Gardens Of Eden (A Harry Styles Story)

17. Sixty Seconds

Samuel cleared his throat, eyes boring into his own. Harry stared back, he almost had his trust.

"It's funny you say that, I see it too. She's detached. It's the biggest flaw in her routine."

"It's a shame really. She could be a queen on that stage, instead she's a robot."

He leaned forward, "So then, tell me. What makes you so qualified in this field, Harry Styles?"

Harry knew that if anyone heard him say what he was about to say, his reputation would take a serious blow.

"Look at me, Samuel." He said confidantly, taking advantage of being on a first name basis. Samuel tilted down his head, waiting.

"I make women beg me... to do things to them they have never done, and never wanted to do before." Harry's cockiness was evident, helping his case immensely. "I know what women want. Therefore, they do what I want to get it." It was believable, because on some level it was, in fact, true. Though Harry would never have said something so bold, he wasn't naive to how women reacted to him.

"Besides, a girl should be..."

"Submissive." Samuel responded, returning his smirk.

Harry had hit the mark dead on, and he spun his ring around on his finger as he leaned back. "So tell me. Do we have a deal?"

Samuel's face said he was jumping the gun a little. Harry recomposed.

"Not so fast. Girls don't just leave the Garden, at least, not headliners. What am I supposed to tell my clients tomorrow? They're expecting her."

"Oh I wouldn't presume to tell you how to run your business." Harry took a long drink. "But if it were me... a girl like that would be marketed as untouchable. A goddess, that their unworthy eyes will have to beg for." He said, knowing Samuel liked to be the man in control. Harry leaned forward, leveling with the man.

"Mr. Seville, you don't owe them anything. Remind them of that. Put on a show the same way you did a thousand other times. It'll boost anticipation to make them wait for her. And it will be worth the wait." He finished, praying it would be enough.

"I've underestimated you, Mr. Styles." Samuel leaned back, finally at ease now that this had become men discussing business. "If Eve weren't our headliner it would be an easy deal." He admitted, "if she were a virgin, the conversation wouldn't have made it this far, however, we were told she had a boyfriend before arriving here. That means she'll be ready to take on some new...tasks. And soon." He spoke about her so matter-of-factly, like she was an item in inventory, "-but the fact is, we need her to be better. Better than she is, and better than the rest. Can you do that?"

Harry stood up. "I'll let you be the judge of what I can do." He challenged, "I have very little experience with failure."

"Good, then double that price, and you have a deal." He stood up, holding out a hand. Harry swallowed the lump in his throat, shaking the man's hand.

"And Harry..."

Harry waited, the man's creepy presence affecting him far more with their hands touching.

"Leave a noticeable mark on her, and I'll do the same to you." He let that sink in just a second more before a slow, evil smile spread across his face.

Harry held eye contact long enough to nod solemnly, before he broke the handshake, hoping his hands weren't noticeable clammy.

What had he gotten into?

**

I wrapped myself in a housecoat backstage and waited to be dismissed for the night. Tonight's crowd had been demanding, slapping the stage and calling me every name in the book. I had tried, really tried not to care so much, but as I watched the last girl leave the stage, smiling and snapping a bill under her g-string, I knew I could never pull this off. Not for long anyways.

Suddenly, Hope appeared with scared eyes, escorted by two men.

"Come with me, Eve." She told me, silently begging me not to argue. I stood, confused by her entourage and followed her away from the parlour through a back door.

Samuel waited there, towering over us with a slight smirk. This couldn't be good.

I envisioned a thousand ways they could make me suffer, and tried to figure out what I'd done wrong.

"Ah, there you are." He said in the friendliest tone I'd heard come out of his mouth yet. "I have some exciting news."

I'll be the judge of that.

"Your performance tonight has earned you some special attention, one of your fans have decided to take you home with him for a little while." Samuel didn't want to give away too many details, he wanted her imagination to run wild.

And it was.

Fear bubbled through her. She shook her head slowly, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"Come now, there's a car just out back." He lead her, quaking, to another exit. It was clear he was enjoying this, and she couldn't help but feel like a pig being sent to the slaughterhouse.

She went into a full panic when she saw the black car waiting for her, door open, engine running.

"Please." She whispered, "I can do better." They were the first words she had spoken in days, and Samuel stopped, leaned down to her eye level and whispered,

"Oh, you will, miss Ashbury. When you return you're going to do so much better."

And with that, he pinched her arm hard, pushing her into the car, and slamming the door shut behind her. He walked to the front of the vehicle, presumably saying a few words to whomever was up there, it was impossible to hear with the divider up, but Eve watched in horror as the car pulled away and Samuel leaned down to give her a wink through the heavily tinted window. She knew he couldn't see her, yet his eyes had still found hers.

Eve raised her knees up to her chest, wrapping the housecoat, the single item she had brought with her, around herself as the car left the gates of Eden and drove out into the silent night.

**

To my ghost readers: I love you even if you don't want to comment! Please just hit the star if you enjoyed Sixty Seconds :)

Thoughts? Did Harry go too far, or was he just doing what he had to?
How will Eve react to seeing him?
What's going to happen after a week away?

So excited to answer your questions in chapters to come!
All the love,

E