The buzzing of Jade's cell phone against her bedside table was what woke her up out of her deep slumber. She jumped up instantly and looked around. Okay good, she was in her own bedroom. She wasn't in some random guy's musty old studio apartment.
Speaking of guys, Jade vaguely remembered meeting some guy at the bar she went to last night. The typical tall, dark, and handsome type that Hollywood was flooded with. She turned her head slightly and saw him in bed next to her, his face buried in her pillow, the sheet barely covering him.
"Not bad, Jade." She said to herself, quietly. She felt awful. Her head was pounding, she was tired, and she could still taste the tequila on her tongue.
Her phone rang again, startling her. She reached over and grabbed it, answering it without bothering to check the caller ID.
"Do you know what time it is?" She hissed.
"Yes, it's a quarter til ten. Good morning, sunshine."
Jade sighed upon realizing who was on the other end of the phone call. It was her agent, Charlotte. "Good morning, Charlie."
"We were supposed to have a meeting over an hour ago. Did you forget that?"
"Yeah, I must've slept through my alarm. I'm sorry."
"You have thirty minutes to get to my office."
"Thirty minutes?" Jade repeated. "It takes me thirty minutes to make sure my eyeliner is perfect."
"Thirty minutes!" And with that, Charlotte hung up on Jade.
Jade rolled out of her bed and walked over to the chair sitting by the window. There was a robe strewn across it, so she grabbed it and put it on.
The guy in her bed was still out like a light. He needed to go, like ASAP. Jade couldn't believe she even let a guy sleep over at her place.
She reached out and kicked the guy's leg. "Hey. Hey, wake up!"
He was a deep sleeper. When kicking him didn't work, she kicked the bedpost. It shook and he woke up with a start.
"What's going on?"
"You need to leave." Jade said, not bothering start the conversation off with pleasantries.
"What?" The guy sat up and stretched his arms above his head.
"Get up, get out. I need to start my day."
"Yikes, no coffee before I go?"
Jade rolled her eyes and walked over to her closet. She opened the door and pulled out the first few things she could find, which happened to be a pair of jeans and an old NSync concert tee.
"There's a Starbucks down the block."
"Oh, okay. I see how it is..."
Realizing that the guy was fishing for her name, Jade replied, "...Jade."
"Jade. Jade, what?"
"Spencer."
"Well, I'm Beck Oliver. Nice to meet you, Jade Spencer."
Jade didn't reply. She just continued to put on her clothes.
"Okay, I'm getting the hint, doll face. You want me gone."
"Mhmm."
Beck rolled out of Jade's bed, in search for his clothes. Jade, paying him absolutely no mind to him, walked into her bathroom. She left the door open just in case he tried to steal from her.
While he was getting dressed, Beck looked around the bedroom. It was pretty huge. The big room was dark because the dark purple curtains were drawn, but the large canopy bed was pushed up against the back wall. Almost everything was asylum white, from the walls, to the dressers, to the bed, to the rug. The only other color Beck saw was the purple, but it wasn't much. Just the curtains, sheets, and a chaise lounge chair pushed up by the window.
When Jade came out of her bathroom, Beck was putting on his shoes. He looked up at her. A flashback of the previous night quickly entered his mind. Jade wearing a skintight red dress and high heels, long shiny black hair, drinking tequila, dancing with him. It was a complete 180 from the woman standing in front of him now, makeup free, wearing a faded tee-shirt and blue jeans. Either way, she was still stunning to him.
"Last night was really fun. We should do it again sometime."
Jade instantly scoffed at that. "I don't think so."
"Excuse me?"
"While last night was fun, this was a one night stand." Jade said. "I'm not really interested in this," Jade gestured between the two of them, "going past my bedroom."
"Well, you really know how to let a guy down easy."
Jade bit her lip. That did sound really harsh not that she actually said it. She sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for-"
"It's totally fine, I'm a big boy. I mean, I'm not really used to rejection, but I guess I'll get over it."
"You're just the pretty boy who's used to getting your way?"
Beck lowered his head, almost as if he was shy. "Not really, no."
Jade smirked. "There's a first time for everything, Beck Oliver."
"True." Beck smiled and rocked back and forth slightly on his feet. "Well, how do we end this?"
Jade bent down and reached under her bed for a pair of shoes. She came out with a pair of black flip flops. "What do you mean?"
"Do we shake hands? Hug? Awkwardly walk to your front door?"
"This ends with you leaving and me finishing getting dressed." Jade deadpanned. She got up and kissed Beck on the cheek. "Thank you for last night. Have a nice day."
"You too, Jade."
As Beck waited for his agent to arrive at The Ritz, he pulled out his cell phone. One missed call from his mother and a few Twitter notifications that he would have to go through later.
After his waiter brought him his soda and walked off, Beck's mind wandered back to the woman he spent last night and part of this morning with. He liked her. She was gorgeous, she was aloof, she had a sense of humor. Too bad she didn't want to see him again.
He opened up the first search engine he could find and typed in Jade Spencer, hoping something would pop up. That girl intrigued him, and something about her seemed...familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
Seconds later, he was flooded with pictures, blog posts, fan pages, and tons of pictures. Glamorous photoshoots, fan taken pictures, pictures from runways in New York, Milan, Paris, posts on social media pages and paparazzi shots.
"A model." Beck whispered, biting his lip. He clicked on the first article he could fine.
'Jade Spencer sits down with Lavish Magazine to dish on modeling, family, and dealing with Hollywood. Written by Belle Thompson.
When I walked into Jade's apartment, I didn't know what to expect. With the title of Hollywood's New Bad Girl under her belt, would I be running into a woman who threw BlackBerry cell phones (I kid, I kid)? Would she even want to talk to me?
She opened the doors, the first thing that hit me was the smell of mangoes. It took me a few seconds to notice the candle burning on her living room coffee table.
But that only lasted with me a few seconds because Jade wrapped me in a tight hug, something I wasn't expecting at all.
"Hi, so nice to meet you. I'm Jade Spencer."
Jade invited me in and told me to sit down. She was nervous, I could tell. She went around the living room, tidying up even though the place was spotless to the naked eye, she offered me every drink under the sun, from lemonade to coffee (No soda however. Jade didn't drink it). And was voice, deep and raspy, shook slightly when she introduced herself. This was her first real interview so I guess that is to be expected.
After arguing me down and convincing me to have a glass of iced green tea, Jade was finally seated across from me. Her hair was up in a neat ballerina bun, she wore a simple red t-shirt, and jeans, and she had a pair of brink green fuzzy socks on. For someone who was projected to be one of this generations biggest supermodels within the next decade, she was surprisingly casual.
BT: Can I just start by saying you have a lovely apartment.
JS: Thank you. I can't take credit for it, however. I gave my mom carte blanche and this was the end result.
BT: Mom's know best, right?
JS: Yeah, she's never steered me wrong.
BT: Are you two close?
JS: As close as two people can be. For twenty two years, it's just been the two of us.
Jade's mother, Karen Spencer, an art dealer and owner of her own exhibit, was a single mother. Jade never knew her father growing up.
JS: My mom said that the guy, my father, was toxic. He was bad news and wasn't on the right path. He couldn't be a father, so for my protection she left and never looked back. And it takes a strong woman to just...know when to walk away.
BT: Have you struggled with that?
JS: I did, I think I still do. Some days I don't think about him, and on other days he's constantly running through my mind. But if he's as bad and toxic as my mom said he was, then I'm okay with not knowing him. I'm at a point in my life where I don't need or want any negative vibes.
BT: Are you ever interested in meeting him?
JS: Definitely, yes. I just have to work up the nerve to actually do it.
When we finished talking about her family life, Jade apologized for the bags under her eyes. She explained that she only flew in my New York 5 hours ago, and had yet to fall asleep.
BT: Has your modeling career taught you any time management?
JS: Definitely. I've learned to value any and all spare time. I've also gained a new appreciation for cat naps because I take at least two a day now.
BT: How did you start modeling?
JS: It kind of just fell into my lap. I was 17 when I started modeling. I was recruited one day in the mall.
BT: The mall? Really?
JS: Well, it's Los Angeles, there are scouts and recruiters everywhere. So this guy, Simon approached me and asked if I was interested in modeling. I said yes because I thought it'd be a more fun way to make money while all of my friends were working at the movie theater or in the mall. We did a few test shoots, and I was doing a photoshoot for Guess in New York a few weeks later. Everything happened so fast, and I've been going nonstop ever since, 4 years later.
BT: What's something else that you've learned in these last few years just from being in this business?
JS: Keep your friends, your true friends and your family close. LA is a crazy city to live in, and it will swallow you up if you let it. On top of that, the modeling industry comes with its own set of chaos, so I thank God for my mom and my friends because they definitely keep me sane. I'd be going insane without them.
BT: Let's talk about you in Hollywood.
JS: Uh-oh. Should I be nervous?
I could tell by her uneasy chuckle that was was nervous.
Just last week, Jade stirred a bit of controversy when she was caught on camera arguing with a female paparazzo. A punch was thrown and the insults traded back and forth between the women would make a sailor blush. Jade still had the cut on her knuckle to show for it.
BT: You have quite the reputation in this town for being a bad girl. How do you feel about that?
JS: I don't think I'm a bad girl. I'm just a girl who was absolutely no tolerance for bullsh-t. If you get in my face with a huge camera, yell at me, and invade my personal space, I'm not going to react well. No normal person would. I don't know why people, celebrities in Hollywood are treated like pieces of property, obligated to be "on" 24/7. You don't have the right to follow me home. You don't have the right to open my car door to get a picture. You don't have the right to hunt my mother or my grandmother down to get to me. I already have a short fuse, and that's the quickest way to bring out that side of me who wants to kick your ass.
BT: Do you think people have the wrong impression of you?
JS: Yeah. I don't know where people get the idea that I'm Satan's mistress from, but it's not true. Just don't f-ck with me, and we'll be cool.
BT: Too bad everyone can't live by that philosophy.
JS: I know! That world would-
"What is with this generation and their phones?"
Beck's attention was taken away from his cell phone when he heard someone talking to him. He looked up and saw his agent, Max towering over him.
"I had to do something to keep me occupied because my agent was running late." Beck quipped. He locked his phone and put it in his pocket. "But you have all of my attention now."
"Thank you for meeting me here." Max sat down across from Beck and picked up his menu. "I wanted to get out of my office."
"No problem."
"You look like shit."
"I feel like shit." Beck rubbed his hand over his face. "I had a very long night."
"Vodka?"
"Tequila." Beck answered. "A lot of it."
The waitress came to their table with Beck's food: waffles, eggs, hash browns, bacon, and a cup of black coffee.
"Enjoy!"
Beck smiled at her. "Thank you."
She turned to Max. "Can I get you something, sir?"
"Just a coffee, black. Thank you."
The waitress walked off, leaving the two men alone.
Beck grabbed the maple syrup and doused his waffles in it. "So, what did you want to meet about, Max? What's up?"
"We might have a problem."
"What?"
"I've heard some rumblings, and you might be getting dropped from LA Med."
Beck dropped his fork. Suddenly, he didn't feel like eating.
"Excuse me?"
"You're boring." Max said, cutting to the chase.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, but in this case, yes. You're cookie cutter. You're nice, squeaky clean, and people find your character boring. Beck, you're a good actor, but it's like you're sleepwalking through scenes half the time."
Beck had been playing Scott Warner, the nice, humble medical student from New York on the hit, Emmy winning tv show LA Med. And last time he checked, his character was well liked.
"Okay, well tell the writers to write me better material."
Max awkwardly rubbed his eyebrow. "I've been your agent for what, 5 years now?" Beck nodded. "I've noticed a pattern when it comes to the type of roles you accept. The sweet, wholesome, nice guy."
"What's wrong with those types of roles?"
"Nothing! They're fine, but you're in a major rut. You're comfortable and it shows. You're phoning it in, you're not pushing yourself anymore. Maybe being let go from LA Med is a blessing in disguise."
Beck bit the inside of his cheek. He hadn't become boring and comfortable...had he? And if so, why was that so bad? Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were known for their crime movies. Liam Neeson did thrillers. Jennifer Aniston was good in wholesome, feel good romantic comedies. Samuel L. Jackson played the funny, quippy badass. Those A-list actors seemed to do just fine with being typecast.
"You're too young, and way too fucking talented to be stuck." Max continued. "I mean, Jonah Hill didn't just keep being the overweight comic relief in every movie he was in. He stepped out, did a drama and got an Oscar nom. Now it's like, 'Oh my goodness, the guy's got range! He can exceed our expectations,' and that's what I want for your career. You deserve the Emmy, or the Golden Globe, or the Oscar. Hell, why not all 3? And you won't get them if you stay in place."
"I'm not leaving the show." Beck said, stubbornly. "My contract isn't up until two more seasons, so you as my agent, are gonna have to present a different option. Call a meeting with Richard and-"
"I'm not going to call your boss and waste his time. Your character would really be dead."
Richard West, Beck's boss and the show runner-slash-head writer-slash-executive producer of LA Med ran his burgeoning television show empire with an iron fist. With 3 record breaking, Emmy winning, critically acclaimed shows currently under his belt, he was among the ranks with Shonda Rhimes and Dick Wolf.
Max pressed his thumb into his temple. "I'll figure something out. I always do."
"Thank you." Beck gestured to his food. "You're paying."
"Of course."
Meanwhile in Hollywood, Jade was running through the halls of her agent's massive building, which now that she was doing it, wasn't her best idea. She was still feeling the effects of her hangover and the urge to stop and vomit was increasing with each step she took.
Finally, Jade reached Charlie's office and saw her agent sitting behind her desk, reading a magazine.
"You're late." Charlotte quipped.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"Sit down, Jade. We have a lot to discuss."
"Am I in trouble?"
"You might be." Charlotte grabbed her cell phone while Jade got comfortable in the plush chair across from her. "Until further notice, you aren't in charge of any of your social media accounts."
"What? Why not?"
"I know you aren't too fond of blogs and media outlets, but you are catching a bit of heat for your tweet the other day. Remember it?"
Jade shook her head. "Not at all, Charlie."
Charlotte grabbed her reading glasses and slipped them on. She picked up her phone again. "You tweeted a picture of Chris Noth and said, 'Man, there's something about older guys,' to which someone said, 'Stop being an attention seeking whore,' and-"
"Oh yeah, I'm remembering this now."
"You replied with, 'Shut the fuck up before I take your dad and become your stepmother, bitch. Since I like older guys so much,' and you ended it with a winky face."
Jade shrugged. "What's so wrong with that?"
"Well the girl you were talking to was a 14 year old girl."
"Okay and?"
"And with further investigation, it was revealed that the girl's father died a few months ago. You look like a heartless bitch."
"Hey!"
"It's the truth. I've already sent a personal apology and a very lovely, very expensive bouquet of flowers to the young girl, in your name of course. You're welcome."
"Thank you."
"Jade, you're only 21. I don't want you fuck up what could be a fantastic career because you can't control your mouth or temper."
Jade crossed her arms over her chest. "She started it!"
"She's an eighth grader and you're not. Suck it up, babe."
"Okay, I'll be nicer on social media."
"You don't have to worry because you won't be in charge of the tweets for at least 6 weeks, or until this all dies down."
Jade opened her mouth to protest, but Charlotte stated her down. She sighed. "Fine, you win."
Charlotte smiled and put her phone down. "Now that we're done with that, I have some good news for you."
"Ooh, I love good news. Lay it on me, Charlie."
"Guess which amazing agent got her client a multi-episode story arc on LA Med?"
Jade's eyes widened as she processed the news. "Shut up, you did not!"
"I did. Ever since I met you, you've been wanting to break into the acting business and a Richard West show is a pretty freaking amazing first step."
Ever since Jade was a little girl, she had been interested in acting. As much as she loved modeling, she knew she didn't want to do it forever.
"So when do I shoot? Who am I playing? Will I sleep with anyone? Do I get to bitch slap a main character?"
"Your character's name is Margot, and she's described as having a troubled past. That's all I know, you know they are notorious for not releasing details."
Jade jumped out of her seat. "Charlie, this is the best news!" She ran to the other side of the desk and wrapped her arms around Charlotte. "I love you!"
"You better. Now you better be on your best behavior. Richard West has no tolerance for bullshit."
Jade nodded. "Yeah, I know. I swear I will not fuck this up."
"Good." Charlotte struggled to push Jade off of her. "Now get off of me, you reek of tequila." Just to piss her off, Jade squeezed the older woman tighter and kissed her cheek.
"I gotta go shout this from the rooftops or something!"
"Try to keep it hush, hush. We still have contracts to read and paperwork to sign."
"You're right, I don't want to jinx anything. But can I at least tell my mom?"
Charlotte nodded. "Yes. Karen and only Karen!"
"Deal." Jade finally released Charlotte. "I gotta go, but we'll talk later."
"Bye. Go take a shower and drink a cup of coffee."
"Bye!" Jade grabbed her purse and practically bounced out of the office, nearly crashing into Charlotte's co-worker, Max. "Ooh, sorry!"
"It's fine." Max stepped aside so Jade could fully leave.
Charlotte looked up at Max and waved him in. "Hey, what brings you by?"
"Nothing really. I just wanted to see what you were up to."
"Same old, same old. Just dealing with my crazy ass clients."
"What did the lovely Jade Spencer do?"
"She just really needs to stay out of trouble. I know she doesn't like the bad girl identifier, but she just can't help but do dumb shit."
"Want to trade clients?" Max joked. "Beck, Beck Oliver, the guy is the exact opposite. He's like a vanilla ice cream cone."
"Speaking of Beck, he and Jade are gonna be working together."
"Really? On what?"
"She just landed a role on LA Med."
"Interesting." Max sat down in the chair across from Charlotte and started to think. "Any ideas as to what her character will be doing?"
"No clue. Why?"
"Okay, what I'm thinking might be a bit far fetched, but bear with me."
Charlotte leaned forward. "What do you have planned?"
"Is Jade single?
"Yes."
"Are you up for pulling off a publicity stunt?"
"Will you tell me what this great news is already? You're killing me!"
Karen Spencer was Jade's favorite person in the entire world. She was only twenty when she had Jade so in a sense, they grew up together. They were practically attached at the hip, as close as two people could be.
Jade laughed at her mother's impatience. The older woman was practically squirming in her seat. "Yes, I'm gonna tell. So I had a meeting with Charlotte this morning, and guess who is officially an actress?"
Karen gasped. "Sweetheart! Are you serious?"
"Yeah."
"What are you doing? A movie, tv show, short film?"
"TV show. I am going to be on LA Med!"
"What? That's huge!"
Jade smiled. It was taking every bit of restraint she owned to not shout it from the rooftops. But she was gonna wait until everything was set in stone.
"I don't have all of the details yet, but Charlotte told me my character's name is Margot, and it's a multi-episode thing, so obviously I'm gonna have a kick ass storyline."
"Baby, I am so proud of you. I know how hard you've worked and much you've wanted to act."
"I just hope I don't screw up. These people are professionals."
"And you aren't?"
"I am, but you know what I mean."
Karen walked into her kitchen. "Let's celebrate, darling! I'll cook, I'll cook whatever you want. We'll have a big dinner tomorrow with your aunts and cousins."
"Baked mac n cheese?"
"That's all?" Karen laughed. "No meat?"
Jade shrugged. "Maybe chicken? Steak or pot roast would be too heavy, and I don't want fish. And I want a double chocolate cake!"
"You've got yourself a deal, baby. So when do you start shooting?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know all of the details, or any for that matter. We still have contracts and all of that good stuff."
"That makes sense. This is gonna be such a fun experience for you. Think of all the connections you'll be making."
"I know. If I do good on this, I will impress Richard West and-" Jade was cut off by a loud crash. She turned her body so she could face her mother. "Mom, what happened?"
"I'm sorry, I just dropped my glass." She bent down to pick up the shards.
"Leave it alone. We'll sweep it up."
Karen picked herself up and leaned into the counter. "Did you say Richard West?"
"Yes, he's in charge of the entire show, so he'll be my boss. Isn't that cool?"
"I didn't know he was the show runner."
"People only care about the cast, not the behind the scenes people." Jade looked at her mom. "Mom, are you okay?"
"Yeah, baby. Why do you ask?"
"You're shaking."
Karen looked down at her hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. She balled them into fists and put them behind her back. "I think I've had too much coffee today."
"You need to drink some water or something."
"I will." Karen took a deep breath. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get the broom."
Karen quickly left her kitchen and walked down the hallway to her laundry room. Once alone, she slid down the wall with her head in her hands, which were still shaking. This was bad. This was really, really bad.
"Fuck."
The next morning, Jade trudged herself back into Charlotte's office, this time at what felt like the crack of dawn. She wasn't a morning person and everyone knew it.
After receiving a phone call at precisely seven-thirty in the morning, Jade rolled out of bed, barely changing out of her pajamas, got the biggest cup of coffee she could buy from Starbucks, and made it to Charlotte's office in forty minutes. That was a new personal record.
"Charlie, you better have Diana Von Furstenberg in this office or-"
Jade stopped talking when she saw two other people in the room with Charlotte.
"Good morning, Jade."
"Morning, Charlie." Jade greeted. "You didn't tell me this was going to be a group meeting."
Charlotte stood up, "Jade, say hello to Max and Beck."
Jade turned around to face the other people in the room. "Hi, it's nice to meet..." Her voice trailed off when she locked eyes with Beck. "Hi!"
Beck smiled warmly. "Hi, doll face."
"Are you...following me?"
Beck rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart. I'm here because my agent said it was important and he had something big to tell me."
"You two know each other?" Charlotte asked, her eyes moving back and forth between Beck and Jade.
"No." Jade replied.
"Yes." Beck argued.
"We met a few days ago." Jade clarified. She sat down on the small ottoman near the door of the office, since the chairs were already occupied.
Charlotte nodded. "That's good. I think that helps us, Max."
"Helps you with what?"
"Jade, Beck plays Scott Warner on LA Med," Charlotte started. "So you guys are now co-stars."
"Oh. Oh!" Now that Jade was completely sober, she actually did recognize Beck. He was a Hollywood sweetheart, a heartthrob, every teenage girl's crush. "Beck Oliver, actor."
Beck extended his hand. "Jade Spencer, model."
"And actress now." Jade added, smirking. She grabbed Beck's hand and shook it.
"You two are going to be spending a lot of time together." Max anxiously rubbed his hands together. "Because as of right now, you two are dating."
Jade forcefully yanked her hand out of Beck's grasp and turned to Max. "We're what?"
Charlotte stepped in before Max could say anything. "Jade, meet your new "boyfriend", Beck. Beck, meet your new "girlfriend", Jade."
Beck crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know about you guys, but last time I checked, I didn't sign up to be in some type of arranged marriage plot, Max."
"No, but you signed up to be a celebrity."
"I signed on to be an actor." Beck corrected.
Max scoffed sarcastically, "You can't have one without the other, Beck. This is what it takes to be on top, and stay on top."
"Whether you two know it or not, you need each other. Jade, you're a fucking loose canon nine times out of ten, and Beck, Max compared you to vanilla ice cream yesterday."
Beck glared at Max, who just shrugged in response. Vanilla? Ouch. He couldn't at least cookies and cream?
"Beck, you're gonna keep Jade grounded, and Jade's gonna bring the fun side out of you. Opposite's attract, right?"
"Wrong!" Jade snapped.
Ignoring Jade, Charlotte kept talking, "And since you guys will be working together, people are gonna want to tune in to your show. People eat that 'Co-stars Turned Lovers' shit up like they're at an all you can eat buffet."
"And Beck, you pretty much gave me carte blanche to help you keep your job." Max added.
"This is a win-win situation."
"What if we say no?" Jade challenged.
Charlotte tossed her phone to Jade. "Too late, because we already leaked it to the press a few hours ago."
"What?" Jade looked at the screen of Charlotte's sleek smart phone. Lo and behold, there are an article already loaded up, the title stating, 'New Couple Alert?! Sources exclusively tell us that we should be keeping our eyes peeled for a Beck Oliver and Jade Spencer pairing.'
"So you guys can say yes...or say yes."
"We're in." Beck said, not giving Jade the chance the argue.
"Speak for yourself, Oliver."
"We don't have a choice, Spencer." They were essentially pawns in the big chest game called Hollywood. "Do we have a choice?"
Max shook his head. "No. Well...no."
Beck stood up and walked over to Jade. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Like I said earlier, we're in."
Everyone else in the room turned to Jade to see what she would say.
She sighed, "I'll do a six week trial run. That's all I'm promising."
.
.
"So how are we gonna start this?" Beck asked, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "I'm thinking we start by making it social media official. I post a picture of you with a sappy caption, or vice versa, or we-"
"We aren't gonna do anything until Charlie and Max tell us what to do." Jade said. She walked past the elevator and pushed the door open that led to the stairs.
"Walking down the stairs? Really?"
"Cardio is good for your heart."
Beck groaned. "We're on the tenth floor."
"You didn't have to follow me."
"Well, we can't have a conversation if we aren't together, babe."
"I'll see you in a few weeks when we start shooting for the show, and we can figure it out then."
Beck started to jog down the spiraling staircase to keep with Jade. "Gosh, you are an extremely fast walker. And, your idea to go MIA after announcing that we're dating is a horrible way to capitalize on momentum."
"What do you suppose we do, Beck?"
"I'm taking you out."
"You're asking me out on a date?"
"Yes I am. Dinner? Maybe a movie?"
"Fine. You can take me out to dinner. Somewhere fancy in Beverly Hills, where I can order lobster or steak for eighty bucks."
"Tonight?"
"Not tonight, no. I'm having dinner with my family."
"So tomorrow?"
Jade nodded. "Tomorrow is fine."
"Can you believe it? Yesterday, you pretty much shot down the chance of me ever seeing you again, and look at us now. I think it's fate."
"If fate was trying to annoy me."
Jade made it to the bottom of the last flight of stairs and pushed the heavy glass door open. She held it open for Beck to exit as well.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Give me your phone."
Beck reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He put it in the palm of Jade's hand. She dialed her own number and called it. After ending the call, she handed the phone back to Beck.
"Now we have each other's numbers. So call me later tonight, or I'll call you and-"
Before Jade could finish her sentence, Beck took a step forward, cupped her face and kissed her. It was nothing too deep and heavy, but it was enough to make Jade freeze in place. Before she could react, Beck pulled away and wrapped his arms around her.
"There's paps right across the street."
"Don't do that again." Jade hissed.
"Relax baby." Beck was obviously enjoying this. Even though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was smiling. "Can't a guy just kiss his lovely girlfriend?"
Jade grabbed Beck's arm and slightly du her nails in. Beck wrapped his arms tighter around Jade's waist, unfazed by her nails probably breaking his skin. "Goodbye Beck."
And with that, Jade removed herself from his grasp and walked off, disappearing around the corner.
Beck smirked. He liked this plan already.
In a different part of Hollywood, Karen was having a major internal struggle. She was sitting in a spacious office, her legs shaking. In front of her was a simple door, 'Richard West, CEO' printed on a chrome plate.
She had been sitting outside of his office for a good thirty minutes, listen to his chipper secretary talk on her cell phone.
She couldn't believe she was actually here. She wanted to throw up or pass out. It was never in her plan to see Richard West ever again as long as she lived.
"Ma'am, can I help you?"
Karen was snapped out of her thoughts by the secretary talking. The nameplate on her glass desk read 'Jenna Wright'. "Ma'am?" Ma'am? God, how old did she look?
"You've been sitting out here for a long time." Jenna said. "Can I help you with something?"
"Is Richard West in there?" Karen pointed to his office.
"Yes, do you have an appointment, Miss..."
"Karen. And no, I don't have an appointment. I was just hoping-"
"I'm sorry." Jenna tsked. "You can't see him without an appointment."
"But it's really important."
"I can take a message for you." Jenna suggested.
Karen shook her head. "No, what I have to tell him only needs to be known by us two, but thank you for offering." She picked her handbag up off of the floor and stood. "I'm just going to go."
"I can tell him that you stopped-"
"Jenna, who are you talking...to? Oh my God, Karen? Karen Spencer?"
Richard West was now standing in front of her, in the flesh. He was still as tall as she remembered. His hair was greying at the temples and he had a few wrinkles on his forehead, but other than that, he looked exactly the same.
"It's me." Karen croaked out.
Richard took a few long strides over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes and hugged him back, and for a moment, she was 20 years old again. She pressed her face into his shoulder, taking in his scent. Coffee and cologne, something she couldn't put her finger on.
"Wow. It's been...a really long time, Care Bear."
Karen couldn't help but chuckle and roll her eyes at her old nickname. She hated it, but that never stopped Richard. "Don't call me that."
Richard let go of Karen and took a step back, but still held onto her hand. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, but your secretary said I needed an appointment."
Richard dismissed that with a hand wave. "Nonsense." He turned to Jenna. "Karen Spencer doesn't need an appointment. She can see me whenever, okay Jenna?"
"Got it, Mister West."
He turned his focus back to Karen, her hand still in his. "So what brings you by?"
"Can we go somewhere...private?"
"Of course." He led her into his office and shut the door behind him.
Karen looked around the large room, taking it all in. The first thing she noticed was the amazing view Richard had of the Hollywood sign. The office was big. There was a flat screen television mounted on the wall, a large black couch and two chairs with a glass coffee table in the center, awards in a glass display case, pictures of various celebrities posted on the wall, a door which Karen assumed led to a closet or a bathroom, and a desk full of papers.
"Sit down, please. Make yourself comfortable." Karen sat on the couch. "Want something to drink? A water? Soda?"
"No thank you, I'm fine."
"Okay." Richard sat down next to Karen. He smiled. "How is it possible that you are still just as beautiful as you were twenty years ago?"
Karen put her head down, bashfully. "Now you're just buttering me up."
"I'm serious. You're beautiful, Care Bear."
"I've always hated that nickname."
"You secretly loved it. So, what are you doing? How have you been?"
"Good! I'm actually the proud owner of my own art gallery downtown. Before that, I was an art dealer."
"So you finished school and got your degree in art history?"
"Yup."
"Congrats. I might have to come check it out one of these days, if I'm ever allowed to leave this place."
"Work is busy?"
"Busy is an understatement. It's never ending."
"When we first met, you were the assistant writer on a failed law procedural, now look at you, running your own empire."
"You know I couldn't be someone's lapdog for too long. I have to be my own boss."
"Speaking of your television takeover, my daughter is going to be working for you."
"Oh?"
Karen nodded. "Jade Spencer."
"Oh, Jade! Beautiful girl, and surprisingly a really good actress. I saw a reel of hers and I told my casting people to get her."
"She's great. She's been acting since she was a kid, but she got so swept up in modeling and it fell to the wayside, but I know she's excited."
"Now that you said she's your daughter, I see it now. She's a spitting image of you. She's 21, right?" Karen nodded. "You must've had her right after we...disconnected."
"Yeah, I did." Karen swallowed the lump forming in her throat. This was now or never. "I had her eight months afterwards, to be exact."
Karen's word went over Richard's head at first. She stared at him, waiting to see if he understood. The look on his face changed and in that instance, Karen knew that he knew. "Wait a minute...eight months...Karen, what are you trying to say?"
"Jade's your daughter."
Guys, this story has been in the back of my mind for at least 3 months, driving me freaking insane, so I had to get it out. Any who…hope you enjoy! :)