anyone else having a right anxiety attack at how godly harry sounds in sign of the times like Jesus Christ I'm here for this I'm here for his falsETTO
Word count: 3121
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"And besides," he said. "We have to get you that tattoo on Friday."
I looked at him with wide eyes. "For real?"
"Of course, darling," he said and took a sip from his water glass. "I booked an appointment at my tattoo parlor for Friday afternoon."
My heart began to race just thinking about getting those two little birds tattooed on my skin. Where would I get it?
"Are you nervous?" Harry asked after a few seconds of silence.
I shrugged. "I mean, a little. I don't want it to hurt."
"It won't hurt," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes and took a hold of his wrist, pushing his sleeve up and revealing the ink littering his skin.
"You also have probably a hundred of them. You're probably used to the pain by now." I commented, and he shrugged as he glanced down at his vast collection.
"I guess I kind of like the pain." He said. "It's relaxing."
I cringed and shook my head. "I can barely get shots at the doctor's office."
"It'll be fine, I'll be right beside you." He said as his thumb rubbed lightly on the back of my hand.
"I'm putting my entire life in your hands."
He groaned with an eye roll but he still smiled at my over-dramatization.
After dinner, Harry went into his office to do some more paperwork. He wanted to get as much as he could completed before he left. I had asked him if he planned on having someone else come in to take his place but he assured me that Liam would be fit to run the department without him.
"Does Liam not like me?" I asked out of the blue. Harry blinked a few times and stopped writing his notes, glancing in my direction as I stood by his bookshelf.
"Why do you ask?" He asked.
I shrugged. "He just seems off every time I stop by. He doesn't seem fond of me."
Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair. He patted his lap, motioning for me to come sit. I walked over and carefully sat down on his leg, one arm going around his shoulders and the other unconsciously drifting to the buttons on his shirt, twisting them between my fingers.
"He's just worried I'm making a mistake," he sighed, and I frowned in confusion. "He thinks that I shouldn't be fancying a woman much younger than me and that it could cause backlash for my company."
"Backlash?" I repeated, and he pursed his lips together as he exhaled through his nostrils.
"My private life is exactly what I've made it to be, which is private, so not many people know what goes on day to day." He explained. "The public knew of my divorce and it took a toll on my work and I wasn't putting in as much passion into my clothing as I had been. But, now after I've come back from that, Liam thinks the same thing is going I happen if the public becomes aware of my relation to you."
I felt a little struck with hurt; did Liam really not like me that much? "What have you told him?"
"I've only told him to mind his own fûcking business and not worry about me and my relationships." He said as he played with my hair. "He's not my father. I can do what I want."
I stifled a giggle and looked down at my lap, a memory vaguely appearing in my mind. Harry smiled and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
I shook my head and said, "Remember all those times I sarcastically called you Dad and you would get extremely turned on?"
Harry rolled his eyes dramatically and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, I don't remember this," he lied, and I couldn't help but press further.
"I'd say, "Okay, Dad," and it was like, insta-boner." I laughed, and he immediately grabbed my butt in his hand, squeezing me so harshly and I gasped.
"I couldn't help myself," he purred, and lifted me off his lap and laid me on the ground, following in suit and hovering his body over me. "You were just so tempting."
He nuzzled his head into the crook of my neck, harshly sucking at the skin like his life depended on it. One hand grabbed my clothed breast, kneading it softly and causing me to moan and reach up to tangle my fingers in his hair.
I felt his lips trail up my neck, and his teeth gently bit down on my earlobe. I tightened my grip on his hair as his hips ground into mine, his soft groans filling the quiet space.
A knock on Harry's front door caught us off guard, and his head snapped up towards the foyer. "Who the hell is here this late?"
"I don't know," I said as he carefully maneuvered himself off the floor. He held out his hand and helped me up before walking out as the knocks on the door continued.
"Oh, for fûcks sake," Harry muttered as he looked out the peephole. He opened the door and Niall walked in.
"Hey, mate, I wanted to talk to you about -- oh, hi, Jillian," he said, looking quite surprised at my presence.
"Hey, Niall," I awkwardly waved, and Harry shut the door.
"Why are you here, Niall?" He asked rather annoyed.
"Uh, by any chance, did you get in a fight with some guy?" He hesitantly asked, and Harry's eyes darted to mine for a split second.
"Um. . ." he began. "Why are you asking?"
"Liam's been trying to get a hold of you apparently. Says some kid contacted the company building wanting to talk to you about an incident that happened. Jillian's a witness."
My heart nearly beat out of my chest. Was Zayn suing? He couldn't possibly. Although, he might if he was that adamant about getting what he wanted.
"Fûck," Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. "Is the ásshole pressing charges or something?"
Niall shrugged, scrolling through his phone to read what I assumed were texts from Liam. "I have no idea. But you should definitely get that sorted tomorrow morning. We can't have shît like this getting out to the public."
"I feel like this is my fault," I said quietly, shaking my head and looking to the floor. If I had just cut all ties with Zayn from the very beginning, maybe things would be different.
"Babe, no," Harry said, walking over to me and placing his hands on my shoulders. "None of this is your fault. He was just a little shîthead who needed to learn his lesson and things just got out of hand. Do not blame yourself."
I pursed my lips but nodded, even though I still had to blame myself somewhat. Harry and his company could possibly be in trouble because of this, and with Liam also being upset with Harry and I's relationship, I bet Liam thought Harry's career was going down the drain as we speak.
Niall left after explaining as much as he could, which wasn't much more. He mentioned that Liam had made an appointment with Zayn to meet with Harry in the morning to discuss things more professionally. It had me worried, knowing Zayn and Harry would be alone in a room together and Harry's temper wasn't very controlled when it came to Zayn.
"You're going to be the bigger person, right?" I asked him as I climbed into bed, watching him take his watch and rings off and place them in the little wooden box on the bedside table.
"Of course," he scoffed, slipping his shirt over his head. He tossed it in the laundry hamper by his closet and I gave him a look.
"Harry, I need you to promise me you won't do anything irrational."
"Irrational? I'm not going to --,"
"Harry. You know how you get when he's around or even talked about. Please promise me you won't get into deeper trouble."
He sighed and crawled into bed next to me. "Fine. I promise I will be strictly professional."
He pressed a kiss to my forehead and shifted himself so he was laying down, patting the space next to him. I laid myself down next to his warm body, cuddling close and letting his arm drape over my waist. His soft breathing told me that be didn't want to discuss any more of the situation and he just wanted to sleep, which I understood.
As I snuggled close to him, I still worried about his meeting with Zayn in the morning. I knew he wasn't nervous about it, but I definitely was. I didn't want Zayn to go blabbing about Harry and I, and I didn't want him to put the company in danger as well.
I eventually managed to fall asleep, but at around three in the morning, Harry's soft snores and sleep-talking woke me up.
I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock, thanking the Lord I could sleep some more, but when Harry began mumbling in his sleep, I couldn't help but turn to face him and listen to his unconscious rambles.
"Mm. . . yes, I do love bananas," he muttered into the pillow. His arm was still draped over my stomach as if he hadn't dared to move it since we went to bed. "No, I don't. . . the monkey can't have them."
I stifled my giggles and leaned over to press a light kiss to his shoulder. I rolled back over and closed my eyes to the sound of him still mumbling, somehow falling asleep once again before waking up at five-thirty, along with Harry.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," I said with a smile, and he gave me an off look.
"Why are you smiling like that?" He asked as he rolled himself onto his side to face me.
"No reason. Did you sleep well?"
He sighed and ran a hand through his extremely messy hair. "I had a weird dream last night."
"Oh? Did you?" I said with a grin, and he narrowed his eyes at me.
"What do you know that I don't?" He questioned, and I rolled onto my back.
"I heard you were in an argument about sharing your bananas with monkeys?"
"Oh, my god," he said, rubbing his hands over his face. "I can't believe I talked about that in my sleep."
"You're quite entertaining when you sleep talk." I giggled, slipping out of bed and going into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
*
Harry's POV
After dropping Jillian off at campus and refusing her offers to go with me to my meeting with Zayn, Anthony drove me to the office while I scrolled through emails on my phone in silence.
"Mr. Styles," he spoke, and I continued scrolling as I answered dully.
"Yes, Anthony?"
"If you don't mind me asking, you'll be keeping Jillian around for a while now, won't you?"
I blinked a few times as I processed his words. Looking up at him in the rear view mirror, I asked, "What do you mean?"
"I was just wondering, Mr. Styles," he said quickly as he turned the corner. "She just seems good for you."
I sat back in my seat and softly smiled to myself, nodding in response. "Yes, I will be keeping her around."
I wiped my smile off as we pulled up to the front of the building, putting my game face on and letting Anthony open my door for me. I thanked him for the first time in what seemed like ages, knowing fully well that Jillian's been changing my attitude toward things.
I went upstairs and passed Laura's desk. She hadn't arrived yet, so I sent her a quick text to ask her to grab me a coffee on her way here. I went to my desk and sat down, sighing heavily as I waited for Liam to arrive so we could get this meeting done and over with.
After a half an hour of working out last minute meetings before I left the country, Liam opened the door. I glanced up and ushered for him to come in.
"Is Laura here yet?" I groaned. "I need caffeine."
"She doesn't come in until nine, Harry," Liam sighed. "It's only eight forty-five."
I set down my pen and rubbed my hands down my face. "When is this stupid meeting?"
"This stupid meeting happens at nine-thirty," he said, tossing the folder down on the desk. "Also, this came in from London from Emmett Parker. They're getting everything ready for you by the time you return."
I leaned my elbows on my desk, putting my face in my hands. "I'm so behind, I still have to talk to Vogue about Jillian's shoot, Glamour wants an interview with me, there's three more shoots in London we have to take care of prior to my arrival --,"
"Whoa, Harry," Liam said. "Calm down, you have time. You don't leave for another two weeks. Chill, mate."
"A new Vice President is also coming in once you're transferred," I said. "He's meeting with us sometime this week to get things sorted and then I'm hoping to have you moved in by next Wednesday."
Liam was silent for a moment, but then leaned against the arm chair in front of me as he asked, "Does it get easier? You know, every time you leave a new company?"
I looked down at my desk, remembering the first day I came to this building. It was a complete shït show, but I had revamped so many buildings before that it was a piece of cake this time. Bringing in Liam was the best decision I ever made, and he's only gotten better over time -- it only made sense to promote him to my position once I left.
I did stay in Kansas a lot longer than I anticipated. I only planned to stay for about three to four years and then head back to London to get started on the next location. But when I got around to planning my departure, something kept me here. . .
"Well, it certainly doesn't get easier, to be honest. Every new branch you create and develop is like a small part of you, it's hard to leave it all behind after all the hard work you've put in to making it great."
Liam nodded and the door opened. I looked past him and saw Laura walking over with a large cup of coffee in hand and a little croissant.
"Here's your coffee, Mr. Styles," she said, placing the cup in my hands.
"Thank you so much, Laura," I said, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans filling my nostrils. "Also, when Zayn Malik arrives, let me know."
"Will do, sir. Should I send him in here right away?"
"Um, yes, please do."
She nodded and left the room, leaving me and Liam alone again. I set my coffee down after taking a quick sip, nearly burning my tongue.
"So, what happened exactly with this boy?" Liam asked, and I didn't think twice before rolling my eyes.
"He's a piece of sh--,"
"Harry, without being a dïck about it." He said, and I pursed my lips together and took a deep breath. Professional. You have to be professional.
"Apparently this Malik guy has been stalking and harassing Jillian. She had texted me asking to come to her dorm as soon as possible, and when I showed up, he was in her room and had her backed against the wall.
"I pulled him off her and she mentioned him not leaving her along after all the times she told him she wasn't interested."
"And that's when you punched him?"
I looked down at my right hand, seeing the healing cuts and faint bruises littering my knuckles. "Maybe."
"I can't wait to see what he looks like if all you've got is a bum hand."
"He didn't fight back," I added. "He was drunk. I kicked him out and took Jillian home with me. I don't even know if he came back after that."
"Should I step out of the room while you meet with him?"
I thought for a moment. If I was alone with Zayn, I might beat the ever-loving shït out of him; Liam could make sure I stay calm. But then, this is between me and Zayn only. I shook my head. "No, I'd rather do this alone. I can handle it."
"Are you sure? Should I keep an ambulance on standby?"
I chuckled and waved him off. "No, it'll be fine. I'll drop by your office later to discuss the transfer paperwork."
He nodded with a small smile and began walking toward the door. "I'll see you in a bit then."
He left and I sighed, leaning back in my chair and thinking immediately of Jillian and what she was doing. I bet she was a nervous wreck thinking about Zayn being with me and the possibility of me throwing another punch. Of course, I was going to listen to her voice in the back of my head telling me to stay professional.
I was in the middle of scribbling down notes when Laura rang me. "Mr. Styles, you have Niall Horan on line one."
I glanced up at the clock and I had a few minutes to spare before my meeting with Zayn.
"Make it quick, Niall, I'm a busy man." I said.
"Did you know that you and Jillian are on nearly every cover of the magazines right now?" He asked, and I frowned in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Has Harry Styles Fallen For His New Model? and New Model for Harry Styles Has Already Stolen His Heart just to name a few titles."
"What the héll?" I quickly typed into my laptop, searching the titles and sure enough, multiple magazines had pictures of Jillian and I from when we went out shopping together and even photos from the gala when we first went out together. "Oh, Christ."
"Mate, these articles aren't bad, but they definitely aren't good."
"Why are they saying?" I asked. "These crap websites aren't giving me anything."
"Some of them are talking heavily into the age difference and also the issue of her being an employee of yours --,"
The door opened and Laura's head poked in. "Mr. Styles, Zayn Malik is here to see you."
*