all the guys in London he could have picked up, it had to be his new boss.
“Did he recognise you? Did he say anything? Holy fuck, this is huge! Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course he recognised me!” Ed said, offended. “He ignored me all day, and then he got me alone in the toilets and warned me not to say anything to anyone—like I would. But I think he’s as freaked out as I am, maybe even more because he’s in the closet. I actually felt a little sorry for him, even though he was a bit of an arsehole about it.”
“Wow. Is he married or what?”
Ed’s stomach lurched. He hadn’t even considered that. “I don’t think so?” Alec’s flat had looked like the home of a bachelor, and unlike James, Alec had no photos on his desk of a wife and children. “No. I’m pretty sure he isn’t. But he’s definitely not out, at work or anywhere. He told me.”
“So with you showing up, he must be shitting himself.”
“Yeah, exactly. So anyway, I told him I wouldn’t say anything, and he seemed to relax a little. But it’s going to be very weird working with him with that hanging over us.”
“And you liked him too.”
Fiona cut right to the heart of Ed’s dilemma. Because despite everything, he couldn’t help feeling drawn to Alec. They’d been such a good fit sexually. His body responded to Alec even when his brain told him it was a terrible idea. And during the conversation in the toilets, he’d seen a flash of vulnerability in Alec that only made him more appealing. The chink in Alec’s armour had showed Ed a hint of a lonely man, and it made Ed want to get closer to him. If things were different, he’d probably be tempted to try.
“Yeah, well. He’s my boss now, so I’ll have to let that go. This job is my priority.”
Ed’s first week at Baker Wells flew by in a blur. The learning curve was like scaling Everest, but it was thrilling to be working at such a prestigious firm. Alongside the mundane duties of filing, copying, and coffee making that fell to him as the newest on the team, Ed also had to read vast quantities of paperwork to get him up to speed with the deal the team was working on.
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
“Did he recognise you? Did he say anything? Holy fuck, this is huge! Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course he recognised me!” Ed said, offended. “He ignored me all day, and then he got me alone in the toilets and warned me not to say anything to anyone—like I would. But I think he’s as freaked out as I am, maybe even more because he’s in the closet. I actually felt a little sorry for him, even though he was a bit of an arsehole about it.”
“Wow. Is he married or what?”
Ed’s stomach lurched. He hadn’t even considered that. “I don’t think so?” Alec’s flat had looked like the home of a bachelor, and unlike James, Alec had no photos on his desk of a wife and children. “No. I’m pretty sure he isn’t. But he’s definitely not out, at work or anywhere. He told me.”
“So with you showing up, he must be shitting himself.”
“Yeah, exactly. So anyway, I told him I wouldn’t say anything, and he seemed to relax a little. But it’s going to be very weird working with him with that hanging over us.”
“And you liked him too.”
Fiona cut right to the heart of Ed’s dilemma. Because despite everything, he couldn’t help feeling drawn to Alec. They’d been such a good fit sexually. His body responded to Alec even when his brain told him it was a terrible idea. And during the conversation in the toilets, he’d seen a flash of vulnerability in Alec that only made him more appealing. The chink in Alec’s armour had showed Ed a hint of a lonely man, and it made Ed want to get closer to him. If things were different, he’d probably be tempted to try.
“Yeah, well. He’s my boss now, so I’ll have to let that go. This job is my priority.”
Ed’s first week at Baker Wells flew by in a blur. The learning curve was like scaling Everest, but it was thrilling to be working at such a prestigious firm. Alongside the mundane duties of filing, copying, and coffee making that fell to him as the newest on the team, Ed also had to read vast quantities of paperwork to get him up to speed with the deal the team was working on.
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
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