*Quick side note!! Last chapter, I wrote it as a Tuesday, but I changed it to a Friday. Little change, but I don’t want to confuse anyone! :)*

Riley’s POV:

-Monday morning-
I woke up to my alarm clock beeping obnoxiously on the nightstand next to Heath’s king size bed. I rolled over and quickly hit the snooze button before repositioning myself in the mass of pillows and down blankets. Heath’s bed was probably my favorite place to be in his entire flat, but it wasn’t as much fun when I was the only one occupying the space.

Heath called late on Friday and told me that his boss needed him to stay in the city for the weekend so he wouldn’t be coming home until late tonight. Even though I was upset that I would be spending my entire weekend alone in his cold and bleak flat, I decided I would make the most out of the free time I was given. I didn’t work at the club either so I thought what a better way to spend a free weekend than with a little painting!

I hadn’t painted in quite a long time, almost since I moved in with Heath. I tried once on his balcony, but he got extremely paranoid because he thought I was going to get paint on the new handcrafted Italian tile. So now when I would get stressed or gloomy, coal sketching had to suffice. But with Heath gone, I could finally pull out my easel and brushes and actually paint.

I had spent both Friday and Saturday night painting and bringing out my inner artist that had been locked away for so long. After I had finished, there were a dozen new creations I added to my secret stash of artwork in the second guest bedroom closet upstairs, where Heath rarely ever went.

With my relaxing weekend behind me, I got up out of the comfy bed and readied myself for the new day ahead of me; my first day of work at Harry’s shop. I had been so excited all weekend for Monday morning to come around, although I didn’t know why. I guess I considered my excitement to be because I didn’t have the added stress of worrying about my finances anymore.

Harry had been so kind to offer me a job at his shop after only meeting each other two weeks before! I had to find some way to thank him for the wonderful gesture.

After I had taken a hot shower, I got dressed, put my makeup on and styled my hair. I strolled over to the kitchen and grabbed a banana and a granola bar to eat on my walk. I made sure to switch off all the lights and locked the door behind me as I made my way down the lift and out the front entrance. It was a gorgeous day for a walk and I had actually remembered to bring my headphones with me this time, so I listened to Ed Sheeran while I took in my beautiful surroundings.

I finally arrived at the shop and made my way to the office. I pushed the door open and looked to find a pair of chocolate brown eyes glancing up to meet mine. The eyes belonged to an extremely handsome man sitting behind the counter. His smile reached his warm eyes as he spoke.

“Hello! You must be Riley. Harry told me you’d be starting to work for us. It’s nice to finally meet you, I’m Liam Payne.” He held his large hand out to shake mine and I instantly felt comfortable.

“Nice to meet you as well.” He stood up and walked around the desk.

“Well, first things first, let’s give you a quick tour and introduce you to the team!” I nodded and followed him out into the garage. Loud rock music blared from a stereo mounted on the wall and I observed a few guys working on some very expensive looking vehicles.

“This is the garage, as you can see. Over through that door is storage where you will find inventory that we can’t fit in the front office. Customers can purchase tires, rims, windshield wipers and expensive grade cleaning supplies here. That door next to it will take you to Harry and Louis’ offices if you ever need either of them. And that third door will lead you to the restrooms and break room.” I nodded along, acknowledging that I understood.

We walked towards a guy bent over in front of a grill on a Porsche Cayenne. He had dark, striking features that made me assume he was of a Middle Eastern descent. He stood up as we approached and fist bumped Liam before glancing at me.

“Riley, this is Zayn Malik, he’s the lead detailer at H&L. Zayn, Riley is the new office assistant that Harry hired.” He smiled and his amber eyes bore into mine.

“Nice to meet ya, Riley.” I shook his hand and returned the greeting.

“Nice to meet you too, Zayn.” Liam then took me around towards the inventory stockroom where we walked in on the same blonde boy I saw dancing the other week. He turned around after hearing the door open, two beef jerky sticks protruding out of his mouth. He grabbed them quickly and swallowed whatever he had in his mouth. Liam sighed as the boy grinned wildly.

“Riley, I’d like you to meet Niall Horan, he’s a parts specialist and also assists with some detailing. Niall, this is Riley Gray, she’s going to be working in the office.” Niall wiped his hands on his shirt before reaching out to grab one of my hands.

“Hiya, Riley! It’s great to meetcha’!” He began to shake my hand before giving me a quizzical look. “You look familiar…have we met before?” I giggled before letting go of his hand and staring into his blue eyes.

“If you consider watching you dance to Single Ladies ‘meeting’ eachother, then yes, we have met.” I see his face turn red and I laugh while Liam lets out a chuckle.

After I meet the guys, Liam leads me back to the office where he runs me through daily tasks that needed to be done and how to help customers. It seems like fairly simple work and Liam said he would be right behind me in his office if I ever needed help.

Because I was only working three four-hour shifts during the week, the day went by relatively quick. I helped a few customers who came in and also assisted Liam in starting a new filing system for new and old clients. When 2:00 came around, I headed into Liam’s office and told him I was leaving for the day.

“Wow, I can’t believe how fast this day has gone! I really can’t thank you enough for your help today! It’s great because having you here, even though it’s only been four hours, because I finally got to work on stuff I normally would never have time for. If you’re interested, I’m considering talking to Louis and Harry about asking to have to come in a couple more hours during the week.”

I beamed at his suggestion and told him how great that would be! I could always use the extra cash and I actually enjoyed my work here, even after just one day. I told Liam I was only working Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and also every other weekend at my other job, so I could come in as much as he needed me to. He smiled and told me he’d let me know tomorrow what Louis and Harry thought of the idea. I say my goodbyes and made the thirty minute walk back home.

I was riding such an exhilarating high when I returned home that I wasn’t expecting the slap I received across my face from Heath for accidentally leaving the refridgerator door cracked open this morning.

So much for having a perfect day.

///

Harry’s POV:

“Harry, she was such a big help yesterday. It was the first day I actually finished everything I had planned! I think you should consider giving her more hours here. Her enthusiasm when I told her I’d ask you shows that she’s probably in need of some more cash-flow. I just think you should consider it.”

Liam didn’t even have to go into detail about selling me on upping Riley’s hours. I was all for it! It just meant that I would get to spend that much more time with her, and I was completely fine with that!

“I’m okay with it if you are, Lou.” I turned to look at Louis as he swiveled around in my desk chair.

“I have no problem with it. Have her come to Harry’s office when she gets in so we can decide on her new working hours.” Liam smiled and nodded before heading back to the front office.

Louis crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me with humorous eyes.

“Shit, Haz, I’m surprised you’re not bouncing off the walls right now! Getting to see your love interest a few more hours during the week? I’d be ecstatic if it were me.” I glanced down at my desk, trying to hide my happiness; I didn’t want Lou to see just how right he actually was.

My insides were going insane at the thought of seeing Riley more. She hadn’t left my mind since we met and I wanted to keep it that way. This also gave me another advantage for trying to steal her from that asshole she was with now and show her how it feels to date a REAL man.

I know I had made some bad choices in my past and treated women more like conquests than anything else. But, I guess sleeping around so much just helped me to numb the pain that had sunk in after everything that happened with Eva. I kept giving myself justifications and saying that I deserved to be happy and my happiness was fucking anyone that showed interest. I have been living like that for so long now, but after I met Riley, sex had lost its luster.

I desired nothing more than to hold her in my arms every night and listen to the slowed beating of her heart as she drifted off to sleep and then to see what she looked like when she woke up in the morning. I longed to shower her with kisses anywhere and everywhere just because I could. I wanted to make her laugh until she cried and see the wrinkle form in between her eyebrows when she was concentrating.

There were so many things I craved to ask her about; her childhood, her favorite season, if she liked pancakes or waffles better. The little things that make her who she is.

“Haz? Mate, you okay? You’ve been staring off for about five minutes now.” I jolted out of my thoughts and stared at Lou, who was giving me a lopsided grin. I didn’t even have to tell him what I was thinking of, because he already knew. We both turned when we heard a light knock on the door. My heart leapt inside my chest.

“Hey, Liam said I needed to come back and talk to you guys about something?” Riley was standing in the doorway of my office, looking as beautiful as ever. Louis turned to me and winked without Riley seeing before heading towards the door.

“Right! I think Harry can handle that. I’m going to go try to get some work done.” I silently thanked him for being the best friend ever and watched as he smiled at Riley before exiting my office. I motioned her to come in and sit in one of the chairs facing my desk. She sits and crosses her long legs and folded her hands in her lap before resting her stare on mine.

“So, Liam really talked you up to us today, although he didn’t really have to.” I wink at her and her cheeks blush pink. “But, Louis and I talked and we don’t see any problem in offering you more hours here. Liam can get swamped at times, so I think this would definitely take some stress off of him. What do you think?” She smiled and nodded.

“I would love to! I know yesterday was my first day, but I already really love working here. Everyone is so nice and it’s such a different environment than I’m used to at the club. Not having drunk people yelling in your face makes for a good work day.” I laugh at her joke and clasp my hands together on my desk.

“I couldn’t agree with you more about the absence of drunk people. And I’m really glad you’re liking it here so far. You seem to fit in quite well, which is just what we needed. We’re all a big family here so it’s really important that any new employees we bring in mix well with our dynamic.” Riley nodded her head in agreement.

“I completely understand. And I can already tell you that I feel so comfortable here. Everyone has been so incredibly welcoming and I don’t think I can thank you enough for this opportunity. There has to be some way I can pay you back for your kindness?” She looked at me inquisitively. My stomach dropped; this was my chance to get her alone. I looked down at my hands as I anxiously wrung them together.

“Well, if this isn’t asking too much of you, I’d love to take you out for a drink some time.” I stared at my hands for a few more seconds before raising my gaze to meet her own. She looked at me with wide eyes, her pink pout opened in a small “o”.

“Oh. Um, I’m not sure how Heath would feel about that.” Oh shit. Think fast, think fast before she gets weirded out!

“I mean, if you’re not comfortable going with just myself, I bet the boys wouldn’t mind coming along and getting to know you better?” I think that made her tension lessen when I mentioned bringing the guys along and she gave me a small smile.

“Okay. Yeah, I think I can do that.” VICTORY. I tried to make sure I didn’t look too excited, but I could feel a smile stretching across my face. Finally I get to spend some time with her, not even caring that the guys would be there.

“Great! Why don’t we go after work tonight? We could all meet up around 9:00 at my flat and head out from there? The boys and I all live in the same complex and there’s a great pub right around the corner from our flats.” She nodded quickly.

“Sounds perfect! Let me get your phone number so you can text me your address.” Shit. This was working out more perfect that I had hoped!

After we exchanged numbers, she went back to the front office, leaving me in a haze of excitement. 9:00 couldn’t come soon enough.

Notes

I'm so sorry this took me so long to get this update on here..I've been so tired these past few days with university and whatnot. I'm going to try and get another one up as soon as I possibly can because I love you hunnies :)

Also, I just want to say a huge THANK YOU for all the wonderful comments you've been posting on this story!! I am overwhelmed with happiness when I read your beautiful comments! You are all so amazing and I love you! Also, 21 subscribers? I don't even think I have 21 friends.....Lol! :)

So, what did everyone think of this chapter? How ADORABLE is Harry though? I love writing him all romantic and crap. What do you think is going to happen when Riley goes out with the boys?

Send me your answers! Vote, comment and subscribe! :)
LOVE YOU ALL!
-Natalie Xx