Eye Candy (6 page)

Chapter 11

L
ibraries just weren't what they used to be. You used to be able to come here and study and read, but this place looked like party central. And the librarian was sitting at her desk, reading a magazine, acting like she didn't see the commotion around her.

For once, I wasn't at the center of the chatter. I was trying desperately to get these makeup assignments done. I'd missed a few assignments that truly could keep me from graduating, and since I wasn't trying to have that, at all, I needed to pull it together.

“Hey, Maya,” Nelly said, sliding in the seat across the table from me. This geek named Karrington White was attached to her hip. Karrington could best be described as a goth girl because that's what she looked like with her long black hair and all black clothes. Or at least she used to be known as that. Since she'd started following Nelly around, she'd started dressing like her. Gone were the dark clothes. Now, she wore colorful leggings and some taffeta blouse. When she sat next to Nelly, who had on a chiffon-looking pink dress, they looked like some circus freaks.

“What are you doing?” Nelly asked.

I looked at Nelly, down at my book, then back up at her. “Painting my toenails,” I replied.

She giggled. “Girl, you are silly.”

“Yeah, Nelly, is there something I can help you with?” I asked. I don't know why she was all of a sudden trying to get buddy-buddy with me, but I wasn't interested. Maybe she wanted me to ask her more questions about what she had been doing at the station. But I wasn't trying to do that either.

“We just don't know each other that well and I just thought we should get to know one another better,” she replied. And there went that stupid grin.

“And why would we do that?” I said, not bothering to hide my exasperation.

“You never know,” she sang.

“I saw you and J. Love on the Internet,” Karrington threw in. Did she just want to feel like part of the conversation? In all four years at Miami High, I'd never held a conversation with this girl. Why in the world did she think I wanted to start now?

“Good for you,” I replied.

“I thought you had a boyfriend,” Karrington said.

“I do.”

Nelly looked confused. “But the blogs said—”

“And you can't believe everything you read online,” I snapped. Okay, what was up with this chick? She didn't know me like that. And I didn't want to get to know her either.

“Where there's smoke there's fire,” Nelly said, wagging a finger.

Karrington flashed her hands as if she were blowing something up. “Poof! And there are puffs of smoke all over you and J. Love.”

I just stared at her. This chick had to be the corniest person I'd ever met.

Nelly leaned into the table. “Aww, come on. You can tell me.”

“I can't tell you anything because there's nothing to tell,” I snapped. “I have a boyfriend, but what's it to you anyway? You and Nosey Nancy doing a story on me?”

Nelly sat back in her seat. “Maya, do you not like me?” She had the nerve to try and act like her feelings were hurt.

“I don't know you well enough to not like you.” I wanted to tell her no, I didn't like her at all, that something about her rubbed me the wrong way. But I didn't want to go there, so I just left it alone.

“Well, I was just wondering if you didn't like me because sometimes it really seems that way,” Nelly said.

“Yeah, it seems that way,” Karrington added.

I wanted to tell Polly the parrot to shut up. But I just stared at Nelly and said in a straightforward tone, “If I had time to devote to you, I might give it some thought. But I don't, so I don't.”

“We were just making conversation,” Nelly said.

“Yeah, just trying to talk,” Karrington echoed.

I threw my hands up. “Do you two not see that I'm trying to work?”

Both of them looked around the library. “You're the only one working.”

“Well, I'm trying to make sure I graduate.”

“Oh,” Karrington said. “I have a 4.1 GPA, so I'll definitely be graduating. It doesn't matter whether I study.”

“And I have a fat bank account so it doesn't matter whether I study,” Nelly chimed in and they both busted out laughing.

“I have a fat bank account as well,” I said. “But I don't want to be dumb with money.”

“Fine,” Nelly huffed as she stood up. “It's obvious that you don't want to be bothered.”

“And it wasn't obvious ten minutes ago?” I mumbled.

“You don't have to be rude,” Karrington replied.

I exhaled. “Look, I wasn't trying to be rude,” I said. They didn't faze me at all, but I just wasn't in the mood to go back and forth with them. “I'm just really trying to study.”

A smile crept back up on Nelly's face. “All right, we'll let you get back to work. I have a feeling we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later.”

I buried my head back in my book. I had no idea what she meant by that. And right about now, I had no desire to try and figure it out.

Chapter 12

M
y eyes absolutely had to be deceiving me. No way was that Ross Nixon sitting in the lobby of our TV station. I peeked through the lobby window to get a better look.

“Yolanda,” I said, stopping my assistant as she walked down the hall. “What is Ross Nixon doing here?”

She hunched her shoulders. “I guess he has an interview.”

“An interview? No one told me that Ross was going to be on the show.” Ross was only the hottest up-and-coming young actor in the business. Rumor had it that his latest movie was going to win him an Oscar.

Yolanda shrugged and continued walking down the hall. I guess she felt like she didn't have anything to do with show guests, so she was no help.

I brushed my skirt down, checked my lipstick to make sure the Cherry Red was poppin', then sashayed into the front lobby.

“Ross,” I said, greeting him like we were old friends. “It is such a pleasure to meet you. When I heard you were here, I said let me come and greet him personally.”

He stood and shook my hand. “Hey, ummm, ummm.” He snapped his fingers like he was trying to remember my name.
Really?

“Maya. Maya Morgan,” I said, pointing to the big framed poster over my shoulder. “Host of
Rumor Central
. You know, the reason you're here today.”

“Ah, yeah, Maya. But there must be some kind of mis—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the double doors swung open and Nelly bounced into the lobby. Why was she up here again? “Hey, you,” she said, all but throwing herself into his arms.

He picked her up and swung her around.

“When did you get back in town?” she asked.

“Just landed. Came straight here to see you.” He stepped back and looked her up and down. “Dang, girl, you look good. Is that the Chanel outfit I bought you?”

She modeled, a big cheesy grin across her face as she twirled around. “It sure is.”

At that moment, I wished that a big earthquake would come, create a gigantic gap that would then immediately swallow me up. How was Nelly dating Ross Nixon? And he was buying her expensive outfits?

“I was just standing here talking to Maya. For some reason, she thinks I'm here for her show.”

Nelly giggled as she looked at me. “No, Ross is here to pick me up.”

“Yeah, I'm just here for my boo,” he said, pulling her closer.

“So, are you ready?” he asked her.

“I sure am.” She tucked a small clutch under her arm, then turned to Liz, who was obviously eating all of this up, at the front desk and said, “Can you let Tamara know I'm gone?” She took Ross's hand. “Oh, and Maya, I don't quite know how to say this, but it's
our
show now.”

“Excuse me,” I said.

“
Our
show,” she repeated. “You might want to go talk to Tamara about that.”

“Yeah,” Ross said, grinning hard, “that's what I'm here for. To take my baby out and celebrate her being named cohost of
Rumor Central
.”

“Are you freakin' kidding me?” I shrieked. For some reason, both of them and Liz looked at me in shock.

But Nelly quickly pulled it together and went back to flashing that stupid smile.

“I'm sure Tam will explain everything. Ta-ta.” She gave me a stupid finger wave as they walked out the door.

Liz averted her eyes when I glanced in her direction, but I knew as soon as I left she'd be on the phone telling everybody and their mama about the drama that had just unfolded. But I couldn't concern myself with that now. I pushed through the lobby doors, and stomped down the hall, straight into Tamara's office.

“I think I need to fire Kelley, since she doesn't seem to be doing her job,” Tamara snapped as I barged into her office.

“And what would her job be? Keeping me out so that I didn't know that you had stabbed me in my back? Again?”

“Okay, Maya. What are the theatrics about now?” Tamara said as she set her pen down and let out a long sigh.

I stood over her desk, trying to contain my anger.

“There are no theatrics unless you want to count stabbing me in the back once again.”

She rolled her eyes like I was boring her.

“And do, please, tell me how I stabbed you in the back
this
time.”

“Let's see. Nelly Fulton. As cohost? I thought we'd been there and tried that.” Tamara had forced my former
Miami Divas
costar Evian Javid on me a few months ago after Evian got kidnapped on spring break. Or, shall I say, pretended to be kidnapped. Turns out Evian was a big, fat liar, had faked the whole thing, and that whole mess had blown up and given the station some really bad press. So, I couldn't believe they were even thinking about trying that again.

“We did try it, and it was actually going pretty well until Evian's little mishap,” Tamara said. “We have to keep
Rumor Central
evolving. And even though it didn't work out with Evian, we think Nelly's the one. Her popularity alone is a definite ratings draw.”

I couldn't believe this. “Uggh. Shouldn't she be off somewhere making a record or something?”

“That's just it. She actually likes this better and we're more than willing to let her do both. Kinda like Kelly Rowland doing
X Factor
. J. Lo doing
American Idol
.”

“This is freakin' insane,” I screamed.

She shook her head. “It always is with you, Maya. It always is,” she said as she went back to work like she was dismissing me.

I didn't move. I just stood there fuming at her not only doing this, but trying to dismiss me like I was irrelevant. “I'm not working with Nelly Fulton,” I snapped.

Tamara glared at me. “And you should know by now, I don't do threats. It's not a good look for you, either.”

“Why are you doing this?” I cried, changing my approach. “I bust my butt for this station. I've lost friends, worked like crazy, and you do me like this?”

“Maya, don't beg. It's not a good look.”

I glared at her, trying to keep my rage from building.

Tamara's tone softened. “Look, Maya, it's not personal. It's business. Like I said, Nelly has the fan base. They love her. They envy her. And she has the ability to snag the finest guys in the entertainment industry. Did you know she's dating Ross Nixon now?”

“So that's it? Nelly gets to cohost because she has the right eye candy on her arm?”

Tamara gave me a look like she didn't care how crazy that sounded. “I told you over and over this business is about aesthetics.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

“It's a total package. People still like you so don't sweat it. It's just that they
love
Nelly. They want her life.”

My hands went to my hips. “So, you're trying to say no one wants my life?”

Tamara chuckled. “Uh, you said it, I didn't.” She stopped smiling when she noticed the look on my face. “I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of people that wouldn't mind your life. Your
professional
life. I don't think anyone is checking for your personal life.” She giggled again.

“Oh, this is real funny to you.”

“Maya, calm down. It's not that serious.”

She just didn't know. In this game, everything was serious. “I hope you know what you're doing.”

She didn't flinch as she looked at me and said, “Trust me. I do.” She returned to working on her computer, her body language all but telling me that she was definitely dismissing me this time.

Chapter 13

I
was sick and tired of everybody looking at me like I had three heads. The paparazzi, the people at work, and now, my best friends.

We were sitting in my bedroom, hanging out, shooting the breeze when Kennedi came across a story on MediaTakeOut. com about J. Love's campaign to win me back. Any other guy doing this would've been blasted for looking desperate, but everybody was acting like just because it was J. Love, it was the sweetest thing ever. MediaTakeOut's headline read: J. L
OVE DETERMINED TO WIN BACK LOVE OF HIS LIFE.
Alvin was going to freak when he saw that.

“I wish you'd stop reading that mess,” I told her.

“Hey, I think it's cute how he's going after you,” Kennedi said.

I rolled my eyes as I put some polish on my pinky. I usually had my nail tech come do my nails, but I was trying this new nail system and I wasn't doing a very good job at it. “Whatever,” I said, blowing a small breath on my nail to try and dry it.

Sheridan leaned in and read the story over Kennedi's shoulder. She had been the main one looking at me crazy lately. She'd seen J. Love's declaration of love on the MTV interview and she hadn't been able to stop talking about it since.

“I just can't believe you're going to pass up an opportunity to go to the Grammys,” Kennedi said. I'd told them about my conversation with Alvin and how I'd decided not to go to the Grammys with J. Love.

“For real,” Sheridan echoed. “I mean the Grammys are the crème de la crème.”

Both Kennedi and I stared at her. “The what?” Kennedi said.

“The crème de la crème.”

“What in the world is that?” I asked.

Sheridan shook her head like we were some high school dropouts or something. “It means the pinnacle—the highlight.”

“Then why couldn't you just say highlight?” Kennedi tsked.

“Somebody's been studying for the SAT.” I laughed.

“Oh, sweetie, I've already aced that,” Sheridan said with a smile. “My point is that's the be-all, end-all. The Grammys. And to be center stage at the Grammys? That's a dream come true. And tell me again why you're not going?”

“Because I have a boyfriend,” I said slowly. “I don't understand what part of that you guys aren't getting.”

Both Kennedi and Sheridan shook their heads at the same time. “Oh, we get it,” Kennedi said. “We just don't understand it.”

“I don't get it,” Sheridan corrected. “I mean, you love the whole fame thing. So much so that you sold your friends out to get it.” She tried to laugh, but I knew there was a hint of seriousness. We'd had some major drama behind the stuff I'd put on
Rumor Central
. When I was first hired, Tamara, and the executive producer, Dexter, had wanted more scandal, so they'd convinced me to reveal dirt on my friends—everything from cheerleading escorts to a bling ring. It was a big mess and I'd vowed never to go digging for dirt in my own backyard again.

“Sheridan has a point,” Kennedi said, stepping in before I had time to get an attitude with Sheridan. “Are you that in love with Alvin that you're ready to let the fame go?”

“I don't understand why I can't have both,” I protested.

“Because your business is all about perception. You're the cool kid. The diva everyone wants to be like. Girls all over the world aspire to be like you. To date guys like yours,” Sheridan said.

“That is, as long as that guy isn't Alvin,” Kennedi added, as the two of them busted out laughing like they had really said something funny.

“I really can't appreciate you guys talking about my man,” I said, frowning to let them know this was no laughing matter.

Their laughter died down. “Chill, don't get all sensitive. You know we like Alvin, but we're just being real,” Sheridan said. “Besides, you've been complaining all evening about them bringing Nelly on to cohost your show. What kind of press do you think she's going to get dating Ross Nixon? You need some positive press.”

I knew that, but what was I supposed to do?

“I mean, of course I want to go to the Grammys,” I finally admitted. “But how am I going to do that when I'm with Alvin?”

Kennedi shrugged. “I don't know, but I'd be trying to figure out a way.”

“I know,” Sheridan said, snapping her fingers like she'd just come up with a great idea. “Alvin really is a sweetheart. If he knows you want to go, he won't mind you going.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. That was her solution? “He already told me he wasn't feeling J. Love.”

“No, seriously,” Sheridan replied, getting excited like she'd really figured something out. “Just hear me out. All you've got to do is just ask him.”

“I'm not about to come right out and ask him that,” I replied. I wouldn't be able to ever look him in the face, asking some mess like that.

We sat thinking for a moment, then Kennedi said, “I know. Why don't you send a text and make it out like you were going to send it to me or something, but you send it to him instead. Like it's a mistake. And the text could just say how much you really want to go to the Grammys, but you don't think Alvin would understand and how there's nothing going on with J. Love, but you just really want to go.”

“Like he's going to buy that,” Sheridan said, turning up her lips.

“Do you have a better idea?” Kennedi asked. Since Sheridan shut up, I guess that meant that she didn't.

I thought about what Kennedi was saying. Alvin
was
a sweetheart and if I could convince him that nothing was going on between me and J., maybe I could work this out.

“Okay, I can get with that,” I told them, nodding. “That may be just what I need.”

“Thank you, and that'll be two tickets to the after party,” Kennedi said with a big grin.

“The Grammys are in L.A.,” I replied, finally smiling.

“That's okay, we'll fly out,” Kennedi said.

“We sure will,” Sheridan replied.

I laughed. My girls had come through for me. Now, I could only hope that everything would work out as easy as they thought.