"It's just lunch, Jade." Beck smirks, spinning Jade's office chair towards him "There's a good chance that no one will even see us."
"Please." Jade rolls her eyes, spinning the chair back towards her laptop "You're one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, women and paparazzi will swarm you. Then we'll be a headline."
"Who cares?" Beck spins the chair towards him again
"Alright, if you keep spinning me around like this, I'm going to throw up." Jade chuckles, draping her arms around Beck's neck "Then we're definitely not going anywhere."
"Sorry." Beck apologizes "S'just hard to have a serious conversation with you when you're so in the zone."
"I'm working." Jade reminds him "You're not supposed to be having serious conversations with me right now. Not unless you want something seriously major to 'accidentally' happen to your character."
"I still don't understand why you won't let me read anything."
"You get to look at the scripts at the same time as everyone else." She tells him "The day before the table read. There has to be some kind of professionalism, you're not going to get special privileges just because you're my boyfriend."
"Oh say that again, I like the way it sounds."
"You're my boyfriend." Jade rolls her eyes with a smirk "Unless you continue to keep me from getting my work done, then I might have to cut you loose."
"I just want to take you to lunch!" Beck teases "Is that so wrong?"
"No..." Jade sighs "It just makes me a bit nervous is all."
Despite hooking up for three months before they decided to become an official couple, and dating now for close to a month, Beck and Jade have yet to be spotted out in public together. Aside from their parents and a few of their closest friends, no one knows that they're dating. Jade prefers it that way, at least for now. She worries about what will happen when the public finds out that she's dating an actor who works on the show she's in charge of running. She's also worried about what the studio executives who gave her this privilege would say, she doesn't want them to think she's abusing her power in any way.
"I'm not the first actor to fall in love with their director." Beck reminds her "Steven Spielburg and Kate Capshaw, Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton...this is allowed. It's okay."
"All of those people got together after the fact." Jade tells him "Once they were done working together."
"Again, I draw your attention back to Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton..." Beck chuckles
"Broken up." Jade reminds him
"Jade..." Beck sighs, turning the chair back to face him once again "What's really going on here? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me or something?"
"Oh my god, Beck. Of course not!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"I just don't want to be painted like a villain." Jade admits "If you were the showrunner and I was the actress, you would be congratulated. But because I'm the showrunner and you're the actor, they're going to say I'm taking advantage of you. It's a horrible fucking double standard."
He understands where she's coming from, and she has a point. The double standards that exist in the entertainment industry, or in life in general really, are fucking ridiculous. The reality of the situation, however, is that people are going to talk no matter what the situation is...and Beck doesn't really see that as any reason to hide.
"Let them talk, anyone worth caring about will know what is true and what isn't." He assures her "I'll defend you to the studio if I have to, but they should be able to realize that we're both grown adults who are capable of making our own decisions."
"Fuck you for being so good at this..."
"Good at what?"
"Talking me off a ledge." Jade tells him "You've always been good at it."
"So, can I take you to lunch then?" He smiles "And hold your hand while I do it? Maybe kiss you once or twice?"
"I suppose." She smirks
"Great." Beck grins "Get to a comfortable stopping point with that script, and then we'll go to The Ivy and grab something."
"Alright." Jade agrees "But...just one more thing?"
"Sure." Beck shrugs "What?"
"Can we go back to the part where you said you love me?"
"Huh? When did I say that?"
"You said you weren't the first actor to fall in love with your director." She reminds him, a small smile forming on her lips "Is that true?"
He hadn't realized he had said that, but the more he thinks about it the more he knows that it's true. The fact that he told her without even thinking about it proves that.
"Yeah." He grins "I love you."
"Good." She tells him, a smile on her face "I love you too."
"Cool."
"You're an idiot." Jade laughs "This is the part where you kiss me."
"I thought you wanted me to let you work?"
"You can have a pass." She smirks "Just this once."
"Really?" Bianca's voice is harsh on the other end of the phone when Beck answers "Jade West? Of all people?"
Beck had anticipated this kind of reaction from his ex-wife, and looking back it probably would have been a good idea to call her and tell her about his relationship with Jade personally rather than letting her find out online. Live and learn, he supposes, but this conversation isn't going to be pleasant.
It hadn't taken long for the paparazzi to get wind of where Beck was earlier that day, and of course showed up to the restaurant to take dozens of pictures of Jade and him together. They were holding hands, he kissed her a few times while they were waiting for their table. Within an hour the pictures were all over the internet and people were buzzing about Hollywood's newest couple.
"I know how this looks." Beck admits to her "I-"
"It looks like you cheated on me!" Bianca cuts him off "You told me when you took the part that there wasn't anything for me to worry about, Beck!"
"And there wasn't, I promise." Beck assures her "Bee, when I took the part she was still engaged to her ex. The divorce had been final for close to six months by the time I realized I wanted to explore something with her. We've only been together officially for about a month."
He's careful with the words that he chooses and the way he phrases things to keep Jade innocent in the whole thing. There isn't any blame to be placed in this situation, but if Bianca can find some he wants her to stick it all on him and not on Jade in any way. She already has a crappy ex-fiancé, she doesn't need his ex-wife coming after her on top of that.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"I'm sorry." Bianca apologizes "You know how the media can twist things. I suppose by this point I should know better than to believe them."
He had of course seen the few headlines implying that he and Jade had gotten together before he had separated from Bianca, but like he told her everything had been long since finalized by that point. Beck hadn't been worried about the rumors, choosing to believe what he had told Jade earlier...the people they really care about know the truth. Just one more reason why he wishes he had gotten to Bianca before the headlines had.
"S'okay." Beck tells her "I'm sorry for not telling you first. You should have heard it from me."
She had given him the same courtesy about three months prior when she called to tell him that she had started seeing a man by the name of Sam Kincade. He isn't famous, but is a physical therapist who works specifically with dancers and figure skaters. Bianca hadn't been his client, but they met through mutual friends. From the sound of things, he made her happy...and that's all Beck could ever hope for.
"It's alright." Bianca assures him "I...I'm happy for you guys, I guess. Kinda like fate bringing you back together. I hope it works out this time, you deserve that."
"I really did love you, Bianca." Beck feels the need to tell her "S'not like I was using you to rebound from her or cover up any feelings that lingered, I loved you."
"I know you did." Bianca says "I wasn't implying that you didn't. I guess I was just saying...I dunno what I was saying really. Sorry again that I yelled at you."
"Sorry again that I didn't tell you first."
"Good luck with the new season." Bianca tells him "I...I'll talk to ya when I talk to ya."
"Thanks, Bee. You too."