Author's Note: Okay, I realize I have been a little lax in my duties to this story, but I made a promise that I wouldn't drop a story and I meant it! I should have a few more up soon...

Chapter 13 – The Reveal

Nicole would like to say that the party had been the last attempt Carlota had made in getting her into bed, but she couldn't. She would like to say that Carlotta could take rejection well, but she couldn't. The manager would even like to say that Carlotta was easy to avoid, but she definitely couldn't.

She had just entered a main hallway using one of Erik's many secret passages when she had been discovered by the one person she had been hoping to avoid.

"Nicolas," Carlotta purred, "If I didn't know any better I would say you were avoiding me."

Nicole inwardly recoiled, outwardly she smiled kindly and said, "Of course not, my dear. Whatever gave you that impression?"

Her lips parted seductively and she swayed up to Nicole, running her hands over her shoulders. Then she moved closer to Nicole's ear and whispered, "You can join me if you're feeling lonely."

Nicole grabbed Carlotta by the shoulders and held her at arm's length. "I'm sorry, but not tonight."

A surprisingly malicious gleam appeared in her eyes. "I want you and I know you want me. Just give in." Carlotta smiled invitingly.

At this point, Nicole was frustrated and at her wits end. She had had enough of Carlotta's advances and poorly implied innuendoes. Once again, Nicole grabbed Carlotta's shoulders, enough to bruise and shoved her away from her.

"If I wanted your presence to grace my bed I would have clearly taken you up on your first offer. As it is, I am your employer, you are my employee, it is within my power to fire you. That is what will occur if you do not stop molesting me." Nicole kept her eyes fixed on Carlotta's widened ones for only a moment more, then she turned and made her way back to her rooms. Too late, she realized she was being followed.

Carlotta was incensed, she had never, never, been turned down by a man! Men were base creatures, they knew what they wanted and how to get it. All the better if it were offered up on a silver platter. She would know, she gave them what they wanted, what they craved, and turned it to her favor. She was the one to manipulate their desires and use them to gain higher positions…or bring her rivals down to lower ones.

Always, she had been accepted to a man's bed, but Nicolas Leroux had turned her down. He was not going to walk away from this one…

She followed him into his chambers and had slipped into the room before he could close the door on her. She was glaring at him and her lips were back to bare her teeth at him.

"How dare you reject me!"

Nicolas leveled a steady gaze at her. "If you do not leave my room now, your employment at this theater will be terminated."

Carlotta smirked. "And who would you find to replace me, Nicolas?"

Nicolas grimaced as his name was purred in a thick, Spanish accent. "As the Americans say: there are plenty of fish in the sea."

Carlotta shrieked and raised her hand to strike Nicolas, when a vice-like grip around her wrist prevented her. She turned to stare into blazing amber eyes, eyes like the very devil's, and shrank back.

"Once again, you overstep your boundaries." It came out in a low dangerous growl. Erik had yet to release her wrist and used it to throw her out into the hall. "You do not go near Nicolas without my permission. If you test my anger once again, I swear, by the nine levels of Hell, that it will be the beginning of your end."

And with that proclamation, he slammed the door in her face.

XXX

Erik was trembling with rage as he braced his hands against the door. He waited until he knew Carlotta had left and then turned to face Nicole, who, upon seeing the anger in his eyes, swallowed and started to blabber.

"I told her to leave. She wouldn't listen. I told her she would be fired, she attacked me!"

In answer, Erik strode across the room startling Nicole who backed up until her knees hit the edge of the bed and she sat down abruptly. She saw his hands reaching out and flinched, but Erik merely tugged the moustache from her lip and then removed the wig, fluffing out the hair that had been retained in the bun. He was still smoothing out her hair when she looked up at him.

"Erik?"

His expression was stoic, "You really should learn how to say no."

Nicole glared at him, "I told you, I threatened to fire her, it still did nothing to dissuade her." She ran her own hands through her hair, still remembering the feeling of his.

The left side of his face changed into one of skepticism and an eyebrow lifted. "Some people in this world can only be threatened by the ending of their existence."

Nicole grimaced, "Well, I doubt that's the proper way to take care of business." She got up and began putting away her wig and moustache. "So, what were you doing in my room in the first place?" Catching his expression in the mirror, his features immediately turned stony. She back to him, "Must you brood like that? You're making my flowers wilt."

Erik ignored her attempt at humor, going instead to find a place in an old leather-backed armchair and indicated the chair across from him.

Oh boy… Nicole gingerly sat down and gazed at him cautiously. "So, what is this all about?"

He took a breath to steady his nerves. "In answer to your first question, I have a secret passageway built into this room."

Nicole followed his eyes and looked over to the great mirror that adorned half of the wall. She turned back to the Phantom sharply, "You didn't – "

"No. I am a gentleman, not a voyeur."

"Good to know."

Erik started again, "The reason I am here, however, is more something of a personal nature instead of business."

"Oh?"

"How long have we been working together, five – six months?"

Nicole's lips formed a thin line, "You artist types…Try eight months."

"Hmm, yes, well…I think it is time that I show you my real face."

Nicole met the Phantom's intense gaze. It took a moment for her mind to catch up. This was completely unexpected, a complete shocker. This was a very important development in their relationship as business partners, but there had to be more to it than that. Surely something had changed. There was a fierce energy in his eyes that she had never seen before, and also…a fragility. This would make or break everything they had worked so hard to accomplish. This was a moment of truth. Nicole prayed she would pass.

And to think, I had been jealous of Christine because Erik had burned down a theater for her! Now he's showing me his face of his own volition.

She leaned back in her chair, her back resting comfortably against the cushions. Her hands rested on the arm rests and she crossed her legs at the ankle (hoping this would prevent her from running, should she feel the urge). "Alright, please proceed."

No emotion could be detected behind those amber eyes, Erik had put up a barrier to his heart. "As you wish." He reached up and gently shifted the mask out of place, lowering it as he did so.

When the right side of his face was fully revealed, Nicole let out the breath she hadn't been aware of holding. The upper right side of his face, moving across to cover his right eye, nose, and upper lip, was an angry, red, half-melted, pockmarked deformity. Without realizing it, her emotions had been numbed – placed on the back burner, while her critical mind took center stage. She wasn't looking at his eyes; she could only see the ruined sight in front of her.

She rose from her seat and approached him slowly. In response, he leaned back away from her. Nicole crouched down in front of him and reached her hands out only to be stopped by the Phantom's reflexive grip on her wrists.

She finally looked him in the eyes, "May I?"

Erik's eyes quickly calculated the situation, came to a conclusion, and nodded.

Erik almost rocketed out of his chair when he felt the first tentative brush of Nicole's fingers across the ruined side of his face. A tingling sensation spread through his limbs, awakening goose bumps everywhere. He would also be remiss if he didn't note the interest his groin was taking in this new found contact.

Her touch was light at first, then became more firm and exacting in their methods of examination. "Have you any salve to put on it?"

His voice was barely a strangled whisper. "No."

"Then I might suggest getting some. It might help with the obvious irritation. Also, try leaving your mask off to let it breathe."

A small glimmer of hope warmed him, "Do you moonlight as a doctor?"

Nicole let out a small chuckle, "No, but my father is a fully trained practitioner." She stood up, if only to relieve the weight on her knees. "So, what would you suggest I do with little Miss Prima Dona?"

Now that the inspection was over, Erik's first instinct was to replace his mask, but he couldn't seem to make his arm obey his wishes as he stared at Nicole's beautifully, blessedly, calm face. "If she doesn't seek revenge upon us, I believe she could be kept for one more showing of Merlot. But I would start looking for replacements anyway, just to be safe."

Nicole nodded in agreement, "I think you're right. We'll start tomorrow."

XXX

Erik was still in a pleasant daze when he threw his jacket over the love seat. A rustling of cloth startled him, and he turned to find Mme. Giry reviving in one of his chairs by the table.

"Well? Did you go through with it?"

Mme. Giry was truly surprised at the warmth in Erik's amber eyes. She had never before seen such a soft expression grace his face, and she was his friend!

The corners of Erik's lips quirked upwards, "It went well." And with that enigmatic statement, he left for his bedroom.