The Assistant || H.S. [COMPLETE]

E P I L O G U E

Chai tea. Hmm. A chai tea latte. Nora really wanted a chai tea latte. The urge was overwhelming as she stepped out of the office building on her lunch break. Starbucks was just down the street and she could easily walk there. She wasn't sure what she wanted to eat for lunch, but she was sure on her life that she needed to get herself a chai tea latte before she exploded.

She'd been in and out of meetings all day long with her boss, who pretty much kept her around to be his lackey-bitch on most days. But the pay was fantastic – something she could not argue with. Who knew she would ever stay in that line of work? Not her, that's for sure. And now she was assistant to one of the top executives in a trading firm in lower Manhattan. What did she know about trading anyway? Not a whole lot, but she wasn't hired for her knowledge of the stock market. She was hired because she could take orders well. She kept the smile on her face even when she wanted to take a machete to her bosses head. Perfectly poised Nora. And she would stay that way unless she couldn't get her fucking chai tea latte.

Nora's feet moved a little bit faster once she saw the infamous coffeehouse in the distance. When she stepped foot inside, she was relieved to find that the line was not very long and she was helped in no time. The moment she wrapped her hands around her drink, she was set. She got what she came for and now she needed to set out on the task of finding something to eat for lunch.

As she spun on her heels to head for the door, she was stunned into place as her eyes blazed into a set of green eyes that she never in her life thought she'd ever look into again. The shock she felt almost caused her to drop her precious chai tea latte to the floor, but she gripped onto it at the last second, avoiding a disaster.

"Nora," he breathed, his voice still low and sexy, his eyes wide with the same feelings of shock and awe that she was feeling.

"Harry," she choked out helplessly.

"Oh my god," he said as his whole face livened up. Nora was left completely speechless by his presence.

"My god, you look... fantastic," he said as his eyes dragged up and down her body that was dressed in a well-tailored black pin-striped pant suit and black heels.

Nora stood still in front of him, shocked and speechless. He chuckled at her lack of words, shaking his head.

"I hoped that if I ever saw you again there wouldn't be any leftover awkwardness," he said, smiling widely at her.

"No, no," she breathed, finally finding her voice.

"She speaks," he joked.

"I just... I never thought... what are you... what are you doing here?" She asked him.

"Louis... he bought a flat here. I came to stay for a while. I was just out... you know... just savoring New York," he said, keeping that smile on his face.

"And you ended up in lower Manhattan?" She choked out.

"I was just exploring," Harry said, shrugging passively.

She heard a little while back that One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus. Only after Zayn left the band to pursue other musical interests. But that's not what brought them to their hiatus. They continued on as a four-some for quite some time before going on their much needed break. She knew one of them might end up in New York at some point, but she hoped they'd never run into each other. And even more so, that if it were one of them, it wouldn't be Harry.

Seeing Harry now after nearly four years was almost paralyzing. Of course she followed his life since she left him. She couldn't find an excuse not to, even when the pain in her heart was sometimes too unbearable to take. She watched as he dated a gorgeous model and eventually broke her heart when she wanted things he could no longer give her. But she also watched as he dated an up-and-coming singer and was seemingly the perfect boyfriend – a man she wished he was back when she had him. He seemed to have learned from his mistakes and proved her wrong in the end.