Turns out, I'm not actually dead. But, after seeing my fetus writing I died a little inside. I decided that Mirandy deserves better, so I'm attempting to fix it. Updates probably won't be as consistent as they should, but we'll get there. Might get multiple updates a week though, so that's the bright side. I post as I finish them.

Anyway, hopefully this isn't trash. Lol

Ambition ran in Andy's family. In fact, she'd been groomed nearly since birth for greatness. Her Uncle, William Harrison, had seen to it that she'd gone to the best schools money could buy. He, along with her father, had supported and nurtured her budding interests. During the regular school year, she lived with her parents, and lived a relatively normal life, but during the summers, she stayed with William and her cousin Michael. They traveled across the globe, shadowing William as he showed them the inner workings of the corporate world. Andy took to his teachings like a fish to water, while Michael had only showed a mild interest. He'd always been much more interested in the culinary arts, and relished in the opportunities to travel and learn from world renowned chefs.

When Andy took a shine to the literary career path, William had silently accepted that perhaps his business legacy would be left in the hands of someone else. While it saddened him, he was still very proud of his son and niece. Silently, he vowed to do whatever it took to see them successful.

Disaster struck just shy of Andy's 14th birthday. She'd been in the car with Michael and his mother, Jennifer, when they were hit by a truck. The impact cause them to slide off the road into a ditch, causing a second impact. Andy was knocked unconscious, and when she woke in the hospital days later, she was given the news that she was the sole survivor of the accident.

William was devastated, and moved to Ohio in an effort to be closer to the little family he had left. Andy's parents welcomed him with open arms, and for a time, things seemed to be on the mend. Andy focused on her writing, becoming Editor in Chief of the school newspaper, and submitting several short stories to local newspaper outlets within Cincinnati.

When Andy went on to College, William moved back to New York, and took full control of his company once again. The three year break had done good for him, and he came back with purpose, causing business to flourish for him. He'd focused on making sure that all is affairs we're in order, after neglecting them for so long.

Once Andy graduated and moved to New York, William got the news from his doctor that he had cancer. He kept it to himself, not wanting Andy to quit her job at Runway. As Andy struggled with her social life falling apart, William's health slowly declined.

After Andy quit in Paris, her first call was to her uncle. She couldn't face her father, and his disappointment. William flew her home the next day, and finally told her about his illness. Andy was devastated, but vowed to stay by his side. They returned to Ohio during his last months, and William passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by those who love him.

"Sweetie, you're going to have to leave that penthouse at some point," Kathleen Sachs sighed heavily through the phone, her voice full of concern, "Bill wouldn't want this."

"I know, I know," Andy tried her best not to start crying all over again, "it's just...the second I sign those papers, I'll have to work at his desk, in his office... surrounded by his things."

"I know," Kathleen said quietly, "we all miss him too, but you have to be strong. The longer you wait, the harder this will be."

"I just feel so guilty," Andy admitted, "if I wasn't working at Runway, I could have been here the whole time. He suffered alone for almost a year, Mom."

"He wasn't alone, and he was extremely proud of you," Kathleen immediately denied her words.

"I don't know if I can face this," Andy's voice cracked.

"You're so strong, and so brave," Kathleen soothed, "but even the strongest people can be hurt. I'm not telling you it will be easy, but I'm telling you it will be worth it. For William,for Michael and for yourself."

"I know you're right," Andy breathed, "I know you are, but right now I can't even see two days into the future, let alone have enough foresight to run a company."

"Take a deep breath," Kathleen advised, "and let it out. You've been doing this since you were 15, Andy. It's second nature, you just have to do it."

Andy looked across from her, at the stack of white papers her lawyer dropped off that morning. Her mother's words swirled in her head, as she chewed her lip.

"You can redecorate, you can even move the office to another floor if you have to, but you can't give up. You don't know how," Kathleen said knowingly, "I have to go start dinner now, but you call back if you need anything. I love you, Andy."

"I love you too, Ma," Andy smiled a little, "I'll call you tomorrow.

"I look forward to it," Her mother's smile could be heard in her voice.

The phone hung up, and Andy sighed. She glanced between the phone and the paperwork on the coffee table. A frown settled between her brows, as she thought about what it would mean if she signed them.

Red Dot Inc. was a billion dollar company, not to mention it was the parent company of several smaller distribution and manufacturing companies. When she signed on the line, she would take all that on, and slip right into her Uncle's shoes. She would understand the full scope of work he did, and the responsibility. A small part of her relished the thought, knowing that if she was busy working, she couldn't spend all day crying and feeling miserable.

Can I really just let someone else take over everything Uncle Bill did?

As she thought over the question, the answer became clear. Her Mother was right, and she also knew that if she sat inside and cried all day, she would slip into the same depression she had when Michael died. She never wanted to go back to that place. There was no Uncle William to pull her back out, this time.

Without giving herself more time to over think, Andy lifted the pen, and took the paperwork from the table. She skimmed them, double checking the wording, making sure there were no problems. She trusted her uncle to make sure everything was in order, even in his sickness, but she knew that lawyers could sometimes be scheming bastards. The company itself would always be hers, because it was left to her in William's will, but her position on the board and as CEO was highly sought-after. Enough money could loosen any lawyers loyalties.

Andy spent hours pouring over the documents, signing where needed, and marking for correction in other places. There were only minor details that needs adjusting, and by midnight, she was satisfied with it. When she moved over to the pending business deals, she wasn't surprised to see that her uncle had his hands in quite a bit of stock. She was, however, shocked when she saw a familiar logo.

"What were you doing with Elias-Clarke, Uncle Bill," Andy muttered to herself, flipping through the pages.

As she read, her eyes widened. Not only had her uncle been in the process of becoming a silent partner, but he'd also purchased a significant amount of stock in several of their magazines, including Auto Universe and Runway.

Andy felt a twinge of annoyance, especially when her uncle promised he wouldn't get involved in her work. She knew that he likely still had, not to ensure she had a job, but because that was his nature. He had to have control of every situation he was involved in. Her father was very similar, and she was used to it by now, but she still felt irritated that he'd gone behind her back.

Andy sat the file aside, and went through the rest fairly quickly. She sent another message, telling her lawyer to set up a meeting with Irv Ravits. She would handle this tomorrow, and hopefully move on. She was no longer working with them, and she wanted nothing to do with it. The thought of Runway made her stomach flip uncomfortably, but she chalked it up to shame at how she left.

When she finally crawled into bed, she was able to fall asleep with no problems. For once, she didn't have nightmares, and she was able to sleep through the night without waking up.

The week Andy started work, was a hectic one. The adjustment period had been fairly smooth, but the sheer amount of work that was piled up on her was almost impossible to get through. Luckily, her assistant, Gia, was an old intern that was around during Andy's Summers with her Uncle. She was able to predict Andy's needs, and had already scheduled her days to make Andy more comfortable.

"Andy," Gia knocked lightly on the open office door, "Irving confirm your meeting, you'll be meeting him later today, just before lunch."

"Thanks, Gia," Andy nodded, "I'll be ready when the car gets here."

"Also, your mom called. She wanted me to tell you that they'll be in town next month on the 18th," Gia read off the message, from her notepad.

"Great," Andy smiled a little, "confirm their hotel reservations, and clear my schedule for that afternoon unless it's an emergency appointment."

"Already done," Gia nodded, "and those listings your realtor had delivered have been sent to the penthouse, after being scanned and emailed to you."

"You're a lifesaver," Andy grinned at her, "thank you, Gia."

"That's my job, boss," the blonde winked, before turning and heading out of the office.

Another hour saw Andy on her way to the Elias-Clarke building. Today, she was unfortunately stuck with her Intern, Steven. She'd known him for a little longer than 2 years, when he first began his internship. She'd taken a temporary position working with her Uncle, while she went back to school for her degree in business.

Steven hated her from the very beginning, but she'd tried her best to help him out. She saw that he struggled to keep up with her uncle's face pace work ethic, and more than once she'd had to cover for him. He seemed to warm up to her after that, until Andy had accidentally given him the wrong information, and he'd been embarrassed in front of not just her uncle, but half of the senior staff. She'd tried to apologize, offering to take him to lunch or take responsibility for giving him the wrong documents. That only made him more angry, and he'd snapped at her, calling her spoiled and privileged. He ranted for nearly 10 minutes about how hard he'd worked, coming to the US alone, getting his degree without any support. Andy felt terrible, and she'd had herself transferred to another department, to ease the tension.

Now, she was his boss, and he hated her. He was up for a promotion, having finally graduated. Andy was prepared to give it to him, based on his evaluations, but the moment he saw her, he immediately changed his behaviors. Everything he was praised for, went out the window and Andy was so close to firing him, that she didn't even feel bad anymore.

When the car stopped and her door was opened for her, Andy quickly made her way inside. She was relieved to find no paparazzi had followed her, and she remained unnoticed. Once the news came out that she'd taken over her Uncle's work, she'd been hounded for interviews and followed by the paparazzi constantly. She hoped the buzz would die down, she really wasn't that interesting.

When she made her way into the conference room, after getting her guess badge from the surprised security, she nearly choked on her own spit. Both Irv and Miranda turned the moment she entered, and she saw shock flash across Miranda's face for just a second, before she settled back into her passive stare. Andy cleared her throat, sitting down across from them as Steven took the seat next to her, muttering under his breath.

"What a...pleasant surprise," Andy managed to get out, looking at Irv, "I wasn't aware that we would be having guests during our meeting."

"She insisted," Irv looked as irritated as Andy felt, "apparently anything to do with Runway was her concern as well. At least for now."

He can't seriously still be trying to get rid of Miranda, Andy thought with a slight frown, did he not see how well that went last time?

"She is sitting right here," Miranda spoke cooly, her sharp eyes cutting to the shorter man, "I am present in the room, am I not?"

"Of course," Andy cleared her throat, "my apologies. Good morning, Miranda."

"Andrea," Miranda cast her a glance.

"Perhaps we should get to business," Irv spoke up, ignoring Miranda's words, "your Uncle has already laid the groundwork, we only need your signature to proceed."

"I have a few questions for you first," Andy gave him a polite smile, motioning for Steven to give her the paperwork he held in his messenger bag.

He rolled his eyes, pulling out the folder as he muttered an insult in Russian. Andy froze, having understood every word. Her dark eyes turned to look at him, her face stoney as she stared him down. Steven shifted uncomfortably, recognizing the look. He'd seen her uncle turn that look on grown men, and scare them witless. Somehow, it was even more terrifying when Andy did it.

"I-I'll go get coffee," he stuttered, quickly standing from his seat, to get to the door.

"You do that," Andy agreed, still glaring at him.

He rushed from the room, slamming the door in his haste. Andy smirked a little at his reaction, resisting the urge to laugh as she saw him running down the hallway through the open blinds. Her eyes turned back to Miranda and Irv, and she noticed that Miranda had raised an eyebrow. Irv simply shifted uncomfortably, and cleared his throat.

"Your questions, Ms. Sachs?"

"Of course," Andy opened the folder, which was stained with red ink and colored tabs with input from her lawyers, "I was wondering why you would ever think I'd be interested in this contract, and if you think I'm stupid."

Irv coughed to cover his surprise, and frowned, " of course not, why would you-"

"You can cut the act," Andy cut him off, "I've dealt with snakes like you for majority of my life. You think, because I'm an heiress and a female that I'm dumb. This contract is so heavily in your favor, I'm completely certain you took advantage of my uncle's ailing health to practically steal from him."

"That's ridiculous," Irv was quickly becoming irritated, "he signed the contract! He was of sound mind."

"He wasn't, but I could see how someone with so little brain function could think so," Andy leaned forward, seeing a slight smirk on Miranda's lips, "but luckily for you, I don't want to be dragged through a harsh legal battle that will ruin you."

Irv's face had flushed, and Andy was surprised at how easily she'd gotten under his skin, "if you back out now, I will sue."

"You won't win," Andy smirked at him, clearly in her element, "not only would you lose, but I will rip this entire company to the ground, magazine by magazine, if you try. I have all the time and money in the world to do it. How long do you think it'll be before they fire you, and take every penny you own? I wonder if that assistant you've been sleeping with will stay with you once you're broke?"

Irv's eyes widened at her words, and Miranda looked between them, seeing the fear in his face. She couldn't understand how this.. this girl had managed to reel him in so easily, when she battled with him nearly daily for control.

"Here's my counter offer," Andy slipped a file across the table, into his reach, "we will go forward with the purchase of stock portfolio, at market price and not through your broker who must be insane if he thinks I'm going to pay nearly twice as much as they're worth. Also, you will be removed from the board of directors, effective as soon as a suitable replacement is found."

"You can't do this," he tossed the folder aside, "they'll never agree to this.

"But they already have," Andy shrugged, "this meeting is only to break the news to you. My offer only needed a majority vote, and you'd be surprised how many members of the board I know."

Irv stood, pointing at her, "you won't get away with this. You will regret it."

"I'm sure you think so," Andy gave him a smile, "it doesn't feel good to be ambushed, does it? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch meeting."

Andy stood, but stopped short of leaving to cast Miranda a glance, "I'm sorry I threatened your magazine, Miranda. It's nothing personal, I hope you know that."

With that, she turned back to the door, and left.