by Shayla Black
Her smile tightened and I took some small semblance of pleasure knowing I’d gotten to her. “No,” she said, “only one of us here slept with the professor to get the lead. And it sure as hell wasn’t me.”
Shit. She did know. But how? How the fuck did she know? And did Reid give her my role to save his own ass? I shook my head, taking a step back. “Professor Bradley isn’t like that. He’s a professional.”
Jenna snorted and rolled her eyes at me. “Grow up, Hazel. This is what professional theater looks like. People fuck to get parts. People make deals behind closed doors. And if you think Professor Bradley is any different than all the rest of corrupt New York, you’re about to get a rude awakening in five minutes.”
I took another step back, but she closed in on me, nearly backing me against the door. “Take a step back for a second, Hazel,” she whispered and for the first time since I’d known her, there was genuine concern in her voice. Concern for me? That couldn’t be right. Jenna had never shown compassion or care for anyone but herself. “How well do you really know him? How well can you really trust him if he’s willing to sleep with one of his students? Or even one of his actors. A professor—no, a director—who takes advantage of his power like that isn’t a good man.”
The wood door was cool against the backs of my arms and the metal handle pressed into the small of my back. She was right. I hated that she was right. Not necessarily about Reid being a bad man, professor, and director. But about the fact that I didn’t really know him. I thought our tryst last night was innocent. But what if he did this with all the women he cast in his shows and workshops? What if this was a pattern of behavior that I’d fallen right in line with?
My heart constricted in my chest. I couldn’t answer her. I couldn’t bluff my way out of this one. Instead, I turned away, blinking back the burning tears threatening the edges of my eyes, and walked slowly out the door and down the hall to Reid’s classroom.
When I reached his door, I didn’t bother knocking. I let myself in and found him staring out the window, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “I know,” he said into the phone. “I know you gave me clearance on the casting, but I still felt like I needed to touch base before making such a big change to the workshop. Yeah, I just need to talk to Hazel first.”
It was true. He was trading me for Jenna. White-hot pain seared into my chest like a branding iron piercing my heart. Goddamn. That betrayal hurt more than I expected. He was silent while the person on the other end said something. “Okay, thanks, Clay. I’ll keep you posted.”
He slid his thumb across his phone and turned, startled when he saw me. “Hazel. How long have you been there?”
I swallowed, my jaw tightening. “Long enough. Long enough to know that I’m being traded out for Jenna. Once again, Jenna gets the lead and Hazel Stone plays a whore.” My voice cracked with emotion and I hated that I let this get to me. I hated that I let him get my hopes up. That I let Reid almost convince me that this could be real and that I had a legitimate shot at making it in this career.
I saw it in his eyes, in the small sagging at the corners and the frown that marred his otherwise strikingly beautiful face. It was true. That was exactly what was happening.
“Hazel, that’s not—”
“Tell me something,” I said. “Do you have celebratory sex with all the women you cast as your leads? Is that a pattern you have? Or is it just me…and Professor Faith?”
He winced at the mention of Faith and I waited for his answer as he sighed. “Who the hell told you that? Jenna?”
I said nothing, but held my ground. We’d get to Jenna soon enough. But for now, I had to know if this thing with my previous professor was over or not. If it was a pattern or not. And if I was just one of many he was planning to toss aside.
“Jenna is a snake,” he hissed and moved to step toward me, but I countered his movement, stepping back and putting a desk in between us. I couldn’t be trusted when he got close to me. One touch, one brush of his fingers against my neck and I would melt. And I couldn’t melt. Not yet. Not until I had some answers. “Faith and I were engaged. She’s the only actress of mine I ever dated, but it wasn’t like that. We’d known each other for years. We knew each other when we first moved to New York and neither of us had careers in theater. Hell, we worked as waiters at the same restaurant. Then when I got my first directing gig, I cast her. Not only because she was a friend but because she was talented. As my career went on to get bigger, I did my best to cast her when the show called for someone like her and that’s when she and I started falling in love. Or I thought we fell in love. Two years ago, she cheated on me with my best friend. Broke off our engagement and married him.”
I swallowed back the tears that filled my eyes, refusing to cry in front of him. I could feel the pain and frustration from his fiancée’s affair in his words, in his eyes. “That makes Professor Lewis your best friend too?”
He nodded, taking a large step toward me. “Ex-best friend. I can’t believe I was ever friends with someone who could do something like he did.” As Reid approached, he shoved the desk out of the way and closed the space between us. “I didn’t think I ever wanted to be in a relationship again after Faith broke me…and then I met you.”
That made me gulp. “You barely know me,” I whispered. “You can’t possibly know that you want to be with me.”
His smile twitched, and for the first time since I entered his classroom, his frown shifted to something happier. “Oh, I know you. I know you more than you think, Hazel. I know you drink cheap wine because you don’t know or care to know good wine. I know you’re a hard worker. Talented. A force to be reckoned with, but also incredibly vulnerable and afraid to fail. So you take the emotionally easy path a lot. It’s not the lazy path. In fact, sometimes, you create more work for yourself in doing so, but you don’t realize it until you’re too far down that road to turn back. I know you’re kind. And tough as nails. And you eat ramen noodles out of a microwave cup almost every day for lunch. You’ve been waiting for your big break in acting. For life to cut you a little slack for years.” He lifted his hand and brushed a bit of my hair away from my temple. The point of contact sent a shiver of electricity from his touch down my face and neck, and God help me, I couldn’t help but lean into that touch of his. He leaned in close, brushing his lips against mine in a kiss that was so gentle it almost felt like the wind brushing over my face. “And I know that you, Hazel Stone, awakened my dormant heart. I know you.”
I pushed onto my toes, kissing him hard, overtaken with emotion and desire. When I pulled back from the kiss, I looked up into his eyes. “But the workshop? Were you really going to give my part to Jenna?”
He leveled me with a look. “Are you kidding me? That was never the plan. I have an idea that I wanted to run by you first. I know that you didn’t want to go forward with talking to Professor Dercy, but I’m not sure Jenna left us much choice.”
“What do you mean?”
He blew out a breath and handed me a package of chocolates like the ones I use in my burlesque act. There was a card on top that I opened. Inside was a picture of me and Reid in the middle of the act when I had pulled him up on stage, and scribbled inside the note was a simple: I thought you might need a refill. –Jenna
“Well, shit.”
“She knows everything. She has pictures of you at the club dancing from almost two years ago. She’s been holding on to them, waiting for the right time to use them against you. She threatened to have you fired from your job here, knowing it violated the integrity code. I think she hoped or figured that if you didn’t have your job, you couldn’t afford school.”
Shit, she’d be correct. “And you? She threatened your job here too?”
He waved the thought away. “I’m only here as a favor to Faith. She can report me all she wants. I care about you finishing your degree. I care about all the other people Jenna has pulled this stunt with and how they perhaps missed out on roles and opportunities becau
se of her.”
“Well? What do think we should do?”
He smirked, just one side of his lips tilting toward his eyes. “I have an idea.”
12
Hazel
Twenty minutes later, I walked back into the theater with my box of chocolates in hand. I circled it around to my fellow students. “Anyone want a chocolate?” I announced and passed them out to the class.
Several of my classmates came up and grabbed a chocolate. Melanie took one, popped it in her mouth, and sucked the melted chocolate off the pad of her thumb as she asked, “What’s going on? Where’s Professor Bradley?”
I shrugged innocently, grabbing a chocolate truffle. Biting into it, I glanced over at Jenna, who had her narrowed gaze onto me as I lowered into a seat in the front row. “He’s coming back in now, I think. He had some sort of a shitstorm to clean up.”
Moments later, Reid entered the theater with Professor Dercy following closely behind him. They both reached the front of the theater and leaned against the proscenium of the stage.
“Morning, everyone,” Reid said with a big smile. His eyes traveled over the students, landing briefly on me. I gave him a wink and sucked the chocolate from one of my fingers before sliding the almost empty box of chocolates into my bag. “Today has been a whirlwind and it’s not even ten a.m.,” he laughed. “I’ve got some good news and bad news. The bad news is that this workshop is being fast-tracked. I have a few producers who are interested in getting it on its feet sooner than later. While I initially thought we would have the time to experiment and play with it here in class, we actually need full-time actors who can dedicate four days a week minimum to rehearsals for the workshop.”
He glanced at Ms. Dercy before continuing and she gave him an encouraging nod. “The good news is, we’re keeping you all as our cast for the professional workshop if you accept the roles.” His eyes found Jenna’s as he added, “Well, almost all of you.” I glanced to my right, where Jenna sat, her mouth puckered into a frown, eyes bright with rage.
Reid’s grin widened as the murmurs of excitement spread in the seats with my classmates. “We will pay you, of course. You’ll have a contract. It will go toward Equity points if you aren’t yet Equity eligible. If you are unable to accept the workshop role, I understand and I won’t hold it against you. In fact, you’ll have an opportunity to audition for me in the future.”
Max, one of my classmates, raised his hand and Reid pointed to him. “Yes?”
“What happens to our class schedule here if we’re not doing the workshop?”
“Ah, good question,” Ms. Dercy said, stepping forward. “Obviously, Mr. Bradley won’t be able to teach now that his musical is being fast-tracked. But we came up with a pretty good idea, I think. Instead of the workshop for this semester, I will teach this class and we’re going to work on a showcase that is open to all the students in the program. At the end of the semester, you will each perform in the showcase and Mr. Bradley is going to help us fill the theater with industry professionals—directors, agents, producers, etc.”
Again, the room filled with excitement. Chatter and murmurs as everyone around me grew more and more excited over the potential before them.
“Before we move on,” Ms. Dercy said, her gaze sliding to me briefly, “I need to ask a question that I will be asking in all the classrooms in my department this week. Has anyone here ever been blackmailed by a fellow student—or professor, for that matter?”
I shot my hand into the air, my arm straight and firm, so tight that it nearly ached. Reid lifted his hand in the air as well. I’d told Professor Dercy everything moments ago in her office. I showed her the box of chocolates, the note from Jenna. I told her that I was a burlesque dancer and that Professor Lewis propositioned me sexually in exchange for a better grade—that I didn’t take. Once I’d started talking, it was like I couldn’t stop.
I fully expected her to be mad—to fire me for my part in everything. But her eyes tilted into a sad frown, and instead, Professor Dercy had stood and hugged me, promising me that Professor Lewis would never teach again if she could help it.
Reid and I were frozen in the theater with our hands in the air, waiting. After a few seconds, Melanie lifted her hand hesitantly, keeping her eyes to the floor, and her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. A couple other girls in our class raised their hands as well.
Professor Dercy’s mouth curved into a stern frown and her cold gaze fell onto Jenna, who seemed to shrink in her seat. “Bullying and blackmail is not acceptable at this school. Not in my program.” Professor Dercy tore her eyes away from Jenna and once more scanned the room. “I will be in my office every day this week during my typical office hours as well as from three to five. Please, come in and talk to me about your blackmail experience. You will have immunity from whatever was being held against you. Bring any proof you may have. The person doing this will be expelled from the program and not allowed to be in the showcase.”
“Or in any of my shows, including the workshop,” Reid added.
Professor Dercy gave Reid a handshake and a single nod. “Now, I’ll leave you to finish what’s left of your final class day with Professor Bradley. Next week, I will be taking over, so enjoy the ease he gives you. I guarantee I’m more militant.” Professor Dercy started a slow walk down the center aisle, pausing as she reached the door and calling out, “Jenna, I need to see you a moment.” Professor Dercy exited the theater, Jenna following closely behind her, clutching the straps of her bag.
“Now,” Reid said, “I have one more confession to make. I met one of your classmates before the semester started a couple weeks ago. She and I almost formed a relationship and stopped ourselves, then discovered she was one of my students. I assure you, this didn’t affect my casting of the workshop. But I feel like I need to disclose our relationship. Because I do plan on having a relationship with her.” His smile grew larger. “I hope a long relationship.” He pushed off the stage, walked over to me, and took my hand, tugging me to my feet.
“That being said, I understand if this makes some of you uncomfortable. For that reason, I will have an assistant director who is also the actor liaison at every workshop rehearsal. If you ever feel I am showing favoritism or being unfair, acting unprofessionally, you can chat with the liaison.”
Reid squeezed my hand, glancing at me from over his shoulder. “Does anyone have questions?” The theater was silent. “Statements?”
“Stones you want to throw?” I added.
Melanie rolled her eyes and leaned forward in her seat. “Oh, for God’s sake, we’ve all known for years how talented Hazel is! She deserves this role…regardless of whether or not you two are a couple.”
A few other students smiled at us, nodding.
“Kiss her!” Max shouted and Melanie gave a catcall whistle.
Reid laughed and lifted my knuckles to his lips, kissing me gently on the hand. “I’m still technically your professor for another fifteen minutes,” he said. “So that’s as dirty as it’s going to get.” He leaned into my ear, whispering, “For now.”
Epilogue
Reid
One year later…
It was opening night. The first time outside of the workshop that anyone would see our show on its feet with full costumes and orchestra. We were at a smaller theater in New Jersey—smaller by Broadway standards, but also it was well known as a theater that got picked up by producers to go to Broadway.
I’d done this dozens of times. I didn’t know why I still got so fucking nervous before every opening night. I made my way through the stage door, clutching a bouquet of roses. I hissed as one of the thorns pierced my finger and nearly dropped the bouquet to the floor as I pushed my bleeding finger between my lips. “Fuck,” I grumbled. I got to Hazel’s dressing room and paused, listening outside the door as she sang scales, warming up her voice inside her room.
Warmth surged up to my chest from my belly and I paused, leaning against the doorframe, listening to her voice for
an extra moment. It was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
After a year of dating—four months of which involved us living together—I didn’t think I’d ever tire of that sound. I smiled as she finished her scale and it grew quiet from behind the door, then I lightly tapped my knuckles to the edge of where the door met the molding.
“Come in,” she said.
I pushed the door open and slid inside, closing it behind me. Her grin widened when she saw me and she sighed into my embrace, resting her cheek against my chest.
“It’s finally here. Can you believe it? All that work, the workshop, rehearsals, and you finally did it. Opening night.” She pulled back in my arms, but I clutched her tighter, careful not to stab her with the thorny roses.
I didn’t know a relationship could be like this—easy. Hazel and I had a comfort and an ease around each other that just fit in a way that Faith and I never did. Hazel and I were passionate, kind, and we made each other laugh daily. That’s not to say we didn’t have our arguments (we did). But unlike when I was with Faith, I never had a sinking feeling in my gut when a fight started. I always knew that, no matter what, we would reach a conclusion.
I inhaled Hazel’s sweet lavender-vanilla scent and dropped my forehead to hers. “We did it,” I corrected her. “This show wouldn’t be what it is without you. Without any of the cast and crew, really, but you brought Sister Mary to life.”
She tilted her head to the side and gave me a thoughtful look. “It’s a team effort. But it’s your vision.”
I held up the flowers, offering them to her. “For you. Ignore my blood that’s dripping down the side of the wrapping.” I leaned in, pressing my lips to hers, and her silky hair caught against my stubble as I did so. She hummed in satisfaction against my lips.