The Photoshoot
“Fine, come with me. I am late for an autopsy.” Miranda blanched, oh god. Sharon saw the look of pure fear on Miranda’s face and sighed, “don’t worry, I won’t make you come in the room with me, but you must wait outside. It will give you just enough of a taste of an autopsy, or rather the smell.” Sharon strode from the room, stopping in front of the murder board to address her team. “This is Miranda Priestly, she is here to try to convince to be in her photoshoot highlighting women in the police force across the country. She will be following me around, when it is safe, and should be respected and any questions she has should be answered with respect. You will treat her as a part of the team and remember that she does not have a gun when we go out in the field, you will protect her.” She turned her glare around at her team until they all nodded their acceptance, knowing that their jobs got a new level of difficulty.
Miranda hurried after Sharon as she turned on her heel and took off for the elevator. She looked over Sharon and noticed something missing, “Why do you not carry your gun and badge?”
“I do, just not when we are in the building. There are guards at the front gate as well as all the staircases, elevators, and office doors are locked and we all carry badges that we swipe to gain access. In addition, the windows are bulletproof, we are safe here.” Sharon stated as she swiped her badge and walked into the outer autopsy room. Miranda stepped back when the smell hit her nose, “oh god, how can you stand that smell?”
Sharon smirked as she donned her over clothes and turned back to Miranda, “you get used to it, and this is not bad at all really. I have dealt with far worse. Wait here, I should not be long, this seems to be a simple gunshot wound.” Sharon tied her hair up and entered the room.
Sharon could feel her eyes on her as she discussed the autopsy with Moralas, but as so often was the case with him the conversation quickly stayed from the body laying between them. “Who is that gorgeous shadow you seem to have gained.”
“Why Dr, I didn’t think you turned your head for the fairer sex? At least that is what you told me, however that could have been just to gain access to my pool last week.” Sharon smirked and fought the urge to look behind her where she knew she was being studied.
“No my dear, that is all your territory, now dish.”
“You are a terrible gay if you do not know that the woman is Miranda Priestly, Editor in Chief of Runway. She is doing a photoshoot for women in high ranking positions with the Police forces across America and she somehow came across me and she wants me to be the focus of the shoot. Why I have no idea. Taylor loves the idea and wants me to do it, however he realizes that he cannot force me to partake in the shoot so he is only convincing me to listen to her. However the team and more importantly Rusty think it is a good idea so I am considering it, providing she can follow me around and really see what it is like to be me. Then maybe she will understand why parading an overaged police captain is not a good idea. Nor would I look any good in whatever get-up she is thinking up.”
“Why Sharon, why are you protesting so much, this is amazing. You are amazing and you have made major accomplishments. You should be proud of yourself, not to mention you in no way look your age and there are women half your age who would kill to either have your body or “have your body” if you know what I mean.” She rolled her eyes at this and turned to leave, stating, “you are not helping at all. Send me the files soon?” He nodded he agreement and she bustled out of the room almost running over Miranda who had been watching from the door.
“How can you watch that?” She asked shuddering and feeling slightly queasy. Sharon immediately wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her out of the room and into the hall where there was a bench near where the used over clothes would be thrown in. She felt awful, she remembered what it was like to watch her first one and she felt like she pushed too far, though she was impressed that Miranda stayed and watched. Now she could feel the effects though as she felt the slight body next to her tremble.
“Can you walk to my office?” She asked in a low tone, her voice going husky whenever she was worried. “I have tea and you should have a piece of hard candy, the sugar will jolt your system and get the smell out of your nose.” Miranda nodded and seemed to visibly become stronger and all emotions on her face dropped away and her eyes turned cold.
“I am fine. You can let go of me.” Miranda said harshly and Sharon stepped back in shock. Well this in front of her was not the Miranda she had been talking to, no this was “The Devil in Prada.” Sharon knew very well about turning on and off the persona that the public believed and using it to her advantage, so Sharon in response pulled “Darth Raydor” out of hiding.
“Very well,” and she turned and strode off down the hallway. The murder room could feel the temperature drop when Sharon walked back in and they all sighed under their breath. What did this woman do to piss off the Captain? They looked back and saw Miranda following Sharon into the murder room but stopping short of Sharon’s office as she had already shut the door and was behind her desk and clearly showed no chance of looking up.
“What did you do? She was just starting to become human, and if Rusty finds out you set her off into that mood you will have something far worse than Darth Raydor to be concerned with.” Provenza said annoyed as he looked from Sharon’s imposing figure behind her desk to the woman who was standing in the office clearly upset and closed off but also wondering where she was to go. When she had no response Andy called for Rusty to come out.
Sharon was fuming in the office, upset that it only took a few hours for the true Miranda Priestly to show. Sharon wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed that Miranda showed her true colors or that she reacted in such a way that it caused her to bring back the old “Darth Raydor.” She knew what Miranda Priestly was like, everyone did, but she really thought that from the woman she saw in her office, that it would be different.
While Sharon was pacing the length of her office, Rusty was staring Miranda down. “You upset her! Don’t you know what she has done for all of us? She has been hated for years while she stood by and took it, so she could do what was right for the LAPD. She accepted she was hated because she knew she was doing what was right. And that is nothing to say of her personal life, which you clearly do not know anything about or you would not treat her the way you have. All I know is you have hurt my mother and I do not stand by when someone hurts her. So you will go in there and fix it.” Rusty was fuming and the team was standing around shocked. This was the first time they heard Rusty refer to Sharon as his mother though they all knew that it was coming.
Miranda was stunned, this child was yelling at her and demanding that she go in and fix things. Did he not know who she was? She was Miranda Priestly. She did not beg for forgiveness. He was clearly mistaken, but then she looked up into his eyes and saw past the anger and looked at him as a mother and saw a child trying so hard to do what was right for his mother. No she may not have given birth to him, that much Miranda knew from her research but this child was ready to fight for her they way any son would fight for his mother. And she was willing to bet without a doubt that Sharon would lay her life down for this child standing in front of her. No Miranda Priestly did not say she was sorry or make amends, but Miranda the mother would, and with a resigned sigh she stood and approached the door with a wary look in her eye. Round two in the Captain’s office was not going to be pretty.
“Sharon, may I come in?” Miranda said as she approached the threshold carefully, while she may be the ice queen, this woman carried a gun and was apparently a great shot. Treading lightly was the key, at least until she was aware of where Sharon’s gun was. Miranda was greeted with Captain Raydor sitting behind her desk, her bright green eyes dulled with anger and hidden behind her glasses.
“Ms. Priestly, is there something I can offer you? Do you need a ride back to your hotel?” Sharon stated as she signed her name with a flourish. She was so frustrated with this woman who was standing in front of her. She asked her one thing, to take her job seriously and to value her time and the time she was taking to spend with her. They had not made it two hours before Miranda’s true character came to the surface. Sharon was battling her emotions, as angry as she was with the woman who stood in front of her, she was also so touched by what Rusty had said about her. And more importantly, he had called her his mother. She wanted to get through this day and treat Rusty as a way to thank him for being so sweet to her.
“Yes, you can allow me the chance to explain my actions. I reacted out of habit when you were only trying to help me. The situation was something I was not expecting and when I feel off balance, I tend to bring out the Ice Queen act. For that I am sorry, and that is something that I don’t often say. Your son came out and appealed to the only side of me that would have me in here explaining myself; my children. You should be proud of him, he spoke very highly of you.” Miranda found herself dragging her eyes away from Sharon’s hands as they flipped her pen through her fingers and followed strong arms that rested on her desk up to strong shoulders that she now knew carried so much weight. Gentle curves rested on them that hinted at a feminine side that was hiding behind the Captain mask. Those piercing green eyes were clouded with emotions and Miranda could practically see the wheels turning behind Sharon’s eyes.
Finally she sighed and motioned with her hand, “please sit down. I can hardly allow you to take all blame when I too played a part. A part of me wanted you to react the way you did so I would no longer have to entertain the thought of this photoshoot. I still think that I am way too old to be a part of this, but I also realize that you do seem to have an interest in my job and for that I will try my best to give you a real glimpse.” Sharon glanced out of her office at her team plus Rusty who were all looking very worried. She smiled and motioned with her hands that they should all get back to work. You could almost feel the tension leave the room. She turned back to Miranda and showed her what she was working on. “Okay, welcome to real police work; all the paperwork and it all must be done three times. By hand. It is a real pain, there is a lot that can be done on the computer but for us ‘high ranking officers’ we are expected to put pen to paper quite often.” Miranda came around to look over Sharon’s shoulder and bent over to see what she was writing. She saw the sheer amount of information that she was expected to write and recall from memory it seemed as there were no case files littering her desk or nearby table. Amazing.
Sharon felt the heat rolling off Miranda as she bent over to look at the work. When she flipped her lock of hair behind her ear she got a wave of perfume that knocked her in the solar plexus. God Sharon this is not the time for your libido to make a reappearance. She mentally shook her head and pulled on her years of self control to but a lid on these emotions. She knew that there was a chance of this happening, after all Miranda was a very beautiful woman. A very straight beautiful woman she reminded her libido as she felt herself settle.
If Sharon was honest with herself she had not taken the time for herself lately. When Rusty came into her life and she learned more about his mother, she didn’t want to be a repeat of the original Sharon so she put her personal life on the shelf to focus on the troubled teen. Now he was settling but she wasn’t sure if he was ready fro the bisexual aspect of her life. In short, Sharon was on edge all the time and batteries only did so much. She missed the touch of another woman, the mixed scent of perfume, sweat and a unique scent that was just her. She craved it at this point and the almost burning heat rolling off Miranda was not helping. She needed to gather herself and fast.
Miranda meanwhile was confused and wondering why Sharon stopped writing and almost seemed to tense up. Was she uncomfortable? Feeling that she may have crowed the complex woman who was a great shot she backed away. She had a feeling that if she ever made Sharon really mad, she may not walk out alive. She saw a flash of anger in those green eyes when Miranda leashed out the ice queen but as quickly as it came, it was gone. This was clearly a woman who had almost complete control of herself at all time.
As Miranda sat back across the desk from Sharon, she pulled out her phone to go through emails under the impression that she was checking emails. She really wanted another chance to see this woman and watch what she would do. The way she held herself in the chair, you could see the restrained nature and that she was a powerhouse. She walked with confidence and power and spoke softly but strong. A almost husky voice Miranda thought. Was that a concsous choince of by chance? The clothes she wore, while very feminine they had a very structured sense. She was clearly aware of herself and her body but she knew that she was part of a man’s world and fit in.
Where Miranda knew as an Editor in Chief she too was in a man’s world, but she was very vast in clothing choice. Sometimes choosing to be soft and gentle and then the next day very severe. Miranda was sure that Sharon was never the one to be soft here. She was all hard edges, but outside of work. Was she still the same person?
Sharon felt Miranda’s eyes on her as she “checked” her emails. Did the woman think she was born yesterday? She was a detective and was very good and knowing when people were looking at her. This however was different than the looks she was used to getting, it wasn’t lust like the men and sometimes women gave her. It wasn’t disdain that she still got when she walked the halls, and it wasn’t a mix of awe and confusion that she got most of time in the halls from the younger officers. She knew that Miranda was making a judgement but what she was judging, Sharon could not tell you and that bothered her. She decided to keep her cool and wait it out, the chance would come to learn more about this woman.
“Sharon?” Rusty asked as he poked his head in her office. Her head shot up and she smiled at him. “Yes Rusty?”
“I was just wondering how much longer you were going to be, I’m hungry.” He looked down, he was still embarrassed to ask her for anything in front of other people. He also felt like people thought that he was using her.
Sharon looked down at her watch and her eyes widened comically, “Oh, honey. I’m sorry, I’m going to be just a little longer. I’ll pack this up and finish it at home. Would you like to call for thai and we can pick it up on our way home?” She smiled warmly at him, as to ease him that it was okay to ask her for anything. He just nodded and took off out of her office towards his phone. “Get my usual,” she called after him and he waved back towards her that he already knew.
She smiled and shook her head before picking up her office. “I am sorry but I need to get home, teenage boys they are always hungry.” She said to Miranda who smiled and replied, “oh not a problem, we can touch base tomorrow and see if maybe we could talk more about your history with the LAPD and who Captain Raydor is when she is not a Captain.” Miranda said as she dug through her bag for her personal business cards with her personal line on it. She handed it to Sharon who took it with a slight smile and put it in her pocket. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow, I am planning on going to one of the LAPD gyms tomorrow if you would like to come. See the high ranking officers work out?” She laughed as they walked out of her office and she closed the door.
Miranda nodded and told her that they would touch base tomorrow before pulling out her phone and calling her assistant as she walked out of Major Crimes. When she reached the elevators she looked back and noticed Sharon and Rusty at the door and she was brushing hair out of his face and though he looked like any other teenager he was tolerating the notion. As they walked out he dropped an arm around her shoulders and she tossed her head back and laughed at something he said. Miranda’s mind exploded with an image of Sharon’s head tossed back for an entirely different reason and she felt her face heat up. SHe slipped into the elevator and jabbed her finger on the close door button so she wouldn’t have to share the small space with the very observant Captain who would most likely notice that something was off with her. Her last thought before she put on her glasses and exited the elevator to her waiting assistant was, where did that thought come from and why was it so arousing?