Eye Candy by Reshonda Tate Billingsley Page A

do you not like me?” She had the nerve to try and act like her feelings were hurt.
    â€œI 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.
    â€œWell, I was just wondering if you didn’t like me because sometimes it really seems that way,” Nelly said.
    â€œYeah, 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.”
    â€œWe were just making conversation,” Nelly said.
    â€œYeah, 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.”
    â€œWell, I’m trying to make sure I graduate.”
    â€œOh,” Karrington said. “I have a 4.1 GPA, so I’ll definitely be graduating. It doesn’t matter whether I study.”
    â€œAnd I have a fat bank account so it doesn’t matter whether I study,” Nelly chimed in and they both busted out laughing.
    â€œI have a fat bank account as well,” I said. “But I don’t want to be dumb with money.”
    â€œFine,” Nelly huffed as she stood up. “It’s obvious that you don’t want to be bothered.”
    â€œAnd it wasn’t obvious ten minutes ago?” I mumbled.
    â€œYou 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.
    â€œYolanda,” 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.”
    â€œAn 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.
    â€œRoss,” 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?
    â€œMaya. 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.”
    â€œAh, 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.
    â€œWhen did you get back in town?” she asked.
    â€œJust landed. Came