A Curve Ball Called Love

She rubbed her temple and sighed loudly. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had to tell him sooner rather than later and time wasn’t on her side.

She didn’t know how long she’d been deep in thought when she heard a knock on her door. She looked up and saw Ian poking his head through the doorway.

“Production’s ready for you,” he said and she nodded.

“Thanks. I’ll be right there.”

Ian didn’t leave immediately, he looked at his boss for a long time before he spoke again.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You look exhausted… maybe you should take the day or something.”

Tiffany smiled at his assistant and shook her head.

“I’m fine. I just have this shoot and then I’ll be heading home.”

“I think this whole thing began happening since you gave up coffee,” Ian said in a soft voice. “I don’t think decaf is doing you any favors.”

“Don’t I know it,” Tiffany said under her breath as she pushed her seat back and got up. “I’ll be right there, Ian. Thanks.”

Ian flashed a smile at her and walked away, closing the door behind him.

Tiffany took a long, deep breath again.

“Okay, here goes,” she said to herself as she walked out of her office. She spotted Douglas walking out of his own office smiling at her.

“Hey, you,” he said when she got to where she was.

“Hey.”

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “You’ve been quite scarce lately, which is saying a lot since we work in the same area.”

She bit her lip guiltily. She’d been avoiding him quite a lot lately ever since she got confirmation of her pregnancy. Even when they met after hours, she was distant.

“It’s just… there’s a lot going on,” she said.

Those words were the only way she could give him an answer without telling him too much.

“Anything I can help you with?” he asked and she took a long, deep breath.

“When time comes, I’ll let you know what I need.”

He held her shoulder, making her stop, and he looked into her eyes.

“I don’t know how I’m going to keep my cool in there.”

“Are you one of the Anna-heads?” Tiffany asked, smiling and he shook his head.

“No, it has nothing to do with Anna Howell…. I just want to hold your hand so much. Or just hold you,” he said in a low voice.

She looked at him and felt her cheeks flushing.

“You can hold me all you want after the photo shoot,” she said. “We can head to your place or mine. You choose.”

He grinned.

“Now, that’s what I like to hear.”

They were just about to walk into the studio when Ellie Cavanagh walked up to Douglas and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Mr. Ingram, always a pleasure seeing you,” she said, flashing him her most flirtatious smile.

Tiffany thought that Ellie was standing a little too close to Douglas.

“Miss. Cavanagh,” Douglas said.

“Why don’t we drop all this miss and mister business?” she asked. “I mean, after all, I feel something brewing between us. Or is it just me?”

Douglas looked at Tiffany, who was now slowly walking towards the studio.

“I think it’s just you,” he pointed out coldly.

“Why, Mr. Ingram, if I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn that you were trying hard to keep me at arm’s length.”

Ellie wasn’t giving up.

“That’s because I wouldn’t want you to think that I’m leading you on,” Douglas said.

“Leading me on… I haven’t seen anything about you being with anyone in the papers,” Ellie pointed out. “Or is this you playing hard to get?”

Douglas forced a laugh.

“I don’t play games, Miss Cavanagh and the reason you haven’t seen me with anyone in the tabloids is because I’m serious about this new relationship. That’s why it’s off the public platform because I respect this girl too much to put her out there like some kind of trophy,” he said.

He could tell that Ellie was surprised by the way she was just standing there looking at him. From the corner of his eye, Douglas saw Tiffany smiling as she walked into the studio.

***

Douglas had always been in the tabloids but he’d never really known just how much it took for people to be on the cover of a magazine. The Anna Howell photo shoot had gone smoothly but he’d expected it to take half an hour or something thereabout. However, it was much, much longer. It took three hours for the photographer to get all the shots right. Tiffany explained that it took that long because they were experimenting with various sets and with each set, came a different outfit and a whole new makeup routine. It was a long three hours for Douglas but he stayed right through to the end.

When the session wrapped up, Douglas was watching Tiffany talk to the photographer. He liked watching her work. Watching her in her element was like watching a perfect storm. She was calm yet firm, decisive yet polite in the way she spoke. Those qualities weren’t easily seen in the people Douglas rubbed shoulders with. The only problem he’d had was that Ellie had been all over him throughout the shoot. He should have been used to it by now since that wasn’t the first time she was all over him. She was always inviting him out to a new club or dinner. She didn’t even try hiding the fact that she was flirting with him and he knew that much because he’d been in that situation countless times before. During the shoot, she kept finding reasons to touch him and rub up against him. She’d even undone a few buttons of her blouse so that he could get a perfect look at her rack but he wasn’t in the least bit interested. He just wanted to see his woman work. See her working her magic.

“Alright everyone,” Tiffany said as she smiled at the crew. “Thanks for all your input today.”

There was a murmur as the crew began walking out.

“Oh, don’t forget to stop by the break room. There’s a generous spread that has been laid out for you guys courtesy of Celia Morrow’s restaurant,” Tiffany said loudly enough so everyone could hear her.

She took a deep breath and walked towards the door.

“Are you stopping by the break room?” Douglas asked when she got to where he was. “Because I was thinking we could go to my place. I could arrange for a generous spread there as well.”

She smiled.

“I’ll just stop by for a few minutes. Show solidarity with my team. Celia Morrow’s place has some of the best food ever and a little birdie told me that they spotted a few sweet potato pies on the table.”

“Someone’s in the mood for Thanksgiving,” he said and she shrugged.

“Don’t start with me… you have a slice and be the judge,” she said as she walked to the break room.

“I’m not judging, I promise,” he said as he followed her to the break room.

There was an air of relief in the break room. The crew had been working harder and longer than just the three hours it took for the whole photo shoot. They were probably the only ones more relieved than Anna Howell that the day was over.

“I told you that the pies were great,” Tiffany said as she took a slice. “It’s just been minutes and two pies have already been devoured.”

Douglas was about to say something when Ellie walked up to them.

“Celia Morrow is a real sweetheart for arranging this for us, isn’t she?” she said in a soft voice.

Tiffany didn’t need to answer her. She knew that Ellie’s statement wasn’t directed at her. She looked at Douglas as she took her first bite of the pie. She looked at Douglas as he struggled carrying a conversation with her. Tiffany just stood there enjoying her slice of pie, silently enjoying what was unfolding between Douglas and Ellie. Douglas was looking at Tiffany the whole time and he was struggling to get away from Ellie so he could be next to the person he really wanted to be next to.

“Maybe you should put that slice down, Tiffany. You’re already gaining so much weight,” Ellie pointed out loudly.

There was a hushed gasp that swept across the break room.

“Excuse me?” Tiffany said as she looked at her.