the silver lining playbook// a. irwin

chapter twenty-three

I should have seen it coming. As we arrived at the site where Ashton's "friend" worked, I should have noticed his name. Or well, their names. After all, we were in the big leagues now. And the big leagues included one company. Styles&Horan Marketing Enterprises.

The two entrepreneurs were the youngest in the business. They were the owners of a multi-millionaire company that shows no signs of stopping at any time soon. Way back when, I applied for a job here, as an executive accountant, but someone else got the job. Therefore I moved onto the Ravens.

As soon as I saw the faces of the two exceedingly powerful men, my heart fluttered. Not only were they entrepreneurs, but they were also hot as hell.

Ashton's hand was on my lower back once we stepped in. He had apparently been friends with these guys since they both started. Only difference was: Ashton came from a rich family, and so did Mr. Styles, but not Mr. Horan. Therefore I suppose Mr. Horan was the guy to talk to.

"Ashton!" Mr. Horan said, extending his arms and walking towards Ashton. That was when Ashton left me to fend by myself for a few seconds as he hugged his friend. "How the hell are you?"

Mr. Styles came forward, rolling his eyes at Mr. Horan, "Didn't your mother teach you not to curse in front of ladies?"

When Mr. Horan stepped back, he saw me, and widened his eyes, "Oh, um- hello, you are?"

"Mr. Irwin's executive assistant," I said, almost a little too fast.

Mr. Styles chuckled, giving me a smile that a thousand girls would kill for, "He means your name, darling."

"Oh- Layla Collins." I stammered. As soon as the words left my mouth, Mr. Horan widened his eyes and looked back at Mr. Styles, and then back at me.

Mr. Styles seemed to forget all about speaking to Ashton as he was about to do. Then, he stepped towards me slowly and asked softly, almost as if he didn't want Ashton to hear, "Did you ever apply for a job here? Specifically an executive accountant?"

"Well, a long time ago I did," I told him in a normal voice, because unlike him, I didn't mind Ashton knowing.

"No way," Mr. Styles chuckled, almost as if he didn't believe what was in front of his own very eyes, "Niall, look at her. We found her."

"Yeah, and she's working for Ashton," Mr. Horan laughed harmonically with Mr. Styles. Ashton stepped forward and looked at all three of us, expecting an explanation I could not give him. So, he turned to Mr. Horan.

Mr. Horan, once he had stopped laughing, spoke to Ashton and gave him the information he needed, "Well, she applied for a job here about two-maybe three years ago. And we gave the job to someone else, but turns out this person's qualifications were all fake. We've been trying to contact Miss Collins ever since."

"W-Wait," Ashton said, stopping Niall on his train of thought, "you haven't had an acoountant for more than two years?"

"Been waiting for the nearly perfect SAT score," Mr. Styles began to speak, cutting into the conversation, "Of course, we have interviewed people. But every time, they never meet the expectations we have. Even three years later, Miss Collins has everything we need."

"We'll talk more about this in the meeting," Ashton butted in. Though, I knew that he just wanted to talk to me and clear things before anything. "shall we?"

"Well," Mr. Horan said, looking briefly at Mr. Styles and then back at us, "we were hoping to give you a tour."

"Of the building?" I asked cluelessly.

"Of London."

--/--

Frankly, the two guys only took us to the most elite parts of London. I was actually surprised that they didn't have the key to the damn castle.