three should not be prancing around in front of a camera.’ I am very sorry but I did try. Hopefully your boss can talk her into it.” Andy looked up at Miranda who had her eyebrows raised and was all but glaring at the phone. Clearly this Captain Raydor had no idea who she was dealing with. No one said no to Miranda Priestly. “Hello?” Taylor said after a minute of silence and Andy again looked at her boss. After another few seconds, Miranda nodded.
“She will be out on the first flight tomorrow morning. Tell Captain Raydor that we will be in touch as soon as we land, and that Miranda does not do late.”
“Miranda?” He asked. Who was this Miranda person?
“Miranda Priestly. The Editor in Chief of Runway?” She said with a questioning tone, still looking at Miranda who had moved on from glaring at the phone to looking almost confused.
Sharon was angry, no more than that, she was infuriated. How dare he volunteer her for such a thing? Just what she needed as soon as the major crimes team was just starting to respect her, now to be presented with this problem is not what she needed. Standing in front of the window into the murder room she saw Andy laughing with Rusty, her third child or so she thought of him. She realized she said she was the mother of three to Taylor and groaned, now something more to be concerned about.
Shaking her head and flipping her hair back she left her office to greet Rusty. “Hello Rusty, how was school?” She started calm, not knowing how she was going to bring up this conversation. How on earth do you tell your foster son that you have been hand chosen by some fashion magazine in New York to headline a campaign for high ranking women on the police force?
“Fine, what’s wrong with you, you are all jumpy.”
“Well Rusty, there is something I need to tell you and I need you to listen to me and wait until I finish for you to say anything. Okay?” Rusty looked nervous but nodded his head. Nothing good came from these conversations. “How do I start? Well ok, do you remember when I had a new picture taken for the policeman’s ball last year?” Rusty nodded so she continued, “well apparently it got further than just the ball, though I feel like that was embarrassing enough. Somehow a fashion magazine in New York got ahold of it and now they want me to be the headliner for some photoshoot they have that focuses on high ranking women in the police force. Why they chose me I will never know, but Taylor is on board with it and is trying to convince me to do it saying that the LAPD needs good press. I have only agreed to meeting with the Editor-in-Chief and said that I will keep an open mind and listen to what she has to say but I wanted to get your opinion on it.”
She looked around at the rest of the team, most of them who all but had their mouths open. She was not surprised, hearing that news she would probably react the same way. In fact she did. Her worry was for Rusty, he was just starting to settle back in after the trial and the last thing she wanted to do was to upset his normal.
Rusty for his part was stunned, they wanted Sharon to model? “Huh,” was unfortunately all he could come out with as he stared at her like he had never seen her before.
He stepped back and took a moment to really look at her, moving past the badge and gun clipped to her waist and the look of shock on her face he could see that she would be considered attractive. She was slender and not too tall and still carried herself with the grace of a dancer though it had been years since she had danced. With her hair all styled and her clothes always looking so put together she made a nice picture. He was proud to call her his foster mom and really she was becoming more and more just his mom. For some reason he found himself wanting her to do it. “I think you should do it.”
“What?!”
“Well I think it would be good for people to see you in a different light and who knows you may think its fun. I know you hate to be the center of attention but you should be proud that out of the whole country they picked you. They wanted you and this editor is flying across the country to try to convince you to be in the shoot. I would be flattered, plus as Taylor said it would be good press and you could show what’s its really like to be a captain.”
Sharon was stunned. She never thought of it that way, she was hand picked for something she didn’t offer herself for and clearly she was wanted so much that this person was willing to come across the country just for a meeting. “Well Rusty I never thought of it that way, it appears that I will have to give it more thought.” She turned to walk back into her office and called over her shoulder, “do your homework.” They all laughed as Rusty groaned, no matter how focused or distracted Sharon was, she never forgot Rusty, and it appeared to the team that being a parent to him was done without thought.
Miranda Priestly was annoyed that she had to fly all the way out L.A. all because she just had to have Captain Raydor as the spearhead of her photoshoot. The minute she stumbled upon her photo she was captivated by her green eyes, hidden behind black framed glasses. She perfectly balanced the look of pure power and feminine grace. Miranda was enthralled and she at once began to look up all that she could about Captain Sharon Raydor. During her research she found a video of the Captain chasing and restraining a suspect before drawing her gun on him. While it was clear that she was older than the average police officer, she clearly still had it and could be very intimidating when the time called for it.
So Miranda was shocked to find that the Captain didn’t want to be a part of the shoot and in fact had only agreed to sit down and talk with her. Miranda was not used to hearing no and she had already decided that Sharon Raydor was the best woman for the job and for Miranda and Runway only the best would do.
Sharon started her morning the same as she would any other day, with her five mile run. However today she felt extra frustration and she pushed her body farther that she normally would. Today was the day that she needed to meet with this editor-in-chief. She still couldn’t believe that she had somehow found herself in this situation.
Standing in front of her closet wrapped in a towel she was undecided. She could wear what she would normally wear to work and make a nice impression, or she could pull out all the stops and shock this woman. An almost evil smirk came across Sharon’s face. She would show her exactly what she wouldn’t get in her magazine.
Rusty was setting the table and getting Sharon’s first cup of coffee when he heard her distinctive click of her heels on the hardwood floor. He looked up and his mouth dropped, what on earth? “Sharon, wow. You look amazing!” She looked up from putting her earrings in and smiled at him.
“Not too much?” She slid her hands down the front of her black Armani suit which she paired with a crisp white blouse. Her feet were encased in her black Christian Lous. She completed her look with small diamond studs.
“No not at all, but Sharon why are you pulling out all the stops?” He looked her up at down again and his eyes bugged out when her looked more carefully about her shoes. “Aren’t those the red sole ones?” She smirked, and he groaned those shoes were over a thousand dollars. It was times like this when her wealth astonished him.
“Oh honey this is not all the stops. I decided that I want to have some fun and show this woman just how much she wants me to be in this shoot. It is always nice to be wanted, even if this is for her own gain.”
“Sharon, are you lonely?” He had a feeling that there was more to this than meets the eye. It had been six months since the divorce had been finalized and he hasn’t seen her go on a date and when he thought about it, he had not seen her go on a date in over the two years he had been living with her.
“What? No honey of course not, I have you.”
“Sharon, I meant dating. When was the last time you had a relationship?” She groaned, she was not in the mood to have this conversation over morning coffee. “This is a conversation that will take longer than breakfast will allow. But I will tell you that yes it has been awhile since I have had a relationship, almost 4 years. And yes there are times when I would like to have that again, but I have my work and I have you and that makes me so very happy.” She hugged him and motioned him towards the door.
Rusty walked behind her thinking to himself, she didn’t have a relationship for 4 years and he knew that part of it was because of him. He mother was always bringing home guys and he told Sharon just how much he hated that. If he knew Sharon, and he was almost positive he was right about this, then he knew that she gave up that part of her life for him. That thought weighted heavily on his mind as he slid into the car next to her and she drove off to the office.
Lt Flynn was trying to complete his paperwork so the Captain could close out the case. But as always he was suffering from a lack of motivation, solving the cases he could do, chasing down clues and suspects he could do. The endless paperwork that calm after they solved the case, that was something he never got used to and dreaded having to complete. When Brenda was still in charge of major crimes, importance on the completion of paperwork was not always enforced but now that Sharon was in charge, she made sure that rules were followed to the letter and that meant completing paperwork within the guidelines.
While he was twirling his pen around his finger, wondering how much it would cost him to bride Amy to finish his for him, he heard the clicks of heels on the tile floor. He rolled his eyes when he heard the shuffling of Rusty walking behind her and he turned to say hello to them. The minute he caught a glance of Sharon he dropped his pen and stared. He couldn’t help it, she looked amazing. She had clearly decided to turn up the volume today and it had worked. Her suit clung to her curves and her hair fell in perfectly tousled waves.
Sharon led the way with Rusty following so she could get him settled in his cubicle. It may be summer vacation but he had a lot of studying to do and she didn’t want him to get behind just because there was all this excitement at work. Once he was settled and his laptop was loading she brushed the hair off his forehead and smiled and handed him a $20 from her wallet in case he got hungry and she was not there.
Miranda was experiencing one of the worst flights in her life, all because of Captain Sharon Raydor. Miranda had told Andrea to get her two seats on the first flight into L.A., and that she didn’t care what flight or what seat. Well Andrea had succeeded and they were flying out surprisingly fast, although in coach with a screaming baby.
Miranda and Andrea had never been so close, squished together in these oh so uncomfortable seats. They had both brought their laptops in the thought that they could get some work done but because they were sitting so close they would practically have to be arm in arm for them both to type they quickly vetoed that idea.
Miranda was now shifting in her seat attempting to get comfortable, while Andrea was watching a movie with her hands firmly in her lap. One of the unwritten rules, you never touch Miranda Priestly. Though Miranda really wanted to make Andrea take those headphones out and run off a list of demands that she wanted done yesterday she knew that Emily was probably taking care of everything and that there was very little Andrea could accomplish on a plane, so she leaned back and thought about her upcoming meeting.
By lunchtime Sharon was beginning to regret her outfit for the day. Oh she looked good and she knew it but so far she had two men drop things they were carrying and two stop to watch her walk away. And the women, they weren’t much better, Amy couldn’t look her in eye and kept staring at her legs. And Andrea, she had all but asked her out, or at least she asked her chest out.
Sharon was flattered but it did making getting anything done a lot harder. And she really couldn’t understand the change in attitude, yes her heels and suit were better quality than she would wear to work but there was nothing else that was different and she wears Prada heels to work almost everyday and no one says anything.
Miranda had never been so happy to get off a plane in her life, and now all she wanted to do was to go to the hotel and freshen up before she went to her meeting. Luckily she had scheduled to meet with Chief Taylor first so he could give her some advice on talking to the Captain and to give Miranda some more detail into her background in the LAPD.
Freshly showered and in her trademark Prada, Miranda Priestly strode into LAPD headquarters. Andrea had once again proven herself useful and Chief Taylor was waiting in the lobby. She hummed low in her throat and realized that once this nonsense was taken care of that she really did need to think about what she was going to do when Andrea’s year was up.
Chief Taylor was feeling like a fool as he stood in the lobby. He had received a call from Andrea saying that Miranda was on her way and that he should be waiting in the lobby so he could escort her around. Groaning he agreed and once again hoped beyond hope that Sharon would agree and that all this would not be for nothing.
He heard the clicks of heels on the tile floor of the lobby and immediately thought it was Sharon as she was the only one around here who wore heels everyday. He was also more than slightly impressed when he saw her chase down a suspect in those skyscrapers. When he looked up however, he saw who he could only assume to be Miranda Priestly striding towards him with her assistant walking slightly behind her seemingly talking non-stop.
Miranda held up her hand when she reached Chief Taylor and in the instant Andrea fell quiet. “Chief Taylor, good afternoon.” God her voice, the sexy drawl. What was it with all these women and their voices? Sharon and her oh so husky and slightly raspy tone. And this Miranda with her ever so quiet tone that made you think of all the things you wanted to do to her, and yet knowing that you never would. You could only hope that she would shake your hand because that would be as close to touching her as you would ever get. Oh yes Chief Taylor understood these women and suddenly he didn’t care so much about the photo shoot, no he just wanted these two powerhouses to go against each other.
“Miranda, how good to finally meet you. Sharon and her team are in Major Crimes wrapping up a case right now. Would you please follow me?” She as expected refused the offer of the handshake and instead handed her purse to Andrea and removed her glasses in a move that should be illegal. A lock of white hair fell in front of her eye and she flipped it back with a practiced toss of her head and for a moment her piercing blue eyes landed on his. He lifted his hand as to motion her towards the elevator and with a nod to Andrea, she followed.
Three people in the elevator, Miranda was in the elevator with two other people, willingly. Had the world ended? She was just standing there listening to the Chief babble on and on about the LAPD and its history and successes. She was just mummering and nodding in all the right places. What was going on?
Andy was once again working on his paperwork with the rest of the team while Sharon was bouncing between paperwork and strange pacing around her office. Was she nervous? Upset? Angry? A combination of the three? Just when he was about to give up again on the paperwork and go in to try to get her to sit down because he is positive that those skyscrapers she has forced herself to wear to appease the fashion gods were not comfortable, the door opened.
The clicks of heels on the tile made him think Sharon but a glance up showed him that she was still in her office. He looked over at Louie with raised eyebrows but before either of them could say anything, the Chief appeared with two women behind him.
Amy gasped, Miranda Priestly in the flesh standing in the middle of Major Crimes. She shot up and was across the room before anyone could blink, “Miranda Priestly its so good to meet you. I love your magazine.” Miranda looked the girl up and down before saying, “clearly you have not taken the advice to heart my dear.” Andrea covered her smirk with her hand, and Chief Taylor stepped up. “Captain Raydor is in her office right now, if you will come with me?” Shooting a glance back at Amy that clearly said ‘shut up.’
Sharon looked up when she heard the commotion outside her office but didn’t care enough to go out and save Amy from drowning in front of Miranda Priestly. Oh yes she knew of Miranda Priestly and she was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation.
“Sharon, this is Miranda Priestly. She has come all this way from New York to talk to you about her upcoming photoshoot. If you would be so kind and hear her out that would be appreciated.” And with that Chief Taylor stepped out with Andrea and shut the door behind him, leaving the two powerhouses alone.
“Captain,” Miranda started as she looked at the woman who was leaning against her desk in a black Armani suit with black Christian Lous on her feet and she knew that if Sharon were to lift her foot she would see the trademark red sole. This was clearly a woman who knew fashion. Miranda was even more impressed than before.
“Well, well, Miranda Priestly is here in my office. I am supposed to give you the benefit of the doubt and I agreed with Chief Taylor that I would listen to you honestly so that is what I will do. But I will tell you that the stakes are high against you.” She looked the woman up and down and was pleasantly surprised at how attractive she was. She motioned for the woman to sit and settled herself behind her desk as she prepared for a trying conversation.
“Captain, when I thought up this idea I really had no intention of using you as the figurehead for the photoshoot. My assistant was sending me pictures of all these woman and while some of them were right to be in the shoot, none of them had that certain something I was looking for. I was so frustrated one day that I gave up on work and turned to the news for something to distract myself. Well there you were.” Miranda finished rather abruptly not wanting to give too much away, rather wait to see what the Captain would say in response.
“First of all please call me Sharon, the only people who call me Captain walk the blue line.” Miranda nodded her acceptance, “and second while I am flattered I think that you may have to get your eyes checked. I am 60 years old and the divorced mother of three. Besides that I worked for FID and IA for most of my career, I am one of the most hated women in this building. They call me Darth Raydor, I am not the person to headline your campaign.”
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t follow from the research I have done and all the articles about you you seem to be a great benefit to the LAPD. And from the way all your detectives are glaring at me through the window I would say that you have quite a bit of respect.” Miranda chanced another glance over her shoulder and found all of the major crimes squad gathered around one another some with their hands on their service weapons in the off chance that the fashion editor was going to vault across the desk and beat their Captain. Sharon looked up and smirked at her detectives and their protective nature. “See? They don’t seem to think you are Darth RAydor, at least not anymore. Now I have no idea the person you were before and all I know is the picture that the papers painted of you but I saw you chase down suspects in your heels and fire your gun without so much as a flinch. That has to be worth something and that is the point I am trying to make. That there is so much more than a job title. Yes you are a Captain and a very good one at that no doubt but as you said you are also a mother and are divorced. What is beyond the blue line?” Miranda was unused to feeling as though she didn’t have the upperhand. The Chief had told her that Sharon had only agreed to talk to her and that was only a because she was professional enough to not leave him hanging. But Miranda knew she was far from convinced and it would take a lot more than Miranda’s smooth talking to convince her.
Sharon sat back in her chair and sighed, “I’ll make you a deal. You have to see how it really is to do my job and to be me and I will consider your request. You fail to take this seriously and I will personally escort you to the airport. Understand.” Sharon looked over the top of her glasses, tempting the woman to say something in defense. Miranda tilted her head in consideration for a moment not sure what agreeing would mean for her, but she more than ever felt that this powerhouse was perfect. Maybe spending time with her would benefit and she would get the chance to see Sharon in action. She nodded.