Falling for the Lawyer - By Anna Clifton Page 0,16
meetings and I’m worried about those matters of David’s I haven’t been able to get on top of yet. I’m deadly serious when I say I need you to be my eyes, my ears and my warning bell in this practice. The work you’ve done today tells me you can give me the support I need. Can I trust you to do this?”
Alex opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out so she closed it again.
“Why are you looking at me as though I’ve got two heads?” JP asked.
“It’s just that I haven’t had that level of responsibility in this job before and …”
“Why not?”
“David Griffen didn’t …”
“Well I’m not David Griffen,” JP tossed at her impatiently. “Based on what I’ve seen today I’ve decided you should have that level of responsibility and more. Are you up for it or not?”
“Of course but …”
“Good —then there’s no need for buts.” JP walked behind his desk, threw himself into his chair and dragged the top file in the pile towards him—he had hours of work ahead of him that night and as far as he was concerned their conversation was over.
It had been an abrupt ending to a gruelling day, yet Alex floated out of the building that night and she was in no doubt as to why. JP’s belief in her was as pure as oxygen and sucking in great, greedy gulps of it she experienced a sense of soaring optimism as she never had before.
All of a sudden worries that had been eating away at her insides for months felt as though they were ebbing away. Suddenly, everything and anything seemed possible. Simon would understand that her dreams of a career at Griffen Murphy could fit into their plans for marriage and family. And Alex Farrer would have the guts to slowly but surely turn the tide of events that three years ago had begun to overwhelm her life. All she needed to do was believe in herself—as purely and simply as JP McKenzie did that night.
Chapter Four
“Alex, hold the door!”
Swinging around in the lift she’d just entered, Alex spotted Sophie weaving through the bustling morning crowd of office workers. She pressed the button to keep the door open and held it there until Sophie could burst inside breathlessly.
“Thanks Al, I’m late for a meeting so you’re a life saver.” She was panting breathlessly but was still able to take in Alex’s outfit. “You’ve done it again!” she announced with a bright smile as the lift began to sweep the two girls up to the twenty-fourth floor.
“What do you mean?”
“Your outfit!”
“Oh, you mean this?” Alex looked down at the powder-blue suit she was wearing and ran her hand over the skirt self-consciously.
“Yes I mean that,” Sophie mocked. “What else would I mean? Why are you suddenly strutting around like something out of Vogue?”
“I’ve had this hanging in the cupboard for months,” Alex explained as they wandered out of the lift and into the firm’s smartly decorated foyer. “I wore it to my cousin’s wedding, remember? It seems a waste not to get some wear out of it.”
But Alex knew she was dancing around the truth with Sophie. The truth was that JP’s words from the day before had been singing in her ears as she’d stood in front of her wardrobe that morning. ‘You should dress up every day and walk tall,’ he’d told her. And so her hand had reached for the powder-blue suit. Other than the peppermint suit it was the only thing she owned which wasn’t dowdy.
“It’s not too dressed up?”
“No way!” Sophie protested vigorously. “I know you wore it to a wedding but it’s really just a business suit—it’s perfect for this place.”
“Can I ask you something Sophie, as a friend?”
“Sure.”
“You have to promise to tell me the truth, even if you think you’ll hurt my feelings.”
Sophie nodded in response. “What’s up?”
“What do you think about the way I dress? I need to know.”
“Ahh,” Sophie responded portentously and bit down on her bottom lip.
“Please, Soph.”
Sophie then pressed her lips together thoughtfully before replying. “Well, if you really want the truth, I think the outfits you wear are absolutely sensational … for a fifty year old.”
Alex winced yet felt no surprise. “I thought so.”
“You’re a gorgeous girl,” Sophie hurried on. “There’s no reason you can’t change your style.”
“I wouldn’t know where to start. I’m hopeless. Even when you and I go shopping in the same boutique I come out looking like Laura Ingalls and