READY OR NOT (CAMREN)

TWENTY FIVE

"Dinah, how are we coming with the vendor negotiation on that new hosting company?" Lauren asked.

"We're close, but not close enough. Why?"

"Because Foster is having site problems again, and I swear we need a new provider."

Dinah swivelled back to her computer. "Let me see if I can speed things up a bit. Work my mojo."

"I'm counting on it," Lauren told her. "Normani, any movement on the Serenity ad for July?"

Normani slid off the kitchen counter. "I emailed the final product to you an hour ago."

"My bad. I haven't had a second to even check."

She turned to Ally, who was staring at the wall, meaning she was in creative mode. "Ally, I don't want to interrupt, but where are we with Foster's cereal line?"

"I'm staring at the wall, Lo. I'm working on it."

Lauren knew when to be patient. "That's exactly what I was hoping for, but is it at all possible to stare at the wall just a tad bit faster?" That earned her a glare from Ally. "Or not. You know, take your time."

It was late Friday morning, and Lauren felt like she'd been going sixty miles an hour for the past three days. She'd yet to watch a television show, go running, eat a meal uninterrupted, and what was worse, lay eyes on Camila, for three days. Sometimes when it rained at Harmony, it poured. Unfortunately, it usually fell to Lauren to pick up the slack. True, she could ask for more help from her friends, but they were working hard as it was. Sometimes though, it felt a little like they went home to their own lives at the end of the day and she stayed back to live and breathe Harmony twenty-four / seven. She didn't begrudge them the work. In fact, she loved it. But at times she wondered what it would be like to leave work at work too.

Her cell phone, which she'd turned facedown on her desk to avoid distraction, buzzed against the hard surface. She flipped it over in case it was a pressing client concern, surprised and a little happy to see the incoming call was from Camila. She should let the call roll over and focus on her afternoon.

She should.

Good business owners did that.

Lauren, however, was apparently onboard with going to corporate hell and thereby slid her thumb across the screen and accepted the call that already had her stomach tightening.

"What are you doing?" Camila asked immediately.

Lauren smiled against the phone, as the sound of Camila's voice had a way of transporting her to someplace lighter. Just hearing the question had the world slowing down for her. "I'm about to spend an hour returning email. What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you."

Lauren paused. "Waiting for me for what?"

"To play hooky and spend the afternoon with me somewhere fun."

"While that sounds amazing, I can't just skip out on work."

"Yes, you can."

Lauren stared at the ridiculous to-do list open on her desk. "That's impossible. We're already running behind on several deadlines."

"You need a break," Camila said with authority. "Whatever you're late on will still be late tomorrow morning, right?"

"It will be later."

"And the world will still turn. Come out and play, Park Avenue. It'll be a time."

Lauren took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, now tempted in a way she never thought possible. She'd never played hooky from work. Hell, she came in when she was sick. Was she actually capable of this kind of corporate debauchery? Would she still be allowed in restaurants? Would people judge her on the streets? With her heart thudding away, she made an important decision.