The Perfect Pairing chapter 3
After dropping off Colton at the airport, Jensen needed to brighten his mood. Loneliness was settling in even stronger than before his best friend’s visit. He drove to the shopping district because buying his aunt a Christmas present would definitely improve his mood.
The day was bright and the air was crisp enough that Jensen decided to buy himself a scarf while he was out. He looked up and down the street for a men’s store or department store when he saw Jared across the street looking in a shop window.
As Jensen tried to remember if Jared had a client meeting that afternoon, a woman approached him. They shook hands and she unlocked the door to a small storefront. Must be the client, Jensen thought watching Jared disappear into the building. The ‘For Lease’ sign in the window made Jensen wonder if Jared was hired for their grand opening. He’d ask him when they were back at the office.
The rest of Jensen’s week was filled with lawyers. Taking over Wallace Entertainment and changing the business model meant meetings and contracts and lawyers that charge by the hour explaining everything twice. It wore on Jensen’s last nerve until he became a tinderbox. Then Dee decided to generously gift him her house as well. He loved her for it, but it meant more lawyers.
He wanted something to occupy his mind instead of the greedy lawyers and hoped the creative department had something to lift his spirits. Once there, he found the staff staring at some white flowers.
“What are we going to do Jared? These are all wrong! My baby gets married tomorrow and these flowers are all wrong!” The woman’s eyes brimmed with tears.
Jared’s hands were steepled in front of his face as he thought. This was awful. He couldn’t think of a remedy for the situation and by the look on Kathryn’s face, neither could she.
Finally he took the woman’s hand in his. “Mrs. Washington, we will fix this, that’s why you hired us. Don’t worry - by the time your daughter walks down the aisle, we will have the flowers she wants at every table in the reception hall.”
“You can do that, Jared?” she asked with new hope sparkling in her eyes.
“I promise that tomorrow everything will be so lovely that your daughter won’t know there was a problem.”
The bride’s mother left looking relieved and happy. Jared’s team looked at him like he’d just sold their souls. “Jared! Why did you say that?! Where the hell are we going to get these flowers in time for the wedding?!” Kathryn’s whine brought Jensen over.
“What’s going on? Is there --”
“Nothing,” Jared replied at the same time Briana said, “We’ve got the wrong flowers.”
“And Jared promised the mother of the bride that we could fix this in time for the wedding tomorrow,” Kathryn added, too angry to care if Jared thought she was a traitor for saying it.
Jensen looked at Jared expectantly but the man was still staring at the flowers. “Well, Jared, what can I do to help?”
“I think we start with calling every shop within a hundred miles and see if they’ve got what we need,” Briana suggested.
“Okay.” Jensen took out his phone. “I’ll call the ones in town while you guys make the list of out of town florists.” He paused and looked at the flowers. He had no idea what was wrong with them, they were still lovely flowers. “What kind of flowers do we need?”
Madison wrote it down for him while Kathryn printed a list of florists and the acceptable cost of the flowers.
“Briana, can we get our money back for this?”
Jared didn’t let Briana answer. “Is Dee in her office?”
“Yeah,” Jensen replied sounding unsure why Jared asked.
Jared tapped his phone and once Dee answered he put it on speaker and said, “Dee, Richdorf’s screwed us on flowers for the Washington wedding.”
“Charge too much or wrong order?”
“Wrong flowers altogether.”
“What do we need?” she asked sounding tired but not as angry as Jensen was expecting.
“We need you to come down here and show your nephew what to do in this situation,” Jared replied smirking at the confused Jensen.
“He’s there?”
“Right next to me.”
“I’m on my way.”
Jared turned to the others. “Watching Dee Wallace negotiate is a thing of beauty. She’s intimidating, yet charming. I have never seen her fail.” He directed the last part of his statement to Jensen like a challenge.
Dee arrived on a cloud of confidence took a look at the flowers and shook her head.
“Unbelievable. Like we wouldn’t notice the wrong lilies.” She smiled at her nephew and placed her hands gently on his shoulders. “Jensen, sweetie, remember when you were possessed by that demon and were getting revenge on anyone who hurt your family?”
“Yeah?” Jensen wondered why she was bringing up his old show.
“Good. I want you to use that voice and since Mrs. Washington is nearly that angry, you are too. Now, call Richdorf’s, tell them if they don’t get our correct order here in an hour we cancel all future orders.”
“What if they don’t have the flowers?” Jensen asked, worried that Jared wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.
“It’s on them to fix this. They will get those flowers to the reception or they won’t work any events in our town again,” Dee assured him.
Jensen looked at the staff around him and shrugged. “Okay, if you say so.”
“Oh, and ask for the owner, Emily. She knows how important this is.” She squeezed his shoulder and a surge of confidence swept through him. If Dee thought he could do it, he could.
Kathryn handed him the phone, ready with Emily’s direct line. “Give me that list of other florists,” Jensen said to Madison pointing at the list on Kathryn’s desk.
Jensen dialed the number and took a breath. Nothing like doing angry improv in front of a live audience to get the blood pumping. He winked at Aunt Dee who wore the same confident smile she always wore when he performed on stage.
“Richdorf’s, this is Emily, how can I help you?”
“Emily, this is Jensen Ackles with Wallace Entertainment and you can help by fixing the garbage you delivered.” His voice had dropped an octave and his face was a mask of anger. Everyone’s eyes widened at the change in his demeanor. However, the voice made Jared’s heart race. “You sent the wrong flowers for the Washington wedding. I expect the correct ones delivered immediately and fifty percent off the bill for the stress you put on the bride’s mother.”
“What? We can’t do that. We have a contract and our drivers --”
“You broke the contract when you delivered the wrong flowers. Did you think we wouldn’t know one lilly from another?” he growled and Jared’s knees weakened. “Kathryn, call Benedict’s and see if they can get us what we need.” He winked at her and smiled but instantly went back into character. “I’ll give you until three o’clock to remedy this situation to my satisfaction or we will cancel all future contracts with you, including the Governor’s Inauguration.”
“I need more time. My driver’s --”
“You had weeks for this order. Don’t tell me you need more time when it was your mistake. Fix it. You have until three or we’re finding a better florist.” He looked at Dee whose nod prompted him to hang up.
“Holy shit.” Briana’s reaction was first and triggered the others to begin applauding.
Dee hugged her nephew and said, “That’s how you do it.”
“Will it work?” he asked no longer sounding like the possessed character.
Dee shrugged. “If not, we’ll get some calla lilies from Benedict’s and work them into these arrangements. Then we’ll cut the bill to the Washingtons which will make them so happy they won’t care.” She turned to Briana. “Whatever you do, don’t pay Richdorf’s until we’re satisfied.”
Jensen sought Jared’s reaction but the man was shutting his office door.
Jensen’s whiskey voice, as in those online porn stories, had an inappropriate effect on Jared. He heard it repeating lines like ‘take it all’, ‘swallow it down’, and ‘I’m gonna make you feel it’. Shit, he was rock hard behind his desk and there was nothing he could do about it.
Kathryn knocked on his door and entered without waiting for a reply. “Benedict’s has three dozen they can deliver. Dee said we can add them to the centerpieces we have if Richdorf’s fails us.”
Jared willed himself to focus on her words. “Thanks, Kathryn.”
She grinned. “Jensen was pretty good, hey? I got goose bumps when his voice went all low like that.”
Jared nodded. “Yeah, me too.” One extremely large goosebump.
Dee popped her head in the door. “Jared, Jensen and I have an appointment at the house. Call me if Richdorf’s doesn’t deliver on time. Okay, hun?”
“Sure, Dee. And thanks for helping out.”
“It’s my name on the company. It’s not getting tarnished by a lazy florist. I’ll check in later.” She wiggled her fingers in a wave goodbye.
Kim Rhodes looked at the manicured lawn and the well kept, low maintenance brick house and saw dollar signs. It wasn’t for sale, yet, but someday she’d have the listing. Garland and lights adorned the front porch. Potted poinsettias sat on either side of the enormous wood door on which was a large festive wreath. It was the perfect Christmas card image.
When she rang the bell, one of the most attractive men she ever saw greeted her. “Hello, you must be Kim. I’m Jensen, Dee’s nephew. Come on in. Let me take your coat.”
“Thank you.” Kim shifted her briefcase from one hand to the other as Jensen slid the coat from her shoulders. “You look familiar. Have we met before?”
“No, but I could say the same about you.” He hung her coat in the closet. “My aunt’s in the kitchen.”
“Thanks, you probably saw my picture on a yard sign or something,” she said over her shoulder.
“Kim,” Dee stood, greeting the realtor with a hug. “Thank you for coming out to the house. Can we get you anything?”
“Yes, I’d love some water,” Kim replied pulling paperwork from her attaché.
Dee turned to Jensen expectantly, but he was staring at Kim. He recognized her as the woman Jared met on the street. “Jensen, can you get Kim a glass of water, dear?”
“Of course.”
Dee and Jensen listened to Kim explain the paperwork and signed their names where she told them. As Kim and Dee discussed her new condo in the Florida Keys, Jensen wondered if she’d mention hiring their firm, or something about new offices, but she didn’t. Then the reason Kim had met Jared at an empty storefront became apparent.
Jensen looked at the paperwork and his aunt’s radiant smile with an overwhelming sense of guilt. Would she still be happy if everything she built crumbled a few months after she left? He felt a twinge of despair and excused himself before his mood dampened his aunt’s joy.
The Wallace house had two Christmas trees. The one in the living room gleamed with tiny white lights and gold and silver ornaments. That was the guest Christmas tree. The real Christmas tree glowed in the den. Aunt Dee called it the family tree. It twinkled with multi-colored lights and had ornaments that Jensen made as a child and those he sent from trips. Nothing matched. There were cartoon characters, elegant baubles, and child-made clumps of dough. But the presents were under this tree.
Jensen doubted he’d put up the tree next year. If Aunt Dee wasn’t around, there was no reason for it. He certainly wouldn’t put up the guest tree. There’d be no guests. Why was he choosing to live in this big old house by himself? Dee had done it, but he wasn’t Dee. His aunt was cordial and outgoing. She had dozens of friends. He had one.
He sat on the couch and flicked an ornament with his finger. If Jared was looking at storefronts, Jared was leaving. If he left, he’d take Kathryn and others with him. Jensen could learn event planning. There were other employees that handled the smaller events and Jensen could always promote one of them. But if Jared became the competition, Jensen didn’t stand a chance.
Jensen couldn’t run the creative department and the company. No one else had the talent to fill Jared’s shoes. Jared’s leaving would be the end of Wallace Entertainment. Jensen might destroy his aunt’s life’s work in less than a year.
The only thing he could do was beg Jared to stay, but he didn’t think it’d be enough.
Jared had a problem. The first step to getting over a problem is admitting it, but Jared wasn’t sure he wanted to be over it. He was addicted to reading ridiculous love stories starring Jensen and Colton. Now that Jensen's deep voice was in his head, the stories had a level of realism. When the character of Jensen told Colton what to do or how to do it, Jared heard Jensen telling him. On Friday night he read until his eyes burned.
Finally, these stories made him want to watch the show. Over Thanksgiving Colton and Jensen acted like nothing more than friends. Jared had to see if their on-screen chemistry was as incredible as the stories claimed.
It wasn’t his kind of show. Urban legends were things he teased others for believing. But, he watched the first episode and decided it wasn’t awful. The characters did look at each other in a way more than brotherly. He began the second episode when he remembered Dee’s description of Jensen’s character. Jared scrolled through the summaries until he found the one in which Jensen was possessed.
He didn’t understand the backstory, but Jensen spent the episode shirtless, sweaty, angry and talking like he smoked a pack a day. Jared spent the episode hard in his jeans.
Jensen should win an Emmy for this because he is nothing like that character, Jared thought. Then he realized the online stories weren’t like him either. The Jensen he met was generous with his time, and polite and sincere enough to publicly apologize to him.
Jensen Ackles might not be the asshole Jared first thought he was.
Just because he left Hollywood, didn’t mean Jensen had forgotten how to act. He put on a smile, bought Christmas wreaths for the office and told himself he had the Christmas spirit. If he convinced the staff he was Clark Griswold, his next goal was making them believe he was a successful business leader. He’d fake it until he made it.
He told Dee to run the senior staff meeting that morning. Jensen wanted to meet with the junior staff to discuss their future with Wallace Entertainment. He had to make these people choose to stay with him over leaving with Jared.
The conference room table was piled with donuts, bagels, fruit, cheese, juices, coffee and tea. But no one touched anything. In fact, the junior staff sat a few inches back from the table.
Jensen stood at the head of the table and said, “Thank you for being here and indulging me with name tags. I’m sorry I don’t know all of you by name yet, hopefully, I will by the end of this meeting.”
Many eager eyes were focused on him, but Jensen thought they were the most uncomfortable looking bunch he’d ever seen. How to break the ice? “Is something wrong with the food?” He snatched a powdered donut off the tray. Taking a huge bite, he made sure he covered half his face with the sugar. “Hm, tastes alright to me,” he added around a mouthful of food. There were a few stifled giggles so he glanced around the room. “What?”
“You have a little…” Felicia said pointing to his face.
“A little what?”
“Sugar? On your face.”
His hand grazed the donut, covering it in more sugar. When he wiped his face, he spread more sugar over himself. It was a cheap tactic, but it worked. More of them laughed at him.
Felicia handed him a napkin. “You’re making it worse.”
He accepted it with a wink causing her to blush scarlet. “While I clean up, please help yourselves to food and drinks. Then we’ll get started.” They continued to hesitate. “Seriously, I bought this for you guys. Don’t force me to give you the starving kids in Africa speech.”
A few brave hands reached for the food closest to them. “Screw it.” A petite brunette stood and walked to the donuts. “I’m taking everything I can.” Others followed her lead and the piles of food dwindled.
“I know this seems backward, but do any of you have questions before we get started?” Jensen asked once the group had settled.
“Yeah, I have a question,” the petite brunette said. “When does the downsizing begin?”
Jensen squinted at her name tag. “Rachel?” She nodded and Jensen continued, “Good to meet you, Rachel. There will be no downsizing. Where did you hear that?”
She shrugged. “New person in charge, new business plan usually means downsizing.”
“Not this time. I’m not cutting benefits either, but unfortunately, we all have to fill out new health insurance forms.” The room groaned at the news. “Hey, would it help if we took a day and had the insurance people here to explain the forms?” Jensen’s confidence grew as they agreed.
“Okay consider it done. The real reason I called this meeting is for you to tell me what you need to make your job easier.”
He pulled a large pad of paper on an easel to the center. “Osric, if you wouldn’t mind writing down suggestions as we call them out, I’d appreciate it.” He turned to Felicia. “What can I do or what do you need to make you better at your job?”
“Flexible hours.”
“Explain,” Jensen prompted her. While she talked, others around the room chimed in with opinions and suggestions. Time flew by as he walked around the room learning their names and getting their ideas.
When they were done, Jensen highlighted the ones he would accomplish that week and set a schedule for most of the other ones. Before the meeting ended, he asked Felicia, Rachel and Genevieve to stay behind.
“I asked you to stay because I want to throw my aunt a going away/retirement party. I was thinking --”
“Next month. The weekend after the governor’s inauguration and at my aunt’s house.”
They continued to ask him questions until they felt they had a grasp on the type of party he wanted to throw. Their excitement bolstered Jensen’s spirits even more. The entire meeting gave him the confidence that the company would be fine.
He turned Christmas music on the radio and began moving the leftover food to a cart to take to the break room. Quietly singing along to Perry Como’s ‘Home for the Holidays’, he gathered trash and wiped down the table.
Jared heard the song from the hallway and stopped by the door to listen. He couldn’t help but smile at the song and the singer. “Are you going home for the holidays?”
“Why wouldn’t Jared plan it?” Genevieve asked.
“Well, for one, I didn’t ask him to. I’ve seen Jared’s work and it’s great. But my aunt wouldn’t have hired you if she didn’t have faith in you. I want to see what you guys can do.”
They sat straighter in their chairs. Felicia began, “Okay, when is it going to be and where are you planning on having it?”
Startled Jensen stopped singing. “I am home.”
“You know we have people to do that.” Jared nodded at the table.
“I don’t mind cleaning up my own messes.” Between the embarrassment of singing to himself and the reminder that he still had to confront Jared, Jensen’s good mood evaporated.
Jared watched him work. It had taken hours to work up the courage to approach Jensen, but now that they were alone, nerves jangled inside him. “So uh, I was wondering if you wanted to get some lunch.”
Jensen looked from the cart of food to Jared. “I’ve kinda been eating all morning.”
Jared laughed at himself. “Right, maybe another time.”
Jensen didn’t feel ready to face Jared, but if Jared was asking for a lunch meeting, he was ready to quit. “Shut the door, would you?” Jensen pulled out a chair and sat at the table. Confused, Jared closed the door and joined him.
“You don’t have to take me to lunch to tell me you’re quitting, Jared. I’m sure you have enough to do without wasting time and money on that.”
Jared’s mouth fell open but he was speechless.
“I’d beg you to stay, but if running your own company is your dream, I won’t stand in the way. It makes sense to get out before the restructuring takes place. Why would you want to be partnered with an unproven idiot like me?”
“Jensen,” Jared began quietly, but Jensen spoke over him.
“It’s just that Dee thought if you ran creative and I handled the business side...” Afraid he was rambling, he stopped. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’m throwing a retirement party for her next month. It would mean a lot if you were there.”
Jared waited before he spoke in case Jensen had more word vomit to spew. Then calmly he said, “I was only asking you to lunch. People gotta eat.” He pushed out of his chair and examined the leftovers on the cart. He selected an apple and polished it on his chest.
Waves of embarrassment and relief washed over Jensen but he faced Jared. “So you’re not quitting?”
“I wanted to get to know you before I made that decision.” He stopped at the door. “How did you know I was thinking about leaving?”
Jensen smirked to himself. “You mean besides the cloud of hostility that surrounds you when I’m around? I saw you with Kim Rhodes.”
Jared didn’t realize he had been so transparent. “Sorry about my attitude.”
“I’ve dealt with worse.”
Jared opened the door and nodded goodbye. But Jensen called after him, “Wait, when will you know if you’re leaving?”
Jared shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe we could discuss it over dinner tonight. People gotta eat.” Jensen tried to seem casual, but in his ears, it sounded desperate.
Jared broke into a bright, wide, dimpled smile. “I’ll meet you at your desk at seven.”
Jared completed the plans for two Christmas parties and a New Year’s Eve bash before having time to himself. He and Dee were scheduled to discuss the Governor’s Ball, but other than that, he was... done? For the day? Before five o’clock? That never happened during the busy season. It rarely happened during the slower seasons. “Kathryn!”
Kathryn flew into his office. “What’s wrong?”
From behind his desk Jared said, “Shut the door.” Kathryn followed his order and sat down with wide anxious eyes. “I’m done.”
She gasped, “You’re quitting?”
“No. I don’t know. I’m not talking about that.” He held up his planner. “I’m done. It’s not even five o’clock and other than talking with Dee, I’ve finished everything on my list.”
Her mouth fell open and her eyes grew impossibly wider. “Has that ever happened before?”
Jared shook his head.
“Briana and Madison make such a difference. I can’t believe we lived so long without our own accountant.”
“And who knew my assistant needed an assistant,” Jared added.
“Jensen.” Kathryn hated feeling like a turncoat but it was the truth. “He took one look at us and got us the help we needed.”
They sat silently for a minute then Jared said, “He knows about me quitting.”
“He does? How?! I swear I didn’t tell anyone.”
“I guess my attitude has been less than stellar and he saw me with Kim Rhodes. He simply put two and two together.”
“Oh shit. Is he going to fire you? Did he tell Dee?”
Jared raised his hand to calm her and shook his head smiling slyly. “No. In fact, he asked me to dinner.”
After taking a moment to process that information, Kathryn was still astonished. “What?”
“I said I’d meet him at seven at his desk.”
“Is this a date?”
Jared chuckled, “No.”
“It should be a date. That’d be hot.”
“Kathryn!” Jared tried to sound admonishing, but he couldn’t deny finding Jensen attractive. “It’s not a date.”
She rolled her eyes. “What will you do for the next two hours?”
Jared grabbed his tablet and stood. “I guess I’ll plan the Governor’s Ball with Dee.”
Jensen didn’t view himself as a salesman, but he needed to sell Jared on staying with Wallace Entertainment.
When he told his aunt he was having dinner with Jared, she smiled and said, “I’m so happy you two get along.” Jensen wanted to laugh because Jared barely tolerated him, but something about her smile made him pause. Did Aunt Dee have an agenda? She ignored his inquisitive expression and reminded him of her Christmas open house instead. “I’m putting you in charge of the drinks, dear.”
“Yes, Aunt Dee.”
Jensen’s nerves prevented him from focusing. He studied the notes from the morning meeting and prioritized a list of tasks. After the third rewrite of his list, he wanted a drink. A couple beers would make this fade away. Jensen glanced at his watch. Would seven o’clock ever come?
He rubbed his forehead, willing away the stress when he heard his name being called from the hall.
“Jensen?”
He leaned as far back in his chair as he could. “In here!”
Jared appeared at the entrance of the annex. “Hey, there you are. What are you doing back here?”
Jensen had made a mess of the space. “I’d like to call it working, but it’s more like controlling impending disaster.”
Jared thought of his work space and decided he better not judge. “I meant why don’t you have an office?”
“Oh.” Jensen stood and shifted some papers. “I figured why set up an office if I will be moving soon.”
“Moving?” Jared asked, then nodded. “Of course, into Dee’s office.”
Jensen shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Do you want to get out of here? I’m ready if you are.” Jared had his coat draped over his arm.
“God, yes.” Jensen grabbed his coat and scarf. “Lead the way.”
The reservation had been for seven thirty, but they were seated by six. “I’ve never been to this restaurant before. What do you recommend?” Jensen asked, flipping open the menu.
“Everything is good. I’ve never had a bad meal here.”
Jensen shut the menu and perused the wine list. “Nice wine list. Do you drink? I’m ordering a bottle of the house red.”
Jared’s brows rose in surprise, but he didn’t say anything. The waiter arrived and Jared ordered the ranch steak salad earning a look from Jensen who said, “I’m not watching my figure so I’ll have the ribeye, medium, and a bottle of the house red.”
When the waiter left, Jared gently kicked Jensen under the table. “I’m not watching my figure.”
“Whatever. You ordered a salad at a steakhouse,” Jensen teased back, feeling surprisingly comfortable. “Um, so before I forget, will you be coming to Dee’s Christmas thing?”
“Her open house? Yeah, I spend the morning with my parents, but I wouldn’t miss Dee’s party. What about you?”
Jensen shifted in his seat. “Dee’s the only family I have. And since I live with her, yeah, I’ll be seeing her.”
“Oh, sorry, I thought…”
Jensen dismissed Jared’s concern with a wave of his hand. “Colton’s visiting his mom and brother in Kansas.”
The waiter arrived with the wine then, much to Jensen’s relief. He took a grateful swallow and thought he could feel it relax him. Jared took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. “This is good, you know your wine.”
“No. The restaurant knows their wine. I just trusted them.” He fidgeted with his place setting and glass. “Can we get the serious talk finished? I won’t be able to eat if we don’t.”
“Okay. If you insist.” Jared combed a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “I haven’t decided if I’m leaving, but like you said, it’s the perfect time to start my own firm.”
“Yeah,” Jensen sighed. “You thought Dee would put you in charge when she retired, then I showed up and fucked up your plan.”
Jared shrugged so Jensen nodded and continued, “After all the shit Colton and I went through last year, I was done with Hollywood. Dee asked if I’d ever consider working for her. I never planned an event, but Dee told me not to worry. She had the best creative team in the business.” He gave Jared a soft smile. “She didn’t bring me in to take over, Jared. She brought me in to handle the business side of the company so you would be free to do all the creative.”
“According to Dee, she was burning out until she found you,” Jensen continued. “Once you proved to be the wunderkind, she didn’t want you wasting your energies on crap like payroll, insurance, and taxes. She wanted us to be partners. The only reason I’m the CEO is that the lawyers insisted someone have the title. I’m really just the operations director. That is if you’re staying on to be creative director.”
Jared listened intently. It was true, he hated the ‘business’ side of things. He was so grateful when Briana joined his staff to do accounting. It freed him up to talk to vendors and clients. He hadn’t had time to consider the minutia of running a business.
Jensen thought Jared might be waffling, so he offered his last card. “I know I screwed up my first promise to you, but if you stay on, you won’t even have to see me if you don’t want to. I’ll stay in the annex and leave you to be the face of the company. You and your team can have Dee’s office.” He bit his lip and met Jared’s eyes.
Jared leaned back in the booth. The business model sounded good. Jared could do what he wanted without interference from Jensen. He wasn’t sure he wanted to switch offices, but he’d leave that up to his crew.
Jensen seemed like a good guy, but there was one glaring internet fact Jared had to clear up. Every story had a kernel of truth. If Jensen and Colton were so close why had so many gossip sites declared him a homophobe? Why was Jensen the reason the show was cancelled?
Jensen still had nerves lighting fire to his stomach, but at least Jared listened to his side.
“Dee was right. I’m not fond of that other stuff.” Jared noted that Jensen was suddenly much more relaxed. “There’s just one thing I need cleared up before I decide to stay.”
“Excuse me, sir, your salad.” The waiter placed a heaping dish in front of Jared.
“Holy crap, look at the size of that salad,” Jensen exclaimed. “That could feed a family of four!”
Jared laughed. “Told you I wasn’t watching my figure.”
“Your steak, sir.”
Jensen’s steak covered his entire plate. “Dang, I forgot what eating in the Midwest is like. I’ll have to add a couple more miles to my daily treadmill.”
Jared pushed his concern to the back of his mind as they enjoyed their meals.
When they walked to their cars at the end of the night, Jensen said, “I know one meal isn’t going to change your mind, but I hope you’ll give this a try before you quit.”
“Actually, Jensen, I need you to explain something.”
It was cold enough to see their breath and Jensen wished Jared would have asked while they were still inside. But, if this meant Jared was staying with the company Jensen wouldn’t complain. “I’ll do my best.”
“I hope so,” Jared said. “I’ve been out and openly gay since high school. Used to get my ass kicked daily because of it. So I made a promise to myself that I would never work with a homophobe.”
Anger and resentment flashed over Jensen’s face. “I’m not -”
“I know you’re friends with Colton and not totally homophobic. But if I’m asked to defend you, I gotta have the truth behind why so many people say you are.”
“That’s fair, I guess,” Jensen mumbled, his insides threatening to revolt. Too embarrassed to meet Jared’s eye, he scanned the parking lot for people. “I said something awful and I said it loudly in front of a group of people. I let my anger get the best of me.”
Jared gave him a disbelieving look. “I could have guessed that. I want to know what provoked it. I need to know if it will happen again.”
Jensen stuffed his hands deep in his coat pockets. He didn’t want to talk about this in some parking lot. He didn’t want to talk about it at all. Still, Jared deserved an answer.
“Okay. Well in Hollywood, there are levels of gay. There’s ‘in the closet but I can’t stop looking’ to ‘Nathan Lane in Birdcage’. I was in the middle at ‘who I fuck is none of your business ‘cause it doesn’t affect my acting’. There’s a lot of us in that level. Colton was until he couldn’t take the pressure anymore.”
He cleared his throat before going on. “I was seeing this guy for almost four years. He’s a bigger star on a bigger show on the network, and I was head over heels for the guy. He told me he was ready to get married and adopt babies with me. But because he didn’t want our relationship public, I kept it on the down low. We’d both attend events with girls that were friends because the network wanted it. But we’d sneak off together as soon as possible. Everyone knew but everyone looked the other way.”
“Two years ago, the network threw a Holiday party. My boyfriend arrived arm in arm with his pregnant fiancée.” The emotions running through him made Jensen pause. He wasn’t going to lose it in some damn parking lot. “I could understand a fiancée. The network would do that kind of crap all the time. But pregnant meant they were fucking while we were together. And I couldn’t take it.”
“I asked to talk to him alone, but he called me a fag and told me to get away from him. I snapped. I didn’t care who was there or who heard me. I called him a fucking faggot ‘cause he’d been fucking one a few hours ago.”
Jared’s eyes were wide and he made a sound somewhere between a laugh and surprise.
“Can’t really defend my actions. I just wanted to hurt him like he hurt me. Since he was the bigger star the network protected him and I was called a homophobe.” Jensen shook his head at the memory.
“I was living with Colton at the time. He wanted to come out. He thought that if he did it would prove I wasn’t homophobic. The network said no way. Told him it would end our show.”
He smiled bitterly at Jared. “Perception is reality, I get it. Sorry I put you in an awkward position. I’ll explain it to Dee.” He reached for his door, but Jared stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Explain what to Dee?”
“Why you won’t work with me. She’ll understand.”
“Wait. I needed an explanation. You gave me one.”
Jared’s matter of fact tone made Jensen stare at him, bewildered. “It can’t be that easy.”
“Yes, it can. You explained the issues I had about the company. Then, you explained the issues I had with you. I can understand an angry, spurned lover, Jensen. ”
“So you’ll stay?”
“Well we really need to get together at work to discuss how we’re going to make changes.”
Jensen was floored. “Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Whenever Kathryn can pencil me in, I’m available.”
Jared listed the events on his schedule for the week trying to find a time he and Jensen could work, when he suddenly realized his new position. “I’m free all day. All day every day until we decide on the changes.”
Jensen had never been more confused. Jared never had a spare minute, now he had all day? “But don’t you have --”
“Dude, I’m the boss. We’re the boss,” he quickly amended. “I can have some of the junior staff handle the end of the year parties. And, well, Dee and I are doing the Governor’s Inauguration, but you and I make the rules. If we need to meet, we’re meeting.”
Jensen smiled at this new, almost giddy version of Jared. “Okay, but I’m freezing my ass off. Can we meet tomorrow morning?”
“Sorry, I forgot you’re still a Cali boy.” Ignoring personal space, Jared moved closer and rubbed his gloved hands up and down Jensen’s arms to warm him. “Better?”
Stunned, Jensen could only blink at him finally answering when Jared squeezed his arms and met his eye. “Yeah.”
Looking into Jensen’s eyes, Jared saw a vulnerability he hadn’t seen before. “I’m sorry for my attitude. Should have known Dee wouldn’t hire a homophobe.” Jared gave his arms a final pat. “Okay. See you tomorrow at eight.”
Awed by the change in Jared, Jensen stood there and watched him leave.
chapter 4