Request summary: Y/N and Estella both work forthe baroness and get together at work. {A request from my IRL best friend, who I force to read all of my fanfics in the early hours of the morning.}
AN- This is part 1/ 3
When my alarm clock rang on that Monday morning, I woke up expecting it to be a normal mundane day at work. I opened my curtains to look out at the bleak dark sky that overshadowed London, wishing that I didn't have to be awake so early. As I got myself ready for another day at work, all I felt was the existential dread of another day working for the Baroness. It isn't that I didn't enjoy my job, in fact it was quite the opposite, I loved it. Being a designer was my dream. Being able to create dresses that can only be described as spectacular pieces of art was amazing. It made me feel so accomplished and fulfilled.
But working for the Baroness was an absolute nightmare. She was a horrendous boss. She was demanding, rude and disparaging. She gave little thought to anybody else's feelings, never acknowledging anybody else's accomplishments and she took all the credit for everybody else's hard-work. I often thought about leaving, but working in the fashion industry was my dream and I was so passionate about my job. I would have been stupid to throw away such an opportunity. So every morning I would drag myself out of bed and hope that each day would be better than the last. But it rarely ever was. Until that fateful Monday.
There seemed to be a gloomy atmosphere in the air that morning. The sun had not yet fully risen, and the sky was covered in a dense blanket of grey clouds that covered the usual vivid colours of the morning horizon. The roads were quiet and there was a stillness that radiated throughout the city as I walked the dimly lit city streets of London to work, with no idea what that day would entail. As soon as I got to work I settled myself at my work station. I could feel the Baronesses cold glare fill the room as she stood at the window of her office looking down on me and my fellow colleagues, waiting for us to get started at work. Though her last show had only just finished, we were expected to immediately get started on designs for her next show.
I sat at my work station mindlessly sketching my design ideas. As I looked up from my sketchbook my eyes were met with the most captivating woman I had ever seen. She was dressed all in black, and wore a beret that framed her beautiful red hair. She had piercing emerald green eyes that instantly enthralled me. She was the girl that everybody had been talking about, the grubby one that was covered in trash when the Baroness scouted her from Liberty a few days prior. She stood behind Jeffrey, just momentarily taking in her surroundings. I could tell she was a little nervous but I couldn't help but momentarily admire her beauty from a distance, as I looked at her in wonderment.
All of a sudden a stony silence fell upon the room, and as the Baronesses voice interrupted my thoughts. I now raised my gaze to her, as she stood peering down at the factory floor from the staircase of her office. She held up the fashion section of Tattletale as she began to read about her recent show, which had been dubbed as a triumph.
"She really is a genius." The baroness repeated in a smug arrogant tone that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Yeah right." I muttered to myself under my breath.
The Baroness was many things, but she was not the genius people made her out to be. She had talent and the ability to create beautiful designs, but she never did. As usual she had just taken the credit and success for other people's hard work, never praising them and arrogantly disregarding their feelings and input. It had happened so many times now it was the norm, and part of me had grown to accept that that was just the way working in the fashion industry was. But that never stopped me feeling bitter, especially when I had personally worked myself to the bone to design her latest triumphant signature piece.
As she demanded that we got back to work, I turned my thoughts back to the intriguing and mysterious new girl. I watched her out of the corner my eye as frantically ran round the factory floor gathering up fabrics to create her first design for the baroness. The majority of my colleagues sat by watching her, silently judging her. Which I couldn't help but feel was unfair, I could see how clearly anxious and agitated she was, so I took a deep breath and walked over to help her.
"Hi" I said in a friendly tone, as I had finished approaching her. "You're the new girl right?"
"Yes. I'm Estella" She replied.
I smiled back at her, "Nice to meet you Estella, I am Y/N. You seem a like you could do with a hand, would you like me to help you?" I said as I gestured towards the piles of fabric that she had gathered in her arms.
"That would be great." She said nodding at me, seeming a little unsure of herself. Presumably feeling overwhelmed by her first day. "Thank you for being so kind Y/N, the others haven't been as welcoming." She added.
"It is no problem, I felt the same when I started working here. You get used to it." I replied.
After I helped her choose her fabric, we both made our way back to the factory floor to work on our designs.
The tension in the room grew heavy as the Baroness paced up the line of designs that had been created. I could see that Estella grew increasingly anxious as she approached her. After making a few alterations to Estella's first design, the baroness gave her a slight nod of approval before walking away.
"Do you think she liked it?" She questioned a few moments later in apprehensive tone.
"You're still here aren't you." I giggled back in response. "I think you've certainly made an impression on her."
A gratified smile grew on her face. "I hope you're right."
"I am certain of it. However, I do think you should probably put a Plaster {that's a Band-aid for my American readers} on that cut." I said gesturing towards the gash the Baroness had caused when she caught her with her knife. "Come on, I think I have some in my bag."
She sat at my work station as I placed the Plaster gently on over the cut on her hand. As I looked down to examine the cut I couldn't help but notice how slender and delicate her hands were. When my hand brushed against hers, it felt as if a million little sparks had were dancing on my skin. I tried to supress the shiver I felt run down my spine in that moment, but failed. I knew in that instant that there was something special about her, the proximity between us felt so right, as if it were meant to be.
Her green eyes flicked up and locked on to mine. I held my breath as everything went momentarily silent. She finally released her gaze, looking back and the plaster on her hand. It was only then I realised that my hand was still resting on hers. I quickly removed my hand from hers, breaking the proximity. My heart raced as I could feel the awkwardness looming over us, in order to avoid further embarrassment I attempted to busy myself by rearranging the items on my desk.
"Thanks for this Y/N" She said trying to catch my attention again as I continued to act casual.
"Honestly, it is no problem. It was just a plaster." I responded looking up from my desk.
A smile grew on her face as she shook her head. "I didn't just mean the Plaster. I meant for everything, for being so kind and taking the time to help me. It's really nice of you."
"Well it's your first day, you need someone to look out for you in this place." I giggled sarcastically gesturing around the room. "Would you like to go for a drink after work?" I asked in a hopeful tone. "It would be good to get to know you a little more, now that we are working together."
She looked at me hesitantly for a moment, as my pulse began to increase. Perhaps it was a little soon to be asking her out for a drink, we had only met a few hours ago, I thought to myself as I awaited her response.
"Of course." She replied with a smile on her face. "Just us two?" She queried.
I nodded at her. "I can as some of the others to join if you'd like, you could get to know them a little more too?"
She shook her head almost instinctively, which I was a little shocked at. "No, I'd rather it be just the two of us. The others don't seem as interesting as you." She added with a slight giggle, which I couldn't help but feel was strangely flirtatious
That evening we both went to the pub on the corner of the street from work. We sat for hours just mindlessly talking to one another, getting to know one another better. She had told me about why she wanted a career in the fashion industry and how thrilled she was to finally have her big chance working for the Baroness. I told her about how things worked working for the Baroness, giving her tips on how to deal with the Baronesses demanding nature and the competitiveness and hostility that occurred between the rest of the staff.
I sat across the table as our conversation continued, the corners of my lips turning upwards and smiling at her constantly, laughing at all of her jokes. I couldn't help but notice how attractive she was as I sat there admiring her. For a moment I wondered to myself whether she realised I was thinking it, that I was looking at her like that. I couldn't help but question whether she felt the same connection that I did between us, and whether her friendliness was actually flirtation.
"Don't be ridiculous." I thought to myself as our conversation continued. Even if she was flirting with me, I knew that us working together would make it far too complicated for anything to happen between us. Much to my disappointment, friendship would have to do.
AN- Thank you so much for reading. I am not sure how good this first part is as I wasn't feeling the most motivated when I wrote it. But I have already written part 2 and it feels like this story is getting better and going somewhere now. This is going to be in 3 parts so I hope you do enjoy it.
I haven't been the most motivated to write these past few weeks as I have had a busy few weeks, but hopefully I can get back into it. It gives me something to do and helps me practice writing.
Requests are always open for Cruella one-shots, so feel free to send me a request and I will see what I can do. :)
Love from B x