Her smile widens and just then, another girl in a colorful jumpsuit and spiked hair steps into the reception through a glass door. “Liz McKay. Welcome.” She says my name like a solemn announcement, then leads me inside the main office. “Natalia is in an impromptu meeting right now. So, if you’d like to wait…” She gestures to a pair of armchairs, but I’ve already heard the raised voice coming from inside Natalia’s office, familiar, achingly familiar, and obviously furious.
“Who is she meeting with?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
The girl manages to grimace and look dreamy at the same time. “Aidan Court, the director.”
I hear his voice again, carrying through the opaque glass wall of Natalia’s office. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I can feel the anger in his tone. It’s gr
ating that the thought of working with me is so distasteful to him, but I understand why he feels that way.
But maybe I can change his mind.
Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders and smile at my escort. “I’ll join them,” I announce, ignoring the look of alarm that springs onto her face. I walk past her and push open the door to Natalia’s office.
“…I don’t give a damn if her name sells millions of tickets. I will not work with her. It’s disgusting that you’re trying to arm-twist me into this. Frankly, I expected better of you.”
“Aidan…” Natalia’s sigh is a mixture of exasperation and patience. “Let’s be reasonable…”
He stops pacing. “Fuck reasonable,” he mutters, running a hand through his already tousled hair.
I linger at the door, frozen by the palpable waves of annoyance emanating from him. Natalia gives me an apologetic smile and I smile back. She’s an attractive woman in her forties with copper hair in a short bob and creamy pale skin. She’s also one of the toughest women I know. Whatever she has decided about the play, I know she won’t back down. Not for Aidan, and not for anybody else.
Aidan follows Natalia’s gaze, slowly turning to face me. I lift my chin as our eyes meet, and yet…the force of his gaze almost kicks me off balance. For a moment, we stare at each other, his deep blue eyes as cold as glaciers. My heart contracts and starts to ache all over again.
“Of course,” he sneers, his voice dripping venom. “Of course, she’s here.”
I ignore his tone. “Hello, Aidan.”
The flinch is barely perceptible, but it’s there. His body goes rigid and his jaw hardens. As if the sound of his name on my lips is something he can’t stand.
“Aidan…” Natalia’s tone is measured. “Think about the play…the potential, the publicity...”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he explodes, leaving me weak as his gaze leaves me. His voice is full of anger, yet it remains deep and measured. “Fuck the potential and fuck the publicity. I couldn’t care less. Get yourself a new lead, Natalia, or get yourself another director.” He spares me another withering glance before he stalks out of the office.
The door shuts behind him and Natalia sighs, lifting two manicured fingers to her temples. “Bloody hell! Why do I always get these difficult projects?” she groans. “I have to deal with investors, with the unions, the theatre board trying to shaft us, and now an irate director.” She narrows her eyes at me. “What are you doing here?”
“I had a few questions about the play, about Aidan.” I approach her desk and lower myself into a chair across from her. “I guess I should have called ahead.”
“You should have, then maybe, without your appearance here to set him off, I might have convinced him that your presence in the play wouldn’t be a disaster, but you had to come here and start that…je ne sais quoi that happens whenever you two are in a room together. Seven years and it’s still the same. Who would have thought?”
I close my eyes, remembering the desire, uncertainty and desperation combined to create something I still can’t explain, something that other people can sense whenever Aidan and I are together. “What happens if he pulls out?”
“A lot of paperwork. A long delay. He could sue us for whatever. Then we’d counter-sue. We could have a hard time getting a new director. Unhappy investors, loss of funding. It could become a disaster, and I don’t need that. I haven’t been in charge long enough to afford mistakes like that.”
I know what she means. Theatre is art, but it’s also a business, and nobody wants to spend their money and end up without the bragging rights of associating their name with a good play.
“What can I do?” I need to do this play. It’s the only plausible answer to the questions people are asking about the reason for my extended stay in New York after pulling out of a big movie project. It’s also the only opportunity I can see to get Aidan to listen to me, so we can confront what happened between us in the past.
But I don’t want to cost Natalia her play. “I can pull out, if that will solve anything.”
“Of course not.” Natalia gives me an amused glance. “Don’t undersell yourself, Liz. You aren’t less valuable to me than Aidan is. The backers are already orgasmic about having you on the project. You know your name will sell tickets like nothing else will. And given your history with Aidan, the publicity will create itself.” She gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry if that sounded tasteless, or predatory. I’m just being candid.”
“It’s okay.”
She taps a finger on her desk. “I just have to convince Aidan that this thing between you two is not as important or insurmountable as he thinks. That this is the perfect opportunity to give it a chance to fizzle out. He’s usually not difficult, you know. Demanding, but not difficult.” She looks at me. “When was the last time you two spoke?”
“Barring just now?” I shake my head. “Before I left for L.A. that first time.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re kidding.”