Giggling, Willow clutched her stomach and let her head fall back against the mismatched pillows that decorated her couch. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the sound of Mr. Styles' laugh, it was genuine and clearly came from somewhere deep beneath his cold surface.
In her alcohol induced daze, Willow still couldn't quite wrap her head around how she had ended up in this situation...this hilariously random situation...with her boss...her boss?
Almost three hours ago Willow had rolled out of bed to answer someone banging on her front door and had almost slammed the door when she saw her boss standing on the other side. Stressed and clearly distraught, Mr. Styles seemed just as surprised as Willow to find himself where he was but just asked if she cared to have a drink with him. Willow didn't question why he looked like he hadn't slept in days or why he came here of all places...she just poured the drink and as the alcohol took affect the pair began talking about the most outrageous topics and as they migrated to the couch he seemed to unwind and become this mellow person...
Glancing up, she squinted at Mr. Styles...his usual slicked back hair let down in flowing locks around his beautiful face and his jacket shed and thrown across the back of the love seat..his tie nowhere to be found and his crisp business shirt unbuttoned enough to let the ink that traced his skin peak out...Who is this man?...This was not the man that hired her and it certainly was not the same man that barked orders and intimidated anyone who got too close or spoke out of turn...So, who is it?...there might as well have been a stranger in her living room.
Her speculation was interrupted, " A penny for your thoughts?"
Glancing up, Willow blinked rapidly, "Pardon me?" She hadn't noticed herself spacing out entirely.
Chuckling, Mr. Styles shook his head. "You must have really been thinking hard about something...was just wondering what might be spinning around in that pretty little head of your's is all?"
Blushing , she covered her cheeks, "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Styles-"
"Ah! Ah! It's Harry." He corrected, taking another sip of the whiskey that had stayed hidden in the back of Willow's pantry since graduation until tonight. "Mr. Styles would never be sat drinking with his newest intern...at 2 o'clock in the morning...on a Wednesday...giggling like a school girl."
"Well...that's actually what I was thinking about...You almost seem like an entirely different person... I've known you for over a month Harry! Where has this been? Where has Harry been? Where has this funny, charming, smiling person been hidden?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Harry shrugged, "I just get so tired of being Mr. Styles...I just want to get on a plane and run away and just-" He sighed, glancing up at Willow and cocking his head "Don't you ever get the most desperate urge to just run away from it all?"
"Where would you run to?" She asked, adoring this side of the man she thought she knew.
"Anywhere!...Name a place and I would be there if it meant I never had to sit through another day of bullshit in that fucking building they call mine." Harry groaned, taking a long swig straight from the bottle, "What about you? Where would you go?"
"Scotland...somewhere quiet and peaceful." Willow answered, not even thinking about her answer, just answering honestly.
"Scotland?" He mused, "that wouldn't be half bad."
*********************************************************
Willow's POV
When the plain landed, I was surprised to step out into a slight drizzle under a dark and murky sky. "Where are we?" I asked, glancing up at Harry as he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me across the empty runway toward a sleek black vehicle.
"Patience." He chuckled, opening the door for me.
The whole car ride I tried my best to think of where we might be but there were no land marks or towns to pass through that might give me an idea...it seemed like he was intentionally avoiding anything that might give the slightest hint.
Finally, after miles of driving down a road overshadowed in moss and huge trees, Harry slowed down and turned onto a gravel driveway. A small, cottage like, house appeared through the low hanging trees.
When the car came to a stop and he cut the engine, Harry glanced at me trying to read my emotions. "What d'you think?"
The house looked like something from a fairytale and part of me was over the moon excited that he hadn't taken me to some beach somewhere for my pale skin to get fried in the sun.
Giggling I nodded, "I love it...I honestly do." I answered, "But I still cant quite tell where in the world we are...Who's house is this?"
"Mine...or well, ours." He answered, chuckling at my dumbfounded expression. "In all honesty, I bought this house quite some time ago...as an escape from the rest of the world...It was actually your suggestion that gave me the idea...and I just always hoped that at some point I would be able to bring you here."
"My suggestion?" I asked, flattered but still mildly confused.
"Well, Willow I could have taken you anywhere in the world for our honeymoon but I wanted to take you somewhere quiet and peaceful."
My jaw almost hitting the floor, I glanced back at the house. That night...so long ago when I sat across my living room from the man that I thought hated everyone...
"Harry...Oh my god." I giggled, tears threatened to spill down my cheeks and my heart swelled, "How did you even remember me saying that?"
"Nothing you have said to me has ever been forgotten...you have my utmost attention every time you ope your mouth." He answered.
"We had just met...?"
"I have been hanging on to every word since the day we met...your wish has been my command since the second you walked in my office."
