Order (Tattoos and Ties Duet #2)(65)

“I require a lengthy noncompete,” Reed said as Alec came to stand directly in front of him. “Arik’s a dear friend of mine. I’ve known him since I was a child. He likes a chase, and he’ll most certainly try to lure you away. Now, he wouldn’t know what to do with you after he got you, but that rarely seems to matter to him.”

Alec chuckled, understanding the eclectic personalities of men in power probably better than any other person on this planet. His whole life had consisted of countermove after countermove. Taking this job would be a tremendous amount of work, maybe more than his current caseload in CPS. He’d be required to travel, not more than sporadically, but he’d have to fly across the world without much notice. The spontaneity of the job had its disadvantages, but Alec loved international law. He loved the complexities and detailed nuances. He loved the challenge of battling against set precedents and coming out the victor.

Alec heard a puppy yapping in the distance. The sound drew both Reed’s and Alec’s gazes toward the open door of the suite as someone entered the front room. Reed started chuckling, shaking his head as he turned back to Alec. “That’s probably Arik. I heard about their newest addition—a puppy. Alec, I’m not rushing you, but Arik’ll be here in a minute. Can I introduce you as head of legal?”

His heart leaped at the opportunity. This was exactly what he wanted. In fact, he wanted it so badly it made him nervous to accept. What if he couldn’t handle such a job? He had a badass education to back him up, but he hadn’t done much with it since graduation. His family had washed their hands of him. If that hadn’t been made clear enough from his reception last night, he’d gotten a lengthy email from his brother after Alec had checked in to his room. Apparently, his abrupt laughter on stage had been ill-timed and had interrupted his father’s stated declaration to follow his southern roots in every decision he made. Alec’s brother hadn’t minced words, making sure Alec knew what a failure he was. What if that were true?

Stop. If nothing else, Alec would put in enough hard work to beat the lousy opinion his family had of him. Besides, Westlake, Texas, was exactly the kind of area he’d imagined for himself and Key. This place was perfect. Everything was falling in line just as he had hoped. His dreams were within his reach, if only he’d reach out and grab them.

When he heard someone walking their way, Reed lifted his brows, and Alec gave one single nod of acceptance. Reed beamed at him, clapping his hands together then patting him on the shoulder as he turned toward the door. “Great.”

“Do we have our guy?” Arik Layne asked.

Arik was as handsome as he’d been told. Very well dressed, bold and loud, owning the room both figuratively and literally. But the little puppy in his arms commanded all the attention. The little thing was tiny, wide-eyed, and very alert. Arik’s affection for the puppy showed in his constantly stroking fingers, caressing the little one’s head.

“We do,” Reed answered proudly. “And I’ll need a contract review to cover his enormous salary.”

“Well, that’s not gonna happen,” Arik said dryly, his fingers momentarily pausing over the puppy’s head. “I already pay you an arm and a leg and what most certainly feels like my left nut as it is.” Arik seemed to dismiss Reed as he came toward Alec with his hand extended in greeting. “Arik Layne. Apparently Kensington does have what it takes to land you. I was afraid I was going to have to go around him and close this deal.”

He couldn’t help the laugh, Arik was so damn charming. He bet there wasn’t too much that didn’t just land at the guy’s feet.

“Alec Pierce, and the pleasure’s all mine.” The handshake was solid, and Alec nodded in the puppy’s direction. “Who’s this?”

“Right now, his name’s Little Bit,” Arik said, lifting the puppy for a full inspection. “He was the most lively of the bunch, put himself out in front of the other puppies, always garnering the attention. He reminded Kellus of me, or so he said. Which honestly, I don’t see at all, but he’s ours as of yesterday. Kellus is my husband.”

The puppy’s whole body lifted when he turned his head toward Arik and barked. The puppy seemed fearless and in control of the room. Of course, Alec didn’t know Arik well, but he saw the connection between the puppy and the man.

“Kellus is coming by to get him. He had his first vet visit today, but my husband had a delivery.”

“Where did you get him?” Alec asked, reaching over to rub his tiny head. Little Bit yapped at Alec, then ducked his head for a thorough petting.

“Kellus’s parents have a batch of them. They have two Bostons, a male and female. Apparently, something didn’t take when they had her spayed. It was a surprise pregnancy.” The puppy was so damn cute. His most immediate thought was Key and how his big guy would look holding such a little puppy in his arms.

“There’re more puppies?” Alec asked as the idea formed. Were he and Key ready for such a big step?

With a mental shake of the head, Alec scolded himself…again. He had lectured himself for the length of the drive between Austin and Westlake to not let his thoughts shift to his lover during this interview. Key was a thought-robber, and Alec had to start putting the man in his place if he truly wanted to accomplish his goals for their relationship.

Even with the mental reminder, Alec couldn’t let go of the image of Key holding the little puppy as protectively as Arik. Key would scoff at the idea of adding a dog to their lives, but Alec’s gut said Key would care for and guard the animal with his life.