STILL THE ONE

Chapter 3 - I Keep Wondering Why

Where were you in the morning, baby?
You didn't leave your number for me
Left me without a warning, baby
I said where were you in the morning, baby?

And how do you, how do you just walk away?
(Where were, where were you?)
And how do you, how do you just walk away?
(Where were, where were you?)

And I hope you had a good reason
'Cause I know you had a good time
And I'm looking up at the ceiling
And I keep wondering why

Where were you in the morning, baby?
You didn't leave your number for me
Left me without a warning, babe
I said, where were you in the morning baby?

Camila hugged Roger and then he followed her into the living room. She sat on the sofa with her legs curled underneath her and he sat opposite on one of the big armchairs.

"You don't look like you got much sleep on the weekend, I gather it wasn't relaxing."

She felt her face go red. Sleep? No, not much of that. And not much in the week since, but for different reasons, although they were related.

"Do you have some more ideas for me?"

"OK, so you said no to all the options we had, but you didn't give us any other ones."

"I was hoping you could come up with some more suggestions."

"Well, the team was working on it but then we heard from the label."

"And?"

"They're concerned that, even though Havana was the hit of the summer, the album isn't out until January, and they don't think with a first album and only a three month lead in will sell out the venues that we've booked."

"What do you mean?" she asked, sitting forward. "Do they want me to have a more high profile support act?"

Roger looked uncomfortable.

"More than that, actually, they want the tour to be a double-header. They have another new act with a similar issue. Successful, similar demographic to you but not too similar, if you know what I mean."

"They want me to share my tour? My first headlining tour? That's embarrassing Roger! We're only a week from the tickets going on sale! Why did we book such big venues if we can't fill them?"

"To be honest, Camila, I think they're wrong, I think you both could sell out these venues, but the record company doesn't agree. They want you to do a joint tour. It saves everyone money. It's someone you've toured with before actually, I'm not sure you remember him."

"Him?" she felt a ball of dread in her stomach. No way. Tell me it's not him. "Him who?"

"He has a big hit out at the moment, you know him from the Austin Mahone tour. Shawn Mendes."

***.

"You know her from Fifth Harmony, you toured with them I believe, in 2014, now she has one of the biggest hits of the year. Camila Cabello."

"Camila Cabello."

"Yes, her people want her to do a joint tour, the record company think we've overestimated your ticket sale potential, and they think it would be a good way of making this a success for you both."

Camila. Camila who came and asked him to open for her, slept with him and left without saying goodbye, after he told her he couldn't do it.

"Was this her idea?" He was clenching his fists under the table where Andrew couldn't see. What the fuck was she playing at?