FLICKER (h.s. au)

3.

Three

Emery Rivera

The sound of the heels of Harry's shoes clicked against the tiles at 2 PM on the dot. His stride was rather fast-paced compared to his usual slow and steady steps. Harry always walked with purpose but not necessarily with speed. I perked up in my seat when he came into view, intrigued by his unusual urgency. He beelined into his office, not even sparing a glance my way.

I watched him curiously. He usually stops in to make sure everything's on track regarding his agenda and checklist for the day. Especially when he's gone for good chunk of the day.

My phone vibrated on my desk.

Regina: Oh something definitely happened at that lunch meeting. I've never seen him walk so fast.

My eyes snapped towards Harry again, the glass wall giving him no privacy. His phone was to his ear, his hand ran through his hair as he paced the span of the large window that stretched across his office. I waited for him to get off the phone before mustering up the courage to see what was wrong with him.

I tapped against the glass door with my knuckles. Harry's head instantly snapped towards my direction, his eyes seemed to widen slightly when they landed on me. He raised two fingers, motioning for me to come in.

"Hey boss..." I entered his office, eyeing him skeptically. My eyes studied him, narrowing when he couldn't bring himself to look at me. What crawled up his ass within the past 2 hours?

"I just wanted to give you the rundown for the rest of the day." I stopped right in front of his desk with the iPad, pulling up the rest of the stuff that had to be taken care of by the end of the day. Harry still didn't glance up at me.

I cleared my throat, shifting my weight to one foot. Harry's eyes finally met mine with an expression I couldn't quite read. How does he look irritated and worried at the same time?

Harry nodded his head, grabbing the iPad from my hand.

He seemed uneasy, very different from his typical demeanor.

Harry didn't say anything as he read over the remaining tasks before silently returning the device to my hand. Not a single word has come out of his mouth since I've walked into his office. Quite the opposite of his usual rush to bark orders at me whenever he gets back from meetings and lunches.

Who am I kidding? He barks orders 80% of the time. The rest of it is spent complaining about the mistakes of certain employees.

"O-kay." I tilted my head to the side slightly. "I'll be in my office if you need me then." I squinted my eyes at him, fighting off the urge to ask if he was alright. Curiosity tugged at my mind, seeking answers. My retreat from his office was halted when he cleared his throat, stopping me in my tracks.

"Actually, Emery... There is one more thing we need to talk about," He said, sucking in a breath. His hand reached behind him, scratching the back of his neck. Okay, something was definitely bothering him. I've never seen him so- well, nervous.

I furrowed my eyebrow, taking a seat in the leather chair that his hand gestured towards. Harry unbuttoned his suit jacket, shrugged it off, and hung it on the back of his chair before sinking into the seat himself.

"So I have a proposition for you." Harry cleared his throat. His elbows were on the table, propping his arms up so his lips rested at his fists. He sounded unsure, like he couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"Okay," I said, curious about what Harry had to say.

Harry's mouth opened, then closed, and then repeated the process at least three more times.