Eliza knew William was on his way backstage, and her heart began to pound. She stood in an area backstage where he wouldn't see her right away. Eliza was well aware that he wasn't meant to be backstage. Fern noticed William and his men attempting to come in, and immediately she blocked him.

There Fern was, significantly short compared to William's tall stature. Her small limbs were like nothing compared to his solid frame. And yet, she had the audacity to prohibit him from coming backstage.

"You don't belong back here." Said Fern. "I don't even know how you got into this club, no gangsters."

"Once upon a time it was only negroes too." Bunny said from where he stood, right behind William.

"Now, that isn't exactly the truth. We've always welcomed all kinds of folks here. But the one kind we don't welcome anymore are gangsters." Fern insisted as she looked at William. "Especially ones like you."

"Ones like us?" William rose his eyebrows. Eliza listened in on their conversation, keeping herself concealed. Once again, William's situation was being brought up. A lump formed in her throat as she anticipated to hear the worse.

"I've heard about you. What you did to those men down by the boardwalk." She told them. "And we don't accept men like you here. Murderers."

Once Eliza heard the word murderer, her heart sank. She knew she didn't have it in her to continue seeing a man that would do such a thing. Her hopes of a gentle, loving man slipped away as she began to see him for who he truly was.

"Gigi?" A voice called. Eliza was snapped out of her focus on Fern's conversation with William, her attention being brought to the man in front of her. It was the tall, dark handsome man from a while back.

"Herbert Johnson." Eliza said. "I haven't seen you here in a long while."

"Oh, I'm here. You just haven't noticed." Herbert have Eliza a dashing smile. "I must say, you did an amazing job tonight."

"Do you think so?" Eliza began looking in the direction of William and Fern, trying to make out what they were saying.

"Of course, you know you're talented." Herbert told Eliza, making it even harder for her to decipher their words. Was William actually a murderer? When did this occur? "Are you alright, Gigi?"

"Eliza." She snapped at Herbert, her frustration of not being able to hear William overtaking her. "It's Eliza."

"Right, I do remember you telling me that." He waved a finger at her. "Eliza, I must say, you've enchanted me every time I've sat through one of your sets. And I was wondering if—"

"I've got to go." Eliza said as she walked past him. She noticed William turning around and leaving the premises.

Her feet couldn't move fast enough as she ran to go after him.

"Eliza!" Fern grabbed her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Will you tell your white man to stop coming here?"

"It's not my job to look after him." Eliza answered Fern.

"Well if you want a job, you'll find a way to stop it." Fern argued with a hand on her hip. Eliza rolled her eyes and walked from backstage. Once she stood out in the club, she looked around the room. There were people drinking, a few people dancing, and some even fucking in front of everybody.

But still, no William.

She began walking backstage to gather her things, but Fern once again confronted her. "If you leave, then don't bother coming back."

"You can't fire me. It's not in your power." Eliza defended herself.

"Watch me." Fern placed a hand on her hips. "You're one of the only girls like you that's ever worked here. Must you set such a bad example?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Eliza asked in a shaky voice.

"It means Mr. Bosnis must've forgotten his paper bag when he hired you." Fern clarified.

"You're a horrible woman." Eliza held back tears.

"I'm a woman trying to keep this place up and running. When a woman takes a hold of some responsibility, suddenly she's a tramp, right?" Fern argued. "You know what? You give far too much trouble. I'm telling our boss what you did."

"Mr. Bosnis won't mind. I didn't do anything. You're the one who would be under fire. You let the bouncers let them in." Eliza pointed out. "You'd only be telling on yourself."

"We'll see about that." Fern walked off. A pit formed in Eliza's stomach. If she lost her job at the club, then she surely would have to keep her job working for Miss Marion. While the prospect of that wasn't entirely horrible, it wasn't her dream. She didn't want to work for someone else for the rest of her life, she wanted to sing.

Outside, William was gathered with his boys after being escorted out. He rolled a cigarette, then lit it to smoke.

"Why don't you just take on another girl?" Bunny asked. "A nice white girl with a little color to her."

"Will you cut that out? Every time you mention Eliza you get your ass kicked. Just keep your trap shut about it." Argued Connor, who wasn't at all a character to get loud. William grinned at Connor, knowing he was onto something.

"I don't know why she doesn't quit this place." William said to the boys. "I could do so much better for her."

"Maybe she doesn't want you to." Jack suggested. The men got quiet as they all looked to Jack. "Maybe she wishes to be a spinster."

There was a silence, then Bunny laughed. "Now if I said that, I'd get kicked all the way to The Bronx."

"If you said that, you'd be such a jackass about it we'd all want to give you a black eye." Connor joked.

"You know what? You're right kid." William smiled at his young cousin, messing with his hair. Then he wrapped an arm around him. "But you see, she doesn't know yet what's good for her. And I'm going to be the one to show her."