Ep.1- So Long Diva
Saturday night’s fiasco still loomed in Sunny Carlisle’s thoughts. Before slinking deep beneath her covers she shuddered thinking of the mess she made of things. Her weekend was long and the most distressing one to date.
Granted, it wasn’t like her to clown her boyfriend in public. And it certainly wasn’t like her to be the stereotypical ‘angry black woman’ but what else could she do? She’d caught her man making out with some hoochie mama in a coat closet.
It was bad enough that she dated a high profile NFL player, but he was also her client. Ramone Hardaway of the Dallas Steers came into Sunny’s bright and creative world when he fired his former publicist Sassy McKinney-Jenkins.
Ramone was named ‘Mr. Hershey’ for his milk chocolate skin . He could literally seduce most women with his penetrating bedroom eyes. Although he mainly held a brooding countenance at times his boyish grin gave him a deceptively innocent appearance.
KD, the owner of KanDel Media where Sunny worked, assigned Ramone’s account to her because her she was quickly becoming the 3rd coast’s sought after publicist especially among entertainment professionals. Sunny’s image, sharp cheekbones, full lips and striking auburn hair also pushed her to higher landscapes as she held a marketability. Sunny also had a an uncanny knowledge about industry.
From day one, Sunny and Ramone’s business relationship was hampered by their raw attraction for one another. Within three months Ramone convinced her to be exclusive. The arrangement was right up his “player alley” because Sunny had to keep their affair on the down low or lose her job.
Sunny clenched her fists thinking of her man, her job and her life. Ramone was always the flirtatious type but the incident Saturday night pushed her calm to the limits. Of all places to cheat why at the charity function that her employer sponsored? The thoughts borrowed in her mind- churning every twisted thought.
She slid from under the covers and sat upright; her toes barely touching the hardwood floors of her living room. She grabbed the remote and turned the volume of the TV down and rehashed her dive into heartbreak hotel.
After the incident she went to sleep. Sunday morning she missed church and had been lumped up on the sofa ever since. Most of today, her front yard had become a media playground flashing bulbs and shouting questions.
By the evening shadows of the paparazzi peering through the front windows came and went. No one bothered to come into her backyard because her pit-bull Apache kept watch.
Lauren, her best friend, was right. Ramone played her like a deck of cards. Although he was smooth, the only reason he got away with his dastardly deeds was because Sunny was in love. After all she used to be the female version of Ramone, just more cunning.
In her twenties she juggled men effortlessly. She and Lauren ruled the streets of Oak Cliff until both became ‘significant others’. To her surprise Sunny enjoyed being in a serious relationship and looked forward to becoming Mrs. Ramone Hardaway.
Both women crossed the threshold of thirty and were looking for that something extra in their lives. Sunny did crazy things for the sake of being in love and now looking back she felt like the ultimate fool.
Now Ramone switched gears and got bold with his philandering ways and Sunny was on a crash landing to reality. Here she sat, at home watching movies, sobbing like a baby weaning from the bottle. She was now a single woman. She didn’t know if she liked it being on the other end of the ‘dump stick’ but she had to buck up and handle it like the woman she knew she could be.
Besides getting over the embarrassment from Saturday night and dealing with the paparazzi, she also had to face dealing with the wisecracks of Lauren and Demi. Her sister and best friend went to Houston for the weekend. She was safe most likely until they returned to Dallas, as neither watched the news and her situation -in her mind- was public debacle was considered local news.
Just as she sank deep into her oversized chocolate leather sectional, she heard a sharp scream outside. She rolled her eyes upward. With a silent prayer she prepared for the unspeakable tornado of Lauren Santiago.
