Chapter 1 - Faded Glory
Tabitha looked at the legal documents and wondered how it had all gone so wrong. Just a few years ago, or at least it seemed that way, she'd been at the top of the world. A famous actress, legions of fans, producers begging her to appear in their TV shows and movies. She had it all.
Now, as she scribbled her name across the bottom of the papers closing out her production company and liquidating the last of its assets to pay off the debts associated with it, she shook her head and let out a sigh of resignation.
"Thank you Tabitha." her lawyer said as he pushed another stack of papers in front of her, "I know it's not what you wanted, but I assure you it's the best result given the circumstances.
She brushed a bit of her long blonde hair back over her ear and continued signing the papers that would effectively keep her solvent, but only just barely.
"Thanks Jim, you've been great through all these years. I'm sorry I won't be able to pay you a retainer any more."
"Don't worry about it Tabitha, you've been far too good to me. If you ever need anything, just let me know."
"That's sweet Jim, thanks." she said as she signed the last of the papers and pushed them back to him.
Jim had been there from the start, one of the first people she had met , professionally, when she arrived in LA and was just starting out. He'd been just out of law school at the time and was working for a small studio doing contracts for them when she'd been offered a small part in one of their films.
Jim had been the one to walk her through the contract and make sure everything was sign before filming started.
They'd hit it off, in a friendly kind of way and a few of the things he'd told her in that first session had stuck with her. They proved very useful with a few less scrupulous production companies she'd worked for in those first few months.
Then after getting what she had thought was going to be another cheesy pilot that would never get picked up, Beach Guards became a big hit and she became the face of the show. Her image was everyone, decked out in those tiny bikini's that left nothing to the imagination!
Who would have thought that a group of young people on a beach running around like idiots saving people would have been so popular? In hindsight it was obvious, the producers had stacked the cast full of beautiful people and the camera work always caught just the right angle to show off their young supple bodies.
No one expected it to do well and so they'd only signed her to a one season contract, for peanuts really. When when she quickly became the face of the show, everything change. They wanted a long term contract with her and there were all kinds of clauses she wasn't sure about.
She'd reached out to Jim and he'd taken a look at it, giving her advise that was invaluable and made her rich and in control of her own career.
She'd hired him as her personal attorney as soon as the first check had cleared.
There was a string of successful shows after that, and eventually she had with Jim's help, setup her own production company to starting being more than just the pretty face in front of the camera, but the brains behind it too.
As the years passed, things only got better... until they didn't.
Eventually her youthful looks started to fade and she'd turned to the surgeon's knife to try and abate the effects of time. Some attempts were more successful than others.
The string of bad boy boyfriends and husbands didn't help her image either and slowly she started to fade away from the limelight.
She knew it would happen one day and with her production company well established, she didn't mind so much. But even so, she still missed it and after a few years of being away, she'd decided to try and reinvent herself.
She'd gone and had all of her implants removed, trying to get back to as much of a natural look as she could. Then she went after "mature" roles, "serious" roles, roles that a "real" actor could sink their teeth in to. She managed to land a few small parts and even had some good reviews, but she wanted more.
And, she had to admit, against Jim's advise she'd used her production company to try and kickstart the process. One box office disaster after the next hadn't dissuaded her. Until she was here, in Jim's office with nothing to show for it.
It had turned out that once you'd been a sex symbol for so long, it was hard to get people to look at you any other way.
There was still hope though, while the movies hadn't been financially successful, they had received good reviews. She could still try and make a go of it, but without any financial liquidity or industry clout left, she'd be a the mercy of others if she was going to be successful.
Tabitha picked up her purse from the desk, waved at Jim and walked out of his office with a mixed sense of sadness and hope.
* * *
"You've got to be kidding me right?" Tabitha said with astonishment to Terry her agent.
"No... no I'm quite serious Tabitha, Bimbo or Billionaire wants you on the show."
"There's no way I'm doing that, I mean the women on that show... how they end up!"
"Well you see that's the thing, this is the holiday special they do every year. It's always a..." Terry paused catching herself before the words 'has been' popped out of her mouth, "distinguished actress that is on the program. All off the money goes to the charity of your choice and the transformations are only for 24 hours. You do some promotional shots, a few meet and greets and then BAM! Right back to normal. And the best part is that you can keep any of the changes you want while getting rid of the ones you don't!"
Tabitha just shook her head, "But... I don't want to do that kind of work anymore! I'm trying to get serious parts."
"I know Tabitha, but no one is giving them too you because your not a big enough draw yet for those kinds of roles. You've got name recognition but no mind share any more. Bimbo or Billionaire is huge, you appearing on it will set social media on fire!"
She had to admit that what Terry was saying was true, it had been years since she'd been in a tabloid or on the cover of a magazine. A new generation of famous people had come up after her that used social media and other tools to keep in front of people all the time.
"Well... HHAA could use some extra money." Tabitha said.
Humans for Humanitarian Advancement of Animals had been her personal crusade since even before she was famous. It had been a wonderful feeling to be their spokes person and she hated not being able to give them any more donations.
"Exactly!" Terry smiled
* * *
Tabitha read over the contract one final time before signing it, the show had sent it over to her by courier earlier that day and she'd almost picked up the phone several times to give Jim a call but hadn't.
She didn't want to impose on him and she was pretty sure it was all pretty straight forward, even if written in dense legalize.
Basically it said that she was agreeing to appear on Bimbo or Billionaire's holiday special. That any money she won would be donated to the charity of her choice as selected before she appeared on the program so they could vet the charity before hand and partner with them on the promotion of the show. And most importantly that any changes from the Collar of Fate would be reversed after 24 hours at her decretion.
She had to admit that the last part intrigued her. Assuming that the audience didn't go overboard with it's selections, she might keep a few changes afterwards.
She signed the contract, once more with mixed emotions, before stuffing it back in the the courier package and dialing the number on the front of it.
Chapter 2 - Opening Credits
The studio curtain raised as the theme music blared from the speakers with the applause of the live studio audience. Tabitha was calm and composed, she'd been in front of far larger crowds and the tiny white strips of uniform that barely covered her modesty were more than she'd had on in her sex tape.
She felt the Collar of Fate's cold steel against her neck that she'd been living with for a week and wondered how on Earth it worked. But none of the technicians had been willing to say anything even with her considerable charm.
"Yes folks it's time to answer the question that is on all of our minds? Is she a? Bimbo or Billionaire!" the announcer's voice came across the PA system and the audience roared in response.
The applause brought a smile to Tabitha's face and she took a look to see Jack holding his mike in front of his lips as he spoke, "Thanks Dan, as you know, today is a very special show, it's our annual Holiday Special!"
It wasn't the first time she'd met Jack, she'd bumped in to him any times over the years at various event parties. He'd always given her a bit of a sleazy feel, but then again, he was a game show host so she figured it was to be expected.
Jack was wearing a full tuxedo, including bow tie tonight as he waved and smiled to the audience, trying to get them settled down.
The audience roared inspite of his attempts and Tabitha smiled, it was good to hear the roar of an audience once again.
"Tonight we're very excited to have a world famous actress on our show! What do you think folks, do you want me to bring her out?"
The audience went wild again and Jack gave a hearty chuckle.
"Ok, well I think that's my answer, so let's get today's contestant out on stage? Tabitha Sanderson!" Jack called out and she walked on to the set her practised smile on full display as she waved to the audience that she couldn't see due to the stage lights but new was there to see her.
"Hi Tabzee, it's great to see you again and welcome to the show!"
Tabitha inwardly winced at the nickname she'd picked up in her youth and still hung around her neck like a ball and chain.
"Thanks Jack, It's great to be here. I'm trying to remember, when was the last time I saw you?" she asked with a knowing look at the crowd.
"Oh... my... I don't think we need to remenise about that Tabzee." Jack replied, clearly nervous.
"Wasn't that just before your, what, fourth divorce Jack?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and a wink to the crowd.
Jack cleared his throat before replying, "Please Tabzee, no need to bring up such old news!"
Tabitha let him squirm for just a moment before answering, "Well, I guess not Jack, after all we're here tonight for a good cause."
"That's right Tabzee, we are! Tonight we're play Bimbo or Billionaire for your charity, HHAA!" Jack replied, eager to move on.
The audience applause swelled and when it died down Jack continued, "A great charity that you're well known for. I'm sure they'll do great thing with whatever money you win tonight. But enough of that, there's a question I need you to answer Tabzee before we can begin... are you ready to play Bimbo or Billionaire?"
"Yes Jack, I'm ready!" she replied with great confidence.
"Ok Tabzee, I've got to get a few housekeeping items out of the way and we can get going. First off I'd like to bring everyone's attention to our case girl Chrissi!"
As always the spotlight highlighted Chrissi and the buxom blonde bimbo wiggled and jiggled as the crowd cheered and whistled. For the holiday special Chrissi was stuffed in to a tight red sequence dress that came almost all the way down to her feet in the front and had a bit of a trail out the back. Across her chest was a wide white sash with '6969' written across it in big bold black letters.
