Empire // h.s. au

You're Joking

Harry Styles

"I have to bring a date?" I snarled into the phone. This idiotic, no-nothing man was getting on my last nerve. A date? I didn't have time to find a date. 

"Yes, Harry," he responded, his voice firm and full of amusement. People seemed to enjoy irritating me to the point of no return. 

"I'm not dating anyone right now," I snapped, rolling my eyes at his words.  "So, I have no reason to bring a date." 

"Well, Harry, maybe we can then forget inducting you into the council," he said, all amusement gone from his voice. He was not an easy man to bargain with. Regardless how good of persuasion skills I possessed. 

I thought for a moment, I could just bring Alexandria, right? Nothing romantic, strictly business. 

I needed this spot on the council. 

"Fine, I'll be there with a," I paused, having to choke out the word. "date." 

"Wonderful, cannot wait to see you, son," he said, his voice returning to its amused state. His gruff voice was like nails on a chalkboard; however, I needed him and his support.

"You as well, grandfather," I said, barely able to say the word. 

My "grandfather" was less of a grandpa and more of a demanding boss who believed that if you weren't nearly dying from exhaustion (which has happened before, but that's another story) that you weren't trying hard enough. My grandfather was a hard ass. And I hated him for it. The words "I love you" had never come out of his mouth, especially when it came to me. He seemed to have an extra hard part in his heart for me, because his hate for me sometimes was overwhelming. 

But, he'd agreed to getting me on the Business Council of New York. An elite honor that normally only 40 year old men who enjoyed cheating on their wives more than working were involved in. However, he had agreed to get me on it, which meant I owed him a lot. Which meant I was in debt with the devil. 

"Mr. Styles?" Alexandria entered the room, her skirt too short and her blouse too low. 

"Hello, Ms. Turner," I said, trying to avoid the question I was being forced to ask her. 

"Did you need something? You rang me..." she said, trailing off, her eyes catching mine and holding the gaze. 

"Well, would you like to accompany me tonight to the Council induction ceremony?" I asked, breathing deeply and trying to avoid rolling my eyes so I didn't come off as facetious. 

Her face looked thrown off for a minute but she then responded with the most horrific response humanly possible.

"No," she said, giving me a weird look. "I have plans tonight." 

"Are you kidding?" I snapped. "I'm your boss and..."

"Who just asked me out," she grinned, crossing her arms. "If you would have asked me last week and made it mandatory, I would absolutely be there. But I'm going out with my friends tonight." 

"You're fired," I growled, royally pissed off.

"Mr. Styles, you truly don't mean that. So, I'm just going to get back to work," she said, slight amusement in her voice, all at my expense. 

I hated that she was right. I could never fire her. She was the reason my life was as "together" as it was. If she wasn't here, I'd have no organization whatsoever. 

Now I needed to find a date. Pronto. 

It was 7 am and I was preparing myself to call every girl I knew.