Strictly Professional

2: Mr. Horan

ELLE

"This way, Mr. Horan." I held the glass door of my private office open for him, allowing him to step in first. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head slightly before he walked into the small room. Madeline stared at me with a wide smile as I got in and closed the door behind me, rolling my eyes at her through the transparent glass.

"Please, take a seat." I gestured to the two armchairs infront of my mahogany desk before I walked to the other side of it, pulling out my black desk chair and sitting in it after I set the folder I was holding, my planner and my phone down onto the wooden surface and rolled the chair back into the desk. He chose to sit on the armchair on my left side, seeing as it provided him with a clearer view of me since my wide computer monitor was located with the back of it towards the armchair on my right.

"So, Elle. I'm looking forward to working with you." He unbuttoned his blazer and rested his arm onto the desk, leaning back into his seat with a faint smile on his face. I bitterly chuckled, intertwining my hands and placing them onto the desk as I faced him, ready to tell him off for using my nickname. That's a name only my friends and family could call me and I would not tolerate him degrading me like that.

"I'd appreciate it if you addressed me with my full name, Mr. Horan." I sweetly smiled.

"It's Niall." His eyes flickered up and down, his stare glued to me as he took his bottom lip between his perfectly straight teeth, chewing on it.

"I'd rather stick with Mr. Horan." I answered, breaking the eye contact we held and turning my attention to my monitor, unlocking the screen with my passcode before opening the folder with all the clients, looking into my notes for the code I was given earlier and typing it into the search bar.

The results came up, the screen filling with all the information the firm had on him along with his picture. My eyes raked the screen, reading the brief biography provided in his file to get a good idea of who I was now working for. Then, it all came to me. I had finally managed to put two and two together and pinpoint exactly how I knew him.

Niall Horan. World renowned football player. Known as one of Chelsey's most treasured team members. But he was more than just that, and the media made sure to capture every second of his life, exploiting him and his choices in every way possible.

His name would be found within the titles of gossip websites more than it should. These articles and blog post though seemed to always skim over his career, focusing on his personal life and his ever changing love affairs. He has definitely managed to make a reputation for himself. After all, there's no such thing as bad press.

The entire time I was looking over his profile, I could feel his stare on me, making me feel slightly uneasy. I glanced briefly towards him, meeting the steel blue of his eyes looking at me before I turned my attention back to the monitor. I wasn't really doing anything on my computer. I was just trying to appear busy as I gathered my thoughts.

"Tell me, Elle. How long have you been working here for?" I accidentally glared at him, annoyed that he insisted on calling me Elle instead of using my full name like he should have.

"Six months." I blankly answered, taking the folder my boss gave me and opening it up. It contained the initial proposal of the investment he was offered, just like I was expecting.

"Really? Why haven't I seen you 'round here before." He rose an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest and letting out a loud breath. I raked my mind to understand why he talked like that, but I could still not pinpoint his accent to a certain region.

"I'm usually very busy, Mr. Horan. I don't just sit around and wait for people to show up." My tone was a bit harsher than I initially intended and I immediately looked at him when I realised, concerned that I might have offended him. Even if I wasn't very fond of the way he was acting towards me, he was still my client and I had to make sure I was on my best behaviour if I didn't wanna cause any problems for myself. He let out a faint chuckle at my answer, shaking his head with another smirk.