Harry sits in his office, his door stood ajar. He has a smile plastered across his face as he types out his e-mails. He could listen to Niall talk all day. His thick, Irish accent was infectious in the most sweetest way possible. The tone of Niall's voice starts to rise and that's when Harry realizes that his boyfriend was shouting down the phone, arguing to somebody at the other end of the line which elevates concern to the curly-haired lad. He minimises the tabs on his lap top and pushes his chair back, stepping round his desk so he could go and investigate. The tone of Niall's voice gets louder with every approaching step Harry makes and by the time he's reached Niall, he can hear the conversation clearly.
"I understand that, sir but I need the confirmation e-mail so I can approve the invoice, otherwise I can't authorize the payment." Niall says patiently but at the same time, he sounds a bit agitated. Niall looks up at Harry when he seems him by his side and flashes him an innocent smile.
"Problem?" Harry counters and Niall whimpers softly.
"One moment, please, sir." Niall says politely and he takes the phone away from his ear, placing his palm over the mouth piece of the phone to block out the conversation between Harry and himself.
"It's one of your clients, Harry. They want me to pay a payment of an invoice but they've only sent me two e-mails. I need the third confirmation e-mail so I can authorize the payment." Niall explains sheepishly and Harry chuckles knowingly.
"Allow me?" Harry offers, holding his hand out to the phone which Niall gladly hands over to him.
"Hello, who am I speaking to?" Harry asks politely, his voice low and deep. Niall could only faintly hear the person talk on the other side of the phone line so he waits patiently while Harry spoke.
By the end of the conversation, Harry has asked to speak to speak to the clients' manager as his client had practically forbade himself to hand over the confirmation e-mail. After the small threat, the client was more than willing to send the e-mail to Niall and the conversation ended in a snap of a finger.
"There you go. Sorted." Harry says cheerfully, hanging up the phone.
Quite frankly, Niall is amazed. Harry basically had everyone eating out the palm of his hand, Niall included and he had no shame whatsoever in admitting that. Despite the fact that they were both dating, it would never cease to amaze Niall how much power and control Harry had. By being that type of person, it was clear that you got a long way in life and Niall had to remind himself about Harry's reputation. Harry's reputation had already dropped slightly since the moment Niall had arrived in the eye of the press and people began to speculate that they were dating. They had to be careful and of course, Niall was aware of this.
At work they keep their PDA to a minimum, like they had done at the restaurant with Louis but for Niall, it was getting more difficult each time. At least now, neither Liam nor Jen were under the suspicion that they were a couple. They had each decided between them that they were just really close friends. Moreover, after their little "incident" with the storage cupboard, they had reduced their detours as well. It was hard for both of them they must as admit, especially literally working right next to each other. But they cared so deeply about each other, which they did, they knew that they could get past it.
Harry had to keep himself in check, though. He wondered how far he'd have to go until somebody actually found out about them and in the end, somebody always did. There was always someone right around the corner, someone keeping a close tail until they exposed them and everything was ruined. Harry was sure he'd make none of this happen. He couldn't risk this at all and he certainly didn't want his and Niall's career being jeopardized because of it.
So that's why, when Niall is distracted and he has to go to another floor within the building, Harry decides to call the board. Craig Summers is their chief executive and he's basically the main guy above Harry. Despite the fact that it was Harry's company and he practically owned the place, he needed somebody who kept everything in check, including himself.
"Hey, Harry! How's it going?" Craig asks cheerfully, from other end of the line.
"Hey, Craig, I'm good thanks and you?" Harry asks, politely in return.
"Yeah, I'm good." Craig replies simply.
"Hey, Craig, I have a question for you."
"Yeah?"
"Do we still have that relationship policy?"
"Yeah, I think we do. How come?" Harry gulps dryly.
"Oh, it's just out of sheer curiosity. Can you run them by me again? Just to make sure." Harry suggests patiently. There's a deep sigh at the other end of the followed, followed by a few shuffling of papers and Craig clears his throat.
"Our relationship policy includes opposite sex couples and same sex couples. Any colleagues under the impression of a sexual relationship will be warned and/or suspended until further notice. The higher up the colleague, the further damage it will cause. The lower the person, will be warned and kept as record for future references which could jeopardise their future career if they decided to take any further role." Craig finishes and Harry bites his lip, thinking thoughtfully.
"Anything else?" Craig adds.
"No, that'd be all. Thank you."
"Anything for you, Styles. Take care."
Harry hangs up after that, finishing the call. He runs his hands down his face in exasperation and by this time, Niall has returned to his desk. With his door still stood ajar, the blonde boy flashes Harry a radiant smile before sitting down at his desk, leaving Harry feeling nothing but guilt.
- - -
"Ready to go home?" Harry asks hopefully, appearing by Niall's side at his desk. He was just off the phone and was now tidying up his desk. The office was quiet and the lights were off and the cleaners were here. It was that late in the office. Niall looks up at Harry with a gleaming smile and switches off his computer.
"Yeah, just a sec." Niall sighs, reaching for his coat that hangs on the coat hanger and he slips it over his shoulders. "Let's go." Niall grins and they head out of the office, a feeling of relief lifting off their shoulders. Niall drives them both home to Niall's flat and when they enter, Niall switches on the lights, throws his keys in the key dish and they go straight for his bed, not bothering with dinner.
They cuddle up on the bed sheets, just like they do every night. It's become a habit for the couple, a good habit at that. It seems that it's the only time they can be themselves; just enveloped in each others' arms without a worry in the world.
Harry couldn't stop thinking about the phone call. He knew he made things worse by calling the board but he was worried. He was worried for the sake of Niall. Niall had worked so hard to get where he is now and Harry didn't want to be one to ruin it all, despite how much he cared about him.
He knew though, that somebody could find out. It was just an accident waiting to happen, wasn't it? He couldn't do that to Niall. He couldn't tag Niall along like that until he got hurt, until they both got hurt but it was Niall he worried about most. He was only a small lad, fresh out of university with the world at his feet. Why did he have to be a lawyer? Why couldn't he have been a painter, or...or a writer? Harry had been so taken by Niall since the day at the day they met, since the interview. It would almost be cruel, an insult not to employ him. He couldn't help himself.
It was then, that Harry realized, he had feelings for the older lad. They were small, yet they were definitely there. Perhaps it was just a crush but he couldn't describe it. He had no words to describe the first time he kissed him, the first time they dated, the first time they held hands...It was like a firework had exploded off inside Harry's body, his stomach doing back-flips – the good ones. It made Harry feel happy. Like, after all these years of being who he was, Niall was the glue that kept him from falling apart.
To him, meeting Niall for the first time was an adventure – a milestone, a part of his life he'd never forget. He was like sunshine on a rainy day, a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. His laughter is music to his ears and his eyes hold the entire night sky. He was intelligent, fun and witty. Everything Harry ever needed in life and he had it bad. It was then, he realized that Harry was thinking too hard. Niall was trying to get his attention and he had been quiet since they had crashed on the bed – which, to Niall, wasn't a good sign.
"Harry, you all right?" Niall murmurs, not bothering to look up.
"I, uh...I called the board today." Harry admitted in defeat, clearing his throat a little. Niall swivels round and decides to look up at him.
"Oh?"
Harry couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't continue on, pretending everything was fine when he knew all he was really doing was hurting Niall even more. It wasn't right, Harry couldn't be selfish like that. He wasn't. He had to tell him.
"Baby, we need to talk."
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