Public Sphere | H.S. | #Wattys2016

Chapter II

Anguilla was beautiful this time of year, especially because Chicago was so cold in December. I thought about extending my stay in the tropical climate for a few days, but then realized that I had a business to run back in Chicago.

I had somehow beaten Harry Styles to Anguilla and was patiently waiting at the villa he was renting out.

After twenty minutes of waiting, the sound of a door opening and voices told me that Harry Styles was officially here.

He was with his parents and completely stopped in his tracks when he saw me. He looked at me and blinked a couple of times in confusion.

"Jess Hansen?" he asked walking closer to me.

"Mr. Styles," I extended him my hand.

He reluctantly took it. He knew that if I was in his rented villa in Anguilla that it meant something. And of course it meant something. It meant that his vacation wasn't going to be the vacation that he wanted. It meant that his vacation with his parents wasn't going to the vacation that he had planned.

"You're here to fix something," he said all-knowingly. "This is my mum and step-dad."

"Lovely to meet you," his mom kindly greeted me while his step-dad gave me a small wave and a smile. She stepped closer to Harry and told him that they would be checking out the island.

As soon as they left, Harry sat himself down on the couch.

"Kendall Jenner will be here in a few hours," I explained as I took a seat directly across from him.

"Kendall?" he nervously shook out his hair.

"The only way to bury your solo news is to spread the rekindling news. We'll see how the public reacts to you two spending New Years here in Anguilla. If the response is overall positive, then we'll move forward to a contract, if not, we can back off and call it 'a vacation between two friends,'" I looked at him to see what his reaction would be, but I got nothing from him.

"I don't want to do this, not again," he said as he once again shook out his hair.

"Unfortunately, I don't work for you, I work for Simon," I was sure he heard it all before.

"We're on a break. One Direction is on a break. I don't need to be in the spotlight anymore. I need a break from all of this. I want to be forgotten for a couple of days. I need to step away," he calmly stated his feelings. It wasn't his first time doing this either. "I don't want to do this."

I looked at him again. He looked anxious and annoyed but mostly, he looked tired. He was no longer the fruitful and overly excited 16-year-old boy like he was when first introduced into the industry. Now, he was a 21-year-old man that wanted some peace and quiet in his life—just for a little bit. But I couldn't offer that to him. I wasn't his saving grace, I was here to tell him that he was still under contract rules and he had to do what I needed him to do. And what I needed was for him to spend some time with Kendall Jenner so the rest of the world would forget about the leaked news regarding his upcoming solo career.

"Kendall will be here at 6 p.m., I made reservations at a restaurant near here for the two of you. Then tomorrow, you two will go on a private yacht ride. Your mom and step-dad are more than welcome to-," I rattled off his itinerary with Kendall before I was abruptly cut off by him.

"Do you like your job?" he randomly asked me deep in thought.

Did I like my job? I didn't like the hours and I didn't like what it did to my social life, but I liked having that power, the power to control the likes of the world's richest, most powerful and most famous. I didn't have to be the richest, most powerful and most famous, but I got to play in the same arena as the likes of them because I fixed their lives to make it look sparkling and desirable.