| Details for I'm Your Man |
| Summary: | Audrey visits Wolfgang to establish where they stand with one another…or maybe to figure it out for herself. |
| Date: | November 9, 1937 |
| Location: | The Natrix |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Flat Above The Natrix, London
Behind a hidden panel and up a flight of stairs from the Natrix's office, this swanky penthouse apartment is decorated with the same art deco sensibility as the room below, but far more lavishly. The stairs top out in the center of a wide circular room. The inner half of the circle covered in plush green carpet, the outer half in black and white marble tiles. A variety of eclectic modern statues on pedestals ring the room, along with silver-framed mirrors and modern paintings. In nearly every room there is a piano of some sort. A standing piano is the smaller rooms and a beautiful black grand piano with sexy curves and art deco designs on the legs and on the lid. On the carpet opposite the stairs is a seating area with several low-slung white Italian leather couches and armless chairs surrounding a circular mahogany table.
The curving walls are translucent glass, and through its milky-white surface the outline of the rooms beyond can be seen: a kitchen and bar with another small seating area, a smoking parlor with a billiards table, a large bathroom with a jacuzzi, and a bedroom dominated by a tall king-sized four-poster with a silver and rosewood frame. One five-meter segment of the glass wall is one-way transparent glass, offering a view of the night club's surroundings that opens on to a discreet balcony.
Audrey ascends the steps into the center of Wolfgang's flat at a slow, somber pace. Today she is dressed demurely (though still the height of fashion), in a businesslike blue skirt and jacket, a matching beret bearing a long pheasant feather, and her usual black stockings with the seam up in the back visible on her calves. She looks around, for Wolfgang. It's so disorienting, entering a room at it's center. "Wolfie?" she calls out.
Wolfgang looks up from the dining room table. He's leaning over it looking at the floorplans that cover the tabletop. With him are a few other men. "Excuse me gentlemen." He waves his wand and the whole lot of the blueprints roll up on themselves and the men take up a roll each and then tip their heads in a farewell as they pass by Audrey. Meanwhile Wolf has poured them both their usual beverages. "You look radiant. The Indian Sun has done wonders."
Audrey smiles softly to Wolfgang. Indeed, she's managed to develop a light tan. Though she was wise enough to stay out of the direct sun, for the most part. Her fair skin wouldn't handle it well. "Thank you. How have things been in merry old England without me? Dreadful, I hope." She gives him a teasing wink, reaching for her half-glass of single-malt whiskey.
Wolfgang scoops up her hand to kiss her knuckles before putting the drink into her hand. "It was, terribly dreadful. I simply do not know how we managed without our shining star." Thing is, he's teasing, but there is genuine flattery in there as well. He's missed her. "That woman…the other one you asked me to look after. She came by. We had a lovely time after she declined my protection. I think she's on some sort of sting operation. Could be wrong. But we'll see, won't we? So, tell me all about it and make me ridiculously jealous." He bids with a gesture of his glass in his hand before he takes a swallow.
Audrey blushes softly at the kiss. She can't help it, the man is smooth. The drink is taken gratefully, and she nearly empties the glass in one gulp. Whoa. "So…what was that all about?" She gestures toward where Wolfgang and the men were looking over the blueprints.
Wolfgang takes another drink and smiles against the rim seeing that blush of her. "That was just business. There's a place I recently acquired and all that was just the re-modeling process. It's in Finsbury, you know, stones throw from Leicester Square and the Wyndham's Theater. Would make quite the nice place for a rising Star." He smiles and shrugs his shoulders a little in that cool way that he has even when he's just offered a house to his Mistress that's come back from a foray with her other lover.
Audrey laughs softly, a hand pressed to his arm. "And leave Notting Hill? I couldn't. I love where I am." One more gulp, and she's finished the whiskey, and already moving to refill it…but only a half-glass. She's not a lush if she only drinks half a glass at a time. "So…India was amazing. I can't thank you enough for what you did for us…for Ranjali and me." Her back is still to him as she pours the whiskey, disguising the nervousness in her eyes. "It was truly magical."
Wolfgang seems to take the rejection with ease. He strolls over to the couches and settles down. Both arms going over the back of the couch and his legs crossing as he sits there like a king of his domain. "You're very welcome. It was my pleasure to help Ranjali through the ordeal. It was always my wish that I was able to do something for my mother. But I was too late for that. I'm honored to be able to actually do something to keep Ranjali from the same path." He downs what remains in his glass and leans forward to put the empty on the coffee table.
Audrey turns, her whiskey glass in hand. "Your mother?" She strides over to the sitting area, but remains standing for the moment. She tilts her head curiously. "What do you mean?"
Wolfgang smiles and shakes his head giving a wave. "I don't want to bring you down Star. It's all in the past anyways. I'm sure you can appreciate keeping the past where it belongs." He rolls forward and gives her a charming smile as he wanders to refill his own glass half-full.
Audrey's eyes drift toward a window, with a murmured, "Yeah." It seems like the past has been rising awfully close to the surface a lot, lately, and her temper along with it. It's been getting harder to wear the painted smile and act the part of the happy, shining star.
Wolfgang returns to her after he's got his drink and uses his free hand to reach out and give her chin a little nudge, "See now, that's what I'm trying to avoid. Unless you want to talk about it?" He remains by her side and rests his chin on her shoulder. "Or talk about what's on your mind. Though you don't have to say anything either. If it'll spare you pain. Just turn around kiss me, say good-bye and walk out my door."
Audrey's gaze remains fixed on the window, eyes tracing the droplets of light rain clinging to the glass. It should be raining harder, she muses. It's supposed to pour during emotional scenes. For several breathless seconds she considers doing just what he suggests. He's given her a way out. So why isn't she taking it? "You deserve an explanation. If…if you want it."
Wolfgang turns to lean back on the window so he can look into her eyes. His own filled with the same question. Why isn't she taking it? He thinks he knows why. "She gives you what I haven't yet. She gives you what you deserve." His hand once more lifts up to caress her soft as silk cheek. "I'm not new to this game Doll. I just thought I might have been dealt a different hand than usual. It was a bluff. I know when to fold, but I also know when to hold." With that his arm sweeps about her to pull her up close. His gaze is intense as he looks over her face. She should have taken his out when he gave it. Drink left on the sill the now free hand moves to take her by the back of the head. There is a toe-curler of a kiss on the line and she has but a breath of a fraction of a split moment to keep it from happening.
It's like a movie, and Audrey is swept into the drama of it all. For a fraction of a moment she thinks she might stop him…bit it's too late. His lips are on hers, and the will to refuse him withers. She has to know. This is the moment that will decide her future. She is certain that he is pouring everything he has to offer into this kiss. Her heart becomes a battleground between the affections of Wolfgang and Ranjali…oh, God…Ranjali. Suddenly she pulls back, her lips puffy and her eyes shimmering. "Oh, Wolfgang…I…I'm sorry." She lowers her head, then leans back into him, burying her face in his chest. "It was always a game between you and I. That's just the kind of people we are. Wolfie…I didn't know you felt so strongly. If I'd known…before…" She trails off, the words catching in her throat.
Wolfgang wraps his arms around her and hold her, just as he said he knows how to do. Taking the very burden of her own weight from her as he cradles her against her. Little kisses are peppered along her hair line. He then shifts a little so that one hand can take her by the chin to tilt her head up so he can look down in her eyes. "Don't you worry about me Doll. We'll be fine. You and I. We're tough. We're survivors. Right? So chin up and wipe those liquid diamonds from your eyes."
For a moment, she thinks she might kiss him again. The things he says can really sweep a woman miles away from reason. But she is already feeling guilty about being kissed. If she were to kiss him, it would be complete betrayal. She nods, straightening herself up and fishing out a handkerchief to dag her eyes. "Survivors," she says softly. "Isn't that the truth." She tilts her head, suddenly finding herself looking at him in a whole new light. There are things she wants to say. Assurances that he deserves better than a tramp like her. Wistful thoughts of how they might be together in another life. But any words she can think of sound trite and hollow the moment they form in her mind. So she turns, slowly walking toward the stairs. She pauses before leaving, looking back at him. "See you around, killer." She gives him a sad smile, and turning away before her mask falters, she descends, out of sight.
Wolfgang takes his glass of Disarrona up again, but he doesn't drink from it. He wants to keep that bite of the taste of her lipstick mingled with the nectar of her mouth on his for as long as it will linger. He gives her a cool smile, his playboy crooner mask already back. To her farewell, he only replies, "I'm Your Man." Then with a wave of his hand the door slides shut and there's a click as it locks. To keep her from returning, and from him going after her.