Breaking Hollywood [CAMREN]

Chapter 35

Camila

"Normani's here," DInah says to me, her cell pressed to her ear. "Is she okay to park in your building's parking garage?"

"Sure. Tell her to put eight-eight-three-nine into the keypad at the entrance, and the barrier will open, letting her in. She can park in bay two. You'll need to go down in the elevator to get her though. Use my key." I point to it on the coffee table.

"Did you get that, Pins? Yeah. See you in a few." Dinah gets to her feet and swipes the elevator key off the table.

"Normani, she's...alone, right?"

DInah stops and looks at me. "Lauren's not with her if that's what you mean. She's still at the hotel."

"Good."

Dinah goes to get Normani, and I pick up the coffee that Shawn brought back and take a sip.

It's decent, but it doesn't taste as good as Lauren's coffee.

And I fucking hate that I miss her making me coffee.

God, I'm pathetic.

"What did Gil say?" Shawn asks me.

I glance over at him. He's sitting on the other sofa, drinking his coffee.

"Dinah talked to him. Said I just needed to okay that press release he sent over, and once that's out there, they'll start pulling together a strategy based on the public response to try and stop this shit from completely destroying my career."

"Have you read the release?"

"Yeah." I sigh.

"And?"

"It's just the usual shit that we read all the time. Camila regrets her past actions, and her parents' criminal past is in no way a reflection of her. She does not condone their crimes and has not had contact with her parents since their arrest. Blah, blah, blah."

"If you hate the release, then have them rewrite it."

"And put what?"

"I don't know." Shawn brings his coffee to his lips and takes a sip. "Just think about what you want to say and then tell your publicist and have her write it up."

"Yeah. I guess I could." I take another sip of my coffee.

A few minutes later, I hear the arrival of Dinah and Normani.

And the first thing I want to do is ask Normani how Lauren is.

How fucking lame is that?

I really need a punch in the face.

"Mila." Dinah's voice comes from behind me before she comes into view. She stands to the left of the sofa, Normani by her side. "Normani needs to talk to you. It's important."

I look directly at Normani. "If it's about Lauren, then I don't want to hear it."

She presses her lips together, looking like she's really likely to punch me in the head right now. Maybe I should invite her to. Knock some fucking sense into me.

Normani's eyes move around my living room. "Mila, can I use your bathroom, please?"

I almost exhale with relief that she's not going to try to force me to hear whatever it is she's got to say.

"Sure. You can use the bathroom in my bedroom. It's the first door on your right. Bathroom's off there."

"Could you show me where it is, please?"