Order (Tattoos and Ties Duet #2)(43)
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The clock on Alec’s computer monitor switched from seven fifty-nine to eight o’clock. He reached for his phone to check to see if he’d somehow missed a message from Key. He hadn’t. Key was late, and for a man who lived by an insanely structured routine, that was weird. His mister had also been quiet today. Key hadn’t returned a text or call since this morning.
The knots in his stomach tightened in nervous expectation. Besides the worry that something was off, he and Key had a lot to celebrate tonight.
Leaning forward, Alec reached for his keyboard, accessing a local traffic website to look for any possible accidents. He let out a sigh. Just normal congestion for this time of day. Nothing that would indicate an accident with injury.
Like he’d done over and over this evening, Alec pushed back in his office chair, this time staring at the flashing green and yellow dots outlining the highways in the DFW area and stuck his fingernail in his mouth, gnawing at the corners. Yeah, something was off. Had the club connected the dots? The sudden ring of his phone startled the shit out of him. Without checking caller ID, Alec answered blindly with his Bluetooth. “Alec Pierce.”
“You busy?” Reed Kensington asked, causing Alec to sit up straighter in his seat, grabbing a pen for absolutely no reason at all.
“No, not at all. What’s going on?” Alec asked, and immediately regretted that question. When trying to impress a man he had the utmost respect for, maybe he should have gone with a “How are you,” or “This is a pleasant surprise.”
“I’m behind. I opened your email and started to respond, but decided to call instead. I hope that’s all right,” Reed said in the cultured way he spoke. “I’m coming to Dallas in a couple of weeks. I’ll get you the exact dates, but I’d like to meet with you face-to-face to discuss some possible employment opportunities.”
“Great,” Alec said, then cringed again. As a trained communicator, he should have a much larger vocabulary than the words rolling from his mouth. “What’s bringing you to Texas?”
“If you remember, Layne’s corporate offices are somewhere down there in your general area. Without going into too much detail, I haven’t yet found the right person to head up my Arik Layne Properties account. I’ve been overseeing their business myself.”
Alec had forgotten Arik Layne’s offices were in the DFW area. He quickly typed into his search bar to pinpoint the exact address while trying to hold his excitement at bay. To see Westlake, Texas, appear on his screen and see it was in fact local to him had Alec spontaneously replying as if he’d just been offered the job. “Wow, that would be perfect.”
Reed chuckled, probably at his assumption not his eagerness, and added, “Honestly, you and I are very much on the same page. I’ve got to fill this position or risk my husband divorcing me for all these long hours and long-distance trips I keep having to make.”
“I wouldn’t be available until maybe mid-December at the earliest, but most likely, the start of the year. Is that a problem?” Alec asked, completely lost to the possibility. This would truly allow him to stay in the area while also working toward his career goals. No more DA’s office, no more politics. The salary they had discussed when Reed had first approached him about the job over a year ago could support them very well. Damn, maybe he could truly be seen out with Key. That made his heart sore as his overeager head raced through what had to happen to get this done.
“If we come to an agreement, I’d probably like to begin transitioning you right away. Only as much as you can handle until you get out of your current situation, but I’d like to see you ready to take over the account starting January second. Arik’s got a lot planned—he’s a force who doesn’t understand the word no. You’ll have a team, they’re currently officed here with me in DC, but they’re already planning their relocation to Westlake in January. I’m getting ahead of myself. Are you familiar with that part of DFW?”
Alec shook his head as if Reed could see him. “No, but it’s not a problem. It’s a distance, but I’m planning to sell my place anyway. Based on the Google map, it looks like the kind of area I was hoping to relocate to. I wanted some land.”
“Listen, I’m changing the subject. My father called tonight. He heard you were pulling your nomination,” Reed said, dropping that unexpected bit of news. Alec hadn’t told anyone, not even Key. The leak had to have come from his father’s side.
“I was given strict orders not to say a word until after the election,” Alec said, wondering how in the world this was going to come back and bite him.
“Nothing stays a secret in DC, you know that. My father knew I was scouting you, so he called.”
Oh man, whoever Alec’s father had trusted had clearly sold him out, but he was certain he could already feel the weight of blame being placed on his shoulders. He was always the easiest target. The slight beep sounded through his Bluetooth causing Alec to look down at his notifications. His front gate was opening. Good, Key was home, one less thing to worry about.
“For the record, I think it’s a smart move. Your talents are better served in the private sector. I’ll forward my itinerary. See when you can get free, and we’ll talk more then.”
“Thanks, Reed. I’ve regretted turning you down,” Alec replied honestly, hitting the power off button to his monitor and pushing his office chair backward.