Page 112 of Something Cheeky

“You’ve stood up against Greg since you joined this production. We’d be honored for you to lead us.” Th?o turned to the actors. “Zoe! Zoe!”

“Zoe! Zoe! Zoe!” they chanted.

“Okay! I’ll do it!” Zoe cried out and was met with cheers. She had the least to lose. It was her idea so her responsibility to lead them tomorrow.

They might be able to pull it off, unlike her college protest. Back then no one in Syracuse cared about whitewashing or a tenured professor bullying his students. She’d had no power in that situation.

Tomorrow would be different from college. She had an army behind her.

“Now, let’s make a plan for tomorrow so we’re all on the samepage.” Josie pulled out her notebook and fountain pen to make one of her famous lists.

After another round of bread pudding and coffee, they’d agreed on a timeline for tomorrow’s walkout along with roles for everyone. They were in good hands. Josie’s planning skills rivaled Heather’s.

Heather.Their stage manager would not be happy withthisset of plans. Zoe caught Th?o’s attention and waved her to an empty booth.

“What about Heather?” Zoe asked.

Th?o sucked her teeth and cringed. “She’s either going to be pissed or she’ll join us.”

“I don’t want her to get in trouble because she works full time at Prestige. The rest of us are contract workers.”

Th?o bit her lip as she considered Zoe’s words.

“What if I tell her right before we walk out. Like, five minutes. So she can at least be mentally prepared,” Th?o suggested.

“You’re the best person to tell her. I’ll be downstairs in the costume shop.” It also meant she didn’t have to come upstairs and run into Derek. He’d know immediately that she was hiding something from him.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t give him a heads-up, too?” Th?o’s forehead wrinkled in worry.

She didn’t need to say Derek’s name for Zoe to know who she meant.

“No. He’s part of Greg’s old boys’ club now. All he cares about is selling tickets so they can take the show to New York.” Zoe crossed her arms. They probably drank scotch together in Greg’s office after rehearsals now.

“If you’re sure...” Th?o trailed off, clearly torn.

Zoe had spent almost a week trying to forget about Derek, which had been slightly easier due to the long hours in the costume shop. But Th?o saw him every day at rehearsal and had tolisten to new versions of the songs she’d written. Derek was Th?o’s best friend, too.

“You’re mad at him, too. He undid all your work!” Zoe reminded her.

“He’s trying to hide it, but he misses me. And you.”

“I don’t miss him at all,” lied Zoe.

Th?o raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Zoe focused on folding and smoothing out the napkin in front of her.

“Every night this week he asked if I wanted to have a drink and work together. Tonight was harder to turn him down because the rest of us were going out together—and he wasn’t invited.” Th?o sighed. “I wish things hadn’t come to this.”

“He chose Greg over us.” Zoe shook her head. “As long as he’s on Greg’s side, I can’t be with him. This isn’t some fundraising gala in small-town central New York. Prestige is the biggest theater in the DMV.”

“I know you were best friends in college and became more than friends, but I’ve known him almost his entire adult life. There’s something he’s not telling us.” Th?o traced outlines around the silverware on the table.

“If he can’t tell either of his best friends, then we have to do what’s right. For all of us.” Zoe’s eyes softened. “For Derek, too, even if he won’t.”

Zoe had lost her fight in college and she refused to give in so easily this time. Not when they were going to make even bigger waves about the racism in the DC theater scene. Hopefully their walkout would grab the attention of those in New York, too.

“Th?o, babe, you ready to head home?” Katie Mai called over to their booth. “It’s almost midnight and we have an early day tomorrow.”

“We’re almost done. Can you get a rideshare?” Th?o turnedback to Zoe. “I hope this is the right thing to do. If we fail, we will all have a mark against us as troublemakers.”

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