They landed unscathed, and Alec’s relief as the wheels touched down smoothly on Scottish soil was apparent. The colour came back to his cheeks, and he smiled sheepishly at Ed. “Thanks for not taking the piss. Whenever I fly with James, he’s a total arse about it.”
“You should see me if I’m faced with a spider,” Ed grinned. “I’m in no position to judge anyone with an irrational fear of anything. Plus hardly any spider in this country is an actual threat, whereas people do die in plane crashes. So your phobia is way more logical than mine.”
“You’re really scared of spiders?”
“Terrified. I literally scream like a teenage girl. Fiona, my housemate, has to save me from the giant ones in the bathtub on a regular basis.”
Alec laughed. “Thanks. I feel better now.”
“You’re welcome.”
By the time they got to their hotel, it was nearly nine in the evening.
“I’m starving,” Alec said in the lift up to their floor. “It’s a bit late for the restaurant. How about you get settled, then come to my room to go through the final details for tomorrow, and we can order room service?”
“Okay.” Ed tried not to flush at the thought of being alone in a hotel room with Alec. You’re a professional, he reminded himself. He’s your boss. You’re not going there again.
After he’d unpacked his case, Ed walked along the corridor to Alec’s room a few doors down. He knocked, and was greeted with “Come in, it’s open.”
Alec was sprawled on his bed already surrounded by papers. He was still in his shirt and suit trousers, but his feet were bare, and he had draped his tie over the back of a chair along with his suit jacket. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and dark chest hair showed at the open neck.
Ed swallowed hard, desperately trying to tamp down his libido, because Jesus Christ, Alec wasn’t making this whole professional-relationship thing easy looking like that. Ed had been tempted to change into jeans and a T-shirt but had deliberately kept on his suit jacket and tie, needing that formality to remind him of their roles. He walked to the window, allowing the impressive view outside to distract him from the sight of Alec.
“Wow, is that Edinburgh Castle?” He stared at the floodlit building, high up on its rocky crag in the centre of the city. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Ed stopped to admire it a moment longer, before turning back to Alec.
“I thought it was easier to spread this lot out on the bed,” Alec said. “But it won’t take long to go through it. We covered most of it on the flight. I’m just putting it all in order for tomorrow.”
Ed toed off his shoes and took a seat beside Alec, leaning back against the headboard and crossing his legs at the ankle.
“Oh, and here’s the room service menu.” Alec passed it to him. “Work out what you want, and then can you order? I’ll have the Aberdeen Angus steak sandwich with salad rather than chips.”
They tidied the papers away before their food came. All neatly filed and organised, ready for the meeting tomorrow morning.
“You won’t need to do anything other than observe,” Alec reassured him as he put everything back in his briefcase. “I’m not anticipating any major quibbles. I think Mr Mackenzie prefers doing business face-to-face. He’s old-school, and he’s been running this chain for thirty years. He wants to see who he’s selling to, to be sure it’s going to a good home.”
“And what if our client fails to reassure him?” Ed asked.
“He won’t. Maxwell runs a tight ship, but his reputation in the industry is impeccable and he’s very good at charming people.”
A knock on the door distracted them. A young woman, about Ed’s age, wheeled in a trolley with their meals. Ed watched as Alec thanked her, giving her a generous tip.
“Thank you, sir.” She smiled and flushed. “Can I help you with anything else?”
“No thanks. Good night.” Alec turned to the trolley, passing Ed the plate with a gourmet burger on it and picking up his own steak sandwich.
Ed noticed with amusement that the woman stole a final glance at Alec over her shoulder as she let herself out. He couldn’t blame her. Alec was worth a second look.
“Poor girl nearly tripped over her tongue,” he commented as Alec sat back down.
“What?”
“Staring at you like you were on the menu.”
“Oh.” Alec’s lips quirked. “Well, she’s out of luck.”
Aren’t we all, thought Ed rather morosely.
They ate in silence sitting side by side on the bed with their legs stretched out. Ed looked at Alec’s bare feet next to his socked ones. It felt oddly intimate, and maybe that was what gave him the courage to ask something he’d been wondering about for a while.