♥ HOW MUCH FOR AN HEIR'S HEART? - ZARRY ♥

Six

Harry felt his mouth fall but recovered quickly, snapping it shut so hard, he felt his teeth click. Stunned, he looked from Lottie back to Zayn, only to come up against a familiar brick wall. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"You're really Javadd Malik?" he said on a breath.

Man, did Xander have it wrong. Now things made complete sense- why Zayn wanted to know about the company and the nagging familiarity in his eyes. And why, even as Zayn Malik, that irrefutable Tomlinson aura pf entitlement and power shone through.

There was so much Harry needed to ask. But as he fumbled gathering his thoughts, Lottie said, "I don't need to tell you we're expecting the utmost confidence on this issue, Harry."

Harry nodded mutely, firmly suppressing his curiosity.

"Of course." Nonetheless, his eyes still made a beeline for Zayn, who was watching him with an intensity Harry found acutely disturbing.

"Everyone tells me you're an expert in spin," Zayn said now, his eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Well, I..." Harry forced his voice to steady. "There've been no complaints."

Lottie said, "At my request, Harry's prepared something we're sure will combat the negative press."

Harry breathed in, focusing on the presentation in front of him. With a confident flick, he opened it. "A charity ball with a combined auction." He surveyed the Tomlinsons, who sat silent and thoughtful. "We approach retailers for donations- a romantic cruise, Tomlinson jewellery, a weekend retreat, gift packs, that sort of thing- then the guests bid on them. I drafted a press release," he said, pushing a page over to Zayn. "I also thought we could explain Mr Malik.. uh... Javadd-"

"Zayn," said Zayn calmly, taking pity on Harry.

He flushed. "Mr Malik's presence by auctioning off a two-week apprenticeship at Javadd Industries."

"Which means what, exactly?" Zayn asked.

"The highest bidder gets to be your apprentice for two weeks, accompanying you to meetings and learning the ins and outs of the business from your unique perspective."

Zayn's smile was cynical. "And you think people will bid on this?"

'Of course. My other idea is a bachelor auction-"

"No."

He stopped and, in the silence, handed out his proposal to everyone. Finally, Simon said, "What about preparation time?"

"We've organised other events in less," Harry said. "We'll use the Grand Ballroom downstairs, of course. Charlotte and I agreed on the last Saturday night."

Simon looked thoughtful. "That's under three weeks away. You'd need to get the announcement out tomorrow, especially in light of today's paper."

Lottie added, "We'll time our publicity push to generate positive spin leading up to the ball."

"But what about the bigger problem?" Simon fixed Zayn with a steely look. "I've been talking discreetly with our shareholders, and the message is the same. As a family company with long-standing investors, Zayn's business reputation is not the only thing that worries them."

"I can't help that," Zayn interjected.

"Ahh, but you can. That construction company takeover you brokered last week didn't help, especially when their chief accountant jumped from the window."

"It was the second floor, he lived," Zayn said calmly, ignoring Harry's gasp. "And the man was being charged with bribing a local politician."

"But my point is-"