The Road to the EGOT

I had arrived in New York the previous evening. After a long flight from Los Angeles and had to wake up early to make this meeting. I was a young up and coming writer working on a few small shows and had completed various TV scripts. I was well respected and many people in the industry thought I could do wonders. For now though I was still working my way up the ladder and waiting for my big break. I was working on the script for the pilot of a comedy series. Not my original work and it was god awful. With the way TV networks have been making decisions as of late, it would probably be picked up by one of the big four, get a few episodes before getting canceled never to be heard from again.

MTV had given me a call and asked me to come in and help them for their new show Eye Candy which had premiered back in January and found modest ratings. The producers thought the show could do better and I guess and my reputation was growing.

"Mr Bryant." The secretary called my name "Mr Johnson will see you now."

"Thank you." I smiled politely and smoothed my clothes to make sure I looked presentable. Carrying my laptop case, I knocked on the heavy door.

"Come on in Duncan."

The office was incredible. In the middle of Times Square and the view was spectacular, corner office with floor to ceiling windows. MTV really knew how to spend money and impress. Johnson was a large man that filled out his suit quite well. He smiled widely knowing how impressed I was with all the fixings of his office.

"This is a spectacular office sir."

"Call me Greg. Have a seat. How was your trip?"

"It was fine, thank you. Red eye from L.A to New York is always fun." He laughed, a big and hearty laugh. Surprising considering that the joke was not that funny. Was I getting buttered up for something?

"Thank you for making it a first class ticket, and my hotel is more than enough"

They had given me an humongous suite at a very posh hotel in midtown. They were really going out of their way to get me and I was not sure why. I was still up and coming, they held this kind of treatment for the big guns.

"You're very welcome. We treat talent very well here. And we are hoping that you decide to accept our proposition and work closely with our crew to take Eye Candy to the next level."

"I watched a few episodes on the plane. It's good stuff. You have a great lead." They really did. Victoria Justice was beautiful and her acting continued to get better every episode. If she made the right choices and had the right people watching her back she would have the chance to do very well.

"We agree. She has been great for us, and really dives into this role."

"With that being said, the dialogue could be a lot stronger, and some of the supporting cast could be better developed and given more dimension."

"I see you're already hard at work." He slid a contract over in my direction. "This is what we are offering."

I was taken aback. The salary and signing bonus were almost quadruple my quote. Like I said I was just starting and hadn't done anything major as of yet. Eye Candy had the chance to be very great, and this much for just a staff writer seemed odd.

"I'm sorry Mr Johnson."

"Greg!" He reminded me.

"Greg. I'm sure people don't tend to raise an eyebrow at such a generous offer. I can't help but wonder, I'm a lowly staff writer. Why are you offering me so much?"

"Oh Duncan, we are not hiring you as a staff writer. We want you to be the lead writer and work closely with the show runner, to make Eye Candy the very best it can be."

Well that shut me up. I was shocked and pleased. Was I really ready to take on this type of responsibility? Hollywood was a tough place and a shot like this didn't come very often, but also this would be my first big project. If I failed it would be on my resume and would make it incredibly difficult for me to get another chance.

"This is really not the offer I had been expecting. I thought you just wanted me to work on the staff and make re writes, not basically be co show runner."

"We love talent here at MTV and we think that you have the necessary skills. I understand this is a huge step for you, so why not take a couple of days and think it over. You can stay at the hotel and we will give you a car so you can take in the sights and enjoy the city."

That didn't seem too bad. Two days in New York with a great suite, why not?

"Okay that seems fair. Thank you Mr... I mean Greg." He smiled and shook my hand.

"I'll see you here on Monday, let's say 10 o'clock?"

"Sure no trouble."

The car drove me back to my hotel. The whole ride I couldn't stop thinking about all of this. I was truly overwhelmed. I was only 25 and was given a chance to do something that I would love. Taking this job meant moving to New York. Not that I loved L.A, but I had moved around a lot as a child and was hoping to finally stay in one place for some time. I had lived in New York as a teen and loved the city. I still knew some people from my time in school here but no one I was overly close to. And what about Mark? So many things to consider. I needed to get some rest. I got to my hotel, changed and got into bed. I would get up later and figure things out.

I was asleep for what felt only ten minutes when the room phone rang. I was frustrated and wondered who the hell could be calling me.

"Hello." I answered the phone very grumpily.

"Hello, is this Duncan?" A very sweet voice said through the receiver. It sounded familiar but I couldn't place my finger on it. I must admit hearing it did calm me down some.

"Yes, this is he. Who am I talking to?"

"Hey Duncan, this is Victoria." No wonder I recognized the voice. It was Victoria Justice herself.

"Oh, Hi, how are you?"

"I'm fine thank you. Did I wake you?"

"Oh yea, I came in late last night from L.A, I was just taking a quick power nap."

"Yes that red eye is a whole lot of fun."

"I keep hearing that, but I still have not had much fun."

"Maybe you're just not doing it right!"

"Hey I fly with the best of em. I have my neck pillow and the fluffiest slippers you have ever seen."

"You're a fluffy slippers kinda guy?"

"The fluffier, the better."

She laughed. She had a great laugh. I felt at ease with her already and made me forget to ask her what was really on her mind.

"What can I help you with Miss Justice?"

"Wow so formal, from the guy that just told me about his slippers fetish."

"Hey it is not a fetish... Atleast I don't think so. And I just like the way Miss Justice sounds. Don't you?"

"I gotta admit it does sound pretty cool. Seems like I was blessed with a great last name."

"Amongst other things." The words come out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Really? Like what?" She responded in a tone as flirtatious as mine had probably sounded.

"A lot of talent. I've been catching up on your show and you are doing great work." I covered and directed the conversation towards a less mine covered field. She burst out laughing almost as if she knew exactly what I was doing.

"Well I'm glad you've noticed... My talent." She said emphasizing the word talent. "If you think I'm so talented why haven't you accepted the job yet?"

"Well it's not the job I thought I had come to do. There are a lot of things to consider and I'm just not sure yet."

"Well how about I take you out to dinner and help convince you to come work with us?"

I was surprised at the suggestion. After all the network had already done to hire me; the first class ticket, the luxury hotel suite, the pay. The star of the show wanted to take me out to dinner to convince me. Either I was dreaming or this was a practical joke I was too dumb to catch on to.

"Well I am not one to refuse a dinner date from a beautiful woman, so yes I would love to."

"Wow you think I'm talented and beautiful? I don't understand why you haven't signed up for this job yet. Anyone who gets it would have to work very closely with me. I would think you would take it on that perk alone."

"You see MTV fucked up; when they gave me the contract that was not in it. If I had known I would have signed even before seeing what the hell they were offering."

We both laughed, and it felt good. Almost like we were two old friends seeing each other after a long time.

"How about we meet at the restaurant in your hotel tonight at 8?"

"Sure sounds great. I'll see you then."

We said goodbye and hung up. I was over the moon. I had the chance to meet and spend time with Victoria Justice. Fuck sleep. I was way too excited to sleep. I had a few hours before 8 so I decided to pop in the remainder of the episodes of eye candy I had yet to see. Seeing her on screen made me even more excited for the evening. The show wasn't bad at all. I had expected far worse. The atmosphere and creepy vibe were top notch. And Victoria owned the role.

I started getting ready around 7. Taking a long hot shower in the huge bathroom in my suite. It also had a hot tub and a huge bath that could fit a bunch of people. I would give it a try at some point this weekend I was sure. I took time getting dressed making sure to look my best. Black slacks and a nice shirt. I took a beat to take a look at myself in the mirror and thought I looked pretty good. I made my way down to the hotel lobby, sat at the bar and waited. I was a few minutes early which I always tried to be. I smiled when I noticed I wasn't the only one.

Victoria Justice walked into the hotel looking stunning. I'm sure not everyone knew who she was; she wasn't that big of a star yet. But she looked so gorgeous no one could help but take a look. She wore her shoulder length hair down and straight with a great black dress that went down to her knees and a pair of short heels. Nothing complicated, she was just hot. She saw me and walked over towards me. I was a little surprised she knew what I looked like.

"Hi." I said standing up. She lifted her arms and pulled me into a hug.

"Nice to meet you, Duncan." She smelled incredible. I had no idea what the hell she had on, but it was the best thing to have ever hit my nostrils.

"Nice to meet you too, Victoria. Thanks for doing this. I think it was a great idea."

"I think so too. You'll see I'm full of great ideas." She smiled at me, and I focused on her lips which were painted on with a dark red lipstick. "Let's get some food. I'm starving."

We were seated right away and had one of the best tables in the house.

"So how do you like New York so far? Is this your first time in the city?" She inquired.

"No not at all, I actually lived here as a teen. Moved here when I was 10 and moved away at 15."

"Really where to?"

"Amsterdam. For a year."

"Were you some kind of army brat?" she said with a bright smile.

"No my father was a diplomat. I spent a lot of time traveling until college."

"That's awesome." She seemed impressed. "Where else did you live?"

"Paris, Madrid, Tokyo for a year, Canada, Nigeria, and Germany."

"Wow I'm so jealous! I would love to travel the world and see all that."

"Well you should. There's nothing better than seeing other cultures; how other people live and eat. It's incredible."

Our eyes met and I felt something there. Not sure exactly what, but I was glad the waiter came in at that moment and handed us menus.

"How about yourself?" I asked her trying to get the attention off of me. "How do you like New York?"

"I love it. Moving here from L.A was an adjustment. Leaving my mom and sister for the first time wasn't easy. But I had a great opportunity with this show and thought I had to give it a chance."

"Is that a sales pitch?" She laughed.

"Oh no that part comes later. Let's just enjoy dinner."

And we sure did. The food was exquisite but the company even more. Victoria Justice was not at all what I expected. She was 22 but incredibly smart and well spoken. She was a great conversationalist and we covered a lot of topics, from music to both of our travels. It felt good to be with her. She was amazing and beautiful and this evening had been pretty great.

"So why don't you want to write for me? My mouth isn't good enough for you?" Oh yea, our flirting had picked up and we had started to get bolder with each other as the evening went on. I had to laugh.

"Oh I would imagine your mouth to be perfect."

"So you've imagined my mouth?"

"Amongst other things." We once again smiled

stupidly at each other.

"Why won't you do the show?"

"Not sure I'm ready for the responsibility. This is a dream come true, but you only get one real first shot and if you get it wrong you may not get another."

"I can understand that. You've watched all the episodes right?" I nodded. "Do you believe in

the show and in what we're doing?"

"Yes I do. You have a great cast, and the show is interesting and keeps you hooked. The problem isn't with the show... Or your mouth."

She laughed at that one. "I wasn't expecting to be given this opportunity coming in. I'm not sure I've earned it yet. I don't understand why the network is pushing so hard for me. There are people out there much more experienced who would be great at this. I'm just scared I'll be out of my depth."

"Isn't this what you've always wanted to do?" she asked me with compassion in her eyes. She reached her hand out to me and grabbed my hand on the table. It was a nice gesture. Her hand was soft and warm against mine.

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."

She seemed surprised to hear that. She smiled brightly and squeezed my hand tighter.

"Shaw was such a downer." We both laughed.

"He sure was." She took a serious look in my eyes.

"You'll do great."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I'm the one who pushed the network to hire you."

It was my turn to be surprised. I had done a few things, I'm sure she had seen some of my work. But nowhere near enough to not only believe that I could do the job, but also to ask the studio to hire me. I guess that explained why the studio was trying so hard to sign me. Their star had requested me.

"Why? Why me Victoria?"

She pulled a small book out of her purse. And I could not believe it.

"This is why." She handed the book to me. I held it almost as if it were a precious gift.

"My novel!" I had written three years ago fresh out of college and had maybe 300 copies printed by a small publishing house in Philadelphia. I had gone to small book shops around the country trying to get it a broader release without much luck. I had dropped it and move to L.A when Mark my college roommate called and told me he knew of a job opening writing on a show with him. I moved to L.A and never looked back. Two years later here it was. In the hands of Victoria Justice.

"Where did you find this?"

"A small book store about a year ago. I've read it over and over again and I think you're phenomenal. Victorious had been canceled and I was not sure what my next step would be. Nickelodeon wanted me to do another show, but I was not sure what to do. Staying with them I would have kept my career going but I doubt I would ever be taken seriously as an actress. I read your book and it gave me hope and courage, and I was able to turn down the offer from Nick, and found Eye Candy a few weeks later. If it hadn't been for you writing this I wouldn't be here. I want to see just how much farther your writing can take me."

As she spoke she had continued to move closer to me, until our chairs were basically side by side. She grabbed my hand again, and looked into my eyes. I had never been so moved in my life. I closed my eyes and moved in closer and felt her lips against mine. She kissed me back as I had hoped and I held on for dear life. I lost myself in her lips, in her mouth. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closed. She put her hands on my face and pulled me tighter. Our tongues met and my brain exploded into a thousand tiny pieces. We pulled away to catch our breaths, but we stayed connected at the forehead.

"Like I said nothing wrong with your mouth." We both laughed. She moved closer to my ear licking it.

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet. I'm ready to do anything to get you to take this job." Those words instantly made me harder in my lower parts.

"Anything?" I asked giddy as could be.

"Anything!" She replied before kissing me once more, and running her hand up my thigh. This kiss was different; it was loaded with lust, want and desire. We paid the check and left the restaurant on our way to the bank of elevators. As we waited for the elevator to come, I looked at her from head to toe marveling at her incredible body.

"You look great. Amazing actually." She blushed a little smiled and thanked me. She grabbed my hand as the elevator opened and we made our way to my floor. She grabbed me and kissed me again, her lips full of promises and what she was planning to do to me. She rubbed my hardening dick through my pants. I thought fine if she can touch why can't I. I lowered my hands from her lower back and grabbed her delectable butt in my hands. I had during my viewings of the show noticed how full and round her posterior was. I was glad to see that it was better than advertised. She moaned and pushed her tongue farther into my mouth driving me crazy with what she was doing with her hand.

"Someone's big!" She said smiling up at me.

"What did you expect? You're damn near perfect."

We finally got to my floor and made our way into my room. She tossed her purse aside and pushed me back against the door. She kissed me deeply and passionately, unbuckling my belt and snaking her small hands into my boxers fishing for my dick. She wrapped her delicate fingers around me and I groaned into her mouth.

"Your dick is nice and hard Duncan. If you work on the set I may have to come visit you numerous times a day. Wouldn't you enjoy that?" She whispered into my ear while jerking my dick.

"I guess that would be a great addition to my benefit package."

She stepped back and removed the strap of her dress, letting it fall down to the floor. She wore no bra. And her pretty tits were staring right at me. My mouth went dry and I had to lick my lips.

"I guess you like what you see."

"How would you know?" I asked trying to play coy.

"Well your dick just jumped a little. And look it just did it again." She moved towards me wearing just a thong. She made her way towards me and turned around. Sticking her great ass in my direction. She moved back placing my dick in contact with her great butt and she began grinding on me. I moved my arms around her body and grabbed her perky tits, squeezing them and pinching the nipples. She moaned and grinded herself even more against me. I moved my hand down towards her pussy, but she stopped me when I had reached her panties. She turned towards me kissed me once more.

"Tonight is about you." She said before dropping slowly to her knees; pulling my pants and boxer down to my ankles. She kissed my thighs and made her way closer up towards my balls. Licking and sucking the sack before continuing up my shaft and licking the head of my penis lovingly.

"Let me show you some of the things my mouth can do."