Double Standards // ziam

Chapter 21

Liam leaned back in his chair, watching while Jack Collins, Mary, Harry and Tony filed into his office. He had agreed to this meeting about Zayn only because Jack had insisted that it was vitally necessary for the corporation's sake, in case Zayn should decide to sue them.

Sue them for what, Liam thought bitterly. He wished to God he were somewhere else right now...anywhere else. They were going to talk about him, and he was going to have to listen. Zayn had been gone for a month, and he still hadn't been able to tear him out of his mind.

He kept expecting to look up and see him walking into his office, his shorthand notebook and pen in hand, ready to write down his instructions.

Last week he had been deeply engrossed in the corporation's new financial statement, and suddenly some young employee in the reception room had laughed. It had sounded like Zayn musical laugh, and he had leaped out of his chair, telling himself that he intended to drag him into his office and warn him for the last time to stay away. But when he strode into the reception area and saw that it was some other guy, his heart had sunk.

He needed a rest, he told himself-some relaxation and the right sort of diversion. He had been pushing himself too hard, trying to drive him out of his thoughts by working until he was mentally and physically exhausted. All that was going to change now. In a few hours he was leaving for Chicago to attend the international trade committee meeting- the meeting he had walked out on to go rushing after Zayn, and which had now been rescheduled so that the committee could conclude the business they'd been unable to resolve without his vote. On Sunday, three days from now, when the meeting adjourned, Vicky was joining him in Chicago, and they were flying to Switzerland for three weeks. Three consecutive weeks of skiing during the day and having meaningless sex at night should solve all his problems very nicely. Spending Christmas in Switzerland again, as he had three years ago, was also a vastly appealing idea.

Whom had he spent it with three years ago? He tried to remember.

"Liam," Jack Collins said, "may I begin?"

"Yes," he said shortly, turning his head toward the windows. How long would it take before he could blot out the memory of Zayn weeping at his feet?

"Please don't do this to us," he had sobbed. "I love you so much."

He rolled his gold pen idly between his fingertips, aware that Tony was watching him angrily, just waiting for the slightest opportunity to plead Zayn's defense. He couldn't believe that Tony was on Zayn's side.

His defense, Liam thought sarcastically. What defense? Because Zayn stepbrother was Italian, Tony was automatically biased in his favor. Because he was so heartbreakingly beautiful, Tony was blind to his treacherous nature. He couldn't blame Tony, because he himself had been just as blind, just as stupid. Zayn had captivated him, fascinated and enchanted him. From the very first, he had been enthralled by him, rendered senseless by his uncontrollable, fiery desire for his...

"I realize," Jack Collins was saying, "that Zayn Malik is a very unpleasant topic to all of you, but the five of us in this room have all known each other for many years, and there's no reason we can't speak openly among ourselves, is there?"

When no one replied, Jack sighed with frustration. "Well, he's a damned difficult subject for me to discuss too. The investigation on him was technically my responsibility, and I'm going to tell you now that it was done very poorly. The young man who handled the security check while I was in the hospital was inexperienced and overeager, and that's putting it politely. If I hadn't been back in the hospital twice since then, I'd have looked into this before.

"Now that I have," he continued doggedly, "I'll admit that I still can't figure this young man out-at least not completely. I've already talked to each of you separately. Now I'm hoping that by bringing all of us together we can resolve some of the contradictions that keep bothering me. Perhaps each of us has a part of the puzzle, and now we can fit them all together. Tony, for the time being I'm going to address myself only to Liam, Mary and Harry. I'd like you not to comment until the end."