Tell Me When it Hurts

9

N i n e : Tell Me When it Hurts

Liam shuffles the papers he had in hand knocking on the conference room's door before entering, "Yes?"

Quincy asks raising an eyebrow, "Harry needs to sign these," his new assistant was nice, and Liam liked her most of the time. Sometimes she was a little too helpful, but Liam assumes that's the submissive in her.

"Are you going to talk to him again?"

Snapping his look at her, Liam chews his bottom lip, "I-I uh," It's times like these Liam doesn't like her, he wanted to remind the woman that her job didn't involve helping Liam forgive the asshole that his friend was.

"Have Harry sign those." Repeating his first order, Liam exits the room freezing when he bumps into Harry in the hallway, their eyes meeting each other.

"Q-Quincy has those papers-"

"You could've brought them to me personally." Harry informs lowering his tone to keep the conversation personal, Liam rolls his eyes, "Your assistant has them." Beginning to walk away Liam's stopped when Harry grabs his bicep, "Don't forget your place here, Mr.Payne. You're not my friend in this building you're my employee."

Meeting the forest orbs once more Liam rips his arm out of the hold glaring daggers at him, "I'm not your friend outside of this building either, don't forget that." Harry's darkened eyes brighten revealing the true Harry, he sneers at the man before him having nothing to reply with as he strolls into the conference room, the confrontation ending just as quickly as it started.

Kerri clears her throat adjusting her shirt as she smooths her hair with one hand before entering the building she'd quit weeks ago.

Currently, she'd been living off the paychecks and unemployment her company owed her, but Today she headed into the office with the one task of seeing her old friend.

Sending a polite wave towards the reception, Oliver gasps, "Ah hi love!"

"Hey," she returns signing a form for a guest pass, it's sudden that she realizes it's the new expected normal considering the keycard she didn't turn in had already been shut off.

"Are you here for Mr.Styles?" The man asks raising his eyebrows with a suggestive hinting tone, "No, here for Liam." Placing the sticker on her shirt she heads to the elevators pressing the up button, she scans the room with an amused smile as she waits for the doors to slide open.

A woman joins her silently, she brings her own phone to view, Kerri offering her a small welcoming smile, "Who are you here for?"

The woman sneers lifting her name badge, "I work here."

"For who?"

"I'm Mr.Styles Assistant, who are you?" Kerri smirks at the woman stepping into the elevator when it came available, "The old assistant."

The woman's sneer falls, clearly, the ground had been evened. She now has a vulnerable stance, "Does he ever become human?" The question dances in the air around the two women, Kerri expressing concern in her features at such a vast and heavy-packaged question; "How so?"

Quincy pushes hair behind her ear rolling her eyes at her own stupidness, clearly, the woman was the ex-assistant for a reason, "Nothing, never mind."

Kerri nods swallowing past the lump in her throat as the elevator rises to the top in silence.

"No." She suddenly announces, Quincy snapping her head up, "He's always distant from you. Even in the same room, you feel miles apart. You'll never quite know what he's thinking or feeling."

"Does he even have feelings," Quincy muses, "No." The joke falls to the carpeted floor, Kerri inhaling as she steps closer to the doors waiting for them to slide open on Liam's floor, "I stayed, you don't have to."

"He does have feelings," Quincy assures watching Kerri exit, the woman sighs chewing the inside of her cheek, "He just chooses to never show his."

"I met the new one," Kerri announces pulling Liam in for a hug, "Ah? Quincy?"

"She seems sweet," Liam rolls his eyes gesturing to the seats in front of his desk for Kerri, "She can be. She's currently trying to fix Harry and me." Kerri laughs, "She's new, eventually she'll realize that you two can't stay mad forever."

"I don't know Ker, it seems like a done deal this time."

"how many days are left until it's finalized?" The woman asks glancing at Niall that stands by the window surveying the scenery outside, "Four Days."

She nods, "Has he been coming to work?"

"Like nothing has changed," Niall mutters crossing the room to join the woman, he sits next to her with a smile spreading on his features, "How's the unemployed life treating you?"

Quincy clears her throat entering the room knocking once her feet cross the threshold, "What?" Harry barks, "I met your old assistant," She chirps, "She's here visiting Liam," Harry scoffs stepping away from the window taking a seat at his desk, "They'll both be gone from the building soon enough-"

"D-do you think that's a good idea?" Quincy obviously hadn't worked with the man long, but she knew in her short time that Harry often made rash decisions when he didn't take his medication.

It had become increasingly obvious that the man had stopped all medication right before he sighed Louis over, and more so now that the submissive was gone.

As if Liam's concerned glances in the hallway when their paths crossed weren't enough, Qunicy now felt the sudden burden to ensure the wellbeing of her boss. She plasters a smile rounding to his side of the desk offering to help him sort through stacks of papers, "I think," Harry starts aloud, he sighs sliding away from her in his chair, he didn't truly know what he thought. Or thinks.

Motioning to his computer screen, Harry clicks off the browser showing his email where he'd typed out a letter to the agency where Amelia worked telling her to drop the case, that it was a mistake and he was sorry.

"I-I don't think," Harry admits somberly, he brings his bottom lip between his teeth in a mimic to garner sympathy from the woman, "T-that's the problem." Confessing the obvious, Quincy frowns offering her hand as a silent form of support, "Maybe sending that email is the first step."

The once vulnerable emerald orbs darken, the depth in which they cried out for relief from the monster is once again clouded by the impending rage Harry always carried when off his pills.

He stands from the chair dismissing Quincy's gesture of assurance, "Send Cassandra the termination paperwork, I'd like to be rid of this at once."