Red Balloon [Liam Payne AU]

vii. Liar, Liar

Juliette

It was raining, and I was feeling terribly.

Of course I was, seeing as my mood always matched the weather in some way or another. I’d had bad days before, but I had never been this nervous about a client. Outside, I could hear faint rumbles of thunder, making me feel more and more grouchy as time went on. I’d already snapped at poor Claire this morning when she spilled my coffee. I’d apologized after, and she was really sweet about it, but still. I needed to get my act together.

Come on, Juliette.

Glancing at my clock, I noticed with an increasing feeling of dread that it was nearly 4:45. Liam’s appointment was in 15 minutes, and I was not ready. Let me back up. I wasn’t not ready, I was always ready, I had my speech rehearsed in my head and I knew exactly what I was going to tell him, but rather, I was not prepared to lie to a costumer, excusing the fact that it was Liam.

I hated lying, I always had. Why would I lie, anyway, when telling the truth was what I did for a living? If anyone ever found out my business could be run out, I would be humiliated, the shame of the matchmaking business of New York.

“See her?” the others would say. “She’s the one who ruined herself. Lying to a client, such a shame,” they would whisper to each other. “She had a bright future, that one. Could’ve been one of the best matchmakers in Brooklyn, had she not made such a tragic mistake.”

I bit my perfectly manicured, red nails as I mulled over this scenario. My industry was not a forgiving one, and I had seen so many good matchmakers out of jobs because of one poorly matched client or something of the like, I had always promised myself that I would never do that, I was too talented anyway, but here I was, stuck in a dilemma.

Beth was only trying to help, I mused, but she didn’t work this job. She didn’t understand how cutthroat the competition was, and how costly one mistake could be. Which is probably what I should have taken into consideration before I took her advice.

The front door jangled, and I heard Claire greet the person at the front desk. It was Liam, of course. I’d only met with him a couple of times, but every time he had been very punctual. Just hearing his deep base greet Claire, asking her how she was doing, how her day was going, and caused unwanted butterflies to erupt in my stomach. They were a mixture of dread, nervousness, and- what else? Excitement?

My office intercom buzzed, and Claire’s sweet voice come through. “Juliette, Li- er, your client is here to see you. 4:45 appointment.”

“Thank you, Claire,” I replied, quickly straightening my workspace, scooping up a takeout box and various other papers, and tossing them in the trash, accidentally knocking my red balloon off the desk as I did so.

“Shit,” I muttered as I got up from my desk, and bent over in the front to retrieve the thing. My elbow hit the stack of Thank You cards from grateful clients, sending them flying all over my small office, some blown even farther thanks to the small fan in the corner.

Placing the balloon back on the corner of my desk, I scrambled around my office hurriedly picking up the cards before Liam came in and saw me in such a disheveled state.

“Do you need help, Juliette?”

Too late. Shit.

“No thank you, Mr. Payne,” I replied hotly, picking up the last of the cards and turning off the fan so such an event would not happen again. “I’ve got it.”

“You sure?” I could practically hear the smirk in his voice, even though my back was to him.

“Yes,” I stated, placing the cards on the corner of my desk- I’d prop them up later, once he was gone. “Now,” I said, turning towards him. “Today you’ll be receiving your matches, and we will- what is that?” I broke off, staring at the object in his hands.