CHAPTER 12
Harry hands me a steaming bowl of chicken which I accept gratefully. I take a bite and immediately regret it; the stuff is still scorching and burns my tongue. I spit it back out and hope Harry doesn't notice. Thankfully, his back is still turned as he pulls out two water bottles and then hands one to me.
"Our housekeeper, Emma, packs up leftovers for the freezer here so that I have something to eat when I work late," he explains. I suspect he's just trying to make conversation so we don't have to sit and stare awkwardly at each other while our food cools.
"Our housekeeper?" I repeat. What if he has a girlfriend? Or worse, a fiancé? Harry and I may be good friends, but we've never discussed that aspect of our lives with each other.
"Edward," he says. Relief washes over me and I will the voice in the back of my head to stop cheering in victory.
"I didn't realize he lives with you."
"Technically, I live with him," Harry cracks a small, lopsided smile. "When your grandfather lives on thirty seven acres in a mansion with five garages and live-in servants, it seems a little ridiculous to buy a condo."
I try not to let the shock show on my face. I knew that Edward and Harry were loaded, but thirty seven acres? Really?
"Wow, I guess I understand. That's a huge place even for two people," I say. My casserole seems to be cooled somewhat, so I hesitantly take a small bite. The temperature is just right, and it's also surprisingly delicious.
"Yeah, I know. Edward keeps telling me I need to get settled down and have a family so we can have some kids running around the place," he tells me.
I look at him with a surprised expression. It's the first time he's said something remotely personal about himself to me, so I take another bite of children and chew slowly as he continues.
"He wants great-grandchildren. He tells me every day," Harry finishes wryly.
I have no idea what I'm supposed to say so I just pop another chicken into my mouth. At the rate I'm going, I'll be finished before Harry even takes his first bite.
Harry's still silent by the time I swallow, so I say, "Well, it shouldn't be that hard to find someone who wants to settle down with you, right? I mean, with your reputation and everything."
He raises his eyebrows. "My reputation?"
"You know, just the fact that you're known as the sex god of the New York business world. Girls rave about the handsome looks of the Harry Styles," I say dramitcally. "My job is probably highly coveted by every woman in the office."
"Hmmm, although all of that is very true," Harry smirks and I roll my eyes, "You forgot one thing."
"And what is that?"
"I don't do relationships," he says, looking right at me. "And I certainly don't plan on getting married, ever."
For some reason his words feel like a knife to the heart. I can't help but wonder if he's trying to send me a message that if I have any feelings for him I should smash them to pieces with the black heels I'm wearing. I should be glad, relieved even, that he doesn't want anything to do with me.
Then I remember the way he looked at me the other day after I gave him that massage and feel confused. One minute he's looking at me like I'm a chocolate cluster and the next he's telling me he doesn't do relationships.
Instead of telling him about the raging battle in my mind, I take another bite of my dinner. "Yum, this is delicious." When he says nothing, I sigh and ask the question I know he's waiting for. "So what exactly do you have against marriage?"
"Have you seen the divorce rate in this country?" Harry mutters, stabbing at his casserole.
"Yes, I have," I inform him. "At least sixty percent of couples live happily ever after. In fact, I think divorce rates are even dropping."
Harry evades my gaze. "Fine. Marriage can be great...for other people. Not me."
"Why not?"
"I wouldn't mind an exclusive relationship, except for the whole world and the girl involved with would think it means more than it really does," he sighs. "I don't want to give anyone false hope that we're more than just friends."
Ok, he's definitely hinting at me. I narrow my eyes at him and point out, "We're friends."
"Yeah, but that's different. I'm not taking you out places, or taking pictures with you, or..." His voice gets quieter with every word he speaks, but then he clears his throat. "Or anything like that."
"So what about you? Do you want to get married?" he asks, and I can tell that he went too far, too deep, too personal and needed to change the subject.
"Well, I was engaged," I say without any emotion whatsoever. Ryan is so far from my mind right now he could be in a different galaxy.
"What happened?"
"The amoeba cheated on me."
Harry chokes on his food in laughter. "Amoeba?'
I nod very seriously. "Ryan is so low I won't compare him to more than a single-celled organism."
"You seem a little...bitter," he smirks at me again. Asshole.
"I have good reasons. We were engaged for six whole months until one night I caught him sleeping with my best friend...who is now my ex-best friend," I say calmly, sipping on my water. "And, by the way, ranks below fungus and mold."
"Leah, I'm sorry," Harry says softly and I'm surprised to see that he actually looks sincere.
I focus back on my chicken but when Harry begins speaking, I look up into his bright emerald eyes once again.
"I know how it feels," he whispers. "To be hurt by someone you thought cared about you."
It seems like Harry might actually have a heart in that rock hard chest of his. Speaking of hearts, mine starts beating rather quickly when I realize we're both leaning over the counter, our faces closer before than when we first started talking.
I quickly look down before I start blushing and spot the power point slides, which reminds me why we're really here. I pick them up and smile at Harry.
"Ready to see the presentation?" I ask.
For the next half hour, we go slide by slide until Harry has perfected everything he's going to say. As the final slide whizzes onto the screen thanks to the transitions I added, Harry smiles.
"It looks really good, Leah, better than anything I could have done. How did you get all these pictures?"
"Just off the internet," I tell him. "And I took the ones of the office employees the other day with my camera."
"It looks fantastic," he praises. "The only thing is now the board is going to expect this sort of thing all the time."
"Well, I'm glad you like it," I say. I can see the sun setting outside the big window in the conference room and I look at the clock hanging on the wall. It's almost eight-thirty, the latest I've ever stayed at the office before.
Harry stands up out of his chair and stretches, his shirt riding up a bit. I force myself to look away.
"Well, I guess I better let you get home," he says. I nod in agreement and begin gathering up my things.
"Thank you for dinner," I tell him. "It was delicious."
"No, thank you," he corrects me. "Now I don't have to spend the weekend stressing out about the meeting."
I wave goodbye and am halfway to the door when Harry calls out after me.
"Hey, Leah! Hold on!"
He grabs my hand from behind and my skin immediately buzzes at the contact. Maybe Harry feels it too, because he looks down at our hands in shock and quickly drops his arm.
"Uh...where's your car?" he asks.
"In lot B, why?"
"Wait for me. I don't want you walking that far alone in the dark."
As Harry runs into his office to grab his stuff, I wait for him in the hallway. My stomach is a mixture of excitement and nervousness. But the smile falls off my face as my eyes fall on the plaque above his door.
Harry Styles.
His name is like a slap of reality right in the face. This is my boss I'm talking about here. When I accepted this job, this is the very thing I told myself I wasn't going to do.
By this point I know that my heart wants Harry.
But my brain knows that we can never be together.
I'm conflicted. Half of me wants to run away to my car, drive home, and forget tonight ever happened. But the other half begs me to stay, to wait for Harry, to have him walk me to my car and then drive home and lay in bed thinking about him and the conversations we have and the way his eyes twinkle when I make fun of him.
I stay.
When Harry walks out of his office he shoots me a smile. I love his smile, the way it's slightly crooked and his top lip reveals just a glimpse of his pearly white teeth.
"Let's go," he says. His voice is slightly husky and I shiver.
As we ride down in the elevator, I say, "I know you're just doing this because you're afraid the boogeyman might catch me and there won't be any chocolate clusters next week."
He chuckles, shaking his head, and some curls fall across his face. I have a sudden urge to brush them back into place but clench my hands by my side instead.
"You caught me."
"I knew you only liked me for my food," I huff, pretending to be upset.
The elevator dings open, and Harry holds the doors for me as I step out. As we walk towards the parking garage, he says, "You know, I think you've certainly developed some sass since you started working here."
I snort and shove his shoulder lightly. "Harry, please. I've been sassy since birth."
"Somehow I don't doubt that," he mutters, and I shove him again as he laughs.
We step into the parking garage and a gust of wind blows over me, causing me to shiver. Harry notices the movement and frowns.
"Are you cold?"
"A little bit," I admit.
Without even asking, he shrugs off his jacket and places it on my shoulders.
"Harry, you don't have to-" I start to protest.
"Just wear the damn jacket, Leah," Harry says forcefully so I fall silent and wrap the coat tighter around my torso as I follow him into the lot.
I begin walking towards my car with Harry beside me, glancing over at me every so often. Suddenly, a large boom of thunder brings an involuntary squeak to my lips. Harry looks over at me in amusement.
"What was that?"
"The thunder scared me," I scowl at him, embarrassed. He chuckles to himself and I huff.
By the time we reach my car, it's pouring outside. It doesn't help matters that I parked near the edge of the lot and the garage doesn't have any walls. With every big gust of wind, a huge spray of water blows into the garage and right onto my car.
I'm shivering again, even wrapped in Harry's enormous jacket. I search my purse for my keys and when I pull them out my hand is trembling from the cold. Harry snatches the keys from me and pushes the unlock button.
"There you go." Harry smiles his perfectly crooked smile and my stomach flips. As I toss my purse and tote bag into the passenger seat, my heart beats so fast and loud it sounds like a giant drum. Or is that the thunder?
When I turn back around, Harry is still there. I open my mouth to say goodbye, but the words get stuck in my throat. Harry is staring at me with that curious look, his eyes so dark they look jade. His gaze moves slowly across my face, as if he is drinking in my image, and then his eyes drop very purposely to my mouth.
I let out a nervous breath as dozens of thoughts flash through my mind at the speed of light. When did the distance evaporate between us? His face is so close I can see how long his eyelashes are. I can see the faint freckles on his nose and the gold flecks in his eyes that I never noticed before now. I can see his lips, plump and the perfect shade of pink, looking slightly chapped and very inviting.
Suddenly, it's like somebody else is in control of my actions because one of my traitorous hands is pulling his face down to mine. I close the gap between us slowly, inch by inch, until my lips are pressed firmly against his.
Harry doesn't move at first and warning bells sound shrilly inside my head. I wait for him to push me away, give me a disgusted look, and say, "You're fired."
But he doesn't.
Instead, he wraps his arms around me and slants his mouth over mine. With an astounding force, he pushes me up against the car and I'm surprised the alarm doesn't go off. But then I'm distracted again because Harry is pressing his body on mine in the most amazing way.
Sparks run up and down my body like a shockwave. I feel like I'm on fire as Harry's mouth moves steadily over mine, nipping my bottom lip, teeth grazing the sensitive skin. I gasp into his mouth and he puts his hands at the backs of my thighs, pulling them up and wrapping my legs around him. I shove my fingers into his hair and it feels as good as I remember it.
In small corner in the back of my mind, a very faint voice is screaming at me to stop, that Harry is my boss and I told myself that I wasn't going to go here. But with every kiss the voice grows smaller, and then when Harry slips his tongue into my mouth it disappears completely.
Somehow he manages to open the door and press me into the seat without breaking our kiss. I'm addicted to his lips, which are as plump as they look and taste slightly of coffee and the beef stroganoff he ate for dinner.
He finally pulls back and immediately buries his head in the crook of my shoulder, kissing my neck. My fingers are still threaded in his hair. I never want to let go.
I'm panting so hard it's a little embarrassing but damn, Harry can work some magic with that mouth of his. I have no idea what he's doing to my neck but it feels so good.
"Harry..." I breathe. His breath is hot against my neck.
"H-Harry, we shouldn't be doing this," I manage to pant out.
He pulls back from my neck and gives me that lopsided smile I love so much.
"I know, but right now I really don't care," he whispers in my ear before tracing the curve with his tongue. I jump and he chuckles huskily into my neck.
At the moment, a huge gust of wind blows through the parking garage, bringing with it an army of angry raindrops. Suddenly we are both soaked to the bone, but that doesn't stop Harry from cupping my face and kissing me again.
Though we start out slow, the kiss soon turns frantic again. Every touch, every taste, only leaves me wanting more. I slide my hands down his back, feeling the muscles underneath. As my cool hands slip under his white button down, feeling his warm skin, he shudders under my touch. I smile into his lips, loving the reaction.
My hands slowly begin creeping lower until I reach for his zipper, but at that moment a pair of headlights shines on us like a spotlight. Harry jerks up so fast he hits his head on the top of the car and curses loudly. I'm too busy trying to adjust my dress and hair to laugh at him.
"Oh, it's you, Mr. Styles," the guard calls from the security van's open window.
Harry gets out of the car and raises a hand in greeting. I stay in my seat, not wanting a confrontation.
"Sorry to disturb you. I noticed some activity on the surveillance camera, but the rain distorted the picture. I thought maybe some teenagers had broken in," the man explains.
"Well, thanks for notifying me....Hank," Harry replies, and my heart freezes in my chest.
Of course Hank was the one who had to see all that...just my luck. At least I'm hidden in the car so he doesn't know it was me on the tape.
"Now, if you could erase that tape please," Harry instructs him. "And let's keep this between me and you, alright?"
"Sure thing, boss, have a good night," he tells him. "And you too, Miss Evans," he adds loudly before driving off.
My mouth drops open in shock and disgust. Ok, that guy is definitely stalking me...and now he knows for a fact that I'm getting it with at least one of the Styles men.
But then I hear Harry's footsteps approaching the car, and I know that right now I have bigger things to worry about.
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A/N: this chapter is so long what. sorry for any mistakes, I didn't proofread.
dedication: ugh_fiine :-)))))
team harry people: you're welcome