Karen brought her hand up to knock on the door to Derek's apartment but hesitated. She thought back to the first time she'd came to Derek's apartment: One year ago, for a 'private coaching session' at ten o'clock at night. The result of that night was probably the catalyst for all of the events that followed it, specifically her attraction to him. Lately, it had been difficult for her to not think of Derek, what with thoughts of Jimmy and Dev at the forefront of her mind. Those two failed relationships had affected her more than she had let on, and though Hailey knew about all that had happened with Dev, she had no clue about Jimmy. Truthfully, Karen didn't want anyone to know about Jimmy, especially not Hailey, who probably wouldn't see him as someone with any good qualities.
Karen breathed in and out, before knocking on the door three times. In response, she could hear shuffling from inside, before the sound of footsteps grew louder, a shadow creeping out from under the doorframe. The doorknob rattled and turned as the door opened, a smile appearing on Karen's face as Derek stood on the other side.
"You wanted to see me?" Karen asked softly.
Derek smiled. "Yes, I did. Please come inside." Derek motioned for Karen to follow him into his apartment, where she stopped after seeing a file on Derek's otherwise bare kitchen counter. "You alright, darling?" Derek asked, noticing that Karen seemed to be a little detached.
"Hm?" Karen looked straight back up at Derek. "Yeah, I'm... I'm fine..." she smiled.
"Were you doing something important when I sent you that message?"
"No it's..." Karen stopped, debating on whether or not to tell Derek about what had happened with Ross at the auditions of To Sir, With Love. In one way, it wasn't really that much of a deal, as Karen had been turned down in the past for roles in musicals, plays, commercials, pretty much everything that she could be turned down for, at some point, she had been. And Derek knew all about rejection, being a Broadway director and all. He'd probably just think that Karen was being silly. "I've just had a pretty rough day... That's all..." Karen sighed.
"What happened?" he asked. Noticing Karen's hesitance, he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly. "You can tell me..."
"...I had an audition today... It didn't go well... that's all..." Karen mumbled, not wanting to say anything more on the subject.
"What for?" Derek pressed.
Karen sighed dejectedly. "To Sir, With Love... the director reamed me out in front of the rest of the creative team." Karen stopped, unsure of whether or not to continue telling Derek what had happened, but Karen found it difficult to not say anything more. "He said I wasn't cut out for Broadway, that I was untalented, and... I don't know, it just got to me..."
"Who's the director?"
"Ross... somebody... His last name starts with a 'K'. It's foreign."
"Ross Kryachok?"
Karen nodded.
Derek chuckled. "Ah, that explains it. He's... not exactly someone you'd want to have as a director. He's still bitter about The Eric Wilson Chronicles flopping three decades ago, which is why he moved onto movies. Don't take what he says to heart. Besides, you know what you're capable of. Everyone loved you in Hit List, in Bombshell... and they're gonna love you again..."
"What?"
Derek walked over to the kitchen counter, retrieving the file laying on top and handing it to Karen.
"What's this?"
"This is for you. I've been talking to Eileen. There's been a development, and... We've got a project that we're hoping will be our next long runner."
"Right..." Karen muttered, not exactly sure where Derek was going with this.
"Yeah, turns out that, while the majority of people in this business still appear to have it out for me, they seem to like Eileen more than they hate me... Eileen and I both think that you're perfect for the role, and we want to offer it to you..."
The words brushed by Karen, only realizing until a couple of seconds had passed what Derek was saying. "R-Really?!"
Derek nodded. "Have a look..." he urged.
Karen sat down on Derek's couch before opening up the file, looking over all of the information slowly, of which, in actuality, there wasn't much. Even so, what she saw enticed her.
"I do need to say though, that we were very lucky to get both Bombshell and Hit List to Broadway in the span of a year. It's highly unlikely that we're gonna be able to achieve something like that again."
Karen nodded. "I know."
"So what do you think...?" Derek asked.
Karen didn't need to be asked. She'd already made up her mind. She would jump at the chance to get back in the spotlight, especially if it meant that Derek would be directing.
"I'd love to..." she smiled.
"Listen, Tom. If we're not doing To Sir, With Love anymore, we need to think of another project to do," Julia began. "And we need to make a start on it right now. I don't want to be sitting around for weeks on end with no new project to go on with."
Tom looked over at Julia, who'd just gotten off the phone with Patrick and now possessed an irritated expression. Tom found it hard to listen to Julia and see where she was coming from. After all, just last year, after Julia received terrible reviews for her book in the Boston previews of Bombshell, it was Tom who took her in, who helped her while her marriage fell apart once again. That wasn't to say that Tom was in the same state of mind that Julia was, far from it. Tom just expected Julia to be a little more understanding, especially considering that he had waited patiently while Julia struggled in getting through her divorce, the aftermath of her then-affair with Michael Swift, and of course her reviews in Boston.
Was it too much for Julia to recognize how everything had been affecting Tom of late? Didn't he deserve a quiet moment just to think things through, and have Julia support him, when he had done the same for her?
According to Julia, no. "Well? Come on!" she pressured.
"Let's do Gatsby." Tom finally suggested.
"What?"
"Yeah, Gatsby. Think about it. You've already written most of it out, and don't you still have that standing offer from Scott? We can hold auditions in a week and have it play down at Manhattan Theatre Workshop."
"I... haven't spoken to Scott since..." Julia trailed off, remembering that Scott and her weren't exactly on good terms the last time they spoke. It was the night after Kyle died and Hit List's first performance since then. Although Derek and the cast were less than enthusiastic about performing in lieu of Kyle's death, Scott said that it would be the best way to honor his memory. When the performance went ahead, Julia confronted Scott, telling him how appalled she was at apparently exploiting Kyle's death, and that she was finished working with him. He had called a couple of times since, but Julia was less than enthusiastic about conversing with him.
Julia's eyes scanned the wall, keenly focusing on the posters of their various Broadway productions. Tom knew almost straight away the time that Julia was referring to. "Seriously?" he asked softly. "Does he even have his slot filled for this coming season?"
"I'm not sure. He told me that he spent some of the reserves of the next season's budget on Hit List right before it transferred to Broadway. And besides, I've already told you: I'm writing Gatsby as a play, not a musical."
"Then why are you so intent on getting us a new project if you already have one to go on with?"
"Are you serious?" Julia asked incredulously. "We're still a team, Tom. You know that. Just because it's a play doesn't mean I don't want you to help me with it."
"I'm not a writer. Do you remember my fill-ins for Bombshell during previews? If it's not gonna be done as a musical, then-"
"Then we'll do it as a musical, okay. I'll put the finishing touches on the book, making room for some songs, you can write the songs and co-direct with Scott, how does that sound?" Although Julia sincerely doubted that Scott would want anything to do with her after taking The Great Gatsby back and leaving him without a show, it couldn't hurt just to check in with him and see how he was, right? As Tom nodded, a smile well across his face, Julia spoke up again. "Alright, I'll give him a call..."
Derek poured some more Bourbon into Karen's glass before passing it to her. Karen smiled giddily, taking the glass into her hands once more before knocking back the contents just as she had done for the past few hours. Her eyes widened as she attempted to focus, leaning forward to check the time on her phone.
"I-I should go... Hailey's probably waiting for me back at my apartment..." Karen murmured, getting up off the couch that she hadn't moved from once she sat down.
Derek gently reached out, cupping Karen's hand in his. "You don't have to go... Please... stay..." he muttered. "I enjoy your company..."
Karen smiled, her mind taking her back to Boston, when Derek gave Karen the strength she needed to go on stage and perform. It was his voice that broke through to her, brought her out of the depression that had arisen once finding out that Dev and Ivy had slept together. The show needed Karen to go on, but perhaps more importantly Derek needed Karen to go on. He had always been there for her, in Bombshell, in Hit List. And looking at him now, she could see that same gentle, caring side of him, which to others was buried deep beneath his rough exterior.
"I enjoy yours too..." she replied, her movement slow as she leaned towards Derek.
"You know, we've... We've had a lot to drink..." he mumbled, thinking and knowing of what Karen was about to do, though not minding in the slightest.
"I don't care..." Karen whispered, before pressing her lips against Derek's.
For a split second, Derek hesitated as thoughts of Ivy filled his head. But as quickly as they formed, they dissipated, leaving only a yearning for Karen in his mind as he returned the kiss.
Without breaking away, Derek gently lowered Karen's body onto his couch as she grasped at the sides of jeans, the two of them serving to fuel the other's need and desire for each other. Derek didn't care about Ivy, and neither did Karen for Jimmy.
In that moment, they only cared about each other.
"So Scott's in a meeting right now, but his assistant took a message for us, and we'll be getting a call from him at his earliest convenience." Julia said as she walked back into Tom's living room, Tom still sitting at the piano.
Tom looked to the ceiling before sighing, now in a much better mood than he was at the start of the day. "Alright then. I'm going to go and see Ivy. Wanna come with?"
"No, I think I'll go home and start making amendments to Gatsby. Give Ivy my best wishes though."
Tom smiled, nodding as Julia grabbed her bag, getting ready to leave the apartment. Giving Tom a quick wave, she attempted heading to Michael's place where her laptop was so she could start stripping down some of Gatsby's content to make room for songs.
Once she got to the street however, her phone rang. Another glance at the number and Julia silenced the call. Frank had been calling for the past couple of months, but Julia hadn't been taking any of his calls. With their last conversation divulging into an argument, Julia didn't want to get into another argument with him, which she was certain would happen if the two of them engaged in even the smallest amount of conversation.
After a seemingly quick cab ride, Julia had made her way back to Michael's apartment, surprised to find that Michael wasn't around. A piece of scrap paper held to the refrigerator by a magnet caught her eye, so she walked over to the fridge and peeled off the paper after of course using the security lock on the door.
'Julia, gone to an audition. Be back some time in the evening. Love you, Michael.'
Julia smiled, setting the note down as she sat at the table with her laptop. Looking over what she had done on Gatsby, she was unsure of what exactly she could cut or thin down that could, not only be put into songs, but also not negatively affect the narrative that she had established through careful reading of the novel.
Nevertheless, Julia eventually started making some progress, finding ways to leave spaces for songs, keeping the overall length the same. She'd even started writing lyrics for a couple of song ideas she had.
Her thought process was interrupted due to a rigorous pounding on the apartment door. Michael would've just come in with his key if it was him, and whoever was on the other side of the door seemed to be in a hurry. Julia got up from her seat, walking over to the door and opening it as far as the security chain would allow.
Her eyes widened as Frank stood on the other side of the door. Julia was more surprised by the fact that Frank even knew where she was rather than being angry that Frank was here. Well at least until he started speaking...
"Julia, I've been trying to get a hold of you. Why the Hell haven't you been answering my calls?" Frank asked.
"Because every time we talk, you end up yelling at me! Kinda like what you're doing now!" Julia retorted. "I'm not talking to you if all you're going to do is yell at me!"
Julia went to close the door, but Frank pushed against it to stop her. "Leo's missing!" he told her.
Julia stopped, letting go of the doorknob and taking a couple steps back. "Wh-what? Missing!?" she asked, barely able to keep her composure.
As thoughts of her son's last attempt to run away flashed through her mind, Julia slowly slumped down onto the floor as Frank invited himself into Michael's apartment.