Mr. Malik

“I need to get up,” Katherine whispered to Zayn through the stillness.

“Your boss must be a tyrant making you get up at this early hour,” he said, smiling at her through the dimness.

“Yeah, something like that,” she giggled, thinking about how exceptionally adorable he was when he felt comfortable enough.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep in here. I’m sorry,” Zayn said quietly.

“Don’t… don’t apologize for that,” she said, her smile dropping off her face and her heart sinking.

“I’m sorry for last night,” he continued to apologize.

“What part?” She asked hesitantly. If he said all of it, she would probably cry.

“For the same part I have already apologized for,” he elaborated.

“I’ve already forgiven you, Mr. Malik,” she said, letting a sly smile turn up her lips. Zayn smiled back at her.

“Always a pleasure, Miss Mason,” he breathed, leaning in to plant a kiss on her lips.

.

After getting showered and dressed, Katherine was actively making breakfast in the kitchen while Zayn took care of some things in his office. She felt happy and sated and damn near perfect. The smile on her face was real and the song she hummed came naturally.

“I see you’re in one piece this morning. I was a bit worried,” she heard Liam as he came into the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee.

“What?” She asked him as her heart began to pound faster in her chest.

“Well, it wasn’t hard to come to conclusions about all the noise coming from your room last night. My brother wrecked you, didn’t he?” Liam said, bouncing his eyebrows at her. Her stomach turned and her face flushed brightly.

“And I thought you weren’t sleeping with him,” Liam said, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

“It’s none of your business,” she snapped at him.

“You’re absolutely right, beautiful. I’m just glad someone was able to break through his icy exterior,” Liam smirked at her.

“Are you finished?” She asked him.

“I’m quite finished,” he laughed, holding his hands up in defense.

“Breakfast is almost ready,” she said, changing the subject quickly.

“Fantastic. I’m out of here after,” he told her.

“Are you?” She asked him.

“I am, love. Headed out to California for a bit,” he said.

“While your step-father lies in a hospital bed?” She asked him.

“Hey, that old man doesn’t give a shit whether I’m there or not. Notice how I’m not walking around in a business suit talking about mergers and acquisitions? Yeah, that’s because, in his eyes, I’m not good enough. I’ve never been. But it’s alright, he’s a bastard anyway,” Liam explained.

“Liam. Have you not gone yet?” Katherine heard Zayn snap at his brother.

“Nah, brother. I’m just filling in your girl on the inner workings of our dysfunctional family,” Liam said, smiling at his brother.

Zayn grumbled something incoherent under his breath and walked toward the breakfast bar, taking a seat. Moments later, Katherine placed an omelet in front of each boy – one mushroom and swiss, and one ham and cheddar.

“Good God man, do you eat nothing else?” Liam asked Zayn.

“I’m a creature of habit,” Zayn quipped before he took his first bite.

“After five mornings of straight omelets, I’ll probably never touch another one,” Liam joked.

“I could have made you something different,” Katherine told him.

“He’ll be quite fine,” Zayn said, side-eyeing his brother.

.

Liam left not long after breakfast, his bag already packed and his one way ticket to Los Angeles booked. Zayn seemed relieved to have him gone. Katherine could only imagine why.

“He wasn’t so bad to have around,” she said to Zayn as he lingered in the kitchen after Liam left. His eyes narrowed at her and she tensed for a moment.

“You know what I mean,” she said to him.

“I was right about why he was here,” Zayn said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Katherine asked.

“His getaway to the west coast? Funded by yours truly,” he said.

“He asked for money?” She asked him.

“Typical Liam. I shouldn’t have expected anything less,” Zayn said, nodding his head.

“There must be something redeeming about him. You must have good memories of him to outweigh the disappointments?” She asked him.

Zayn closed his eyes for a moment and Katherine caught the small smile on his lips.

“What?” She asked him.

“When we were younger, we used to… we used to be in this, uh… band,” Zayn admitted.

“A band?” She gasped playfully.

“More like a singing group, I guess. We used to sing a whole bunch of old pop songs,” Zayn smiled fondly.

“I didn’t know you could sing,” she told him.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Miss Mason,” he countered, smiling wryly at her.

“Well, now you have to sing for me,” she said, quirking her eyebrow at him.

“No,” he said, shaking his head.

“Yes. Sing for me,” she pressed.

“I have work to do, Miss Mason. I do not have time for singing,” he told her as he began to walk away from her.

“Zayn!” She called to him just before he reached his office door.

“Yes, Miss Mason?” He asked, looking back at her.

“I will get you to sing to me, some way, somehow,” she promised him.

He let out a light laugh and disappeared into his office.

.

Things went back to normal in the following days. No more surprise visitors. No more tension between Katherine and Mr. Malik. Things didn’t really changed between them – they weren’t anything more than they were before, but she could feel a noticeable weight lifted off her shoulders when it came to him. His mood seemed lighter as well, which she truly appreciated.

“Mr. Malik?” She called, knocking on his open office door.

“Yes, Miss Mason,” he answered, looking up at her from the document he was reviewing.

“I am headed out to run some errands. Do you need anything?” She asked him.

“Nothing,” he told her.

“Alright,” she said, turning to leave.

“Uh, Miss Mason?” She heard him call to her.

“Yes?” She answered, stepping back into the doorway.

“How long might you be gone?” He asked. Her eyebrows furrowed, giving him an odd look.

“I’m not sure, sir,” she told him honestly.

“What errands do you need to run?” He asked.

“Household ones…” She said vaguely, wondering why he was suddenly so interested.

“Yes. What kind of household errands, Miss Mason?” He asked with obvious annoyance in his tone.

“Uh, grocery shopping. I’ll be stopping at the pharmacy, the post office, and possibly the bank,” she told him, still giving him an odd look. He was never concerned before.

“That’ll take you half the day, yes?” He asked.

“I suppose,” she said, feeling a bit uneasy. He nodded once and went back to reading his document. Katherine stood staring at him in wonder. He was so mysterious all the time.

“That’ll be all, Miss Mason,” he said, turning to look at her again.

“Ohh-kay,” she said under her breath and turned to leave.

She felt more than a little weird by their exchange. Was he trying to get rid of her? Or was he just being thorough, knowing where his staff was at all times? If there was one thing she knew, it was that Mr. Malik was a very complicated man.

.

Katherine spent the tail end of the morning and a little bit of the afternoon taking care of all the errands she needed to get done. She finished before she thought she would, pulling Mr. Malik’s very expensive SUV into its designated parking spot in the garage. One of the parking attendants helped her with the groceries, bringing them into the elevator on a rolling cart. If she ever quit or lost the job, she was sure that’s what she’d miss the most – not having to load in her own groceries.

When the elevator door opened to the apartment, the attendant pushed the cart toward the kitchen and began unloading the bags on the countertop as she picked a few of the dying flowers out of the vase by the front door. She figured she might as well check the other fresh flowers in the house to weed out the dying ones. But once she turned the corner to the living room, she stopped in her tracks, seeing Zayn in the living room sitting very closely to a very attractive blonde.

“You are absolutely adorable, darling,” Katherine heard the woman say to him as her hand slipped lovingly down his cheek.

She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, and wealthy. The amount of jewels she was wearing was staggering. Was this one of his conquests? Was he on a date? Is that why he was trying to get rid of her?

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Katherine stammered, feeling flush.

“Miss Mason, home so soon?” Zayn asked quickly, sounding startled, sitting a little straighter on the couch.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Carry on,” she managed to say as she walked back out of the living room and made it to the kitchen.

The parking attendant was already gone, which was a relief. Katherine threw away the dying flowers in her hand before taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. She in no way had a claim on Zayn, yet it still hurt knowing he was seeing other women behind her back. The least he could do was be honest with her. There was one thing she knew for sure – if he was sleeping around, then she was done. She would not be sleeping with a man that she had no idea where he’s been or who he’s been in.

After a few moments and a few more deep breaths later, Katherine began unpacking the groceries.

“It’s been lovely, darling. I’m so glad you called. We should get together again soon,” Katherine heard the lady say to Mr. Malik as they made their way to the foyer.

Zayn’s voice was too low for her to hear as she eavesdropped, but his face was close to her ear as he spoke and it sent jealousy shooting up her spine. She had the perfect vantage point from the kitchen, but she tried not to watch as the woman hugged him and kissed his cheek. As soon as she was gone, Zayn walked toward the kitchen and Katherine did her best to pretend she didn’t even notice his presence as she finished putting the groceries away. He stood there for a long time watching her. So long that she could no longer pretend he wasn’t there.

“Can I help you with something, Mr. Malik?” She asked curtly.

“Is there a problem?” He asked, sending her a watch-your-tone type of look.

“No problem, sir. I’m just doing my job, as you can see. Because I am an employee. You are my employer, right?” Katherine said, rambling a little bit because she was angry.

“Noted,” he said sharply, giving her another brash look before he walked out of the kitchen all together.

She took another deep breath and let it out hard. This job was starting to get under her skin. But then again, she knew it wasn’t the job – it was the lothario that employed her.

That evening Katherine had dinner made and the kitchen cleaned up before Mr. Malik even came to the table. She laid out his place setting perfectly and dished up his food right before informing him, in the most polite and professional tone, that his dinner was ready. She then made sure she didn’t step foot out of her bedroom for the rest of the night.

.

The next morning she woke up from sharp pains in her abdomen. She didn’t even want to get out of bed because she felt like total garbage, but she knew she had to. The megalomaniac needed his god damn omelet. When she finally decided to start her day, she began making the bed like she did every morning. It was then that she noticed spots of blood on the white sheets where she slept. Realizing it had to have come from her, she went to the bathroom, only to find she was having her period – quite heavier than she ever had it before. She shrugged it off, thinking maybe it was something to do with the new birth control she was on.

She got ready for the day and made it to the kitchen, still feeling a little off. It was like she was in a cold sweat, and she was still having the sharp pains in her abdomen.

“Good morning, Miss Mason,” Zayn said sternly as he walked into the kitchen, a bit more prematurely than usual.

“Mr. Malik,” she said curtly, still upset about the day before.

“You’re not looking so good this morning, Miss Mason. Are you feeling well?” He asked, stepping up to her, only to place the back of his hand on her forehead.

“I’m fine,” she said, pushing his hand away from her face.

“You’re not warm, but you’re a white as a ghost,” he pointed out.

“I’m f—,” she grumbled, but her words cut off.

Katherine looked up at him, her breathing becoming labored and her vision blurring. A second later, she collapsed in his arms, the spatula that was in her hand clattering to the floor.

“Katherine, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?” She heard Zayn ask, panic in his voice, but she was in no position to answer him.

“Higgins! Higgins, get in here!” Zayn shouted out to his head of security.

“Call an ambulance,” she heard him say just before she lost consciousness.

Notes