All or Nothing

7

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Hey guys, sorry for the delay but I had a couple of rough days with my dog and after that I had to relax a bit. Updates should be back to normal now😊

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Lauren's standing on her balcony, surveying her city when there's a knock on the open door behind her.

She comes out here when she's feeling particularly stressed, and this week certainly qualifies. If seeing Camila's heartbroken face every time she closed her eyes wasn't enough, she'd also had to deal with the unexpected appearance of her mother and then, and then, because she's an idiot, she's somehow managed to sign herself up for a date with the woman she's supposed to be avoiding at all costs.

It was supposed to get easier, after pushing Camila away, crushing her by letting her think it would never happen but god, it hadn't been. After that door had closed behind Camila, Lauren had drank until she forgot the look in Camila's eyes before she left, hating herself for what she'd done.

On Sunday night, alone after Leo had gone to bed and thinking about a lifetime of mistakes, Lauren had caved, and she'd knocked on Camila's door, prepared to apologize and tell her she was an idiot, that she didn't want to forget it ever happened and maybe they would be able to figure this out, after all.

But she'd gotten no answer, and the next morning she'd seen Camila emerging from her apartment with a beautiful blonde and Lauren had felt her heart sink low in her chest, anger burning through her because maybe she didn't mean that much to Camila, after all.

And it would have been easy for her to admit what she'd done when Camila had told her that Dinah was nothing more than a friend. But in the cold, harsh light of day, seeing Camila smiling with a woman her own age, Lauren had wondered what on earth she could give Camila that she wouldn't be better off getting from somewhere else.

From someone that she could walk down the street holding their hand, without a media storm shouting 'cradle robber' and 'midlife crisis' in their wake.

There's a second knock, tearing Lauren out of her thoughts, and she turns on her heel, a glass of whiskey in her hand, to see Normani Kordei hovering in the doorway. Most of her employees are already gone for the day, rushing off home to their families, desperate to escape Lauren's wrath (they know better than to get on her nerves when Clara is in town, walk on eggshells around her and it just makes Lauren hate them even more), but Normani is one of the rare good ones, had selflessly offered to stay and help her out because she knew she needed an extra set of hands.

Normani is exceptional at her job, and Lauren can scarcely believe that she'd managed to lure her away from Orlando, sometimes. Not that she'll ever admit that to her face, of course – she has an image to maintain, and she doesn't want her getting complacent.

"I have those layouts you were after, Miss Jauregui." She sees no folder in her hands and raises a disbelieving eyebrow. "I left them on your desk."

"Thank you." She bobs her head but doesn't move, and Lauren stares at her for one long moment – she looks like she's itching to say something, but is terrified of opening her mouth.

"Can I join you for a drink?" That wasn't what she expected. She respects Normani, likes her, even, but they're not friends. They don't talk, beyond the standard meetings between a CEO and her art director, and she's certainly never approached her like this before.

She wants to say no, but she's too curious to find out what she wants.

"I suppose." She turns to snatch a glass from Lauren's makeshift bar before making her way towards the glass table on her balcony, to where the half-finished whiskey bottle stands, pouring herself a splash of amber liquid before joining her at the railing, dangling her arms over the edge of it and keeping her gaze focused on the horizon.