night after night (camren)

33.

She'd tie her hands behind her back if that was what she had to do to resist the girl.

......

Her junior partner's jaw dropped when he saw the gift. A new set of bats that Zayn had been eyeing for a few weeks. Talking about. Showing her pictures of on the internet. It had damn near gotten to the point of cricket porn. But Zayn had sealed the deal with the Bainbridge's yesterday, and with the kind of dough the film producers were raking in, he was contributing quite nicely to the firm's bottom line. That kind of dedication and drive needed to be rewarded.

"Holy crap" he said as he reached for the set and removed one bat, touching it as if it were some kind of rare treasure. He stroked it with his palm.

"Zayn, man. You can't start feeling up the cricket bats in my office. If you do I'm going to need to take them back" Lauren joked.

"I can't help myself" he said, his eyes wide as he gazed at the bat in his hand, "This is a thing of beauty. Almost better than a woman"

"You haven't met the right woman then" she said, and her mind latched onto Camila, and how she'd seemed like the perfect woman for her. Smart, sharp, witty, and with that vulnerable side underneath. Her mind flooded with images of their weekend: Camila curled up on her bench on the balcony, Lauren washing the girl's legs in the tub, that kiss in the rain that Camila insisted on. Then, to all the things they'd shared, Camila's stories of her best friend, Lauren's tales about Thanksgiving, and the easy way they had together. Like two people who were meant to be matched. Until she walked out on a lie. Lauren's chest knotted up, and her shoulders tensed, both with anger and annoyance.

Damn.

This wouldn't do. She didn't have the real estate in her head or her heart to keep going back to Camila, and all the ways she had wanted her. Good thing she was seeing Lucy tonight. The girl had a way of keeping her focused on the present, not the past. "I'm out of here. Meeting a friend for drinks" she said to Zayn, then grabbed her suit jacket and took off, making some phone calls when she hit the streets of Los Angeles.

First, she rang her buddy, Luis, about their poker game this week, and to check in on some information she'd asked him to run down on another potential client - a TV producer who'd seemed a little shady when he came to her, claiming his studio had screwed him over.

"I looked into your guy, and I can see how he might seem like a crooked bastard with the way things ended with his last deal. But you know what? I checked him out six ways to Sunday and that fucker is squeaky clean as can be" Luis told her.

"Good to know" she said, relieved her gut had been wrong. It was rare when it happened, but that's why she liked to do her homework and research clients in advanced.

"That's why you like me though. C'mon, admit it. You love me because you never know if someone is a slime ball, but you can always find out"

"That you can. And I guess I love you, in some pathetic needy way that makes me sick" she teased.

"Aww, you're so sweet when you shower me with compliments. So you gonna take this deal?"

"I probably will"

"Then cigars are on you this week. I want the finest Mexicans you can get your grimy paws on, because I plan on winning all the money in your pocket" Luis said, and Lauren couldn't help but laugh at her friend's brashness.

"We'll see about that" she said, and hung up to call Alexa.

As it rang drops of rain began to fall. With her phone pressed to her ear, she navigated the rush hour crowds in Culver city. Women in skirts and heels and men in suits began to pop open umbrellas.

The rain wasn't hard enough or heavy enough for her to worry about getting wet though. "Are they taking care of you across the pond?" she said into the phone.

"Of course. You know the producers love me" Alexa said.

"Modest as always"

"Just like you" the girl fired back.

"No troubles then? Anything I need to take care of?"

"You already got me that one-day-off-a-week clause so i could fly home and see Marcello, so I'm doing just fine"

"Ah, I guess that's why I didn't see you when you were in California last weekend" Lauren joked, as she stopped at a red light.

"Amazing, isn't it, how I'd rather spend time with him than you?"

"Shocking" she said in a dry voice.

"What's the latest with you? What happened with the woman you were hung up on?"

Lauren clenched her jaw at the mention, frustration eating away at her. She didn't feel like talking about Camila, or how she'd taken off. It had been more than a week now without a word from her. Lauren hadn't reached out to her, and she was doing her damnedest not to think about her, burying herself in work, in contracts, in doing whatever she could for her clients. That was her focus. Head down in business, and no place else. She could not tolerate a repeat of the Year of Keana, especially now that Zayn had reeled in the Bainbridge's. She still felt guilty for losing Zayn's big comedy-film director client that year when her focus had been tangled up in Keana's troubles. Lauren needed to train her associate right, and show him how to keep winning and closing deals. The Bainbridge's were a prize, and she'd make sure they were treated right by her firm and given ample attention.

"She was a piece of work" she said vaguely as the light changed and she crossed, nearing the restaurant where she was meeting Lucy. "I'm about to have a drink with your sister, though"

"Well, be sure to keep your damn hands off of her" Alexa said in a light-hearted tone.

Lauren shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Fuck off to you, too. I'll catch you later"

~~~~~~~~~

i feel like this is a kinda long chapter... oops 🤭😁

it was originally double this length, but i shortened it so yall can wait for thursday for the other half now :))