Money, Sex and Power

Chapter 10

Lauren sat at her desk miserably. She was sickened with what had happened with Keana and she hated what she said, to Lucy's face no less; that Camila was worthless to her when that statement couldn't be further from the truth. The dark haired woman sighed and rested her elbows on her desk while she held her head. She wished her brain would shut up, just for a few seconds, just so she could collect herself. But her wish wasn't granted. Images of Keana's body panting beneath her flashed through her mind, visions of a wet dildo sliding in and out mercilessly spread like a virus, and worst of all, the heart-breaking sight of Camila's face as Lauren took someone other than herself up the stairs for the first time in months. Her office phone's high-pitched ringtone snapped the dark haired woman from her trance. Lauren winced and answered it. "Lauren Jauregui."

"Ms. Jauregui, I need to confirm your conference call with London at 3 o'clock. And also your meeting at 4 with the people on the Schwartz account. And I still need you to sign those papers for the job in California so they can start work there, they've already called three times and are getting rather impatient. And what day did you say you wanted me to schedule your dentist appointment?"

Lauren sighed and tuned out what her assistant was saying. The girl always called to ask her a million things at once and it was nothing but frustrating, and right now, overwhelming. Lauren held the phone to her ear and spun around to stare at her view. The sight of New York City bustling with life usually cheered her up, but she was too depressed to care. She hated being in this funk; she hated how much power her emotions were having on her life. "Ms. Jauregui?" Lauren grimaced as she realized her assistant was still reeling off things she needed. She couldn't focus, she couldn't think, she was a mess, and at that moment, she couldn't be there any more.

"Cancel it."

"E-Excuse me? Cancel...cancel what exactly? You need t-"

"All of it. Cancel all of it! Just clear me for the day, I need to go."

"But Ms. Jauregui, please—" Lauren slammed her phone down. She turned around and whipped her jacket off of her chair and reached down to swoop up her purse. She needed to make things right and she knew the longer she put it off, the worse she would feel, nevertheless how the young brunette was handling things. Besides, she couldn't do work in this mindset, she would get nothing done. She breezed past her assistant, who was still flustered from the conversation, and pushed the elevator button. It took too long for Lauren's liking (she wasn't impressed with the fact that it wasn't waiting for her immediately) and not more than a few seconds after hitting the button, she scowled and charged towards the stairwell to sprint down the 41 flights of stairs.

Lauren sped across the lobby of her office building and hopped into the first cab she saw, quickly spitting out Lucy's address. "Step on it, please," she said hastily. The cabbie nodded and sped off. Lauren tapped her foot impatiently, watching the world pass by her window, counting the seconds until she could make things better.

She thought about everything; what would she say? How would she say it? How much had Camila heard that day? Would Camila even listen to what she had to say? Lauren bit her lip at how many variables there were, it was terrifying, running scenario through scenario in her mind. Some ended happily, others not so much. She prayed silently that the outcome wouldn't be the latter.

Fifteen minutes later, Lauren paid the driver, tipping generously for getting her there so fast, and jogged up the steps. She took a few deep breaths before ringing the doorbell once. She smiled to herself that for the first time in who knows how long, she only rang once.

Keana swung the door open as usual. The Latina had opened the door with her customary friendly and welcoming smile, but upon seeing the dark haired woman, her smile dropped. Lauren's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Uhh Ms. Jauregui, I, uhhh—excellent to see you."