A New Chapter (Part 6)

[girlie_girl_23]

Title: A New Chapter - Part 6: Interesting Developments
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada/Lipstick Jungle
Pairing(s): Will be Miranda/Andy. Other Lipstick Jungle pairings as well
Rating: PG-13 for now
Spoilers: Entirety of the movie and the TV Show
Summary: Andy thinks she's escaping the world of fashion, but she's really just entering the jungle.
Author's Notes: See Prologue. Also, I want to thank you all so much for the lovely comments. I'm so glad you're all enjoying this. And I will reply to all of them soon. For now though, I give you a much longer update than usual. Things are finally starting to happen! ;-) Also, in this chapter, a real life person makes an appearance. I do not own this person and am not in any way affiliated with them. So ya know... just borrowing them.




Victory arrived at Runway fifteen minutes before the meeting time, as per Andy’s instructions. When she walked into the office, a redhead woman rushed towards her. “There you are! For god’s sake, what took you so long? She’s been waiting!” The woman had a British accent and appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Emily.

Victory merely smiled and followed along behind her into Miranda’s office. Two clackers came along behind Victory with the racks and bags of her clothes. Miranda was sitting behind her desk and a fashionably dressed man was standing behind her. He offered her a hint of a smile, although it looked strained. Nigel.

And then there was Miranda Priestly herself, sitting at her desk like a queen at her thrown. Victory had to fight the urge to bow, and instead walked forward confidently, putting her hand in front of her. “Hello, Miranda,” Always call her Miranda, never Ms. Priestly “I’m Victory Ford, and I just wanted to thank you again so much for even considering me-“

Miranda waved her hand in a dismissive manner, shut up when she does that, and sighed. “I know who you are. There is no need to bore me with details I am already aware of. Show me your collection. Now.”

No matter what happens, don’t let her scare you. Just do as she says. Victory turned to the two racks. “It’s right here. This is my more formal collection and this is-“ This time she shut up before Miranda had finished raising her hand. Nigel looked impressed.

Miranda stood and moved over to the racks, and Victory easily stepped back to give her space. She’ll pick over everything. Let her. Miranda began to go through the gowns first, sliding the hangers back and forth, pulling some of them off, holding them up, putting them back. Victory remained silent during all of this.

“Emily. Get me a model.” The redhead scurried away as though her life depended on it. Which it probably did.

A tall blonde entered the room a few seconds later and Miranda thrust a dress at her. Take only size four or below. The other sizes don’t exist at Runway. She put the dress on and then was poked, prodded, twisted and turned every which way possible while Miranda and Nigel both examined her and spoke in low tones. Finally they stopped and Miranda inclined her head once. One nod. Good. Victory bit her tongue to keep from smiling.

The same process was repeated for the remaining gowns that had been the sketches Andy had sent over. The next two each got a nod, and the green wrap dress that Victory and Andy had agonized over for nearly an hour before deciding on it, got two inclines. Two nods. Very good. There was a metallic taste of blood in her mouth, but Victory’s face remained impassive.

Finally they reached the last of the gowns, the red dress. It was Victory’s personal favorite, and she knew it was the best of all the ones she’d done. She was on pins and needles waiting for Miranda’s reaction. This time Miranda merely had the model turn once before she reacted. Her lips moved forward into a purse. Catastrophe.

Victory felt like she would cry or throw up, but she steeled herself. She wasn’t even supposed to be aware of what the purse meant yet. She would act calm. She would smile. She would not cry.

“Emily.” Miranda intoned and Victory felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. This was it. She would be thrown out of Runway because of one bad design. She would never work in this town again. It was all over. “A brunette model.”

Everything in the room seemed to stop at those words. Emily’s eyes bugged out as though she’d never heard of a brunette model before and even Nigel looked surprised. What was going on? “Before I die, Emily.” And with that, the redhead was off.

Miranda’s eyes turned on the blonde model. “Take the dress off.” The model did as she was told quickly and handed Miranda the dress. Miranda looked her up and down briefly. “That’s all.” The model grabbed her clothes and quickly fled the office. The only person who even reacted to the fact that a half naked model was walking around Runway was the girl sitting at the other desk outside. But she didn’t say anything at all. The new me. Or, the new Emily, I guess.

The brunette model entered then and Miranda handed her the gown. This time the poking and prodding was back, but Miranda still didn’t look pleased. At one point she reached up and unclasped the clip holding her hair up. The model looked frightened and Nigel looked confused as her hair fell just above her shoulders. Once again Miranda pursed her lips, and once again Victory fought back tears.

This time she didn’t even tell the model to remove the dress, she merely turned her back and headed towards her desk. “That’s all.” The model quickly slipped out of the dress and handed it to Nigel before fleeing much as the last had.

Victory had no idea what to do as Miranda sat back and her desk and looked her up and down. “You put that outfit together?”

Do not ramble. One word answers are best, if at all possible. “Yes.” Truthfully the outfit was the one Andy had put together on the model that first day in her store - the skirt, shirt, leggings, and low boots - but she didn’t say that. Do not mention me. Ever.

Miranda nodded once. Then she turned and looked at Nigel. Nigel in turn moved over towards Victory, his arm outstretched. Victory turned and allowed him to guide her out of the office. When she dismisses you, leave. Don’t ask any questions, don’t say goodbye, just leave.

Victory waited until they were standing in one of the conference rooms before she questioned Nigel. “What just happened?”

Nigel smiled at her. “Honey, you’re in.”

Victory’s eyes opened wide. “W-what?”

“You are our featured artist for December. As long as you don’t screw it up.”

Victory wanted to scream and cry and laugh and dance and kiss Nigel full on the mouth, but she held it all in, remaining as calm as she possibly could. “Oh my god.”

“You’ll need to sign some contracts. You will also now need to be available at all times for Miranda.” All times means all times. Miranda doesn’t care if it’s two in the morning, she will call you and expect you to be expecting her call. Victory nodded.

Nigel studied her a bit more closely. “You did good in there. She must have trained you well.” Victory made no reply. She wouldn’t play dumb, but she wouldn’t respond either.

“Where did Six find you?”

“Maybe I found her.”

“Tell her I said thank you. For everything.”

“I will.”

**

Andy had just finished giving Nico her portfolio when her private line rang. They looked at each other anxiously. “Hello?”

Victory’s screams once again alerted them to the good news. Andy beamed. Good for her. She nodded her agreement when Nico asked if she would attend the celebratory dinner that night. Yes. It would be fun to celebrate Victory’s good fortune.

**

Andy walked into Nico’s office, her Bluetooth in her ear, pad and pencil in hand, ready to take down whatever it was that Nico needed for the day. But Nico was sitting back, holding a folder and smiling at her. “Your work is good, Andy. Really good.”

“Oh. I um,” She had just given Nico the sample portfolio the day before and they’d been out the night before with Victory. She didn’t expect Nico to have looked at it yet. “Thank you.”

“Kirby was right. You’d be great for Bonfire. I have something that I’d like you to try to write for me.”

“Really?” Andy’s head was spinning. She couldn’t believe this.

Nico slid a folder toward her. “Really. Take a look, tell me what you think.”

Andy picked up the folder, doing her best not to let her hands shake. She scanned over the paper in the folder and instantly her expression changed. Her brow furrowed and a frown appeared on her face. She cleared her throat for a second and then looked up to meet Nico’s eyes. She shook her head slightly. “I can’t do this.”

“Can’t?”

Andy took a breath. “Won’t. And truthfully I can’t believe that you asked me to. Or that Bonfire would ever run something like this.” The assignment had basically been to write a tell all about her time working for Miranda, although Miranda’s name had been left out. “It’s - it’s childish, is what it is. Yes, Miranda Priestly is difficult to work for. Yes, she can be a bitch. But you of all people should understand that most of that label comes because you are a woman working in a man’s world. If you wanted me to write this, then I would have to write about you too. Because it says working for a demanding female executive, and you and I both know that you can have your Miranda days. But no, Nico, I won’t write this. If that means that I can’t write for Bonfire, or even that you don’t want me as your assistant any more, then so be it. But I won’t compromise my principles this way. I won’t attack her, just so that I can feel better. And after the way Wendy was attacked by her ex-nanny, I can’t believe you’d want me to. If you published it, you’d be no better than Janice Lasher. And I know that you’re better than that.”

Nico studied Andy for a minute. She didn’t know that Andy knew about the incident with Wendy and Mariska and Janice Lasher. “This isn’t what you want to write?”

“No.” Andy had never been more certain of anything in her life.

“What do you want to write, Andy?”

“Something that matters.”

Nico’s face remained impassive for a few more minutes before she smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Here.” Now she slid another folder forward to Andy.

“What is this?” Andy was confused as to what was going on.

“Something that matters. Or at least, something to start you out on. It might not change the world, but I think you’d be great for it.”

Andy looked at the assignment in this folder. It was for an article on creative copyrights on clothing designs. “So wait, this was a test?”

Nico shrugged. “It was… it just was.”

“What if I’d have agreed?”

“I would have let you write it. You could have gotten your feelings out, and then I would have just said we decided not to use it and assigned something else to you.”

Andy stared at Nico. “Andy? I knew you would say no.” And Andy believed her.

“You know, if you wanted to know what it was like, you could just ask me about it directly.”

“Would you tell me?”

She considered for a few seconds. “I don’t know,” was the answer she settled on.

Nico nodded. “Maybe sometime we’ll find out. For now, I really do think you’d be great for that article. But I’m going to need it in two weeks. And I might have a few other small pieces for you. Do you think you can handle it?”

“Absolutely.” Andy replied quickly.

“Good. Now, one other thing. There’s a benefit tomorrow night that I have to attend. I’d like you to come with me.”

“What?” The last time she’d attended any benefit it had been as Miranda’s assistant. And while being Nico’s assistant was far different than being Miranda’s, the idea of going to a benefit scared her for various reasons. Not the least of which was that Miranda herself could be there.

“I’d like you to come a benefit with me tomorrow night.”

“I - I can’t.” Andy stuttered.

“Can’t?” Nico’s brows raised.

Andy decided to change tactics. “Why do you need me there? Wendy and Victory and Kirby will be there right?”

“Wendy and Victory will be yes, but Wendy will have Shane and Victory will be networking I’m sure. And Kirby isn’t coming to the function as a guest.”

Andy opened her mouth to ask what she meant, when it clicked in her head. Kirby had mentioned that he was working for a catering company, doing some waiting to earn extra money. “Nico -“

“Andy, please. I know it might be a bit unpleasant, but no more so for you than any of the rest of us.” That’s what you think, Andy thought to herself, but said nothing. “We won’t even stay very long. Just long enough to be seen.”

Andy sighed. If she was still working for Miranda, this conversation would never have taken place. Miranda would have told her she was going to the benefit and she would’ve been there. Nico was almost on the verge of begging. How could she really say no? She’d just make sure that they left well before Miranda’s late arrival. If Miranda was even invited to the party. Oh hell, who was she kidding? Miranda was invited to every party.

“I don’t know what I’m going to wear.” She smiled slightly.

A relieved smile broke out on Nico’s face. “I think I know some people who can help with that. I’ll call Wendy and Victory and have them meet us on 5th in an hour if you can rearrange my schedule.”

Andy nodded in the affirmative and headed out to her desk to work her magic. Shopping came before the meeting with Griffin that was scheduled. Now she just had to convince him of that.

**

The four women had been shopping for nearly an hour and everyone had found a dress but Andy. The benefit’s theme was ‘black & white’ so Victory had picked a striking black and white striped gown, while Wendy and Nico had both gone with basic black. It was very easy to find a great little black dress, but Andy was determined to find a white dress. She had worn black to every benefit she had attended with Miranda and was not ready or willing to stand behind Nico wearing black. The symbolism was too much for her, so white it would be.

They had looked nearly everywhere on 5th Avenue and it was Victory who had suggested stopping by James’ studio. Andy had balked at the idea, not wanting to see James, but Victory had prevailed. In the end it hadn’t matter because James was away from the studio for the day. And within five minutes Andy had found what she was looking for.

“I think this is it, you guys.” She called as she stepped out of the dressing room.

“Oh wow,” Wendy breathed.

“Turn,” Victory instructed and Andy did as she was told.

The dress was a gorgeous, snowy white. It was a haltered top with a keyhole front that showed just a hint of Andy’s cleavage. The skirt was bias-cut with godet inserts, giving it a bit more fullness instead of just falling straight. And as she turned, the ladies saw that her back was exposed from the neck down to the small of her back, where it had ruching where the dress finally came back together. The halter was detailed with small, shiny beads that glittered in the light. Andy looked like an angel in the dress.

“It’s perfect, Andy.” Victory smiled and Nico nodded her agreement.

“It is pretty perfect, isn’t it?” Andy grinned. She had never been much for fashion before Runway, but there was something that was delicious about being a gown like this, feeling so beautiful and fashionable. She loved that feeling.

She made quick work of changing out of the gown and back into her regular clothes before heading toward the front of the studio to purchase it. It was very expensive, but she needed something to wear for the benefit and she didn’t mind so much because it was James. She still adored him and his clothes and was pleased to give him her business.

When she went to pay for the gown however, Nico placed her company credit card down on the counter.

“What are you doing?” Andy asked her.

“This dress is on me. Or, well, Bonfire.” Nico smiled.

Andy’s eyes widened. “Oh no, Nico. No, absolutely not.”

“Andy, I’m making you come to this benefit. Bonfire will pay for your dress.”

“Nico!” She tried to protest again, but Nico was already signing the credit card slip. She sighed in defeat. This was getting too close to Runway for her liking. But the dress was white and Nico was being, so she gave in.

“Nico,” she caught her arm as they walked out of the studio, “I really do appreciate this. But from now on, I buy my own clothes, okay?”

“Okay.”

**

Andy was free to mingle around the benefit, which was a major change from the days when she’d been attached to Miranda’s hip, whispering guests’ names into her ear. She had already run into James, who had been absolutely delighted to see her wearing his gown, and whom she had quickly slipped away from before he could remember to question her presence at the event. She had also caught sight of both Nigel and Emily, which had sent her stomach into knots because it was obvious that Miranda would be coming to the benefit. She did her best to steer clear of them, and was also avoiding being seen with Victory so as not to push her luck before the December issue was actually published.

Because of all the avoiding, she had ended up back in a corner of the room, and had just snagged a glass of champagne from a waiter when Griffin found her. “Hello Mr. Bell,” she nodded politely at him.

“Hello, Andy. You look stunning this evening.” Her dress sparkled in the light and her hair was swept up in a French twist with just a few locks left down and curled around her face. Little gems were also shining from various positions in her hair.

“Thank you.” She smiled, and then, offhandedly added, “I’m glad you think so, because Bonfire paid for the dress.” It was only after the words came out that she thought about them and began to worry that Nico would get in trouble for using the company card for the dress.

Griffin just looked her up and down and then smiled. “Worth every penny.” He winked and walked away.

Andy breathed a sigh of relief and blushed slightly at Griffin’s words, before beginning to sip at her champagne. Light music was playing and people were mingling about, seeing and being seen. Andy watched them all, trying to see who she recognize or remember from previous events and if she could remember their names. She gave herself bonus points if she remembered their dates’ names.

She was puzzling over a larger man with a mustache that she was certain she had seen somewhere before when Nico came up to her. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

Andy instantly forgot all about mustache man and straightened to attention. “I am so sorry Nico. I was just-“

Nico waved her hand, effectively cutting Andy’s apology off. “It’s fine, Andy. There’s just someone I’d really like you to meet. Come on.”

Andy followed Nico, once again amazed by the difference between her former boss and new one. Never had Miranda once told Andy she wanted her to meet anyone. She had always been the assistant, seen but never heard unless spoken directly to, or unless distracting Irv from Stephen. But other than that, she had never been introduced to people unless she did it herself.

Nico slowed down, coming to stop just behind a woman in a black gown with long curls of red hair. Andy felt as though she had seen this woman somewhere before. “Bernadette?” Nico said softly, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder.

Andy’s eyes went very wide when the woman turned around, a smile on her face. “Oh Nico, there you are. And this must be the young lady you were telling me about.”

Nico nodded. “Bernadette, this is Andy Sachs. Andy, this is Bernadette Peters.”

“Oh my - hello, Ms. Peters. It is an honor to meet you.” Andy reached out to shake the hand Bernadette offered, still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she was actually meeting the Bernadette Peters.

“Please, call me Bernadette. And it’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” Bernadette smiled easily at her. “Nico tells me you’d be the perfect person to help me with a little project I’m working on.”

Andy’s eyes flew to Nico. “Really?”

“Yes, you see, I’m the cofounder of a charity -“

“Broadway Barks.” Andy said quickly.

“You know it?” Bernadette looked pleased.

“Oh, yes.” Andy certainly knew of the charity. Last year, Doug had dragged her to the Shubert Alley to witness the event which worked to help animals in shelters around the city find homes. They had been back far in the crowd, but Doug had had the time of his life, taking random blurry pictures of all the Broadway stars presenting the adoptable pets and begging Andy until she had taken a picture of him with Bernadette in the background, so tiny you couldn’t even tell it was her. The picture now sat in a frame on Doug’s mantle. If he knew she was standing here, talking to Bernadette right now, he would probably die.

“Fabulous. So, as you know, we hold our annual event each year in the summer. But of course we do fundraising all through the year.” Andy nodded. “Well, this year, we were hoping to do a campaign in Bonfire, which Nico has so graciously allowed us to do. What we want is to remind people when they’re considering buying pets for their loved ones for Christmas, that there are so many wonderful animals out there in the shelters in need of good homes.”

“That’s brilliant.” Andy smiled.

Bernadette smiled right back. “We thought so. Now, Nico’s offered us a six page spread, as well as space on your webpage. So what we’d love to do is get some shots of some of our participants with some of these animals. Then, we thought you could interview some of them about their experiences with Broadway Barks and the shelters, and then do some publicity for the shelters as well. Does that sound like something you could do?”

“Yes. Absolutely. It sounds fantastic. I would be honored to do it.”

“Wonderful.” The redhead was beaming. “Well, I should let you get back to enjoying the party, but I’ll call tomorrow with more specifics. I truly look forward to working with you.”

“Oh my goodness, me too. Thank you so, so much.”

Once Bernadette was gone, Andy spun on Nico. “Oh my god, Nico! That was Bernadette Peters!”

Nico grinned, “I know.”

Andy ran her hands over her face. “I can’t believe this! I can’t believe this at all. Oh my god, Nico, thank you so, so much! Thank you for trusting me with this!” She pulled her into a hug.

“You’re welcome. I know you can do it. But are you sure you can do this and the other article? I can always reassign that one.”

“No! I can do it. I will have them both to you by the deadline, and they will both be good, Nico. I promise.” Andy wanted this moment to prove to Nico and to herself that she could do this.

“Perfect.” Nico grinned. “Now let’s go mingle.”

**

Nico was talking to Victory and Wendy, so Andy was doing her best to steer clear at the moment. When she saw Kirby with a tray of drinks, she headed in his direction.

“Well, would you look at you.” He grinned as he took her in.

“I clean up pretty good, huh?” She smirked back.

“That you do. Boy, it’s good you never dressed up like this in college, or it might’ve all turned out differently.” He winked and she giggled.

“You are too much, Kirby. But oh my god, did you see me with Bernadette Peters over there?” Andy grinned. “I’m going to be writing an article for Bonfire for her!”

“That is awesome Andy. And yep, I saw you. In fact…” He set the tray of drinks down and reached into his pocket, pulling out his small camera. He powered it on and showed Andy the display.

“You got a picture of us!” Andy giggled and quickly hugged him, then kissed his cheek. “You are the sweetest guy ever.”

“Uh oh, my girlfriend is looking this way.” He teased, seeing Nico looking over at them with a smile. “I better go before she comes over here and kicks your ass. Plus, I need to serve alcohol to some rich people.”

“Get out of here.” Andy grinned and blew him a kiss. Yes, tonight was going very well.

**

Miranda stood on the upper level of the ballroom, out of sight of those mingling down below her. While they might not have a good view of her, she had a perfect view of all of them. She was supposed to have arrived ten minutes ago, but she liked to make people wait for her entrances. Plus, she liked to get a good look at the crowd before she descended into it.

For a black and white themed ball, there were very few who were actually wearing white. The men were all in black tuxedos and most of the women were in black gowns. Some were black and white, but very few were entirely white. It was for this reason that the woman standing by the steps, talking to the waiter caught her eye. Hair swept up, full figure filling out the dress beautifully, Miranda had to admit that the woman had picked well. From this spot she could only see the back of the woman, but there was something about her, something familiar.

She was laughing, and then hugging the waiter, which instantly made Miranda bristle. There were things you just did not do, and hugging a waiter was one of them. Then the woman leaned over and kissed his cheek. Miranda found her temper flaring for reasons she couldn’t understand. How could that stupid girl do something like that? In public no less. Just who did she think she was? Miranda was determined to find out and give her a proper scolding for behaving that way.

Just then, the woman turned, blowing a kiss to the waiter as she did so, and Miranda could see her profile now. Andrea. No. It was not. Could not be. But even as she tried to deny it, Miranda knew it was the truth. There was no mistaking her now that she had turned. The pale skin, the dark hair swept up as she so often wore it, the brown eyes she could make out even from this far away. There was no one else who it could possibly be but Andrea, and Miranda felt her heart stop beating for a moment.

What the hell was she doing here? And more importantly at that moment, what in the hell was she doing kissing a waiter? Miranda’s blood was boiling at the sight of her, and she told herself it was rage that the girl had the audacity to show up to one of these functions (and just how had she gotten through the door?) and certainly not lust for the way she looked in that gown. That gown which she was almost certain had been designed by James. Which opened up a whole other set of questions if that was the case. How had Andrea gotten the gown? Did James know where she was? Was he in contact with her and hadn’t told Miranda? Too many thoughts were swirling in her head as she watched her ex-assistant move across the room in the direction of the restrooms. Miranda waited until she was entirely out of sight before finally stepping out of the shadows and starting down the stairs to the party below. Now she had a whole other reason to be at this party. She would find out just what kind of game Andrea was playing by the end of the night.

It didn’t take long for Miranda to sense Andrea’s presence in the ballroom again. She had gotten so used to the girl being constantly in her space that she had come to have an almost sixth sense when it came to her. That was how she had known to turn around in Paris. She had felt that Andrea wasn’t there with her, and then had watched her walk away.

Miranda continued on with her conversation, but watched Andrea with her peripheral vision. The girl moved across the room as though looking for someone. Probably her waiter boyfriend. The girl really did know how to pick them. First the silly fry cook, then Christian Thompson, and now a waiter? There was no defending her taste. But instead of the waiter, Andrea walked up to Nico Reilly and began to speak with her. Miranda’s eyes narrowed. What was Andrea doing with Nico?

**

Andy felt Miranda’s eyes on her before she saw her. She must have entered the party while Andy had been in the bathroom. “Nico,” she whispered, “I have to leave now.”

Nico looked over and could see the utter panic in her eyes. “Andy…”

“Please,” Andy whispered and was about to walk away when she realized it was already too late. Miranda was moving toward them. Andy instantly moved behind Nico in the subservient position that she had always taken with Miranda at these events.

“Nico,” Miranda practically purred as she leaned forward to exchange cheek kisses. Her eyes never left Andy.

“Miranda, hello.” Nico smiled graciously, taking in Miranda’s stare. “I see you’ve noticed my new assistant, Andy.”

“Hello Miranda,” Andy nodded, trying to keep her voice strong.

“Andrea,” the voice was cutting, as was her glare, “is your new assistant?” This was most certainly news to Miranda, and although her outside appearance never showed it, inside she was surprised and raging. Nico’s assistant? She had left her in Paris to work for Nico? She had left Runway for Bonfire? Was the girl completely out of her mind? Leaving her for Nico? No. It was impossible.

“Mm.” Nico nodded, stepping back to bring herself side by side with Andy, “I believe that she used to be your second assistant.”

“Did she?” Miranda’s voice was light, but there was a slight edge to it. Apparently it wasn’t as impossible as she’d thought. There was Nico, confirming the employment, and Andrea standing there, just as she had so frequently stood at Miranda’s side. It burned far more than it should have. “She must not have been very good then, if she is no longer in my employ.”

Andy made no reply, although Nico could practically feel the tension waving off of her. “In fact, if I were you Nico, I would possibly reconsider keeping her in your employ.”

“Really?” Nico’s eyebrows raised. “And if I don’t?”

Miranda merely smiled and made a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. This though, seemed too much for Andy. “She’ll make your life miserable, won’t you Miranda? She’ll call Griffin or someone else and she’ll have you fired or your advertisers pulled. Well, I won’t let her. If she intends to do that to you, to Bonfire, then I’ll quit. You’ll have my two weeks in the morning.”

Nico turned to her. “Like hell I will!” She briefly remembered the conversation with Kirby that first night after he had brought her Andy, how he had asked her what she would do if Miranda wanted Andy gone. Then she had known without a doubt she would fire Andy. Now she knew without a doubt that she wasn’t giving her up without a fight.

Miranda let out a chilling laugh. “My, my, how loyal we are to our new boss, Andrea. Well don’t you worry. Bonfire is none of my concern. If Nico wishes to employ someone like you,” she paused, her eyes seeming to cut into Andy, “then she is more than able to do that.”

She stared at Andy, waiting for her to squirm under the gaze, but Andy just stared back defiantly. The girl had apparently kept the backbone she’d picked up in Paris. Instead of angering her though, it intrigued her. And made her want to see Andy crumble all the more. She turned her gaze to Nico. “Just a word to the wise though, Nico. Andrea may seem loyal now, but soon enough you’ll realize the only person Andrea is loyal to is Andrea. And then you’ll remember just how quick she was to quit here this evening.” At these words, Andy jerked back as though Miranda had physically struck her, but still she said nothing. “That’s all.” Miranda intoned, then turned and walked away without so much as a backward glance at the pair.

“Andy,” Nico turned to her.

“I need to get out of here.” Andy whispered, just as Wendy and Victory came back to them.

“Was that Miranda? What did she say? Did she say anything about the magazine?” Victory asked, oblivious to what had just happened.

Wendy, however, noticed the stricken look on Andy’s face. “Andy, what’s wrong?”

Andy’s eyes were pleading. “Nico, I can’t -“

“Ok. Ok. I’ll call the car,” Nico assured her, pulling out her cellphone.

“Nico?” Now Victory was concerned.

“He’ll be waiting outside,” Nico told Andy as she hung up the phone.

“Thank you,” Andy murmured as she headed for the nearest exit.

“What the hell is going on?” Victory demanded.

“Later. Right now I need to go with her.”

“We’ll come too.” Wendy offered.

“No. It’ll just overwhelm her. You two stay, have fun. Tell Kirby I’m taking Andy home, please?”

“Of course, but Nico, are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ll call you later.”

“Nico, what did Miranda say to her?”

“Later.” Nico called out, heading in the same direction Andy had gone.

**

Nico slid into the car next to Andy, who had her head back, taking deep breaths to try to calm herself down. “Andy,” she whispered softly.

“You didn’t have to leave the party. I’m fine. You should go back.”

“You’re not fine, Andy. She was out for blood and she drew it, didn’t she?”

Andy took a shaky breath. Nico nodded to the driver to start toward Andy’s apartment. “That’s Miranda. She always knows exactly what to say.”

Nico shifted so she could look at Andy. “What happened in Paris, Andy? Why did you leave?”

Andy closed her eyes tightly and did her best to swallow the sobs that were trying to escape. She couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking though. She was angry with herself for even letting Miranda get to her like this. She was supposed to be stronger than this. She didn’t work for Miranda anymore. The woman should have no hold over her. But the questioning of her loyalty had cut deeper than Andy wanted to admit. “I can’t-“ She looked at Nico, “won’t. Not right now.” Her eyes flicked to the driver in the front and Nico understood.

“Okay.”

They rode in silence, Andy feeling more and more like she had somehow stumbled back to Runway with each passing second. She had never shared a car ride like this with Nico before. They had always talked. Now the silence was closing in around her, making her even more uncomfortable. She would not go back to the way things were before. She could not. “Kirby got a picture of me talking to Bernadette,” she said lamely.

Nico glanced over and smiled, seeming to understand. “That’s wonderful. You seemed really excited to meet her.”

“Oh, I was! My friend Doug, he just adores her. He will be so jealous when he finds out.”

“You’re going to do an amazing job with this, Andy. I know you will.”

Andy opened her mouth to say more, but the car had stopped in front of her apartment building. Instead she shifted over, opening the door and stepping out onto the sidewalk. Nico followed, much to Andy’s surprise. “I’m really okay, Nico. You don’t need to tuck me in or anything.”

Nico just followed along behind her silently and Andy allowed it. It was nice to have someone care if she was alright or not. It was only when she got to her door that she remembered the lack of furniture in her apartment. She hadn’t spent much time there recently, so she had left it the way it was when she returned. She considered saying something, but then shrugged and opened the door. If she didn’t care, why should Nico?

For her part, Nico took in the apartment, but said nothing. “Sorry I can’t offer you a place to sit. My ex took all of his stuff when he left and...”

“You haven’t gotten around to replacing it yet.” Nico filled in for her.

“I’m hardly here, except at night, and there’s still the bed so… Plus, my lease is up at the end of the month and I’m thinking of trying to find a cheaper place. When we were splitting the rent it was fine, but now…”

Andy headed into the bedroom and Nico followed along behind her, leaving her purse on the coffee table. She watched as Andy sat on the bed and kicked off her shoes, flexing her feet. “Andy?” Brown eyes looked up at her, “What happened in Paris? Why did you quit? I’m not asking as your boss or as Miranda’s competitor or anything like that. I’m asking as your friend.”

Andy looked at her and could see she was being sincere. “It’s a long story.”

“Well then, it’s good that I’ve got all night.” Nico replied, kicking off her own heels.

“You promise you won’t tell anyone what I tell you? Not even Wendy or Victory or Kirby?”

“Andy, I promise.”

So Andy told her all of it, starting at the beginning with the interview going through the insane and menial tasks, the cerulean sweater incident, the hurricane, the makeover, the first night with the book, Harry Potter, the benefit where she’d stepped in, Emily’s accident, and discovering Miranda in her hotel room after Stephen had called.

“I felt like I had finally done something right, like she was finally letting me in, letting me see the woman behind the mask. And I just wanted to help her so badly. I offered to cancel her evening, but she said no. She told me to do my job. And I felt… stupid. So stupid.” Nico put a hand on Andy’s shoulder and watched as a single tear slipped down her cheek.

“So I went out with Christian Thompson and had too much wine and ended up sleeping with him. And in the morning when I woke up… I hated myself for it. I was running late and I had let Miranda down and… I don’t even know, Nico. I don’t. And then I found the mock up of what Runway would look like once Jacqueline took over. I wanted to throw up when I realized what they were going to do to Miranda. I ran out of his hotel room wearing my skirt and a corset. And I felt so humiliated. And I tried to warn her. I called and I ran to her and she ignored me. And when I finally managed to tell her, she looked at me and asked if she smelled freesias. Fucking freesias.” Andy shook her head. “She already knew. Of course she already knew. She’s Miranda Priestly for god’s sake. But I just - I was certain - I wanted to help her, so badly. And she didn’t need help. She didn’t need me.”

Andy swallowed hard, trying to get control of herself before she finished the story. “And then at the party she passed over Nigel, with no warning or anything. And he had to sit there and clap while Miranda ripped the dream job away from him, just to protect herself. It broke my heart to see him like that. And then in the car… she told me she saw a lot of herself in me, and reminded me that I had passed over Emily to come to Paris. And I felt so sick that I’d done that. And then she told me that everybody wanted to be us. And that’s when it all finally snapped. She was finally including me in her inner circle. I was one of ‘us’. But it was right after I had watched her toss Nigel, her most trusted employee, aside like he was nothing. And I couldn’t - I wouldn’t stay around until she did that to me. I had to get out of there right away. I had done everything she had ever told me and she still ignored me and treated me like I was nothing. I felt cheaper and stupider than I ever had before. And I knew that I had to leave, that I wouldn’t be able to take it if I stayed and she did to me what she did to Nigel. So I left. Threw my phone in the fountain when she tried to call me, and I left.” There were tears streaming down Andy’s cheeks when she looked up at Nico. “And that’s what happened in Paris.”

Nico’s heart broke at the sight of Andy’s tear stained face. The girl was too sweet and beautiful to ever cry like this. “Oh Andy.” She reached over to pull her into a hug, but Andy straightened her back.

“She said I was only loyal to myself. She has no idea.” Andy’s voice was rough with unshed tears and anger. “I gave up so much for her. My relationship with Nate ended because I was too devoted to her. My two best friends haven’t spoken to me since before I left Paris because they think I changed too much because of her. My parents think I’m insane for staying with her so long. I left Christian to run and tell her about Jacqueline, so he’s not interested anymore. And up until I got the job with you, I hadn’t written anything since college. Technically still haven’t yet. All because of her. Because I was so damn devoted to her.”

This time she did let Nico pull her into a hug, and she held tightly to her while she cried for a few minutes. Then she abruptly pulled back and stood up, moving to the bathroom to wash off her face. When she returned, she smiled weakly at Nico. “I’m so sorry I fell apart like that. I guess I really did need to get my feelings out. So, thank you. Really. It was nice to have a friend to listen to me.”

“You’re very welcome. You sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. And by tomorrow… I will be fully ready to do my job by then.”

Nico stood and placed a hand on Andy’s cheek. “Take care of yourself first, sweetie. The job I know you can do.” She winked and then moved out of the bedroom, grabbing her purse and heading down to where she hoped her driver was still waiting. As she breathed in the cool night air, Nico considered all that had happened that night, and what she had just learned. Whether Andy knew it or not, the girl was obviously in love with Miranda - the Ice Queen. What an interesting development.

Another Author's Note: I am also not in any way affiliated with Broadway Barks, but it is a real and awesome charity. And Mary Tyler Moore is the other cofounder of the charity, however I didn't mention her because she actually plays Wendy's mother on Lipstick Jungle. So I thought that might get a little weird. More info on Broadway Barks can be found here.