“How about you?” Alec turned the question back to James. “Good weekend?”
“Not bad, thanks. It was Emily’s birthday on Saturday, so we got a babysitter for Charlotte and I took Em out to dinner. Then I had a duty visit to the parents for Sunday lunch. Seems to have been the weekend for it.”
Alec chuckled and turned his attention back to the papers spread out on his desk. He sipped at his coffee as he thought about his mother. “Duty” just about summed it up. Alec had always been the dutiful son.
He’d never had an easy relationship with either of his parents, but his mother was the lesser of two evils. His parents lived in the Berkshire countryside, near Newbury, and his mother visited London often for shopping and socialising. Alec was always expected to make time in his schedule to meet her when she was in town.
The rustle of paper indicated that James was settling down to work too, and they got on with things in silence as the office gradually filled up around them. The rest of the team greeted them as they arrived one by one and started getting themselves organised for the day. Once the new additions joined them a little later, there would be a meeting to make sure everyone was up to speed with the details of the takeover.
Alec lost himself in paperwork for a while, rereading some reports and making a few notes in the margins until Jen, the PA he shared with Katherine, interrupted him.
“Alec, the new temp is down in reception.” Jen stood by his desk. “I’m just on my way down to meet him.”
“Thanks, Jen. Bring him straight up. Then give him a quick tour before we meet at nine thirty to discuss the deal.”
“Will do.” Jen turned with a swish of her dark hair and hurried off.
Alec carried on reading. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice the sound of footsteps approaching a little later.
“Alec.”
Jen’s voice made him raise his head. He looked at her first, before he let his gaze move to the man beside her. The polite smile froze on his face and adrenaline flooded his system with a jolt that nearly took his breath away.
“This is Ed Piper, your new trainee. Ed, this is Alec Rowland, Senior Associate. He’s leading the team you’ll be working with.”
Ed barely reacted. There was the tiniest flare of anxiety in his eyes, but Alec only saw it because he was looking for it.
Alec stood to greet him, good breeding and thirty-two years of ingrained etiquette making his limbs move on autopilot. “Hello, Ed.” He held out his hand.
“Hello, Mr Rowland,” Ed said smoothly, taking Alec’s proffered hand in his own.
“Alec, please. We use first names here. It’s good to meet you,” he replied without a flicker of irony. But his palm was clammy in Ed’s warm grip and his gaze dropped from the clear blue of Ed’s eyes to his pink lips, which were parted in an uncertain smile. Alec swallowed hard and dragged his gaze back up to meet Ed’s. “Welcome to the team.” He dropped Ed’s hand as though it were on fire and cleared his throat, turning back to his desk.
Oblivious, Jen guided Ed away to introduce him to the rest of their colleagues, leaving Alec stunned. He collapsed gratefully into his chair, legs shaking as his heart pounded.
The meeting was excruciating.
Alec was distracted and furious with himself for being so unsettled by Ed’s presence. He was normally never less than 100 percent professional, utterly focused on his work. But having Ed sitting there was driving him crazy.
Ed didn’t display any outward signs of discomfort. He listened attentively, taking a few notes as Alec outlined the progress that had been made so far on the deal, and explained what still needed to be done. Alec was painfully aware of Ed watching him as he spoke and tried to avoid his gaze as much as he could, without making it obvious he was doing so.
He wondered what the fuck Ed was thinking. Surely he must be rattled too? Nobody liked their private life being dragged into the workplace. He was going to need to speak to Ed alone. Alec had so much to lose; he had to make sure Ed could be discreet.
“Thank you, Alec,” Katherine said. “Does anyone have any questions before we move on to the financial reports?” She looked around the table. “No? Okay. Over to you, then, Maria. Can you fill us in on the state of Mackenzie’s finances?”
Alec relaxed a little and let his attention wander as Maria Ortega took over. Until Jon had joined them this morning, she had been the only paralegal on the team. Five foot nothing but with a huge personality that made her seem larger, Maria was great at her job. Alec had read through her findings over the weekend, so he knew what she’d be saying and could get away with letting his mind wander. He half-listened to her lilting Spanish accent as she outlined the key points to bring the rest of the team up to speed. But his mind was busy mulling over the situation with Ed and wondering what Ed might be thinking about it all.