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Miranda was having a day. Not a single thing had gone to plan. She loathed days like this. Why couldn't people just do their jobs and deliver results? Must she always swoop in and save the day? Even Andrea seemed distracted. Miranda huffed out a breath at the thought. Usually at least she could count on Andrea to keep up with her.
Swiveling her desk chair abruptly, she caught the woman of her musings gaze unawares. Andrea's face bloomed a shade of English rose. After processing how the color was absolutely perfect in accentuating her assistant's large alluring brown eyes, Miranda blinked several times and shook her head. What has gotten into me? Now I'm the one losing focus. This was ridiculous.
True, it was Valentine's Day, but it's not like the air of Elias-Clarke was somehow pumped full of pheromones for the occasion. Alas, she and Nigel had caught Emily and Serena necking in The Closet. The audacity. I mean, really? The Closet? How cliché. "Come on out, Ladies," Nigel had snickered, then embraced them with "Welcome to the family, dears!" Miranda rolled her eyes at the memory. And yet. And yet, here she sat, reveling in the pretty shade of pink on Andrea's cheeks. But why pray-tell, had Andrea's cheeks blushed in the first place? They made eye contact all the time and Andrea never sported a flushed reaction like that before. What was Andrea doing?
Looking again toward her assistant's desk, Miranda tilted her head trying to make heads or tails of what Andrea was up to. At first she thought she was intently writing something down, but the movement of her pen was off. And that is not a pen. Curiosity overcame Miranda, and without thought she silently and slowly stood, making her way toward the open glass doors separating her from her intrigue.
Coming to a halt right at the edge of Andrea's desk, Miranda looked down and gasped. Andrea's head flew up and that ravishing color reappeared from neck to cheek.
"Uhm Mir-Miranda." Andrea sputtered as she hastily flipped the page of her spiral bound book. "Uh, sorry, I didn't see you. Do you need something?"
Miranda tried to reconcile what she had seen. There was no mistaking that Andrea had been painting her. Me? Why would she be painting me? From what she had glimpsed, it wasn't half bad. Not necessarily great, but certainly good enough that she felt...oddly flattered.
Deciding she should just be as direct as possible, "Were you painting me, Andrea?" Andrea's hue deepened. Glorious. A slight nod.
Miranda kept her voice neutral, approachable. "Why were you painting me? And may I see it?"
Andrea sighed and gave a resigned half smile, "I was trying to capture you."
"Capture me?"
"Yes, capture you, Miranda." Andrea bit her lower lip and slowly turned the page back, revealing her watercolor painting and oriented the book toward Miranda.
Miranda drank in the image. It was certainly unmistakably her. It wouldn't win any awards, but it was lovely in and of itself because Andrea had made it.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Miranda."
Miranda felt her own cheeks heat up and by the attentive and hungry look in Andrea's eyes, she knew it must be an acceptable shade.
"Mm, yes, well, Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Andrea." And in a swift motion, Miranda ripped the painted sheet cleanly from the binding and walked back into her office clutching the precious artifact. Andrea's boisterous laugh warmed her as she allowed a full smile to erupt on her face.
Not a minute later, Nigel rushed into her office, "Miranda, I know you didn't like the Chloe spread, but if we could... What is that?"
Miranda tried to flip the painting face down upon her desk, but Nigel was too quick, snatching it, eyes widening. But before he could formulate words, it was snatched away from him by Andrea, whose possessive look set Miranda's heart racing. Nigel looked back and forth between the two women, whose eyes were now locked.
"Oh. My. God." Nigel nearly squealed. "Welcome to the family, dears!"