Order (Tattoos and Ties 2)

Alec followed Reed through a side door that, from the outside, looked just like one of the many single offices he’d seen during the campus tour, but it wasn’t. He was greeted with another small reception area. Four open doors ran along the back and side walls. Alec sidestepped Reed and went for the one of the center offices with an open door to peer out a large window.

“Great setup,” Alec said as he walked into the spacious office that overlooked a small pond complete with a family of ducks enjoying the water. “What an impressive complex.”

“One of the benefits of working with a construction company.” Reed followed, hovering just inside the doorway. “This would be yours.”

Alec nodded, keeping his gaze focused on the pond, trying to keep his enthusiasm in check. What a beautiful setting, far better than the fifty-year-old office equipment and dingy white walls of his current workplace. He also liked the idea of being off the Escape property site. There was too much distraction at the resort, the constant playful and enticing activities Arik Layne provided his guests could prove too tempting. They had work to do, apparently loads and loads of work if that front desk was any indication. He and his team would need to keep a single-minded focus if they were going to accomplish it all.

After a moment, Alec nodded. He easily envisioned himself here, saw his team with perfect clarity in his mind. “I see myself here,” he repeated aloud for Reed’s benefit.

“That’s hopeful.”

Alec looked back over his shoulder to see a grin crinkle the corners of Reed’s eyes. This time, Alec stuck his hands in his slack’s pockets and followed Reed back out into the reception area.

“From the first minute we talked law, all those months ago, I envisioned you in this spot. I think that’s why I held this open. No one seemed to be the right fit.”

“Thank you. That’s nice to hear.” Alec reached up to turn the light switch off and stopped mid-motion as the lights automatically dimmed. Very efficient, which also seemed to describe everything Arik Layne touched.

“It wasn’t necessarily meant as a compliment,” Reed said drolly. “It took you long enough. I was getting tired of waiting. So, do you have any more questions?”

Alec thought over the last four almost five hours of his interview. For a man who could find questions in anything, he had nothing left to ask. He and Reed thought so similarly that his potential new boss had over explained, covering all of Alec’s bases. Even the salary was better than he’d expected, no negotiations required.

“I require a lengthy noncompete,” Reed said as Alec came to stand directly in front of him. “Arik’s a dear friend of mine. I’ve known him since I was a child. He likes a chase, and he’ll most certainly try to lure you away. Now, he wouldn’t know what to do with you after he got you, but that rarely seems to matter to him.”

Alec chuckled, understanding the eclectic personalities of men in power probably better than any other person on this planet. His whole life had consisted of countermove after countermove. Taking this job would be a tremendous amount of work, maybe more than his current caseload in CPS. He’d be required to travel, not more than sporadically, but he’d have to fly across the world without much notice. The spontaneity of the job had its disadvantages, but Alec loved international law. He loved the complexities and detailed nuances. He loved the challenge of battling against set precedents and coming out the victor.

Alec heard a puppy yapping in the distance. The sound drew both Reed’s and Alec’s gazes toward the open door of the suite as someone entered the front room. Reed started chuckling, shaking his head as he turned back to Alec. “That’s probably Arik. I heard about their newest addition—a puppy. Alec, I’m not rushing you, but Arik’ll be here in a minute. Can I introduce you as head of legal?”

His heart leaped at the opportunity. This was exactly what he wanted. In fact, he wanted it so badly it made him nervous to accept. What if he couldn’t handle such a job? He had a badass education to back him up, but he hadn’t done much with it since graduation. His family had washed their hands of him. If that hadn’t been made clear enough from his reception last night, he’d gotten a lengthy email from his brother after Alec had checked in to his room. Apparently, his abrupt laughter on stage had been ill-timed and had interrupted his father’s stated declaration to follow his southern roots in every decision he made. Alec’s brother hadn’t minced words, making sure Alec knew what a failure he was. What if that were true?

Stop. If nothing else, Alec would put in enough hard work to beat the lousy opinion his family had of him. Besides, Westlake, Texas, was exactly the kind of area he’d imagined for himself and Key. This place was perfect. Everything was falling in line just as he had hoped. His dreams were within his reach, if only he’d reach out and grab them.