Beautiful Hue

The smooth sound of my ceiling fan whirls, as I wake. The cool breeze brushes past my skin, sending chills through my body. I take a deep breath and attempt to begin my day with gratitude. As I open my eyes, my timed lights shine brightly, forcing me to cover my face with my pillow.

“I really don’t feel like getting up.”

My morning alarm goes off and I quickly turn it off. Soon after I receive a text from Jeff.

“Good-morning, my Oscar client. Today I need you to come by the office, we have a big offer that I want to run by you. -Jeff”

I place my phone back onto my nightstand, I sit up at the edge of my bed and slide on my house shoes.

As I walk downstairs, I look through the window and I see a van leaving from Sarah’s house.

“Must be on her way to set.”

As I walk into my bathroom, my lights automatically turn on nearly blinding me. I use the bathroom and feel a sensation run through my body, as I take my morning leak.

I turn on the shower and brush my teeth while the steam fogs the mirror in front of me.

As the hot shower scorches my body, I close my eyes and think about the night before. I think about my Oscar and everything that lead into that moment. I begin to think about Sarah and a smile brushes across my face as I think about the peaceful night we had.

I turn the shower off, grab my towel, dry off and walk back into my room. I put on my workout clothes and Apple Watch.

I walk downstairs to my kitchen to prepare myself a light breakfast consisting of: a bagel, two fried eggs and a glass of milk. I sit down and turn on the television. I surf through the channels looking for something to watch as I eat.

“A homicide investigation comes to a close, as gang leader Melvin Brown, is shot and…” A news anchor reports.

Not in the mood for bad news, I quickly go to the sports channel.

“Jason Richardson, joins team USA!” A sportscaster reports.

As I finish my bagel, eggs and glass of milk, I stand up, turn my television off and go to my home gym.

I run on the treadmill for thirty minutes. I’m sweating and pushing myself to make it through my workout. A phone call from Jeff pops up on my watch and blows my focus. I finish my workout early and slouch over trying to catch my breath. I stand up out of breath with my hands on the back of my head and I walk back upstairs to change and call Jeff back.

My phone lights up as I enter the room, I see that Jeff beats me to the call and I quickly answer it.

“Yeah?” I answer.

“Hey Ben, I need you to come in as early as possible. I have an offer that William told me about last night and he needs an answer before noon.” Jeff says.

“I’ll get dressed and head over soon.”

“Alright, meet me in Burbank. I’ll see you soon you talented work of art!”

“Haha, see you soon Jeff.”

I hang up the phone and walk to my bathroom to freshen up.

* * * *

As I walk towards the elevator, Jeff’s assistant gets off and walks directly towards the parking lot in a hurry. Other people dressed in business suits and casual clothing roam around the WeWork building. I step inside of the elevator and go to Jeff’s floor.

The elevator stops at the tenth floor. As I exit, I see a woman waiting in the lobby nervously. Her brown skinned palms tangles her curly hair in her finger tips. I smell the aroma of her perfume the second I step out of the elevator I smile at the scent and notices me, as I walk by.

We nod at one another and her flawless features burn into my brain. I walk to the front desk and I see the receptionist, Marie and other agents all standing. As I walk closer to them, they give me a round of applause.

“Congratulations, Benjamin!” says Marie from the desk.

“Thank you!” I respond.

“Of course, we knew that was yours!” she says. “Jeff will be right out. In the mean time we have this for you.” Marie says, as the intern, Taylor, walks from the back with a card.

“Thank you all so much. This means a lot.”

As I walk around the desk, I hug Marie and Jeff peaks half of his body out of the door and signals for me to enter his office. I let go of Marie and she sits back in her seat. I walk down the movie poster covered halls frames of movies that I’ve starred in and other clients on Jeff’s list.

As I walk into his office, he immediately greets me with a hug and a big smile.

“How’s my Oscar winner doing today?” Jeff asks, as he sits at his desk.

“I’m good Jeff. What’s the big pitch today?” I ask, as I sit across from him.

“You want some water or anything?” he asks.

“I’m good. What’s going on?”

Jeff claps his hands together once and rubs them. He sits back in his seat.

“Alright. So picture this. ‘Benjamin goes home!’”

I sit looking at Jeff confused, as if he just spoke another language.

“What are you trying to tell me?” I ask.

“William wants you to do a movie in Ohio.” he says, as he sits forward anticipating my answer.

“When?”

“Shooting starts in two weeks.”

“I need a break. We just got done filming in Pittsburgh all winter. I need a break from the cold.”

“Ben, hear me out. They will pay you as much as you need, you’re a hot commodity.”

“That is going to freeze to death if I do this film.” I retort.

Jeff stands up and walks behind me to close the door. I sit back, fix my shirt and reposition my body.

“Benjamin, you grew up there. It would be amazing for you to go back and film there, wouldn’t it?”

I sit silently, as Jeff continues to talk. “Think about the love you will receive. Plus, you just won an Oscar.” He says, as I shake my head. I place my head into my hands and rub my temple.

“I’m going to hate this.”

“It’s going to be so worth it.” He says like a car salesman.

“What’s the movie about?”

“It’s about a football player being betrayed by his ex-lover, costs him the Hall of Fame, his reputation and new family.”

“You should have lead with that.” I say to him, as he gets excited.

“So you’re in?”

I pause for a few minutes and look at him. I rub my chin to add suspense.

“I’m in.” I say.

“Yes!” He yells. “Let’s call William right now, he’s going to freak out!”

Jeff dials William’s number from his cell phone. It rings for a minute and William picks up the phone out of breath.

“Yello?!” William says tirelessly.

“Bill, you alright over there?” Jeff asks.

“Everything’s fine Jeff, is Ben there with you?”

“He’s right here. You’re on speaker phone.” Jeff says, as he holds the phone out.

“What’s the news Ben, are you in on this one?”

I move closer to the phone. “I’m in, William.”

“Good to hear! You’re going to do great. Jeff, is Bridget in the room with you?” William asks.

“No, one second, I’ll go get her.”

Jeff stands up, rushes to the door and yells down the hall. “Marie! Can you send Bridget?!” Jeff yells.

He walks back to his desk and sits down.

“She’s on the way.” he says to William.

After waiting a few moments, Bridget walks into the office. I stand up to shake her hand. That smell. I take a deep breath as her soft hands grip mine tightly.

“Ben” I introduce myself.

“Bridget.” She replies and we sit next to one another.

“She’s here.” Jeff says to William, as he smiles at her.

“Benjamin. I want you to meet my step daughter: Bridget. She wants to be an agent one day and I figured she would do best working with Jeff. Jeff proposed that you may need help while shooting, organizing your schedule and keeping up with upcoming interviews. Bridget is going to be there to assist you.” William says.

“With all respect, I don’t think I need an assistant.”

“Have you ever won an Oscar before?” William asks.

“No but...” I say, until he interrupts me.

“Trust me on this then. You need an assistant Ben and she needs experience. It’ll help us all out.”

I look at Bridget and nod my head.

“Alright, looks like I have an assistant.” I say begrudgingly.

“Good, you two meet me on the docks tomorrow. Bring your fishing gear!” William says. Jeff hangs up the phone.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I say to Bridget.

“You as well.” she responds. “Where should I meet you tomorrow?” she asks.

“We can meet here.”

Bridget smiles and shakes my hand, then Jeffs. We all walk out of the office and to the elevator.

“See you soon Marie!” I say, as I walk past her desk.

“Are you going to get coffee?” Jeff asks.

“No, I’m going to have lunch with my family.” I respond.

“Alright, send my love to your family.” Jeff expresses.

“I will.” I say as the elevator approaches.

Bridget and I enter, we wave at Jeff as the elevator door closes.

* * * *

I drive on the highway speeding past the cars to get to my family’s hotel. As I approach their exit, traffic comes to a halt. Cars drive slowly, as two cars surrounded by police officers are pulled over to the side. I take out my phone and dial my father’s number. After not getting an answer I call Blair. She immediately picks up.

“Hey, where’s mom and dad?” I ask.

“They’re getting dressed right now. Are you almost here?”

“Yeah, but there was an accident. I’m still waiting. I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright, I’ll let them know.” she says.

As Blair and I get off of the phone, Sarah calls me and I answer.

“Hello?” Say.

“Hey Ben, how is the day after?” she asks.

“It’s good. How’s shooting?” I ask.

“It’s alright, they picked me up this morning and had breakfast in the van, so I guess that’s always a plus.” she says.

“Always.” I say. “Hey, I have to tell you something.” I continue.

“I have to tell you something, too.” she says.

“You first.” I say.

“Alright, my manager just called and said that we have an offer to do a movie in Cleveland.”

I sit back in my seat and smile.

“Who sent it?” I ask.

“It was William.”

“That’s funny.”

“Why?”

“I agreed to that movie thirty minutes ago.”

“No way!” she screams.

“Yeah. I’m playing the husband.” I say.

“Wow. I’m the wife.” she quickly replies.

“Don’t hurt me too much.” I say to her keeping, in mind the plot of the movie. “Hey, traffic is starting to move here. I’m going to meet with my family for lunch. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Alright Ben, I’m excited!”

“Me too. Talk to you soon.” I say to her. We hang up the phone and I slowly pick up speed, as cars begin to drive faster.

I get off of the freeway and pull directly into The Hollywood Rosevelt. I pull into the parking lot and off to the side. I motion for valet not to take my car. I call my sister back and she ignores my call, she quickly sends a text.

“We’re on the way down now.” -Blair.

As I wait in the car for a few minutes, I see my family walking through the lobby. I step out of the car and open each of their doors.

“Excuse me, sir.” One of the young men working valet says to me, as my family walks out of the hotel.

“Hey, what’s up?” I ask.

“Are you Benjamin Watts?” He asks.

I nod and he instantly gets excited.

“Hey, I just wanted to say congratulations on your win last night. What you said in your speech, that was powerful man. I’m an actor too and every now and then things get hard for me,” he says.

“When I first moved here things were hard for me too. Keep doing what you’re doing, man. Your big break wants you, just as bad as you want it.” I say to him, as my mother gives me a hug.

“Thank you, sir!” he says.

“Of course.” I say to him, as my family gets into the car. “What’s your name?” I ask.

“Malik.”

“Don’t give up, Malik. You’re already doing better than I did, when I first moved here.”

Malik and I shake hands, I get into the car as he walks back to his work station. I pull out of the parking lot and turn towards the highway.

“So how was your night?” My father asks from the backseat.

“It was nice. I had a great time.” I say to him.

“And the afterparty?” My mom asks suspiciously, as she sits next to me.

I make eye contact with Blair in the rearview mirror she hints to me that they know I didn’t go.

“I went home early.” I say to them.

“We don’t believe you went at all.” My father immediately says, as I drive. “We looked up the pictures online and every actor that won an Oscar was in a group photo except one last night, you.” He says to me, as I glide past cars.

I shake my head. My mother clenches her door handle and looks at me with wide-eyes.

“Boy I know I taught you how to drive better than this,” she says.

“I’m good mom.” I say to her, as I get off of the freeway. “Look I had a meeting this morning that I had to get ready for. That’s all.” I say to them.

“You didn’t fully embrace your night son. Winning an Oscar is once in a life time!” my father says.

“I know, but I enjoyed it the way I wanted to.” I say, as I pull into the parking lot of my favorite diner. A moment of silence fills the air while I park my Tesla.

“I still can’t believe you got this car.” Blair says from the backseat.

“It fits me.” I say as I turn the car off.

My family and I exit the car and walk into the diner. Blair and I take a seat as our parents walk to the bathroom. A waitress walks up to us with four menus and asks for our drink requests. We order four waters and four coffees, the waitress walks away to take our requests to the back.

“So how’re my nephews?” I ask her.

“They’re good.” she says. “It’s hard raising twins, but Marcus and I do it.”

“I’m proud of you, baby sis.”

“Thanks bro,” she says, “so what’s going on with you and Sarah?” she asks.

“Nothing at all, she’s a good friend of mine.” I answer.

She gives me a look, as if she doesn’t believe me.

“I’m serious.” I say to her.

“Alright, but you can’t deny that there’s something there.” she adds.

“Maybe. So I guess I need an assistant now.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I agreed to do another movie with William and he insisted that I’ll need some help.”

“Is she white or black?”

“She’s black why does that matter?” I ask.

“No reason. I was just curious.” Blair says, as she smirks.

“She’s also Williams step daughter.” I add.

“That old man?” she asks, as our parents join us.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I say agreeably.

“What’s going on?” Our father asks.

The waitress approaches and we all place our orders after she places our drinks on the table. As she walks away and everyone makes their coffee to their liking, I clear my throat and sit up to tell them the news.

“So, in my meeting today I agreed to do something that I think you all will enjoy.”

“And what’s that?” my father asks.

“I agreed to do a movie back home. Sarah and I will be starring in it and although I’m not looking forward to the cold weather, I am looking forward to having you guys on set and visiting home for some home-cooked meals.”

My mother smiles and clutches my fathers arm.

“You didn’t tell me that part.” Blair says.

“I wanted to tell you all together.”

“Well, when do you start?” my mother asks.

“In two-weeks. Until then, I’m sure I’ll be meeting with my coach to prepare for the role.” I respond.

“We can’t wait to have you home son,” my father says.

My family and I enjoy our last brunch together for a few weeks. After we eat, I drop them off to their hotel so that they could check out. As I wait for them, I see that Malik is no longer on shift. After they get ready I follow them to drop their rental car off and then I take them to the unusually slow LAX.

It seems as if everyone decided to stay home, as I drop them off with no problem. I help my family get their bags out of the car and watch them walk into the building.

I wave one more time, as Blair turns around. We wink at one another and I drive off to go back home.