As Harry sticks his hand in his front pocket, he fishes around for the keys to the store. It's the next morning and he's opening with the owner, Chester. Once he feels the lanyard the keys are attached to, he pulls them out and unlocks the entrance. He's the first to arrive, so he flicks on the light and locks the door behind him. Harry is clocking in when he hears Chester enter a few minutes later.
"Good morning, Harry," He breathes out.
Harry turns to smile at him, "Morning, Chester. How are you doing?"
"I'm surviving," He huffs.
"I have good news! I found someone to hire," Harry announces as he logs into the till to open it for the day.
Once Harry was certain about hiring Niall, he couldn't wait to share it with Chester. He believes the lad will make a great addition to the store and he hopes the owner will also agree. Harry has never been more certain about anything in his life and he knew as soon as Niall started playing the guitar that he would be a perfect fit. Not only would he be helping the store, he's also helping Niall expand his passion and hopefully assist him with his financial struggles at the same time.
"Tell me about them," Chester says.
"His name is Niall and I met him about a month ago. He's amazing at playing the guitar and he's got a great voice as well. Oh, and he can also play any song just by hearing the chords. You have to meet him. I was thinking he would be good as a guitar instructor," Harry explains.
Chester smiles at the sound of Harry's excitement, "See if he can come in today. You can go through the paperwork with him and have him sign everything. I'd like to hear the bloke play as well, but as reliable as you are, I'm sure he's just as talented as you make him out to be."
"That sounds great sir, I'll text him right away," Harry replies.
"Oh, remind me tomorrow to go over a few things with you. I have to prepare you soon on what it takes to be the owner. You know how to run the store, but there's still a few legal implications you need to learn about before I leave," He mentions.
Harry nods in understanding, but feels a mix of emotions run through him. It'll feel weird to him when he's officially been made the owner and he won't see Chester as much anymore. He's basically been his mentor for the last five years since he started working and he's taught him most of what he knows. Chester helped Harry learn the piano and gave him so many life tips. Although it will mean his career will advance, it's only possible since Chester is retiring. He's definitely going to miss the old man.
Harry notifies Chester that he's going into the office to make signs for the guitar lessons. He simply nods as he flips the closed sign to open and hangs back behind the counter, waiting for customers to arrive. After Harry sits down on the office chair, he pulls out his phone to text Niall. He doesn't have to worry about being scolded since he knows Chester won't go into the back while he's the only one in the front, and plus he was told to ask him to come in anyway.
After he texted Niall asking him to come in, he places his phone on the desk beside him and logs into the computer. Before he opens their graphic design software, he decides to print out the new hire forms first for when Niall comes in. Harry feels proud of himself with how far he's come. This is the first time he's handling the process of hiring and knows he's well prepared for it. Harry spins around in his chair as he retrieves the paperwork from the printer behind him.
He hears his phone vibrate on the desk and sees Niall is calling him. Harry smiles as he answers.
"Hey, Niall," He says.
"Hi! I don't go into work until two, I can stop by before I go in. Does that work okay?" Niall asks.
"Yea, that works great. Bring your guitar with you, Chester wants to hear you play," Harry responds.
"No pressure," Niall laughs nervously. "I'll stop by at noon."
Harry shakes his head, but reassures Niall, "Oh hush, you'll do great. You've got the position no matter what, no worries."
"Thanks, Harry. I'll see you shortly," Niall says before ending the call.
Harry might have lied a little bit. If Chester felt he wasn't right for the position, which he seriously doubts, Harry would have no choice to go along with his superior's opinion. However, he's positive that Niall will wow him and he just had to reassure the lad. Harry thinks someone would have to be oblivious if they didn't see Niall's talent clear as day.
After their call, Harry proceeds to get to work on making the posters for the guitar lessons. The last instructor they had, left a couple weeks ago when she informed the store she was moving. Ever since then, they've been in need of a replacement. Guitar lessons always brought in more business for the store and Chester was adamant on finding a new one soon. Most of the shop's profit came from guitar and piano products, followed by vinyls and listening devices. Half an hour passed by before Harry finished and printed out the poster to hang on the front window.
He returns from the back office and sees Chester talking to a group of customers that had come in. Harry recognizes them and says hello before he goes to the window and adheres the poster to it. Walking to the bins of records, Harry begins to organize them to pass the time. There was still an hour before Liam would come in and two until Niall did.
Soon enough, Liam enters through the door adorned with his work lanyard around his neck. He greets Harry and Chester before heading into the office to clock in for the day. After he does so, he heads over to Harry.
"We have a new guitar instructor?" He questions.
Harry nods, "Guess who."
It takes Liam a second, but eventually his eyes widen and he shakes his head smugly, "Niall? No way."
"He played for me the other day and let me just say, his talent is incomparable. He's coming in in an hour," Harry replies.
"Chester know you guys are dating?" Liam asks quizzically.
"We aren't dating... yet," Harry blushes.
Liam chuckles, "I'm assuming your second date went well then?"
"Definitely," Harry answers. "We might have even kissed."
Liam gasps dramatically and lightly shoves Harry's shoulder. Chester was out of hearing range so their conversation remained in private. It's not that Harry wouldn't ever tell Chester about them. He just doesn't want the status of their relationship to affect Niall getting the job. If anyone would understand, he knew Chester would. He met his wife at his first job way back when and the two of them were coworkers. Plus, there's no label to his and Niall's relationship anyway, so Harry doesn't want to be too quick to assume the nature of their relationship before he makes it public. Liam was the only one that knew.
Their conversation ends soon after and they both return to work related duties. There was always something that could be done, as Chester liked to say. Liam dusted and cleaned the musical instruments for sale as Harry helped the customers that came in for the next hour. Before he knows it, Niall enters the door with his guitar in hand. Harry could tell he looked a little uneasy, but he quickly approaches him and gives him an awkward side hug as he tries to avoid coming into contact with his guitar.
Chester finishes ringing up a customer and looks over to the pair, realizing that it must be the new hire. He walks over to the two of them and reaches his hand out to shake Niall's.
"I'm Chester, it's nice to meet you," He greets.
"Niall," He introduces, smiling.
"I've heard great things about you from this one," Chester says pointing to Harry. "Come, sit down. Why don't you play us something."
Liam makes eye contact with Niall from the side and waves to him subtly. As Niall sits down on the couch in the center of the store, he takes a deep breath before pulling out the pick that was slid in between the strings of the guitar. Harry stands beside Chester and watches as Niall begins strumming. He could tell the lad was nervous, but he knew he'd overcome it shortly.
Niall plays a song by The Eagles and hits every note perfectly. His voice started off a tad shaky from nerves, but he quickly grew confidence and sang just like Harry remembered. Harry looks over to Chester to see a grin on his face as he taps his foot to the music. Just like he pictured, Niall was making quite the first impression. He even glances behind him to see Liam bobbing his head along. As Niall continues to play, a couple customers enter the store and gather around Niall to listen.
After he finishes playing, Niall looks up bashfully as everyone claps for him. Harry was clapping the loudest with such a proud smile on his face.
"Niall, that was bloody amazing," Chester compliments. "I don't know how Harry found you, but I'm glad he did."
"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it," Niall says happily.
"You did great, Niall. Follow me to the office and we can go over the paperwork," Harry directs.
Harry walks to the back as Niall follows behind. Once inside the office, he leans his guitar against the wall to rest. Niall is taken aback when Harry hugs him tightly, but nonetheless leans into his touch.
"I told you they'd love you," Harry says.
Eventually, they both sit down and Harry hands him the packet of paperwork. He shows Niall where to sign as he goes over the standard procedure. Harry explains he would come in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at five-thirty for an hour long session each day. Harry makes a mental note to ask Chester to allow him to close on those days. He wants to be there to accompany Niall as he teaches and hopefully, they can spend time together after he closes the store at seven.
Niall feels like he's signing his life away with the amount of signatures he's written, but he couldn't be happier. In no time, they finish up and they exit the back office. Harry announces to Chester that he's going to walk Niall out before they exit the vicinity. Once outside, they stand in front of Niall's car.
"Thank you again for the opportunity, Harry," Niall expresses, putting his guitar in his car.
Harry smiles, "Of course. Have a good day at work, Niall."
Before Niall gets in his car, Harry pulls him in by the waist and presses a soft kiss to Niall's lips. When they pull away, Niall smiles contently.
"I'll text you," Niall replies.
And just like that, Harry is left in a blissful daze as he watches Niall drive off.