Free The Law of Attraction by Jay Northcote Page A

success, money, respect… but what might his life be like if he had someone to share it with?
    “Alec?” Maria put her hand on his arm, and the room came back into focus.
    “What? Sorry, Maria, I was miles away.”
    “I was asking you what you’re doing this weekend. All work, no play?” Her voice was deep for such a small woman.
    “Depends what you count as work, I suppose,” he replied. “I’m having dinner with Katherine and some of the other partners tomorrow, so it’s somewhere between business and pleasure.”
    “Oho.” James raised his glass. “Getting your feet under the table in anticipation?”
    They all knew Alec was hoping to make partner this year. He’d been going through the application process for the past few months and would find out soon whether he’d been successful.
    “Something like that.” Alec smiled, refusing to be drawn. He already knew his chances were good, but this deal they were working on was crucial. Katherine may be supervising, but it was his baby. If the team pulled it off, Alec would win major brownie points and his promotion almost assured.
    “Are you taking the lovely Belinda?” James grinned.
    Despite being happily married, he had an embarrassingly obvious crush on her. Belinda tended to have that effect on most straight men. It was ironic, really, when Alec was totally immune, but it came in handy when trying to impress his male colleagues.
    “Of course. Who else?”
    “When are you going to make an honest woman of her? I can’t believe she puts up with the hours you work when you don’t even live together yet. She must hardly ever see you.” James frowned. “You should put a ring on it before she kicks you to the kerb. Get her settled in that lovely flat of yours with a baby.”
    Alec suppressed a smile. Even if he had been dating Belinda, he could imagine how she’d respond to the suggestion of marriage, let alone having a family. Belinda was a free spirit when it came to relationships and utterly career driven. An interior designer who worked for the rich and famous, she was the only person Alec knew who worked as hard as he did—maybe harder.
    “I don’t think she’s the settling-down type. We’re happy as we are.”
    He felt Ed’s gaze on him and deliberately didn’t look in his direction. Uncomfortable with the deception in a way he’d never been before, he wasn’t sure he could carry it off if he caught Ed’s eye.
    “So, James. What are you up to this weekend?” Ed asked, diverting the attention of the table away from Alec.
    Alec glanced up, wondering whether it was deliberate. Either way, he was grateful the subject of Belinda had been dropped.
     
     
    Dinner with the partners was the usual tedious mixture of shop talk, social chit-chat, and subtle brown-nosing. Alec was so expert at it after years of practice, that he was able to keep up his end of the conversation even while his mind was wandering.
    He’d stayed up late the night before, trying to focus on work, but his thoughts had kept straying to Ed, and they were doing the same this evening while he was supposed to be impressing the partners. Luckily, Henry, one of the senior partners, was deep in a golfing anecdote that only required Alec to nod and chuckle at appropriate moments, so he seemed to be getting away with his daydreaming.
    Alec had never been distracted like this before. He was used to being utterly single-minded, able to focus his razor-sharp mind exactly where he chose. But his wayward brain was full of thoughts of Ed.
    This was why it was never a good idea to be involved with someone you worked with. Even if Alec wasn’t in the closet, he couldn’t have a relationship with Ed, not while Ed was on his team. It wasn’t against company policy as such, but it was certainly frowned upon. Then again, Ed was only a temp. In a few weeks, he might be gone from Baker Wells completely or would at least have moved on to work elsewhere in the firm. And then….
    And then