I'm Doin' Me

by Anna Black

  Her tension released. “I supposed you heard?”

  “Yeah, white peeps do stick together,” he joked with his hip-hop imitation.

  “Are you pissed?”

  “No, actually I’m proud. You stood your ground and I admire your drive.”

  “Thank you, Todd. You know this network left me no choice?”

  “I know, and you will be missed. You came in here and did your thing, and I hope you have even more success with the new network.”

  “Thank you, Todd.”

  “You’re welcome, just remember me if I end up on the unemployment line.”

  “No doubt. It was my luck walking in the wrong office, but you gave me my chance to shine and I won’t forget it,” she said and smiled.

  “Okay, kid, keep doin’ you,” he said mocking her. Every time he asked her what was up, her reply was, “I’m doin’ me.”

  Tiffany sat outside of Wallace’s office and her knees wouldn’t stop shaking. She was excited, but nervous. She had her pitch down and she felt great. When he finally called her in, she blew out a deep breath and sent up another silent prayer. The meeting lasted a couple hours and it went so well she wasn’t worried. Afterward, she got in the car and called Kory. She wanted to tell Tressa thanks again.

  “So it went well?” He sounded excited for her.

  “Yes, and I’m feeling high right now. I wanted to tell Tressa thank you again.”

  “Well, I will tell her tonight when she calls. Her and her mom went to San Diego this morning to look at wedding gowns.”

  “That’s cool. I just wanted to thank her. I mean, I’m so excited I’m about to burst.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Heading home.”

  “Why don’t we meet for drinks? I can call Keith and we can go out and celebrate.”

  “Great, do you mind if Asia tags along?”

  “Of course not, the more the merrier. I’ll text you the place,” he said.

  They hung up and Tiffany called Asia. She was not happy to hear that she couldn’t make it. She ran home and did a quick change and freshened up her face. When she got there, she texted Kory to say she was there. He texted back that he was at the bar. She spotted him and went over.

  He immediately stood and hugged her. “Wow you look fantastic.”

  “Thank you, so do you.” They sat down. “Where is Keith?”

  “Well, he couldn’t make it. His baby is running a fever, so . . .” He shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Where is Asia?”

  “She had papers to grade and yada, yada, yada.”

  He signaled for the bartender. “Well, I guess it’s just us. What would you like?” he asked when the bartender came over.

  “Cosmo please,” she said. The man nodded and went to make it right away.

  “So tell me all the details about your meeting today,” Kory said.

  Tiffany grinned. “Oh my God, Kory, it was awesome. I went in there, right? Nervous as hell, but Wallace was so nice. He let me tell him the direction I wanted to go in for the new season and he said that Boy Crazy would be the next best thing since Sex and the City, only with black chicks.” She laughed. The bartender set her drink in front of her and she took a sip. “I’m so excited. I just know this is going to work out. I can feel it.”

  “I know it will. Even though Reesy gets whatever she wants, I’m sure once you go in there and do you, they are going to be blown away,” he said sincerely.

  “You really think so?” she asked, looking him in his eyes.

  “Yes.” He took a sip of his drink. “Confession . . .”

  “What?” she asked curiously.

  “I purchased the last three seasons on DVD yesterday after Reesy left and I’m like three episodes away from season three.”

  She was surprised. “You watched my show?”

  “Yeah, I did, and to be honest, it’s a good show. Now, my parents would have beaten my ass for some of the shit these girls do, but hey.” They laughed. “Like that episode when Joy took her parents’ BMW on a joyride and wrecked it. Now, Kendal Banks would have torn me a new one.”

  She laughed. “Or the episode when Claire’s mom told her that she could not borrow her diamond studs and she dropped one down the drain. They tried to disconnect the pipe to get it out and flooded her mom’s master bathroom. Now that idea came from me wearing a pair of hoops my mom said not to wear and I lost one in gym. Little did I know, they were real gold and my momma whipped my ass for that.”

  They laughed some more and reminisced on their childhood. Two hours and a few drinks later, they were good and tipsy.

  “Okay, I think we should get a cab,” he suggested.

  “Yes, because I am in no condition to drive.” She stood and had to grab hold of the barstool because she lost her balance. That made her laugh.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Describe okay,” she said and they laughed.

  “Okay, since I am less drunk than you, I will get you a cab and make sure you get home safe.”

  “No, I can’t ask you to do that. I will be fine, Kory.” She slurred a little. “You live on the hill where the rich citizens live. Our places are like forty-five minutes apart.” She giggled.

  In her state, he didn’t trust putting her in a cab alone. “Come on, Tiff, let’s go, sweetheart.” He took her by the hand and grabbed her purse. She wasn’t too drunk to walk, but she wasn’t able to drive.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” she said.

  He stopped. “What’s wrong?”

  “I really, really, really need to take off these shoes.” She burst into laughter.

  He laughed with her. “Okay, just step out of them and I will carry them.”

  “Thank you,” she said and leaned against him to take them off.

  With her purse and shoes in hand, he hailed a cab. When they got inside it, he asked for her address. She told the driver her street, but not her house number.

  “Hold on,” Kory said and went into her purse. He pulled out her license and gave the driver the address. She rested in his arms and dozed off. When they arrived, he woke her. “Tiff, wake up.” He shook her.

  “Huh?” Her head popped up.

  “We are here,” he said.

  “Oh, Kory, thank you,” she said taking her purse and shoes. She was a little more sober after her nap.

  “No problem.”

  “You should come in,” she suggested.

  “Naw, I’m going to go home.”

  “Kory, that’s nonsense. It’s late. I’ll put on a pot of coffee. In the morning, we can cab it back to our cars.” He gave in and they went inside. She turned on the light. “Please make yourself at home. I am going to put on a pot and shower really quick, okay?”

  He nodded and sat on the sofa. When he looked at his phone, he saw that he had five missed calls from Tressa.

  “Where the hell have you been and why did you not answer my calls?” she asked when he called her back.

  “Calm down, Reesy. I was out with Vi and we were having drinks. I just got in and saw I missed your calls.”

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  “Reesy, where else would I be?”

  “Kory, if you are lying to me, I swear this wedding is off!” she yelled.

  “Reesy, I’ve had a few drinks, I’m tired, and I can’t do this with you tonight. Either you trust me or you don’t.”

  “Okay, I will see you tomorrow evening. We won’t be back until close to dinner.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Okay, Kory, I love you,” she said.

  “I love you too,” he said before hanging up.

  A little later, Tiffany came out in cotton PJs and her face scrubbed clean. Kory sat up when she approached.

  “How do you take your coffee?” she asked.

  “One cream, two sugars,” he said.

  She went to pour both of them a cup. She handed him his and took a seat at the other end of the sofa.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.r />
  “For what?”

  “For drinking too much and making you lie to your fiancée.”

  He laughed a little. He hadn’t known she’d heard him call Tressa. “You don’t have to apologize, Tiff. I didn’t lie for me. I lied for you,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have no problems with telling Reesy the truth. I can handle her and my relationship. I just know how important your career and your show is to you, and I don’t want to do anything to hinder that. You are talented and you are passionate about what you are doing, and I do hope Mr. Green contracts your show. It will be a hit.”

  She smiled and he smiled back at her. Her smile was beautiful. He saw the teenager he had a thing for back in the day and he had to admit that there was more to it than there should have been.

  “Thank you, Kory. And thank you for thinking of my career. I would never want to put you in a situation where you have to lie to her about hanging out with me, so after tonight, maybe we shouldn’t hang anymore. I mean, I can understand why Tressa feels the way she feels, because if we were engaged, I wouldn’t want you hanging with her.”

  “No, we can’t stop being friends, Tiff. Now that you are back in my life, I don’t want to not ever see you again.”

  “Huh?” she asked.

  “I just don’t think that us not being friends is the right answer, that’s all,” he said, realizing he should not have said “back in his life.”

  “I don’t want to cause problems for you, Kory.”

  He put his coffee down and moved to her end. “You won’t,” he said. He hated that he wanted to kiss her. He looked at her beautiful face and caressed her cheek. “Listen, Tiff, it’s been great seeing you again and hanging out with you. I just don’t want to never see you again.”

  “Okay,” she said and looked down. “Listen, I’m gonna turn in.” She stood up. “Let me show you to the guest room.” She led him to his room and turned on the light. “The fridge is full and you are welcome to make yourself at home.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Tiffany,” he said.

  Tiffany went to her room. She lay there and stared at the ceiling, telling herself not to get up and go back into the guest room. She wanted to lie next to Kory. She wanted him to hold her, but she knew it wouldn’t be right. Finally she fell asleep, and the next day she woke up after ten.

  She was late for work, but she didn’t care. She headed straight to her guest room to wake him, but the bed was empty. She went into the front to look for him and found a note on her chalkboard saying, HAVE A GOOD DAY! He had drawn a smiley face.

  She smiled and went back to her room to get ready for work.

  Chapter Ten

  Tiffany sat at her desk tapping her pen. It had been three days since her meeting with Wallace and since she’d last seen or heard from Kory. She was on edge and thought she would lose it. She stared at Wallace’s card for hours, fighting the urge to call him. She wanted so badly to hear the verdict. She didn’t want to go into the idea room without news, but what could she do, she didn’t have any news. She grabbed her notes and went in. Everyone seemed to feel like she did and she understood.

  “Okay, people,” she said, “we have six more episodes to write. I need to know what episode you are on and where we are. We have less than a month before we start taping, so give it to me.”

  They all opened their notebooks. Darryl started reading and they read through the script for episode eighteen. It was good, Tiffany had to admit, but her mind was on TiMax.

  “Okay, that was great, you guys. We are going to have a slamming season,” she said.

  “Then what?” Darryl asked.

  “I don’t know, Dee. It is on my mind every second too, you guys, but we gotta have faith. This is gonna work, so please, enough with the sad faces. As a matter of fact, go to your offices, grab your purses and wallets, and let’s take a long lunch.”

  They went out as a group and ate and drank. When they came back, they were all smiles until they hit their floor. Myah was standing by the reception desk and she looked as if her mother died. All the laughter ceased.

  “Mee-Mee, what?” Tiffany asked. “What is it?”

  Myah’s eyes welled. “Wallace Mitchell called while you guys were out and TiMax declined the show.”

  Tiffany grabbed her chest. She thought she’d have a heart attack right then and there. “Excuse me,” she said and ran to the stairwell.

  They were twenty-five stories up, but she ran all the way down the stairs. By the time she got to the bottom, she was crying uncontrollably. She dug around her purse for her phone and when she retrieved it, she called Kory first, but he didn’t answer. She left a message. “Kory, this is Tiff. It didn’t work, they said no,” she cried.

  Kory was in the shower. When Reesy saw his phone spin on the dresser, she went over and saw Tiffany’s name across the screen. She waited until it stopped ringing and went to his call log and deleted the call. When the voicemail notification popped up, she went to his messages and deleted it. She wanted to hear what it said, but couldn’t take a chance on him coming out and catching her listening to it. When he came out the shower, she didn’t say a word.

  Tiffany was glad she had her purse and keys. She went to the parking lot got into her Beemer and left. She drove home in a daze wondering, what now? One more season and then unemployment. She walked into her house and went straight for the liquor cabinet. She grabbed the Cîroc and flopped down onto the sofa. After drinking almost half the bottle, she put it down and struggled to get to the bathroom to relieve her bladder. She finished and sat there sobbing.

  She couldn’t believe they declined. Why would they decline? Now, her and her entire staff would have to move on to something else. She stood, peeled off her clothes, and went to bed naked.

  The next morning, she woke up and decided she wouldn’t allow this to consume her. She called a meeting and gave her staff the farewell speech. She ended it with, “Let’s finish this with a bang.” They all applauded.

  What could she do? It was out of her hands. She had contacted fifteen networks and gotten nowhere, so she accepted it for what it was worth.

  Tiffany and Asia arrived on time for Kory and Tressa’s engagement party. Tiffany was excited because she was going to see Kennedy. They went inside and the host showed them to their table. They were seated at Kory’s family’s table right next to Kennedy. She went to the open bar to get a drink and then she saw Kennedy.

  She screamed. “Kay, oh my God!”

  “Tiffany, how are you?” Kennedy yelled back. They hugged for what seemed like eternity.

  “Look at you. You haven’t changed a bit.”

  “You haven’t either, girl. You are slaying in that outfit. You are still gorgeous,” her friend said.

  “And so are you,” she said. They heard a voice call out for Kennedy and turned to see who it was. “Oh my God, that is not Cherae,” Tiffany said, floored.

  “Tiffany?” Cher said.

  “Cher,” she said and they hugged.

  “What are you doing in L.A., girl? And furthermore, why am I not at you and Kory’s engagement party? We all know y’all had a thing for each other.” She winked.

  “We did not,” Tiffany, said denying it.

  “Ummm, ya did,” Cher said and they laughed.

  “Well, I heard you dated him,” Tiffany said.

  “Shhhh, don’t you ever repeat that again. That should not have happened at all.” They laughed again.

  They went to their seats and Kennedy and Tiffany whispered back and forth, catching up and reminiscing.

  The DJ came on the mic and got the engagement party started. Tiffany dipped out to the ladies’ room, and when she came out she saw him. It was Langley Green. Her feet were like cement, but she decided to approach him.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Green,” she said.

  He looked at her and the person he was speaking to excused himself and moved on. “Yes?” he answered.

  “I don’t mean to
bother you, and I know this is supposed to be a celebration, but I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the opportunity of pitching to your network. I know you declined my show, but I thank you for even letting me in the door. In the future, if you are looking for a young, fresh writer, please keep me in mind,” she said humbly.

  He frowned. “I’m sorry, young lady, but have we met?”

  “No, sir, not formally.” She extended her hand. “I’m Tiffany Richardson, executive producer and head writer for the series Boy Crazy. Your daughter spoke to you about me a couple weeks ago.” The look on his face told her he had no idea what she was talking about. “You set me up with an interview with Wallace Mitchell.” He still looked like a deer in headlights. “I’m sorry, sir, you have no idea who I am, do you?”

  “No, I’m afraid I don’t, but I’d like for you to fill me in really quickly on what I am supposed to have done.”

  They walked over to a little bench and sat. Tiffany was amazed that he was inclined to hear her out. When she finally paused, he told her that he was familiar with the show and he knew of her and how she had taken the series from number six to number one in just one season. He told her to contact his office on Monday and they’d go from there.

  Knowing that Tressa had to be behind her fake meeting with Wallace Mitchell, she begged him not to mention their conversation to her. She didn’t want to cause problems with her and Kory. He assured her that she had nothing to worry about.

  They went back to the party. Although she was upset about what Tressa had done, she honestly envied the fact that the other woman had Kory. She told herself that she’d be okay. After Kennedy and Cherae headed back to their hotel, Asia was nowhere to be found. Tiffany texted her and called her, but got no response. She grabbed a glass of champagne from a server’s tray and went out to the terrace to take in the beautiful view. If she didn’t hear back from Asia soon, she was going to have her paged.

  “Are you enjoying the party?” a male voice asked from behind her.

  “Yes, it was very nice. Congratulations, Kory,” she said, looking out at the city.