One and Only

Part 27

One and Only - Chapter Twenty-Seven
Camila's POV
-
I was getting ready to leave when I was called into the conference room by Mr. Clarke. It felt like a walk of shame when everyone's pity-filled eyes were on me as they left the office to go home, one by one. I tried to calm my nerves as much as I could before I joined him.
That particular conference room was of great significance to me. Lauren and I had sex in there just over a week ago. What if he knew? Oh, God. What if he knew? I pushed it out of my thoughts, trying not to let it affect me too much. I didn't need to be arousing suspicions.
When I opened the door, I saw Lauren. Shit. So it was about us. The bag I had slung over my shoulder felt like a fifty pound weight as I stumbled inside, waiting for whatever punishment he was giving out. I could get fired for this. How would I explain that to Adam?
"Glad you could join us, Ms. Cabello. Please, have a seat." My boss gestured to the empty chair before I slumped in it, looking up at Lauren and Mr. Clarke who were both standing next to each other, almost observing me. The older girl smirked at me, so I sat up. Wait, what was going on?
Mr. Clarke cleared his throat. "I know it's late, so I'll just get to the point. We have an important client in Buffalo, and we need people up there as soon as possible. Usually, we would just send Lauren, but since they're such a big client, we need to make sure they feel valued." Lauren's smirk widened. "That's where you come in."
"Me?" I asked, obviously bewildered. Here I was, thinking he was going to fire me when really, he was sending me out on a business trip with his favorite employee.
Lauren stepped in, beginning to explain what was going on. "I'll handle the technical problem and you handle the clients."
"You want me in Buffalo?" I asked again, instantly thinking of how Adam would take this.
Mr. Clarke confirmed this, taking a glance at his watch. I got the sense that he wasn't used to people being unsure around him. "Just for one or two nights."
Eventually, I nodded. I mean, I had to or else I'd really lose my job.
The manager turned to Lauren, "Your hotel arrangements are with Adriana. And, make sure you keep me updated on this thing. I don't like being out of the loop."
"Absolutely." She smiled respectively at him before she shot me a look, signaling that I needed to get the hell up.
I promptly got to my feet, addressing the man. "Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Clarke." He gave me a small nod and I shook his hand. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Lauren."
"As am I." The girl replied, a gleam in her eye.
Our boss didn't seem to notice the interaction as he shrugged on his coat and grabbed his briefcase. "Fill Ms. Cabello in before you go, Lauren. Good night," He mumbled, Lauren returning the farewell as he left the room.
"So," She wrapped her arms around my petite waist and pulled me close.
We hadn't mentioned our emotional encounter in the loft since it happened, both of us deciding it was too complicated for us to even think about right now. We knew that if we really talked about us, we'd be over, and I honestly couldn't handle that. She was the only thing keeping me sane. Well, except now.
I flashed a small smile to cover up what was truly on my mind, but that, as always, didn't work.
"Is something wrong?" Lauren questioned, her forehead creasing in concern. "...Do you not want to go with me?" She started to let me go as the thought crossed her mind but I drew her back.
"Of course that's not it. I'm just dreading telling Adam." As if on cue, my phone rang. I pushed Lauren off of me like he had caught me cheating on him, and answered the call. "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Adam huffed. "I'm outside."
"I have to work late. Lauren can take me back to yours after we're done." I said quickly, hoping he wasn't paying too much attention to what I was saying.
"Lauren?" He almost screamed. "I'm coming up!"
"Wait, Adam-!" I looked at my phone. He had hung up. Perfect. "Can you go over the stuff really quick? I don't think Adam will let me stay very long after he gets up here." I muttered, displeased. Her silence caught my attention. "Lauren?"
She didn't say anything as she walked toward me and connected our lips in a soft kiss. I hesitated for a moment from the unexpected action, but soon I linked my arms around her neck, making her delve deeper. Her mouth on mine made me dizzy with ardor and I found myself leaning up on my toes to keep the contact, relishing in the way she held me. She pulled back a moment too soon, resting her forehead on mine.
"What was that for?" I gasped for my breath. I could see she wanted to say something to me, my heart stopping in anticipation. Her expression was impenetrable. "What is it, Laur?"
She bit her lip, anxious. "I don't think I can keep this to myself any longer, Camila." Keep what? "...I-"
"Camila?" Adam's voice boomed throughout the office. "Where are you? Camila?"
We both sighed and I regretfully let go of her, walking to the opposite side of the room and crossing my arms. Soon enough, the door was forcefully opened, Adam stepping inside. He glared at Lauren who was staring back at him confidently, a grin on her face. "Oh, hey, Adam. Long time, no see."
"What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded.
"Well, I happen to work here." Lauren answered calmly.
"I meant what the hell are you doing here, with Camila?"
She put an index finger to her chin, feigning deep thought. "You know, I think I also happen to work with her."
Adam clenched his jaw, scorning me. "Let's go, Camila."
"I have to work late." I murmured.
He bitterly laughed, "I don't care what you have to do. It's not happening with Lauren."
I gave the girl a pleading look and she soon understood what I was trying to say.
"I'll, um... be outside." Lauren announced, slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind her.
"Camila." Adam warned.
I immediately tried to clarify the situation. You know, without mentioning the affair part. "We have to work late because Mr. Clarke is sending me to Buffalo for a couple of days and Lauren has to fill me in on the details. Briefly."
He shifted his weight to the other foot, squinting at me. "Fill you in? And why can't Mr. Clarke do that?"
"Because Mr. Clarke isn't going with me."
My fiancé realized what I was getting at, his eyes widening. Oh no. "No." He said, stern.
"Adam!" I whined.
"No!" He shouted, "Have you lost your mind?"
"If I don't go to Buffalo, I'm going to get fired."
The man remained unfazed, "Then get fired. Find a new job."
"Don't overreact."
He looked at me in disbelief. "I am not overreacting. You obviously can't be trusted around her!"
"I'm not engaged to Lauren I'm engaged to you." I reminded him in attempt to let him see how ridiculous he was being.
"That didn't stop you before."
I fought with myself before I finally knew what I had to do, my internal struggles becoming more frequent these days. "Well, I'm over it." I stated, trying to act nonchalant. "She was just a phase, okay? We never amounted to anything when we were together and we never will." Each word felt like a dagger through my heart, but I saw Adam relaxing at my words, so I increased my hostility toward her. "Our whole relationship never meant anything to me, okay? And you were right when you said she was a bad influence on me." I took a deep breath, fighting with myself to stop. But I couldn't-not when I had him where I wanted him. I was going to get what I wanted this time. "I should have listened to you. She ruined us and I get why you're mad, but I need to keep this job, so please just let me go."
Adam considered this, his anger slowly subsiding. "There's nothing going on between you two?"
I scoffed, "What? That's insane. I barely even notice her."
"Tell me you don't love her."
I felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. "What?" My voice trembled.
"I need to hear it-I need to hear you're really over her."
I felt sick to my stomach. "I'm over her." I lied.
"And...?" Adam prompted.
Tears threatened to fall as I thought about her. I didn't know if I had it in me. "I..." I shook my head, trying to compose myself. "I don't love her. I never loved her. She doesn't matter to me. I love you, not her."
After some time, he nodded, the words tainting the air around us. "Good. You can stay, but she's not taking you home. I'll wait."
Wait, what? "I can go on the business trip?"
"Yes, but Lauren's picking you up at our house. I want to see what you're packing, too. Nothing revealing."
"Okay! Yeah." I beamed. I couldn't believe I did it-I finally got some good news. A trip with Lauren. My heart fluttered at the thought.
"Don't be too long." He said, kissing me on the cheek. "I love you."
Looking away, I forced out a, "Love you, too."
I watched as he opened the door to leave, Lauren walking in. She looked as if she was in a hurry, heading straight toward her bag. "Can we do this tomorrow? On the way over. I have to go."
"What?" I asked, shocked.
She refused to look at me and I wondered if she had just gotten the worst news of her life or something. "You should go home since he's already here."
"But... Lauren-" I protested.
"I'll, um, pick you up at seven a.m. I know you hate waking up early, but it's a long drive, so..." She began to walk out, "See you later. Bye, Adam." I saw her pull out her phone and dial a number, quickly putting it up to her ear.
Adam watched her, confused. "Bye?" He turned to me. "Ready?"
I frowned, just as confused as he was. "Um, yeah." I gave him a fake smile when he placed his hand on my shoulder, taking my bag for me, and we walked out, Lauren nowhere in sight.
-
I was finally in bed, in my pajamas, and able to relax. It had been a pretty stressful day and an even more stressful evening, so the idea of curling up with a good book seemed perfect to me. The only problem was I couldn't sit still. I kept checking my phone to see if Lauren would text me back. What was all that about back at the office? Leaving so quickly? Who was she calling?
I let out a deep breath, feeling sick at the thought that she could be talking to another girl. I knew I had no right to feel that way-I was engaged, for crying out loud. But it still made my stomach do flips.
I felt Adam scoot toward me, but I pretended not to notice as I locked my phone and set it on the table beside me. I buried my nose in my book, praying he wouldn't try to talk to me.
He placed his hand on my stomach, rubbing it in circles, and I peeked out from the top of my book. Was that supposed to be sexy? "What are you doing?" I asked.
"What do you think I'm doing?" He spoke, trying to lower his voice.
"Um, petting my stomach?"
The older man leaned forward, connecting our lips in a hard kiss, and I felt like I was going to hurl. Pulling back, he let out a sound of frustration. "Come on, Camila. It's been more than awhile."
"It hasn't been that long," I tried to defend myself.
Adam gave me a displeased look. "You haven't slept with me since we got back together."
I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping he would just leave me alone. "Well, I'm not in the mood."
"And I can help with that." He vibrated sensually, leaning toward me again, but I stopped him before he got any closer.
"No."
Finally, he backed off, sitting up against the headboard and huffing. "I don't see how you don't want to, especially since you haven't had sex in like, what-a couple of months? I just thank God you never had sex with Lauren." Adam shuddered, "That's one mistake I'm glad you didn't make."
I felt my face get hot, swiftly hiding it behind my book. I just couldn't let him find out that I had been with her. Then he really wouldn't have let me near her.
-
When I saw Lauren the next morning outside of Adam's house, her face remained set on the road in front of her. She had both of her hands on the wheel, honking plenty of times to let us know she was here.
I never understood how she could look so beautiful in the morning, her set features sharp enough to cut through anything.
Awkwardly, I got in the passengers seat, dreadfully watching as Adam walked to Lauren's side and motioned for her to roll down the window. Once there wasn't a barrier between them anymore, he leaned in, his elbows resting on her car. I don't think I breathed once.
"Be safe. Don't drive for too long, you hear that? Don't speed, either... and no texting or taking calls." He told her.
Lauren grimaced, the fierceness in her beauty demanding attention. Even Adam swallowed, a bit frightened by her expression. "If you don't get out of my face right now, I'll spit." Her voice was low and serious.
"That's disgusting." He managed to say, "God knows what's been in your mouth."
"I bet you could guess if you thought about it long enough." She mocked, referring to me.
Before Adam thought about it for too long, I interrupted. "Okay! We should get going."
My fiancé leaned in the car, over Lauren's lap, to kiss me, and I almost had a heart attack. Her jaw was set as I looked at her nervously and I could tell she was trying not to scream. I quickly pecked him on the lips so we could leave without any murders, moving back to see Lauren grip the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white.
As soon as Adam took one step away from the car, she sped off, my hand flying to clutch my chest in fear.
It was dead silent as Lauren seemed to be fuming, her lips resting as a thin line on her face.
"Is everything okay?" I cautiously asked.
"Yep." The black-haired beauty shortly replied.
I nodded, continuing, "I'm only asking because you never replied to my texts last night and you seem a little..." I paused, trying to find a non offensive word, "exasperated."
"I'm fine." She responded dryly.
Frowning at her short answers, I moved to rest my hand atop her free one, attempting to soothe her. She took one look at the contact before she slipped her hand away from underneath mine, setting it back on the steering wheel.
"You haven't even kissed me yet," I groused, our car coming to a stop at a red light.
Her vehement eyes met mine and I could feel myself slightly cower. "Oh, sorry-did you want me to get in on the kiss between you and Adam? You know, since we happen to be sharing you." She sarcastically remarked. "And if you haven't noticed, I'm driving."
"Grumpy Lauren." I noted, hoping that would help her loosen up, but she didn't crack a smile, her focus locked on the road as the light turned green. Sighing at her animosity, I spoke up again, "Are we at least going to go over what we were supposed to go over last night? Before you ran off, that is."
"The folder is in the glove compartment. You can read it yourself; I'm done talking."
I rolled my eyes, fishing it out. Was she really that upset over one kiss? She'd just have to get over it. I wasn't going to let this mood dominate the trip.
I started to read the file in front of me, just now noticing how detailed it really was. Lauren must have spent hours on this. It was color coded. I never would have expected her to be this thorough in her job performance. This whole upper level stuff had really upped her game.
I looked at her from out of the corner of my eye, trying to be sneaky about it so she wouldn't catch me, especially in the bad mood she was in. It was just now hitting me how important she was. I mean, she was always important to me, but now other people thought so, too. She was the crisis manager. She was the go-to employee. She was significant. People practically bowed down at her presence, never daring to challenge anything she said. That, however, had always been true. She was always a people person.
Everyone loved her. I was considered lucky just to be sitting next to her and it had been that way ever since we had known each other. People couldn't believe I got to be her best friend. And then, when we were together, people couldn't believe she was mine. Everyone always doubted us and I used to think they were wrong-that Lauren and I didn't have a limit on what we could be-but it wasn't until she slept with that girl that I knew how right they were. I used to think I could change her, but that thought just seemed like absolute rubbish to me now. Why try to change what so many others loved? Why try to change what was unchangeable?
The thought saddened me and I just wanted to feel close to her again. The absence of sound left me with nothing but the touch of coldness, my craving of conversation getting the best of me. I softly rested my hand on Lauren's thigh, a warm feeling of comfort coming over me, but was shoved out into the cold once again when she spoke: "Stop."
I became angry, not understanding why she was being so cruel. "God, what is your problem?" I watched as she seemed to fight with herself, hesitant on what she really wanted to say, but I wanted to hear it. "Well?" I provoked her, impatiently.
"You're right, Camila. What is my problem?" She glanced at me briefly before returning her gaze to the road. "I've certainly got loads of them. I guess you should have listened to Adam. I'm a bad influence. But that's why I was just a phase, right?" She spoke with venom, her hand pushing mine off forcefully. "Good thing you're over me."
I gaped, closing my eyes. A sudden jerk of the car brought me out of my shock, the way she was weaving in and out of traffic showing me just how angry she was. Still, I shook my head in disbelief. "You heard me?"
She chuckled bitterly. "If you're referring to the conversation you had with your fiancé about how I don't matter to you, then yeah, I might have overheard that."
"Lauren," I breathed out, stunned. "I didn't mean any-"
"No, I get it." She interrupted, refusing to look at me. "You don't want Adam suspicious of your mistress."
"You're not my..." I began, noticing the way her knuckles returned to the same paper white as they were earlier. "Don't call yourself that."
Lauren glowered, "Whatever." She spit out, "I don't want to talk about it."
I looked at her, regret etched onto my face. "Lauren..."
"We have a meeting in about an hour," she reminded me, "and I don't plan on blowing it because of some conversation I obviously wasn't supposed to hear."
I tried to save face, crossing my arms and looking out of my window. "Fine." I murmured, beginning my long thought process of how badly I fucked up this time.
-
During the meeting, things were as if nothing had ever happened between us-including our relationship. She treated me like a coworker, which is how it should be, yet it unnerved me. I didn't think I would ever understand how she could just switch moods like that.
I reminded myself that Lauren's had years of practice with people letting her down. She was probably used to it. The thought made my stomach turn.
"How long have you two been working together?"
I blinked, my attention returning to the client, and internally cursed myself. I couldn't blow this just because I was having personal problems. "Almost two years,"
The tan woman smiled at me, "That's wonderful. Lauren has always left us impressed." Her dark brown eyes concentrated on my left hand, an elated expression crossing her face. "You're married?"
"Oh, no. No." I answered, noticing the way her face fell, puzzled. I coughed, feeling like my throat was closing in on me. "I'm engaged."
"Aw!" She doted, "When's the wedding?"
Before I could reply, a murmur of "June 6th" hung in the air.
Both of our heads snapped in the direction of the voice, Lauren staring at me directly. I gulped, positive that everyone in the room heard me, and the room stood still, waiting for Lauren to make the next move. Even our clients treated her as if she was more important than they were.
It was like I didn't possess the power to look away from her hypnotizing eyes. She held me there with them, a look of desolation flashing across emerald irises, before the client hesitantly spoke up, her once excited smile stained with sympathy. "Summer weddings are lovely."
"Yeah," I whispered, almost breathing a sigh of relief when Lauren's eyes moved away from mine.
"Let's just call it a day." She suggested, "I'm happy with the progress we're making and we can finish up tomorrow, yes?"
"Absolutely," Lauren nodded. At her confirmation, everyone in the room began to pack up, evacuating the workspace as quickly as possible.
When it was just us two, she didn't look at me. Instead, she brushed past me, walking down the empty hallway as I desperately tried to catch up with her.
She set a brisk pace and I was having some difficulty keeping up with it, trailing closely behind her. "Are you just going to ignore me for another day?"
She hummed, pretending to ponder over the question. "You know," she began, tapping her chin, "I didn't think it would bother you that much... since you barely notice me and all."
I rolled my eyes. How was that fair? She had to know I didn't mean any of it. "Don't be like that."
Suddenly, she whipped around, outraged. I abruptly stopped in front of her, the unexpected action almost causing me to crash into her. "'Don't be like that'?" She repeated, seemingly astounded. "Let me tell you something, Camila." Her voice was scathing as she walked forward, making me backtrack. "Never in the seven years that I've known you would I have ever thought you would say those things about me. We're supposed to be best friends no matter what, but that's not what you told Adam. You talked about me like I was just some fling you had that meant nothing." The livid girl pointed her index finger at me, and I almost recoiled into myself, my back hitting a wall. "Seven years together and you tell Adam that I don't matter to you. Do you even realize that by saying those things, you're telling him we're nothing more than your failed relationship? Do you know what that means for us? It means we can't be friends, because now Adam thinks you hate me." Her eyes pierced through mine as she took her finger out of my face, "So, my question for you is how long do you think you can keep this up? How long do you want to sneak around? Because it's not as if we can just hang out normally now. You ruined that option for us."
I couldn't help but feel at a loss for words. This was a whole new level of anger for Lauren and I hated being the source of it.
"You don't even feel like Camila anymore. You just feel like some random girl I'm sleeping with." I winced a little at her words, feeling a stabbing pain in my heart. "And I know that's partly my fault-I know I fucked you up-but you fucked me up, too. And that's something I never would have predicted."
"Lauren, I-I'm sorry-"
"So, I don't know if I can do this anymore." She blurted out, interrupting my apology, as if she was trying to get it over with. Lauren looked at the ground before she met my eyes again, the indignation completely gone. All that was left of her was damaged.
I paused, my mind reeling. "...What?"
She gave me a contrite look before backing up and before I knew it, she was walking away from me.
No, I wanted to say. No! But the word was stuck in my throat, unable to come out. She couldn't leave me alone-not again. I hastily grabbed her arm, making her stop. "Please... Don't."
"I'm tired," Lauren croaked, "and I just want to go back to the hotel."
I looked at her desperately but she just walked off. Reluctantly, I followed, my mind racing to find a plan. I wasn't going to lose her.
-
The drive back was almost unbearable. This wasn't how I planned my trip to go. What was I supposed to do if I couldn't convince her to stay with me? What if she never talked to me again? The notion that I had hurt Lauren beyond repair was eating away at me. I couldn't be that person.
When I parked the car, her hand reached for the door handle, but I wasn't letting her go that easily.
"I'm sorry." I said.
That seemed to make her stop for a second and eventually, a sigh escaped from her mouth, opening it to protest.
I continued before she could shut me down, determined to have her hear this. "I shouldn't have said those things to Adam and I really hope you know that I meant none of it. Our relationship meant everything to me and it still does. You matter to me and you have no idea how much I care about you." I paused, gathering my thoughts. "But I'm still mad. About everything that happened when we broke up. I can't even bring myself to think about that girl... and then you left." I shook my head, trying to forget that week without her. "And there have been times where I wish that some of what I said about being over you was true, because I'm not, and it drives me crazy. So, some of that anger got to my head and I crossed the line. I'm sorry. I'm still Camila-I'm still your Camz-and above all, I'm still your best friend... So, if you want to stop this then we will." Lauren's eyebrows slightly shot up, surprised. "And maybe we should start acting more like friends again."
After a while, she nodded. It was weak and tentative, but it was all I needed for now. It was all I needed to keep me going.
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