The Law of Attraction

He worked twelve-or-more-hour days alongside the rest of the team and barely had the energy to do anything other than shower, eat, and sleep when he was at home. He tried watching TV with Fiona in the evening a couple of times, but inevitably dozed off within a few minutes of sitting still.

The atmosphere between him and Alec still felt tense to Ed, but nobody else in the team seemed to pick up on it. Their interactions were strictly work related, and every time Alec spoke to him, Ed’s heart rate picked up a notch, and when he caught Alec’s piercing gaze on him, it made the back of his neck prickle with heat. Alec was so bloody attractive, and having known him in the biblical sense, it was very hard to see him as just a colleague now. Ed’s traitorous libido wanted more.

By late afternoon on Friday, Ed was light-headed with exhaustion. He was sitting at his desk, supposedly proofreading a letter that needed to go out on Monday, but his eyes kept glazing over. Ed dragged his gaze up to the window and stared at the darkening sky. He left home in the mornings before it was light, and he got home in darkness too. Thank goodness the office had large windows. But he missed getting outdoors in daylight hours.

“You nearly done there, Ed?” James called across from his desk. He was the one who had given Ed the letter to check.

“Yes, sorry.” Ed snapped his attention back to the screen. His eyes were dry and he rubbed them, blinking, trying to wake himself up.

A few minutes later, he was done. “I’ve emailed it back to you. There were just a couple of queries.”

“Thanks.” James smiled. “You coming out for a drink tonight? It’s a Friday tradition to pop down to the wine bar on the corner before we head home for the weekend. It’s good for team bonding.”

“Oh, um. I’m not sure.” Ed had been looking forward to getting home and falling asleep on the sofa while he watched Friday-night TV. The thought of having to keep up his workplace persona for an extra hour or so was far from appealing. His colleagues had been very welcoming—apart from Alec—but Ed felt as though he constantly had to be on his best behaviour in front of them.

“Go on. Everyone comes… even Alec, who spends most of his life chained to his desk. Although I have a sneaking suspicion he just goes home to do more work afterwards.”

Ed glanced at Alec, who was listening in to the conversation. Not every Friday he doesn’t, he thought.

Alec’s cheeks tinged with pink as though he knew what was going through Ed’s mind. He cleared his throat and said, “Yes, you should come, Ed. The first round’s on me.”

Ed couldn’t decline now without looking churlish. Maybe spending more time around Alec would help to ease the awkwardness between them.

The bar was all chrome, glass, and black leather, combined with slightly cold lighting that made it feel clinical rather than cosy. The prices on the menu made Ed double-take. He’d been living in London long enough that he shouldn’t be surprised by now, but he was used to cheaper student haunts with happy hours and special offers on pitchers. This place was a far cry from that.

Alec didn’t bat an eyelid as the team placed their orders with the cute waiter. Several of them went for cocktails, and tempting though it was to ask for a Slow Comfortable Screw to see if he could make Alec blush, Ed repressed his instinct for mischief. It was only after he’d requested a rum and Coke that he remembered it was what Alec had bought for him almost exactly a week ago. A flash of recognition in Alec’s eyes told Ed that he hadn’t forgotten either.

“Do you want a double?” Alec’s face was impassive as he added, “I think you’ve earned one this week.”

Disarmed, Ed smiled. “Yes. Thank you.” A warm glow crept through him at Alec’s approval.

“Yes, you’ve done well.” James clapped Ed on the shoulder, and several of the others chipped in, agreeing.

Ed flushed, unable to hide his pleasure at the praise. “I’m glad you think so. Thanks, guys.”

The waiter left the table.

“So Ed,” James said, “tell me a bit about yourself. How did you end up temping at Baker Wells?”

“I’m actually looking for something permanent in employment law eventually,” Ed admitted, looking nervously at Alec, who was watching him as he spoke. Maybe it wasn’t wise to confess that his true interests didn’t lie in corporate. “But at the moment I’ll take any experience I can get.”

James carried on quizzing Ed about his education and then about his family. The rest of the group split off into their own conversations, distracted only by the arrival of their drinks. Alec was sitting opposite, talking with Maria, but Ed was aware of him glancing in his direction occasionally and was sure Alec was only half listening to Maria.