Midwest Commonwealth, Whitestone
The Deckhouse Casino Lounge
Renee took great care in twisting the lipstick up, careful not to damage it in any way. Makeup, especially Pre-War quality, was expensive and difficult to come by. But god if it didn't look spectacular. She slid it over her lips with a smirk.
There came a knock on the dressing room door. "You nearly ready, Miss Jones?"
"I'll be on time, don't worry!" Renee capped the lipstick.
She grinned in the mirror, quite pleased with her appearance. She did so love getting ready for the audience. "Hm." She reached to smooth down one eyebrow, nudging a stray hair into place. "Perfect." As usual, really.
Renee turned in the chair to slip on her heels; black, glossy shoes she was honestly lucky to have found in the first place. They were a far cry nicer than the usual boots she wore for work. The dark green dress hugged her curves and she, for a single moment, wondered if perhaps she showed too much cleavage. But she got better tips this way.
She stood and practically sauntered to the door. She flung it open. "Ready."
Sharon, her older sister, blinked at her. "You know, it really isn't fair. Why'd you get all the looks in the family?"
"Just lucky, I guess." Renee flashed a brilliant grin.
Sharon rolled her eyes and grabbed her wrist. "Come on before your ego gets any bigger." She began tugging the redhead through the backstage, weaving between stagehands and equipment. "You do look great, though."
"Well thank you." Renee couldn't help but toss her long hair over her shoulder.
"Never let it be said that you're humble." Sharon led her into position. "All right, you know the drill. Don't fuck this up."
"Do I ever?" Renee rolled her shoulders back and stretched her neck.
Sharon sighed. "No. Which is why I ask you to fill in for Angela. Break a leg."
Renee arched an eyebrow. "In these heels? You know I might."
Sharon waved her hand as she walked off. "You know what I meant."
The lights dimmed and the curtains began to open one by one in time with the live band starting the first song. Renee sauntered forward slowly, counting each step to the microphone in the darkness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for your entertainment in the Deckhouse Casino and Resort Lounge…"
Once she finally reached the microphone, two spotlights crossed over her and she grinned brilliantly. Though she couldn't quite see them, she heard the audience clap for her. She could barely hear her name announced over another loud chord by the band.
She grabbed the microphone stand with one hand and launched into the first song of her set. Oh, but she never felt so alive as she did when she performed. For a while, she could forget everything she hated; her hometown, her job, her older sister Olivia, her father… Nothing else in her life mattered. Nothing but the sheer attention being lavished on her and her alone.
"Miss Jones." The man at the door nodded to her. "Mrs. Hourton has asked not to be disturbed."
"I'm her sister. I've been disturbing her since I was born." Renee crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.
His twitched as he clearly tried not to smirk at her sarcasm. "Even still, I can't ignore orders."
"Just let me through."
"Orders are orders, Miss Jones. Even for family."
Renee huffed. "Oh come on—"
The door to Sharon's office opened and Renee was surprised to see the lounge agent walk out, quickly followed by Sharon herself. "Just the two people I wanted to see." Renee grinned and blocked their path, her hands on her hips.
"Oh. You." The agent glanced back at Sharon. "Well, this is…"
"Awkward." Sharon cringed.
Renee's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Let's talk in private." The agent turned to go back into the office, gesturing in the redhead with one finger.
Sharon sighed and stepped to the side. "Oh boy…"
Once Renee stepped inside, the agent closed the door behind her. Sharon sat at her desk. "Sit down, Ren." She pointed to the chair across from her.
Renee plopped down in the worn leather chair. She sat back, crossing her legs. "So, you're hiring me on full time? I told you I fill up seats better than Angela. It's about time you saw how much you need me." She grinned again, an easy smile.
"Not quite." The agent stood next to Sharon. His expression remained neutral and he put a hand in the pocket of his slacks.
"Aw come on, Sharon. I've been singing for you for months now." Renee looked down at her hand to inspect her nails. "Part-time is better than nothing, I guess."
Sharon cleared her throat. "We found someone else."
Renee felt ice spread through her veins. She slowly lifted her head to look at her sister. "What?"
"Listen, Jones." The agent leaned his free hand on the desk. "You're good. No one's saying you're not. But we found someone else. She's from New Vegas, real good. Phenomenal. She's got experience. Everything we're looking for." He took his hand out of his pocket and motioned in the air as if to outline a woman's curves. "You know what I mean."
Renee narrowed her eyes. "And I don't? Are you blind? Did you not see me up on stage last night?!"
"Please don't take this personally." Sharon refused to meet her gaze. "It's just that, you know…"
"No, I don't know!" Renee got to her feet and slammed her hands on the desk with a bang.
The agent rolled his eyes. "Well, this is one reason. You're a hothead."
"I have a right to be angry!" Renee turned on him. "You have no right to—"
"It's literally his job, Renee." Sharon winced and took a deep breath. She shook her head. "I've had him looking for a more permanent replacement for a while now. The truth is that Angela put in a notice a few months ago. I just…needed you for the meantime."
Renee felt pain in her chest, as if someone just kicked her sternum in. "You…never intended to hire me."
"No, I didn't. I should have told you before." Sharon gazed up at her, her brown eyes full of regret. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't fair to you."
"What if you give me another chance? I'll prove it to you!" Renee glanced between them desperately.
"This woman's perfect for the Lounge, Jones. She's a professional. Even made some recordings out west." The agent shrugged. "What have you got?"
Sharon shot him a glare.
Renee clenched her fists at her side. The room seemed smaller and she found it hard to breathe. "I… I'm the best choice you've got! You went to all that trouble for nothing! I'm right here, why wouldn't you…"
"You aren't the best choice. Or else I wouldn't have found someone else." The agent sighed and came around the other side of the desk. He put a hand on Renee's shoulder. "You've got raw talent, kid. But you're just not good enough." He patted her shoulder once and brushed past her.
Renee gritted her teeth and waited until he left to look down at Sharon. Tears blurred her vision. "How… How could you?"
Sharon stood. "Ren, sweetie—"
"How could you do this to me?!" Renee turned and grabbed the chair. She roared, something guttural and unintelligible, as she threw it across the room. It didn't quite make it and instead just clattered to the hardwood floor.
"Calm down!" Sharon grabbed her arms. "I made a mistake. I should've told you but I didn't want to make you angry!"
"Angry? Angry?!" Renee struggled in her grip. "Oh, I'm not angry. I'm straight pissed!"
Sharon only tightened her hold, hard enough that Renee knew it'd leave a bruise. "This is why I couldn't hire you, Renee! Because you're a child!"
"I'm not a child. I'm twenty-one," she mumbled, looking away.
"Then fucking act like it." Sharon finally released her. "You're a selfish, spoiled brat and I didn't want you to drive off my other employees. Yeah, you're a good singer. No one is denying that. But you're impossible to work with. Do you have any idea how many members of the band have threatened to quit since you started filling in for Angela?"
Renee rubbed her arms and looked away. "I don't care."
"No, of course you don't." Sharon took a deep breath. "Renee. I love you and I want you to be happy. You know that. But until you fix this attitude problem of yours, I don't have a choice but to keep you off the stage."
"He said I wasn't good enough." Now that her initial anger cooled, Renee felt empty. Tears pooled in her eyes again.
Sharon sighed again, aggravation bleeding into her voice. "Are you listening to me at all? That wasn't the problem. The problem is you expect everyone to just do whatever you tell them."
"You don't think I'm good enough either."
"Is that what you want me to say? That we found someone better because you're not good enough?"
"It's the truth, isn't it?" Renee glanced up at her.
"It's…" Sharon ran a hand through her hair. "Fine. It's mostly because of your attitude, but having a professional singer here is better for advertising. And you're not trained. You're good, but she's…"
Renee swallowed hard. "Better than me."
Sharon finally nodded and reached to touch the redhead's shoulder. "She's better suited to do this than you are right now."
Renee flinched away. She bit her lip as she felt the tears start to overflow. "Fine. I know when I'm…" She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. It wasn't fine. She'd been told there was a possibility of her being hired to sing full-time, and given her performances, she was sure it would happen. But she never expected to be blindsided like this.
"I know you're upset. I'm sorry."
"No you're not." Renee felt a flicker of her anger return and stepped back before she did something she'd regret. "Just leave me alone." She turned to go.
"Ren, don't be like this."
"Leave me alone!" Renee slammed the door shut behind her as she went.
The man at the door jumped in surprise. "Miss Jones—"
"Fuck off!" Renee raised a fist as if to fight him off but thought better of it. She hurried through the hallways, through the crowded casino floor. She could hardly see beyond her crying as she went along.
Boston Commonwealth, Diamond City
Publick Occurrences
"Why'd you stop singing?" Curie tilted her head.
"That's…" Renee swallowed hard and forced a weak smile. "I just sort of stopped. Didn't really enjoy it anymore."
Piper crossed her arms. "That's a shame. I bet you would've made a great singer."
"I don't know." Renee shrugged. She looked to Curie. "I think I'm gonna head back to the Dugout. I'm still pretty sore and I'm feeling tired."
"Of course! You need to rest." Curie nodded. "I'll walk you zhere."
Renee shook her head and kept her easy smirk. "Don't worry about it. I can make it on my own."
"You sure? Curie said you took a pretty hard hit from a Mirelurk…" Piper furrowed her brow.
"Yeah. I'll be…fine." Renee handed off the knife. "Thanks for dinner."
Nate said nothing, only arched an eyebrow and stepped aside for her.
Renee left without any further comment. She took a deep breath once she got outside and looked up at the fading sky. Singing was the last thing she had, the last thing she knew she could actually do and not manage to screw up. She wasn't sure if she could handle being told she couldn't. Not again.