Empire of Deception (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter 9

The slightest pang of alarm hits me when I see Christopher Jarwin standing under the shade of the Swann Building overhang. He sports the usual tailored trousers, but instead of a plain button up shirt, he sports one with a grey vest. His hands are shoved deep into his pockets, and the look of boredom is displayed strongly across his face. I sense that he rather be anywhere but here. I sigh deeply, wishing Victoria sent anyone but him.

Jarwin spots me, and without any greeting or introduction, he takes me around back where there is a spiral staircase which leads to the underground parking garage. I follow him to the lift and suddenly I'm having morbid flashbacks to the night Louis was shot to his death. I shake these dark thoughts away, ignoring the fact that every time I let them in, a piece of my soul gets chipped away with them.

A keycard swiped earns a beep before Christopher is able to press the button for floor 17. The entire ride up is filled with loud silence, the only sound coming from the pulleys that operate the lift, and the occasional sigh coming from the person next to me. Once the two of us are on the desired floor, I continue to follow him through the maze of hallways. We reach an area of cubicles, and we walk until Christopher finally stops at one. I am able to hear typing within the cubicle.

"Ri, I've fetched him for you," Jarwin says rather lazily, shoving his hands deep into his pockets once again.

I make a mental check of this nickname and store it deep into the tissues of my brain.

With that, Jarwin turns on his heels and sulks away.

I step inside Victoria's cubicle and set the manila folder on the table. She extends a polite thank you before beckoning me to take a seat.

"Which one of you is older?" I dare ask.

"I am," she says swiftly. She stops typing to look up at me, almond eyes focusing on my own green ones. "Couldn't you tell? He's still so... Boyish." She says the last word slowly, like she was struggling to figure out the perfect word to describe her brother.

Today her dark locks are pinned up, nothing but two strands hanging delicately on either side of her head, framing her face. Smoky black lines her eyes, intensifying them even more. Yet again I find myself studying her unique and exotic beauty.

"I would ask you to tell me about yourself, but I should let you know that I have already done my research," she informs me. "Harry Edward Styles, age 26, no education past secondary school. High results on your scholarly testing which shows that you possess skills in relation to problem solving. You used to work a small portion of Bolton before you were most recently promoted to Bolton's new Director of Finance position, which, might I say, is a rather huge position. I understand that Theodore Collings was hoping for this position, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"But you got it instead." She pauses as if thinking, but her facial expression does not change. "What do you know about the Underground, Mr. Styles," she asks, taking her hands off of her keyboard before leaning back in her chair. I am taken off guard by her question, and my forehead furrows in confusion.

"It's a meeting ground for the youth of corporate London. They are too young to start working, but their father's give them whatever they want just so they stay out of trouble. This results in an abundance of cash flow and no brains to figure out what to do with it. The Underground is simply a place for them to meet up, whether it's to play pool or gamble their money away since they have nothing better to do."

"Precisely," Victoria concurs with a curt nod. She purses her lips as if she is pleased with my answer. "You want to know something incredible about the Underground? Practically every single child of the corporate hierarchy participates. Even you used to attend. London is literally sitting on an economic empire. The youth keep it quiet, but the adults hear whispers about it—they just choose to ignore it because they honestly don't care what their children do until it effects them. And these people? They have so much money, they don't even notice it's gone. That is what is so strange about these people... They have so much brains yet they don't realize that the youth is legitimately the future."