A Curve Ball Called Love

Chapter 7

By the time Tiffany finally got to sleep on Thursday evening, she was exhausted. It had been a long day and the way Douglas had handled her made her even more exhausted. She was actually happy that he’d done what he did. She didn’t remember the last time she had such a competent and attentive lover. It was probably two in the morning when they finally went to sleep but Tiffany still felt vibrant when she woke up on Friday morning. Douglas was still in her bed, holding her when her alarm went off.

“Good morning,” he said in a groggy voice as he pressed his lips into her shoulder.

“Good morning.”

“Are you always up this early?” he asked. “It’s barely light out.”

“I know but it takes a while for me to get started on the day.”

“Yeah, I noticed the treadmill.”

Tiffany smiled. She was a little too exhausted to do her usual workout that morning.

“I hardly ever get the time to go the gym. So, I brought one home.”

“Not a bad idea,” Douglas said as she turned around and looked at him. He stroked her cheek gently and then held her chin. “Last night was amazing,” he whispered.

“Yeah, it was but I’m afraid it has to end right now. I need to get to the office early. Today isn’t one of the days I can be late.”

He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

“I better be going then.”

She smiled.

“Yeah, that would be a good idea.”

He stroked her chin again and kissed her softly before he got out of bed. She walked to the bathroom as he quickly got dressed and left. He still had to get home and get ready for the office. The whole idea was to look like he’d had his eight hours even though he’d only had four or maybe less.

As for Tiffany, she was used to pulling off the fresh look even when she didn’t feel so good. It was a part of the unofficial job description.

Needless to say, she was feeling a little on edge when she finally got to the office. After her exchange with her boss the previous day, she wasn’t so sure what mood Virginia was going to be in. If anything, she expected complete mayhem. Or at the very least, a letter of dismissal. She was carefully planning her next step as she walked to her office. Part of her wanted to go back home and begin building her private portfolio. Perhaps it was time she went into business for herself. After the last few weeks, she had a feeling her stint at Entity was over. It all made her sad. As a plus size woman of color, she’d worked harder than ever just so she could prove herself and just when things were beginning to go her way, life threw her curve balls in the form of Douglas and Xavier. She would have been able to handle it if she was running her own PR firm. If she had more clients, then they would have covered her while she dealt with the public ridicule of her two public party boys but this wasn’t the case. She was answerable to Virginia Deacon and the world. The same world she would have to face in the event she needed a fresh start.

“Good morning, Ian,” she said as she walked past her assistant’s desk. “Is my coffee here yet?”

“Good morning and no. I thought that you would need it after your meeting with Virginia.”

Tiffany felt a chill run down her spine.

“What meeting?” she asked.

“Miss Deacon asked that you see her as soon as you get in,” Ian said.

Another chill went down her spine and her heart began beating faster and harder. She looked into her office and then at Ian.

“Would you put this on my desk, please?” she asked, handing Ian her bag.

“Sure.”

Ian took her bag and she took a long, deep breath before she began walking towards Virginia’s office on the other end of the bull pen.

This is what animals must feel on their way to the slaughter house, she thought as she walked.

Each step seemed to get heavier and harder. By the time she got to the CEO’s door, she felt like she was hyperventilating.

Slow, deep breaths, Meyers. Slow, deep breaths.

She stood at the door for a few seconds getting herself together before she softly knocked on Virginia’s door.

“Come in,” she heard Virginia calling from inside.

Tiffany took another long, deep breath before she opened the door and walked in. She had a phony smile on her face that disappeared as soon as she saw Douglas in the office. Immediately, she knew that something was off. What reason would he have had to be in there? If anything, she would have expected him to still be at home freshening up or maybe even asleep after his performance the previous night.

“Tiffany, please come in,” Virginia said, smiling. “Mr. Ingram and I were just talking about you.”

“I really don’t know how to react to that,” Tiffany said, once again forcing a smile.

“Don’t worry. We were only talking about the good here. It’s all in your favor,” Virginia said. She gestured at a chair in front of her desk. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Tiffany slowly walked to the chair and sat down. She looked at Douglas and then looked at Virginia. Something didn’t feel right.

“I thought that it would be best if we had this conversation before you got started on your day, especially after how everything went yesterday,” Virginia started. “Mr. Ingram and I had a talk and how you handled the situation yesterday was… amazing to say the least.”

“It was… I’m still surprised that no photos have somehow come up in the tabloids,” Douglas pointed out.

“I took care of that. I have a contact who handles a lot of business for major tabloids… let’s just say I owe them a favor to be determined in the near future,” Tiffany explained.

“So, the proactive discussion we had yesterday did work,” Virginia said in what Tiffany could only term as condescending. Of course she was proactive. That was how she always stayed ahead. Douglas and Xavier were just two wild cards which were to be expected in every public relations department. “After how you handled everything yesterday,” Virginia went on. “I think it is just right to offer you the Entity PR position permanently and indefinitely.”

Tiffany’s heart skipped a beat.

“What?” she asked.

“Yes, you have a job with us for as long as you want to. You’re an asset and you’ve just proved it yourself with everything that’s been going on… I mean, I had doubts that our latest issue was going to make it to the stands on time but you made it happen.”

Virginia was smiling.

“I don’t know what to say,” Tiffany said in a soft voice.

“Just say that you’ll take the job,” Douglas said.