I'm Doin' Me

by Anna Black

  “Again, I didn’t go back to using, Kory. I hit it that night, yes, and I told you Stephen gave it to me and I had no plans to use it.”

  For a second he almost believed her, but he now knew the real Tressa.

  “All I’m asking is for you to just not say anything until he is better. It will kill him, Kory, to know I messed up again. Please?”

  “Okay, Tressa, I won’t, but you know the wedding is supposed to take place in a few weeks.”

  “I know, Kory, and I live with this load every day. I just can’t bring myself to tell them. They love you so much and think so highly of you. I just can’t tell them, especially not now.”

  He shook his head. “Look, I will run up and get dressed and go with you to your folks’ house to visit your dad, but you have to tell them the truth, Tressa.”

  “I will, Kory, okay. And whether you believe me or not, I’m clean. I only fucked with that shit that night because I had a lot of shit on my mind. I’m not a coke head.”

  He gave her a look and proceeded to go up and dress. When he came back down, they drove out to her family’s house. Kory sat with her dad for a couple hours and finally Tressa took him home. She cried and pleaded to stay and he gave in as she knew he would. They lay in his bed together and she got close to him. He stiffened at first, but put his arms around her and held her tight.

  She went to sleep with a smile on her face.

  The next day, Tressa left, but asked if she could come back. Kory told her that wouldn’t be a good idea. She asked him to come by the house to visit with her father again and he said he would.

  She went home to change and check on her dad. She gave him his meds, along with a mild sleeping aid, and when she was done getting ready, he was already sleeping. She left, headed for TiMax. Wallace was the first person on her list to see. She barged into his office without knocking. “I need your help!”

  “Okay?” he said with curious eyes.

  “Signed affidavit. I know you have something with my father’s signature on it. I need an affidavit drawn up with the studio’s heading and his signature so I can have proof of creative control around this place.”

  “They will never go for it, Tressa. You know they will contact your dad and our lawyers with the quickness.”

  “You need not worry about that. It’s not for these idiots here at the studio. It’s for Kory to see that I’m just as powerful and important as Tiffany is around here.”

  “Tressa, you’re marrying the guy. Tiffany isn’t a threat. Come on now, this could get me into a lot of trouble.”

  “And your ass can be fired by this afternoon. All I have to do is run and tell my daddy how you tried to take some pussy in this here office and your ass will be jobless. Get me the affidavit!” she yelled.

  While she waited, Wallace went into his files and grabbed a memo from Mr. Green. He did a few tricks and handed Tressa what looked like a legal document.

  “That wasn’t so painful, was it? I’ll remember you when I eventually take over this company.” She slid the paper into her briefcase. “See you around.”

  Next, she headed to Colby’s. She had to make sure he cut back on whatever he was doing and got back to wooing Tiffany.

  He tried to return the money and say he was done, but of course she wasn’t hearing that and threatened to ruin his career. Coke head or not, she had a lot of clout in L.A. When she talked, people listened. After he assured her he was on the job and guaranteed he’d keep her away from Kory, she left, headed for Kory’s.

  When she got there, she tried to reason with him, but he refused to go through with the wedding. She even swore she’d take a drug test. When he told her that he wasn’t going to change his mind, she went for her briefcase and pulled out her loaded gun: the fake affidavit.

  “Okay, so your incoherent father has given you control of the station. What does that bullshit have to do with me?”

  “Well, this means I can authorize shows or shut down shows.” She sat back in her chair to give it a moment to sink in.

  “Really, Reesy, still you’re saying nothing.”

  “Let me be your Q-tip. Boy Crazy is supposed to premiere this fall. If you don’t want to see your homegirl’s show get shut down, you will meet me at the altar. All I want is one year, just one, Kory, and then you can walk.”

  “So if I go through with this marriage, you get your trust and you’ll let Tiffany keep her show?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. My father is not going to be down for long, Kory. Maybe he’ll pick them back up in a year or two. But if you don’t agree to marry me, I go to my afternoon meeting and pull the plug. And Tiffany’s ass will be right back where she started when KCLN cancelled her corny-ass show!”

  “You know what, Tressa, I thought you were the wicked bitch of the West, but I was wrong. You are worse, and right now, I can’t think of a word low enough to say what I think of you.”

  “I’m sure that by the honeymoon you’ll think of a word, but until then, do we have a deal?” When he didn’t say anything after a few moments, she called his bluff. “Okay, no wedding, no show.” She stood and walked toward the door.

  “I’ll do it!” he yelled after her.

  She turned around with a big smile on her face. “One year, and it won’t be so bad. I promise,” she teased.

  “I’m not doing this for you. Just so you know, I love Tiffany just that much to suffer with you for a year.”

  “I’m sure, but Colby is going to keep her occupied until we exchange vows.” She smirked and headed for the door.

  “You did pay him, didn’t you?” he asked.

  She turned to him. “Come again?” she asked with her head tilted to the right.

  “Colby; you paid him to go out with Tiffany.”

  “I see you have been talking to my dear friend, Amber,” she said. “She is definitely getting a sucky shower gift.”

  “Did you?”

  “I did what I had to do, and if you breathe a word, I’ll deny it and the show will go bye-bye. Now I’m sure I’ll see you at the house around eight to visit with my dad.”

  She opened the door and walked out. Stepping off the porch, she heard a thud. It sounded like he had thrown something. Then she heard a muffled curse.

  She got into her car smiling.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Tressa drove back to her parents’ house feeling like forty-five million bucks, the amount of her inheritance. A year and some change was all she had to wait to finally have the money she was supposed to already be enjoying years ago, instead of still being on an allowance. She was so done with asking for an extra couple thousand here and there from her mom. All of her major purchases and splurges were made when she got a royalty check from her endorsements. She had a cosmetic line that she had run into the ground by spending more than she made. Her daddy had generously bought her out and gave her a share of the profits, but it still wasn’t enough to maintain the luxurious lifestyle she wanted to have.

  Her wedding was on her daddy, her condo was paid in full by her daddy, and she was on her third luxury car, also paid for by Daddy. She had wrecked her first two with her drinking and driving.

  She knew she needed to go back into rehab if she wanted to kick her coke habit entirely, but she refused because she felt she finally had it under control. She didn’t think she was anywhere close to how she had been a few years ago when she was dabbling in other drugs. Back then, she’d get so high that she couldn’t function. Those days were gone. She could now snort a few lines and keep going as if she were clean. But she made sure she stayed away from Kory when she used, because he could tell she was different.

  She would have never been busted that morning, if he hadn’t been in her ear, whining like a baby about not getting any attention and time from her. She only went to his house to keep him out of her ear the next day. What a big mistake that was, she thought as she pulled up to her parents’ gate. She wanted to check on her father, and Kory agreed to come by,
so she wanted to freshen up and work on maybe making him want her beyond the year, because she did care for him—not love, but care—and she still wasn’t going to let Tiffany win him over like she had won over her father.

  “Hola, mamá, como estas?” She kissed her mother on the cheek.

  “No es bueno, bebé. Su padre es el amor de mi vida y tengo miedo,” Tressa’s mother cried, telling her it wasn’t good. She told her daughter that Mr. Green was the love of her life and she was scared. “I don’t know what I will do without your father,” she said in broken English.

  Tressa wrapped her arms around her momma and held her. “Shhhhhh, mamá. No llores, papá va a estas bien,” she said, telling her mother that her dad would be just fine.

  She stayed and comforted her mom before she went up to see her father. He was sitting up watching the news when she walked in.

  “Hey, Daddy, how are you feeling?”

  “Better. I was a little fatigued today. That medicine has me so drowsy. I need to talk to the doctor and ask him for something that doesn’t make me so groggy.” He looked great, something Tressa didn’t want.

  “We’ll see, Daddy. For now, you need to just take it easy.”

  “I am, Isa, but you know me. I can’t stay down for long. I’ve got to get back into the swing of things.”

  “Daddy, listen, work will be there when you are well enough to go back. Mommy’s scared to death to lose you, so just relax. I can handle things, and I wish you’d trust me at TiMax. I’m far from being an idiot.”

  “I know you’re not an idiot, Isa. I know that, but again, you’re not ready. Your entire adult life has been a disappointment to your mother and me. I would have loved to give you a seat on the board, but your actions speak louder than your words.”

  “Daddy, for two years, I have been clean and sober, yet you still won’t give me a chance,” she cried.

  “Just focus on getting married, Isa, and leave it alone. You are not fit to run my network, so just please, get married. Show me that you can be a responsible woman like your mother. After a year, you get your trust, and after, that we will revisit this request to be a part of the network. But right now,” he said tenderly, “the answer is still no.”

  She put her head down. “Why do you act like Tiffany Richardson is your prized possession and I’m not?” she asked sadly. “From the very first moment that you met her, Daddy, it’s about her. You talk about how great she is and how she is this and how she is that. I’m your daughter, not her. Why do you act as if she is the apple of your eye, Daddy?”

  “Isa, that isn’t true at all. I will admit I admire that young lady’s drive and creativity. She has never been in a tabloid, not to my knowledge, or in rehab, and when we did her drug test, she was clean. You bad-mouthed her, trying to convince me that she and Kory had a relationship and then I found out you lied, Isa. For what?

  “She doesn’t even care if you and Kory are together. You have everything, and yet you feel threatened. I found out she grew up without a father and I asked myself if my baby girl would be different if she hadn’t had a wealthy father who spoiled the hell out of her. If my wife and I would have said no just some of the time, would she have not caused us so much grief and heartache? Would she not have brought shame to her family with the criminal charges for reckless behavior?

  “When your mother and I brought you from the hospital, Isa, you were this little bundle of perfection. And then you grew up, and by fourteen, it was situation after situation, circumstances after circumstances. And your poor mother, my Lord, Isa, she has cried her eyeballs out over you. I’ve held my wife, telling her that you’d get better. Up until maybe eighteen months ago, not quite two years, hardly anything has changed. Yes, you’ve brought it down a couple notches, but you’ve still been into trouble, Isabella. You wrecked a Bentley, and even though it was your fault, you still tried to blame someone else. You’ve been in more trouble than anyone we know. TMZ is a successful show just because of you, and you act as if you’re oblivious when it comes to your behavior.

  “Isa, I love you, baby girl. God knows you are in the center of my heart. And I wish I could say that I was proud of you, but I can’t. Kory Banks is the best thing to have ever happened to you. Your mother and I didn’t think he’d stick around this long, so you will make me proud on your wedding day. That is when I will feel some kind of pride. To know you have succeeded at something that Tressa Isabella Green didn’t destroy, sabotage, or run off.”

  By then, Tressa was in tears. She knew every word that came out of her father’s mouth was truth and it cut like a double-edged sword.

  “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I know that I’ve been trouble for a long time, but I’ve changed and I am going to prove it to you. I am going to get my act together and be a good wife and may even give you grandchildren. I want you to be proud of me.” She stood, got his medication, and poured some water into his glass. “Here take your meds, Daddy, and get some rest. Kory will be by later to visit with you.”

  She didn’t give him the sedative because she wanted him to be up to talk to Kory. Although she didn’t plan on being with Kory beyond a year, she now needed to try to make it work so her father could be proud of her for something.

  She wouldn’t let Kory walk away without giving her a child. She needed anything to win back her daddy’s eyes and heart. Tiffany was smart, ambitious, and hardworking and all that blah, blah, blah, but she wasn’t a Green, she didn’t have Langley Green’s blood running through her veins. She needed to taint the golden girl’s good-girl image, and she knew just how she would do it. All she needed was opportunity.

  She went downstairs and chatted with her momma before heading to Kory’s. She knew he may not have been in a mood to see her, but she wanted to be close to him. She had hopes that he would hold her and comfort her pain away. When she got there, he wasn’t home. That was a total disappointment, so she pulled out her cell phone and called Stephen. He had a soiree going on at his place, so she headed over to have fun with him.

  A couple days later, her dad was up and ready to return to work. Although she thought it was too soon, she knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Kory was holding up his end of the bargain and had even allowed her to move back in after she had cornered him with threats of making Tiffany’s life a living hell. She wanted to convince everyone that she and Kory were fine. More than anyone, she wanted to convince Tiffany.

  In her head, as a reminder that she had what her nemesis wanted, she replayed the shocked look on Tiffany’s face when she had told her that they were back together and the wedding was still on. She knew Tiffany was jealous. She couldn’t wait until they were married, so she could show Tiffany to be the loser she really was. After that, she’d get clean and give her daddy a grandchild. That was something she was sure she would win her daddy over with. Tiffany wasn’t going to have Kory or her father. Tressa was still determined to figure out a way to destroy her show.

  Chapter Thirty

  Living with Tressa and not talking to Tiffany was driving Kory insane. All he thought about morning, noon, and night was Tiffany. He was going out of his mind trying to figure out how to get out of marrying Tressa. When news made it to Tiffany that he and Tressa were back together, she had called him and he knew from her voice that he had lost her forever. “Is it true?” was all she said when he picked up the phone. He had paused, swallowed hard, and whispered, “Yes.” He heard her sniffle and then the call ended. He tried calling her over and over, but she never once answered his calls.

  He hated the position he was in, but he would do whatever it took to keep Tressa from pulling the plug on Tiffany’s show. This was the only way he could keep Tressa under control, because she absolutely hated Tiffany. He just wanted to get the year he agreed to over with. He just hoped he’d make it without killing Tressa. He hated to just be in the same room with her.

  He headed to Keith’s house for dinner. He hadn’t spent much time lately with his cousin because the wedding was appr
oaching fast. He spent more time with his fake fiancée to keep up the façade of them being the happy couple. He hated pretending. He hated to look her dad in the eyes, knowing he didn’t love or want to be with his daughter. At times, he felt Mr. Green could sense it.

  One afternoon at lunch, when the women were in the kitchen, he asked Kory, “Are you getting cold feet, son?”

  Kory replied, “No, sir, it’s just coming quickly and I’m a li’l nervous.”

  His future father-in-law looked at him like he was searching for a true answer, so Kory said, “Mr. Green, I assure you, I’m not having second thoughts.” Mr. Green smiled and offered his future son-in-law a glass of imported Scotch.

  “So good to see you, cuz,” Keith said when he opened the door. He gave him a brotherly hug.

  “You too, man. It’s like we always have something going on, and with the wedding approaching, I’ve been mad busy,” he said.

  “Speaking of this wedding, why in the hell are you going through with it? I mean, come on, Kory. It is obvious that you are in love with Tiffany. Tressa is not the one and you know it.”

  “True, and that is the only reason I am going through with this. You know Tressa’s dad had that heart attack. Since then, Tressa’s been running the network for him, and if I don’t go through with this, she is going to shut Tiff’s show down, cuz. I can’t let that happen. All Tressa needs is a year to get her inheritance and then she and I can divorce. I love Tiffany, you know that. I’m doing this for her.”

  “You mean to tell me that she is threatening Tiffany’s show if you don’t meet her at the altar?”

  “Yes, that’s the gist of it.”

  “Damn, that’s fucked up, but at least I know now that you’re not a total idiot. And I hate that you have to endure this coke head for a year for Tiffany’s sake, but what other choice do you have? Tiffany would be devastated if her show was shut down after all the hard work she’s put into it and all she’s been through to keep it. I’ve visited her set a couple times, and she is on her business, cuz. But you love her that much to endure a year with this coke head?”