"Her name's Lauren,"
Alejandro kinked up a questionable eyebrow at his daughter. "Lauren..?"
"Jauregui. Lauren Jauregui, we went to high school together," Camila cleared her throat. "I wanted to tell you myself but—"
"You've been on every magazine cover for the past week, trotting around Boston with this girl, and haven't thought to give me at least one call, Karla?"
"Dad," Camila mumbled. "My hands have been a bit full, in case you haven't noticed. Isn't this what you fucking wanted, anyway? For me to get my life together?"
"How did you meet her?" He completely disregarded everything his daughter just said to him.
"I just told you; we used to go to high school together," the dark-haired woman stared at the skyline through her father's office windows. "When you forced me to go to the reunion, I ran into her and things took off from there."
"And you're serious with this girl?"
She made eye contact with her father, finally, and lied right through her teeth. "I'm still figuring that out right now. There's a reason why I haven't let you meet her yet."
"I see," Alejandro's steely gaze shook her to the core. "Your mother is delighted to see that you've actually decided to stop whoring around. She's coming to the charity ball, isn't she?"
"Uh, well... She's a bit busy with work lately, so I haven't gotten around to asking her."
"What does she do for a living?"
"She's a psychology professor at Northeastern," hope soars in her heart when she sees a look of approval wash over Alejandro's face. "Finals are coming up soon and things are crazier during that time."
Alejandro tapped his fingers on his desk. "I'd like to invite her myself. Let her know that she's welcomed into the family and whatnot."
"Dad, really, there's no need for that," Camila attempted to steer him away from the idea. "She'd be more than happy to join me once I tell her about it,"
"Alright, I'm sure you know by now that your mother needs a headcount for our table by the end of this week. Don't forget to tell her." He got up from his chair. "I'm sure the two of us have a lot to talk about."
"Right," she trailed behind him as they exited his office. "I'm sure you fucking do," Camila said the last half of her sentence to nobody but herself.
-
"Mani," Lauren set the box of chocolates down on her colleague's desk. "Are you going to be mad at me forever?"
"I should be," Normani snapped. "How am I supposed to react when I see you kissing Camila Cabello on every fucking gossip blog's front page?"
"Before you start yelling at me anymore, there's more to it than you think,"
"Enlighten me then, Lauren Michelle Jauregui Morgado! Because there's absolutely nothing you can say that..."
"Camila and I aren't actually dating," Lauren said quietly.
Normani laughed bitterly. "Yes, totally, lie straight to my face!"
"Look, I don't even know if I can tell you," she pursed her lips. "But you can't repeat anything I tell you. Not even to Dinah."
The pregnant woman sighed. "Lauren,"
"Her dad wants to see her settle down and get her life together before he turns over the company to her. And... When she ran into me at the reunion, she thought I'd be a perfect candidate."
"Oh, I'm going to rip that bitch to—"
"Mani!" Lauren exclaimed. "It's not like that, she's not forcing me against my will or anything. I decided to do it myself. For Taylor and Chris."
"If you needed money, Dinah and I could've helped you, Laur. I mean, this is fucking insane. You just ended things with Nick!"
"I know, I know. Please don't remind me of him. I might actually throw up." She slumped further down in her chair. "And you have a whole freaking baby on the way! I wouldn't take anything from you even if you tried to shove it down my throat. But it's like everything is ten times more fucking expensive when the universe knows I don't have any money right now."
Normani opened her water bottle, gulping half of it down. "So, what exactly does this contract entail?"
"Too damn much for me to recall off the top of my head," Lauren groaned. "It's basic shit, though. I hold her hand, we kiss for some pictures, I play the perfect fake girlfriend in front of her family and she gives me what I want in return."
"And did you not think about how being covered by every media outlet would lead to Nick finding where you moved to?"
"He already knows by now, I'm sure of it," the professor responded dryly. "Northeastern has our photographs from the Cabello's event all over their website. His two brain cells are smarter than we think."
Normani tried to gauge her colleague's reaction. "Are you scared?"
"A little, but... It's nothing I can't handle. I'm Lauren Jauregui, right?"
"Right. But you're also a human being with feelings. It's okay if you're scared, Laur. I would've had at least three and a half heart attacks by now if I were you. Does Camila know about him?"
Lauren shook her head. "I didn't want to get into all of the nasty stuff of my past. We've mainly just been talking about basic things about ourselves; favorite food, childhood memories, all of the sappy stuff a couple should know about each other. That's why I haven't let you come over lately, also. I'm staying at her place temporarily."
"Now, you've got my attention," Normani leaned forward, a mischievous smile on her face. "What's she like?"
She sat there in thought for what seemed to be like hours—when in reality it was only a few minutes—struggling to find the right words to describe the dark-haired woman. Kind? No... Too basic. Sexy? Absolutely not.
"Different," was what Lauren decided on. "I hated her guts back in high school because of how cocky she was, and still is, but once you get past all of that... She's really not that bad, Mani."
"Come on! Give me all the juicy details, Jauregui!"
"Well, she plays the piano. Loves anything related to planes and helicopters. Absolutely hates working underneath her father. She wants to dedicate most of her fortune to philanthropic causes after she passes. Her favorite pizza is a thick crust with a lot of tomato sauce and pineapple. And would want to be a dentist if she wasn't next in line to inherit the company."
"Wow," Normani was slightly taken aback. "I didn't know you guys were talking that much,"
"The restaurant owners came and kicked us out because we managed to stay past closing time," she admitted sheepishly. "Plus, it's what we needed to do. You know, for the sake of our fake relationship."
"I still can't believe you even did it," the older woman shook her head disapprovingly. "I mean, how much do you even owe?"
Lauren scratched the back of her neck. "A few student loans, Chris and Taylor's schooling, and Windfield,"
"Lauren," Normani's voice is barely above a whisper. "You're insane for doing all of this. Why don't you just put them in public school? We turned out just fine!"
"You don't have to keep telling me that, I know I'm crazy. The whole point of me being a big sister is to give them the chances I never had in life. They actually enjoy going to school! When did we ever get that privilege?"
"Do they even know how much you're coughing up?"
"No, and they won't. Because this stays between us, Mani. I'm serious. It's only for a year and it'll go by faster than I can even blink."
The dark-skinned woman bit the inside of her cheek. "You've never been good at making decisions,"
"What's new?" Lauren shrugged. "At least I'm being paid a million dollars for this bad one,"
-
Camila was scowling at her from across the dining table.
"Stop looking at me like that,"
"You didn't even think to fucking call me and ask if it was okay to tell anyone?"
"She's basically my best friend," Lauren argued.
"Your best friend who can ruin everything we've been working on if she randomly decides she's upset or mad at you." Camila shot back, gripping the fork in her hand tightly. "I want her to sign an NDA,"
"Fine," the professor narrowed her eyes. "She'll sign it and you're going to look fucking stupid when you see how easily she agrees to sign it,"
"You're the one who's going to look stupid when she tells the press everything!"
Lauren's glare intensified. "Are you calling me stupid?"
"Jesus fucking Christ, here we go again," Camila said under her breath. "Look, can you just give me a heads up before you do something like that again?"
"I'll consider it," came her dry response.
The dark-haired woman continued cutting into her steak. "My dad's still having that charity ball I told you about and he wants to meet you there. But I figured we could have breakfast with my mom beforehand so you don't have to take the two of them on at the same time."
"I don't... Exactly have the right kind of dress for a ball,"
"Don't worry, I'll have Gwen pick one out for you. She's good at stuff like that."
"Right," Lauren pursed her lips. "And breakfast with your mom? When are we doing that?"
"Tomorrow morning before your first class," she said more of an answer rather than a question, giving Lauren no choice, but to agree.
The older woman set her fork down. "Do you think she'll like me?"
"She might steal you away from me if I don't keep you close enough," Camila answered earnestly. "I don't think you have anything to be worried about, Lauren,"
Lauren hummed in approval. "And what about your dad? Would he like me?"
"You're smart, beautiful, and know how to laugh at the lamest jokes—he'd be lucky to have you as a daughter-in-law,"
"Never thought I'd hear Camila Cabello calling me beautiful,"
"I'm sure it's not the first time somebody has called you beautiful," she paused before finishing her last bite of steak. "Right?"
"Nick mentioned it once or twice," Lauren stared down at her half-full plate.
"Why did you two even break up?" Camila saw this as a perfect opportunity to get the answers to most of her questions.
"The relationship just fizzled out," there was a flash of hurt in her eyes that Camila doesn't miss. "We were together for a while. Things never stay in the honeymoon phase."
"Eh,"
Lauren furrowed her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"The honeymoon stage lasts forever with the right person. Sorry to break it to you, princess. You were just with a narcissistic asshole." Camila leaned back in the chair, an amused expression on her face. "You were too good for him, anyway,"
"One narcissistic asshole to another, not much of a difference," Lauren shot back.
Camila's cold eyes portrayed no emotion as her scowl deepened. "Sleep well tonight, Lauren. We're leaving around eight." She said dryly before leaving to go up to her study.
"Grumpypants," Lauren mumbled under her breath. "Jesus, I really do have a fucking type,"