Picture Perfect (Harry Styles)

Chapter 18

       I woke up to the vibrating of my phone on the coffee table. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to the unfamiliar blinding light of my living room. The night before came back to me in a rush of memories, my fight with Oliver, a lot of crying, Harry coming over and comforting me then falling asleep on him. I felt embarrassed at the memories, but happy too, mixed with a twinge of disappointment because he wasn't on my sofa anymore. But I understood he had things to do. 

        I then spied the neon yellow post-it note stuck to my table. Peeling it from the wooden surface, I skimmed the scrawled letters on the page. 

Morning beautiful, sorry I had to leave. I really didn't want to but I've got an interview this morning, I'll call you later though. Have a good day, love you! Harry xx

My eyes lingered on the final two words of the last sentence. Love you. It wasn't I love you, but it was the closest we'd gotten in the month or so we'd been dating. A month. Was that really all? It seemed longer. Perhaps it was just the fact that more had happened in this relationship than any other I'd had. But then again I'd never dated a celebrity before. 

         I got up off the sofa and had breakfast, before washing and dressing, then setting down with a mug of tea clasped between my hands at my desk. Opening my laptop, I pondered what to do, finally deciding to quickly check on my Twitter. Whether it was me just being forgetful or my mind blocking it out I didn't know. It was mostly normal. Well, normal-ish, apart from the fact my followers were still increasing and my mentions still contained hate messages. 

        I then checked my e-mail account. Within the mass of Twitter noifications and spam mail, I did see something which looked important. The e-mail said it was from Baites Photography Company.  I quickly clicked on it, excited and nervous at the prospect of an e-mail from work. 

Dear Miss Carter,

We are afraid it has come to our attention that you have been photographed with a Mr. Harry Styles. It is our knowledge that Mr. Styles was your client at one point, and that a relationship between you two formed, which has recently been revealed to be a romantic relationship. 

Here at Baites Photography Company, we do not approve of relationships with clients outside of the work place. This includes our interns and apprentices, as long as you work at Baites Photography Company. It is inappropriate and we cannot make exceptions for any one person, despite whenever this relationship formed. 

We are very sorry to have to ask you to please end the relationship you have with Mr.Styles if you wish to continue your internship here at Baites Photography Company. If you are unable to do this, we will have to terminate your internship and you must leave us immediately. We hope you understand this is a serious break of the rules, and if you cannot distance yourself from Mr.Styles, you will not be welcome back here once you have finished your studies. 

Please contact us once your decision is made. We expect an answer within a week from today. If we do not hear from you, your internship will be terminated. If you decide to carry on your relationship with Mr. Styles, your internship will be terminated. We do very much hope you choose to carry on here, as you show great potential and promise for the future. 

Sincerly, Mr. Lionel Beth, CEO of Baites Photography Company. 

        As I read the e-mail, the panic within me grew until I sat shaking at my desk. No, this had to be a joke. But I knew it wasn't. The internship meant everything to me. Now I was being forced to choose between my boyfriend and my dream. This was wrong. So completely wrong. But I'd broken the rules. It said right there in the e-mail. So now I had to choose. Face the consequences. I raked my hands through my hair, pulling out strands as I did. No. I couldn't do it. But I had to.