Paragon // z.m

2. "Good enough for you now?"

As soon as Zayn stepped foot into his office, Louis was hot on his tail, slamming the door shut, before beginning to pace the floor.

“ It’s one thing to have you all irrational and heartless, it’s another to be absolutely stupid and destructive. This isn’t another secretary who looked at you the wrong way, and it certainly isn’t a coffee boy who speaks too slow for your busy schedule and non-existent patience. This is our main model, we base all our work on her.” Louis looked up, to see that Zayn is focused on his own computer, disregarding Louis’ very purposeful speech. Louis approached him, laying his palms on Zayn’s desk, his eyes hard, angry, and determined.

“ She’s good, she’s professional, she has a reputation for herself. She’s an asset, and we are in no way letting her go before releasing our biggest line yet.” Zayn finally abandoned his computer, turning to face the distressed Louis.

“ She is rude, spontaneous, and highly unprofessional. She’s emotional, airy, and that’s not what we need in a professional environment. This firm, this line, will not, depend on one girl. We can easily replace her and you know that. So, tell me, what’s the deal about this girl, huh? Having a little crush or something?” Zayn’s eyes were on Louis’, daring him to say the wrong word, to slip and lose it, because he’d easily take him down.

“ If you weren’t Zayn, I would have fucking deformed your face right now, but it isn’t worth it. This line is my responsibility, and I’m not letting her go, end of discussion.” Louis turned to walk away, but Zayn’s voice caused him to stop.

“ This isn’t how it works. Don’t try to play boss with me, Tomlinson.” Louis didn’t bother to face him, knowing that he’d have his eyebrows set into a frown, his lips formed into a thin line, prepared to attack whomever dared to argue.

“ I’m the designer, and this is my call. If you don’t like it, go ahead and fire me.” And Louis walked out of Zayn’s office, without a second glance. He was proud of himself for putting his foot down for once when it came to Zayn, even though, he couldn’t help but feel remorse settling at the pit of his stomach, as he wondered, whether it was worth it.

He decided it did.

Someone had to  let Zayn know that this wasn’t his world and he wasn’t some God. Yes, he was the owner of this firm. Yes, he was the one in control of Louis, along with everybody else. But that didn’t miraculously make him a better person, that didn’t give him the right to pull everybody’s strings, as if they were moppets in his hands.

Louis gave himself a pat on the back, as he walked into his own office, presuming his drawings, as if the whole thing never happened. He knew Zayn would eventually come around, he’d realize that Louis was right and that he was being too big of a dick for Louis’ undying tolerance. He’d walk into his office and boss him around and act like nothing had ever happened and Louis would be okay with that.

At least, that was what he hoped would happen.

What in fact happened was that Zayn completely ignored Louis’ existence. He held meetings with the big people of the firm without even sending him a notice. He went on his rounds through the firm, without sending him a second glance. He didn’t call him to rush him with the designs, he didn’t mention the show or anything related, which was odd, since Zayn was known for being overly pushy when it came to this. But Louis was as stubborn as Zayn was, if not worse, so he’d walk in front of Zayn’s office and laugh just to piss him off, or he’d see where Zayn was, and intentionally be extra touchy-feely with Robin, who of course, was encouraging anything that involved pissing Zayn off. Louis began taking decisions, ordering materials, casting models, and he waited for Zayn to finally crack and yell at him, but he never did.

Not until Louis was in the runway, with Robin rehearsing, demonstrating for the newly hired models. It was one of those days for Robin, so she decided that sinking herself into work would be exactly what she needed, and that was when Zayn walked in, his walk purposeful, determined.

“ You’re not graceful enough. Chin up, straighten your back, and on your tiptoes.” Zayn took off his jacket, rolling his sleeves up, before jumping the large step to be on the stage beside Robin.

“ What the-“

“ I said, chin up,” and he put a harsh finger beneath her chin, lifting her face up at an uncomfortable angle, “ your back,” his hands laid around her waist, but they were gone as fast as they had appeared, falling to her legs that were slowly giving out on her.

“ Now, go back and walk down again, hands spread by your sides.” Zayn ordered, before standing away, with his arms crossed against his chest. Robin swallowed the lump forming in her throat, choosing to do as told, even though, there wasn’t much of a choice. The heels were too thin and too high and too new to be anywhere near comfortable. The corsets that she wore was too tight and she couldn’t breathe, not with him so close and so angry, and with Louis looking this lost, and the girls watching, and Harry not being understanding enough or supportive enough or just- enough. Harry was her boyfriend of two years, before it had all gone viral for her, they used to want the same things, think the same way, but now, it just wasn’t the same anymore, and she blamed herself, and him, and everything in between. She couldn’t breathe and she was slightly dizzy and hot tears were forming behind her eyelids, but she kept walking, until he yelled again.

“ Wrong! If you walk like this on the show, everyone will ridicule us!” He roared, his voice echoing through the suffocating hall, as he grabbed a pile of magazines, laying them on her head.

“ If one of them falls, you’re out. I don’t give a fuck how good you are, you’re clearly not good enough.” His face was inches away from hers, and if he didn’t look so hateful, and if his words weren’t so threatening and harsh, she would have probably thought he was absolutely beautiful. But he wasn’t. He was cruel, and it was one of those days for her, and she couldn’t quite take it.

“ Zayn, maybe  we should-“

“ Stay out of this, Louis.”

The threat in his voice, quieted Louis down. So, Robin walked down the runway again, her whole figure trembling with God knows what, a single magazine almost fell, but she caught it, releasing a shaky breath, before finally reaching the end of the runway. She threw the magazines away, turning her harsh gaze towards Zayn.

“ Good enough for you now, Mr. Malik?” He stared down at her, his gaze firm, but not as cutting through as it usually was. He cleared his throat, tightening his crossed arms against his chest. Feeling suddenly nauseous, she ran towards the nearest bathroom, throwing up whatever that was left in her stomach, even though she hadn’t really had anything to eat. The nausea seemed to drown her, as she struggled to rid herself of something that couldn’t be as easily flushed down the toilet, something that was profound within her,  not simply clinging to her stomach, but to each and every organ inside her, to every living cell and functioning vein. It was all solidified into her soul and she wished she could just throw it all up.

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A/N: booya, look who was just introduced into the story!

vote and comment and let me know what you think because I'm really excited for this one and I hope you are too :)

ily x