Love Believes (Sully Point, Book 5) (5 page)

"Yes, that's right, she's Sam and Maggie's
sister."

"You know what that means. She'll get the
lead."

"Doesn't seem fair."

"Well, she is supposed to be an
actress."

"She'll probably sleep with the director,
that's what those actresses do."

"I've heard that, too."

He might not be sure how he felt about Beth Carter
being his assistant, but this was going too far. He got up and stalked over to
the table with the two women who were gossiping. He recognized Maelynne, but
not the other woman.

"Mr. Christopher! I didn't see you come
in," Maelynne said, simpering.

"Evidently you didn't realize you could be
overheard either. I am appalled that you would be gossiping about someone you
don't even know and saying she would sleep with the director, who happens to be
me! Madam, you are out of line. The profession of acting is a fine one, and a
woman does not need to bed anyone to get a part. Furthermore, the roles will be
filled by whoever gives the best auditions. From now on, please keep your mouth
shut about things you don't understand."

"Well! I never!"

He glared at her and she shut up, and he headed back
to his table. He felt justified in his righteous anger at Maelynne and hoped
he'd shut down the idiotic gossip. The two women left hurriedly, sending
furious glances at him. All in all, he decided the day was looking up.

* * * *

Maggie sat on one of the curved couches in Julia's
Place and ran a hand through her short disordered curls. Julia sat down across
from her and offered a plate of cookies.

"Thanks! I'm ravenous today. I feel like I
must be having triplets, I'm eating so much all the time. So, tell me what
happened when they met," Maggie said and then took a large bite of
chocolate chip cookie.

"You know how Mr. Christopher can be. He
seemed to be surprised by Beth, maybe her age? I'm not sure. But things didn't
seem to be getting off to a good start. Then they both went upstairs and next
thing I know he's shouting, and then she's shouting right back at him. I'm glad
she stood up to him. It all got very quiet, but Beth didn't come downstairs during
that time, so I'm assuming he didn't fire her as his assistant yet."

"Good for her," Maggie said, around
another mouthful of cookie.

"She came downstairs later and went out for
lunch, then he came down and looked, I don't know, kind of stunned. I wonder if
he's affected by her looks," Julia said, thoughtfully. "She's really
quite beautiful."

"Her looks? We weren't looking to find her a
man, Julia. We just want her to enjoy working for him if that's possible, and
maybe learn more about her craft. And somewhere in all that I'm going to find
out what really drove her to leave L.A."

Julia tilted her head to one side and her long
black hair slid across a shoulder to hang down by her face. "What do mean,
what 'drove' her?"

"Listen, you can't tell me that she just
randomly came out here. She wouldn't leave L.A. even to come to my wedding! Now
suddenly out of the blue, she shows up. Something happened, I tell you,
something not good. But we can't push her. I do know that much about my sister.
We have to give her time."

Julia nodded. "Okay. You won't find me
pressuring her. You know, I like Mr. Christopher. If she can help him with what
he's trying to do here, well, I'm all for it. Whatever might happen beyond that..."

"Nothing will happen beyond that!" Maggie
said forcefully, and then shoved another cookie in her mouth with a frown.

* * * *

Beth ate her turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce
at Deb's Deli sitting by herself. She watched the crowd of people sitting at
tables and standing at the counter curiously. Watching people, listening to
them, was second nature to her. She stored up mannerisms, tones of voice,
postures and facial expressions in her mind, to think on later or to practice.
To her, acting was all about making a character believable and the way to that
was to find the reality in each one.

She was finished with her sandwich and debating
going to the Bakery for dessert when she witnessed a commotion near the door.
Her table was close enough that she heard everything. Evidently a woman named
Maelynne was in high dudgeon.

"And then he had the nerve to come over to
our table and tell us to stop talking about actresses that way. As if he didn't
know it was all true. Everybody knows they sleep around to get parts."

Beth froze, her glass of soda halfway to her lips.
What had that woman just said?

"So Mr. Christopher actually came over to you
and said something? Of all the nerve!"

Hang on,
Beth thought.
Mr. Christopher?

"Yes. He seemed to feel he had the right to
censor our remarks. He's probably slept with tons of actresses. You know he's a
director."

Beth had had enough. She stood up and walked over
to face the woman.

"Excuse me. Is it, Maelynne? I'm new in
town."

"Why yes, I'm Maelynne."

"I couldn't help but overhear your
conversation. You seem to think Mr. Christopher sleeps with actors to give them
a part, is that right?"

"Well, he is a director and that new actress
is from L.A. You know what that means."

Beth was aware that a circle of avidly listening
people surrounded them.

"Yes, I do know what it means. You see, I am
the actress from L.A. ...Beth Carter is my name. And you are insulting both Mr.
Christopher and me with your ridiculous vicious gossip. What kind of an old
witch are you to talk about people you don't even know? Good for Mr. Christopher
for standing up to you! I'm here to tell you, Maelynne, that not every actress
sleeps with a director for a role. Certainly this actress does not and never
will! So keep your big mouth shut!"

Maelynne gasped as Beth swept past her and out the
door. Behind her she heard everyone talking at once and a few people
applauding. Beth was steaming with anger and marched back to Julia's Place
muttering under her breath. When she got there she saw Julia open her mouth to
talk to her and just waved at her. Racing up the stairs, she came to a stop in
the office where she found Mr. Christopher pawing through the box of notes.

He looked up at her and his eyebrows rose.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes! That...that...oh, the names I could
call her! That woman, Maelynne. She came into the deli and was spouting off
about you and how you probably made actresses sleep with you for parts and I
just blew up at her. What a hateful woman she is!"

"Interesting," he replied, his lips
twitching into a smile. "I confronted her at the Lobster Shack over lunch
where she was flat out saying she knew you would be sleeping with the director
for a part because all actresses do that. It appears Maelynne is not having a
good day."

Beth took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Then she began to laugh. Just a chuckle at first, then she saw his smile and
they both started laughing. The more she laughed the more he did, and soon they
were both holding their sides. Beth sat down at the desk and finally pulled
herself together. She looked at the man across from her who had defended her
honor.

"You know, it does happen in our business.
It's why I'm here."

"What do you mean?" he asked with a
frown.

"In L.A. I was up for a part, a really big
part in a sitcom that everyone expects to take off. I went through tons of
auditions. I even missed my sister Maggie's wedding because I had another call back
and didn't want to miss it. I worked so hard to get that part. And then the
director called me in and told me I got it. I was so happy. I just wanted to
work, you know? Just wanted to act. And then he gave me the news that I had the
part on the condition I slept with him, not just once but whenever he
wanted."

"He what?" Mr. Christopher said, his
voice quiet, yet menacing.

"Yes, you heard me correctly. I was so
mortified. Here I was thinking he thought I was good at acting, and then to
discover he only wanted my body."

"What did you do? What did you say?"

"I left his office kind of stunned, not
really telling him anything I'm afraid. I just couldn't believe it. Then I went
home and realized there was no way I could do it, even if I never got another
acting job again. You see, that was part of it. Agree or be blacklisted. Really,
Andy Benton is quite the slime ball."

"Benton. Andy Benton. I've heard that name.
He is big out there."

"Well, I called and told him no. Then I
packed up my clothes, quit my secretarial job, called my brother for money for
a plane ticket and basically, got out of Dodge. I feel on the one hand like I
ran away. But on the other I feel like I managed to barely escape. So I came
here, uncertain if I'd ever go back. Finding out I could work in any capacity
at something connected to what I love seemed like a godsend."

Mr. Christopher shook his head, still looking a
bit angry. "Guys like that Benton...they stain the profession with their
sins. Good for you for standing up to him."

She looked into his eyes and what she found there
gave her a sense of relief inside. Something tight, in her heart, loosened at
his response to her story. She had done the right thing, she'd known that, but
somehow it helped her to hear him support her decision.

"You and I," she said with a small
smile. "We haven't exactly hit if off today."

"No, but then, I rarely get along with people
who work for me."

"Really? That must be kind of lonely."

He looked surprised. "I'm not sure I've ever
considered that aspect of it."

"Are you willing to look at the tablets Julia
has this afternoon?"

He sighed. "You're not going to let up on me
about that are you?"

"No."

"Fine. But if it doesn't work, we go back to
my way."

She nodded and glanced up and down at his clothes.
"I'm assuming you'll want one in black. Is that a big city look?"

"It's just easier. I'm usually too busy to
think about what I'm wearing. If it's all black, I can't go wrong."

"Hmm."

"What?" he said, glancing at her
suspiciously.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." She got
up and led the way downstairs to Julia, thinking how smashing he'd look in a
deep blue shirt and gray slacks. Perfect for his eyes.

Two hours later she took a deep breath and blew it
out. "I think we need a break."

He set the tablet down. "I couldn't agree
more. I guess I can see how much of a help this thing could be to me, but it
seems like it's taking me a while to get the hang of it."

Beth silently agreed wholeheartedly, but said,
"You're doing great."

He stood up and looked down at her. "How
about we take a walk over to the playhouse? See how the work there is
progressing. You haven't seen it yet have you?"

She smiled and felt energized again. "I'd
love to see it. Let's go!"

He chuckled. "I think you've shown me great
patience this afternoon, even if you haven't said how slow I've been."

She looked down for a second and then looked up
into his eyes. "Let's go see that stage."

He laughed.

As she followed him down the stairs, she reflected
on how his smile and laughter changed his face so much. It seemed scowling at
everyone was his normal look, but then he would smile at her and she felt
surprised by it every time. With that smile he was a handsome man. He was always
charismatic, even when he was not happy about something. But without the frowns
he became attractive and, yes, rather sexy.

What was it about dominant men, or rather men who
could take charge and who were good at what they did, that was so appealing? She
wondered about it as she walked beside him. She thought it might be that on
some level they made a woman feel protected and safe. But she didn't want or
need that in her life, she thought. Then she backtracked and thought that
perhaps, every now and then, feeling cared for and protected and safe and loved
might be a very good thing.

"Beth? Did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, no. I was thinking of
something."

"I said, 'Here we are.' This is it."

She looked up at a large old building.

"We'll eventually have the outside completely
restored, but for now we only worried about safety issues. The focus of the
work is on the interior."

Beth liked the look of the place. It had an art
deco exterior in the past, much of which was visible through the decay. They
entered the building to the sound of hammers banging and raised voices.

"Ah, no, not again," Mr. Christopher
said. "The carpenter and the designer have been at odds almost every day
since we started. I think the two just can't get along."

"Who is usually right?" she asked.

"The carpenter. He's from Sully Point and has
been doing woodworking his whole life. The designer was brought in from the
city. He looks down on the local man which doesn't help anything."

They moved on through the foyer to the auditorium
portion of the building. Beth gasped in delight. "It's wonderful!"

Mr. Christopher gazed around and nodded.
"Yes, it's coming along. And down front there is the whole reason we're
here--a brand new stage. Want to take a walk across it?"

"Can I?" Beth was excited at the
thought.

He waved a hand at her. "Sure, go ahead. I'll
see what the argument we're hearing is about."

She walked quickly down the room and mounted the
steps. Pausing for a second, she walked slowly out onto the stage. She couldn't
help herself, she had to do a speech from a play. The first monologue that came
to her mind was Gypsy Rose Lee's defiant speech to her mother from
Gypsy
.

* * * *

Mr. Christopher was three-quarters of the way into
the large open room when he heard a voice speaking from the stage. The
hammering stopped and it got quiet. It was Beth and she was playing Gypsy Rose
Lee to perfection. As she reached the climax of the speech, her voice was
vibrant and strong with emotion.