Stylish Payne

I was permitted to leave around five. Harry of course, stayed at the dollhouse, but I managed to get back to the estate. Louis had greeted me with a grin and a glass of red wine. “A glass of grown-up juice for yer first day!” he cheered, waltzing around the kitchen. “What happened to your eye, love?”

Not knowing if I should or shouldn’t tell on Harry, I just shrugged and accepted Louis’s wine glass. “You wouldn’t believe this”, I giggled, painting on a smile. “I had a nightmare about a creature trying to strangle me last night and I tried to fight it and ended up decking myself in the socket.”

“That’s awful!” Louis gasped, grabbing my hand across the island counter. “I could try making you an herbal face mask. You know, something you could put on before you go to sleep to keep the swelling down and get rid of all the blood!”

“You could do that?” I wondered.

“Me nan was a florist”, he reminded me with a chipper grin. “I don’t just grow flowers. I tend to the whole garden. That means the herbs and spices too!”

“That’s really neat”, I said.

Louis shifted and tilted his own glass a little to watch the red liquid spin. “I guess”, he chuckled. “I could show you sometime?”

“That would be-” I was interrupted as the doorbell rang. Louis frowned.

“I’ll call Mr. Styles”, he murmured. “Could you get the door? I’m right scared about talking to Zayn at this point.”

“How do you know it’s him?” I asked. Louis didn’t answer but walked out of the room, leaving me alone with my wine. Sighing, I got off the barstool and headed for the foyer. The doorbell rang again as I wrenched the door open, revealing a man in black with perfectly styled hair and dark glasses.

“My name is Detective Malik. I’m with Scotland Yard. Is Mr. Styles in?” he asked quickly.

I shook my head. “Erm, no. He’s currently at work”, I informed.

Detective Malik groaned as he ripped off his sunglasses. “Ugh! This is my card. Detective Zayn Malik. I’m working an investigation currently. If you could, please have him call me when he’s around-”

“I’m sorry but I don’t know his schedule and I don’t know when he’ll be where.”

The detective groaned again. “If you notice anything odd, can you give me a call?” he asked.

Anything odd? Everything about this place was odd. I could give him a tour and that alone could have Harry taken in for questioning. “Of course”, I grinned. “May I ask what’s happening?”

“Negative”, he answered. “This case is classified and incredibly sensitive. I’ll be going.”

“Aaalright then. Good afternoon, Detective Malik.”

“Indeed.” With that, the detective left. That was short lived. I shut the door and turned around, only to be greeted by Liam.

“Don’t answer the door for him again”, he stated. “I refuse to let my coworker be the butt end of slanderous accusations. What did he give you?”

“A business card?” I said. Liam took it from me and frowned.

“I’ll be putting this on Harold’s desk”, Liam murmured. I watched him turn on his heel and leave me alone in the entry hall. What the Hell slanderous accusations were being made? Should I be concerned? I wondered as Liam left me alone, wondered if Louis was right about the drug thing. Is that why the boxes were labelled with countries? Because Persian heroin is better than American? Because cocaine from Peru is worth more than cocaine from Canada?

“Ginny! You look like a doll!” I gasped as my shoulders were grabbed. Harry appeared out of nowhere, gripping my shoulders as he spun me around to face him. “When did you take your hair down? Those waves are lovely!”

“I took it down after I left the Dollhouse”, I answered slowly.

“I love it. You know what sounds fun? Instead of having Louis prepare dinner tonight, we should go somewhere! We should-”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea”, I interrupted, earning a nasty look. Before he could pitch a fit, I explained myself. “A detective from the Scotland Yard just came by asking for you.”

“Zayn Malik?” Harry inquired. “He’s nothing. He’s just upset I haven’t found a use for him yet.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Go get changed! I want to treat you and Liam to dinner tonight! We’re going to Senorita Bautista’s!” Harry pushed me towards the stairs as he yelled for Liam. “PAYNE! WE HAVE DINNER PLANS!”

“Can you not yell in my ear?” I asked, trying to make it sound like a joke. Harry threw me a smirk before locking me in my room where I tried finding something presentable. I put on a short red cocktail dress with a floofy skirt and matched it was a black jacket. Liam’s strange little doll was gone by now but I had no clue where he would’ve gone. In fact, I wasn’t sure where any of the Play Things would be. After finding a good pair of black stockings and heels, I slowly stepped out into the hallway where I was greeted to Liam in his same business suit.

“Got a hot date?” he teased.

“Shut up.”

Liam chuckled. “You look like a Bond villain”, he continued.

“And you look like my underling”, I joked. Liam stuck his tongue out before Harry came out of a room marked with a green doll eye, this time dressed in khakis and a deep green blouse. “Are you putting your shoes on in the car?” I wondered, gesturing to his socks and loafers he carried.

“I like feeling the floor”, he informed gently. “It lets me know if the staff members are cleaning like they should.”

So far, I hadn’t seen anything out of place. If Harry had asthma like Louis said, I wouldn’t be surprised that the servants would work as hard to keep the place dust-free (especially when he seemed to blow up as quickly as he did). “They do a good job”, I smiled.

Harry frowned. “Except the girl working the parlor room”, he murmured. “I found a curtain that needed beating this morning.” He turned slightly and started for the stairs, rose-inked foot leading the way. Liam and I followed, waiting patiently for him to put on his shoes before we were permitted to step outside into Liam’s car. “I do believe Louis and I need to discuss what he’s doing to my garden”, Harry grumbled, watching the gardener as we pulled away. “I don’t like yellow.”

Liam seemed to shift strangely in his seat. “Winter will be here before you know it”, he stated. “The yellow won’t be here for much longer. He’ll have to switch to poinsettias soon.”

“I want calla lilies”, Harry smiled quietly. “The white will look pretty with the frost.”

While white and white seemed like it would hurt sensitive eyes, it seemed best not to point that out. I sat silently in the backseat and waited for Liam to drive us to the restaurant. It was a festive little place where we were granted a booth next to an out of place fire pit. Harry smiled blissfully as he got a round of margaritas.

“Liam, I’ve decided who I want to deliver the parts I need for the initial structure of Ginny’s doll!” Harry announced.

We both looked at him over a basket of complimentary chips. “And who might that be?” Liam wondered.

“Cynthia”, Harry answered.

My cousin nodded. “I can see that”, he agreed. “A good choice.”

“Who’s Cynthia?” I wondered.

“One of our providers”, Harry smiled gently. “We don’t really make the doll parts ourselves. We collect them from the utmost special places.”

“After putting them together, Harry then decides the purpose of the doll and what it represents”, Liam added. “For example, Mistress Constance of our Bound In Love collection. She’s a mistress which means she should have an air of authority. But as the dominant instead of the submissive in a BDSM relationship, she shouldn’t have the same scars or flaws that her slave would have.”

“Which is why there’s not a scratch on her or her bodice”, Harry beamed. “But I did specially craft her riding crop.”

“Interesting”, I said. There wasn’t much else to say. The guys discussed marketing ideas and financial things while I sat. We ordered dinner, ate, and eventually left. I stayed quiet in the car, knowing Harry’s decided bedtime was soon, and wondered if I’d get another surprise visit from Louis.

Notes

So I hate this chapter BUT that just means a double update to compensate :D

Dear Kaleigh and Morrison, I love you both you two beautiful souls <3