"Mr. Sheffield, what are you doing here?" Fran asked. Without thinking, she hugged her boss, clinging to him a bit more than she meant to.
"Miss Fine, are you all right?" Max asked, alarmed at the way his nanny held on to him for dear life.
Fran sighed in frustration as she watched her co-stars. Just minutes ago, they'd nearly fallen all over Maxwell Sheffield, handing him resumes and headshots left and right. She'd had no idea how tacky showbiz people could be sometimes. "I just overheard a couple people talking about this play!" Fran tried her best not to cry, but tears came out anyway.
Now Max was alarmed. He gently led Fran back over to the platform where Juliet had just played her very lengthy death scene. "Miss Fine, what's wrong?" He brushed a tear from her cheek.
Fran looked into his eyes and found herself feeling a bit better. "They were saying that Philippe wants this show to fail, and that's why he cast me!"
Max's heart broke. He'd come down here to find some gentle way to tell her that very thing. But now she'd found out from someone else. "Miss Fine..."
"It's true, isn't it?" Fran asked. She might not know very much about the theater, but even she knew when something was awful.
"Well, Philippe did have slightly selfish reasons for putting this play on, but that has nothing to do with you. Shakespeare's not for everyone. Please don't let this upset you."
"But I thought I had real talent. I mean, true, I might not be the next Barbra or anything, but I thought I'd really be good in this."
"Miss Fine, you have many wonderful talents. I must admit that you handle the children much better than I do." Max smiled at her, remembering how the children had run amok while Fran was busy rehearsing.
"Well, now that is true," Fran said, smiling suddenly.
"Your place isn't here, pretending to be someone else. You belong with us. Our family needs you, Miss Fine."
Fran thought about the three Sheffield children. Maggie, on the verge of adolescence, Brighton, who always seemed to have a trick up his sleeve, and poor little Gracie, the baby. She loved each of them as if they were her own flesh and blood. And yet she'd turned away from them just for the chance at stardom. "I think you're right, Mr. Sheffield. I may be no good as an actress, but that doesn't mean I'm not good at something else." She suddenly stood.
"That's the spirit!" Max couldn't be more grateful to see his nanny happy again. She really was the only reason their family worked. Ever since his wife died, Max had been at a loss to relate to his own children. Somehow, Miss Fine managed to fill a very important void in his household.
"I'm sorry I got so caught up in this stupid play," Fran said. "I mean, I love my life with you and the kids. But sometimes I want something more, you know?"
Max nodded. His family and his work were both deeply important to him, but sometimes he still felt there was something missing from his life. The trouble was, he could never figure out exactly what it was. "It's all right, Miss Fine. You aren't the first person to get caught up in show business. But at least you realized where you belong before you let Philippe use you just so he could get a bloody tax write-off."
Fran sighed, once again remembering how Philippe had wanted her to be humiliated. She glared at him as he talked with some of the other actors. She found herself muttering under her breath, using words she would never want the children to hear, much less use themselves.
"Miss Fine, whatever you're thinking, he isn't worth it. When word gets out about what he's done, he'll be doing his next play so far off-Broadway, it might as well be on the moon!"
"Wow," Fran said, surprised to see her boss so angry. "I can't believe you're taking this so personally."
"Yes, well, nobody hurts the feelings of someone I care about and gets away with it, Miss Fine. Let's go home." He slipped his hand into the nanny's. It wasn't something he was aware of, it just felt like the natural thing to do.
Fran squeezed her boss' hand as he led her toward the exit. Maybe she'd lost her shot at fame and fortune, but she'd gained something far more valuable. Mr. Sheffield cared about her. It wasn't exactly what she'd expected from this experience, but it was a start.
The End