He found himself dashing across the hotel lobby, his toolbox
banging against one leg, as he raced to make the elevator before
it closed. He had to stick his arm in to keep it from closing, and
he managed to slide in, with a sigh of relief. It only took a few
seconds for Rich to realize that he was not alone in the elevator.
He looked behind him and noticed a beautiful, ravishing blonde-
haired woman standing against the back wall of the elevator,
wearing an expensive business outfit, holding a leather tote-bag
in front of her. She looked extremely young - no more than 21, if
even that
"What are you looking at?" the woman blurted out in a snotty
tone, glancing meanly at the man. "Uhh... nothing," Rich replied,
turning his head the other way. What a beautiful woman, he said
to himself. But if her initial voice was any indication of her
personality, Rich figured, she was not the type of woman to
pursue. Never before had someone sounded so conceited. As the
elevator began to ascend, something popped up in Rich's mind.
That lady looked familiar to him. Wait a minute! There was a
reason she looked familiar to him. In fact,
he knew who she was! "You're Candice Baker!" Rich exclaimed,
spinning around and looking at the woman in disbelief. She gave
an exasperated look and then shrugged her shoulders. "So?"
Rich ripped open his tool box, searching for a piece of paper and
a pen. "Wow! This is incredible! Can I have your autograph?
Wow! My little brother just loves you!" The blonde took in a
deep breath, then spoke in a very demeaning tone. "Look, I
DON'T do autographs." Rich stopped, looking up at her with a
stunned ex pression. She was much different than what he had
previously envisioned her as... To anyone who owned a
television, 19-year-old Candice Baker was a superstar. She was
the marquee name on OCEAN VIEW, a network program which
always ranked high in the weekly television ratings. People knew
her as Theresa Manning , the sexy and flirtatious maid of a little
motel situated on the California coast. Before she landed this
role, Candice had made her mark in the entertainment
community as a fashion model. She had two calendars out, plus a
workout video and even a commercial for a mascara company. At
19, she literally had the world at her feet. "You don't do
autographs?" the repairman asked, crestfallen. "All I ask for is
one... that's all. My little brother, he has your calendar up on his
wall and he watches your show every single week. He just loves
you more than any other..." "LOOK," Candice repeated, now in
a firm tone, "I DON'T do autographs for ANYONE. I could care
less about your worthless little brother." Rich gave an
expression of confusion and then turned his head quickly, so the
famous star could not see his new look of disgust. What a fucking
bitch, he said to himself. She could have told him about her "no
autograph" rule in a much nicer and more polite way, instead of
just being snotty and demeaning him and his brother at the same
time
Candice sighed and ran a brush through her long, perfectly-styled
hair, eyeing the man from behind. She hated to be in the same
elevator with someone his type. "I'm a million dollar star," she
told herself. "And I have to share an elevator with some lousy
repairman. This hotel should have elevators for stars. After all,
lots of stars come here." "You know," Rich said, breaking the
woman's train of thought. He kept looking straight ahead, not
turning to peer back at her. "You must really be a good actress."
"Thanks," she said, squinting suspiciously at him. "Yeah," he
added. "Your character on TV is so nice and sweet. You on the
other hand, in real life, are nothing but a spoiled little brat. No
one would really know that unless they met you for real."
"WHAT?" Candice screamed, full of rage and anger. "You can't
talk to me like that!" "Who says?" Rich asked, now turning
around to face her. "Me!" she exclaimed, taking a swing and
hitting him in the shoulder. Rich, who prided himself on never
raising a hand to strike a woman, just stood there and shook his
head at her, as she fumed before him. No one had probably ever
opposed her like this before, he told himself. This bitch actress
probably had people eating out of her hands on a regular basis.
Candice reached into her tote-bag and scrambled for her celluar
phone. "I'm going to call security on you!" she screamed. "You
can't talk to me that way! I'm Candice Baker, dammit!" "Look,"
Rich said, "let's just forget it, okay?" "Wouldn't you like to do
that!" she huffed. "Yeah, I would," he told her, matter of factly.
"Plus, if you call security on me, I'll get them on you too. You're
the one who hit me. I did nothing but call you a spoiled little
brat." Candice stopped and looked up at him, frozen. She could
not afford any bad press in the tabloid media. Those nasty
reporters would carve her up if they learned that she was even
accused of punching someone. Her career may take a massive
hit, then she may be finished! So, Candice closed her tote-bag
and looked at the repairman with a confident, sure expression.
"Okay, you got yourself a deal. Just don't bother me anymore.
What floor are we up to, anyway?" Rich glared at her then
looked at the control panel. "22." He turned around so he wasn't
facing her anymore. He then noticed that she was apparently
headed to the 51st floor, 8 higher than him. The button for the
51st floor was lit up, as was the 43rd floor button. Rich, a
handyman whose employer had a contract with this hotel, had
been sent here to fix the air conditioner in one of the rooms. He
was 31 years old and had been in the repair business since
graduating from college. Just an average joe, Rich wore faded
blue jeans and an old t-shirt. A full tool belt was around his waist,
and he carried a tool box in his right hand as well. Rich tapped his
foot on the elevator floor as the compartment went higher and
higher in the building, wanting to get away from this crass,
snobby actress. He wondered to himself whether or not he should
tell his brother of this experience. It would dampen his brother's
image of Candice, whom he thought of as the perfect "dream
girl". Rich then wondered to himself, would his brother believe
that his "dream girl" could be such a bitch? After all, the media
gushed over her. All Rich had heard was that this actress could
be worthy of sainthood. He was always hearing stories of her
helping children and donating to many charities. He also heard
stories of how she never turned down an autograph request. "I
like to interact with my fans," he heard her once say in a national
interview. Yeah, right! Meanwhile, Candice applied more
mascara to her already perfect face. She was on her way to a
very important meeting with a movie producer, with the
possibility of landing a starring role on a high-budget film. That is
why she was dressed so professionally, wearing a red business
jacket and a knee-length red skirt, to go along with dark
stockings and black high-heels. She wore a ton of jewelry and
smelled of only the finest, most expensive perfumes and
fragrances
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