Chasing Eden Ch. 04-06

"You definitely made that clear, but what brings you down here?"

"I just figured I could give you a ride. This is about the time you usually leave for your meetings. What do you say?"

"That doesn't sound half bad."

"And where are we going today?"

"The convention center where I do my normal in-person meetings."

"You got it."

***

Once the two women hit the road, Leah noticed the smile on Camilla's face had vanished. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, no... Why do you ask?"

"You just look like you have something on your mind. You also looked pretty down when I first saw you today."

"I just have a lot on my mind... I wish I could tell you, but I still can't..."

"Oh, sorry... Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up."

With a smile slowly reappearing on her face, Camilla explained, "No, I'm glad you keep showing up and asking me how I'm doing. You're like the closest thing I have to a friend right now."

After hearing those words, Leah suddenly found herself blushing hard. Not knowing how to respond, she just cleared her throat before refocusing on the road. "Thank you."

That statement not only had an impact on Leah, but it also affected Camilla. Once those words left her mouth, she couldn't help but think about the last woman she felt so comfortable with, riding to work together. Staring at Leah's features, like her long black hair and her cute cheekbones, an image of Jane popped into Camilla's mind.

***

While Camilla was conducting a meeting at the conference center, Leah noticed a familiar face entering the room. It was Fang, the model they met the other day. However, this time, the normally bubbly woman had an upset look on her face.

After talking to Fang, Leah ran over towards Camilla to explain the situation. "I'm so sorry for interrupting your meeting, but can I please have a second of your time?"

"That's fine," the blonde answered, before shaking hands with the person she was meeting with. "I was just wrapping things up, anyway. But what's so urgent?"

Fang was so frustrated, she tried to explain the situation herself, despite knowing that Camilla couldn't understand her. Fortunately for her, Leah stepped in and translated every word she said.

"She had a big photo shoot setup and she was going to use the photos to put in a portfolio for Moonlight. Well, now that she doesn't have an agent, the photography company won't allow her to do the shoot. It was all set up through that last agent."

Moving her eyes frantically, Camilla groaned while trying to think of an idea. However, as she was looking around, she realized the answer was right in front of her. "Leah... you said you're an agent, right?"

"I am, technically..."

"I think those photos would be really important, so maybe we can take her to the photo shoot and you can represent her as an agent?"

"But... I've actually never really represented anyone before... besides myself..."

"You can totally do it!" Camilla exclaimed, patting her new acquaintance on the shoulder. "I'll go with you! And if you need any help, I'll tell you exactly what to do."

"You're coming with us?" Leah asked with a hesitant voice. "But what about your other meetings?"

"I'll change them to over the phone meetings," Camilla explained with the most determined look she had since arriving in Los Angeles. "And if they have any portfolios they want me to look at, they'll just have to email them to me."

Chuckling, the brunette asked, "You can do that?"

"I can do whatever I want. You heard Peter on the first day. There's only one road to a contract, and it goes through me."

With a big smile, Leah burst with excitement before quickly explaining everything to Fang. The bubbly model then jumped for joy before giving both girls a big hug.

***

The determined women worked beautifully together, taking Fang to her photo shoot while Camilla conducted her phone interviews. Leah even had a laptop ready for Camilla to use while connecting it to the Bluetooth hotspot on her phone. This way, the talent agent was not only able to talk to the modeling agents, she could do virtual meetings and look at portfolios in real time.

Camilla never stopped working when they got to the photo shoot; she was still conducting the interviews with her phone on speaker. She even put the other agents on mute when she needed to give Leah instruction.

Although Leah had no idea what she was doing, having never represented another model before, Camilla instructed her to talk to the photographers and explain the situation. "Tell them even though she doesn't have that agent anymore, the time slot should still be available to her, and we really need those photos."

With a confident nod, Leah took Fang to the photographers in an attempt to set up their own photo shoot. However, she'd eventually return after a few minutes with a discouraged look on her face.

"What is it?" Camilla whispered, still talking on the phone with another client.

"I explained the situation to them, but they won't allow me to represent her," the downtrodden woman said, looking disappointed in herself. "They asked me for some kind of credentialing license and I didn't even know how to respond."

Immediately, Camilla rolled her eyes and placed her phone in her purse, still on speaker. Grabbing both Leah and Fang by the hands, she walked them back to the head of the photography company to make sure they knew who they were dealing with.

"What's the problem?" she asked, not even caring if her client on the phone could hear her. "This slot is already reserved for Fang. It doesn't matter who the agent is."

"Ma'am, this is an agency-wide setup," the photographer explained, showing her the policy. "This woman says she's her agent now, but we would need a specific license..."

"Leah is now representing Moonlight," Camilla interrupted, pulling out her work badge. "I work for Moonlight and Sunshine Industries, and I gave her the authority to represent a potential client for an endorsement deal. Now why exactly do you not want Moonlight and Sunshine Industries to have exposure to your company's photos?"

"Wait... these photos are going to Sunshine Industries? We didn't know that..."

"I represent them and Leah represents me. Now just do the photo shoot for them, or your photos will never make it to our platform."

"That would be really beneficial if our photos could be advertised on your platform," the photographers said, looking back and forth at each other. "Sorry for the confusion. We'll do the photoshoot for free!"

"Okay, no more time for discussions," Camilla said, giving a smile of affirmation to the two women she showed up with. "Just let me know if you need anything else."

Leah smiled as she watched Camilla jump back into the phone conversation like nothing happened. She then placed her hand against her heart before regaining her composure and explaining the details of the photoshoot to Fang.

***

Once the photo shoot was over, Leah took Camilla and Fang back to the conference center. Camilla still had meetings to conduct, and she wanted to do the last few in person in case anyone was still waiting around for her.

Much to Leah's surprise, Fang decided to stay and spend time with her instead of catching a cab back to her hotel. Just like Camilla had said earlier, Fang explained that Leah was the closest thing she had to a friend she had to a friend in America, so she'd rather hang out with her instead of just going back to her hotel.

Once Camilla was done with her appointments, Leah explained that she would be driving Fang back to her hotel, which wasn't too far from their own. With no more obligations for the rest of the evening, the blonde talent agent quickly agreed, expressing she wanted to come along.

When they reached their destination, a big bubbly smile came over Fang's face as she said something. Leah then looked at Camilla and explained, "She wants to invite us in for some tea."

Even though Camilla wasn't much of a tea drinker, and she would have preferred alcohol in the moment, she gladly accepted the invitation, saying, "Sure, let's do it."

Inside, Camilla admired the simple setup in Fang's room. It looked as if the only thing she brought was her suitcase full of clothes. For a popular model in China, she sure didn't pack any glamorous accessories, she thought, looking around. And this isn't the nicest hotel either.

Sipping on their hot tea together, Fang bowed to the others before expressing her gratitude. "She really wants to thank us for taking care of her today," Leah translated after listening very carefully. "And she also thinks you're super cool for taking care of business the way you did at the photo shoot."

A big smile came over Camilla's face and she had to stop herself from blushing after hearing the compliment. "I guess I made up for the pepper that was stuck in my teeth the other day."

"She's always smiley and bubbly," Leah explained. "She didn't mean to offend you."

"Can you ask her why she took such a risk coming to America when she's already a popular model in China? I know it's not her fault, but she seemed to really unprepared without that creepy agent. Things could have been really dangerous for her."

After talking it over back and forth with Fang, Leah turned back towards Camilla with a slightly discouraged expression on her face. "In China, social media modeling isn't quite as popular as it is here in the United States. She wanted to come here to establish something so she could eventually move here and make her own living."

"That makes sense," Camilla said, raising her eyebrows in confusion. "But why do you look so sad?"

After a deep breath, Leah explained, "Basically, she has no support back at home... Her parents told her she's not smart or talented enough to make it on her own, and they've always discouraged her from any type of career. To them, her only attribute is her looks... They told her to give up on anything besides finding a rich husband that could take care of her."

"That's so messed up... Everyone needs support..."

"That's not the worst part... Her parents even forced her to get breast implants, thinking it would make her stand out to the rich men in the area."

Although Camilla wasn't shocked that Fang's breasts were fake, she was still appalled to know the beautiful and talented woman's parents had so little faith in her that they thought a boob job was her only chance at success. Feeling both angry and inspired at the same time, she stared into Leah's eyes and responded, "Fuck that... You and I are going to make sure she's successful, so she never has to depend on anyone but herself!"

Feeling touched by Camilla's declaration, Leah smiled before explaining the situation to Fang. The beautiful model then hugged both women at the same time as she fought back tears. But no matter how hard it was not to cry, the smile on her face never disappeared.

After finishing their tea, Leah and Camilla decided to head back to their hotel. It was an emotional day for both of them, and they knew everyone had work to do if they were going to create the future they all wanted for the beautiful model.

Fang walked the two women out, and with her strong accent, she wished them goodbye, saying, "Thank you."

This was the second time Camilla had heard Fang try to speak English. This time, however, she had tears in her eyes as the weight of the situation dawned on her heart. "You're welcome, Fang."

***

"Well... today was a really emotional day, wasn't it?" Camilla said, letting out a deep breath. "I really wasn't expecting today to be so heavy."

"I wasn't expecting it either," Leah agreed as they walked into their hotel together. "And we're back much later than you're used to. You must be really tired."

"I'm mentally exhausted, but I could use a drink," the blonde said with a smile. Staring at Leah for a moment as an image of Jane popped into her head again, she asked, "Would you like to join me?"

"Really?" Leah asked, trying not to blush. "You're inviting me to drink with you?"

"Yeah, why not? You were amazing today. You deserve a few drinks on my dime because you saved me."

Now blushing harder than before, Leah's eyes lit up as she responded, "That sounds great!" Then gathering herself, she pretended not to be as excited anymore, but wanted to show her gratitude. "I thought you were amazing, too. I should be the one buying you drinks."

"I was pretty cool today, right?"

"Totally!" the raven-haired woman said, while sharing a chuckle. "Should we go to the bar downstairs?"

"Actually, let's not do that," Camilla replied, looking around. "Peter goes down there a lot and I don't really want him to see me drinking with a business partner."

"That makes sense," Leah said, shrugging her shoulders. "Should we just go out somewhere, then?"

"Let's just go to my room and drink from the minibar," Camilla suggested. "With everything I've been going through, I haven't even had time to grab the drinks from my fridge."

Pleasantly surprised, Leah smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay... if that's fine with you."

***

Despite an awkward start to their relationship, Camilla was starting to see the benefits of having Leah in her life. Sitting with the black-haired woman on the bed, the blonde drank with her while explaining how stressed she had been since coming to Los Angeles.

Of course, the Moonlight agent didn't want to reveal anything that could get her in trouble. Never mentioning the possible mole, the lawyer, the FBI agent, and especially Peter's tragic history, she focused on explaining how busy she had been with work, especially arranging and attending all the meetings with potential partners.

Similar to Camilla, Leah was surprised to see how well their relationship had transitioned after the rocky start. Unable to keep her smile to herself, she sat there listening, only speaking up to give reassurance and compliments.

"Ugh, I think I might have had too much to drink," Camilla let out after finishing another tiny bottle of liquor. Staring at the pretty black-haired woman sitting on her bed, she started to think back to the last time she shared a hotel room with a woman. Without thinking it through, she admitted, "I actually haven't had this much fun talking to anyone... since..."

Noticing the hesitation in Camilla's voice and the change of expression on her face, Leah asked, "You haven't had this much fun talking to anyone since... when?"

As more happy memories of Jane came flooding back into the blonde's mind, the smile on her face quickly vanished. "Nevermind..."

"Is... everything okay?"

"Yeah..." Camilla answered, now imagining that she was talking to Jane. "I'm great..."

"Hey, we don't have to talk about it," Leah explained, scooting closer so she could put her hand on Camilla's back. "I know you're going through a lot right now, so let's just focus on the good things. Like today, for example; you were so amazing!"

Looking deep into the woman's dark eyes, Camilla trembled and asked, "You think so?"

Rubbing the blonde's back, the brunette answered, "Yes! You were totally a badass! And you were right; I wish I was as accomplished as you. That was totally inspiring what you did today!"

"You really like me, huh?"

"Yeah! You're amazing!"

Suddenly, feeling the recognition and acceptance she had been longing for, Camilla took one final look at Leah before closing her eyes and pulling her in for a kiss. Her black-haired friend let out a quick gasp before giving in to the kiss. Then, the two women made-out passionately, running their fingers through each other's hair.

The blonde's eyes were shut tight, and her fingers were digging into Leah's long hair. As her lips suckled on the brunette's, she lost herself in the moment and pushed Leah down to straddle her.

As Camilla was climbing on top, she could hear another loud gasp from her counterpart. Opening her eyes, she noticed the woman she was making out with had her eyes wide-open. More importantly, she realized the eyes didn't belong to Jane.

Now that they were making eye-contact, Leah awkwardly asked, "Miss Camilla... are you just really drunk?"

Overcome with guilt, the blonde started to tremble once again, fighting off tears as she realized the mistake she had made. "Oh, my god..."

"Miss Camilla... it's okay..." Leah said as she sat up.

"No, it's not okay, Jane... I mean... Leah..."

The raven-haired woman raised her eyebrows, suddenly realizing what had just happened. "Oh, that's what this is about..."

Now filled with tears, Camilla ripped herself from the bed and ran towards the exit. Opening the door, she cried out, "I'm so sorry! I'm such a fuckup!"

"Miss Camilla!" Leah quickly yelled, trying to stop the woman from leaving. However, before she could say another word, the door slammed and she was alone in the talent agent's room.

***

Sitting alone, Camilla cried in the downstairs bar with a half empty glass of tequila in front of her. She was so consumed by her own emotions, she hardly even noticed that Peter had walked to the table.

"Miss Camilla.

Looking up, she made eye contact with the man who hired her to come out to Los Angeles in the first place. Riddled with guilt, she looked at him and explained, "I'm sorry... You made the wrong choice in hiring me... I'm not fit for this job."

Never changing the unemotional expression on his face, Peter simply asked, "Why...?"

"I know you don't care about me... and you only hired me to do a specific job, but I'm just not capable of taking care of myself because I'm so unstable... And I feel so fucking shitty explaining this to you since you've gone through so much more than me..."

Once she didn't get a response, Camilla put her head back down and mumbled, "I'm just going to book a flight back to New York tomorrow... I kissed that girl Leah today... Now I'm worse than those pigs who came before me..."

After another moment of silence, Peter finally spoke up. "You didn't let me finish my question... Why... are you in my seat?"

Camilla looked around before realizing she was indeed sitting in the seat that Peter usually sat in. However, before she could move, the mysterious man took a seat right next to her.

"Oh, sorry..." she said, looking at the man who was now grabbing the glass from her hand. "Hey wait... I was going to drink that..."

Looking straight forward so he didn't have to make eye contact with the blonde, Peter finished the glass without changing his expression. "I'm not a big fan of tequila."

"Yeah, well... that wasn't your drink..."

"I know. I'm cutting you off."

"Oh..." Camilla reacted, looking down, embarrassed. "You must think I'm such a fucking mess..."

A moment of silence went by as Peter sat there, staring forward like there was something going through mind. Then, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a second before starting his speech.

"Her name was Irene..." he said, causing Camilla to go frozen as she suddenly found herself focusing every ounce of her attention on him. Nodding his head, Peter continued, "Her name was Irene... and she was my world...

"She was so talented... Smart enough to accomplish anything she wanted... but all she ever cared about was making others happy... That was what gave her fulfillment in life.

"We were planning on having kids... but she died before we were successful. She would have been a great mother... She was a great wife.

"Every day... Every day I think about killing myself... That hotel bar we met in... I live in that hotel because I can't stand going back to our house. And the reason I don't drive is because of her crash.

"That song I corrected on the piano today, that was the song that was played during our wedding. I played the piano during the ceremony. That's the piece I transition to when she walked down the aisle.