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Authors: Cheris Hodges

Too Hot for TV (15 page)

BOOK: Too Hot for TV
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Just because you decide to leave, it doesn't mean that Raymond would follow you. He's here to make money for his clinic, not chase the last virgin in New York.
“Are you all right?” Raymond asked.
“I was just thinking about being here and how different it would be if we weren't being watched.”
He picked up his wineglass and took a sip. “I guess we have to deal with it, since we're both here for reasons other than falling for each other.”
“I wonder, though, will this show actually help my career? Hell, if Juilliard didn't, how can a reality show?”
“Well, maybe the billboard in Times Square might,” he replied after another sip of wine. “This is good.”
“The what?” she asked, excitement brimming in her voice.
“When I was talking to Keith, he told me that the show has a billboard with you on it in Times Square,” he said.
Imani clasped her hands together and bounced happily. “That is amazing. Do you know how many people are going to see my face?”
Raymond stopped short of telling her that it wasn't her face that would grab the most attention.
“I need a favor,” Imani said. “May I use your cell phone for a minute? I need to call my agent.”
He handed her the phone, then took another sip of wine. His old thoughts of Imani using him for her career resurfaced in his head. He couldn't begrudge her for wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to be a star, but he wanted more from her. He couldn't help but wonder if everything would always be second to her quest for stardom.
“Funderburke,” Edward said when he answered.
“Edward, it's Imani,” she said.
“Imani,” he said excitedly. “I've been trying to reach you but your cell phone is disconnected.”
“I know,” she said. “I heard that I'm in Times Square.”
“Yes, you are, and that's not where the good news ends,” he said. “I have three scripts on my desk with your name on them. Didn't I tell you this show was going to be a great shot in the arm for your career?”
“Yes, you did. Three scripts! I can't believe it.”
“Two are really good, one is so-so. And I got a call from Alex Timbers. He wants to work with you.”
“Are you serious?”
“My dear, you are on your way. Whatever you're doing on that show, keep doing it, because you're making an impact.”
A smile spread across her face. “Remember all of that stuff I said about being too good for reality TV? I take it back. Is there any way you can get those scripts to me?”
“Sure, just give me the hotel's address and I'll have them overnighted to you,” Edward said. “This is just what you needed, Imani. Oh, and New York One did a feature on you and the show. Since it aired, I've been getting calls about you. Of course, some of them are just men who love your picture in Times Square. Someone even mailed an engagement ring and said if you came back to New York, he'd marry you.”
“Well, if it wasn't Kelsey Grammer or Denzel, then there is no need for me to leave,” she said, looking directly at Raymond. “Whoever sent the ring can't compare to the man that's meant for me.”
Raymond smiled and shook his head.
“Well,” Edward said, “I'm sure hearts will be breaking all over New York when that gets out. Give me that address and I'll have my assistant send these to you. Oh, and one more thing. Can I get that apology in writing?”
Imani laughed, then rattled off the address of the hotel and told her agent good-bye. “Thanks,” she told Raymond as she handed him his cell phone back.
“I take it that things are looking good for your career,” he said.
Imani nodded happily. “Scripts are rolling in, I'm getting press, and one of Broadway's hottest directors wants to meet with me.” Imani picked up her wineglass and clinked it against Raymond's glass, not noticing that he didn't seem to be reveling in her excitement. “Now, I'll get a chance to make up for
Fearless Diva.
”
“This is what you wanted, right?” he said.
But when you get it, what is that going to mean for us?
Raymond thought as he sipped his wine and watched Imani seemingly glow underneath her good news.
Chapter 14
After Imani and Raymond finished their midnight snack, he walked her to her room. He wasn't surprised that she hadn't noticed his change in mood because all she could talk about were the scripts that would be waiting for her to go over in the morning. As much as he wanted to share in her excitement, he couldn't help but think everything would change now. When the show went live, he was certain that Imani would be on, acting every chance she got, and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between what was real and what was part of her audition for America.
“I had a great time with you tonight,” she said, then kissed him on the cheek. “And thank you for letting me borrow your phone.”
“Anytime,” he replied. “Sweet dreams, Imani.” Somehow, he knew the man in her dreams wouldn't be him, but a thirteen-and-a-half-inch golden statue named Oscar. He returned to his room and thought about calling Keith back, but he kicked back in the bed and looked up at the ceiling, willing himself to believe that Imani wouldn't change because her career was on the uptick.
But what if she does?
he thought.
What if she decides that she's gotten everything she needed and wanted from me and this show and leaves to do one of those movies or a Broadway show? Then what? She made it clear from the start that she was here to become famous and she's well on her way to that. Still, if that was her main objective, why would she have shared her secret with me?
Raymond hopped out of bed and decided to take a walk on the beach. As he headed out the door, he ran into Lucy.
“Well, hello there,” she said with a slick smile. “All alone tonight?”
“What's up, Lucy?” he asked flatly.
She looked him up and down and licked her lips. “That's a question I'd like the answer to. Where are you heading at this hour? Sneaking over to the little actress's room for—”
Raymond held up his hand to cut her off. “Don't do that.”
“What?”
“Every time I see you, you're trashing Imani and you don't even know her.”
“I really don't give a damn about her. It's you I'm trying to get to know, but she's always in the way.” She took two steps closer to him. “Why don't you give me a chance?”
“It would never work.”
She slipped her hands around his waist and stood on her tiptoes. Just as she was about to kiss him, Imani's door swung open and the cold and heartbroken look on her face nearly ripped his heart to shreds. He pushed Lucy aside and started toward Imani, but she forcefully slammed the door in his face.
 
 
Tres was nearly asleep at her desk, then she saw Lucy and Raymond meet in the hallway. It was golden when Imani walked out of her room and Tres couldn't help but cheer a little. The evening had been horrible because for whatever reason, the video feed from Imani's and Raymond's room was off-line. If Elliot didn't tighten up, he was going to be looking for a new job. But this—the hallway confrontation—would be the clip of the day. Still, she needed to know what Imani's secret was and how she could use it to increase the show's ratings. Elize had already told her about the buzz the show had in New York, a billboard in Times Square, a feature on NY1 and CBS. There was even talk about a feature on
The Early Show
and
Today.
“If you keep Raymond and Imani in the forefront of this show,” Elize had said, “you're going to be on your way to getting your drama series produced.”
“I'm looking forward to it,” she'd replied. Things were looking really good for her getting that show now if all she had to do was keep Raymond and Imani in front of the camera.
Tres picked up the phone and called Elliot. “Yeah?” he said.
“Have you checked the equipment? We can't lose footage of Raymond and Imani anymore.”
“The engineers are looking into it right now,” he said with a sigh.
“Make sure it's taken care of,” she said, then slammed the phone down. Tres needed to see what was going on in Imani's room after she caught Lucy and Raymond together.
 
 
Imani pounded her pillow and vowed not to cry. Raymond was no different than any other man she'd been around. As soon as she turned her back, there he was pressed against that tramp Lucy.
I guess he wanted instant sexual gratification, and he's not getting that from me.
This should've been one of the happiest days of her life and because she couldn't sleep, she'd wanted to ask Raymond to join her for a walk on the beach. Seeing him in Lucy's grasp made her heart break and her stomach churn with anger and disgust. Why did she think that a man like Raymond would wait for her to decide that she wanted to give him the most intimate part of herself? Especially when Lucy was offering it up on a platter?
Damn it, she was crying. Her cheeks were damp with disappointed tears and when she heard a knock at the door, she made no effort to move.
“Imani, open the door,” Raymond called out after the banging continued.
“Don't you have somewhere to go with Lucy?” she yelled.
“Not this again. Will you open the door so that we can talk like adults?”
Despite wanting to curse him out and tell him that he should go bang Lucy since it was obvious that that's what he wanted to do, she bounced from the bed and opened the door, glaring at him. “What in the hell do you want?”
“First of all, it wasn't what it looked like,” Raymond said.
“Then what was it and why does it happen so often? She's always around you and we both know what she wants.”
He closed the space between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. Though Imani wanted to push him away, take a step back and get out of his reach, she stayed rooted in place.
“I really don't give a damn what she wants, because I know what I want and that's you. Why don't you believe that? What have I done to make you think that I have any interest in that woman or that I want anyone but you?”
“Raymond, just be serious with yourself,” she said. “You want to—”
“Now you're reading my mind?”
“I don't have to read your mind. If you didn't want anything to do with that woman, then she wouldn't always be around you!”
He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “What more can I do? If you want to make me pay for what someone else did to you, fine. Have a good night.”
Watching him walk away, Imani wondered if she'd messed up, made a mistake thinking that Raymond was just like the losers who'd hurt her and made her hold on to her virginity as if it were a security blanket. If she didn't have sex, she wouldn't get hurt. If she didn't give her heart away, she wouldn't be hurt. Wouldn't be like her mother, who never got over the end of her marriage to Imani's father.
Love was about as practical to Imani's mother as an acting career. Though Imani planned to prove her mother wrong about the acting, she might have taken her view on love to heart.
You're here to make a name for yourself and it seems to be working. Let this thing with Raymond go,
she thought. “But how can I let it go when I'm falling for this man so hard?”
Imani sat on the edge of the bed and dropped her head. Why did everything have to be so damned complicated?
 
 
The next morning, Imani was awakened with a knock on the door. Yawning, she kicked out of the covers and padded toward the door without putting her robe on. But then she remembered the last time that she opened the door in just her gown, so she grabbed her bathrobe and snatched it on before opening the door.
Just as she suspected, it was a production assistant from the show. “Yes?” Imani asked with her hand on her hip.
“You're needed in the confessional and I'll wait for you to change,” he said with an exasperated tone in his voice.
Imani fluffed her hair and shrugged. “I'll go like this. The sooner we do this interview, the sooner it's over.”
“All right. But you're actually going to be doing your interview with someone else today.” He looked down at the clipboard. “Raymond Thomas. Are you sure you don't want to put some clothes on?”
Imani grabbed her room key card and stuffed it in her robe pocket. “Let's go.”
The last thing she wanted to do was see Raymond this morning. Part of her wanted to believe that he spent the night with Lucy and had sex with her. She wanted to believe that seeing him this morning wouldn't bring back the memories of his hand between her thighs and the sweet feeling of an orgasm. Closing her eyes as she and the production assistant waited for the elevator, she listened to the sound of Raymond's voice. His presence ramped up her emotions and caused her to shiver inwardly. How could she keep up the pretense of being angry, disappointed, or done with him?
“Good morning, Imani,” he said.
Pull it together, pull it together,
she thought as she opened her eyes and looked at him. Imani inhaled sharply as she took in his image, shirtless, loose pajama pants and no shoes. How was it that he could look this delicious this early in the morning?
“Morning,” she replied calmly.
Raymond stepped closer to her and whispered, “Over your temper tantrum?”
“Excuse me?”
“Last night, I left you alone so that you could get your head together and think about not only what I said but what we did. I'm not going to keep fighting with your ghosts, but I'm also not giving up on you because I know who and what I want.”
She faced him and chewed on her bottom lip. “So, you didn't spend the night with Lucy?”
“No. When do you plan to let that go? I don't want Lucy.”
Before she could reply, the doors to the elevator opened.
Please let him be telling the truth. Don't let me set myself up for failure.
Raymond took Imani's hand in his and kissed it as they stepped on the elevator. He pressed the Close button before the production assistant got on. Once the doors shut, he pulled the emergency stop button.
“What are you doing?” Imani asked.
“Clearing something up with you. Don't ever think that I'm not a man of my word. And since you want me to be honest with myself . . .” he said as he backed her against the wall. “I want you more than I want my next breath, and no other woman will ever stand a chance with me as long as you're a part of my life. But you're going to have to stop jumping to the conclusion that I'm incapable of waiting for you.”
“Raymond, I'm scared. I don't want to wake up and be played for a fool. This whole situation here is so surreal. What happens when we return to the real world?”
“You're going to have to give us a chance to see what happens then. Stop trying to end it before we have a chance to really get started. And by the way, you look absolutely beautiful.”
She self-consciously fingered her hair and smiled. Standing on her toes, she kissed him on the tip of his nose. “Raymond,” she said, “you know just what to say to make a woman feel special.”
“I'm telling you the truth. And the reason why you feel special is because you're more than simply special to me,” he said, then pulled her into his arms. “I could see myself falling deeply in love with every part of you.” Raymond brushed his lips against Imani's before capturing her mouth in a sultry kiss that melted any thoughts she had of leaving him. The elevator jolted to a start as they broke off their kiss.
“Guess they figured there was no emergency,” Raymond said as he gently patted Imani's backside.
“Yes, the emergency is over,” Imani replied as she leaned her head against his chest.
The doors opened and Tres met them. “What happened? Why was the elevator stopped?” she asked. “Come on, we have to do this interview. And Imani”—Tres held out a thick envelope—“I'm guessing things are looking up for your career. These came from New York for you.”
Imani took the envelope and inspected the seal. Satisfied that it hadn't been opened, she told Tres, “Thank you.”
“All right,” she said. “Our winning couple, we need to do this interview. Now that our couples are forming, the interviews will be done together.”
Raymond smiled as he and Imani followed Tres. He liked the idea of being a couple. Liked the idea of having Imani as his, and not just on TV. As they waited for Tres to set up the cameras, Raymond couldn't think about anything but going back to New York with Imani on his arm. Showing her his clinic and introducing her to his friends, especially Keith and Celeste. He imagined that Celeste and Imani would lament together about how much time he and Keith spent at the clinic as they shopped at Macy's or attended a Broadway show. He would love walking the red carpet with Imani at one of her movie premieres or her first Broadway show.
BOOK: Too Hot for TV
3.31Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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