K~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a month since our meeting with Father, and he had left us alone for the most part. I still received the occasional call asking why I was dragging my feet and reminding me that "a girl like that doesn't hang around forever." Whatever. Like he really cares who she is.
Judy had been in rehearsals for two weeks at the New National Theater for Il Trovatore. I found it beyond ironic that, just after all the uproar that accompanied Sato's ousting and now the uncertainty of a loose Jackson, Judy was performing the lead in an opera about a woman caught up in romantic turmoil and abuse. She had all ready expressed that she was uncomfortable with the staging for the final act. Apparently, the director was insisting that the baritone nearly rip the dress off the soprano a.k.a. Judy. I didn't like it at all. I've been to another production of Il Trovatore, and I don't remember that in the libretto.
I parked in the back lot, texted Judy, and walked to the backstage door. Letting myself in elicited no more than a casual glance from the stage crew. I'll have to deal with the lax security here today. I texted my head of security at the compound as I headed for the theater manager's office.
Judy was onstage, otherwise I would have stopped to see her first. I ignored the urge to sit and listen to her big, first act aria and walked straight to the administration offices. I didn't ask the secretary to let me in and didn't knock on the door. That would have waisted time, and time was of the essence. I had been looking for that whelp, Jackson, ever since I had first researched Judy's past, but he'd practically disappeared after his release from prison. I wasn't nervous. No, I'm never nervous. But, each passing day could bring that monster closer to my little singer. Thus, knocking was a waist of precious time that should be spent setting up extra cameras, alarms, and guards.
"If you want to meet with me, you need to make an appointment." Herr Kühn didn't even look up to confirm to whom he was talking. Like any wealthy businessman, he was buried elbow deep in paperwork, a laptop on his right, a tablet propped to his left, and an earpiece in his ear.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Herr Kühn, but I don't have the option of scheduling a later appointment," I said as I soundlessly closed the door and walked into the room.
"Ah, Kyoya." He looked mildly surprised as he cleared his desk of what I assumed were confidential materials. "I hadn't expected you until tonight's performance. To what do I owe the honor, my boy?"
"As you have probably assumed, I am—"
He cut me off with alacrity. "Here to see Judith? She is downstairs, and doing a marvelous job."
"Actually, sir, we need to discuss an upgrade in your security."
"But, we have a most excellent security system, Kyoya. Alarms, armed doormen, security guards." He spread his hands out before him as if to say there was nothing more to be done.
I nodded in affirmation. "Indeed, you do have all of that, Herr Kühn, but the backstage barley has enough to squeak by as passably secure. I just used the back entrance, and no one stopped me from wandering in; no one asked who I was; there was no guard on duty; and I could detect no cameras." Herr Kühn really was a nice man, but I wanted to drive home my point. I pushed my glasses up my nose, taking the cool route. "As you know, Miss Mooreson and I are very close. I would take an affront to her safety very personally." I let him draw his own conclusions.
Herr Kühn dragged a hand through his hair and cracked a benevolent smile after a moment. "You've got it bad. Haven't you, my boy?" I kept my face neutral and squelched the desire to argue. Ohtoris don't argue. "Very well, young man, I give you permission to make sure ihren Schatz is safe. After all, if something happens to Judith, meine Oper ist kaputt." He waved me out of the office with a light chuckle, and I set to work.
While the performers were doing last minute adjustments to their costumes and milling around the theater, I was supervising the installment of one of our family's famous Ohtori systems. It's true that our empire was mainly comprised of medical technology, but we had a few other interests: medical education, leisure, and security. We wouldn't have a private army, own several "health resorts" a.k.a. parks, or have a significant stake in the Suoh Education Syndicate if we hadn't followed through on certain opportunities. I pointed out specific dead areas that the installers had ignored and hired out a few of my own men to the theater to watch the security cameras and such. All this effort will go to waist without muscle to back it up.
"Kyoya?" I looked away from the new camera and was greeted by a resplendent Judy, complete with period, princess costume and jewels. Her hair caught the lowered stage lights and glimmered with blue and red.
"Hello, my dear," I closed the distance as I slipped my phone back into my shirt pocket.
"What brings you here so early? The show doesn't start until eight tonight." She submitted to my peck on her cheek.
"I came to tell you that your cast party tonight has been commandeered by the press and to be ready for the onslaught."
She smirked at me and waved it off. "Really, Kyoya, thanks for the warning, but you told me about the 'difficulties' of being your girlfriend back at the gala. Tonight won't be different from any of the other ridiculous gatherings we've attended. Shoot, there won't be a smidgen of difference from the announcement party for this season's opera and singer line up." She grinned at me and patted my arm as she started for her dressing room. "So, don't worry about it."
I watched her until she was safely in her room and then listened for the lock to click. That woman. She's so capable that sometimes I feel like I'm just saying things to her to make myself fell better. We may have admitted our feelings the month prior, but that by no means meant that we understood or were entirely comfortable with each other. I almost feel inadequate to be with her. She's spent the last several years protecting herself, so I guess it'll take her more than a few months to trust me with everything.
J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really disliked Il Trovatore. It had been my first opera to land a lead in when I was younger. One would think that would endear it to me. Truth was, that I hated the abusive relationships it represented, the skewed view of love. On the one hand, the woman is courted by the baritone who wants nothing more than her body and cares nothing for her soul; and on the other, is the tenor who says he loves her for her but curses her as she dies because he thinks she has chosen another man, even though he knows it was to save him from prison. Charming. Love shouldn't be like that, shouldn't be only what your can get for yourself. The girl is the only one in the whole story who knows what love is. Her love is sacrificial, even if it's over the top. She shouldn't have killed herself…stupid. I guess there in lies her fault. And to top it all off, the bad guy wins. Yeah, I really hated Il Trovatore.
I contemplated this as I walked through a particularly tricky blocking set, listening to the orchestration on my headphones. The other two leads were on stage as well, running parts that were troubling them. Just as I finished marking the scene, I saw what looked like Kyoya's back retreating into the shadows backstage.
I should be relaxing or something right now, but noooo. Before I addressed him, I got a good look at what he was doing. Is he seriously putting up more security?! Now, I was no systems expert, but I had seen the system control room and met all of the guards. To say security was already tight would be an understatement.
"Kyoya," I asked conveying my slight annoyance at the additions. The stage was just dark enough to shade his eyes behind his glasses, and the slight blue glare from the lights above shined off his specks. I'd gotten used to the way he angled himself to use the light to his advantage, but it was still annoying to not be able to see his eyes all the time. I felt his gaze travel over my costume, though I didn't know if he approved.
"Hello, my dear." My heart fluttered at the pet name that was once a farce and had become a comfortable part of my life, a truth. He gave me a quick kiss in greeting, and again my heartbeat quickened. I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
"What brings you here so early," I asked, willing to give him a chance to explain the extra trappings. He took a seemly step back from me. Just like him, proper to a fault.
He went on to say something about the cast party tonight not being about the cast. Oh, really? You don't say. I have never been to a cast party that was about the cast. These things were about rubbing elbows, making connections, finding your next gig. I just patted his arm as I went to my dressing room for a nap. "Don't worry about it." Cast parties are just like business parties. I'm surprised he hasn't figured out why I'm so good at those, yet.
K~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I slid into my car, carefully controlled, and shut the door. My stress levels were a little higher today than normal. I'd been searching for any trace of Christopher Jackson ever since I'd been told he'd been released and still had found nothing. Oh, there was a stray transaction in one state or another across the Pacific; but the paper trail was spotty, to say the least. He'd pop up to pay credit for something small like lunch; I'd send in a detective; the person who ran the ticket would always say that was his first time in their establishment. To add to the frustration of tracking this guy was the fact that the charges were never close together. They were always weeks and states apart. At the very least, I have that clue. If he won't stay still, chances are he's done something or is about to do something and is endeavoring to keep off the radar until he follows through, and I must admit that he is succeeding beautifully. Jackson's success at invisibility was just another reason to keep eyes on Judy and anyone who worked with her. I knew with a certainty that a man like him would only chase his former fiancee down with two things in mind: kidnapping or murder… And if what the warden told me is true, then Jackson probably intends both.
J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opening night had gone off perfectly. I still hated the story, but I wouldn't let any of my colleagues know. Apparently, disliking the opera you're playing the lead in is taboo. I decided to keep my opinions to myself until after the six week show was closed.
I walked into the party on Kyoya's arm and privately laughed at myself. The truth was, in this world, Kyoya was on my arm. Was he out of his depth? No. However, situations like this were the only times he wasn't the star of his own, little show. Not that I wanted him to take a backseat to my career or my interests. Certainly not. Our relationship had ceased being hot news, but we still garnered plenty of interest as a pair. Instead of seeing us as separate entities, the public was now beginning to recognize us as costars. To them, both Kyoya and I should have been people on different life courses, but now they couldn't have one of us without the other. I suppose that's what a relationship is. What a marriage is? Two people combining their differences, covering the each other's deficiencies, and creating a unified and complete whole? I smiled at the notion as Kyoya and I approached the cast members, donors, and yuppies.
We spent the rest of the evening doing as we had done for the last few months: talking, schmoozing, and laughing at banal jokes. All in a day's work.
K~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I looked at the woman at my side and marveled at how easily she slid from one role to the next. One moment she was the opera singer, the next she was the intellectual, and the next she was a sharp business woman. Yet, through it all, she still maintains an air of calm and humility that gives her an approachable quality. Each time the conversation turned to less than exalted topics, she would guide it back to business in a way that was nearly undetectable. I smiled to myself as I studied her face and form whilst she conversed. A most excellent decision on my part. There isn't one woman to whom I've been introduced who has that unassuming quality in business and life, who has the ability to make everyone focus on the matters at hand without being pushy or detestable.
"You are so lucky to have such a man looking at you that way, Judith. Does he have a brother?" I rolled my eyes internally at the idiotic question and its tone. I knew the woman talking with my girlfriend. She was wearing a garish green dress with all the frills, furbelows, and trappings indicative of new money. That she was jealous of Judy was obvious. And, if she doesn't know I have two older, married brothers, she deserves this. I smiled innocuously and opened my mouth to speak but was held in check by Judy leaning into me a bit more than was necessary.
"Thank you. I do believe that I am a lucky girl. Kyoya is just amazing." A dazzling smile beamed up at me, and I couldn't help but reciprocate it. "As to him having brothers, I'm sure his older siblings would be more than happy to speak with you." She is not about to do what I think she is. I started applauding her in my head. How she manages to pull off such things and still seem self-depreciating is beyond my ability to understand.
"Oh, do you think so?" The woman perked up, immediately retracting her claws. "Is there a way you could put me in contact?" Of all the gaul!
"Well, I don't think it's exactly protocol for me to do this." Judy plucked my notebook from my pocket, scribbled Akito's number down, and tore the page. My eyes nearly jumped from my skull. My notes! "But," she continued conspiratorially, "I think I can help a girl out." The woman snatched the phone number from Judy's hand with a tossed off 'thank you' and sashayed away.
"Whatever possessed you," I queried with a tiny hint of mirth. It wouldn't have done to let the room know I was laughing at someone's expense.
"I'm sure the same thing that possessed you when you nearly tossed off one of your barely concealed 'compliments,'" she made air quotations as she said this. "This is a better alternative as she thinks she won for tonight. It also won't hurt your business with her family; and if it comes back to bite anyone, it'll be me."
"You're amazing. Have I told you lately?" I led her to the dance floor.
"You could stand to say it more often." She smiled at me teasingly.
"Well, I'll tell you now with my thanks." I pulled her in and kissed the top of her head. "You just saved me an important business deal for the week. Her family is in negotiations with our leisure branch."
"And, she didn't know that you're the only unmarried son left?" She smiled evilly to herself. "Then she gets what she gets. Serves her right for attempting a come-on on someone else's boyfriend."
Is she jealous? The idea of Judy being jealous amused me greatly. I spun her out and back into formation. "Do I detect a hint of un-exalted emotion, Miss Mooreson?" She gawked at me, and I laughed. "My dear, dear Judy, I didn't even notice who was talking to us until you politely told her off." She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Women need to learn to take the truth for what it is. "Besides," I pulled her closer, "you're the woman I want." She smirked at the overtly cheesy line, emotions back in check. The music ended, and I led her off the floor and back to the vapid conversations and insipid personalities of the other party goers.
Very interesting, though. So jealous so soon? I made a mental note. That's good for me then. I smiled at my beautiful girlfriend as she forayed into the glittering, vacant world, all smiles and earnestness again.
I felt like I wasn't giving y'all enough funny. I actually squeed when I wrote some of this. lol. Please Review! :)