Jane in New York Pt. 11

"I don't know!" Camilla replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe I'm just crazy."

Veronica laughed nervously. Maybe this bitch is crazy! she thought to herself.

"So, back to business," Camilla said as she clasped her hands together. "I'm very happy you decided to give the job a second look."

"Yeah... So, what else can you tell me about the job?"

The mysterious Latina had done so much preparation for this moment. Her binder was filled with information she could have provided Veronica, and she could talk for hours about all the benefits Sunshine Industries would provide. But after all the traveling, stress, alcohol and nicotine, she decided to throw it all out the window and speak from her heart.

Look Veronica... I don't know you. You don't know me. But I'm in charge of putting Jane's staff together. And the honest truth is... she needs you."

Veronica looked into Camilla's eyes and felt something in her heart she hadn't felt in a long time. "What do you mean? Why does she need me?"

"You know her better than I do," Camilla admitted. "She just got promoted to the job of her dreams. She's incredibly smart and has the most potential of anybody I've ever met. But I could see in her eyes, she's scared shitless. This is a huge opportunity for her and she needs all the support she can get."

"But... why me?" Veronica asked.

"Let's stop playing pretend," the blonde said as she lit up another cigarette. "I know you all know about me. I could tell by your faces when I walked into the office. And I know much more about you then I let on."

Veronica became nervously shaken. What could she possibly know about me?

"I know you had the biggest influence on her career," the mysterious woman informed her. "She wouldn't be in New York if it weren't for you."

Veronica looked on, stunned. She still wasn't sure exactly how much Camilla knew about their past.

"I can give you all the information about Sunshine that you'll ever need, but that's not what's important. What's import is... she needs you."

The black-haired Latina looked on in disbelief. "Does she even want me there? We kind of ended on the wrong foot."

"Jane can be a little... immature at times."

Veronica became puzzled. It was the first time she heard anything insulting about the smart Asian woman in a long time. "I don't know if I'd call her immature..."

"Overall, she's very wise for her age," Camilla expanded. "But there are times when her emotions get involved and she acts a little immature. For example: she told me about the last time she met up with you and how it didn't go very well. I only heard her side of the story and I still think she came off rather childish."

Veronica could almost feel her heart jump. Though it was a bad situation, it's still warmed her heart to know Jane was talking about her. However, the most shocking part was that Camilla actually took her side.

With a little courage, she asked, "Does Jane talk about me a lot?"

Staring off into the distance, the blonde exhaled her cigarette smoke. "She talks about you so much that I was starting to miss you."

Completely caught off guard, Veronica started laughing as she replayed the answer in her head. "That was actually pretty funny," she admitted.

Camilla shook her head and shared a laugh with her fellow Latina. I never imagined life would bring me here, she thought to herself.

"Can I ask you a question, Camilla?"

"Go for it."

"It really seems like you know what you're doing. How did Jane end up your supervisor? I would have guessed you were her boss."

Camilla let out another chuckle as she thought about crazy twists and turns in her life. "We actually both applied for the same position, but she got it over me."

"Oh?!" Veronica reacted, wide eyed. "Is that why you've been so stressed lately?"

"That's part of it," Camilla said, looking off into space. "But finishing in second place seems to be a recurring theme in my life."

"Oh... What do you mean by that?"

Looking into Veronica's eyes, Camilla regained her composure. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud. I just meant... that wasn't the first time someone got... a job... over me."

"Are you sure you're not upset at Jane?"

"I can't be upset at a person when fate has other plans for them. I've accepted it, and now I'm just helping things move in the direction they are inevitably going to go, anyway."

The two women continued to talk, focusing more on the details of the job. Though Veronica was still skeptical about the mysterious woman, she began feeling a level of comfort with her.

"I just have one last question..." she nervously prompted. "Do you think Jane will ever get over being upset at me?"

"I think so. You just need to be patient and understanding while she goes through some maturity issues. But that's just my opinion. There's only one true way of finding out."

Veronica took a deep breath before smiling at the blonde woman. "Thank you... You've given me a lot to think about."

"When you come to a decision, just let me know and I'll take care of everything from there."

"Thank you, Camilla," the black-haired Latina said, shaking her counter-part's hand. "So, when are you heading back to New York?"

"I don't know," the blonde responded nonchalantly. "Maybe tomorrow?"

The confused woman scratched her head. "Maybe tomorrow? What do you mean, maybe?"

"I'm not doing anything else," Camilla answered, looking like she didn't have a care in the world. "So, I guess I'll just go home... unless you want to take me to the zoo or something. I heard you guys have an amazing one."

"The zoo?!" Veronica asked, looking even more confused.

"No, you have work tomorrow, don't you?" Camilla responded, shrugging her shoulder. "Never mind. I'll just go home."

The mysterious blonde then walked away, leaving Veronica as confused as ever. As the Latina sat there in silence, she thought to herself, What a strange woman...

As Camilla was making her way out, she noticed the little waitress standing by the hostess table. She tapped on the young woman's shoulder to grab her attention.

"Oh! Yes?" Vicky reacted, looking scared. "Sorry, did you need something?"

"No, I don't need anything else," Camilla answered. Then, pointing at the cute waitress, she said, "I don't know what it is about you, but I respect you. Keep up the good work."

"Really?!" Vicky asked with a big smile. "How could you respect me? I was such a mess, today."

"Sometimes the results aren't as important as the intentions," Camilla responded. Then, just as mysteriously as she arrived, she walked out, leaving the restaurant without saying another word.

Vicky was left wondering if Camilla really knew her plan. She stood there silently until Christine came by and interrupted her train of thought.

"So, that was her?"

"Oh! Yeah... That was her..."

"What did she want to talk to you about?" Christine asked.

"She said she respects me..." Vicky answered, still confused.

"Of course, she respects you!" the fellow waitress responded. "Everyone does!"

Vicky just looked at her best friend and smiled. "Thanks, Christine!"

--

"Thanks for everything," Maria said, finishing up a conversation on the phone. "I promise I'll do my best. Okay, thank you. Bye-bye."

After hanging up, she took a deep breath as she opened the door of her office and called her employees. "Can you all come into my office for a moment?"

Ashley, Monica, and Carmen entered the room, curious to know what their supervisor wanted to talk about. It wasn't like Maria to call for sudden meetings.

"Is everything okay?" Carmen asked.

"Everything is fine," the supervisor assured. "I just need to talk to you all about something important."

"Did Veronica decide to leave?" Ashley asked, unable to think of anything more important. "Is that why she's not here?"

"She took the day off to think things through," Maria explained. "She may have already decided but she hasn't told me anything, yet. But that's not why I called you in."

"It's not?" Monica asked. "Then what's going on?"

With a deep breath, the noble supervisor addressed her coveted employees. "I couldn't talk about this earlier due to legal reasons. Trust me, I was dying to tell you all. Mark, the vice president of our company, has been let go. He's facing some allegations of fraud and embezzlement. Due to the legal matters, I wasn't allowed to tell you all, but I've been slowly taking more of his responsibilities."

Monica and Ashley gasped at the shocking news of Mark's dismissal. However, Carmen was only concerned about the implications for her supervisor. "Why have you been getting his responsibilities?" she asked.

Maria looked into her eyes and could see the worry. "They want to make me be Interim Vice President."

A nervous feeling came over the young assistant, causing her entire body to go frozen. "Does that mean... you're leaving?"

Looking deep into the cute assistant's eyes, Maria answered, "Most likely..."

"That's great!" Monica yelled, interrupting the tension between the two women. "I mean... I don't want you to leave, but you deserve this promotion!"

Even Ashley had to agree with the company's decision to pursue Maria. "I'm really going to miss you, but you'd make a way better Vice President than Mark ever was."

"Thanks, ladies. I can't even begin to tell you what a crazy whirlwind this has been. But somehow, Jennifer decided since I have made so many great decisions for this company, that I deserve the first shot.

Carmen just looked on as the women celebrated. Quietly, she whispered, "That's great..."

--

Startled by the sound of the door opening, Jane jumped out of bed and ran out of her room. A big smile came across her face as she encountered her roommate for the first time in several days. "Camilla! How have you been?"

"I'm good, Jane," the blonde responded, making her way in.

"Did you have a relaxing trip?"

"I sure did," the mysterious woman answered with a smile. Camilla then handed a folder over to her roommate. "My trip was pretty productive. I made my first hire for our new branch."

"What?" Jane asked, coming to a complete standstill. "What do you mean you made your first hire?"

Camilla just smiled as she walked towards her bedroom. "I think she'll be a big help."

Jane stood there silently, confused as always by the mysterious woman's antics. When did she possibly have time to hire someone? she thought to herself.

As she opened the folder and her eyes came across the name on the front page, her entire body started to shake. She gripped the papers so hard; they started to crumble in her little hands.

Filled with frustration, Jane threw the packet on the floor and rushed towards her roommate's door. "Camilla!!!"