Harry Styles
A reply to my email never came. Usually, I wasn't so bothered when I didn't get an email back and it wasn't to do with business. Sometimes, that was the only way to interact with my family and so when they didn't reply, I was fine with it. They had their own lives to get to.
But with Kensington – yes, I did call her by her surname at all times – it was just annoying.
Why didn't she reply? Did she get my email? Was she going to decline? Was she going to accompany me? Was she hurt by what happened the last time we saw each other? Was she still mad?
Why didn't she fucking reply?
But then it all made sense. It really bloody did. Because the minute the revolving doors moved and revealed a body a few meters away from me, all the stupid questions seemed crack to pieces and evaporate in my mind.
In that moment, I didn't think of her as my competition. In that moment, I didn't think of her as someone who I wanted to kick out of the way in the business world. In that moment, I didn't think of all the times I told myself and everyone around me how I would never get with someone like her.
In that moment, I thought of how stunning she looked. In that moment, I thought of how glad I was to have had convinced her somehow to come along. In that moment, I thought of everything but the negatives.
She wore a champagne coloured dress. Thin straps held it on her body as the piece hung from her shoulders, the material had flown into a deep V cut cleavage. Just under her breasts, it looked like the dress was pinned from one side to the other which gave it some texture other than it being satin. Her long legs were exposed more than usual as the cross revealed perhaps a little too much.
Around her neck, she wore a golden necklace that I have never not seen on her as well as a couple of gold rings and earrings. She had her makeup done nice and her hair casually let down. It was a little chilly but nothing too bad that would have required her to have a big ass coat on. Regardless, it matched well with her outfit therefore that must have been the whole reason behind it.
Seeing her in that fit, made me feel less like I overdressed. Obviously, the restaurant we were going to go to was pretty up there in terms of poshness and it did require us to dress nicely. I had a black suit on that had dark designs embroidered in it and a same coloured shirt. My shoes matched my look in terms of colour, too.
I didn't want to turn up in one of my colourful suits in case that clashed with her outfit. What the fuck, Harry? Trust me, I know. It felt strange to care so much about it, mostly because I never did when it came to my look not matching someone else's, but there was nothing I could have done.
"You came," I smirked at her once she walked over to the car.
"It seems like I did, indeed," she nodded as her eyes looked up and down my outfit. She didn't even try to hide the fact that she checked me out but it didn't bother me. If anything, it fed my ego that she even found it in herself to form an opinion. Whether that was positive or negative, it didn't matter.
"Shall we leave, then?" I asked ironically as I stepped to the side and opened the door for her. My right hand stretched towards her, I offered to help and much to my surprise, she accepted it. Carefully, she put one leg after the other until she got safely in the car and I closed it on her.
Whew.
The journey to the restaurant was quiet. Not forced, however. That felt nice because I didn't like uncomfortable silence. It was very strange. In any other situation, I knew she would have exploded on me for whatever reason. Tonight, was truly surprising for me.
Perhaps for her, too.
"Hold on," I muttered when we got there and hurried out of the car to open the door for her. Whatever came through me, made me act like a proper gentleman who wished to tend every single one of Kensington's needs. "Alright, come," I mustered a smile as my gaze met hers. She grabbed my hand again as she got out of the car then suddenly let go and fixed her dress.
"How long is the walk?" she questioned when we stood at the bottom of the long street ahead of us. This was the closest spot to the restaurant where we could have gotten dropped off.
It was dark and the lights under the arch where we walked gave off a warm and welcoming vibe. There were quite a lot of people, all dressed up, possibly for the same reason as we were.
"Fifteen, twenty minutes," I estimated. "I'm not sure. This is my first time here."
She nodded and pulled her coat a little tighter around her body. Her arms weren't through the holes, she just had it on her shoulders. She was very classy and definitely confident. That night, she made me feel different. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was something I had yet to discover.
"What made you pick this restaurant?" she asked me a question halfway through our walk. It caused me to chuckle quite breathily for a couple of reasons. One, she initiated a conversation with me. Two, I didn't have a sufficient answer.
"Just thought it was nice, I guess," a shrug of my shoulders topped off my reply. Kensington hummed and it ended the conversation. Again, much like the time we spent in the car, the silence didn't make me want to run off and never come back.
Somehow, we ended up with her arm linked through mine as I basically dragged her along the walkway. There was a small smile she let loose that she probably didn't think was something that caught my attention – but it did. And it made me feel good about the way this night was going to go.
For once in my life, I had the chance to take out a woman for a nice dinner. A woman, who truly intimidated me and – most likely – wanted nothing to do with me yet there she was. She sat across from me inside the restaurant, the warm and cosy lights made her skin glow and so it matched the sparkle in her eyes.
It took me years to finally come to terms with the fact that her eyes weren't green – they were hazel. The colour of them always depended on the light she was under which confused me at the start but now that I had discovered that fact, it made sense and I wasn't going insane.
"Why did you invite me here tonight?" she questioned carefully. It was something that was bound to come up. She was bound to want to know. I just wasn't sure what to tell her. Should I have kept those sorry excuses going? That I only wanted to apologise?
"The conversation that went down between us the last time we saw each other was terrible on my part. It was truly ignorant of me to try and force you in the car, at all, and I am ashamed that I had no idea as to why you were so resistant, especially considering my age..."
"How old are you, again?"
"Good evening. Can I get you anything?" the waitress walked over to our table before I could have answered the question that I thought she knew the answer to. The lady caused both of our heads and attention to turn towards her.
"We have already ordered, thank you," I replied then I noticed the wine menu in her hands. "Actually, may I have a look at that?"
"Of course, Sir."
"Do you have a preference?" I asked Kensington once I lifted my gaze. Just as I felt it, her eyes were already on me, curious as to what my next move was.
"I do, actually," she nodded. "I'll have a glass of Masseto if it's on the menu."
"Well, you heard the lady," I closed the menu with a smile on my lips as my eyes glanced up at the waitress. Kensington's taste was expensive but I expected nothing less. "A bottle of Masseto, please."
"I'll be right back with it," she nodded.
"You know your wine, don't you?" I asked the woman from across from me. She smirked and gently crossed her arms on top of the table as her elbows rested on the edges.
"Please," she sighed. "I have to. No one is going to figure my taste out for me."
"Fair enough," a small chuckle pushed through my lips as I found myself completely stolen by her. It was mad that in the space of three – almost four – days my opinion on her had completely changed.
Well, not completely. That was a bit too extreme to say. However, the way I thought of her... the way she entered my mind since she fucked me off that night was definitely not the same as it used to be. With her, in front of me, in her little dress, all dolled up... it was crazy for my mind to process.
It's like someone flicked a switch in me.
"Do you know your wine?" she challenged me with her eyebrow raised.
"Please. I didn't book a wine tasting tour for tomorrow for myself to make you think otherwise," I shared that little information. Her eyes quite literally lit up at the mention of the tour and it seemed like she wanted to ask me about it, however, whatever it may have had been, kept her from doing so. "I do enjoy learning about different things. I have always had a deep interest in beverages, wines, to be specific."
"Family business?"
"Precisely," my head bobbed as extra confirmation. She put the pieces together quite fast. "Grandparents."
"Interesting," she hummed. Our drink had arrived as the same woman placed the glasses down then filled them. Kensington picked it up, swirled the beverage around and smelled it before she wrapped her lips around the mouth of the glass. "So, how come you haven't gotten into their business if you share such deep interest in this? Why start your own?"
"It wouldn't have felt right," I shrugged. "Always have worked for everything I have ever had. Taking the easy way out by overtaking the family business isn't not something that runs in my blood."
"Hmmm... have I heard of your family's business?" she wondered. Her lips welcomed the glass, then later on the taste of the drink, again. "I can't think of anything with the name, Styles."
"That's because my mother's family is the one who runs the business," I smirked as I explained why she couldn't figure it out. "Rose Vineyard, it's called. After my grandmother."
"Wait. Is that RVY?" she questioned curiously. My smile grew as she recognised the brand. "Yeah, I have heard of them. Their wines are expensive."
"Eh, I buy them at a discounted price."
"Some of us aren't that lucky," Kensington sighed as she reacted a little more dramatically than usual. She seemed to have gotten lost in her thoughts after that and therefore I kept quiet, too. It allowed me to pay attention to the way her facial expression changed, one of the biggest ones – other than her eyebrows moving and blinking – was the smile that tugged on her lips.
"What is it?" the question fell from my lips easily, like when mother nature decides it is time for some rain during the boiling hot summer and sends each and every raindrop with delicate care. There was a soft smile on my face caused by hers in the first place.
"Nothing," she shook her head lightly and with that action, her hair moved gently. It covered her chest and left her shoulders bare. In the moment, she accidentally kicked my leg under the table as she – probably – crossed her own. "Sorry."
"You're alright," I mumbled. At this point, it felt like we forced the conversation, it was heavy and definitely uncomfortable. Thankfully, however, the waitress was back with our food orders which had completely stirred away the feeling that was about to rest on us.
I lost count how many times we shared a nice silence between us, but it happened the minute we were left alone to eat. Kensington got to hers right away, the fork and knife in her hands the wrong way around. I didn't mention it, she was too busy delving into her food as if she hadn't had something to eat in hours – days, even.
Plus, if anything, it was kind of endearing to watch her hold the cutlery the wrong way.
"Wow, I have never felt fuller," she spoke up for the first time since we had gotten our food. Her voice sounded relaxed and nowhere near as demanding and serious as majority of the time her and I had spoken. It felt like she talked to me like she would to a friend rather than one CEO to another.
Don't get me wrong, I may have overanalysed that simple comment however, it was very-very different from anything that she had ever told me. I constantly paid attention to detail, every small thing that changed – whether that be in the way someone behaved or talked – caught my attention easily.
"No room for dessert then, is there?" a small chuckle ran past my lips before my fingers wrapped around the wine glass and I took a sip. I was on my second glass, nowhere near tipsy nevermind drunk whilst Kensington drank most of the bottle. She seemed absolutely fine, too, then again, I did hear that wine is something that easily gets women pissed.
"Perhaps another night," as soon as that was out in the open, both of us looked kind of shocked. It was something neither of us expected to hear or say, this was never meant to lead to something more. "You know what? I'll uh... just, excuse me whilst I go and find the toilets."
"Sure, go ahead," I nodded with a smile and watched as she grabbed her bag then stood up. She lost her balance for a short second then quickly regained it, the well-known fact about wine and women just been proved right in front of my eyes.
She may have looked like she was still sober, she was definitely gone.
My eyes followed her until she disappeared. Her steps were well calculated and confident, not even the alcohol could change that about her. If anything, she became just that much more sure of herself. The way her hips swayed from left to right then from right to left when she walked, made me look around to see if anyone had their eyes attached to her. The protectiveness that came through me slightly worried me because I didn't understand why I found her so attractive out of nowhere or why it would've bothered me if I found someone looking at her.
It was like I woke up this morning as a completely different person with completely different views and opinions. Because of that, I wanted her and that was just... wrong. She was my competition within the business world but maybe... maybe she could have been more than that outside of it.
Right?
• • •
a.n.
UGH . i loved this chapter so much hdhshshs i don't have anything else to say so see u next sunday i guess
oh
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