Empire of Deception (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter 25

Des' fury can be compared to Hades himself. Similar to a fire, his first reaction sparked a roar, but it stabilized into a flame so hot anyone near it burned. His words are embers that are meant to burn some emotion into me but I am so numb that I don't feel them.

"What the hell were you thinking, Harry?!" he demands, slamming his fist onto the surface of his desk. His cup of pens rattle along with everything else and I see Janice roll her eyes since she probably just recently straightened everything on there. "Just saying whatever you want to some stranger simply because you and him "hold the same job". Did growing up in Bolton teach you absolutely nothing? We always perform background checks to make sure that whoever we are dealing with aren't liars! Let alone a damn journalist! Do you know what this could have done to Bolton? To the Jarwin Firm?! Do you understand how you could have unraveled months and months of meticulous planning all because of one screw up?! You need to be more careful! You aren't the only person in the world. You are interconnected with every single person within this corporation, and now you are linked to a large and influential group within Swann. Before you do anything you need to ask yourself how your actions effect the people around you!" His shouts aren't shaky, but more simmered and restrained. I am not sure which one is worse. "Thankfully I have people who are working on clearing it up, and thankfully you said the right thing out there today. Some I know who works at The London Times has already informed me that people are fighting to get the story typed up and published online as soon as they can."

Silence.

"Harry," he growls, "Look at me. Now."

I meet his green eyes that remind me so much of my own. But they are a little bit darker. Colder. Meaner. Older. I wonder if my eyes will end up the same way.

"Do you understand the severity of your actions? Do you understand how livid Jarwin is going to be? I am about to have a heart attack simply thinking about the call I am going to receive once the news has time to settle. This 'Jake Lewis' person could have destroyed everything we are working so hard to accomplish—"

"Des," comes Janice's warning tone. "Let the boy speak."

Des grits his teeth and looks at me with his cold, green eyes.

"It was a mistake," I apologize curtly. "It won't happen again. What I said out there was true, though. I didn't give him details only vague opinions that hold no validity. Still, that doesn't make what I did okay. I broke my contract with you and Alexander Jarwin, and I am willing to face any sort of consequences you or Mr. Jarwin see fit." The words are emotionless as they plummet from my breath but I know that they are the correct words to say and the ones that my father wants to hear and no doubt will pass onto Alexander.

Des exhales with satisfaction before ordering me to get out of his office.

I stumble through the corridor feeling dazed, bitter, and confused. What's left of my heart always tends to harden more and more whenever I leave his office, making the bitterness and hopelessness inside of me fester and infect my already damned soul even more.

Des' counseling and anger are meant to break me and shape me into the person I am supposed to be, but all it does is seem to make me angrier and want to break out of mold that suffocates me. I'll keep his secret. But I better fucking know the real reason behind the secrecy that almost cost my father his entire business.

There are a few things that I know for certain. One, I need to look more into Theodore Collings. I know he holds answers that I need. Second, I need go to the Underground and look at the infrastructure myself to see the changes—tangible and non-tangible. Third, if I want to get answers I am going to have to somehow locate Maizy DuBois.