international // harry styles

"sex on the beach"

holli's pov:

"holli dear, are you almost ready?" i hear my father's voice echo through the house. i slip on a pair of black stilettos and stand up, taking one last look in the mirror and walking out my bedroom door.

"don't worry, i'm coming." i reply, striding down the hallway onto the landing where the staircases meet leading downstairs. my mother and father were standing at the front door, her in sweatpants and a tank top and him in a full dark grey suit.

tonight is a big business dinner for my father's company and its associates. he's the ceo of camden lawyer service, named after our family. it wasn't very often he took me along with him to things like this, so i tried my hardest to impress him.

i had a black dress on with long lace sleeves that fell right above my knees with a pair of matte black louboutin heels i got for christmas this past year. despite my father's black hair and my mother's brunette locks, i was nearly platinum blonde naturally, which i had curled at the ends and left to fall down my back. although my mother always told me too much makeup was trashy and low class, i always thought of makeup as an art form, so over time i accumulated a collection of makeup, to say the least. i did a simple beige-orange halo eyeshadow look with a matte nude lipstick. i put large gold hoops in my ears and filled the other ear piercings up my ear with diamond studs and topped off my look with a little gold choker.

i stood at the balcony, awaiting the comments from my mother about my makeup or my father about how short my dress was or how it showed off the wrong places.

"well?" i questioned, heading down the stairs. upon setting both feet to the main level floor with a clack of my heels, my mother rolled her eyes and strolled off to the kitchen.

i ignored her actions and smiled at my father, "ready to go dad?" i asked, trying to keep a positive attitude. he opens the front door for me, then comments, "you look like a kansas city whore."

after the excruciatingly long drive, we finally arrived. it was a large cream-colored building with lots of windows, each of which bordered by a gold accent of some sort. when we stopped at the valet, my father spoke to the workers and i headed inside.

the place was packed with people, most of which turned and gave me dirty looks as i approached the ballroom. a man checking people in stood at the door with a clipboard in hand.

"camden, holli." i state, the man looking briefly at the clipboard then back at me.

"if it wasn't for your louboutins, i'd think you were crashing the party," he chuckles to himself, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair. "right this way, ms. camden."

he held my arm, quickly leading me through small cliques of business men and women talking to a table near the center of the room with a large centerpiece on it. he let go and pulled out a chair for me to sit, the table in front of me had a place card and in calligraphy was my name. the seat to my left was a woman named alexandra covington, she was a close business partner to my father who i assume would be sitting next to her and not next to his own daughter. the name to my right was a name i wasn't too familiar with, so i wouldn't pay it any mind.

my father sat two seats away from me shortly after i was seated. he didn't say a word when he sat at the table instead he adjusted the large black frames of his glasses and folded his hands on the table.

i stood up and headed to the bar. i was hoping for a tropical cocktail of some sort, but if i was denied, since i'm 18 not 21, shirley temples are always good. the man behind the bar was mixing a drink when i took a seat at the only open stool.