Adonis | H.S

chapter thirty-two: audience

"What do you even have in here?" Sebastian grunted as he hauled Scarlett's suitcase from the boot of the car, placing it beside the bags he'd already unloaded.

Sebastian had somehow gotten stuck with the job of getting their luggage from the car, preparing it for loading onto the sleek black jet in front of them. Scarlett simply shrugged, not bothered by his teasing. Harry, however, garnered an expression that was as hard as the tarmac beneath his feet.

"Be nice."  He frowned.

"I am nice." Sebastian defended, greeting the man who took their bags for boarding.

Harry glared after him, and Scarlett tugged on the back of his shirt. "Hey. He was just teasing me, no harm done."

"He's asking for another black eye." He grumbled. "I wish it was just us."

"It will be. We'll spend every second together that you're not working."

"And him?" He nodded after Seb.

"We'll send him to a knife convention or something."

He made a small disgruntled noise, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the jet.

"Grumpy boy." She smiled, knowing that he didn't mind her teasing.

"Watch it."

"Yes sir." She pressed her lips together. "Is this your jet?"

"Yeah." He tried to quell his annoyance, hoping Seb would give them some space. He looked down at her. "Do you like it?"

Did she like the sleek private jet that screamed how huge his bank account was? She was no stranger to money. However, Harry's relationship with it was completely foreign to her.

"It's..." A lot. "Very nice. Did you name it?" She thought back to how he'd named his cars.

His lip quirked. "What's with the teasing, hm?"

She shrugged, pressing close to his side. He stared at her for a moment.

"You seem better today."

She had been distant since her store had been destroyed. She'd been in and out of meetings with her insurance company, and interior designers hired by Harry. The store was getting a speedy renovation while they were away for the week, and she'd had design concepts strewn across her mind, excited for a shrill change.

The private investigators had found little to no clues as to who had violated her space. CCTV had shown a hooded figure smashing through it. Harry had begun shaking when he'd seen it. Seen this person destroy his girl's store. There was no telling who this person was. They'd left no fingerprints. No strands of hair were left behind. Not a single trace.

He felt useless. He thought killing Rush would be the end of it, but it appeared another had come to replace him to torment his Venus. His mind was fucking reeling and he struggled to hide it from her.

While Xander and Zayn worked hard to find out who had gone after her, he told himself that he had to keep calm. Distracted. For her sake. She knew when he was feeling off, and he shelved the burden for when he wasn't with her. He had to show her how treasured she was. How much he felt for her.

"I feel better. Leaving New York will do me some good. Especially if I'm with you."

"Softie." He smirked.

"For you."

They got comfortable on the jet, and after the pilot and hostess introduced themselves, she allowed herself to feel calm. Seb bothered the pilot in the cockpit, pressing buttons and flicking switches while the pilot watched on impatiently.