The Encounter |H.S|

79

"Come over tonight."

I stare at Harry with a dumbfounded look in my eyes as the words leave his lips smoothly, his eyes focused on me as I sit down on his desk.

Anne talked to us for a little while before leaving, explaining that she wanted to visit Gemma as well, so we had to say our goodbyes and Harry had to promise to talk to her more often.

Harry and I arrived at the office not long ago and after having to calm down Zayn because he got mad at a photographer, Harry requested my presence in his office.

"What?" I ask out of confusion, watching as he gets up from his seat to step closer to me with an odd smile on his lips. I find his invitation weird since we never really intend to go to his house, but also because I'd need help bringing all of Hazel's essentials.

"Yeah, there's something I need to talk to you about." He scratches the back of his neck nervously with raised eyebrows and a forced smile. It makes me feel nervous but I attempt to hide it for his sake. And maybe my own.

"Should I bring Hazel or is it not a good moment for that?" I ask, feeling worried all of a sudden, too many questions going around my head before he wraps his arms around me in a fast motion as if sensing my distress.

"You can bring her if you'd like, I promise that what I plan to tell you is not a bad thing," He looks down at me with a faint smile over his lips, his nervousness fading away to take my own away with it, "I'll help you with her things if you'd like."

"I'd be very thankful if you did so." I smile faintly at him before grabbing one of his hands to intertwine our fingers, feeling my skin tingling when he wraps his free arm around my waist.

The door bursts open and we pull away from each other, I laugh to myself when I realise I immediately know it's Zayn. I get up from Harry's desk to look at Zayn as he walks towards us with crossed arms. "The new photographer is a fucking asshole."

"I'm pretty sure he's better than Carter," I affirm with raised eyebrows, nearly shivering at the name that comes out of my lips and looking over at Harry when he settles his hand on my lower back.

"I'm not sure, while you were there he wouldn't stop looking at you," Zayn informs us with pursed lips and a pensive look on his face, "it was kind of creepy."

"What?" Harry asks with furrowed eyebrows, a glacial look in his eyes before he holds my waist a little tighter, not to hurt me but enough to let me know that he isn't pleased with this information.

I look down shamefully. I'm so sick of having this type of men walking around the building, it makes me exhausted how they simply act however they want without even thinking about how others might feel. It's egoistic and so predictable.

At times I'd like to say that it's no big deal because I'm used to it, but I shouldn't be used to this kind of behaviour, it isn't acceptable at all and I wish they would get what they deserve for making women uncomfortable all the fucking time.

There is a heavy silence for some moments before Zayn talks. "You should just fire him, he made Eve uncomfortable, who knows if he won't do it to other people?"

"I'll see what I can do, I have to find a new photographer but I'll try to get things ready by the end of the week," Harry explains, squeezing my hip for a brief instant as I keep my eyes on the floor.

Zayn mutters something to Harry before leaving, closing the door after he does so and I take a deep breath before looking up at Harry.

He sends me an awkward smile, grabbing my hand and patting the surface of his desk while pushing some papers away so that I can sit. I do what he wants me to and he steps between my legs to cup my face in his hands so that I look at him.

"What is it?" I ask quietly, smiling lightly when he furrows his eyebrows while staring attentively at me as if examining every inch of my face.

"You seem upset." He murmurs almost as if it were a secret between just the two of us and I move my face away from his touch to hold onto both of his hands with my own.

"I am a little bit..." I look at him as he keeps his stare on me before I lean forward to rest my head on his shoulder, feeling him let go of my hands to wrap his arms around me.

"Is it because of this photographer situation?" He asks the question that has an obvious answer and I nod against his shoulder, trying not to smile when he runs a finger up and down my back while kissing my head.

"This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?" I mutter quietly, I don't mean to overreact but who knows what this photographer might do not only to me but mainly to other people who may also get uncomfortable with this kind of behaviour.

"It won't get worse, I'll fire a million photographers if it's needed." He cups my jaw so I move my head to stare directly at him as he sends me a gentle smile.

His eyes glint as the daily light from outside hit his face in the softest way possible, his cheeks are rosy since the weather has started to warm up and I'm pretty sure the suit he's wearing doesn't help the situation.

His grin makes his dimple visible on his cheek and I get a sudden urge to touch it, I control myself though and instead set a hand on his shoulder, tracing the faint lines on the jacket of his suit.

"Thank you, mon chéri," I smile faintly while kissing his cheek and setting my hand on the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him closer to me as he chuckles, "I don't think that'll be necessary."

"You never know... I should just become a photographer myself," He furrows his eyebrows suddenly, clearly thinking about something before I narrow my eyes at him, "although..."

"Although?"

"If that was the case, I'd fire Zayn too," He smirks before pressing his lips against mine in a gentle manner, causing my heart to race against my chest heavily, "the only person I want to photograph is you."

Lowkey thinking about skipping a few years so I can add more stuff, but I hope you're enjoying it!♡