The Copeland Theatre buzzed with anticipation during the extended rehearsal for the Veronica Moore showcase Veronica Moore in Concert. Moore, a two time Tony winner looking to change her image and broaden her horizons was now also providing some much needed exposure and press to the newly reinstated Bombshell after more than a few setbacks. The majority of the cast were going to be performing as Moore's backup performers in a concert that would air live on Bravo that spring. The situation was intended to be a win-win for everyone, but star Ronnie Moore wasn't feeling like a winner in her dressing room. Hearing feet on the other side of the door, she called out "That'd better be food!"
Ivy Lynn popped her head into the dressing room. "Lucky for you, it is."
"The only person I want to see right now," Ronnie said, eagerly grabbing a salad. The two actresses had known each other for the past few years, with Ivy performing as a swing in Ronnie's Little Shop of Horrors.
"I got it just the way you liked it. Lucky for me, your taste hasn't changed too much."
"I'm not so sure it's lucky," Ronnie scoffed. "Do you notice the tension out on the stage? I've got my mother telling me one thing, Derek telling me another, no one even asks me what I want."
Ivy mixed her salad dressing together. "What do you want?"
"For the longest time, I thought I wanted a break from my traditional 'good girl' routine. I am pigeon-hold in the same caricature over and over. The Wiz would just be more of the same."
"It's what you're known for," Ivy acknowledged. "I was I was known for something – besides just being fired from a production."
"You just need the right project," Ronnie said with a wave.
"I really thought Bombshell was the right project for me. I was there from the beginning – I demoed the songs for Tom and Julia before Bombshell was Bombshell."
"Well if the show lets you go, it wasn't right for you."
"Derek was the one who let me go, under the advisement of his 'muse'," Ivy said in air quotes.
"Is that why things ended with you two?"
Ivy shook her head. "It was over before then; I only realized it too late." Ivy began to recount her relationship with Derek, from the beginning at his dance audition for Tom, to opening the show previews in Boston.
Derek Wills stormed the alleys of the Copeland Theatre, muttering to himself about how no one understood or appreciated his direction. "I should just pack it in and go back to London, where people have taste!" Looking around for an answer, he heard Ivy's voice in one of the dressing rooms, his body freezing up. She still had that effect on him after all of this time.
"So after everything, you two are still on speaking terms?" Ronnie asked dubiously.
"He's a power player in the theatre industry, I couldn't escape him if I wanted to," Ivy reasoned.
"I think you got the player part right," Ronnie laughed.
Ivy couldn't help but join in. It felt therapeutic to talk so freely about her relationship with Derek, warts and all. She couldn't talk to Tom about it, with Tom and Derek still at each other's throat's over every little thing. And members of the cast were now loyal to Karen instead of her, aligning with the star of the show. These days, Ivy found herself lonely and craving the everyday companionship that she took for granted. "He has his good qualities," Ivy added generously as her laughter died down.
Ronnie nodded her head. "Professionally, I value his opinion – even what I don't exactly agree with it."
"He's a genius," Ivy said with a sigh, taking a long sip of her raspberry lemonade. "I guess you could say I have a type."
Derek smirked, unable to step away from the other side of the door. His foul mood from before slowly dissipating. If he had a type, he predicted that it would be someone like her. Someone who was passionate about performing, strived for perfection, and had a wicked sense of humor that could match his. He missed her presence in his life this past fall, and instantly regretted letting her go from the show. He didn't tell her this at the time, but firing her was more than just Karen's request: Ivy didn't belong in the chorus of any project, if she wasn't starring as Marilyn, she needed to shine elsewhere.
"At least you know what you like," Ronnie countered. "Me, I am constantly on the go. I mean, it's gotten to the point where I never stop working. I don't have a life at all. Events, dinners, openings, meetings - I don't even have time to date."
"Has my tragic trajectory taught you nothing?" Ivy joked.
"I thought my late 20s were for making mistakes, so that I could be 'ready and mature' for my thirties as my mother always says."
Ivy hid a laugh behind her drink. "I don't know if I would everything with Derek a mistake," she conceded.
"Even Boston?" Ronnie asked, crinkling her nose.
"I've blocked out portions of Boston."
"So you wouldn't be able to recall a certain rumor I heard about you and a cast member's boyfriend."
"You heard about that!" Ivy shrieked.
Derek leaned into the door his eyes widening at hearing Ivy recount a very ill advised one nightstand with Karen's fiancé Dev Sundaram, a man that Derek loathed. Balling his hand into a first, he nearly banged the door, giving himself away.
"So she had me fired, and now she's trashing me behind my back?" Ivy crossed her arms defensively.
"Other cast members were hinting about it too," Ronnie shrugged.
"Great, more people know. You know I wouldn't have even done it with him if Derek could have kept it professional with a certain action movie star."
"I never understood the appeal of Rebecca Duvall anyway."
"You and me both," Ivy laughed.
"But even after everything, you're still tied to him."
"To Derek? I'd hardly say tied, we're not really seeing very much of each other."
"You came when he called for your help with the show."
"Derek didn't call me, Tom did. And a job is a job. Liaisons is still in progress, and you know shows don't always pay well. I would have come if anyone was directing."
"But Derek isn't just anyone," Ronnie countered, narrowing her eyes at Ivy. "He spends just as much time looking at you as he does as me."
"What? Derek doesn't 'see' me as anything, except as a movable dancer."
"No he doesn't," Derek whispered. "He never did."
"Did you hear something?" Ivy asked, walking to the door. "I swear I thought I heard another voice."
"My mind is so full of work, I can't hear anything," Ronnie said, shaking her head.
Ivy waited a beat, hearing nothing she continued. "So back to the work of it all, you and Derek seem to be at a standoff."
"Well your precious genius seems to be wanting to revamp my entire image so that he can stage a comeback for himself."
"I thought you said you wanted a change of image?"
"Derek's got me doing a full 180, it's shocking even for me!"
"He's tough, it's true. He'll push you, and drive you crazy, and make you hate him and want to quit, right up until you give the performance of your life. And somehow its all worth it."
"There you again, with that dreamy look in your eyes," Ronnie teased.
"He, has a piece of my heart," Ivy admitted. "A piece that I don't know if I'll ever be able to get back."
Derek's hand moved to his heart. He had heard enough. There was still a show to put on.
Ronnie's one night performance at the Copeland Theatre was a resounding success, with a new original song for Ronnie to debut as her final number. With the help of Derek, she had been able to weave a delicate balance of traditional and modern, shaping her image while keeping her original style intact.
The cast gathered at a bar across the street from the theatre, though Ivy wasn't feeling much like celebrating. Liaisons was still in its early stages, and she was hearing conflicting reports about leading man Terry Falls, known more for his comedy than his straight acting.
"You know it's illegal for someone that good looking to be sitting alone."
Ivy glanced up at a sleek looking blonde wearing a fedora. He looked as out of place as she felt. Turning back to her drink, she ignored the leering stranger.
"Maybe I'm just not coming on strong enough," he suggested, wrapping an arm around her.
Ivy froze, unable to move.
"Maybe she's taken," a British inflection entered the conversation. Ivy didn't have to turn to see who it was. "So I suggest you move along."
The man in the hat lost his sense of bravado in the presence of the powerful director, exiting out of the bar.
Ivy turned to meet Derek's gaze. "I know I should be thanking you for that, but I don't want it to go to your head," she smirked.
"If anything, I should be thanking you for today...the performance at the last minute."
"Oh you know I'd do anything for Tom," Ivy quipped with a playful shrug.
Derek reached for the remains of Ivy's drink and downed it in one gulp.
"You'd better be getting me another drink," Ivy teasingly warned.
Derek signaled the bartender.
"So how come your slumming it with me instead of with your ingénue Karen?"
Derek took a seat on the stool. "For your information, Karen seems to have a crush on a certain budding composer."
Ivy thanked the bartender for the drink. "Jimmy?"
"I don't know what she sees in him," Derek scoffed.
"Maybe it's his bad reputation." Ivy took a long sip. "That was part of your appeal for me last year."
Derek blinked, leaning forward. "Was it really?"
"Umm hum," she murmured, placing one foot on the floor. "I may have had too much to drink," she confessed with a light laugh, embarrassed at her quick confession to Derek.
Derek reached for Ivy's arm. "Let me walk you home."
Ivy shook her head. "I know I've been drinking, but I also know my way home."
"I don't want any of those other barflies following you out," Derek insisted, wrapping one arm around Ivy's waist.
Ivy sighed, feeling too comfortable to resist. "Don't get any ideas about taking advantage or anything."
"I will see you to the front door and make sure you get inside. You can pass out on the bed."
"Perfect." They walked in comfortable silence right up to Ivy's stoop. Ivy reached in her purse for her keys, opening the front door to the building. "Congratulations on tonight – sounds like you got exactly what you wanted."
"Did I?"
"You reinvented Ronnie and redeemed yourself in the process."
"Hmm, it seems that I did," Derek smirked.
"Onto your next quest tomorrow?"
"Bombshell keeps me plenty busy."
"Then you should be able to stay out of trouble, I won't be seeing your name in the tabloids."
Derek opened Ivy's apartment door. "Isn't all press good press?"
Ivy rested her head on one side. "I will think on that one when I'm sober." Ivy touched Derek's arm. "Thank you for walking me home."
"It's what friends are for, so I've heard."
Ivy nodded.
"I brought you a little something," Derek said, pulling a napkin out of his pocket. "Goodnight, Ivy."
"Night," Ivy waved, closing the door. Unwrapping the napkin, Ivy found half of a cookie. "Whaaat?" she wondered, tracing the shape. After examining it twice, Ivy found she was holding half of a heart in her hand. Chills began to go down her spine. "He couldn't have heard me and Ronnie today," Ivy said, shaking her head. "There's gotta be another reason," she mumbled, sliding onto her bed.
Derek waited for the light in Ivy's apartment to dim. Having guarded his heart most of his life, he took a bold step in letting someone know that they had left a lasting impression on him. The next question was, when to tell her the truth.