Chapter 47
I stared into oblivion as the scene on the café kept replaying in my head.
Are they working together?
I can't tell Axel because then he'd know that I lied about Dean being my boyfriend.
I can't ask Dean because he'd wonder how I saw him and that could lead me to tell him what happened with Axel last night.
And what if he really was working with Katie? What if he was just playing me? If I tell him what I know, he'd certainly deny it. I can't risk them being one step ahead of us.
Oh God, this is so confusing. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place.
"Lauren? Lauren! Earth to Lauren!" Cassandra snapped her fingers in front of my face.
"Yes?"
"What happened to you? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"I need a report of the outstanding AR. Can you furnish it today?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll email you the file later."
"Okay. Thanks, Lauren."
"No problem."
I went back to work and tried to clear my head of the Dean situation.
But if they're really working together... Oh God, I practically asked him to be my boyfriend.
Where's your dignity, Lauren? Thrown out the window! Inexistent, I tell you.
Fuck, this is just great.
Scrumptious.
I stood from my seat abruptly and walked out of my cubicle.
"Where are you going, Lauren?" Dave asked.
"I'm just gonna go get some air. I'll be right back."
My feet took me to the elevators, fingers pressing on RD.
As soon as I got to the roof deck, I felt my lungs expand as I took in deep breaths.
My eyes scanned the area to see if anyone's around. No soul in sight. Good.
I walked closer to the railings and watched the traffic below.
How did everything get so complicated?
I went here looking for a fresh start, but it seems like everywhere I go, trouble is out to find me.
I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed Hailey. I need to talk to someone or else I'll go insane.
"Lauren? What's up? Are you okay? Why are you calling during work hours?"
"I feel like I'm losing my mind."
"Where are you?"
"I'm at work. At the roof deck."
"Oh my God. Don't do anything rash, Lauren. Talk to me, please. We can handle it." Her voice bordered on crying.
"Dummy, I'm not going to jump."
She heaved out a sigh.
"I was just overwhelmed by everything. It feels like my lungs are constricted. I feel suffocated. I just want to scream."
"Then fucking scream!"
"I can't."
"Who says you can't? Go on, scream."
"I shouldn't, Hailey. I shouldn't even be here."
"Alright," she said in a calming manner. "What happened? If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen."
"Well, I had a crazy night and a crazy morning."
"Scandalous! Did you and Dean hook up?"
"What? No!"
"Was it Axel then?"
"Hailey!"
"You didn't say no."
"No!"
"Okay. Well, what happened then?"
"Hailey, where are the CVs?" I heard someone say in the background.
"I'll be in a minute!" she replied. "You were saying?"
I exhaled deeply, "It's a long story. You're at work; they need you. I can't take up much of your time."
"Okay. Let's talk about it over dinner."
I was about to say yes when I suddenly remembered I'll have dinner with Josh. "I... I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I have to stay in the office till nine." I winced.
"Oh, Lauren. You're working too much again."
"No, I'm not. We're just in a delicate situation right now." Fuck, I hate lying. "Know what? What if we have lunch out later?"
"You? A lunch out?"
"Yeah, maybe we'll just have hotdogs."
"Sounds good."
"Right? I'll see you in thirty. You know the place."
"Of course, I'll see you. Bye."
"Bye," I dropped the call.
I glanced at the traffic below as I put the phone back in my pocket. Same old, same old. Honking cars and pollution.
It's not the most pleasant thing to see, but somehow it makes me calm. Something about knowing that other people are living their individual lives, having problems just like I do, brings some sense of peace in me; in knowing that I am not alone.
The elevator behind me dinged and I turned to see who it was. Cassandra. I offered her a small smile and rested my arms on the railing.
"Hey, you okay?" She stood next to me.
"Yeah," I replied breathily. "Just a couple of things on my mind. How'd you know I was here?"
"Just a hunch. And Dave said you took the elevator."
"Right."
She scratched her brows, "Hey if it's about the Katie thing, don't pressure yourself."
I nodded lightly.
"I've seen what happened in Manila so, I know that you and Axel aren't on good footing."
I turned to face her.
"I know that Harper asked you to talk to him, but you don't have to. The situation's hard as it is. You don't need to be singled out and given more responsibility."
"Yeah," was all I could manage to say. Who can I even trust anymore?
"Besides, we couldn't have seen this coming, right? I just don't know what goes in her mind, you know? Is she after the money? Why would she even bring it up? I mean I've seen the photos-"
"You've seen the photos?"
"Yeah. They aren't even remotely close. I mean you could see some inspiration, but it's not the same."
"Huh. Can I see it?"
"Sure, it's in the office. Let's head in?" She cocked her head to the elevator.
I nodded, "Yeah, let's go."
As soon as we entered the office, Dave came towards us. "There you are. Feeling any better?"
"Uh-huh. Thanks, Dave. Have you seen the pictures?"
"What pictures?"
Cass raised her brows at him.
A bulb lit up above Dave's head as he realized what I meant. "Oh, that. Yeah, you wanna see it?"
"Of course."
"Follow me."
Cass and I followed him to his cubicle. He sat on his chair and fumbled with the keys. Cass and I craned our necks on each side, waiting for the photos to show.
He clicked on several folders and soon two photos appeared. Our model on one side and Katie Swanson on the other.
Oh no.
Both photos show the model leaning on the railings of a grand staircase, reaching out to the camera, with the same building on the background, with the same angle. The only difference is the dress and the make-up.
"See, I told you, it isn't the same." Cassandra jibed.
"What are you talking about? It looks the same."
"That's what I told her," Dave pointed.
"Are you both blind?"
"Are you blind?" Dave replied.
"Look," her finger pointed at the screen. "This is red and this is black. And the color gradation-"
"What are you talking about? The color of the dresses hardly matters in this situation," I cut her off mid-sentence.
"But there is a difference!"
"No, there isn't much difference. You said it hardly looks the same where in fact, it hardly looks different."
"Okay, girls, let's not get tangled up on this one," Dave mediated.
"Alright, I'm sorry," I replied.
"I'm sorry too," Cassandra said with her head low.
"It just didn't help to see the identical pix, you know? I was hoping for a much larger difference." I puffed out a breath, "Harper's right. With these photos, our chances are slim."
Dave frowned, "That's why Axel is our only chance."
I looked at the two photos again. Dave's right. Axel and I better come up with a good plan, or else we'd watch the ship go down.
"Hey," May walked towards us with Dominic and Kendra next to her. "Aren't you all going? It's lunchtime."
"Oh," I looked at my wrist to check the time. "You guys go, I'll have lunch with my best friend."
Dave stood from his chair, "Alright, let's go then."
We all went out of the office and I parted ways to go out of the building. Hailey and I met at the coffee shop with a hotdog stand outside.
I told her everything; kept her up to date – from the lawsuit to the hospital trip to seeing Dean and Katie.
"Wow," Hailey exhaled. "I'm out of words." She shook her head, "No. I knew there was something wrong with that Dean."
"I know, this is crazy. I don't know what to do anymore, Hales. I don't know how I got trapped in a catch-22."
She exhaled loudly, exasperated, "We'll fix this, okay? We'll think of something. There's always a loophole."
I tapped my foot, chewed on my lips – trying to think of something, but I can't. "I got nothing."
"Oh," she groaned. "Me too."
We stayed silent for a while.
I was just waiting if something would pop into my brain. I need ideas.
"You know," she started.
"What?"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Axel is your best shot at the moment."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, think about it. You two were together last night. He clearly wasn't faking the allergic reaction. And you slept at his place. If he was up to something, you'd know by now. And I don't think he'd let you stay in his domain out of a whim when you can easily go through his stuff and find something out."
"Why would I go through his stuff?"
"I don't know. I would."
I raised my brows at her.
She continued, "All I'm saying is a person's home is an extension of themselves. You stayed the night; you must have learned something. Okay, if I was wrong, tell me you didn't learn anything new about him in the last twelve hours."
The vegetables. The way he rubs his eyes when he just woke up. His discipline in eating healthy even if it tastes bad.
I must've stayed silent for a while because Hailey waved her hand on my face. "That's what I thought."
"You're right."
"When am I wrong?"
I rolled my eyes at her playfully.
"That's all I can see for right now, Lauren. We both know that Axel fucked up and we hate him for that. But sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and try to forget the past."
"I don't know if I can."
"You have to. Or else you would lose what you've worked so hard for. Do you really want Clark to take that away from you? That motherfucker who slept with your roommate and broke your heart?"
The unpleasant picture of him and my roommate together flashed in my head.
"No." I shook my head with determination, "I would not let that excuse for a human being ruin my life again. No. Never."
"That's what I'm talking about! You know, it's still your call, but if it were me, I'd trust Axel more than Dean. Although at this point, it's better if you don't trust anyone. But if you had to put a little bit of trust, I'd chip it in for Axel."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah." She slumped back, confident in her answer.
"But the deal. I made a deal with Dean."
"Screw the deal! All bets are off from the moment he became suspicious. Remember your career is on the line. You can't let anyone fuck with your dreams." She sipped her drink with a straw, looking out into the street from the window.
Maybe she's right.
Who am I kidding? She's always right.
She cocked her head, still sipping her drink, and raised her brows at me twice. My lips quirked up in a small smile, "Thanks, Hales."