I'm Doin' Me

by Anna Black

Tiffany set her briefcase down and ripped opened the envelope. It held two tickets to a play that was in town. It had a note attached:

  Thanks for meeting with me today. Please enjoy the show.

  It was signed by Mr. Green. Pleased, she stuffed them back into the envelope. She would take Colby.

  Now she got down to business. She told Myah the good news first and Myah was ready to do cartwheels. She told her to get a hold of the cast members to set up a meeting, and to tell her writers to meet her in the idea room.

  When they gathered, she brought them up to speed and handed out the contracts. As she expected, everyone signed but Brad. He declined the offer. Tiffany didn’t even ask why. She had already heard through the grapevine that he was going to sign with another show as executive producer.

  Later, the cast assembled and she gave them the news. They were as happy as everyone else. She had all contracts signed but Brad’s, but she didn’t shed a tear about him. They could continue without him.

  She didn’t have to wait until Monday to call Mr. Green back, but she did. She spent the weekend lusting after Colby and decided she’d take a little break from him. The following weekend after her meeting with Mr. Green, her show had a home with TiMax. She celebrated with her cast and crew and didn’t invite Colby.

  The Friday before she headed to KCLN, she got a package from him. She opened it and found lingerie and instructions. Pulling back must have worked, because now it seemed as if he was sexually interested.

  She couldn’t wait for their weekend to begin.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The car pulled up to pick Tiffany up at her house. She had her overnight bag, and carried the exotic outfit and stilettos that Colby sent her in the original gift bag they came in. The driver got out, grabbed her bags, and put them into the trunk. He opened the door and she got in.

  They drove away and she wondered where they were going, because he wasn’t driving toward Colby’s place. They finally stopped in front of Evolve, a pole dancing studio. She wondered why they were there. The driver got out, came around, and opened her door.

  “Wh . . . wh . . . what are we doing here?” she asked, not moving to get out of the limo.

  “I was told to bring you here, ma’am,” he said.

  She looked at him like he was crazy. “For what?” she asked.

  A woman came out and approached the limo. “I’ll take it from here, James,” she said to the driver. He stepped aside. “Hi, Tiffany, my name is Marvelous. The studio has been reserved for you to learn a routine for your performance tonight.”

  Tiffany was even more confused. “Performance? What? What’s going on?”

  “Get out of the car, Tiffany, and come inside so I can fill you in.”

  She got out and walked slowly, still wondering what the hell was going on.

  “Colby decided he’d give you a gift that you can give to him,” Marvelous said, “so you are here to learn a pole dancing routine that is going to make the first encounter with your hot, sexy-ass boyfriend a night he will never forget. The outfit that he sent you is what you’re going to wear tonight to do your bad-ass routine. I’m going to teach you a sexy-ass routine and the rest will be up to you, Cherry.”

  “It’s Tiffany,” she corrected her, wondering who could confuse the name Tiffany with a piece of fruit.

  They walked into the studio. “It’s Cherry in these walls, darling. We only have sexy names within these walls, and Tiffany is not sexy, honey.”

  “I can’t learn a routine in this,” she said, pointing to her clothes.

  “We have that covered. Step right into this dressing room and change into the items on the seat.”

  Tiffany did as she instructed. When she came out, Marvelous was ready to get started.

  “So, tell me what your daily routine is,” the instructor said. “Do you exercise at all?”

  “No,” Tiffany said, wondering why that mattered. She was happy with her curves, and as long as her ass was bigger than her gut, she was satisfied with herself.

  “That means your muscles are not loose, so we are going to do some warming up before we start to loosen them up. After that, we will start with the basics and then I’m going to teach you a killer routine.”

  They got started. Three hours later, she had her routine down, but she was exhausted. She showered and changed back into her clothes. The car was waiting outside for her and when she got in, there was a gift on the seat. She opened it and read the card:

  Enjoy your spa treatments and massage.

  The driver took her to the Ritz-Carlton. She got a massage, mani, pedi, brow and bikini wax, and had her hair and makeup done after she took another shower.

  She was ready for the night to begin. She was starving. Her entire day had been spent preparing for Colby, but there were no meals in between.

  The driver took her to a club. There were no cars in the lot. James opened her door and took her bags from the trunk. He escorted her in and she found Marvelous waiting. The woman took her to the back to change and told her that Colby was the only one in the audience waiting for her. She was instructed to go out there as Cherry, not Tiffany.

  Tiffany nodded. She was nervous, but she was ready to turn her man on. The music started and that was her cue. She stepped out onto the stage. Colby was front and center. She tried to remember the routine that she learned earlier, but she had to add her own moves to keep from stopping when she forgot. By the end of her routine, the stage floor was full of bills. He had definitely made it rain. Tiffany wondered if he was really tipping her or if he wanted his money back. She went to the edge of the stage and kissed him.

  “Was that hot enough for you?”

  “Baby, you have no idea,” he said and kissed her again. “Go and get changed and I’m going to take you to dinner and then we are going to go and handle some things.”

  She rushed to get dressed. They went to the restaurant, but Tiffany no longer had an appetite for food. She was in a romantic mood and was ready to feed her sexual appetite. She couldn’t help but stare at Colby. He was a little less than six feet tall and had skin like a Hershey bar. It was smooth and blemish free. If he weren’t an actor, he could have easily been a model, even an underwear model because he had a killer body. Since she now had a new home for Boy Crazy, she was definitely going to ask him to consider being a guest star or even a permanent role.

  She took a few sips of her wine and was anxious for the food to come so they could get back to his place.

  “So how’d you like the show?” she asked him.

  “I loved the show. You were hot, baby,” he said and took a drink.

  “Oooh, hot. I like that description.”

  Finally, their food came. They did very little eating, but a whole lot of flirting. After dinner, they sat and finished their drinks. Colby’s phone rang.

  “Hold on, babe, it’s my agent.” He stood and stepped away from the table. When he returned, he had a look of disappointment on his face.

  “Colby, what’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Well, Rick just called and said that I am up for an audition for a Bill Connelly film.”

  She wondered why he was so sad about that. “Colby, that’s awesome, babe. Why the long face?”

  “If I want the opportunity, I have to catch a flight to New York tonight.”

  Her smile faded. “Tonight? Please not tonight.”

  “I’m sorry, Tiffany, but you know how it goes. Opportunity only knocks once for roles like this.”

  She knew he was right, but didn’t feel any better about it. “I know, Colby,” she whined. “But tonight was supposed to be our night.”

  “I know, and I will make it up to you. I promise.”

  They left in a hurry. Colby had to get home and pack a bag and get to the airport. She went with him and watched him pack a small bag and then she rode with him to the airport. She kissed him bye and the driver took her home. She rode in the back of the limo horny and angry. She didn’t even know how long
he would be gone.

  She tried to suck it up and let it go, but her hormones were on ten and she needed to release an orgasm before she exploded. “Why tonight of all nights?” she asked herself. It felt like they were never going to have sex.

  When she got home, she washed the layers of makeup from her face, ran a bubble bath, and hit the button on her iPod dock. She scrolled to Fantasia again and put it on random. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of chardonnay and went back to step into her tub. She tried calling Colby, but it went straight to voicemail and she figured his flight had taken off. She soaked and sipped, and after the water was cool, she lathered, rinsed, and got out. She tried to keep her eyes open and wait for him to call, but she lost that battle.

  The next morning, she was surprised he hadn’t called when he landed.

  “Okay, Tressa, I did what you asked. I made sure she’d leave Kory alone, but now she is ready to be intimate and I don’t know how long I can keep her off. I mean, she is really starting to catch feelings for me. I thought I could handle this, but I’m not attracted to her like that. She is cool and all and spending time with her is great, but if I have sex with her, not being egotistical or anything, but she is going to be on me like white on rice, and I don’t want to hurt her.”

  Tressa sighed. “Colby, when I came to you to help me out on this, I thought you knew sex came with the territory. Not only am I paying you well, I am going to make sure you get a hit series on TiMax. But you gotta keep Tiffany away from my man until we are married. Once I am married, I’ll get my trust and a spot at TiMax. Until I’m married, my dad isn’t going to budge.”

  “Tressa, until you’re married was not the agreement. You said you wanted me to take her out, spend some time with her to get Kory off her mind and her off his and then that’s it. You’re certainly not paying me well enough to sleep with her,” he disputed looking down at his phone. It was Tiffany, so he hit ignore. He was supposed to be on a plane to New York. This fake trip would only buy him a week away from her tops. He knew when he saw her again she was going to be ready for some action.

  “Are you kidding me, Colby? I’m paying for everything as it is. On top of your high-ass fee. I don’t have my trust fund yet and I’m going broke with you romancing the hell out of her.”

  “All this extra shit was your idea, Tressa, because you wanted her out of Kory’s face. I’m just doing what you hired me to do, and that was to take her attention off your fiancé.” He reached into his bag, pulled out the video camera, and handed it to her. “Here. I have no idea what you plan to do with a pole dancing recording, but here you go.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about this video, Colby. This is just ammo. What you need to worry about is how you are going to keep Miss Tiffany occupied until I jump the broom. After I get my money and get your hit show going, Kory can leave if he wants and be with her. Our show is going to make Boy Crazy look like last season’s fashion, and my dad is going to recognize me for my talents. So name your price. How much will it take for you to consummate this relationship? Because I am not going to lose my trust fund or my man. Kory is the first man my daddy has given his blessing to for my hand in marriage, and if he calls this wedding off I’ll be at square one. I’m almost thirty-two. I need my trust!”

  He knew she was serious, but there wasn’t a dollar amount to make him want to sleep with Tiffany. He was already ashamed of what he was doing to her without the sex. “Tressa, I don’t want more money. I just want to break up with her already and not go there with her sexually.”

  “So you like her too?”

  “What?”

  “You like her, Colby.” She moved to the bar to fix a drink. “You were all for hooking up with her and doing what I asked. You were like, ‘It’s just acting,’ and now you are ready to quit on me? What makes this big-boned heifer so irresistible? Really, she is not all that. I mean, tell me, what is the deal with this Tiffany Richardson?”

  Colby decided to stick to his story. He liked her yes, Tiffany was hard to resist, but he didn’t want to mix his business with pleasure. He went into this as only playing the role of Tiffany’s boyfriend, and he didn’t want to alter the script by catching feelings for her. That was another reason sex was not on his priority list. It was bad enough he was pretending to like her. Sleeping with her with no feelings for her was too much for him. He wanted his own hit series, yes, but it wasn’t worth doing Tiffany in. If he got involved and she discovered what he did, she’d never speak to him again.

  “Look, Tressa,” he said. “I do not like her, okay? And for your information, Tiffany happens to be a great person. She is smart, ambitious, and her being big boned is a plus in my book.”

  “All I need to know is that you’re on board. All you have to do is keep her entertained and away from Kory. And if that means fucking her, Colby, make it happen. Get drunk, get high, and just get it in so she can get over my man. I will double your fee if I have to, just don’t bail. If I don’t marry Kory, I get nothing. I can’t go back to square one. My dad is on the verge of cutting me off. I cannot go from riches to rags.” She got in his face. “If I do, you will never land a role again. So do what needs to be done.”

  “Tressa, don’t threaten me, okay? I’m helping your ass out. You are the one with the changes in the plan. A few dates and to run interference was the offer you put on the table for the fee you set up, along with a starring role on a TiMax series. I’m not a man whore and sleeping with Tiffany is just not going to happen.” He got up to leave.

  “Okay, listen, I hear you and I understand this moral code you got going on, but please, I’m begging you, Colby, keep her interested. My wedding is a handful of months away, and I need Tiffany to be a distant memory.”

  Colby could see the desperation in her eyes. “This is about the money, nothing more. I care about Kory, I do, but I want what’s been promised to me since I was twenty-one years old. I’ve been in and out of rehab to please my father and Kory is my ticket. Once I get my money, he can run off with Tiffany if he wants.”

  “I will continue to see her, Tressa, but if she and I become physical, that’s when the deal will be off. If I feel like sharing a bed with Tiffany, that will be because that’s what I want, not because you’re paying me. But you will get me my series.”

  “Done,” she said.

  He left, hating what he had done. He didn’t mean to fall for Tiffany. He didn’t know she’d be that great. Tressa had painted an opposite image of who Tiffany really was and he had thought she was a man-stealing bitch. After spending time with her and talking to her, he realized she wasn’t the typical L.A. girl. She wasn’t afraid to eat in public and she didn’t mind throwing on a pair of tennis shoes and jeans. She was an intelligent, down-to-earth diva. She was sexy when she had to be, and loved sports. Why, oh why, did I agree to this? he asked himself as his limo pulled out of Tressa’s driveway. He should have backed out after the third date, because by then, he wanted to see Tiffany again and again whether Tressa paid him or not.

  When he got home, he decided he’d wait until morning to call Tiffany. He figured he’d tell her that he’d be home right after his alleged audition. He knew she’d want to see him and he knew she’d want to do what grownups do.

  He made up his mind to go with the flow. If he was feeling it, he’d give her what she wanted.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The next morning Tiffany decided she’d go in to clean out her office. There were no more meetings or show talk, so it wasn’t necessary for her to be at KCLN anymore. She was thrilled about her position at TiMax and Mr. Green had invited her to move in right away. She had only seen her new office once and hadn’t moved anything into it yet. TiMax was excited about the show. They wanted to get the ball rolling immediately and get the show on their new fall lineup. She and her team were ready to work. She only had a couple weeks to be off and then they were back to creating episodes. She needed to meet with everyone to start on set ideas and other details for the show
and she was anxious to get started.

  After she took down her fourth box, she decided to drive over to TiMax to put some things into her office. She didn’t want to leave them in the car and it didn’t make sense to take them home and have to lug them inside and then back out to her car later. She pulled into the station and asked the guard at the sign-in gate for some quick directions. She found a close parking space, grabbed one box, and went inside. The building was quiet and she figured that was the norm for a Sunday.

  She found her way to her new office and stood admiring the space. It was huge. Her old office didn’t have shit on her new one. She looked out the window at the studio and different trailers and smiled. The entire lot was five times bigger than KCLN. She couldn’t wait to get acquainted with everyone here.

  She ran down to get another box and then made two more trips to get the other two. Since Colby was gone and she didn’t have much going on that day, she decided she’d stick around and unpack. She opened the mini fridge and was floored. It was already stocked with soda and juice. She opened the cabinet that sat over it and found Belvedere, her favorite vodka. It was hanging out with a bottle of Cîroc, Grey Goose, Johnny Walker Black, Hennessy, and a couple of tropical rums.

  “Sweet Jesus, I am going to love it here,” she said. She moved over to the other cabinet and opened it. “Oh my God, there’s more,” she said when she saw the bottles of wine and champagne. The next cabinet held unopened juices and the final cabinet contained glasses. She turned the handle on the faucet and saw that the water really worked. She grabbed the ice bucket from the granite countertop and headed out to find the ice machine.

  She followed the signs to the kitchen area. It looked like a kitchen in a home instead of one in an office building. There was a stove, a huge subzero fridge, and an overhead microwave. When she went around the counter and saw a dishwasher, she thought she was in work heaven. KCLN didn’t have anything close to this. She opened the fridge. It was fully stocked with muffins, bagels, and yogurt. And nothing had a name on it. She pressed the ice button, but nothing came out. She opened the freezer. The ice container was empty and the lever was switched to off and she wondered why. She closed the freezer door and then felt foolish. Right next to the fridge was a huge ice machine, like the ones in a hotel. She filled her bucket and headed back to her office. On the way, she ran into Tressa and Wallace.