"Wilmer..." Jade sighs, leaning tiredly against the doorframe "It's late, please come to bed."
"In a minute..." Wilmer tells her, typing away on his laptop "M'almost done."
He's sitting on the couch in the living room of the apartment that they're renting for the duration of filming. Wilmer and Paul, along with their producer and the production studio, had decided that filming 'Life Sentence' on location in Atlanta, Georgia would be best for the project. Jade had been thrilled when she heard the news, as it's the first time that she's ever gotten to film somewhere that isn't LA or New York. Atlanta is new and exciting, and she can't wait to see what it has to offer her.
It hadn't felt practical to buy property if they were only going to be living in Georgia for three months, four at the maximum, so they partnered with a leasing agent that found them a beautiful penthouse apartment in Downtown Atlanta to call home for the duration of their stay. They're putting Jenna, Jade's assistant, up at a hotel nearby. She's only a phone call away if Jade needs something at night, and will be on set with her during the day.
"You said that an hour ago..." Jade reminds him, stepping further into the room "The script is perfect, I promise."
"Nothing is ever perfect, baby..." Wilmer says, continuing to type "I just need to make these last few adjustments and-"
"Will..." Jade places a hand on her husband's shoulder, finally gaining his full attention "Come to bed. Please?"
"Well..." He chuckles, pulling his glasses off of his face "How can I say 'no' to that face. C'mere!"
He grabs her hand and pulls her into his lap, Jade squealing with delight as he does so. They begin to kiss, Jade's hands finding their way into Wilmer's hair as his tongue finds its way into her mouth.
"Wait." He stops her briefly "Wait, hang on."
He leans forward and hits the 'save' button on the document before slamming his laptop shut.
"There we go." He smiles, leaning backwards to lay down on the couch and pulling his wife on top of him "Now, where were we?"
"Somewhere around here..." Jade reminds him as she begins pressing kisses to his neck and collarbone
"Oh that's right..." He smirks, slipping his hand under her shirt
The couple has only been in Atlanta for a week, but Jade thinks that its been one of the best weeks of their marriage...at least of the recent years. They arrived a week prior to the first table read, to adjust to their new surroundings and settle in a bit, and they've reveled in the alone time. They've barely been able to keep their hands off of each other, and it reminds Jade of when they were first married. The sex is exciting and enjoyable again, and it's enough to convince her that maybe the last few months were just a rough patch. All married couples have rough patches, even happy ones. With their seventh wedding anniversary rapidly approaching, Jade feels confident that their rough patch is over and that they'll be able to leave the recent past behind them. She's barely thought of Beck.
"I love you." She tells Wilmer in between their kisses
"I love you too."
They have their first table read the next morning. The two of them walk in together hand-in-hand and take their seats beside each other at the table. Wilmer presses a kiss to Jade's cheek before retrieving his laptop from his bag and beginning to converse with Paul. Jade sees the other actors seated around the table watching her and whispering to each other. The attention used to bother her, it used to make her feel insecure...but it doesn't anymore. She's more than aware that the age gap between her and Wilmer bothers some people, but the most important thing is that it doesn't bother them. She still struggles, however, with the fact that many people think she only books the roles that she does because of who she's married to. Each project presents a new opportunity for her to prove that she's really worthy of the role that she's been casted in, and she always does. Her performances are critically-acclaimed, and this is just another chance to prove herself worthy again.
Jade eyes two actresses at the other end of the table whispering to each other as they look between her and Wilmer. She smiles and waves to them, catching them off guard as Wilmer clears his throat to gain the attention of everyone in the room.
"Good morning, everyone..." He smiles as the small talk in the room quiets "Welcome to Day One of 'Life Sentence'."
Jade has always admired his ability to command a room. Within a matter of seconds he caught the attention of everyone and has kept it as he continues speaking to the cast.
"I'm so excited to get started on this project, I really think it's something special." He says, reaching for Jade's hand and pressing a kiss to it "I'm sure you all recognize my wife, my muse, the incredibly talented Jade Gordon."
"West-Gordon..." She reminds him playfully "Hi, everyone."
"Right, right." He smirks "She's our leading lady, our Monica. Let's have everyone go around the table and introduce themselves, and then we'll get started on that opening courtroom scene."
"What if you dropped the 'West'?" Wilmer suggests later that night
"What?" Jade says, rubbing moisturizer into her skin as she gets ready for bed
It had been a shorter-than-average day on set for them. With it being the first day, they started with a full table read with the full cast and then did a bit of camera blocking for the first scene that they were going to be shooting. It hadn't seemed practical to start shooting so late in the day, so they had dismissed with the intention of starting to film early the next morning. Jade has to be in her makeup trailer by six to start getting ready. It feels ungodly early, but she supposes that it could be worse. She's had to be in hair and make up as early as three before, six is certainly nothing to complain about.
"Earlier today." Wilmer clarifies as he enters their bathroom to stand behind her, watching her in the mirror as she completes her skincare routine "I introduced you as Jade Gordon and you corrected me."
"Right, because that's not my name." Jade reminds him "My name is Jade West-Gordon. I hyphenated on purpose, and it really irritates me when people ignore the hyphen. Especially when the person ignoring it is my husband."
"That's why I'm suggesting you drop the 'West'..." He tells her, wrapping his arms around her waist "You said it yourself that it irritates you when people ignore the hyphen. If everyone is ignoring it anyway, why not just-"
"No." Jade says firmly, pushing his arms off of her "Wilmer, I-"
"A man's wife should have his last name." Wilmer tells her sternly "You should have my last name."
"I do have your last name." Jade reminds him "But I also still have mine."
"Jade-"
"I didn't lose my identity when I married you." She tells him, replacing the cap on her moisturizer and washing her hands "You became part of who I am, but that doesn't cancel out everything I did before I met you or who I was as an individual."
They have this argument once every eight months to a year. Wilmer had been furious when they had first gotten married and Jade had insisted on hyphenating, but eventually eased up on the nagging once he realized that she wasn't going to change her mind. Her reasoning has always been the same, that she doesn't want being Wilmer Gordon's wife to be her entire identity, but he's still convinced that one day he'll be able to convince her differently.
"And what exactly had you done before you met me?" Wilmer scoffs "A few commercials?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means without me, who knows where you'd be?" Wilmer shrugs "If I hadn't casted you in that first film, maybe you'd still be waiting tables for a living and just barely getting by."
"You casted me in my first project, so I should just do everything you tell me to?" Jade raises an eyebrow at him "How very 1800's of you."
"Don't play the age card."
"M'not playing the age card." She insists "I'm just saying that your thinking is very outdated. It's the twenty-first century. As your wife, I'm supposed to be your partner...your equal. All you're doing right now is making me sound like your fucking property."
"You're my wife."
"I'm aware." She sighs "S'why I took your last name in addition to mine. At least I did that much. There's plenty of women who don't take their husband's names at all, especially in Hollywood. It's been almost seven years, Wilmer. My mind has been made up for a long time, m'not changing anything about my name to make you feel more comfortable."
"I don't know what you want from me, Jade." Wilmer admits "All I'm asking is for a little re-"
"Respect?" Jade can't help but laugh "You think by not dropping my maiden name, I'm being disrespectful?"
"No, but I think it might appear that way to others."
"Others?" Jade rolls her eyes "Who exactly are these 'others' that we're talking about? Your buddies at Paramount Pictures?"
"No, I just mean that there are people out there who may-"
"Wilmer." Jade steps forward, taking his face in her hands "I don't care about how other people may or may not feel about our relationship. I've told you that from the beginning. But I do care about how you feel about it, because right now it's sounding like-"
"I care about our relationship." Wilmer assures her, pushing her hands away "So much so that I feel that-"
"That I should just abandon everything about myself to succumb to whatever you want?" She scoffs "Because by marrying you I became your property? And because you cast me in my first real job that I should just do whatever you ask because I'm always going to 'owe' you for that?"
"Jade..."
"I'm sleeping in the other room tonight." She says, brushing past him "I'll see you in the morning."
Alright, so maybe their marital problems aren't over just yet. Then again, the matter of her last name has been an argument since they first got married, so maybe the problems have always been there.
Jade doesn't even bother turning on the lights in the second bedroom. Instead she closes the door behind her, a little louder than she normally would just for the sake of being dramatic, and pulls back the sheets on the bed before climbing in. She had forgotten her phone in the master bedroom, and certainly isn't going to be going back for it, so she's alone with her thoughts for the first time in a long time.
It's not that Wilmer's thoughts on the whole situation surrounding her name don't make sense to her. They do. It's just that they seem a bit...unfounded and old-fashioned. She supposes this is one of the rare instances where their age-gap might be getting in the way. It has definitely become more normalized in the last decade or so for women to not take their husbands name upon getting married. Then again, in Hollywood she knows that it's never been uncommon for married actresses to keep their maiden names upon getting married as well. Hell, even as far back as the 1940's...Judy Garland and Lucille Ball never changed their names. Could Wilmer really be so upset about this after almost seven years?
And what about the comment he made about her career? The 'who knows where you'd be without me?' comment. He isn't wrong when he says that he's responsible for her current career, he's directed everything that she's ever been cast in...and those are the projects that have won her all of her major awards...but does he really think she wouldn't have found the same success elsewhere? It almost makes it seem as though he thinks she doesn't have any real talent, and that the only reason that he's casted her in anything is because she's his wife. Is her career really the product of nepotism? Is that what the general public thinks of her?
She's grateful she doesn't have her phone, she might fall into an internet black hole that she won't be able to find way out of. She wishes there was someone that she could call to talk her way through this...maybe her Mom or even Cat Valentine. But her mother has barely spoken to her, and doesn't make it seem like she wants to, since she married Wilmer, and Jade had admittedly unintentionally distanced herself from Cat. Her relationship with her oldest friend is hopefully one that can be salvaged if she puts in the effort, and she's willing to put in the effort, and she makes a mental note to call Cat the next time she has the opportunity to.
And while she doesn't want to blow up her marriage, she can't help thinking of Beck Oliver right now either. Wilmer has upset her, and she knows that Beck would be able to make her feel better...at least physically...but it won't fix her relationship with Wilmer.
"We're having problems..." Jade tells her husband honestly the next morning
They had barely said a word to each other as they got ready to leave. Although Wilmer technically doesn't need to be on set until they're ready to film, he had still gotten up with her and will be on set to supervise hair and makeup. He's a very involved director, and wants to make sure every aspect of the project is perfect.
"No we're not." He insists "We're just...disagreeing."
"Will..."
"I'll be better." He tells her, reaching over and taking her hand "I'm sorry. I love you, and I'm sorry."
"I love you too..."
"He sent me home early again..." Jade sighs, picking at the nail polish chipping off of her fingers
It's technically her character's nail polish, and she's surprised that it had stayed on for as long as it has. Unfortunately the costume department will have to redo it when she returns in the morning, because her anxiety is getting the best of her and she can't seem to stop picking at it no matter how hard she tries.
"It's the third time this week that he's sent me home without him." She continues "In the past, he's always allowed me to stay as long as he's been on set, begged me to stay even. But lately it's been 'go on home and get ready for bed, honey. I'll be home soon'. I hate it when he calls me 'honey', he knows that. It's like he's fucking belittling me."
Jade's original hope that their time together in Atlanta would bring an end to her and Wilmer's rough patch is turning out to be a pipe dream, as is her hope that her husband had meant what he said when he promised her that he would 'be better'. She has never felt more distant from him than she has during the last month of filming 'Life Sentence' and while they're back to sleeping in the same bed again, they might as well be in different apartments. He's short with her while they're on set, almost as if he's trying to embarrass her in front of her co-stars, and he's completely unapologetic about it. That, in turn, has made her more quick to anger, which has led to more arguments between them...and petty arguments at that. And yet, despite it all...Jade still wants to find a way to fix things.
"M'sorry..." Beck tells her, and he genuinely means it sympathetically "What a dick."
"Be careful." Jade warns him "That dick is still my husband."
She had called him during a moment of weakness last week. Wilmer had embarrassed her on set and then sent her home early, and she was pissed at him. It would have been the perfect opportunity to call Cat, to apologize for being distant and reconnect by asking her for advice, but instead she called Beck.
Jade hadn't been shocked that Beck answered, she understands how the male brain operates and she knows the conditions of their arrangement. She vented to him and then...well, they had phone sex. They used each other, as they had agreed its okay to do. It made her feel better and terrible at the same time, but not terrible enough that she stopped calling him. Now it seems to be their nightly thing, she calls him to vent about her marital problems, and then they talk dirty to each other until Wilmer texts her that he's on his way home.
"I know, I'm sorry." Beck apologizes
But this time, he doesn't mean it.
Everything that Jade tells him about her husband just proves what he already knows to be true: Wilmer Gordon is a terrible person. He doesn't want Jade anywhere near him, and jealousy doesn't have anything to do with it. He can't let someone he cares about be around someone like that. Jade should be with someone else, and that 'someone else' doesn't even have to be him, necessarily.
"I wish you were here." She admits "Sometimes just...talking about it...doesn't cut it."
"I'll come out there."
"Beck, I wasn't-"
"Hey, I have needs too, okay?" He chuckles "I'll be there tomorrow night. I'll book a hotel room under a pseudonym, no one will even know I'm in town."
"How will you-"
"Just trust me."
Against her better judgement, Jade says...
"Okay. Text me when you land."
Beck is in Atlanta within eighteen hours. He books a suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta under the name 'Bradley Oscar', his pseudonym that he uses while traveling, and waits for the phone call from Jade that he knows will be coming.
Sure enough, around 7:30, that call comes.
"He sent me home again." She tells him
"M'sorry." Beck apologizes "But I'm in Atlanta, I have a room at the Ritz-Carlton. Have your driver bring you and say your meeting a high school friend for drinks. It wouldn't be untrue."
"I..." Jade hesitates "Alright. Give me twenty minutes."
"I'll be waiting." Beck smiles "I'm in the Presidential Suite on the eighteenth floor. Knock three times so I know that it's you."
Less than half an hour later someone knocks, well...more like bangs, on Beck's door, and he rushes to open it. Jade slips inside and closes the door quickly behind her, a nervous look on her face.
"Did anyone see you?" He asks
"No." She shakes her head as she drops her purse and slips off her coat "No, I don't think so."
"Good."
Beck's kisses cover her body, hard, insistent, and hungry for what is to come. Jade wraps her leg around his waist Beck grabs her ass, giving her permission to jump up and wrap both legs tightly around him. He carries her over to the bed as if she weighs nothing, his hands exploring her body as he does so. His strength and assurance are comforting to her as she starts fumbling with the buckle on his belt.
"Careful..." Beck chuckles as his pants fall around his ankles "If I trip, I'll drop you."
"Sorry..." Jade's lips form a smile on Beck's as he sets her down on the bed, kicking his pants behind him "Got a little ahead of myself..."
"I don't mind."
Jade pulls Beck on top of her and begins pulling his t-shirt over his head. A low groan escapes his throat as he helps her remove her own shirt as well. They kiss for about a minute more before Jade feels Beck slip himself inside of her, and this time it's her turn to groan.
"You okay?"
"Fuck, never better."
It's close to another hour before they tire. Jade and Wilmer haven't exactly been intimate as of late, and Beck hasn't slept with anyone since the last time he saw Jade. They both have quite a bit of lost time to make up for, and they certainly do make up for it. For a moment, they listen to each other's breathing, their quick and heavy gasps eventually slowing to something more reasonable. Jade can't help but feel as if everything outside of the hotel room, everything on the other side of the door that she had come through, is falling away from them. It's as if they're on a raft, drifting further and further away from reality. Away from the movie, away from Wilmer, away from her marriage and all of the issues that is has brought her. They're alone, just the two of them, in an endless place without borders or limits, where time doesn't seem to matter. Jade feels the happiest that she has in weeks, and that makes her feel sick at the same time as she remembers that the man laying in bed next to her isn't her husband.
"You didn't have to fly out here..." She says to him
They're both still naked, Beck has his arms wrapped around her while she traces circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. They could get dressed, but neither of them feel like it yet.
"I know..." Beck admits, nuzzling his face into her neck "But..."
"You couldn't resist a booty call?"
"Well, I wouldn't put it like that." Beck chuckles "But yeah, pretty much. You needed me, and I wanted to be here for you."
"I would've been fine." Jade insists
"So, you didn't enjoy what we just did then?"
"Oh I did, don't worry."
"Okay, good." Beck presses a kiss to her temple "Because I enjoyed it too."
"You know...once we wrap filming...Wilmer is going to be in LA for a few months." Jade tells him "ADR and post-production and all that. I'm going with him, we could see each other more often."
"I like the sound of that." Beck admits "But, won't you have to work too?"
"I'll do some ADR, sure." Jade shrugs "But that'll take a few days tops. The rest of it...well, Wilmer doesn't like having more people involved in post-production than necessary. He claims it 'disrupts the creative process', he'll be gone most days...and I'll have a lot of free time."
"Sounds great." Beck smiles "But- do you hear that?"
"Yeah..." Jade nods, sitting up as she becomes more aware of the odd sound coming from the other side of the room "Fuck, my phone!"
She leaps out of bed and rushes across the room, fishing the phone out of her bag and answering it.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell are you?" Wilmer spits
"Shit, I'm sorry." Jade apologizes as she exchanges a nervous look with Beck "I...a friend from high school reached out and said she was in the area and wanted to meet up for drinks sometime while we were here. You sent me home early so I thought-"
"You thought you'd let your husband come home to an empty apartment?" Wilmer scoffs "How considerate of you!"
"I'm in the car and on my way home." Jade lies as she begins collecting her clothes from where they had been strewn around the room "I'll be back in less than thirty minutes, and then you can tell me about everything I missed on set after I left."
"You know how I feel about you not filling me in on your plans."
"I'm sorry."
"Whatever, just get home quickly."
"I will." Jade assures him "I love-"
Wilmer ends the call before she has the chance to finish her sentence.
"I have to go." She says, looking over to Beck "M'sorry, he got home and I wasn't there and now he's pissed."
"I should've kept a better eye on the clock."
"No, this is on me." Jade sighs
"Does he get mad at you a lot?" Beck asks her
Despite her being on the other side of the room when she took the call, Beck could hear Wilmer loud and clear even though he hadn't been on speaker. His tone was harsh and unkind, and it makes him worried about what kind of situation Jade may be walking into when she gets home.
"What are you implying?"
"Nothing, I just...I could kind of hear him, he sounded really harsh...and you don't seem that bothered by it." Beck shrugs "I was just wondering if this is normal, is all."
"I'm not afraid of my husband, Beck."
"I never said that you were."
"Alright, good." She says "How long are you here for?"
"Just tonight." Beck tells her "I have an audition on Wednesday that I need to be back for."
"Oh...well, I'm sure I'll end up calling you before I see you again, or texting." Jade nods as she walks over to him "And I'll let you know when I get to LA."
"Looking forward to it." He smiles as she kisses him goodbye "Be careful getting back, okay?"
"I will." She nods "Thanks, Beck."