Souled Out ➳ Lauren Jauregui

prologue

LAUREN'S POV

This was supposed to be a normal meeting. Or at least that's what they told me.

It was only supposed to be the five of us, Simon, and La Reid.

So, when I saw a third man with dark black hair and a chiseled jaw was seated in front of a briefcase, I knew something was up.

This wasn't just a normal meeting.

"Simon, what are we doing here? I haven't even got to sleep since last night's show." I whined, throwing my head back in a mini tantrum, which has been happening a lot more lately.

"Ah, Lauren. As patient as ever." He groaned in his deep accent before crossing his arms and turning his head towards the man in front of the breifcase. "Okay, Go ahead Mr. Y/L/N. Give us all you have. Make us interested." He mocked.

The man opened his briefcase and pulled out seven stacks of contracts. He handed them to his assistant who sat each one of them in front of us and our two managers.

"Listen," He smiled, starting his pitch. It was obvious he was used to doing something like this. Almost as if it came natural to him to act natural. "I love your music. I love Epic, SYCO, The whole thing. Okay? It's magical and it's caused these five women to have an amazing, successful, chart topping career."

"Are you here to butter us up?" Normani queried but Ally quickly shushed her.

"Mani, hush. We should hear what he has to say."

The man wasn't fazed. His warm smile was only fueled to stay the same, "How about I just cut to the chase. You five woman are incredibly amazing and talented. Although, you know that. You know how important you are to your fans." His face got serious as he stated his next sentence. "But My daughter is important to me."

I was intrigued. I sat my head up and looked at the man, "Well, what does that mean to us?"

He put his hands behind his back and began walking, "My daughter, Y/N, has had it easy but she never takes it for granted. Her mother passed when she was close to eight which meant I had to take care of her. We always had money but my daughter has never been one for material things." He paused for a moment to clear his throat, then continued. "She doesn't have many friends, no siblings, and we aren't very close to her grandparents. Y/N is alone."

"I don't get it." Dinah interrupted.

But the man didn't stir. "What I want from you is your company for my daughter." He unlocked and reached into his briefcase to pull out a picture of a girl who wasn't perfect but she had appeal. It would be dumb to say she wasn't pretty because she was. "Six months for 3 million dollars each month."

"So, you want to buy us?" I rasped, "For your daughter? We aren't fucking prostitutes, dude."

"Ma'am," He stopped me. "This isn't for sex. This is for my daughter. She's so alone and depressed most of the time. And the only thing I hear come from her room is your music. Nothing else." He pleaded. "Sometimes I worry when I come home late at night and that's all I can hear. She doesn't even leave her room much anymore. I think that if maybe she had someone she respected around her, then she'd get out of this slump." He hurried to contain himself to continue on to his next speech, "And you girls are obviously so worn out. You need a break from all of this in your life. Wouldn't you want to feel normal again. Even just for a little bit? I can assure you that whatever you need, I can provide. Cars, tattoos, books, music, whatever you want. Along with the full eighteen million dollars. In return, you will need to sign the contract below."

"We will need to clear this with our lawyers." Simon responded, pulling the paper closer to him with his index finger.

Mr. Y/L/N signaled to the door and smiled, "I already have. That's the whole reason I'm able to be here. It's up to you five."

"Why does Simon and Reid have to sign?" Camila questioned.

"They're your managers. I have created their contract to allow you to partake in this and it will include that you will continue to have jobs with your record companies when you have decided to return after the full six months."

"Will we get to see our family?" Ally asked quietly in the corner.

Mr. Y/L/N shook his head and frowned, "No ma'am."

"I'm not fucking doing it." I rebelled, crossing my arms across my chest.

The room stood still and finally Camila spoke up, "Do you have a pen?"

Mr. Y/L/N smiled and opened his breifcase once again to pull out a pen and push it towards the smaller girl beside me.

"Camila, you can't be serious." I groaned, turning my chair to face her.

"Live a little, Lauren." Camila scoffed. "This is six months of freedom. Not to mention that we will be set for life with eighteen million dollars in our pocket. Fifth Harmony is amazing but we need to get a little bit of a fall back."

After swiftly signing her signature, Dinah snatched the pen from Camila and started to sign it.

"Not you too, Dinah." I told the Poly in a aggravated tone.

"Why not?" Dinah shrugged, "It's just six months. And this girl doesn't seem too bad."

"She's actually kinda pretty." Normani said, staring at the picture for a moment in a trance. "I guess I'm down, too."

"I agree." Ally added on, "I'll use the pen after Normani."

"Y'all are so fucking crazy. Don't do this." I exclaimed. This was probably the stupidest idea we've ever heard and they were all agreeing on becoming a part of it.

"Lauren, quit it." Dinah pursed her lips at me. "You always talk about how the fans are in your business too much. Or how you hate having cameras follow you around everywhere. Or how you complain about the non stop interviews or performances of Worth It. This is your chance for a paid vacation away from the outside world."

She had a point. I did want that. I wanted freedom but I hadn't felt it in so long that I wasn't sure if I wanted it anymore as much as I used to. I've grown so accustomed to the limelight that I'm not sure what the shadows look like.

"So, are you signing or not?...." Camila whispered to me.