Faking It | Wattys 2022

Prologue

"Miss Cabello?"

Camila looked up from her father's notebook that was perched on the corner of her desk, a coy smile on her face. "You look lovely as ever, Gwen."

"Your father is waiting for you in the conference room," she said nervously, fidgeting with her fingers as Camila inspected her outfit. "He's been waiting quite some time, so I don't think you want to keep him waiting any longer."

Camila huffed in annoyance. "Thank you, I'll be there in just a second,"

Gwen left out of the room without another word, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor, leaving Camila alone once again. She shuffled all of her papers into a folder, making her way to the conference room farthest from her office.

"Finally. I thought we'd only be waiting another few years." Alejandro exaggerated. "Have a seat, Karla. There's something we need to talk to you about."

"What's going on?" Camila glanced at her uncle, Rodrigo, and mother who were all sitting at the glass conference table. "Why is tío here?"

"Camila..."

"Your father finally got some damn sense and is stepping down," Sinu beat her husband to break the news.

Once the words finally registered in her brain on what his retirement meant for the company, she broke out into a face-eating grin. "Does this mean that—"

"No," he cuts her off before she can even finish her sentence. "It means that I'm keeping a closer eye on you now."

"What the hell does that mean?" Camila tapped her fingers on the table anxiously.

"You look hungover right now," Rodrigo deadpanned. "And you shouldn't be. Considering it's a Tuesday fucking morning."

"It was Harry's birthday!"

"Wasn't his birthday last month?" Alejandro glowered. "Look, your uncle was in town and he stopped by for lunch when he came up with the perfect plan."

Camila's face went sour. "Okay. I'm listening." Her uncle's plans never worked in her favor.

"You stop partying, for Christ's sake. I'm tired of seeing you drag yourself through this damn office like somebody was holding you hostage and forcing you to stay awake all night. It's alright to have a little fun here and there, but this is almost an everyday thing, Camila. It's unacceptable."

"And we want you to get married," Sinu clasped her hands together. "For so long, I've waited day in and day out for you to bring home a lovely girl for me to meet and yet the day never comes."

"What?" Camila had a bewildered look on her face. "I'll stop the partying and drinking, but marriage? You want me to get fucking married?"

Alejandro gestured for her to take a deep breath. "I think it'll be good for you. When I fell in love with your mother, she kept my head on straight and supported me through everything. This," he pointed to the room they were sitting in. "Wouldn't exist if it wasn't for your mother."

"Dad," she ran a hand over her face. "You're asking for a whole fuckin' lot right now."

"I'll give you one year to settle down," Alejandro tried to compromise. "You won't have to be married right away, but... The sooner the better."

"So, let me get this straight," Camila said. "You want me to stop partying, find a girlfriend, and get married before you sign over the company to me?"

"We're just asking you to get your life together, kid." Rodrigo laughed lightheartedly. "You're acting like we're forcing you to build an island from scratch or something."

"Well, I'd rather do that instead! I want this in a written contract," Camila shushed her uncle. "That once I fulfill the terms of your agreement, the company is mine."

"I would only trust you to take it," Alejandro held out his hand for her to shake, nonetheless. "But, if that's what you want, that's what you'll get."

"Alright," she gripped his hand firmly as she shook it. "You got yourself a deal,"

-

"So, what can we infer from this case study?"

Lauren walked away from the chalkboard and towards the fifty rows of students in front of her. "Ashley?" She called on the young blonde girl raising her hand.

"Erm, I... I think we can say that he has a poor self-schema?"

"Excellent!" Lauren praised her, smiling. "And when you have a poor self-schema, what does that mean? Can I get some examples? Anyone besides Ashley, please."

"They could view themselves as unworthy?" Brad shouted from the back of the class.

"Yes, exactly! And if—" before Lauren could continue her sentence, she saw the time on the clock turn to twelve, signifying her class was over. "I don't want to keep you guys any longer, so we'll pick this up on Monday. Have a great day."

The room was emptied out in seconds, the only ones still packing their bags were the students who had nowhere to be. Lauren puts her laptop and piles of paper into her messenger bag, looking up when she sees a pair of beat-down Converse come into her view.

"Hey," the professor smiled at Ashley. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I was wondering if you taught any other classes," Ashley rocked back and forth on her heels. "It's been a while since I've had a professor who actually cares about their job."

"I'm afraid not," her smile fell. "But... There are a few other lovely psychology professors at this school that I could recommend for you?" 

Ashley nodded in agreement. "I would love that, thank you, Professor Jauregui. I'll see you next week."

"Take care," Lauren watched in amusement as the young girl dashed out of the lecture hall, leaving her completely alone by herself. Once she was sure she had everything, she made her way out to the parking lot and unlocked her small Chevrolet Malibu.

Leaving her bag in the passenger seat, she started up the car when Nick's face flashed up on her phone screen.

Sighing, she answered it. "For the last time, please stop calling me."

"Maybe if you stopped ignoring me and came home, I wouldn't be blowing up your phone every other hour."

"We broke up," her voice is cold and dripping with malice. "Actually, you were the one to break up with me."

"It's been weeks, Lauren. I thought you would've moved past it by now. I want you back."

"Stop. Calling. Me." Lauren emphasized every word. "We're done, Nicholas. I'm changing my fucking number tomorrow morning. Goodbye."

"Laure—"

She ended the call before he could bark out, a satisfactory feeling flooding her body. They were high school sweethearts that were only meant to be that. As their relationship developed, she was faced with the horror of who Nick actually was; a monster.

It was only when Normani called her one day and explained that Northeastern desperately needed a new psychology professor to replace her colleague that Lauren finally saw an opening to get away from the horrors of dating a man she no longer loved.

With only a few thousand in her bank account and the courage to leave behind everything they built, she started a new era in her life with the help of her childhood best friend. Sure, it might have been a tad bit impulsive, but she's happy.

And this time, she's not faking it.

-

Just a quick short and sweet introduction as to what the book is going to be about. I really love the cover I made, so I hope this is a story you guys want me to go through with! Let me know.