Never Say Never

Chapter 2

The next morning, Camila pauses on the sidewalk to glance up at the impressively tall high-rise building at Jauregui Corp. Plaza, the logo clearly visible on the side, and feels a flutter of trepidation in her stomach. She swallows, hard, suddenly nervous, wracked with nerves over whether she's actually cut out for this job, after all.

How can someone like her possibly be able to impress a woman like Lauren Jauregui? A woman who built a company like this, who probably lived in a penthouse apartment where a single day's rent cost more than an entire year of Camila's?

She already feels like a fish out of water, and she hasn't even set foot inside the building yet.

"Wow." Sofi, who had agreed to walk with her so she didn't get lost on the streets of the city that she was still learning to navigate, comes to a stop beside her and lets out a low whistle as she follows Camila's line of sight. "I know you can see this building from nearly anywhere in this city, but it's even more impressive up close." Camila has to agree. "Are you sure you wanna work for the woman who owns it?"

"Pretty sure," Camila nods, trying to convince herself as much as Sofi. "I can do this, right?"

"Yeah you can." Sofi bumps her shoulder into Camila's. "You've got this."

"You think?"

"For sure. Just, you know, don't think about how hot you think she is."

" So not helping my nerves," Camila groans, and Sofi grins.

"Right. Sorry." Sofi wraps an arm around Camila's shoulders and pulls Camila into a tight hug. "But seriously, you'll be fine. She'd be crazy not to hire you, you're great with kids." That is true – she'd earned the money for a car from babysitting jobs in high school, and it had been her main source of income in college, too. "I don't know how." Sofi's nose scrunches up in distaste, and Camila grins, because she and Sofi have very different opinions when it comes to spending a significant amount of time around children.

"Kids are great."

"Kids are messy ," Sofi corrects, and Camila shakes her head. "They're messy and they scream and I just," Sofi shudders, "I don't know how you do it."

"You work as a CSI," Camila points out, rounding on her sister with disbelief. "Your job literally involves dead bodies and analyzing bodily fluids."

"Whilst wearing protective clothing ," Sofi stresses, and Camila rolls her eyes. "And speaking of work," Camila glances at her watch, "I should probably be heading back to the lab soon. You gonna be okay here?"

"I'll be fine," Camila assures her, though her nerves come back full force as she comes closer to approaching the door of the building.

"You wanna meet for lunch? You can tell me how the interview goes."

"Yeah, sounds good," Camila agrees, because at least then she has something to look forward to if this morning is a disaster.

"Place down the street from the station?" It's Sofi's regular haunt, being so close to her work, and Camila's already eaten there a handful of times.

"Sure. Half twelve, right?"

"Right." Sofi pulls Camila into a hug, squeezes her tightly and presses a kiss to her cheek. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Camila squeezes her back just as hard. "I'll see you later." She watches Sofi make her way back to the car she'd parked a little further down the street, waving one last time as Sofi slips into the driver's seat.

She takes that as her cue to move, turning to face Lauren's building and taking a deep breath. She forces herself to take a step, approaching the fancy glass revolving door and stepping inside, feeling immediately out of place in the cavernous lobby within.