Dance For Me

Chapter 26

Nikki glanced down at her buzzing phone while Lauren dealt with an avoidant student in the hall. She widened her eyes and swallowed, lifting the device towards her ear "Talk to me," her chest twisted with anxiety as the voice on the other end of the phone began to talk "You are absolutely sure of this?" Her nod clarified the response "Understood, thank you for getting back to me, no, that's all."

Nikki lowered the phone onto the desk and shuffled to sit straight in her chair. Lauren returned to her desk and shook her head with an exhausted huff of air, but the woman in front of her remained still "Honestly, I wonder sometimes why I do this job," Nikki lifted her eyes and examined Lauren's expression "Why can't people just do as they're told?"

"I wonder the same thing." Nikki spoke quietly, concentrating on the document below her.

Lauren noticed the woman to be distant, her bubbly behaviour before leaving the office now gone. She tapped her fingertip against the desk and cleared her throat with a cocked brow "Uh, excuse me?" Nikki lifted her eyes with a sighing grunt "Did I miss something?"

Nikki swallowed and took a long, slow breath of air "I may have just figured out who your inside man is," Lauren lent forwards and widened her eyes. Her jaw gaped and for a moment she almost considered yelling for Nikki to hurry with her words "Calm down, this is still an extremely fragile situation," Lauren hung off of the woman's every word "I won't release the information to you until we shut down your dad's plans for the academy."

Lauren gasped offendedly. Lifting her palms she flailed like a toddler before a nap "What? Seriously Nikki? If we don't stop them they're just going to keep spitting bullshit about Camila and this academy?"

"What do you think your dad will do when he realises you've caught on to his little spy, huh LJ?" Nikki folded her arms and cocked a brow in doubt of her boss' intention "This whole operation rests on us being silent. Moving without evidence and making sure we don't give ourselves away?"

Lauren rolled her eyes and considered arguing, her insistence on getting to the bottom of whoever was deceiving her more than overwhelming. Instead however, she decided to comply, lowering her head and letting a deep breath take over her lungs "Fine" the huff from her lips was telling. She was frustrated "How long is this going to take? I'm not sure how long I can hold my sanity here"

Nikki started to pack away her things, looking into the desk with a moment of thought "I have no idea. If everything goes to plan, maybe as soon as next week?"

"So I have to sit here while someone stabs me in the back then?" Nikki scoured at Lauren and slammed a pen she was packing away into the desk "What? You have to admit, this isn't the most comfortable position to be in right now"

"I know that Lauren" the raven haired woman straightened in her seat, hating the way Nikki used her actual name "Trust me. I'm doing the best I can, I advise keeping your secrets close and your relationship with Camila closer"

Lauren lifted her palms towards her cheeks and sank into them as if a pillow "I intend to" the blunt tone of her voice didn't rock Nikki, she knew the woman to be stressed just as she was. The imminent threat a rather poisonous dampener to her reputation "I refuse to hold my tongue when this is over though, you can collar me all you want, but when everything is settled, my claws will come out"

Nikki chuckled "I will watch happily from the sidelines when that happens my darling, I have no doubt you'll find your karma" Lauren smiled back and finally released a laugh "I will say though, it's getting harder to find time for this when I'm busy working for other clients"

"You've been waiting for a moment to use that one huh?" Lauren smirked and shook her head, resisting Nikki's gaze "Be a big girl Nikki, I prefer it when you're honest rather than hiding behind metaphors and rhetoric statements"