Michael looks down and then grabs my arm, pulling me closer to him. He kisses me on my cheek.
"I love you. Now get some clothes on so we can go to sleep." He says.
Im surprised by his reaction and I bite my lip. "But..."
"You think because you come to me naked Im not gonna be able to say no to you? You're persuasive darling, but not that persuasive." He takes his shirt off. "But it is a great way to distract me."
I put my pajamas on and get into bed. Michael gets behind me, nuzzling his head into my neck and turns the lights off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wake up the next day warmer than usual. When I get the feeling back in my body, I realize that is because my husband actually slept with me tonight. Im surprised he made it through the whole night. I lay with him for a moment. Last night left me feeling so weird. Vulnerable, helpless, but also, free. I came to realize my place in all of this, and I feel better knowing I dont have to fight all of the time. I run my hand over his and sigh. Laying here with him is great. I never thought I could feel great being around him, considering everything that has happened. I feel him stir behind me and he nuzzles his face into my neck once again, making me giggle.
"Im glad you're awake. I'm hungry." He says, kissing my neck.
"You want me to make you some breakfast?" I ask.
"No. I want you to join me for breakfast." He says, sliding out of bed.
I sit up, toussling my hair and fixing my pajamas which have turned every which way in my slumber.
"You dont have to change. Come." He holds out his hand.
I take his hand and we walk downstairs to the kitchen. His chef has already fixed us some food. We sit at the table and eat in silence. I pick at my food a little bit.
"Eat. You need the energy today." Michael tells me.
"I'm full." I say, picking with my food.
"Well that's a waste." He wipes off his mouth. "I'm going with you to your agency today." He says.
My eyes get wide. "Why?" I ask.
He looks at me. "Why? Is there any reason why I shouldnt be visiting you at work? You got a boyfriend over there?"
I put my head down. "Of course not, it's just..."
"Just nothing. I want to make sure Im paying for the best possible services for my wife. Hurry up or we will be late." He says, throwing our plates away.
I shower quickly in the spare bathroom. Why does he want to visit me at work? He wants to watch me. He wants to know what I actually do there. I wonder if he knows about Jason.
We drive to the agency and Rhonda smiles when she sees me.
"Hello Esmeralda!" She says excitedly.
She sees Michael and her smile drops a little. "Mr. Jackson. Glad to see you too."
"Mhm." He says, grabbing my hand. "So don't let me interrupt. Do what you would usually do here."
She smiles and nods. "Esme come this way. We can get you started on some exercises."
Michael lets go of my hand finally and I go into the back room where we do exercises.
"So when is the movie deal?" I hear Michael ask Rhonda.
I get a little distracted.
"Michael, I hope you're joking." Rhonda answers him.
"You've been at this for a few months. You should have some people lined up for her." He says.
"She's done one commercial. Not to mention I cant book her for anything when you constantly pull her by your side for media appearances." She says.
"Then schedule it around all of my appearances. My wife needs to be at my side to support me with my career and she should be able to do her own work at the same time." He says.
I ignore their conversation and finish my exercises. Rhonda walks us into the auditorium so that I can meet Jason to go over our lines and do some improv. Jason sees me and smiles big.
"Hey Esme." He says.
Michael grabs my hand and pulls me next to him. Jason sees this and his smile drops.
"Oh Mr. Jackson. So good to finally meet you." He says blandly.
"My wife likes to be referred to as 'Mrs. Jackson'. Who are you?" He asks.
"Im Jason. Im her partner." he explains, reaching his hand out for Michael to shake.
"She already has a partner." Michael says with malice.
I look at Michael. Why is he acting like this? I look at Jason and he is not only angry, but a little intimidated.
"Well, like I said before, I wont interrupt you. Go do your lines darliing. I'll be right back." He says, kissing me on my cheek.
He walks away and I walk over to Jason. He backs up a little.
"Okay Mrs. J let's get started." He says, handing me a script and going back four feet away from me.
"Jason.." I start to explain.
"It's cool. Your husband didnt know that your acting partner was male. He's right to be jealous." He says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I go into Rhonda's office after we do our lines and improv and Michael walks out to go to the bathroom. Rhonda rubs her temples.
"So, my boss, your husband, doesnt like Jason. He doesnt like the location of this agency, he doesnt like the commercials I have booked for you, he doesnt like the fact that you dont have a movie deal yet, he doesnt like the exercises that you are doing. I dont think there is anything that he does like about this arrangement." She says.
"So... what does that mean?" I ask.
"That means that we have to find you a new partner, we have to relocate, we have to book you for better commercials, and somehow, we have to get you a movie deal ASAP." She says, aggravated.
I nod and look down. "He didnt like any of the commericials?" I ask.
"He says the Conair commercial is fine, but he will be overseeing it. I will call you about our new location. Apparently Michael has wired a certain amount of money for us to buy out another agency in a location that suits his needs." She explains.
"His needs?" I ask.
"Yep." She says. "If he wasnt paying me, I would slap him. Slap him for me please." She says, walking out.
Michael comes into the room. "Let's go. You have a commercial to go shoot."
He grabs my hand and we get into his limo. We drive to where they are shooting the commercial. I get excited when we get into the studio and everything is set up. They grab me from Michael's grasp and take me to the hair and makeup chair to get dolled up. I feel relieved being away from Michael for at least a few minutes. I dont know why I was so upset before about not having Michael around, Im fine with him not being around right now. They place me in front of the camera and start doing the photoshoot. They hand me a paper with my lines.
"Make your curls POP! With ConAir Curl Secret." I say.
I hear some commotion behind me and I turn around.
"She has too much makeup on and her breasts are hanging everywhere. This is a hair commercial!" Michael raises his voice at the photographer.
"This is my photoshoot and my commercial Mr. Jackson! I will do it the way I want it to be done!" The photographer says back to him.
"I guess you want to be fired. Let's not forget who's paying for all of this. I will destroy the ConAir brand in one second if I choose to. Now get that damn makeup off of my wife and finish this photoshoot." He says with authority.
I look in the mirror and the photographer walks over to me.
"Mrs. Jackson. Change of plans. We need you back in the makeup table." He says, fake smiling.
I go to the makeup chair and they take off all of my makeup and go for a more natural look. Michael comes behind me as they are doing my makeup.
"Everything is worked out darling. Dont worry." He looks at the makeup artist. "How long have you been doing this? I hope you know what you're doing. My wife has sensitive skin. I dont want her to break out in a rash." he says.
"Michael...." I say under my breath.
"Sir Ive been doing this for six years. I know what Im doing. You dont have to worry." The makeup artist tells him.
"Apparently not since you had to go back and fix the mistake you made." He says.
"I do what the photographer tells me to do sir. He didnt think it was a mistake." She says, getting smart with him.
"Then I guess he thought too highly of you then." Michael says, glaring at her.
She looks at him then looks down. feeling defeated. I look at Michael in the mirror and he kisses me on my cheek.
"You look beautiful. Go show them why you're my wife." He says, walking away.
I really dont like the way he is acting and treating everyone, but what can I do? They work for him, not me. I have no say in any of this.
Michael walks me to the car and Kenny gets in the other side.
"I will be back for dinner. I have some business to attend to." he says, kissing my hand. "Oh and you will never do work for ConAir ever again." He closes my door.
I look at Kenny as the car takes us home.
"He is in some mood today." Kenny says.
I shake my head. "I dont know whats wrong with him." I say.
"He wants everything to be perfect for you. He doesnt think that any of it is yet and it frustrates him." Kenny says.
"He is compromising all of my work. Pretty soon no one will want to work with me because of him!" I say.
Kenny looks at me. "Tell him."
I give Kenny a look. "Why? Does he listen to me?" I roll my eyes at him.
We walk into the house and I lay on the couch. Running around with Michael is tiring. My phone rings and it's Rhonda.
Esme: Hello.
Rhonda: Hey Esme. I got a new location. I will text you the details. Just so you know, Michael cancelled all of your gosees tomorrow. He has you doing some magazine and other interviews. Your replacement partner will be here tomorrow when you come in. Please convince Michael never to come back to work with you.
Esme: You know he records the phone conversations.
*DIAL TONE*
I was just kidding. I hang up the phone and Kenny sits on the couch with me.
"Michael is coming." He says.
Kenny gets up and the front door opens.
"Get up." Michael says.
I stand up and smile. "Hey Michael."
"Upstairs." He says.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
He raises his eyebrow. "Upstairs." He repeats.
I go upstairs and he closes the bedroom door behind him.
"Undress." He says.
"Michael. What's wrong?" I ask, walking closer to him.
"What's wrong is you arent undressing." He says, taking his tie off.
"You've been really on edge all day. Maybe.." He stops me by holding his hand up.
"I dont wanna talk. I want you to undress and we can get to that 'makeup sex' you wanted last night. Now, let's try this again." He tosses his shirt to the side.
"Undress." He demands.
To be continued...