Tamara nodded her head and continued to take notes as Maurice rambled on. He kept saying how great and dynamic Onyx Lounge was going to be. Maurice Harold was talking a lot of shit. Tamara had met men like him in the past. He was a fast talker. He was a man who could get you hyped and ready to go out and sell anything. He had that same type of charisma that a television evangelist had or the late-night commercial get-rich-overnight sellers. You don’t know why you believe, but you do. And she had to give him credit. Tamara was already somewhat believing in the dream.
Now that Maurice had finally stopped talking, it was Tamara’s turn to start asking questions.
“Is there a kitchen at this location?” she asked.
“Yeah and no. It’s still getting worked on and we are only doing light appetizers for the grand opening.”
“Did you have any color schemes, or themes in mind for the grand opening?” Tamara asked.
“No, I just wanted something very chic. I was thinking about making it a winter white event, or since we are opening the day before Valentine’s Day, maybe something all red.”
Tamara thought both of his ideas were horrible. “Maurice, you said you want a chic event. So why not make it an all black event and call it the Blackout? I mean, the club is called Onyx, and an onyx is black.”
Maurice smiled at Tamara and said, “That’s a good idea. Let’s go with it.”
“Is my office inside the club?” Tamara asked.
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that, too! They’re not finished with that yet, either. Won’t be for another two weeks. So for right now you’re going to have to work out of your apartment? Is that okay?”
Tamara was beginning to wonder what the hell she had gotten herself into. The Harold brothers didn’t have a solid guest list, theme, or menu for an event that was only weeks away. Maurice must have noticed the displeased look on her face. “Of course I’ll reimburse you for any expenses while you’re working out of your place.”
“Of course,” Tamara said as she took a sip of her coffee. Damn right, you will, she thought.
The meeting was over a half hour later. Tamara tucked the list inside her briefcase and exited the restaurant. She would deal with it later. She just wanted to enjoy her new city. She headed to Central Park to take in the sights. There were nannies pushing expensive big-wheeled carriages with babies bundled up like little caterpillars. Joggers with spandex were running around with not enough clothes on. A man was handing out a free newspaper call the New Democracy. Tamara walked past a curbside vendor selling hot peanuts. The aroma was enticing. She didn’t think she could trust eating food from the street, but she grabbed a bag anyway.
It was three hours later before Tamara was home and laying all her notes on her kitchen table. She looked over his contact list and huffed. She had to take advantage of every moment she had. She decided to write her own list. She needed a host, a radio station to promote the event, and she had to contact local and national media, photographers, a caterer, and sponsors. Then she still had to get her guest list together and figure out how she would decorate the event without getting into the club for another two weeks. Tamara was beginning to feel overwhelmed. However, she knew no matter what happened she had to get it done and the outcome had to be great.
Tamara thought working from home would be easy. All she had to do was roll out of bed, get her coffee, shower, and get on the telephone. However, she was having difficulties getting herself and things together. She had not made any progress in days. She spent the weekend watching VH-1 and told herself she would get to everything on Monday. When Monday came, instead of starting on her list she spent the day catching up with her grandmother and mother on the phone. Then she read her favorite online blogs and browsed her favorite gossip Web sites.
Tamara knew she was behind and the only way she would be able to get everything accomplished was by hiring an assistant. Ideally she was looking for a young college student who could help her a few hours a day. She went to Craig’s List and posted a help-wanted ad. Hopefully someone would respond as soon as possible.
Tamara began to check her e-mail. She saw one from Nicole with Call me. Important in the subject line. She opened the e-mail. It read for her to call Nicole at work.
“Nicole Gilham,” Nicole answered.
“What happened with Rahsan?”
“Okay, listen, I need your opinion on something. I told Rahsan I would try the whole natural thing out, right? But he said I have to start from scratch and cut all my hair off. So do you think I should cut my hair?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it is your hair and if he can’t appreciate the woman you are, then forget him. How about if it doesn’t work out and you cut off all your hair for nothing?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Well, how are things working out for you?”
“It’s okay. I have a lot of work to do but I can handle it. You know how I do.”
“I looked your bosses up. They are cuties.”
“Yeah, they are. They’re just unorganized as hell. I still have to do all this work. They don’t even have a host or a radio station to promote the club.”
“Really? Well, you know one of my sorors, Shaunell, works on the radio up there in New York. I don’t know which station, but I can find out for you.”
“That would be so good. See what you can find out. Your sorors work everywhere.”
“They do. That’s why you should have pledged pink and green,” Nicole sang out.
“I wasn’t with all that skiwee stuff. Back then I didn’t have time,” Tamara said, laughing.
“Don’t say stuff like that or I won’t call,” Nicole said seriously.
“Stop getting bent out of shape and just get the info for me. I’ll call you later. Bye.”
Truth be told, Tamara did wish she would have pledged something. She wished she was part of a sorority, a Delta or an AKA. But back then she was more into trying just to graduate and get out of college. But now she regretted that she missed out on all the connections.
Tamara thought she would get started with her work after lunch, but then she decided she needed to call her mother again.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“Getting things together for the Evans wedding next week. You know Latia Evans met her husband in college? Smart girl, right?”
Tamara ignored her mother’s comment. “Yes, smart girl, Mom.”
“How about the men out there? Any hopefuls yet?”
“No, not yet, Ma. I only been out here a couple of days.”
“Something will come through for you. And I’m glad you called. Do you think you will be able to take a week off in May? I want to take Nana on a cruise for her sixty-fifth birthday.”
“Tell me the dates. They probably have cheaper tickets online.”
“I’m not putting my credit card number in the air so somebody can go in my account and steal all my money.”
“Okay, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”
After Tamara hung up with her mother she went online to price cruises and e-mailed her mother the results. She turned on the television as she started unpacking, and turned to Oprah. After Oprah went off, there was a song that needed to be downloaded. Tamara had toes that needed the polish removed and hair that should be washed. By five o’clock she had retired for the day. It was too late to make phone calls and she was plain ol’ tired, although she hadn’t done anything work related.
The next morning Tamara began calling names from the list that Maurice had given her. Half the numbers were disconnected and the others no longer worked for the person anymore. Only about a fourth of the list was good. She decided to compile her own list of rappers, athletes, and entertainment elite. She dubbed it her must-haves wish list. If she got a third of them to show up, that would be great. She got their contact info and began calling. Her first ten calls she got three yeses, and one maybe, and six flat-out nos. She was a little discouraged, but she kept tryi
ng. She decided to get the hot new model everyone was talking about, Natalia. She dialed her publicist, Adriana.
“Hi, this is Tamara Murphy. I’m calling to invite your client Natalia to the grand opening of Club Onyx, a premier VIP club owned by the Harold brothers.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of them. What’s the date?”
“February thirteenth.”
“Sorry, she’s going to be out of town. Good luck, though,” she said shallowly as she ended the call. Tamara crossed her name off the list of hopeful guests. The next three publicists said they had to check schedules and call her back.
Tamara took a walk around her apartment and then decided to stop calling publicists. She would finish her list later. She began making press kits to send to newspapers, television stations, and magazines. She left a message for the Fox Morning Show and the New York Post. She then looked in the New York City Globe and called the entertainment editor. She got another voice mail and once again introduced herself and stated the reason for her call. Two minutes later she got a call back.
“Hi. Tamara Murphy please.”
“This is she.”
“Hi, this is Stephanie Meadows. I received your message. I would love to cover the grand opening of the Onyx Lounge, but more importantly can you get me an interview with the Harold brothers?”
“I’m pretty sure I can do that.”
“Thanks so much. I’ll try to get them as much coverage as possible. Let me know what their availability is.”
Damn, she thought as she hung up the telephone, why couldn’t all of my calls go like that? Tamara was so excited about the Globe being secured she began to relax a little until she got a reality check call from Maurice Harold. “Tamara, how are things going?” he asked.
“Oh, things are going great. I got you an interview with the Globe.”
“The Globe? Okay. What about the Daily News and the Post?”
“I’m still working on them.”
“Still working on them? You’ve been at it a week now, haven’t you?”
“Not quite. And like I said, I’m still working on them.” Tamara struggled to keep the attitude out of her voice.
“Well, if it’s okay I would like to meet up with you. You don’t have to come out. I can come to your place. Maybe about noon?”
“Noon? That’s fine,” Tamara said as she jumped out of bed and tried to figure out how to make her apartment look livable in three hours. She pushed all of her boxes into her room. She set up her kitchen, then her bathroom. Her place was coming together. She jumped in the shower and then put on a black skirt and a purple shirt with a collar.
She looked out the window just as Maurice was getting out of his car, and saw that the girl from the garden apartment was walking out her door as Maurice was starting up the stairs to the front door. Tamara rushed out to meet Maurice instead of waiting for him to ring the bell. She saw how her neighbor was eyeing him, and she didn’t know why, but she was a little jealous. She’d met Dior, a small china-doll-looking chick, a few days before, and she seemed nice, but still, she didn’t have any business making eyes at her boss.
“Hi, Maurice, come on in,” she said as she opened the door. “Oh, hi, Dior. I didn’t notice you there.” The woman smiled. Tamara smiled back.
Maurice followed her into the apartment. Tamara had paperwork lying around like she had been working very hard.
“This is a great place. I love these hardwood floors. How did you find it?”
“Through a broker.”
“You’re lucky. It’s really hard finding something this spacious and this nice. These hardwood floors are beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Tamara said.
“Did you find a host yet?” Maurice asked as he took a seat on the couch.
“No, but I’m working on it. I just about have Shaunell.”
“From WKAZ? I really like her. Make that happen. She is good. Also, I want you to call Daron Pearson’s publicist. I want him there. He’s in town shooting a movie. If we get him to come, that would be great.”
Tamara made a mental note of that. Daron Pearson was the next Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Chris Tucker, etc. “So, what else?”
“What are your plans after this?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to make some more phone calls and I’m hiring an assistant.”
“Okay, well, I want you to go with me to pick out office furniture.”
“When?”
“Can you go now?” he asked.
He really was pushy, but then again he was also fine, and there was nothing wrong with taking time to go out shopping with a handsome man. “Sure,” she heard herself saying. “Let me grab my coat.”
They went to the Furniture Warehouse, where she picked out a glass table, silver filing cabinets, and a big black leather office chair. Then they went to Staples to purchase office supplies. He took care of the charges, on his platinum American Express. She glanced over at him and noticed him staring at her legs. As soon as she caught him, he turned away. Then she caught him again. For a moment she imagined how his strong hands would feel going up her legs and then he caught her staring at him.
“Are you okay?” Maurice asked as he came up to her and began scrunching her shoulder. His simple touch excited her even if it was only her shoulder.
“I’m fine,” she said, pulling away from him. Keep everything in check, she reminded herself. He might be nice, good looking, and newly single, but he was also her boss. The last thing she needed was to get caught up on him. “You ready to leave?”
He paid for the items and arranged to have them delivered to the club, then dropped her back off at her brownstone.
“You’re doing a great job. Keep at it,” he said before pulling off.
Tamara was officially on a roll. She had secured the Fox Morning Show and had two sponsors, Genaurd Cognac and Maziane Jeans. She decided to do a few more follow-up calls and send a few e-mails, right after she watched an episode of Maury to see who the baby’s father was. She couldn’t turn the television off yet. Her eyes were fixed to the screen. Even as she brushed her teeth she came out of the bathroom to make sure the volume was up to the maximum. Maury took out the envelope and said, “You are the baby’s father.” The woman on the show jumped up and then began to yell at her proven baby’s father. Tamara turned off the television and began to get back to work. She checked her messages; there were five. One from Nicole, one from her mother, and three were calls in reference to the assistant position she had listed online.
“Nicole, what’s up?”
“I have all my soror Shaunell’s information. She hosts the afternoon drive at WKAZ. I can call her.”
“No, just give me her number and I’ll call her,” Tamara said. She called the radio station and asked to speak to Shaunell and was sent directly to her voice mail. She didn’t want to come across too eager, so she left her name and information and asked her to call her back.
The next day Tamara met with candidates who had responded to her ad for an assistant. She scheduled all of the appointments thirty minutes apart. The first person who came was a joke. Before he sat down she wanted to scream. He was a young nerdy Asian guy with an engineering degree. He didn’t have any experience in publicity or office work. He began to tell her how he didn’t have any money and at this point he was willing to take anything. Tamara felt sorry for him so she bought him lunch, told him to go to Monster.com, and wished him luck. The next person she interviewed was Amira Smalls. She was about twenty-two and had interned at her hometown radio station in Ohio. Tamara was really impressed initially, but after speaking with her she realized the girl was not very polished. Her hands were ashy and she kept using slang. She spoke to Tamara like they were homegirls. Although she really liked Amira she didn’t like her “round the way” approach. She tore up her resume as soon as she left. She waited around for her next interview, but he never showed up so she went home to take care of the rest of her business.
The popping and whistlin
g noise from the radiator interrupted Tamara’s thoughts. She had just over a month to get everything together. She still needed an assistant desperately. She had interviewed seven people and didn’t find anyone she liked. Tamara walked to her window and glanced out of it. She dreaded going outside. It was too cold out and it was supposed to snow. Tamara didn’t want to leave her warm apartment, but she had to meet up with Shaunell. She had returned her phone call earlier and asked her to meet her at the comedy show that she hosted every Wednesday. She needed Shaunell to host the event. She did a little research on her and found that she was a hot commodity. Shaunell was number one in New York City for the afternoon drive slot. With Shaunell on board as her host, other doors would open, or so Tamara hoped. But at this point she was getting desperate. NYC wasn’t as easy a nut to crack as she had thought it’d be. Initially everything was coming together for her. But now she had problems getting a caterer, and more sponsors. The last couple of publicists she had spoken to were very rude. It was becoming somewhat frustrating. In Atlanta Tamara had everything on lock because she knew everyone, and people who she didn’t know knew someone who she did. But this was new for her. Being rejected and people telling her no. She was becoming more than a little discouraged. She was beginning to think maybe she had made the wrong decision. Maybe she should go home before she got embarrassed. She was in over her head and she knew it. She missed her mother and Nana. She was lonely in New York City.
Despondent, Tamara decided to check her messages to see who else called back to turn her down.
“Tamara, this is your mother. I just wanted to say I was proud of you. It takes a lot to get up and move to a new city. I wish I had half of your determination, daughter. I love you! And eventually you will get that husband, so don’t give up, ’cause I need some grandbabies.”
She played the message twice. Her mother actually said she was proud of her? Maybe things weren’t so bad after all.
Diamond Playgirls Page 9
