Red Balloon [Liam Payne AU]

iii. Arguments

❤

 Juliette

As my new client strolled through the door, hands in his pockets, Claire quickly shot her eyebrows up at me, silently saying, who is this attractive client? I shook my head slightly, answering, I have no idea.

Quickly, I smoothed the folds on my dress and stood up, shaking his hand. His palm was warm and calloused; his handshake firm and confident.

Sure of himself, knows what real work is.

As I led him to sit down, I took quick note of his attire: grey skinny jeans, black combat boots, a tight-fitting white t-shirt with a worn leather jacket. This guy literally oozed trends, throwbacks from the 90’s, and (if I must be totally honest) straight up sex appeal. His hair was slicked back, a dull brown color that suited, with an accompanying thin beard that framed his strong, square jaw. He smirked slightly as he looked around my office, raising his eyebrows and tipping his beautiful face back slightly, white teeth flashing in my direction.

So he’s great looking…and he knows it.

“What’s with the balloon? Is there a holiday I’ve missed today?” He asked, gesturing to the red balloon on my desk, and the three others slowly deflating in the office corner.

No client had ever asked me about the balloons before.

“Um, it’s a daily subscription service. A new balloon is delivered to my office each day. It’s a personal thing. Shall we begin you interview?”

“Why red?”

Why so curious?

“It represents a happy memory that I have, with someone that I was very close to.”

He looked at me curiously. “And who would that be?”

His gaze holds intelligence and curiosity, one of a reporter, perhaps?

I gave him a tight smile. “That would be personal, and not something I’d like to share with my client. Please, sit down so we can begin.”

We both sat in the costmary chairs, myself with my clipboard, and he in the chair opposite me, playing with the hem of his shirt.

 I sit up straighter and cross my ankles, trying to look as professional and as unaffected by his looks as possible. I begin the consultation with the standard question.

“So, Mr. Payne, where-“

“Liam” he interrupts.

This makes me lose my momentary cool. “What?” I ask, caught off guard.

“Please, just call me Liam,” He says again.

An awkward silence comes over us. I clear my throat, and grip my pen tightly. “Alright,” I continue, “No problem. Let me try again- what made you come to Love Connections?”

He leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the opposite knee and placing his arms behind his head. “I came to fall in love.”

Looks so at ease…so much like a douchebag…

I could hardly contain my snort. I looked at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

This caused him to sit up and look right in my eyes. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be? What makes you think that I would be anything other than serious?”

“For one Mr. Payne,-“

“Liam.”

“No,” I restated, “I think I’ll keep it professional here. Before we begin, let me make something very clear to you. You might see this as a joke, but,” I lowered by voice, “This is my job. I’m not letting some guy come in and wreck everything I’ve worked so hard for to have a bit of fun. Mr. Love, I may not like you, but you’ve already paid in full for your consultation. A consultation is what you came for, so that is what I’m going to give to you. Now,” I said, straightening my clipboard and clicking my pen, “Please allow me to ask you a few questions, as to adequately match you. Where do you work?”

“The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

I gesture my hands, urging him to open up more. “As…?”

He sighed. Was that a splotch of red on his cheeks? Why was he embarrassed about his job?

“I work for the birth and celebrations column.”

Ah. He thought his job was useless.

“What did you really train to do, Mr. Payne?”

“To be an investigative journalist.”

Likes action, likes being in the middle of things.

The rest of the interview went as normally as it could, with myself asking Liam the standard questions, and him answering with vague questions, each response more annoying and dick-sounding than the last. By the end I was fuming, he was smirking, and I was more than glad to show him the door.

❤

As he filled out his payment information, he glanced up at me, and had the nerve to wink.

“So can I call you sometime?”

“Excuse me?”

He looked at me oddly, making me realize that I had interpreted his question incorrectly.

“You know, about my results. When will I know?”

I ignored the blush creeping up on my cheeks, as I answered, “In about two to four weeks.”

He slid me the paperwork. “Alright then, I’ll be back. See you then, Juliette.”

With a grin and a shrug of his shoulders, he was out the door, leaving me standing totally speechless as the freezing January air washed over me, leaving me feeling totally confused.

I had barley gotten a reading off of him during the whole appointment-why? Why couldn’t I tell what he was really thinking?

You know how I said earlier that I always knew the person’s match before they even walked out the door? I lied. For the first time in my whole career, I had a client with no match.

I heaved a sigh as I glanced at his paperwork absentmindedly, until my eyes focused on something scrawled at the bottom, under his beautiful signature.

Juliette-

I’m probably the worst client you’ve ever had.

I don’t really care, but I really am serious about wanting to find love.

Enjoy your red balloon.

555-7896

Charming little bastard. 

❤

A/N: Does she like him, does she hate him oohhh???? Why couldn't she get a "reading" off of him? What's going to happen??????

Hahah, jk, I know what's going to happen. 

Oh yeah, the outfit Liam's wearing is from his Midnight Memories photoshoot because it makes me sweat wiith excitement (tmi, probably) (pic on the sidebar) (you're welcome to stare at it with me) 

Um, sorry this is going up so late. Finals really kicked my butt this year, but I scraped by with 5 A's and only 2 B's (yay!) 

Remember to vote, comment, fan, and share!

xx, Emily