Imperfectpictures

9/28/2020

Episode One-hundred-fifty: Making Bank

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Episode One-hundred-fifty: Making Bank

I was dreaming about flying. Not in an airplane, but through the air with my arms spread. The wind blew through my hair, and I could feel it on my cheeks. It was a perfect day- the temperature just right. I was zooming through the countryside, dipping through meadows and valleys filled with sweet-smelling flowers. It was paradise and freedom in its purest form.

Then a phone rang. I pouted as the fun images melted away, taking a deep breath through my nose. It was dark in our room, and the boys were curled around each other. Jasper had his head on Edward’s chest, their legs tangled. His ass was pressed against my hip with his other arm thrown behind, so it was on my stomach.

It rang again, neither of the men moving. Edward was snoring, his skull tilted back into the pillow. It wasn’t my phone, and I wouldn’t answer it.

I smacked Jasper’s butt a couple of times through the blanket, making him hum and shift. He stiffened up when he heard the ring. “Tony. Get your fucking mobile,” he mumbled as he sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes furiously.

Our boyfriend groaned loudly. His hand slapped at the side table several times before rolling over to get it. He brought it backwards to his ear while never opening his eyes. “Yeah?”

Jasper switched it around for him before spinning over to cuddle with me. His head went automatically to my breast, using it as a pillow. We couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation. Closing my eyes again, I snuggled with him and played with his pretty blond curls with a grin. I was so comfortable.

“Yes, this is Eddie Cullen.” He hummed softly, then his body stiffened. “Oh, hello, Mr. Wells.” He sat up beside us quickly. “No. It’s fine. I’m excited to get a call from you, sir. What can I do for you today?” He asked politely. His tone went from sleepy Aussie to an eager businessman in two seconds flat.

Both Jasper and I turned our heads to watch, paying more attention.

Edward’s mouth hung open after a minute. “Oh. I see. Wow… And when do you want me to do that?” He laughed in surprise at the answer. “Next- Next week? Sir, that’s very short notice, and I-” He paused. “How much? For a week and a half worth of work? Are you serious?” He covered his chin with his palm, and it slid down his throat. “Um, well, I would love to say yes right away, but I have to discuss this with my team first. Would it be possible to call you back?” He nodded his head. “Yes, sir. I will have a response to you by the end of the day. That won’t be a problem. Thank you so very much for considering me for the part at all, though. It’s an honor. Thank you,” he repeated before hanging up. He put his cell phone beside him slowly as he stared ahead.

“What?” I questioned, touching his thigh lightly.

“Okay… so, uh… I know you don’t pay attention to celebrity stuff, but a certain actor did some terrible shit last week. It was bad. He was arrested for attempting to sexually assault a waitress. He had just filmed a small but important part, and the studio wants him completely replaced. They’re going to reshoot his scenes with a new actor. And they want me to do it. For a lot of money.”

“That sucks about the server. I hope she’s okay,” I grumbled. “That’s cool about the role, though. Are you interested?”

“Yes,” he said solemnly. He didn’t seem happy.

“What’s wrong?” Jasper questioned, rolling over to touch his leg too.

“They want me to start filming next Friday.”

“Oh,” I responded in understanding. “Okay, so two choices: we can go to New York another time, or we can go on our own while you’re working. Will you be able to rearrange whatever you have going on after that? I guess that matters, too.”

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s shooting for the channel and a recording day, but I’m sure I can put that off if I ask. They’re understanding. I want to go to New York, though.”

“There will be other times,” I promised with a slight smile.

“I know, but I wanted another pleasant weekend, and you’re going away in a few hours.”

“For a couple of days,” I laughed gently. “We’ve been together all the time since we went to Australia. We can go another time.”

Edward sighed. “No. I know you want to go get your stuff.” He huffed. “I really aspire to work with a director like this. Sarah has a project coming up with him she’s excited about. He is an artist. And it’s so much money. But I can afford to say no.”

“How much of a paycheck is it?” Jasper questioned, sitting up beside him. He took his hand, their fingers weaving together.

“Half a million.”

“Holy shit!” I gasped. “For a week and a half? Oh, my god! And it’s a director you wanna work with? That sounds amazing, Edward.”

“Do it, darling. This will be good for your career.”

“It’s not really about the check. It’s more about how I want to work with him, but the cash feels tainted.”

“What do you mean?” I pressed gently.

“I’d make bank because someone is a rapist. That doesn’t feel right.”

“Oh,” I breathed. I quickly shrugged. “Then, don’t keep it. You love donating. Give it a women’s shelter and make their day. So, you get to do something amazing for charity while getting to work on your craft.”

He rubbed his fingers over my jaw with a smile. “See? This is why I want to marry you. You don’t mind?” He looked between us.

“Not in the least,” I promised, pushing his palm into my skin. Lightly, I kissed his fingertips. “Do you want us to skip it, or are you okay with us going?”

Edward pursed his lips before he grinned a little. “You can go. I’ll be jealous because I know you’ll have fun, but we’ll do it another time. We’ll plan a real vacation after my next film wraps. You need your special quiet weekends away, too.”

“We don’t-” Jasper began, but he kissed him to stop him arguing. “It would be better with you.”

“Hey, maybe when you come back, you can come to the set to watch me.”

“What’s the movie?” He shrugged. “He didn’t say?” I asked in surprise.

Shaking his head, Edward laughed. “No. I was too excited and forgot to ask. It doesn’t matter, though. I’m up to whatever he throws at me. If I want to stretch myself as an actor, he’s the guy I need to work with.”

I shifted, so I was on my knees beside him. “Call him back. Tell him you’d love to.”

“I should call Zafrina first. But yeah. I think I will. Thank you,” he breathed before quickly giving each of us a kiss. “I’m going to go into the office to make it.” He looked at his phone. “You still have a few hours before your flight, so after, we can get cleaned up and we’ll go to breakfast before you fly out.”

We watched as he strode purposefully out of the room in his tight black briefs. I moved back beside Jasper, sitting on my bottom next to him. Wordlessly, he reached over and picked up his cell and grabbed a joint from the drawer.

I leaned against his shoulder, thinking about what just happened as we woke up. He took a couple of hits before passing it to me. This went on for a few minutes before he chuckled softly. “Hm?” I peeked over at his phone, but I couldn’t read anything on it from the angle I was.

“Oh, just thinking about what video I’ll have you do.” He showed me the page of my personal YouTube Channel. All the cooking videos had already been posted and were moved over as well as the makeup one. I noticed the subscriber amount. It was just over six million in under twenty-four hours.

“HOLY SHIT!” I screamed in surprise. “THAT CANNOT BE RIGHT!”

Jasper laughed loudly at my reaction, shaking his head. “I have no words. I knew it would be quick. The boys are sitting very pretty at two million apiece. They had a fan base before, but they’ve added a million each. But you started fresh. I fucking told you!”

“Everything okay?” Edward yelled down the hallway.

“When you have a sec, look at the channels,” he cheerfully called back. He took another hit and offered it to me. Absently, I accepted it as I looked out onto the mountains.

“YES!!” He shouted. “THAT’S MY FUCKING GIRL!” Our boyfriend came rushing down the hall, bounding onto the bed. In an instant, I was in his arms. “This is incredible!” He gushed, squeezing me tightly.

I laughed. “I didn’t do anything. This is all you.”

He pulled me back by the shoulders. His expression was so serious. “People don’t give a shit about what goes on behind the scenes and who does what. They care about the main face. Yours. It took me YEARS to get that many followers. I am so proud of you.”

Leaning my forehead against his, I took a big breath. “Thank you.”

“The cooking video you posted yesterday with Sarah is trending,” Jasper added. “It’s already gotten ten million views.”

“Wow,” I whispered. I leaned over to look at his screen. I rubbed my hand over my cheek.

“Here we go again!” He sang, passing our boyfriend the smoke. “This time in the fast lane. So, what video should I have you make? Makeup or dancing?” He tapped his chin in thought, smirking as he did. “I’ll have to think about it over the weekend. Muahaha.”

I rolled my eyes. “You ham.” He put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me towards him for a kiss. I giggled against his mouth. “What a wonderful way to start the day!”

Edward passed back the joint, grinning wildly as he did. “Right? I got one more call to make. I’ll be right back.”

Putting the smoke and his phone down, Jasper kissed me again once he left the room. He was smirking as he wrapped both of his thick arms around my waist. “I’m so proud of you both,” he whispered into my hair.

After a fun shower and a quick breakfast, Edward dropped us off at the airport. We had more camera equipment than clothing. Unlike times before, when we were all weepy and sad, everyone was in a pleasant mood. It was going to be an enjoyable weekend. He would have some quiet time in the evenings to relax after recording, and I would get to see my wonderful siblings while spending my first real alone time with Jasper.

I was really excited about that. It wasn’t something I would have voiced out loud for fear of making someone jealous. I don’t think they would have been, but it was still a worry of mine.

We sat in first class with champagne, just relaxing. It wasn’t a long flight, but I wanted it to be nice. I wrapped my arm around his with my head on his shoulder as we waited to take off. It felt like the beginning of an adventure.

Across from us were two younger women. I noticed they kept leaning over to look at us. Neither said anything, but it was so apparent.

Finally, when the seatbelt sign went off, one of them came over to us. “Pardon me. Are you Bella?”

“Yes, I am,” I smiled as friendly as possible. I was still nervous about people approaching me that I didn’t know. I would have to get used to that, I realized.

“I subscribed to your channel yesterday, and I love your recipes. Thank you for doing so many vegan-themed videos. My wife and I are trying to be, and we’ve loved all of yours.”

Quickly, I sat up straighter in surprise. “Oh, wow! Thank you! I’m glad they’ve worked out so well for you. We have a lot more coming up. We filmed some this week.”

“Awesome!” She grinned. “Can I get a picture with you?”

“Sure!” I said right away, standing up as she took out her phone. Jasper stood, offering to take it for her. “Does your wife want to join us?” I suggested politely. There was no reason not to.

She waved both of her arms at her, encouraging her to stand up. We snapped several photos. They both thanked us profusely. We had to sit down when the stewards came by with the drink cart. “Can you get these two ladies a refreshment on me?” I inquired when it was our turn, pointing to the women beside us. “To thank you for subscribing.”

We got settled with fresh glasses. I relaxed back into my spot, my head on his shoulder with my arm around his again. He leaned his temple against mine. “I’m surrounded by stars,” my man breathed with a charming grin.

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

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