Violet.
I was still coming to terms with receiving the letter from James when my phone buzzed a few minutes before nine. I noticed the text from the unknown number around the same time Harry had promised me someone would come pick me up.
The bar was not even 15 minutes away, but he seemed to insist and I trusted his judgement.
Message from: Unknown
Here to pick up miss Rae. Harry sent me. Car is downstairs.
I grabbed my coat and my bag and headed down the stairs, seeing the black Range Rover with the engine on in front of the building. The side window was rolled down.
"William?" I asked. I was met with a boy who seemed no older than 18, pale skin and jet black hair pushed up into a small quiff. He was dressed in all black as he shook his head. "My name is Finn. William was occupied tonight."
"Right." I breathed before opening the passenger door, hopping in the seat and fastening my seat belt.
"Where to, miss?" Finn's voice was polite and warm as he geared up the car, placing his gloved hands on the steering wheel. "Harry's bar." I answered and he nodded, starting the short drive.
"Driver's gloves and all, very professional." I remarked as Finn chuckled and shrugged, "When I do something, I do it right." He smiled.
"I'm sorry you have to do this, by the way. But Harry seemed to insist."
"William and I will take turns driving you and picking you up, unless Harry orders us otherwise. We pay our dues for the gang, miss. No need to apologize." Finn answered and I nodded. "Call me Violet, please. Miss makes me feel... too fancy."
Finn chuckled slightly and nodded. "Okay, Violet."
The rest of the drive was silent, and it actually took slightly longer since this car wasn't fit for the little shortcut alleyways I usually took towards the bar. Taking the main roads caused quite the detour. Finn slowed down when we were in front of the bar and he got out too as he walked me inside the bar, trailing behind me closely.
I looked around, not seeing Harry anywhere but noticed the door of his office was slightly cracked. The bar wasn't busy yet, and Steph was behind the bar by herself, helping out the few customers. "I think Harry's upstairs." I pointed up the stairs to Finn and he nodded. "Text or call when I have to drive you back, you have my number now."
"It could get late." Guilt washed over me when I realized this boy had to stay up all night just to drive me the few miles to my front door. It seemed so excessive, but he quickly shook his head. "I don't mind, Violet. Like I said, paying my dues for this gang, it's what I choose to do."
"Alright. Thanks." I smiled as he turned on his heel and walked out, and I went up the stairs to see Harry. I had changed out of my dress and into a pair of jeans and a shirt, just my signature outfit. I knocked on the door slightly, pushing it open a bit more. Harry was behind his desk with a few papers sprawled out on the wood, and Jenny was on the couch.
"Hi." She smiled when she saw me standing in the doorway. I smiled back and Harry cleared his throat, nudging his head towards the door and quietly signalling Jenny to leave. We were left alone in the office and Harry motioned for me to close the door.
"Everything went okay with William?" Harry asked. I noticed he had also changed, wearing a black button-up shirt now instead of his grey T-shirt. The sun had kissed his skin slightly and he had a flush of colour on his cheeks and forehead.
I frowned slightly at his question. "He said his name was Finn."
"Right, right, I mean Finn." Harry corrected himself and I nodded. "Yea, he seems nice."
"He'll drive you to work tomorrow."
"So... Someone is going to drive me every day?"
"Yes." Harry spoke as he collected the papers, still a concentrated and business-y look on his face. "You didn't see Jason outside your building when you left?"
I shook my head. "No, I didn't see anyone."
"Good." Harry nodded to himself.
"So is Jenny working tonight?" I breathed, changing the subject.
"Yes, I needed some last minute signatures for her contract. And I asked her to the meeting on Sunday."
My eyebrows raised. "Really? Jenny?"
Harry leaned back in his seat, a slight smirk on his lips. "Jealous?"
"Nope." I forced a smile on my lips at his question but his smirk didn't falter.
"Come here." He extended his hand for me to take, and I did before he tugged me towards him, me falling forward on his lap a bit as I was forced to spread my legs and straddle his thighs on the desk chair.
I sucked in a sharp breath at the proximity when one of his hands rested on my thigh and the other was on the small of my back, keeping me in that spot.
Harry was eye-level with my chest and didn't even try to hide the fact that he was staring at my cleavage. "Eyes op here." I mumbled, taking hold of his chin to lift it up. He had a sparkle in his eye that caused me to crack a small smile.
"Getting handsy, are we?"
I chuckled at his question, shaking my head at his playfulness.
"I liked the dress on you a bit more." Harry remarked as his hands darted up and down my body, hands resting on my jeans.
"Thought you said it was a T-shirt." I teased and Harry breathily chuckled. "T-shirt dress, whatever. You looked hot in it."
I let my eyes dart over his form as shamelessly as he had done to me before, my vision travelling down his exposed tanned chest as he had only buttoned up his shirt halfway.
The tattoos sparked my interest, but my eyes were too focussed on the brand new pendant on a rather long necklace. He always wore a cross necklace for God knows what reason, but the new addition to his jewellery made my chest tight.
It was the 7-day chip that I had given him. He turned it into a necklace that was dangling down his chest, partly hidden by his shirt but visible for me from my seated position. "That's a creative way to show off your chip." I grinned.
"I wanted it on me the whole time." He murmured, squeezing my thighs slightly with his ring-clad hands.
I flicked my eyes back to his, seeing he was already looking at me. My hands rested on his shoulders, moving one to cup his cheek as I leaned down and pressed my lips on his. It's like I wanted to express my gratitude to him for taking my gift and the past week so seriously, that the only way I knew how to was by kissing him.
He seemed surprised, but quickly relaxed and kissed me back, parting his lips and letting his tongue glide against mine. We stayed like that for a moment, snogging on his desk chair as he moved his hands to my behind, shifting in the seat slightly so I was directly seated over his crotch.
His hands guided me, grinding me into him. I knew what he was doing as he kissed me harder and deeper, roaming his tongue inside my mouth.
"I'm not having sex with you here." I breathed as I broke the kiss and he attached his lips to my neck. My body shuddered when he ran his tongue over the hickey on my throat before pressing kisses down the arch of my neck and down my collarbones. "Why not?" He answered quietly.
"This is your sex-cave, it's gross. It smells like STD in here."
Harry's loud cackle boomed throughout the room as he leaned back and looked at me. "You don't want to be just another girl I fuck in my office, do you? You don't want me to bend you over this desk? Or take you on the couch?"
His words sent a tingle down my spine, but I didn't let it faze me. "I don't. And definitely not the couch, don't even want to sit on that thing."
Harry let out a breath, smirk still on his lips before he reached his head up slightly and kissed me again. I exhaled through my nose, fluttering my eyes close as our lips moved together in a slow, deep kiss. His hands were beneath my shirt, roaming my naked back and down my sides.
"Are you really bringing Jenny on Sunday?" My voice was small as I pressed a kiss down his ear, Harry's lips on my chest, leaving wet open-mouthed kisses on the skin that my T-shirt didn't cover.
He hummed in response. "Why not?"
I shrugged slightly, running a hand through his curls. "She seems ready to undress you every time she looks at you."
"So you are jealous." He smirked, pressing another kiss beneath my collarbone, "You know you'd be my first choice, Vi." Harry whispered, and I let out a sigh, knowing it was indeed me who had pushed him to invite other people to the meetings.
His teeth bit down on the skin of beneath my collarbone, holding me firmly in place with his large hands around my ribcage. I closed my eyes and let out a pleasured sigh from the sensation.
"If you sit here much longer, I'm not sure if I can contain myself." He murmured against my warm skin.
Memories flooded my brain of Friday night, when he made me come so hard I almost passed out.
"Want me to make you feel good?" Harry breathed and I was ready to give in, my eyes already closed and my head to the side to give him more access, hands in his hair. I jolted up when the door flew open, revealing Zayn who had wide eyes. "Oh, shit. Sorry."
"Don't you fucking knock?" Harry snapped, seeing Zayn over my shoulder.
"Don't you fucking lock your door?" Zayn shot back, "Hi, Violet."
"Hi." I smiled awkwardly, getting up from Harry's lap and clearing my throat, "I'll be downstairs."
I stifled a chuckle when Harry was adjusting his pants in an attempt to hide his excitement. He glared at Zayn while I shot him a smile as I walked out and headed down the stairs, calming my heartbeat down once I was away from Harry. Jenny and Steph were behind the bar and I smiled at them, ordering a beer as I finally went into the back room to hang up my coat and my bag.
The door opened and Jenny joined me in the supply room with a wide smile. "Violet, can I ask you something?" She began.
I cocked up an eyebrow and nodded. "Of course, what's up?"
"You joined Harry at the meeting not long ago, right?"
I froze slightly as I pulled my hair together in a small ponytail, turning around to face her. "Mhm." I nodded as casually as I could.
"How was it?" She seemed excited after Harry's invitation and I forced another smile, not able to contain the feelings of jealousy coursing through me.
I cleared my throat and shugged. "It was fine. Nothing too special, to be honest. Slightly boring even." I wasn't completely lying. That first meeting with Harry was no fun at all. The dancing had been plain weird and I hardly knew him back then, so uncomfortable in his presence that I refused to sleep in the same bed with him until it was my only option left.
"And did you sleep there? With him?" Jenny added in excitement.
I ran a hand through my hair and nodded slowly. "We slept in the same bed, yes. Nothing happened though." I lied, not mentioning the deep kiss we had shared in the bathroom. Although I was sure Harry usually did a lot more than just kiss the girls he brought to the mansion with him.
"Oh my God!" Jenny almost squealed, clapping her hands together as she jumped on the spot, obviously very happy with my answer and the perspective of joining Harry beneath the sheets. It was a thought that made my stomach knot together.
I hadn't even thought about the fact that she would be sleeping in his bed.
I tried to seem excited for her as I left her in the supply room and gulped down my beer at the bar.
I started checking the stock and if everything was ready to go before the crowds started coming in. It was a Monday night, so the bar wouldn't be nearly as crowded as on the weekend, but it was still full once midnight rolled around.
I wiped the back of my hand on my forehead. The warm temperatures and the crowd caused it to be hot in the bar, and I was hauling with beer barrels that caused me to break out into a sweat. The front strands of my short hair were pulled together into a clip at the back of my head, keeping it out of my face after my tiny ponytail had proven to not really keep my hair away.
After I had crouched down behind the bar to attach the fresh barrel, I took a small break. I leaned against the wall beside the bar as my eyes scanned the room, landing on Harry's friends who were on their regular couch on the back. I raised my arm and waved at them, noticing only Louis and Zayn were here.
I was about to make my way over but it was that moment my eyes flicked up to the top of stairs, where he was standing for a second before descending them, that time seemed to stop.
It was as if he moved in slow motion. Sliding his one hand down the metal railing while the other ran through his dark curls, pushing them away from his forehead. The rings on his fingers glimmered slightly in the disco lights, and his thumb grazed his plump, pink bottom lip before he dropped his arm to his side.
The furrow in his brows made him seem concentrated, eyes dropping over the scene in front of him while his mouth was a line, jaw tense and so sharp it could cut skin. The second his eyes met mine, I felt like the breath got knocked out of my lungs. I couldn't take my eyes of him as the music around me seemed to quiet down, only my own heartbeat thumping in my ears.
The frown left his forehead as his eyes lit up slightly, skin at the corners creasing only a bit as his jaw untensed and his lips curled up into the most perfect half smirk. It revealed his dimples, little crevices in both his cheeks as he moved only closer to me.
My eyes were wide and my body frozen, and I was pretty sure my jaw was on the floor as I was completely mesmerized by the way he was moving. The black button up shirt was rolled up until beneath his elbows, revealing a few of his many tattoos. The buttons were only done up halfway, so it hung loosely over his shoulders and revealed some of his tattooed and chiselled chest, skin disturbed by the metal cross pendant that rested on his sternum, hiding the chip pendant that hung lower.
I felt like I was about to faint when his left eyelid dropped down slowly into a wink, cheeky grin still on his lips as he approached me, his signature cologne filling my nostrils and making me feel dizzy.
There was an absolute Greek God standing in front of me, his effortless beauty and stunning features just blowing me straight away as I had trouble feeling my fingers and blinking my eyelids.
That's the moment I knew I was utterly and completely fucked.
"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Harry chuckled as he saw my facial expression. I quickly shook myself out of it, feeling shy all of a sudden when he was in front of me. "Y-Yea, I'm fine. Sorry, lost in thought." I nervously smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
I was suddenly very aware that I looked like complete and utter shit. I had been sweating all evening, a concept that seemed foreign to Harry as he stood perfectly fine in front of me, despite the hot temperatures.
"I called Finn, he'll pick you up at two." Harry leaned into my ear so I could hear him over the music, leaning his hand on my waist.
"Two? Are you closing the bar that early?"
Harry shook his head and leaned against the wall next to me. "You have work tomorrow morning and you need sleep. You shouldn't be up this late."
My independent personality should feel annoyed that he was taking control in all this, but I found it more thoughtful than anything else.
"Alright, thank you." I knew my job here wasn't missed if I wasn't here, and that Harry would be fine in the bar once I had left. I noticed I still had about half an hour left until it was two, and Harry motioned for me to join him, Louis and Zayn on the couch. I sat down with a sigh, Louis engulfing me in a bit of a side hug when I took the seat on the couch next to him.
"You were weird today." He stated after a few seconds. I frowned at him. "At the RSP? I was just trying to keep it professional. Ian can't know that I know you."
"Why not? He won't mind."
"It's just... I'd get kicked off his case, and there's a chance that I would get fired if they knew the nature of my... friendship with Harry."
Louis let out a loud cackle. "Friendship. Right. You've got a huge hickey on your neck, Violet, and Zayn basically walked in on you two dry humping. No need to call it a friendship."
"We weren't dry humping!" I defended with flushed cheeks at Zayn seeing me and Harry in his office earlier. "I just like to keep my work and my personal life separate. And I'm doing that mainly for Ian."
"He's already come a long way though. And he's very fond of you." Louis smiled and I returned it, thinking about Ian's progress in the past few weeks. He had come a long way, and the biggest thing was that he was open to recovery, that he gave it an actual chance.
Harry sat on my other side and I flicked my head in his direction when his hand tapped my knee. "You want another drink, baby?" He asked with his lips near my ear. I involuntary scrunched my nose up at the nickname and he laughed at my reaction.
"Don't like pet names?"
"Not that one, no. I thought we had established that you were the baby?" I teased, and Harry's jaw tensed immediately. "Fine, not baby. How about... sweetheart?"
I shook my head no while letting out a chuckle. "Nope."
"Um... darling??"
"No."
"Angel?"
"Absolutely not."
"Princess?"
I turned my head to the side and made a fake gagging noise. "Never in my life."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Dramatic. Okay, let's see... Honey?"
"No."
"Boo?"
"Boo? Ew, Harry, no!" I exclaimed.
"Precious?"
"What am I, the ring to your Gollum?"
"Fuck, you're a tough audience." He sighed.
I shrugged. "Not really feeling it. Why can't we just be Harry and Violet?"
Harry leaned his head against the back of the couch with a sigh. "That's so boring."
"But why? If pet names don't come naturally, why would you want to use them? Besides, you called me one earlier today that you haven't named yet." I leaned back against the couch as my eyes stayed on Harry's face, partly lit up by the dim lighting of the club.
"What was it?"
"You don't remember?"
He shook his head and looked at me curiously. I shifted in my seat slightly and let out a breath. "You called me petal today."
"Petal? When?"
I nodded. "At the park. I thought it was a bit cute because, you know, it's also a reference to my name since violets are flowers."
"I don't even remember calling you that. Petal." Harry repeated, rolling the word around his mouth a few times.
"You don't have to if it feels forced. It's just... I don't know, no one's ever called me that, and it felt nice."
It was silent for a bit as I inspected my nailbeds, refusing to meet Harry's eyes. "Why are you named Violet?"
"I'm not sure really." I said with a frown. "My parents never explained it to me, it wasn't that unusual of a name when I was growing up so nobody really questioned it."
"I don't know anyone who's named Violet."
"Well, me neither now, but when I was in preschool there was this other girl called Violet. It seemed normal. She was named that because she was born in February and violets are a February flower, which is strange since I have an October-birthday. I don't think my parents had any type of special love for violets. We had them at our house most years, but so did a lot of other people. They weren't unusual. I suppose they just thought it was a nice name."
Harry nodded. "I like it, it suits you."
"I guess, it's just a habit. Couldn't imagine having any other name. Could also not imagine you having a different name, I'm so used to calling you Harry." I grinned and he mimicked me. "What other name would suit me? Do I look like a... John or something?"
"Absolutely not." I laughed, "You look like a Harry." I grabbed Harry's beer out of his hands and took a swig to cool down my throat. Talking in a club wasn't as much fun as it felt like I was constantly yelling at it caused my voice to be hoarse. The buzzing of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts.
Message from: Finn
I'm out front.
"Finn's here. I should go." I sighed and Harry nodded, getting up from the couch with me. I waved goodbye at Zayn and Louis while Harry walked me out, even though I insisted I could find the front door by myself. My eyes landed on Finn's body that was leant against the black Range Rover in front of the club, one of his wheels popped up on the curb in a bad parking job.
"I'll see you here Wednesday?" I breathed as I put on my coat once we reached the car. Harry shook his head. "I'm visiting Ian tomorrow."
"Well, that's for the afternoon staff, I won't be there anymore by then."
I chuckled when his face dropped a bit. "Really? Half the reason I'm visiting him is to see you."
"I'll see you Wednesday when I'm working." I concluded, leaning in before I awkwardly pecked his cheek. He seemed amused by my nervous stunt, but ever since he came down those stairs earlier, I hadn't been the same.
"Bye." I waved as Finn opened the car door for me and I thanked him, before he jogged over to the driver's side and took me home for the night.