BILLS, BOOZE & BETRAYAL | LARRY AU

CHAPTER 04

BILLS, BOOZE & BETRAYAL | CHAPTER 04

"Fucking hell, I knew this was going to happen." I grunt from Liam's weight as we carry his intoxicated ass out of the plane and into one of the cars already waiting there for us. This is so bad, we have a meeting literally in like, an hour, and the boss is drunk out of his fucking mind.

"I mean, he did consume about half a bottle of champagne."

"Yeah, and we fucking let him."

"It's okay, Louis, you can't put this on yourself. Mr. Payne's a grown man, he's responsible for his own actions."

"Not when he has a fucking problem." I whisper and Harry looks at me, wide-eyed.

"You're telling me this is a regular thing?"

"Don't ask, ugh." I grunt once again as Liam drunkenly slurs something while Harry and I put him into the car and instruct the driver to take him straight to the hotel we're supposed to be staying at. Good thing Liam got two cars here.

I sigh as the car rolls off into the distance and I look down to fix my shirt and suit, all the while feeling Harry's eyes on me.

"What now?" He says and I shrug.

"The two of us will go to the meeting. We'll just say he felt a little ill after the flight or something."

"But the pitch meeting."

"I was with Liam when he was working on it, so I know the whole thing. Don't worry about it, I'll handle everything."

"Alright, then." He mutters but I can still sense that he has something more to add to the conversation.

"What is it? Spit it out." I say in a bored tone, already knowing from the look on his face that he wants to say something but doesn't know how to say it.

"Why haven't you or someone else talked to Liam about this? He needs help, this isn't a small thing."

I sigh again, because I know he's right, get into the car and turn to Harry as I feel the faint hum of the engine.

"You think I don't know that, Harry? I've been meaning to talk to him but it's just never a good time. Also, he's pretty much a loner - from what I've learnt in the past month - and I don't know if there is anyone but Niall and I who actually have been around long enough to notice the pattern. It's sad, really, and I want to help. I just can't figure out how."

"Well, now I know so how about we find a good time to talk to him sometime while we're here, and I'll accompany you so you don't have to face whatever consequences alone." He says with a smile and I'm momentarily taken aback by his kindness. I stare at him for an odd moment before snapping out of it and nodding in his direction.

"Cool. That's kind of you, Harry, thank you. I, umm, don't know what else to say." I drawl out awkwardly and turn to face the window and fix, or at least try to fix, my eyes - and with it, my mind - on the scenes rushing past me. But, that's before I feel a light tap on my knee and a chuckle from Harry and turn around to see him giving me a small smile and a challenging glint in his eyes.

"I'm doing it for the boss, not you." He says and the look on his face makes me nervous for some reason.

"Oh, I mean, yeah, of course. I'm just, you know, thanking you on Liam's behalf and all since, you know, we're friends and everything."

"Of course." He says and smirks at me, to which all I manage to do is clear my throat and take out my laptop, pretending to be proof reading the numbers for the meeting and thankfully, he doesn't initiate conversation.