I'm Doin' Me (3 page)

The next day, Tiffany sat in her office and watched the clock. She tried to avoid thoughts of Jeff and the events that had taken place the day before, but couldn't. She knew it was best to talk about it, but she was too busy pretending it never happened.

Work was the best thing for her to keep her mind occupied. She'd thought that working on writing the final season of
Boy Crazy
would be enough to take her mind off things, but it wasn't. She tried to focus, but she couldn't help but think of Jeff. He was the perfect boyfriend, she thought at times, because they never argued. He gave her space, and she gave him his. The sex was fantastic, and the brother could hang a suit. The gossip in L.A. was he was her frog prince because after they hooked up, he cleaned up. He owned an auto shop that wasn't the shop to go to until Tiffany turned all of her friends on to it. Even though his business grew rapidly, he never felt accomplished enough and she couldn't understand why.

He was Idris Elba fine, with cocoa skin and a body that would not offend society if he walked around naked. He wasn't a big romantic, but there were moments when he made Tiffany feel like she was a queen. She wasn't the average L.A. woman, meaning she was on the opposite end of a size zero. She was a Chicagoan and most women looked like her back home. They were considered thick, not fat, like L.A. natives saw her.

She was a twelve on a good day and her body was curvy. Her breasts still stood up, and her stomach wasn't bigger than her ass, so she looked sexy in everything she wore. Not light bright, but golden honey complexioned with relaxed hair that hung a little past her shoulders, she was sassy, and she turned heads. Being smart and on top of her game made her a catch. As far as she was concerned, Jeff had messed up the best thing he'd ever have. She was just going to have to get over it, she told herself. She grabbed her notes and eased by Myah to head to the idea room.

Today she didn't feel as passionate about her job as she had been the years before. How was she going to save her cast's and crew's jobs? Her thoughts jogged up and down her mind escalator, but she shut the power off when she walked into the idea room.

“Okay, ladies and gents,” she said as she took a seat. “We have to write a slamming season, and it has to be hot enough to get us another gig with another network or make KCLN change their minds. When I point to you, I want to hear some good shit. It's the girls' senior year, and we need some excitement, something suspenseful, and humorous. This is our moment, guys, so we gotta hit it.” She opened her portfolio to a blank page. “Norma, you're up. Go.”

“Claire confesses she's a virgin.”

Tiffany jotted it down. “Darryl,” she called out, without looking up from her notebook.

“Joy finds out her parents are secretly separated.”

“Brad.”

“The girls freak out about taking the SATs for college,” he said.

“Shelby.”

After five hours of going at it, they had the first few episode ideas mapped out. Tiffany decided it was time for a break, so she let everyone leave. Instead of eating the same old tuna sandwich from their cafeteria, she decided she'd go out for lunch. She decided on a little outdoor restaurant not far from her office building. After sitting down and ordering pasta salad, she looked around. A guy two tables over looked familiar to her, and only after a few seconds of ogling, it hit her.

“Kory,” she said loud enough for him to hear.

He looked her way. “Yes?” he replied.

“Kory Banks, right?”

“Yes, from KBanks Jewelers.”

“No, CVS high school, in Chicago.”

“Awww, snap. Tiffany Richardson, right?”

“Yes, it's me,” she replied.

He got up and walked over to her table. They exchanged a quick hug and began to catch up. They got past, “What brought you to L.A.?” and what they were doing now with their lives.

The waitress brought Tiffany's order and she asked Kory to join her. He grabbed his cold sandwich and took a seat. They continued talking, neither one of them eating until Tiffany realized she had to get back to the office.

“Wow, Tiffany Richardson. Wait 'til I tell Kennedy I ran into you,” he said.

Tiffany recognized the name. Kennedy was Kory's younger cousin. The two girls had been good friends in high school. They had both graduated the year after Kory. “Wow, Kennedy,” she said. “How is she?”

“She is good, running her very own jewelry store back home.”

“Man, that is awesome,” she said. She looked at her watch. “Listen, Kory, here is my card. My cell is on it. Please give me a buzz and we can possibly grab dinner or something.”

Kory gave her his card too. “Great. And it was good seeing you, Tiff. I mean, you look incredible.”

“And so do you. L.A. has certainly treated you well.”

“Yes, it has,” he said.

They said their good-byes and she hurried back to her building. When she walked into the idea room, everyone got quiet.

“I'm going to assume we got some writing done in my absence?” she asked. A few moments later, she learned that they actually had been working and had some fantastic ideas.

They finished out the day and everybody went home. Tiffany couldn't wait to call her homegirl back in Chicago, Rose, to tell her about running into Kory.

“No way, not Kory Banks,” she said, sounding shocked.

“Yes, girl. There I was, sitting there after ordering my pasta salad and I noticed him sitting two tables over.”

“Small world for real. I know you got his number?” Rose asked.

“Fo'sho. You know I had the biggest crush on Kory in school,” Tiffany said as she grabbed her Bailey's ice cream from the freezer.

“Crush is an understatement. You were obsessed with him.”

“I was not,” Tiffany protested.

“Yes, Tiff, you were. I remember you'd stay at your locker until after he walked away sometimes, even if it made you late for class.”

“Yes, I guess I was cuckoo for Kory back then.”

“And now?”

“Girl, I don't know what I feel. It's like . . . Seeing him was like laying my eyes on an angel. And you know, after what happened to me yesterday with Jeff, I thought God sent Kory in to save the day.”

“Maybe he did,” Rose said.

“I don't know. I mean, we caught up, but he didn't look at me with that ‘oooh I'm happy to see you' look. You know, there was no flirting.”

“Well, the next step is to call him. You're a grown-ass woman now. You don't have to have a secret crush anymore.”

“Yes, you're right,” Tiffany said, looking at his card. “Listen, I will wait 'til tomorrow. Give him a call and see when he is free, and if I find out he is single, I will make my move.”

“Well, you'd better keep me posted. I want to know all the details.”

“I know you do and don't go telling your nosey-ass sister, Rose. I'm serious, she talks too much.”

“Okay, I won't say a word.”

They got off the phone and Tiffany went to shower. She got into bed and turned on the tube. Her phone vibrated. A text from Jeff:

She deleted it and got comfortable in bed. A couple moments later, she got another text from him:

She sent a text back with a one word reply:

The next text she got said he just wanted to talk. She sighed and typed a longer reply:

He continued to text her for another hour. Finally tired of hearing the notifications going off, she put her phone on silent so she could get some sleep.

Day two of writing was exhausting, and Tiffany couldn't wait to call it quits. She headed back to her office and stopped by Myah's desk to see if anyone had returned any of her calls. No one had. She'd called every network in the book, trying to get an appointment, but kept getting the same “I'll have someone call you back” response.

Frustrated and tired, she sat at her desk and kicked off her shoes. She undid her suit jacket and then opened her right bottom drawer and pulled out her bottle of Remy. It was her pick-me-up on days like this, when she needed a hug. She grabbed her empty coffee mug and poured some in and took a sip.

“God help me,” she said out loud. Her line rang. “Yes, Myah?” Her assistant announced that someone was on the line from UVN, Urban Views Network, a place where Tiffany knew the show would continue to be a success. “Hi, this is Tiffany,” she said when the call was patched through.

“Hey, Tiffany, this is Amanda. How are you today?”

“I'm great, Amanda. It is so good to hear from you.”

“Likewise. What's going on, Tiffany? What can I do you for?”

“Well, as you know,
Boy Crazy
is going into its final season,” she explained. “KCLN is not on board with some of the producers, writers, and cast members' ideas and they may not give us a new contract.” She hoped to hear positive news over the phone, but she ended up being transferred to Amanda's assistant to set up an appointment. Which was fine after she thought about it; at least she had made one contact.

She was shocked by the lack of response she was getting.
Boy Crazy
was such a brilliant show, and she just wanted somebody to give them a break. She made a few more phone calls and then decided she'd call it a day.

Now that work was left at the office, Kory was the first thing that jumped into her mind when she got in the car. She fished for his card and called him before pulling out of her parking space.

“This is Kory,” he answered.

“Hi, Kory, this is Tiffany. How are you?”

“I'm great, Tiffany, how are you?”

“Good,” she said. Then it was dead silence. That was bad. “I, ummm, just wanted to touch base with you and see if you were free for dinner.” Nervous, she hoped he wouldn't say no.

“Well, tonight I'm not, but tomorrow is good for me,” he said.

She accepted. That was only one day. She had gone without seeing her high school love for years, so twenty-four hours would be a piece a cake she thought. “Sure, tomorrow would be perfect. There is a Fig & Olive on Melrose, say around seven?” she asked and hoped that would be acceptable.

“I'm familiar. That will be great.”

She smiled. “Cool, I look forward to seeing you.”

“You too, Tiff, take care.”

They hung up. She scrolled through her numbers until she got to Rose's name. She wanted to call her before she called Asia. She wanted to go by Asia's to see Asia in person and fill her in on the details about Kory because she had never mentioned him to her before. To run into him in L.A. was mind-blowing. She couldn't wait to tell her friend the entire history of her high school crush.

She squealed when Rose answered, “Okay, he agreed to meet me for dinner tomorrow.”

“Tiff, that is like the best news I've heard all week. I mean, like, are you going to tell him that you were in love from the first moment you saw him?”

“Ummm, no,” Tiffany said and laughed.

“Why not?”

“Because that sounds corny and juvenile, Rose. I can't come off like a stalker.”

“Yeah, you're right, that may come off a little too strong.”

“Yes, I am going to take my time, play it cool, and then I am going to devour him,” Tiffany joked.

“Oooh, girl, you so nasty,” Rose said playfully.

“Yes, I am. I feel like a horny teenager, Rose, just thinking about it. God, I loved me some Kory back then.”

“What about now?”

“Rose, come on, be serious. I like him. He's still sexy as hell, but I don't know that man. He could be a beater, or weird, you know, like have some crazy-ass foot fetish or worse.” Tiffany paused, and they both said, “Gay,” and burst into laughter. “Oh Lord, Rose, if he is gay, I may slit my wrist,” she joked.

“Well, you said he was dressed nice, and you do live out in L.A. A bus ride from San Francisco,” she joked.

Tiffany didn't like that one bit. “Shut up, Rose, don't jinx it. I am so sure he isn't gay, okay? And we will never say that about my future husband and baby daddy again. Understood?” She cranked the engine, because she was starting to sweat in her hot-ass car.

“Understood,” Rose said.

The two women got off the phone and Tiffany went home to her lonely place and poured herself a glass of merlot and pulled out the manuscripts of the show from her bag. She had the first two episodes to proof, so she decided to work until she was ready to go to sleep. She put on her pajamas and wrapped her hair, sat in her favorite chair, and put her feet up on her ottoman. She had just grabbed her red Sharpie to get started when her doorbell rang. She looked at the clock and wondered who it could be. She tossed the script onto the ottoman and went for the door.

It was Jeff.

She paused, but opened the door. “Why are you here?”

“Can I come in?” he asked.

She folded her arms. “No, you can't, Jeff. Why are you here?”

“Listen, Tiff, I fucked up, okay? What I did was wrong and it is eating me up inside. I came by to ask you to forgive me and to give me another chance.”

“Are you serious right now, Jeffrey? Two days ago, I come home and catch you in my bed with the hired help, and you thought I'd give you another chance? I forgive you and accept your apology, but another chance is not going to happen.”

“Come on, Tiff, please. I am so sorry. I had a weak moment. She was here sashaying her ass around and in my face and I did a stupid thing. I was wrong. I am admitting that. I love you.”

She wanted to laugh in his face. “Oh my God, Jeffrey. Listen, I have work to do and I don't have time for this. Good night!” she yelled.

She tried to close the door, but he stopped her. He grabbed her and kissed her deeply. She didn't stop him at first, but when he touched her breast, she pulled away.

“Jeff, you need to leave,” she said and backed up.

“I need you, and I want another chance,” he said.

Her eyes welled. “Jeff, the wound is still open, and I can't do this right now. I forgive you, okay, but that is all I can give you right now.”

“Fair enough, Tiffany. You take all the time you need. Just know that I am sorry for what I did, and if you allow me another chance with you, I'll never hurt you again.”

She wanted to believe him, but somehow she didn't. “Good night, Jeff.” she said.

He walked away. She shut the door and contemplated whether she should open the door and let him in, but decided she wasn't going to let him come back so easy. She didn't want him to think for one second that what he did was okay.

Tiffany tried to get back to work, but now she couldn't focus. She cared for Jeff, yes, but she doubted she loved him. She was hurt by his actions, but for some reason, she wasn't hurt that the relationship ended. She wondered if she meant it when she said “I love you,” or did she say it back because it was the thing to say when someone said it to you? Thinking about it, she realized she truly didn't mean it. At least she assumed she didn't, since she didn't feel like she was going to miss him much. Or maybe she already had high hopes for Kory and her judgment was being clouded.

She grabbed the script and managed to get back to work. She reread it a few times and when she looked up again, it was after midnight. After taking her glass into the kitchen, she went back to her room and went to her closet to pick an outfit to wear to dinner the next night. She decided on a sleeveless, low-cut number that was made to undeniably get a man's attention. She hadn't worn it in months, so she removed it from the hanger to try it on.

“Perfect,” she said, admiring her curves in the mirror. She stepped into her pumps and turned to the side, admiring her ass in her three-way mirror. It was plump and looked sensational, she thought and smiled. That would be her “first date with Kory” dress.

She took it off and hung it back up and headed to bed, but couldn't fall asleep. She lay awake imagining what the date would be like. Finally, she fell asleep, and before she knew it, her alarm was blaring.

Too tired to move, she called Myah and said she would be in later and then she went back to sleep for a couple more hours.