How It's Going To Be [h.s.]

Chapter 42

{Kate's Point of View}

The day had been marked on the office calendar for weeks. Everyone had been preparing for the day One Direction came to the office for contract extensions. All departments for the management company were at attention as cars pulled up one by one and the boys from the most famous band in the world trailed into the building.

I sat nervously at my desk organizing papers. I was more concerned with impressing my department chairwomen than impressing what I assumed were high-strung celebrities. I had been attracted to the job for the experience I would get, not the perks of occasionally seeing the band.

"Kate," Ruby appeared by my desk. "Will you make copies of these outlines? I need seven copies."

"Absolutely," I jumped up. I needed to impress Ruby.

I took the outlines from Ruby's hand and went out into the hallway toward the copy room. Halfway there, I heard people walking quickly down the hall after me. I turned and saw a small group of office workers leading Harry Styles and Niall Horan toward the conference room. I froze in the doorway of the copy room with my hand on the door handle ready to turn it.

"Does anyone have gum?" The voice was smooth and low. I could picture the pout on his lips as he spoke the words.

There was a chorus of "no, sorry" from the entourage. My hand fell away from the door handle and went to the pocket of my blazer. I felt the outline of the new pack of gum I had purchased that morning on my way to work. Without thinking, I turned around, "I do."

My eyes met his. They were a deep green. The corners of his mouth twitched up in a soft smirk. His hair was pushed back by a headband and I realized he was dressed far more casually than he was in the images I had recently seen. "Do you?"

"Yes," I breathed.

I reached into the pocket on the right side of my blazer and withdrew the pack of gum. I held it out to him. He took a sidestep around one of the girls and approached me slowly. His eyes locked with mine and he didn't break eye contact as he took the pack of gum. I heard the plastic crunching sound of him popping the small piece of gum through the tinfoil covering. He brought the gum to his mouth and then paused. He raised the gum ever so slightly like someone joining in a toast from the back of a room.

"Thank you." The words were as if I had never heard them before. They felt truly genuine despite the simple act of giving gum that incited them. When he thanked me, his eyes lingered on mine for a few seconds before dipping down to my lips.

"Ready?" One of the girls walking with the two boys asked impatiently.

Wordlessly, he turned and the hallway cleared as the group entered the conference room and I finally opened the door to the copy room. I didn't even have the courage to glance back to see if he stole a last look at me.

The copy and fax machines in the small room were beeping and buzzing. Another one of the new employees was hovering over a copy machine while it spit out copies. I walked up to a nearby machine and placed the outline on the glass top and shut the lid. I entered seven copies and waited for the machine to begin.

"You look flushed, are you alright?" the girl asked.

"Fine," I said too quickly. "It's just the heat in this tiny room. You know, from the machines."

"You're right," she nodded. "These machines do make it really hot in here."

I was glad the girl believed my cover story. How was I supposed to tell her that I was blushing because I had just given Harry Styles a piece of gum?