widdy26

Title: Driving Miranda – Chapter 34

Author: Widdy
Disclaimer: I don't own the Devil Wears Prada, or Miranda or Andy, unfortunately someone else does so I'm just borrowing them I will return them after I'm done.
Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Yes feel free to feed me.
Pairings:  Andy/Nate, Miranda/Stephen, Andrea/Miranda eventually.

Summary: While Roy is ill Miranda gets an interesting new driver.

Beta: Amelie (thank you so much for your help!!)

A/N: I will be away until next Tuesday so this is the last part until I am back. Fear not I will be back with more, this is an unavoidable RL trip, and no writers block involved this time :)


 

Chapter 34

Andy glided the car effortlessly along the grey asphalt as Miranda sat in the back with her daughters. They had arrived just in time to meet Caroline and Cassidy’s train.

Andy had offered to go and find the girls and Miranda had looked relived. She had remained in the back of the car, looking as perfect as she always did.

So two hours after Miranda had caller her Andy had found herself standing next to a train waiting for Miranda’s daughters.

They had frowned when they had seen her and Andy had seen a flash of disappointment with in their eyes. She knew they had probably been expecting Miranda to be waiting for them on the platform. Andy saw Cassidy’s lips move and then Caroline had scowled and said something in return which garnered a glare from her sister.

They had loaded her with their bags as soon as they had stepped from the train. Andy had smiled at them and told them their mother was waiting for them in the back of the Bentley. Cassidy appeared pleased by this but Caroline’s face never lost its thunderous look. It was a look that Andy had seen directed at her from another Priestly.

Andy had wondered why they were back so soon. Sunday was the day she was due to retrieve them. It was a sudden change in plans; Miranda had called her, not one of her assistants. The twins, Caroline in particular were less than pleased.

Andy glanced in her mirror, as a question drew her mind back from her thoughts. 

“Green hair dye in her shampoo?” 

Andy felt her eyes widen. So that’s what they had done. She didn’t know who the she was, but she knew it must be someone associated with their father.

“Conditioner.” mumbled Caroline.

“Excuse me?”

“It was in her conditioner.” Cassidy offered helpfully. She was sitting next to Miranda, while Caroline had decided to sit across from them.

Miranda seemed amused and Andy could see a small smile playing upon her lips. “Is that so?”

Cassidy nodded, “Yeah she leaves it in. Which is pointless, because it doesn’t do anything if you leave it in.”

“No.” Miranda nodded in agreement.

“Besides, she would have washed the shampoo right out.”

Andy saw Miranda nod once more. “You are both lucky I had no plans for this weekend.” Miranda’s voice while admonishing did not hold any venom.

“Sorry.”

“I am however glad to have you both home.”

Andy watched as Miranda wrapped her arm around Cassidy and held out her arms towards her other daughter.

Caroline did not move and Andy saw a look of profound sadness fill Miranda’s eyes.

“Caroline?”

“I hate him.” Andy could hear the pain in the young girls tone; she wished she had shut the privacy screen, she felt like an intruder.

“Your father loves you.”

“No he doesn’t. He sided with her.” Andy saw Miranda take a deep breath.

Andy didn’t know what she would say if she was in Miranda’s place, they had apparently dyed someone’s hair green and their father had sided with the person on the receiving end. Andy could understand both sides of the coin. If her children had done that to someone she would have been angry, yet she understood that the little girls who sat in the back of the car had anything but a normal upbringing. They had to vie for their mother’s attention and apparently they had to vie for their father’s attention as well. 

“Caroline, you have to understand...”

Caroline’s head shook vigorously, “Understand what? That you don’t care?”

“Caro...” started Cassidy.

Andy could see that Cassidy hand tightened her grip upon Miranda’s waist the moment her sister shouted.

“No. They don’t care.”

Miranda reached out her hand towards her daughter, “That is not true Caroline; I care about you and Cassidy more than anything else in the world.”

“Yeah right.” Andy saw the movement of Caroline’s arms through the rear view mirror.

“I do, Caroline. I love you, and so does your father. You are our babies.”

“He doesn’t love us. He is only interested in her.”

“Caroline, my darling. You have to understand that just because your father is in love with Chrystal, that does not for one second diminish his love for you.”

“Then why did he send us home?”

Andy felt her heart go out to the small girl as she heard her voice break. She had herself had come from a perfectly stable home, her parents while they had their ups and downs had never been in danger of divorcing. Still, Andy could see where the girl was coming from, sharing affection was never easy.

“I’ll talk to your father.” Miranda’s voice was low and filled with pain.

“Don’t bother.”

“I’m glad to be home to mom,” said Cassidy as she tried to diffuse the tension and cheer up her mother.

“I’m glad your home as well darling.” Andy watched as Miranda smiled sadly.

Miranda glanced upwards and Andy met her sad eyes in the rear-view mirror.

****

Miranda sighed as Caroline flew from the car and entered the town house. Cassidy looked at her for guidance and Miranda nodded and told Cassidy to follow.

It was not a pleasant situation. Jealousy rarely was. Miranda could relate, she winced when she thought of how she had felt such feelings for Andrea. Spite had diven her to lashed out at both Tiffany and Nigel.

The twin’s jealousy was another prospect, they felt possessive of both her and William. Unfortunately Miranda knew that it was not going to just go away. While she disliked William’s choice in lover she knew that his resistance was the right thing to do. Being cautious of their jealousy was required, but pushing way an intimate adult companionship that might lead to finding love for the sake of your children was both unhealthy and foolish. Children needed to learn to deal with loss, they needed independence. They needed to learn that loss was inevitable.

Caroline and Cassidy obviously resented the involvement of Chrystal, just as they had resented Stephen. The twins were getting older, in a year they would be teens, and they were constantly growing and changing. She knew that they would eventually not need either her or William in such a way.

Miranda looked up as she heard her voice being called.

“Miranda?”

“Andrea.”

“Are you ok?”

Miranda felt a tired smile curl her lips. Andrea was certainly different to anyone she had ever held feelings for. She was gentle and quietly confident, yet there was a vulnerability to her that Miranda found herself deeply attracted to. The silver haired editor wondered if that was what she had been missing from her life, a calming influence.

All too often throughout her life she found herself attracted to powerful men, William had been the first. He had been older than her, she had just been staring her career and he had been clawing his way to the top of his father’s company. She had known that their relationship had been based upon power. The same could be said of her second husband Gregory and Stephen her third. She had thought that was what she wanted; a powerful man whom could complete her, she had thought that was what she needed.

As Miranda took Andrea’s hand she realised how wrong she had been. “I’m fine Andrea, thank you for coming to my aid so swiftly.”

Andrea shook her head and Miranda saw a faint blush pepper Andrea’s cheeks, “It was nothing.” The brunette replied softly.

Miranda gave the hand she held a small squeeze.

They needed to talk, but not now.

Now, now was a time for her to be a mother, now was a time that was reserved solely for her children.

****

A shadow suddenly passed over her, “Here.”

A piece of paper was dangling from Emily's outstretched fingers.

Tiffany frowned before she cautiously reached out and snatched at paper. “What’s this?”

Tiffany felt her frown deepen and she read the list, and it was a seriously long list.

“Miranda needs those by this afternoon.”

“You have to be kidding me?” Tiffany looked at the handwritten list Emily had given her and gasped. There had to be at least thirty things upon this list, from thirty different designers. She was going to die at some point during the morning getting everything. 

Tiffany looked down at her outfit and in particular the Kurt Geiger Eastley Blue Courts Stilettos. They might look striking with the low cut sexy design and slender fit that made them look like they had been sculpted just for her feet, but they hurt like hell. Tiffany winced, Miranda was torturing her, torturing her beautiful shoes, and they would be ruined by the end of the day.

Tiffany looked up and noticed that Emily was staring at her feet with a particularly evil smile playing upon her dark lips. “You better leave now, I would hate for you to fail.”

“Emily, I just wanted to say...”

“Don’t.” Emily glared.

“You're looking particularly thin today, have you lost weight?” Tiffany smothered the smile that had threatened to spill from her lips as Emily’s eyes lit up, Emily was by no means easy to win over, but she always responded well to flattery. Saying she looked more emancipated than usual was always a winner.

“Are you implying that I usually look fat?” Tiffany smiled, Emily sounded very much like Miranda.

“Never.” Tiffany pressed a hand to her chest and battered her eyelashes.

“Your opinion is irrelevant.” Emily huffed.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. She wondered briefly if Emily practised trying to imitate Miranda’s intonation, because she had the whole thing done to a tee.

“Look, about you and Serena.” Emily’s glare became deadly as the name of her lover was uttered.

The redhead’s eyes flashed as she looked around, “Would you shut up.”

Tiffany threw up her hands and frowned, “Sorry, it’s just while I was recovering from too many cocktails on Saturday morning I kind of felt bad.”

 “I don’t care what you felt.”

Tiffany sighed; the whole apology thing wasn’t working. She knew she wasn’t the best at apologising, it’s wasn’t like she had to apologise often, and it just wasn’t a Tiffany thing. She was apologising to Emily for one reason and one reason only, she wanted all the details, and she had been holding her tongue for the past month. Now the cat was out of the bag she didn’t see the point in pretending not to know what was going on in Emily’s love life. She knew that Emily was just being difficult. Another thing was, she just didn’t get why Emily was keeping the whole thing a secret. Granted the halls of runway were like Pride some days, but it’s not like anyone would care; she knew she wouldn’t. Besides, Serena was hot. Tiffany suspected that the secrecy was Emily’s doing, Serena just didn’t seem the type to care what people thought of her, or whoever she was sleeping with.

So when being nice didn’t work Tiffany, decided that she would take a different tactic to win Emily over. “Well I do. Besides I just wanted to congratulate you.”

“Congratulate?” Emily’s eyes narrowed, she pursued her lips in as suspicion flooded her face.

“Yeah,” Tiffany stood, scowled at the list of imposable tasks, and then grabbed her bag and her cell. She looked over to Emily’s desk and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “For landing one of the hottest women in Runway.”

“You're not... gay, are you?”Emily’s eyes narrowed.

“No. Although lately I’m kind of worried it might be contagious.”

“Because if you try to steal... contagious? Don’t be ridiculous.” A look of outrage filled Emily’s features.

“Emily, I’m not a lesbian, but if I was...”

“Serena has taste.”

Tiffany pressed a hand to the bare part of her chest and made her face twist into an overly dramatic wince, “Ouch, but I was thinking more about you.”

Tiffany waggled her eyebrows and laughed as Emily narrowed her eyes, “Har, har, you are not funny.”

“Oh Emily, lighten up.” Tiffany said with a shake of her head.

Emily straightened her posture even more is that was possible, “I will not lighten up, and do you have any idea of what I have to deal with?”

Tiffany rolled her eyes, “Actually yes, you dump most of it on me.”

“Huh, shows what you know. The press I...” Emily started in a superior tone

“No. We.” Tiffany corrected.

“Fine. The press we will have to deal with once news of Miranda’s latest divorce breaks is going to be astronomical.”

Tiffany felt her eyes flick towards Miranda’s empty office. Miranda had barely spent five minutes of her morning in the office, she had given them a simple statement to give to the press that basically told them to go jump off a cliff, before she had demanded that Andy be ready and that they make sure Runway didn’t crumble in her absence.

Emily was right about the press, the news would be huge. Miranda Priestly strikes again; the dragon Lady destroys another of New York's most powerful men. They had already had to deal with the calls from Stephen, Leslie, and the lawyers of both parties. They both knew that when the news broke the office would be inundated with calls from every rag from here to Santa Barbara. Both she and Emily would get the pleasure of dealing with each and every call.

She knew that by now Miranda would just be arriving at her lawyer’s office and by the end of the day; they both knew they would be sick and tired of giving the standard press release.

Tiffany only hoped that Miranda got her way, although she had spoken to Stephen last week. If his vocabulary was anything to go by, Miranda would not get what she wanted.

“Yes, that’s why I’m going to enjoy my Miranda free morning, by traipsing around New York and doing everything on this list to the best of my ability.” Tiffany flashed Emily her pearly white smile.

“Well, you will obviously fail.” Tiffany refused to rise to Emily’s prediction of doom.

“Such faith.” What she wouldn’t given to have Andy at her beck and call right now. Miranda would have had her hung, drawn and quartered, but it would be worth it to have saved her shoes.

“Oh and Tiffany?” Tiffany paused and turned, she pursed her lips as a cruel smile upturned Emily’s lips.

“Yes Emily.”

“Patricia has an appointment with the dog groomer this afternoon.”

“What time?” Tiffany decided at that moment she really did hate Emily.

“One, do have fun.”

Great, Tiffany clenched her teeth, she actually liked Miranda’s dog, and it was better company than Emily at any rate. Still Tiffany absolutely loathed the woman who came to groom her. She was a horrible little woman who constantly carried a pampered little Bichon Frisé everywhere. Tiffany felt her stomach roll as she recalled the way the woman let the dog lick her face, she had even seen the tongue touch teeth, and if she had to listen to that woman go on about how Yoko Ono’s dog had fleas one more time she was going to scream.

Chapter 35