"Thank you all for coming. We'll give Harry five more minutes before we start," Nathan thanks us, then nods toward the empty seat reserved for him.
The last twenty four hours I have been mentally preparing myself to see Harry. I've moved on, but I know it's going to be painfully awkward to see him after how we left things and all this time that has gone by.
I adjust my black fabric mask over my face after pulling it down to take a sip of black tea. Hopefully he doesn't show... He's gotten so big with his solo career it wouldn't surprise me if he blew this off...
"Sorry 'm late. Traffic," A deep, raspy voice I know all too well interrupts my thoughts. I keep my gaze forward, not acknowledging his entry.
"No worries, Harry. Have a seat," Nathan smiles, gesturing to the empty chair six feet to Liam's left.
I make the mistake at glancing his direction and my breath hitches in my throat. I fake a cough in an effort to disguise my shock, but I did a shit job of it.
He looks stunning.
The last time I saw him, his hair was past his shoulders, long and curly. Now its short, swept over on one side, and slicked back neatly. He's wearing sweats, probably totaling over a thousand pounds. A white mask covers his face, but from what I can see his features are even more chiseled and defined than before, as if that was even possible. His shoulders are broader, and he looks bigger, more muscular.
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"So. As I explained to each of you on the phone, I have bought out Modest!. That means that they are no longer a practicing company," Nathan begins.
"What does that have to do with us?" Niall asks, adjusting his mask.
"Well, now that they are not an active agency, your contract with them is rendered obsolete. You are free from their terms," Nathan smiles. I assume he knows what wankers they were at Modest!.
"So why are we here?" Liam asked, nodding along.
"I called you four in to see if there was any interest in touring for your last album. No pressure, no stress. I noticed that under Modest!. you guys never toured this album, and it is a really great set. You guys would be our first clients, but we want you to remember that we would work for you and we want to make you happy. If you agree to tour this album with us, we would love to sign you on for your solo careers as well. Again, no pressure. We just wanted to extend our hand out to you guys," Nathan speaks, making eye contact with each of us individually.
"We had some uh, a lot of issues with our previous management," Liam speaks up, reading all of our minds.
"I am aware. Chris is actually my brother-in-law. Excuse my language, but Chris is what I would call a complete prick," Nathan speaks, earning small laughs from me, Niall and Liam.
"I spoke with his other clients, and read through his case files. I am aware of the abusive of power that went on. The way he treated people so terribly is part of the reason why I was so motivated to get my shit together so young and buy out his company," Nathan continues.
"How old are you?" I ask, speaking for the first time. I feel Harry's eyes burn a hole in the side of my head.
"Twenty-three. I'll be twenty-four in a month," Nathan laughs.
"Wow, young," Niall shakes his head, smiling under his mask.
"Anyway, I know this is a lot to process and you guys haven't even spoken in years, so take as much time as you need to make a decision. Here is my card, call me if you need anything at all. No matter what you decide, I would like to meet with you guys again. I hate to drop the bomb and leave so quick but I gotta run for another appointment. Please do not hesitate to call with any questions or concerns, I will pretty much always answer my phone. Thanks guys, have a great day," Nathan wraps up, hands us each his card and waves as he exits the room.
Harry's POV
"So what do you guys think?" Liam turns in his chair to face all of us.
"Yeah! I mean obviously we should," Niall's eyes light up at the idea.
"I agree. I think it could be really great for everyone," Liam continues. I can't shake my annoyance toward him but whatever.
I glance at Louis who looks my direction as well. Our eyes meet but I quickly break our gaze, staring back down at my hands.
"Yeah. I think we should probably catch up before we start singing and shit, but I don't see why we shouldn't," Louis says, shrugging his shoulders.
"Harry?" Liam presses, furthering my irritation.
"Yeah, sure," I sigh, getting up and walking out of the room.
I make it a block down the street before I hear my name being called from behind me.
"Harry! Wait up, mate!" I turn around to see Niall jogging toward me.
"Hey," I answer, he stops about eight feet in front of me.
"I missed you, mate. You look good," He says, motioning toward me.
"Thanks, man. You look good too," I smile under my mask for the first time since the meeting.
"You wanna grab a beer?" He offers, pointing at a bar across the street.
"I'd love that," I respond, following him down the road.
