"Yes!" I whispered and pumped my fist in the air as I walked down the hall toward my office in the back of the theatre.
We had added another city, Memphis, and I couldn't wait. I couldn't imagine the publicity we would get when we got there - Donomara...and his wife?
What a threesome! Oh, yeah. This was going to be epic.
Just as I had that thought, I felt a tug on my arm, and then a push and a shove into what looked like a storage room.
"What the…?" I screamed.
My heart was pumping, my fists were clenched until I turned around. And then my heart pumped some more, though now, it wasn't from fear.
"Oh," I said, relaxing my hands. I smiled as I wrapped my arms around Justin's neck. "This is different. We've never done it rough and we've never done it in public."
This was different...and reckless in so many ways. Not only were we about to have a quickie in the theatre, but really, we shouldn't have been having this quickie. The promise I'd made to myself to give Justin up hadn't come to fruition at all. This boy was like crack, or at least what I imagined crack to be since I'd never done any kinds of drugs - I hadn't even smoked weed when I was an undergrad at Brooklyn College.
But I couldn't get enough of Justin. And I justified it by saying it was going to make me better for Eli. If I were in a good mood when he arrived tomorrow (if he arrived tomorrow), it would be better for my marriage.
I leaned in for a kiss...and Justin pushed me away.
That made me smile. "What's wrong? You scared?"
His face was set with the hard lines of a statue. "We need to talk."
"Okay." I dropped my arms. "But I don't think this is the place to do it. We'll talk tonight," I told him.
He shook his head. "No, we'll talk. Right here, right now."
There were lots of reasons why I wasn't going to stand here and talk to Justin - the first being he needed to learn that he couldn't tell me what to do. I gave him one of my best sister-girl stares before I said, "Didn't I just say...."
"And I just said, we're gonna talk here. I was trying to respect your privacy. That's why I pulled you in here. But you know what," he stepped back as if he was making room for me to move to the door, "we can certainly go into your office and have this talk. And then, we can wait to see who will walk in and overhear us."
My eyes narrowed. "What do you want to talk about?"
"That's better." He took a breath, then, hunched his shoulders twice like he was preparing for a fight. "Now...." He paused.
Did he really just pop his collar?
"I needed to talk to you about money. I don't think I'm earning enough for the job that I'm doing."
This was why he was putting on this show? For a few extra dollars? "Really? I'm already paying you triple minimum wage."
He nodded. "Okay, well then. I want a bonus. Ten thousand dollars."
I didn't know which opened wider, my eyes or my mouth. But that lasted for only a moment before I laughed. I leaned forward so that I could laugh right in his face, sure that would rattle him a little bit. But he wasn't moved.
He didn't blink, he didn't snicker, he just stood stiff and waited until I finished. Then, as if my laugh didn't matter, he said, "When can I expect the cash? And let me repeat that because I want it in cash."
I raised my eyebrows.
He made a grand show of raising his arm, looking at his watch. "I want to get to the bank before five."
This dude was serious. Like, really serious. I had too much work to do to be playing around with him like this.
"I'm not giving you any money." I tried to push by him, but Justin blocked my way. Looking up, I kept my voice calm and steady, but I added an edge to let him know that I was already tired of this little game. "Little boy, I don't know who you think you're messing with."
That made him laugh. Now, I was the one who had to wait until he got it together. "I wasn't a little boy when you were riding me and calling me Big Daddy."
My quip came hard and fast. "I've ridden better and the Big Daddy was just so I wouldn't hurt your little feelings."
Now, that was a lie, but it hit its mark.
Justin stiffened, from his forehead to the way his shoulders tightened...my words had done what I planned. And if he hadn't demanded money from me, this would have been the perfect time for some great make up sex.
"Well, whatever you want to call me, call me Mr. Bucks 'cause I'm about to get some money."
"I'm not giving you a dime!" And then, I took a breath, to bring down my voice and my temper. It was bad enough that I was having this conversation; I didn't need to be overheard and caught in this storage room.
His tone was cool and casual when he said, "I beg to differ. In fact, the price just went up for my effort here. Fifteen thousand. And, since you're being such a bitch, you're gonna give me a role in your show like you promised."
I didn't even laugh this time because now, it wasn't funny. "I wish I would."
"I wish you wouldn't. Because my next stop will insure that I get even more money. Maybe not the part in the play, but I'll be talking about getting ten times what I just asked you for."
I glared at him, but didn't say a word. I wasn't going to ask him, knowing that he'd show his hand, he'd tell me his plans.
And, he did. "First, I'll go to your husband. He's going to be here tomorrow, right?"
I inhaled, and Justin caught that because he smiled.
He said, "I'm sure he'd love to know what his wife is doing out here on the road."
Now, I ground my teeth.
"And then, after I talk to Mr. Tanner...."
I didn't bother to correct him.
"...I'll set up a meeting with an attorney to file sexual harassment charges."
My fingers curled into fists.
"Finally, you might not put me in the play, but I will get my fifteen minutes of fame when I get a starring role at a major press conference. Can you imagine me telling everyone how I was just an innocent struggling college student who was trying to break into the business before you took advantage of me?" He turned his face from the left to the right. "Which is my best side? Which way should I look at the camera?"
It was when he faced me again, with that smirk, like he was the one in control, that I lost it. I lifted my hand and with all the power in me, I slapped him. Actually, I was surprised that he was still standing there because I'd hit him so hard, I was sure that I'd knocked him straight to next Tuesday.
His palm went straight to his cheek, and he rubbed it for a moment before he laughed. "This is perfect. We can add assault to the list. Sweetheart, that just cost you another five grand," Justin said. "Have my twenty thousand and my script for my role." He turned toward the door, but then, over his shoulder said, "Oh, and I'm taking the night of...from your play and from your bed." Then, he strutted out of the room like he was already twenty thousand dollars richer.
I stood there for a moment, stunned and silent. I was being blackmailed...by a kid...from Birmingham.
And the biggest problem - Eli would be here tomorrow. Would Justin really go to my husband? Standing there, I tried to imagine what that would be like...what Justin would say, what Eli would believe.
No! I couldn't let that happen. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I had just about twenty-four hours to figure it out. Maybe I could call Eli. Make up some excuse for why he couldn't come to Charlotte.
I'd tell him I was sick, on my period, something, anything to make him change his plans. That wouldn't be too hard; Eli would be happy to have an excuse not to spend the time with me.
Nodding my head, I took a deep breath. That was what I would do. I lifted my chin, rolled my shoulders back, straightened up and walked out of that storage closet like the woman in charge that I was.
Once I kept my husband away, I'd find a way to deal with Justin. That little blackmailer was going to regret the day his tiny brain had come up with this little scheme. By the time I finished, he'd be paying me twenty thousand dollars. I was going to make sure of that.