Chapter Nine
Evie dragged herself out of bed the next day to head to the theater. She was grateful to be working on the stage and for the distraction. Theater was her life and the one place she could forget about her worries. But, still, she was exhausted because she couldn’t sleep last night, thinking about what had happened with Booth. What happened to Connor when he was a kid. What he had planned to do when he hunted Booth down. And the cold, dead look in his eyes. Despite growing up Catholic, Evie wasn’t religious, but she did fear for Connor’s soul.
“What the heck?” Her brows furrowed as she walked up to the backstage entrance of the theater. There was a crowd building by the door. What was going on? “Excuse me,” she said as she pushed her way to the front. “Hey! Get out of my way; I need to get in!”
“Watch it!” A guy with a professional camera blocked her way.
“I’m a cast member; I have to get in.”
A woman with blond hair turned around and then shoved a phone at her. “You’re a cast member? I’m a blogger from Broadway World Daily. We heard that someone’s been threatening Janelle Edwards and there have been a number of accidents. Care to comment on that?”
“What?” A flash blinded her. “Um … Sorry, I just need to get to work.”
“Evie!” Aiden James’ head popped out from the stage door. He pushed back some of the people and grabbed her hand.
Evie let Aiden pull her in as the crowd descended on her. The door shut with a thud, and she put her hand over her chest. “What’s going on?”
Aiden’s face was drawn into a serious expression. “Someone leaked to the press about the accident and the threats that Janelle’s been getting. Damn sharks came here, smelling blood in the water.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, it’s made my life extra hard.” He puffed out a breath. “You okay? I’m gonna have barriers put up outside the door. Janelle’s fans are also gathering in front, in support of their star.” He shook his head. “Damn thing’s turning into a circus. Sebastian’s not going to be happy since MacAllister wants extra security now.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “All part of the job. Janelle isn’t even here yet. I’ll have to ask Connor for help with crowd control when she finally arrives.”
She gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, good thing. I should go …”
“Sure,” he said, giving her a bright look. “I’ll talk to you later.”
After dropping off her stuff in the dressing room, she joined the rest of the cast onstage. They were all chatting and waiting for Steven and the writers to arrive. By the time thirty minutes had passed, it was clear there was something major causing the delay. Did the insurance company hear about the accident? Were they being shut down? No one said it out loud, though there were whispers and mumbles among the cast.
Finally, Steven walked onto the stage, the look on his face unreadable. Behind him, Jane and Annie followed, wearing similar expressions. “All right everyone, our star is feeling under the weather this morning but assures us she’s on the way.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that bottle of champagne did a number on her,” someone snickered.
“No!”
“I saw it on her Instagram. She was out partying all night with her celebutard friends.”
Steven shushed them, but, with the way his eyes rolled, he clearly knew Janelle’s excuses were bullshit. “Anyway, we need to work around her, so let’s see what we can accomplish.” A young PA scrambled up the stage and approached Steven, then whispered something in his ear. “Fine,” he said with a shrug. “Tech wants to practice the Act One finale.”
“But we need Janelle for that,” Jane pointed out.
“No, Evie can substitute,” Annie said. “Right Steven?”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Steven answered. “At least we can actually get some practice in, and the tech guys don’t need Janelle. They just need to make sure the lighting’s correct. Evie, are you ready?”
Evie felt all eyes on her. Sing the last song of Act One? She loved that song. It was about love and heartbreak, and the melody was incredibly moving. But her heart sank because she would never get to sing that song for the show and in front of an audience. “Sure,” she said, swallowing the bitterness building in her.
Steven gave her a few directions, and she took her position on stage. The music began. She took a deep breath and began to sing. The main character, Colleen, was singing about finding someone who accepted her as she was. During the workshop, she thought of her own life and experiences, trying to capture the feeling in that song. Back then, when she sang it, she thought about Richard. But, as she sang it now, another face popped in her head. A pain pricked in her heart, thinking about what happened to Connor. After last night, she finally knew what he had been hiding all this time, but none of it scared her. Instead, it made her admire him more, that he went through all that and came out the other side stronger and better.
After she finished the last note of the song, Evie took a breath, feeling drained. When the orchestra stopped, there was silence. She blinked and opened her eyes. Annie and Jane were sitting in the front row; both of them had astonished looks on their faces. Behind her, there was a slow clap, which then broke out into full applause. She turned, and her cast mates were smiling and cheering. A blush crept up her neck, and she gave a little bow.
“What’s going on here?” A sharp voice cut through the cheer and there was silence again. Janelle made her way to the front of the crowd.
“Janelle, nice of you to join us,” Steven said. “Feeling better?”
Janelle’s lips curled up into a sweet smile. “Why yes, I am, thanks for asking.” She turned to Evie, her eyes hateful. “And thanks for warming up the musicians for me, Stevie.”
“It’s Evie,” she corrected.
“Right.” She flipped her hair and motioned at Evie. “Well, scooch over, I’m here now.” Evie’s shoulders sagged, and she stepped aside. “Don’t go too far, though, Stevie,” Janelle instructed. “You are my helper, right? I might need a water or something.”
“C’mon, let’s get on with it,” Steven said. “Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday.”
Evie stuck close to Janelle, feeding her lines and the blocking. However, when it came to the dance number, it was obvious the pop star needed much more work.
“Janelle, you’re supposed to walk upstage, not downstage,” Steven said.
“I am going up front,” she answered, her hands on her hips.
“No, darling,” Steven sneered. “Upstage means the back, not the front.”
“That’s stupid,” she whined.
“It was from the olden days when the stage used to slope down,” Evie pointed out.
“I know that,” Janelle retorted. “I was just saying how stupid it is.”
“Let’s get on with it,” Steven said in an exasperated voice. “Opening day isn’t getting any farther away, people! Let’s take it from the top of the scene.”
There was a collective groan from the cast, but they all trudged back to their opening positions. As they continued with the rehearsal, Evie was beginning to lose her patience. Janelle simply didn’t have proper stage training, and it was draining to have to correct her all the time.
“Stop bumping into me,” Janelle snapped.
“Then remember which way you’re supposed to go,” Evie replied, her temper flaring. “You start stage left, not house left.”
Janelle’s face twisted into an ugly mask, her eyes narrowing into slits. “You watch where you’re going, you clumsy cow.”
There was a collective gasp, followed by a deafening silence that settled over the stage. Evie’s face went completely red, and she froze on the spot.
“Janelle, that’s utterly inappropriate,” Steven finally said, throwing his script down. “Apologize to Evie now.”
“I will not,” Janelle said, stomping her foot. “She keeps breathing down my neck, and I can’t concentrate. It’s her fault! Andrew!” she screamed. “Where is Andrew? I demand to speak to him. I’m going to my dressing room,” she said with a flip of her blond locks. She stomped off. Everyone was speechless and looking around as if to say, “Did that really happen?”
As Evie watched Janelle walk away, she locked eyes with Connor. She didn’t realize he had been there the whole time. She flushed again in embarrassment and bit her lip to stop the tears from falling.
Steven threw his hands up. “I guess that means take five. Not that I have a say in it. After all, I’m only the director of a multimillion dollar Broadway show.” With a shrug of his shoulders, he strode off the opposite side of the stage.
“What a bitch,” Daniel Roberts, one of the guys in the chorus with Evie, said as he put an arm around her. “You’re so much more talented than that skinny ho. After that song, I swear I heard a couple people sniffling in the back. You know they only need her for ticket sales.”
She swallowed the bitterness building inside her and took a deep breath. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better.”
“It’s true,” Nicole Anderson, the dance captain, said. “She couldn’t even remember the simplest steps. She looks like a fish flopping around on stage. I think the only dance moves she knows are twerking and flipping her hair.”
Evie giggled. “Right. C’mon, let’s sit down and catch our breath.”
Evie and the rest of the cast emptied out into the backstage area where there were snacks and drinks set up for the cast. She grabbed a bottle of water and downed half the thing, but it didn’t make the embarrassment go away. As she reached for a donut, she suddenly withdrew her hand, remembering Janelle’s hurtful words. Clumsy cow. She flinched inwardly, knowing what the pop star really wanted to say.
“Evie, I need to talk to you,” Andrew MacAllister said as he came up to her.
“Yes?”
Andrew’s brows were drawn together, his face a serious mask. “I spoke with Janelle; she’s not happy with what happened today.”
“Well, neither am I.”
“She wants you to apologize to her.”
Evie crushed the water bottle in her hand. “What? She wants me to apologize to her?”
“Yes. Or she wants you gone.”
The wind rushed out of her lungs like someone had punched her in the gut. Well, they might as well have because she suddenly couldn’t find the words.
“Look, Evie,” Andrew began. “It’s just two little words. I’m sorry. Swallow your pride and you can save the show. You know, people in this business have long memories.”
“I …” What could she say? She was a nobody, a newcomer to the business. Two words could save the show and her career. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll do it.” She clenched her fists so hard, her fingernails left crescent-shaped marks in her palms. Still, she wouldn’t let Janelle see look defeated. She was a professional, Goddamnit, and she owed it to the cast, to Annie, to Jane, and to Steven to make sure the show was a success.
By the time Evie reached Janelle’s dressing room door, she was feeling confident. She raised a hand to knock, but a noise inside made her stop. Pressing her ear to the door, she listened.