The Spy Who Loved Me

Chapter 20

Ethel, who was surprised that he was opening up to her, visibly stiffened.

"She was very beautiful" he smiled fondly. "She had long dark hair that touched her waist, emerald green eyes, and a regal presence. She was four years my senior, but I was still enamored with her at my young age."

Ethel's thoughts darted back to the picture frame she had found in the guest room. His description of Olena seemed to match the woman in the picture. She desperately wanted to ask if Olena had given birth to a child, but she kept her mouth shut and let him continue on.

"I was devastated when she died" his voice became choked with emotion. "She was involved in a terrible carriage accident...couldn't even recognize her face" he voice faded to a hoarse whisper. "I begged her not to go that night" he reminisced sadly. "The weather was so bad...but she was defiant. I still feel guilty for it stopping her, it's something that has haunted me" he confessed.

Ethel rubbed his hunched back comfortingly. She was beyond grateful for his openness; perhaps she could trust him, perhaps he wouldn't hurt her after all. "Thank you for telling me this, Michael. I feel like I should be asking for forgiveness now" she said shyly.

He quickly sat upright and wiped his wet eyes. "No, no...you weren't aware about any of this, and I should've told you sooner" he said, grabbing her hand tightly. The stood up together and hugged each other in a romantic embrace. Michael buried his face in the crook of her neck and sensually kissed the bare skin. "I think we should take a taxi home" he suggested, causing Ethel to gasp at the pleasurable vibration of his voice against her skin.

They walked to the Main Street hand in hand, Michael easily harrying down a taxi. Within ten minutes they were outside the ritzy Manhattan complex. He helped Ethel remove her coat as they entered his penthouse. Ethel felt heat rising up her cheekbones as he brushed her hair aside to unbutton the back of her blouse. "Shouldn't we get to the bedroom first?" she laughed girlishly.

Michael unhooked her brassiere and left a trail of kisses along her right shoulder blade, letting his hands fall to the sides of her waist. Chills tickled her spine as she felt his growing erection against her backside. "I want to see you on that bed with your skirt off and your legs open. If I can't give you the Moon, I'm gonna at least show you the moon" he promised, giving her hard pop on her shapely bottom.

Michael couldn't tell if Ethel was more floored by receiving the role as the lead actress, or by having her very own dressing room. Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas, New Year's, and her birthday all at once when he placed the key to the room in her hands.

It was love at first sight.

With childlike glee, she ogled at the letters of her name engraved within the golden plate on the door. She had never seen anything more perfect. It was her dressing room. Her very own dressing room. Not some large room that she had to share with twenty other girls.

The inside was...well, it was definitely decorated in the style of Lana Turner. Ethel turned up her nose at the God-awful black and white decor. "Is this woman aware that other colors do exist?" Ethel questioned, her voice not lacking in sarcasm. The wood floors were covered by a large zebra hide rug. In the corner was a luxurious, white lounge sofa. Overhead dangled a gaudy chandelier that cast glowing prisms on the ceiling. Most of the other decorative accents were either white or black, or wild combination of the two.

"Feel free to change anything you please, seeing that you'll be using this room for a while" Michael informed her as he too, studied the odd room. "You have about five minutes until the rehearsal starts. Remember that it's your time to shine, and no one can rob that from you" he her reminded encouragingly.

The energy was undoubtedly different on the set; actors and actresses whispered amongst each other, mostly gossiping about Ethel's new role, or Richard and Lana's relationship status. Ethel was frightened and doubting, but she refused to let it show in her demeanor. She lifted her head and carried herself with a new sense of pride. She would ignore Richard's blatant rudeness, and continue to do what she did best: Perform.

Richard's voice soon interfered with her thoughts. He sounded stressed and agitated, although that was far from anything new. His stormy eyes surveyed everybody in the room, until his gaze rested on Ethel. His face clouded over with a resentful scowl. He jammed his hands in the pockets of his slacks and paced the room slowly. "Many thing have changed since the last time we were all together, but I'm glad that we're back in business." He forced a less than genuine smile across his face. "We're going to have to work harder than we've ever had to in order to pull this off. I'll need one hundred percent and more from every one of you. With that being said, I think we should start off this first rehearsal getting familiar with the revised musical selections and effects" he suggested. The cast nodded their head in agreement and all took their places on various parts of the set. "We'll start with the first number, 'Violet's Theme'."

Ethel, who played the Violet's character, took center-stage as she was the lead vocalist on that particular selection; the rest of the cast would sing the background vocals. With curt nod of her head, she signaled the piano accompanist to start. The first two measures featured a waterfall of jazzy scales, setting the somber tone of the song. The music then fell into a sultry swing tempo when Ethel joined in. The rest of the cast joined her at the chorus, singing quiet "hums" in four-part harmony. The lyrics depicted the tired heart of a young girl, a loner and a castaway desperate for anyone's love. Ethel's lustrous, alto voice reflected the aches and pains of the song with such heart-felt bitterness.

The song finished, the piano resolving the chords in a satisfying manner. With a proud smirk plastered on his face, Michael strolled next Richard and read over the remaining songs that would have to be rehearsed: "I've Got My Heart in His Pocket", "Scandal!", "Love is Nothin' but a Lie", "The Truth Must be Told", "What Happened to Violet?", "I Got Tears in My Eyes".

"Quite a few songs left, huh?" Richard murmured. He desperately wanted to believe that they couldn't pull it off, that Ethel would screw up and prove his point. However, it wasn't gonna happen...she was just that good, and surprisingly prepared.

"You know as well as I do, that if all those songs go as well as this first one, we'll all be outta here before six." Michael smiled in triumph, Broadway hadn't seen a musical this controversial since The Children's Hour!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.

"And that show was also raided by the police and banned from being performed" Richard replied coldly. "I swear, if you destroy what's left of my career, my revenge won't be petty."

A/N

Is it just me, or are there way too many gaps in Michael's story?

If you haven't figured out it already, Michael and Ethel have issues with telling the truth. *Chuckles*

My man Richard is running around trying to scare people with veiled threats, but we shouldn't pay him any mind...

OR SHOULD WE?