Merry and Bright

Chapter 2

Harry's pov

As soon as Harry stepped out of Louis' office, he let out a sigh of relief. Good lord. Harry thinks to himself. He would have to talk to Niall about his new boss.

The entire time Harry had been sitting in that room, he'd been struggling to keep his pants from tightening. God, that man is beautiful. Harry thinks to himself.

Pushing the thoughts of his boss' stunning blue eyes and sharp cheekbones out of his mind, Harry turns and walks around the corner to find his desk set just around the corner from Louis' office.

There is a nameplate set on the front, with Harry Styles written in bold letters across the top, and underneath in smaller letters, Assistant to CEO. Harry sat down at the desk, and turned on the computer, logging in with the information left in the note that was on his desk.

The note read:

Harry,

Hope everything went well with Louis.

If you ever need anything, my name is Eleanor, and you can reach me at extension x735.

I'm always here for some workplace chatter.

Eleanor

Harry had never gotten the first name of the secretary that brought him up to Louis' office. He had only heard him call her Ms. Calder. But, when Harry checked the list of extensions that was taped to his desk, he found x735 listed next to Eleanor Calder, Secretary's Desk.

Harry had noticed that Louis didn't seem too fond of Eleanor when they first entered. He had attempted to hide his grimace with a smile, but Harry had noticed it. Unfortunately, Eleanor hadn't picked up on it.

I wonder why he doesn't like her. Maybe I should keep my distance? I don't want to get on his bad side. Harry thinks to himself.

Suddenly, the phone rings, making Harry jump. He picks it up quickly.

"Louis Tomlinson's office, Harry Styles speaking." Harry says, managing to not stumble over his words.

"Hey Harry, it's Eleanor, just wanted to check in and make sure you're settling in ok."

I don't think I'll have a problem keeping my distance. Harry thinks to himself, already annoyed. Had he not just been in her presence 15 minutes ago? Then he berated himself. It was nice that someone at the office was there to talk to.

He takes a moment before answering Eleanor. "Yeah, settled in just fine, Eleanor, thanks." Harry says, and Eleanor prattles on.

"So, I just wanted to fill you in on office stuff. Since Christmas is next weekend, we wanted to do some sort of spirit thing, at least for next Friday. To bring some holiday cheer into the office. But we haven't had any ideas. What do you think?" Eleanor asks, and Harry is confused.

I just started today, why am I being asked? He thinks to himself, but answers anyway.

"Not sure, maybe an ugly sweater day?" Harry says absent-mindedly, focusing his attention on logging into his email, which was giving him some trouble. Turns out he was using the computer password instead of his email password. Oops.

"Oh my god, that's such a great idea. I'll have to pass that idea along to Lindsey. Thanks, Harry." Eleanor says and hangs up, the sound of the phone slamming echoing in Harry's ear.

"Sure thing." Harry mutters, putting the phone down, only for it to ring again a few seconds later. Harry made sure to check the number this time, and saw it was Louis. His heart flip-flopped, making him feel like an idiot as he answered the phone.

"Yes, Mr Tomlinson?" Harry asks, still trying to figure out his email, while trying to pay more attention to this phone call than the last one.

"Styles, I wasn't sure if you logged into the calendar yet, but I have a meeting with the head of my Marketing team in a half-hour. Once he's here, show him in." Louis says, while the sound of his keyboard clicks in the background.

"Yes, sir." Harry manages to get in just before Louis hangs up. I guess everyone here really likes to slam the phones down. Harry thinks, setting the phone back in place before turning back to his computer.

In the next 25 minutes, Harry manages to log into his email and the calendar for Louis. Harry clicks on the event listed for 5 minutes from now.

Marketing Meeting: Zayn Malik.

Harry is suddenly startled by footsteps arriving at his desk. He looks up and faces a man with black hair and amber eyes. The man is older than Harry, probably closer to Louis' age.

"Can I help you?" Harry asks, trying to put some power behind his voice to keep him from sounding like a child.

"Yes, I'm here to speak with Louis. I'm Zayn Malik." The man says, and Harry stands.

"Of course. I'll show you in." Harry says, walking around his desk and leading Zayn down the hall and around the corner. Harry opens the door and steps inside, noticing how Louis' eyes shift across the room to meet his.

"Mr. Malik is here, sir." Harry says and steps aside as Louis waves them in.

"Thank you Styles." Louis says, focused now on Zayn. As Harry leaves, he could have sworn he saw Louis' eyes follow him out of the room.