One and Only

Part 29

One and Only - Chapter Twenty-Nine
Camila's POV
-
I nervously waited near the elevator, relief flooding over me when it opened to reveal Lauren had arrived.
"What are you doing?" She walked out, asking when she saw me.
"Waiting for you."
"...Why?"
"Because he likes you better and I don't want to be yelled at." I explained, watching as she rolled her eyes.
"Let's just get this over with."
She started to lead the way and I trailed closely behind her like a lost puppy. Almost none of the lights were on in the office and it put me off. "I've never been here this early."
"Welcome to my life." She whispered, lightly knocking on Mr. Clarke's office door. "Richard?"
"Come in."
I kissed Lauren quickly on the cheek before she turned the knob, "Good luck."
She chuckled at my antics, "You, too." Her expression turned serious as she opened the door, allowing me to walk in first, and shut it behind us. We sat down, facing a stern-faced Mr. Clarke.
Here we go. "Good morning, Mr. Clarke." I said, trying to ease the mood, but he didn't respond. His eyes were set on Lauren instead, making me sink a little into my seat.
"Do you want to go back to Portland, Lauren?" Our boss asked her.
I immediately looked at her. Portland? What the hell was he talking about?
Lauren blanched and I noticed the way she started to fiddle with her hands, "I thought... I thought we were keeping that under wraps."
Mr. Clarke turned to me, "I'm sure we can count on your discretion."
Still shocked and confused, I managed to squeak out an, "Absolutely." before he looked back at her.
"So?"
Lauren looked uncomfortable, eventually sighing as she realized she couldn't get out of this. "Of course I do."
"And do you want to keep meeting with these investors and board members? Do you want to keep making a name for yourself?"
"Yes, sir." She replied.
Mr. Clarke banged his fists on the table, earning a shriek of surprise from me, and stood up. "Then don't make these mistakes!" He walked from behind his desk to stand directly in front of her. "Now, why were these mistakes made?"
The girl next to me remained calm, but I was silently freaking out. "Because I wasn't doing my job." She told him.
"And why not?"
Lauren crossed her legs. "Because I was distracted."
"By what?" Mr. Clarke fired out, relentlessly trying to get to the bottom of this. Lauren was really in trouble.
"I had a long day so I was tired. I went back to the hotel and watched a movie until I fell asleep."
"Where were you during all of this?" The man asked. It took me a moment to realize he was speaking to me.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Lauren answered for me. "She was in her room." My eyes narrowed in on her, taken aback by her lie.
"Is that true?" He questioned me, but she answered for me again.
"Richard-if I may, she did her job well. The client was very impressed with her. You can contact her if you want. Camila did her job and it was my fault we had to stay the extra day. It was my fault you couldn't get in touch with me and it was my fault you weren't properly updated. I take full responsibility."
There was a silence as he took her statement into consideration.
"This is the last time this ever happens, Lauren. I mean it." He finally said.
"I understand."
"If you had been in Portland with this stuff happening, I would have fired you." I shifted in my seat at the mention of the city. "I picked you because I thought you could go on to do great things. Don't let me down."
"Never again, sir."
"Good." He turned to me, "You may go."
I didn't waste any time before I got up and left the room, sitting at my desk in silence.
Portland. She went to Portland. That's where she was. Not with some girl. She was there for work.
I didn't know if I should be mad at Lauren for not telling me or if I should be mad at myself for believing she left with that girl. I needed to figure it out though, because it seemed our boss was done disciplining her now that she came out of his office and was slowly walking toward our desks.
I crossed my arms, "Portland?" Lauren shrugged before she sat down and the nonchalant behavior irritated me. "You were in Portland? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Richard told me not to tell anyone."
"Oh, bullshit."
Lauren sighed. "I just got yelled at by Richard and I'm not looking forward to having you yell at me, too. Can we talk about this later?"
"No! I want to talk about it now."
Lauren gave me a look that made me think maybe I should be more careful about what I wish for. "Fine." She grimaced. "I'll tell you. When we were dating, Richard approached me with an offer to go to Portland. It was a great opportunity to meet with important management, but I didn't want to leave you. We had been fighting a lot and I thought if I went to Portland, it would be over, and that was the last thing I wanted."
"Oh really?" I laughed bitterly. How ironic.
"Really." She glared at me, so I continued to listen. "I thought about going but I decided you were more important. However, it turns out our breakup was inevitable because I didn't have the answers you needed-but you knew that already. I decided to leave the night you left with Adam. I didn't want to be here." She explained.
"And you let me believe you went off with that girl."
Lauren didn't seem to be troubled by my harsh mood as she relaxed in her seat. "With you, I've recently figured out that once you believe something, it's almost impossible to make you think otherwise. Why waste my breath?"
"Because I couldn't sleep!" I shot back, outraged, "I could barely get out of bed! I thought you left!"
"No, you left. And I told you last night I didn't leave with her. Did you believe me then?"
"Well..." I fumbled, "No-"
"No, you didn't." She cut me off.
I frowned, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I get it." She commented. "Why would you believe me?"
"Would you have believed me?" I asked, attempting to make her understand. "If I had slept with that girl at the club," her jaw tightened at the mention of that night, "and then disappeared for a week-would you have believed that I didn't leave with her?"
"Of course I would."
I scoffed, "You're lying."
"No." Lauren disagreed. "I trust you. You just don't trust me."
"Laur-"
"I get it, Camz." She interrupted. "I understand why you don't. I just don't want to talk about it anymore."
"I'm sorry." I said again.
She gave me a small smile that looked forced. "I know you are... and I know you wish you could trust me. I wish you could, too."
I looked away, deciding it best to just leave it at that and start my work for the day.
-
The clock had finally approached noon and the office was in full swing. I was desperate to get away and find Lauren, since she hadn't been at her desk for a couple of hours. Mr. Clarke was really utilizing her today, probably as a punishment.
Walking down the familiar hall, I noticed Lauren at the end of it, focusing on the stack of papers she was holding. I was about to go up to her when Ashley showed up out of nowhere, flirtatiously greeting the black-haired girl. I slipped into the empty room nearest to me, straining to hear their conversation as I peeked at them from the door.
"So, I heard you and your girlfriend broke up." She smirked and I suddenly felt insecure, something I hadn't felt in a while. "I didn't know she worked here."
Lauren nodded, "You're kind of late on office gossip, aren't you?"
"No one tells the temp anything." She pouted, her luscious lips jutted out. "You know, you could've told me she was the girl that sat in front of you. I hope I had nothing to do with it. Hitting on you in front of her might have struck a nerve, huh? I'm sorry if it did." But she didn't seem sorry at all. In fact, she seemed quite proud of herself.
"Oh, no. Don't worry. It wasn't your fault." Lauren laughed, stopping when Ashley stepped closer to her.
"So, you're single?"
"I guess so."
The dark-skinned girl closed in on her, backing her up against the wall, and I had to bite down on my cheek to stop myself from interrupting something that wasn't my business at all.
"So, we can go out sometime." The girl said confidently, not waiting for Lauren to reply before she connected their lips.
I balled my fists at the sight, a mixture of jealousy and furiousness coursing through me as I watched Lauren reciprocate. It had been a long time since I'd seen Lauren kiss anyone that wasn't me and I could now understand how hurtful it was for her to watch Adam and I. This was what we agreed to-I got Adam and she got to be single-but seeing that deal in action was something else.
I held my breath when the girl pulled Lauren closer, her hand resting on the small of her back. This was too painful and I was about to walk away before I saw Lauren move back.
"I'm sorry-I can't," She said, breathless. "I don't do this anymore."
Ashley moved to kiss her neck instead, "Don't do what?"
"This. Ash, stop."
The nickname she used felt like a slap in the face, but it was nothing compared to the way I felt when the girl continued, despite Lauren's resistance.
"C'mon, Lauren. Live a little."
At this, she pushed her off, the papers in her hand falling to the ground and scattering everywhere. "No."
The curly-haired girl scoffed, "I don't get it. Why don't you like me?"
"I do like you, it's just..." Lauren shrugged, "Don't get me wrong-you're really beautiful, but I... uh, have feelings for someone else and I don't think they'll be going away anytime soon." She frowned as Ashley rolled her eyes.
"You have feelings for your engaged ex?" Ashley almost laughed, "Lauren, she's obviously moved on. You can move on, too... with me."
"No, I can't. I don't want to be with anyone else or fuck anyone else or wake up next to anyone else. I'm sorry, Ash, but I..." My chest tightened at her hesitance. What was she going to say? "Um... Never mind. I'll see you around, okay?"
"'See me around'?" The girl seethed, "Don't count on it."
I felt a smile on my lips when I saw her walk away. Lauren rejected her for me. I was the girl she had feelings for and she didn't have a problem letting Ashley know that.
She took a moment to compose herself before she crouched down to the floor, picking up the papers she dropped, and I walked toward her. I was about to help when she saw me and stood up, instantly scanning around us to see if Ashley was still there. "H-hey." She breathed, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," I smiled, "What are you doing?"
"I-um, well, I was getting some stuff Richard needed." She gestured to the floor, "I kind of dropped it."
I looked around us before stepping forward and kissing her softly without warning, the urge too strong to fight. When she didn't pull away to tell me she liked someone else, I figured it was a pretty successful move on my part. I ended it with a few pecks, eventually pulling myself off of her.
"What was that for?" She asked, a little dazed.
"I like kissing you."
A small huff escaped her lips, "Yeah? Go kiss Adam."
"I'm, um, meeting him for a drink after work. Would you-I mean, do you... uh, do you maybe want to come?"
Lauren almost snorted at my offer, "Are you seriously asking me that?" She continued through my disappointed sigh, trying to understand why I would even suggest that. "What would we even talk about? 'Oh, hey, I'm fucking your fiancé. Nice seeing you again.'"
"Okay, I was just offering. It would be nice to have things the way they used to be." I mumbled.
"I think that possibility went out of the window when you got back together with Adam."
Oh, so it was my fault? "Maybe it went out of the window when you took that girl home the day after you broke up with me."
Her emerald eyes glared at me and I knew I was supposed to cut down on mentioning that, but it was kind of hard to forget. Sometimes I thought she did.
-
We were sitting in silence like we usually did. I had been to this cafe before, but never with Adam.
I couldn't believe I had almost forgotten how much I hated going out to eat with him. All he did was look at his stupid phone, emailing away. We never talked, but I didn't know if I was allowed to complain since I rarely even tried to start conversations with him anymore, mostly because I didn't even think we could successfully hold one.
He finally looked up and my mood lightened a bit, thinking he would say something, but all he did was excuse himself to go to the restroom.
I got my phone out the second he disappeared behind that door, beginning a text to Lauren. At least she'd keep me company.
"Camila!"
I looked up, noticing a girl standing by me.
"Hey!" She smiled, "It's so funny running into you."
I furrowed my brows, confused. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"Oh, sorry. I should have introduced myself." The beautiful girl smiled, showing off her perfect teeth. "I'm Kat, a friend of Lauren's. Is she with you?" Her light eyes looked around for her, eventually staring back at me, happily waiting for my reply.
But all I could do was gape. That was her. That was the girl Lauren took home. And it wasn't just some girl. That was her favorite ex. "Kat. You're the pilot." I commented, remembering the many trips Lauren took while dating her.
She grinned, "Yeah. So is she with you?"
A pilot. A fucking pilot. How was I supposed to compete with that? I never stood a chance. "Um, no, actually. I thought she told you we broke up?"
The auburn-haired girl looked at me as if she didn't understand. "Well, yeah, but... you two didn't get back together after what she told you?"
Who did she think she was? Coming up to me and asking for my ex girlfriend? "She didn't tell me anything. She left with you-or were you too drunk to remember sleeping with her?"
She frowned, disillusioned. "I didn't sleep with her. Well, I mean, we've slept together before, like a long time ago when we dated, but... wait, so she didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?" I asked, annoyed. "Look, I'm not stupid, Kat. I know she took you home that night."
She squinted her eyes, perplexed with me. "What the hell are you even talking about? We didn't have sex. For fucks sake, we spent a whole ten minutes together just talking about you."
And just like that, my whole world stopped.
"You..." I started, putting the pieces together. "You didn't sleep together?"
"Who's this?" Adam asked, returning to his seat in front of me. I felt sick.
"I'm Kat," She answered, "I'm a friend of Lauren's."
"Oh," He held out his hand politely, "I'm Adam, Camila's fiancé."
But Kat didn't shake his hand, instead turning to glare at me. "Is he being serious?" I weakly nodded, ashamed with myself. "Camila, I didn't fuck Lauren that night. Do you really think she would do that to you?"
Adam retracted his hand at that, scoffing. "Just another one of Lauren's rude 'friends'."
Kat gave one last look at us, muttering a, "Congratulations on the engagement," before she started to walk away.
"Wait," I went after her, almost shrinking into myself when I saw her expression as she faced me. "What was she going to tell me?"
"It doesn't matter now." She looked me up and down, "You really had it all. I can't believe you threw it away for that." With a shake of the head, she was gone.
Rapidly, I grabbed my stuff from the table. How would Lauren ever forgive me for this?
"Where are you going?" Adam questioned.
"None of your business."
"Excuse me?" He almost yelled, but I wasn't in the mood to explain myself.
I rushed out into the street, a yellow taxi cab almost running me over, and got in, shouting out our address. I needed to see her.
During the drive, my leg was shaking uncontrollably. This couldn't be real life. I didn't fuck up this bad.
I rested my head in my hands, trying to calm down. Oh my God, what was wrong with me? Suddenly everything was playing back in my mind like a movie-every pained expression she had on her face when I accused her of something she never even got close to doing, every pained expression she had seeing me with Adam, every painful thing I'd ever caused her, all my fault, all unable to be taken back, all unfixable.
I stayed in that state until the driver grumbled something about giving him his money. I tossed a twenty toward him and rushed inside, the elevator taking its precious time. Once I got to our floor, I banged on our door, my hands too shaky to open it with my key.
I called her name, my pounding fist unrelenting until it hung in midair, Lauren's eyes wide as she took in my appearance. I walked inside briskly, beginning to pace back and forth.
She shut the door swiftly and rushed to my side, "Are you okay? Did something happen?"
I halted, meeting her worried eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Green clouded with puzzlement as she tried to understand me. "Tell you what?"
"I ran into your old friend Kat today."
Lauren took a few steps back, dismayed at my revelation.
"Why did you let me believe you took her home?" I whispered, growing impatient when she didn't respond. "Lauren!"
She flinched at my loud voice, snapping out of her surprise. "I wasn't going to explain myself to you when you were already back together with Adam."
I wanted to scream. She just kept this from me-the whole time, she let me believe she'd betrayed me. "You should've told me. That would have changed everything!"
Lauren's jaw dropped, probably at my audacity, and I knew I hit a nerve. "'I should've told you'? You didn't give me a chance to tell you, Camila. You just fucking left-went back to Adam like it was nothing. What the fuck do you think it felt like coming back to our home to find Adam in our room packing up your stuff? And he was so arrogant about it-he couldn't wait to tell me that you were staying the night with him." Lauren let out a deep breath, and I knew she'd been thinking about this day for a long time. "You really fucking hurt me, Camila, and I know I was the one who broke up with you, but I never expected it to hurt like it does now."
I felt the hot tears stain my face, a continuous flow of them rolling down my cheeks. "I was so afraid you found someone else." I embraced her in a hug, glad that she let me. "I'm so sorry, Lauren."
She began to rub my back, stroking my hair with her free hand to try to calm me down. We stood like that for a bit before I looked up at her, my lips meeting hers.
"No!" Lauren moved back, and I frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"Everything! Everything about us. Don't you see that now? How can you still stand to be with me when you know what you've done?" She sounded almost out of breath, "You need to leave."
"Lauren-"
"No, you're marrying Adam. I know you are. I'm not dumb, Camila. I know you. You can't leave him, no matter how hard you try, because you still want to be with him. You trust him."
I shook my head, "No, you're wrong. We don't even have sex anymore. I don't let him touch me. I don't want Adam; I want you."
She stepped back further, "I don't think you know what you want." When I tried to go near her again, she moved away, "I can't do this anymore. Camila, go."
I stared at her in disbelief. She really wanted me to leave her this time. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but she just pointed to the door, her hands shaking just like mine were.
"Go," She mouthed.
-