Alouette reaches her desk just in time to see Evie run down the corridor.
"Finally you're here! Where have you been?" She exclaims, and embarrassment washes over her.
"I overslept," she admits. "I hope the President didn't get mad."
Evie gives her a little smile. "Don't worry about it, I suspected so and I told him you were feeling poorly earlier this morning."
The nervousness dissipates from Alouette's chest. "You're a lifesaver."
Evie shrugs. "You lied to him for me too once, it was about time I returned the favour." She glances at her clock and lets out a sigh. "Thankfully you're here, there are so many things to do!"
Alouette frowns. "Things? What things?"
"Andrew Lawson is coming to the Palace. He's a close ally of the President, and we must do all we can to make sure he's feeling welcome. He should be here at any minute, and the President has given me some last-minute paperwork to finish. Will you make sure they have everything they need when he comes up?"
"Sure, don't worry," she tells her, earning a warm smile from Evie.
"Who's the lifesaver, now?"
They run back to their desk, and only some minutes later a man in his fifties walks towards them.
Alouette observes him and his polished clothes, suddenly feeling uncomfortable when his eyes meet hers. They're of a deep, dark grey, and for some reason they make her feel unsafe.
"My presence was requested by the President," he says as he walks past them, as if he expects one of them to try to stop him.
No one does, and he goes into the office, closing the door behind himself.
Alouette waits about ten minutes and then knocks on the door to Harry's office before gently opening it and taking one step inside.
"Yes, Lark?" Harry asks her, and for a second she lets herself observe him. Even though the guest in front of him seems to be rather important, he doesn't seem to have made the effort of dressing in a more refined way than he usually does. He probably doesn't need to, she thinks. He always dresses as if he's expected to model the clothes he wears in front of a camera— which in a sense, he does.
The look on his face is severe, and she wonders if he always looks like that while discussing his alliances or if something was said he doesn't agree with.
"Can I bring you something to drink? Coffee, tea...?" She asks, remembering what Evie asked her.
"Coffee will be fine," Harry replies, and she nods before looking at the older man.
"A coffee for me as well, pretty girl," Mr. Lawson says, and she bites her tongue to keep herself from commenting on his choice of nickname.
"Right away," she says between her teeth before going out again, eager to escape the man's too sharp gaze.
It doesn't take her long to get their orders ready, and soon enough she's walking back to Harry's office holding a tray.
"Here's the coffees you asked for, sir," Alouette says as she steps inside.
Harry sends her a little glance from where he's sitting behind his desk, but doesn't say a word.
She reaches the desk and puts the two cups down on it, slowly, careful not to spill any of the contents, her hands trembling slightly when she can feel the man's hawk eyes on her. He unsettles her, but she tries her best not to let it show and only focuses on Harry's presence instead.
When she's done she offers her President a little smile and walks away.
"Lark, stay," Harry says when she's about to go out. "Close the door and come here."
She frowns but does as he requested, and walks back to him, silently waiting for instructions next to his desk.
Harry motions to the man in front of him. "This fool thinks that he can tell me what to do. What do you say to that?"
Alouette glances at the man and then back at Harry, a confused look on her face. What kind of game is he playing? Is it some kind of power play, or something else entirely? But most importantly, what does he expect her to say?
There's a tense look in Harry's eyes, one she knows way too well. She's seen it on his face way too many times, and it only means one thing: Mr. Lawson did or said something he shouldn't have. Which can only mean he expects her to side with him.
She looks at the man again, feeling a bit calmer now that she knows Harry doesn't agree with him. She sides with him.
"With all due respect, Mr. Lawson, he's the one that has you on his payroll." She side-glances at Harry as soon as she finishes her sentence.
There's the hint of a laugh in his green eyes and his hand is deliberately hiding part of his face to prevent the man in front of him from seeing the way his lips curled up at her statement.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," he comments. "You may go, now."
She gives him a nod and walks out.
Evie gives her a confused look, but she shrugs and closes the door.
"I don't think it's going that well, things seem to be a bit strained in there," she admits, and Evie sighs.
"I was hoping things would go smoothly this time around. It'd be better to keep having Mr. Lawson as an ally, but the President can be rather stubborn at times."
Alouette sits back at her desk and starts going through the papers on it. "Who's Mr. Lawson, by the way? Why is he so important and what does Mr. Styles want from him?" She's never heard of him, not even at the Revolution. Is it possible that she has just accidentally found a piece of information on Harry's dealings the organisation is yet to find?
"He's quite useful," Evie replies. "He's filthy rich and owns all the television networks in the country. It's only thanks to him we're able to control information so well."
She seems to be pleased, and Alouette wonders if she doesn't realise that it isn't a good thing at all. Sometimes she wonders how someone as nice as she is can agree with Harry's way of ruling the country.
"Will he be here for long? He gives me the creeps."
Evie shudders. "Don't tell me. I usually try to stay well out of his way. I've heard many bad things about him. It must be easy to get away with everything when the most powerful people in the country are on your side."
"If you're trying to scare me, it's working," Alouette says, earning a laugh from Evie.
"Don't worry, if he knows what's best for him he won't try anything in front of the President. After all he still works for him, as we all do."
Alouette gives her a hum, but instantly goes silent when she hears the door open.
Mr. Lawson steps out and both her and Evie, stand up, ready to give him their goodbyes.
"I hope you enjoyed your visit, Mr. Lawson," Evie says, deference in her voice, and she just nods, not wanting to speak to him as well.
He nods. "Sure, sure."
He takes a step forward and Alouette glances down at her desk, going back to fixing the orders of the papers on it as she waits for him to leave.
She freezes in the second an arm sneaks around her waist, dread filling her instantly.
"Hey there, pretty one. Don't you think you were a little disrespectful earlier?" A voice murmurs in her ear. "I wouldn't tolerate this kind of behaviour from someone who works for me, but since you don't I'm willing to make an exception. That is, if you let me take you out tonight."
She tries to step away from the older man, but his grip on her only tightens. "I'd rather not, Mr. Lawson," she murmurs, making the mistake of looking into his eyes.
They're looking at her ferociously, and they send a shiver down her spine. "Why is that, pretty one? We could have some fun. Don't you want to have some fun?"
Alouette pushes him away, and his gaze darkens. He grabs her wrist painfully and pulls her into his chest, and she lets out a gasp.
"It wasn't a question," he spits inches away from her face. "You thought you could say whatever you want, but I bet you aren't half as brave without your President around. I demand a repayment for the way you acted earlier, so you can either do it, or—"
Before he can finish the sentence he's slammed against the wall.
"You think you can come into my home and threaten the people that work for me?" A deep voice says, and it only takes Alouette a second to recognise it as Harry's.
His hand is on the man's chest and the other next to his throat, and she widens her eyes in shock when something glints in his grasp. He's holding a silver letter opener, its sharp tip resting on the bare skin of the other's neck, and Alouette doesn't know if she feels relieved or even sicker.
"I wonder, what should I do now?" Harry murmurs, his icy eyes staring into the other's. "Should I punish you for your insolence?" He presses the letter opener harder, and a single crimson bead runs down the man's neck.
"Please, no! You can't!" The other gasps, and the corners of Harry's lips turn up slightly in a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.
"On the contrary, I very much can."
Mr. Lawson tries to push him away, but he slams him back against the wall. "I'm the owner of all the television networks in this country, the same ones that show you support every single day. However, support can be removed, if necessary."
"Are you threatening me?" The President asks him, his tone dark, and then chuckles, as if he's just told him a joke. "You own all the networks because I let you, you have a home because I let you, you're still breathing because I let you." He pauses, enjoying the way the other squirms under his gaze. "While you make my work easier, I don't need you. You'd better remember that."
The man's eyes widen, and Harry leans closer to him.
"Do you know what's easier than convincing you to stay by my side?" He whispers into his ear. "Replacing you."
"Sir," Alouette interjects, but he doesn't seem to be listening to her. "Sir!"
He presses his makeshift weapon harder against the man's neck, and that's when she knows she has to step in.
"Harry!" She exclaims, putting her hand on his arm, and his head snaps in her direction. His green eyes are unusually cold, and she can't recognise the dark gaze in them. "Please don't kill him."
He stares at her for some seconds, and then lets go of the other. Mr. Lawson lets out a relieved sigh and fixes his clothes, but before he can take a single step forward Harry violently shoves him face-first onto her desk. Alouette lets out a squeal and jumps back, and he presses his hand against his back hard, holding him down.
He leans down so he can meet his shocked eyes. "Touch her and I'll have someone you care about killed. Touch her again and I'll have someone else killed, and I'll do it again and again for every single time you'll lay your filthy hands on her, until there will be no one left. And then, I will kill you." His voice is cool, relaxed even, and if Alouette hadn't heard every single word he spoke, she wouldn't have thought of it as a threat. "You're warned."
Harry pulls him up by his shirt and throws him down the corridor. Mr. Lawson falls to the ground, unable to catch his footing his time, but nobody helps him up.
"Will you stop creating problems now, or should I dispose of you in this instant?" That terrifying look is back in Harry's eyes again, and she inadvertently takes a step back, crashing into her chair.
"No issues, I'm sorry, sir, I'm sorry," Mr. Lawson stutters out, shock still etched on his face, scrambling to get up. "I'll be happy to continue working for you."
"You're dismissed, then," Harry says coldly, and he nods fast, running down the corridor and disappearing around the corner.
Alouette stares after him until she can't hear his footsteps anymore, and then turns to look at Harry.
He's standing between her desk and Evie's, his black jacket a bit crumpled, the letter opener still in his hand. She can't see his face until he turns around, and when he does something freezes inside her. He looks feral, as if, for a moment, he let go of all that makes him human and let the darkness inside him take over.
"Thank you..." She murmurs as he goes back to his office, and he stops with his hand on the handle.
"I didn't do it for you," he tells her lowly, and then steps inside.
He doesn't bother closing the door, so she glances at him as he makes his way towards his own desk.
For the next couple of hours Alouette can't take her eyes off him. She only gets half of her work done because her gaze keeps drifting to his figure through the crack in the door, to the point that she starts worrying Evie will notice she's distracted as well.
There's something odd in the way Harry acted, but she can't seem to be able to make sense of it, no matter how hard she tries.
All of a sudden he glances up, and Alouette's face heats up as he offers her a devious little smirk and stands up.
He walks out of his office and towards her desk, and puts his hand on the back of her chair. "You like to look at me, Lark?" He whispers questioningly, an unexplained warmth in his voice.
"How would you have noticed that I was looking at you if you weren't looking at me as well?" She replies, hoping she sounds more confident than she truly feels.
Harry chuckles. "You played well." He leans back against her desk, on the same spot he pushed Mr. Lawson on only a couple of hours before, and it shocks her to realise that, for some odd reason, she feels safer with him there. "I must admit I have been keeping an eye on you."
"And why's that, if I may ask?"
"I was wondering how you were holding up," he says, surprising her.
"Pardon?"
"I believe Mr. Lawson was quite disruptive earlier. I hope he hasn't made you feel as if you're unsafe here. I'll make sure he doesn't come to this floor ever again."
"No harm was done," Alouette replies. "Truthfully, the only reason why I didn't kick his ass was that I was afraid you wouldn't appreciate it since he's one of your allies."
Harry chuckles. "You're free to hit anybody you please in my Palace, Lark. Just make sure you provide me with a written statement of the reason why you did it after so I'll decide how to best get rid of them."
"I'll keep it in mind for the next time, then," she tells him, smiling back when he smiles at her.
Even though it isn't a full smile, it lights up the room and freezes her down to her bones at the same time. There's something so alluring yet so terrifying in him, as if he was a poisonous flower, bewitching everyone enough to get them closer to him just to attack them instead.
"Would you really have killed him right then and there?" She asks him.
He doesn't seem surprised by the question, as if he'd expected it to come. "Of course."
She frowns. While she can't exactly say she would've felt bad for that man if Harry had done that, it still worries her. He welcomed him into his Palace like an ally not even an hour before almost murdering him. Is anybody safe from him, or is his wrath that one thing nobody can hope to unleash without being annihilated only a matter of seconds after?
If he's willing to go that far if someone as much as speaks against him, what will he do to someone planning his murder? What will he do to her when she'll point her gun at him? Will he go willingly, or will he fight her with every weapon he has— and even with his bare hands, if he must?
"What is it, Lark?"
She inhales sharply and glances at Harry in the moment he speaks. What are the chances he read her worries on her face? What if he has, what if he now knows? How long will it be before he takes her down?
But he doesn't seem to be surprised nor shocked, nor mad. There's no trace of that chilling clarity she's seen earlier in his light coloured irises. She's freaking out over nothing.
"I don't like violence," she tells him, hoping it'll be enough to get him off her case. It's only a half-truth: she's never believed it to be the answer, but she isn't always against it. Some situations can only be solved in that way, and she knows that. She isn't so childish to believe the world could ever exist without it— it is inherent to the nature of man.
Harry looks at her in shock. His eyes are widened and his lips slightly parted, and she's never seen such a look on his face. He looks like he's seen a ghost. "Oh?" He lets out, a shiver hidden deep in his voice that he covers up with a half-hearted chuckle. "I used to think that too."
Alouette gives him an equally surprised look, but before she can say anything he leans down and presses his lips against hers. It's a fast kiss, only a little more than a peck, but it makes her heart fall out of her chest all the same.
"What was that for?" She asks him in the instant they break apart, and he brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You taste as bright as you sound."
Butterflies flutter in her stomach, and it freaks her out enough to almost push him away from her.
"How would you propose I handle those who defy me?" He muses, seeming to be enjoying the direction that conversation is taking.
She shrugs. "I don't know, arrest them?"
"Then how would they keep doing what I want them to do?" He lets out a faint laugh. "You're smart and bright, Lark, but a little too naïve."
"Maybe I'm simply a wishful thinker, sir."
He tilts his head. "You are indeed, and you forgive too easily. It surprised me that you stood up for Mr. Lawson," he says, seeming to be trying to seem relaxed even though she can distinctly hear a deep tension in his voice.
"I hardly believe preventing a murder from happening in broad daylight can be called standing up for someone, Harry."
"It wouldn't have been my first in the light of day, Lark." He frowns, clearing his throat. "I must leave, now." He pushes himself off her desk and walks away.
She sends a puzzled glance in his direction when she realises he isn't going back to his office, but lets him go anyway.
Thank you so much for the 100k reads on this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter x
Miki