Do I Wanna Know?

Chapter 15

Ever since the night Harry fired me, then punished me into the next century, things have been different...to say the least. The whole dynamic of our relationship had changed, but I think somehow it might have been for the better.

Harry respected me, that much he wanted to make sure I knew, but at the same time he wanted to make damn certain that I respected him on a different level. I was more careful with the words I used, and with my attitude. I spoke to him a little softer, and he ate it all up.

And now that we knew where we stood with each other, Harry was a little more willing to give me the things I wanted even when it seemed like he'd rather die. Like...having Zayn come over for a double dinner date with me and Claudia tonight.

He had a private chef on call that he used when he held business type events in his own home, but when I asked him why he doesn't use Adam all the time, he said he prefers to keep the people who come into the house to a minimum, minus Maria.

But now we had Adam and his two other chefs making dinner in the kitchen while I set the outdoor dining table using the nice dishes and silverware that Harry and I usually didn't bother with. Meanwhile, Harry was muttering to himself about how much he didn't want to do this.

"Listen," I sighed, setting the last wine glass down. "You said we could do anything I wanted to do tonight, and this is what I want to do."

"But why?" He pressed. "Why Zayn? Claudia could just walk out onto the street with a sign saying she wants a date and she'd have men lining up for miles."

"True, but Claudia has terrible taste in men and I happen to like Zayn. I think they'd hit it off, and they'd be cute together."

Harry made a face like that argument didn't impress him, but he still let me reach up to peck the pout on his lips before I pushed his suit jacket off with the reminder that it was dinner, not a business meeting.

Zayn was the first to arrive, exactly on time at 7:00 on the dot. He was dressed more or less exactly like Harry, with a white button down and black dress pants. His sleeves were also rolled up almost to his elbows, showing off the countless amount of tattoos he had on both arms.

It's not like Zayn and I were friends by any means, but sometimes Harry had him and Niall over to talk business in person, and now that I didn't have a job I was always here to at least say hi to them before they'd go into Harry's office and close the door.

"Hi, Zayn," I reached up in my heels to kiss his cheek, and he gave me a sort of half hug with one arm. "Thanks for coming."

"Oh, sure," he nodded and shared some kind of fleeting look with Harry.

I smiled because I didn't care whether either of them wanted to be here or not. "Well, Claudia should be here any minute, so. I guess we can just sit in the living room while we wait."

Both men followed me over to the living room, and Adam popped in to say that dinner was ready when we were. Claudia texted me to let me know she was five minutes away, so I asked him if he could just keep it warm until then.

"So," I sighed as I sat next to Harry. "How've you been, Zayn?"

Zayn cleared his throat with a slow nod. "I've been alright. How are you?"

"Good," I set my hand on Harry's thigh. "Great, really."

And that was really all we said to each other until Claudia rang the bell, and I jumped up to go and answer the door for her. She was just about the chattiest person I knew, so I'm sure that silence was all we would have for the rest of the night.

"Are you fucking serious?" Claudia scoffed as I opened the door. "This is your house now? You live here?"

"Hi," I laughed as I pulled her inside. "Come on in."