In Her Arms (Indigo Lounge #4)

9. Cameron

9

CAMERON

“ C am, honey, I got your voicemail.” Deborah’s voice was warm and inviting as usual.

Cameron was standing outside of her apartment block, sheltered underneath an awning, the evening sky pink above her. She held her phone against her ear, and. Deborah had finally picked up the phone.

“Deb, look, as grateful as I am for the opportunity, I’m wondering if you dropped me into a proverbial shark cage here.”

She could hear Deborah sigh down the phone. This was going to be a long conversation. She tried again.

“Deb, why’d you recommend me if you knew she’d be so damn difficult?”

“Cam, I’m so sorry. Adam was the third person to walk out of working with her this year. She’s under contract with the studio and they don’t want any trouble from it, and because I’m executive producing the damn show, they decided to pass it off to me. I know you can handle complicated women. You can handle just about anything.”

“I understand that it had to have been a difficult thing to be shouldered with. You still passed it off to me, though.”

She was genuinely confused. As much as she had grown to appreciate Goldie’s presence, those first weeks had been unbearable. Cameron felt Deborah had a right to know what was going on.

Deborah stayed quiet. This wasn’t like her at all. Normally, she would jump at the chance to let people in on her thought process—at least that’s how Cameron had normally seen her. She could usually trust Deborah with these decisions.; otherwise, she wouldn’t be open to giving her an extra hand.

In the beginning, it was Esme who had trusted Deborah. Over time that trust had extended, but now Cameron wasn’t sure.

“Deb?”

“Cam, listen. Please don’t ask me how, but I knew you would be a good fit.”

That took her by surprise.

Does she..?

“But how were you able to tell?” Cameron asked. She needed to know. The silence on the other end of the phone was charged.

“Cam.”

“I’m being serious! She was horribly rude, demanding—jeez, you said three? Three other people have walked out? I don’t blame them, honestly.”

“You said was ?” Deborah asked after a moment.

Now it was Cameron’s turn to sit in silence. She hadn’t realized just how much that little slip would reveal. She hadn’t even thought about it. She felt like that version of Goldie was a relic. Deborah, evidently, didn’t know that.

“She’s grown on me. I think I’ve gotten through to her, but it took ages. I’m telling you right now if I wasn’t used to this shit by now, I would have walked off too.”

“And you would have been right,” said Deborah, her voice understanding. She had the energy of a woman who had a weight taken off her shoulders.

Cameron felt bad about getting annoyed. Deborah was her friend, too, and she wouldn’t have asked Cameron if she knew she wasn’t able to handle it.

“I’m sorry for not warning you,” Deborah said, and through the tinny line of the phone speaker, Cameron could tell she meant it.

“I’m sorry for getting annoyed,” she replied. She was relieved more than anything else. She didn’t want a falling out with Deborah—or anybody else from the Indigo Lounge for that matter. They were family.

“So you’re not going to quit before your contract is up?”

“No, I’m happy to keep at it for the last few weeks.”

Her last few weeks with Goldie. She supposed she should at least pretend to be professional about it, but the truth was she was going to miss her, there was no way around it. In between the bickering (which had lessened) and the sex (which was incredible), she found herself growing fond of her. Knowing her usual lunch order, how she liked her tea, seeing some antiques she had brought from home—it all felt very intimate. Goldie had gotten to know her as well, like the frankly ridiculous story of how she got her inheritance and her life as a free-roaming wild woman before Esme caught her and stuck her behind the bar.

She wanted to bring Goldie to the Indigo Lounge. She wanted to buy her an Old Fashioned and dance with her and take her shopping. She wanted to lie on the beach with her, foster a puppy, introduce her to Esme and the others..

Fuck. She wanted to settle down.

That was an insane thought. She had barely known the woman for a month and had spent at least half of that time bitterly hating her guts.

She was pulled out of her thought spiral by Deborah. “Cam, is something going on?”

Well, there went any hope she had of being subtle. She had to figure out how much Deborah knew first before saying anything at all.

“Deb, what do you know?.”

“I’m not sure I can tell you,” Deborah said.

So she knows. She knew she had to choose her next words carefully.

“And if I already know?” Cameron had responded.

“Shit, she actually told you?” Deborah sounded like she had been blindsided.

“Yeah, she did. I think she...picked up on me. It’s not hard.” Cameron responded.

“Were you in your best lesbian attire?” Deborah seemed skeptical.

“No, first day in her trailer. But are you kidding?”

“Yeah, I get you.”

“Anyway, I wasn’t gonna stroll in with my carabiner on my belt loop. When did she tell you?” Cameron asked.”

She was glad Deborah knew. She was glad it was Deborah instead of somebody else.

“An industry party a few years ago,” Deborah replied, and judging by the way her voice went quiet, Cameron could tell she was trying not to be overheard. “We were both pretty drunk, and I was out at the time;she wasn’t. She just kinda started talking, and before I knew it, we were at the bar together drinking whiskey and talking shit. That’s why I was so concerned when I got that call from Steve, her agent. I knew it was because she was in some deep shit.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

It did make sense, the more Cameron thought about it. She would lose her shit, too, constantly being under a microscope. That was a lot of pressure.

“Thank you for picking up, Deb. I know you’re busy.”

“It’s more than fine. I owed you an explanation, and I’m sorry you didn’t get one sooner.”

“Thank you for the help, really. I’ll see you Saturday?”

“See you Saturday. I owe you a drink.”

“We can buy for each other. How about that?”

They said their goodbyes, and Cameron hung up the phone. Clarity felt incredible.

Knowing now that Deborah had seen her as a good fit because she had actually had been was unsurprising, looking back at it. Deborah had good instincts for these sorts of things. Cameron felt a little guilty for not trusting her, though she felt that her hesitation was justified.

The set was a twenty-minute walk from her apartment. Taking her earbuds from her pocket, Cameron decided she wanted some company for the walk. She chose a slower playlist, something to keep her grounded before work.

Goldie had become much more civil; she might even say friendly. Being co-workers with benefits was better than whatever their relationship had been before, and in a rare turn of optimism, she hoped that they would at least be able to stay friends once filming finished. She was under no illusions. She knew full well that she wasn’t built for relationships. She could appreciate what she had while it lasted, so she would. Maybe they would keep in touch.

The security guard on the gate was kind and had grown to recognize Cameron, waving her through with a smile. She took her earbuds out and thanked him, knowing the way to Goldie’s trailer like the back of her hand. She had been showing up to work early for a while now, and she knew in the back of her mind that this wouldn’t look suspicious. Still, she stayed vigilant, looking around to double-check she was alone before knocking.

Goldie was not as subtle. “Come in, baby!”

Cameron hoped the pet name wouldn’t stick. It would only make things worse when they ended. Still, for now, wasn’t she allowed to have a little fun?

“So, what have you in store for me today?” Goldie purred as she ran her fingers through her messy morning hair.

“I want you to take off everything and lay over there,” Cameron ordered, pointing over to the bed.

“Your wish is my command.” Goldie smiled, while she slowly slowly undressed herself.

Suddenly, Cameron didn’t mind being her assistant at all.