In My Life

Chapter 12: The first date, sort of

"Normally, I'd say we could go for a drink but with work tomorrow..." Camila said softly.

"Yeah, I think we should get back," Lauren said, "This was a perfect first date, Camz."

They rode back to Lauren's quietly, listening to music and occasionally chatting. Lauren showed Camila where to park for the night and they made their way up to the apartment. They walked into Lauren's bedroom and both kicked off their shoes. Camila walked behind Lauren and put her hands on her shoulders.  She moved Lauren's hair aside and kissed her neck softly as she gently pulled down the zipper on her dress.

They took their time, undressing one another, kissing languidly and making love. It was all soft and gentle and unrushed and as they finished they comfortably cuddled together and fell asleep.

*********************

Camila woke the next morning and turned over and reached for Lauren . She sighed as she saw the bed empty and a note on the pillow next to her, with a key atop it.

Darling, you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you. I've gone into work. You should come by any time in the afternoon to meet with Jade Thirlwall. She does our publicity in house. Make sure and stop by and say hi to me too - L

Camila grinned and took the note and carefully placed it in the outer pocket of her overnight bag.  She put on some clothes and made the bed and gathered her things together. She left, using the key Lauren left to lock up and headed to her apartment. She ate a late breakfast then showered and changed and headed to LJM Records. She walked in and gave Alexa a smile.

"Hey, Alexa, I'm here to meet with Jade Thirlwall," Camila said.

"Camila, the video was incredible," Alexa said smiling, "I didn't get to see you much after it showed at the party because we had to get home to the kid."

"Thanks, Alexa," Camila said, "I can't believe how it turned out. Fallon is amazing."

"So are you," Alexa said, smiling as she buzzed Jade on the company phone.

Moments later the door opened and Jade introduced herself to Camila. Camila immediately felt comfortable with the casually dressed woman. She was wearing a dress shirt and jeans with leather loafers. She led Camila back to her office and they both sat.

"So Camila, we have three people here who do publicity," Jade said, "I'm in charge of the department and I'll be handling everything, with Lauren of course, as far as promoting the album. We'll release the single and the video and I'll get everything on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, all the services. I'll also work on radio stations, podcasts, talk shows, djs, whatever I can do - and we'll promote you on LJM Records' social media accounts. We'll need to do a studio photo shoot, tomorrow if you can, for pictures to use on there."

"Yeah, whatever you need," Camila said, nodding as she tried to take in the information.

"Lauren said you don't have a personal publicist," Jade said, "I can give you some names if you want to explore hiring your own or you can do an addendum to your contract here. I have the paperwork for you to take. Lauren said you have a lawyer."

"Yes, I do," Camila answered.

"They should look over anything you sign, whether it's with us or someone else," Jade said, "There are some real crooks in the business."

"Ok, Jade I have a question," Camila said, "What exactly does a personal publicist do? Do I even need one yet?"

"Not really, we'll cover everything you need for this album," Jade answered, "I've searched your social media and you hardly post. If you stay off it, you'll be fine. If you get famous the social media platforms can be a rough place to be. Make sure your current accounts are private. If you want to have public accounts then you might want to have a publicist help with that."

"Do you think I should have public accounts?" Camila asked.

"It's a double-edged sword, Camila," Jade said seriously, "Fans love to feel like they have access to star's personal lives. It drums up interest and keeps you in the public eye. But you have to understand that everything you post will be dissected and trolled and it's not easy to deal with. One wrong tweet can be really bad for a career."

"I think I'll stay off for now if that's okay," Camila said.

"The choice is yours," Jade said, "Give me a sec."

She picked up the phone and talked for a moment then looked at Camila, "Tomorrow at 10 for the photoshoot?"  Camila nodded and Jade set the time.

"That's all for today," Jade said, "I'll have more to talk about with you tomorrow."

"Okay, then, thanks," Camila said.

"You know your way out?" Jade asked as she walked Camila to the door.

"Yep, I'm good," Camila answered, smiling.

She walked down the hall but turned towards Lauren's office rather than the front lobby.  She knocked softly on the door.  She waited a moment until Lauren opened the door. Lauren's expression turned to a grin and Camila walked in. Lauren closed the door behind her and immediately pulled her in for a kiss. Camila smiled softly as she pulled from the kiss.

"That's a nice greeting," Camila teased, "Much better than waking up to an empty bed."

"I couldn't bear to wake you," Lauren said, "You were sleeping soundly. I left a note, though."

"I got it," Camila said, reaching into her pocket and taking out Lauren's spare key, "Here's your key."

"Thank you," Lauren said, slipping the key in her pocket and leading Camila to the couch. They both sat. "How did it go with Jade?"

"Good, I have a photo shoot here tomorrow at 10," Camila answered.

"Great, Jade is top notch, Camz," Lauren said, "She'll work with me to get your song out there."

"I liked her a lot," Camila said, "Although she's all business. Not a lot of small talk."

"I know, not really what you'd expect from someone in publicity," Lauren said, "But I think people appreciate it. There's no bullshit with her."

"I think I'm going to hold off on deciding about a personal publicist," Camila said.

"You don't need one yet," Lauren said, "And when you do it'll be easy to find one. Or to use our inhouse people."

"Okay," Camila said, "Is there anything else I should be doing?"

"Just this," Lauren said, leaning in and kissing Camila again. The kiss started slowly but was heating up when Lauren giggled and pulled back. "Okay, that's it for now."

"Tease," Camila said, smiling.

"Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to have sex on this couch right now," Lauren said, eyebrow raised, "But I have too much work to do."

"Raincheck?" Camila asked, grinning. Lauren laughed loudly and Camila smiled even wider.

"We'll see," Lauren said, standing.

"So, I'm going to Sofi's for dinner," Camila said, "But can I call you after?"

"Of course," Lauren said, giving Camila one more quick kiss before she left, "I'll look forward to it."