Page 40 of Exposed

Novah held her hands up in surrender and stood up leaving out of the bathroom as I got dressed.

Forty minutes later, I was at Zoe and Danielle's table discussing business.

“Tell the truth, how tired are you?” Danielle asked me.

The restaurant was beautiful inside the Novotel Paris Centre. A waitress brought over coffee and tea and I declined, waving my hand, since I already ate in my room.

“Truthfully, I love the hustle and bustle of traveling and meeting new people. Do I get tired sometimes? Of course. But the second I see my work on billboards or doing interviews in magazines, I realize I have the best job in the world, and I can’t really complain,” I replied.

“Are you sleeping better now? Novah told us you had nightmares the first few weeks out of the hospital,” Danielle asked.

“Yeah, I hadn’t dealt with anything that serious before in my life so replaying the shooting over and over again was a lot. The doctor told me about a therapist that deals with trauma situations and I spoke with her a few times, plus working has helped keep my mind off the past.”

“You can’t forget about everything. What about Dominic?” Zoe questioned.

I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that question.

“I mean, he chose to walk away. Was I upset the moment I opened my eyes and he wasn’t there? Yes. Now I get that I’ll never be what he needs. We’re two different people,” I answered.

“Reminds me of Timothy and I when I tried pushing him away and finally coming to my senses after he convinced me we could work to only turn around and break my heart,” Zoe commented, looking out of the window.

“What did you do?”

“The only thing I could. At first, I was upset and tried to get him to see we could work, and nothing would change my love for him. Eventually we went to therapy, then I was pregnant. Now we are married and in love,” Zoe replied.

“So, you're saying it was an easy road back together?”

Zoe burst out in laughter. “Oh, honey, no. The road was long and painful. Plus, we’re both stubborn and we constantly challenged each other. But I knew he was the man for me and would remind him every time we were around each other,” Zoe advised.

“It may not be that easy for me.”

“Give it some time, Lauren. I know Dominic and he’s just as stubborn. Once we get back home, maybe give him a call and talk things through. Missed chances only happen if you never take that step,” Danielle stated.

“Who are we meeting today?”

“You have a photoshoot today and then we can head back home. We sold Lauren+Raven to over fifty distribution stores. Things are looking up,” Danielle informed me, holding up her glass of orange juice.

We all stood up clinking glasses and cheering for the success of the launches. Two hours later, I was inside the photo studio with Mariah playing on the radio. My hair and makeup were getting prepared as stylists were pulling items for me to try on. The scar from the shooting was still visible and I didn’t get any type of cosmetic surgery yet to cover it up. My plan was to first physically heal before I got more surgery and wasn’t able to finish the press tour. I removed the robe and slipped into the long sleeve dress that had my back out. Not wearing heels, I stepped up on the white table and crossed my legs. It was a replica of my office and I had a white robe with my name stitched across, to show me as the creator of the line. Bins of Raven lipstick sat around me.

“Ready, Lauren. You look beautiful,” the photographer said. I smiled and nodded, tilting my head, pointing at the makeup.

“Give me one with your lips and eyes closed,” he demanded.

“How’s this?” I asked, flipping my hair to the side with both eyes and lips closed.

“Fabulous, love, keep going. Naturally beautiful,” he responded.

Flipping on the opposite side, I turned and looked over my shoulder with my back showing. Everyone started cheering and clapping, I was doing great. We continued for the next four hours filming until it was time for us to catch a flight back home. I changed and went straight to the private jet that Cole Security provided and fell down in the chair, my glasses firmly in place. After buckling up, I promptly fell asleep.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lauren

“Lauren, this is a nice surprise,” Mom said, opening the door and letting me inside.

“Hey, Mom.”

“I thought you were still in Paris?” she asked.

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