NOTE: Don't forget, this chapter and the next few ones are part of a series of flashbacks of what happened during those 3 months that passed. In this chapter, y'all are going to finally find out why Camila is trying to get back together with Rob, at least her motives to do so. So be patient. You'll find out even more on the next chapter. All of your unanswered questions will soon be answered.
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*Flashback still On*
POV Camila Cabello
The heels of my black high-heels echoed with every step I took in the reception of that luxurious building. Every gaze there was on me, modesty aside, I knew I looked hot, after all, I had dressed myself wittingly for that occasion.
"Good Morning, Miss." The young woman behind the counter said.
"Good Morning, do you remember me?"
"Miss Cabello, right?" She asked with a charming smile on her lips. God, when did women get so attractive like this?
"That's right, so you don't need to announce my entry." I turned my back to the young woman and walked slowly towards the office door.
"But, Miss, I... Wait! Miss?!" Rob's secretary said desperately.
"Thanks!" That was what I said lastly before I entered Rob's office.
Robert had his back turned to the door, he was talking on the phone, his voice tone was clearly altered, and as soon as he noticed my presence, the man turned around and glared at me.
"I hope you fix this as soon as possible, I don't allow mistakes." He said and then hung up the phone, almost throwing it on the desk. "Camila, what do you want here?" Rob was being rude, and there were motives for such behavior. But I hadn't woken up, dolled up like a woman ready for seduction, for nothing. I'd fix this situation.
"I came to apologize for yesterday."
"Apologize? You left me high and dry, literally." A laugh escaped my lips at the sight of how frustrated Rob was. "And you still have the nerve to laugh at me, I'm done, you can leave, I have a lot of work to do."
"Robert, who do you think you are to talk to me like that? I made a mistake, I tried to go to bed with you, but so many things crossed my mind, and I just couldn't consummate the act." He just stared at me attentively. Even though his male pride was hurt, Rob still wanted me, and he was just waiting for a plausible excuse to finally forgive me and try to have sex with me again.
I stepped closer to the man, who spun in his chair and spread his legs further apart, in a request, and I gave in.
"Go on." He said. Then, I sat on his legs, grabbed his tie, and smiled.
"It wasn't meant to be yesterday, can you have a little more patience with me?" I asked and then sealed our lips. "I promise that I'll satisfy you soon." I accommodated myself better on his lap, inching closer to the man. The volume in his pants was already clear.
"Yeah? And may I know how you're going to satisfy me?" He asked in a mischievous tone. Rob's big hands were holding my face, and slowly, he inched his lips closer to mine, kissing me. His hands now roamed my thighs, squeezing them and holding me tight, forcing my body down. I felt his shaft completely hard.
God... How easy it was to manipulate situations with men, you only had to use sex.
"You look so beautiful today, is all this for me?" He asked, stroking my face.
"And who else would it be for?" I asked, and then Rob's phone rang. Carefully, he grabbed my waist so that I would get up, and so I did.
"Just give me a second, I have to take this." Rob picked up his phone from his desk, and went to the corner of the office. I sat down on his chair and spun it to face the computer. An email was open, it was rather confusing. I looked at Rob, and he's voice tone was altered again, just like when I heard him a few minutes ago.
I grabbed my phone and took some pictures of the computer screen, then I scrolled down a little and could see an already open email, in it were some miniature photos, so I took some more pictures of it and then left everything as it was. Rob didn't even notice my presence there, he was practically screaming on the phone. That conversation didn't make sense to me, he was just saying that he didn't want to know, that he wanted the payment. Upon hanging up the phone, Rob walked over to the desk, dropped the phone on it, and leaned in to seal our lips.
"Babe, can you pour me a strong drink?" He asked, still giving me light pecks on the lips.
"Aren't you working?"
"Camila, please..." I didn't say anything else, just got up and went to his mini-bar, and poured him a good dose of Whiskey.
"Tough day?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.
"You have no idea." Rob motioned for me to approach him and sit on his lap again. "Can I sleep in your house today?"
"I think I'll stay late at the precinct today, but call me, to see if our schedules match." I gave him a brief kiss, feeling the taste of strong Whiskey in my mouth, and pulled away, finishing with a little peck. "I'm going now, you're full of work, and I'm no different."
"We'll talk later." He said when I got up.
"Of course." I turned around and started walking towards the door.
"Camila?" He called me, and I turned around, raising my eyebrows.
"What is it?"
"I'm really loving this new Camila." Rob said, and then took another sip of his expensive Whiskey.
"My love, she exists only for you." I winked at him, and resumed my way to the door.
Robert can't imagine how much this new Camila exists just because of him, he has no idea how much I'm striving for him.
I walked by the reception almost running, briefly greeted the receptionist, and left the building. I grabbed my phone and dialed a number as I walked towards the parking lot.
"Good Morning, how are you?" I asked.
"Good Morning, good and you?"
"I'm more than good, I'm wonderful." I joked.
"Did you call me to say you had sex?"
"I don't think you have enough intimacy with me to joke like that." I said seriously.
"Wow, okay, I'm sorry."
"Anyways, I want to see you, we have work to do."
"Where can we meet? In the club?" Halsey suggested.
"No, God, I'm not ready to see Lauren." I said, already getting into my car.
"She's not doing well, you know?" Halsey said, leaving me speechless on the other side of the phone. I took a deep breath, remembering the harsh words I said to Lauren, and a lump formed in my throat.
"Halsey..." I couldn't complete the sentence.
"I'm sorry, Camila... We can meet at that coffee shop around the corner of the club, what do you think?"
"Perfect." I ended the call and threw my phone in the passenger seat.
With my hands firm on the steering wheel, I lowered my head, and felt the lump in my throat burning.
"Only God knows how much I miss you, Lauren." I thought out loud.
I started the car and drove out of that place. Memories of everything I lived by Lauren's side started playing freely in my mind. All the fights, the reconciliations, the kisses, the caresses, everything that was good and bad was alive in my mind. Even though I opted for another path, that would never nullify what I still feel for her, nothing and no one will ever nullify that.
I wasn't ready to see her, I wasn't ready to look into her eyes, I felt ashamed of the way everything ended.
Trying not to think about Lauren, I drove through the streets of Miami, praying for those photos in my phone to be worth something. I needed to end this as soon as possible, I felt unstable, I felt that at any moment I could freak out and throw everything down the drain.
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"Camila, this here is a bit useless, don't you think?" Halsey said, and then took a sip of her coffee. I rolled my eyes and counted to ten.
"Look, we're in the dark here, and I think anything is valid." I countered.
"Yeah, anything but this here." The woman said shrugging, and threw my phone on the table.
"It can't be that useless... Dammit!" I grabbed the phone and analyzed the images, zooming in on everything, but nothing, there was nothing there that could satisfy me. "Oh! Wait!" I said excitedly.
"Wait what?" Halsey got up and dragged her chair closer to me.
"Down here, there's a link, well, it's only half of a link, but it should lead somewhere." I said.
"You're right, maybe this is the breakthrough we need." Halsey and I looked at each other joyfully, excited by the possible discovery.
"There must be a plethora of combinations to complete this link though, Halsey." I put the phone on the table and buried my hands in my hair.
A plethora of combinations for a damn link, I needed evidence, anything that would put an end to the nightmare I was living.
"Camila, everything will be alright." The woman patted my back.
"No, it won't, you have no idea what I'm going through." The lump in my throat came back, my eyes watered, and I took a deep breath to not burst into tears there, but it was in vain. "I try not to think about her every day, every damn day, Halsey." I let more tears fall, and Halsey just stayed silent, respecting my pain. "Has she been hooking up with anyone?"
"No, Lauren closed herself a little, that usual contagious joy is gone, she's not the same."
I lifted my head and wiped away the tears that still insisted on falling, I needed to be strong. "What are we going to do with this information? We're lost."
"I'm here, aren't I? I'll figure something out, for all of us, don't worry, I have a hacker friend, he'll find a way to find the right link combination, he'll get us something."
"And when can we do that?"
"I'll go to him, let's just say that it's all a bit illicit, and you're miss goody two-shoes, you'd be horrified with the things you'd see." Halsey said, and then laughed.
"I hope this doesn't cause us any problems, because I honestly don't need any more, you know." Halsey nodded and got up.
"You take care of the bill?"
"Leave it to me, but let me know as soon as you know something, okay?" I got up from the table and put a few bucks on the small plate where the bill was.
"Of course I'll let you know." She said, rolling her eyes. "And Camila?"
"What is it?"
"Lauren likes you a lot." She said with a kind smile.
We walked out of the coffee shop, and I put on my sunglasses, heading to the parking lot, with Halsey right behind me. I didn't know if she was trying to play cupid, or if she was just trying to cheer me up.
"And how do you know that?" I asked as I got into the car.
"Because every time someone mentions your name, she says a swear-word and goes somewhere else." Halsey laughed, and it was inevitable not to join her.
"That's not funny, you know? That's her way of suffering. In my case, every time someone mentions her name, I cry." I started the car, my destination was the club.
"You need to be stronger, you need to focus entirely on Rob if you want to make this work."
"I know, Halsey, I'm trying, I swear I am." I made a turn and stopped at the red light. I watched the people cross the street, and that was when I recognized Ramon. He was holding hands with an older woman who I thought was the boy's grandmother. I honked and lowered the windows of the car. The boy looked seriously towards me, and as soon as he recognized me, he let go of his grandmother's hand and came running towards the car.
"Auntie Camila!" He exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey, little guy, how are you?"
"I miss you and auntie Lolo." His expression became sad, then Ramon looked at Halsey in the passenger seat and his countenance closed. "You aren't dating auntie Lolo anymore?" Ramon asked, crossing his arms. Halsey burst into laughter, and I joined her.
"Hello, ma'am, how are you?" I greeted Ramon's grandmother.
"I'm good, sweetie." She answered in a rather tired voice.
"Get in, I'll give you two a ride." I said, and the woman didn't stand on ceremony. Ramon got into the car, followed by his grandma.
"You didn't answer me." Ramon spoke.
"Ramon, don't be indiscreet!" Ramon's grandmother scolded.
"He's very smart." Halsey whispered to me, and I just nodded and continued driving.
"Me and your auntie Lolo are open to new possibilities, Ramon." I said a little anxiously.
"You dumped her, didn't you?" The boy asked furiously, and everyone in the car laughed uncontrollably.
Changing a bit the course to drive them to the hospital, I felt something bad run through my body. I didn't know if it was because of all that talk about Lauren, or if it was because I was going back to that hospital.
"Ramon, I like Lauren." I tried to explain to the little boy.
"Of course you do." The older woman said, and I looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I just confirmed that you like Lauren, and that's why you're doing what you're doing, right hija?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't understand." I said somewhat awkwardly, I had no idea why that woman was saying that.
"Sweetie, I feel good things coming from you, I feel strong values and ethics, but there will come a day when you'll have to choose, you'll have to choose between your ethics and your heart."
"I think both things go together, ma'am, my heart and my ethics." I countered.
"What would be of the light if there was no darkness?" She asked, rambling a little.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say." I turned the corner of the hospital and parked in front of the flower shop.
"All I want to say is that everyone has their truths, there's not only one truth in the world, know that if it is right for you, then that is what is right." She said, leaving me a little thoughtful. "Thank you for the ride, sweetie."
"Auntie, when are you going to take me for a ride again?" The boy asked excitedly, but I was still a thousand miles away, trying to understand what that old lady said. "Auntie?" He insisted.
"I'll come pick you up with Lauren soon." I answered with half a smile.
Ramon got out of the car, followed by his grandma, and then came over to my side, stretching his little arms into the car, pulling my face for a kiss.
"See you then."
"See you, kiddo."
"Nice to meet you, colored-haired lady." He said to Halsey, who threw lots of air-kisses at Ramon.
"See you, ma'am." I said goodbye to Ramon's grandmother.
"See you, and thank you once again." She thanked again, and I just nodded. I waited for them to get into the flower shop, and only then did I start the car again.
"Okay... That was weird as fuck." Halsey said, looking at me.
"I know, very weird." I shrugged and drove towards the club.
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NOTE: Well, there it is! The secret mission Camila is working on with Halsey involves Rob... That's why she's with him! I wanted to tell y'all this so badly lol What do you guys think he did or is still doing? I'll update again tomorrow.