Empire // h.s. au

Prince Charming?

Harry Styles

Seeing John attempt to hit on Samantha was laughable at first, but it was quickly developing into something she was entirely uncomfortable with. Her body language looked disturbed and he was standing far too close to her. 

Sure, I despised the girl, but I wasn't about to let anything illegal happen to her. So, I did what all chivalrous guys do, I made a joke to ease the tension and get John off of her back. 

"You know, John, I really don't think it's in your best interest to be holding Samantha like that; you never know who might see," I said, hoping my voice wasn't as awkward as I felt. I simply wanted to come outside to get a breath of fresh air, maybe mess with Samantha a bit, but clearly John had other plans. 

"Harry, I don't think this really has much to do with you," John said, wrapping his arm around Samantha's shoulder. She flinched away from his touch, but was too weak to completely throw him off. Her eyes looked at me in a begging way, holding my gaze intensely. 

I've never seen a girl look at me like this. It wasn't the seductive eye Alexandria threw me everyday and it wasn't the look of disgust a girl would use when I kicked her out of my house. It was nervousness and loneliness and fear. Like, for once, she didn't completely hate me. 

"Really Harry, I think you should just leave, Samantha and I were about to head out," John said, gripping her shoulder in an uncomfortable way, especially for her. I saw her lips quiver and I knew I was the one who was going to have to 'rescue' her. God, I was a lot of things but Prince Charming was definitely not one of them. 

"Well, I don't know what your wife is going to think when you leave your own charity gala with the new intern," I said, crossing my arms and slowly inching closer so if it came down to it, I could grab her and pull her away from him. 

I think, for the first time ever, she'd go willingly with me. 

"I don't see anyone who's going to tell my wife anything," John said, slightly glaring at me. I think he was confused about my sudden change. Which wasn't all that sudden. 

"Mr. Pope," Samantha sweet and clear voice rang out, "I would really appreciate it if I could just go back in there like nothing happened. I really don't want to be the cause of drama, plus I have a boyfriend." 

Of course she had a fucking boyfriend. Why the hell wasn't he here to 'save' her? Because it sure wasn't my job. 

John looked irritated, but he went back inside, only to be offered another glass of whiskey and another talk on politics and the stock market, his mood looked to be quickly lifted. 

"Come on Samantha," I said, reaching out for her. Surprisingly, she grabbed my hand. Boyfriend or not. "Let's get back in there." 

"Um, thanks," she said, scratching her wrist. She looked uncomfortable. 

I ignored her and quickly departed from her, looking for the most beautiful girl in the room. 

~

Sadly, I couldn't find some beautiful woman to join me for the night. So, I was left in my bed alone with my thoughts. 

Samantha was something. She was annoying. Rude. Over-confident. Self-absorbed. And, for some unknown reason, beautiful. She was absolutely stuck in my head. 

And I could not figure out why. 

I needed to work, now. To get my mind off of leggy blondes who worked for me. So, I got out of bed and went to the office in my loft. I lived in one of the most expensive apartments in New York, so it was pretty spacious. I had to walk through two living rooms and a dining room, which I never used, to get to my large, glass covered office. You could see the skyline from the room and it was absolutely stunning.  I loved my loft. It was modern and sleek, just how I liked things. 

Business after business was looked through. All of my investments double checked. Whenever I couldn't sleep, I worked. It was comforting in a way. The numbers and names all so familiar and easy to figure out. 

Unlike people. Why couldn't everyone be like a business deal. Simple and easy to understand. No underlying meanings or bullshit. Straightforward. 

People have always been my downfall. For some reason, I struggle with dealing with them. Well, more I struggle with stupidity. And, nowadays, everyone seems to be stupid. Life was just so frustrating for me some days. A lot of the time, I just wanted to get out of New York and go home to Holmes Chapel. The city and its people got to be too much sometimes.  

I wanted to be alone. I knew that. I enjoyed the loneliness. I didn't fear it like everyone else. Because when you realize the beauty behind being alone, it opens your eyes. 

When you realize that when you're alone, the only thing keeping you company is yourself, it can bring you great joy. At least it had for me. It helps me think, being alone. It doesn't pressure me to make decisions or decide something that's life or death. It allows me to think and understand things. 

Being lonely made me happy. 

That's why everyone thought I was this rich, snob. In reality, I truly just enjoyed being alone. I was an introvert and recluse. And I didn't mind one bit. 

My phone buzzed next to me, helping to slip me out of these thoughts. Who the hell was calling me at 4 in the morning? 

I checked the caller ID. It was some unknown number.

"Hello?" I answered shortly, not really interested in speaking to someone.

"Mr. Styles?" the voice squeaked, sounding scared and small. 

"Who is this?" I snapped, not really wanting to deal with this awkward sounding person. I had multi-million dollar deals to be dealing with. Not quiet girls who couldn't get words out. 

"This is completely inappropriate and unprofessional and I understand if I am completely fired after this.." she said, her voice ranting and sounding frazzled.

"What is it?" I snapped, unsure if this was a dream or actually happening. 

"It's Samantha and I don't know where I am." 

A/N: SO, Samantha and Harry's relationship is starting to develop and we get a bit more insight on Harry...hm... any predictions? Xxx.