by Anna Black
“Tressa,” she said.
“Tiffany, what are you doing here?”
“I brought some things over to set up my office.”
The shocked look on Tressa’s face said she had no idea Tiffany worked there now. She blinked like she had something in her eyes. “Your office? Come again?”
“Yes, my office. Your dad didn’t tell you? Boy Crazy has a home here at TiMax now. You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t. Did you, Wallace?” She looked at her companion.
“No, no one told me anything.” He sounded just as surprised as Tressa.
“Well, I met your father at your engagement party. The funny thing is he had no idea who I was.”
Tressa looked at Wallace again. “Wallace, you didn’t tell Daddy about your meeting with Tiffany?”
“Well, ummm, ummm, your dad was out of town when I met with Tiffany and when I ran the idea by Mike,” he said. Mike was Mr. Green’s partner. “He’s the one that gave it a no.”
“Well I had no idea, Tiffany. I specifically remember telling Wallace to let my dad know that you were an old friend of Kory’s. I am so sorry.”
“It’s all good, no harm done, love. I’m here now, right?” She headed back to her office. “Oh, and tell Kory I said hello,” she said over her shoulder.
Tressa was hotter than a jalapeño pepper. She’d had no clue that her dad had given Boy Crazy a slot. She glared at Wallace. “How did you not know about this?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “No one said anything. There was no e-mail, no memo, no nothing,” he said.
“Well, you are going to have to keep an eye on her, Wallace. If you want to continue to work here when I take over this company, you’re going to have to step it up.” She stormed out.
Back in her office, Tiffany fixed herself a vodka and cranberry. She pulled out her iPod and went over to the fancy little mini system that was on the opposite wall of her liquor stash. She hit the power button and put her iPod on the dock and went to her favorite CD by Fantasia. She scrolled to “Free Yourself” and when the music started, she continued to get her office set up. She thought about Kory briefly then channeled her brain to Colby. She smiled. She finally may have landed a man, a relationship with someone who was sexy, smart, and rich. “If only I knew how the sex is,” she said. She took a swallow of her drink and wondered if his dick was embarrassingly small or if he was a minute man.
She just wanted to figure out why he was not interested in unclogging her drain. She finished up and broke down the boxes and put them in the hall by her office door, praying the cleaning service would pick them up. She downed her last swallow and went to put the glass in the sink. She rinsed it and headed out. She wanted to see what else this beautiful studio had to offer, so she took her time going back to her car. She stopped on different floors and checked out the fitness center and the pool. The theater was huge, much larger than the one at KCLN. She was proud of herself. She had come from the bottom to the top in less than four years. She had taken the chance that God gave her and done well. She was anxious to get in there and produce some new great shows.
When she finally made it to her car, her phone rang. It was Colby.
“Hey, you,” she said with the widest smile on her face.
“Hey, where are you? I am at your place.” he said.
“At my place? I thought you were in New York.”
“I was, but I took an early flight back and I’m here. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, I’m surprised. What happened to the audition?”
“It wasn’t for me, babe, so I didn’t even go.”
“Awww, that’s too bad,” she said.
“Naw, it’s all good. Where are you?”
“I’m leaving TiMax.” She waved to the guard as she pulled out of the gate. “I came by to bring some of my stuff. Babe, my office is fantastic. It is stocked with liquor.”
He laughed. “That’s the only fantastic thing about it?”
“Ummm, pretty much, yeah.”
“Okaaaaay,” Colby said.
“So what’s up?” she asked. “Why are you at my place, and without calling?”
“As I said, I wanted to surprise you. Imagine how surprised I was to get here with all of these beautiful roses and my baby ain’t even home.”
“Roses?”
“Yes, roses.”
“Well it’s going to take me about forty-five minutes. Even though it’s the weekend, traffic is not nice.”
“You’re closer to my place than yours; how about you head to my place and I’ll meet you there?”
“That sounds great, but I look a mess, Colby. Hair pulled up, jeans, flip-flops and a T-shirt.” She didn’t want to see him looking so awful.
“I bet you look perfect.”
“How about no,” she said and giggled.
“Look, you don’t have to dress up. We can hang around the house, throw some meat on the grill, and play a little pool. And after we watch a little TV, I can watch you bathe.”
Tiffany’s pussy contracted and she swerved. “Come again? Repeat that last part,” she said.
“You heard me, watch you bathe. Your man can’t take it anymore.”
“Making a U-turn now. Will see you at your place.” She pulled off the road to turn around.
They laughed and talked and when she made it to his house, he told her the hiding place for his spare key and the alarm code. “Are you sure you want to divulge the alarm code? I mean, I can wait in my car,” she said.
“I trust you won’t snoop.”
He was right, but she messed with him. “How can you be so sure? I mean, I am a woman and we snoop.”
“Well, so far, you are the most unusual woman I’ve ever dated. I’ve never dated a woman who was drama-free and without hair extensions.”
“With that said, I won’t snoop. I’ll fix a drink and go out to the patio and wait for you.”
“Okay, I will see you soon. I am just going to run by the grocery store, pick up a couple steaks to grill, and I’ll be there.
“Okay, Colby, I’ll see you soon,” she said and ended the call.
She did exactly what she said she would do: fixed a vodka and cranberry and went out and watched the pool water dance in the gentle breeze. When Colby got home, he came out and greeted her with a warm smile.
She stood and put her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss, thinking she was now the queen of L.A.
Chapter Twenty
“Daddy!” Tressa yelled when she walked into the house. “Dad!” she yelled again when there was no answer.
Tina, one of their staff members, informed her that he was in his study. Tressa rushed over and burst through the door.
“Isabella,” he said, looking up with a frown.
“Daddy, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean? And why did you come through the door like that?”
“Boy Crazy, Daddy. How could you sign that show when I asked you not to? I told you Tiffany is Kory’s ex-lover and I don’t want any dealings with her.”
“Isabella, as I told you, you don’t have to have any dealings with Miss Richardson. She works for me, not you, and your personal feelings have absolutely nothing to do with my business.”
“But, Daddy, when I take over the com . . . I mean, come aboard, I am going to have to deal with her.”
He laughed. “Isabella, you have a lot to prove before you ever take over, and a lot of work to do before you even hold a seat on the board. You need to focus on your wedding and getting married and starting a life with Kory, clean and sober. Your past isn’t far behind you, and I don’t know when I’ll be giving you a seat on the company’s throne. You have to show me that you are responsible and commit yourself to something other than shopping and partying.”
“Daddy, how can you say that? You told me once I’m married and doing well, you would bring me on.”
“Yes, once you are married and can show me that you’re ready to work and
be a part of TiMax.”
“But, Daddy,” she whined, “I am.”
“No, Isabella, you’re not. You’d be willing to let a hit show walk because of some high school romance. Kory is marrying you, princess, and that should be enough to set aside your childish notions of ‘Tiffany trying to take yo’ man,’” he said, imitating her. “I gave Boy Crazy a contract because it is a hit show. Tiffany works hard and deserves to keep the show going on her merit, so grow up and act like a woman, Tressa. There are only a handful of black shows on television and I have the power to keep a great one going, but because of your personal insecurities, you don’t want to see it go on. You’re not a little girl anymore, Isabella. You can’t come into my office whining and throwing tantrums to get your way, especially when it comes to my network. This is what TiMax needs, a hit series.
“You are always so busy thinking of yourself and that is why I have withheld your trust four times. You are not ready, Isa, your mind is not business-oriented yet, and I don’t know why. You have to give me something, Isabella, to show me that I can trust you with a chair at my network or even with your trust. You are going to make me change your trust again if you don’t grow up,” he threatened and stood up.
“Por favor, no papá,” she said, with tears and in Spanish, the only language they used around her mother. She knew she wasn’t responsible or the business-headed daughter he dreamed of having, but she wanted her money and wanted to have some control at the network.
“Ya g. No eres una niña pequeño.” He left the room.
Tressa went looking for her momma to talk some sense into her daddy. But when she found her, her mom said the same thing, she needed to grow up. She was not a baby anymore. She left frustrated and was about to head to Kory’s, but Stephen called and she needed what he had for a quick pick-me-up.
She drove with the wheels turning in her head, thinking of all the things she could do to shut Tiffany and her show down. Business or not, she wanted that bitch to move back to Chicago until she was married. Even though Kory denied it, she knew he slept with Tiffany the night of their engagement party. He had never turned her down for sex, and for him to come home and want to shower and go to sleep was a dead giveaway. She didn’t want them to be within fifteen feet of each other or even share the same air space again. She hoped Colby would lay it on her to keep her away from Kory.
She pulled up in front of Stephen’s place and found a party going on. She called Kory and told him not to wait up. When he began to drill her, she wanted to hang up in his face, but she promised him she’d come over right after. She went inside and joined her party friends, heading straight for the coke. After she took her second line, she went for the bubbly. She knew she was supposed to be clean and sober, but she was under a lot of pressure with the wedding, paying Colby a grip to entertain Tiffany, and now she had to deal with the fact that her father gave that trick a spot for her show. She just wanted to forget about all the bullshit that was going on and coke gave her that release.
She left the party in a cab. When she got to Kory’s, she leaned on the doorbell until he finally opened the door.
“Sweetie, the cabby is ninety dollars and I’m outta cash,” she slurred and began to giggle.
He paid the driver and helped her inside. “You’re drunk, Tressa!” he yelled. “Why are you drinking? You know you are not supposed to be drinking,”
“Look, I’m not off the fuckin’ wagon, okay?” She spoke with a drunken drawl. “I am under a lot of fuckin’ stress planning our fuckin’ fantastical, enormous, fantabulous wedding. And . . . and . . . and . . . and . . . tonight, I needed to get loose.” She fell back onto the couch and within seconds, was passed out.
Kory tried to wake Tressa. “Reesy, come on, babe, let’s go upstairs.” He shook her again. “Reesy, baby, come on.”
Her purse fell off of her lap and the contents fell out. He bent down to get them and saw a coke vial. He picked it up and sat beside her on the sofa in disbelief. Disappointed and hurt, all he could do was sob into his hands. He had trusted her, dealt with her lies, and ignored the truth.
Sighing, he put her purse on the couch beside her and went up to bed. It took him awhile, but eventually he fell asleep.
The next morning, he was up and she was still passed out. After four that afternoon he sat on the love seat and watched her sleep. When she woke, she saw him staring at her.
She sat up. “Damn, Kory, why are you sitting there staring at me? What time is it?”
“It’s time for you to come clean and tell me the truth.”
“Come on, Kory, it’s too early for the third degree. My head is banging and I need some coffee,” she said, standing and staggering to the bathroom.
He was waiting in the kitchen when she came out. “I’m going to ask you once, Reesy, and I want the truth.”
“I will tell you whatever you want, just please don’t talk to me until I’ve had a cup of coffee,” she said starting the coffeemaker.
He watched her move around the kitchen in her expensive party dress and smeared makeup. She looked around and located a hair clamp and pulled her hair up. Her momma was Mexican and her dad was black, but she had her mom’s hair texture. Even though it was long, she still wore extensions to make it fuller. After she poured herself a cup of coffee, she walked past Kory and sat on a stool at the island in the middle of the room.
He waited until after she finished drinking and asked, “Are you good now?”
“Yes, now where’s the fire?” she snapped.
“Are you using again?”
Frowning: “Kory, what kinda question is that?”
“Are you using again!” he yelled.
“Look, I know I got drunk last night. I will be going back to AA, okay, but I’m not using.” She looked away.
“Tressa, don’t lie to me.”
“Fuck, Kory, no, a’ight? I told you that I was done with that.”
“Get your things, Tressa, the wedding is off.”
She hopped up. “What? What’s wrong with you?”
“You heard me. Oh, and here, don’t forget to pack this.” He put the vial on the island in front of her and walked away.
“Oh my God, Kory, that’s not mine. Cee-Cee . . . that belongs to Cee-Cee,” she cried.
“If that is Cee-Cee’s, what was it doing in your damn purse?”
“What, you went through my shit?” she shouted.
“No,” he yelled. “Your shit fell out of your purse when you passed out on the couch this morning. Now leave.”
“Wait, Kory. Wait, sweetheart. Please wait a minute. Don’t call the wedding off, Kory, please. Yes, last night I snorted a couple lines of coke, but it’s not like before. I’m not on that shit like that anymore, I promise you. I was stressed out and I did a line or two. Stephen gave this to me. I had no intention of using it, I swear,” she cried.
While he watched, she went over to the sink, turned on the water, and opened the vial. She emptied the contents down the drain, but he still didn’t believe a word from her lying lips.
“Really, Tressa, really? I know you’ve been using. For a whole minute now, I’ve known. Like . . . like, as soon as we got engaged, you changed. I ignored it, but I can’t anymore. I don’t want to marry you and I want you to leave.”
“Kory, listen, we can work this out, okay? I’ll go back into rehab if that’s what you want, just please don’t call off the wedding. Please, I love you,” she cried.
“No, Tressa, you love you. All you think of is what Tressa wants and what Tressa needs. And you know what, Tressa, I don’t want to be with you anymore. I don’t love you. I thought I did and tried to convince myself that I do, but I don’t. Now I am willing to pay your father back for every dime he has spent. The wedding is off.”
“Oh God, my dad. You can’t tell him, Kory. Please, I’m begging you. If my dad finds out, he is going to disown me. I can’t lose you and my family, Kory. Please don’t tell him.”
“Tressa, I . . . I won
’t tell him. I just want you to leave. We are done.”
“I’ll go, but promise, Kory, that you won’t tell my dad.”
“I won’t; now get what you need, because I have somewhere to go.”
“Tiffany, right?” she whispered and sniffled.
“Just get your things, Reesy.” He went up to shower. He was going to Tiffany’s, but that wasn’t her business.
Chapter Twenty-one
“No, no, no,” Tiffany cried at the sight of her menstrual. She knew it was coming in a couple days, but it was there now. Her plans to get down with Colby that night were a bust. She stood, washed her hands, and went back to the living room where he was waiting. “Colby, I have to go,” she said sadly.
“Why? I thought tonight was going to be our night,” he said.
“I know, but I have a visitor; she came unannounced.”
He looked confused at first, then comprehension dawned. “Oooh, that visitor.”
She nodded. “Yes, and I need to get home because I don’t have anything on me.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “It’s cool, Tiff. Our time will come.”
“Yeah, next year. I mean, damn, it’s always something.”
“I know, but at least this will be over in a few days. And then . . .” He smiled.
“Yeah, yeah. I must go. I will call you,” she said and made her way to the door.
“Okay, drive safe and I’ll see you soon.” He gave her a final kiss.
The next day, Tiffany was in her comfortable pajamas on the sofa with her favorite blanket. She hated being on her menstrual because she still cramped so bad. She took a couple of pain pills then said the heck with the rules and poured herself a glass of wine. She popped in Just Wright to watch again and called Colby. She convinced him that she was in no mood for company, and he agreed to let her chill.
