Two days had passed since Raymond Reddington came waltzing into the Kershaw Theater. Cooper had spent those two days desperately trying to find Elizabeth Milhoan; the one actress that Reddington insisted on having. It was on the third day, as Cooper was arriving at the theater, that a young woman stopped him. She was in her early thirties, with long brunette hair, and her rosy cheeks stood out against her flawless pale skin.
"Mr. Cooper?… Hello … Er, good morning." She stretched out a gloved hand to shake his. "My name is Elizabeth Milhoan, and I was wondering if you had any openings for cast members in your theater? There was a note left on my door this morning, informing me that there might be some and that I should make inquires." Cooper froze, and then met her hand with his.
"Good morning, Miss Milhoan. It's an interesting coincidence that you are here … I've actually been looking for you. Please, come in where it's warm, and let's talk."
He led her to his office and they talked for over an hour. He went over her credentials and resume, trying to find out why Reddington thought she was so special. A fresh graduate, no experience in theater, or cinema, barely any work experience at all in fact, except for a job at a local coffee shop while she was in school, one or two parts in chorus lines, and some walk-on roles in productions Cooper had never heard of. Elizabeth explained that she had started out at Columbia University majoring in Criminal Profiling, but due to the poor grades she received, she chose to move on to her second love, acting. Cooper sent Elizabeth off to the stage, while he made a call to Reddington.
Elizabeth slowly made her way through the theater and saw a group of people on the stage surrounding an older man sitting upon a stool. She ascended the stairs, hesitantly, and couldn't help but notice that the man was well dressed, and unquestionably quite attractive. As she was admiring the man from the top of the stairs, he glanced in her direction, and said abruptly, "Ah! Lizzie! I'm glad you could join us today." A beaming smile spread across his face. She could feel her cheeks grow warm, as all eyes were now on her.
As Lizzie started to approach, Reddington waved his hand and the crew dispersed into the wings, leaving Lizzie alone with him.
The man extended his hand to her. "Lizzie, what a pleasure."
She looked at him, confused, unconsciously meeting his hand to shake it. "And… you are?"
Chuckling, he replied, "I quite forgot, where are my manners? My name is Raymond Reddington."
She jerked her hand from his, gasping. "THE Raymond Reddington?" She was awe struck to be standing on stage with the infamous Raymond Reddington. The 'Ambassador of Angst'. The 'Concierge of Conflict'.
His impeccable smile grew even broader. "The very same. My dear, we have a big day ahead of us. Are you ready?"
"For what, exactly? I'm not even sure why I'm here," she said suspiciously.
"For everything. I'm going to make you famous, Lizzie. You are my new lead actress."
She stood frozen, the words trembling from her lips. "L … lead actress? Wait. What? I'm the new lead? Why me? I just graduated. There must be some mistake? I mean … I'm nothing special."
"Oh, I think you're very special," he said seductively. His words charmed her.
Just as she was preparing to speak again, Cooper and the cast came back to the center of the stage and everyone sat back down in their seats. Reddington stood up from his stool and cleared his throat.
"Alright, folks. Now that Miss Milhoan …" he turned and smiled at her, "… Lizzie … has arrived; we have a full cast, so let's get down to business. First order, I need to introduce my team. If for any reason I can't be reached, you will go through my personal assistant, Dembe."
From stage right, a tall, equally attractive, dark skinned man, in his thirties emerged. Lizzie felt like she was could drown in his chocolate-brown skin. He was dressed all in black; neatly creased dress pants, a silk button down shirt and a form-fitting suit jacket. Reddington continued.
"Next, I would like to introduce my technical director and set designer. She has been part of my personal team for well over thirty years. This is Kate Kaplan." From the same area of the stage that Dembe had come from, an older lady, at least ten years Reddington's senior appeared. She was short, her black pumps the only thing giving her any semblance of height; her dark brown hair was falling right to her chin, and strands, which held a hint of grey, framed her face to a striking effect. She was dressed in a beautiful grey, pinstripe skirt suit.
"Lastly, This is Luli. She will be performing any small female roles." A young Asian woman emerged from stage left. She had gorgeous long straight black hair, and was very chicly dressed in a pair of maroon skinny jeans, a black low cut V-neck top with a black fitted blazer. Her strappy stiletto sandals completed her outfit, making her tower over Reddington as she stood next him.
"Cooper, who do you have for a publicist? Do I need to bring in my girl?"
"We have an amazing girl. She has been working for me for about two years now. Her name is Meera Malik."
"And … she is where? She should be present for the staff meetings." Reddington appeared to be irritated that the entire staff wasn't present.
"She's … out of the office right now." Cooper tried to sound convincing. A small chuckle came from the group.
Reddington shook his head, making a mental note to look into the absence of Miss Malik, then moved on with his tasks. "Alright then. I assume that you still have Aram on staff as your theatre technician?"
"We do, and we had to hire a new costume designer though. He comes with amazing credentials. His name is R.C. Saline," Cooper replied. "He has also proven to be a fantastic props master as well."
Red acknowledged Cooper, and then continued. "Lastly, let's discuss the production I have chosen to revive the fortunes of this wonderful little theater." A surge of energy ran through the group; excitement at what this man was bringing to the table. "We will be performing … Pride and Prejudice." There were mixed emotions in the group, but Lizzie could barely hide her excitement. This was one of her favorite stories. She thought back to her teenage years when she had drifted around with long sections of Austen firmly embedded in her overly romantic brain, wishing she could marry someone like Mr. Darcy.
Lizzie caught Reddington's glance towards her, and she quickly turned her head, as if that was going to hide her embarrassment. Red grabbed a stack of scripts and started to hand them out.
"So, when do we audition for the parts?" Ressler questioned.
"You don't audition for my productions, Donny, I give you your parts," Red responded, not missing a beat. "Therefore, Ressler, you will be playing the role of Mr. Bingley, and Luli, you will be playing your opposite as Jane Bennet. As for Elizabeth Bennet, that role will be going to Lizzie." Red finished handing out parts and the rest of the scripts to the other members of the cast, then handed his notes to Kate, Aram, and Saline. "In order to be prepared for rehearsals, I will be sending you all home to practice your parts. I expect you to have most, if not ALL, of your lines memorized by eight am Friday morning. Be back here, ready to go." He waved his hand again in dismissal and the cast and crew began to gather their things.
Lizzie picked up her bag and walked cautiously towards Reddington. He was talking to Dembe, and she waited patiently until they were finished. "Excuse me Mr. Reddington …"
He cut her off. "Please, Lizzie, call me Red, or even better, call me Raymond." A boyish grin formed across his lips.
"Ummm … Red … I was wondering. You addressed the other lead roles, except for one. Who will I be playing opposite? Who is playing Mr. Darcy?"
He chuckled. "I didn't address that on purpose. Your Mr. Darcy will be played by … me."
"How can you play a lead and direct at the same time?" Lizzie was trying to hide her surprise.
"My dear, that's what makes my productions so successful. I implant myself into everything I do, and touch." His words were dripping with seduction, his lascivious smile was intoxicating to her, and she couldn't figure out why this man was able to make her feel so aroused. She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the rather erotic thoughts she suddenly had running through it.
"I'll see you Friday morning." Lizzie tried not to sound roused.
"I look forward to working with you Lizzie; we're going to make a great team!" Red turned on his heels and disappeared through the curtains.
