Cruella Oneshots (GXG)

After Hours II

I barely had any sleep last night. My brain was a broken record, reminiscing the events that took place at the atelier just a few hours ago. The more I attempted to push my thoughts away, the more I was invaded by the feeling of Estella wrapping her arms around mine. Her eyes. Our hands together. Her breath tingling my neck. We only touched for a couple of minutes, and yet, my body already misses our physical contact like it is all I have ever known. The relentless effect she had on me makes me wonder what would have happened if we were not interrupted.

I'm not going to cave in, though. My senses might be entranced by her toxic spell, but my mind knows better than to just dive into this senseless, staggering attraction I am feeling towards her. She is still the same arrogant girl I see every single day, and this will never change. Estella might have the Baroness' trust, the recognition, the unique talent; but she is not going to have me. I will not lose this battle.

"You're late again." helmet-hair Jeffrey said as soon as he saw I was walking through the door, clipboard in his hands. "The Baroness is about to come in."

"I know, I know." I breathlessly replied as I made my way towards my table, getting in line with the other designers. "This is not happening again."

I felt a drop of sweat coming down my forehead as I noticed every single one of my colleagues being accompanied by a mannequin, colorful dresses spread across the room as they waited for the Baroness. I gulped. The stress caused by last night's events made me leave without finishing my project, and now, I have nothing for the Baroness. A few fabrics stitched together will not satisfy her.

"This is all your fault, Estella." I whispered underneath my breath.

Estella, in fact, was nowhere to be seen. She is always the one right next to me in line. Her purse was on her table, along with her usual red apple and sewing machine. That made me frown. She's never late.

"Okay, fools." The Baroness spoke firmly, a beautiful dress covering her body with perfection. "Show me what you got."

She swayed along the line, analyzing each design and making sure to share every single snarky comment that came into her mind. She was being meaner than usual. The closer she got, the more I was dominated by desperation. My hands were shaking as I tried to come up with a convincing excuse, and none seemed good enough to not make her kick me away from here like a stray dog. I am so losing my job.

"Y/N?" She called upon me once she reached my place in the line. "Did you make an invisible dress or are you just being incompetent as always?"

I laughed nervously. "Well, Baroness, the thing is tha-"

"Right here, Baroness!" A deep, husky voice yelled from across the room.

It was Estella. She was still wearing the same clothes from the night before, pushing two mannequins across the room while trying to catch her breath and reach her table. She stood right next to me, trying to recompose herself.

"We worked together to create these designs." Estella said apprehensively, she looked tired. "Y/N asked me to finish the last touches last night, but I mindlessly forgot. I was only able to finish them this morning. My apologies, Baroness."

"The only reason why I will not fire both of you right now is because both dresses are..." The Baroness inspected our mannequins once again, looking up and down before moving to the next designers. "something."

It was hard to suppress the confused look on my face as I heard her lying to our scary boss without any remorse. We never agreed to anything, let alone working together. The entire situation seemed indecipherable, until my mind connected the dots: