1+1 Makes 3 | Niam

Chapter 9

Liam's p.o.v

"Mr Payne? Do you have an opinion on the Greece situation?"

Looking away from the window, Liam coughed, trying to forget about the exact shade of blue of Nialls eyes, unsure of what was meant to be happening in his meeting, staring around at the other people sat in his office, before murmuring "Umm.... The Greece situation?....."

Tapping on a laptop, his assistant cleared her throat as she said "The Greek publishing house we bought last year.... in the last six months, Greece's economy has spiralled and the company is losing us money. We're carrying dead weight, you sent Mr Malik to Athens? Any ideas on what we should do?"

Snapping his attention back to the meeting, Liam drummed his fingers on the table, staring out of the window as he muttered "There's always liquidation, but that's more of a last resort option. As vital as it is that we deal with the issue at hand, could we resume this meeting tomorrow? There's somewhere I have to be...."

******

Laid on the leather couch in his private office, Liam was staring at the copy of the ultra sound Niall had given him, sipping whiskey from the secret stash he kept as he moped.

Hearing someone knock on the door, he yelled "Busy!"

Rattling the door handle, a Bradford accent called out "Nah, you're not busy. Liam, I know you. Put the whiskey away and let me in."

Sighing, Liam set the whiskey down on his desk before letting Zayn in. Flipping back onto his couch, he poured another whiskey before snapping "What? Can't you see I'm working, Zee."

Pouring himself a drink, Zayn smirked, noticing the ultrasound picture as he said "Sure, sure. You're working. What's going on with you, Li? Normally you overrun meetings and pull all nighters stressing over the company. You don't skive off and come into work late and leave early. I bet it's Niall, right?"

"Well, people change. And anyway, Lara and you can run the company with out me. Don't start on Niall-" cutting himself off, Liam slammed his drink down, biting his lip as he mentioned his name.

Downing his drink, Zayn loosened his tie, frowning as he "Yeah, but you used to want to be involved. Now, you're rarely here, and your always distracted. I know your situation with Niall is... complicated, but Liam, bro, you've changed."

Sitting up, Liam frowned before saying "Zayn, you were always the one encouraging me to work less, let you do more for the company. This place practically runs itself. And as for complicated, you don't know the half of it. I currently have no idea how Niall or where the hell Niall is."

Rolling his eyes, Zayn stood up, emptying the rest of the bottle of whiskey into their glasses before he muttered "Explain. I thought this guy was living with you. I know this is such a girly conversation, but what is going on with you two?"

Sighing, Liam checked that his office door was locked before he said "People change when they grow up Zayn. You remember Sophia? The girl who was here a month ago? Dragged me out on a lunch date?"

Nodding, Zayn swallowed the rest of his whiskey before saying "Dancer? Well fit?"

Running a hand through his hair, Liam looked down at the floor as he said "Umm.... sure. That's her. Technically, I was dating her when I first met Niall."

Spluttering, Zayn choked as he attempted to say "I can see where this is going. Ohh, I should have put money on this."

Continuing, Liam sighed as he muttered "She came round the flat, same day as you did, found out about Niall, and broke up with me. Niall flipped his shit and left, I have no idea where he's staying, but before he left, he said that he liked me."

"Umm, who are you and what have you done with the Liam Payne I know? The supposedly too busy to date workaholic who would never have cheated on someone, or whatever that counts as?" Coughing some more, Zayn stared at Liam as he spoke, looking at Liam as if he'd grown an extra head.

"I'm still the same Liam. It doesn't end there, though. I may like Niall back. And before Sophia came, I may have kissed him." Ignoring the rest of his drink, Liam looked down at his shoes, trying to pretend that they weren't seriously having that conversation.

Smirking at Liam, Zayn held up the sonogram as he said "So...... Um, from all of that, I heard that you like Niall, he's pissed at you and your ex-girlfriend is single."

Glaring at his best friend, Liam let out a small laugh before saying "Piss off, Malik."

Laughing properly, Zayn grinned as he flipped Liam off. "You piss off, Payne. But since I can tell your not gonna shut up about this, what are you going to do about Niall and everything?"

Swallowing a mouthful of drink, Liam bit his lip as he muttered "I don't know what to do. I have no idea where he's even staying since he walked out last week."

Nicking the last of Liam's whiskey, Zayn paused for a second before saying "just think about it, Li. What would you do, if the roles were reversed?"

Sniggering at the thoughtful look on Zayns face, Liam bit his lip as he muttered "I'd stay at a friends place."

"So?"

"So Niall will be staying with his friend. Louis's place most likely. I still have no idea where that is, though." Sitting behind his desk, Liam involuntarily smiled at the though of Niall, rummaging around his desk as he spoke. 

Collapsing onto the couch, Zayn knocked over a glass, swearing at himself before he said "Don't you have a guy for that? You have a suit guy, a car guy, a shopping guy, even a plane guy. Surely you have a guy who tracks down people's private, personal information?"

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Dedication : kadiebmore  because her brilliant long comment always make me smile.