Jane in New York Pt. 07

Author's note.

Thank you for being so patient. This chapter took much longer than I ever expected! It's a long one and it covers several different characters.

Please enjoy!

* * * * *

Jane and Camilla started going to the gym together every morning. They developed a routine of working out and getting coffee before carpooling to work.

Although she never had a problem with punctuality, Jane never considered herself a morning person. However, seeing Camilla's strong work ethic only motivated her to be better.

After an intense workout, they sat down in their favorite coffee shop. They had enough time to enjoy some caffeine before they started their day.

As Camilla sipped on her hot coffee, she could see something was on Jane's mind. She knew what it was but wanted her new coworker to bring it up herself.

"Are you okay, Jane?"

"Yes!" the Asian responded, trying to snap herself out of her trance. "Why? What's up?"

"You were staring off again. You've been doing that a lot lately."

"Yeah, I was just..."

"Something's on your mind," Camilla interrupted.

Jane paused before allowing herself to chuckle. "There's no hiding anything from you, is there? Well, I might as well tell you. I'm really nervous about our trip."

"Have you told anyone you're going to be in town?"

"I told Maria, my former supervisor."

"What about Veronica?" Camilla asked, glaring at her with those piercing eyes.

"I haven't told her..." Jane said quietly, looking down at her coffee.

"Do you plan on telling her?"

"I really don't know... I asked Maria not to tell her in case I don't want to see her."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know. I've moved on, but I'm afraid if I see her, then the feelings might come back."

"If you've moved on then you wouldn't have to worry about that, would you?"

Jane cringed. "I guess you're right. I don't know what I'm afraid of then."

"Be honest with yourself," Camilla suggested. "You miss her."

"Okay... I miss her. I just don't know if I can face her. I'm still upset about the way things ended."

"Thanks for being honest with me," the blonde responded, even though she already knew the truth.

"So, do you think I should see her?" Jane asked.

"I think you should do whatever you want." Camilla answered as she shrugged her shoulders. "This isn't work related. There is no correct answer."

The young Asian stared off into space, thinking about the potential consequences of her decision. "Won't that just make it harder for both of us to move on?"

"Maybe, but I don't think you've moved on if you're having to force yourself not to see her."

Jane went quiet as she sunk into her seat. "You're probably right..."

"You don't have to make any decisions today," Camilla suggested. "Just don't lie to yourself about what you want and don't want. If I've learned anything about you, it's that you cherish honesty. I think you deserve honesty, but that includes getting it from yourself."

Jane took her coworker's comment to heart and respected her for saying it. Though she wasn't ready to decide, she was done talking about herself for the time being.

"So, what's new with you?" she asked. "You've been in Miranda's office a lot lately. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Jane. She has just been talking to me about the Director job."

"That's strange," Jane said, getting curious. "She hasn't said anything to me about it."

"It's nothing important," Camilla assured. "I'll tell you everything you need to know."

As much as Camilla had proven herself, Jane found it odd that she would have to rely solely on her main competition for information. She would never accuse her roommate of doing something so conniving, but with such high stakes at hand, she couldn't help but wonder.

During the drive to the office, the doubts kept popping into her head. What if this entire thing was part of her plan? Being so courteous to me, inviting me to live with her, everything! I have no reason to think this, but she's just so mysterious! She could have been buttering me up this entire time. She is always ten steps ahead.

The more Jane thought about it, the more it started to make sense. There's no way she ever wanted me to work here. Why else would someone be so welcoming to their main competition? Maybe she planned to build my trust so she could keep information from me without suspicion. It's the perfect crime!

As the drive was coming to an end, Camilla noticed something was on Jane's mind.. But like always, she was able to read her roommate's face.

Look at how frustrated she is over there, Camilla thought to herself. She's even more worked up than she was at the cafe. She probably thinks I'm sabotaging her for that new position or something. Oh well... she'll figure it out, eventually.

Jane silently groaned to herself. No! Camilla wouldn't do that! Not after all we've been through.

She tried to take her mind off it. Unfortunately, her curiosity was poked again when Miranda immediately called for Camilla to come into her office.

Camilla went in, expecting it to be another meeting about the new position. However, it had nothing to do with the Director application. She was actually in some hot water.

"I need to talk to you, right now," Miranda said with a serious tone.

"What is it?" Camilla asked, looking concerned.

"So, you know that photo shoot you did with Moonlight, where you modeled a bunch of lingerie? Well, our HR department found out about it and they aren't too happy."

"Why would they be unhappy about that?" the Latina asked, feeling offended.

"Because you have a high title of Branch Coordinator."

"So...?"

"They just think it looks bad for one of our Branch Coordinators to have public pictures in her underwear."

"That doesn't make any sense," Camilla argued. "Those aren't personal photos that I posted on the internet. They are professionally done by a company that Sunshine Industries owns."

"I understand," Miranda sympathized. "This isn't coming from me. Two women from HR are coming today to have a meeting with me about it. I will do my best to defend you."

Camilla rolled her eyes and shook her head. "This is unbelievably stupid! Just let me talk to them."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," the concerned supervisor responded. "I'll take care of it."

Camilla walked back to her desk, looking visibly annoyed. Though she tried to hide her frustrations, Jane easily noticed something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?"

"Not exactly," the blonde answered. "I have a couple emails I need to send out. I'll talk to you about it later."

Jane was worried about her roommate but slowly started to wonder, What if this is all part of the plan? She just found it so odd that Camilla had yet another meeting with Miranda and wouldn't provide any insight.

She continued to ponder, unable to figure it out. What worried her the most was that Miranda had still not said anything to her. Jane decided to go into her supervisor's office and ask her, face-to-face.

When Camilla stepped out for some coffee, Jane made her move. "Hello?" she said as she slowly entered her boss's office.

"Jane?" Miranda responded, confused. "What's going on?"

"Umm... Can I talk to you about something?"

"I actually have a lot going on right now but I can chat for a minute."

"We can just talk about this later," Jane proposed, understanding it might turn into a longer conversation.

"No, go ahead. After all the good work you've done, I owe it to you to make time."

Jane took a deep breath before putting it all on the line. "It's about the Branch Director position. I noticed you and Camilla have been talking about it a lot lately, but you haven't talked to me about it."

Miranda cringed, thinking Jane was upset at her. She understood that she deserved it, but she didn't want one of her best employees to be pissed at her.

"So, I just wanted to make sure... that Camilla isn't trying to hide information from me," the Asian woman hesitantly said.

The director gasped. "Jane... you got this all wrong."

"I knew it..." the employee said, having a sigh of relief.

"No, you don't understand," Miranda continued. "You should be mad at ME; not her."

"You?! Why you?!"

"Look, this isn't going to be easy," the supervisor started. "I know it's tough to get anything out of Camilla. She is very hard to read."

"Right?!" Jane reacted, happy that she wasn't the only one that felt that way.

"If she has made one thing clear, it's that she believes you deserve honesty. So, I'm going to be completely honest with you."

The young Asian woman suddenly turned her attention onto her supervisor, looking directly into her eyes. "Okay..."

"Cynthia and I really want Camilla to get that position, so we told her about the early application process without telling you. We thought it would give her an advantage if she was the only one who did the early application. We told her our plan but she immediately told you about the application, and even helped you fill it out."

"What?! You tried to help her but she refused to accept it?"

"I'm really sorry, Jane. You're a great employee, and I should treat you with the same respect I treat her with. She has just been my employee for so long. She has deserved a promotion for a long time, even before we hired you. I just wanted to help her but she made me realize it was unfair to you."

Jane twiddled her fingers, feeling incredibly guilty. She was ashamed she ever thought Camilla would sabotage her. "She... never told me about this...."

"Of course, she didn't," Miranda said with a chuckle. "I've known her for a long time. She had a rough past, but now it's almost as if she's incapable of doing anything wrong."

Jane couldn't be mad at Miranda. She respected her for the apology, and her reasoning was valid. Camilla was more deserving of the promotion. However, all she could think about was the noble act her beautiful roommate did for her.

Miranda looked at her employee and knew exactly what she was thinking. "She's a strange one, isn't she?"

"Yeah... I never understood why she was so courteous to me. I always assumed it upset her when you and Cynthia hired me."

Miranda came to a complete stop. "Oh... she didn't tell you about that, either?"

Jane looked up with a confused look. "Tell me about what?"

"She's the one that found you," Miranda said after a long pause.

"Huh?... Found me?"

Cynthia found several candidates that would have been good hires, but Camilla wasn't impressed. She said she could find a much better, and she was right."

"Wait, what?! Cynthia wasn't the one that found me?"

"Camilla did the research on you. She found your online resume and all the things you did for your previous company. She then convinced Cynthia that you were the best candidate. That's when we realized you had actually applied in the past. We didn't think of you as a real contender at first because you were only an intern. However, when she showed us all the work you had done, it was apparent that you were the best option for our future."

"How is this possible?!" Jane asked, pulling her jaw from the floor. "She convinced you to hire me, knowing I would become her competition for the Director position?!"

"That's exactly what happened," Miranda replied. "I warned her you might be tough competition for the promotion, but she didn't care."

Jane was completely floored by everything she just learned. Not only was she wrong to think Camilla would sabotage her, but she also misunderstood how fearless her roommate was.

After the meeting, she frantically searched the office, looking for her coworker. I don't even know what I'm going to say to her, but I have to say something!

Camilla was in the break room, drinking coffee, when her roommate scurried in. She placed her cup down and smiled at Jane, as if she already knew what the Asian wanted to talk about. "Can I help you?"

"Miranda gave you the option to not tell me about the early application?"

"Yes."

"And... you chose to help me... Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, Jane! I don't need to tell you about every little favor I do for you. You leave cabinets open all the time, but I just close them for you. When you leave food out, I put it back in the fridge. Am I supposed to tell you about every single time I do something for you?"

"Sorry about that..." Jane said with a nervous laugh. "But... this is a big deal... Much bigger than leaving food out..."

Camilla just looked her cute roommate in the eyes. "I have no desire to cheat my way to the top."

Jane blushed as she realized what a badass her roommate really was.

"You're a good candidate," Camila continued. "I don't plan on depriving you of any opportunities and I don't intend on breaking any agreements."

"Thank you, Camila," the cute Asian said, smiling cheek to cheek. "Is it true you were the one that convinced them to hire me?"

The Latina chuckled once again. "I guess you and Miranda had quite the chat."

"Why me?" Jane asked.

Camilla got up to her feet and faced her coworker. "Because they were just going to hire somebody with a long history in this industry. Experience is important, but it doesn't always equal results."

"You're young and talented," she continued. "These older people they were considering, they don't understand the way the world evolves, like you and I do. They rely on what worked for them in the past. They're not brave enough to innovate.

"Sunshine Industries is amazing, but I've watched a lot of things go wrong here. I will not allow these things to keep happening, even if I have to step out of my role."

Jane was left wide eyed as got an insight into Camilla's intriguing mindset. "Miranda told me you knew I would be your competition, and you willing to take the risk, anyway."

"Anyone can be my competition, if you really think about it. If they would have hired some man or woman, just because they had twenty years of experience, they would have been my competition as well. I know there's a chance of you getting the promotion, but I'd rather lose out to you then to someone who doesn't deserve it."

Jane continued to stand there, completely frozen. She didn't know whether she should thank Camilla or praising her. All she knew was she had nothing but admiration for the strong woman.

"Are you going to say anything?" Camilla asked with that mysterious smile she always wore.

"You are the most badass woman I've ever met in my life!" the younger woman finally expressed.

Camilla wasn't sure what to expect, but she never predicted that response. "Oh, thank you," she replied, turning red.

"How can I ever thank you?"

The Latina patted Jane on the shoulder as she walked past her. "I don't do things to be thanked."

Jane was once again speechless. She stood there, thinking about how amazing her roommate truly was. She's so damn cool! the cute Asian thought. I'm going to find a way to thank her. Yeah, I'll definitely find a way to thank her.

Later that day, Jane noticed Camilla working on something that seemed very important. Not knowing exactly what project it was, she walked over and said, "Camilla?"

"Yes, Jane?"

"What are you working on? You look pretty stressed out. We can stay late so you don't have to rush."

Camilla suddenly stopped typing and turned her chair to face Jane. "HR didn't like those lingerie photos I took with Moonlight. I'm doing some research to make sure everything is okay."

"They don't like your pictures?" Jane asked with a confused face. She immediately became worried, hoping that Camilla's promotion wasn't in jeopardy.

"Everything is going to be fine," Camilla assured with a calming voice. "We're just going to have a little discussion to clear some things up."

"Okay..." Jane responded nervously. She wondered how Camilla could be so calm when she herself was so worried about the situation.

Suddenly, two women in professional attire were let in by the office receptionist. As they were being led towards Miranda's door, Camilla immediately stood up and intercepted them.

"Hello," she said, demanding their attention. "I'm Camilla. I believe you're here because of me."

"We're actually here to speak with Miranda," one of the women responded.

"About me, right?"

The two women began to stutter. "Well... we need to talk to her about a couple of things. But yes, you are one of the topics."

"Okay, great. Let's talk about me, right now. And then you can talk about the topics that don't involve me with Miranda, afterwards."

Both HR women were caught completely off guard. "We were really hoping to speak to Miranda about it..."

"Miranda actually knows nothing about it," Camilla argued. "I put everything together. I didn't ask for permission or even notify her. Going to her instead of the actual source would be a waste of time. I have all the answers and I'm willing to suffer the consequences, despite doing nothing wrong."

"You think you did nothing wrong?!" the HR women reacted, looking at each other.

"I've already looked through the policy," Camilla continued with a confident look. "I had a contractual agreement with Moonlight, meaning I'm not actually employed by them. And I didn't violate any of the Sunshine's policies or regulations."

"A woman of your position shouldn't pose in her underwear and have them posted on the internet for everyone to see."

The blonde Latina folded her arms. "Which policy did I violate by doing that?"

"Look!" one woman said in frustration. "We know you are one of the stronger candidates to be the Director of the new branch. This will not look good in front of the board when they make their decision."

"Which board member has a problem with it?" Camilla asked.

"Umm... We can't just give you a name."

"Why not?" the Latina asked. "I'd like to know which board member has a problem with me going out of my way to help a company that Sunshine Industries owns and profits from. Who would think it's bad to put myself out there for that company despite working seventy hours a week over here? That type of commitment and creativity should be rewarded."

The HR women stuttered, trying to come up with a response. "It's just... it's just... what would people say about a Director if they saw those pictures?"

"I don't care what people think about me!" the blonde said with a laugh. "Let me handle the criticism from the public and the media. As far as board members having a problem with me helping Moonlight Industries; If they choose to look at that negatively, that's their mistake."

Jane's jaw dropped as she watched her coworker defend herself. She wasn't one for drama, but she couldn't believe the way Camilla handled the two women. Camilla's so fucking cool! she thought to herself.

In the nick of time, Miranda came out and saved the HR women from further embarrassment at the hands of the prepared Latina. "Hello ladies," she called out. "I see you two have met Camilla."

"Yes... we... have..."

Miranda welcomed them both into her office. "I think I'll take it from here. You don't need Camilla anymore, do you?"

"No, Ma'am!" one lady answered, clearly shaken up.

The other HR woman, looking just as fragile, asked, "Is there anything else you wanted to say to us, Ms. Camilla?"

A smile grew over the confident woman's face. "I apologize if I came off angry. I didn't realize it was the board who disapproved of the pictures," she said, sarcastically. "But if anyone else has any issues with my pictures, just tell them to suck my balls."

Caught completely by surprise, Jane busted out laughing at Camilla's shocking response.

What a badass! the cute Asian thought as she stared at her roommate in awe. She's so cool and so... hot! She's so fucking sexy when she's angry like that!