Harry Styles

I had a massive headache the minute my body regained consciousness although had no clue where it happened. I was on a couch of some sort, in the dark so not much made sense. When I sat up, I noticed my shoes were no longer on my feet, my blazer was on my legs and worked as a blanket. My stomach made a strange noise and it felt empty. When my phone went off, the screen was so bright that it caused my eyes to hurt and also light up the room a little. I turned on the torch and realised that I was in a meeting room of some sort. I couldn't have been at my building, though, because I didn't have a couch like this.

With a sigh, I leaned back on the couch, my legs stretched out as I unlocked my phone. It was ten pm which made me wonder how long I was asleep for. It kind of cured my drunk ass, I didn't feel intoxicated anymore but I wasn't completely sober, either. I had texts from Niall but I wasn't in the mood to reply to him – or anyone, for that matter – so I just clicked out of my messages and turned the torch back on. I had to find the light switch or something because I was fed up of being in the dark and also not knowing where I wa...

I was at Kensington's building.

We fought and then I fell asleep.

"Oh, god," I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose with my eyes closed. I could only fucking imagine the stupid shit I said to her, not that I wanted to. Imagine those things, I mean.

I wondered if she was still here and then I remembered that she usually stays late therefore the chances of finding her increased. It was still strange to me that she spent so much of her time here when she must have had a place herself and could have worked from the comfort of her bed. Then again, it was likely that she just didn't want to take her work home.

Just as my hand wrapped around the door handle, I felt it move down and then the wooden piece was almost shoved in my face.

"Jesus," I mumbled as the sudden movement scared the life out of me. The bright light from outside made me squint and I placed my hand above my eyes to use it as a protector.

"Mr Styles," the assistant, who I had ran into before, called my name and cleared her throat.

"Miss... Jones, right?"

"Yes. I was just checking up on you before I leave for the day," she told me. The fact that she was here after five o'clock was maddening to me. I never kept my assistants longer than five. "How are you feeling?"

"Like absolute shit, Miss Jones," I told her honestly. "Where can I find Miss Kensington?"

"She's in her office. She's currently taking a call therefore I wouldn't interrupt her. Should be done soon," she informed me. She was on the phone to someone at ten pm? Did she really do business at this time? "It's... personal."

"Huh?"

"The call. It is personal. Judging from your facial expression, I could tell you thought it was work related. It is not," she made it clear. "However, please don't mention this to her. Miss Kensington doesn't like it when people get all up in her life."

"Yeah... tell me about it," I forced a laugh out. "Could you please show the way to her office? I don't quite know the way."

"Of course," she nodded as she took a step back and I followed her. "It's just right there," she motioned for the massive doors. One side had an R on it the other had a K on it. Renleigh Kensington. What a little fucking cocky bitch. She truly went all out with her building. She had her own lift, fancy doors, all this high-tech security... kind of made me feel like mine wasn't good enough.

"How do I go in?"

"Just knock on her door and she'll let you in. Now, I must go because I have things to tend to."

"Right. Of course. Thanks for the help," I said.

"No problem," Miss Jones smiled. "See you later."

"Bye-bye."

Here we go... with a big breath, I raised my hand to knock on the door but before that even could have happened, the doors slid open.

"Woah... what?" I asked in pure shock. How the hell did they open if she didn't even know I was there?

"Cameras do wonders," she told me as if she saw in my brain. Then again, the sight of my expression was probably enough to conclude that I was stunned by what happened. "Just got them installed in this week. Helps a ton to figure out who the hell is trying to bother me."

"Right... that's crazy," I said. It was crazy. She was so on top of things. "Um, shit, I forgot to put my shoes on..."

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged. "I don't have mine on. But let's just get over this. Instead, have a seat and tell me why you turned up here, drunk off your arse, demanding to speak to me?"

"I, uh... I was near this area," I came up with the best excuse I had. There wasn't really a reason why I came here. Well, other than the fact that I wanted to see her because it had been too long. That, however, was going to be kept to myself as she didn't need to nor did she want to know it.

"O-okay. How are you going to explain the part where you desperately needed to see me?"

"I can't," I shrugged. "You should've asked drunk me why he wanted to see you."

"Highly doubt your drunk self would have been of any use."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"You see, I told your drunk self I would forget about everything that he told me so I will keep my promise and words," that is exactly what you did with our kiss, too. I groaned and leaned back in the chair. My eyes travelled behind her, the darkness outside with the lights on from cars and street lamps were kind of calming. "Now, if you don't have anything else to say, you could grab your stuff and leave. I can arrange my driver to drop you off if you wish."

"No. What I wish for is you to finally mention the kiss at my uncle's."

"What kiss?" she asked back like she had no idea. That kind of pissed me off. She did it in purpose, I knew it. She smirked at me like she was so slick.

"You know... the one that you initiated."

"Doesn't ring a bell..." she carried on playing and I kind of wanted to stand up and smash our lips together again just to remind her.

"Alright. Let's cut it, okay? We're both adults, let's deal with this as we should."

"Personally, I don't think there is anything to deal with in the first place. If you think we're adults then I don't see why you're so caught up in this kiss? I mean, we were both drunk and as far as I'm concerned, it happened because of it."

"Yes, that is correct. It happened because we were drunk. It happened because we found the courage to do it. Obviously, if we would have been sober, it wouldn't have happened for obvious reasons but it did. And that left me wondering if there was an underlying reason behind it," I explained my thoughts. She sighed loudly, maybe she thought it made no sense but I didn't want to leave this under the rug. I needed to know if I was right. I needed to know if she felt something.

"What do you want me to admit? Do you want to hear that you're a good kisser? Because you are. So, there you go. The kiss was nice from what I remember," she gave in and although that wasn't what I was looking for, it was better than nothing. She closed herself off so damn much I had no idea what side I could pick at to get a little part up in order to reveal the rest.

"Look, I just want to know if I have a chance."

"What chance?" she questioned. "I have told you time and time again that I am not looking for a relationship. Or a friendship. I can't work those things – I have no time to make for others and I have no patience to deal with stuff."

"What stuff don't you have patience to deal with, exactly?"

"Emotions. Strings attached to a person. I don't have it in me to sit down with someone and talk. I just run. If something can't work itself out then there's no point in trying. If something goes wrong, it just means things weren't meant to be. And yeah although some people give a second chance to those who broke them but honestly, why? What is the point? They are not going to be able to fix what they broke. It's impossible."

"The way you look at this is not healthy. You can't just... not expect things to not go wrong. You also can't not work out things if they slip up. Is that what you do when it comes to your business? Surely not," I forced a laugh as I compared the two. And I knew she wouldn't like that.

"You know, the thing is, that nothing goes wrong when it comes to my business. Therefore, your little persuasive act is not really doing anything," she said after a little bit of silence. I knew that was bullshit. She knew it, too.

"Haven't I told you I don't fuck with liars?"

"Good thing we're not in an intimate relationship. And probably never will be."

"For godness sake, Kensington. When will you stop stating the obvious?" I was frustrated with that answer. Nothing but that line seemed to leave her lips lately.

"When you finally understand what I'm saying."

"I understand you. But you don't understand me."

"No, I totally get you," she smirked as she leaned on her desk, elbows out and fingers crossed as her palm faced the surface of furniture. "You want to be in a relationship with me. But I don't. And we just keep fighting over it."

She got me there. That literally was our problem. This was why we fought constantly. Because what I wanted wasn't what she wanted. We were never going to get anywhere with this constant bickering because I wasn't going to give up and she definitely wasn't going to give in. Whatever we were doing was going to take over our everyday life – although it kind of already did – and make us miss opportunities.

Like, what if some other chick walked into my life and I wouldn't even notice her because I was so caught up on trying to get Kensington to like me? Want me? What if that girl would do anything to be mine, to be loved by me, to be wanted by me whilst I was running after something, well someone who would never stop and turn back around for me?

I probably wouldn't even notice that other girl. Hell, I don't even notice anyone anymore. I haven't even fucked Celia since the charity event and that was almost over a month ago. The only action I got was from my two friends, Left and Right. My wrists fucking hurt sometimes, it took me ages to get off although ever since Kensington kissed me, the images of her chest pressed up against mine, my hands on her waist and thighs and hers all over my neck and in my hair, it was somewhat easier to get to the top.

But still, I was nowhere near satisfied.

"I'm right and you know it," she scoffed. "You want what you can't have and it's bruising your ego so terribly that you can't even control yourself. I mean, you turned up to my building, pissed off of your arse, wanting to see me even though a week prior to that you said you won't bother anymore," she brought up the facts. I rolled my eyes and shook my head; my leg was bouncing up and down from the light anger that filled my system.

"Clearly, I didn't mean what I said at the party. I wasn't sober, I say stupid shit when I'm intoxicated."

"Oh," she laughed like she had experienced that before or something. "Trust me, I know that's true."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you chatted some absolute shit before you passed out on the couch in the room you woke up."

"What did I say?"

"Stupid shit."

"Kensington, just tell me," I sighed. This was so bad. I wanted to know more than anything and she was likely to keep everything to herself or even worse – lie about it.

"We basically had the same conversation we are having right now but a lot more unnecessary and definitely imaginative things came from your part," she told me with a particular wording that didn't leave much room for me to add pieces on top therefore it made no sense.

"Such as?"

"Such as how precious I am and how gorgeous I am and how much you want to know me," she gave in eventually. Although I didn't want to believe that was true. Why would I tell her anything of that sort? My sober self is not that stupid. "Don't give me that look. I'm not lying."

"Doesn't really seem like something I would tell you, though."

"Oh, dear, you haven't heard the best parts yet," she laughed. "And you will not. As I have no more time to waste on you or on this situation."

"I fucking hate when you do this shit," I told her. "You always end our conversations without us actually finishing the topic. It annoys the fuck out of me."

She laughed at me and it sounded as one would type it out. She literally laughed like 'hehehe' and I almost hugged the floor but also found it adorable.

"Good. One more reason for you to dislike me."

"That's where you are wrong," I said right away. "With every annoying and frustrating and difficult thing you do or display I just find you more... intricate. More interesting. This... all of this is just feeding into me wanting to know you more. It's like I can't stop it. Not that I want to. You are so... different. Almost strange. You have such a weird outlook on life, work, relationships... I want to know them all as creepy as it sounds."

"You're fucking mad, you," she laughed at me. It seemed sincere. She acted like I just told her a funny joke. And that kind of hurt. But I also understood that it was weird for me to just... spit out my feelings like that. "Nah, you're still drunk," she continued. "Here, have a drink of this to clear your mind," she passed me her water bottle across the table and I stopped it from sliding down.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Am I fuck?" she asked back. She swore so much. I wouldn't have ever imagined her to be this way before we began to spend more time together. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she definitely felt more relaxed around me than she did before. "Styles, you're chatting pure shit. I'm sorry but there is no way in hell anyone would be that determined to make sure I'm ok, to get to know me, to want to hang out with me."

"Here I am," I laughed in disbelief and she shook her head. Her arm was propped up on the arm rest of the chair, her index and middle fingers pressed against her lips as she held her head up. "You know, I love a chase but I feel like I'm running a fucking marathon trying to get you to notice me."

"I don't slack," she mumbled. Oh, didn't I know that already.

Then, the quiet kind of overtook us. The room was silent and so were we. I kind of zoned out, I listened to the thumping of my headache in my ears and temples. Until I heard her sigh. My head snapped upwards, eyes bored into hers and I waited.

"Alright, I have a proposition for you," she began.

I scoffed and raised my left eyebrow with a stern gaze and straight lips. "Try me, darling."

"Look at this as a free trial of some sort. You get a month to try and persuade me why I should even bother thinking about letting you into my life."

"What does this mean?"

"This means you have the chance to show me why I should try and trust you. This means you get to have what you want for a month straight and if you're successful, I guess I'll see where we can go from there. But should you fail to convince me, I never want to see you again. I don't want to deal with you constantly rocking up to my work, having to drive your drunk ass home or let it rest in one of my offices."

"Does this mean... what does this still mean?"

"Use your damn brain," she rolled her eyes. "It means you're basically going to take me on dates or whatever the fuck you want to do with me so bad. This means I will eventually, maybe or maybe not, open up. Kind of. Not really. I'm not promising anything because I have zero ounce of trust in you so I'm not putting anything serious out there."

"Dates? So, dinners and stuff? Lunch dates and all?"

"I guess. I don't know. I might decline sometimes. This is not gonna be easy for you, I hope you know."

"You said free trial. That means I shouldn't have to deal with you saying no."

"Well, it's my terms and conditions, you have to tick the box to proceed further ahead or you can click out and fuck off," she grinned at me and she knew she won. She had the control over the situation, over all of this even though she made me believe I was in her position at first.

"Do I need to sign an actual contract?"

"I'll get back to you on that," she mumbled. "Let you have a think. We'll go from there."

She was going to make me sign a contract, wasn't she?

• • •

a.n.
and the fun begins!

what are your thoughts on the contract? what are your thoughts on ren even thinking of it as an option?

don't forget to vote and comment if you've enjoyed the chapter 💘