Empire of Deception (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter 40 part 2

I sit quietly, my heart racing as I wait for Zayn and Mia to give me their answer after voicing my request for help. Zayn stands by his window looking over the city which is buzzing with energy underneath the drab blanket of grey clouds that cover London. Nearby sits Mia, a newspaper clutched between her petite hands as she ponders over the recent happenings.

"What do you think, Zayn? We would also have to go to the Board before we do anything," she asks, looking up at him.

His eyes remain locked on the city, "The Board would never let us do it. We would have to bypass them. They would be pissed and might retaliate by adding certain restrictions, but this has to do specifically with London and I am sole authority to the London branch of the Enterprise."

"Does that mean yes?" asks Mia, her eyebrows raised in surprise. She looks at me hopefully before turning her gaze back onto Zayn who begins to turn around.

"It was never a question. Whenever you need help, we're there," he tells me and my heart practically stops in relief.

I hear Mia inhale before setting the paper on the table before her. She looks at me and gives me a weak smile. "What is it?"

"Nothing... I just. This isn't good, Harry. Regulators and clients, and practically everyone is going to be watching every single corporation in the city to make sure we are meeting the government levels of humanity as far as a workplace ethics go. Not to mention the backlash from..." she pauses as if contemplating her next few words. "Not to mention the backlash from people we tried so hard to convince that what we are doing is right."

I know she is talking about Madison, of whom I have tried everything in my power to persuade her to come to company galas, join me on business trips to Paris, or even talk about what I do in the office. I know for a fact that she has seen the papers and no doubt has joined the protest groups that are forming at our doors, along with Brendon and Carly.

"You did the right thing, Styles," Zayn interrupts, "I agree with your plan and I think that it was wise for you to come here. I am surprised Des allowed it."

"I was surprised, too, especially because we are trying to keep the situation as contained as possible."

"Have you started the cross reference?"

"Yes, the database is so big that it'll take 24 hours to complete. I should have results by tomorrow evening, and I have had someone from accounting forward me any complaints made in the past year or if there happened to be any repeat offenses."

"Mia, what do you suppose we do? How do we move ahead without getting killed in the process," asks Zayn as he places a firm hand on her shoulder.

"I would say that we contact media outlets to write up stories about the good we have done and the jobs we provide but they are too biased at the moment. I think we need to figure out a way to disperse the percentage and break it into parts and identify what the parts are, so it seems like although we do get the amount, a majority of it goes away—for taxes, or charity's, or investment—something. We need to lessen that number and hopefully lessen the impact it is having on human right activists."

"She's right. Figure out a way to stretch out the percentage and shrink it, whether or not we have to lie. Documental proof can easily be made as evidence. You need to hand out a huge chunk to charity as well as gather everything non-profit Bolton has ever done. Make a case for yourself. Lastly, we need to focus on the infrastructure of Bolton. Everyone outside is fighting and the last thing you want is your employees to rebel. Raise their wages and their perks—whatever is in their contract. Keep them happy, show that you are generous. It'll cost Bolton a huge amount of money but in a few months you should be able to devise a plan to get back on track stealthily. Mia can help with that, as your financial advisers—which you should probably call. Lastly, I think you should add to the group joining the protestors. Make sure they talk to public make sure they understand what is making them so mad so they can report back to you. Also have your people inform the public about random good things Bolton has done for the city very casually... Maybe it'll stick in the back of their minds. Have you started planning for the press conference yet?" Zayn asks.