This is the chapter from which Scent of a Woman began. I originally intended to write a one shot based on a distraction. After it was written, my mind kept coming up with storylines that led up to and followed this event. Now 18 chapters later, I'm still not done with it. I love the journey and hopefully you do, too.
All Janet's, all the time. Nothing in it for me, except fun.
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Scent of a Woman
Chapter 7
Stephanie signaled the stage manager that she was ready. The house lights went down, and the stage lights went out. The audience hushed. She took a deep breath, walked to her place on the darkened stage and positioned herself on a stool front and center. She was wearing a full-length, black satin, loosely hooded cape. She'd been fitted with a wireless headset so she would not have to hold a microphone. Stephanie wanted the first song to be dramatic and demand attention in an under-stated way. The whole lounge was darkened, and the only light in the room was to be a spot on her that slowly brightened during the first five lines of the song. Her voice would start small and in the dark, then would build during the song to a powerful finish. It was time to channel her inner Barbra Streisand. Sally and the boys began to play. Stephanie waited for her music cue and began to sing.
Oh my man I love him so
He'll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don't care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is quite all right
What's the difference if I say
I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is
I am his
Forever more
Oh, it cost me a lot
But there's one thing that I've got
It's my man
Cold and wet, tired you bet
But all that I'll soon forget
With my man
He's all that in looks*
And a hero out of books
Is my man
Two or three girls has he
That he likes as well as me
But I love him
Oh my man I love him so
He'll never know
All my life is just despair
But I don't care
When he takes me in his arms
The world is quite all right
What's the difference if I say
I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is
I am his
Forever more
The audience burst into enthusiastic applause as she ended the song, and Stephanie felt much better. She had the first part of her act under her belt, and her butterflies under control. With the room being dark and a spot just on her, she was unable to see the any of the audience, and that helped. She also kept her thoughts on Ranger as she belted out the words. It allowed her to make the song feel very intimate, and with him in the audience she imagined she was delivering it just to him. She was afraid to see his face and was relieved when the jazzy music for her second number began as the audience settled. Stephanie discretely released the clasp of the black hooded cape and allowed it to drop to the floor behind the stool as she stood. Underneath she had on the glitzy gold sequined dress that had spaghetti straps, a deep cleavage, and almost no back. It was fitted all the way down to her hips where it split into several narrow panels, of the same sequined fabric, that ended just above her knees. When she walked, her legs sporting rhinestone studded thigh high stockings would appear and then hide behind the split panels. She now had to channel her inner Brenda. The second song had to be delivered with spice and attitude, and success was totally dependant on good audience participation.
When the house lights went up, she took a good look around at the make-up of the audience and noticed several men…several, large, gorgeous Merry Men. They were everywhere. Oh great, she thought to herself. So much for anonymity…well Stephanie, she silently mused, you had better make the most of it. Maybe you could make some of them feel a little exposed and uncomfortable. The wheels were turning. She stepped off the stage and, with a saucy grin, moved through the crowd as she began to sing….
The minute you walked in the joint
I could see you were a man of distinction
A real big spender
Good lookin' so refined
Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind
But let me get right to the point
I don't pop my cork for every man I see
Hey big spender
Spend a little time with me
Wouldn't you like to have fun, fun, fun
How's about a few laughs
I could show you a good time
Let me show you a good time
The minute you walked in the joint
I could see you were a man of distinction
A real big spender
Good lookin' so refined
Say wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind
But let me get right to the point
I don't pop my cork for every man I see
Hey big spender
Hey big spender
Hey big spender
Spend a little time with me
During her performance she singled out several Merry Men to flirt with, rub up against, tease, and otherwise shamelessly provoke. She even approached Ranger and gave him one of her best moves, running her hands seductively around his shoulders and dropping them over and down his chest from behind, while singing right into his ear. She picked on Cal, with a little bump and grind, and Hal, who turned five different shades of red when she winked at him as she sang to him that she could 'show him a good time'. She even coyly approached Lester and teasingly lifted his dropped jaw from the floor. He winked at her, and she knew things were going well. It was actually kind of fun. For the final refrain, she zeroed in on the target, Andrew Sullivan. She made sure she was right there at his table as she neared the end of the song and shimmied her body down and back up against him from behind. At the last minute she swung around, straddled his lap, and with one hand, grasped his tie and sensuously pulled it from the knot bringing his face to within inches of hers as the song ended. The lights went out for a brief moment after the final note. The lights came back up and thunderous applause, whistles, and cat calls, filled the room. Several of the Merry Men were looking a bit dazed. Stephanie acknowledged the accolades from her position on Andrew Sullivan's lap with nods toward the audience, but intentionally kept her contact with Sullivan. The applause eventually died down. Waitresses resumed their serving.
Stephanie leaned into Andrew's ear, making sure he got a good whiff of her perfume, and whispered. "Thank you for being such a good sport. I hope I didn't embarrass you!"
"No, not at all Miss….."
"Granger, I'm sorry, my name is Maria Granger." Stephanie said as she sat back, patted his tie flat against his chest again, and extended her hand.
"Well, Miss Granger, you were wonderful." He took her hand and held it a bit longer than would normally be considered just friendly. He couldn't take his eyes off hers.
"Please call me Maria, Mr. ….."
"Sullivan, Andrew Sullivan."
"Okay, Mr. Sullivan, tell me what you're drinking, and I'll have the bartender send over another one on me, you were really great during my performance, and I'd like to show my appreciation." Stephanie stood from his lap and turned to leave, but he slid his hand to her wrist and gripped it gently.
"Please stay, Maria, join me for that drink… and call me Andrew." He looked directly into her eyes with a warm and sincere look.
"Alright…Andrew." She took a seat in the chair next to him that he quickly offered her. She removed her headset and casually fluffed her hair. He summoned the waitress over and ordered a scotch for himself and looked to Stephanie questioningly for her own drink choice. "Oh… I'll have a margarita, thank you."
Stephanie was glad that her attempts to get his attention had been successful so far. Now she was counting on Lula to push things along. She didn't have time to let Ranger, or the team, know of Lula's involvement in the "distraction", and, in a few moments, that part of her plan would come through the door. She just wished she had an earpiece to hear the reactions of the Merry Men. Tank was going to be pissed at first, but Lula would be safely on her way home right after her performance, and her role was critical to getting this guy where she needed him.
"I've never seen you here before. I come here frequently for the cabaret shows, and I have never heard you perform before tonight. You're quite talented. I enjoyed your singing very much. Are you new here?"
"Yes…I mean no. I mean, I'm just filling in for a friend. She called me yesterday in a panic because she had to quickly leave town to see a "sick relative". She figured if she found her own replacement, she wouldn't get fired. I'm just here for the 9:00 show though; one of the other girls is filling in the rest of the night. This isn't something I normally do. I was very nervous. Could you tell?"
"You looked like you where born to be on that stage, Maria."
Stephanie smiled warmly at him. "Well, aren't you sweet for saying that." Just as if on cue, Lula approached the table.
"Girlfriend, I know we came here together, but I just got a call from my sugar, and he is back in town. You know he's been gone for two weeks, and I've been goin' crazy without him, so I'm outta here and on my way to get me some of that man's lovin'. Do you need to get home to Carlos? Cause I can drop you off on my way."
"No, Lula, Carlos is over at Lester's tonight. But you go on, I know how much you've missed Pierre. Don't worry about me. I can take a cab. Have fun this evening, and call me tomorrow. And, Lula…thanks for driving me here tonight."
"Okay, girl, you sure?"
"Yeah, Lula, really… go, go, go…and tell Pierre I said hi." Stephanie looked at Andrew hoping to get some kind of confirmation that it would be okay with him if she stuck around. He nodded slightly. Lula left.
"Carlos, is he your boyfriend?"
"No, my son… and Lester is my brother. They spend a lot of time together. I don't know what I would do without him. He's so good with Carlos, and he has always been there for me; even on my worst days."
"What about the father? Isn't he around?"
"I'm a widow." Stephanie pushed the words from her mouth, as if they were painful to say. Even though they weren't true, just the thought… She leaned back as the drinks arrived and were placed on the table.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound..."
"It's okay, Andrew. Don't worry about it." Stephanie was doing her best to control her surprisingly melancholy feelings and keep the conversation going. Get a grip Steph this isn't a real story. "Ric's been gone for four years. What about you? Do you have a wife waiting for you at home?" Stephanie nodded at the wedding ring on his left hand.
"Ah…. No my wife died four months ago in a car accident…along with my daughter." Stephanie, of course, already knew this but was truly affected by his apparent pain.
"Oh, Andrew, I'm so sorry. You must be devastated." She put her hand on his arm in comfort. "I know the pain can be unbearable."
"It is…. and it's a little too fresh." His still raw grief showing all too well, he threw the conversation back to her. "Tell me about your son."
Stephanie became very much the proud parent. "My son is beautiful. He'll be four years old in a couple of months. If I could bottle his stamina, there would never be another energy crisis. He looks just like his father, smooth brown skin, dark hair; chocolate eyes that make you melt every time you look into them. He acts just like his father, too. He's fearless, smart, loving, and hell on wheels. He's my whole world! I have a picture in my purse, but it's back in the dressing room."
"Being a single mother must be tough; do you work outside the home?"
"No, not right now. Ric was very realistic about the dangers of his job and went to great lengths to make sure I would be well taken care of if he didn't make it home. Carlos and I are very comfortable. I am fortunate to be able to stay at home with him."
"What kind of job did your husband have that was so dangerous?"
"He was military, Special Forces. He died oversees. I don't have a lot of details, top secret, national security, need to know, and all that. I wasn't even told where he died. In the end, I guess, the details don't matter as much as the fact that he is never coming home. He will never know his beautiful son."
Andrew took her hand. "I'm sorry you have to go through this. It's a terrible thing losing someone you love so much."
Stephanie was glad that she could not see Ranger from where she sat. Speaking of him this way was really hard. "It's funny; when we met, it took forever to get him to ask me out. I was crazy about him, but he didn't do relationships. He flirted shamelessly, but always kept a safe emotional distance. I understand his reasons better now, but if I could talk to him one more time, I would tell him that having him in my life, for the short time we were together, was worth any amount of pain I've endured since he's been gone. We were so good together, I mean really good. We were only married a year before he was called to duty."
"I'm sure he was very proud of his son."
"Because of the secrecy of his missions, I had no contact with him once he left. I was pregnant with Carlos when Ric died. He never knew." Stephanie drifted off wistfully at the end of this last sentence. She was having trouble maintaining her role and thinking about Ranger being dead at the same time, but she quickly recovered and continued "Some days I take a trip to "denial land" and I convince myself that he is just "in the wind", and, one day, he will walk through the door, we'll be together, and he will never leave again. Those are my loneliest days…you know what I mean?"
"Yes…. I do know." Andrew's thoughts were far away for a moment, and then he quickly returned to the present. "If he was so adamant about not having a relationship, how did you change his mind, Maria? How did you end up getting him to marry you?"
"Well, that is a very personal question, Andrew. I'm not sure I'm ready to divulge that little secret. A girl has to maintain a certain amount of mystery," Steph said, playfully.
"You are a very beautiful and talented woman. I am sure his "relationship issues" were no match for your charms."
"You'd be surprised. He was a very stubborn man!" Stephanie looked embarrassed. "Oh, my god, Andrew, I've gone on and on, and you've been such a patient listener. Let's change this sullen mood, okay? The band is playing now. Will you dance with me?"
"Absolutely, Maria, please…" Andrew reached his hand toward Stephanie, and they took to the dance floor. They continued with their conversation while dancing through two songs. Stephanie was able to occasionally steal glances at Ranger; his darkened eyes never left her. There was a tap on Andrew's shoulder.
"May I cut in?" Andrew looked disappointed at the interruption by the man, but glanced at Stephanie to see if she was comfortable with the request.
"It's okay, Andrew." she nodded.
"Don't worry, bud. Just one dance okay? I'll return her to you without a scratch." Andrew nodded, stepped aside, and reluctantly returned to the table to wait.
"Les, is something wrong?" Stephanie asked with concern as they began their dance. The band was playing slow, romantic dance music, so Les pulled her in close, and they were able to converse covertly without drawing too much attention.
"No, Beautiful, not a thing. Although, we almost shit when Lula appeared. We thought she would blow your cover until we realized she was in on it. I don't know if Tank wants to spank her or kiss her," he chuckled. "I cut in here, because I just thought our boy over there could use a little push in the right direction to move this along. A little competition, or jealousy, can make a man see things a little more clearly." Stephanie thought to herself that, although she knew Lester was talking about Andrew, he could very well be talking about her situation with Ranger. "And by the way, where in the hell have you been hiding that little talent of yours?"
"What little talent?" she responded coyly.
"That voice! Damn, Beautiful, you have us all stunned. That was some show!" Lester's face was beaming with pride.
"Oh that…well the voice comes from lessons courtesy of a proper Burg upbringing, and that little act was courtesy of my good friend and his band. Believe me, I won't be quitting my day job to take the show on the road." She looked around the room again. "Speaking of my day job…isn't this a little overkill tonight?"
"Isn't what a little overkill?"
"Come on, Les, I count at least twelve Merry Men in here tonight, and those are just the ones I can see. I thought Ranger only scheduled four."
"Oh, them. Well, the rest are not exactly on duty."
"Well then what exactly are they doing here, Les?"
"Oh come on, Beautiful. When the word got out that you were going to be singing with a band, there was no way anyone wanted to miss it. They're here to see you!"
"Who's left at RangeMan then?"
"Max, Binkie and Vince drew the short straws. We also owe them each a case of beer. Ranger had to bring in a few contract workers as well."
"This is just great! You guys actually drew straws? Unbelievable! I thought since this was located out of state, I could get this done without much embarrassment."
"I don't think so, Steph. I'm pretty sure Hector recorded the whole thing. He's probably uploaded the entire performance to YouTube already. And what's there to be embarrassed about? You were great!"
"Damn It, Les, is Hector wired? Can he hear me?"
"No, just the five of us can hear your wire. Relax, I'm just kidding. Can't a brother tease his favorite sister?" Lester smirked and gave Stephanie that adorable little boy look that she could never resist. "Hey, Woody even brought a date!"
"A date!" Stephanie was a little stunned. Most of Ranger's men didn't date very often. They were all gorgeous, but tended to be rather intimidating at first impressions.
"Yeah, take a look over my shoulder, small table towards the back."
Stephanie picked up her head and looked over Les's shoulder. "Oh my god, is that Connie?"
"Mmmhmm."
"How?….I mean when?…."
"Ranger put Woody in charge of picking up the FTA files for RangeMan everyday since we've all been busy with this case. They hit it off right away. He thinks she's cute."
"Hunh, well I'll be. Is there anybody left in Trenton this evening? My Grandma Mazur isn't here is she?"
"No, that's about it."
Stephanie took a cleansing breath. She needed to calm down and return her attention to the job. "Okay, how are you going to make our friend, Andrew, over there jealous?"
"Easy, Beautiful. I am going to do something here in a minute to make you very angry, and I want you to react honestly, and let me have it. No holding back. Okay?"
"Okay, are you sure?"
"Oh yeah, we just need to move a little closer to your table so he doesn't miss a thing. Remember the goal here is to get him to take you home. Do me a favor and just don't let him get too friendly. Bobby, Cal, Tank and I will be following you, and Ranger will be at the safe house ahead of you. He's going to leave in a few minutes. Are you ready?"
"Yes, as ready as I'll ever be. I'm not too worried. He seems harmless enough."
"That's what we're counting on, Beautiful. Good luck and be careful!" By this point in the conversation Lester had skillfully lead them closer to Andrew's table, and without hesitation, he grabbed Stephanie in a tight, full body hold and kissed her roughly.
"What the…" Stephanie's initial shock quickly faded, and she was all business. She pushed Lester back forcefully and slapped him hard against the cheek with forced indignation on her face. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Perfect, Beautiful." He whispered. "It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. I think we pushed the right buttons, because here he comes. He's all yours."
Andrew rushed up to Lester, angrily grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and punched him in the face. It was laughable to think that someone could knock around any of the Merry Men, but Lester convincingly feigned injury and stumbled back.
"Andrew! Stop. It's okay; he's a little drunk and just got a bit too friendly, that's all. Really, I'm all right." Stephanie grabbed Andrew's hand and tried to lead him away. "I think I should go home, though. Could you call me a cab?" Stephanie was playing the damsel in distress role and was counting on Andrew's chivalrous nature to get the desired result. They left Lester standing with his hand rubbing his chin. Andrew gathered Stephanie in a protective embrace and returned her to their table.
"Maria, did he hurt you? I am so sorry. I should have never let him near you." Andrew was visibly upset, and his concern for Stephanie was actually quite touching.
"I'm alright, Andrew. He really was just a drunk jerk. I'll be fine. Thank you for…. for everything, but it's getting late, and I would like to go home."
"Maria, would you mind if I took you home? I would feel much better knowing that you made it there safely after what just happened." He looked very sincere, and Stephanie knew she had him. Bingo!
"Yes, Andrew, I would like that. Are you sure it won't be an inconvenience to you?"
"Absolutely not! I insist. It's the very least I can do to repay you for your wonderful company this evening."
"Okay, if you're sure. Would you mind if I go back to my dressing room to change and pick up my things?"
"I'll be right here waiting for you, take your time."
"I won't take long, I promise." Stephanie headed towards the dressing room noting that Bobby and Cal were casually moving toward the door, presumably to get into position outside in their car. Ranger was gone. Tank and Lester would remain in the lounge until Stephanie and Andrew left, and then they would follow. She quickly changed back into the emerald green two-piece chiffon dress that matched her eyes and set off the color of her auburn hair beautifully. It had a flirty skirt, but the top was still conservative with a cowl neckline that dropped low enough to reveal just a hint of cleavage. She took off the stockings, but put back on the magical FMP's and placed the locket Ranger had given her around her neck. She touched up her make-up, fluffed her hair, and spritzed on another hit of Black Orchid perfume. Finally, she gathered her things, thanked Sally Sweet and the band one last time for all their help, and returned to the table where Andrew was waiting. He stood immediately, offered to carry her bags, and guided Stephanie toward the door with his hand pressed to her lower back.
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Author Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was fun to write. I am so in love with writing Lester. I may have to do something about that in my next story.
If you want to hear a performance of Stephanie's two songs, I found: "My Man", by Barbra Streisand and "Big Spender" by Bette Midler or Shirley Bassey on youtube.
*Stephanie insisted on altering just a few words of the first song. She just couldn't say "He's not much for looks and no hero out of books is my man." It just didn't work when she's thinking about Ranger! So I listened to her... and rewrote them accordingly.
