"Mr. Wills, thank you so much for asking me to audition for this even though you hate my mom for some reason I don't know and-" Rachel began to rant. Derek raised a hand to his head and rubbed his temple. he'd been up late the night beforehand at a bar with his ex-fiancee, his cursh and his coworkers, one of whom he hated (Tom) and one of whom was the only person who's boundaries he respected (Julia).
Flashback to the night beforehand
"Hi, Karen. I'm Shelby. I'm Derek's ex." Shelby introduced herself. The two women looked at each other for a few moments before laughing.
"I swear, pretty much every actress on Broadway could say that and I wouldn't be surprised." Karen laughed. Shelby agreed silently before the two others made their way over.
"Oh my God, Tom, Julia! Hi guys!" Shelby grinned like Christmas had come early as her close friends approached. Julia smiled and hugged Shelby.
"Shelby Rosalie Anne Corcoran. Do my eyes decieve me?" Tom asked dramatically.
"No they don't. I curl my hair, yes. I'm wearing contacts now, yes and no, I haven't given birth to anyone new. However, I found my daughter. Her name's Rachel. She's the reason I'm even here. Rachel's close friend Quinn had a baby girl and I adopted her. This is Beth." Shelby said, cutting Tom's questions off before they started. karen watched quietly as the three exchanged pleasantries.
"Leo's in college now, isn't he? We should introduce him to Rachel sometime." Shelby laughed as Julia made a face.
"Darling, I believe your boring Karen." Derek walked back over with a bunch of drinks.
"Scotch for me and Julia. Beer for Karen and Tom. And a vesper for lovely Shelby." Shelby grinned and took her drink. Karen raised an eyebrow.
"James Bond. I tried it once and fell for it. This is the best drink in the world!" Shelby yelled, putting her glass as high up as it would go. Everyone but Derek laughed at her. Derek seemed moodier than usual, brooding silently into his glass. Karen noticed and went ovr.
"Derek, are you okay?" Karen asked, truly concerned. Derek's hazel eyes met Karen's brown ones and teared up a bit.
"There's something you need to know. Shelby and I were engaged before I went and cheated on her. The day before the wedding, Tom told Shel and she left me. She's the only woman besides you I've ever cared for, and her leaving me is what made me into the womanizer I am. Back in the days with Shelby, I was-"
"Different." Shelby cut in. Everyone was silent. "He was romantic, a complete sweetheart. We were horrible to one another, purposely, of course. We were where we took our anger out. You couldn't walk into a room without feeling tension between the two of us. there were days where we wouldn't talk at all. Which was really hard considering he was my director. Honestly, picture him going 'Tom, tell Shelby to move five steps stage left.' Tom would then turn to me and say something like 'His Royal Pain in the Ass would like you to move five steps towards stage right.' And as we weren't talking, I had to listen to Tom. It was hell, all thanks to Tom." Tom smiled and saluted at Shelby. Julia's eyes were on the floor, and Karen had the decency to avoid anyone's eyes.
"Shelby, a word. Now." Derek grabbed Shelby and pulled her over to the side.
"Listen. I am head over heels with Karen, and while you're saying this to entertain, I'm losing Karen even more than before, in which I barely had her anyways. So stop, and try and help me get the girl I'm in love with. Now." Derek said angrily. Shelby smiled.
"You only had to ask, Derek. Anyways, I have been helping. She's seeing how much you've changed, and how sweet you've become. All you have to do is have someone flirt with you and turn them down if she asks you to." Shelby said, grinning. "Then her heart is yours. I kow what I'm talking about, Derek, I'm a girl myself. I know how she feels, it's the same way I felt. Except you actually went and slept with that girl anways." Derek was quiet before pulling out his phone and calling somebody.
"Hello? Yeah, it's Wills. I need her for about twenty minutes, in a fancy short tight red dress. Thanks, you're the best." Derek turned to Shelby, a wide smile on his face. "Remember Michael Swift? He cheated on Monica, but they got back together. She's acting now, and they both owe me a favour." Shelby laughed and gave Derek a kiss on the cheek.
"Monica could have always done better, but they did create a perfect baby. Now let's get back to your lover, now." Shelby dragged Derek back to the others.
"Tom, want to sing a song with me?" Shelby asked, smirking as Tom turned red and turned it down because Shelby was "too pretty and talented for me."
"Okay, then. Your loss. Karen?" Shelby turned to Karen. Without a word, Karen handed her bag to Julia and followed Shelby to the stage. They prceeded to blow everyone's ears off with the song Next to Me by Emeli Sande. They harmonized as if they'd been singing together for years.
"Two powerful women in your life, Derek, how's it feel?" Tom asked, amused by Derek's interesting choices in women.
"I feel like if I get together with either of them, I'm going to have hell for the rest of my life." Derek grumbled, but inside he was smiling widely. The two most important women in his life got along beautifully and seemed to be as close as Tom and Julia after about twenty minutes of knowing each other.
"Derek!" Monica Swift showed up. She was wearing a beautful red gown and her hair was curled slightly and hanging over her shoulder.
( . g) She smiled shyly at Derek.
"Good?" She asked. She laughed as she saw Derek's jaw drop and sutter his answer.
"I- Uh- Beautiful, Monica. Really- um- gorgeous." Derek said, running a hand through his messy brown hair. A twinkle appeared in Monica's brown eyes as she grinned.
"Great. Let's make Karen jealous!" She said, leaning towards Derek. Derek, laughing, took her hand and brought her over to the bar.
From the stage, Karen watched closely as Derek took the brunette's hand and led her towards the bar. Karen's eyes narrowed and she missed a note. Worriedly, Shelby looked and her and followed her gaze. Shelby hid a smile as Karen missed another note as she watched Derek and Monica drink together and laugh. Monica caught Shelby's eye and grinned widely at her close friend, who was clearly fighting a laugh.
"Karen. Go get him." Shelby said as there was a brief pause in the song. Karen nodded gratefully and threw the microphone at Shelby. Grinning, Shelby caught it and continued the song. Karen ran over to Derek.
"Derek, dear. Who's this?" Monica asked as Karen ran up.
"Oh, Monica. This is Karen, the girl who was Marylin until Ivy took the part." Derek said lazily, barely glancing up from his martini. Monica laughed and finished her appletini, ignoring the look of disgust her husband gave her from two stools down. Who gives a damn if he thinks I'm cheating, Monica thought.
Karen glared at Derek as he almost completely ingored her for Monica. Finally, she couldn't stand it.
"Derek, walk me home. Now." She said, grabbing her jacket and his sleeve.
"Ow, watch it. This is real leather, Karen. Ow! Derek complained as Karen dragged him out of the bar.
"What the hell were you doing? Isn't that Michael Swift's wife?"
Karen asked, ignoring Derek walking a pace behind her. She set off in a quick pace and left Derek to catch up with her.
"Trying to make you jealous, love." Derek said as he grabbed her jackert and spun her. Quickly, he kissed her. She was surprised at first, but quickly responded.
Derek broke the kiss off after a minute. "Do you understand now?" He asked quietly. Karen nodded.
"I need time to think, Derek. I'll, um, see you tomorrow." Karen left.
From across the street, Shelby watched as Derek kissed Karen and she ran off. She quickly crossed the street and almost got hit by a car. It honked at her, but she ignored it.
"Derek?" Shelby asked quietly as she approached the man deep in thought. Derek jumped.
"I was thinking." Derek said simply.
"Must be new territory for you. Did you get lost?" Shelby asked. Derek smirked and hugged Shelby.
"What the hell was that for?" Shelby asked, quickly tripping backwards.
"For everything, Shel. Let me walk you home."