“Take The Fucking Cash!”
Agatha and Nicky were lounging in their living room, each with a plate of Chinese takeaway on their laps. Mrs. Davis had gone on vacation, and there was no way either of them would eat Agatha’s cooking.
Nicky had insisted they watch some sort of shouty gaming video on YouTube, which his mother was only half-paying attention to as her thoughts drifted to her workday. To say she was concerned about Rio’s interview tomorrow was an understatement.
There were many things Rio was good at- distracting Agatha from her work, being a gorgeous pain in the ass, hell, even her designs weren’t bad. Conversation, however, was not one of her strong suits. She tended to ramble, completely zone out, or drop something totally random into their discussions. Agatha found it endearing, but the general public? The vogue readers? Perhaps not so much.
Agatha was just hoping that Rio wouldn’t say something stupid that the media could take out of context and exploit, especially if it involved her. She didn't need another blow to her reputation following the disastrous Paris Fashion Week.
Still, this was her only chance to get their collection out there, especially since all her usual press contacts were giving her the cold shoulder.
Though she didn’t quite feel comfortable putting all her faith in Rio Vidal, she saw no other option. Sure, she had lost her contacts, her reputation, and her influence, but there was no way she was going to lose her dignity as well.
“You’re not watching it, Mama!” Nicky whined, his mouth full of food. He jumped up onto the sofa where his mother was lounging and wrapped his arms around her. “They’re announcing all the new Minecraft stuff! You’re missing it!”
Agatha mock gasped, ruffling his hair as he buried his head in her neck. “Oh, wow. I wouldn’t miss it for the world, hon” she said, a bit too much sarcasm creeping into her tone as she picked up her phone and opened Instagram. Nicky sighed, his tearful brown eyes looking up at her. He was used to his mother’s detachment, but it was still frustrating.
“Mama!!" He huffed. "You can message Rio later. This is important,” the boy said, trying to swat her phone away. He stuck out his bottom lip, his brow creasing in the same way Agatha’s did whenever she was upset.
“I’m not—” Agatha began but then noticed his expression. Shit. She was doing it again, getting hyper-focused on whatever work-related issue was on her mind and ignoring her son. She sighed and put her phone down, echoes of her mother’s cruel words of critism seeping into her mind.
~Youre not good enough. He'll grow up to hate you.~
“Sorry, love." She said gently, meeting is gaze. "Mami’s just a little stressed with work. I’ll watch it with you now.”
The pair ended up cuddled on the sofa well into the night, long after Nicky fell into a soft sleep. It was only then, after midnight, that Agatha picked up her phone, typing out a couple of words to Rio. She’d intended to send her a more thorough message of advice on what to talk about tomorrow, as well as a couple of topics to avoid if any questions were asked, but she was completely exhausted.
“Good luck darling! 💜” was all she managed before settling back on the sofa next to her son.
Hopefully, Rio would read it the next morning.
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
@a.harkness 00:08
“Good luck...”
Rio was still awake when her phone pinged. Just seeing the notification made her heart beat faster. Good luck. It seemed ominous from Agatha; Rio could only hear it in her snarky, judgmental tone. God, was she being sarcastic? Mocking her? Probably.
She’d been curled up in bed for an hour or so, seeing as she’d hardly slept the past week and was hoping to look somewhat alive for her interview. The heating in her building had broken, so she was swaddled in all the blankets and fabrics she could find, practically freezing. Alice had been messaging her all evening, stressing about whether she should go and talk to Jen. Rio had told her to just go for it, but she knew Alice would spend her whole life fretting over decisions if someone didn't give her a push. She’d have to work on getting Jalice (as she’d begun to refer to the pair as, much to Alice’s annoyance) back together once all this interview business was sorted.
She woke up extra early the next morning; sure, her interview was at 4 pm, and it was currently 6:22 in the morning, but Rio needed lots of time to prepare. The sun had barely started to rise, casting a soft, golden hue across her small apartment. She stretched and took a deep breath, feeling the familiar rush of excitement and nerves that came with big moments.
The last time she’d felt like this was the morning before her interview to work for Agatha. God, she had felt sick with nerves for about a week leading up to it, and it had gone awfully. One look at that goddamn woman and Rio had forgotten her own name.
That felt like lifetimes ago; even now, she wasn’t sure what had gotten her the PA job in the first place. She'd like to think it was because of her talent, but she definitely hadn't exhibited any during her interview.
Rio's heart thumped as she caught her reflection in the mirror; this was it.
Maybe she should have stuck to coffee and paperwork.
After quickly getting ready, feeding her tarantula, saying a few pairs and running to the station, Rio ended up standing in a crowded tube train carriage, also know as her personal hell. She had her headphones pressed tightly over her ears, blasting a random hyperpop playlist. Usually, the rave music helped drown out her anxieties, but today, they felt so overwhelming that she could hardly focus on the beat of the blaring tunes.
She still had no idea what the interviewer, whoever the hell that was, would really ask her, and she couldn't for the life of her remember what Agatha had coached her on yesterday since she had become far too distracted by the sound of the older woman's clicking heels and how sexy she looked strutting through the empty halls to take anything she was saying in.
She was fucked if they asked her anything to do with the upcoming collection, seeing as it was currently made up of five scraps of paper on a glorified cork board… Though, aside from that, what else were they going to ask her about? Agatha? She hoped not; any questions about her would end in embarrassment and probably a lot of speculation.
Her heart pounded in her chest. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, aftershave, and vape smoke, and as elbows, bags, and children kept jostling against her, she felt a wave of nausea. Some guy with a ridiculously large suitcase had practically boxed her in by the doors, and there was still an eternity left of the journey.
There was no way in hell she could do this
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Jen had been working the cafe for what felt like centuries. Her perfectly done makeup was already sweating off, she’d lost two acrylic nails, and her coworker still hadn’t shown up. Typical.
She was twenty minutes into her shift, and she’d already dealt with three angry customers, five returns, twelve screaming children, and at least twenty groups of teenagers asking for the stupidly fancy drinks that took ages to make. Thank god for her airpods.
Despite the incessant orders and the quiet hum of the playlist she’d put together, Jen was still a little lost in her thoughts. It had been several days since she’d turned Alice away, and while she thought it was the right thing to do at the time, she also thought that eventually, Alice would come back. Though, much to her disappointment, it appeared she was very wrong. She hadn't seen or heard from Alice since their little debacle, and while she was adamant that she was right to act as she did, she'd kill for them to make up. And maybe make out.
Every time a flash of red hair entered the cafe, she’d glance up in excitement, only to see another idle customer. She hadn’t even seen Rio this past week, which was especially unusual seeing how much that girl loved her freebies.
Work was painfully monotonous now that she didn’t have the pair sat on their usual table to bicker with; it was currently occupied by a horde of loud teenage boys bunking off school. Great.
Jen had messaged Alice again that morning. The third morning in a row; she was giving herself the ick now. It was pathetic.
First thing in the morning, she’d just send a little “How are you?” Or “Whatcha up to?”, and it would always bear no response.
Even Rio wouldn’t answer her occasional attempts at striking up conversation. Jen hoped that the pair weren’t collectively blocking her out. Damn it, they probably both loathed her now…
Maybe she should just give it up. But she couldn’t, not after that kiss, not after everything they’d been through, everything they’d talked about. Jen was never one to cling to hopeless relationships, but with Alice it was different. Alice wasn’t like the clingy, self centred girlfriend and boyfriends she’d had in the past. She was genuine and sweet and perfect.
Jen needed to find a way back to her.
Just as she thought the morning rush had quelled, a gangly teenager stumbled up to the counter, smiling sheepishly. He spoke in a slight American accent.
“Hi uh, A black coffee please” The kid muttered “Extra hot and as many shots as you can get in the cup”
Of course, Jen would recognise that order anywhere. Only a couple months ago was Rio rushing in every morning at eight with the same hyper specific order and the same limitless black bank card.
“Ah, you’re one of the Harkness lot?” Jen smirked, her nails clicking against the register as she processed the payment. The boy nodded awkwardly, moving from foot to foot.
“You know Rio?” She asked, making the coffee with practised ease.
“Oh, Rio? Yeah, we are totally cool. Great friends.” He smiled nodding.
“What’s your name?”
“I- uh, Billy.”
Jen smiled “Oh, Billy? She’s never mentioned you” she said, handing him the steaming cup. His cheeks flushed.
“Huh, that’s… odd.” He muttered. “We are close.”
“Next time you see Rio, will you tell her to come meet me here whenever she can?”
“Oh, I don’t talk to her that much.. She’s really busy. She’s like, an anazing designer you know. I’m thinking I could join her and Ms Harkness’ collaboration-“
“Please, Billy.” Jen interjected, eager to stop an inevitably long ramble. “You can have a couple free cakes if you want. just tell Rio that Jen wants to speak to her.”
She needed a way back to Alice, and if she wasn’t going to answer her texts or show up at the cafe, Rio might be her only option.
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
While Rio was out of office, Agatha was able to get a bit of her own sketch work done for their collection. She’d been rather inspired by the jumpsuit she’d thrown together for Rio the other night, and so she’d begun to plan out a couple similar designs for the collection.
God, you’re just amazing Agatha. Even in your spare time, middle of the night, day before event, and you’re throwing together masterpieces. Incredible.
Her little self love session was interrupted by Billy’s arrival, armed with a cup of coffee and a stack of files.
“Hi Mrs Harkness-“
“Ms.” Agatha immediately corrected, raising an eyebrow.
“Right, sorry. Hi Ms Harkness. Is Rio at that interview today?”
“Let me think. The one that’s been on the calendar the past three days in bright purple lettering? The one that I’ve told you about twice in the last twenty four hours? The one you literally replied to yesterday? What do you think, Teen?”
The boy blushed, setting the coffee down. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and say yes.”
Agatha gasped mockingly, clasping her hands together. “A keen observation, Teen! So intelligent.” She mused “Why do you wan to know where Vidal is, hm? Little crush on her?”
“Oh. No. I’m gay.” He blurted out, smiling.
“Never would have guessed” Agatha winked sarcastically.
“If you see her later on, tell her Jen wanted a word.” Billy said, suddenly remembering the barista’s words.
Jen? Why did this woman want to speak to her Rio? Who was she? A friend? A girlfriend?
“Pfft. Right, okay. And who the hell is that? Some other classy journalists or something?”
Billy shrugged, “Woman who works at the cafe. I think they’re friends or something. I dunno.”
Huh. Friends. She’d have to do some investigating later.
To distract herself from the growing fear that perhaps Rio was already seeing someone, Agatha decided to engage in her favourite pastime; pissing off Teen. She grinned, predator like as she leaned forwards in her office chair.
“Oh. I saw you were doing some sketches during your lunch break yesterday?” Agatha said, her voice saccharine sweet.
Billy had only been out on a little park bench in one of the public walkways around the office building. He’d always wanted to work in fashion, and seeing Rio’s success, he thought that maybe he’d have a shot if he could just show Agatha some of his designs. What he didn’t account for was that the woman would have somehow seen his dumb sketches from the day before, which, admittedly, we unfinished and messy. Damn it.
Billy spluttered, colour rising in his cheeks. “How did you-?”
“CCTV. I own all the land around the building darling. I don’t miss a trick.” Agatha smiled dramatically, obviously taking great pleasure in his embarrassment. “Do my a favour hon, stick to the day job. That concept sketch was dire stuff. Not everyone can be the next Vidal you know.” She smirked, checking her nails. “Besides, I don’t work with men.” She added, her face contorting in disgust at the thought. “Ever.”
Billy prayed the ground would swallow him up. Of course she owned the fucking alley. Of course she’d have nothing better to do than stalk her employees around the building all lunch break. And now she’s never going to take him seriously; the sketch he was doing wasn’t even that bad!
When the boy didn’t respond, Agatha clapped her hands, bringing the discussion to a close.
“Right then, Teen. I want all my emails sorted. Unless they’re offering cash, just put them in the junk. Laptops on your desk. Get it going, I’ve got awards to win and coffee to drink.”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Rio was perched on someone’s front garden wall. She didn’t really know what stop she got off the tube at, or if she was anywhere near where she was supposed to be.
Rio was always one to speak without thinking, without caring really. Or at least that’s what people thought. But here she was, crumbling at the thought of a fucking interview.
Each tick of the clock on her phone felt like a countdown to potential disaster. Her hands were shaking slightly, clenching and unclenching as her thoughts spiraled. What if she disappointed Agatha? What if the critics tore her apart in the magazine? What if she stumbled over her words or, worse, said something completely ridiculous? She was drowning in a sea of what-ifs, and her head spun.
“Just breathe,” she muttered to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. She glanced at the map on her phone; nothing felt familiar, and her panic threatened to bubble over.
With shaky hands, she took her phone from her blazer pocket. She thought about messaging Alice, but then she’d have to explain the whole situation, plus deal with her friend’s over excitement about the whole vogue situation. Scrolling through her contacts, her finger hovered over Agatha’s number. Maybe she could offer a little advice, or comfort, though the latter would be rather surprising coming from Agatha Harkness.
With trembling fingers, Rio found herself tapping the number, her heart pounding in her chest. The tone dialled for a couple seconds before Agatha’s voice rang through.
“Vidaaal, daring. Are you there yet? You better not be lost somewhere.” She said loudly, her voice loud and oozing dramatics as always. "Darling, if this is about the interview, I hope you’re not going to cancel on me.” She laughed as though the mere notion was ridiculous. Rio’s stomach lurched. This was going to be rough.
“Agatha, I—" Rio hesitated, fear creeping in once more. “I’m really sorry, but I can’t do this. I thought I could, but…I just can’t.”
A beat of silence, and then Agatha’s voice returned, dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, sweetie, darling, Yes you can. We did the contract, It’s today, you’re prepared. It’s really not a huge deal honey.”
“I can’t.” She repeated, anxiety penetrating her tone.
“Your contract says you can. Your boss says you can.”
“Your not my boss anymore.” She mumbled, wiping her tears with her blazer sleeve.
“Okay. Your partner in business says you can. If it goes shit they won’t publish, and if you’re not happy with it I’ll just get them to burn all the scripts. Simple.”
“Agatha, I…” Rio's voice wavered. “I don’t think I can do this. I’m really sorry. I thought I was ready, but I’m just not. I can’t face it right now.”
Agatha sighed, her heart clenching at the hopelessness in Rio’s tone. Her initial anger and disbelief evaporated, and though helping others was a compete violation of her moral code, she’d have to make an exception.
“What happened darling?” She said gently.
“I don’t know!” Rio lamented, her voice raising involuntarily. “It was going fine, I was early, And then the train was so loud and gross, and i just couldn’t stop stressing out about the ducking interview. I hate talking to new people so fucking much. I don’t wanna do it. You should just do it. You’d be better than me at it anyway.”
“Oh, please,” Agatha interjected, her tone a mix of disbelief and amusement. “They want to talk to you! You’re the main attraction! Do you think I became a fashion icon by hiding away every time I felt anxious? We’re artists, darling! The world wants a show, and we are going to give it to them. Now, where are you? I want in on this damned interview.”
Rio went silent for a moment, her sniffs ceasing as she processed what Agatha had just said.
“What? You mean right now?” Rio’s head spun. “I can’t— they only wanted to speak to me, right?”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t show up for moral support. I can handle the difficult questions too, and create a bit of a stir. Get a bit of publicity going you know? Ooh, maybe we could stage a fight! Just think of the entrance I could make! The drama, the stakes. The queen of fashion herself swooping in to claim her prodigy”
Rio snorted, laughing slightly through her tears. “Queen? Seriously? You don’t think they’ll just kick you out?”
Agatha scoffed. “Of course not! Don’t you know who I am?” She laughed, “Look, I’d much rather be in some swanky studio eating chocolate liqueurs that in this godforsaken office watching Teen knock things over. If you can’t stomach the tube I’ll come pick you up. Send that location and be ready darling! We are going to devour this interview.”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Agatha groaned as she hung up the phone, before a smile crept up her perfectly painted lips. She’d been hoping to insert herself into Rio’s interview somehow, and rather than the dramatic, albiet unwelcome entrance she had planned (which may or may not have breached several laws), the opportunity had fallen right into her lap. It wasn’t ideal really; she wouldn’t like to admit much hearing Rio’s shaking voice and nerves hurt her, but hey, at least she could attribute her impending assistance as mere selfish desire to be in the interview.
She wouldn’t want Rio thinking she cared too much.
“Teen! I’m going out! Any phone calls tell them to ring me back!” She yelled, already half way out of the office door. “Unless they’re offering me cash! Then take the fucking cash!”