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After Danny treated the family to dinner to celebrate the formation of Double J Creative Services, Jesse and Becky went to Becky’s apartment for a nightcap and a little celebration of their own.
Jesse poured them each a glass of champagne while Becky made herself comfortable on the couch. He handed Becky her glass and then raised his in the air for a toast.
"To new beginnings and creative dignity!" He declared, clinking his glass against Becky’s.
"Jesse, I am so proud of you guys!" Becky gushed. "The way you stood up to your boss to protect your integrity and take back creative control for yourselves -- “ She set her champagne glass on the coffee table, nestled into Jesse’s side, and brushed her lips against his neck.
“Do you find that -- attractive?” Jesse smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Oh, you bet I do!” She took his chin in her hand, turning his head towards her. Jesse barely managed to eke out a “Have mercy!” before their lips met.
“Well, that’s exactly the kind of man I want to be,” Jesse said when she pulled away. “The kind of man with enough dignity and self-respect to put his foot down when he’s being pushed too far!”
“Good for you!” Becky gave him a light punch in the arm. “So what exactly was it that pushed you too far?”
Jesse clammed up as he suddenly realized he was going to have to tell his fiancée about Ms. Garland’s advances. “Hmm?” he replied with his mouth full of champagne.
“You never did tell us what happened that made you want to quit. If Mr. Malatesta said or did something that bad that both of you would walk out of a commercial shoot, it had to have been pretty serious.”
“Oh, it was serious alright,” said Jesse, “But it wasn’t so much what Mr. Malatesta did, it was what he didn’t do that made us walk out.”
“What didn’t he do?” asked Becky.
“Promise me you won’t get mad?”
Becky raised her eyebrow. “Why would I get mad?”
Jesse sighed and slapped his thighs as he stood up from the couch.
“So Joey and I are pitching this cologne ad to a new client, right? And everything goes great with the pitch. The client loves it. We’re in! And then, when I tell Ms. Garland that we’ll find the perfect guy to play the IQ man, she insists that I play the part! Which, I mean, who can blame her?” Jesse asked smugly, running his fingers through his hair.
Becky glared silently, waiting for Jesse to continue.
“Right. Anyway, we get to the set, and the client has decided that instead of playing a debonair gentleman in a smoking jacket, I’m now going to be walking out of a steaming shower wearing nothing but a tiny red towel around my waist!”
Becky’s eyes widened in horror.
“Oh, believe me, it gets worse,” Jesse assured her. “Because then Ms. Garland says something about wanting to see my body “wetter” and starts caressing me like I’m a hunk of meat!”
“She said WHAT?!” Becky leaped up from the couch.
“By the end, she was chasing me with scissors trying to cut the towel shorter.” Jesse cringed at the memory.
“That is insane!” Becky fumed. “This woman sounds completely unprofessional! Who the hell does she think she is? I ought to find this Ms. Garland and tell her what she can do with that tiny red towel of hers!” Becky turned and stormed towards the front door.
“Wh-wh-whoa, hold it! Hold it!” Jesse grabbed Becky’s shoulders and turned her around to face him.
“Listen, Beck, I appreciate the support, but we already quit our jobs. Do you really think that you going to confront this woman is going to make things any better?”
“Well, I guess not,” Becky admitted, “But it would certainly make me feel better.”
Jesse laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “I know it would, Honey!”
“So what did Mr. Malatesta have to say about all of this?” Becky demanded. ”I hope he at least stood up for you.”
Jesse shook his head. “He said, and I quote, as long as you’re working for me, you’ll do exactly what she says.”
“Your boss allowed you to be borderline sexually harassed by a client and expected you to just go along with it?!”
Jesse nodded.
“Well, in that case, I’m even more proud of you for quitting! That woman had no right to treat you that way over an ad for some stupid cologne, which stinks, by the way!” Becky wrinkled her nose and pushed Jesse away.
Jesse chuckled. “Steph thought so too!”
He slumped back onto the couch with his legs spread apart and tapped his fingers against his now empty champagne glass.
After a moment of silence, he turned back to look at Becky. “Do you know what the worst part of the whole thing was?”
“What’s that?”
“Joey wanted to go along with it! He kept insisting that I should do whatever the client wanted to make her happy just so that we could keep our jobs. I had to talk him into walking out with me.”
“Oh, Honey.” Becky wrapped her arms around his neck. “Joey just doesn’t like confrontation, that’s all! If it were a life-or-death situation, he’d stand up for you in a heartbeat!”
“You really think so?” Jesse asked.
“Jess, the man is a golden retriever in human form! He may not have had the guts to stick up to the bad guy, but he’ll follow you wherever you go, and he’ll be there for you no matter what.”
Jesse grinned. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“So,” said Becky, “Are you still traumatized from that shoot today or would you like to show me what you looked like coming out of that steamy shower with a tiny red towel around your waist?”
“If you must love me,” Jesse recited dutifully, clutching his chest in a dramatic fashion, “Love me for my IQ!”
“Oh, I love you for way more than your IQ, Baby!” Becky replied.
“Have mercy!” Jesse scooped Becky up from the couch and eagerly carried her up the stairs.