Beautiful Hue
Chapter Three

I’m not sure if I’ll regret my decision of doing this film or not, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that I might enjoy my time on set.

I get to go home and I get to work with one of my closest friends in the industry. I can’t say that it gets any better than that.

I pull into the downstairs parking lot of the WeWork building, to meet with Bridget. As I get onto the elevator, I receive a text from an unknown number saying, that they’re outside and just arrived.

I quickly stop the elevator and walk outside to meet the person. I step outside and see Bridget approaching from down the street. As we walk closer to one another I can’t help but to notice how beautiful she looks.

“Good morning, Bridget.”I say, as we greet one another.

“Good morning sir. Sorry I was late, may I get you anything?”

“No actually and please call me Ben. Did you drive?” I ask.

“Um, No.” she hesitantly says. “I took the bus to get here.” she replies embarrassed.

“No worries. You’ll ride with me.” I say.

“Will Jeffery be joining us?” she asks.

“No, another client on the roster has a movie premier tonight and he has to attend.” I explain.

Bridget follows me into the parking structure and to my car.

* * * *

Bridget is sitting in my passenger seat with the windows down. The sun kisses her brown skin and the wind blows her hair around. I can tell she’s nervous so I turn on the music, as she stares out of the window. She turns and smiles at me. I nod my head, trying my best not to be awkward.

“You can be on your phone you know?” I say, as I drive swiftly, passing cars on the highway.

“I figured. It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to enjoy a ride anywhere. I’m always in a hurry and catching busses.” she explains.

“Living the fast life I see.” I joke.

She laughs and stares out of the window.

“Sense of humor, good. You’re going to need that around here.” I say to her. “So where are you from?” I ask.

“Mississippi.” she says proudly.

“That’s new. Now let me ask you what everyone else probably asks...”

“Why did I move to Los Angeles?” she says sarcastically. “My mom met a man, fell in love and decided this is where she needed to be.”

She sits back folding her arms. Her mood changes.

“You don’t have to get into it.” I say.

“Thanks. What about you? Are you from here?”

“Born and raised in Cleveland. Well, I grew up mostly in the suburbs. My mom and dad are extremely hard working folks. Tried to keep me out of trouble where they could.”

“Well, I see you’re doing well for yourself. Nice car, Oscar winner, wife? Kids?” she asks.

“Neither. I haven’t had time.”

She chuckles.

“Time. So cliché for someone like you to say.”

“What do you mean?” I ask out of curiosity.

“I’m not going to loose my job, for telling the truth am I?”

“Depends on what you say.” I joke.

For a second I could tell that she doesn’t know if I’m joking or not. I wink at her and smile.

“No, you won’t get fired. It’s actually refreshing having you around and not Jeff right now. Don’t tell him I said that though.”

“What did you say?” she asks playfully.

“Exactly.” I say as I release a light chuckle.

As we approach the Marina Del Ray I take the exit and head towards the boating docks. Bridget’s eyes widen.

“I’ve never been on a boat before. I should have mentioned that before,” she explains.

“You’ll be fine.” I say to her, as I pull into the parking lot.

As we get out of the car, William meets us and I shake his hand.

“William.” I say to him.

“Benjamin! Bridget! Thanks for joining me today. You just missed Sarah, she had to leave to get back onto set.”

“It’s all good, I’ll probably see her later or something.” I say to him.

Bridget doesn’t say anything to William which I replace weird. He doesn’t pay the silence any mind, as if this is their normal relationship.

We follow William to the docks. As we walk closer to the boat, William introduces us to Shawn and Dennis. We all greet one another and follow William to his yacht.

The docks are filled with birds, buckets of fish and fishermen. We’re the only ones in business attire on the whole pier. As we enter the ramp and walk up to William’s, ‘Sea- Ray, Sundancer.’ I notice Bridget falling behind a little so I let Dennis walk ahead of me. I stop to check on her.

“Is everything alright?” I ask.

“Yes, I just got a little nervous that’s all.”

“I get it. You’re uncomfortable with William. Just try your best not to show it.”

She takes a moment to calm herself. She looks at me and agrees.

“You’re right,” she says.

“Just act like a politician. Smile and converse. The night will be over before you know it.”

She smirks and shakes her head. I turn and we walk across the docks to meet William and the other executives.

Bridget and I follow William to the inside of the boat for a drink. As we sit down, a waitress serves us and the boat begins to move.

“So, how are you liking things, Bridget?” William asks.

“It’s fine,” she says with a dry reply.

William looks at her for a moment and smiles. He tries to hide his embarrassment.

“I’ll be right back,” William says.

As William walks to the bathroom I turn to Bridget and notice how upset she looks.

“Is everything alright?” I ask.

“It’s fine,” she replies.

“What’s going on?”

“He and I got into a fight a few months ago. My mom was upset about a trip he took in Vegas and she wouldn’t talk to him about it... so I did and he kicked me out.”

“I assumed you two were on the same page yesterday.”

“He owed me. This was the first thing I asked him to help me with, since my mom and I moved out here.”

“I understand. Today’s about business and the first rule in business is not to make things personal. Can you do that?”

“I can do that, Ben.” She says, as she tries to calm down.

William walks out of the bathroom, as Dennis and Shawn meet us at the bar.

After my talk with Bridget, it’s as if she turned into a brand new person. She jokes around with William and even Dennis a few times. She talks with Shawn, as if she’s known him for years. The more the time passes the more comfortable she becomes and I’m happy to see her loosen up around William.

As the day passes into the evening and after many drinks and jokes, William taps me.

“Hey, Benjamin. Follow me this way.” William says.

I follow him. He turns on the lights, as we walk down a few stairs.

“Have a seat, Ben.” he says, as he takes out a Cohiba Behike cigar. “You have been more than a pleasure to work with. I appreciate your help with everything, you’re going to love this film. I just know it.”

“Thank you, William. It’s my pleasure” I say with pride.

“Ben, have a smoke with me.”

William lights the cigar and we each take a pull.

“Today, we celebrate your success.”

Dazed from the pull of the cigar, I look at William confused.

“Is that right?” I ask.

“We want to offer you thirty million dollars.”

I take a moment to think and process everything.

“William, I’m not sure what to say.”

“Well, you can say thank you and get ready for the next two weeks.” William says, as he takes another puff of his cigar.

“Thank you, sir.”

We stand up and shake hands.

“Hey and Bridget by the way. She’s family, so can you do me a favor and look after her for me? I know things are rough between her and I, but I still want to look out for her.” he says.

“Of course. How old is she anyway?” I ask out of curiosity.

“Just turned 27.”

“Alright, I wanted to make sure we can get into the same places.

“No problem. Here, follow me.”

We join the others upstairs as we approach the dock, Bridget looks to be having a great time with Dennis and Shawn keeping her company. We all say our goodbyes Bridget and I leave for the road.

* * * *

As I drive on the empty freeway. Bridget sits back much more comfortably than she had been earlier. We ride with the windows down, as the sun sets. She places her hand out of the window and closes her eyes for a moment. As she opens them she gazes into the sunset.

“The sky is so beautiful tonight.” she says, taking in the fresh air.

“It is. I love watching the sunset from my balcony.” I say.

She opens her eyes, she gives me a look and nod of approval. “Alright, you’re not as bad as Dennis made you out to be.”

I give a fake laugh, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“What’d he say?” I ask, as I turn the music down.

“I’m kidding. We talked about some classic movies the whole time.”

“Alright, you scared me for a second.”

“So you got good news back there, huh?”

“I did, how could you tell?”

“You haven’t stopped smiling since you got into the car.” she says, laughing.

“I didn’t know you were paying attention.”

“Well, it was easy to notice. You have a big smile.”

I smirk and look at her from the corner of my eye. We make eye contact. It was only for a second, that I forgot she was my assistant.

“I got a nice signing bonus.” I respond, trying to continue the conversation.

“Are you going to celebrate?” She asks excitedly.

“I think I’m just going to go home and sleep tonight. Probably celebrate once everything is final.” I respond.

She sits up and gives me a confused look.

“Later? You’re excited. Lets go and grab a drink. Or two! You deserve it. Plus you didn’t even go to the after party yesterday... I saw on TMZ.”

“I don’t think I should be grabbing drinks with my employees and besides, I’m not one to get into the club scene.” I say to her.

“Off the books, I insist, we’re just a woman and a man going to celebrate success.”

I continue driving in silence, as the sound of the wind flows through the car. She rolls her window up, as a cold breeze fills the air. An awkward silence roams inside of the car. I look at her and can tell that she regrets bringing up the celebration.

I get off of the freeway and pull into a nearby gas station. As I get out to pump gas she goes inside to make a purchase. I can’t help but check her out, as she walks into the gas station.

I begin to think about how her lips looked so soft, as she sat next to me. Her brown skin so smooth that it looked, as if she bathed in cocoa butter. Her fine curves almost made me so nervous, that I thought my heart would pop out of my chest. She has such a beautiful personality and the fact that she handled herself so well today, probably excited me more than it should have.

I glance at her from the pump, as she walks to the register. The loud click of the nozzle makes me jump. I hook it back up and she walks back to the car with a bottle of water. I walk to the passenger door holding it open for her.

“Alright.” I say, as she gets inside of the car. “We’ll celebrate. I think we both deserve it.”

She gets in the car and smiles.

“Get in.” she says with excitement.

I walk around and get in the car. And she leans over to my seat and opens the driver door.

“Where to?” she asks.

“So… I’m not one to go out. So what if we go back to my place? I have a bar and endless drinks.”

“Just a drink. I still have to wake up for work in the morning. My boss is kind of strict on tardiness.”

I laugh and start the car.

“Well, I’m sure your boss has a few things planned himself anyways. You’ll be fine.”

****

As I drive through the dimly lit street, Bridget turns on the radio. She smiles and vibes to the music so gracefully. She raises her hands and dances in her seat to an old-school song. I focus on driving through the moon lit night.

* * * *

As we approach my front gate, she moves forward in her seat to see my house. I put in my code and the gates open up. She is speechless.

“You can close your mouth.” I say with a smile.

“I knew you cleaned up nice, but damn Benjamin.”

I laugh and pull into my driveway. As I park the car, my automatic lights turn on. We approach the front door of my house and I hold the door letting her walk inside first. She looks up at my huge ceilings in amazement.

“Wow, Benjamin.”

“Yeah, years of hard work.” I say, as I lock the doors.

I set my keys inside of a nearby tray. She takes her shoes off and walks to the sectional to take a seat.

“Anything refreshing to start?” I ask, as I walk to the kitchen.

“I’m fine, I have my water right here,” she replies.

“Do you want something else to wear?” I ask.

“You have clothes for me?” She asks.

“Yeah. You’re more than welcome to wear something, if you want to get out of the business clothes.” I say. “I’m going to change myself.”

“I’m fine.” she responds. “just a few drinks, then I’ll take an Uber home.”

As I go upstairs to my room, I walk pass my favorite paintings and portraits hanging from the wall. I walk into my room and close the door. I undress out of my suit and hang everything up neatly inside of my closet. I put on a plain white T-shirt, black jogging pants and my black house shoes.

As I leave the room, I slowly walk to the edge of the stairs. I can hear music coming from the living room. As I slowly approach the end of the stairs I can see her slowly dancing to the music.

“I see you’ve found the record player.” I tease.

“You have some nice albums.”

“Thanks, we’re not drinking here though. Follow me.” I say, as I walk down the stairs.

I walk to the record player and I turn off the music. She follows me through my kitchen and outside to my patio.

“Over there.” I say gesturing to my guest house.

As we enter, she looks around impressed. We both walk to the bar and she takes a seat at a stool. I walk around the bar to serve our drinks.

“I will be your bartender for the evening.” I joke.

Bridget laughs and moves her seat closer to the bar, as I pour our first glass. We both toast and congratulate one another on our first day working together.

* * * *

“Alright. One more, one more!” Bridget says insistently, slurring her words.

“Alright, go.” I say, as we sit on the couch in the guest house with bottles and shot glasses surrounding us.

“You... you-your favorite thing to do when you’re bored is to paint!” She yells.

I take a shot and she jumps up and screams. “I win!”

“Alright, you won. You won.” I say. “I feel like this was a good icebreaker.” I say to her.

“It was a lot of fun, we got to know more about each other. I’ve never met anyone from Cleveland in my life.” she says laughing.

“You haven’t seen, or heard anything yet. Follow me.” I say to her, as I stand up.

Bridget follows me to another room in the guest house, as I turn on the lights, a smile covers her face.

“What in the hell!” She says, laughing as hard as she could.

“It’s my Cleveland room. Whenever there’s a game: Basketball or football, I invite my friends over and we watch it in here.”

“That is literally the greatest thing I’ve ever heard.” she says trying to hold back her laughter.

“You used to ball, didn’t you?” I ask.

“A long time ago.” she says.

“Good, me too. Come on.” I insist and she follows me to the front of the guest house.

“Where are we going?” she asks.

“Come on.”

Bridget follows me to the fuse box in my guest house and then we walk outside. The back yard is lit with lights shinning on my half sized basketball court. Bridget follows me and we each grab a basketball.

“This is crazy!” she says.

“Are you sure you want to play in that dress?”

“Let’s play horse.” she insists.

****

Bridget and I play for 30 minutes. Drunk as ever. She laughs and tries to distract me by grabbing my body, as I hold the ball in the air so she cant get to it. She looks me in the eyes. We both awkwardly look away from one another. I shoot the ball and miss. She immediately grabs the ball and makes a shot.

“I win again. You’re making this too easy, Mr. Benjamin,” she says.

“You want to go inside?” I ask.

She nods her head and follows me back to the main house. As we walk up the stairs she trips over the very last one and we both laugh as she sits on the ground. Her infectious laugh makes me smile big and I help her stand up.

We both walk into the living room and she takes a seat on the sectional.

“What kind of sectional is this?” she asks.

“It’s a Hana Slate Leather 4 piece - sectional.”

She tries to hold back her laughter by looking away and laughing into her shoulder.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, as I turn on the music.

“You knew exactly what you put your money into, huh?” she says, still full of laughter.

“Of course and you’re a fool if you don’t.” I say, as I reach out for her hand.

Jacob Latimore’s ’Caught up’ plays on the record player. Bridget takes my hand and we dance. We move from left to right, as our bodies move closer together. She pulls my body closer to hers and we grind to the beat. She looks up into my eyes and I pull her hair back gently, I grab her neck, as she grabs my head and pulls me down towards hers.

She bites her lips, as we continue to dance. We each move in closer for a kiss and begin to make out. We stare into one another’s eyes and dance to the music. Before it goes off, we get closer and she plants her head into my chest. I hold her close.

After a few moments of kissing, we both come to our senses and she tries to pull away from me. I reach for her shoulder and my momentum pulls me closer to her, forcing me to nearly knock her over.

We laugh for a brief moment then we look at one another again.

“Fuck it.” I say, as I go in to kiss her more.

She slowly pulls away from me and rests her head in my chest. She takes a deep breath and looks back up at me.

“Do you still have those extra clothes?” she asks in a whisper.

“I do. Follow me, I’ll show you the bathroom.”

I take her hand and she follows me up the stairs.

She walks into the bathroom. I go to my room to grab her a pair of my shorts and an oversized white t-shirt.

I walk back to the bathroom and I hear the shower running. I knock twice and she opens the door slightly. She reaches a hand around the door not revealing her body and grabs the clothes. She slowly closes the door and I go back to my room.

As I shower in the bedroom, I hear a voice come through the door.

“Your room is so big!” she yells.

I finish up my shower and grab my towel. As I dry-off she knocks at the bathroom door.

“Can I come in?” she asks, in a slurred voice.

I stumble trying to sober up. I exit the bathroom and I see her still wrapped in a towel.

“Why didn’t you join me?” she asks.

“I didn’t want to interrupt.” I respond.

She walks to my recliner, sits down, unwraps her towel from her body and opens her legs. I smile and walk to my light switch. I dim the bright lights. As I walk closer to her she licks her lips signaling for me to come even closer. I stand in front of her and I tilt her head up. I lean down to kiss her and our tongues dance. Our lips quiver, as we stare deeply at one another.

“Take me.” she demands.

I grab her waist, lift her up and we kiss passionately. My towel falls to the floor and her towel lays in the seat. I throw her on the bed and she wraps her legs around me, as I climb on top of her. We kiss more I kiss from her lips, to her neck, to the areola of her breasts.

Her sexy moan arouses me and I make my way to her belly button. She grabs my head and forces me down between her legs.

I look up to my nightstand.

“Let me grab protection.” I say.

“Fuck that.” she says, as she pulls me closer.

She grabs my head and kisses me. We switch positions and she repeats exactly what I did to her. My head thrusts back, as she strokes me. My toes curl, as she gags on me. I grab her head. I pull her closer to me and she climbs on top of me. I sit up and position my body towards the headboard. We get under the covers and begin making love.

Our moans the headboard and the sound of the bed thrumming is the only noise that fill the space. I stare into her eyes and she stares into mine as we grind and make love throughout the night.