by Morgan
Michelle sat with her hand over her mouth as Lauren wrapped things up, and then they all heard the announcement of another commercial break. After that, the award for Best Actress would be presented.
Sly took her hand, and his warm, rough skin soothed her racing mind.
“You know,” he said softly. “If you lose, I bet we can be home in an hour.”
Michelle smiled. That sounded fine to her.
She was not that lucky, of course.
Michelle’s name was the first one called when the presenter listed all the nominees, and hers was the only one repeated.
The first thing she was consciously aware of was that their table instantly lit up with a spotlight like it had when her colleagues had won. Only, she hadn’t noticed the prism of light left by the reflection of her champagne glass on the white tablecloth before. She was almost hypnotized by it while the room raced with sound.
Finally, Sly’s voice cut through the chaos. “Time to start climbing, my love.”
Michelle snapped out of it, turned to kiss him and then she was on the move. Her dress was, thankfully, not too cumbersome, so she was able to ascend gracefully.
Applause and whistles carried her to the glass podium, and she was handed the weighty award.
The ballroom was a sea of faces, more than she’d ever addressed in her entire life. That alone was enough to paralyze her voice, but when she considered the millions watching around the world, she was certain that even if she’d written a great speech, her throat was going to clamp shut before she uttered a word.
The room settled, and Michelle opened her mouth, hoping for the best.
“It’s no secret that my nomination in this category was a big surprise to everyone, including me. I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for that. I really needed it three months ago.” A mixture of laughter and supportive applause gave her a brief moment to gather her next thoughts. “The other women in this category have long been heroes of mine, and the only reason I don’t feel completely awful about standing here is that I’m pretty sure you all have one of these already.” She lifted the sharp and shiny gold statue.
The room fluttered with laughter. She was off to a good start, but the conductor of the orchestra was already capping his water bottle.
“Shaunna, you never gave up on me, even when I did. Thank you.”
The conductor checked his watch and picked up his baton, but Michelle wasn’t finished.
“I would like to thank Kyle Petersen—” there were more than a few gasps when she mentioned her ex-husband’s name; even the conductor’s baton wavered for a moment “—for making me tough.”
The room murmured.
“I would to thank David Quinn for making me brave. And finally, I would like to thank Nathan McPherson for making me win.”
Nathan’s eyes became as wide as cinnamon rolls as the audience swelled with applause that was clearly meant for him.
Fortunately, Michelle did not have to climb back down the stairs because she was escorted off-stage by a star-struck indie film actor while the room pressed on with its ovation. Shaunna patted David on the thigh and, after a quick kiss, left his side to escort Michelle through the gauntlet of press obligations.
When they all met up after the show, Michelle no longer wanted to go home. She felt like she wasn’t going to sleep for days. They all went to the studio’s after party, which was flooded with A-listers, all of whom wanted to congratulate Michelle and meet Lauren and David.
Shaunna gave Michelle her hundredth and final hug of the night at around two o’clock, when David insisted on leaving for their little Yorba Linda bungalow.
Sly was driving Michelle southeast to their home less than an hour after that. The soothing voice on the AM radio lulled Michelle into a comfortable doze.
Michelle’s phone chirped, and she answered it without looking at the number. Only Shaunna called her so late.
“Oh, Michelle. I thought I would get your voice mail.” Kyle’s voice was quiet, but clear.
Michelle was stunned.
“Kyle. I…what can I do for you?” It only took a second for her voice to harden.
Sly tensed behind the wheel.
“Oh, well, I just wanted to congratulate you on your win tonight.” He sounded like a child whose mother had forced him to apologize to someone for a transgression.
Michelle wasn’t surprised that Kyle didn’t understand that she’d insulted him in her speech and wondered briefly if he was going to thank her for the only good press he’d gotten in a while.
“Thank you,” Michelle said caustically.
“That guy you’re with is too old for you,” he added.
“Actually, you were too young for me. It turns out I’m quite satisfied with someone a bit more mature.”
“Well, he dresses like a professor.”
“Can I ask you something, Kyle?” Michelle was exasperated, but not upset.
“What?” He sounded like knew what was coming. He didn’t.
“Did you ever find your TV remote?”
It took a while but finally Michelle heard his answer, a soft and regrettable, “No.”
“Well, keep looking,” she said cheerily and hung up.
That was the moment Michelle finally felt free of him. Everything she had carried around inside her, all the power he’d ever had over her, flew out the convertible like a loose hat. It was an exhilarating rush of self-worth, and it made her quite ravenous in more ways than one.
She scooted as close to Sly as she could with the stick shift between them and recounted her favorite events of the evening as they sped through vineyards and sleepy homes.
Their laughter escaped into the open night and clung to the star-bound breeze.
The End
Acknowledgments
We wish to begin by thanking Becca, Elli, and Sue, all of whom volunteered their valuable time and talents. They read this story and provided feedback at nearly every stage in the writing process. From the beginning, their commitment and enthusiasm for this novel has been nothing less than amazing. They invested as many months into this story as we did, and did so from behind the scenes. This is why Exposure has been dedicated in their names.
Thank you to Nina for her guidance and support. She has been instrumental in the publication of this story and we extend our heartfelt appreciation. Thanks also to Mina Vaughn for generously providing advice early in the submission process. She steered us in the right direction, and we are grateful for her assistance. We also thank Carmen and Chris for their friendship and help during a critical time.
We have enjoyed our collaboration with Omnific and especially wish to thank Nina, Lisa, Elizabeth, Colleen, and Kimberly for their hard work. Special thanks go to our editor, Sean, for taking us on and showing us the ropes. We consider ourselves fortunate. We’ve enjoyed working with him and everyone at Omnific and look forward to doing so again in the future.
Writing has brought us closer together as husband and wife, but also required much of our time and attention. Our friends and family deserve more thanks than we can adequately provide. Over the past four years, there were moments when those closest to us raised an eyebrow or two, but no one ever discouraged us from the journey. For that, we will be forever grateful.
Finally, we wish to thank E.L. James and Sylvain Reynard. Their stories sparked our own creativity while their friendship and support have enriched our lives. Many thanks for all they have done for us.
Morgan & Jennifer Locklear
April 22, 2014
About the Author
Morgan and Jennifer Locklear met in 1989 as teenagers and became high school sweethearts. They have been married since 1995 and live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States with their two children, a son and daughter.
Although both enjoyed creative writing in their youth, they have only been working as a writing team since 2010. Since then, they have created a dozen full-length and short stories together.
J
ennifer has been employed in fundraising and development for a non-profit organization since 2000. She also enjoys participating in charitable activities, both locally and online. In her (limited) free time she is an avid reader.
Morgan has been employed in the hospitality industry since 1998. He has been active in the local performing arts community since childhood with many acting and directing credits to his name. He is also a musician and songwriter and has recorded six albums.
Facebook: Morgan & Jennifer Locklear
Twitter: @MJLocklear
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Information
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thi
rty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Acknowledgments
About the Author
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