Avoiding Harrison wasn't a difficult thing to do, he spent all day in his office until really late at night, the help would constantly go in with trays with food and drinks then come back out with an empty tray that had been brought in full earlier. He seemed to never leave that room, the house was ridiculously huge for him to just spend his life in that one room and obviously his bedroom. The first full day Tom and y/n were there was a Sunday, and in the Holland's side Sundays were a no-work day so early in the morning they both met for breakfast out in the sunshine by the pool and stayed out in the back garden the whole morning. Tessa running free and Tom play-chasing after her, y/n's laugh echoing through the open space.
After a while the sun was becoming a bit too much, the lack of clouds in the sky caused the rays to be harsh as midday stroke. The three of them marched back inside to ask for food and drinks, the cold temperature of the house made their warm skin cool off quickly. At that same time, Harrison was walking out of his office, even on a Sunday his clothes remained immaculate, well dressed. For him, there wasn't really an off day unless he was planning on visiting his mother or the other way around. "Mate, what're you doing?" Tom asked Harrison as he met them in the middle, by the living room.
"Working?" The blonde looked at his friend up and down at what he was wearing, an eyebrow lifting when he took in Tom's outfit, a plain white t-shirt, joggers and bare feet. Then his eyes switched to y/n, wearing pretty much the same thing, just hers a little more fitted to her body.
"On a Sunday?" The brunette questioned surprised.
"Yes. If I don't, this mess won't get solved." He said running his fingers through his curls.
"C'mon man, have a beer with us outside."
"It's midday, Tom."
"So? We can have 'brunch', midday drinking is acceptable when you say it's 'brunch'." He did air quotes each time he said the word brunch "Init, y/n?" He turned to his friend for support.
"It is, yeah." The girl confirmed, nodding her head and reaching down to scratch Tessa's head.
Harrison just looked between them and thought about it for what seemed like hours before he sighed heavily, thinking about how much his body ached from stress and ultimately nodded "Alright." He pushed his rolled sleeves up, the papers on his hand grabbing his attention back, "Need to get this done first." He raised them and was about to walk away when Tom stopped him.
"No, c'mon. No more work." Tom took the papers and stuffed them in a drawer of a big chest of drawers beside him.
"That's important, Tom."
"It'll be important tomorrow too." The slightly shorter man said, clapping Harrison on the back and pushing him outside with him, y/n and Tess trailing behind them. "How's your mum? Haven't seen her in a long time." Tom started a casual conversation once they sat around the medium-sized garden table.
"She's alright." He shifted on the chair, he was still tense, relaxing wasn't something he did lately, it was almost as if his body didn't want to loosen up.
"Mate, relax." Tom encouraged, his hand falling on the blonde's contractured shoulder giving it a squeeze. Harrison nodded and reached inside his pocket for his cigarette case and lighter, quickly putting one between his lips. Looking at y/n through his cupped hand around the flame, as he lit it up her face slightly scrunched up for a second then she got up waving Tessa's ball to get her excited. "Not your fault, bro. She hates cigarette smoke."
"I've noticed." His gaze followed her figure as she walked further away from them and threw the ball, Tess raced to catch it and brought it back to y/n. "What happened yesterday..." Harrison started, not tearing his eyes from the girl, "She wasn't supposed to see that." He moved his eyes back to Tom then, taking a drag of his cig.
"Hey, it's cool. She's alright, no harm done." His friend reassured him.
"That's the thing. She shouldn't be alright."
"You'll be surprised..." Tom stopped himself mid-sentence, pressing his lips together as he cursed himself mentally.
"Surprised 'bout what?" Harrison furrowed his brows, leaning forward to prop his elbows on the table, looking to the side to face Tom who was avoiding his gaze. He turned to y/n now sitting on the grass with Tessa.
"She's... Tough. An absolute trooper." Tom diverted, just in time service started coming their way, cool drinks and warm meals were put in front of them. "Oi!" He shouted, motioning to y/n to the food on the table.
"In a minute." She glanced at Harrison, the lit cigarette still on his fingers. He took one last drag before putting it out on the ashtray, he nodded at her and turned his attention to the table. "C'mon, Tess." She bit the inside of her cheek watching his figure more relaxed now, she got up and joined the men.
Fifteen minutes into their meal Harrison's phone started to go off, he put his cutlery down and fished the device in his trousers' pocket. The moment he scanned the screen he immediately got up and walked away from the table to answer, his back facing y/n and Tom. "I must say, y/n. You and Harrison having a meal without going at each other's throats is a good sign." Tom taunted, causing the girl to tear her eyes from the blonde.
"Piss off." She threw a piece of garlic bread at him, the brunette blocked it and it flew in the direction where Harrison was standing not really reaching him at all, Tessa quick on her paw to get it.
"You've got to admit it, mate. He's not as bad as you thought he was." Tom's voice was low, his eyebrows raised, expectant for confirmation. But she rolled her eyes and remained quiet, she was trying really hard to not look at the man on the phone, but she heard a faint chuckle coming from his direction and couldn't resist to look. Tess was standing in her two back legs, with her front paws on the man's stomach, Harrison's hand ran over her fur and his fingers scratched the back of the puppy's ear, her tail wagging and her mouth open.
"Never would've thought he was a dog person. Or a people person in fact." The girl raised one eyebrow at the scene. Tom twisted his body a bit to see, chuckling and shook his head.
"Oh, he's the biggest dog person I know."
"Is he now?" Y/n said amused, but it came out sounding sarcastic.
"Yeah. In fact, I got Tess because I was so jealous of his dog. Like, he'd had him since Haz was thirteen or something, and I kept begging my mum for one but I was in training, sort of. So when we moved to my house Haz helped me get her." Tom explained, shoving more food in his mouth.
"And where's his dog?" She figured he'll have the puppy with him if he was such a dog person.
"With his mum and sister." Tom mumbled through a mouthful.
"Ugh, you're grim." She threw her napkin at him, hitting him right in the face this time.
He finished chewing his food, throwing the napkin back at her, "You bitch!" He chuckled, causing her to let out a giggle when she caught the piece of cloth in mid-air. Harrison was back at the table and he seemed ten times better than when he first settled down with them. His face less hard and his shoulders more slumped down, more relaxed.
By the middle of the week, the stress came back to Harrison, in lighter loads still there was this uncomfortable tug in the middle of his shoulder blades. That day off had carried him through Monday and most of Tuesday, but it helped that everyone was doing their job and y/n was also doing her bit, he could see the difference between the effort she put in when it came to Tom yet she was vague when it came to him, he didn't blame her, though.
It had become a ritual to roam around the ridiculously large house late at night to clear her mind. She knew Harrison wouldn't mind her snooping around his house, she believed it was impossible he used or even peep inside most of the rooms so she kept opening doors until she stumbled upon the library. It was breathtaking, tall bookshelves covered one of the walls entirely, a ladder rested against the middle shelf. As she quietly walked in she was mesmerised by the big bookcases filled to the brim with all sorts of titles, a grand piano on the right-wing of the room was illuminated by the faint moonlight that filtered through the thin white layer of fabric covering the immense floor to ceiling window. Once the piano came into view she immediately started walking towards it, a magnetic force pulling her to the beautiful clavichord that made her think of the past. She smiled but her eyes turned sad and glossy at the thought of her life before the Hollands, subconsciously she sat down on the deep red velvet bench, letting her fingers dance over the keys without putting any pressure on them. It was late and she didn't want to disturb anybody, so she just sat there lightly touching the keys and relishing on the memories.
Harrison was walking through the halls of his house to stretch his legs, it's been a long and stressful day, he felt his shoulders tense and his neck was a bit contractured from staring down at his computer for so long. Strolling past closed doors he slowed down when he saw the door to the library cracked open, no one ever went in there, mainly because it was just him and his employees and they were always busy. He peeked inside the room, careful not to startle whoever that was mingling around just like he was.
The calmness that filled the room immediately eased the tension on his shoulders, the sight of y/n sitting on the piano bench, her back straight and her fingers gracing the keys but not pressing them made his tension drop drastically and a small smile adorned his face unintentionally. Faint moonlight sneaking through the gauze over the windows, the delicate light danced on the right side of her face, he could only imagine how stunning she might look up close. From the spot where he stood, he was only able to look at the shadowed side of her and saw her bring a hand up to brush her cheek with her fingers as if a tear had escaped her eye. He wondered what could possibly be on her mind if she always seemed to be up on her game and so professional when it came to dealing with Tom's stuff, and then she seemed almost fragile.
The gentle few notes y/n allowed herself to play softly echoed in the grand room, she closed her eyes at the sound, sighing she placed her hands on her lap and just stared at the black and white keys. After a couple of seconds of staring she slowly put the lid down over the keyboard and shuffled to stand shaking Harrison out of his daydreaming, he quietly backed out of the room before being noticed by the girl and quickly made his way to his room, not bothering in going back to his office to keep working as a sudden need for sleep washed over him. That night he slept deeply like he'd never slept before.
The next day, she had been coming in and out of the blonde's office, forwarding files to him about one of his guards that seemed a bit suspicious to her. Deep searches on every single person that worked in his house were being made, there was no chance that what happened with Alex would happen again. "Here's Mike's info." She said handing the folder to the blonde man, who took it but never glanced up at her. The girl inhaled frustrated "Is that it?" She questioned, her arms crossed over her middle. Harrison looked up at her pretty face then, she seemed annoyed to be in his presence so he just nodded and looked back down to the papers he was reading.
Y/n opened the door to Harrison's office and stepped out into the hallway where there was one of the mobster's guards passing by, not allowing her to close the door completely because the man bumped into her before she could do it. He quickly grabbed hold of her waist to stabilize her. "Woah, careful there, pretty girl." The man said.
"Yeah." She scrunched up her face pushing him off of her.
"Why so rough, darlin'? Haven't been touched in a while or what?" He laughed, caressing her cheek. Her expression hardened and in a swift move, she snuck her hand inside his jacket to reach the holster strapped to his side and grabbed the gun, clicking off the safety and pressing the barrel under his chin forcing the man to look up while she backed him harshly against the wall with her forearm across his chest.
"If you dare to even look my way ever again, consider yourself dead." She growled, anger and adrenaline coursing through her body. The man had both his hands thrown in the air in surrender as his face paled and he just nodded. Harrison's office door had been left wide opened and he had the perfect view of the incident, bushy eyebrows raised at her reaction, now he did believe Tom that she could break a man's neck with no trouble. The way the man towered over her delicate frame was ridiculous and yet she had him pinned against the wall with a gun under his chin.
He saw her let go of the man but kept the gun, y/n turned around and walked back into the blonde man's office, placing the gun on his desk. Harrison had his gaze fixed on her, the devilish smirk plastered on his beautiful face made her feel a fire inside, not the ferocious kind that consumes you but the kind that keeps you warm in the right places. When he darted his tongue out to wet his lips and caught his lower lip between his teeth she could feel the heat rise up her neck tinging her cheeks a lovely shade of pink. "You good, angel?" He asked, his voice low and slightly raspy, sending a wave of shivers down her spine.
"Perfect." Y/n struggled out, she smoothed her pencil skirt and turned to leave, she could feel the gorgeous man's eyes boring into her back as she disappeared from his sight down the hallway. Harrison glared at the man who only then noticed his boss' attention on him, the blonde raised a daring eyebrow at him and pointed at the seat in front of him, the older man swallowed and hesitantly walked into the burgundy room, closing the door behind him.
She could still feel the man's hands on her and all she wanted to do was scream, she shook her head to defuse the thoughts and her mind drifted to the way Harrison was looking at her and the fact that he had called her 'angel' with such ease of his tongue. The way it made her feel was the complete opposite of what the guard had made her feel. It wasn't the first time he's used a pet name on her, he'd been calling her 'princess' for a while but not in the same tone he used with the new one. "You alright, pretty girl?" A raspy voice came from her side as she was about to climb the stairs, her stomach churned in disgust at the name she just got called, her head slowly turning a glare already on her face.
"Yes." She responded dryly, her eyes looking briefly at James then moving back to Harrison's office door now closed and the man gone.
"You know the boss is gonna have his head, right?" The green-eyed man pointed out. Of course she knew, and if not that, the bastard will be on thin ice from now on. The girl nodded and let out a slightly frustrated sigh. Just when James was about to open his mouth again Tom walked down the stairs, not giving the taller man much of his attention.
"Hey, sugar tits. Wanna go out?" He grinned at her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't fucking call me that, you twat." She swatted his hand away, "Where to?" Her hand resting on her waist, James silently began to back away from them.
"Dinner?" He suggested, he had no idea where to go but wanted to get out of the house.
"'kay, let me go change."
"I'm gonna invite the Osterfield." When he said that she slowed down and grabbed the bannister to turn, narrowing her eyes at her friend who just wiggled his eyebrows at her with a shit-eating grin plastered on his adorable face. "Go change. Wear something flashy." He teased and she flipped him off before resuming her way up. Tom's necessity to make her spend time in the same room with Harrison was becoming tiresome, it was clear that she didn't like him. Why was that so hard to understand? Her mind went back to the look on the blonde's face minutes earlier, pulling her black skinny jeans up, tossing her hair to one side she did them up and grabbed a pair of shoes along with a leather jacket.
She was about done touching up her makeup when there was a knock on her bedroom door, "You coming or what?" Tom's voice was muffled by the piece of wood, she rolled her eyes and threw the jacket on, taking one last look in the mirror before opening the door. "I said to wear something flashy." He groaned and she pushed him out of the way instead of answering.
Downstairs Harrison was sitting in the living room waiting for them, his attention fixed on his phone. The clicking of y/n's heels coming down the stairs along with some bickering from Tom redirected the man's focus. "Keep annoying me and I'm not going." The girl threatened in a serious tone.
"You're already done up, y/n." Tom noted.
"I can go back up and undo it." The girl immediately retorted.
"Harrison, let's go before this bitch backs out."
"Quit calling her that and she might not." Harrison sighed, getting up and stuffing his phone in his pocket, adjusting his red checkered jacket that matched trousers. His hair was slightly messy, probably from running his fingers through it one too many times. No doubt red was his colour. The same delicate heat that had graced her cheeks earlier when he called her angel was mixing with the rosy tone of the blusher she had applied not long ago. She wrapped her jacket tighter around herself and looked from Harrison to Tom, the smirk that tugged at the brunette's lips was enough for her to lose the blush, she rolled her eyes and started for the door, her steps quickly being followed by the two men.
Annabel's Mayfair was the place of choice for the night's dinner, live jazz music playing, dimmed lights and very few people occupied the establishment. Harrison guided the way, the usher not even daring to look at him in the eye when he saw him walk through like he owned the place. The temperature inside was significantly warmer than outside and the layer she wore was becoming uncomfortable but a part of her didn't want to take it off and let him see what she was wearing under the jacket.
"Just take it off, mate." Tom leaned close to her ear, he had noticed her shifting in her seat and fan herself with the menu. Truth was, y/n was desperate to shed the garment, the heat becoming unbearable so she did just that, putting the menu down and shrugging the jacket off. One of the thin straps of the lacy, red bodysuit she was hiding underneath the leather piece draped off her shoulder and she quickly adjusted it, feeling self-conscious of how much of her was exposed to the man in front of her.
Harrison's eyes moved to y/n the moment she started to wriggle out of her jacket, the vibrant red colour of her top was mesmerising, almost as much as the glow of her skin even under the dimmed lights of the place. His jaw clenched when one of the delicate straps of the garment fell down her arm, her hand coming up to put it back in its place. No doubt red was her colour.