Personal Assistant ➵ H.S.

12

"Harry, what was that all about? I mean thank you but -" you said in a hushed tone.

"Sorry Ceece, I know you can handle yourself but the mans a dick. He shouldn't be putting his hands on you like that, not when he knows who you work for."

"What do you mean, has something happened between you-"

"Not now, okay, I'll explain later." The fire in his eyes was dimming now as he gave your hip a light squeeze, "Niall's about to speak now anyway."

You nodded slowly, frowning. It was rare for you to not know something about Harry's relationships with other people in the industry, it was basically your job.

Emmy sided up to you as you reached the front right of the crowd forming around the DJ booth and small stage set up with a microphone, "Why the long face, babe?"

You shook your head lightly, "Nothing Emsy, I'm fine. Could do with another drink though." Twirling around just as a waiter walked past with a tray of champagne ready to toast Niall, you grabbed two flutes. The waiter started to walk away when you stopped him, downed one glass in it's entirety and put it back on the tray, mumbling a thanks as Harry and Emmy both stared at you before grabbing a glass each.

"G'orn girl!" Emmy shouted as Harry chuckled at your antics, secretly not blaming you considering he knew how aggravating the person you'd just been dealing with could be.

You all looked to the stage as Niall began addressing the crowd, "Hi everyone...uh, thanks for coming tonight it really means so much, so much, to me to have all this support for me album."

"He's fucked isn't he?" Ed muttered behind you and Harry, referencing to the slur present in Niall's dialect.

"Royally," confirmed Harry.

"I won't make this too long cos me drinks nearly up," he lifted his nearly empty glass as the crowd laughed while Emmy facepalmed next to you, "but I do have a few people to thank. Firstly me gorgeous girl Emilia, what would I do without our arguing to inspire me break-up songs," another laugh from the crowd, including Emmy who raised her middle finger at the blue-eyed boy, "But seriously, ya mean the world to me, I love ya." You squeezed your best friends hand as she blew a kiss towards the stage, eyes glossy with tears of pride and love.

Niall carried on thanking a few people who helped in the process of writing and developing his album before he got to his final one.

"And finally, no words will be able to thank my best mate Harry for his hard work to make tonight amazing, even though we all know its mostly down to Cecy," he dropped a cheeky wink in your direction, "I love you guys. Now imma sing a few songs for ya and then it's time to drink the night away!" Cheers and claps filled the room as he bowed, stumbling slightly, before starting to sing.

◇

You stood chatting with Emmy and a few other girl friends, feeling bubbly and giddy from all the champagne you'd consumed. Countless people had come up to share their congratulations, take pictures with you and some media representatives had even conducted some mini interviews with you.

This is what you had dreamed of for so long; working for a company you believed in, for someone who brought out the best in you, and to be surrounded by the people you cared about the most during these highs.

But you couldn't shake what Tom had said to you about knowing what had happened between you and Harry. The most obvious guess was that he knew you'd slept together. You tried to tell yourself it wasn't a big deal, but you knew how the media could twist things if it did get out; you'd be known as the girl who'd slept with her boss to get the job before the mailman had even delivered the early morning papers. Luckily, you hadn't seen him for the last hour or so - hopefully he had taken Harry's hint to leave - which made you relax slightly.