*****
“So you are a successful investor. You created a musical including the music and concepts for the costumes and scenery. Now I’m finding out that you can cook. Is there anything that you can’t do?” Victoria asked Jared as she sat in his elaborate dining room in his penthouse.
“I can’t act,” he replied as he filled her wine glass. “If I could I’d be in the show too.”
“What part would you play?” Victoria asked.
“The director,” Jared replied, breaking eye contact. “Obviously.”
There was a brief clip of silence. Victoria twirled her shrimp scampi around her fork as she thought about what the girls had been saying in the hallway. She wanted to know what she did to get this man to notice her. Months ago, she’d never imagine that she would be having dinner with Jared Miller in his minimalist apartment. She was trying to throw her inhibition to the wind. She’d always been a cautious girl, but that did make people famous. It was getting a bit easy to settle into, that and she’d already had a glass of wine. “Want to hear something funny?”
Jared smirked at her from across the table. “Sure.”
Victoria couldn’t help but giggle as she remembered the girl’s jealous voice. “People in the show. They think we’re together. Maybe not together, but fooling around.”
She had expected Jared to laugh too, but he didn’t. His face became quite serious and Victoria regretted saying anything.
“I could see why people would interpret it that way,” he replied. “I’ve already said that I want to know everything I can about you. I think you are beautiful Victoria. I’d want nothing more than to belong to you.”
Once more Victoria dropped her eyes to her plate and played nervously with her food. “I…I would like to know more about you too.”
“I feel like everyone is intimidated by me because I have so much money. I wish they would look past all that. I’m determined. I want things in life and I go out there and make them happen. In reality, I’m just a giant theater nerd that got bit by the acting bug and could never let go. I found out pretty quickly that I wasn’t meant for the stage, but I love writing and I figured I could make my mark that way. Not only have I invested in shows, but I had a few plays that made it to the stage, nothing as big as this one, though. I guess there’s just a moment when everything falls into place.”
For the first time since she’d met Jared Miller, she didn’t feel nervous to look him in the eye. She stared at the man that sat across from her. He suddenly didn’t seem that different than her. She too had been that child that was in play and never wanted to do anything else after that.
“What was your first play?” she asked him.
Jared smiled as he remembered. “Anything Goes,” he replied, “I was a sailor. How about you?”
“I was Molly, the youngest orphan in Annie.”
The conversation took off from there. They talked about their favorite shows and from there other favorites such as food and places to go on vacation. Soon the bottle of wine was drained and the dinner plates were empty and Jared had invited her out onto the balcony of his penthouse. By balcony it was one of those rooftop yards that was perfectly manicured and Victoria probably should have been nervous about how high up off the ground she was, but her head was so fuzzy from the wine that she didn’t seem to care. She also didn’t think anything of the way Jared placed an arm around her waist and drew her close.
“I hope that my feelings for you are not overwhelming. You truly are my muse. I knew the first time that I saw you that I had to have you.” He nuzzled his face in her hair.
“I’m very torn,” Victoria admitted, the wine giving her liquid courage, “You are charming. I’ve found that we have so much in common, but I can’t help but feel like if I give into you I’m becoming a stereotype.”
“What do you mean?”
“There is this part of me that wants to kiss you so passionately for what you’ve provided for me. That wants you to hold me because you’ve been so good to me. But if I do that I’m one of those girls that sleeps with the director to get in his good graces. I’m no better than a porn star. I’m getting paid for my body.”
Jared took his finger and put them under her chin so that Victoria would look him in the eye. “Is that what you think?”
“What am I supposed to think?” Victoria found herself growing impassioned. “You watched me perform every night. You are talking about making me famous. How am I not supposed to think that this all comes for a price?”
Instead of answered her, Jared leaned in and kissed her. It was aggressive, it wasn’t intense. It was gentle, a moment that brought her peace. He broke apart from her and looked at her quite seriously.
“Yes, it was love at first sight. I can see why that might overwhelm you. But I know talent when I see it. Those things rolled into one make you insatiable to me. I am falling in love with you. I want you, Victoria. I want you more than anything in my entire life, but you will not lose your part on Muse if you refuse me.”
This time, it was Victoria that rose up on her feet and kissed Jared. It was the same sort of kiss; not wild, not begging for return. It was simply a kiss. It was a tentative reply to what had happened, and what could be.
*****
The next morning Victoria’s head felt like it was being tightened in a vice grip. She groaned as she rolled over in bed, the sheets felt like the thread count was in the stratosphere as they touched her naked boy. That was when it hit her, her sheets were made of jersey material and they were from Target and definitely not as luxurious as the ones she found herself wrapped in. Victoria shot up to take in her surroundings only to have her head throb and she flopped back down again. Wine, this was definitely wine’s fault.
“What’s wrong?” a voice murmured. Once more Victoria felt herself feeling sick. It was all coming back to her, the voice belonged to Jared Miller and they were in her bed. She’d spent the night. She had become a stereotype.
She tried to tell herself that she was starting to fall for him last night. That they’d kissed that everything had started to make sense. But then they’d had more wine and things had gotten out of hand. She remembered the gentle kisses becoming something more, soon they were grasping onto each other for dear life, kissing like it was second to breathing. Before she knew it she was on her knees in the grass of his rooftop garden, bobbing back and forth as she sucked his cock. Jared groaned as he grabbed onto her hair, letting her work on him until she was convinced that he was going to burst.
The night came back to her in fragments. Of Jared picking up in a bridal carry and taking her back into his apartment. This time it was his turn to take care of her and they stripped off their clothes and he laid her on his leather couch before placed his head between her legs and sucked and licked her womanhood until she was a twitching mess in his hands, cumming hard before he asked her to go to t bedroom. Victoria was still coming off the high from what he’d done for her before. She followed him into the large room with a king sized bed that put her twin bed that she had wedged in her small one-bedroom apartment to shame.
That part of the night was a blur. Even as she recalled she felt arousal between her legs as she recalled the way that he’d taken her almost every possible way. Her favorite was when she had been on all fours and he’d thrust in and out of her from behind. She probably had two orgasms just from that position. He’d finally finished when she was straddling him and they’d fallen to the bed spent and apparently what she’d said was going to be a five-minute nap had turned into an entire night’s sleep.
She felt embarrassed, she felt like she wanted to throw up and stay in bed until she could face the fact that she had slept with a man that liked her way too much and was also her boss. She couldn’t deny the fact that Jared Miller was an excellent lover, and that she had enjoyed what they had done. Enjoyed spending the whole night with him really. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all if she could just let him in. That and if she could get out
of her whole head so much.
“That wine wrecked me,” Victoria groaned.
“It was a really, really good year,” he replied, sounding just as exhausted.
“What time is it?” She tried to sit up again, but Jared’s arm pulled her back down and perfectly into the space beside him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her in even closer. She couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh.
“I already canceled rehearsal for today. Told everyone that it was a combination of me suddenly getting sick and things going so well.”
“Well thank God,” Victoria said as she shut her eyes and decided if she’d be able to fall back asleep.
“Want some aspirin? I’m getting up. I’m not planning on going anywhere. Maybe if you feel better we can watch a movie. Do you like video games? My library is pretty extensive.”
Victoria found herself smiling despite the headache. With her eyes shut, Jared Miller sounded like a regular guy, not a billionaire. “The aspirin would be great. We’ll see about the rest.”
He brought her back a glass of water along with the medicine and for a few moments she contemplated getting up and leaving the minute she felt well enough. Maybe they could forget that this ever happened. The thought passed her mind and she was immediately shaking her head because she knew what she meant to Jared. He’d let it slip last night while she had bucked up and down his manhood and caused to him to climax. As they panted, as they came back down to earth he had whispered three words that made Victoria feel powerful and helpless at the same time.
I love you.
Did he really mean that? Was he just confused? Victoria knew that this wasn’t the end. She should run, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to walk away, not yet at least. She liked the way she felt around him. That and the show was opening in a few short weeks, they would find out what the future meant for them both romantically and more soon.
So when her headache eventually passed she got out of bed and put on a long thermal undershirt that he’d laid on the bed for her. Her clothes from the night before were absent and she could hear a washer running somewhere in the penthouse.
Jared was watching a sitcom when she joined him in the living room. She sat on the couch hugging her knees to her chest as she watched the cast try to get their way out of a precarious yet funny situation. Jared chuckled in time with the canned audience. He reached out his hand and Victoria knit her fingers with his. Things were about to get complicated, very complicated.
*****
Somehow the next few weeks went by without making Victoria crack. The rehearsals intensified. They began to practice in costumes and makeup. Victoria’s stomach began to prickle with nerves as opening night came closer. When she wasn’t in the theater, she was doing promotional work, she was running her lines, she was embodying her character named Gemma, but most importantly, she was spending time with Jared and it was getting harder and harder to not give away what was going on between them at work.
At night he cooked for her or they got take out and they hung out or played a fun video game before they would make love. Victoria was starting to spend less time in her own bed than in Jared’s. When they were in rehearsal, she tried to act as professional as possible, but sometimes Jared would touch her in public, nothing indecent or anything, but she knew what people saw and she knew that they were talking about it.
Opening night was going to be huge. They had been all over the New York TV networks including the morning shows like Today and Good Morning America. Celebrities and famous people were going to be in attendance and Victoria sat in her dressing room feeling like she might pass out.
“You look beautiful.”
Once more Jared’s voice brought her to her senses. He was wearing a formal tuxedo, no doubt having already mingled at the Gala that was happening in the lobby. Victoria was in her speak easy performer outfit, her auburn hair covered by an even more stunning ginger colored wig. The rest of her costumes hung a rack, there were so many beautiful pieces, each scene more breathtaking than the last.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” she said.
“Not true,” he shook his head, “I just know talent when I see it.”
His words made her smile. He kissed her on the lips careful to not mess her makeup. It was the same kiss that he did when they weren’t in the heat of the moment. A soft, calming, gentle kiss.
“Break a leg,” he whispered.
Soon they were calling for places and the overture was playing. It had been a while since Victoria had felt that feeling in her stomach as the music swept through the air and left everyone in the theatre excited. The curtain rose and the man that was playing the director began to explain his story. It was one of those “breaking the fourth wall” situations where someone tells a story and there are flashbacks. The director was frustrated because his star actress was a diva and he had to fire her. He despairs that he will never complete his movie, when someone tips him off about a girl that has incredible talent and will make him forget about his old star. Victoria took a deep breath as they changed parts of the scenery. It was almost time for her introduction.
She was nervous as she made her way onto a set. She had to walk confidently, like she’d worked in the speakeasy every day for years. She sang her song, letting someone help her onto the piano when the music began to build and when she was finished, the room thundered with applause. It was moments like this that made everything that she had done and everything that she had sacrificed worth it.
The show continued. The artist made it known that he was in love with her character and didn’t want her to lose herself by becoming a movie star. The movie director seduced her, making her want to be famous more than she wanted to stick to her roots. It showed the downward spiral as the actress tried to juggle both. She’s known the artist her whole life, she loves him too, the director eventually grew jealous and gives Gemma an ultimatum, fame or her artist lover. Gemma chooses the lover and they run away to live happily ever after. The director completes his story by saying that he is gutted that he lost his muse, but still can’t believe the opportunities that she brought him and that he will get her back someday.
The play went off without a hitch. People laughed at all the right places and they got emotional when Victoria and the actor that played the artist made their choice to run away together. She thought it went well, but it wasn’t until they came out for their bows that she was blown away. The entire room was on their feet and they were cheering her name. Victoria could not believe they had enjoyed it so much.
She’d done it. No, they’d done it. Jared had written a sensational music and the cast had brought it to life. She couldn’t believe that she got to this for a job. Victoria felt euphoric and on top of the world.
When they had finished she had collected her things. Most of the cast wanted to go out and celebrate a great first performance. She looked everywhere for Jared to see if he wanted to go too, but she saw him getting to a car just like he had that day he’d wanted to talk to her about his show and inevitably about their future. He smiled at her and motioned to his phone, then the driver shut the door and took off.
Victoria couldn’t help but feel disappointed, but she guessed it made sense. She was on the same level as her cast mates while Jared Miller was billionaire. She forgot that sometimes he just couldn’t mix with everyone else.
*****
The weeks that followed were something special. Muse became a sold out show. They performed every day except Thursday, and on Fridays and Saturdays they had two shows. There were reviews everywhere, people were sending Victoria gifts and letters. She truly felt like her character Gemma. She was finally a star.
The cast got the shock of their life when Jared told them that things were going so well that one of his movie producer friends wanted to do a movie version of the show. Most of the people working on the show couldn’t believe that they were working on Broadway, they were pinching themselves at the thought of
having their name in movie credits or seeing themselves on the big screen. The discussions had begun a few days prior and everyone was waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next.
All of this should have excited Victoria, but something didn’t feel right. Just when she felt like she letting her guard down and really starting to fall for Jared, he had started to grow distant. She knew that being the creator and director of a show was very demanding but he’d been so attentive and enthusiastic. Victoria tried to not to fall into her over-thinking bad habits, but she wondered if he finally got what he wanted and didn’t need to stroke her ego anymore. He had a sold out show, he had even more money, and he’d finally taken the star of the show to bed. What more did he need?
Victoria couldn’t leave it like that. So one night instead of going out for drinks with a few of the dancers, she raced out of the theater just as Jared was getting into his car.
“Wait!” she called after him.
Jared stopped the driver before he shut the door.
“Victoria. What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you!”
“Call me later.”
Victoria was not satisfied with that answer so she jostled her way past the driver and slid into the seat beside Jared.
“No, I want to talk to you now.”
Jared looked at his driver once more before he waved him on. As the door shut he heaved a sigh.
“Very well, come back to my place. It’s been lonely without you there.”
Victoria looked at him dumbfounded. If he truly felt that way, then why did it seem like he was giving her the cold shoulder. The car took off from the curb, but she didn’t fasten her seat belt, she continued to stare at the man.
“What is going on?”
Ways in the Guardian: A Menage Romance Book Collection Page 62
