Jared was laying on the pool deck, soaking up the late summer sun. He loved the way the heat hit him from all sides, seeping into his back from the stones underneath him as the sun shone down on him from above. He closed his eyes and let the hot August air filter through his body. A knock on the door frame made him inhale sharply and his eyes popped open for a brief second before he squinted them closed.

"What?" he grimaced, sitting up.

"Emma's here. She's got something you'll want to hear," Shayla said, poking her head out of the lounge. "She's in your office."

He sighed and nodded, standing up with some effort. "Okay, thanks, Shayla. I'll be in in a second."

He took one last look around the back yard at the Compound; the summer sun glittered off of the pool water and the gentle breeze created ripples on its surface. The orange tree on the back of the property was blooming and the scent of citrus filled his nose. He squinted in the bright light and turned back toward the house.

His eyes took a minute to adjust to the darkness as he walked across the tiled floor. He could barely make out the stark white walls and the occasional modern painting or photograph as he made his way through the cavernous rooms. He made a sharp right when he came to one of the Compound's many living spaces. His employees were working away at their desks and no one even looked up as he passed by. Emma was waiting for him in his office at the end of the room. He greeted her with a quick hug and shut the door behind himself.

"What's up? Shayla said you had something you needed to tell me?" he asked, sitting behind his desk.

It was cluttered with a dozen different notebooks, folders, and magazines. He hadn't seen the surface of it in months.

"Yeah," his former assistant cleared her throat. "There's some talk going around Suicide Squad," she said slowly.

"What about it?" he asked.

"You're only in the movie for like, fifteen minutes," Emma rushed out.

He froze. "What?"

"Your total screen time is less than twenty minutes," she said hesitantly.

Her words hung in the air for several seconds before he spoke. "But we filmed for months," he said in disbelief. "Why would I only be in the movie for fifteen minutes?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know, but it isn't looking good for anyone. Robin called me, asking for a statement from you, and I didn't even know what had happened. She said the studio went a different direction in post."

Jared began clearing his desk, searching for his laptop beneath the piles. "I guess I'll have to watch it to see what happened. Maybe it's not so bad?"

Emma gave him a pitying look. While he talked a brave game, she knew her boss's ego was fairly sensitive. Hearing negative comments about his work was never a pleasant experience for him - or anyone.

"Do you have a copy of it?" he asked, holding his hand out.

"Oh - um, yeah," she replied, digging in her purse and pulling out a paper sleeve with a disc inside. "That's the theatrical version."

He popped the disc into the external disc drive and waited for it to load on his screen. Emma stood in front of him with baited breath. She watched his face as the movie started.

"May as well sit down, Emma," he said without looking at her. "It's going to take a while."

She slumped into the seat next to him, allowing her eyes to drift between his face and the computer screen. About two hours later, Jared was fuming.

"What the actual fuck!" he shouted, pushing away from his desk and running his hands over his face. "That is not what I signed on to make!"

Emma bit her lip to keep from responding. It was clear he was pissed and opening her mouth at this point would only make him angrier.

"I filmed for months and this is the shit they do?!" he raged. "SHAYLA!" he called.

A second later the thin blonde stood in the open doorway. "Yes?" she asked apprehensively.

"Get on the phone to Derek and ask him what the fuck happened with Suicide Squad," he said to her. "I want to know whose bright fucking idea it was to cut me completely out of the movie and completely change the whole damn thing!"

Shayla nodded, cowed. "Yes. Anything else?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Get David Ayer on the phone and tell him what the fuck happened to the three month's worth of footage I shot for him!" Jared added.

"Right away," Shayla responded.

Jared stood and started pacing the length of the room. He looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows as he bit his lip to keep from exploding.

"I seriously don't understand what the fuck just happened," he remarked to no one in particular.

"Maybe they wanted to go a different direction?" Emma suggested futilely.

"Clearly, Emma!" he whirled on her. "Clearly they decided to fuck me eighty ways to motherfucking Sunday!"

A knock came at the door and his head snapped around. Shayla was back.

"I've got Derek," she said. "Line 2."

Jared yanked his phone from his desk. "Derek, you better have a fucking good explanation for this shit!" he shouted.

Emma motioned for Shayla to leave and the assistant made a hasty exit, shutting the door behind her. It did little to stifle Jared's shouts. Jared put the phone on speaker and continued pacing around the room.

"Jared, man, I didn't know anything about this until the movie came out," Derek said, trying to calm his client down. Jared rolled his eyes. "I swear to you, if I did, I'd have gone to fucking bat for you, man."

"Yeah? Then fucking go to bat for me, now! Figure out what the fuck happened and why the entire fucking internet is laughing their asses off at me because of the so-called "performance" I gave!" Jared seethed. "I look like a fucking clown!" Emma bit her lips to keep from bursting into laughter at the unfortunate comparison. Jared caught her expression and glared at her. "Don't start, Emma!" he warned.

"Look, Jared, I will call the executives at WB and ask them what happened," Derek said, trying to calm Jared down. "I want to know just as much as you do. This is obviously not the movie you signed on to make and they need to make this shit right. Don't worry," he assured. "I'll figure this out, okay?"

It seemed to be enough for Jared. "Fine," he sighed. "I want an answer by tomorrow and I want a meeting with those ass fuckers."

"Yes, Jared. I'll make it happen, don't worry about it," Derek promised.

The line went dead and Jared ended the call. He looked at Emma and scoffed. "Unbelievable. Has anyone else said anything about it? From the cast?"

Emma fumbled with her phone. "Oh - yeah," she said. "Karen and Cara have expressed confusion about what happened and Margot went on record about the movie being different. So they are talking about it."

He shook his head and turned back to the windows. They looked out on the courtyard behind the house, near the sound stage. "Fucking fantastic, Emma," he groused. "First the fucking condom story and now this? They're gonna think I'm a grade-A lunatic sex offender. Fucking hell!"

"Jared, it's not like you haven't had bad movie reviews before," Emma reasoned. "Why does this one matter?"

"It matters because its the Joker, Emma! It's an iconic character," he started. "When I took the role, they told me - David fucking swore to me - that it would be a major part of the film and everything would be worth it." He pointed to his dark computer screen. "That was absolute fucking horse shit. They made it look like I didn't take it seriously! They made it seem like I was a part of the movie with all the marketing to get people through the fucking door!"

"I know. I'll figure it out, I promise," she assured him. "Derek will get back to us and you'll see what happened."

"I know exactly what happened," he said. "They pulled a bait and switch on me. They sold me on one script and changed everything during post. And they fucking knew what they were doing."

"It's not that bad," she said.

"Not that bad? I look like an egomaniac, talking about how much work I put into the role and all the things I did while filming to stay in character, only to have people see the movie and only see me on screen for 20 fucking minutes!" he raged. "I look like a self-absorbed asshole!"

"What the heck is going on here?" Kate asked, coming into the office, Vedder on her heels.

"You're home early," Emma said, trying to keep Jared from speaking first. "No practice?"

"I didn't have practice today. Coach is doing drills with the new girls," Kate explained. She flopped into one of the swivel chairs on the other side of the room. "What's wrong? Why does he look like a deranged smurf?" she asked, pointing at her father.

Jared sighed. "Its about Suicide Squad," he began. "They - the studio - changed my part in the movie and now things look shitty for me," he said. "That's all I want to say about it right now."

Kate nodded. "Well, not to make a shitty situation worse, you may want to check Instagram and Tumblr." She swiveled around a few times, watching the room pass her as she spoke. "Apparently your Gucci ad leaked."

Jared crossed the room and stopped her, mid-spin. "What?"

Kate couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or run off to Smurf Village. "Yeah. They don't like it that much," she said simply.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

Kate pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through to her Instagram account, pulling up her latest post. A flood of hate comments stared back at her on the screen.

"The fans don't like your little threesome commercial and they've decided I'm the person who should get shit for it," she said, holding the device out.

He cursed under his breath and took the phone from her, scrolling through the comments.

Your dad isn't just a shitty actor - he's also a creepy weirdo.

This is the stupidest ad campaign I've ever seen.

Is one of them your mommy?

Tell Jared to drop the Gucci. It's a terrible look!

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

"For fuck's sake," Jared sighed, handing her phone back. 

"There's a whole lot of fucking going on in here, Jared. If I'd known you were having an orgy, I'd have stayed at school," Kate quipped, sticking her tongue out. 

He gave her a withering look and pointed to the door. "Go," he growled. "Delete the comments and don't say anything."

"Roger that," she replied, giving him a mock salute and walking out of the room. 

Jared turned to Emma. "Wonderful. Now we get to worry about this shit."

"How did it even get out?" Emma asked, scrolling through her phone. "It doesn't release until next week."

"Alessandro must have given a preview at the benefit last night," he answered with a shrug. He sat on the edge of his desk and rubbed his temples. "Jesus Christ, Em. What the hell is going on?"

"You wanted more press for the album - I guess you should be careful what you wish for," she said. "I'll call Robin to see what we can do." She scrolled through her phone again. "So far it looks like its just the hardcore fans that have discovered it. So maybe you'll be able to get by without worrying about it."

He sighed heavily. "Let's hope." After chewing on his lip for a second, he spoke again. "I don't like that people are targeting Kate for shit like this."

"She doesn't want to go private on her social media accounts. That's the only way to prevent it," she replied. 

Jared walked around his desk and sank into his chair again. He looked at his laptop with a mixture of disgust and frustration, the anger slowly melting into silent rage. It seemed as if everyone in Hollywood was just trying to find ways to screw him over. He shook his head.

"Thanks Emma. If that's all, I've got some stuff to take care of," he told her, dismissing his former assistant. "And Em - thanks," he added just before she closed the office door. 

***GOSSIP BOARD***

JOKERSGURL1987 POSTED: The new Gucci ad leaked. Let's just say I'm scarred for life. 

HARLEYQUINN2026 POSTED: I know! I don't even know what the concept is supposed to be?! Like, is it a threesome? Or is it a fantasy? I don't get it. 

RAYONSBITCH POSTED: I don't even know. Both of the girls are butt ass ugly and the clothes are terrible, so I have no clue what they're trying to convey here. The full version needs to be better for me to actually care. 

HARLEYQUINN2026 POSTED: Why in the fuck are people leaving nasty comments on Kate's IG? This is why we can't have nice things.

JOKERSGURL1987 POSTED: Poor Jared just can't catch a break! Between the drama over Suicide Squad and now the reaction to this ad, it seems like he's perpetually dealing with stupid shit.