“You’re an ex-con, according to the state of New York, Middle-brooks.”
“That’s a mean thing to say, Mr. Lomax.”
“You don’t turn down jobs like you have a choice in the matter. I think I’m going to have to show you I mean business,” Mr. Lomax said, raising his voice, his face starting to turn red.
“Look,” Ava said, scooting to the edge of her seat. “If they could just find something a little more suited to my liking—”
“What!” Mr. Lomax said, shooting up from his chair, leaning over his desk, giving Ava an incredulous look. “Do you understand what could happen here, what’s most likely about to happen?”
“Uh, no,” Ava said in a way that suggested whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad.
Mr. Lomax lowered his big body back into his chair and then slid open one of his desk drawers. He pulled out a sheet of paper, grabbed a pen and started writing.
Ava tried to get a look at what he was scribbling on the page. “Um, what are you doing?”
“It’s clear that you’re violating the conditions of your parole,” he said calmly, not looking up.
“What! Does that mean what I think it does? You trying to send me back to—”
“That’s what I’m going to recommend.”
Ava had to think quickly. There was no way in hell she was going back to that place. She wouldn’t survive that again. She had just found a wonderful stylist. Didn’t this man understand that?
Ava stood from her chair and approached the side of the desk. The dress she wore only showed the tiniest bit of cleavage, but Ava leaned forward to expose as much of her breasts to the fat man as she could. “Mr. Lomax, please.”
He looked up from the paper. “It’s too late,” he said, then looked back down, but only after taking a longer than normal glance at Ava’s plump twins. “I’m tired of wasting time with you. You obviously think this is a game.”
“No, Mr. Lomax,” Ava said in the sweetest dumb-blonde voice she could create. She shuffled farther around the desk until she stood in front of him. “I promise I’ll never waste your time again if you just give me one more chance.”
Mr. Lomax looked up and over his glasses at her. Ava could tell he was giving it a little thought. She just needed to give him a nudge.
Ava placed her hand on his thigh, just above his knee, squeezed it a little, and said, “I swear, if I don’t get a job in the next two weeks, you can do whatever you want with me.”
Mr. Lomax looked down at Ava’s hand on his knees, then up at her with narrowed eyes. “Don’t make promises you know you won’t keep.”
“No, Mr. Lomax,” Ava said suggestively. “I’ll bend over backward before I break a promise.”
Mr. Lomax gave Ava another long look, then balled up the form on his desk and pitched it into the wastepaper basket in the corner. “Okay. You’re free for right now, but let me say this, you don’t want to try me.”
CHAPTER
15
OMG, Madison, OMG! Are you serious?” Caressa squealed like the last girl selected for the varsity cheerleader squad.
“So do you want to do it?” Madison asked. She was holding Caressa’s hands to keep them from shaking as the two of them sat on the edge of her bed. Madison was thrilled to make her best friend so deliriously happy.
“Be on your show. Are you serious? What’s my character’s name?”
“Caressa, silly. It’s a reality show. You’ll be playing yourself.”
“Oh, I’m so slow,” she said, shaking her head. “A reality show. That’s even better. But what about the show for Disney?”
“I’m going to do that as well. The cameras will follow me as I shoot the series. So you’ll be on the set with me, only this time not as my assistant but as my best friend.”
Caressa threw her arms around Madison’s shoulders. “Madison, you’re the best. This is going to be so great.” She pulled back and said with a wide smile, “Now people will know me just like you.”
Something about that didn’t sit right with Madison. It felt a little too fast, too complete before they’d even started. But Madison let go of her suspicions. “I’m sure you’re going to have a lot of fans, Caressa. You’re so beautiful and nice. But I warn you, you will have your share of haters as well.”
“Who cares about haters? I can’t wait to tell my parents and Wallace.”
“Are you still talking to him?” Wallace Davis was the blue-eyed basketball star who Caressa had a mad crush on. The only problem was, he was a ladies’ man and didn’t treat Caressa in a manner that made either her or Madison happy.
“Well,” she said, coming down from her high long enough to explain, “he calls sometimes. But since he’s been away at college, I don’t hear from him as often.”
“Where did he end up?”
“Auburn University.”
“And that’s where? Down south?”
“It’s in Auburn, Alabama. He asked me to come down for a visit, but since I’m doing the show, I won’t be able to do that.” The somber tone that suddenly came on suggested that Caressa was weighing her options.
“Do you think he’d let us film the visit?” Madison asked. “That would be a great episode. The two of us visiting a college campus. I have a lot of fans in college. They all watch American Star.”
Caressa brightened, and Madison felt like she had come to the rescue once more. “That would be so cool.”
“And the producers would pay for our trips. When are you going to talk with him again?”
“I can call him tonight. I texted him this morning, but I haven’t heard back yet. I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t want us, though.”
“So just ask him,” Madison suggested with a shrug. “If he doesn’t, I’m sure the producers will come up with several other things for us to do.”
“You know what would be cool for them to film on the show? You looking for your birth mother.”
“What? Are you crazy? I don’t want to do that.” Madison had resigned herself years ago that she would never meet her birth mother. From all that her father had told her, the woman wasn’t likely to be responsive even if Madison took the trouble to locate her. Not that she hadn’t thought about this before. “Besides, who needs her now that I’m famous?” Madison said. She got off the bed and went to her dresser, picked up a brush and slowly stroked her hair.
Caressa knew that’s what Madison did when she didn’t want to talk about something. “Sorry that I brought it up, Madison,” she whispered.
Madison didn’t respond but continued to brush her hair and mouthed the number to each stroke.
Derrick walked into the room and exchanged a small smile with his daughter while she continued to brush her hair.
He thought for a moment. “They asked me about your mother.”
“Who asked?”
“The producers.” Derrick kept his eyes fixed on the floor, unable to talk about the topic any better than his daughter.
“What did you tell them?”
“I told them you don’t have a relationship with your mother.”
“Why didn’t you just tell the truth? That my real mother is dead,” Madison said as she turned away slightly.
“Your aunt died, sweetheart. That’s the truth. Your mother, I mean your birth mother, is still very much alive and while they didn’t say so, I think they know Yancey Braxton is your mother.”
“Who told them that?”
“I don’t know, Madison, showbiz people have a way of finding out things. Besides, don’t you remember how I told you that when you turn eighteen, if you want to meet Yancey, I will make it happen.”
“But I’m not eighteen yet, Daddy.”
“You will be soon. Why are you scared to meet her, Maddy?”
“I’m not scared.”
“I think you are.”
“I’m scared I might grow up to be like her.”
“Your personality is already clearly defined, Maddy, you don’t have to worry
about that.”
“So the producers brought this up?”
“I guess they think it would be good for the show.”
“Absolutely not.”
“See what I mean? Doing this show is not as simple as it seems.”
“I thought they were just going to concentrate on my show and my music. They have no right to pry into my personal life like that,” Madison said.
“And they haven’t yet, sweetheart, but I’m just telling you they might.”
“I don’t want to talk about this again. Have you thought any more about me getting my own place? It’s time for me to have my own life.”
Derrick stood up from the sofa and walked over to his daughter and put his arms around her. He whispered, “I think it’s too soon for you to be living alone, Madison. Your daddy is not ready to let go of his little girl.”
She sighed, sad at the thought of leaving her father’s house, but excited by the prospect of independence. “I know, Daddy, but it’s time. And it’s not like I’m going to be living alone. I’ll get a roommate and a dog.”
“Let me think about this some more. I don’t think I’m going to change my stance.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know, Madison. I need to pray on this.”
“But it’s my money,” Madison pouted. “Can’t I buy a place of my own with my own money?”
“You’re a star out there,” Derrick said pointing to the door, “but in here, I’m still your father.”
“What if I agree to meet Yancey? Then will you let me get my own place?”
“Are you trying to bribe me?”
“Not really, but just let me know what you decide,” Madison said and grabbed her keys off the counter.
“Oh, Madison, I forgot to tell you the real estate agent did find an old brownstone in Harlem that she thinks will be great for Jenny’s Place.”
“Cool beans. When can we see it?”
“I’ll find out.”
“I was thinking about asking Ms. Nicole to help out with the voice lessons.”
“Let’s do it!”
“Okay, Daddy. See you later.”
“Where are you going, young lady?”
“I’m going to the studio to redo some of the tracks for my CD. I’ll be back.”
“Make sure you’re back in time for dinner.”
“Daddy, you know I would never miss a chance to spend time with the best daddy in the world,” Madison laughed.
“You think you’re slick, don’t you, little girl?”
“Not slick, just smart, Daddy.”
CHAPTER
16
I only have ten minutes, Ms. Middlebrooks.” TV director Cole Cantwell was a no-nonsense type, and Ava for once had something besides pure nonsense to feed him. Cutting to the chase, he asked, “Can you tell me why it was so important that you meet with me?”
Ava took a seat in his midtown office. She adjusted her jacket and turned her knees toward the desk as if presenting an invitation.
“Thanks for seeing me. That little assistant of yours told me eleven o’clock sharp and then had me waiting for almost an hour.” Cantrell shifted in his chair. As the director of Yancey’s reality show, he had more to concern himself with. Seeing his impatience, Ava rushed ahead. “Now, I realize you’re a busy man being a director and all, but I’m a busy woman and my time is important too. If you need to get a new assistant, just let me know because maybe I can help you with that.”
He gave her a cold look. “I’m sorry, but I had a conference call that went a little over and thanks, but I’m perfectly happy with Liz. Now, how can I help you?” he asked, taking a swig of his Gatorade.
Ava returned his look with an even cooler smile. “It’s more how I can help you. You’re a director and one of the producers on my daughter’s reality show, right?”
“Who is your daughter?”
“Yancey Harrington Braxton, of course. I know we look more like sisters, but I had her really young.” Now it was Ava’s turn to cut to the chase. “I understand you did the Salt-N-Pepa reality show, which I really like, but I don’t think you’re going to have as much to work with when it comes to my daughter. I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you this, but she can be so secretive and fake. I mean, it is called a reality show, right? So she should be real. Don’t you think?”
“I’ve met Yancey, and she’s really beautiful and charming. We will be just fine. I’m really looking forward to shooting the show,” Cale said, as if that were the end of the discussion.
“Well, she is a fairly decent actress, but I have some information that I think might make the show more interesting for the audience.”
Cale frowned, as much out of annoyance for being forced to defend his star as over the time Ava was wasting. “What are you talking about?”
“Did Yancey tell you she has a teenage daughter who she gave up at birth?”
“No,” he said, stiffening.
“So I guess you didn’t know that her daughter is now a big star.”
“What are you talking about?” Cale asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Is this for real?”
Ava leaned in closer. “Does the name Madison B. ring any bells?” He looked both dumbfounded and overjoyed at this news. “Oh, I could tell you all sorts of interesting things about my daughter. Did she tell you that she once almost married a pro football player who was really gay and wrote a song about him, then took money from him so she wouldn’t tell his secret to the press?”
“Mrs. Middlebrooks, what are you talking about?”
“Then surely she didn’t tell you that she once put a laxative in the coffee of a young lady she was understudying in Dreamgirls and then went on to steal the part from her?” She had his complete attention now. “Cale love, you got yourself a sick, confused diva on your hands, and I think the public should know.”
He paused for a moment, overcome by these revelations. Finally Cole asked, “How do I know you’re really Yancey’s mother? Anyone can walk in off the street and pass themselves off as someone else.”
“Of course I am. I just want the show to be a success, and I think if you revisit some of Yancey’s past, people might understand her better.”
“And what role would you play in this? I understand from one of the producers that she was firm about you not being a part of the series. Is this a little case of payback? Are you jealous of your daughter?”
Ava let out a scream of laughter and slapped the desk. “Me, jealous of Yancey? Cale, tell me that you’re joking. Yancey has nothing that I want. I have tried all my life to get my daughter to tell the truth, and she just doesn’t understand the concept. But think about it. How great it would be if you reunited her with her daughter, ex fiancé and some of her ex castmates. What great television that would be. Your ratings would go through the roof.”
He shook his head. “That’s not the direction we’re taking. We’re concentrating on Yancey’s comeback in regards to her acting and recording career. I don’t think she wants to revisit her past. Now if you don’t have anything else I have another conference call in ten minutes,” Cale said as he stood up and extended his hand toward Ava. “It’s been nice talking with you.”
Ava remained seated, her mouth open in disbelief. “Is that it? Are you dismissing me, Cale?”
“Don’t look at it that way, Miss Middlebrooks. Let’s just say we have a different direction for the show.” He opened the door, a less than subtle invitation. “Have a nice day.”
“Who’s financing this joint? They might be interested in this information.”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
She stood and walked toward the door. “I think you’re going to be sorry for not taking my information. But I guess you know best,” she said, ignoring Cale’s extended hand.
CHAPTER
17
Even though I knew my life was about to be turned upside down, I was a little startled on the first day of shooting when I awoke
to find three men in my bedroom. Cale and two cameramen were there with a bright light greeting me as I woke up.
I got out of bed in a black-and-burgundy short teddy and my hair all over the place as I went into my bathroom to brush my teeth. I made them leave as I took my shower. As much as I wanted to shock the television audience, I was only going so far.
I put on my pink Juicy Couture warmup suit with a white Gap T-shirt and pulled my hair back in a ponytail. This was going to be a busy day. When I walked into the living room, the first person I saw was Lyrical, who was talking with Cale. When he saw me, he whispered something to her, and in a very loud voice she replied, “You want me to do it now?” Cale nodded his head and Lyrical walked toward me with a paper cup in her hand.
“Here is your coffee, Ms. Yancey,” she said with a smirk. “Do you need anything else?”
“Thank you and no,” I said, looking at Cale and the cameraman out of the corner of my eye. I took a sip of the coffee and almost spit it out because it was cold and tasted horrible.
“Is something wrong?” Lyrical asked, knowing full well the answer.
“This coffee is cold.”
“I’m not surprised,” she said, “I got it about an hour ago, but your ass was still in the bed.”
“I thought we talked about your language,” I scolded her, “and I want hot coffee.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Then you better get it yourself. I’m out of money, honey.”
I looked at Cale, who had a puzzled look on his face, and then back at Lyrical. I knew with her I was going to have to pick my battles wisely. And I really didn’t need any coffee, I told myself.
Trying to regain lost ground, I asked, “So what’s on my schedule today?”
“You have an audition and a doctor’s appointment at three.”
“A doctor’s appointment?”
“Yes, with a Dr. Kym Z. I guess it’s your annual pussy check.”
“Cale!” I screamed as I closed my eyes so that I couldn’t see this girl.
“Yes, Yancey. What’s the problem?” he asked as if he hadn’t been in the room.
“What’s the problem? Did you hear what she just said?”
Mama Dearest Page 16
