During the next two weeks, Nate might have been occupying himself being furious with her for leaving, but Ella was busy planning her future. She only had two weeks to execute her plan and she had to make decisions.
"I can't go to Thompson," Ella sighed. "It just doesn't feel right."
"Where will you go then?" Serena offered her a macaroon. They were hanging out in bed watching Impractical Jokers.
"I don't think I'm going to go back into journalism," She looked off pensively, taking a bite of the cookie. "I only did that in college because I didn't want to be a teacher and they always make it seem like those are your only two options as an English major. But publishing... I'd have to start at the bottom, but it's kind of what I always wanted to do. Can you imagine a job where I just get to sit and edit stories all day, not just petty little gossip columns? Heaven! And now I have a fat portfolio of work and experience... I shouldn't do too badly applying for jobs."
Serena looked over at her. "So, there's no way you're staying at the Spectator?"
"Absolutely not," She shook her head. Serena smiled and put her arms around her in a tight hug.
"I'm so proud of you. I wish you would have told me while this was happening, but..." She shrugged. Ella snorted.
"I'm sure you can understand my secrecy," She said. She then sighed. "I feel good about this, don't get me wrong, but I think Nate's going to hate me forever."
"He's not going to hate you forever. He doesn't even hate you now, he's just... brooding. He does this when he knows he's being a child about something." Serena dismissed Ella's claims with a shake of her hair. Ella snorted, not believing the blonde for even a second. She was just trying to make her feel better. She took a deep breath.
"Okay, so I'm about to ask you for something." She said suddenly. Serena turned with a little quirk of her eyebrow.
"Okay? You want water or...?"
"No, I want a meeting with Blair Waldorf," Ella rushed it out. "She kind of emailed me for a job in January modeling her summer collection. It was all very hush hush, she didn't even want me to tell Nate... But I said no and now I've gotten to thinking that maybe I should do it so I can keep sending money to my parents while I wait for replies from the publishing houses."
"You want me to set up a meeting with Blair?" She looked surprised. "How do you make even the most innocent things sound like you're asking me to kill someone?"
Ella pursed her lips. "I'm assuming that's a yes. And I don't get why no one understands how I wouldn't want to take advantage of my friendships..."
Serena rolled her eyes. "I'll give her a call and set up a date."
———————————
Ella dressed her best for the meeting with Blair. It might just be a modeling gig, but she took Mrs. Waldorf-Bass's time very seriously. Black leather trousers, white button up and a black sweater under a structured gray coat. A little androgynous. A little sexy. Professional enough to be taken seriously, stylish enough to be inoffensive to Blair.
Blair herself sat in a lilac pantsuit with a mauve satin blouse. Her heels were bright yellow. Somehow... all of this worked. Ella was astounded by how totally unafraid of color the woman was.
"Hi, Blair. Thanks for agreeing to see me," She extended a hand. The business woman shook it and Ella sat down.
"So. You've reconsidered my offer," Blair folded her hands. "What makes you think we still need you?"
"I don't," Ella replied. "I know you've probably already got another model lined up and I don't expect you to take me instead if that's the case."
Blair studied her, leaning forward slightly. "It's possible the position is open. But I need you to answer some questions first."
"Sure," the petite woman agreed, wondering what fresh interrogation tactics were about to get tested on her.
"What did you do to Nate?" Blair got to the point. He was her son's godfather. This woman had obviously done something to plunge him back into his brooding moodiness and she intended to get all the facts before proceeding.
"What did I... What has he told you?" Ella frowned. "Don't you think we should be talking about my work experience or something?"
"I'm the one asking questions, Ella. Besides, we both know you have no experience modeling so just answer: What did you do to my friend?"
"I didn't do anything," Ella replied through gritted teeth. "You think Serena would still speak to me if I'd done something terrible to him?"
"Serena is too trusting," Blair waved her hand. "And that's not an answer I accept."
Ella breathed in deeply. You could use the money, she reminded herself. She exhaled.
"I slept with him," She said matter of factly. Blair had the eyes of a shark— she knew there was no point lying to her. "Serena probably already told you that."
"She did. Although I already knew, you two are pretty easy to read," Blair examined a flawless fingernail before looking up at Ella expectantly. "Go on. Continue."
"My father has been sick," Ella obliged tightly, forcing the words out. "It's been very stressful and I couldn't handle that plus what was going on with Nate. I told him I had to leave the Spectator and find work somewhere I could feel self-reliant again. I also... you know, I didn't feel this could go anywhere serious with him if I stayed."
That was harder to say than she thought. She needed to pause after the words were uttered. Blair tilted her head.
"What about the promotion? Are you threatening to leave the Spectator so he'll promote you?"
Ella looked at Blair with such ferocity in her eyes it almost made her jump in her seat. She didn't, of course-- you don't jump in your seat when you're wearing a $2,000 pantsuit-- but she almost did. This was surprising from the usually sunny Ms. Vazquez she'd become acquainted with.
"I'm not threatening to leave the Spectator-- I am leaving the Spectator, whether he promotes me or not. It was just a point I made to him— in private, mind you— to show him he couldn't treat me impartially. How much did he tell you, Blair?"
"Enough," She dismissed the question. She was still the one conducting this interrogation. "You told him you weren't friends. That hurt him, why would you say that?"
"Jesus, he told you everything," Ella laughed bitterly. "Did he tell you why I said that? It's because after everything that's happened, he told me we could just go back to being friends and working together like... like none of it mattered. Like the most important thing was not losing his star employee..."
"He just doesn't want you to lose your career," Blair corrected.
"He was being a condescending ass," Ella retorted. "I don't mind working hard. I don't mind starting over. I'll put in the hours and work my way back up, there's no way I won't."
Despite her self-assured speech, Blair was still looking at her unconvinced. Ella sighed.
"You know what, I just wanted this money to give to my family and help with rent while I'm job hunting. But I'll find another way. Thank you, Blair," She stood.
"Oh, sit down," the queen commanded with a roll of her eyes. "You have the job."
Pursing her lips, Ella sat down. Blair started clicking on her computer and the printer behind her (artfully disguised behind a huge vase of flowers) rumbled to life.
"The shoot is next week... Your last two weeks are up on Friday, right?" She inquired.
"Yes..."
"Perfect. The garments are already in your size range— Serena was helpful enough to give me that information— but we'll do some final fittings on Sunday and shoot for the rest of next week. I'm thinking Little Havana..."
"You— already— what?" Ella spluttered.
"Nate doesn't hate you, you know," Blair confided. Serena and her had had a long chat before she'd accepted a meeting with Ella. "I know he isn't the best at expressing himself sometimes, but he was coming from a good place. He's just insecure."
"I— what am I supposed to say to that?" Ella exclaimed. God damn the fucking non-judging breakfast club and their utter disregard for the privacy of others. "He hasn't so much as looked at me since our fight, let alone tried to talk with me about it-- do you want me to pretend like that's mature behavior? No! I won't! He can just suck a dick and—!"
"Woah, there," Blair stopped her, eyebrows lifting. "You've got a surprising amount of pent up rage for such a small person, you know that?"
"Yeah, well. It's been a rough few months," Ella huffed, calming down. "So... the shoot is in Miami?"
"You get to spend some time with your family, I get an interesting cover girl for this season's photo story... It's a win-win, don't you think?"
Ella narrowed her eyes. There had to be a catch, but... She wasn't in the position to be questioning Blair Waldorf-Bass. Blair watched as the appraising expression morphed into a resigned little half-smile.
"You're going to tell Nate all about this, aren't you." She said.
Blair shrugged and handed her the itinerary she'd printed out. "I might."
Ella shook her head-- but the woman looked amused rather than enraged now. She gathered the documents and stood to leave.
"Well, if you do talk to him... Tell him I look great, would you?" She left with a wink.